Page 70 of Overkill

“What are you going to write in your report to the Grays when they ask for one?”

“The truth. He had drugs and booze in his system. He fell in the water and died.” All true. Every word.

The old man snorted. “That’s all that happened. My story will never change. I’ll make you out to be a liar if you try to say anything different.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why didn’t you speak up? A real man would have stopped it!”

If he had seen Luke Gray with…with her…why didn’t he yell? Scream? Rail against it? Why didn’t he grab the man by the throat and kill him the first time he saw it? Why didn’t he defend her?

“A real man knows his place, and understands that sometimes, when money’s involved, justice is never served.” There was pain in his gray eyes, in the wrinkles of his brow. “Live long enough, and the thing all these privileged little shits say is that the right thing to do isn’t always the right thing to do. This, me telling you this story…that’s justice.”

He leaned back and crossed his arms.

“She’ll go through life with her secrets. Her choices. And at the end of this storm, she’s gonna see the sunlight and the rainbow, and she’ll leave this all behind.” He tapped his index finger on the table to emphasize his point. “Luke Gray drowned in the river because of his own vices. The boat was just floating in the middle of the lake. Clean. And I saw him earlier that morning, and he was absolutely alone. Not a single soul but me and him on the water.”

“That last part is new. It wasn’t in the original report.”

He was lying, and I…was grateful for it.

“Sometimes I remember things. I remember it now. He was alone on the lake, and when I came back from fishing, the boat was empty. He wouldn’t have had time to dock and pick up passengers. There wasn’t time between when I first saw him and when I found the empty vessel.” He grabbed his coffee mug and downed it like a shot. “Tell that to Whitlaw if she asks. Tell that to the Grays.”

He smirked, looking me up and down.

“I’m too fucking old to care what the Grays do to me. Now get the fuck out of my house.”

Chapter 24

Meeting the Family

Melody

Greg came home and told me he wanted to take me out to dinner. There was only one place to eat in town, and with flash flood warnings all over, I didn’t want to go far. But a date sounded fun.

I hadn’t eaten out in a while. It was cheaper and more responsible to eat at home, after all. But I was getting used to letting someone else take the lead. To indulge just a little.

Driving felt like the right choice when I saw the sandbags lining the banks of Mourningkill Creek. The water gushed white, crawling up the embankment.

I didn’t worry about floods, though. I lived on the mountain just up the country road, so if it were to ever flood at my house, it was time to build an ark. But the town itself was situated at the low point of the valley. Great for farmers and irrigation, but dangerous when it rained. The drains and sewage were always a bit unpredictable when the water from the mountains slushed into town.

Despite the inch of water on the road, Greg’s SUV handled so well, it barely registered.

The windshield whacked loudly back and forth, the rain on the roof drowning out the easy listening on the radio. He held my hand on the center console throughout the drive, and when we parked in The Bar’s parking lot, he pulled off his jacket before coming around to my side of the car.

I knew better than to open my own door.

When the door opened, the sound of thunder and rain flooded into the cab, and I squealed. His jacket was up over his head as he beckoned me to join. His arm was raised high, holding his jacket above us to keep me dry, and I giggled—giggled!—because I had a man, and he was chivalrous, and he was so kind.

And for the first time ever, I was cherished.

We scampered, laughing into the restaurant-bar as he nodded at Ellen, the owner, while shaking out his jacket and hanging it on a hook. When he took my hand, more than a few eyes turned our way, their gazes following us as he walked me to a big booth in the front corner.

“Are we expecting anyone else?” I asked.

He motioned for me to take a seat. “I, uh…My friends are coming.”

I settled onto the plush leather, waiting for a longer explanation.

“You’ve already met them.” He sat beside me, taking my hand and placing it on his thigh. “But…I wanted to introduce you as…as my…”