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I always had.
After I put my mom to bed that night, tucking her in and kissing her cheek, I said goodbye to my Aunt Diane and went back to the warehouse with James.
"How are you doing?" he asked as we drove through the darkened streets.
"I'm exhausted. And I'm worried about Hunter."
"I know it looks bad, but I'm sure Hunter didn't do it. You'll see. They'll clear him when they'll discover that he didn't do it. Things will get back to normal."
"I hope so."
"I know so," James said. "I know Hunter as a man and as a soldier. He's honorable. He wouldn’t kill Spencer no matter how angry he was. He'd want Spencer to get justice."
I nodded, but wasn't so sure.
Spencer was the cause of Sean's death. I knew anger had been brewing inside of Hunter because of that fact. He'd shown me his willingness to use violence to get revenge, and killing Spencer was just that next step up from almost beating a man to death. He'd done that twice since I'd been with him – first Stepan and then he'd beaten Spencer.
For all I knew, he'd gone back in anger and killed him.
There was nothing I could do about it, so I stopped worrying and closed my eyes.
When we got back to the warehouse, I went inside and took the stairs to the third-floor apartment where I expected George would be waiting. I was glad when I saw him, even though his face was haggard and his eyes were bleary. He stood when I entered and came right over to me.
"How are you, Ms. Celia?" He peered at me, checking me over. "You need sleep, I think. Hunter will be cleared and let out soon."
"I hope so."
George shook his head. "I know so."
"You really don't think he did it? I mean, really? Be honest with me."
"No," he said. "Hunter did not kill. He wanted to but didn't."
"You know that for sure?" I looked in his eyes, trying to see deception.
He put his hand over his heart. "I know Hunter. He did not do."
I sighed, still not sure myself, but if George thought he was innocent, I had to accept that. George knew Hunter as a man better than most of us.
The next day, I woke early and checked my email, but there was no update from Hunter's lawyer about the case, or a time for a visit. I drank a coffee after my shower and read over the local news. Spencer's death was still making headlines, and there was a line in the latest article about an arrest being made, but there was no name included. I wondered why they wouldn’t mention Hunter's name, but perhaps they had some technical reason.
Whatever the case, Hunter was still in police custody and I had to take care of the arrangements for Spencer's viewing at the funeral home in case anyone wanted to come by and pay their respects. Interestingly, no one at the DA's office called to ask about a funeral. I suspected they must have known about the investigation into Spencer's past and the connection to a child prostitution ring back in Alexandria.
That made me wonder if Spencer hadn't been killed to shut him up. I felt a sense of justice that Spencer was dead. He'd been such a bastard to Graham and me all our lives with him. I felt no sadness at his death or the fact he'd been murdered.
But Hunter was still in custody. That made me nervous. The grand jury would be convening later in the week and I hoped that they would decide to let Hunter go. Why they would have arrested him in the first place I couldn’t figure out. The prosecutor would bring evidence against Hunter to the grand jury and they would decide whether to indict him. If so, the case would go to trial. If not, he would be released.
Until then, Hunter would stay at the local jail.
I went to see Graham at the rehab hospital and we talked about the case and Hunter’s arrest.
"Do you think he did it?" he asked me through gritted teeth.
I shook my head. "I don't really think so. I mean, he was angry at Spencer for hurting me, but he came back from the house and said Spencer was fine. That was the night before he was killed."
"Was Hunter with you?" Graham asked, his voice light.
"He was for part of the night. Then he went for a run and went back to the gym. He said he was going to Alexandria for some work, but that was in the afternoon. They found Spencer that afternoon."
