Page 17 of Forgiving Chase


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“Martha from church said she saw him last week with Sylvia at Al’s Diner. You remember Sylvia? Such a nice girl. They were always sweet on each other. Terrible what happened to her.”

His chest tensed at her words, at the way she was rambling.

She added more sugar to her coffee, stirring it longer than was necessary. “Anyway, I must have been mistaken. Martha, too. If Aiden was in Granite Falls, he would have come to see me. Don’t you agree?”

“Not if he was in trouble.” Whatever Aiden was involved in couldn't be good. “We have confirmation that Aiden has been staying with Sylvia.”

“Oh.” She stopped stirring her coffee and took a sip. She set down her cup. “Are you going to see more of Jacquie while you’re in town?”

He knew what she was asking, and it had nothing to do with Aiden or the case. “I will have to. As you suspected, Aiden was in her room last night. Around the same time someone gave her a shot of too much morphine. If we’re going to help Aiden, we’re going to have to find out what he is involved in, and with who, before somebody dies.”

She got to her feet, pushing her chair back from the table, and carried her mug to the sink. “I can’t believe Aiden would hurt Sylvia or Jacquie. He might have had his problems with your father, but he is a good boy with a good heart. Both my boys are.”

“He’s not a boy, he is a man who has always had problems. I’m not saying he was ultimately responsible for what happened to Dad. We all know Dad was a mean drunk, but Aiden played a part. A big part. We’re lucky Sheriff Donovan agreed to his enlisting, or Aiden would have gone to jail. You know it, I know it, and he knows it.”

“You were a good brother to go with him,” she said softly, her eyes filled with tears.

The sight of them twisted something inside him. This was a conversation they needed to have. If not now, then soon. “He wouldn’t have gone without me. Listen, if Aiden is back, he’s in a real bad place. This time, there may be no helping him. Certainly not if he was involved with what happened to Jacquie and Sylvia.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Find the truth. I’m working with Josh to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, I’m going to call a realtor to find you a new house.”

She froze, wrapping her arms around her middle. “What?”

“You are not living here any longer. Something newer, smaller, and easier to maintain, and I don’t want to hear any arguments about it.”

Her eyes closed for a moment as relief filled her face. “Thank you, Chase.”

He brought his mug to the sink and placed it next to hers. “I love you, Mom. I want to be here for you, and I want you to be happy.”

She looked at him and gave him a grateful smile. He embraced her, and as he did, movement out the kitchen window caught his eye. He let her go, stepped closer to the window, and peered out into the front yard.

“What is it?”

The sound of a crash filled the air, triggering the deafening peel of his car alarm. Chase bolted through the house and out the front door, barreling down the steps and across the front yard. The windshield of his Audi was shattered, and “go” was spray painted in red across the shiny black hood.

“Oh, my goodness,” his mother cried from behind him.

“Pack a bag. I’m taking you to the hotel.” He didn’t believe Aiden would hurt their mother, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Whoever did this might not be Aiden.

Chase turned off the alarm, then called Josh while his mother hurried inside to pack. “Someone just vandalized my car. Broken windshield and a message in spray paint. Can you send someone by?”

“Sure,” Josh said. “Were you in it at the time?”

“No. I’m taking my mom’s car. I’ll drop her off at the Granite Falls Inn, then pick up Jacquie. I’ll probably be late.

“That’s fine. Don’t let her overdo it.”

Chase shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any way I could stop her.”

7

Jacquie rodewith Chase across town toward the house Sylvia lived in with three other women. She’d been annoyed when he hadn’t shown up when he said he would, but finding out about the graffiti across his hood and broken windshield stopped her complaints. Like it or not, they were in this together.

Once, this man had been such a huge part of her life. She’d dreamed of going to Vet school, opening up a practice in Granite Falls, and marrying Chase. All those plans disappeared the day he joined the Army. How could she stay? She saw him everywhere she went. There were too many memories, and after six months without a word or even a letter of explanation, she followed Josh to Raleigh and created a new life for herself. Away from this town. Away from thoughts of Chase.

Now he was back acting as if nothing had happened. As if they never meant anything to each other. She didn’t know how long she could take it without ripping him a new one. Her professionalism was being stretched to the breaking point.He wouldn’t be here long, she told herself. As soon as he found Aiden, he’d find a way to get his brother out of this mess once again, and then they’d both be on their way.

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