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“I’m guessing Rainey called Beck to fill her in then,” he said.
“Yeah,” Knox said. “And she said that this asshole showed up on her porch and said that he’s Jack.”
“So he claims,” Slater said.
“Well, is he?” Knox asked.
“No clue,” Slater admitted. “But they’re running his prints now and if they come back inconclusive, then they’ll do a DNA test to determine who he is. For now, they have him in a cell and that’s where he’ll stay until we can figure out who he actually is.”
“What happens if he turns out to be her husband?” Knox asked.
“I have no idea,” Slater said. “I won’t just give her up though, man. I can’t. I’m in love with her.”
Knox nodded, “Why doesn’t he look like Jack?” he asked.
“I have a friend on the force here and he questioned the guy. He asked him that and the guy said that he was in an explosion. That his Humvee blew up when an IED hit his convoy. He said that his face was pretty messed up and that they reconstructed it as best as they could, but that he doesn’t look the way that he used to.”
“Shit,” Knox growled. “That lines up with how Rainey was told her husband died.”
“I know,” Slater breathed. “What the fuck am I going to do if this guy turns out to be Jack? I can’t keep him from Rainey and the kids, but I don’t want to lose them.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Knox ordered. “How about we agree not to panic until your friend can figure out who this guy is. If he’s Jack, you’ll have to sit down with Rainey and ask her what she wants. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Slater. I’m betting she feels the same way about you as you do about her.”
“Thanks for saying that, Knox,” Slater said. “I need to get back to Rainey. I’m sure that she’s upset that I just left her there.”
“Keep me updated,” Knox ordered. “Beck won’t rest until Rainey has answers and I can’t have her upset. Take the rest of the day off and take care of Rainey.”
“Thanks, Knox,” he said. “I appreciate you coming all the way down here.”
As soon as he got back to the house, he found Rainey sitting in the kitchen, having a hot cup of tea as if a man hadn’t shown up on her doorstep claiming to be her dead husband.
“Where’s Ella?” he asked.
“She’s upstairs napping. Where have you been?” she asked.
“I took that guy in for questioning. He refused to leave and well; I took him down to the station.”
“Will they be able to figure out who he is?” Rainey asked.
“I think so,” Slater said. “His fingerprints came back inconclusive.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she asked.
“He told me that his fingerprints were burned off by the explosion. I need for you to tell me exactly what the US government told you about your husband’s death, Rain,” Slater insisted.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because he gave us a story about what had happened to him—why he doesn’t look like you remember him looking. I need to know if the stories match up,” Slater said. He hoped like hell that they didn’t match, but he was afraid that they might.
“That day is a blur,” Rainey sobbed. “I’m afraid that I won’t remember every detail,” she said.
“Just tell me what you remember,” he said.
“Um, well, the two Army officers showed up and told me that he was gone. They asked if they could come in and I was worried about the kids coming home at any minute. They called Beck and she came over to take care of them while they told me everything. I was pregnant with Ella, so they were concerned about me staying calm for the baby as if that was even an option.” Rainey paused and he worried that she wasn’t going to tell him the rest. Slater hated that this was all so painful for her, but he had to know.
“Keep going, honey,” he insisted. “You’re doing great.”
She nodded, “They said that Jack was killed when an IED hit his Humvee. They said that there was only one survivor, but beyond that, I don’t know much more about the attack. I was in shock, so I didn’t ask many questions.”
