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5
The Providence Falls Police Department was only twenty minutes from Liam’s motel, but he spent the better part of an hour on Monday morning just trying to navigate through rush hour traffic. By all that was holy, if he survived the drive to work, it was going to be a bloody miracle.
When he’d woken that morning, there’d been a black duffel bag filled with clothes and toiletries on the motel chair, along with a set of car keys. He’d been eager to see what car the angels had arranged for him, until he walked into the motel parking lot, and he knew. He just knew when he saw it, it had to be his. Because he was beginning to realize the angels had no intention of making things easy for him. There were five vehicles in the lot. Two sleek black trucks, a sporty red two-seater that looked fast as the wind, and a wicked, steel gray motorcycle that appealed to him on every level. The last car looked like the equivalent of an old, swayback mare put out to pasture. Liam pressed his key fob and, sure enough, the faded beige sedan with the dented fender blinked its headlights at him in greeting. Of course.
The car was so nondescript, he had to concentrate lest it fade into the background beside the other options. When he walked closer, he noticed a silver charm dangling from the rearview mirror. A pair of angel wings. He tipped his head back and grumbled at the sky. “Are you enjoying yourselves?”
The angels didn’t reply. They hadn’t said a word to him since he’d arrived, and not for lack of him trying. Yesterday, after visiting Cora, he’d returned to his motel practically growling. He was furious at the angels when he’d discovered their latest surprise. Every time he’d touched Cora yesterday, an unpleasant shock of electricity zapped through his body. When he’d first shaken her hand, he’d thought it was a one-time thing. He hadn’t been pleased with the angels for that little surprise, at all, but he’d thought they were just sending him a simple reminder to stay on track. But later, when Cora handed him the glass of juice, it happened again. He’d felt a snap of pain along his skin. And then again, when their fingers touched by accident as she was clearing the table.
He’d arrived back to the motel, seething. He’d paced the room for hours, muttering at the angels for setting him up with so many obstacles, but the only answer he got was the steady sound of the dripping faucet in the tiny bathroom. Eventually he’d fallen asleep on the bed, wrapped in a stale-smelling blanket and a deep sense of melancholy. He’d felt certain Cora would sense the connection between them, but she plainly didn’t trust him in this life, let alone care for him.
Today he vowed to change that. Liam gripped the steering wheel tightly as he navigated the creaky car through rush hour traffic. He was putting his newly acquired driving skills to the test, and—if that lady honking in the lane next to him was correct—doing a piss-poor job of it. His car barely missed hitting hers as he switched lanes. She glared at him before speeding ahead, offering him a hand gesture through her window. That was a good one. He’d have to commit it to memory. If nothing else, driving gave him the opportunity to pick up fresh, modern-day insults.
Fifty minutes later, he steered into the police station parking lot and cut the engine, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that all his limbs were still intact. Then he took another moment to be grateful he knew how to use the global tracking system in his car. A talking map! Who’d have ever dreamed it? This modern world was filled with fascinating things. Unfortunately, the Providence Falls Police Department didn’t appear to be one of them. It was an unimpressive brick building in the old part of the city across from a public park and the local community center. He harbored no delusions that enforcing the law was going to be a barrel of fun, but at least he’d be with Cora every day. That made it worth it.
He walked inside to the reception desk where a heavy, middle-aged woman sat. She was wearing a purple blouse, gold dangly earrings and a sweet, sugary perfume that was so strong, he suspected it came around the corner before she did. Her face lit up when she saw him. She patted her hair, batted her eyelashes and broke into a toothy grin.
Finally. A familiar situation. He started to introduce himself but didn’t get the chance.
“Oh, I know who you are.” The woman was bubbling over with excitement. “Liam O’Connor, right? Captain Thompson said you were coming in this morning. I saw your picture on the announcement.” She stood, yanking the hem of her blouse to straighten it. “I’m Mavis. Office administrator extraordinaire. Candy?” She held up a bowl of red-and-white-striped mints.
Liam smiled and took one. “Lovely to meet you, Mavis.”
She let out a self-conscious giggle that ended on a bit of a snort. “Captain Thompson told me to send you into his office when you arrive. It’s this way.”
He followed her down a hall past a kitchen, and into a large open pen. Several officers sat working at their desks, a few others milling in conversation. Liam’s gaze was drawn to Cora like a magnet. She was seated at a corner desk, dressed in black slacks and a tailored jacket. Her thick blond hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she was deeply engrossed in paperwork. He still wasn’t used to the shock of seeing her, of standing in the same room and being so close to her. He suspected it would take a long time before he stopped feeling that pang of exquisite joy every time he saw her face.
“O’Connor,” a familiar voice called. Boyd Thompson stood in his office doorway with the same calculating expression Liam remembered. But instead of threadbare clothing and worn-out shoes, his old friend now wore a suit and tie. His hair was cropped very short, and his body appeared softer, with a slightly protruding belly. It was odd for Liam to see Boyd with extra weight. They’d been hungry for so long, the idea of being fat had been nothing but a fantasy back then.
Boyd shook Liam’s hand. “You’re late this morning.”
Liam blinked in surprise. Odd that Boyd, of all people, would point out the rules. He’d always been the one most eager to break them. “I had a difficult time with the traffic.”
“No matter. I’m sure tomorrow you’ll be right on time.” It was less of an observation and more of a command.
Liam worked to appear agreeable. “Of course.”
Boyd led him into the office, took a seat at his desk and gestured to one of the chairs opposite his. The room had a window overlooking the parking lot and the community baseball field beyond it. The dusty metal window blinds were crimped in various spots, and an abandoned coffee cup sat on the window ledge. Two framed accolades depicting Boyd’s credentials took prime space on the wall above him. But aside from that and a plastic plant in the corner, there wasn’t much to personalize the place, save for a couple of framed photographs on his desk.
Liam leaned closer to one of the photos. It showed Boyd with a flaxen-haired woman who he instantly recognized. Boyd’s wife. She had the same pinched smile she had back in his old life. Liam still wasn’t used to seeing people he recognized from the past. Even more unsettling was the realization that none of them would remember the real him. It was as if his real life had never existed, and it only served to emphasize how truly alone he was now.
“My wife, Alice,” Boyd said, gesturing to the photo.
“A fine-looking woman,” Liam managed.
“Yes, well. She should be, considering all the money she spends shopping and going to the spa.” Boyd forced a chuckle, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “I work really hard, and she spends really hard. But happy wife, happy life, right?” He paused, then gave Liam a condescending look. “You’re unattached, but someday you’ll understand. How are you settling in?”
“Still looking for a place,” Liam said. “I met Cora yesterday.”
“And how’d that go?”
Terrible. She doesn’t want me around. Touching her burns like hot coals against my skin. “Just fine.”
“Excellent.” Boyd leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. “I still can’t believe how well this worked out. Talk about coincidence that you’d ended up moving to the US and living in the same state as me. And becoming a police officer, no less. When you emailed me out of the blue last year, I never thought you’d end up working for me.”
“Neither did I.” Liam kept his expression neutral, but it wasn’t easy. Just the thought of having to answer to a cocky bastard like Boyd scraped along his pride like a rusty nail. Boyd had never been a good leader. He was too hotheaded and prone to fighting, and his emotions got them into trouble more times than Liam could count. Liam had always been the leader.
Boyd lifted his coffee cup and took a drink before saying, “Truth really is stranger than fiction, isn’t it?”
