AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tommy—because of his job I’m sure, or because it was just how he was—had already taken care of everything in the event of his death, so there’s not much for me to do. The only thing he left for me was the memorial. He said I believed more than he did, and he wantedmeto find peace.” Tears filled her eyes. “Damn. I’m going to cry again.”
“Do you want to go in, sit down?” Regan asked.
She shook her head. “I need to check on a patient at the hospital, then pick up Grace at the church.” Terri was a pediatric surgeon at the children’s hospital in Arlington. Her wife, Grace, was an administrator in the same facility.
“If you want to talk—anytime—I’m here.”
“Later—it would be good for both of us, I think.” Terri reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar key ring with a USMC emblem. “Here’s my set of his keys. Charlie said Tommy’s are in evidence.”
When Regan had spoken to Terri yesterday, she’d asked for access to the house because there could be clues to Tommy’s death in his notes or computer. Terri had said—insisted even—that Regan should stay, that Tommy would have wanted her to.
“Do you know who’s handling the investigation?” Regan asked. “The FBI?”
The Marshals Service didn’t usually investigate homicides, but there were always exceptions.
“That’s what Charlie told me yesterday,” Terri said.
The FBI had investigated Chase’s murder and come to the wrong conclusion. Regan had pushed, and the bureaucracy had not budged. Killer was dead, after all. What could they do? Regan didn’t have any love lost with the FBI.
“Did you know Tommy was looking into my son’s murder?” Regan asked Terri. Guilt seeped in; it seemed likely to her that investigation had led to his death.
“I knew, but he didn’t talk about it much,” Terri said. “He wanted answers. For you, and for him.”
“I—” Regan’s throat hitched. This was going to be even harder than she thought, and she’d already thought it was going to be very hard.
Terri took both of Regan’s hands into hers. Terri wasn’t a large woman, but she had strength, inside and out. “You and I both know that my brother did what my brother wanted to do. He was stubborn that way.”
Terri was right.
But there was more to it, Regan suspected. She had begun to think that Tommy wanted to solve Chase’s murder so she’d return to Virginia, and they might get together. But Regan knew she never would have come back. This was her past. Her present was in Arizona. Her brothers and sister were there. Her dad. Friends. She didn’t know about the future, but she thought of Flagstaff as her home, and it was there she’d found peace after she lost everything.
Regan said, “If you need help with anything, answering emails or returning calls or organizing the service, call me.”
“Thank you, but Tommy’s instructions were clear, and you have other things to do.”
“No—”
“You do. I have Grace. She’s my rock, she’ll be by my side, do anything I need. She and Tommy didn’t always see eye to eye, but they both love me, and I love them. The memorial service will be early next week, I’ll send you the details when they’re finalized.”
“Thank you.”
Terri tilted her head, looked squarely at Regan. “You’re going to find out what happened to my brother, right? Charlie will let you help.”
“It’s an FBI investigation,” Regan began.
Terri raised her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.
Why else had she rushed out here? She knew the funeral wouldn’t be for several days. She came because she needed the truth—as much about Tommy’s murder as her son’s. She owed it to Tommy, to herself. “Yes, I will,” she said. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“He was larger than life. I keep expecting him to walk out that door and ask me to look at paint colors for the living room...or hold his ladder while he replaces a light fixture. He loved this place.”
Terri looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. “Find out who killed my brother, Regan. He’d do the same for you.”
“I will, Terri.” And she meant it. Staying in Virginia meant revisiting her son’s murder—reliving the pain that Regan had tried to bury these last eleven months—but she wasn’t leaving until she saw Tommy’s killer in prison.
Four
Regan Merritt walked into the US Marshals office for the Eastern District of Virginia at eleven that morning. She’d tried to nap at Tommy’s, but after thirty minutes knew that sleep wouldn’t come; too antsy, too many questions. She called Charlie, made sure he was in the office, then drove to Alexandria.
