AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Annie had mentioned God occasionally, too, but Mother hadn’t let that word be spoken when Sarah was growing up in the wrong household. Maybe God was what made Annie and Anu different.
Did she even want to know the full truth? The contrast between her two lives was already stark, and regret could swallow her up. “Annie will never forgive me.”
“I believe you underestimate your sister and her desire to serve God. Show her you are repentant and hold tight to a bit of trust. Things will work out in the end, Sarah. You will see.”
Could she do it? Could she dredge up all those old, painful memories to get at the truth? How did Becky take her—and why her and not Annie?
Max ended the call and rejoined them. “The sheriff is checking on any missing persons, and I told him I’d have my security men do a sweep of the island.”
Sarah stared at the blood on the jacket. “How long will that take? The woman might be out there right now, still bleeding and needing help.”
Or dead.
But Sarah didn’t want to accept that. In her mind’s eye she saw the woman rescued and taken to the hospital. Finding that jacket had to mean something. Like maybe this God Anu had spoken of had put Sarah in a position to make amends for some of her past bad decisions.
She desperately wanted to believe redemption was possible. That someday she could walk down the streets of Rock Harbor with her head high. Right now she kept her head down so she didn’t have to see the contempt in people’s eyes as she walked past. Bree had told her she imagined that contempt because most people didn’t know what had happened. Not fully.
And maybe Bree was right, but it didn’tfeelright. Until Sarah could believe for herself that she would never act in such a hateful way again, she didn’t think she could move on. She didn’t think she could be part of a normal society when she had done something so despicable. When she thought back to the decision she’d made, she’d been in such a fog of pain and hatred she hadn’t been thinking clearly. She loved Kylie, and yet she’d put her in the worst possible danger. What had possessed her to do that? It was like someone else had taken over her body for a while.
She had used the little girl for revenge, and the horror of what she’d done stayed with her every second of every day. She hoped she hadn’t done irreparable harm to her niece. Sarah didn’t know what it would take to finally be rid of her guilt. Maybe that wasn’t even possible.
Guilt that deep had a way of clinging like wet clay.
Ten
The smell of fresh coffee overpowered the underlying smell of stale coffee beans from Mason’s ancient brew machine. Annie sat across from the sheriff’s desk and glanced through her notes.
Deputy Doug Montgomery and Deputy Deja Lewis entered, and Mason introduced Deja to Annie.
Annie leaned over and shook her hand. The woman’s large brown eyes were full of interest and intelligence. She wore her Afro cut close to her head in a no-nonsense fashion. Annie immediately liked her. They all pulled up chairs around Mason’s desk.
“Have you ever heard of this Eric Bell that Candace mentioned?” Annie asked.
Mason turned from the small beverage bar along one wall of his office and came toward her carrying two cups of coffee. “After you texted me, I ran a search on him. He lives outside Ontonagon near the Porkies.”
The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Park was Michigan’s largest, and a mecca for winter sports as well as hiking and kayaking in the summer. It was one of the last vestiges of wilderness inthe Midwest, and residents were drawn to the roaring waterfalls amid its old-growth forests. Solving the deaths of two girls nine years ago in that park was what had kicked off everything Annie had investigated these past weeks.
“Coincidence?” she asked.
Mason set his coffee on his desk and sank into his chair. “Maybe. But I don’t believe much in coincidence. My gut tells me he might be involved too.”
“Got an address?”
“I’m going to send Montgomery out there along with Deja.”
“Would you mind if I went along?” Annie asked.
“Sure. You know the case well, and something he says might jump out at you. Doug, I want you to let Annie take the lead on questioning.”
Doug nodded in acknowledgment.
Knuckles rapped on the door. “Come in,” Mason called.
Jon poked his head in first. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I found out something about Glenn you all should hear.”
“Have a seat,” Mason said. “Coffee?”
Jon lifted the cup in his hand. “I already hit Metro Espresso.” He shut the door behind him and came to sit beside Annie.
