“So he was able to manipulate the results by leaving false clues at the scenes of the crimes.”
Mason angled his head slightly. “You know, you really are good at this kind of stuff.”
“I thought I’d made it clear, I am also in the investigation business.”
“I’m starting to get that.”
“About time,” Lucy said. “Go on with your story.”
“As you said, Porter deliberately staged the crimes in ways he knew would throw off the results. When I finally realized what was going on, I was fairly certain I knew who we were looking for, but Aaron ran the program again to double-check. He looked for a killer with an insider’s knowledge and a strong desire for revenge against Fletcher Consulting. Gilbert Porter’s name was at the top of a very short list.”
“Why did he want revenge?”
“Because I fired him,” Mason said. “I caught him embezzling from the company using some sophisticated code. I knew he was pissed at the time, but I thought that if he came after anyone, it would be me. Actually, I didn’t think he would do anything violent. Figured if he tried to take revenge the assault would come in the form of a cyber attack on Alice. But I was wrong. He killed two men before I caught up with him.”
Lucy used one hand to hold her flying hair back from her face. “You did your job. You solved the crime.”
“Too late for two homeless hitchhikers. Hell, Fletcher Consulting—the company that’s dedicated to hunting human predators—created a killer.”
“Bullshit.”
Mason looked bemused by her sudden fierceness.
“You didn’t make him kill anyone. He was a monster, and he managed to hide in plain sight for a time because he was perfectly camouflaged. But you did identify him, and you caught him. If you had not done that, he would have continued to kill. You saved all of his future victims. In addition, you discovered a blind spot in your program that will help you catch more killers. That’s what matters. You did your job. What happened? Is Porter in jail?”
“No, I set him up,” Mason said evenly.
She caught her breath. “I don’t understand.”
“I drew him into a trap. I knew if he felt cornered he would try to shoot his way out, and he did. I killed him.”
Understanding flashed through her. “You knew that if he went to trial, he might walk.”
Mason looked out at the restless ocean for a long moment before he answered.
“I didn’t have enough evidence to get him convicted,” he said. “Porter was very good at concealing his handiwork.”
“That’s what you’re having a hard time dealing with, isn’t? The fact that you set a trap and he fell right into it.”
“Maybe. It was the first and only time that I’ve killed a man. Hell, most cops go through their entire careers without ever firing a gun except on the practice range. And I wasn’t even a cop at the time—I was an investigative consultant who carried a weapon. I don’t regret Porter’s death, but I knew I had another option that night. I could have taken him alive and hoped that the system would find him guilty. But I didn’t.”
“Instead, you think you committed the sin of acting as judge, jury and executioner. But that’s not how it went down.”
“It is how it went down. Exactly how it went down. I knew Porter cold by then. I’d studied him. I knew what he would do if he was cornered.”
“You trapped a killer who tried to shoot his way out of the trap. The fact that you were pretty sure he would attempt to murder you doesn’t make you responsible for his final decision. Gilbert Porter challenged you to a duel to the death, and he lost.”
Mason did not speak.
“What about the old cases?” she asked after a while.
Mason’s face tightened as if he had to make an effort to pull his thoughts together. “We closed all three. The reason the killings had stopped was because the first killer was doing time for another murder in another state. He’ll do life now.”
“You’re a decent man, born to protect others,” she said. “You know you’re supposed to come down on the side of law and order. That night you took a different path, a more ancient path. That’s a heavy burden for a good man, an honorable man, to carry. But you will find a way because there are other people to save, other bad guys to catch. That’s your mission, and you will fulfill it because if you don’t, people will die and the bad guys will win.”
Mason just stood there, looking at her, for a very long time.
“I don’t want to go back to Summer River today,” he said finally. “I want to spend the night with you, here, where no one knows us and we can be alone together.”
She caught her breath. But she had known all day that this was coming. It was why she had tucked those few personal items into her tote. Mason had known it, too. It was why he had quietly stashed an overnight kit in the back of the car. Now the moment of decision was upon them, and he was leaving it up to her.
She took a deep breath.
Be in the moment.
“Yes,” she said. “I would like very much to spend the night with you.”
He took her hand, closing his fingers tightly around hers. They continued walking along the beach in silence.
28
He was exhilarated, thrilled, and walking an invisible high wire without a net. Hot anticipation stirred his blood. Lucy had said yes.
It was only three o’clock. The night was still a long way off. Getting through the rest of the afternoon and evening without making a fool of himself was going to take a lot of willpower. But he would not ruin things by hauling Lucy off to the nearest no-tell motel. He wanted the day and the night to be memorable, to be important to her. Definitely something more than a damned matchmaking-agency date.
He did not let go of her hand until they’d finished the long walk on the beach and started up the path to the car. Part of him did not want to release her, even then. He did not just want her, he needed her. She was a bright ray of sunlight cutting through the cold, gray fog that had enshrouded him for the past couple of months.
That was crazy talk, and he knew it. Okay, he had some issues because of what had happened two months ago, but he wasn’t that messed up. His problems were mere ripples on the surface of a pond compared to the dark waves that Deke had survived in his years as a warrior.
But he knew now that the lightning bolt that had struck him the other day when Lucy walked into the hardware store had not been a fluke. The universe was, indeed, trying to tell him something. One look at her and the fog had begun to clear. He was once again aware of the warmth of the sunlight. He felt reenergized.