When Joan woke up in a hospital bed, she was aware of the beep of a monitor, the IV in her arm, and the bright sunshine. When she raised her hand to shield her eyes, she noted that both her palms were bandaged.
As she shoved through the haze in her brain, she struggled to remember the day and then the year. Her throat was raw, and her skin felt tender, as if she had a bad sunburn.
“Welcome back.”
She turned to see Elijah sitting in the corner of her room. He carefully closed a large textbook already filled with multicolored tabs.
He set the book aside, rose, and walked gingerly up to her bed. As she had done for him yesterday, he held up a cup of water and a straw so she could drink. The water scraped against her raw throat, but her body was greedy for the hydration. She drank the entire glass.
“Aren’t you the good little patient,” he said.
“I aim to please.” Her voice sounded ragged, as if she were recovering from a cold. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“A few hours,” he said. “The good detective was here for a while, but duty called. Ann was also here for a time. When they both left, I decided to visit.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Not long.” He grinned. “And for the record, you don’t drool or snore when you’re asleep.”
“Good to know,” she said.
“I owe you my thanks.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Clarke.”
“He’s dead?”
“Very. From what I’m hearing from the nurses, Detective Bailey shot him, but that was before he burned up.”
Memories of last night emerged from the fog. “Yep, I was there, unfortunately. You said Gideon got called away.”
“My sources tell me he and his team are searching Clarke’s house.”
She remembered her own search of the house. Nothing she had found would have been admissible, and Gideon could never have legally acted on her discoveries if Clarke had not attacked her. And even still, Gideon was a stickler for the rules.
“It’s been a productive twenty-four hours for you. Dan and now Clarke are dead,” Elijah said.
“Pretty busy for a small town.”
Joan understood why Clarke had come after her, but why would he go after Dan? If anything, Dan would have been the perfect fall guy for eliminating Elijah. “Where were you when Dan died?”
“Always the cop,” he said carefully.
She wanted to sit up and reach for the controls on the side of the bed. Elijah brushed her fingers away and pressed the button until she signaled for him to stop.
“I was taking a walk,” Elijah said. “The doctor said I would heal faster if I moved.”
“Where did you walk?”
“Around. And I have no witnesses to prove or disprove that statement. Am I still the go-to suspect in this town?”
“No, the cops are totally focused on Clarke now.”
Elijah nodded, looking only mildly surprised. “Good. It will be nice to have the fires solved and maybe get my name cleared.” He studied her an extra moment. “Why did Clarke come after you?”
“He said I was trying to take Ann away.”
“Ann’s rooted in this state. She’s not going anywhere.”
“You might be sure of that, but Clarke wasn’t.” Mention of Ann shifted her perspective. “Ann and Nate must be devastated. I should call her.” She looked around her bed. “Do you know where my cell phone is?”
Elijah pushed her hand away. “I’ll find Ann. You stay put.”
“I don’t know if you should be the one, Elijah.”
“Why not?” He watched her closely.
“She’s Gideon’s sister. He’ll take care of it.”
“Ah, right. Gideon.”
“You don’t care for him much, do you?”
“On the contrary: I respect him quite a bit. He’s the man of the hour.” He stepped back. “He saved your life, Detective.”
“I do owe him.”
He smiled, turned, and picked up his book. “We all do. Take care, and let me know if I can help,” he said as he walked into the hallway.
“You don’t appear to be surprised by Clarke. Did you know about him all along?”
He stilled. “I had no proof, and if prison taught me anything, it’s to keep my mouth shut.”
“Lana loved you, or at least she thought she did. And yet she ended up with Clarke.”
“I never had any control over Lana. She made her own choices.”
“I don’t think so.” Joan moistened her cracked, dried lips. “I think she loved you so much that she was willing to sleep with Clarke to get you the proof you wanted about the fire.”
“That’s an ambitious plan.”
“How did you come to suspect Clarke?”
“Joan, you have been severely traumatized. And it’s easy to see Clarke as the ultimate bad guy.”
“He took ten years of your life.”
“I’ve had ten years of living, just like you and everyone else. I consider my years behind bars to have been very productive. They taught me so much.”
She realized now that Elijah was a master chess player. His mind always advanced to at least five moves ahead. “That’s not an answer.”
He pushed back the curtain. “I think I hear Prince Charming right now.”
As he moved to leave, she tried to rise up. This was far from finished. But when Gideon appeared in the door, she was overcome with relief and emotion.
Gideon’s frown deepened when he looked at Elijah. “What are you doing here?”
Elijah nodded to him. “I was just visiting with Joan.”
“As soon as I get this sorted out, I want to talk to you,” Gideon said.
“I’ll be here,” Elijah said easily as he offered a small salute and left.
Gideon stood in the doorway watching until finally he pulled up a chair beside her. “That guy is everywhere. I still don’t trust him.”
She didn’t, either. In her bones, she sensed that Elijah had a plan that was far from played out. She tried to sit up as Gideon approached, but her broken ribs forced her to remain still. “You might be right.”
A ghost of a smile tipped the edges of his lips as he sat beside her bed. He brushed her bangs back, staring at her. “You take too many chances.”
She would have leaned over and kissed him if not for the cracked ribs. “I would literally be toast now if not for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there faster.”
“The fire ladder was a nice touch.”
He tipped his head back, his eyes darkening with the fear of what could have happened. “I’m so sorry. I should have seen this coming.”
“No one figured it out.”
“You did.”
“You can pay me back.”
His brow arched. “How?”
“Kiss me. I’d do it myself, but the ribs aren’t having it.” When he hesitated, she added, “Please tell me I haven’t misread the sexual tension.”
He cleared his throat as he rose and leaned toward her. “You haven’t.” He gently kissed her on the lips, and she raised her hand to his arm.
“I still love you,” she whispered. “I always have.”
He drew back, searching her gaze. “I thought I could get over you, but I never did.”
Her chest tightened as she thought about all the years she had tried to convince herself they were done. There were times she could almost believe she had moved on, but then something would trigger an old memory, and then she was right back to missing him.
She gripped his arm. “You don’t have to try anymore.”
He grinned. “Good. I’m tired of running away from the one person I’ve always wanted the most.”
EPILOGUE
Missoula, Montana
Saturday, October 31, 2020
6:15 p.m.
In the end, it had been easy to quit the Philadelphia Police Department. Joan had flown back east and met with her boss and learned she would have desk duty indefinitely. Her boss was not going to fire her but had presented an option he knew she would never accept. She had politely shaken his hand and quit.
It had taken a couple of weeks to pack up, to give away what she did not want, and to find someone to sublet her apartment. Finally, she had hugged Ray, who’d stood on the sidewalk waving as she drove off in a car packed with the few possessions she cared about.
Now, as she pulled into Missoula, she knew by the darkening sky that she had barely beaten the weather. Within hours, snow would be blanketing everything and announcing winter was here to stay. There was no turning back now.
She drove down the familiar road to the Bailey ranch. The sun had all but set, and whatever light remained was blocked by the thick, dark clouds.
She pulled up in front of Ann’s house, shut off the engine, and silenced a moment of doubt. She had not given up a life to be here.
Out of the car, the first small flakes began to fall. She hugged her coat around her and dashed to the front door, where Ann was waiting. It was Halloween, and the house was decorated with all the fixings.
“I hope there’s a party here,” Joan said.
Ann wrapped her arms around Joan. “You made it!”