“The last two days were killer.”
“I told you not to rush,” Ann said.
“Couldn’t help it.”
Gideon’s deep voice mingled with Kyle’s and Nate’s. The three were watching a football game.
“He’s missed you,” Ann whispered, looking over her shoulder with a grin. “We all have missed you.”
“How are you doing?”
Ann smiled. “One foot in front of the other. Nate is hurting, but Gideon is helping.”
Joan shrugged off her coat and lowered her voice. “What about Elijah?”
Ann’s demeanor grew more guarded as she took the coat and hung it up. “He’s still my best student.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“He’s been nothing but the perfect student. I have no complaints.”
He was patient and good at playing the long game. The problem was, no one knew his real goal. “He hasn’t tried to make contact with Nate?”
“No.”
“Good.” How long would it be before Elijah realized the truth about Nate? And what would he do?
Joan and Gideon had spoken on the phone almost daily over the last seven weeks. He had updated her whenever he could on the investigation into Clarke’s fires. Cell phone data had placed Clarke in Helena at the time of the warehouse fire, and when the insurance company had insisted on another investigation, its report had unearthed traces of incendiary devices like the ones Clarke had used. Bryce had arrested Pollock for arson just last week.
The DNA of Lana’s baby indeed matched Clarke’s. The two had been having an affair, but as much as Gideon pressed, Elijah insisted that she had acted alone. Gideon theorized that Lana had set out to seduce Clarke so that she could get insight into the origin of the College Fire. Somewhere along the way, Clarke must have won her over with an engagement ring he had taken or borrowed from Jessica Halpern.
Jessica’s cell phone texts revealed that she had been in direct contact with Clarke for eight months. Motel records suggested the two had been having an affair for at least six months.
The cops had found Clarke’s DNA in the form of hair fibers on Dan’s body. They had theorized that Clarke had broken into Dan’s home and killed him. Cell phone records confirmed that the two had traded several phone calls on the day Elijah had been attacked. Whether Clarke had helped rough up Elijah was not confirmed, but it appeared that Dan could have become another loose end to Clarke.
Beyond the regular updates, Gideon had given Joan some space while she was in Philadelphia. He had not told her he loved her and had not pressed her to return to Montana. But after three days back east in her apartment, she had realized her place was out west with him. When she’d floated the idea, Gideon was thrilled.
“Come on into the den,” Ann said. “We knew the snow was coming, so we decided to keep the party here. Gideon will be relieved to see you. He was worried about you in the weather.”
They had spoken two hours ago, but excitement rushed through her as she thought about seeing him.
“Look who I found,” Ann said.
Gideon was sitting in the center of the couch, a boy on each side, as they watched the college game. All three turned around at the sound of Ann’s voice, and the boys hopped up immediately.
Gideon rose quickly, but he smoothed his hands down his thighs, as if he might be nervous. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “Right on time.”
The boys spoke to Joan almost too fast for her to take it all in, but she loved their enthusiasm.
“All right, you two,” Ann said. “Help me get the table set for dinner.”
The boys and Ann rushed out of the room, leaving Joan and Gideon to themselves.
She slid her hands in her pockets, then decided that made her look too on edge. “Long time no see. Sorry it took me so long.”
Gideon took her hands in his. “Doesn’t matter. You finally made it.”
She stepped toward him, and when he embraced her, Joan felt a sense of belonging she had not felt in a long time, and, in ways she could not articulate, she knew she was home.