Page 87 of Buried Too Deep

Stone shrugged. “I don’t lie to my wife.”

Phin sighed. “I’ve sent a few cards to my family over the years. I didn’t want them to track me down, so I sent them to post offices out west.”

“Phin.” Delores’s disapproval was evident.

“I didn’t want them to think I was dead.”

“He had reasons,” Stone said quietly. “We’ve talked about this.”

Delores shook her head. “I know, I know. And I’m glad you at least let them know that you’re not dead. When was the last time you sent them a postcard?”

Phin winced. “When I first got to New Orleans. I had it postmarked in Denver. Sorry.”

“That was two years ago!” Delores exclaimed. “They have to be thinking you’re lying dead in a ditch somewhere.”

Phin was about to apologize again when he noticed that Stone was shifting uncomfortably. “What?” Phin demanded.

“Well.” Stone blew out a breath. “They don’t think you’re dead in a ditch.”

Phin stiffened and SodaPop moved closer. His fingers dug into her coat. It was becoming habit now. “Why do you say that?”

Delores had turned to look her husband in the eye. “Yes, Stone. Explain.”

Stone pinched the bridge of his nose. “Scarlett’s known you were in New Orleans for a long time.”

Phin’s heart stuttered. “How?”

“You rented a house, man. Your landlord ran a credit check. Do you really think she didn’t have searches set up for any mention of your name? She’s a cop. And she’s very smart.”

Phin sank back into the sofa, poleaxed. “She never came looking for me here.”

Stone gave him a look of incredulity. “Are you kidding me? Why would she after you ditched her in Miami? She knows you were there. She figured out that you’d avoided her when we visited. And before you ask, no, I never said a word to her. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I haven’t. She still has no idea that you stay with us when you need to get away. She doesn’t know that you’re only twenty-five miles away from her at those times.” He sighed. “She knows that you don’t want to be found, Phin. She makes do with knowing you’re not lying dead in a ditch. Your whole family makes do with that.”

Phin felt like he’d been slapped.

Which was fair. He should be slapped. “Shit.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m a selfish asshole.” He heard no denials from his friends, which made him feel even worse. He dropped his hands, one finding its way back into SodaPop’s coat. “I will make this right. And if they tell me to leave, I will.”

“I really don’t think they will,” Delores said quietly. “And if they do, you can stay with us. Or come back here. You have support here, Phin. They care about you, too.”

Phin thought of the support he’d received in the past forty-eight hours. “They do. Burke, Val, Molly, Antoine.” Cora too. She’d been so strong, but she’d needed him. “They’ve been including me. Letting me do stuff that they don’t have to let me do. I’ve had so many second chances.” His throat thickened. “I don’t want to be the one always needing second chances.”

“But you are,” Stone said without an ounce of reproach. “It’s not your fault. Bad shit happened to you over in the sandbox, and you were already depressed before you got there.”

Phin had been. He hadn’t been lying to his work group when he’d talked about journaling as a teenager. His journals and one kind guidance counselor had kept him from doing something truly unfixable.

“Have you talked to your therapist lately?” Delores asked tentatively.

“Not in a few weeks. But I’m okay right now and—” He stopped himself, feeling himself falling into old habits, where he’d mistake a slight improvement for not needing any more help. Which wasn’t true. At least not for him. “And that’s the best time to talk to her. When I’m level and can think.”

Delores brightened like he’d given her a new puppy. “Yay! Progress.”

Phin laughed. “I’ll call her this week.”

“Good.” Stone nodded, pleased. “Since you are level and can think, let’s figure out how we can help you to help Cora Winslow.”

Phin was eternally grateful for the subject change. “Her house is as secure as I can make it. I’m hoping she can sleep tonight.” He glanced at his buzzing phone, the notification on his screen making him frown. “What the hell?”

One of Cora’s outdoor cameras had been triggered by movement close to the gate.

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