Page 34 of Among the Innocent

“Appreciate it, Ethan. We’ll take it from here.” Leah was happy to find the door locked. She fished out her house key and unlocked it.

“Marge, it’s me,” she called out as they stepped inside.

“In here, baby girl.” Leah followed Marge’s voice to the family den. Memories of Ellis were etched into every crevice of this room. He’d used it as an office for as long as Leah could remember.

Marge beamed at her. “I’m glad you’re here.” She offered her hands to Leah, who kissed her cheek. A frown shadowed Marge’s face when she peered at Dalton as if trying to understand how she knew him.

“You remember Chief Cooper from yesterday?”

Marge’s expression cleared. “Well, of course I do.”

Leah wasn’t sure she believed her mother. With the dementia manifesting itself more since Ellis’s death, Marge kept the extent of her memory loss from Leah.

“How are you today?” Dalton asked her.

“Oh, I’m doing fine.” She patted the photo book in her lap. “I’ve been going over some old family photos.” She squeezed Leah’s hands. “Come sit with me, baby girl.”

Leah settled beside Marge while Dalton claimed Ellis’s favorite recliner.

“At times I still can’t believe you’re all grown up. I still remember that teenaged girl who changed Ellis’s and my lives. You came to us with only that pretty handmade dress and your apron and prayer kapp. I kept them for you, honey. Thought you might want them one day. That light blue dress reminded me of the one I wore when I was your age. Though mine was darker.”

Leah studied Marge’s smile. Was it another confused memory? “What dress do you mean?” she asked gently.

Marge touched her furrowed brow. “Just one I had as a teenager. My mother made it for me. You remember this picture?” Marge pointed to one taken the summer after Leah graduated from high school. As much as Leah wanted to press Marge further, her mother’s emotional and mental states were fragile.

Ellis had managed a few days off and they’d taken a trip to the Florida coast. She’d been so happy that day. Had almost been able to forget the past for once.

Leah leaned her head on her mom’s shoulder. “You forgot to use sunscreen and got a terrible burn.” She couldn’t get Marge’s strange comment out of her head.

Marge chuckled. “That’s right. It hurt for days.”

Leah tucked her arm in Marge’s. She’d lost her family to a killer—probably Ellis to the same man. Now she was slowly losing Marge to a different kind of killer.

“I love you,” Leah whispered to the woman who meant the world to her. “So much.”

Marge turned her faded eyes Leah’s way. “I love you, too, baby girl.” She cupped Leah’s cheek. A reminder of that time when she’d come here for the first time. Leah had been so scared, but Marge had made her feel welcomed and loved.

“Look at me going on about these old photos when we have a guest. I’ll whip us up some lunch.” Marge hurried away before Leah could protest.

“She’s a nice woman,” Dalton said once they were alone. “It must be hard for her since Ellis’s passing.”

Leah swallowed several times, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t allow her to speak.

“It’s hard watching those we love grow old,” Dalton murmured. “Each time I visit my parents, it seems they’ve aged years.” A reminiscent look came over his face.

“Where do they live?” There was much she didn’t know about his life. But she wanted to.

“Near Rexford.”

Less than three hours away. “I didn’t realize you were from Montana.” She’d assumed he’d grown up in Denver, since he worked there.

“I grew up near Rexford. Joined the marines at eighteen. Then I went away to college in Denver after I returned. After graduation, I attended the police academy and joined the Denver force.”

“Is that why you chose to take the chief position here? To be closer to your family?”

“Something like that.” He glanced around the room. “This is a nice room.”

Leah understood he wanted to change the subject. She of all people could sympathize. She hated talking about her past. “This was Ellis’s office. Every time I come here now, I see him sitting at his desk working on something. Usually nodding off with his glasses slipping down his nose.” She smiled at the memory. Leah had lost track of the times she’d woken up in the middle of the night and come downstairs to find her dad fast asleep in his chair.

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