Page 56 of Among the Innocent

As she looked into Dalton’s eyes, she believed him. Dalton would fight to find the answers she needed to finally put John’s atrocities to rest.

She pulled in a shaky breath and thought about their kiss.A little more of her heart was opening up to him with each second they spent together, but it scared her. She’d lost so much to the killer.

He framed her face with his hands. “This will end soon. You’ll be free of him once and for all. Free to live. Free to love.” The last part was whispered softly.

The promise she saw in him filled her with hope. “I want to believe that so much.”

“Then do.” His faith in the outcome was so clear. For the first time since that night long ago, she believed it might be possible to finally lay the past to rest.

She took his hands in hers. “Thank you, Dalton.”

“For what?” he asked quietly.

“For understanding that I needed to stay involved in the investigation.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then let him go.

Leah gathered their dishes and carried them to the sink. She rinsed the plates and placed them in the dishwasher. While she worked, she thought about her and Dalton’s connections to the case. She turned from the sink. “Did you ever speak with Ellis about the case?”

He came over to where she stood. “Many times. After I left the marines, I came here for a while before I started college.”

She searched his face. “It didn’t go well?”

“You could say that. He didn’t want to speak to me at all. Ellis wasn’t forthcoming with information, to say the least. He insisted Harrison had done the murders, though he couldn’t give me a believable reason other than Harrison knew you.” Dalton shook his head. “Ellis believed Harrison was in love with you and was jealous of John.”

She shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. I told him Harrison and I were only friends.”

“It was a flimsy excuse that Ellis knew I didn’t believe.”

“I’m sorry, Dalton.”

“Ellis was covering for someone. In the end, it cost him his life.”

Disgust rose up inside. “What he did went against everything he had dedicated his life to.” She reached out and took his hand. “I’m so sorry this happened to you and your family. So sorry.”

“He’s my brother. I owe him. It could just as easily have been me that Ellis framed.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“That summer I’d been working with some of the neighbors in the field. Isaac—Harrison’s dad—didn’t want to pull me away, so he sent Harrison to St. Ignatius to help the family. It was just dumb luck that he was here instead of me.”

“Oh, Dalton.” She didn’t know what to say. All those times she’d expressed her guilt over what happened to her family, he’d understood completely because he carried his own guilt.

“My family deserves to know the truth about what happened. I owe my brother.”

Twelve

He hadn’t told his story to another soul besides his former lieutenant, Mark Sorenson. Until now. But he and Leah had a lot in common. They’d both suffered much at the hands of a killer. “I should have told you everything sooner.”

She shook her head. “No, I understand completely. It’s hard sharing the worst part of your life with anyone.”

No matter what the future held for Leah and him, they would forever be united in tragedy.

“Wait, you said you’d spoken with Ellis many times?”

Dalton nodded. “I did. I wanted to make it clear I wasn’t going away.”

Leah poured them both more coffee. “What did he say?”

“Not much. Ellis didn’t want to talk to me, but I kept pestering him. I had the right to know what happened to my brother. Eventually, he gave me some more information. He said after Harrison killed your family and it became clear he was about to be arrested, Harrison tried to escape, but Ellis tracked him to an abandoned house outside of town. Harrison realized there was no way out, so he set the house on fire. Ellis tried to go in after him, but by then the fire had spread quickly through the house.”

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