Page 11 of Shattered Sanctuary

The chief nodded. “People say they’ve seen Emma walking through the woods in her dark cape, crying for her lost love.”

Erin felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered the sound of sobbing the night before. She realized she was holding her breath, so she let it out slowly. This was silly. There were no ghosts wandering the woods.

“And the poem?”

“You asked for it. It goes like this: ‘William Watcher slew his wife. Slit her throat with his butcher knife. Now she wanders Watcher Woods, a ghastly visage in a cloak and hood. If you should hear her mournful cries, you will be the next to die.’”

EIGHT

Erin looked away from the chief, wondering if he could tell how shocked she was by the awful poem. She swallowed hard and forced a smile.

“That’s rather gruesome,” she said, fighting to appear nonchalant.

The chief’s eyebrows shot up. “Your book wasn’t exactly tame. I’m surprised that silly poem bothers you.”

Erin couldn’t tell him about what she’d heard last night. He’d think she was unbalanced. If she thought it had anything to do with the body in the woods, she would have mentioned it. But the woman was dead before she was dumped in the woods. Besides, what she’d heard was probably an animal. Or the wind. She wasn’t used to being here and had no idea what the sound actually was.

“So, how long will you be staying?” the chief asked.

“A week. Kaely is joining me later today.”

“Brainstorming session?” he asked with a smile.

“No. I just needed some time to chill out. You know, get away.”

“I understand,” the chief said. “We have quite a few peoplewho come here to escape the city. It’s peaceful here. Tuning out the noise helps you see things more clearly.”

“Are you originally from here?”

“Raised here by my grandparents. My mother died when I was three. I never knew my father. I moved to Chicago and joined the police force when I graduated.” He shook his head. “It was too much for me. The crime, the awful things people did to each other. Especially the children. I just couldn’t take it. Found out the job of police chief was open here, so I applied and was hired.”

“Do your grandparents still live here?” Erin asked.

“No, they’ve passed away. It’s just me now. No other family that I know of.”

“I’m sorry. My parents are gone too. I have a sister somewhere, but we’re not in touch.”

“Sounds like we’re both short on family,” he said.

Erin nodded.

“So, whenisyour next book coming out?” he asked. “You can probably tell that I’m a fan.”

The question.One that she was asked constantly. One she had no answers for. Erin shrugged. “I have no idea. To be honest, I’m not sure I want to write another one.Dark Matterswas cathartic. I wrote it because I needed to. But I’ve never seen myself as a novelist.”

“I’d guess there are a lot of authors out there who would like to be in your shoes. You write a book that goes straight to the bestsellers list, but you don’t see yourself as a novelist? Ouch.”

The chief was very perceptive. Other authors had reached out to her on social media, but she hadn’t reached back. She wasn’t comfortable pretending to be something she wasn’t.Some reacted badly to her lack of response, branding her as a snob. Others were very nice—people she’d like to know, if she stayed involved in that community. She didn’t feel comfortable explaining herself to a stranger. True, Adrian Nightengale seemed to be a nice person—someone easy to talk to. But the only human being she really shared her feelings with was Kaely—and that had taken some time. Kaely was... different. She didn’t seem to have an agenda, and she certainly wasn’t impressed with Erin’s celebrity.

She glanced sideways at Adrian. He really was good-looking. He pushed his hair back with his right hand, and she realized he was wearing a hearing aid.

He turned his head and caught her gaze. Without thinking, she blurted out, “You wear hearing aids?”

He smiled. “Yeah. I have noise-induced hearing loss. Sirens, target training, lots of things that can affect police officers.”

“My partner, Scott, suffered from NIHL. He wore hearing aids too. Didn’t affect his job performance at all.”

Most people didn’t realize that police officers couldn’t wear hearing protection. They had to always be aware of their surroundings. The general public had no idea how many in law enforcement had been affected by all the noise they had to endure. Thankfully, Erin’s hearing was okay. Scott had gotten the worst of it.

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