Page 52 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Just like that, he and the uniformed officers were finished asking questions as if they’d done all they could.

Maybe they had, but Garrett wasn’t sure he’d ever feel comfortable leaving her alone again.

Garrett watchedas Aspen saw them out and closed the door. She locked it, then double-checked, before she returned to the sofa and collapsed beside him. “I can’t believe this.”

“I’m sorry. My laptop is in the truck. You can use it to log on to your accounts and change your passwords.”

“My dad always harped on me about security. None of my passwords are saved on my hard drive. Even if they manage to break into it, they won’t get anything out of it. It’s just…it was mine. Why would somebody do this?”

He pulled her close, tucking her against his side, wanting to comfort her, to protect her. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think it was my stalker guy?”

He shrugged, wanting to give her answers he didn’t have.

And then her shoulders heaved. She turned her face against his flannel shirt and sobbed.

“Hey, hey.” He tightened his hold, wishing he knew how to comfort her. Wishing he understood what she was feeling.

She’d had so many things to deal with in such a short time—the break-in, the stalker, the rude people in town, not to mention the anniversary of her father’s death. No wonder her emotions overflowed.

“It’s okay,” he said, patting her back, feeling useless. “It’s going to be okay.”

She backed up and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her sweater. “You don’t know what I…” She shook her head, sniffed, and looked away.

“What don’t I know?”

“Tabby’s mother was at her house tonight,” Aspen said. “She knew my mom. She knew the”—her voice hitched—“the story.”Aspen swallowed hard, eyes filling again. “She said my mother blew up a building.” The pitch of her voice rose. “She killed a woman.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry.” He pulled her against his chest.

Dean had implied that Jane Kincaid had killed someone, but Garrett had guessed there’d been a car accident or something. He’d never imagined… “Was she sure it was your mother?”

Aspen nodded against his chest. “She seemed sure. But before I could question her further, I got the call about the alarm.”

“Okay.” He held her close, not knowing what to say. Not knowing how to react to such news. No wonder this town hated Jane Kincaid. No wonder they wanted to know where she was.

“And now…” Aspen pushed back and gestured to the house. “There’s nothing here, Garrett. There’s nothing here to tell me where my mother is or what happened to her. Why did Dad buy this place? Why send me here to learn all this awful stuff?”

“I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t make sense. There has to be something.” She leaned back and took a deep breath. “I don’t understand what he was thinking. Why wait until he was on his deathbed to tell me what he knew? Why not write me a letter explaining? Better yet, why not be honest with me all my life?”

“What do you mean? Did your father?—?”

“He told me my mother got into trouble and then disappeared. But when I asked for details, he acted as if he knew nothing more, nothing of consequence, anyway. But buying this place, asking me from his deathbed to do right by her… He knew more than he ever let on. Why lie to me?”

Aspen hadn’t told Garrett that whole story, but now didn’t seem to be the time to ask for details. “Your father didn’t expect to get hit by a car. He thought he had time. This wasn’t his plan. Maybe he never planned to tell you anything.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

He heard the frustration in her voice and made sure his response was gentle despite it. “Are you glad you know what you know? I mean, is this better for you?”

“She was my mother!”

He nodded, unsure exactly what she meant by the statement.

“I have a right to know.”

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