Page 37 of The Summer that Changed Everything

“I tried—back then. They insisted I didn’t know what I was talking about, said your father could’ve run into Aurora right after he left the liquor store and been far more capable than I realized. I was only eighteen, after all. They didn’t think I knew anything. But they weren’t at the liquor store that night. They didn’t see what I saw.”

Seemingly satisfied that he’d accomplished what he’d come for, he started to leave.

She followed him into the yard. “Darren...”

He turned.

“If my father didn’t kill Aurora, who do you think did?”

“I have no clue,” he replied. “That was another reason I didn’t take a stronger stand fifteen years ago. I couldn’t believe there could be someone else, not after the Matteo murders.” He took another few steps toward his truck, then turned back again. “And maybe, on some level, I was afraid they’d try to blame me. The way Aurora and I fought... We couldn’t get along for five minutes, and everyone knew it. I was terrified someone would point a finger at me, claiming I’d murdered my own sister, because it isn’t as if I had an alibi. I’d been out alone, looking for her.”

Lucy could understand how a boy his age would be scared and might succumb to the pressure he was feeling from everyone around him, especially with the trauma of learning his sister had been strangled. But it was ironic that he was the only person who could provide her father with an alibi. “Why are you coming forward after all this time?”

“I felt if you were going to be brave enough to come back here, I’d better step up and do my part.”

As morose and off-putting as Darren had been when they were kids, she liked him now.

“Besides,” he continued before she could respond. “At some point, all the bullshit has to stop, right? I mean, if you can find out who really killed my sister, that’s what I want—the truth and to see the bastard punished. I can’t stand the thought that I’m letting Aurora down by hiding behind a lie just so Mom and Dad can live in some pretend world where they believe justice was served.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to accomplish what I hope to accomplish here, but I’m going to do everything I can. And the more I know, the better my chances.”

He nodded. “I hope it’ll make a difference.”

Lucy sagged a little in relief. This was huge, much more than she’d expected to get when she returned to town. Surely, she’d be able to dosomethingwith it. “So do I.”

12

Lucy had just locked up and was about to go to bed when she heard another knock on the door. It was late for visitors, so she grabbed the bat she’d left out after Darren came over.

As soon as she turned on the porch light, however—before she could even peer through the peephole to see who it was—she heard Ford say, “Lucy, it’s me.”

Lowering the bat, she frowned. What was he doing back? She’d already taken off her clothes, was wearing nothing except the panties and tank top she slept in. “What can I do for you?” she called.

“I’d like to talk to you. Can you give me a few minutes?”

With a sigh, she set the bat down and went into the bedroom to pull on the shorts she’d just taken off. Then she went back out and cracked open the door. “Don’t tell me you want to do something with the yard.”

“I think I’ll wait for daylight,” he said in response to her sarcasm and lifted a bottle of wine. “But I did bring this...”

“A bribe?”

He nodded.

She eyed the bottle of cabernet sauvignon. “What’s it supposed to get you?”

“An audience.”

“For...”

He spread his hands in exasperation. “If you’ll give me the chance, I’ll explain.”

She lifted her hair off her neck. It was already getting hot and stuffy inside the house. “Fine, we can talk on the back porch.”

“Sounds good to me, but as long as I’m here, you might as well open the windows and let the house cool down.”

“I don’t think you’ll be herethatlong,” she said and stepped back to let him walk through.

He raised an eyebrow at her response but didn’t seem put off by it. “You know I have a house with five bedrooms and bathrooms a short distance away. If it ever gets too hot, you could always come over and use one of the spares. It would beat sweltering over here.”

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