Page 27 of Luck of the Devil
“I stopped by his shop after getting some bad news.” I released a bitter laugh. “I don’t think I have to worry about letting him down, because I probably permanently scared him off.”
“I doubt that,” she scoffed.
I wasn’t so sure. Especially since he’d smelled alcohol on my breath in the middle of the day. Then again, I’d had reason to be upset. I’d just connected the dots that my father had given J.R. Simmons access to Hugo Burton’s office after the man had been declared missing so Simmons could clean it out before the police went through it. Not that Nate—or anyone besides Malcolm—knew those details. I’d given Nate no explanation. I’d dropped in, cried on his shoulder, and then ran. I was embarrassed, to tell the truth.
“When was the last time you talked to him?” I asked.
“I don’t know … I guess after you found out about your mom.”
“So, several days?”
“Yeah. But he was at the funeral, and he wouldn’t be much of a friend if he wrote you off for being upset.”
It was more than that, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit it. And I was also eager to change the subject. “I went out to the river today.”
“Oh,” was her quiet reply.
We were both silent for a moment before I took a breath and said, “I wanted to see where my mom’s car went into the water.”
“Harper…”
“It’s okay,” I said firmly. “But after seeing it, I’m confused about what made them decide to dredge the river for her car. We hadn’t reported her missing.”
“I’m not really sure,” she confessed. “But you could always call Detective Monahan and ask him.”
“I don’t want to bother him.”
“You, of all people, should know you wouldn’t be bothering him,” she insisted. “That’s part of his job.”
“I don’t want to make any unnecessary trouble,” I said. And alerting my father to what I was up to by asking questions could definitely cause trouble. I released a short laugh. “I guess I have a whole new appreciation for the victim’s side now. The need to know everything.”
“I thought you would have gained that after your sister.”
An unexpected pain stabbed my heart. “I think I was too young. Not to mention, I didn’t want to know what she’d gone through. It was too much.”
“I get that.”
“Anyway…” I decided to make a confession, telling myself it would help sell my story—but I also had to admit that I needed to confide in someone who might understand. “I keep obsessing about what she was thinking when her car left the road and plunged into the water. How scared she must have been.” My voice tightened. “I know it’s morbid, but it’s not unexpected, I guess. I met my fair share of families while working traffic fatalities who asked the same questions. They were desperate to know if their loved one died quickly, or if they suffered.”
“Harper…”
“It’s all part of the grieving process,” I said, suddenly feeling like bugs were crawling all over my skin. “The need to know all the details, like having them will ease the pain. Like wondering what made the sheriff look for her car, and everything else.”
“You should call Monahan, Harper. I know he’ll share what he knows.”
“Maybe not with the infamous Harper Adams.” After I was disciplined for an on-the-job shooting last fall, most cops seemed to consider me a pariah. Like if it happened to me, it could happen to anyone.
Louise knew that better than most people, but she was willing to take professional risks to be my friend. “Monahan seems pretty fair minded, but how about this? If I’m around Monahan, then I’ll ask some casual questions. I can do that without making it a big deal.”
“Thanks. Whatever you find—whenever you find it—is fine. It’s not like it’s going to bring my mother back.”
“True, but it fills in the pieces of her last moments,” she said softly. “I get it. I’ve had cases like that too. It’s stupid to think we wouldn’t want the same answers when it happens to us.”
“I suppose,” I admitted. I sat with the phone in my hand for a moment before I said, “You’ve been a good friend, Louise. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the last few months without you.”
“You would’ve been even more of a mess,” she said with a laugh. “But I know you’d do the same for me.”
“Yes,” I assured her. “Definitely.”
