Page 33 of Shadow Sabotage
My heart squeezed for the girl. Elsa’s dad had developed severe early-onset dementia while she was in high school. It had been a huge shock for all of them. He’d only been fifty and had quickly gone from being their sole breadwinner to needing full-time care. I’d always had a feeling that’s why Elsa had stayed, but this was the first time she’d voiced it.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I was—both for what she was going through and for the fact that I was bringing it up for my own purposes.
She smiled again, even though her eyes looked moist. “I’m glad I can help. Glad Mom doesn’t have to do it on her own. There will be time for college later.”
I understood that—the mix of emotions. Torn between duty and desire.
“I bet it was hard though, giving that up.” I bit my lip, forcing down the guilt about plying her for information. “Were you planning on going to UW with Tony? You guys dated senior year, right?”
Her face turned sheepish. “Yeah. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. My staying here gave me a way to end things with him.” Her voice had completely changed, the sadness replaced by disgust.
“Oh.” I didn’t have to fake my surprise. “I didn’t realize you’d wanted to. I thought you guys still got together when he came back on breaks.”
She looked embarrassed. “He used to call me when he came back to town—that first semester anyway. Thanksgiving break was the last time. I was relieved when it stopped.”
“Why?” I cocked my head.
“Tony’s … intense. When he first asked me out, I said yes. Mostly because…” She hesitated, averting her eyes. “Well. For stupid reasons. I never meant for it to get serious. Never thought he’d want it to, honestly.”
“But he did?”
She nodded. “I knew pretty quickly that he wasn’t ‘the one.’ Know what I mean?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”
“But he didn’t see it that way.” She rolled her eyes. “Tony was obsessive. By our third date, he was trying to plan our entire future together without ever asking me if I even wanted one.”
“Really?” I tried to line that up with what I knew about Tony. On one hand, I could see it. He had an ego and he’d never been the type to take no for an answer. But I’d always assumed he was the kind of guy to hop from girl to girl. Never thought he’d be one to want to settle down and make a commitment right after high school.
“Yeah. So even though I wanted to go to college, I was glad to have an excuse to not go with him.” Her cheeks were bright red now.
“Why didn’t you just break up with him?”
She sighed, averting her eyes again. “Tony’s not easy to break up with.”
“What do you mean?” My brows knit together in concern. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She shook her head quickly—too quickly. “Not exactly. I mean, not on purpose. And just once. I shouldn’t be telling you this.” She tried to laugh and blow it off. “You came in for stamps and I’m talking your ear off. I know you have more important things to do, Deputy Hawkins.”
I touched her hand gently. “Elsa, please tell me. What happened?”
I wanted to know. And not just for Katelyn’s sake—for Elsa’s, too.
If Tony had hurt Elsa, I’d find a way to make him pay.
But she shook her head hard, embarrassed. “It wasn’t on purpose,” she repeated. “He’s just intense. And I’m glad it’s over. That’s all. He found someone else, and she can have him. He brought her home on Christmas break to meet his family and everything. Sent me a text message beforehand telling me things were over between us, that he’d found the woman he was going to marry. And when that day comes, I’ll happily dance at their wedding.”
She smiled again, lighter this time. Relieved.
I could tell she didn’t know.
The woman he’d found was Katelyn Brown—and Katelyn had ended up dead.
Chapter Twelve
Vance
Claire Hawkins was turningout to be a thorn in my side.
