Page 80 of The Last Love Song
“My mom is calling me.” Bailey’s voice trembled. “I’m going to that talent show to see you and I’m going to cheer really loud.”
“That’d be great. And Bailey? Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“That’s what real friends are supposed to do, protect each other. I’ll see you later.”
“Later.” Disconnecting the call, Megan clutched the ugly phone for a second and thought about how good it was to have a friend after how horrible things had been at school. But her life was changing now. She had the talent show coming up. And now she had this chance for a jam session with musicians she really respected. That is, if she could sneak out for an hour or two tomorrow.
She didn’t know where they could play at a doughnut shop, but maybe there was a back room or the weather would be nice and they could take the guitars outside. Either way, Megan would find a way to escape her house and play the music that had been her lifeline during the nightmare of the last few months.
The next day, Zach reviewed the police records with Sam in the mayor’s office, hoping to find enough evidence to make an arrest in Megan’s case now that Tiffany McCord had confessed to sending the texts.
Surprised the hell out of him. He’d known she was an ambitious woman who wouldn’t mind running the town, but he never would have pegged her for threatening a teenage girl. But she’d denied creating the website she’d referenced in one of the texts she sent. She claimed she merely knew of the website because Jeremy Covington—her secret lover, by the way—had shown it to her. Tiffany claimed not to like Megan because she’d dated Bailey’s boyfriend at one time. Tiffany hoped that rattling Megan would hasten Dan Bryer to leave town as a protective measure, and she thought that would be a good thing since she and Dan were frequently at odds on the town council and Tiffany needed a power base for when she ran for mayor.
Meglomaniac much?
Zach found her to be seriously messed up, but he didn’t believe she’d posted the website about Megan, and he knew she wasn’t the person who’d attacked his sister. And Zach still thought that whoever hassled Megan was the same person who’d hurt Gabriella.
He wanted an arrest that would satisfy his need to throw Gabriella’s attacker behind bars. Because something told him there was a commonality there. Even though Megan’s ex-boyfriend J.D. couldn’t be guilty in both cases, his father was old enough. Could Jeremy Covington have stalked Zach’s sister? The guy had been masked. Sam hadn’t been able to identify him.
Right now, Zach’s sister was in the front office with the town secretary, an old friend from school, since Sam wouldn’t let her stay at the house by herself. The press conference had gone as smoothly as could be expected, although a few members of the local media had wanted more details on the drug that the formermayor had purchased for his wife. Thankfully, Dan Bryer had been present and had reminded the townspeople of privacy laws regarding Mrs. Finley’s illness, and something about his forceful speech had made the more gung-ho media members wind up their questions. The public in attendance had seemed satisfied with the answers and their former mayor’s actions. After the press conference finished, Zach had stayed to work on the case with Sam without outside distractions.
It was better than thinking about Heather leaving town. She’d attended the press conference and kept her goodbye light. Fast.
Superficial.
He didn’t mind that she’d left town to pursue her dreams nearly as much as he minded that she wouldn’t think about a future that involved him. She’d opened up a door to let him into her life, but if he didn’t walk through it on her terms, she didn’t have a backup plan that included both their dreams. Nor was she interested in discussing it.
“Damn it.” He whipped his pencil across the room, watching it sail end over end until it hit the opposite wall and landed with a bounce on the hardwood.
They’d been working for almost an hour, but he was so tired of looking at bits of evidence that didn’t add up.
“You’re not the only one pissed off about this,” Sam reminded him from his seat at the small conference table. He pointed to the bunch of papers scattered in front of him.
“It’s not just the stalker.” Shoving back from his desk, Zach pounded a fist on the wall behind him, no closer to real answers or concrete evidence in either case. “Heather left.”
“I heard she was going to leave as soon as her father was cleared.” Sam used a magnifying glass to check out some old black-and-white photos.
Zach stared at him. “You knew?”
“I get my ice cream at the Tastee-Freez, too.” He laid down the magnifying glass. “I know it sucks that she left, but for what it’s worth, I don’t see her staying away for long. Her sister-in-law is lobbying hard for her to remain in town and play at their new restaurant.”
“Really?” Zach frowned, wondering why Heather never mentioned it.
Maybe because she’d known all along she didn’t want that kind of small-town gig.
“Yeah. But her brother owns that bar in Nashville. My money is on her coming back and spending half her time in Nashville like Mack does.”
“I don’t think she likes letting her family give her any help.” Zach wondered if she’d said one word to any of them about her health condition.
He hated that she had no support for that.
“Maybe this audition will give her the confidence she needs to see that she’s actually helpingthem.” Sam waved a sheaf of papers at him. “Take a look at this.”
Zach picked up a foam basketball he kept in a corner of the office and shot it into the hoop over the closet door on his way to the conference table.
“That’s fairly astute psychology about Heather’s confidence, Samuel.” Zach clapped his friend on the shoulder. “I hope to hell you’re right.”
Not that it meant Heather would suddenly fall into his lap and be his for the rest of his days. Because at this point, Zach knew that’s what he wanted.
