Page 15 of The One I Love

Hal’s look of stunned surprise, followed quickly by pleasure, was the reaction June had hoped to get from Gary. Finally. But this, from Hal, was equally sweet.

“Tell me.” Hal waved away the server, who was nearly at the table. “Did the detective find something?”

“No, but yes.”

Hal chuckled. “That answer is as clear as mud.”

“I would have never been able to gather all the names of the party guests and then make it through questioning all of the them if not for the detective you helped me hire.” June blew out a happy breath. “I thought—I was convinced, actually, that I was going to come up empty again. In fact, I was close to giving up when Anson gave me the clue.”

“Anson.” Hal straightened in her seat, her bright smile slipping. “How does he figure in this?”

“He drove by the accident site before the rescue vehicles arrived. He saw my sister’s Buick on the side of the road, but didn’t see her and just drove on past.” June’s eyes met Hal’s. “He recalled seeing the taillights of a car pulling away, but didn’t think anything of it.”

“That’s all he saw?” Hal’s brows pulled together. “Taillights?”

“Very distinctive taillights unique to one particular kind of vehicle.” A shiver of excitement traveled up June’s spine. “Taillights belonging to a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe.”

Hal’s expression turned thoughtful. “The taillights on that car look like cat’s eyes.”

“Yes.” June resisted—barely—the urge to squeal. “1959 was the only year that the Impala had those particular taillights.”

“Oh, June, this is fabulous news. I’m so happy for you.” Hal’s eyes took on a sheen. “You’re on the verge of getting the answers you’ve been searching for.”

“I hope so.”

“What do you mean? How many vehicles of that make and model could there have been in Colorado ten years ago?”

“That’s what I thought.” June felt her enthusiasm wane the way it had during her conversation with Gary. “Gary, the cop I know, isn’t so positive.”

“He probably doesn’t want to get your hopes up.” Hal spoke in a reassuring tone. “He’s your former neighbor, right? The one who’s been helping you on his own time?”

“Yes. He’s been so good to me.”

Hal reached over and squeezed her hand. “I have an excellent feeling about this.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t helped.” June hesitated. “I know you said when you gave me the money that part of the deal was that we never speak of it again.”

When Hal opened her mouth as if to concur that was indeed the deal, June plowed forward. “But I remember how you said there was something in your past where you didn’t get closure, so you wanted to help me get mine. Please, please, know that if there’s anything I can do to help you to get that closure, I’m at your disposal.”

Hal’s eyes turned dark, and June could see she was looking back. “It was so long ago.”

“Longer than ten years?”

Hal’s laugh held no humor. “I was younger than you are now.”

“I don’t want to pry,” June assured her. “But I want to help if I can.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I also want to apologize.”

Hal’s eyes widened. “For what?”

“For not keeping in touch when my job took me to France.”

“That was part of the deal,” Hal reminded her.

“I never thought your family would think that I’d scammed you.” June had wondered, and still couldn’t figure out, why Hal hadn’t simply told them what she’d told her, that someone in her past had gone missing, someone she’d never been able to locate. She knew how much it hurt not to have answers.

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