Page 49 of The Coworker
“He went outside to see if he could get a cell phone signal.”
Chelsea tugs on my arm. “I need to sit down, Brooke.”
Chelsea feels really shaky again, so I help her across the kitchen and into the living room. Tim helps support her and we get her up on the sofa. She ends up lying down, her hand strewn across her face. Whatever comes of this, Chelsea will never be the same. Finding her boyfriend murdered has done a number on her.
“Hey.” Tim taps me on the shoulder. “Can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?”
I squint at Chelsea in the darkness. She looks okay for now. “Fine. But I don’t want to leave her for too long.”
Tim leads me into the kitchen. As we disappear behind the door, the thought flits through my head that none of us should be alone right now. We should stick together. Yet we’re leaving Chelsea alone in the living room, and Shane is wandering around outside.
What if something has happened to Shane? What if he’s lying on the ground dead like Brandon?
“So I took another look under the blanket.” Tim winces as he says the words. “It looks like Brandon was stabbed to death.”
“He… he was?”
Tim’s face is so close to mine, I can make out all his features in the dark. But I can’t see the freckles that are usually slightly visible when I’m close to him. “But there wasn’t a knife next to him. I couldn’t find one, anyway.”
“Oh…”
Tim jerks his head at the kitchen counter. “I got worried that whoever it was would come back, so I went to get a knife from the kitchen. And guess what? All the knives are gone.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“Right? Pretty weird. There’s a knife block on the counter and it’s empty.”
I shiver and hug myself. “So what does that mean?”
“I’d say it means that whoever did this planned it in advance and got rid of all the other weapons in the house.”
“Tim.” I feel like I’m choking. “What are you saying?”
“I think you know exactly what I’m saying, Brooke.”
Chapter 26
PRESENT DAY
It’s a month into the school year, and Tim Reese has become a frequent visitor to our house.
After he fixed the sink and the doorknob, he and Josh embarked on a seemingly endless list of projects to tackle in the house. After all, the house is kind of old, so there was a lot that needed fixing. And after they got done fixing everything, they got the idea to build a bookcase for Josh’s room. This weekend, they’re going to be painting it. (Neon green, apparently.)
Although I was anxious about moving here, my reservations have all melted away. Working at the prison has its ups and downs (I haven’t seen Shane once in the last month, but he is still very muchthere), but I have never seen Josh happier than he’s been out here. He loves school, and more importantly, he’s bonded with Tim in a way that has really surprised me.
When I get home tonight, I smell the delicious aroma of garlic and butter. I’m pretty sure those are Margie’s two favorite ingredients in the whole world. And there is no nicer smell to come home to.
I find Margie in the kitchen, arranging a tray of garlic butter shrimp. I want to just inhale them, they look so good.
“I made extra,” Margie tells me, “since I assume that nice Tim will come for dinner.”
I start to protest, but then I realize Tim has come over for dinner at least half a dozen times in the last two weeks. And he’s had us over to his house three times.
“Yes, he said he was probably coming,” I mumble.
Margie laughs. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about having a boyfriend, Brooke.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Margie gives me a look and I shake my head. “He’snot. We’re just friends.”
