held on to things forever. Faye had an iPhone, I think, but I can’t find it. This one’s mine,” she said, lifting the phone in her other hand. “I’ve been taking pictures with it.” She swallowed hard.
“So where is Faye’s?”
“I’ve been looking.” She walked forward, staring at the ground.
“Maybe you’ve seen enough for now,” he said, joining her.
She stopped dead and sucked in a breath, staring at the ground, where there was a large rust-colored spot—blood—and a woman’s pump on its side. “Faye’s other shoe,” she said. “And all that blood.” She shot him a look of pure horror, then lurched away to throw up in the weeds.
He went to steady her, an arm at her waist, then offered his shirttail to wipe her mouth.
Gasping, she shook her head. “Not another of your shirts.”
It gave him a pang that she’d joked as a way to get herself back in control. She went to sit on the boulder. Setting the two phones on the ground, she used the hem of her silk top on her face. He sat beside her, resting his hand lightly on her back.
An old habit. It made him a little sad to remember all the tender touches they’d shared, their bodies in tune, their moods in sync. She leaned into his hand, and he was glad.
“Fallon said they were found together on the ground,” she said shakily. “He couldn’t tell who was driving. He said he smelled alcohol. I’d bet anything he was the one who started the rumor that Faye was drunk.”
“Faye was drunk?” This was the first he’d heard of that.
“Faye’s assistant, Carol, said there was a rumor, but it could have been Dad, for all I know. And that was why Faye was driving. I tried to get the nurse to find out from Faye’s chart, but no luck.” She shook her head. “Fallon’s lying, but I don’t know how much. He’s just a patronizing ass.”
“Why would he lie?”
Tara jerked her gaze to him. “Excuse me? Are you siding with him?”
“Hang on,” he said softly. “I’m asking a question. That doesn’t make me your enemy.” She’d always been that way. If you disagreed with her, she assumed you were against her. She had to reject you first. The defense mechanism reminded him of his father and he was pretty tired of handling his father’s defensiveness.
She blew out a breath. “Okay. Sorry. Fallon made it sound like he was going to falsify his report to protect my family’s name. Would he do that?”
“He considers himself the town’s guardian, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t want his protection. I want the truth.” She grabbed one of the phones from the ground. “Look at this picture.” Clicking a button, she extended the display to him. “It’s blurry, but see the swerve marks? They’re way back from the crash spot. The brakes must have failed or someone plowed into the car from behind.”
That seemed an extreme conclusion to him.
“He won’t even say where the car is now so we can check the brakes. He was the first on the scene. What a coincidence. He missed poker that night...supposedly he was going for flu medicine for his sick wife when his cop instincts kicked in and he saw the bent rail. Do you believe that?”
Her eyes were frantic, her words spilling out. “Plus, he’s been hitting on my mom, sending her gift baskets. She’s grateful to him, like he’s her hero. It’s so creepy. I can’t believe she would cheat on my dad. But Fallon’s hanging around, whispering in her ear.”
She stiffened suddenly, shifted to look at him full-on. “Maybe Fallon hit the car! No wonder he’s covering up.”
“Hang on, Tara. Let’s back up some.”
“Back up? You don’t believe me?”
“You just accused the chief of police of a hit-and-run or, hell, murder. You don’t think that’s extreme?”
She opened her mouth to argue, but then she seemed to pull herself together. “You think this sounds crazy, huh? Maybe it does.”
He was impressed that she’d backed off, thought it through. That was new.
“I need to tell you everything, I guess.” She held out a palm. “Mint, please?”
He pulled out the tin and shook three onto her palm.
“Three? I have three-mint breath?” She smiled faintly and sucked on the candies, her lips and tongue moving in a way that distracted him. He looked away.
“So, here’s what I know so far...”
She told him about Joseph Banes, his odd reactions to the accident, the arguments the man had had with Faye and Abbott, the dispute between