the kind of sisters living in each other’s space and doing it with shared love, together in the best way for sisters to be. Having Amy vanish from that had torn open so much of their lives. Having her return as she had-it hadn’t ended the hurt; it had just opened a fresh new chapter.
“The apartment is the other way,” Marie whispered. “And I don’t think I can take another surprise tonight.”
“I know.” He turned east on Elm Drive. “You need a few minutes before you see Tracey, I think, and a few more minutes to catch your breath. We’re going by my place.”
He waited for a protest, for a problem with the intimacy of that so late in the night, but Marie didn’t bother and part of him relaxed inside. She trusted him. In the midst of all this madness and chaos, Marie was trusting him without thinking about it first. That helped.
“When did you know?”
He swallowed before he answered, not sure how she’d handle the truth. “I recognized her photo-the one you have on your desk. She was in town three years ago keeping a quiet watch on you and Tracey, making sure you were okay and none of this trouble she was in had come to brush against either of you.”
“Three years ago? She never got in touch, never wrote, never called, never said hello.”
“She was honestly afraid you would be dead if she did come forward or be put in the situation where you had no recourse but to spend your life on the run as she had. She didn’t want that, Marie. Not for you and Tracey. And I can’t say I would have decided it differently than she did given the situation then.”
“The oldest sister, protecting the rest of us.”
“Yes.”
“I wish she hadn’t been so noble. Eight years of this-the best years of her life, all gone in an instant of madness.”
“There’s still time to recover some of it.”
“Who did she call when she came back to town this time?”
“The chief. We were expecting her to get in touch with Sam, but there was some reason to think Sam might already have guys watching him. This worked out the cleanest, I think.”
“How did she meet Granger?”
“That’s an answer for another night. Please.”
She nodded.
He could see the sharp fatigue overwhelming her, the sadness so deep it made the tears flow without her thinking of them. She wiped them away again, and he wished for a box of Kleenex in the car. She’d eaten a little from the buffet of food set out tonight, to give Amy a reason to eat, to give Tracey something to do with her hands, trying to mother the sisters a bit, and Connor understood it. Marie needed to be able to help, and there was so little she could do.
“Do you know where Mandy is staying tonight?”
“Granger will try and talk her into staying right where she’s at, at least until she’s had a few hours of sleep, but I doubt she’ll agree. She hasn’t told him what name she’s using now, where she’s been staying. And after so many emotions tonight I guess I’d rather have her stay in profile and go hibernate for a few days and just think. Your sister is a wise lady, Marie. Give her time to look at options.”
“She was always good at planning.”
“You need to stay close to Tom Bryce, listen to him, and to the other Silver Security guys that are around. It’s really important over the next few days.”
She turned toward him. “You know something else.”
“Amy’s had two guys following her, and they’ll know she was heading back to this town. That’s a dangerous combination. And no matter how much you want to share the news with someone, you can’t mention to anyone the fact Amy is alive. Even when a reporter gets in your face and throws around questions, you’ve got to stay with the story you believed up until tonight.”
“I can handle that; I know it’s necessary.”
Connor pulled into the parking lot where he had an apartment.
“I didn’t know you lived on this side of town.” She looked around in a bit of doubt at the apartment buildings that lined the street.
“Relax.” Connor took her hand and eased her from the car. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was well-off, and I can certainly afford better than this place. But there are occasions when being a single cop living in the area where you end up patrolling has its useful points, and the department is picking up half the rent for anyone willing to act as community-presence officers. It’s meant more overtime and responding to the calls in my neighborhood, but it’s had its good points too. There’s not much happening on the streets that I don’t hear the gossip about.”
“I can understand that, and I wasn’t judging; I was just wondering.”
He led her up the flight of stairs rather than risk the elevator and any drunk who might be riding it up and down as his private amusement ride. “Crime is actually low in the area since so many officers are walking the streets now, targeting this zip code. We’re shifting our focus more east now.” He unlocked his door and turned on lights for her.
Inside the fact he was more affluent than his surroundings became apparent.
She walked into the living room, a stunned expression on her face even after all the emotions of her evening. “It’s beautiful, Connor.”
He smiled at her surprise. “The first year I replastered and repainted and put down new carpets. The second year I replaced all the fixtures and appliances. Management was fine with it when it was my money. I hear there is a waiting list of residents waiting to move up to this apartment after I move at the first of the month.”
“You’re moving? But you just got this perfect.”
“There’s a building three streets over that needs a presence more. We’ve got a couple of older ladies in that apartment complex having trouble with their in-laws. The apartment between them opened up, and it’s an easy enough solution. No use having a domestic fight turned into a homicide on me, when I can move in and get spoiled by two grandmothers at once.”
She laughed but understood. “You’re a cop off the job as much as on.”
He shrugged. “It’s who I am, not just what I do. And it’s no hardship living in a spacious place I can fix up while half the rent is on the department’s tab.” He laid his coat and hers across one of the chairs. “Look around and make yourself at home. I’ll get us something to drink and you a couple much-needed aspirins.”
“Thanks.”
He walked through to his kitchen. The message light was flashing, and he listened to his grandfather talk about a cabinet he had ready to pick up while he got Marie the two aspirins and poured them glasses of tea. He rejoined her.
“This is your family?” She was holding a picture, sorting out faces.
“My grandfather Peter, his wife, now deceased, my mom and dad, and the rest of the line are cousins.”
“Are your parents still in town?”
“They have two homes, one here and one in Texas. They headed south about a month ago to spend the winter months.”
“I like your family.”
“I like yours too,” he replied, offering her a glass.
“Is that where you went on vacation this year, to Texas?”
“For a long weekend. It’s a nice way to catch up with the cousins as most of them came by. They live in the area near my parents’ place.”
He watched her swallow the aspirins, then wander farther around the room. Her expression turned closed again, and he knew it was hard to keep thoughts on the present rather than the words Amy had shared tonight. He didn’t expect anything different. The only thing he did regret was the fact Daniel had not been there, for he thought it might have helped. Amy being a half sister would make no difference in reality for Marie or Tracey, but for Amy it was just another source of pain to deal with. It did affect their memories of their mother, their aunt, and the secrets that had haunted this family. Too many secrets, kept by too many people, all in the theory they were doing the right thing at the time.
“What did the chief say when he paged tonight?”
“You put that together.”
