it by about two houses. That’s it over there. The white one with the SUV parked out front.”
Pete felt relief flood his senses. He had begun to fear he would never find Claire’s house, and had no intention of knocking on every door in the neighborhood until he did. Sooner or later it would make someone even more suspicious than the old man appeared to be, and they might call the police on him.
“Thank you,” Pete said, and smiled. “I’ve come a long way to see her.”
“You’re welcome,” the man said, and turned to go back inside. Then he stopped, and looked over his shoulder. “But if you’re who you say you are you know that they’ve been through Hell. No telling if you’ll be welcome or not. Could be they won’t appreciate the reminder.” He raised his eyebrows. “Something worth thinking about is all.”
Pete watched the old man disappear inside his house. He didn’t need to consider what the old man had said. He had thought about it a hundred times over the past few weeks, and had come to the same conclusion. Claire might not want to see him at all. She might greet his presence on her doorstep with hostility. But it was a chance he would have to take, because he had promised he would come see her, and in all his life, he had never reneged on a promise. He wasn’t about to start now.
He headed to the truck, slid behind the wheel, and started the engine, noticing as he did so the curtain move in the picture window of the old man’s house.
Kara straightened her blouse, checked her makeup in the hallway mirror and grabbed her keys from the kitchen table, where Claire was sitting eating messy spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream and staring at her.
“Can I trust you not to go running off playing Rambo with that maniac Finch while I’m gone?”
“Nope,” Claire said and grinned, her teeth brown. “But you needn’t worry. I’m sure he didn’t hang around waiting for you to fuck up his plans. In fact, knowing him, he’s already down there now, causing all kinds of trouble.”
“Don’t use that language with me, Claire. Please.” There was little vehemence in her tone. She was tired, and though she loved her sister, playing the role of nurturing guardian had proved exhausting and required from her levels of patience she hadn’t known she possessed. Ever since they had come home from the hospital and their mother had retreated into herself rather than face the task of caring for a damaged daughter, Kara had been forced to step up to the plate. She was tired, cranky, and today was her first day back to work. She had too much to worry about. Any more and her head was likely to explode from the stress of it all. She knew leaving Claire alone was not the wisest idea, and that it would not be at all surprising if she stole the SUV and headed off after Finch. But she didn’t think that would happen. The idea had excited her sister for a time, for one dangerous moment when the opportunity had been handed to her to see Finch’s warped sense of justice play out firsthand. But that moment had passed. Claire was right. Finch would already be gone, and God help him. But her sister was here, and Kara had come to realize that she could not stand watch over her forever, nor was it fair to impose such restrictions. A little leeway might mend the broken bridge of trust between them. Maybe sometime soon, counseling would expedite that process.
The time she had taken off to care for Claire had ended an hour ago. Her boss at the manufacturing company she handled the accounting for would not be thrilled at her tardiness. Of course, he wouldn’t say anything, given the circumstances, but Kara herself loathed being late for anything.
“I have to go,” she said, exasperated and stuffed her wallet into her purse. “How do I look?”
“Flustered,” Claire said, without looking at her.
“I’ll be home at nine.” She leaned over so her face was almost level with her sister’s. “Please be here. Mom needs you.”
“Mom needs to lay off the Vicodin.”
Kara sighed and headed for the door. Hand on the doorknob, she turned and looked back into the kitchen. Claire was licking the spoon.
“A friend of mine from the police will be cruising by every now and then. Just to keep an eye on things.”
Claire lowered the spoon. She had a goatee of chocolate, which she fingered as she watched her sister open the door. Kara could tell that whatever she was going to say was not going to be pleasant, so she decided not to wait to hear it. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
The woman who stepped from the house was not Claire, but her sudden appearance had shaken him, and almost propelled him back to the truck. But he told himself to be calm, despite the feeling that the blood in his veins had been replaced with water, his bones turned to jelly. It had been a long hard road to get here, but he was here, and if he ran, he knew he’d regret it for the rest of his days.
The woman stepped off the porch and stopped abruptly as she saw him. Pete clutched his hands to keep them from shaking. The woman was pretty, but severe-looking, as if she spent so much of her time frowning that the lines had permanently etched themselves onto her face. She wore that frown now as she looked him up and down. Her expression was not that much different from her elderly neighbor’s. It was as if the houses had been invaded not so long ago, leaving the residents with a fear of strangers.
“Who are you?” she asked, one hand straying to her purse.
“Pete Lowell,” he said quickly, in case it was a gun she was reaching for.
“What can I do for you Pete Lowell?” She did not sound welcoming. Rather, her tone made him feel as if he had a limited amount of words with which to explain his reason for being here before something bad happened.
“I… I came to see Claire.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“Oh,” he said, crestfallen.
“She’s not seeing anyone. We recently had an incident that has left her—”
Pete nodded. “I know. I were there.”
The cautious look on the woman’s face deepened to outright suspicion, perhaps even fear, and from her purse, she produced a slim black cylinder with a red trigger.
“You were there?”
“Yes Ma’am. I drove her away from Elkwood. Took her to the hospital.”
He thought she might have relaxed a little at that, but couldn’t be sure. His mind raced, caught between advising him to flee while he still could and standing his ground until he made the woman understand.
“You’re Pete,” the woman said, her tone unchanged.
“Yes Ma’am.”
“She mentioned you. Quite a bit.”
That pleased Pete immensely, and it must have shown on his face, because this time the woman did relax, her shoulders dropping a little, the frown a little less severe. She did not, however, put the small cylinder back into her purse. Instead she lightly thumbed the trigger while she stared at him.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to see her,” she said. “But you should know she’s grateful to you. We all are. You’re a hero, Pete. If not for you…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Maybe in a few months we can arrange a visit, but now…now’s not a great time. I’m sure you understand.”
He nodded, but he didn’t understand. Didn’t want to understand. He was so close. Claire might be just beyond that door, maybe even listening to the woman telling him he couldn’t see her. Maybe any minute now she would come running out to greet him and everything would be okay. “I’m sorry,” he told the woman. “But I’ve come a real long way today. Had to get here on my own, but that’s all right. I just want to see Claire, just for a little bit. I don’t even have to come in. Even if she just comes to the window. That’d be fine too. But I’d like to see her, see how she’s doin’, maybe talk to her for a little bit. If it helps any, I know she don’t like to sing.” He smiled at the memory of Claire’s words. “I don’t neither.”
Finally, the woman dropped the black cylinder back into her purse, slung it over her shoulder and walked to meet him. She returned his smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and Pete felt his hope drop another notch.
“Pete…” the woman said. “You’re a sweet boy, but you being here now, today, it isn’t the best idea. Claire’s trying to forget what happened to her down there. I’m sure you can appreciate that. But even though you’re a hero and you saved her, you’re still part of that memory.” She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. “Seeing you
