"She knew he was a murderer?"
"I don't think she knew he'd stoop to that—she took liberties—but she figured out he had a gambling habit and was playing fast and loose with the numbers at his business to make things work. Cal read her book and figured it out pretty fast. I'm guessing he did a little poking around into Dempsey Development's current projects. In any case, he threatened to back out of the development deal with Scooter. Scooter was counting on that money to keep everything afloat... when he couldn't talk Cal around, he killed him and tried to pin it on me."
"You'd be an obvious suspect for Kirsten's attack, too," Ted said. "Although I know you'd never do something like that."
"I wouldn't," I concurred as the nurse continued to bind my wounds. Very slowly, I noticed.
"All good," she said reluctantly. "The tech will be by soon to take you to X-ray." She smiled at me. "I hope your life gets less complicated soon."
"Me too," I said. "Thanks."
When she left, Ted took a deep breath and looked at me. For a moment, we were just as we were years ago, before all the distance and misunderstandings and resentments grew into a mountain neither of us could scale. "I miss you sometimes," he said. "I care for Kirsten, but you and I’ve got a lot of history."
"I know," I said. "I miss you sometimes, too."
"Can we be friends?" he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe in a little while," I said. "I think we both need to heal some first."
"Yeah," he said, looking away. "Even though it was probably the right thing, it's still hard. Audrey is doing okay, but Caroline is still struggling, I think."
"Did she say anything to you about it?"
"She told me she doesn't like Kirsten," he said. "I don't know what to do."
"I don't know either," I said. "But they'll have to work it out, won't they?"
"I guess," he said. "I've been meaning to ask... is the store going okay? Sales good?"
"Better than expected so far," I said. "Fingers crossed. Kirsten's signing was a big boost. I'm grateful to her for coming."
"She's a good person," he said. "I think you'd like her."
"We'll play it by ear," I told him, not quite ready to become BFFs with Ted—er... Theodore's new flame. "Anyway, thanks for coming by."
"Do you need a ride home?"
"I'll call a friend. Thanks, though."
He stood up, putting his hands on his lower back and stretching, a movement I'd seen thousands of times before. "I'll go back up to keep Kirsten company, then. Thanks for saving her."
"You're welcome," I said. "They're supposed to send officers in to talk to me, but I think with all the excitement over Kirsten, they may have forgotten where to find me. Can you send them down and ask if I can have my phone back?"
"I'll track someone down," he said. "Let me know about the hip, okay? And send any medical bills to me."
"Right," I said. "Thanks."
And he walked out of the emergency room, leaving me feeling more alone than I had in a long time.
Until thirty seconds later, when Denise rushed into the room, Bethany at her side.
"Ohmygosh," Denise said, coming up and giving me a careful hug that filled my heart with love and warmth. Bethany followed suit as Denise said, "I heard Scooter hog-tied you and threw you in the middle of the street, then went to strangle your ex's girlfriend! And he's the one who killed Cal Parker?"
I laughed. "I'm still waiting to talk to the police, but you got most of the story, if not the details. I threw myself into the street, not Scooter. And where did you hear all this?"
"We saw the cops going down the street, and some guy with a Pomeranian told us about a woman crashing through the window and talking about a murder, so we pieced it together from that. The police haven't been in to talk to you yet?" She looked at my bandaged arm. "Is that going to be okay?"
"I think so," I said, and gave her my version of events.
"So real life followed the story in Kirsten's book," Bethany said, eyes wide, as I finished telling the tale. "That is so cool! If she hadn't written that book..."
"Cal Parker might still be alive," Denise said. "They always say the pen is mightier than the sword, but I never took it literally. That's so sad!"
"Kirsten didn't make it happen," I said. "She simply wrote what she saw. Scooter was the one who got himself into trouble and killed to try to get out of it."
"True," Bethany said. "And Kirsten almost paid with her life. She's going to be okay, isn't she? I'd hate it if she stopped writing!"
"Looks like she'll be fine," I said. "Thanks for coming. I know we're supposed to keep regular store hours, but I'm glad you're here.".
"Are you kidding?" Denise asked. "With everything that happened, you're going to get tons of publicity... half the town is going to come in just to see if they can find anything out!"
I laughed. "From your lips to God's ears," I said as the tech came in to take me to X-ray.
The next morning dawned clear and chilly. After making myself a double latte and drinking it with a maple walnut scone from Sea Beans, I whipped up a batch of chocolate chocolate chip cookies (they were like round brownies with walnuts). As the last batch cooled on racks next to the oven, I leashed up Winston and hobbled down to the beach behind the shop—my bruised hip reminding me of its existence with every step—hoping that I'd find a few
