“Yeah.” His voice was low and rough.
Sadie could hear the other voice on the line. She couldn’t make out who it was but definitely a man.
“We got a problem, man.”
“What?” Stone asked.
“Shaw.”
“Fuck!” Stone shouted then quickly whispered, “I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Sadie kept her eyes closed as Stone gently freed his arm from her head resting on it and slowly got up from the couch. The TV was turned off and he was walking away. Sadie stayed where she was in her fake sleep. She didn’t want him to see her disappointment. She really wanted him to stay with her tonight. So much for perfume on the sheets.
His hand touched her face and she opened her eyes. “Babe, I gotta run. It's work. Come lock the door behind me.” He sighed with a face full of regret. At least she knew he wanted to stay, he just couldn’t.
Sadie got up and walked behind him. He turned around from the door and held her face in his hands and kissed her. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Go to bed, okay?”
Sadie stretched up to kiss him again and she nodded. She watched him until he got into his truck. Sadie locked the door and waited until she heard the truck leave. When she turned around, she saw the bottles on the counter. She smiled. He cleaned up.
Sadie walked back to the couch and plopped down. “We got a problem, man. Shaw.” The words played in her head. She remembered the name in the article about Cavanaugh. Barry Shaw was his alibi. Virtually the reason he was found not guilty. The article said they had evidence to prove Cavanagh was guilty but Barry Shaw said he was at his restaurant all night with him and provided receipts as proof, and Cavanaugh walked.
Sadie was still trying to figure out what Stone’s job had to do with Bryant Cavanaugh. When she looked on T’s computer, his last arrest was for the murder, which he was tried for. Why were Stone and the guys tracking down a man who hadn’t skipped out on his bond? And why was Shaw a problem? From what she read, he was just a witness. He wasn’t a criminal. She didn’t know why but it bothered her. It just didn’t add up. There was so much secrecy behind all of this, she couldn’t let it go. She’d always been too curious for her own good, her mom always said so.
Sadie picked up her phone from the table. There was no harm in Googling this Shaw guy. If he’d been arrested recently it should come up. Sadie put in his name along with Indiana. Several articles came up including the one from T’s computer. She scrolled further down and saw an article she hadn’t seen on the computer. The headline read: Cavanaugh Defense Slam Dunks with Witness. Sadie clicked on it and on top of the article was a picture from the front of the courthouse. There was a man leaving and the picture was taken as he looked over his shoulder. Sadie zoomed in on his face.
The caption below read, “Barry Shaw, star witness for the defense, leaving the courthouse. He refused to comment on the trial or his testimony.”
Her heart raced as she stared closer at the picture. She knew this guy! She knew Barry Shaw. He was the man that was shot that night at the diner. Sadie knew his face, she waited on him. That was him! Sadie dropped her phone and sank back into the couch. Her mind was reeling as she tried to put the pieces together. Ethan told her the man from the diner was a criminal. Ethan said he pulled out the gun. But according to the paper, Barry Shaw was a witness and, by all accounts, a good guy in his community, a family man.
Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as her mind wandered through the information. What the hell was going on? She just didn’t get it, nothing made sense.
For the next hour, she surfed the Internet for anything related to Cavanaugh and Shaw. There were tons of articles and stories but all dated back three years ago. Nothing was current. There was a website set up for Macey Donavan called “Justice for Macey.” The last update was from a year ago. The blog stated the family would never stop until Macey’s killer was brought to justice but for now the family was stepping away and taking time to heal. The website had previously been updated at least once a week, if not more, since around the time of her murder. But a year ago they just stopped. No updates. No new entries. It was as if they had given up.
More articles proved to be the same. Their story had become old news. Everyone had forgotten about Macey Donavan and Cavanaugh, even her family, it appeared. Everyone except Stone and the guys. Sadie tried to look up recent arrest records for Cavanaugh but came up with nothing. More searching into Shaw showed him to be nothing more than a business owner in the town where he lived with his wife and children.
Uneasiness drifted over her. Something was off.
The next morning while eating breakfast she got a text from Stone.
Stone: Babe
Sadie: hey
Stone: I’ll pick you up in an hour. That enough time?
Sadie: yeah
Stone: later
An hour later Stone was sitting in her living room with her straddling him. She barely had had a chance to open the door when he stormed in, hoisted her up to him and started kissing her. His lips felt amazing; she’d never grow tired of them. Her hands were at the back of his head grabbing his hair as his hands squeezed her butt. He leaned down and licked her neck when she stopped him.
“Wait, Stone, I want to talk for a minute.” Sadie pulled back from
