“I hear you.”
She brought a hand up to her face. “I ran.”
“I saw. Look. Cops walk away from a scene all the time. It happens.”
“Isn’t that cowardly?”
“No, it’s called being human, Alicia.” Colby picked at the dock, and dropped some of the wood into the water. They watched it float away. “I would be concerned if you felt nothing. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“But others stayed. You did.”
“And that makes us different? Better?” He drummed his fingers against the dock. “We are all the same.” He put an arm around her and she leaned against him. They sat there in the quiet, hearing only the sound of the water beneath.
“There’s something I never told you,” she said.
“I’m sure it can wait.”
She pulled away. “No, it’s important. It’s about Seattle. About Yuri and Mikhail. The reason I didn’t go home is because…” she trailed off, finding it hard to continue, then she pressed on, “… my parents are dead. Mikhail killed them. At least that’s what I was told. Before Yuri died, I told him I wanted to leave. Go back home. My mother had been calling. She was worried. And well, I’d seen a few things that had made me feel unsafe. Four days after telling Yuri, there was a fire at my parents’ house in the middle of the night. Both of them burned to death. At first, they ruled it as a gas leak and explosion. Fire marshals came in later and were able to determine that it had been tampered with, and an accelerator had been used.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She drew a sharp breath and released it.
“So that’s why you helped the feds.”
She nodded.
“And why you had such a reaction to the fire.”
She dipped her chin and he pulled her in close. “Have they found out what happened?” she asked.
“Not yet. It’s too early. There’s supposed to be a meeting at Johnson’s home tomorrow morning. Not with everyone, just the council and a few select people. I was asked to go. You up to it?” She shook her head, a clear no. “That’s okay. Look, are you ready to head home?”
“Home? Is it home?”
“What?”
“Humboldt. I haven’t asked you since you got back. Do you feel at home?”
He drew a breath. “I’ve been wondering that myself. Then again, I’ve always questioned what is home. Is it the farm? Was it my parents? My siblings? I thought it might be clear once I returned but it’s only reminded me of why I left.”
“Do you want to leave?” she asked.
“I haven’t decided. I do know things can’t be the way they were. I mean... The drama. The constant feuding between us and the Stricklands. That has to end.”
“We haven’t seen them in three months. Maybe it’s over.”
“They killed one of ours, stripped and beat and possibly raped Miriam. She won’t say if they did or not. And, well, we killed four of theirs. It’s not over. They are biding their time. Waiting for the right moment. And with Alby out, I expect we’ll be seeing them real soon.”
“You don’t think that explosion was caused by them, do you?”
A smile formed at the corner of his lips. “The Stricklands are crazy but even they aren’t that dumb. They don’t need the attention. No. I just hope it wasn’t caused by who I think it was.”
“Who?”
He shook his head, not saying.
“You mean the men we brought back?”
“Well, it could be. The question is did anyone see anything. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Will Jessie and Nina be there?”
“That’s the plan.” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Come on. It’s getting chilly out here.” He rose to his feet and offered a hand. She took it and they made their way back up the dock. They continued to talk with no idea that several people were watching them from Woodley Island. They were there for one thing only: to watch the city burn.
Chapter Seven
The atmosphere in the town the next morning was somber. As Colby made his way toward Sheriff Johnson’s home, he passed by those who had worked tirelessly through the night to extinguish the blaze. White eyes peered back through blackened faces. An expression of shock and tiredness dominated. He’d assisted for a few hours before being told to go home by Johnson. He wanted him alert the next day to discuss the events of that evening. Why he’d invited him to a private meeting was anyone’s guess but he figured that his connections with locals over the years might offer some insight. That or he was looking for someone to blame.
Still, Colby felt like he should have done more. But that was something about living in a large community like Eureka versus a tiny town. With more people available to help, few noticed when one or two hadn’t pitched in enough. Locals were too caught up in their own struggle to care about what anyone was or wasn’t doing.
Since taking the new position, Sheriff Johnson had moved out of his small two-bedroom home in Rosewood and taken all his gear over to a sprawling estate off O Street. There was no way he could have afforded it on a salary of a hundred thousand a year. The property was nestled into the heavily forested area of Sequoia Park. There was one other home near it, and that was occupied by Rachel Brohan, one of the council members. Rumors were he was having an affair with her. It certainly seemed a little convenient to have a home so close. Of course he told everyone at the last town hall meeting that it was a strategic decision and that he was in talks with her to become the next mayor. Those who knew him didn’t bother to argue. All people cared about was that someone was leading, and that person leading wasn’t Dan Wilder.
Under a blue dome as the sun bore down on them, several officers were outside his home smoking and chatting. They gave him
