Both boys settled, and then pulled out sticky frogs from their pockets, like nothing ever happened.
“They share toys just fine… hopefully they won’t have to share anything else in life.”
I found Violet then, extracting Mary from my arms with a struggle.
Violet snorted. “I think someone has her first crush. Auntie Scarlett has some competition.” She kissed the little girl’s cheek. I handed all three kids a sucker and went to find Stone.
He was waiting for me by his cruiser. His aviator sunglasses reflected my position, along with whatever was going on behind me. We both locked in our stances.Old times.
Stone and I had a long history. Luca Fausti killed his wife and their unborn child, and he blamed me for his son’s death. Nick had died in the car with Elliot the night the train hit them. Again, Luca still had his son, but he didn’t. He couldn’t forgive me for living when his wife and all of his children were dead.
“Scarlett Poésy called me this morning,” he said, a grin on his face. “Woke me up. She’s such a sweet girl. We had a nice chat.”
I said nothing, waiting him out.
“Quiet as ever, eh, Fausti?” He stood straight, adjusting his belt. “Seems she saved your skin once again. What time did you leave your house this morning?”
“Around 5.”
“Was anyone with you?”
“Mitch and Mick Lewis. Old Emory Snow and his grandson, Emory.”
“Where did you go?”
“Out to the diner for breakfast and then to meet Marjorie Beaucanon before the unveiling of my wife’s marker.”
“Huh,” he said, taking another step forward. He cocked his head to the side. “It’s true then. You joined the Coast Guard after you left?”
“Hoorah!” I said, staring down at him from the corner of my eye.
“As impassive as ever,” he mumbled to himself. “You were stationed out in Kodiak, is that right? A Rescue Swimmer?”
“Yes,sir.”
He smirked at the respectful address. “I hear the dropout rate is near astonishing for the program. Only the best of the best make it out.”
“I did so with high marks,sir.”
“Why’d you quit then?”
“Reasons.”
“Scarlett Rose Poésy seems like a good enough reason.” He removed his hat, rolling it in his hands. “But you never were much for commitment. Neither was yourdaddy.”
Again, I let the silence come between us, while he brought us from one point to another.
“Are you familiar with Jane Jones?”
“I know her.”
“Yeah, that’s what she said too.” He nudged me with his elbow. “She claimed you two are past the knowing stage. More like intimate.”
I looked down at him, meeting his eyes fully.
“She claimed that you two had sex last night, in your truck, after the event for Ms. Poésy, up until this morning. Six o’clock is when she claimed this incident happened. She claimed that you assaulted her with your hands. She claimed that you told her that you were separated from your wife before you had sex, and then your wife called around 5:45 a.m., and she realized, after overhearing the conversation, that you were still married. You threatened her afterward. You didn’t want her to tell your wife about the—situation. When she didn’t agree, you knocked her around to prove the point.”
He pulled out a picture from his back pocket. Jones had a swollen eye and claw marks down her face.Fucking claw marks.My nails were short, and I’d never claw anything. I’d hit and destroy, and it would never be anything smaller than me, unless it became a serious threat to mine.
