“Husband killers, too,” Amanda hissed, slamming the palm of her hand against the glass. It was loud, but I didn’t flinch, which seemed to aggravate her further. “They can save everyone else, yeah, but they can’t save one of their own.”
“No one killed your husband,” I said softly, placing the palm of my own hand against the glass that separated us. Amanda stared at it but said nothing. But she didn’t hang up, either. “Your husband died, Amanda. He died doing what he loved. I know it hurts. I know it’s hard. But if you’re angry because he died and someone else didn’t, you’re blaming the wrong people.”
Amanda said nothing to this for a long moment. She merely stared at my hand as I dropped it from the glass and back into the table.
“Your ring is beautiful,” she said, lip trembling like I hadn’t seen before. “It looks like mine. The one Peter got me. It was his mother’s.”
I unconsciously placed my free hand over my ring, glancing down briefly at the glistening diamond. “Peter was your husband,” I said. “And he loved you. Korbin—well, Korbin is my future husband, Amanda, and he loves me almost as much as I love him.” I smiled despite myself, and even Amanda allowed herself to relax a little bit. “Korbin did not leave Peter behind,” I said quietly, twisting the ring around my finger. “An accident happened, and Peter did not make it out. It was no one’s fault, especially not Korbin’s. What you’re doing by accusing him of such things is tainting his reputation, hislife. Is this—is this something your husband Peter would have done? Was that the kind of person he was?”
Amanda’s eyes dropped from mine, and she stared down at the tabletop in front of her, not speaking. After a moment, her shoulders began to shake, and I realized she was crying. I put my hand against the glass again, hoping she’d look back up, but she didn’t. After a few seconds, she finally looked at me, and her skin was stained with tears.
“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling the receiver away from her ear. “I’m sorry.”
“Amanda, wait!” I cried, but she placed the receiver back on the hook and stood up, unable to look at me again as the guard escorted her back to her cell.
I sat there for a moment with the receiver still against my ear, staring at where she’d just vanished from, wanting to sit here and cry. But I couldn’t. I still had to be strong, especially for Korbin. I’d hoped that visiting her might make her see the truth, but it was challenging to say what Amanda took to heart and what she didn’t. I had no idea how serious her mental issues ran, but that didn’t matter to the courts. If I couldn’t convince her to drop the charges, maybe she wouldn’t.
But at least I’d tried. And now, even if I didn’t want to, I had to focus on the crucial things in life. My family. My friends. My fiancé. And my wedding.
That’s all there was to it.
Chapter43
Korbin
Two Weeks Later
I sat in my office in the station, staring at the blank wall in front of me. The tie around my neck felt strangely suffocating, but not enough to take it off and throw it in the trash. People talked excitedly outside the door, and high-heeled shoes and men’s boots clipped across the floor, a sound that wasn’t so common inside this department. Apart from today, anyway.
A light rap on my door forced me to look up, and Hansen stepped inside the office, shutting the door behind him. He looked good, dressed in a tuxedo with his hair combed, and grinned at me.
“You look like you’re in here mulling over your own death,” he said, plopping down in the office chair across from me. “Where’s that excitement, Butler? Where’s the smile?”
“Don’t make me hit you,” I grumbled but couldn’t help but laugh when Hansen leaned forward and hit me in the arm.
“Paisley has Peyton,” he said, glancing at his watch. “She still has no idea the ceremony is here. Think she’ll like it?”
“Peyton would like anything,” I told him. “She would have loved a jaunt in the courthouse, too, or a weekend trip to Vegas.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” Hansen said. “This is what she wants. It’s not too much. I think it’s perfect, in fact.”
“Paisley and Remington did good,” I admitted, clasping my hands in front of me. “She’s going to be impressed.”
“I’ll let you know when Peyton gets here,” he said, standing to straighten his bowtie. “Until then, stay right here. Paisley doesn’t want you to risk seeing her in her dress.”
“Whatever,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Can someone bring me some food while I wait?”
Hansen opened his mouth, probably to rip me a new one, but just then, there was another knock on the door, and Chief Davis poked his head in, a severe expression on his face. He looked at Hansen for a moment, then glanced over at me.
“Butler,” he said, tugging at his tie. “You have visitors.”
“Is it my fiancée?” I asked with a smile, and he shook his head, stepping back so a familiar person could step in.
“Detective Burton,” I said, flustered, rising to my feet to shake his hand. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“We’ll leave you to talk,” Chief Davis said, grabbing hold of Hansen’s upper arm to pull him out of the room. He shut the door behind them, and I focused my attention on Eli Burton.
“First of all, congratulations on the wedding,” he said, looking me up and down. “Peyton seems like a wonderful person, Korbin, though I’m sure you already know that.”
