“Someone m-murdered my son, Maggie, and I want him found.”
“Chief Blake is good at what he does, Mrs. Linbar. He’ll find whoever did this.” She took one of the cold hands in hers.
“How? It’s been two years. How will he find who left my son up on that mountain, alone?”
“Will you come with me, Mrs. Linbar? Come inside and have a cup of tea? Please.” Maggie got to her feet, still holding her hand.
“My husband returns home tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s good then. You’ll have his support as well as Noel’s.”
Her smile was sad. “My son thinks I’m a nuisance because I held on to the belief that Simon was alive all this time. He kept telling me he was dead, that he had to be or he would have returned to us.”
Cold bastard, Maggie thought.
“But then he loved his brother too, so he dealt with grief his own way. They were close, my boys.”
“That’s nice. I’m close with my siblings too.” Maggie led her in through the back door of Tea Total.
“Noel misses Simon. We all d-do.”
Miss Sarah saw her coming and hurried to meet them.
“Mrs. Linbar needs a cup of tea, Miss Sarah.”
“Well now, how lucky is she that I have the perfect blend for her already brewing. You come on with me, Letitia.”
Maggie found Ted and Mandy behind the counter. As far as she could see, Mandy stood making coffee, and Ted was watching her. Sometimes loved-up people made her nauseous; today was one of those days, she thought unreasonably.
“We need to call Noel and get him here to pick her up, Ted. What’s he thinking letting her walk about in that state?” Maggie hissed.
“I have his number. I’ll call now.”
When she’d done all she could, and Miss Sarah and Mrs. Taft were seated with Mrs. Linbar, Maggs left. Feeling sad for the woman who would never again see her son, she drove slowly home.
She was tired. The day had been exhausting. She’d told Fin everything. He’d made love to her. Maggie had never experienced passion like that before. The fierce need he’d created in her that only he’d been able to extinguish had been both exhilarating and terrifying.
“What am I going to do with you, Findlay Hudson?” That she wanted to do anything was enough to scare her spitless. How did he feel about her?
She lay awake long into the night, thinking about her life, Fin, and what her next steps would be. She drifted off to sleep before she could come up with any answers.
Chapter25
“Hi, Fin.”
“Where did you come from?” Fin was walking up the main street to the police station when Mandy suddenly appeared at his side. He wanted to discuss the Linbar case again with Chief Blake.
“I was buying pens. We’re all out.”
“Check your man’s pockets; he’s probably stolen them.”
“Very likely. How are things with your family?”
“Frosty, except for Mallory. I like her.”
“I met them at the lodge a few times and then at the bake off. I might add that there have been several noisy complaints about Luke and Grace winning.”
“What? How can someone begrudge that sweet little girl the win?” Fin’s anger tweaked. Grace was important to him.
