Erik turned his attention back to Chloe. She’d stunned him for a moment there when she’d stepped out of her bedroom, dressed for the service. She looked beautiful. He almost told her as much, but bit back the comment since he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate considering the circumstances for which she’d dressed up. But honestly, he thought she looked stunning in her baggy tops and leggings, too.
She was standing with a group from the opera house, flanked by Lattimer Wilkes and John Madison, with Mitch from the sets department at her back. Her head was lowered as the officiant led them in prayer, the wide brim of her hat keeping him from seeing her face, but her hand was clenched tightly over her clutch, her knuckles white with how hard she was squeezing it.
She could do this. She was stronger than she knew.
The service continued with several people stepping forward to speak about their relationship with Drayton. Some were heartwarming, others were comical stories that brought forth some quiet laughter, and a few who tried to speak couldn’t finish, choking up on their tears and needing to step away.
When Chloe stepped forward, Erik braced himself, his senses honing in. This was it. If Savoy acted as expected, this was when he’d give himself away.
Chloe raised her chin. The first note of “Ave Maria” emerged uncharacteristically wobbly, but she quickly regained control, and the power of her voice spread through theclearing. Erik’s breath caught, and tears prickled behind his eyes as the emotion in every heart-wrenching note washed over him. He had to force himself to turn away, remember why he was here.
John Madison stepped up beside Chloe, his baritone joining in, creating a magnificent harmony that had chills racing up and down his spine. Everyone was entranced with tears flowing freely down the faces of the congregation. Even the old man and the mother at the nearby graves had turned to listen. But there was no sign of Jackson Savoy.
“I’m going into the trees,” Erik quietly told Jayla over comms, trying to bite back his frustration. They’d cleared this area before the service, but Erik wanted a better look at things.
“Copy that.”
These were some old trees, tall with wide trunks. Checking first to make sure Savoy hadn’t slipped past them and was hiding behind one of them, he then returned to one he’d spotted with a sturdy branch at a height perfect for climbing. Erik approached it, planning to get a bird’s-eye view of the cemetery, only to catch an unexpected scent as he drew near. It was somewhat faded, would have been easy to miss if Erik wasn’t right on top of it, but it was definitely Savoy’s scent. He’d been here, touched this tree.
Tipping his head back, he searched the branches, squinting through the sunlight that pierced through the gaps between the leaves. No sign of his prey, but he did catch a glint of reflected light.
“I may have something,” he told Jayla. “Checking it now.”
Before she’d acknowledged the communication, Erik began to quickly and quietly climb, his nose picking up more and more of Savoy’s scent the higher he went. The man had climbed this tree. Probably last night, and he’d sweated from the exertion, leaving a strong scent trail behind on these upper branches.
Reaching the limb where he’d seen the glint, and keeping low so the lens never caught him, he eyed the camera perched in the tree, aimed straight at the burial site. He didn’t touch it. If Savoy was watching live, a blackout would give them away. He recognized the model: top-shelf civilian hardware, the kind private firms bought when they couldn’t get government issue. Everything it saw was streamed off-site to a remote server. Black Bay had specialists who could chase that trail, but neither he nor Jayla had the gear for digital forensics.
Climbing back down, he told Jayla what he discovered.
“So he may not even be here,” she replied with frustration edging her voice.
Erik shared that frustration. “It doesn’t fit, though. He’d want to be close. This is personal. He’d want to see her.”
“Agreed.”
They’d continue to wait. Watch. But once Chloe was home and secure… “I’ll come back here later. Stake out this area. He’ll likely return for the camera.”
When the service concluded, many people stopped to speak with Chloe, and she’d donned her Prima Donna mask of professionalism to get through it. Though if asked, she wouldn’t be able to say who any of them were, what they looked like, or exactly what they’d said to her. But when Danny’s mom had approached her, hugged her with tears streaming down her face, Chloe’s façade shattered, and she lost it. This poor woman was burying one of her sons. Danny had been murdered, and his only crime was that he’d befriended Chloe. She didn’t deserve this woman’s warm embrace, or the invitation to their home Danny’s father had extended.
If it weren’t for Jayla's supportive arm looped through hers, Chloe wasn’t sure she would have been able to pull herself together enough to even walk. She was sick with guilt and grief. Everything felt wrong, distorted, and an icy chill, despite the heat of the sun beating down on her, prickled under her skin and made her want to shiver.
“Almost there,” Jayla quietly told her as she ushered Chloe along.
Through the turmoil of her thoughts, Chloe suddenly realized someone was missing. “Where’s Erik?” She needed him. When he held her, he always somehow made her feel better. He chased the nightmares away…
“He’s close; keeping watch.”
For Jackson, Chloe silently finished. Honestly, if Jackson had shown his face right then, Chloe didn’t know if she had enough in her to fight him off. She was so tired. Her face crumpled as hot tears leaked from her eyes. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.” It was all just too much.
Jayla stopped, and pulled Chloe around to face her, gripping both of Chloe’s upper arms almost like she might give her a shake – and maybe, Chloe admitted to herself, she needed one – before the other woman leaned in and said, “We will get him, Chloe. You just need to hang in there.”
She wanted to believe it. Wanted to believe in them, but her confidence was badly shaken. Still, she nodded, pretending to agree.
“Come on.” Jayla began leading her over the paved walkway again. “Did you want to go to the Drayton’s house for the reception?”
Chloe shook her head. “I just want to go home.”
“Understood.”
