Sorry?
It’s way overdue, but it’s still sweet,sweetmusic to my ears. But does he get it?
“Ewing,” I say. “Thank you. Your apology means a lot to me. But I do have to ask, if Lilly hadn’t come forward and put me in that position, do you still think I should have shrugged it off and shoved it down? Chalked it up to Hartley having one too many and being a little slow at evolving with the times?”
He purses his lips, this time to consider my question, not to show pity. “No,” he finally says. “I see your point, and no, I don’t think you should have done that. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry the department has lost a good cop over this.”
I know it will be a cuticle-butchering day. My mind whirls as I decide exactly how to confess—what to say and in what forum. How I’m going to put it all out there forthe world.
Nonetheless, Ewing’s words are a salve, an ounce of healing for the bruise.
I practically float down the hall. Something inside me has loosened, and I feel lighter.
I walk to the front with a smile on my face and stop at Allison’s desk to say goodbye.
She looks at me curiously. “Why so happy?”
“Heapologized,” I whisper to her.
“He did?” she whispers back. “For everything?”
“Time,” I say. “Perspective.”
She stands from her desk, leans over, and comes close to me, voice as soft as a baby’s first words. “It’s probably because someone else has come forward about Hartley.”
“You’re kidding. Someone internally?”
“In the community. Someone Ewing knows. You didn’t hear this from me, but Ewing’s daughter has a girlfriend who said she was over for a barbecue. Apparently, Hartley was giving her drinks that were way too strong and something happened.”
“Oh my God,” I say. “How old?”
“Well, if she’s Ewing’s daughter’s friend, mid-twenties?”
“When did this happen?”
“A few months ago.”
I sit with this for a moment. “That explains a lot.”
“Like I said, you didn’t hear it from me.”
“That’s not a problem,” I say. “I’ve got plenty of other things to worry about.”
I look to the exit, sinking inside at the prospect of what’s waiting for me outside those doors. These are some seriously loaded doors, it occurs to me. Before I quit the force, I used to agonize over what waited for me onthisside of them.
“I know you do.” She looks at me with concern. She sits back down. “And don’t worry about Jess. I’m going to her place tonight to keep them company.”
“Thank you.” I turn to go, but turn back.
Maybe because this is my last day to confess and I’m feeling sentimental, or perhaps because of Ewing’s olive branch, the need to apologize overcomes me.
“Allison, I’m sorry for not being a very good friend since I left. I’m super glad and grateful that you’ve been good to my sister for the better part of this past year.”
She gives me a comforting, motherly smile. “You don’t need to apologize, Mitchell. I know you’ve had a lot to deal with, with Jess and what she’s gone through and all. And getting your new business going. Don’t give it another thought. You take care.”
The worry in her eyes reminds me of what’s waiting for me through those doors.
Chapter 49
