Page 29 of Art of Love

Chapter Nine

Shit. Okay, yeah, she’d have to come clean.

“Abe,” she started, but then his phone rang and he held up a finger as he pulled his cell from his back pocket. He sighed as he looked down at the name.

“Hey, Tony,” She listened to his one-sided conversation. “No, yeah, okay, sure.” Abe sighed. “Four weeks.” He rolled his shoulders and walked over to the window. “No.” There was a long pause. “No.” He glanced over his shoulder and said no again before he hung up.

“Problems?” she asked, hoping the interruption would keep her from having to confess to breaking in.

“No,” he said again. “Did you break in?”

She swallowed and then nodded.

“Why?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I was working.” She moved over and sat down, taking a sip of her soda. “Trying to find out more about Kara’s death.”

He sat across from her, soaking in what she had just admitted. He had to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t just some bystander who didn’t know who he was like she’d pretended. She wasn’t just a girl that he could have a summer fling with. She had lied to him.

“Kara’s brother has always believed I had something more to do with that night.” He frowned, avoiding her eyes. “He knows I didn’t.” He shook his head. “We were roommates for a while. That’s how I met Kara.”

Her eyebrows rose in shock. Not only was he not acting mad at her, he was giving her information she hadn’t found anywhere. “He did not mention that piece of evidence, nor is it anywhere in the reports.”

“No, I suppose he wouldn’t. He was unofficially living with me for a few weeks back then. His name wasn’t on the lease.” He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “Why don’t I walk you back to your car,” he suggested, standing up.

Before she could argue, he took her hand and gently pulled her to her feet.

For a brief moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again, but then he took a step away.

They headed out into the fading light, the sound of the surf steady and calming as they crossed the grassy yard and descended the wooden stairs leading down to the beach. The air was cooler now, a salty breeze brushing over her skin as her shoes hit the sand.

For a while, they didn’t speak, the only sounds between them the crunch of their footsteps and the distant call of gulls over the water. Dylan tucked her hands into her shorts pockets, eyes focused on the waves ahead as she collected her thoughts.

“I wasn’t supposed to get emotionally involved,” she said finally, breaking the silence. “Kevin hired me a few weeks back. He said he just wanted closure. Told me that the police had botched the investigation and that… things didn’t add up. He suggested I start with you.”

She glanced at Abe, who was listening silently beside her, his expression unreadable in the dim light.

“He didn’t tell me about your history,” she added. “Didn’t mention he knew you at all, let alone that you’d been roommates.”

Abe’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t speak.

“He was right about one thing, though,” she continued. “The case was sloppy. Half of the files were incomplete, and any time I try to request official reports, I hit a brick wall. It feels like someone wants it buried.” She paused. “And they’ve done a damned fine job of it too.”

They crested a low dune, and her car came into view in the distance, parked beneath a light in the public parking lot.

“I wasn’t looking to get this close to you,” she added quietly. “At least not at first.”

“But you found me anyway,” he said softly.

She nodded, her throat tight. “I did.”

Abe slowed a little, then turned towards her. “And now?”

She stopped walking, staring out over the darkening waves. “Now I want the truth. And I think the only way to find it is to work with you.”

He nodded after a few beats, then stepped beside her again. “Then we’ll find it.”

She took his hand. “Something told me, from the start, that you weren’t involved.”