“I appreciate it, Sheriff Reed.”
He eyed her for a moment and then nodded, handing her his notebook and a pen. “Write the information down for me. Then you can be on your way.”
She did as he asked, her hand shaking as she scribbled her parents’ address, her mind racing with memories. The day she’d met Cody. The day she’d brought him home to meet her parents. The soft, sweet scent of summer rain as they’d fished in the pond behind her parents’ house. The quiet joy of finally feeling accepted and loved.
The disappointment of knowing it was all a lie. The sweet words and tender touches. The whispered promises and deep, meaningful gazes. The vow to love forever.
Lies.
And now Cody was dead and it was too late to do it over. To try it again. To hope for something better.
A tear dropped onto the pad of paper, and Morgan brushed it away angrily.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me, Morgan?” Lacey asked, and Morgan glanced up, saw that four pairs of eyes were watching her intently.
“I’m sure,” she said, forcing a smile as she handed the pad back to the sheriff. “But I wouldn’t mind a ride home if someone can give me one.”
“I’ll drop you off,” Sheriff Reed offered. “That way I can make sure you’re locked in tight before I leave you alone.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m going to lock and bolt every door.”
“I’ll call you when I get home, okay?” Lacey said, her green eyes shadowed with worry as she and Jude walked to the door.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. At your reception. Or have you forgotten that you’re getting married in ten hours?”
“Twelve, but who’s counting?” Lacey smiled, some of the worry easing from her face.
“You. Now go home and get some sleep or everyone in Lakeview will blame me for the dark circles under your eyes tomorrow.”
“Be careful, okay?”
“I will.” Morgan offered a quick wave as Lacey stepped out of the room.
“You’re sure you want to go home?” Jake shoved the small notebook into his back pocket, and Morgan nodded.
“Yes.”
“All right. Let’s get out of here, then. You coming, Sharo?”
“I’m heading back to Jude’s place,” Jackson replied, following as Sheriff Reed led Morgan from the room.
Morgan could feel the heavy weight of his gaze as they made their way down the hall to the nurse’s station and then outside into the crisp fall night. Jackson was an attractive man. A very attractive one. He was also a liar. Morgan had watched him in action, heard the sincerity in his words as he’d offered to keep her safe.
A handsome, charming liar.
Just like Cody.
So why was she almost sorry to see him go when he climbed into his sporty black car and drove away?
“Because you’re an idiot. That’s why,” she muttered as she slid into Jake’s police cruiser.
“You say something?” he asked.
“Nothing important.”
He nodded and closed the door, leaving Morgan in silence as he rounded the car and got in. She wanted to break the quietness as they drove toward her house, but could think of nothing to say. There were too many thoughts and too many memories, none worth the effort it would take to put them into words.
She’d fallen in love with Cody. She’d married him. He’d broken her heart. Now he was dead.
What could she add to that?
“You sure you’re okay?” Jake asked as he pulled into Clay Treasures’ parking lot.
“I will be.”
“I’m not so sure you should be heading off to Washington, but I’m not going to tell you not to go. What I am going to tell you is to be careful. Your ex-husband is dead. I’d hate for you to be next.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Seems your ex might have been more than just a murderer.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two men came here tonight looking for something Cody said he gave you. Cody was killed three days ago. It could be someone has decided to go to a lot of trouble to make sure Cody never reveals what was on that disk.”
“You think he was murdered to keep him quiet?”
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out.” Jake got out of the car and opened the door for Morgan, waiting as she climbed out. “The apartment should be clean. I told the crew to take care of that first. It may be a while longer before they finish in the gallery.”
“That’s fine.”
“You go on up to your apartment. I’ll wait here until the cleaning crew is done, and then lock up. There’ll be a marked patrol car parked outside tonight, so don’t worry that you won’t be safe.”
“Thank you, Sheriff Reed. I really appreciate it.”
“No need to thank me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He held the gallery door open, and Morgan walked in, frowning as she saw the carnage. Clay vases and pots had been smashed. A slick, wet spot stained the tile floor. All Morgan’s hard work, all the time she’d spent creating a gallery that matched her dreams, and this is what it had come to.
“You’ll get it back the way it was,” the sheriff said quietly, and Morgan nodded.
Maybe she would. Or maybe she’d take the destruction of her gallery as a sign that it was time to move on.
A sign?
She didn’t believe in signs. She believed in well thought out plans and carefully considered options. At least, that was what she used to believe in.
She sighed, waving to two women who were sweeping up shards of pottery, and hurried up the stairs to the apartment. The door was cracked open, and she gave it a gentle push, bracing herself for whatever she might see on the other side.
The coffee table had been righted. Someone had thrown pillows over ragged tears in the sofa, and Morgan could barely see the slashed fabric. The kitchen had been scrubbed clean, all the evidence of the brutal attack swept away. The ugliness of it still seemed to hang in the air, the choking fear and vicious pain of the time she’d spent trapped in her apartment seeping into Morgan’s pores as she checked the den and the bedroom.
Maybe she should have stayed at Lacey’s place for the night.
Morgan made another circuit of the house, checking the locks on the window and pulling the bolt on the door. Since she’d come to Lakeview, she’d been lax about keeping the apartment door locked. Mostly because she always locked the gallery below.
No more. If she returned to Clay Treasures after her trip to Washington, she’d never again sleep with the apartment door unlocked.
If?
When.
She would return to Lakeview and her pottery gallery. Cody had caused her enough pain and heartache. No way would she allow him to take away the dream she’d worked so hard to achieve. She frowned and walked into her bedroom. A large window looked out over the parking lot, and she hurried to close the curtains, blocking out the darkness beyond.
She should grab her laptop and boot it up, buy a plane ticket and pack her bags. She should do a lot of things, but all she wanted to do was lie in bed, close her eyes and forget that she’d almost been killed, forget that it had