His eyes followed Grace, who had stopped to talk with Captain Wilson, and he wished he could take back the harsh words he’d spoken earlier. He couldn’t, though, just like he couldn’t undo the past.
He’d had many tense moments since he’d joined the force, but today had to be the worst he’d ever experienced. At the moment he’d thought she was going over the bridge, he didn’t think of her as the woman who had broken his heart. He remembered her as the little girl who had shared his childhood with him. He had to make her understand how scared he’d been.
Alex turned to the officers who’d gathered at the railing and now watched the rolling water. “Do you need me for anything else?”
One of the officers who had tried to reach Mitchell shook his head. “There’s not much more to do here. Thanks for the help.”
Grace turned away from Captain Wilson and headed toward her van. Alex took a deep breath and jogged to catch up with her. She’d opened the door and was about to climb into the van when he called out to her. “Grace, wait. I want to talk with you.”
She closed the van’s door and glared at him as he approached. Her eyes flashed with anger when he stopped in front of her. “Do you want to berate me further for my bad judgment?”
Alex swallowed. “No. I wanted to make sure you’re all right and apologize for the way I spoke to you on the bridge. You’d just seen a man die, and you were almost killed yourself. After all you became a victim, too, when Mitchell tried to kill you. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. I’m sorry.”
She frowned and shook her head. “So after all these years, your only concern for my welfare is because you saw me as a victim on that bridge.”
He gritted his teeth and leaned closer. “You know that’s not true, Grace.”
“You still hate me, don’t you?” She tilted her head to one side. “It’s sad to think that after all these years we find it difficult to be around each other.”
He took a deep breath. “Yeah, but every time we’re together, it ends with angry words like it did on the bridge this morning. I don’t want it to end that way this time.”
She looked at him for a moment before she spoke. “Neither do I. I’m always sad afterward when that happens.”
He sighed. “Me, too, but it doesn’t change anything. There’s too much history between us, Grace.”
She opened her mouth to speak but didn’t say anything. After a moment her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “There is, and there’s no way to undo the past. All we can do is try to make the best of it. I’d like for us to at least be civil when we run into each other, though.”
“I hope we can in time,” he said.
“Maybe we’ll have time to make it happen while we’re trying to find out the truth about Landon’s death.”
For a moment he thought he’d misunderstood her, but the determined look in her eye told him she knew exactly what she had said. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.” She glanced around as if checking to see if anyone could overhear them before she lowered her voice. “What if his father was right and he was murdered?”
Alex shook his head. “Just because Mr. Mitchell says so doesn’t make it true. The police did a thorough investigation, and they believed it was suicide.”
“But still...”
“Suicide, Grace. That’s all there is to it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “So are you saying you won’t help me find out the truth? We both promised him we would find out about Landon’s death.”
Alex stepped closer and frowned. “That was before the man tried to kill you. I think that canceled all promises.”
“No, it doesn’t. What if he was right and Landon was murdered? Did you ever hear anybody talk about a secret society at school?”
Alex thought for a moment before he responded. “I suppose I did. There was always talk about some mysterious group who lurked in the shadows. But I thought it was just gossip.”
“What if it wasn’t? What if there was a secret group and they killed Landon?”
Alex glanced at his watch. “I don’t have time for this, Grace. I have real unsolved crimes I’m working on. Landon’s death was a suicide. I have better things to do than go chasing after some silly rumor that circulated in our high school twelve years ago.”
He started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not going to let you ignore this. We made a promise to a man right before he died. We may find it hard to be around each other, but that doesn’t release us from doing what is right. We have to find out the truth, Alex.”
He stared at her a moment before he pulled loose from her grip. “Although Landon’s body was recovered, the medical examiner couldn’t establish for certain the cause of death. So the case was never officially closed. Since it’s a cold case, I’ll look into it again. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”
She shook her head. “If it’s a cold case, you have a responsibility to investigate it. And I have an obligation to my station. I’m not about to let this story go.”
Understanding dawned, and he chuckled. “Oh, I get it. All your talk about doing what’s right was just a ploy to get me to help you with a big story. What do you want, Grace? Are you tired of being back in Memphis and you need something that can get you back to the major networks?”
Her face flushed, and she shook her head. “No, Alex. I want the truth, and I’m not going to give up until I find it. I worked as an investigative reporter before I went to the anchor desk, and I can do it again. It would help to have the police involved with this, too. But if you don’t help me, I’ll just have to do it on my own.”
“You’re still as headstrong as ever.” He studied her for a moment. “I don’t believe you want the truth, but it so happens I do. You’re right about one thing. It is my job to work a cold case, so I’ll help you investigate Landon’s death.”
She swallowed. “How can you work with me on an investigation if you hate me so much?”
His shoulders sagged, and he shook his head. “I don’t hate you, Grace. I don’t trust you.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes, but he didn’t blink. He’d seen enough of her tears through the years to know it was her way of getting what she wanted. He cleared his throat and glanced down at her arm. “I need to get back to work, and you need to go to a hospital and get that arm checked.”
She nodded. “Derek is going to take me by the hospital before we go back to the station.” She started to climb in the van but turned back to face Alex. “You’re right about a lot of things about me, Alex. I made some mistakes in the past, but you did, too. And you’re wrong about my reasons for wanting to find out the truth about Landon’s death. I hope you can come to see that.”
He didn’t know how to answer her, so he shook his head and stepped back from the van. He watched it drive away before he walked to where he’d parked his car.
When he’d gotten out of bed this morning, he’d expected a routine day at work. So far there had been nothing routine about it. He’d seen a man fall to his death, and he’d prevented Grace from following him into the Mississippi River. Now he was about to take another look at a cold case that hadn’t produced a lead in twelve years.
The most troubling thing, however, was the fact Grace wanted to be involved. He didn’t know if he’d be able to cope with that or not. Being around her stirred up too many painful memories. She’d broken his heart, and it had taken him years to get to the place where he was now. All he could do was protect himself so it didn’t happen again. He didn’t intend to ever let anyone hurt him again the way