“I need to get your statement,” Finn said when he was finished with the couple. “Blake said that you found Ethan.”

  “I did,” Zack confirmed. “Lucy and I did. I wwnt there to talk to him, and he was in the backyard unconscious and bleeding.”

  “Did you see anyone in the area? Another car or maybe someone on foot?”

  Zack replayed the images in his mind, trying to remember even one detail that might help the investigation.

  “I didn’t,” he finally said. “I didn’t see anybody except a neighbor about three houses down repainting their mailbox. That’s it. We’ll need to talk to Lucy, too, as she may have seen something I didn’t. I was driving so I was concentrating on the road.”

  “I want to speak to her also,” Finn assured him. “The forensic team arrived at the crime scene and they’re going over it with a fine-tooth comb. If there’s anything there, they’ll find it. Although, the emergency personnel were there as well.”

  “Lucy saw Ethan earlier today at one of the campus bars. He was coming out of the alleyway. She spoke to him, and she said he was acting strangely, constantly looking over his shoulder. Paranoid, if you know what I mean. Maybe someone was following him?”

  “I’m hoping he’ll survive to tell us,” Finn replied in a grim tone. “In the meantime, I’m thinking about reopening the case.”

  “Reopening the case? You mean Sarah? When was it closed?”

  Finn grimaced, scratching his stubbled chin.

  “Shit, I haven’t had a chance to tell you or anyone. The coroner ruled Sarah’s death an accident. There won’t be an inquest. The case has technically been closed.”

  “Closed?” Zack echoed in amazement, and not the good kind. “Clearly, someone tried to kill Ethan today. He was a link to Sarah.”

  Finn held up his hands in a stop motion.

  “Whoa, let’s take it one step at a time here. Yes, I agree that someone shot Ethan. That’s clear. It happened. But we don’t have any actual evidence that this incident has anything to do with Sarah. It might. I won’t discount that theory, but I need real evidence, Zack, which is why I might reopen Sarah’s case. But I can’t run around accusing people of things. That gets everyone upset and lawyered up. Then no one talks to me. I have to walk a thin line here between doing my job and not pissing off the taxpayers.”

  “Then you don’t think that the shooting had anything to do with Sarah? Why else would he be shot?”

  “I said that it’s a possibility, and one that we’ll look into. Right now, all I have is you telling me that Lucy thought that Ethan was acting strangely and paranoid. I have no eyewitnesses, little physical evidence, and a theory that Ethan was shot because his girlfriend disappeared eighteen years ago. There might be other reasons that Ethan was shot. We need to look at all angles here.”

  “Do you have a lot of shootings in town?” Zack asked in frustration. “I know I’ve been gone a long time, but I didn’t realize we had that sort of problem.”

  “We don’t,” Finn replied. “The last shooting was ten years ago, and it was a domestic issue. Even small towns have those.”

  “Are you saying that you think that Jenny might have done this? She was with his parents at the time.”

  “Zack, you’re a good friend. But I cannot discuss all my open cases with you. Just know that I’m taking this seriously, and I will be checking out the theory that Ethan’s shooting might have something to do with Sarah. But that’s just one possibility. As a cop, I can tell you that usually the simplest answer turns out to be what happened. Not every time, but often.”

  “Have you talked to my father?” Zack asked. “He plays golf with the coroner. They both belong to the country club.”

  “I haven’t spoken to your father other than informing him of Lloyd’s statement about Sarah’s parentage. Are you implying that the coroner was paid off? That’s a serious accusation.”

  “I’m just saying that everything here comes back to my dad.”

  Zack was getting tired of it, too.

  “I want the truth just as much as you do,” Finn said. “We’ve barely scratched the surface here in the investigation. I’ll be talking to Lucy, Jenny, and others.”

  “You should talk to the guys that are in town for the wedding - Leo, Dave, Alan, and Jay. They might have noticed something, too.”

  “I will talk to them,” Finn promised. “Hopefully, forensics will find something. I don’t like unsolved shootings in my town, and I won’t rest until I find out who did this. This is my job. Let me do it. Frankly, this isn’t something a civilian should be looking into. Clearly, it could be dangerous. I don’t want any more casualties.”

  That was a clear request for Zack to back off and get out of Finn’s way. He simply wasn’t sure he could do it.

  Zack had dropped Lucy at the bookstore so she could check in with Jane and get some work done. He headed the few doors down to Tate’s ready to have a stiff whiskey while he waited for her. They’d planned to have some dinner at Tate’s, and then go back to her place for the night. Zack wasn’t sure what his next steps were, to be honest. Finn had been clear that this was the responsibility of the police, not a random person.

  “I was just going to call you,” Tate said when Zack walked into the tavern. “You have a visitor looking for you.”

  Tate pointed to one of the side booths where, to Zack’s surprise, his former coworker Gary was sitting drinking a beer and munching on fried cheese sticks.

  “How long has he been here?”

  “Not long. I got busy and didn’t get a chance to send you a text. He said that when you worked together, you told him about this place. That’s why he came here first. He wants to talk to you, I guess. Is he from the firm you work for?”

  Tate didn’t know about Zack quitting.

  “No, he used to but now he’s with a different company.”

  “I’ll send over a beer,” Tate replied, throwing a bar towel over his shoulder and striding back to the kitchen area.

  “I didn’t expect you,” Zack said, sliding into the booth across from Gary.

  They hadn’t seen each other for about a year, but Gary hadn’t changed much. He’d grown a beard that had come in salt and pepper, and he might have lost a few pounds, but he was still the same guy. It was strange in a way to see Gary in such casual clothes like a pair of jeans. They’d always worn button down shirts with ties in the office.

  “I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for you to call me back,” Gary declared with a wide grin. “I was going to come to you. That way I could talk to you face to face about this opportunity. It will be harder for you to say no to me in person than on the phone. And can I say that this place is awesome? It’s exactly how you described it. I think that when I retire someday I’m going to buy a bar and just hang out every day.”

  “I think my brother does more than that.”

  “I’ll hire someone to take care of the details,” Gary laughed. “Now tell me that you’re ready to leave this little hamlet and get back to the city. We need you there.”

  Zack doubted that. If he didn’t take this job, there’d be someone else. Maybe they wouldn’t have the same amount of experience, but there was always some up and coming young one to take his place. They didn’t care how many hours they worked or if they slept more than three hours a night. They wanted the money, the perks, and the prestige. And yes, the supermodels, too.

  “A lot has been going on here,” Zack replied. “I haven’t been able to give your offer much thought.”

  “That’s good, because you really didn’t get an offer. I just gave you some vague promises. I’ve brought an actual contract for you to look over. I know you like everything in writing, and I don’t blame you.” Gary reached onto the seat next to him and picked up a small stack of papers. “Go ahead and read it over. You won’t find another offer like this. I’ve made sure that it’s better than anything you could get anywhere else. We want you, and we’ll do what it takes to get you. If there’s something is not in there, you tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

  Gary probably hadn’t been outside of New York City in years except to visit his family in Nebraska a few times. The fact that he’d come here to recruit Zack was almost too strange to believe. And yet, here he was, having a beer and an appetizer.

  Curious, Zack perused the papers, each page more intriguing than the last. True to his word, Gary had thought of pretty much everything.

  I’d be a fool to turn this down.

  This was what Zack knew. He was good at it. He excelled. He wasn’t sure he loved it, but lots of people didn’t love their jobs. They still went to them every day because that’s what people do.

  “Is there anything there that doesn’t look right?”

  “I haven’t read it all through, but you’ve certainly been thorough.”

  Gary laughed, popping a cheese stick into his mouth.

  “Damn, these are good. Anyway, I tried to make sure all the bases were covered. I came here to make our offer in person. I’ll just ask straight out…what do you think? If you need to spend a bit more time here with your family, that’s fine. We can set up a date for you to start next month, maybe.”

  Zack didn’t even have an apartment in the city anymore. His belongings were in storage.

  “This isn’t the reaction I expected,” Gary said when Zack didn’t reply right away. “Is there an obstacle to making this happen?”

  “I’ll be honest with you since you’ve come so far,” Zack finally replied. “When I left the firm and the city, I didn’t intend to return.”

  Gary’s brows shot up, clearly surprised by that revelation.

  “Really? I didn’t expect to hear you say that. I just assumed you wanted a little sabbatical. Some time to goof off before getting back in the saddle. You’re too good to leave this all behind, man. Wall Street is in your blood.”

  “I don’t think I’d go that far.”

  “I would. You’re damn good at your job, and that’s hard to find,” Gary said. “If you didn’t intend to come back, what did you plan to do? Or should I say, what do you plan to do? And how can I convince you not to do it and come work for us?”

  Zack didn’t know what words were needed. He simply wasn’t ready to make the call about the rest of his life. Not yet. He had other issues to worry about.

  “You’ll never get a better offer,” Gary said.

  “I know, and I’m not saying no. I just need to look the contract over. Check out the details. Is there a deadline?”

  He wasn’t saying yes, but he wasn’t turning it down either. He just didn’t want to be pushed into it.

  “No, but we’d hoped that you’d start in a month or two. Like I said, I get it if you want to take some time off. We’ll wait if we have to. We just need a commitment.”

  “Seriously, I promise to let you know.”

  Just as soon as Zack knew what he wanted to do, he’d let Gary know. Hell, he’d let the world know. He’d never intended to go back to Wall Street, but he’d never intended to stay in Winslow Heights either. Then he’d met Lucy again, and all of the other issues he’d been grappling with had reared their ugly heads. Deep inside, he was aware that he couldn’t stand still. He had to make a move - somewhere.

  Just where did he even belong?

  20

  Zack was quiet. Not that he was the type of person to go on and on about things, but this wasn’t the usual Zack that Lucy had seen either. He’d barely said a word to her when she’d walked into Tate’s looking for him. She’d seen that other man in the booth, but hadn’t known who he was. Tate had said something about the guy being an old friend and had come in looking for Zack.

  The man left in such a hurry that she hadn’t been introduced, and then when she’d brought up the subject she’d swiftly been shut down. Clearly, Zack didn’t want to talk about him.

  Tate had brought her a cool soda, and she’d sat down in the booth where the man had previously been, and she’d caught a glimpse of the paperwork on the table. She wasn’t proud of herself, but damn, she could read upside down.

  She’d read part of what she’d seen before realizing what it was and quickly putting a stop to it. She hadn’t meant to snoop or pry; it had been a reflexive action that she hadn’t consciously thought about until she caught herself.

  Zack had an employment contract in front of him, presumably for a job back on Wall Street although she didn’t recognize the name of the firm. She’d always known that he wasn’t planning to stay even if he didn’t have a job currently. She’d assumed that wherever he decided to make his new life wasn’t going to be this little town in the middle of the cornfields in east central Illinois. While she’d come back home and was happy about it, that didn’t mean that he wanted to.

  Still, it had hit her hard in the solar plexus, taking her breath away when she’d seen the contract. Her heart ached at the thought of him packing his stuff and leaving, waving goodbye as he climbed into his rental car and headed out of town and onto new adventures.

  She didn’t regret any of the time they’d spent together, but this was harder than she’d thought it would be. She’d fallen for him, which was monumentally stupid, but he’d somehow slipped under her defenses and she’d opened her heart. Now it was going to be broken, and she only had herself to blame. This wasn’t his fault. He’d never made any promises. Not one.

  Her mind had already jumped ahead, of course, thinking of ways that it might work long-distance. Modern aircraft existed so they could fly to see one another as much as possible. They could video call every day, too. But there was one caveat to all of that. Zack hadn’t indicated that he wanted the relationship to continue after he left. In fact, they’d never discussed the future at all.

  On purpose or simply an oversight? Lucy couldn’t be sure. With everything that had been happening, it hadn’t been an important topic of conversation.

  Zack pulled into her driveway, and she stepped out of the car, juggling the Styrofoam takeout containers that were making her stomach growl hungrily. They’d ordered dinner from the tavern as neither one of them had eaten much today. She couldn’t wait to sit on the couch with a plate full of delicious food and watch something mind-numbingly boring, so she didn’t have to think too much.

  Instantly at her side, he took the food from her hands.

  “I’ll carry this while you unlock the door.”

  “You just want first dibs on the food,” she teased, wanting to lighten the mood.

  If they only had a small amount of time left, she didn’t want to spend it feeling awkward and sad.

  “You know me so well.”

  This time he’d smiled, seeming more like himself which had her breathing a small sigh of relief.

  “Don’t get any ideas about my cheeseburger. I’m starving,” she declared unlocking her door and pushing it open. “And I want all of my fries, too.”

  He was chuckling, but she’d frozen in the doorway, unable to believe what she was seeing. It was a mess. Everywhere. Tossed cushions, open cabinets and drawers. It was like she’d left a pack of wolves in her house all day, letting them run wild.

  “What’s going—”

  Zack broke off, seeing the same thing. She heard his indrawn breath, and then he’d placed the food on the foyer table so he could reach for his phone.

  “I’m going to call Finn. We need to get out of here. They might still be inside.”

  Christ on a cracker, that hadn’t occurred to her. Had someone broken into her home, rifled through her belongings, and was still inside?

  Shit. And double shit.

  With her heart pounding in her ears, she backed away from the door and stood near the car as Zack’s clipped tones told the receptionist at the sheriff’s station what had happened.

  “Why would anyone break into my house?” she asked when he hung up. “This whole thing is surreal.”

  Lucy lived in a quiet suburban area with nice neighbors. She knew most of the families up and down the street, and she’d never had a moment of trouble since she’d moved here.

  There didn’t seem to be any sign of life in her condo, but Zack insisted that they wait for Finn or one of his deputies to check out the house first.

  Finn’s official SUV pulled up in front of her house and exited his vehicle, quickly jogging up to where she and Zack were waiting.

  “I’ll go in and check everything out,” he said. “Just wait here for a minute.”

  Finn disappeared inside but he wasn’t long in the house, coming back out within minutes.

  “There’s no one in there. You’ll need to look around and make a list of anything that’s missing. I’ll make sure you get a copy of the police report for your insurance.”

  “That’s it?” Lucy asked in amazement. “People steal from me, and I just report it to insurance? Aren’t you going to try and find the person that did this?”

  “Of course, I am,” Finn replied in a soothing tone. “But in the meantime, we need to figure out what exactly happened here. Do you have any security cameras?”

  “No, I never thought I’d need them.”

  “I’ll ask some of your neighbors. They might have some doorbell camera footage.”

  “What about traffic cameras?” Zack queried. “We could see who turned at the stoplight.”

  “We don’t have anything like that,” Finn said with a shake of his head. “We’ve never needed it.”

  Lucy’s temper and frustration were rising, but she needed to stay under control. This wasn’t Finn’s fault. He was a good sheriff, and this town was normally a pretty gosh darn safe place to live.

  Until now.

  Not once - even after Sarah and then Lily Winslow had disappeared - had Lucy felt unsafe. Now that someone’s grubby hands had rifled through her drawers and cabinets, she felt violated.