Page 66 of Into These Eyes
“You tried,” I tell him. “There’s nothing else you could’ve done.”
He meets my eyes and nods. “Do you think this’ll help?”
“This is huge, Liam,” Jamie says as she stops the recording app on her phone. “It’s proof the police didn’t conduct a proper and thorough investigation. And it’s proof that Detective Reid perverted the course of justice by purposely ignoring your eye-witness account. This statement will go a long way to giving Gavin his life back.”
After I thank Liam profusely, and we promise to see him in a couple of weeks so he can sign the affidavit, we head out.
Jamie digs her key fob out of her handbag, and as we approach her car, all four windows lower and the car rumbles to life.
Benny shoots a look over his shoulder at us, grinning like a kid in a toy shop.
“Show off,” I grumble as I nudge her with my arm, managing to get a brief smile out of her.
Once Benny slips into the back seat and shuts the door, I touch Jamie’s elbow and stop her before we reach the car. “You okay? That couldn’t have been easy.”
She shrugs. “I’m fine. I appreciated you … letting me know you were there for me.” She glances down the street, then back at me. “What about you?”
“Just relieved Liam remembers what happened. I’m fine hearing about it. I’m sure you can imagine how many times I’ve been over it in my head. That probably helps keep the emotion out of it.”
After giving me a sad little smile, we get in the car and drive away. As I glance over at her, the need to bring a genuine smile to her eyes, to take care of her in every way possible, hits me like a fucking freight train.
Chapter 23
Jamie
As we drive out of Nelson Bay and begin the trek back home, the signs for Anna Bay call to me. When the turn-off appears, I take it and head toward the ocean.
“How long since you’ve been to the beach?” I ask, glancing at Gavin.
He rubs a hand over his chin as he considers his answer. “I was seventeen. Drove Mum to Manly the day I got my Ps. The views from the Fairfax Lookout were amazing. She loved it.”
I hope I haven’t upset him, but when I catch his eye, he’s smiling. I envy him. He must have known by then about his mother’s illness, giving him opportunities to make happy memories together before her time came to an end.
“What about you, Benny?”
“Forty-odd-years. You gonna break the drought for us?”
I nod. “Crazy to be so close and not check it out, don’t you think?”
“Didn’t bring any swim-trunks,” he points out.
It’s a shame I hadn’t put more thought into this trip, but I hadn’t planned on it turning into anything other than a necessity.
I glance over at Gavin’s strong, tanned legs below his cargo shorts.
“We can still dip our feet in.” I suggest.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Gavin says, smiling at me.
“I’m easy,” Benny agrees. “Is this the beach that’s thirty-somethin’ Ks long?”
“That’s that one,” I say, pulling up to the unusual concrete pyramids that cordon off the carpark from the beach.
“Got a feelin’ ya gonna love it, Gav.”
The guys decide to ditch their shoes, and I do the same with my sandals, popping them in the boot, along with our phones and my handbag. Locking the car, I shove the key fob down my bra and look up to find Gavin staring at my boob.
His eyes snap up to mine, and I’m not quite sure, but I think his face turns a little red.
