Page 40 of Shelter for Shay
Shit. That was a tough truth to swallow. “I do,” she admitted. “And maybe that’s the truth I want to know. The truth I was too scared to ask about when she was alive.”
“I do hope you get the answer you’re looking for, but please, protect yourself, because it might not be rosy.”
“I know,” Shay said.
The fire crackled. On the TV, the volume ticked up just enough to catch their attention.
“Turn it up,” Becca said, eyes narrowing. “That’s about the trial.”
Shay reached for the remote and clicked the volume higher.
“…security footage from the parking garage shows the accused and the victim entering together around 9:38 p.m. Investigators believe this is the last known sighting of Adam Lawrence, a senior design consultant for TechArbor, who was found dead in the stairwell two hours later…”
The screen showed grainy footage from an overhead camera. A well-dressed man in a suit—tall, with an angular jaw and close-cut hair—walking beside another man, thinner, with darkhair and a satchel slung across his body, wearing a hoodie. The assistant.
Shay leaned forward. A strange sensation bloomed in her chest—familiarity just out of reach. The angle was wrong. The lighting was dim. And yet… both figures stirred something.
“You okay?” Becca asked.
Shay blinked. “Yeah. I think I’ve just seen this footage on the news too many times. It’s all starting to blur together.”
The footage looped again.
“Wait a second.” Shay leaned forward, looking at the date of the night in question as it flashed on the screen. “That was the day I was at the Blue Moon with my mother. The day we got the news… the news her illness had become terminal.”
“Are you sure?” Becca asked.
Shay nodded. “I’ll never forget that day. It was maybe sadder than the day I buried Mom. But we also had a wonderful time at the restaurant.” She stared at the screen, something tugging at her mind, but she couldn’t find the memory. All she could see was her mother.
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen—and her breath caught.
Moose.
She jumped to her feet. “Excuse me, I need to take this.”
“Aw, come on. Let me listen,” Becca pleaded.
“Not on your life.”
She raced into her bedroom and answered on the third ring.
“Hey,” she said, breathless.
“Hey,” his voice rumbled through the line. Tired. Real. “I just landed back Stateside. Figured I’d better call before you forgot what I sounded like.”
Relief spilled over her chest so fast it made her laugh. “I couldn’t forget your voice if I tried.”
“Now that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
“Nope, only the chickens.” He laughed.
“How are they? I bet they missed you something awful.”
“Haven’t seen them yet,” he said. “We just got out of the debriefing room. I’m walking to my truck now. Thor’s already there, waiting for me. I can see him waving at me to move faster so he can get home. We always drive together. It’s been a thing since boot camp. Our little ritual. The rest of the team used to be jealous.”
