Page 49 of Dark Roads
“That’s not the problem.”
“You have to take care of yourself, Beth.”
She hugged her bent legs to her chest, squeezed her eyes shut, and focused on the sound of her dad’s breathing until the pains eased in her stomach, but the sour taste of wine lingered. She ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth. Bitter regret with an undertone of dismal failure. She almost smiled.
“Are you and Mom okay?”
“God is taking care of us.”
She didn’t know how to reply. How could she explain that she envied them for being able to turn everything over, but she also hated them for it? It shouldn’t be that easy.
“If you came to church—”
“I’m fine, Dad. It was just a bad moment.” She brightened her voice. “The internship is great, though. I’m making a lot of new friends.” She thought of Vaughn. The pub. He’d walked her home. He’d unlocked her door. What happened after? Had they talked? Had she cried? Worse? The first time she’d ever gotten blackout drunk and she’d done so in front of a cop.
She’d woken up fully clothed, but her suitcase was a mess. Her purse dumped out on the small table. She had vague memories of hearing a car alarm at some point. Had she tried to leave the room? She imagined herself stumbling around, trying to get changed, and then giving up.
“That’s good, tiger—one foot in front of the other.” A hitch in his voice, a clearing of his throat. “Don’t forget to get the oil changed in your car soon.”
“I will. Thanks, Dad. I have to go now.” She rested her forehead on her knees. After a few moments she lurched to her feet. She had to get to work.
Vaughn came in for breakfast with Thompson and they sat in her section. She looked around for Mason, hoping to claim a sudden stomach flu, which wouldn’t be hard to fake. He was coming out from the kitchen. She stepped toward him, but at the same moment he saw Vaughn, made an annoyed expression, and abruptly turned back around. Resigned, she grabbed the coffeepot and menus.
“Good morning, Officers.”
Vaughn looked up with a pleasant smile. Would he say something? Would he admit that they’d seen each other the night before?
“Morning, Beth. Coffee would be great.”
“Sure thing.” She flipped over their mugs and poured themeach one, flexing the muscles in her arm so that her hand didn’t shake. When she set down their menus, she glanced at Thompson. He was definitely staring at her. Jesus. What had Vaughn told him?
Vaughn talked as they drank their coffees, and Thompson listened with a serious face. They lapsed into silence when she brought over their food, thanking her with brief smiles. It was clear they wanted privacy. She was relieved—and also wondering why Vaughn was blowing the entire night off. Maybe it wasn’t that big a deal. Maybe he escorted a lot of drunk girls home.
She waited to clear away the plates until Thompson went to the washroom. Vaughn was texting on his phone. She thought he was going to keep ignoring her, but then he looked up.
“How are you feeling?”
“Bit rough. Thanks for getting me back to my room.”
“Don’t think anything of it. Just part of my job.”
“I hope I wasn’t too much of a mess.”
“Not at all. It’s an emotional time.” He got up from the table. Thompson came out of the washroom. Vaughn glanced at him. “Can you get this? I don’t have any cash on me.” He didn’t wait for Thompson’s answer before he said, “See you back at the station,” and walked out.
Thompson passed her a twenty. “That should cover it.” He held her gaze for a moment, but she couldn’t read his expression. “Heard you met some of the locals last night.”
So she was right. Vaughn had told him, and the way Thompson was bringing it up felt loaded. He was getting at something. “Not really. I only talked to the sergeant.”
“You got back to the motel okay?”
Beth frowned. It was obvious she was fine—she was standing in front of him. “Sergeant Vaughn walked me.” No way was she going to admit that she barely remembered it.
“That’s good. If you ever need anyone else to talk to…” Heheld out his business card. “It’s got all my info. Cell number is on the back.” He slid his wallet into his pocket.
She took the card. “Thanks.” When Amber died, Beth was furious that no cops had been patrolling that night. She’d told herself that the area was too big, they couldn’t cover every mile, every minute. Now she had two cops who didn’t seem to think she could cross a road by herself.
Rhonda frowned at her, looking disappointed. She stood on the other side of the registration desk. Today she was wearing a blue button-down printed with small palm trees.
