Page 13 of Witness To Murder
“Everyone who knew my family understood what my parents were going through in an effort to keep their good girl from going bad. So when Chris disappeared, the community thought my father had killed him. And not a single one blamed him.” She shook her head, bit her bottom lip in an effort to stem the tears that rose instantly. “My father was the kindest, gentlest man you would ever meet. The idea that he would harm another soul was ludicrous, and yet, even the police were certain he’d killed Chris and buried him somewhere. The investigation was sheer misery.The way this one detective—not Hawkins, but the one before him—grilled and pushed my father…it was awful.”
“But the case was never solved.”
Another shake of her head. “Hawkins dug up enough details about Chris’scolleaguesin the drug business to take the heat off my father, but the damage was done. Not to his reputation, mind you. To his health. He suffered a fatal heart attack.” She fell silent for a long moment, let the hurt trudge through her. “It was my fault. My mother insisted that was not the case, that heart problems ran in his family, but she knew.” Leah nodded, losing the battle with the tears. “I could see it in her eyes no matter what her words said. I killed him.”
“I’m certain that was a very difficult time for you and your mother.”
“Yeah, well, stupid is as stupid does, and I was stupid. I spent the next four years drifting around trying to find myself, but what I was really looking for was forgiveness…peace. Something along those lines. Sadly, there was no finding it anywhere but in here.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I can’t say that I’ve completely forgiven myself, but I’ve learned to live with it, and I’ve taken care of my mother the way my father would have wanted.”
As her mother’s health had deteriorated in recent years, Leah had made sure she was in the right assisted-living facility and saw the best doctors. Every single dime in the trust her father had left her had gone to making sure her mother was comfortable and as happy as she could be without him. Her mother wasn’t pleased with the decision Leah had made, but she had relented when it became clear her daughter wasn’t changing her mind. She would be fine. She would be an English professor the way her father was, and she would be a good person. She didn’t need the money her father had so carefully saved. She didn’t deserve it.
When she was young, Leah and her father would read endlessly and dissect the great classic novels together. To this day, she cherished those memories. If only she hadn’t made the mistake of her life. No amount of wishing and using her trust to take care of her mother could fix what she had done.
She could only do her best at being the person her father had believed she could be. It was her singular goal now—besides taking care of her mother. She would be the person he had hoped she would be.
And maybe, just maybe, one day she would be able to forgive herself.
“Tell me about your friend Isla,” Owen said then, dragging her from the painful thoughts.
“She’s wonderful.” A smile tilted Leah’s lips, and the tears receded. “She’s like the sister I never had. She would do anything for me, and I would do the same for her.” She laughed sofly. “Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I was to find a friend like Isla. We really are like sisters.”
“The two of you know each other’s histories. Like what happened when you were eighteen?”
“We know everything about each other.” Leah nodded. She and Isla had no secrets.
“She is the one who introduced you to Raymond Douglas.”
“She is. She hadn’t seen him in a while, but she had a friend, Maya Ortiz, who served as a sous-chef at the Chop House back in the spring. Maya said Raymond was recently divorced and back in the field. She, Maya and I were at one of our favorite clubs one night a couple of weeks ago and ran into Raymond. I thought for sure Isla was interested in him, but that wasn’t the case. She felt he and I would make a good match and…” Leah shrugged. “You know the rest.”
“Have you seen Isla or spoken to her since the incident in the restaurant?”
Incident.That was a good way to put it. It was a murder, in Leah’s opinion—kidnapping, at the very least—but they had no body, no murder weapon and no evidence of any crime at this point.
She thought about his question. Glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 8:15 p.m., and Isla hadn’t called her back about the explosion. “No,” she said, frowning.
What could have prevented her friend from calling after receiving the message about the explosion in their apartment and Raymond’s disappearance? Until right this moment, Leah had assumed her friend had been busy…but they were beyond that now. This wasn’t right. Isla never went this long without letting Leah know what was going on.
“I would have expected her to call by now, but I’m sure something came up and she’ll call as soon as she can.”
“Have you considered,” he ventured, “that Isla could be involved in what happened? Maybe the flowers were for her…rather than for you.”
Leah blinked. Made a face. No…that wasn’t possible. She and Isla talked about everything. She would never hide anything like that from Leah, and she certainly would not leave her to deal with all this alone. It had to be something major to keep her away…something at work, Leah decided.
“No.” She gave her head a hard shake. “Isla wouldn’t… That’s impossible. We tell each other everything.” No way. The very notion was impossible.
Wasn’t it?
CHAPTER FOUR
Tuesday, August 12
Colby Agency Safe House
East Elm Street, 7:30 a.m.
Leah stood on the small balcony, enjoying the pleasant view and the morning air. She could stand here for hours. Maybe that would help her mind relax and stop spinning.
Isla still hadn’t called, and Leah had left her another voicemail.
