Page 109 of The Summer that Changed Everything
She was such a kind and peaceful soul. She wouldn’t give him any trouble. Even if she suspected there was more to the story than he was telling her, she’d stick with him for Kenzie’s sake, and that would give him the chance to prove, once again, that he was the good guy she thought he was.
His phone was nearby. Setting his paintbrush aside, he picked it up and texted Ford:
I hear you’ve left NHB. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.
Something came up,Ford responded.But it was great to see you while I was there.
He considered saying, “I know you’re worried about Lucy. I’ll look out for her, and if your investigator finds something he needs me to follow up on, I’d be happy to help.” That way, Ford might keep him abreast of the investigation—if it was ongoing. But since Chet hadn’t been very supportive of Lucy so far, he was afraid such an approach would be too obvious a change.
He was still deliberating when he glanced out the window again and saw something that caused his heart to slam againsthis chest. Eddie had somehow managed to dig up the stuff he’d buried that terrible night everything had gone so wrong with Aurora. The dog had herwalletin his teeth and was bounding over to Kira with it.
Was he really seeing what he thought he saw? What, in God’s name, had caused Eddie to dig in that particular spot, especially after so long? He wasn’t the kind of dog who did much digging; Chet had never dreamed something like this could happen. He’d buried that stuff so long ago it’d never even crossed his mind.
Struck with horror, he was absolutely immobilized as he watched his wife open it and remove Aurora’s ID. He knew exactly what she was thinking as if he could hear her thoughts. “What’s this?”
The second she realized, it’d be too late. But it all happened so fast. Too fast. He saw her fall to the ground and barely catch herself before landing on Kenzie, who started to cry. Then she pressed a hand to her chest as if she was having trouble breathing—so was he—and braced Kenzie and herself with one arm as she twisted her head to look up at the window of his studio.
Although she probably couldn’t see anything more than the sun glinting off the glass, it felt as if their eyes met—his filled with guilt and terror and hers wide with accusation and betrayal.
Belatedly, his panic-stricken mind urged him to get to her as fast as possible. He wanted to run out there and reassure her, to tell her he had no idea how that stuff had come to be buried in the yard of the home where he’d spent most of his summers. But he’d also have to contend with what she already knew about the boat and those texts, which—taken all together—wouldn’t be easy to overcome.
Still, he was determined to try. Hehadto try. But it felt like he could only run in slow motion. His legs were rubbery and so unwieldy he stumbled and fell down the last few stairs, banging his knee into the hardwood floor as he landed and sending a sharp pain up his thigh.
It took a moment to overcome the shock of it, but he managed to come to his feet and limp through the dining room. But by the time he reached the door going out to the patio, he was hyperventilating. He grabbed hold of the handle and jerked, only to find it was locked. Kira used the mudroom off the kitchen to go in and out.Thatwould be open. But he’d stupidly chosen the closest door, which meant he had to take the time to remove the stick securing the slider even after he’d unlocked it.
By the time he managed to get the damn door open, he was so eager to get outside he nearly tumbled into the yard. This time, he managed to catch himself, but his hip glanced off the sharp corner of the barbecue shelf, which caused a burning sensation.
Ignoring that, too, he ran for the open yard and the garden beyond. Hehadto get to her. To explain. To stop her fromknowing.
But it was too late. Even with Kenzie on her back, his strong, athletic wife had managed to get out of the yard. She’d dropped her phone on the way, evidence of her panic, but she’d taken Aurora’s wallet. Only Eddie came back to him when he called out. The dog had Aurora’s bra in his mouth and was wagging his tail excitedly as if he’d done a good thing for his master.
“Oh, my God,” Chet muttered, clutching at his chest as that dirty scrap of fabric brought back memories he could no longer hold at bay. “Oh, my God. My life’s over.”
Part of him insisted that it wasn’t too late, that it couldn’t be. Kira loved him. She’d understand, help him.
Trying to overcome his physiological reaction so he could both move and think, he started to go after her. But by the time he made it through the side gate, which she’d left hanging open in her haste, he couldn’t tell where she’d gone. Either she was hiding, or she’d disappeared inside a neighbor’s house.
“Kira? It’s not what you think!” he yelled. But there was no answer and no movement around him, except for a car thatrolled leisurely by as if the world wasn’t falling apart and Eddie, who’d dropped Aurora’s bra on the grass and was jumping up on him, too focused on trying to get his attention to follow her.
Lucy hadn’t been able to reach Friedman, but she’d left him a message and was waiting for him to call back. She was so shocked by what she’d seen in that crime scene photo and what it signified, and so anxious to talk to him, she was once again up on her feet, pacing across the living room. But thanks to the unusually hot summer, it was quickly growing stifling inside the house, especially as the afternoon wore on. Being agitated didn’t help.
Unable to bear the heat any longer, she took her phone and headed out the back door to run down the path to the beach.
The air coming off the ocean was almost always cooler, and that proved true today. Drawing a deep breath, she tilted her head back as the breeze washed over her moist skin. She wished she could dive into the waves. But she wasn’t about to risk missing Friedman’s call. She was certain she now knew how her father’s DNA had come to be under Tony Matteo’s fingernails. At seventeen, when her father had been charged with the murders, she hadn’t made the connection, hadn’t even thought of those clippers. She was fairly certain the concept of “transfer DNA” hadn’t existed back then. Certainly, it hadn’t come up in court. From what she could remember, the fact that DNA evidence could lead to false convictions hadn’t been well-known.
Her poor father! He didn’t commit the Matteo murders. He didn’t strangle Aurora, either—wasn’t even by the river that night. His greatest sin was being an alcoholic, and someone who wasn’t considered important in the community, which made him easy to blame. No one in North Hampton Beach really knew him because he didn’t allow people to get close, and no one respected him, so no one cared.
If the DNA in the sink matched Reggie’s, Lucy felt they’d have the real culprit. Aggressive and prone to violence, he had a history of breaking the law. And yet he was the one still walking around North Hampton Beach while her father rotted in prison. Everyone had abandoned Mick, including her. She’d had to let go to survive, had barely made it through that terrible time herself. That her father had cut her off because he thought it would be the best thing for her brought tears to her eyes. He’d pushed her away from him so he wouldn’t drag her down with him—so she’d have a better chance of establishing a fulfilling future. That proved he’d loved her, and he’d deserved to have others love him.
She started down the path that would lead her back to the house feeling terrible that she hadn’t stood by him. But she was older and stronger now—had finally beaten the uncertainty that’d held her back—and was determined to get him released.
She was about to step onto the back porch when Chief Claxton came around the corner, startling her. “There you are,” he said. “I knocked, but no one answered even though your car’s in the drive. I thought you might be back here.”
He was the chief of police, but Lucy didn’t know if she could fully trust him. Just in case, she stopped several feet away. “Is everything okay?” she asked, tentatively.
“I just came by to apologize.”
She felt her eyebrows slide up. This certainly wasn’t like him. “For...”
