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Page 112 of The Summer that Changed Everything

“It is,” he said. The most recent revelations hurt even more people, some who hadn’t been involved before. But he was happy for Lucy.

Over the next week, Lucy felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hadn’t yet heard back from her father, but she smiled every time she imagined him opening her letter. After being accused of such a terrible crime, nothing could feel better than being cleared of any wrongdoing, even if it was only for one of the murders. She hoped she’d be able to prove that he hadn’t killed the Matteos, either—although she hadn’t promised him that. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, just in case.

While she was waiting to hear from Friedman on Reggie’s DNA, she was trying to move on without Ford. It helped that news of Chet’s involvement in Aurora’s murder was spreading fast. Now everyone knew—or soon would—that she hadn’t had anything to do with it. That alone was worth what it’d cost her in angst, money and lost work to come here.

On Tuesday, she felt light as air as she went out to do a little shopping. She wanted to send a gift to Missy, so she was looking for something she felt her friend would like and found herself smiling the whole time. She could finally hold her head high in this community again. The fact that the police had gotten it wrong where Aurora was concerned had to at least make the people of North Hampton Beach feel they shouldn’t have treated her so badly. Some still looked askance at her. They were probably thinking it didn’t matter if her father didn’t kill Aurora if he’d killed the Matteos. But she was growing more and more confident the truth would come out in that case, too. It was just a matter of time.

As she passed the restaurant where Ford had taken her, she paused, feeling a certain melancholy. She still missed him, probably always would. But she was going to press on. She’d battled so much; nothing was going to get her down.

She was just taking a picture of a cute skirt she thought Missy would like, so she could text it to her, when she heard someone say her name.

She looked up. Patti Clark was in the store, standing at her elbow.

Instantly nervous, Lucy put the skirt back on the rounder. “Hello.”

Patti began fidgeting with the strap of her purse. “I’m sorry for... for following you in here,” she said. “When I saw you on the sidewalk, I... Well, I told myself to quit being such a coward. I owe you an apology—”

When her voice broke, Lucy lifted one hand in the classicstop position. “It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. I understand how you felt and why you did what you did, and I don’t hold anything against you. I promise. I actually wanted to make you a casserole the other day and would have, except...”

“Except you were afraid such a gesture wouldn’t be welcomed,” she finished.

“I, um, didn’t want to intrude at a difficult time,” she said, stating the truth more euphemistically.

Patti studied her for several seconds. “Thank you. That’s very kind.”

Lucy smiled. “No problem. I’ll go ahead and make one and... and drop it by once you’ve had a chance to recover.”

“I’m actually doing better than you might expect,” she said. “It helps to know what happened—know without having to convince myself I’m right in spite of unreliable testimony and the lack of evidence. We don’t have that problem this time around. The clarity helps. Nelson feels better about it, too.”

“I’m so glad.”

She smiled. “I can see why Ford is drawn to you. You’re just as beautiful inside as you are out,” she said and wove through the racks of clothes to reach the door.

A ding sounded as she left, but Lucy didn’t move. She wasn’t sure she’d ever received a better compliment—one that did more to heal what had been broken inside of her.

The shopkeeper caught her eye and, embarrassed, she turned back to her shopping.

She wound up buying the skirt without even asking Missy, as a surprise, and drove back to the cottage. She planned to work in the yard. She couldn’t bear to let everything Ford had done go to ruin. It was her only way of feeling close to him. But just before she got there, her phone rang and Friedman’s name appeared on her screen. “Finally!” she said aloud and pulled over so she could give him her full attention. “Hello?”

“Lucy, I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he said.

The air rushed out of her lungs as if someone had slugged her.Badnews?No...

“The DNA in the sink doesn’t match Reggie Burton’s,” he said.

“But—but he was in the trailer park that night,” she heard herself stutter.

“That may be true, but there’s nothing to indicate he killed Tony and Lucinda Matteo.”

Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back on the headrest. She’d been so sure it wouldallsoon be over, that her father would be able to get his life back. “If the DNA in the sink isn’t in CODIS, and it doesn’t match Reggie, how do we find who was in the trailer that night?” she asked despairingly.

“I’m not convinced we can,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”

Lucy drove home at a much slower speed than she’d been traveling before. Another car honked and whipped around her, but she didn’t care. She’d been so hopeful—and now she was completely deflated. Ithadto be Reggie, she kept telling herself.Everythingpointed to him.

But that kind of thinking was how her father had wound up in prison. She, of all people, knew how dangerous it could be.

When she arrived at the cottage, she got out, gathered the sack that contained Missy’s skirt and went to the mailbox, where she found a letter from her father waiting for her.


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