“I'mjustthinkin,” I leaned closer, folding my armsagainst the desk. “How strange is it that nearly every location involved inthis investigation has the word crow in the name?”
Sheconsidered it for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, it iskindaweird, but it'sgottajustbecoincidental. Nobody could'veplanned on,” she gestured with a hand toward nothing in particular, “what,creating a circle of crows?”
Myeyes dodged quickly toward her, as my lips parted in a silent gasp. “It'sfuckin' crazy that ye saidthat,” I told her, my heartpounding loudly within my chest. “That's how I found her. I just,” I thrust ahand into the air, “looked to the sky, and there they were. Thecirclin' crows,pointin' me inher direction.”
Rosie'sentire bodyjoltedand her arms wrapped tightly aroundher middle. Then, she giggled nervously. “God, that gives me the chills.”
Iglanced at my arms to see my goose-pimpled flesh and every hair standing onend, and I nodded. “Me as well,” I replied, and then, I stood up, grabbed mywrinkled coat, and threw it on. I headed for the door, with Rosie on my heels,and we collected TJ, still waiting in the dining room. I left Shavon's with mypeculiar crew, and together, we reentered the circle and headed back to TheLazy Crow.
Andround and round, we go …
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ROSIE
Thedrive back to the pub was a quiet one.
Alecwas clearly deep in thought, with his palm cupping his chin, his fingers movingsoftly against his jaw. TJ kept his headphones plugged into his ears, staringout the window in silent contemplation. I could only imagine the things thatswirled around both of their heads: Alec, withall ofhis clues and the dead end we'd encountered once again, and TJ …
Ihad no idea what TJ thought about, and I was too scared to ask. Girls and sexwere the usual suspects, I assumed, and I wanted no part in it. His fathercould tackle those subjects. But right now, with the mental shitstorm we werefacing, and with this unwanted adventure we were on, I dreaded the thought ofwhat he was going through. I knew we should talk about it. I knew I'd havetoeventually. And maybe it made me a horrible mother towant to avoid the topic, but I just couldn't cope with it right now. I couldn'tmentally handleit, whenI could barely handle thismyself.
So,instead, I spent the drive to the pub thinking about James.
WhenI'd first met him, when I thought he was my sister's killer, I had set asidehis appealing physical appearance and immediately despised him. I saw in himthe soul of a murderer, black and deadly, and it was an all-encompassing effortto not kill him myself.
Butnow, knowing the truth and his affection for Gracie, I only thought about himwith sadness and gratitude. He hadn't killed her, there was no doubt of that inmy mind, and I was glad that he had given her a few hours of happiness beforethere was nothing left for her to feel. And then, I felt a new bout of grief,for a love that would never be, and I hated that. I hated everything about it,forboth of them. And for all of us.
***
Whenwe returned to The Lazy Crow, Roland was more than happy to show us thesurveillance videos, and there, we watched the budding romance between mysister and James.
Theywore smiles I envied, laughing with their wholebodiesand staring at each other with the unexplained knowledge that they had stumbledupon another piece of their souls. I sniffled, as I watched the footage,holding a hand beneath my nose and wishing so much that I could have witnessedtheir relationship come to fruition. I wished so badly that everything couldhave been different, and that one day I would attend their wedding and see thebirth of their children. But instead, I had to watch the phantom of somethingthat could never be, and it pressed against my heart with a soul-crushingweight. After just a few minutes, it became too much.
“I'llbe right back,” I whispered around the lump in my throat, leaving the office,to go sit at the bar.
Rolandglanced at me from behind the glossy strip of rich mahogany, and asked, “Can I,ah, can I get yesomethin', lass?”
Ishook my head, lifting a hand in a dismissive gesture. “No, I'm okay. I justneeded to,” I pulled in a deep breath, “get out of there and get some air, Iguess.”
“Aye,”he said, nodding. “And I'm … I'm sorry … about what happened toyersister.”
Istruggled to smile. “Yeah, me, too.”
“Jamessaid she was here on holiday,” he went on solemnly. “We see a lot of touristscomin' through this area. Folkswannasee the Highlands but also want the wee village experience.”
“That'swhat Gracie had said about Fort Crow,” I replied. “She didn't want to stay inInverness or Fort William, because it was too, I don't know, typical orsomething.”
Hechuckled. “Fort Crow is a hipster town, for sure.”
Then,his laughter subsided, as he asked, “My point is, lass, isn’t it possible thatthe person ye'relookin' for could be someone noteven from here?”
Inarrowed my eyes and nodded. “Sure. Anything is possible at this point.”
“Aye,”he said, as he came to stand nearer to me. His voice dropped to a low, gruffwhisper, as he continued, “But, anyway, thissortathing happens,y'ken? Tourists die sometimes, underterrible circumstances. It's to be expected, am I right?”
Lookingup, I found his eyes intently on me. There was something he wasn't saying.Something he was trying to tell me and me alone. I cocked my head, holding hisgaze, and asked, “Is Gracie not the first?”
“Yerinspector friend can help ye with that,” he replied, ashushed as before. “But go ahead and read about Madison Lang.”
