Page 57 of Into the Light
Raf ran to me then, kneeling in the grass, pulling out the knife I’d given him for his birthday and cutting me free. I sobbed as his arms encircled me. I don’t know how long we sat there, holding each other, or how we got into Alex’s car to go home. But we were safe. And we were free.
thirty
ELLIE
“I’ll take another,please. Thank you, Sara.”
She smiled at me as she plopped a fourth blueberry pancake on my plate. Raf snickered and took a sip of his coffee.
“What? Sweet food is my comfort food.”
“I didn’t say a word, angel.” He kissed my pancake-stuffed cheek and laughed.
“Are you really feeling better, though?” Sara asked as she sat down with us.
“Yes, actually. I think I spent more time crying in the past month than I have in years, so I’m glad to be past it all.” I laughed, because it was most definitely true.
We’d come to Sara and Theo’s house for breakfast. It was the first outing I felt comfortable making since that awful night last week. Plus, it was better than going to Theo’s office to get the update he wanted to give us. Speaking of…
“Save some for me, El.” Theo thudded down the stairs in his uniform and boots.
“Uh uh, Sheriff. You’re on the clock. These pancakes are for our guests.”
“That’s bullshit.” He stole my fork and stabbed a piece, shoving it in his mouth before any of us could stop him. I slapped his arm and he winked at me, before settling into the chair across from Sara.
“All right, so what did you want to talk to us about?”
“Well, the District Attorney will contact you about all this, but I wanted to tell you first. Heath has confessed. He wants to cut a deal.”
“A deal?”
“He’ll plead guilty to Annie’s murder, and your kidnapping, El, as long as we keep him here in Maine and the Boston DA agrees not to prosecute the murder of Melissa.”
“Why?”
“I think he likes the idea of the Maine prison system more than the Massachusetts one. He’ll serve life in prison. No parole. And, you guys will be spared from having to testify and relive it all again.”
“Did he tell you why he did it?” Raf asked. This past week, he’d been so loving and supportive of me. But I knew he was hurting. The trauma from his past came out in full force and almost destroyed his whole life. It would take time to heal. But I was here and we’d go on that journey together.
“It was like you thought. He ran into Annie and she told him about you. Something set him off. He told her about how Melissa really died, and we think that’s why Annie came back. She wanted to tell you, and maybe figure out what to do next. She had a card in her wallet of a homicide detective back in Boston.”
Raf nodded, taking it all in. I squeezed his hand under the table.
“Oh, and the twist.”
“Twist?”
“Heath had gotten a job as a deckhand on the Fortuna Fin in order to learn more about you and your schedule. Hung out with the other lobstermen, made friends with Kirby, played a little mind game, and next thing you know, you’re invited to dinner. He said he got that glass from the night you went out to the pub with the guys.”
“Kirby?”
“He didn’t know he was being played. Felt bad as hell when we questioned him.”
“Well shit. Okay.”
“Is it over now?” I asked.
Theo nodded. “Mostly. When the deal goes through, he’ll have official sentencing, you can go to that if you really want to, but otherwise, it’s done. He’s off to state prison.”
