At night, when I was alone in bed, my mind was with Halle. I would lie awake until all hours of the night thinking about her, picturing the look on her face when she turned around to see me standing in her doorway. Even after all these years, time and distance hadn’t changed how I felt or the reaction my body had to being near her. All I could think about was pulling her in my arms and never wanting to let her go.
When it was quiet or I was alone in my thoughts, she was all I could think about.
She was always my biggest distraction. I became reckless, going to any lengths to be near her and see her smile. I learned the lesson the hard way when I lost my cousin, Gage.
The guilt I felt over knowing it was me who put him on the road the night of his accident was never far from my mind.
When I got a phone call from Detective Keller asking for me to stop down at the police station, it was like a flashback to the night he died. I was brought back to the feelings I had when I heard his screams, the painful ache in my chest when I saw his body being pulled from the totaled car, and the heart shattering words of being told he was gone.
“Hello, my name is Graham Shaw. I have an appointment at ten to meet with Detective Keller.”
The secretary’s eyes light up when she sees me. I smile at her as she turns her attention back to her computer, her fingers clicking at a furious speed.
“Thank you, Mr. Shaw. Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll let Detective Keller know you’re here and he’ll be right with you.”
“Great.” I smile, taking a seat in the chairs lining the room. I wince at the ache in my lower back, trying to get comfortable. It was a long night last night. My back is sore from sleeping in the recliner at my mom’s all night.
My mom’s health has recently taken a turn for the worse. When she called to tell me she had been admitted into the hospital a few months ago, I knew it was time to come home. It was something I never thought I would be doing but she needed me closer to help her. She gave up her life to take care of me and I knew it was time I repaid her.
Besides my friends who had become like family to me, she was all I had.
Dean, my business partner, and I decided it was time we take things another step forward with Compass Security. Opening another location in Everton, a town outside of Arbor Creek, allowed me to be closer to my mom.
I hope nights like last night come few and far between or I’m going to have to invest in a new bed in my old bedroom. Sleeping in the recliner just isn’t for me. I’d do anything to be there for her, helping take care of her. If I could take away her pain, I would do it in a heartbeat.
“Mr. Shaw, thank you for coming by.”
Jarring me from my thoughts, I glance up at the man standing in front of me. He’s dressed in a dark navy button up shirt and tan dress slacks, with a badge hanging from his waist.
Standing, I reach my hand out to him and shake it.
“No problem.” I was taken by surprise when I got the phone call from the local detective shortly after arriving in town. He hadn’t given me much information, just simply asked if I could stop down at the police station to talk to him.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s this about?”
As much as I’m grateful for the pleasantries and all, I prefer to get to the point. My priority was making sure my mom was taken care of, but I still struggled to get my mind off why they asked me to stop by. I hadn’t been in town in over five years.
What could they need to talk to me about now, after all this time? If it was so important, why hadn’t they reached out to me sooner?
“Let’s go into my office, shall we? That way we have a little more privacy, and we can sit down and talk through this.”
Nodding my head, I follow along behind him. He shuts the door behind me, motions to the seats facing the large oak desk, and urges me to take a seat.
“I appreciate you stopping down here today.”
Folding my hands together, I nod my head, hoping to encourage him to continue.
Coming back to Arbor Creek has been incredibly difficult. It’s drudged up a lot of painful memories I would’ve preferred to keep buried.
“The reason I called you down here today is because there’s been an update in your cousin’s case.”
My brows furrow, confused. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t even aware Gage’s accident was even considered an open case. To my knowledge, it had been ruled a hit and run. They couldn’t determine who the driver was, and after investigating it for months after I had left for Chicago, I figured they had focused their attention elsewhere.
“Really?”
“When we had last spoken, following the accident, we believed your cousin had been hit by a drunk driver who had fled the scene of the accident. For months, we investigated it and were unable to locate any witnesses or pinpoint any clues that could tie someone to the scene that night.
“When Gage was hired on, he had been working on a case for us involving two brothers. Isaac and Marc Krate. Are you familiar with them?”
Who isn’t? Arbor Creek isn’t a big town. Everyone knows everyone.
More like everyone is in everyone’s business. The Krate brothers have made a name for themselves around here as being a couple of scumbags, honestly. Last I had heard, they had been involved in drugs passing through Arbor Creek to Des Moines.
“Yes. I’m aware of them and some of the things they were up to back then,” I say.
“Well, in that case, I’m sure you’re aware your cousin was one of the officers responsible for putting Isaac Krate in prison on felony drug charges.”
I was aware, but I guess I’m not sure what that has to do with Gage’s accident.
“We believe that your cousin’s accident may not have actually been an accident. We don’t know for certain yet, we’re still looking into it, but I understand that you’ve moved back to town and with the nature of your business, I felt it was necessary to tell you. We have reason to believe it may have been his brother, Marc, who caused the crash.”
My jaw locks as tears sting my eyes. Even after Gage had died, I hadn’t cried. I sat through his funeral and watched as his mom crumbled on the floor near his casket, weeping over the loss of her son. I watched as the pallbearers carried him from the hearse to the grave site and lowered him into the cold, hard earth.
I went through the motions of packing up my bags, my life, and said goodbye to the people closest to me because I believed they deserved a life without me around. A life where my decisions didn’t put them at risk too.
Sitting here in front of this man, I feel the tears fill my eyes and the urge to cry, but I don’t.
Taking a deep breath, I let the oxygen fill my lungs as I slowly release it.
“What does this mean?”
“I’m sorry, I know this is upsetting to hear. With you being back in Arbor Creek, we felt it was important you knew. We believe this was done in retaliation for Gage’s involvement in putting Isaac in prison. Right now, we don’t have enough evidence to arrest him. Gage was my friend, Graham, and like you, I want justice for him. If this was out of revenge, I wanted you to know so you can keep your eye out and stay safe.”
“Why do you think Marc was responsible? What do you have on him?”
“That I can’t say,” he says, not giving me anything more.