A Hard Man to Forget (13 page)

“Wait here,” Simon whispered. “I’ll see if I
can get someone up.”

Barely able to keep her eyes open, Laura was only too glad to get off
her feet. She lowered herself into one of the chairs in a nook beside
the door. She nearly groaned as her aching muscles sank into the
chair’s plush fabric. Simon could take his time. She wasn’t
sure anything could get her out of the seat. All she wanted to do was
close her eyes and rest for a moment...

The front door swung open with a squeal. Laura jumped, her eyelids
slamming open.

Simon’s partner, Will, stepped inside. For a moment, she had
the chance to observe him unnoticed. In his early-thirties like
Simon, he was a lean man too, verging on skinny. His clothes almost
seemed to hang on him, from his jacket to his jeans.

Jeans that appeared to be spattered with water or mud at the bottom
of the legs, she couldn’t help but notice. Where had he been
that he’d managed to get so wet?

He gently closed the door and was about to turn away when their gazes
collided. He seemed just as surprised to see her as she was him. His
eyes narrowed, his steady gaze considering.

“
Laura
, is it?” He said the name as though
challenging her.

“And you’re Will,” she said, forcing a cordial note
into her tone. She viewed him with an equal amount of suspicion. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t catch your last name before.”

“It’s Vincent, but Will is fine.” He pushed the
door shut behind him. “What are you doing here? Is Simon with
you?”

Laura hesitated, not sure how much she should say. She decided to
skirt the issue. “He’s looking to see if anyone’s
awake. What about you? You’re up awfully late.”

He surveyed her through hooded eyes. She saw something in his
expression, a cunning she hadn’t noticed before. The sudden
coldness she saw there briefly unnerved her.

“I was taking a walk.”

“In the rain?” Laura couldn’t keep the incredulity
out of her voice.

“I couldn’t sleep.” He arched a brow. “I have
a lot to worry about these days.”

She couldn’t miss the veiled reference to herself. “I’m
sorry to cause you any concern.”

“Are you?” Sighing, he dropped into the chair beside her.
“I had hoped this Meredith nonsense was over. That he’d
managed to move on.”

“He’s just looking for answers.”

“He’s been looking for three years. He knows the answers.
He just doesn’t like them.”

“What do you think, Will? What happened to Meredith three years
ago?”

“You tell me,” he shot back.

“I only wish I could. I don’t remember anything before
the last two years.”

His upper lip curled back in disgust. “You can’t be
serious. Amnesia? Who do you think you’re kidding, lady?”

“Only myself. You haven’t answered the question.”

“Meredith is dead.”

“Simon doesn’t think so.”

“Simon doesn’t want her to be dead. There is a
difference. I’m not convinced even he truly believes she’s
alive. Or that you’re her.”

“You can’t be surprised that he wouldn’t want to
believe his wife is dead.”

“If only it were that simple. But no. He needs her alive to
ease his guilt.”

Laura instantly flashed back to what Aimee had said. “What do
you mean?”

“He blames himself, you know? More than anything, he’s
scared that they were right, that he managed to drive her away and
she simply couldn’t take living with him. So she killed
herself.”

Laura shivered. “Proving that she left him would only prove
that he drove her away.”

“But if she’s alive, at least he’ll have the chance
to ask her, and by some miracle, it could turn out that she left for
other reasons.”

“Such as?”

Will shrugged one shoulder. “Another man?” He snorted.
“As if Meredith had eyes for anyone else. On the other hand, if
she’s dead in the lake, then there’s no doubt why she did
herself in, is there?”

There was contempt in his words when he spoke of Meredith. Laura
couldn’t help but pick up on it. “You didn’t like
her, did you?”

Will’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. “You’re quick. I’ll
give you that. Did I like her? That’s hard to say. She was
certainly innocuous, so sweet it could make your teeth hurt and
fragile as a flower. But unlike most people I know, it wasn’t
an act with her. She was honestly a nice person. Not exactly my
thing, but I could hardly hold it against her. What I didn’t
like was what she did to Simon.”

“You mean when she disappeared?”

“Not at all. I think vanishing was the best thing she could
have done for him.”

Laura’s brows shot up. Will sighed.

“To be honest, I never understood why they were together. They
didn’t have anything in common. Simon’s not exactly a
people person, and Meredith tried to be everybody’s best
friend. I just didn’t get it.”

“They say opposites attract.”

“‘They’ are full of it,” he returned. “I
didn’t think it would last, and what do you know? It didn’t.
Whether she ran off or she killed herself, the fact is, she bailed
just like I figured she eventually would. It was bad enough that she
was a major distraction when she was around. She became even more of
one after she left.”

“What do you mean, she was a distraction?”

“Exactly that. When she was around, she was all Simon could
think about. He was missing deadlines, he wasn’t giving his
full attention to his work, and it showed. The company was doing
well—that was how he was able to move up here in the first
place—but he should have been back in the city, where I needed
him. Where I still need him. We have a business to run, and all he
could think about was her.”

Laura remembered what Simon had said about leaving his computer
whenever Meredith asked him to. “That must have caused some
friction between you and Simon.”

“Sure it did. But she was his wife and I was only his business
partner. It was obvious who was going to win out between the two of
us.”

She didn’t miss the bitterness in his tone. “You must
have been happy to see her go.”

She could tell he caught the implication in the comment. “Simon’s
my friend. I wasn’t happy to see the effect her disappearance
for him. But in the long run, I do think it’s best for
everyone.”

“Maybe not for Meredith.”

“Whatever happened to her, she took the easy way out. I’m
not going to waste the energy worrying about her.” He shrugged.
“So, no,
Laura
. I had nothing personal against Meredith.
She was harmless in her way. But she was also very dangerous in
another. And I did not appreciate the effect she had on him. If you
think I appreciate your sudden appearance—or reappearance—in
his life, think again.”

This time it was Laura’s eyes that narrowed on the man across
from her. “That sounds like a warning.”

“It’s a statement of fact. The worst thing that could
happen to Simon is to get dragged back into this Meredith business.
Professionally, she was death to him.”

She wondered for a fleeting moment how far the man would go to save
Simon from Meredith’s “dangerous” influence, or
what he would do when it appeared she’d returned.

Before she could delve further into that line of conversation, Simon
appeared at her side. He didn’t appear to have heard their
discussion.

“Will, what are you doing here?”

“I thought of a few more things I need to go over with you.
Figured I’d hit you in the morning before heading back.”

Simon shook his head. “Anything could have been handled via
phone or e-mail, couldn’t it?”

Will shot him a pointed look. “You haven’t exactly been
responding to messages lately.”

Simon held up his hands. “Point taken. What are you even doing
up? Were you out in the rain?”

There was no suspicion in his voice, Laura noted. He trusted the man.
She couldn’t bring herself to do the same.

Will chuckled lightly. “You know me. Can’t go a couple of
hours without a smoke, and I can’t do it inside. This damn
state.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you told me you went for a
walk.”

His lips tightened into a thin line, his displeasure at being
challenged clear. Because she’d caught him in a lie? “What
can I say? I’m a good multi-tasker. I can’t keep still
for more than a minute.”

As if to prove it, he bounded to his feet. Whether it was because
really was that restless, or to avoid any more questions, Laura
wasn’t sure.

She swallowed a sigh. Maybe she was being suspicious for no reason.
It was too late and she’d been awake too long to work through
all the possibilities of who could be responsible.

Simon placed a hand on her shoulder. Comforting warmth emanated from
his touch. “I called the sheriff. He’s on his way.”

“The sheriff?” Will asked.

“Someone broke into the house tonight and shot at Laura.”

Shock registered on his face. “Oh, my God. You could have been
killed.”

For the life of her she couldn’t tell whether it was concern or
regret that it hadn’t happened that she heard in his voice.

“You didn’t tell anyone about me, did you?” she
asked.

He scowled at her. “This isn’t exactly a story I’d
like to have in circulation.”

“Yes, I’m sure it wouldn’t be good for the bottom
line.”

His scowl deepened. Simon glanced between them. “Is there a
problem here?”

“Not at all,” Will said, forcing an unconvincing smile.
“It’s getting late and I really should be getting to
bed.”

Simon looked to her for confirmation that everything was okay. Laura
merely lowered her eyes, not really wanting to get into her issues
with his partner right now. They had enough to deal with.

“All right,” Simon said doubtfully. “Maybe I’ll
see you tomorrow.”

“Count on it.” Will nodded at Simon. Without
acknowledging Laura, he walked away.

As soon as he was gone, Simon sank into the chair will had just left.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“As right as I can be under the circumstances.”

“The sheriff doesn’t live too far. Based on my prior
experience with the local police, I’m not guaranteeing
anything, but hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

She gave a tight nod of her head, wanting to believe he was right.
Simon turned toward the window to watch for the sheriff’s
arrival. As he did, Laura felt the hair on the back of her neck rise
as though someone was watching her.

She glanced back toward the stairs. Will was standing on the third
step, staring at her. As soon as their eyes met, he looked away, but
not before she saw the animosity there.

Whatever else had happened, she had no doubt she’d made at
least one enemy tonight.

“Never would have believed it if I didn’t see it with my
own eyes.”

Sheriff Garrett Coombs sank into the seat across from Laura, never
moving his gaze from her face. He was younger than she’d
expected, barely more than thirty. He’d started to offer his
hand before he got a good look at her. Now the hand fell to his side,
the gesture forgotten as he surveyed her with a mix of shock and
wariness.

It was all Laura could do not to squirm under his unwavering stare.
There was something unnerving about the way he looked at her, his
eyes skittering across her features, as though dissecting them and
putting them back together again. She had the strange feeling she
wouldn’t have any secrets left by the time he was finished with
her.

“Unbelievable,” he murmured.

Simon stood a few feet away, his arms folded over his chest in a
powerful pose. He stepped forward. “See? I told you. It’s
her.”

The sheriff didn’t react for a moment, staring so long her skin
began to crawl. Then he shot Simon an annoyed glance. “The
resemblance is uncanny, I’ll give you that much.”

Simon’s expression darkened. “But?” he prompted,
saying the word they all knew the sheriff had left unspoken.

Coombs glared at him with such hostility Laura couldn’t miss
it. The two men clearly didn’t like each other. She just
wondered how much of that had to do with Meredith.

The sheriff finally turned back to her. “Miss, I’m sorry
Randall here dragged you into this, but you can’t be Meredith.
She’s dead.”

“How can you be so sure if you don’t have a body?”
Laura asked. “Simon told me all about the holes in the official
explanation—”

Coombs scowled. “He did, did he?” He shook his head.
“Look, I checked up on you a little earlier today—"

“You did?”

“Aimee Sinclair came in earlier today talking about some con
woman trying to rip off Randall. I was curious and looked up your
story. I understand why you’d want to believe you’ve
found the answer. But Meredith killed herself. That’s the only
explanation that makes sense.”

Simon snorted. “She killed herself by taking a boat out during
a storm that would have terrified her. Right.”

“We’ve been over this plenty of times. We both know she
wasn’t in her right mind the last couple of months.” The
edge in his voice told her exactly who the sheriff blamed for that.

Laura jumped in to break up the tension crackling between the two
men. “How do you know she didn’t leave him?”

“There’s no proof she did. Her credit cards were never
used again. She never made any large withdrawals at the bank that
would indicate she was stocking up on cash. Her car was still in the
garage. Her purse was in the house. There was no sign she went
anywhere.”

“Except her memory box was missing,” Simon muttered.

This time the sheriff’s expression held only pity. “Exactly
the kind of thing a person would take with her to her grave.”

“And her diary?”

“For all I know she took it too. It makes more sense than a
person leaving her purse and money, but taking her diary? It’s
not like her diary’s going to get her far.” He looked
back at Laura. “I knew Meredith her entire life, and leaving is
not something she would do. Meredith was the sweetest, gentlest girl
you ever met. I can’t see her running out on her husband in a
million years. And even if she did, she lived here her whole life. I
don’t think she knew too many people outside of Rockwell. Why
wouldn’t she go to someone here if she felt she had to leave?”