Buried Sins (18 page)

Still, she had to admit that it had been healing to spend the past two days doing nothing, floating in a soft cocoon of family concern. She hadn’t seen Zach. No detectives had come with questions.

All of the belongings she’d had stored in the barn had been taken away for a police search. Maybe that was just as well. She was ready to concentrate on the future, not the past.

Right now that future was taking shape before her eyes. Rachel had stopped to talk to Tyler, looking very professional with his hard hat and blueprints. Inside the open doors of the barn, she spotted Cal with a crew of Amish carpenters, beginning the work that would transform the barn into the Three Sisters Arts and Crafts Center. It was an ambitious title they’d decided upon. She just hoped she could live up to it.

The quilt would have a place of honor, hung in a glass case inside the entrance, with as much as they knew of its history posted beside it.

That history wouldn’t include any mention of treachery, she’d decided. That could be left for others to argue. She simply wanted to celebrate how the work of a woman’s hands had helped lead courageous souls to freedom.

She leaned against the bench, half dreaming in the warm sunshine, and watched as a familiar police cruiser pulled up. Zach. She’d known he’d come at some point. What she didn’t know was what they would say to each other.

He came toward her slowly and stood looking down at her. “Any chance you feel up to talking? If so, I’ll risk your sister’s wrath and sit down.”

She gestured to the bench beside her. “Please. I think it’s time I stopped floating and found out what’s happening.”

He sat down next to her, studying her face with that intent gaze. “Is that what you’ve been doing? Floating?”

“Pretty much,” she admitted. “You can tell me. You don’t need to hedge around the subject. Did you find the vial?”

He nodded. “Stuffed inside a ski boot, as a matter of fact.”

“They were right to be worried. That’s one of the first things I’d probably have gotten rid of, since I don’t ski.”

“That was what motivated all of this, apparently.” Zach linked his hands on his knee. “Francine had to find the vial before you did and got curious about why Garner Carrington’s medicine was with your husband’s things.”

“She thought if I believed Tony was still alive, I wouldn’t get rid of them.” Her brain was starting to work again. Apparently she’d figured some things out while she’d been drifting. Everything Francine had engineered—the love letter, Tony’s favorite coffee, the sense someone had been watching her, even sending the safe-deposit key, had one aim—to keep her thinking Tony was alive, so she wouldn’t do anything with his belongings until they’d found the evidence.

“That’s what her brother claims.” Zach wore an expression of distaste. “They’re tripping over themselves to blame each other for everything that happened. I guess that’ll be for the Santa Fe courts to sort out. They’re out of my jurisdiction, anyway.”

“They’re gone? Don’t the detectives want to talk to me?”

“Not at the moment. Rojas seems satisfied that your role was that of an innocent bystander.”

“A stupid bystander, you mean.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see anything. I worked on those charity events with Francine and never suspected a thing.”

“Francine was one careful lady. Sorting out the truth from the accusations, I’d say she started the scam with help from her brother. Carrington must have already been suspicious the day he spoke with you, though.”

She nodded slowly. “I’ve been thinking about that. At the time, I thought he was just being nice to a new employee, but in light of what happened, he must have been trying to see what I knew. Whatever I told him confirmed his suspicions.”

“He let her see that he was on to her. A deadly thing to do with a woman like that. She acted immediately.”

“And Tony saw her.” The words tasted bitter, but she got them out. “She told me that. She and Tony were having an affair, and he saw what she did. He took the pill bottle and blackmailed her.”

Some of the tension in Zach’s face eased, as if he was relieved he didn’t have to convince her of what Tony had been. “According to the brother, Tony got greedy, and Francine decided he had to go. They thought they’d have plenty of time to search for the vial.”

She nodded. “I had a feeling that someone had been in my apartment several times during the couple of weeks after Tony died. I thought it was Decker, the man who threatened me, but it must have been Francine.”

“Decker messed up their plans. He scared you into running, and suddenly your belongings were out of reach. Tenley followed you here to keep tabs on you while Francine, playing the devoted friend, found out that most of your things were in a moving truck, making their way slowly east.”

“So they had to wait until everything got here to find it,” she said. “But I don’t understand what happened to Decker. Was he one of the people they scammed?”

“Rojas thinks so. He figures when Decker couldn’t get the money out of you, he went to Francine, and she killed him. But neither of them are talking about that, and we may never know.”

Maybe it didn’t matter whether she knew. Let the law take care of Francine and her brother. But there was one thing she had to come to terms with before she could move forward.

“About Tony.” She looked down, realizing she didn’t want to see Zach’s face when she asked this. “Why? Why did he get involved with me? Why marry me?”

His hands clenched. “Tenley claims Francine told Tony to make sure you weren’t suspicious about her husband’s death. As to the marriage—well, we know it wasn’t the real thing. He may have thought it gave him more leverage over Francine, having you and anything you might remember about Carrington in his pocket, so to speak. Or maybe he just couldn’t resist.” His voice softened. “People have been known to fall in love. Even the bad guys.”

She took a breath, feeling the last of whatever shackled her to Tony falling away. “You’re trying to spare my feelings, but you don’t need to. I know now it wasn’t love with Tony.”

“I…” He hesitated, as if not sure what to say. “Is that a good thing?”

She nodded, managing a smile. “I think so. I’d rather know what love isn’t, so I can recognize what it is.”

Zach touched her hand, very gently, and her breath hitched. Her heart seemed to be fluttering somewhere up in her throat.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “For the times when I doubted you—”

“Don’t.” She closed her hand over his. “There were times when I doubted my own sanity. Anyway, you wouldn’t be you if you hadn’t questioned. You’re a man of integrity, and you did what you thought was right.”

His fingers moved caressingly on hers. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that when there’s a choice between duty and right, God expects me to do what’s right.” His voice roughened, as if with emotion he was trying hard to control. “Look, I know you’re going to need time to come to terms with everything that happened to you. I just hope you’ll do it here. I’ll be waiting.”

She turned to look at him and saw the love shining in his eyes. Her heart melted, and she reached up to touch his cheek, feeling the strong line of bone and the warmth and aliveness of his skin.

“Not so much time,” she said softly. “I’ve stopped running now.”

God had brought her back to the place where she belonged—the place He’d been preparing for her all along. And the man He’d intended for her from the beginning.

Zach’s arms went around her, and she was home.