Defining Moments (A Moments In Time Love Story 2) (14 page)

The day of Scott’s funeral, Heat held Melisa to his side as they exited the church, holding an umbrella above them. It had been raining non-stop since early morning, as if the sky were also mourning.

Melisa wore a simple black cotton dress with black suede pumps, and her hair was atop her head in a messy ponytail. She didn’t care how she looked, because everything outside was fake, anyway, just cosmetic. A pretty dress wouldn’t hide a broken soul. Eventually, her pain found a way to make itself felt. Her eyes were sore and burning from crying in church. She had been asked to say something. She had wanted to and had written something special, but as soon as she saw Scott’s face inside the casket, the words broke inside her mouth and tears blurred her vision, making it impossible to see any of the writing on the paper. Scott had died three days ago, and the world felt like an empty place without him.

They drove in silence to the cemetery as rain pelted the roof of the car and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Ten minutes later, they watched the wooden coffin being lowered into the ground. The only people present were Melisa, Heat, Charlotte, and Mrs. Drawbridge.

Melisa clutched Heat’s arm for support, but when only the shimmering, wet top of the coffin was visible, she released Heat’s arm and dropped to her knees next to Scott’s grave. “Noooo!” she screamed until her lungs hurt, as rainwater washed away the tears and sprinkled them over the earth that would cover the coffin. “No,” she repeated, digging her fingers into the ground, clutching the slippery mud between her fingers. She and Scott might not have had a future together, but she had wanted him to live, even with someone else. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe she hadn’t been the love of his life. What if there was someone out there who would have proved him wrong? Now he would never know. Yes, he made mistakes, but at his core, he was a good man and he deserved to live.

Heat slipped one hand under her armpit and lifted her to her feet as the coffin disappeared.

Melisa gazed up into his eyes, her eyes still dripping with tears and rainwater, her hair plastered to her scalp, neck, and forehead, her heart bleeding. “I wish he would come back.”

Heat tossed the umbrella to the ground and held her tight. “I know, my love. I know.” His voice cracked. “Me too.” He hugged her, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other around her back, his face buried in her dripping hair. Melisa could feel his jagged breath and his body shaking in rhythm with hers. As they broke together, they held each other so they wouldn’t fall to pieces.

The weeks following Scott’s death were a blur. The first few days, when they had to get used to the idea that he was gone and they didn’t need to visit him at the inn anymore, were the hardest. Melisa decided to avoid the place altogether. It was surrounded by too many painful memories of sickness and secrets. It would take a while to get over all of it, if she ever could.

Two months after Scott died, Melisa entered the kitchen to find Heat slumped over the
Serendipity Daily
. He didn’t even look up.

She kissed him on the cheek and went to pour herself a cup of tea. “You okay, honey?” She sat next to him and placed her steaming cup in front of her.

“I don’t know.” His voice was strained. “Look at this.” He slid the newspaper toward her and pointed a finger at a thumbnail picture that caused her breath to catch inside her throat. “What’s this?” She looked closer.

The photo was grainy and old, but there was no doubt that it was Scott. Her gaze shifted to the headline:
Dead Man Walking
.

Holding her breath, she read the first paragraph.

Scott Bergfeld, a former Serendipity firefighter, who was believed to have died in a fire seven years ago, was spotted by a local two months ago at Serendipity Memorial Hospital. One of the nurses who claimed to have been treating him there confirmed his identity. She further stated that although he was alive at the time of the sighting, he had died the same day he’d arrived at the hospital. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.

At this point, many questions remain unanswered. Did Scott Bergfeld fake his death seven years ago? Where was he hiding? But most importantly, why? The story is a mystery we hope to uncover.

Melisa turned to Heat with wide eyes. “Oh, my God.”

Heat nodded and took a gulp of his coffee. He stood up and went to close the kitchen window. “Reporters will be crawling around us. I think you should stay home today. I already spotted two journalists hiding in the bushes this morning when I went to get the paper.”

Melisa took a sip of tea. “What can they do to me? I’m not going to say a word. I don’t even know most of the details of his disappearance.”

Heat sat back down and placed a finger under her chin, turning her head so she was gazing into his eyes. “Journalists can be vultures. They’ll treat anybody who they suspect to know more than they do like a piece of garbage. I can’t have them following you around. Please promise me you’ll stay home. I’ll get you anything you want from outside. I’ll even step in for you at Mel’s Delights, if I have to.”

Melisa nodded. “I promise. But promise me one thing. Please stay away from Mel’s Delights. No baking for you.” She picked up her cell. “I’ll call Josie to see if she can help out this week. And I’ll do as much baking as I can from home. Actually, I will need you to go there once a day as the delivery guy.”

Heat bowed. “At your service, my lady.”

***

Over the next few days, the press proved relentless. No matter how often Heat said
no comment
when he stepped out the door, they stayed camped out in the garden for a whole week. They did everything to try and get to Melisa. A male journalist even attempted to climb through the kitchen window but regretted it when Heat caught him and broke his nose with his own camera.

Melisa was relieved that Charlotte Drawbridge had not been the one who spilled the beans about Scott, but another nurse who had known him before he had disappeared. Now, every few days there was a story in the paper about someone who claimed to have seen him or known of his whereabouts.

“The man is dead,” Melisa complained to Carlene over the phone. “They should let him rest in peace.”

“Is the press still trying to get to you?”

“Yes, and it’s driving me nuts. I don’t know more than I told the police.”

“Why did the police want to speak to you? Do they think you had something to do with his disappearance?”

“They show up here every few days wanting more information, and I keep telling them what I know, the truth. They haven’t accused me of anything… not yet, at least. Everything is out in the open now, everything about his childhood and the fire.” She sighed. “But there’s another problem. Even if Scott is dead for real, the insurance company is investigating whether I committed insurance fraud, even though, when I put in the life insurance claim, I thought Scott was actually dead. It’s all complicated. We hired a lawyer to deal with everything. He doubts I’ll go to jail, as long as there’s no proof I knew anything about Scott still being alive.”

“I’m sure the lawyer will do a great job. I wish you could get away from it all. In fact, I’m even tempted to kidnap both you and Heat. Hey, why not? Come to Vienna for a few days. It will do you both good to be away from all the drama. When you return, maybe things will have died down.”

“That would be so wonderful. But I don’t think we can leave town yet. Lieutenant Loyd and my lawyer expect us to be available in case they have more questions. I might have to drop in and out of court for a while. And it would look suspicious if we disappeared during the investigation.”

“Well, you’re welcome here any time. When you’re ready, pack your bags.”

Melisa smiled. “You can count on it.”

***

While Melisa hid out at home, Josie kept her informed about how Scott’s story was unfolding, based on what she heard from people at Mel’s Delights. It turned out the man Scott had hired was named Tim Harris, and he was the man who had died in the fire, posing to be Scott. In fact, it had been him who had caused the fire in the first place.

“I don’t get it.” Melisa was shocked. “Why would someone do that?”

“He had killed his wife some months before out of jealousy. Just like Scott, he needed to disappear. Apparently he’d poured gasoline all over himself, to make sure he would be unrecognizable after the fire.”

From the photos in the papers, Tim Harris had resembled Scott. They had the same hair color, and also a similar height and build. He had been the perfect body double. Since he had been burned beyond recognition, no one would have felt the need to investigate further. Given that the cause of death was known, Melisa had not insisted on an autopsy. She wasn’t comfortable with her husband being sliced, poked, and prodded.

“But why did he choose to burn himself alive? If he had planned to disappear, why didn’t he just take Scott’s money and run?”

“His mother needed immediate lifesaving surgery and he had been unable to pay for it. The money Scott had offered must have been enough to cover it.” Josie paused. “Maybe he chose to die that way as punishment for what he did to his wife. They found a note in which he confessed to the murder.”

“Wow, I can’t believe this.”

“And I can’t believe you never confided in me.” Josie sounded hurt. “I’m your friend.”

“I’m sorry. I promised Scott I’d keep it to myself. I didn’t even tell Heat. He found out himself. It’s not that I don’t trust you…” Guilt nudged Melisa when she remembered that she had told Carlene. But she would never be able to keep anything from her.

“You’re forgiven. Now try to take it easy. Things have a way of fixing themselves, whether we worry about them or not. So, don’t waste your time worrying.”

“Then I choose not to worry.” Melisa smiled, even though she knew it was easier said than done.

Heat entered the bedroom carrying a breakfast tray. Melisa was surrounded by newspapers and tabloids and was leafing through the
Serendipity Daily
, which he had just brought home this morning.

One month later, Scott’s story still hadn’t disappeared from the public eye, and Melisa still met regularly with her lawyer. She knew she was innocent and had sufficient evidence to prove it, so the insurance issues had become the least of her problems. Everything would be ironed out in time.

She still only left the house when she absolutely needed to. Otherwise she spent most of her time at home, away from reporters, reading every newspaper article she could get her hands on.

“Morning, sweetheart.” Heat placed the tray on the bed and kissed her forehead. He loved spoiling her with breakfast in bed every Saturday. “Anything new in the paper?”

Melisa shook her head. “Not really. They’re still focusing on Tim Harris.” They now knew more about the man who had committed suicide in order to make Scott disappear. He had been a retired detective who used to spend years searching for missing persons, until he quit his job and started making people disappear instead. Melisa guessed he earned a lot more money that way.

She flipped a page and read on, her eyebrows drawn together.

Heat sat next to her and popped a grape into her mouth. “You know what I don’t get? Since he was such an expert at making others disappear, why didn’t he just vanish?”

Melisa shrugged, chewing. “I guess when guilt is inside you, it doesn’t matter where you hide, it will follow.”

Heat nodded and picked up a cup of coffee. “I talked to Lieutenant Loyd yesterday evening during a fire emergency. They found Tim Harris’s wife’s remains hidden under the floorboards of the home they used to live in. The current owners moved out the same day.”

“Oh, my God. So it is true.” Melisa clapped a hand to her mouth and forced down the bile threatening to rise up her throat. “Makes me sick to think of what he did to the poor woman.”

“Me too. They said he was a jealous man and his wife never hid her string of affairs.”

“That doesn’t justify killing her.”

“No, it doesn’t. No one has the right to take another person’s life.”

Melisa closed the newspaper and picked up a glass of milk. “Did Lieutenant Loyd tell you anything more about Scott?”

Heat shook his head. “To tell you the truth, I think Scott’s story has paled in comparison to Tim Harris’s. Did you look out the window? There are only two reporters visiting us today.” He put down his cup and removed Melisa’s glass from her hands, placing it on the tray. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Let me take you out to dinner tonight. I don’t give a damn about the reporters. We have to show them that we’re living our life. If we keep hiding, they might think we know more than we do. And you know if anyone comes near you, I’ll break every bone in their body.”

Melisa nodded and smiled. “You’re right. I’m tired of hiding anyway. It’s time to move on.” She could never forget what had happened, but she could no longer put her life on hold. She would stop thinking of Scott as the man who had burned down his childhood home and killed his father, the man who had kept dark secrets from her. She would remember instead the good man she’d known years ago.

***

Weeks passed and it got easier for Melisa and Heat to shrug off the reporters. But just as they settled back into their lives, another piece of news broke out about Scott. That morning Heat came home looking frantic and asked Melisa to turn on the TV.

For the next ten minutes they sat on the couch, holding hands as they watched and listened to a report stating that the investigation about Scott had revealed he was innocent of the crime he had been suspected of committing. He had not been the person who burned down his childhood home. Evidence had led police to the house next door. The eccentric old man, Jack, who had taken Scott under his wing after his father died, was the one responsible.

Melisa thought he must have silently watched Scott’s father abusing him over the years and decided to take drastic measures. A couple of neighbors had come forward to confirm the abuse Scott’s father had inflicted on both Scott and his mother.

Heat pulled Melisa close, shaking beside her. “He lost everything for nothing,” Heat said slowly.

Melisa’s eyes brimmed. “If only he’d lived for longer, he’d have died with a clear conscience.” She picked up the remote control and flicked off the TV. How would Scott’s life have turned out if he’d found out he was innocent? He would have been given a chance to live as a free man, free of guilt, free of his past. He would have been happy. But then again, maybe not. The cancer would probably still have killed him in the end. Some tragedies couldn’t be stopped, and there was no point wondering about what could have been. They had to take the gift they had been left with, a chance to remember Scott as an innocent man.