Taking the Fall (20 page)

“It’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult. Almost no one can do it.”

“Except psychopaths,” I said.

Riggins didn’t argue with me on that one. I felt the sudden urge to shudder. Eric’s crime was committed when he was still a juvenile. I doubted he’d do any time for it. He’d be free to take out his anger on the people who outed him and ruined his career at the Bonney Bay Police Department. But killing Ellison would’ve solved all his problems, and he’d never done that. Maybe we’d all be safe. Maybe.

“Mayor Conway’s scheduled a press conference for this afternoon, to announce her resignation. Once she realized how detailed the evidence against her was, she and her attorney started talking plea deals.”

“That’s good,” I said. But I hesitated mid-stride. We’d reached the park overlook. Not exactly my favorite spot in Bonney Bay.

“Bad memories?”

I made a face.

Riggins took a step onto the smooth concrete, toward the deck. “My mom always says the best cure for bad memories is to make new ones. Better ones.”

Riggins sat down on the bench and swung his legs around so he was facing the water. It was pretty clear in town this morning, just a little overcast. But out there, on the water, a blanket of fog drifted in the wind, forming wisps and swirls around small islands straight ahead, enticing me with glimpses of mountain peaks to my right. I took a seat next to Riggins, and watched the ever-changing beauty of Bonney Bay.

Riggins turned to look at me. He ended up quite a bit closer. “So, I was wondering, now that all of this is over … ”

For a second, I forgot to breathe. “Yes?” I said.

“When can we start those lessons?”

“Oh.” I tried not to sound disappointed. What did I have to be disappointed about, anyway? Seriously. “Blythe’s got our schedule drawn up now. I think we left Friday and Sunday open.”

“I could do one of those,” he said. He sounded kind of distracted. “You suspected me for a while, didn’t you?” he finally asked.

“No … I …”

“Brenna Battle, you would never fool a polygraph. It’s alright. I had to ask myself the same kinds of questions about you. It’ll be nice to ask more normal questions, don’t you think?”

“Like what?”

“Like, why Bonney Bay?”

“Aside from the property falling into my lap at just the right time? It seemed so beautiful. So peaceful.” I nodded at the bay. “It really is, isn’t it? We just came to town at the absolute wrong time, didn’t we?”

“I don’t think so.” Will leaned closer. He cocked his head to the side. His hand touched my cheek, brushed a wisp of hair away. “I think the timing was just right.” His lips touched mine. Softly, just for a second. He lifted his head and looked me right in the eye. “What do you think?”

I nodded. “Just right,” I said, and he kissed me again.

<<>>

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Taking the Fall
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About the Author

Laney Monday is the bestselling author of a dozen books under different pen names. She never came close to making an Olympic team, but she loves teaching judo to kids, and dreams of living in a scenic small town like Bonney Bay.

She’s busy drinking lots of very strong coffee and ignoring the dust bunnies while dreaming up new adventures for her characters. Visit her at
laneymonday.com
.