Eva hesitated and then answered truthfully, “I blamed myself for a long time but not anymore.” To this day she could still not remember killing Josiah, but she knew she must have acted in self-defense. “I didn’t ask for anything that happened to me.”
Sally’s voice grew very soft. “What happened?”
She’d never talked about the rape. There’d been one officer who’d been kind, but once Darius had heard about the kindness, he had the officer removed from the case. From then on she’d received no counseling. “I was raped.”
Sally silently stared, her expression unreadable. “I’m sorry.”
If Sally had shown pity, as her sister had, Eva would have completely lost it. Still, Sally’s silence charged the air with emotions that without warning triggered tears she’d fought to control for so long. A tear spilled down her cheek and she swiped it. “God, it’s been over a decade. You’d think I’d be over it all by now.”
“It’s a hard thing to let go of, honey.”
“I’d really believed that I’d stowed away the trauma of that night. It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t ask for anything. But talking to Kristen today … I felt violated all over again.”
“How so?”
“She called me a liar. She said I asked for what happened.”
Sally’s brows knotted. “Why would she be so cruel?”
“I got a little too close to her own secrets.”
“Secrets?” Sally remained silent, but she leaned forward slightly as if waiting for a punch line. And as much as the whole story begged to be told, Eva couldn’t.
“Hey, I shouldn’t have mentioned anything.”
Sally shrugged. “Don’t get yourself in a twist, kid.”
Eva ran a shaky hand through her hair. “I shouldn’t have gone to see her.”
“Why did you? ”
“Because college acquaintances of ours were murdered. I thought she might know something.”
“Did you learn anything?”
“Nothing I can prove. And she’s about to leave for New York and make a whole new life for herself. ”
Sally sipped her cola. “Enough of the past. What have you done for Eva today? ”
“What do you mean? ”
“Have you heard from the scholarship committee?”
“They turned me down. ”
“That makes no sense. You’re as smart as a whip.”
“Smart isn’t always enough.” Eva grabbed a nearly empty bowl of peanuts, dumped out the contents and refilled it.
Bobby pushed through the kitchen door and brought a box of napkins to Eva. Cleaned up, with fresh clothes that King had dug out of his attic, the boy looked like a different kid. “King said to bring you napkins and to tell you I’m going to feed the kitten again.”
Eva smiled. “Hey, I could use another bottle of olives. And there’s open tuna in the fridge for the kitten.”
Bobby nodded. “I’ll get it right away.”
As he turned to go, Sally said, “And who is this new guy?”
Bobby glanced back at Sally nervously, but instead of stopping to speak to her, he scurried back into the kitchen.
Eva frowned, suddenly remembering her mother’s lessons on politeness. She felt as if she should bring Bobby back and have him speak to Sally, but he wasn’t her child and she sure wasn’t any kind of mother. And Sally was a social worker at heart and very likely to call Social Services if she knew about Eva’s record. “Sorry about that. He forgets his manners.”
Sally shrugged, her gaze still on the door through which the boy disappeared. “No sweat. Whose is he?”
Eva liked Sally but didn’t know her well enough to know how she’d react about Bobby. “He’s King’s foster son.”
“He’s cute. Reminds me of my son.”
That shocked her. “You never told me you had a son.”
“Yeah, he’s a great kid. All grown up. Maybe you can meet him sometime.”
The text from Jim Walters hit Angie’s phone right at six P.M. She’d been knee-deep in briefs and still nursing a headache, but her stomach had eased and she felt human again. When she saw his name pop up on the phone she smiled. Still on for dinner?
Angie texted back. Seeing as I survived, yes. Where?
O’Malley’s.
Great. Time?
Seven.
Seven was early for her and she had too much work to knock off by seven. But O’Malley’s was right around the corner and she reasoned she could have a quick bite with Jim and then head back to work. It would be a late night, but that beat sitting home alone.
It’s a date. Smiling, she set the phone down and tried to concentrate on her brief. The words were a boring jumble and she ached to just toss the whole thing and get outside.
The hour ticked by slowly. Angie kept trying not to glance at the clock but she did. By ten minutes to seven she grabbed her coat and headed out the front door.
She reached O’Malley’s right at seven and felt a little bit like a loser because of the excitement that swirled in her belly. She didn’t want to care, didn’t want to feel a tingle in her muscles. She wanted to be cool and uncaring because she knew in her bones that no matter how hard she tried, everyone always left her.
“Don’t do this,” she muttered as she pushed through the front door of the restaurant. Music and laughter greeted her. “All you got is right now.”
She glanced around the room and didn’t see Jim. Pushing aside a stab of disappointment, she moved toward the bar. She chose a seat at the end, and setting her purse on the bar, she ordered a glass of white wine. What was she doing here? She should be back at the office getting her latest brief written. Yet here she sat. Alone waiting for a guy who very well might not show.
The bartender set her wineglass in front of her. Thanking him, she took a sip, refusing to look toward the door. A few minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. She neared the bottom of her glass, certain that she was a fool. Checking her watch, she noted he ran twenty minutes late—if she’d not been stood up. She pulled a ten from her purse, handed it to the bartender and stood.
Angie had stepped out in the street when she heard her name.
“Angie!” Jim’s voice sounded rushed and breathless.
Her heart flipped and she turned, trying to play it cool. “Hey!”
He jogged up to her. “Sorry I’m late. I got caught up at work. Never fails if I want to get out early, all hell breaks loose.”
Relief washed over her. “Hey, no problem.”
“Were you jus
t leaving?”
“I thought we might have gotten our wires crossed.” Angie stared up into his eyes. He had nice eyes. Kind eyes. And he smelled of the faintest trace of aftershave. She’d not noticed it this morning and realized he’d slapped a little on before their date.
“No. And I’m glad you waited as long as you did. I’m not sure I’d have been so patient. I hate late people.”
“Why don’t we just start over?”
“It’s a deal.” He opened the door to O’Malley’s. They bypassed the bar and chose a table in the corner. He held her chair out for her, which she found wonderfully old-fashioned and charming.
They ordered drinks and soon she found herself relaxing and chatting easily. The guy was so easy to be with. He asked questions, and when she answered he stared right into her eyes as if no one else in the world existed. Angie hadn’t realized how starved she was for this.
“So do you have family in the area?”
Even that question didn’t ruin her mood. “My parents passed way a long time ago. My sister lives on the West Coast.” Truth be told, they’d not spoken in almost a decade. Angie had tried to find her sister, but all her searches had ended up empty-handed.
“Where on the West Coast?”
Angie was good at dodging—maybe that’s why she’d chosen law. “Oregon. Portland.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s in computer science.” Angie had always pictured her sister writing intricate programs and solving the problems of the world.
“Sounds interesting.”
“More interesting than the law.”
He reached forward and pushed a stray blond strand out of her eyes. “Hey, you want to get out of here? I know a great place for coffee.”
His touch sent bolts of energy shooting through her muscles. Screw the briefs. She’d work late tomorrow. “Sounds good.”
Grinning in a way that caused her stomach to flutter, he kissed her. Before she knew it, she followed him willingly into the night.
Chapter 14
Saturday, April 8, 8:00 A.M.
The short woman had dark hair peppered with white, and dark half glasses, which she now peered over. “Can I help you?”
Garrison pulled out his badge and introduced them. “I called ahead and the Dean of Admissions agreed to see me.”