“What if it’s not?” There’s more than fear in her eyes, but I can’t quite place it.
I tilt my head slightly and sigh. “Claire. We’re in this together, okay? No matter what happens.”
She must be just as afraid as I am that Griffin came to and told his side of the story. Claire thought she lost me once; what if she loses me again? I don’t think either one of us could handle that reality.
Claire bites her lip. “Promise?”
I give her a gentle squeeze. “Always.” There isn’t a damn thing in the world I wouldn’t do for her. We’ve made it through some insane shit, and there’s no stopping me from fighting for us until my very last breath.
She exhales and forces a weak smile. “Okay.” Claire pushes the contact for Officer Donovan and clicks on the call button.
A second later, it begins ringing through the speakerphone again.
“This is Officer Donovan.”
Her voice cracks, “Hi, this is Claire…Claire Cooper.”
“Miss Cooper, good afternoon.”
I swallow down the fear that rises up my throat.
Claire stares at the screen. “What can I help you with?”
Donovan continues, “There’s no great way to put this, but I wanted to call and inform you; Griffin Thomas is dead.”
I do my best to hide my shock.He’s dead?
“Oh wow, really? What happened?” Claire shifts slightly in her seat.
“There were some complications. It’s not at all uncommon in situations like this. There will be an autopsy performed, but the final report will take some time to come in.”
I let out a breath.Complications.
Claire tenses beside me.
“This isn’t exactly the outcome we had hoped for. I was really optimistic our case was solid enough to put Mr. Thomas behind bars.” He sighs. “But you can rest assured that he’ll never be able to hurt anyone else ever again.”
“Yeah.” Claire’s voice is barely a whisper.
“Anyway, I thought you’d like to know. If anything, for a little bit of peace of mind.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
“Of course. I truly am sorry, for what happened to you and to his other victims.”
Chatter comes through the background of his call.
Donovan covers the receiver and says, “Just a minute.” He brings his attention back to the call. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
“Will do,” Claire tells him.
The line disconnects and we’re left sitting there in the silence. A short moment passes, and I grip Claire’s hand, staring intently at her profile.
She stays still while her eyes dart from left to right like she’s lost in thought.
I swallow. “Are you okay?”
What a loaded question to ask someone in a situation like this. Of course she’s not. Her ex-boyfriend is dead. And although he was a monster who treated her poorly, he was still a person. What’s worse? He’s no longer alive because of me.