Page 56 of Little Dark Deeds

It was obvious how much he cared for Tiffany, and how hopeful he had been for a life they would never have.

“Why didn’t it work the second time?”I asked.

“Heshowed up.”

“Tyler?”

“Yep, the guy ruined everything.One minute we were fine; the next, she was questioning our future again.The breakup was hard the first time.The second ...well, I suppose I felt the same way you did, a tornado in tennis shoes.”

He was pained.

I could see it on his face.

Talking about her was difficult for him, even now.

Chad didn’t seem like the murdering type, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t.

“How did the relationship end?”I asked.

“She told me she’d started having feelings for her realtor, feelings she wanted to explore, and she thought it was best to be honest with me about it.I tried to fight for what we were rebuilding, but once he entered the picture, I didn’t stand a chance.”

“Whenever Tiffany told me about a new man in her life, I always did my homework,” I said.

“Oh, I know.”

“With Tyler, I was in full wedding-planning mode, and I’m sorry to say, I didn’t look into him.If I had, I would have found out he was married.”

Chad let out a long, frustrated sigh.“He’smarried?”

“Yeah, and maybe if I had known, if I had told her, I could have saved her life somehow.”

“You can’t say that.”

“I just did.I’ve spent the last few days treating myself like an emotional punching bag.She needed me, and I wasn’t there.”

“What happened isn’t your fault.”

I knew that, and yet, no matter how many times someone said it to me, I couldn’t shake the feeling.

He glanced at the cell phone in his hand, checking the time.“I need to go in a minute.”

“I understand.Aside from the message Tiffany sent, telling you about the confrontation with her client’s husband, did you ever hear from her again?”

“No, but in that same message, she was full of apologies for shutting me out of her life like she did.”

A short, middle-aged woman pushed the store door open and tipped her head toward Chad.“We need ya back on the floor.”

“Be right there,” he said.

She nodded and slid back inside.

Chad started for the door, then turned.“You’re not the only one carrying around guilt.Hearing from her that night just added to the pain I was already going through, so I decided to block her number.I’ll regret that for the rest of my life.”