Page 17 of Our Daughter's Bones

Melody cupped her chin and glared at her. “You control your mind, Mackenzie. If you want, then nothing can touch you. And nothing can hurt you.”

It took time for Mackenzie to fathom the words of her mother. New York gave her the time, distance, and perspective. One year in New York stretched to several. But Lakemore remained a feeble echo inside her. She knew she had to return. She knew she had to serve the city.

It was her way of atonement. The irony and twistedness of it weren’t lost on her.

The frameless shower door opened, making Mackenzie jump out of her thoughts. Sterling stood there with a beaming smile. He was naked, and his dark hair was messy and curly. Mackenzie’s eyes glided lazily over the taut planes of his stomach and broad chest.

He winked. “Good morning. Thought I’d surprise you.”

“Consider me surprised.”

He grinned and stepped into the shower. Dimples dug into his cheeks. It was those dimples that had attracted her when he questioned her in the courtroom six years ago, two years after she’d transferred back from New York. After the trial, he’d asked her out.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and started kissing her neck. “Who said marriage makes couples boring?”

She froze. Was Sterling bored? Had she taken him for granted? Was that why he’d cheated? It had been only three years into their marriage, but they had been together for six. They were nearing that dreaded seven-year itch everyone talked about.

“Baby? What happened?” He’d noticed her go rigid.

“Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Actually, I’m not feeling too well. I think I’d better just get to the office.”

Mackenzie sat at her desk using Abby’s bottle of pills as a rattle. Listening to Troy and Finn debate for almost an hour had convinced her that she was surrounded by children.

“We won’t see Sharks versus Falcons this year,” Finn said. “I doubt the Falcons will make it to the semi-finals now that Doyle has graduated.”

“I don’t know, man,” Troy argued. “They got a new coach. He played for the Patriots.”

“Man, we got Bill ‘the Monster’ Grayson! He’s led us to the championship every year.”

“But how much can the coach do? Most of our good players have graduated. Miller is gone. Frankie is gone. McKellar is injured…”

“We still got Jones. He scored the final touchdown last year. Remember that?”

Mackenzie spun around in her chair. “Don’t you have murders and abductions to solve?” She looked between Finn and Troy, who were perched on the shared table in the middle of their corner of the office. Finn looked at her, flustered. He fixed his tie, which didn’t need any fixing. His face flooded with a color that matched Mackenzie’s hair. “Um. Yeah. Right.” He grabbed his coffee and walked out of the office.

Troy rolled his eyes and smirked. “I think that baby Finn is crushing on you, Mack.”

“I’m a married woman.” She raised her hand to flash her ring. “Also, I think he’s scared of me.”

“Anyone in their right mind would be. Also, you just interrupted an interesting debate.”

“Football is for happy hour.”

Troy flipped through his file. “This is Lakemore. You know what they say. Crime and football never stop he— Ooof. Looks like my guy took out life insurance on his wife. This just got interesting,” he mumbled to himself. “Also, I looked into your Abby.”

Mackenzie straightened. “Yes?”

“Nothing interesting. Erica had texted Abby about some homework the night she disappeared, but Abby didn’t see it till the next morning. I went over the statements. All we know is that they were best friends. She was one of those overly protective and loyal friends.”

“I see. Thanks.”

“Did the news channel air her disappearance?”

“Yes. Posters are up on all major checkpoints. Patrol officers are on alert. We got a few calls about potential sightings. The Sheriff’s Office has volunteered to check the tips, but as expected all of them have been hoaxes so far.”