Page 54 of Secrets Along the Shore

“You were right,” Livia said over Reuben’s shoulder. “Everything you theorized was right.”

“Alan?” I managed.

“He’s in custody. He didn’t even try to deny any of it,” Reuben stated. He eased onto a chair next to me.

“What happened?” I couldn’t fathom that while I’d been in ahospital bed, justice had somehow found Alan and rescue had descended on Rosalie and Lilian.

“You drove your car into a gas pump.” Livia’s announcement was mixed with the watery laughter of admiration.

“Yeah. That was not the wisest thing to crash your car into.” Reuben didn’t bother to withhold his censure.

“Did it explode?” I tried to offset it with a dismal attempt at humor. “‘Cause it doesn’t count if it didn’t explode.”

“No. It didn’t. But your airbags did, and you sent Alan through the windshield.”

“Ouch.” I didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for that. “So it’s over?”

“Yeah. It’s over.” Reuben nodded.

“Just like that?” I asked. It was too quick. Too simple. As complex as it was, it was too—finished. I wasn’t used to conclusions. In my world, there were never conclusions. Only unanswered questions, and shadows of unremembered memories.

“Just like that.” Livia smiled.

I knew then she would assume I’d feel better. That the resolution would be closure and all would be well. But it wasn’t. That wasn’t how it worked—although I didn’t have the heart to tell Livia that.

I glanced at Reuben and was a little surprised that he was studying me with narrowed eyes. It was disconcerting that I knew he was reading my thoughts.

“Hey, Livia, could you go get me a fresh coffee?” Reuben asked suddenly.

She looked surprised for a moment, but then seemed to read between the lines. “Oh. Yeah. For sure.”

When she was gone, Reuben wasted no time in sharing his thoughts. There was gravity in his voice. In his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Noa, but—I wanted you to be wrong.”

I knew. I knew what he meant. He continued anyway.

“I wanted this to be tied to your case so badly. I wanted to close it for you, not get you wrapped up in an entirely new one.”

“It’s okay.” It was the easiest thing to say. Besides, it wasn’t his fault, none of it was.

Reuben pressed his lips together and managed a grimace of a smile. “I’m not going to give up.”

I didn’t say anything then. I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say. Ten years later, and I’d sort of reconciled that I wouldn’t have answers. That the Serpent Killer wouldn’t be caught. That he’d gone dormant for good and the clues had dried up long ago.

There were documentaries on TV every day with cases being solved twenty, even thirty years later, thanks to advanced sciences. Maybe that was what I needed. More time. More therapy. More . . .

No.

The funny thing was.

My story had never ended. He had tried to end it, that day, when he’d buried me in the earth. But he hadn’t. And I would continue.

I was alive for a reason.

Only this time, with this case, one person had helped me see something no one else in ten years had.

Sophia.