The Running Girls(63)

“Coffee?” said David, nodding toward the kitchen.

Laurie sighed and eased herself up. “This is not over, old man,” she said, retreating to the kitchen and leaving Warren with his guns.

“I’ve been trying to talk him out of this all night,” said David, handing her a coffee.

It felt reckless to be sitting around drinking coffee as if nothing momentous was going on outside. “Your whole family is stubborn as hell,” said Laurie, regretting the words the second they left her mouth.

“And what does that mean? Frank staying put too?”

“Tried to talk him out of it. If this damn hurricane hits, I don’t think he’ll survive.” Laurie studied her husband’s reaction to this, searching, but not finding, a hint of concern for his father.

“You not going to arrest him?”

Maybe he was concerned and the question was his way of expressing it. Or maybe she was reaching again for something that wasn’t there.

“I would if I could. We’re waiting on forensics results, but they’ll almost certainly be delayed.”

“You think he killed that girl?”

“I don’t honestly know. Do you?”

David drank his coffee as if she hadn’t asked the question. Laurie knew it was the wrong time, but she couldn’t hold back any longer. Who knew what today would bring? It may well be nothing, but if she didn’t ask him now, then maybe she would never find out. “I saw you with Rebecca Whitehead,” she said, the relief from finally saying the words dizzying.

David froze, except for his eyes darting up to her. “What do you mean, you saw us?”

“What do you think I mean, David? What do you need to tell me?”

David’s face was blank, his mouth wide open like he was trying to catch flies. He’d been hard to read those months after Milly died. He’d broken down now and then, but most of the time he’d remained composed, unflappable even. “I don’t have anything to tell, Laurie. Is this why you’ve been off with me these last few months?”

“Months?” said Laurie. “I only saw you the other week. At the coffee house over in the Strand.”

“Is that so? Well, either way, you’ve been off these last few months.”

“So, you’ve been fucking her all that time?” Laurie felt her heart beating against her rib cage. She couldn’t quite believe it had come to this, but there was no turning back.

She couldn’t tell if David was angry or disappointed as he took another sip of coffee.

“I haven’t been fucking anyone,” he said.

“Well, we sure as hell haven’t.”

David moved toward her, his hand held out tentatively. Laurie shrugged it away as if it were posing her some threat. He frowned and took a step back. “I started going to that group,” he said.

Laurie felt her patience fading. She hated not being in control, but couldn’t bring herself back. “Group? What group?”

“The parents’ group,” said David softly. “The baby loss group. I told you about it, but you weren’t interested.”

Laurie’s heart rate began to slow. She recalled David mentioning something about a support group some time last year, but hadn’t been able to face the idea of attending. “What has that got to do with Rebecca?”

David pursed his lips, as if disappointed in her. “There’s nothing between me and Rebecca. She’s just part of the group. She’s gone through what we went through, Laurie. I had no one else to talk to. I tried to talk to you, but you always changed the subject. I lost her too, you know.”

Laurie lowered her eyes. It wasn’t quite how she remembered things. She’d tried to talk to David on a number of occasions, but maybe she hadn’t been as open as she’d imagined. One thing she couldn’t deny was that David had suffered as much as she had, and maybe she’d lost sight of that at some point. “I know you did, David.”

“I swear, nothing has happened. In fact, I’d like you to meet Rebecca. She’s a lovely woman and she’s really helped me. She could help you too.”

This time, Laurie let David place his hand on her arm, before grabbing him close. “I’ve been stupid,” she said, allowing him to embrace her, breathing in his familiar scent.

“We’ve both been stupid. I should have told you where I was going. We shouldn’t have secrets.”

“You’re right,” said Laurie, taking one more sniff of David’s sweater before pulling free. “What say we get Warren, and get the hell out of here? Once this hurricane is over, we can maybe both be stupid together, for a change?”

David smiled, and hugged her once more. “Sounds like a plan,” he said.





Chapter Thirty-Five


It was another hour before they finally convinced Warren he had to leave, the Weather Channel swinging his decision. Even the most optimistic forecaster couldn’t deny that Hurricane Heather was going to make landfall, and the satellite images alone—the swirling mass of white and gray, hovering within touching distance of Galveston—were enough to make Warren grudgingly pack a bag.

That didn’t stop the former police chief sulking like a petulant child as Laurie drove his pickup truck, filled to the brim with provisions, to the makeshift shelter at the high school. As Galveston was usually a mandatory evacuation area during hurricanes, no official shelters had even been designed for the island. Only essential staff were supposed to remain. Contracts had been struck with hotels to offer such essential staff accommodation, and a last-minute decision had been made to use the local high school to accommodate more staff and equipment.