Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan, #3)(61)

I peered through the cracked door of the shed in time to see Nick’s car pull into the driveway. My heart leapt into my throat as he killed the headlights.

“Is it Barbara?” Vero asked hopefully.

“No. It’s Nick and Charlie.” By the faint moonlight, I could just make out Charlie’s profile in the passenger seat.

“I thought Nick wasn’t supposed to come until the morning!” Vero whispered.

“I guess he got antsy.”

Nick squinted through the windshield at Barbara’s house. If we opened the shed door now, he’d spot us. “When they get to the porch, we’ll make a run for it.”

Vero looked at me like I’d just described a scene from Mission: Impossible. “Have you seen yourself run?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

A car door opened. I peeped through the crack as Nick and Charlie got out of the car and Charlie followed him to the front porch. Nick’s cane thumped up the steps. A series of loud knocks rattled the door. I tip-toed out of the shed and peeked around the side.

“So this is where it happened,” Charlie mused, staring over the porch rail at the blackened scorch marks that stained the front yard. A smile tugged at his scar. “Molotov cocktails, huh? I can see why you like her.”

Nick leaned on his cane beside him as he waited for Barbara to answer. “I’m glad,” he said with a smile. “She seems to like you, too. Now if I could just get Joey to come around.”

“What do you mean?”

Nick shook his head. “He and Finn have been acting strange ever since the shooting. Suspicious of each other. Both of them dancing around it.”

“Kind of like you and Joey?”

Nick choked out a laugh. “Why the hell would I be suspicious of Joey?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Charlie asked. “Why’d you bring me out here instead of your partner, Nick?”

“Because I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t feel like waiting until the morning. I texted you and you were up. That’s all.”

“Did you even tell him you were coming?”

Nick looked away.

“You already know how I feel about him. I’ve never held back. And Georgia’s sister is smart. You said it yourself, she’s got good instincts. If she suspects there’s something off with Balafonte, I’d pay attention if I was you.”

Nick frowned at the yard.

“What is it?” Charlie asked.

“It’s just … I don’t know, Charlie. There’s something about that night that doesn’t sit right with me. I read Finlay’s statement a million times. She said she found this address in Steven’s calendar that afternoon when he went missing, and she came out here looking for him.”

“So?”

“So he wasn’t here. Theresa was. And so was Finlay’s missing phone, which means the two of them must have been together a few days before. But why? Theresa and Finlay can’t stand each other.”

“Maybe what’s not sitting right with you isn’t Finlay’s relationship with Theresa, but Finlay’s relationship with her ex-husband. Whatever she was doing here, she was obviously doing it to protect him, and now there’s a little green monster eating away at you, and your mind’s working overtime trying to invent some other reason she might have come, because you don’t want to admit you’re jealous.” Charlie held up a finger as Nick opened his mouth to protest. “And don’t bother telling me you’re not. I know you better than that.”

Nick sighed and shook his head in defeat.

Charlie dropped a hand on his shoulder. “No one’s home, so why don’t you and I go find that graveyard and take a look around. It’ll be like old times.”

Nick smiled and tapped his cane. “Sure you can keep up with me, old man?”

“I’ve had six months of chemo and radiation, and I’m still in better shape than you.”

They laughed as they descended the porch steps. I leaped back into the shed, pulling the door closed a second before they rounded the corner, their shoes crunching against the frozen grass.

I waited for their voices to fade. “We should make a break for it now,” I whispered. “We can take the long way through the woods and find our way back to the car.”

Vero nodded. I slunk out the shed door and held it open for her. As she stepped down, Ty’s pant leg caught on the handle of a rake, sending it crashing to the floor. The rattle of its tines echoed through the yard.

“Did you hear that?” Nick’s voice was faint but clear at the crest of the hill.

“Sounded like it came from the house,” Charlie said.

Vero and I sprinted from the shed, underbrush snapping as we darted into the woods. Flashlights clicked on behind us, their beams breaking over the landscape as Vero and I ducked behind two trees, breathing hard.

“Police!” Nick called out. “Who’s out there?”

Vero and I pressed back against the trunks as their footsteps crackled closer through the bracken. I pressed a hand over my mouth so their lights wouldn’t catch the fog of my breath. Charlie’s shoes paused a few feet beside me. My pulse ratcheted higher. I was certain he could hear the slam of my heart against my ribs.

“See anything?” Nick called out to him.