Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(54)

Impatiently, I tapped my foot up and down, waiting on Officer Stilwell to answer. “He said they had the results from the fingerprints, and also something about bringing in one of their detectives … Sam Lennox, I believe.”

Finally, Officer Stilwell picked up the phone. “Officer Stilwell,” he barked, catching my attention.

“Good morning, Officer Stilwell, this is Kate Townsend. I’m returning your call.”

“Yes, Ms. Townsend, as you already know we have the results. Is there any way you can come down to the station to discuss what we found. It’s extremely urgent that you get here as soon as possible.”

An immediate sense of dread crept over my spine and through to the pit of my stomach. By the sound in his voice, I knew something was wrong. “Um … I can be there in twenty minutes,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

“Sounds good, Ms. Townsend. I’ll tell Sam that you’re on your way.”

I hung up the phone and started toward my car while Cooper kept his pace beside of me. “I have to go, Cooper.”

“What did he say? Did they find out anything from the prints?”

“He said they had the results and that it was extremely urgent. He wants me to go in and talk to them right away. He’s bringing in a detective named Sam Lennox. I have no clue what that means.”

Cooper closed his eyes and sighed. “I think I do,” he murmured regretfully. “I’m coming with you.”

“Cooper, you can’t just skip out on practice.”

Following me to my car, he opened the passenger’s side and climbed in. “Sorry, love, but I’m going. I don’t give a shit if I get reprimanded. I refuse to let you go through this alone when it concerns me as well. We’re in this together, Kate.”

Taking a deep breath, I started up my Jeep and gripped the steering wheel so tight to keep my hands from shaking. I wished I knew what was going on.





When we arrived at the station, Cooper and I were led to the back by a young deputy who didn’t look a day over eighteen; he had perfectly combed over brown hair and a boyish looking smile. I couldn’t imagine seeing him take on a hardened criminal in a fist fight, but as I’d learned before … looks could deceive you. The deputy stopped outside of a closed door and I finally had a chance to see the name on his uniform; it was Alex Whitman.

“You can go right on in, Ms. Townsend. They’re expecting you.”

He nodded at both me and Cooper before continuing on his way. Meanwhile, we stood frozen outside of the door. Cooper pulled me close and rubbed his hand soothingly down my back.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

Blowing out a shaky breath, I wrapped my hand around the door handle and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just want to get this over with. The last time I was at a police station was two years ago.”

Even though Alex said we could go on in, I still knocked and waited a second before opening the door. Inside, Officer Stilwell—dressed in his crisp police uniform—sat in front of a large mahogany desk that was scattered with a million pieces of paper. Behind the desk was a man, who I figured was Detective Sam Lennox. He looked to be in his late thirties with closely cropped dark brown hair. Instead of wearing a uniform, he was dressed in a Little League baseball T-shirt that had the word ‘coach’ in the upper right corner.

Both men stood from their chairs and shook our hands. Sam was the one who spoke, “Good morning, Ms. Townsend and Mr. Davis, I’m Sam Lennox. Thank you for coming by so quickly.” He motioned toward the other two chairs. “Please, have a seat.”

Cooper and I sat down, and so did Sam and Officer Stilwell, both tense and on edge. Opening up the file splayed in front of him, Sam clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. “Ms. Townsend, before we start, I’m sure you already heard that we’ve spoken to Luke Collins and everything came up clear for him.”

I nodded. “Yes, he came by my house last night.”

Sam nodded and leaned forward on his elbows, glancing back and forth between me and Cooper. “I figured he would considering he was anxious to get out of here and talk to you. Even though his alibi came back conclusive, I still wanted to check around to see if he had any friends that could’ve vandalized Mr. Davis’ car on his behalf.”

“Did you find anyone?” Cooper asked.

Sighing, Sam looked down at the file and pulled out a piece of paper. I couldn’t tell what was on it, but when he peered up at me there was an insurmountable look of concern in his gaze. “Ms. Townsend, there were a few prints that showed up on the knife, including yours, but I know that’s because you were the one who bought it. However, there was the tiniest bit of a print that we detected, and it happens to be someone you know.”

Cooper reached over and took my hand, squeezing it tight. “Who?” I asked.

Almost reluctantly, he slowly handed me the paper, but before I looked down I took a deep, shaky breath. The second I glanced down at the paper I gasped as everything came tumbling down around me. It was definitely someone I knew, and someone who hated me more than the devil himself.

It was Scott’s mother … Marianne Easton.

It’d been two years and she still hadn’t let me live down what happened to her son. I continued to feel guilty over losing Scott, but I wasn’t going to let her torment me anymore … or Cooper for that matter. I let the phone calls slip by and let her grieve by calling me names and cussing me out because I thought it would help her come to terms with what happened. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.