Page 112 of Demo
That’s what I was. Haunted.
After about an hour of feeling bad for myself and running through thoughts that went nowhere, I went back to our apartment. I found Lizzie curled up on the couch with a blanket andThe Walking Deadplaying on TV, which she was missing because she was sound asleep. Kennedy was curled up on her legs, also fast asleep.
I pressed a kiss to her temple then went into the bedroom, where I peeled off my clothes and got under the covers in my boxers, feeling all alone in our big bed by myself. But I couldn’t help feeling it was what I deserved.
Chapter 31
LYZBETH
“Whydoesithaveto be so cold?” Monty grumbles as he breathes into his hands and pulls his jacket collar tighter around his neck.
“Monty, you’ve lived in this city for like seventy-five years—”
“Whoa, there. Let’s just take it down a notch,” he cuts me off mid-insult.
“Fine, fifty-something years. Whatever. Point is, you know we’re practically in Canada. You should be used to it by now.”
We are standing on the side of the courthouse waiting for a perp to come out from his arraignment. No cameras are allowed inside the building, so we’re part of the news calvary that will descend on the suspect once he’s led out by police.
But the side of the courthouse is in shadow, which makes the early winter cold even that much more frigid. Weather in western New York is unpredictable. Sometimes we don’t get snow until the beginning of the year. Other times, we may get a Halloween blizzard. Easter could be spent in flip-flops or snow boots.
Currently, we are living in the tundra.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I check it, seeing I have another text from Emily. She’s been bugging me to come over to Clyde’s house to help decorate for the holidays. I miss him, and her, and I want to see her before she pops out baby number two—which will be any day now—but I’m a little nervous about going over to the house.
As I put the phone back in my pocket, the side door swings open, and I step to the side to allow Monty to get a good shot of police leading a cuffed and shackled suspect along the sidewalk toward an idling cop car at the front of the building.
“Showtime,” he says, and I hear the shutter of his camera going wild.
***
After heading back to the office to file the story, I decide to head over to Clyde’s. I miss them. They are my family, too, damn it. On the way over, I call my mom from the car, realizing I had been neglecting my own family, as well.
“So, needless to say, the ladies in my book club all have filthy minds, and I love it!” her voice booms through the Bluetooth as she tells me about a smut book she’s reading. This is her first venture into “adult” reads.
“Mom,” I begin, suppressing a laugh. “I would like to officially welcome you to the dark side.”
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake!” she gasps from the other side of the line, then gives a booming laugh. “You’re too much. You and your sister are really keeping me on my toes.”
“How is Leanne?” I ask, as I turn onto Clyde’s street, the sight of the familiar houses making me feel warm and cold at the same time.
“She’s great! She and Kirk are loving the warm weather. Not like the winter wonderland you’re in right now.” Leanne and Kirk moved to Florida two years ago.
“They came over for dinner the other night, and she said something about introducing me to a new member of the family, and I thought maybe she was going to tell me I was finally going to be a grandmother, but it turns out they got a dog.”
I pull into Clyde’s driveway and put the car in park. “If they wanted a dog, I would have gladly sent them mine,” I say, pulling the visor down and checking my face in the mirror. “Anyway, look, Mom, I have to go. I just got here.”
“Yes, go,” she says. “And Lizzie?”
“Yeah?”
Mom pauses for a moment. “I’m really glad you still have family up there. You know, despite what you and Knox are going through.”
I swallow. “Yeah. Me too.”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you, too.”
