Page 46 of Never Forget
I reached for my coffee and pulled the laptop closer. The timeline needed more detail, and I still had gaps in the incident reports. If I could just find the original dispatch records from the night of the fire, I could?—
The doorbell rang.
Who would come at this hour?
I pushed back from the table and walked to the front door. Through the window I could see Sam on the porch, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, his shoulders set like he was bracing for something.
"I'm in," he said when I opened the door.
He looked at me for a long moment. There was something different in his face, like something that had been churning had finally settled.
"Whatever you need. I'll help you,” he added.
I thought about what Loretta had said that morning. She'd told me to give him a minute to figure out what kind of man he wanted to be.
He'd figured it out.
I stepped aside and let him in.
CHAPTER 11
Jamie
The wine aisle at Harris Teeter was too bright.
Sam had wandered off to find chips, and I was scanning labels, trying to remember if Megan preferred red or white. We were due at their place in an hour. The meeting notes were in my bag, three days of research organized into something that almost looked like a plan.
"Jamie Donovan."
That voice.
I used to get giddy when I heard it. Sixteen years old, heart racing, feeling special because the most popular boy in school knew my name. Now it sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and I wanted to wrap my hands around the throat it came from and squeeze until it stopped.
I turned and saw the devil himself. Bryce Montgomery.
He looked exactly like the posters he'd plastered all over Havensworth. That same polished smile, those same blue eyes, that same face I'd been tempted to draw on with a Sharpie more than once. I hadn't done it. I didn't want to be cited for vandalism.
"I thought that was you." He stepped closer with that easy warmth, like we were old friends who'd lost touch instead ofwhat we actually were. "I was sorry to hear about Jack. He was a good man."
What do you know about Jack?
"Thank you," I said instead. I turned back to the wine and hoped he'd leave me alone before I gave in to the urge to knock his artificially whitened teeth out of his mouth.
Hedidn'tleave.
"I've been following your career, you know. I read the profile series and that piece you wrote on workplace safety legislation."
The thought of Bryce Montgomery reading my work made my skin crawl. I didn't want his attention. I didn't want him knowing anything about my life.
"You've done well for yourself. We all knew you would. You were always the smartest one in the room."
I reached for a bottle because I needed something to hold.
"I'm running for Solicitor," he said casually, like it had just occurred to him to mention it. "The campaign was announced last month. It's been a lot, but it feels right. Giving back to Havensworth, you know?"
I didn't respond.
"I'd love to get coffee sometime. Catch up properly." He paused. "I know things were… complicated back then. High school. We were kids." He shrugged as if "complicated" was enough to describe what he'd done and "we were kids" was enough of an explanation for his behavior. "But people grow up. I've grown up. I think you'd be impressed."
