“That’s what I thought.” Myles clasped his hands in front of him and leaned forward. “Until I heard the rest.”

Claire stiffened in expectation. “Go on.”

“Herb parked back in the trees and watched Don burn some papers. It seemed odd, given the time of day and everything, so after Don drove off, he went to see what, if anything, was left.”

Isaac had been rubbing his chin as he listened, but at this point he stopped. “Did he find anything besides ashes?”

“The stuff in the pit was destroyed. But there were a couple of sheets that’d blown out before they were too badly burned. They were stuck in the trees. When Herb saw what they were, he brought them to me.”

Claire could scarcely breathe. “And? What were they?”

Myles lowered his voice. “David’s notes on your mother’s investigation.”

“That means they came from my house! So…did he steal them? What would he want with them? And why would he burn them?”

“All good questions,” Myles responded.

Isaac had just pulled in to get gas when Claire’s mother-in-law walked out of the mini-mart. Rosemary O’Toole spotted Claire the second she looked up, so there was nothing Claire could do, even though her first impulse was to avoid any interaction, at least while she was with Isaac. She already knew how Rosemary was likely to react. David’s mother said she wanted Claire to move on, and would eventually be willing to accept someone else in Claire’s life, but she didn’t want another man to take her son’s place too soon, especially a man as controversial as Isaac. That would cause a dramatic change in focus for the whole community, pushing David a little more decisively into the past.

Claire could understand why she’d feel that way. Claire felt the same loyalty to David, and even some fear of what might happen if she really let go of the one constant in the past twelve months—her pain at her husband’s loss. She didn’t need Rosemary’s disapproval making all of it worse.

Isaac didn’t seem to notice her sudden tension. If he’d seen Rosemary, he hadn’t thought anything of it. He got out and started to pump gas while she approached Claire’s side of the vehicle.

“Oh, boy,” Claire breathed. They’d just left Myles at the diner. Her mind was completely preoccupied with Don Salter—whether or not he was the person who’d trashed her house and stolen those files, or if he’d come by them through a third party, which opened up a whole host of other questions. She didn’t want to think about David. She’d spent a year crying over his death, was just beginning to come out of that dark period. The last thing she needed was an awkward or painful encounter with his mother.

But she stepped out of the truck, anyway, to give Rosemary a hug.

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

Rosemary didn’t return the hug. She suffered through it, then lifted her head, causing her chins to wag. “I’m fine. Except that you haven’t been returning my calls.”

Claire should’ve contacted her this week. Normally, she kept in close touch. “I haven’t even received your messages. My life’s been crazy. First, there was that incident at the studio. I’m sure you heard about that. Then someone broke into my house. We still don’t know who or why. And the fire… I don’t know what’s going on.”

Rosemary’s eyes cut Isaac’s way. He now realized she was there. Claire knew because he was looking over at them. “Maybe it’s the company you’re keeping,” Rosemary muttered.

Here we go… “Isaac has nothing to do with what’s happening,” she said. “As a matter of fact, he saved my life.”

“But he wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t been at his place, sleeping with him, to begin with.”

This was turning out to be a frontal assault; Claire hadn’t expected it to be this bad. She’d seen David’s mother upset before, but never so livid her lips quivered and her voice shook. “Rosemary—”

“I was Mom a moment ago.”

“You were Mom until you started acting as if you don’t care about me,” Claire snapped.

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I didn’t care. Someone needs to talk some sense into you. If you won’t listen to your own parents, or your sister, who else is there? Do you think David would want to see the woman he adored with a man like him?”

The fact that she’d used David to shore up her side of the argument stung, even though Claire should’ve seen it coming. “David’s not here to give his opinion,” she said.

“But you can’t really be satisfied with someone of his moral character—” she motioned to Isaac “—after being married to my son!”

Claire thought of when she’d told Laurel she’d never really liked Isaac. She’d regretted making that statement ever since, and not only because it was a lie and had possibly hurt him. She was a coward. Maybe he’d never be able to love her the way she loved him. Maybe they wouldn’t wind up together, as committed as she’d been with David. They were just beginning whatever their relationship would be and couldn’t predict the future. But she was going to have the guts to own up to what she felt, regardless of how it all ended.

“David was a good man,” she said. “I miss him so much and I’ll always love him. But Isaac is just as good. And I love him, too.”

Her mother-in-law’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Love him!” Everyone within earshot turned to look.

Claire felt herself flush but stood her ground.

Isaac left the nozzle in the gas tank and walked over, but he didn’t get involved. He stood behind her, a silent support.

“That doesn’t mean he’s going to love you back.” The gleam in Rosemary’s eyes challenged either one of them to contradict her. “He’s not someone who—”

Claire interrupted before she could go on. She didn’t want Isaac to hear any more of this. Some people might say he deserved his reputation, but who were they to judge? His psyche was so complex he probably didn’t understand why he’d done half the stuff he’d done. “You’re right. It doesn’t mean he gives a damn,” she said. “But he doesn’t have to.”

The tension left Rosemary’s spine, making her look fat and deflated. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah, I’m okay with it,” Claire replied, and got back in the truck.

Isaac finished getting gas, then climbed behind the wheel. “I’ve always loved you,” he said softly, and started the engine.

27

Although Isaac and Claire had gone over to the Salters’ house three different times since their conversation with Myles at the diner—had called, too—they hadn’t been able to rouse Jeremy or his father. According to what Myles had said at dinner, the county investigator, Jared Davis, had also been trying to reach the Salters.

Claire wasn’t sure where they could be. As far as she knew, other than working at Hank’s—and his shift had already ended—Jeremy didn’t have a lot of places to go. He had no friends, no other family. His father wasn’t working these days. And, strangely enough, both vehicles were parked in the garage…?.

“Why do you think Joe was with Don?” she mused. They were at her place, cleaning, but they’d been analyzing the situation while they worked. It had felt strange to see Joe in Don’s car, but the fact that they were together recently seemed even more suspect now.

“Maybe Joe did this—” he gestured at the glass he was sweeping up in the kitchen “—and had just passed the files off to Don when you saw them. Because I can’t imagine any other reason for the two of them to be together.”