92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [78]
The two men parted amicably enough. The arrest was acutely embarrassing for Louie and at the same time it might be the wake-up call he needed. What happened now was entirely up to Louie Benson.
After that bumpy start to the day, Troy was hoping his afternoon would run smoothly. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be.
Faith’s call came in at close to one o’clock. Troy couldn’t disguise his pleasure in hearing from her. “Faith! This is a nice surprise.”
“I apologize,” she said and hardly sounded like herself, “but I’m going to have to cancel our dinner date.”
Troy’s spirits did an automatic nosedive. “Oh?” He did his best to seem nonchalant, as though this was a minor disappointment. It wasn’t.
“Someone slashed my tires last night.”
“What?” Troy gritted his teeth as anger surged through him. “Did you report it?”
“What good will that do?” she cried. “I’ve reported the vandalism before and nothing seems to help.”
Troy was too agitated to discuss this over the phone. “I’m on my way over to your place.”
“Troy—”
“Ten minutes.” He hung up, grabbed his hat and coat and was out the door. Although this wasn’t technically an emergency, he turned on his lights but not the siren. He wished he could determine why Faith had been targeted—and how to stop it. But whatever it took, he was determined to put an end to this.
When Faith opened the door, she looked pale and drawn, with dark shadows beneath her eyes. He wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her but reminded himself that he was there as a professional, not as her friend—or would-be lover.
“Tell me what happened,” he said in his most authoritative voice.
Faith led him to her living room and slumped down on the couch. “I was supposed to go to work this morning, but when I went out to the car, I saw that…that my tires were slashed.”
“All four?”
She nodded.
This was no small expense.
“I called the clinic and told them I couldn’t come in today. Then I contacted the auto service. They had to tow my car to the tire place…I won’t have it back until tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, Faith.” As the town’s sheriff, Troy felt responsible. “Did the neighbors see anything?”
Faith shook her head. “I already asked. It must’ve happened after midnight, which is when the McCormicks next door went to bed. No one saw or heard a thing.”
Troy closed his eyes in frustration.
“I was so upset, I phoned my daughter, and Jay Lynn insisted I spend the weekend with her. Frankly, Troy, I need to get away. I’m at the end of my rope. Someone doesn’t want me here and after today…after this morning, all I can say is I don’t want to be here, either.”
“You don’t mean it,” he said.
“I do. I made a huge mistake the day I moved to Cedar Cove.”
His hand tightened on his hat brim, crushing the felt. “It was exactly the opposite for me. It was one of the best days of my life.”
“Apparently you have a short memory,” she chided, then smiled weakly in his direction. “I was shocked when the Seattle house sold so quickly—but even more shocked when you said we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”
If Troy could take back those words, if he could unsay them, he would. Breaking off the relationship with Faith had been one of the biggest blunders of his adult life, and he’d paid for it every day since.
“Listen,” Faith said, “I don’t mean to rehash old arguments. I’m tired and upset and a weekend away will do me good.”
Troy agreed, although he would’ve liked it a whole lot better if she’d decided to visit her son instead of Jay Lynn. Scott, at least, lived in town.
“Is there anything I can do?” Troy asked.
She gazed up at him, her bruised-looking eyes meeting his. “There’s nothing anyone can do. The best thing for me is to leave town.”
“No!” he objected loudly.
“For the weekend,” she amended. “What happens after that can wait. Now isn’t a good time for either of us to make a decision about…whether we have a future together.”
Troy disagreed with her. He wanted