Cold River - Carla Neggers [98]
“I’ve always seen them all as cut from the same cloth. Sean’s as much a Cameron as the rest of them.”
He was behind her now. He put one foot on the bottom step. Hannah noticed wet snowflakes splatter on the expensive leather of his boots. His eyes, almost navy against the gray, narrowed on her, but just for a moment before he shifted his gaze to Reverend McBane. “I got restless in California and decided to come back. Is everything all right here?”
Hannah relaxed slightly. Nothing had happened with Devin or Toby.
“Everything’s fine,” Reverend McBane said. “Gloria and I are just waiting for the rain to turn all the way to snow.”
“I know the past weeks haven’t been easy on you,” Sean said. “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to contact me. If you can’t reach me, my brothers and sister will be glad to help.”
“Hannah’s good to us. So are you, Sean.”
Sean grinned. “Well, don’t tell her.”
Reverend McBane looked at Hannah and smiled as he addressed Sean. “She’s very smart, Sean. You wouldn’t want to underestimate her.”
“Ah. You’re saying she knows.”
He didn’t seem concerned. Hannah found herself less and less able to contain her emotions. “Welcome back, Sean,” she said, jumping down off the steps. “I have to go.”
“I’ll see you back in town.”
But she already had her hands stuffed in her pockets as she rushed down the walk to her car. She didn’t look back to see if the McBanes invited Sean inside. She drove down Cameron Mountain Road, slowing at the lane that led to the crypt and peering into the fog and mix of rain and snow.
“Hannah, Hannah, Hannah.”
She shuddered, more convinced than ever someone had called her name. She wished she could say for sure that it hadn’t been Bowie O’Rourke.
Twenty-Four
Sean drove out to the Whittaker estate after assuring Reverend McBane he hadn’t done anything wrong. Of course Hannah would drag the truth out of him. Not only had she just graduated law school with top grades, she’d been pulling information out of people since ninth grade and had raised two boys on her own. Criminals didn’t stand a chance with her.
Bowie’s van wasn’t in the turnaround, but Sean parked there and headed up the slick walk to the stone guesthouse. As he mounted the steps to the porch, he noticed muddy footprints on the painted wood. Someone had just arrived or just left.
Vivian Whittaker pushed open the storm door and walked out onto the porch. She seemed barely aware of his presence. “Bowie only worked a short time this morning. He says he’s waiting on materials.” She blinked at Sean as if it had just dawned on her who it was standing there. “I thought you were in California. Has something happened?”
Sean heard the wind whistling in the mountains as the cold front moved in from the northwest, pushing out the fog and rain. “Nothing’s happened. I got back a little while ago.” He smiled, hoping to ease some of her tension. “Elijah thinks I was missing a real winter.”
“You and your brothers have gone your separate ways, but the bond among you is still so strong. You get along well.” Vivian glanced back toward the entry, the storm door slowly shutting on its own. “Painting isn’t going to help. I just can’t get rid of the memories of those people. Even Nora and her stepfather. I keep picturing Alex at the pond. He found it difficult to relax—” She broke off, staring out at the gloom. “If I could do it over, I wouldn’t have befriended Alex. I imagine Lowell feels the same way. We ended up with Kyle Rigby and Melanie Kendall under our roof because we did. Is that heartless of me?”
“Give it some time.”
She seemed to shudder with the bitter wind and hugged her arms to her chest. “I don’t know where Bowie is now, if that’s why you’re here. I assume he’s at home or on another job.” Her panic seemed to have subsided. “Lowell and I both have ended up liking Bowie very much. People deserve second chances. I walked up the road past his house yesterday—it’s so pretty there with the river and the stone