that slipped down her cheek. “It turns out I didn’t help, and your attitude has turned a bad day into an even worse one. I’d like to say it was nice seeing you again, but it wasn’t.”
Alex raked his fingers through his hair. “Grace, don’t you understand—”
She held up her hand. “I think you’ve made your feelings very clear, Alex. Now I need to get back to work.”
Clutching her fists at her side, she whirled and stormed down the walkway in the direction of the station’s van. She’d failed to get the story of stopping a man from committing suicide that she’d first visualized when she set foot on the bridge. Instead of a piece to add to her résumé, she’d ended up with the last tragic moments of a man’s life.
She didn’t think she would ever forget the look on Mr. Mitchell’s face right before he plunged to the river. She needed to get back to the station and decide how she would use the footage on the noon newscast, but at the moment she couldn’t bear to think about the sad events on the bridge this morning. Maybe when she had calmed down, she could reflect on all that happened on the bridge today, but right now she needed to get as far away from it as possible.
* * *
Alex watched Grace stride away from him. Her blond hair glistened in the sunlight that had chased off the early-morning fog. She held her back erect, and anger oozed from every pore in her body. That was his doing. He should never have attacked her like that. After all she’d just had the scare of a lifetime, and he hadn’t helped any with his harsh words.
He’d spoken before he had time to think. But he’d been so scared when he saw Mitchell grab her arm and go over the side of the bridge. At first he couldn’t move, and then instinct kicked in. He had his arm around her and was pulling her backward before he realized what was happening.
He raised a shaking hand and brushed it across his eyes. Regret that he hadn’t been able to save Timothy Mitchell hit him like a kick in the stomach, and he knew it would be a long time before he could forget the look on the man’s face when he’d truly realized at that last moment he was about to die. But he had to keep reminding himself Grace had lived. If he’d been a second later, she would be at the bottom of the Mississippi River with Mr. Mitchell right now. He almost groaned aloud at the thought. As usual, their meeting today had ended like many others in the past, but this one was his fault.
His eyes followed Grace, who had stopped to talk with Captain Wilson, and he wished he could take back the harsh words he’d spoken earlier. He couldn’t, though, just like he couldn’t undo the past.
He’d had many tense moments since he’d joined the force, but today had to be the worst he’d ever experienced. At the moment he’d thought she was going over the bridge, he didn’t think of her as the woman who had broken his heart. He remembered her as the little girl who had shared his childhood with him. He had to make her understand how scared he’d been.
Alex turned to the officers who’d gathered at the railing and now watched the rolling water. “Do you need me for anything else?”
One of the officers who had tried to reach Mitchell shook his head. “There’s not much more to do here. Thanks for the help.”
Grace turned away from Captain Wilson and headed toward her van. Alex took a deep breath and jogged to catch up with her. She’d opened the door and was about to climb into the van when he called out to her. “Grace, wait. I want to talk with you.”
She closed the van’s door and glared at him as he approached. Her eyes flashed with anger when he stopped in front of her. “Do you want to berate me further for my bad judgment?”
Alex swallowed. “No. I wanted to make sure you’re all right and apologize for the way I spoke to you on the bridge. You’d just seen a man die, and you were almost killed yourself. After all you became a victim, too, when Mitchell tried to kill you. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. I’m sorry.”
She frowned and shook her head. “So after all these years, your only concern for my welfare is because you saw me as a victim on that bridge.”
He gritted his teeth and leaned closer. “You know that’s not true, Grace.”
“You still hate me, don’t you?” She tilted her head to one side. “It’s sad to think that after all these years we find it difficult to be around each other.”
He took a deep breath. “Yeah, but every time we’re together, it ends with angry words like it did on the bridge this morning. I don’t want it to end that way this time.”
She looked at him for a moment before she spoke. “Neither do I. I’m always sad afterward when that happens.”
He sighed. “Me, too, but it doesn’t change anything. There’s too much history between us, Grace.”
She opened her mouth to speak but didn’t say anything. After a moment her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “There is, and there’s no way to undo the past. All we can do is try to make the best of it. I’d like for us to at least be civil when we run into each other, though.”
“I hope we can in time,” he said.
“Maybe we’ll have time to make it happen while we’re trying to find out the truth about Landon’s death.”
For a moment he thought he’d misunderstood her, but the determined look in her eye told him she knew exactly what she had said. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.” She glanced around as if checking to see if anyone could overhear them before she lowered her voice. “What if his father was right and he was murdered?”
Alex shook his head. “Just because Mr. Mitchell says so doesn’t make it true. The police did a thorough investigation, and they believed it was suicide.”
“But still...”
“Suicide, Grace. That’s all there is to it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “So are you saying you won’t help me find out the truth? We both promised him we would find out about Landon’s death.”
Alex stepped closer and frowned. “That was before the man tried to kill you. I think that canceled all promises.”
“No, it doesn’t. What if he was right and Landon was murdered? Did you ever hear anybody talk about a secret society at school?”
Alex thought for a moment before he responded. “I suppose I did. There was always talk about some mysterious group who lurked in the shadows. But I thought it was just gossip.”
“What if it wasn’t? What if there was a secret group and they killed Landon?”
Alex glanced at his watch. “I don’t have time for this, Grace. I have real unsolved crimes I’m working on. Landon’s death was a suicide. I have better things to do than go chasing after some silly rumor that circulated in our high school twelve years ago.”
He started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not going to let you ignore this. We made a promise to a man right before he died. We may find it hard to be around each other, but that doesn’t release us from doing what is right. We have to find out the truth, Alex.”
He
