Runs Deep (12 page)

CHAPTER 26

S
teve sat under the awning of the bait and tackle shop watching the girl and her mother get loaded into a squad car. They couldn’t go to the hospital because of the bridge, but an officer was going to take them over to the elementary school to get checked out.

Carlos had already headed home to dry off, but before he left, he’d shaken Steve’s hand. “Good thing you were here today. The rest of us weren’t close enough. They wouldn’t have made it without you.”

Steve hadn’t known what to say to that.

Now Russ walked over to Steve, holding out a steaming cup. Steve took it and took a sip. He looked up, surprised. “Hot cocoa?”

Russ shrugged. “I’m not a coffee fan.”

“Thanks.”

Steve took another sip of cocoa. He glanced up at Russ. They had been friends in high school—not best friends, but they’d hung out a lot. It was weird seeing him now: the cop and the ex-con. But Russ didn’t treat him like the ex-con, and Steve appreciated that.

Of course, Russ was the only one who didn’t treat him like a murderer. Steve had given his statement to another deputy who’d managed to be as antagonistic as possible. Not that Steve thought he deserved a medal, but would decency have been a stretch? Now he was just waiting for the big man.

As if on cue, Keith’s Jeep pulled into the parking lot, its lights swirling. Keith got out of the car, a giant yellow slicker covering him. He spoke with an officer before stomping toward Steve and Russ.

“Why do I think he’s not coming over here to say ‘good job’?” Steve mumbled.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a small smile cross Russ’s face.

Keith came to a stop in front of Steve, rain running in rivulets down his coat. “Kane, what the hell have you been up to?”

Steve wiped his hand over his face before looking up at Keith. “And how exactly do you figure
I’m
to blame for this?”

Keith stared at him. “Just get out of here.”

“Yes, sir.” He gave a sloppy salute before handing the mug back to Russ. “Thanks.”

Russ nodded. Steve wondered why exactly he’d had to wait around for
that
, but he kept his mouth shut in case Keith decided to change his mind. And Steve was not in the mood to deal with that. He got that everybody hated him. But when he actually saved a life, would it kill any of them to not be complete assholes?

He yanked his poncho back over his head. Carlos had returned it to him; apparently someone had retrieved it. But he questioned why he was bothering to wear it now; after all, he was already soaked from head to foot.

Just as he stepped out into the rain once again, a groan of metal, louder than any he’d heard so far, cut through the air. His head whipped back toward the bridge.

The old bridge shuddered. The front dipped with another screech of metal; the middle bowed. A suspension cable snapped. Then another. People ran from the water’s edge.

The front of the bridge tore away from its perch, diving down into the water below. The rest buckled and then collapsed down on itself. And just like that, the bridge was gone.

With a giant rush, a twenty-foot wave crashed down on the shore and sped toward the gathered bystanders. Steve grabbed on to the light post next to him, climbing up on its base as the water raced toward him. He held on tightly as the water hit the light post, then rushed back toward the ocean.

A gray-haired woman screamed from behind him. The water had knocked her off her feet and was now pulling her forward. Steve crouched low and managed to snag the back of her jacket as she went by. “I’ve got you. Hold on.”

The woman reached up and grabbed Steve’s hand. He held on until the pull of the water stopped.

“Try to put your feet down,” Steve said.

The woman was shaking, but she did. Steve climbed down and stood next to her, keeping his arm around her waist. She was shaking so hard he didn’t think she’d be able to stand on her own.

“Thank you, thank you,” she mumbled over and over again.

“It’s all right. You’re fine,” Steve assured her.

She held on to him as if her life depended upon it.

“Mom!” A man with glasses and salt-and-pepper hair ran over and pulled the older woman to his chest. Steve recognized him. It was Mr. Collins—his old math teacher.

“Thank you so much…” Mr. Collins looked up and blanched. “… Steve.”

Steve nodded, his mood darkening a little. He released Mr. Collins’s mother and turned away. He didn’t want to wait to see if Mr. Collins had anything else to say.

From the corner of his eye, he saw people getting to their feet. As they stood, they stared in shock at the destroyed bridge. But Steve just turned away from it. The bridge was a town problem—and obviously he wasn’t a member of this town.

As he walked away, he remembered his plan to get back in people’s good graces by saving every member of the town from a tree. Then he shook his head as he pictured Mr. Collins’s face after realizing who had saved his mother.

Apparently not even heroic deeds were going to be enough to change some people’s minds about him.

CHAPTER 27

I
t took Steve double the time it normally took to get home. The wind and rain seemed to conspire to always be pushing against him. When he reached his Gran’s porch, he felt exhausted. And he couldn’t believe everything that had just happened. It seemed… unreal.

The lights were on inside, and he could picture his grandmother bustling about. At the door, he slipped off his socks, shoes, and poncho. He left them outside on the porch and stepped inside quietly. If all went well, he’d grab a shower before she caught sight of him.

“Steve, is that you?”

He’d forgotten about his grandmother’s superpower: enhanced hearing. He debated for minute whether to just yell that he was heading up for a shower, but he knew she’d worry. So with a resigned sigh, he headed toward the kitchen. “Yeah, it’s me.”

His grandmother was at the sink, washing dishes, her back to him. “I made meatballs. I thought we could have spaghetti.” She turned the water off, grabbing a towel and turning. “How does that—”

She let out a little shriek and ran across the kitchen. “What happened?”

“It’s raining, that’s all.”

His grandmother reached out and held up his arm to examine it. A gash extended from his wrist to his elbow. He’d been so cold, he hadn’t even noticed it—hadn’t felt it.

“It’s nothing, Gran. Just a cut from work.”

His grandmother raised one eyebrow.

Steve pulled his arm back. “Really, I’m fine.”

Placing one hand on either side of his face, she studied him. When he was little, he’d thought she was psychic whenever she did this. She always knew his mood.

He pictured Mrs. Collins’s mother, and he imagined what might have happened if he hadn’t been there. She and his grandmother were about the same age.

He placed his hands over his grandmother’s cheeks, wondering what he would ever do without her. Tenderness filled him. “I’m okay. Really. Just cold.”

She fixed him with her gaze for another moment before letting him go. “All right. There are clean towels in the linen closet. Make sure you clean that cut. Now shoo.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned and headed up the stairs.

The cordless phone rang just as he passed it.
I thought we unplugged that thing
, he thought as he backtracked to answer it.

Steve put a little edge in his voice when he answered. “Hello?”

“Steve. It’s Declan. Are you okay?”

Steve glanced toward the kitchen. His grandmother stood in the doorway, her expression concerned. “It’s just Declan,” he said.

She nodded and headed back in, but Steve hated the worry he was causing her. He jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time with phone in hand. “Hey, Declan. Yeah. I’m okay.”

Declan let out a laugh. “Russ told me what happened. I’m so damned proud of you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Hey. The people of this town should know you saved that woman and kid. They seem to think they know who you are. Maybe this will give them pause.”

Once again Steve saw Mr. Collins’s face. “Yeah. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. Everybody else all right?”

“Yes. Luckily no one was pulled out when the bridge collapsed. It’s a damned miracle.”

“Guess it’s a good thing you closed it.”

“Guess it is.”

“Look, I’m freezing. I’ve got to go grab a shower.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. I need to go help out anyway. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I am. And thanks, Declan.” Steve disconnected the call and placed the phone on the table in the hall with a smile.

In the bathroom, he stripped off his wet clothes and turned the water as hot as it would go before stepping into the shower. Pinpricks of pain danced along his skin as the scalding water came in contact with his skin. But after a minute, the heat seeped through the cold.

Steve examined the cut on his arm and realized it was a pretty bad one, deeper than he had first thought, but he didn’t think it would require stitches. And at least it had stopped bleeding.

Resting his hands against the wall and letting the water roll over him, he mentally replayed the last two hours. He’d saved three people’s lives, and someone had even called him a hero. Wendy the waitress hated him, and Mr. Collins was disgusted by him. But even with the whole town hating him, compared to his usual day in prison, this day was actually turning out pretty good.

CHAPTER 28

H
e drove through the town, watching everyone scurry around in the rain. He’d already driven past where the bridge used to be. Everyone was now stranded here in Millners Kill.
Oh God, this is just too good.

He stopped at the light. Skip Hughes, a friend from high school, crossed in front of him. Skip waved, recognizing the car. He waved back. Skip’s two little girls flitted along next to him in their colorful raincoats.

Skip had been a member of student council and on the football team. They’d spent almost all summer together after both junior and senior year. But it had been harder to stay in touch as time marched on.

He watched the trio cross the street. The girls were six and seven. Skip put a ton of pictures of them on Facebook.
The proud papa.

Skip let go of the girls’ hands as they reached the sidewalk. They skipped ahead of him, laughing, their matching brown curls blown around by the wind.

He imagined walking up behind Skip, slipping his knife through the vertebrae in his lower back, then shoving his knife into Skip’s neck as the girls’ smiles turned to screams of horror.

Skip turned and waved once more.

The man smiled, returning the wave.
Good to see you too, Skip.

He continued through the town. Few people were out, and there was little traffic. Not that in Millners Kill there was ever much traffic.

He passed out of the town proper just a few minutes later. He hummed along with the radio as he wound his way to the far side of the island. He pulled into a parking spot at the deserted beach. The waves crashed with violence on the shore.

He smiled, feeling the excitement in the air.

He got out of the car. He glanced around. Not a soul.

Rain whipped around him. He bent his head back to let it wash over his face. It was invigorating.

He hit the trunk release on his key fob, walked around to the rear of the car, and smiled down into Elise Ingram’s pale face. Her empty eyes stared up at him.

“Oh don’t be like that,” he said, pulling on his plastic gloves. “You should be honored.”

Plastic lined the trunk to keep any blood from spilling into the car. He wrapped the plastic around her before pulling her into a sitting position. Her head lolled to the side, and he pushed her blond hair back and kissed her on the forehead.

“In fact, you should be flattered. You are the first move in my little game.”

CHAPTER 29

J
ulie spent the morning trying to button up the house as much as she could—and trying not to think about the fact that Steve was just a few houses away. The basement, she knew, was probably going to be a problem. It had always tended to flood, even when there was only a mildly heavy rain. But she’d just have to deal with that when it happened.

By midday, she figured she’d done about all she could. Now she just had to wait and see what damage the storm brought. So after a quick lunch, she sat down in the den with her anatomy textbook. She told herself that if she was going to come home, she would be sure she dazzled Dr. Santorina when she got back. She was going to know general surgery inside and out. Opening her notebook, she set out to do exactly that.

It was much later when a knock at the door finally took Julie’s attention away from her textbook. She blinked her eyes, trying to orient herself. Surprise filtered through her as she saw it was already five o’clock. She’d been at it for hours, with only a few breaks for the bathroom and, of course, more coffee.

She glanced out the window and noticed that the rain had stopped.
Well, at least we get a little break from it.

The knock sounded again, and she hastily got off the couch and marked her page before heading to the front door. She looked through the transom glass next to the door. A Millners Kill police officer stood there.
Oh, no
. Taking a breath, she unlatched the door and pulled it open. “Yes?”

The officer smiled down at her. “Hey, Julie.”

It took her a moment, but then she recognized him. “Russ?”

He reached out and hugged her. “I heard you were back in town.”

Julie laughed. “I didn’t know you
stayed
in town. I thought everyone from our class left.”

Russ dropped her back down. “Most did. More jobs on the mainland. But I always wanted to be a cop, and there was an opening when I got out of college, so I took it.”

“It suits you.” And it did. Russ looked confident and content. Julie envied him that. Russ had always seemed so comfortable in his own skin. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him flustered or stressed. It seemed like the right persona for a cop.

Julie stepped back. “You want to come in?”

Russ shook his head. “No, I just wanted to stop by, say hi. Tell you I was around if you need anything.” He shifted his feet. “Um, you heard Steve’s back in town?”

Julie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure you knew, especially with the bridge.”

“The bridge?”

“It’s been all over the news.”

Julie had kept the TV and radio off so she could study. “What about the bridge?”

“It, uh, collapsed.”

Julie stared at him, waiting for the punch line, but Russ didn’t smile. “What do you mean, ‘collapsed’?”

“The whole thing’s gone, Jules. There’s no way on or off the island.”

Julie stared in disbelief. “For how long?”

Russ shook his head. “With the storm, no one’s really sure. It’ll probably be at least a week before even boats can cross.”

Dr. Santorina’s pinched face popped into Julie’s mind—his bushy eyebrows drawn together, his lips pulled down in a frown.

“Julie?”

Julie pulled herself from her thoughts. “Um, I didn’t know. My boss is going to kill me.”

“Sorry. But hey, at least maybe we’ll get a chance to catch up. Actually, that’s why I stopped by. A few people from our class are meeting up at Mel’s in about an hour. No one had your number, so I offered to drop by and tell you.”

“In this?” Julie gestured to the dark clouds above.

“Well, it’s supposed to not rain again for three hours or so. We figured we could make some use of the break.”

Julie forced a smile to her lips. Russ had been a good friend. She’d felt bad about losing touch, but when she left, she’d needed a clean start. She’d needed to leave everything from Millners Kill in her rearview mirror. Yet now, now that she was back, the idea of reconnecting was nice—kind of like being home was.

“Yeah. That would be great.”

“Okay, well, I need to get going. See you in an hour or so?”

Julie nodded, her mind returning to the fact that she was now stranded in Millners Kill. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

Russ gave her another smile and headed down the steps. “Great. It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah,” Julie said faintly. She closed the door slowly, feeling numb.

The bridge was out. It could be as long as a week before she got off the island. Dr. Santorina was going to kill her. No, not kill. But he would make sure the rest of the year was miserable.

She quickly made her way into the kitchen and grabbed her cell phone. Before she lost her nerve, she dialed Dr. Santorina’s number. He picked up quickly. “Yes?”

“Dr. Santorina, this is Julie Granger.”

“Ah, Dr. Granger. I hope you’re calling to say you have returned.”

Julie cringed. “Uh, no. In fact, I’m calling to let you know I’ll be away longer than expected. The bridge is out, and there’s no way to get back.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a deep sigh. “Dr. Granger, your lack of dedication to your studies is disheartening. I had thought you had what it took to be a brilliant surgeon. I find myself re-evaluating that belief.”

“Sir, I am dedicated. This situation—”

”—was your choice. And there are consequences for choices. You will have to face yours when you return. Good day, Dr. Granger.” He disconnected.

Julie held the phone to her ear for another few seconds before finally laying it slowly down on the counter.
I just ruined my career.

She sank into a chair at the table, her head in her hands.
I never should have come home.