Adam said, “Yeah, I’m relieved about Sam, too. But wait a
minute, Becca. Back up here. You’re telling me that McBride didn’t
try to hurt you when you told him you didn’t love him?”
She stuffed another celery stick in his mouth and kissed him all
over his face as he chewed. She whispered in his ear before he
could talk again, “Nothing to worry about, really, Adam. It’s all
over and done with. Hey, you do like the celery sticks?”
“Yeah, they’re good. All three dozen that you’ve stuffed down
me. Now, tell me about how Sheriff Gaffney had to shoot Tyler
once he knew the skeleton was that girl Melissa Katzen. I’m not
really all that clear on any of it. I want every little detail, Becca. No,
no more celery sticks. Yeah, a kiss is all right, but hold off now.
You’re not going to distract me anymore.”
But she just kept kissing him until he was nearly heaving him
self off the sofa. She said against his ear, “I used low-fat cream
cheese, better for your arteries.”
“Becca.” He grabbed a fist of her hair and pulled her close to his
face. “Tell me the truth. What the hell happened up there?”
“Adam, it wasn’t all that big a deal. Really, nothing worth mentioning
except that Sheriff Gaffney really came through. He was
the hero. I’ve probably forgotten lots of it because it just wasn’t that
memorable. Really, the sheriff had everything under control. I didn’t
even count. I wasn’t even important. Would you please stop your
worrying and just forget it? I’m home now.” He felt her hand on
his belly and he nearly lost it, but he didn’t. He let her go but his
frown deepened. Before he could say anything, Becca smiled and
said as she got up from the sofa, “Oh, my, just look at the time. Not
enough time for me to have my way with you. But I do have a
couple of minutes. Do you want me to give you a nice rubdown
before I go to the hospital to see Dad?”
He thought about her hand on his belly, moving south, and he
nearly went enpointe. He said on a big sigh, “No, but how about an
apple, Becca? I love apples.”
She knew exactly what he was thinking. “I love you, Adam.
Maybe when I get back from the hospital, we can play a game of
Monopoly, or something, okay? But that means you’ve got to rest
while I’m gone. Now, you just sit tight and I’ll get you that apple.”
The phone rang. Adam stared after Becca, then picked it up.
“Hello.”
“Is this Mr. Carruthers?”
“It is.”
“This is Sheriff Gaffney, from Riptide.”
“Hello, Sheriff. What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to speak to Ms. Matlock, make sure she was all
right.”
“Well,” Adam said slowly, staring toward the door, “there’s still
some shock, you know, from what happened.”
The sheriff sighed. “Understandable, of course, poor girl. I don’t
mind telling you that it was pretty hairy there for a while, Mr. Carruthers
I’m sure it’s made your hair stand on end, hearing about
her lying on the basement floor with McBride straddling her,
choking the life out of her. She was hitting him with a brick, but
it wasn’t working, she was getting too weak. The guy was strong,
really strong. As you know, I had to shoot him, but even that didn’t
stop him. He was over the top, completely whacked out, as my
boys say, and all he wanted to do was kill her. I had to shoot him
again and the guy fell right on top of her, covered her with blood.
But it’s over now. All the questions answered. Ms. Matlock didn’t
get hysterical, thank the good Lord. She’s a strong girl. As a man of
the law doing my duty, I really appreciated that. And now she’s
home, and I hear the two of you are going to get married. You’re a
lucky man.”
“Yes, Sheriff. Thank you.”
“Anytime. Well, do give my best to Ms. Matlock.”
“You can be sure that I will, Sheriff.” Adam heard her breathing.