Tanner shifted on his feet. “We won’t have much to give them until Peg gets the results.”
Arthur glared at him. “I don’t care. I’m not endangering my granddaughters. We need to trust the law to do their job now. We have enough threads. Let them pull them. This is beyond a reporter’s purview, even for a hot-shot like you.”
The menace in Arthur’s voice made Tanner look away.
“Grandpa’s right,” Meredith finally said, her voice hoarse. “This just isn’t worth it anymore.”
When she closed the door, Tanner rolled his shoulders, wanting to follow her inside. Hold her. Touch her. Comfort her.
He should tell her everything right now. He couldn’t bear to see her this way, knowing that he was the cause for her pain. He stepped toward the door. Arthur thrust out his cane like a bar on a train track.
“You leave her alone!” he ground out.
He came to his senses. “I will for now.” He hit the garage door button, the cracking and rolling sound pounding in time with his tension headache. “But ask yourself this, Arthur. Why would Richard Sommerville print a nasty article about my brother if I was willingly working for him?”
As he strode off, he waited for Arthur to stop him, but he didn’t.
Let the law come. Then he’d tell Meredith the truth.
And pray it was enough to get her back.
***
Meredith watched Tanner’s car careen out of the driveway. The cold windowpane cooled her flushed face. She’d gone from pale to heated when she’d seen him in the garage. Her heart had burned in her chest with the added accelerant of his presence.
“Meredith?” her grandpa called.
She walked into his open arms. They closed around her with a familiarity and gentleness she could always count on.
“Oh, Grandpa,” she cried, feeling the tears start again.
“You go ahead and cry, my little mermaid. You deserve it. Then we’ll go home.”
Where was her home exactly? She didn’t know anymore.
“I’m sorry, Grandpa.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. We can talk about everything later. All’s not lost.”
She hoped he was right, but he was likely an old man giving his granddaughter false hope.
From her point of view, she’d lost everything.
Chapter 49
I notified the Attorney General,” her grandpa announced from the doorway of her office. “Anderson doesn’t think we have much evidence without the results from Peggy’s lab, but he agrees that it’s unusual for two young people to die suddenly in such a short timeframe. He wasn’t happy we were using Tanner’s sister to run the tests, but he understood. And he also appreciates why we’re turning this over to the state now.”
She dropped her pen. So the law would come in and, she hoped, tie up all the loose ends. She would leave. Tanner would too. And she’d try to put her life back together…again.
“It’s for the best.”
“Yes.” He set down the file he was carrying and popped in a red hot. “You beat me out the door this morning. I thought we were going to stick together.”
“I had to get to work. Besides, I can take care of myself.”
“I’m not disputing that, but it makes an old man worry less. My blood pressure.” He patted his heart.
“You’re healthy as a horse.” Still, the guilt added another layer to the bedrock of her emotions, and it didn’t sit comfortably.
“Fine,” he said, “but don’t go anywhere unless it’s with close family and friends. Anderson said he’d send someone tomorrow from Denver. He couldn’t pull anyone today. I told him that was fine since Peggy should be getting the results to us shortly. Maybe we’ll have more to give him by the time he gets here. I want these bastards in a cage.”
“God, I do too.” Of course, she wanted Tanner to have a cell next to them—with her ex as his roommate.
“Do you want to update Tanner or should I?”
She pressed her fingers to her left temple where a headache throbbed. “You call him.”
“That’s not my Mermaid talking.” He made a basket with his candy wrapper.
“I don’t want to talk about it, gramps. Please.”
She pressed her hand to her chest out of reflex and winced. She’d intentionally chosen not to wear La Perla or anything else today. Her gray bulky sweater was sufficient camouflage. It was her protest against her alter ego’s impotence.
She jumped when her grandpa patted her head like he’d always done when she was a kid.
“Didn’t mean to startle you. I have something you might want to look at.” He pressed a file into her hand and shuffled to the door.