Silent Witness

As he continued to stare, she raised her head. Across the grassy slope that separated them, their gazes converged.

Nothing dramatic or heart-stopping occurred. Grant didn’t feel a jolt of awareness or a tingle down his spine. His heart didn’t leap out of his chest or even jump at all.

He merely felt empty.

Vicki Hunt had manipulated him and used him, then she’d sent him on his way. He’d known exactly what she was doing and he’d been a willing victim, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt. He would have thought the old pain might surface upon seeing Andrea, but apparently it’d sliced through him cleanly, albeit all the way to the bone. He felt nothing at all.

Changing directions, he headed toward her and she stood as he came near. Up close her feelings were even more apparent, but instead of the grief he expected, Grant saw anger on her face. He wasn’t too surprised—people handled death differently.

Her voice was hoarse and throaty. “You got my message, I see.”

Grant didn’t waste any time. “How is he? Can I see him?”

“They’re still checking for internal injuries. Kevin’s in X ray right now. When he finishes there, you can probably see him, but that’s going to be a while longer.”

“Tell me what happened.”

She recited the basic facts in a dry and emotionless manner. He could tell she’d already told the story more times than she wanted.

The minute she stopped speaking, questions flooded his mind but Grant stayed silent, approaching the situation the same way he did everything in his life—as if this was an investigation he was about to undertake. He’d gather the facts, study them, then proceed.

He realized belatedly she was waiting for him to comment. “I came as quickly as I could,” he said awkwardly.

Her gaze was steady. “That’s nice. But I only called because I thought you should know what had happened. I can handle the situation.”

“I’m sure you can handle just about anything, but—”

“I can,” she reiterated. “You should have phoned first and I would have saved you the trip.”

“‘Saved me the trip’?” He repeated the words carefully. “I don’t believe I understand.”

“The way Vicki explained things, I didn’t think you’d care that much, one way or the other.”

Doubting Vicki had employed the truth in her explanation, Grant cursed under his breath. The real story could take her down as efficiently as it could him.

“Why don’t you tell me exactly what your sister said?” Grant said. “It might make things easier.”

“It might,” she conceded. “But I don’t intend to share her confidences. I think it’d be best if you left.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Kevin is my son.”

“That’s stretching it a bit, don’t you think?”

Grant put on a rigid mask, his chest going tight. “What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything. I’m making a point. You left Vicki and Kevin. You abandoned them. That’s not the kind of thing a loving father and husband does to his family.”

His relief outweighed the sting her words brought with them. Still, a dilemma remained. Should he go along with the assessment and look like an asshole or try to convince her that Vicki had lied? Either way, he’d lose.

He stalled. “Is that what Vicki told you? That I abandoned them?”

Andrea stared at him without answering.

“Well, I guess that answers that,” he finally said. “You’ve made up your mind. I won’t try to confuse you with the facts.”

IN THE FOUR YEARS Grant Corbin had been married to her sister, Andrea had talked to the man maybe half a dozen times. On the rare occasions when everyone managed to shake free from their busy lives and meet in Courage Bay for a family get-together, something seemed to come up at the last minute that kept Grant from attending. Each time, Vicki had excused him by saying crimes weren’t scheduled, but Andrea had always wondered.

Now she wondered even more. Accustomed to facing the unknown and dealing with whatever arose, she still felt a nameless anxiety building.

He was lying to her and she had no idea why.

“My sister gave me the facts. I know what happened.”

“I doubt you know it all….” he retorted. “There were things I did that I shouldn’t have, but the same could be said for Vicki. I love Kevin, though. Surely she didn’t say that wasn’t the case.”

Andrea started to answer, then heard her name. She turned to see her mother standing by the E.R. door.

“The doctor’s here,” she called out. “He wants to talk to us.” Seeing Grant, Karen Hunt motioned for them both to come.

They walked in uncomfortable silence to the door. Grant reached out for the handle but instead of opening it, he paused and looked at Andrea. She saw with shock that he had pain in his eyes.

“Look, before we go in, I have to ask you a question.” His whole body seemed to tense. “Can you put everything else aside for a minute and answer it?”

“What is it?” she asked stiffly.

“When you found Vicki…did it look like, well—”

Surprised he even cared, she instantly understood the question; she’d heard it asked more times than she wanted to remember.

“She didn’t suffer,” she said quietly. “I have a feeling the whole thing happened very quickly.”

Sympathy pushed past her anger as he flinched. He then nodded and opened the door and they went into the waiting room together.

To Andrea’s amazement, her mother and father both greeted Grant warmly, Karen wrapping an arm around his waist and hugging him tightly, Jack extending his hand. Vicki had obviously not told their parents what she’d told Andrea. Infidelity wasn’t a fault either of them would have brushed off.

Drawing Andrea’s attention away from her thoughts, the orthopedic surgeon began to speak. “The first X rays are back and I think we’re going to be able to avoid operating on Kevin’s foot at this point. He has a malleolar fracture but we can immobilize it with a plaster cast and that might do the trick….” His explanation continued, his words filling Andrea with relief. A broken ankle bone was a far cry from the internal injuries she’d been worried about.

Andrea’s gaze sought Grant’s. He had dark eyes, so dark they almost seemed black. She couldn’t read the emotions he hid, but she could feel them, their negativity seeking her out. He didn’t like her, she realized with a shock.

The knowledge unsettled her, but she decided swiftly it didn’t matter. The feeling was mutual.

STANDING BY ONE OF THE big windows in the emergency waiting room, Grant watched Karen and Jack Hunt leave a few minutes later. Now that they knew their grandson would be all right they had to deal with the sad details of their daughter’s death. Andrea walked beside them but she was going to return. She’d told him so and asked him to wait for her.

Grant turned away from the glass. He’d thought at first that Andrea had known everything but he decided he’d been wrong. Vicki had informed her sister of what she’d wanted to, making him sound like the jerk and her the golden princess. He didn’t really care what Andrea Hunt thought of him but he didn’t want her for an enemy. That wouldn’t be a good idea.

When she came back, she’d been crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed and wet, but she put aside her grief. “Let’s go to X ray,” she said. “You can see Kevin if they haven’t begun the cast.”

Grant wanted to say something about Vicki as they headed down the hallway, something appropriate and normal, something that ordinary people might say to one another when someone died, but he’d been out of polite society for so long, he’d lost the rule book. He didn’t know how to act around women like Andrea.

Staring at the floor as they walked, he finally said the only thing he could think of to say.

“I’m sorry about all this,” he said in a low voice. “I know you and Vic were close when you were kids. She talked about you a lot.”

He was an expert at reading reactions—if a good Vice cop wanted to live to be an old Vice cop he picked up the skill quickly. Andrea was taken off guard by his words; her voice reflected her reaction and so did her body.

“She talked about me?”

“All the time. She wanted to be more like you.”

Her response was so softly spoken he barely caught it.

“Well…shit…”

He raised an eyebrow.

Her hair shimmered as she shook her head. “Why on earth would she feel that way? I’m not hero material, believe me.”

“Vic thought so.”

“Well, she thought wrong.” Her voice sharpened and so did her look.

Raising his hands defensively, he backed off. “Fine…she thought wrong.”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Without a word, Andrea Hunt stepped inside and Grant entered as well. An eternity later they arrived on the next floor and they escaped, the silence between them thick and full of tension. Andrea didn’t stop until she came to a doorway that had a “Radiation” sign above it and a sliding glass window set beneath. When it rolled back following her knock, Andrea talked to someone inside, then she turned and tilted her head toward the door.

“He’s finished,” she said. “We can see him but only for a second.”

Kevin was lying on a gurney just inside the doorway, looking pale and frightened. Grant felt his heart turn over and calling the boy’s name, he hurried to the bed.

Kevin’s eyes opened slowly then widened when he saw Grant. A smile lit up his face.

Grant wanted to pick him up and whisk him away but he settled for a hug, burying his face in Kevin’s neck and breathing in deeply. The flood of emotions that followed rocked him. How could he have let this kid go? What had he been thinking?

Pulling back, Grant studied Kevin from head to toe. When he finished, he shook his head. “How’d this happen, buddy? Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

He waited for the little boy to answer him but Kevin stayed silent. Grant looked toward the foot of the stretcher where Andrea waited. She said nothing, either.

“Kevin?” Grant asked again. “Did you hear me? What happened, son?”

When Kevin answered with only a stare, Grant turned away from the child and moved to Andrea’s side. She had a small scar beneath her right eyebrow, he noticed, a thin pale line that ran from there across her temple.

“What the hell’s wrong with him?” he whispered tightly. “Why won’t he answer me?”

“I thought you knew,” Andrea murmured, her voice so low he could barely hear it. “Didn’t Vicki tell you?”

“Vicki didn’t tell me jackshit.” He sent a confused look in Kevin’s direction, his heart tripping, then he faced Andrea again. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Kevin doesn’t talk anymore,” she said quietly. “He’s been mute since the day you left.”

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SHOCKED LOOK ON Grant Corbin’s face was genuine. He’d had no idea of Kevin’s problem.

He started to say more, then halted, obviously deciding not to discuss the situation in front of his son. Surprised by the show of sensitivity, Andrea rejected her momentary flash of appreciation. She didn’t want to see anything positive in the man who’d broken her sister’s heart.

Grant spoke with Kevin a little longer, then stepped away from the gurney. Andrea took Grant’s place and kissed her nephew’s forehead. “We’re going to another part of the hospital now, Kevin, and the doctors are going to put a cast on your foot. When that’s done, we’ll go upstairs to a room that will be yours while you’re here. We’ll be right behind you, okay?”

The nurse came and began to roll the bed down the hall, chatting to the little boy as she pushed him along. In the cast room, Andrea and Grant got Kevin settled, then the tech arrived. The young man quickly started a monologue on the merits of different computer games. Apparently well-versed in what kept the interest of kids with broken bones, he tilted his head toward the door a second later. Andrea and Grant took the hint and went into the corridor, the nurse telling them to come back in an hour.

Grant ran his hands through his straight dark hair. “God. I had no idea—” He stopped abruptly and looked at her. “Can we get out of here? Hospitals and I don’t get along too well.”

Curious but unwilling to ask him why, Andrea shrugged. They retraced their steps to the E.R. exit and went outside to the bench where Andrea had been sitting before. The fresh air and sunshine felt wonderful after the antiseptic smell of the hospital, but strangely enough, they also seemed to trigger her grief. As soon as she took her seat, the sorrow she’d been holding off washed over her. Vicki was gone. Her one and only sister was dead.

Her tears came in a hot wave.

Grant made no attempt to touch her or console her or voice some useless platitude, and once again, she found herself, unwillingly, impressed by his actions. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who could sense what people needed, but his actions gave him away.

After longer than she would have liked, Andrea managed to pull herself together.

Handing her a white handkerchief, Grant gave her another minute, then he spoke. “What in the hell is going on with him?”

Taking a deep breath, Andrea looked up. “I thought you knew he’d been having trouble.”

“Vicki didn’t—” Once again, he stopped himself. “I didn’t know anything about it,” he said simply.

“Neither did I,” Andrea said, “but when I called Vicki the night before the accident, she said Kevin had stopped talking to her after the divorce. Apparently, he would talk at school, but not to her. She discussed the situation with a counselor and his teachers. They call the problem ‘selective mutism.’ They recommended therapy and told her not to make a big deal out of it. A lot of times children who have this condition apparently resume talking and no one ever finds out why they stopped in the first place.”

“Has he spoken to you?”

Andrea shook her head. “Not so far.”

“What about your parents? Did he talk to them?”

“No.”

Grant tightened his jaw, then looked at her. “Why didn’t I know this?”

“You would have if you’d gone to see him.”

His expression was rock-hard and she swallowed uncomfortably.

“I tried,” he said. “But Vicki always had a reason I couldn’t.”

“That’s not what she told me.”

“Vicki and I didn’t see eye to eye about a lot of things, but I loved Kevin.” He spoke tightly, his tension obvious in the set of his broad shoulders. “And I still do,” he added.

With an effort she knew was visible, Andrea regained her coolness. “Are you calling my sister a liar?”

“I’m saying there are two sides to every story. I have a feeling you’re going to need to remember that in the coming days.”

His warning startled her. Vicki had never truly deceived Andrea, but she had had a penchant for twisting the truth, especially about things that might put her in a bad light. Andrea pushed that to the corner of her mind and concentrated on the present.

“All I have to worry about in the coming days is my nephew,” she answered curtly. “He’s my top priority.”

“And mine, too.”

“Then we’ll stay in touch with you.” The promise was hard to make but Andrea had to do the right thing. That was how she’d been raised. “I’ll make sure you know how he’s doing.”

“I’ll keep abreast of his progress by myself,” Grant said in an equally cool voice. “I have no intention of going anywhere until my son has healed and I can take him home.”

Grant’s ominous words paralyzed her without warning. She felt like an idiot, but until this very second she’d never considered the fact that Grant might want Kevin. After everything Vicki had said, Andrea had just assumed the little boy would become the responsibility of the Hunt family. Please, God, she thought suddenly, please tell me I’m misunderstanding this.

“What about your work?” she asked. “Don’t you need to get back to L.A.?”

“I haven’t taken a vacation in five years. LAPD will keep going without me.”

“But what about—”

“He’s my son, Andrea.” Grant cut off her words, any hope she might have harbored about the situation destroyed by his steady stare. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re not going to get rid of me. I’m staying here. I love Kevin and I intend to make sure he knows that. I’ll be taking care of him from now on.”

GRANT LEFT ANDREA sitting in the hot sunshine and walked back toward the E.R., her shocked expression telling him everything he needed to know. And more.

True to form, Vicki had made Grant the bad guy, the one who’d been responsible for the breakup of their marriage. He shouldn’t have expected anything less, but somehow this final betrayal hurt more than the ones before. Maybe because he knew there was no way he could correct it. Vicki was gone and the truth of what had happened between them had died with her.

The automatic doors swished open, and Grant made his way to the phone hanging on one wall.

He called his captain first and explained what had happened. “I may need to take some time off—”

His boss responded just as Grant had thought he would. “Take whatever time you need, Corbin. The department understands—”

Grant gruffly thanked the man then broke the connection to dial a second number.

Parker answered on the third ring and once again, Grant gave out the details of Vicki’s death. He finished by saying, “Listen, Park, this may take a while to figure out. Can you hang in there for a week or so without me?”

“Hey, no problem.” His partner answered without any hesitation. “You do what you need to, Grant.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

Relieved to have those two calls out of the way, Grant hung up the phone, turning as he did so. Andrea was still sitting where he’d left her, the sun blazing down on her. As he stared, she crossed one slim leg over the other.

The graceful movement was so reminiscent of Vicki, his heart flipped. Like a line of falling dominos, that motion then triggered another reaction. When he could breathe again, he told himself he was going nuts, but an immediate disquiet had flooded him. Vic had traveled in circles she shouldn’t have and had known folks he’d wished she didn’t. Some of them had been dangerous and influential. He’d warned her of the consequences that came with hanging around those people, but she’d blown him off, saying she could take care of herself.

Time and time again, he’d witnessed the downfall of the poor SOBs in the department who couldn’t turn loose of their ex-wives. He hadn’t wanted to be one of those pathetic men, but the unease Grant felt now went far beyond that.

Could there be a link between Vicki’s death and those powerful people? Highly unlikely, he decided a moment later. Too risky.

Andrea stood up, catching his gaze as she wiped her eyes. His thoughts hop-skipping, he found himself wishing Vicki had told her sister the truth, but he quickly realized what that would mean and he pushed the thought aside.

The truth was the last thing he wanted Andrea Hunt to know.

WITH GRANT by her side, Andrea headed back into the E.R., resolved to the fact that he was staying in Courage Bay but still very unhappy about the situation.

She tried to remind herself the man was Kevin’s father and it was only fair that he would want to be there. But she didn’t want “fair.”

Kevin’s bed was empty when they arrived but five minutes later the door opened to reveal Kevin’s gurney. Grant and Andrea jumped up in unison and ten minutes after that Kevin was settled into his bed, his cast an awkward appendage he didn’t quite know how to handle. Andrea fussed around him, fluffing his pillows, getting him ice and turning on the television. From his chair in the corner, Grant watched her in silence, his steady gaze making her even more nervous. Finally, as Kevin dozed, Grant came to the side of the bed where she was adjusting the railing. Again.

He put his hand on her arm. “Why don’t you go home?” he said quietly. “I’ll be right here with him. You need to slow down and catch your breath.”

His touch burned. “I’m perfectly all right,” she protested, trying to ease her arm away without being obvious about it. “I want to be here—”

She cut off her protest when the door opened unexpectedly. With relief, she saw Alex standing on the threshold. Andrea went to him in two steps, giving him a hug then introducing him to Grant. The two men shook hands in a measured way, exchanging a look as well. Andrea puzzled over the moment, but it passed so quickly, she decided she’d imagined it.

“How you doing, Kevin?” Walking to the end of the bed, Alex nodded to the little boy who’d come awake at the commotion. “That’s a cool cast.”

Andrea answered for Kevin. “The doctor says he fractured one of his malleoli, but the cast should take care of it. The X rays look good, other than that.”

“Great news…” Alex put one of his fists on top the other then swung them together, as if he were batting a ball. “You get out of here, we’ll go out to the little league field and knock some balls around. Sound fun?”

Kevin nodded, his eyes drooping with exhaustion. A second later, he was sound asleep.

They tiptoed into the hall, Alex shaking his head. “Man, when I walked in that house and saw what had happened, I couldn’t imagine anyone surviving under the mess. I’m glad he’s okay.” He turned to Andrea and gave her another quick hug. “But I’m sorry about your sister.” He faced Grant next. “Real sorry. I know you’ll both miss her.”

Andrea nodded because it was all she could do. They chatted for a few more minutes, then Alex said his goodbyes. As the firefighter started down the corridor, though, Grant spoke up unexpectedly.

“Alex—wait. I think I’ll get some coffee. Can you show me where the cafeteria is?”

Pausing midstride, Alex grinned over his shoulder. “Sure thing. I won’t guarantee you’ll want to drink the coffee, though. Hospital food is hospital food….”

Her nervousness suddenly blooming, Andrea crossed her arms, leaned against the wall and watched the two men leave. The minute they turned the corner, she groaned out loud.

Grant was up to something. The only question was what.

THEY RODE THE ELEVATOR down, the tall fireman talking easily about nothing important. Grant knew a lot of men like Alex Shields; he’d grown up around them because his father had been a cop. The officers in Grant’s Homicide division were like Shields, too, for the most part. Gregarious, outgoing, friendly types. Grant didn’t know why he was so different from them, but he was. All those years in Vice had a lot to do with it, he was sure, but it went deeper than that. In the end, he’d found himself more comfortable in that life than his real one, and that’s when he’d had to leave it.

They reached the first floor and Alex pointed to the left. “The cafeteria’s right down there. You can’t miss it—just follow your nose.” He stuck out his hand but Grant didn’t take it.

“Are you in a hurry or do you have a minute?” he asked instead. “I’ll buy you a cup if you’ve got the time.”

The fireman hesitated.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions,” Grant explained. “About Vicki and the accident. I need some details but I didn’t want to bother Andrea. I didn’t want to upset her.”

Shield’s frown cleared. “Of course,” he replied. “I’ll help as much as I can.”

His words confirmed the assumption Grant had made when Shields had come in the room and Andrea had greeted him. They were more than just friends, good or otherwise. Grant filed the information away for later examination.

They got their coffee then sat at a small table near the window, Grant wishing his cup held something stronger. He took a single sip and set the mug aside. It’d been nothing but an excuse anyway.

“I want you to tell me what you saw when you went inside Vicki’s house.” He sat back in his chair, fully aware he wore what Parker called his “interrogation” look. Intense, dark, focused. “Tell me any details you can remember, no matter how small.”