Take the Heat

“How can you tell?”

“I just can.”

Lucy had been in this situation enough to know how to conduct herself. As three large men approached their picnic table, she dug into the fish, trying to ignore the shiver down her spine.

“Hey! You!” The men were older, maybe in their fifties, but Lucy felt intimidated by their sheer size. “Are you Sean Scott?”

Sean looked around. “Who, me?”

“Yeah you. Who d’you think I’m talking to?”

“I… I don’t know,” Sean stammered. He was getting good at pretending he wasn’t himself.

The first time this happened, Lucy was dumb enough to stand up for Sean. It had been girls that time—probably in their teens—but Lucy had picked a fight, thinking she’d win. She’d shouted about how Sean had been acquitted, which meant he wasn’t guilty, which meant everybody just had to leave the poor guy alone.

She wouldn’t try that again.

“Sean Scott—the guy who killed that girl down by the lake?” The men seemed much less certain than they had.

“Yeah, I know who you’re talking about, but I’m not him.”

The biggest man traced his hand down a salt-and-pepper beard and said, “You look just like the guy.”

“I don’t think that’s a compliment,” Sean said.

Lucy smiled, but she was suddenly having trouble with the charade.

“So you’re not him?” asked the man in a torn T-shirt and sweat pants.

Sean shook his head. “I’m not him.”

“Oh.” All three men bowed their heads slightly, like that way the only way they knew to offer an apology, and then tramped toward the chip truck.

Digging her fork into the fish, Lucy focused on the crisp crackle of batter and the little shoot of steam that rose from the filet. She didn’t look Sean in the eye. She couldn’t.

“Look at them, skulking away with their tails between their legs.” Sean chuckled as he dipped his chips in ketchup.

“This is the park, isn’t it?” Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Lucy asked, “This is the place where the body was found.”

“Yup,” Sean replied, like it was no big deal. “In the lake down that path over there. Not out in the open or anything. It’s a remote spot.”

Lucy’s throat burned. She couldn’t eat any more. “I don’t like that you know so much about it.”

“Why?” His tone remained jovial, but she still couldn’t bring herself to look at his face. “I sat in that courtroom while the Crown dug into every little detail, went through every morsel of evidence for the jury. Trust me—I paid close attention.”

All at once, the tension fell out of Lucy’s shoulders. “Jesus, I’m sorry, Sean. I didn’t even think.”

“It’s okay, babe.” When he reached for her hand, she gazed into his calm, caring eyes and felt like an idiot for doubting him.

“No, it’s not okay. You said yourself I’m the only person in the world you can count on. Who does it help when I question you?”

“It’s fine.” His grip tightened around her hand. “Honestly.”

Her mouth watered, but the tender fish didn’t hit the spot, no matter how much she ate. Neither did the fries.

“I can take you there, if you want to see it.”

Lucy’s stomach tightened while her thighs warmed. “Take me…?”