Chill Factor

“He was only following Dutch’s lead.”

“Not exactly, Lilly. According to Scott, Wes admitted to egging Dutch on to come after me.”

“What did Wes care?”

“For a time he feared that Scott might be Blue.”

“Scott?”

“He had motive. At least Wes thought so. Wes tapped into Dutch’s jealousy of us and talked him into doing what he wanted to do all along—get me for being with you. It was an easy sale for Wes, but it wound up getting his best friend killed. He’ll carry the guilt of that to his grave.”

“Why does she stay with him, I wonder?”

“Mrs. Hamer? After she learned about the steroids, Scott says she was ready to leave him. Wes begged her to stay. He professes to be a different man. Turned over a new leaf. To demonstrate his change of heart, he’s even quit coaching. Started selling sporting goods.”

“For Millicent’s uncle?”

“He’s not that reformed,” Tierney said with distaste.

“What about Scott? What’s in his future?”

“He’s still in a wheelchair, but once he’s completely healed, he wants to continue his education as planned.”

“But no athletics.”

“No. He won’t be playing any more competitive sports, and he couldn’t be happier about it.”

“He must have been a terribly unhappy young man to go to such extremes to get out from under Wes’s thumb.”

“He’s still unhappy,” Tierney said, frowning thoughtfully. “Scott bared his soul to me about a lot of stuff. He’s relieved that he doesn’t have to perform athletically. But there’s something else he’s holding back.

“He says it’s too personal to confide, that he’s not ready to share it yet. I had a lot of time to observe him while we were in the hospital together. He reads. Classics mostly. He sits and stares into space for hours at a time. He’s an extremely sad young man.”

“Perhaps over Millicent?”

“He regrets what happened to her, of course, but after she and Wes . . .” He let the rest remain unspoken. “Something else—or someone else—has broken his heart. Maybe one of these days he’ll feel comfortable enough to talk about it. He promised to stay in touch.”

“I’m sure he appreciates your friendship.”

“He’s a good kid.”

After a short silence she said, “I’m sure you know that William Ritt pleaded guilty to all the charges.”

Tierney’s lips formed a harsh line. “Five consecutive life sentences. That’s still too good for him.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“At least he saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial.”

“He was never liked,” she said. “By anyone. In my own experience, the chummier he tried to get, the more off-putting he was. Now even his own sister has abandoned him. I don’t know Marilee well, but she was always pleasant to me. Can you imagine how mortified she must be? I sent her a card of encouragement, but it came back unopened.”

“I heard she’s moved away from Cleary and left no forwarding address. Probably best,” he said.

“Probably.”

Having exhausted those topics, they grew quiet. She was aware of him staring at her. She kept her gaze fixed on the stack of mail on her desk. In anticipation of his arrival, she’d been unable to concentrate on it. Finally, when she could stand the tension no longer, she looked at him.

“Lilly, I didn’t call you before now because—”