Crowned and Moldering

“Sounds like Hugh needed to be kicked in the teeth,” Mac muttered.

I scowled. “Unfortunately, he’s dead, or I’d be happy to see you go over there and bash his face in.”

“Didn’t the police ever arrest him?” Eric wondered.

“Oh yeah. He’d spend some nights in jail, and then Sean’s mother would show up crying and whining that she needed him at home. And I heard that she called Amy a liar.”

Mac’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Did the cops ever question Amy?”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t say a word. It would just mean a worse beating. So, what could the police do?”

Seething, Mac pounded his fist into his palm. “They could believe what they saw with their own eyes and lock the creep up for good.”

Eric nodded and said, “You have no idea how many times we would like to do just that. But we have to follow the law, whether we agree with it or not.”

I told them how Sean eventually grew to be taller and stronger than his old man and was able to give him a taste of his own medicine once or twice. After that, Sean became the buffer between his father and his sisters.

“But then Sean’s mother would yell at him whenever he threatened his dad. She’d call him insolent and vicious and stuff like that. He told me she used to slap him for daring to disobey his father’s orders.”

“A classic enabler,” Mac said, shaking. “Sometimes I wonder which is worse.”

“The father was worse,” I said flatly. “For a while, Sean was in and out of trouble himself. He spent some time in juvenile hall in his teens, but then he straightened himself out. And, believe me, there’s nobody more easygoing and helpful in the whole world. He talked me into giving him a job when I took over the company, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. He’s the perfect employee, a great worker, and a real sweet guy. And a dear friend.”

I looked out at the silhouette of my friend sitting on the rocks. The sun had all but disappeared and a phalanx of dark clouds formed the background. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

Mac nodded and followed my gaze. “Poor guy.”

“There’s something else you probably should know,” I said uncertainly.

Eric glanced up from his notes. “Let’s hear it.”

“It’s just that, at the time, the local police didn’t give Lily’s disappearance much attention.”

“Because they thought she ran away.”

“Right. But still, they could’ve searched harder. I remember my father talking about it. He told me the cops sent a few inquiries to other police departments in the area and they questioned a few people around town. But that was about it.”

“Do you remember who was questioned?”

“Her mom and dad, of course, and Sean and Amy. And her boyfriend at the time. I remember the cops showing up at school to question Lily’s guidance counselor and a few of her girlfriends. I can’t think of anyone else, but my dad would probably know. And I’ll bet Sean would know, too.”

Eric was jotting down the names. “I’ll talk to all of them.”

“Apparently nobody knew much and the police chief quickly gave up the search. He made a point of brushing off Lily’s disappearance as just another teenage runaway.”

Eric looked at the big man in the distance, sitting alone and broken. “Sean couldn’t stop looking, though.”

“No. I think it was partly because he felt so guilty. He always wondered if he could’ve done more to protect her from their father’s brutal temper.”

“Is his mother still around?”

“No, she died years ago.”

“What about the sister, Amy?”

I smiled. “She’s happily married to a doctor and lives up in Eureka. They have a couple of kids.”

Mac gave a brief nod. “Good for her.”

“She probably still has a few emotional scars,” Eric mused.

“I know she does.” I sighed. “I just wish the police had devoted a little more time to Lily’s case. Someone had to have known that the mansion was being used as a crash pad. Stuff like that didn’t just fall through the cracks. People drive out here all the time to go to the lighthouse, and the gift shop is nearby, too. Somebody must’ve seen something. But as far as I know, nobody came forward.”

“I’m sorry,” Eric said.

“Me, too,” I said, knowing he was apologizing for the police in general. “I hate to say it, but Chief Ray wasn’t very good at protecting and serving. He probably would’ve been fired years earlier, but he had his cronies on the town council and they kept him in the job a lot longer than they should have.”

“I’ve heard about that guy,” Mac said. “Nobody seems to have had much respect for him.”

“Sadly, there are plenty of lazy cops who are more than willing to let things slide than do the legwork.” Eric’s jaw tightened, though he managed to bank his anger. “But there’s a new chief in town, and I’m determined to get to the bottom of this case.”

“Good,” I said, smiling at his tough words. “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

He pointed toward Sean, still sitting on the rocks. “But to do it, I’m going to need to talk to your guy.”

I gazed in that direction and shivered. What had been a blustery-cold but beautiful day had turned grim and menacing. Those dark clouds were closing in, threatening to open up and dump icy rain on us at any minute.

I knew I would have to be the one to convince Sean to talk to the police and I’d have to do it soon. I’d already persuaded Eric to wait for the better part of an hour. If Sean continued to resist, Eric might go ahead and arrest him just to get him down to police headquarters and question him. I didn’t want that to happen. Sean was already traumatized enough.

I glanced from Mac to Eric, then nodded. “I’ll go get him.”

Chapter Three

“For God’s sake, Sha

I winced from the anger in his tone. “Of course I don’t think that. I know you would never hurt Lily. Or Amy either. You three were always close.”

“Then what are you doing out here?”

“I want you to go talk to Chief Jensen.”

“Why? The police won’t do anything. They don’t give a hoot.”

I couldn’t blame him for having that attitude ingrained into his DNA, but in this case he was wrong.

“Come on, Sean,” I said, grabbing his arms and forcing him to look at me. Believe in me. “Eric is nothing like Chief Ray and you know it.”

He huffed out a breath and narrowed his eyes into a squint. “What if he arrests me?”

“He’s not going to arrest you—I swear it.” I prayed I was right. And if Eric did arrest Sean, he was going to get an earful from me. “He just wants to find answers. That’s what you want, too, isn’t it?”

He pressed his lips together like a stubborn six-year-old but finally relented. “Yeah.”

“He needs your help.” I wove my arm through his and nudged him away from the breakwater. “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here and it’s going to start pouring rain any minute.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do,” I countered. “If you get a cold and miss a day of work, I’ll hunt you down and kick your butt.”

He couldn’t help but smile, but then shook his head soberly. “For Pete’s sake, Sha

“I know, honey.” I grabbed his hand and held it tightly for a long moment. Finally, we linked arms again and he allowed me to lead the way, stepping off the rocks and onto the sandy path at the edge of Mac’s property. “It hurts me, too, Sean. Lily and I were friends, remember? You’ll laugh, but when she left, I thought it was because she didn’t like me anymore. I was such a baby back then.”