“It’s almost done.”

Tish tugged nervously at the sleeves of her burgundy blouse. Her blond hair was pulled back away from her face and pinned behind her head.

“Do you leave tonight?”

Tish nodded. “My suitcase is in the car.” She added, “I suppose you’ll both be happy to see me go.”

Stride and Serena didn’t say anything.

“When I came here, I didn’t really think about what would happen,” Tish went on. “I was naive. I should have listened to you.”

She waited, but the silence stretched out.

“I know you feel bad about Clark Biggs,” Tish told Stride. “And Finn, too.”

“I don’t think you know how I feel at all,” Stride replied.

He saw the café manager put their drinks on the counter, and he retrieved his mug of coffee and Serena’s bottle of water and sat down again. When he took a sip, the coffee was smoky and hot. Over Tish’s shoulder, he spotted movement in the foyer and was surprised to see Rikke Mathisen enter the store from the parking lot. Her upper lip was sucked between her teeth. She saw them in the corner, and her stare lingered with venom before she disappeared into a row of biographies in the bookstore.

They sat in silence.

“Maybe I should go,” Tish said finally.

Stride shrugged. “Then go.”

“I know you blame me,” Tish said. “I get it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Stride put his coffee down and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “Do I think things might have been different if you had been honest with me? Yes. Do I think things might have been different if you had come forward when Laura was murdered? Yes. But I don’t know any of that for sure. The truth is, I had no idea Finn was involved until you came to town. I didn’t know anything about the murder of his mother. He was sick. He was desperate. A combination like that can leave someone dead. So no, I don’t blame you for what happened to Finn. And Clark Biggs? That’s a tragedy, but he put himself on that beach. I didn’t. You didn’t.”

Tish folded her arms. “So what is it then?”

“Oh, come on, Tish,” Serena murmured.

Tish looked at her and understood. “Cindy.”

“I’d like to know why she never told me about you,” Stride said.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

Stride scowled and stared at the night sky outside. “I deserve more than that.”

“I know you do.” He watched the struggle in her face. “Look, please don’t blame Cindy. Blame me. When we reconnected, I asked her not to tell you about me. I knew you’d find out that I was in Duluth that night. Cindy didn’t want to keep secrets from you, but you weren’t just her husband. You were a cop. She couldn’t ask you to ignore it if you knew. You’d have to be on my doorstep the next day, and I wasn’t ready for that. It was something I needed to come to in my own time.”