Judge and Jury by Sara Claridge

Author:Sara Claridge [Sara Claridge]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

Devlin walked back into the living room after seeing Jared and the constable out of the house. His gaze immediately fell to Grace, sat in the armchair, her eyes closed.

She was so still he could almost imagine that she was asleep, but for the lines that creased her forehead.

“Sorry.”

Her eyes flew open as his low voice carried across the room. They glistened with unshed tears and his guilt ratcheted up a notch. He hated to see her like this.

“What on earth do you have to be sorry about?”

Gesturing towards the front door, he gave a dismissive shrug. “I thought he’d be more sympathetic.”

Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. “He’s just doing his job. You know as well as I do that it must have been someone Dad knew. The faster they rule us out, the quicker they can concentrate on finding the real culprit.”

“Yeah, but you were in Australia.”

She raised a brow. “I could have hired a hitman.”

“As if.” He sat down opposite her.

“I can’t believe it. I mean, I know I questioned the accident, but to hear that someone deliberately did something to his car…” She placed her chin on her palm and stared at the flames in the fire. The frown on her face grew deeper.

“So if it’s not Jared’s enthusiastic questioning, what are you beating yourself up about?”

She sighed. “I feel guilty.”

He couldn’t possibly imagine what for. From where he sat, it sounded more and more like Geoff was the one who owed Grace an apology. Not that she was ever going to get one now. “But you had nothing to do with your father’s death.”

Her lips twitched with playful amusement. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. No. I mean, I feel guilty because I was relieved.”

That he hadn’t been expecting. “Why?”

“When Detective Endacott first said the brakes had been tampered with, all I could think was thank god I didn’t have to tell anyone about the drinking.” She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. “I realise that it’s all going to come out anyway. But I’m just feeling bad about thinking it in the first place.”

Devlin shook his head. “You’re in shock, Grace. You’re not a bad person.”

She let out a mock snort of laughter. “Someone told me recently I failed as a daughter.”

“Yeah. Well, that guy is an arsehole. I’d tell him to fuck off if I was you.”

She smiled and stood. “I might just do that.”

As she moved past him, he reached out and grasped her hand, pausing her progress. “Seriously, Grace. Your dad wouldn’t want you to worry about what other people thought.”

“No. He never did.”

She stiffened under his touch and Devlin frowned at the hint of regret in her tone, but he let it pass. She had enough going on without him questioning her every thought.

He stood up and followed her over to the writing desk. “Come stay with me for a few days.”

She folded up the flap and turned the key, reaching up to place it on the shelf above.

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