Thinking about Talon’s healing made me feel a little better, but unfortunately, it wouldn’t get me back into practice. I would have to call each of my patients individually, referring them to another therapist while I was taking my “leave of absence.” And of course Talon would be on that list. I’d have to find a good fit for each of them. However, there were some—and Talon was in this category—who would be fine going without a session for three weeks. Talon no longer needed weekly sessions. He had come so far. I was proud of him.

A sign decorated with Colorado peaches said “Welcome to Snow Creek, Colorado” as I entered the town. It didn’t take long to find the downtown area. There wasn’t much parking, so I drove through the little town, which was no more than a few blocks long and housed a mom-and-pop grocery store, several restaurants, a hardware store, a bar called Murphy’s, a café called Rita’s, a beauty salon—all the small-town essentials.

On the outskirts of town, several roadside stands were set up selling peaches and apples.

I decided to drive back through. Luckily, someone was just leaving, so I found a parking spot on the street. I got out and walked around.

I ambled into Rita’s Café and ordered an iced tea. I took it to go and sipped it as I walked down the street, looking in windows. A cute little antique store caught my eye, and I strolled in, perusing their selection.

The woman behind the counter smiled and asked if she could help me with anything, but other than that didn’t bother me, which was just as I preferred it. A phoenix figurine caught my eye. Talon had talked a lot about the symbolism of the phoenix during our sessions and how it had become a contradictory image in his mind. For some reason, the little figurine drew me. I wasn’t sure why, but I picked it up. It looked fairly new. Why was it in an antique shop?

If only I could be a phoenix. If only I could escape from everything that was torturing me now and rise again.

But there was no escape for me. Gina Cates was dead, and now it looked as though I was going to pay for it—probably all because I’d made one ill-advised phone call out of guilt, when I knew better.

And the phoenix—it was also a symbol of the man who had stolen Talon Steel’s innocence. I swallowed back a lump clogging my throat, put the figurine back on the shelf, and left the shop, taking a business card on my way out.

I kept walking, past a bakery—the yeasty aroma of fresh bread nearly drew me in—a clothing shop, the grocery store, Murphy’s Bar. I sipped on my iced tea and crossed the street. The hardware store stood with its door opened, an unassuming little shop nearly hidden. I walked closer and found it was actually a combination hardware and office supply store. I smiled at its small-town charm. I wasn’t sure what possessed me to walk in, but I did. I almost felt like the little store needed me.

An elderly man sat behind the counter, helping a customer with the purchase of some rope and duct tape. “There you go, Mayor,” the elderly man said.

“Thank you, Gus,” the man who was presumably the mayor said. “Always good to see you.”

“You too. Have a great day.”

The silver-haired mayor brushed past me without a look.

Gus looked over to me. “Anything I can help you with, miss?”

And suddenly I knew why I had walked into the store.

Chapter Twenty–Nine

Jonah

“Anything you want to tell us, Joe?” Talon raised his eyebrows when I walked back to the kitchen.

“Nope.”

“Oh, come on,” he razzed me. “I knew you had the hots for her.”

“I’m not discussing this. And be quiet. She’s embarrassed enough as it is.”

“I hope she’ll join us,” Jade said. “I’ve been wanting to meet her for a long time, to thank her for all the help she’s given to Talon.”

“Believe me, blue eyes, she knows how much I appreciate it.”

“But she doesn’t know how much I appreciate it,” Jade said. “The woman is a miracle worker.”

A small smile played at my lips. Melanie Carmichael was special, for sure. Yes, she had worked a miracle with Talon, but right now she was dealing with a patient who hadn’t turned out so well. Of course, I couldn’t mention that to Jade and Talon, and Melanie would likely be joining us soon anyway.

“She’s just getting dressed. She’ll be out in a few minutes,” I said.

Talon chuckled under his breath.

“Not another word out of you,” I said.

“Sure, my lips are sealed.” But he was still chuckling.

“So what do you guys have to say that’s so important enough to interrupt me in the middle of my swim?”

“Oh, that was swimming? Looked more like skinny-dipping.”

“Just show me what you have, Tal.”

“They were able to extract enough blood from the business card to get a DNA sample,” Talon said.

“That’s good news,” I said.

“The only problem is we have no idea whose DNA it is. And here’s something as well. Jade found Larry’s fingerprints in the Colorado attorney database, and they do match one of the three sets that were on Colin Morse’s card.”

I nodded.

“We can get a DNA sample from Larry easily,” Jade said, “If it’s his blood, he’s probably the one who left the rose. He could have pricked his finger on one of the thorns.”

That made sense—which blew my Tom Simpson paper cut theory. Was I totally barking up the wrong tree? Maybe Tom was completely innocent. I’d have to give this some thought. I was certainly glad I hadn’t yet voiced my suspicions to Talon.

“Or,” I said, “someone planted Larry’s fingerprints on the card to implicate him. He’s still claiming innocence in the whole Colin matter.”

“That’s also a possibility,” Talon said. “But I don’t believe Larry for a minute when he says he’s innocent with regard to Colin’s disappearance. That man is no good.”

“We already know that our uncle is a sick criminal. But remember, the other two beat him to a pulp when he let you go. It’s possible they’re trying to frame Larry to ensure that he stays quiet.”

“Larry is scared to death of those other two,” Jade said. “I could see it on his face when he refused to tell me who they were.”