Aspen Allegations - A Sutton Massachusetts Mystery

Chapter 29

The Union League Café in New Haven, Connecticut was decked out in full holiday splendor, from the ivy draping the elegant staircase to the half-sized reindeer by the fireplace. The décor was forest green with natural wood highlights, perfectly complementing the season.

Jason sat to my right, his hand resting warmly on mine, his eyes oblivious to the beauty around us. He looked at me as if he still could not believe I was here with him, that two days ago we had crawled from the murk of Lake Singletary like primeval creatures gasping their first breath of air.

A black-suited waiter moved behind us, and Jason released my hand with visible hesitation. A pair of elegant gold-chased plates was set down before us.

I looked down and smiled. "Entrecóte de Bison," I murmured.

Another waiter came behind us, pouring the wine. Jason's eyes lit up. "Château Angelus 1989," he commented, picking up his glass and giving it a swirl. "Now here is a fitting tribute to what you have been through."

I lifted my own glass, raising it to his. For a moment the rest of the room misted away and it was just the two of us together, as it had been when we made our way up the sandy shore of Lake Singletary.

It was a long moment before he breathed again, taking a sip. His eyes closed. "A treasure," he murmured. His eyes opened again. His voice became hoarse. "It still only comes close."

I smiled, putting my own glass down. "So the police were able to apprehend Adam without any issue?"

He nodded, taking a long moment before looking down at his bison and starting to cut. "One of the officers at the event lived on Singletary; I think we made it to his house in four minutes flat. We had to be cautious to ease the boat out near you without spooking Adam." His eyes were somber. "Once I pulled you under, the officer gave Adam a few minutes before carefully approaching. Adam seemed quite agitated; the officer didn't want Adam to start shooting at the water in a panic."

He pressed his lips into a line. "Adam took a while to settle down, to agree to hand over his weapon. It seems he felt he was justified in what he had done, and in taking any further steps necessary to protect Eileen's reputation."

He put his knife down and reached for my hand, taking it again. "If you had not made that phone call –"

I smiled gently at him. "But I did, because of your continual warnings," I soothed him. "It had never occurred to me that he would somehow be involved in this. I thought he was so distant from the issues that were swirling around. It was your alertness that had my phone ready." My voice dropped low. "It was your prompt arrival that saved me."

His face shadowed and his gaze held mine steadily. "I should never have let you go out alone with him," he repeated for perhaps the fiftieth time in the past two days. "I should have canceled my training."

I reached up to lay my hand against his cheek. "You couldn't have shadowed me forever," I pointed out. "We had no idea that this threat existed. You had me prepared. When there was trouble, you were there to rescue me."

His hand came up to cover mine. "I remember the moment as if it was etched in crystal. The officer's boat stopped just on the edge of the mists." His fingers tightened. "You do not know how hard it was to see you in that boat with Adam, to know that any stray sound or motion might cause him to tighten that finger. One momentary swirl of fog and it would all be over."

My eyes brightened. "I do know how hard it must have been for you to slide into the icy water."

He almost chuckled at that and our hands lowered again to the table. "When I realized he was going to give you the 'option' of drowning, everything became perfectly clear. It was six hundred feet to shore – and we already had a house waiting for us there. I've done many water rescues over the years; I know the numbers by heart. I traded those frigid nine minutes against getting you as far away from Adam's gun as possible."

His gaze held mine. "You entered the water, and Adam's gun was on you. I had no doubt after that moment."

I reached out with my left hand to take up the glass of Bordeaux. I looked at the label on the bottle resting at the table's center. "There were thirty years between the 1935 drowning and Eileen's drowning in 1968. And another thirty years between that tragedy and when this superb bottle of wine was laid down. Maybe the gods of Lake Singletary were thirsty."

The corners of his mouth tweaked up and he raised his own glass in a toast without relinquishing my hand. "Then let us hope another thirty years go by before anyone else is put in this situation."

I held my glass up. "To another thirty years of joy, then."

His eyes held mine and I was lost in their depths, in the smoky brown which wrapped me in adoration. His voice shimmered with emotion. "To a lifetime of joy."

The bowls of the glass rang. The crystal chime resonated throughout my body, echoing with a certainty I knew to the depths of my very soul.

Thank you for reading Aspen Allegations! Find out what happens next, in the sequel, Birch Blackguards!

You can also get the first three books of the Sutton Massachusetts Mystery series in one handy box set!