A Hard Man to Forget by Kerry Connor Page A

little fishy, the way she went out. Some people still think
he got away with murder.”
    “Why would he kill her?”
    Fiendish pleasure glowed in her amber eyes. “I have no idea. He
would have to be crazy to do something like that, now wouldn’t
he? Absolutely stark raving mad.”

Chapter
Six

    Simon hurried Will along as fast as he could. It was still a good
half hour before he finally left. As soon as the door closed behind
him, Simon headed down the path after Laura.
    He found her on the dock, staring out at the lake. As soon as he
spotted her, the tightness in his chest loosened. Relief poured
through him.
    Her back was to him, her arms folded defensively over her chest. The
breeze swept through her hair and pulled her clothes tight against
her body. Remembering the feel of those curves, Simon felt a familiar
stirring rekindled inside of him.
    She looked so alone out there, and the pose reminded him of how
she—Meredith—used to sit on the beach and stare at the
water for hours. She’d long since withdrawn from him at that
point. He’d often wondered what she saw out there in the waves,
if she found the answers she sought. He’d never found out. He
couldn’t count the number of times in the last three years he
wished he had.
    She didn’t turn as he approached. He called out, “Laura?”
    She didn’t move.
    Concerned, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and whirled
to face him, her eyes wide with alarm. The look only faded slightly
when she saw it was him.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it. He dropped his
hand. “I called your name. Didn’t you hear me?”
    “No. I guess I was lost in thought.” Her look became
suspicious. “What name did you call me?”
    “Laura.”
    “Good.” She nodded her satisfaction and turned back to
the waters.
    Simon followed her gaze uneasily. He’d never been that
comfortable around the lake after Meredith left. Even though he knew
she wasn’t in there, it was too connected to her disappearance
in his mind. He remembered those long days when the police had
searched it for any signs of her body, the despair of those hours
he’d spent waiting, just in case. Just being near it now
brought that feeling back.
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were a suspect?”
    Laura’s words, softly spoken yet unyielding, caught him
off-guard. “Where did you hear that?”
    “From Aimee. She cornered me for a while after I came out
here.”
    He should have known. He bit back a curse. Aimee had made no secret
of the fact that she would be willing to take Meredith’s place
in his life, even before she disappeared. She’d spent the last
three years trying to worm her way into his bed. What she didn’t
seem to understand was that he couldn’t stand her. He’d
only put up with her for Meredith’s sake. He never had
understood why Meredith had put up with her. But then Meredith had
been a saint. Or so he’d thought.
    “You didn’t answer the question.”
    She turned to him, jaw turned upward obstinately. Her voice was firm.
    Simon frowned. He couldn’t remember ever seeing this side of
her before. “I didn’t think it was relevant.”
    “You didn’t think it was relevant that the police
suspected you of murdering your wife, the same wife I’m
supposed to be?”
    “I didn’t want to scare you unnecessarily,” he
said, then realized how ridiculous that sounded. “I think I did
enough of that yesterday.”
    “Well, it didn’t work.” She rubbed her hand over
her arms, as though trying to ward off a chill.
    “I didn’t kill Meredith. The police didn’t charge
me with anything.”
    “Only because they didn’t have any evidence.”
    “Because there wasn’t a crime. There was nothing for them
to find.”
    “But they weren’t convinced, were they?” she
challenged.
    “No,” he admitted. “The official explanation didn’t
satisfy anyone, especially with the absence of a note or a body. Many
of the townspeople had decided that added up to murder. Never