Final Chapter

A week later, the world felt a little flatter. The police had finally wrapped up their investigation. It was a random act of violence, they said. Lucy, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A stupid, pointless loss.

The idea that Aldrich wouldn’t be blamed for anything grated on me, but I knew involving him would open a can of worms I wasn’t ready to deal with. It wouldn’t bring Lucy back anyway.

We brought her home, to Stump River. The town was in mourning. Armand was a shadow of himself, the twinkle gone from his eyes. He disappeared for days after the service and I wondered if he’d turned into a bear and wandered off to grieve in the woods.

Were his emotions as raw when he was in animal form? Or did he spend his time scratching at trees, trying to claw the pain away? When he finally reappeared, he looked haggard, but there was a strange kind of peace in his eyes.

Beth and Josh went all out with the newspaper article. Pictures of Lucy, smiling and laughing, filled the pages.