Read Online Heart of Ice by P. J. Parrish - Free Book Online

fudge with nuts,” she said to Kyla.
    The ferry horn blew, signaling its departure back to Mackinaw City.
    “Louis?”
    He looked down at Lily. She was holding something out to him. He knelt in front of her.
    “I got you something, too.”
    It was a small silver-and-pink thing.
    “It’s a knife,” she said.
    He took the pocketknife, turning it over in his hand. Itwas about two inches long and had a Pink Pony emblem on the side.
    “It’s for your keys, see?” she said, pointing at the attached ring.
    Louis looked up at Kyla, who was smiling.
    “Are you going to put your keys on it?” Lily asked.
    Louis fished his keys from his pocket and hooked the cheap little knife onto the heavy stainless-steel ring.
    “Thank you, Lily,” he said, jingling the keys. “I can really use this.”
    The ferry horn blew again.
    Lily looked at the ferry, then suddenly put her arms around Louis’s neck and squeezed him. He wrapped his arms around her back and buried his face in her hair.
    He was the one who had to push away. “You have to go or you’ll miss your boat,” he said.
    The cold air rushed in where she had been. He stood up and gave Kyla a nod. He didn’t trust himself to say anything.
    “ ’Bye, Louis,” Lily said.
    Kyla took her hand, and Louis watched them board. Lily looked back and waved before they went inside. The ferry pulled away, and he stood there on the dock until it was just a white dot in the distance.
    *  *  *
    His bag was packed and sitting on the floor. The door of his room was open, and he could hear the drone of a vacuum cleaner. The man at the front desk had told him he was the last guest in the Grand Hotel and that he could take as long as he wanted to check out today.Flowers had gotten him a room at the Potawatomi Hotel in town.
    There was no reason to stick around. But he had one more thing to do before he left.
    He picked up the phone and dialed the sheriff’s office in Echo Bay. The dispatcher recognized his name but told him that Sheriff Frye was on the other line and asked him to wait. Joe picked up moments later.
    “Hey, it’s me.”
    There was a pause. “Don’t tell me you’re not coming,” Joe said.
    “No, no, I’ll still be there.”
    “I hear a but in your voice, Louis.”
    He took a breath. “I picked up a case up here. A homicide.”
    “On Mackinac Island?”
    He had to smile. “Yeah, I know. The chief here is in over his head. I offered to help for a couple of days.”
    In the long pause that followed he could almost feel her disappointment. They hadn’t seen each other for eighteen months. That first summer apart, her new job as Leelanau County sheriff had prevented her from making the trips to Florida she had promised. By Christmas their phone calls had dwindled, and he drifted into depression and an affair. It took him more than six months to realize what he had lost—not just Joe but himself.
    She had been the one to give voice to it: I want you to want something for yourself.
    He knew what he wanted. He wanted his badge back. And he wanted Joe back. This trip had been for Lily, but it had also been for him and Joe. He knew that if they didn’treconnect this time they never would. But now here he was again, putting her off for work and hoping she’d understand because she was a cop.
    “I’ve never seen Mackinac Island. How about I come up there?” she said.
    “Joe, look,” he said. “Everything on the island is closing down. It would be a long drive for you, and I’m only going to be here another day, I promise.”
    Joe was silent again. Then, in a soft voice, “I want this to work, Louis.”
    “So do I, Joe. More than you know.”
    He heard her let out a long breath. “Okay. One more day.”
    They said their good-byes and hung up. Louis looked around the room, his eyes lingering on the canopy bed. He picked up his suitcase and left the room. Down in the empty lobby, he waved to the man behind the desk, then stepped out onto the veranda. The