The Heirloom Murders (27 page)

On Sunday, Roelke wondered
if he should give Chloe the chance to back out of attending Justin’s pee-wee soccer game. He dreaded being with her, knowing she and Meili had rekindled their romance. But he dreaded even more the idea of not seeing her, ever.

He picked her up at eleven. She greeted him with a wan smile as she climbed into the truck. Neither one found much to say as he drove toward the school field where Justin was playing.

Finally the silence grew so painful that Roelke felt compelled to break it. “So, I was at this county park yesterday.”

“Yeah?” she asked politely.

“Over by Lake Michigan.” He didn’t add that he hadn’t planned to go to the lakeshore. He’d taken Peggy to lunch, where he ate his burger with more humble pie as she chattered about her upcoming wedding. Then the plan had been to visit his brother Patrick. Roelke had gotten as far as the prison parking lot before bolting.

“Oh.”

“Anyway, here.” Roelke pulled a beach stone from his pocket and handed it to her.

She looked confused. “You brought this back for me?”

“Yeah.” He felt like an idiot. It wasn’t even pretty, just a gray egg-shaped stone. Granite, maybe. It had felt good in his palm.

Chloe closed her eyes. One tear trickled down her cheek.

Roelke felt a sinking sensation in his chest. I will never ever understand this woman, he thought. She was right to choose Meili. I will never know how to make her happy.

Then he noticed that she had curled her long beautiful fingers around the stone, clenching so hard her knuckles were white. A long moment passed before she opened her eyes. She didn’t look at him. But she did say quietly, “Thank you, Roelke. I like it very much.”

Roelke exhaled a slow breath. That was enough, he decided. For today, that was enough.

The End

Geri Gerold © Kathleen Ernst

About the Author

Kathleen Ernst is a novelist, social historian, and educator. She moved to Wisconsin in 1982 to take an interpreter job at Old World Wisconsin, and later served as a Curator of Interpretation and Collections at the historic site.

The Heirloom Murders
is Kathleen’s second Chloe Ellefson Mystery. Her historical fiction for children and young adults includes eight historical mysteries. Honors for her fiction include Edgar and Agatha nominations.

Kathleen lives and writes in Middleton, Wisconsin, and still visits historic sites every chance she gets! She also blogs about the relationship between fiction and museums at www.sitesandstories.wordpress.com. Learn more about Kathleen and her work at www.kathleenernst.com.