A First Love to Die For

Chapter Thirty- Under Our Noses

(Lincoln's POV)

I sat at the brewery bar top taking in the scene around me. Yesterday's tip had led to a search warrant for Harold's place. The good thing about Harold was that he was incredibly predictable and here he sat having a grand ol' time while Lucy and Sam went through his place.

I had dragged Declan out to have dinner with me. We were sitting at the bar, about four seats down from Harold. Lee dropped off a fresh beer for Dec and gave him a little smile.

I hid my grin by taking a drink of my pop. It hadn't escaped my notice, that when I had asked him if he wanted to join me for dinner, he had jumped at the chance. I mean Declan was an excitable guy but there was an extra pep in his step, and I had a feeling it had to do with the handsome bartender serving us.

I was happy for him, it had been a long time since I had seen him show interest in anyone. Was it perfect timing? No. Truthfully it never was, but I was aware that life was short.

As a professional observer of people, I tended to have really good instincts and Lee gave me really good vibes.

I let my eyes wander around the bar, stopping at one of the high-top tables. Josie was sitting there with her dad. She had made plans to come in for dinner with him because we had discussed who could hole up here at the bar. We figured that between Josie, Lee and I, we would be able to keep Harold at the bar if he decided to leave early.

We were all checking in often with our searchers but we didn't want to tip Harold off to anything until we had actually found something to indicate that he was our monster.

I eyed Declan's beer with jealousy. I wasn't drinking. Not really on duty but not able to go off duty when there was so much going on. I was an anxious mess.

The tip yesterday had spiralled a whole lot of emotions. Did I want our killer caught and was I excited that it seemed like we were headed in that direction? Obviously.

Had I considered the fact that it would possibly be someone I had known since I was in diapers? No, I hadn't. Which was stupid. Considering the size of Fenelon, I knew everyone in this town. But I hadn't wanted it to be someone from my town and now that we were here, really considering Harold as our killer. I was a mess of mangled feelings.

I didn't even like Harold but I was hesitant to believe that he could have killed all these women. How could I have been blind to the monster underneath his skin? It made me feel like a failure.

I hadn't suspected a thing.

Tonight, I felt even worse because I kept looking back and forth across the restaurant from Harold to Josie. If we were on the right track, if it was him, then she wouldn't be here that much longer. I didn't know what that meant for operation 'win Josie back' but I wasn't a big fan of the implications.

I looked at my phone and read that they had just finished upstairs and found nothing. They were heading to the main floor. Lee caught my eye and winked as he handed Harold another beer.

It appeared that we didn't need to worry about him leaving just yet and I turned to Declan, realizing that I hadn't been focused on anything that he was saying. He gave me a look, letting me know that he was aware that I was distracted but he didn't call me on it. He knew me well enough to know that there must be shit on the go for me to be so preoccupied.

I asked him if he wanted to go sit with Josie and Jon and he smirked, obviously thinking that I wasn't able to concentrate because she was so close by. I didn't correct him as he stood up and led the way.

As we sat down, I took her in. She looked cool and collected and to anyone observing they would think she was relaxed. However, I knew better. I could see the worry clouding her eyes and her foot was tapping against the table leg incessantly. Although she might look calm, she was just as anxious as I was. 

I nodded and gave her a little smile, thinking about ways that I could try to distract her. If she was anything like the Josie that I remembered, she would be hating that she couldn't be there. My Josie would want to be in on the action, sitting and waiting would be as hard for her as it was for me.

"We wondered if we could join you guys for dinner tonight?"

Jon excitedly stood up and went over to grab us all some menus and I leaned into Josie, putting a hand on her leg for a moment to still it and whispering in her ear "This okay. Sorry, I'm spinning out with guilt about the fact that he was under our noses the whole time."

She gave me a sympathetic smile and I felt her breath softly at my ear as she quietly said, "no matter who it is, they've been under our noses the whole time. Everyone knows everyone here and because of the number of bodies, I don't see it being a tourist. But you're not allowed to feel guilty, whether it's Harold or not, you are not responsible for the actions of this monster"

Then she looked down at her leg, obviously registering how close we were and uncomfortable with our proximity. She gave a little squeak and moved away, "Of course you can join us. We don't mind at all."

Then she turned her body towards Declan and and asked about his shifts for the next week.

Jon sat down and we started talking about what we should order, all the while Josie and I kept our eye on the unsuspecting man across the bar.