You Had To Be There

Chapter 16

TIM'S POV:
If I thought I was shocked by what Kevin told me it was nothing compared to this. "Daine?! What? Wait, you found his print... I haven't seen him in... God, I don't know, maybe three years!"
The detective takes out his clip board and sits down. "Is there any reason you can think of that he would have some kind of axe to grind with you."
I think back to the last time Daine and I saw each other. "Well, we stopped talking after some stuff happened."
"What kind of stuff?"
"He used to be my personal assistant, but I had to replace him."
"And why is that?"
"It was around when I started trying to get sober. He was a bad influence, I couldn't have him around."
"Do you know what he's been doing since then?"
"Yeah, he moved back down to Louisiana and opened a sports bar. I've only seen him a few times since then. I stopped in when I was in town just to see how he was doing. He didn't have much to say to me, so I left. That was, like I said, about three years ago."
"Well, his current address is in Antioch, Tennessee."
"By the airport? Since when?"
"Not sure yet, but we'll have more information soon. Right now we're trying to track him down. Are you sure you haven't seen him lately?"
"Yeah! I would have remembered! This is just nuts. I can't believe Daine would want me dead. I just don't get it. It makes no sense!"
"There's no doubt he was there. The shell was definitely from the gun that shot you. It had your blood and his print on it. We picked it up from the floor right next to you, so it seems pretty likely that he was the one who pulled the trigger."
FAITH'S POV:
After I get a hold of myself I call the house. Betty and the girls had gone back home for a few hours. Once I know they're ok I go to the restroom and wash my face and try to fix myself up a bit. I just have to keep telling myself everything will be ok. I know we can get through this. I head back to Tim's room and when I open the door he's talking with the detective.
"Detective, did you find anything?"
Tim speaks first saying, "He was just asking me about Daine."
My eyes go wide and I look back and forth between them. "What? Why? Did he have something to do with this!? Oh my God!"
The detective stands up and motions for me to sit. "It seems that way, Ma'am."
I sit and try to think back to the last time Daine and I spoke, and I look at Tim. "Dammit, I told him to stay away! He promised me he wouldn't come near you!"
Tim looks at me shaking his head, "What are you talking about?!"
"I ran into him at a cafe a few weeks ago. He was asking me tons of questions about what we've been up to and saying that he really wanted to come visit. I told him flat out that I forbid him from talking to you."
The detective steps forward. "You forbid him?"
I turn to the detective. "If you knew the amount of trouble that that man caused before Tim fired him you'd understand. There was no way I was letting him back into our lives again. That's obviously why he moved back. His whole family is down in Louisiana. There's no one else up here he would come for."
Tim interrupts. "Faith, you didn't tell me you saw him!"
"No, honey, I'm sorry, but trust me I was doing what was best."
Detective Morris, scratching his head, says "This is starting to make sense."
Both Tim and I turn to him and say in unison, "It is?!"
"Yes, think about it. You told him he's not allowed to come near Tim. He doesn't know that you haven't told Tim he's back in town. Maybe he figures Tim doesn't want to see him either, so he hatches a plan to get him alone so he could talk to him. He somehow gets his hands on Gracie's phone, lures him to the farm, and when things don't go the way he wanted them to, he pulls out a gun. Now if only you can remember what happened after you got there."
Tim looks paler than before and he wipes some sweat off his forehead before saying. "I think some of it is coming back to me."