Chapter 3

Emily clasped her hands behind her back as Jacob paced the length of the office. She watched him intently. Although he had promised to help, it was entirely possible that they wouldn't find anything.

"Was Richard acting strangely that day?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Now that you mention it, he was a little on edge all day," Emily admitted. "I didn't think much of it, because he sometimes got these terrible moods…" She trailed off and her eyes widened as she realized what she had said.

Poor Richard. He was always so sensitive about what others thought about him. Richard was always telling her not to talk to others about their private matters.

Jacob stopped pacing and tilted his head at her. He did that a lot. The new sheriff reminded her of a puppy. He had this natural inquisitiveness about him, and he was simply adorable with his sandy brown hair and warm eyes. While it certainly made him more approachable, she couldn't see this man coming to the defense of the town. What if he was too soft?

"Please, continue." He motioned for her to go on.

Emily shook her head. She was overwhelmed, adrift in foreign waters with no way home. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. The truth is, Richard and I weren't married very long and we didn't know each other much before we were wed."

Jacob's brow furrowed. "How long did you know each other in total?"

Emily winced and looked away. She hated telling people this story. They invariably looked at her with judgement, no matter how much she insisted that they had made the right choice. Instead of making it sound romantic, it always ended up sounding foolhardy.

"Em?" His tone was gentle.

She glanced up at him, allowing a piece of hair to fall in front of her face, obscuring her vision of him. His manner was comforting, and he had a deep, soothing voice that made her want to open up.

"About five months in total," Emily whispered. That was the same amount of time that had passed since Richard's death. Soon, he'd be dead longer than they'd been together. What an eerie feeling…

It wasn't until after she'd answered him that she realized he'd used a nickname for her. He had been so casual about it that she'd hardly noticed it at all. What was even more surprising was that she didn't mind it one bit.

Jacob nodded. There was no judgement in his gaze.

"How long were you married?"

"Two months before he died." She held her breath as she watched his reaction.

He simply continued pacing. "All right. You were both in a new town and didn't know many people. Why'd you end up moving to Willow Creek in the first place?"

Emily fidgeted with her wedding ring as she mulled his question over. "I… Well, you see… Richard and I met in Stockton. My father, er, well, rather my adopted father, had just died, and I was feeling very lost. I went to Stockton to arrange his burial. You see, my father was from New York and his family was buried back there, so I had to arrange to transport his… He wanted to be buried there. That's how I ended up in Stockton."

Her cheeks burned as she spoke. Heavens, she was making a fool of herself.

"It must have been a frightening experience for you," Jacob said sympathetically.

His eyes lingered on her. It was comforting, as if he was making sure that she knew he was listening intently.

"Yes, it was. And then Richard swooped in and made me feel safe." Emily smiled at the memory. "He'd just left the Navy, and he had family up in Sacramento. Richard was on his way to meet them when we met. He had some savings, so he came back with me to Hope Falls. It's about two hours from here. And he got a job offer from Theodore Langston."

Jacob's eyes widened with recognition. Everyone in town knew Teddy Langston. He was rich as Croesus and employed half the town.

"That's good. Teddy is known for treating his employees well," Jacob said tactfully.

Emily rolled her eyes. "He doesn't have anything to do with the day-to-day running of the business, and we all know it. Richard always said that Teddy was lucky that he had such a good manager, or else the business would've gone under. Richard said that Teddy doesn't know the different between an orange and a peach tree."

Jacob chuckled and shrugged. "I like him. He's a good sport. So, let me guess, Richard asked him to marry you, and you said yes?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yes. We may not have known each other for very long, but we both had the same dreams. You've never met anyone more alike than Richard and I. We had so much in common. I was happy to get a fresh start, so we moved out here and Richard started working for Teddy."

Jacob went over to his desk and made a note of something.

The sheriff's office was a well-appointed space. Like most of the buildings in town, it was made from wood. The main room was large and spacious, with several seats and three desks.

Jacob's desk took up the most space and faced the door. A door led off somewhere, presumably to the cells, and a thick carpet covered most of the floor. Several stuffed animals watched from the walls, and a fireplace had been built into one wall.

It was surprisingly comfortable, and not at all what she had first expected when she visited the sheriff's office after Richard's death. Despite the warmth of the room, she could never quite relax in the space. Its purpose always sent a shiver down her spine.

She watched him work and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Some people say that we got married too soon."

"Do you think so?" Jacob looked up at her.

Emily hesitated before shaking her head.

The truth was, that in her darkest moments, she wondered that very same thing. In the first few weeks of her marriage, she'd stubbornly clung to her story. They were made for each other. Their relationship was deep and meaningful despite its brevity. She was happy.

Richard had always been around to soothe and chase away her doubts. Now that he was gone, their relationship looked different. Hindsight was a powerful force.

When they had been married, he'd sometimes been seized by awful moods that caused him to be short with her. In those moments, she'd wondered if she knew what she was truly getting herself into. The more time that passed since his death, the more her doubts grew.

"That's all that matters, isn't it?" Jacob shrugged. "Now, did Richard make any enemies while you were living here?"

Emily fidgeted with her wedding band. Ah. How would she answer that without offending her husband's memory? A memory jumped unbidden into her mind.

***

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked, rushing up to Richard as he opened the door.

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. It had been the first time they'd been separated since they'd gotten married. He had to go to work to make a living, but the house was empty without him.

Emily consoled herself with the fact that soon there'd be little feet on the floor and laughter dancing in the air. Then she wouldn't be alone anymore. The thought thrilled her. She was terribly tired of being so alone all the time.

Richard kissed her cheek and disentangled himself from her. "It was fine."

He headed to the couch and pulled his boots off. She quickly put them in the kitchen where she'd polish them later

"Just fine?" Emily widened her eyes. "You were so excited about your first day!"

Richard shrugged. "I was, but I don't think I'll get along with the men at the orchard. They were all rather stuck-up."

Emily frowned. How could anyone in Willow Creek be stuck up? It was such a little town, there'd hardly be any space for snobs. Just that morning, she'd met the baker's daughter, who turned out to be one of the friendliest people she'd ever met.

She shook her head. How could she know anything about the people in town? Richard was the one who worked with them daily. She'd only met one girl out of all the others. It wasn't fair to question his judgement.

"They were all mocking me because I can read and write."

"Oh no." Emily covered her mouth with her hand. "That's terrible. How could they do such a thing? What did they say?"

Richard averted his gaze. "They didn't come right out and say it, but I could see it in the way they acted around me. Those men were all laughing up their sleeves at me. Perhaps it's because Teddy took me aside and showed me the ropes. They're all just jealous."

Emily inhaled sharply. Richard always struggled to get along with people. He'd even been wary of the people back in Hope Falls. Although she tried to tell him that she'd known them all her life, he was adamant that they were judgmental and would only try to get between them.

It was part of the reason why they'd moved to Willow Creek. This was supposed to be a fresh start. And now, he was saying the same thing. How was it possible that everyone in the world was always against him?

"Could you get me a drink, love?" Richard sighed as he rubbed his feet. "It's been such an awful day."

Emily grimaced, but got up to pour him something. Her dark thoughts followed her to the kitchen. However, when she walked out, he greeted her with the sweetest smile.

"I couldn't wait to get back to you, though." His eyes gleamed lovingly. "You're the best part of my day."

She couldn't help it. Emily melted at the sight of his smile and put all her fears to rest. After all, this was the man she'd married.

***

"Emily?" Jacob asked, looking at her intently.

"Sorry." She rubbed her arm as she looked at the floor.

"That's all right," he said gently, "we'll take it slow. Whatever you tell me won't leave this room. We need to talk about these things to get to the bottom of what happened."

Emily nodded slowly and took a fortifying breath. "Richard didn't make many friends. He… found it quite difficult to relate to the other men who worked for Teddy. Apparently, Teddy took a special interest in Richard and the other men were jealous."

Jacob looked up from his notes and put his pencil down. "That's odd."

"What do you mean?"

"I know all the men who work for Teddy. They're a fairly easy-going bunch. I've never known them to get jealous about something like that. What's more, I've never heard of Teddy taking an interest in one of his workers before."

"Richard was special." Emily shrugged. "He must have noticed that about Richard right away."

Jacob didn't say anything, but she could tell that he wanted to. His eyes searched her face before shaking his head and turning back to his notes.

"What is it?"

She didn't like the way he scrutinized her. This was enough of an ordeal without having him judge her husband, too.

"Nothing," Jacob said a little too cheerily.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but ultimately let it go. He was helping her out. And in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter all that much what he thought about her or Richard. As long as he found some answers, he could think whatever he wanted to.

At least, that's what Emily tried to tell herself. She was stung by his attitude.

"Was there anyone in particular that he was worried about?" Jacob asked.

Emily shook her head. She massaged her temples as she tried to think of anything that she may have missed. When she looked up, she was alarmed by how low the sky was sinking. She only lived about fifteen minutes away, but darkness always came quickly.

"Can we continue this tomorrow?" Emily got to her feet. "I don't want to walk back in the dark."

Jacob straightened and looked out the window. "Goodness, look at the time. I completely lost track of it. Of course, you should get home. Would you like me to walk with you?"

Emily shook her head as she got up and made her way to the door. "No, it's all right."

His shoulders dropped, and he nodded. Was he disappointed by her answer? She hadn't wanted to put him through any more trouble. Emily shook her head. She couldn't think of such things now.

It didn't matter if he was a little disappointed. And why would he be? They barely knew each other. She'd just given him a lot more work. Her thoughts swirled as she walked.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he called after her.

She gave him a thin smile as she slipped out the door. A chill had settled in the air, and she drew her shawl closer around her shoulders. Emily bent her head against the cold and watched her feet as she walked.

Teddy's fruit trees came into view. The town was surrounded by forests and plains that were used to plant fruit trees. It meant that they could get fresh fruit at the local market for a bargain. That was one of Emily's favorite parts of living in Willow Creek.

As she walked, the strangest sensation enveloped her. It was as if a line of ants were making their way up her back. She shivered and looked around. In her mind, thousands of eyes peeked at her from the darkness between the trees.

Emily fought the urge to run back home and forced herself to walk at a leisurely pace. Her back was stiff, and she couldn't stop herself from turning around every so often to see if her instincts were right.

Was someone watching her? Oh heavens, she was losing her mind. Emily shivered as she walked, but this time, it had nothing to do with the cold.

A loud snap echoed through the surrounding trees. Emily froze and held her breath. Before she could spot anything, her feet started moving, and she took off running. She didn't stop until her door was safely bolted behind her.