Epilogue
Four months later
Genevieve smiled as she watched Finn flipping burgers at the grill. He’d become a master at it, no doubt from his experience cooking meat over an open fire. Caleb Falkner, Miranda’s live-in boyfriend stood next to him, and they seemed deep in conversation. She heard bits and pieces about a sports team.
Finn closed the lid of the grill and swept up a bottle of beer in his large hand to take a swig. He propped a foot on the concrete bench he used to monopolize so many months before and leaned an elbow on his knee. The late afternoon sun beat down on his sun-bleached hair and tanned features, and her heart swelled inside her with love and gratitude. She had come so close to losing him.
“Do you ever feel left out when you’re dealing with this stuff?” Chase asked from the lawn chair beside her.
“No, not anymore. I had enough of it, waiting for Finn to awaken each day. Now he’s no longer tied to the magic, I’m relieved.” She took a sip of wine. “It’s been an adjustment for him.” Getting his paperwork sorted out. “Getting his GED. Getting a job. All the things we take for granted that come so easily to us proved a steep learning curve for him. He’s brilliant in so many ways. He reads everything and can talk to you about so many subjects. But he had to practice interviewing for a job to get one.”
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“He loves it. He loves power tools and hammering away at stuff.” She laughed. “He’s built shelves for my studio and in my storage building out back. He’s really good at it. He’s found his niche.”
Chase tilted his head back. “I know how that feels. I can’t imagine being anything but a detective.”
“You’re very good at it.”
“Thanks. And that being said… I thought you might appreciate an update on what I’ve found. But I’ll wait until the girls are here to give it to you.”
“Okay.”
His face lit up as a car pulled into the driveway. “My date has finally arrived,” he said, and he went to greet Juliet and Miranda.
The burgers were cooked to perfection, and since everyone else brought a dish, food was abundant. Laughter, good friends, and love filled their life now.
Genevieve felt blessed.
Finn pushed his plate away and stretched his arm along the back of her seat. His fingers stroked her shoulder, and she placed her hand atop his. Their gazes met, and he leaned in to brush her cheek with a kiss.
Chase stood, and, using a spoon, clinked Juliet’s wineglass to gain everyone’s attention.
“I want to give everyone an update on what we’ve learned so far about Simon Martin, so those of us who were involved, can close the book on the whole thing.
“DNA and fingerprints have been submitted as possible solutions for some unsolved cases in cities he traveled to and worked in. So far nine cases cleared because of that, one in Lexington. A young female artist who disappeared three years ago. She was one of Simon Martin’s clients in Lexington, and she disappeared a month before he moved here. The police looked at him hard several times, but they couldn’t tie him to her in any way other than through their business dealings. Their reason for dropping the inquiry, besides lack of evidence, was he had no motive. She brought business into his gallery, and was growing more and more popular. If he had anything to do with it, forgive the expression, he killed the golden goose. They couldn’t see any reason for him to do that.
“Personally, I’ve seen people do some damn stupid things because they were driven by other passions, and to hell with the money.” He shook his head.
“This woman’s mother insists Martin was pushing Clare—that was her name—for a personal relationship, but she turned him down. A month later she disappeared. They recently checked his DNA against some blood catalogued at the scene, and it was there.
“I know you’ve probably heard the report about the remains found at the lake cabin. We identified Clare Bowman’s remains yesterday, along with those of the original owners of the property.”
“How could he have gotten away with killing the owners and taking over their house?” Miranda asked.
“He told the neighbors he’d purchased the property and their truck from them. They only used the place during the summer, and weren’t there often, so no one thought anything of it.”
Chase looked to Genevieve. “Gen, we discovered one more thing. The paint on the blue pickup truck Martin had been driving matched the paint found on Andy’s car. We believe he’s responsible for Andy going off the road, and ultimately his death.”
The shock of it brought quick tears to her eyes. If only she had never met Simon Martin. Finn told her months ago that men killed because they coveted things others possessed, and he had included women. She hadn’t wanted to believe it.
Finn grasped her hand, cradling it between his. “I’m sorry, leannan.”
“Look, tracing back through this guy’s life, he had a distinct pattern he followed. Even if we had known, it would have been difficult to predict his next victim. You were just his latest target, Gen, and he happened to bite off more than he could chew with you and Finn. You brought an end to a twelve-year reign of rape, murder, and mayhem. The hours of digital footage we found at his house and in a storage locker in the basement of his house led us to clear several other cases when DNA couldn’t.”
She was still dealing with the creep factor of the police finding cameras all over her house. Simon had stolen private, personal moments from her by viewing them as his entertainment.
“What will happen to that digital footage, Chase?” Finn asked. “I dinna wish Genevieve’s life to be viewed by everyone.”
“All of it will be destroyed eventually. Since Martin has been, for all intents and purposes, declared dead, it’s locked away.”
She’d be glad when it was destroyed.
“Now it’s your turn to tell all.”
She raised her brows. “About what?”
“What did you do with the sculpture on your patio?” His gaze shifted to Finn for a moment, then back to her. “The one that appeared after your attack?”
She and Finn shared a look. Leaning forward she turned a wineglass in her hands. “It was too dangerous to leave sitting on the patio, so I locked it in my storage building and had Juliet and Miranda come over and ward the building so he couldn’t awaken and escape.
“When Finn got out of the hospital, and it had been cleared for Mai and Sylvia to return home, I called them to come over. The four of us broke the sculpture up into tiny pieces, including the base. Then we mixed it into concrete and poured a new, larger base for Mai’s statue. Then I asked Aubrey to come over and attach the base permanently to the statue so he couldn’t possibly escape. Just in case beating him to dust didn’t end things.”
“Where is the statue now?” Juliet asked.
“The sculpture and base were donated to the rape crisis center in town. Mai renamed it Hope.”
After several moments of silence, Miranda said, “Wow.” Her voice was hushed. “That’s… perfect. Mai will be standing on top of him forever. Perfect.”
“Aye. She thought it was, too,” Finn added.
“How’s Keith working out as your agent now, Genevieve?” Caleb asked.
“He’s doing really well. It seems Simon left his list of contacts behind, so he’s keeping everything going, business as usual. He even found the record of money Simon embezzled from me and several other clients in an offshore account. We’ll probably never see it, but the FBI is trying to recover the funds.”
Conversation moved away from Simon and the chaos he left behind to other things. The sculpture Genevieve was working on for the library. How the sculpture of Finn was received in Scotland. Juliet’s upcoming graduation at Christmas. When Juliet and Chase left to go to work, Miranda and Caleb soon followed.
“I am getting used to the two witches,” Finn said as they waved goodbye from the driveway.
She shot him a look. “They have names, Finn.”
“Aye, I know.” He urged her close and rested his chin atop her head. “’Tis easier to like them now I am human, and they arena threatening to fry my ass.”
Genevieve laughed.
“Listening to Chase tonight, I kenned how lucky we are.” His voice grew husky and his brogue thick. “The life I have is because ye were brave enough to love me, leannan.”
“Only partly. The real reason is because you risked your life to protect me from Simon. You died trying to save me, Finn. It was your willingness to sacrifice everything for someone you loved that broke the curse and set you free.”
He raised one brow, his expression wry. “And I waited six hundred and sixty-three years to fall in love and to do the rest of it.”
“Well, they say Scotsmen are hard-headed. But I think you may have set a record.”
“Says the lass who kissed a gargoyle, looking for a prince.” He lifted her in his arms to carry her into the house.
She loved his sweeping, romantic gestures. “Never a prince, Finn. I’m completely happy with just a man, just you.” To prove it, she kissed him with all the love and tenderness she felt for him.
Passion and love reflected back at her when she looked into his eyes.
“I have waited several lifetimes to learn what love is. Ye taught me in a matter of months. ’Tis honesty, patience, generosity, bravery and sacrifice. ’Twill take me the rest of this lifetime to show ye how well I’ve learned m’ lesson.”
His words caught at her heart. The rest of this lifetime sounded right to her. “We have all the time we need, Finn.”
He climbed the steps to the breezeway and pushed the door open. “We’ll spend it well, together, leannan and not waste a second of it.”
He lowered her to their bed a few minutes later, and with his lips warm and ardent upon hers and his hands stroking, caressing, loving her, he proceeded to show her exactly what he meant.