Two weeks went by after the night that Clay shot and killed Austen Rivers. As one would expect, the Sheriff’s station was, once again, occupied by federal agents investigating his disappearance. Of course, the bikers had not left the body there. They had loaded it into a van and buried him miles away from the spot. They also burned the flourmill to the ground, destroying any evidence. Clay had informed Jake about everything. As much as he didn’t like it, he didn’t have a choice but to keep his mouth shut about the whole thing. Yes, his friend was only defending himself, but a possible investigation of him would probably reveal his involvement in criminal activities. By the end of that investigation, Clay and his crew would most likely end up behind bars.

Nevertheless, despite their best efforts to get rid of any evidence, the federals agents were able to find skid marks, on the road outside the mill, from motorcycle tires and also some footprints, which belonged to Clay’s men. One by one, the bikers were brought in for questioning, but naturally, they all denied knowing anything about the arson. Unable to prosecute them for anything, the NCIS had to let them go. But still, they wouldn’t leave. In fact, twelve days after the murder, they widened the search area, and one day afterwards, they found Rivers’ body and dug it up.

Jake was concerned, whereas Clay did not seem to worry at all, maintaining that, even so, his guilt could not be established, because he had wiped the serial number off his shotgun. The NCIS could not match the bullet to his weapon. Still, no matter what his friend told him, Jake could not shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. Two weeks to the day after the murder, he discovered that he had every reason to do so, as he found a thick, brown envelope in his storage room. It was from Holly. It contained a number of pictures and a few hairs in sealed, plastic bags and also, a letter from her.

“My dear Jake,

I’m really glad you didn’t ask for that key back. If you had, I wouldn’t know how to do this. The closest neighbor to your bar is two hundred yards away, but your place is at the end of the street.

First of all, you should know that I know everything about that night. The Sheriff told me all. That marine had kidnapped Allison, and he was about to kill you both, when Clay showed up. The Sheriff has known him for a long time, and thinks he is being honest with him. I believe him, too. I have seen you with him: I know how close you guys are. That is why I had to steal all the evidence the NCIS had found against him.

You see, one of Clay’s men was sloppy and a little stupid, not to mention greedy. I’m talking about Tom Farris. He stole the money from Rivers’ wallet, but he didn’t take the wallet. He put it back in Rivers’ pocket. The NCIS were able to recover fingerprints. Don’t worry, they only found these about an hour ago. They were too tired to run them through the system. That procedure could take hours. I stayed at the station after my shift and ran the fingerprints. That’s how I know they belong to Farris. Also, the hairs in those bags are grey. Clay is the only biker with grey hair. He got lucky, though. The power went out, just when the feds where about to test those hairs for DNA. They postponed the test for tomorrow morning. Please, don’t tell anyone I gave these to you. I could lose my job. By the way, you should burn all the evidence, including this envelope.

I’m really happy you found the guy behind everything. I wish you’d told me, so I could give him a piece of my mind. That man ruined the best thing that’s ever happened to me. No, sorry. I did that. I believed that picture, when I should have given you a chance to explain yourself. I keep asking myself why I did that, but, every time I do that, I end up crying. Life has been very hard without you. I wake up in the morning, hoping to see your face, but you’re not there. Every time there’s a thunderstorm, I remember our first kiss. My God… you took me in your arms and I felt like I was being pulled away from this world. After that, all I could think of was seeing you again, kissing you again, touching you, feeling you…

You were right to accuse me of not trusting you. I am usually a lot less insecure than that. I was just scared of losing you. But please, try to understand, Jake. It’s happened to me before. I’m not saying you’re the same as that moron I used to date. It’s just that you and Allison had been together for a lifetime. I found it hard to believe you wouldn’t get back together with her. Yeah, I know… You said you wouldn’t. I should have believed you back then. I regret it now.

I heard that song you mentioned to me that night. God… I can’t even begin to describe how I felt; so full of pain, so emotional, that I started crying before the first chorus. Then that chorus hurt more: much more. Because no one will hold me from dark until dawn, baby. No one will love me like you. You never said it, but you didn’t have to. I saw the love in your eyes, Jake. I saw it when you talked to me, when you made love to me. I saw it in your tears, the day I came by the bar. I heard it in your voice. God, how I’ve missed that voice… I miss you so much… I’ve never missed anyone so much in my whole life.

I love you with every beat of my heart.

All my love,

Holly”