Sentiment had overruled common sense and she’d never replaced it. Now he opened the back door and slid soundlessly into the kitchen. Years eroded memory. Time eradicated fear. Bad things happened to other people, in other places. Not safe little towns like Bamfield. So trusting, so naive, so flawed. He stood silently on the worn linoleum floor, clock ticking in the darkness. The refrigerator rattled to life, and he looked at it for a long, grateful moment. It would help mask his footsteps. Rage burned in his chest, expanding his lungs to bursting. Human beings were inherently flawed. Most of them were foolish, fickle creatures who didn’t stop to think about the consequences of their actions. His fists clenched. He’d been like that once. He’d learned his lesson early and never forgotten. Paid the price. Never screwed up again. Then Milbank had come crawling around his place like a cockroach, and he’d been forced into action again, trying to contain the mess. She was the last of it.
