“I can’t imagine. Again, I’m so sorry.”
Mayor Cayhill paused. He looked down at the file folder in front of him then over at me. A subtle hint of tears glistened behind his eyes. He blinked twice and they disappeared.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why we brought you here, Renee. May I call you Renee?”
“The thought has crossed my mind, sir. And yes, of course.”
“Please, call me Peyton. After all, we have a connection now, don’t we?”
Yeah, a morbid one. “One I’m sure neither of us ever wanted.”
“Very true, Renee. Very true. So, let’s get down to why you’re here. Are you aware there’s a reward for information leading to my wife’s whereabouts? Ten thousand from me and an additional ten thousand from the city?”
I couldn’t think of the right words to say so I nodded.
“Well, I’m sorry to say you’ll only be receiving my portion. There’s a reason for that, so what I’m about to say needs to stay in this room. May I have your word?”
Swallowing twice to dislodge the lump in my throat, I whispered, “Of course.”
“Part of being a good leader is having the ability to read people. I knew right away you were trustworthy. Honest. Solid and dependable. The backbone of our little piece of Heaven here in Whitten County, if you will.”
Politician—born and bred. Jackie certainly married JFK. Peyton Cayhill was smooth, confident, and full of shit. But hey, it seemed he was offering me manna from above in the form of ten grand—and maybe a job, too?—so I kept my mouth shut.
Mayor Cayhill looked down at the papers in front of him again. “I’m sure you’re aware I went to school with your mother and father? And that I’m thoroughly acquainted with Billy Runsford?”
Again, I nodded, wondering where in the Hell this conversation was going. So far, it was all over the place. I tried, but couldn’t imagine what in the world my parents and my ex—God, he said his freaking name!—had to do with all this.
“Our town and community are growing, and it doesn’t need any more scrutiny from the prying eyes of outsiders while we move forward toward a better future. That is the reason your name has been kept out of all this. We didn’t want the reporters to link you to the discovery of Martha’s body.”
Aha! The proverbial light bulb burst inside my mind. “Because it could lead back to…my ex.”
Mayor Cayhill smiled. This time, it wasn’t warm. Or inviting. It was downright eerie.
“Exactly! I’m sure you know people who don’t reside in less populated communities tend to assume negative things about small town living. You must admit, this is a strange twist of events. A man brutally beat his second wife to death and then the first wife discovers the body of the town’s Mayor. Bad publicity no matter how much we stand from the rooftops and shout it was mere coincidence.”
“Are you worried people would think we’re hiding something, is that it?”
“Yes, even though we aren’t. Also, since I plan on writing a letter to the Parole Board, asking them to deny Billy’s parole request next month, it might be construed by those who’d like to see him released we were somehow…oh, what’s the word? Cahoots? Yes, in cahoots together.”
My stomach dropped and I felt dizzy. This wasn’t happening. Did I hear him right? Did he just suavely throw in a veiled bribe?
Mayor Cayhill seemed to have noticed my distress. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Have you…discussed what happened out at Bradford Lake with anyone?”
I bit my lip, unsure if I should fib or come clean. Deciding I didn’t want to drag Eleanor into the web of lies between me and the Mayor, I lied. “No. I was so…upset I just haven’t been able to talk about it.”
“Quite understandable. Good to hear. Like I mentioned, I knew you were dependable. Strong, too, to endure such an awful experience on your own.”
“I’m no stranger to difficulties, sir.”
Mayor Cayhill gave a slight nod of understanding. The eerie smile from seconds ago morphed into a warm grin. “Peyton, remember?”
“Sorry, guess I’m just a little stunned by all this. Peyton. Got it.”
“I’m aware of your past struggles, and that’s part of reason the decision was made to leave your name out of the report. No one will know you were out there, which is why the city will not pay any reward to you. I, however, will. Again, just between the two of us. I’ve known your kin since childhood—it’s the right thing to do. You’ve lived through some very trying times, Renee. It saddens me to think it took my own personal tragedy to open my eyes to the suffering of others in the town I love.”
Despite the fact I didn’t agree with his reasons or the bribe about my ex, the thought of having that much cash made my heart pound with glee. It was only five grand shy of paying off my entire mortgage!
“Thank you,” was all I could say.
“There is one other item I’d like to discuss before you leave.”
Mayor Cayhill picked up an envelope and handed it to me. My hands shook as I took the wad of cash I assumed held ten thousand dollars. The pesky lump of tears formed in my throat again so I choked out, “Okay.”
“It’s my understanding your house is in foreclosure. I believe the reward money will make sure you retain your home. And since I made the decision to deprive you of the city’s portion of the reward, I came up with a better plan. Detective Greenwood informed me you were searching for a job, so I’d like to extend the offer to work in my office. Can you start tomorrow?”
Overcome with emotion, the tears came. I didn’t want them to, but they didn’t listen to my internal pleas to remain inside my eyes. Even though Mayor Cayhill’s reasons were ridiculous, and I didn’t buy a word of his impassioned speech, he just changed my life.
A life I’d planned on ending days before. The man had no idea he’d just offered a lifeline to a woman drowning in her own suicide lake.
Clearing my throat, I grinned through the tears. “Yes, sir. What time?”
IT WAS AFTER six-thirty p.m. when Detective Greenwood dropped me off at Eleanor’s. My previous interest in watching Mayor Cayhill’s interview on the news no longer a concern. I had a front row, special VIP performance up close and personal less than twenty minutes earlier. I’d been privy to things the press would cut off an appendage to hear.
Things that would make Gretchen Chase drool.
Ol’ peppy Detective L.D. didn’t say one word—and neither did I—after we left the Sheriff’s department. What was there to say? He had to have known what was going on, and what Mayor Cayhill offered me, so why discuss it? I’m sure in his book, I won and he lost. I certainly wouldn’t have to worry any longer about being arrested for being barred out at the lake.
After his unit disappeared from the street, I stood at the edge of the drive and stared at Eleanor’s three-bedroom house. Cute. Quaint. Taken care of despite its age. Similar in design and style to my house. Hanging baskets full of fake plants dotted the corners of the porch. A weathered lawn ornament reading Bloom Where God Plants You leaned against a leafless oak tree.
Eleanor had lived in the house ever since she married Kyle Runsford. Had he not succumbed to prostate cancer fifteen years ago, their golden wedding anniversary would have been celebrated next month. Eleanor and I shared many common things, and another was she remained single since the passing of her husband.
Of course, I remained single and my bed colder than the current freezing temps for a different reason than Eleanor. Numerous times in the past, she’d drop comments about missing the love of her life and how no man could replace Kyle in her heart—blah, blah, and blah.
Wow, as I neared the half-century mark, I’d turned into a hardcore cynic. Another one of Mom’s descriptions of me come to fruition. Poor. White trash. Cynical.
I didn’t begrudge Eleanor’s loving relationship with Kyle, or anyone else in the world who had someone they connected with in such an intimate way. Quite the opposite: I was green with envy. Pea-fre
aking-green. I wanted, no craved, to have someone to love. Dreamt about it for so many years—yearned for it every time I watched a sappy love story on TV or read a romance. Wanted someone to sweep me off my feet, gather me into strong arms, whisper in my ear his undying love more than anything.
Instead, life handed me a man who knocked me off my feet, choked me with strong arms, and whispered death threats in my ear.
Ah, so much for love.
Usually, when I let my weak yearnings rattle around in my head, I cried. Not today! For the first time in—oh, pretty much ever—I had hope. Something to look forward to besides downing a bottle of pills and slipping below dark water. In one day, literally less than thirty minutes, my entire world shifted, sending me in a direction I never imagined even during my most vivid dreams.
Now, I had to figure out how to inform Eleanor without telling her the truth. Oh, and convince her not to say anything to anybody about what I’d told her before. The old expression about having to tell thousands of lies to hide just one was certainly on the mark.
Maybe instead of lying, it was time to tell the truth. She was, after all, the only semblance of family I had left. She’d provided me a warm place to stay, kept me fed, given me money to see the doctor. I owed her honesty, not a package of lies. The woman’s sharp eyes would see right through my tall tales anyway.
What did I have to lose? If Mayor Cayhill ever found out I’d lied to him, what could he do to me? Fire me? Ask for the money back? He wouldn’t risk exposing the secrets for fear I’d open my mouth and set things straight. If he truly was a man who saw things logically and in black and white, he’d probably already figured that into his calculations before handing me a wad of cash.
I wouldn’t lie. Eleanor Runsford deserved better than that. She, too, had suffered losses in her life, yet was still kind enough—whatever her personal motivations were—to extend kindness to another person in need.
Groaning, I climbed up the stairs, marveling at how even a short amount of time and a bit of money had the power to change one’s heart. With one last, deep breath, I stepped inside the door and called out to Eleanor.
“I JUST DON’T know what to say. I’m stunned.”
Eleanor wasn’t lying. I’d never seen her look so shocked, not even when Kyle passed away or after her son was sentenced to fifteen years down in Pine Bluff. Her green eyes were wide pools of disbelief. I’d told her everything except the part about the Mayor writing a letter to keep my ex in prison.
“I know exactly how you feel. Almost fell out of the chair in the detective’s office. Still haven’t processed it all myself, either. I mean, one minute, I’m standing in Walmart, panicked because I was about to spend money I really didn’t have to spare, and the next, I have a way out of debt and a job. Cue the Twilight Zone theme.”
Eleanor chewed on her bottom lip while staring at her lap. A shadow of concern spread across her face. “I understand Mayor Cayhill giving you the reward money. I do. You found his wife, which was what it was for. But those reasons for wanting to keep your name out of the whole thing and giving you a job? Fishy. Way too fishy. He wants something from you. No one is that nice. Not when it comes to cash.”
I finished the last bite of chicken and dumplings, nodding in agreement. “I got that impression, too, though I have no idea what it could be. Maybe we’re both so jaded we’re reading more into than we should.”
“Jaded—yes. Stupid? No. Anyone with a computer or ability to research documents at the library could pull up some of the town’s sordid past. What happened with Billy was all over the news, too. So was the incident back when I was a young girl. The mayor can’t wash away the connection simply by leaving your name out of a report. Even if he does manage to keep a lid on certain…things from others, people around here will still know. They’ll put two-and-two together. You moving back home and with a new job at the same time? Oh, yes. Mouths will flap. Like I said earlier, rumors spread fast in this town.”
“Eleanor, I appreciate your concerns. Have a bundle of them myself. People have been yammering about me since I was a kid. Let them. It’s nothing new. Something else will catch their attention soon enough and they’ll forget all about me.”
Nodding once, Eleanor stood and walked across the living room. She took the empty plate from my hands and headed to the kitchen. I followed, eager to take a pain pill and call it a night.
After depositing the dish in the sink, Eleanor turned around and looked at me. An air of sadness and worry made her look older than her actual years. “Renee, I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but I hope you know how much you mean to me. I’ve enjoyed having someone to take care of. Made the house feel like a home again. It may sound corny, but at my age, I’m supposed to be corny. You’re like the daughter I never had. I didn’t care for Billy’s second wife, though I certainly didn’t wish for her life to end. I would have preferred a simple divorce, but my preferences didn’t happen. What I’m saying is, I love you, and I’m worried. My gut tells me this is wrong.”
How many times could my brain handle being stunned in one day? Eleanor could have just said she was the queen of an alien race, sent to save all of Earth before destroyed by a meteor, and I wouldn’t have been more shocked.
Tears filled her eyes so Eleanor turned away, fiddling with the lone dish in the sink. “I gave my word I won’t say a thing, and I intend to keep it. All bets are off, though, if something happens to you. Then, I’ll call every reporter in this state and ruin that bastard. Guaranteed.”
Unsure what to say, I moved closer, placing my hand on her thin shoulder. Eleanor flinched then relaxed as a bond I didn’t realize had been there before intensified. “Thank you, Eleanor. For everything. I…love you, too. Goodnight.”
I left the kitchen and went to the bedroom. Before closing the door, I glanced at the one shut across from it.
Billy’s room.
Saying his name, really looking at the space he’d occupied for years before we married, something inside me changed. The internal levy I’d built years ago to protect me from crumbling, burst. Floodwaters of emotion washed over me.
I wouldn’t let Eleanor hear me cry, so I shut the door and headed to the bathroom. The noise of the shower would cover my sobs.
A HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE woke me up. The pillow was soaked with tears and my arms sore from gripping the sheets. Shaking my head to clear the thoughts away, I sat and flipped the bedside lamp on. The dim light didn’t help remove the remaining images. The skeletons of my father and Cyndi bobbed on the lake, their watery, garbled voices called out for me to join them.
I knew nightmares would come, but I expected them to be about finding Martha. The dreams about my father and his whore used to invade my mind years ago. They started after the doctor at Arkansas Center for Mental Care forced me to take some strong narcotic to calm me down after I lost William. Thora-something-or-other. After a year of outpatient counseling, the nightmares stopped.
For a while.
They came back when Billy starting beating me less than six months later. Apparently, our child dying was my fault, and I had to pay for it.
In blood.
Lots and lots of blood. And bruises. Broken bones. Death threats.
I shouldn’t have taken the pain pill. Maybe it was in the same category or family of drugs like the other. They may or may not be the reason the terrifying dreams reappeared, but just in case they were, I decided to flush the remaining little white terrors down the toilet.
Mission accomplished, I clicked off the light in the bathroom and padded back to bed. When I reached for the comforter, a noise from outside the window caught my attention. Pushing back the thin curtains, I gasped.
Outside the window stood Cliff Simpson in his uniform. At the edge of the driveway sat his patrol unit, white tendrils of smoke pluming from the exhaust. He motioned for me to come outside. Glancing at the alarm clock, I squinted to read the time.
Two-thirty a.m.
Curious as
to why he was here, I motioned for him to hang on and let the curtain fall back. Grabbing my robe and sliding on a pair of worn-out slippers, I slipped out of the bedroom and padded down the hall to the front door. Eleanor was a heavy sleeper, but even so, I made sure to make no noise and mind my steps on the creaky front porch.
Cliff had moved from the window and stood next to the hood of his vehicle. I walked over and joined him, glad the weatherman was wrong and it was only cold. No freezing rain or sleet. “Haven’t seen you in years and this is the third time now in two days. What’re doing here, Cliff?”
He smiled and took a sip of coffee. “I came to apologize for earlier today.”
“You mean for walking past me and not saying hello at the station? Gee, couldn’t that have waited until the sun came up, or not at all? Better yet, a simple phone call?”
“I tried. Went straight to voicemail several times.”
I’d forgotten my cell was turned off and made a mental note to pay the bill after I deposited the cash in the bank. “It’s not like it was a big deal. I figured you got in some trouble for not arresting me, so no sweat.”
“I did, but that’s not the reason I ignored you.”
“Okay, so spit it out then. I’m freezing.”
Cliff glanced up and down the street then lowered his voice. “Like I said, I’m sorry for being rude earlier. It wasn’t just because Greenwood had me put on perpetual night shift for the foreseeable future. It’s because we exchanged unpleasant words when he forced me to alter my original report.”
“I assume you mean the part about me?”
Cliff nodded. A growing sense of unease slithered around in my stomach. Even under the dim light of the moon and street lamp, I noticed Cliff looked upset.
No, not upset.
Worried.
I found the thought sort of funny. After all these years of being a nobody in the town, not a person around to be concerned about my welfare other than Eleanor, suddenly people were interested in my pathetic life.
Suicide Lake Page 5
