Appalachian Prey

by Debbie Herbert

  “I never realized it was a problem for you. Jimmy always seemed to get on well enough.”

  “My brother would beat the crap out of anyone who spoke ill of us. It’s different for a girl.”

  He scratched his chin. “Does it really matter what anyone thinks?”

  “You’re a fine one to say that. You broke up with me because of my family’s reputation.” And now, this. Damn, he must be ready to ditch her once and for all. “Bet you’re going to catch hell from J.D. when he hears the latest. He’ll demand you kick me out of your house at once. How do you expect to win an election if you live with the woman the townsfolk will call the Hilltop Strangler’s daughter?”

  “You let me worry about that.”

  He was right. She had enough on her plate. Wearily, she rose and stumbled toward the hallway.

  “Where are you going?” he called after her.

  “To bed.”

  “Without dinner?”

  “Not hungry. Besides, I’m still angry. You know my dad didn’t do this.”

  It seemed a mile to her bedroom and she trudged along with leaden legs. Lethargy swept over her body in waves. At last, she reached the bedroom, lay down in the darkness and curled into herself. All she wanted was the blessed oblivion of sleep.

  Dad couldn’t have murdered those two women. She’d never seen him lay a hand on Mom, even when they were in the midst of their worst screaming matches. There had to be some reasonable explanation as to why that jewelry had been hidden under his mattress. Chauncey Tedder was not a killer.

  Or was he?

  She banished the disturbing question, refusing to entertain her mind’s dark whisperings.

  Chapter Nine

  “And that’s why I looked at the old Hilltop Strangler case yesterday,” Harlan said, shoving the leather bracelet across J.D.’s desk.

  The sheriff peered at it through the plastic zip bag in which Harlan had encased it. His, Lilah’s and Darla’s fingerprints were all over the thing, but maybe the forensic techs could find a useful clue anyway.

  “I’ll mail it to the lab in Atlanta and have them take a look. With any luck, Chauncey’s prints will be on there. Old coot must have been guilty.”

  “Probably,” Harlan admitted. “Guess you’ll want a statement from Lilah on where and when she found it? Maybe talk to Chauncey’s ex?”

  “Sure thing. And don’t you worry, I’ll do you a favor and keep this whole affair low key. Forensics has a huge backlog. It’ll take weeks before they examine the bracelet. We’ll wrap up the case after the election in a couple months and announce to the press that the murders have been solved.”

  J.D.’s casual dismissal of Elmore County’s most notorious unsolved crimes caught Harlan off-guard. “Thought you’d be a bit more excited at the big break in the case,” he said. “Especially considering the upcoming election. Don’t you want to capitalize on the opportunity for some good press?”

  J.D. reached in his pocket for the non-existent cigarette and then folded both hands on the scarred wooden desk. “Way I see it, bringing up the Hillside Strangler case will just remind folks that it took nearly twenty-five years for us to solve.” He narrowed his eyes. “I understand you’d like to see a little publicity for what tumbled in your lap, but think how much it would hurt your girlfriend if you expose her father as a murderer.”

  “I’m well aware of how this affects Lilah.”

  J.D. winked. “Then we’ll keep this under our hats for now. Besides, I’ll feel better about retirement knowing you’re the next sheriff. I only hope your association with Lilah doesn’t kill your chances. But as much as I disapprove of the Tedder gal, this is the least I can do for you.”

  Harlan shifted in his seat. It didn’t feel right. Owing favors made his skin creepy-crawly. “Don’t sit on the press for my sake.”

  “Why not stay quiet for now? People have assumed the killer either moved away or died. Not like there’s a public outcry to find him. Besides, no matter whose prints are on the bracelet, we won’t end up with a neat, tidy case. Chauncey’s dead, and all we’ll really have is an unproven theory.”

  “But Lilah could still be in danger. If Chauncey wasn’t the killer, they’re after her.”

  J.D. waved a hand, casually dismissing his concern. “They were probably after the money in that cabin incident. As for the apartment—could have been anyone or that old lady’s imagination. Don’t let your misplaced concern for Lilah make you any more foolish. She’s caused enough trouble. For now, just sit tight and keep quiet.”

  For Lilah’s sake, he’d go along with it. Not that his opinion mattered. J.D. did what J.D. wanted to do. Although he’d felt the same way last night about Chauncey’s guilt, now he wasn’t so sure. He would investigate on his own. Have a talk with that Luke McCoy and Ed.

  His cell phone rang and a message flashed on its screen. Peaceful Paths Nursing Home. His stomach flipped. Now what? Had his mother taken a turn for the worse? He glanced at his desk calendar and winced.

  Today would have been her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary—if Dad had bothered to hang around, that is. But he’d left the marriage, and his only child, long ago. Still, even though his mom’s mind had been in a fog since her stroke and the onset of early dementia, she seemed to possess an eerie sense of this anniversary date. Last year, she’d gone into a crying funk for days, and the year before that, she’d had a series of panic attacks.

  He answered the call. “Harlan Sampson speaking.”

  J.D.’s brows lifted as he talked to the nurse for a minute and hung up.

  “Anything wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s Mom. Nurse says she’s been weepy and asking for me.”

  “Poor woman. Go see her. We can hold down the fort.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely. You’ve accrued plenty of overtime. Take it.”

  Harlan stood and dug the car keys from his pants pocket. While he was in that area, might as well pay a visit to Luke McCoy and check him out. Maybe even talk to that old lady again and see if she’d seen any other unusual activity at Lilah’s apartment complex.

  * * *

  LILAH LEFT THE sheriff’s office disappointed and alone. She’d wanted to apologize to Harlan for getting so upset with him last night. Only natural that he’d pointed out the possibility of her dad’s guilt. After a good night’s sleep, and all morning for reflection, she’d gotten past the initial shock and her knee-jerk response to defend her dad.

  She still found it hard to believe but conceded she had to consider it. And, in a way, if it were true, then she was safe. The money and jewelry were gone and she had nothing of value to anybody. Last night had been agony but today she felt ten pounds lighter. If she and the baby were truly safe, that was what mattered most. She’d never take that for granted again.

  Inside her car, she punched in Aunt Vi’s number on a sudden whim. She didn’t want to eat lunch alone, and it would be good for Viola to get out of the house and have someone wait on her for a change.

  It took some convincing. Vi claimed she was too busy, but Lilah at least persuaded her aunt to let her pick up some deli sandwiches in town and bring them to the house where they could eat together on the front porch. “It’ll be like a picnic,” she promised.

  Within thirty minutes, she arrived at their house and she pulled two bacon, lettuce and cheese sandwiches from a paper bag and set them on a table. Aunt Viola supplied a bag of chips and sweet tea.

  “House seems quiet,” Lilah commented. “Where is everybody?”

  “The kids are scattered about doing their own thing. Thad’s out on a liquor run. He’s having to do Ed’s job now that the police are watching Ed so close. Did you know they’ve named him a person of interest in Darla’s killing?”

  Lilah sat down and unwrapped the wax packing on her sandwich. “Harlan told me. I can’t be
lieve he did it, though, can you?”

  “No. But how well do we really ever know a person? Even our own family members? We all have our own mysteries and a shadowed side of the soul that’s secret.”

  She stared at her aunt. “Wow. Does that apply to you as well? Can’t imagine you having any kind of a dark side.”

  “Still waters run deep.” She flashed a rare smile. “Your uncle can be a tad overbearing at times, so no, I’m not a self-sacrificing Pollyanna every moment of the day and night.”

  “Thank God. You had me worried,” Lilah said with a laugh.

  Viola sipped her tea. “How long you planning on staying on Lavender Mountain?”

  “I’m actually thinking of leaving. Soon—like tomorrow, maybe. There’s nothing to keep me here. Not now.”

  Her aunt patted her hand. “You’ve been through more than you should have to at your young age. Especially being with child.”

  Lilah almost choked on her sandwich. Had she heard about the scene at the sheriff’s office? “How did you guess?”

  “A certain glow.” Viola shrugged and smiled softly. “Are you happy about it?”

  “I am now. Wasn’t so sure at first. I mean, the circumstances aren’t ideal.”

  “Harlan going to do the right thing by ya?”

  “What makes you so sure it’s his?”

  “I see the way y’all look at each other.”

  Lilah cocked her head to the side. “You think he cares about me?”

  “I’m certain of it.”

  For the first time in days, a warm glow spread through her body. If it was falsely based on an older woman’s delusion, so be it. She could use a little cheer in her life.

  “You’ll need a strong man’s protection if you’re going to stay ’round here. Someone like Harlan.”

  “Again—I might be leaving here. Even if I did decide to stay, I don’t need a man to take care of me. And if the Strangler case is solved, I have nothing to fear.”

  Viola’s eyes widened. “Solved? What are you talking about?”

  Damn. She’d let that slip. But Harlan didn’t say to keep it secret. “The cops have a major break in the case. They...” She drew a deep breath. “They think Dad was the killer.”

  “Chauncey?” She leaned back in her chair and ran a hand over her forehead. “Nothing should surprise me anymore when it comes to this family.”

  “We’ve had our share of tragedy, that’s for sure.”

  “Your dad, like Thad and Jasper, had his demons. No wonder, with the father they had...” She bit her lip and stared out at the piney tree line on the side of the house.

  “Grandpa Ernie?” She knew little about him. He’d died in a hunting accident before she was even born. “What about him?”

  Vi’s eyes were bright with tears. “You can’t repeat this to anyone. I mean it.”

  “I won’t. Go on.”

  “Ernest Tedder was a cruel man. He abused his three boys. And look how it turned out.”

  Lilah closed her eyes at the jolt of pain to think of their suffering. “Really bad?”

  “The worst. Mental, physical and—damn his soul—sexual.”

  Lilah covered her ears with her hands, as if she could block the words already spoken. “Horrible. No wonder Dad turned to drink.”

  “And Jasper a recluse, and Thad—well, Thad is Thad.”

  Her uncle could be a little controlling, but to Lilah he seemed the most normal of the three brothers.

  “And there’s more,” Aunt Vi continued.

  Lilah wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it, but better to face the problem than always wonder and imagine the unknown. “Okay, tell me.”

  “That hunting accident that killed Ernest...well, that was no accident.”

  Oh, no. Not another murder. “Please don’t tell me Dad killed his own father.”

  “No. But you see, he isn’t the only killer in the family.” Viola picked at the frayed edges of her paper napkin. “Might be best if you leave town. The sooner, the better.”

  “But why? You implied earlier that I should marry Harlan. He’s not leaving Lavender Mountain. Not ever.”

  Viola retreated into her shell and stuffed the wrappers and napkins in the paper sack. “Feels like there’s always danger brewing in these hills. Have to admire Harlan’s determination to crack down on crime if he’s elected.”

  “He will be. Unless his association with me brings down his popularity.”

  “You’re a fine young lady. He’s lucky to have you.”

  Her aunt’s words were balm to her troubled heart. Lilah gave her a swift hug. A twitch at the curtains caught her eye. Lavon glared through the glass pane, the smoldering anger in his eyes hot enough to scorch. Had he heard their conversation?

  As always, even the barest contact with Lavon left her feeling like she needed to go home and shower. All during the drive winding down the mountain, her knuckles were white from clenching the steering wheel and her teeth ground together. All she wanted to do tonight was eat, bathe and veg out in front of the television watching romantic comedies.

  Only a quarter-mile from Harlan’s place she rounded the curve where a side embankment allowed vehicles to pull over for a scenic view. On impulse, she pulled in and turned off the engine. If Harlan were beside her, he’d tell her to chill. Annoying as he could be sometimes, she kind of liked the concern. She climbed out of the car, walked to the guardrail and looked—really looked—at the panoramic view.

  Too often, she took the beauty of the Appalachians for granted. A thousand shades of green dotted a turquoise sky. From here, the wild Chattooga River, which served as the border between Georgia and South Carolina, appeared as a thin line of waterfalls cascading down rocky ledges and mountain draws. Its mad foaming rush to the gorges almost made her dizzy. Lilah took long slow breaths, grounding herself with the earth’s energy.

  A day at a time. That’s how she would survive this. Yesterday’s and today’s sorrows didn’t sentence her to a lifetime of misery. For her sake, and her child’s sake, she’d take these stolen moments of peace and build happiness.

  Feeling better, Lilah’s gaze shifted from the distant mountain ridge back to the county road. There was a flash of sun on metal, and she did a double take. Through a slight clearing, a narrow patch of dirt road was visible. Sheriff Bentley leaned against his cruiser and Uncle Thad stepped out of his truck, pulling a wad of bills from his wallet.

  Uncle Thad was supposed to be a hundred miles away in Boonesville making a big ’shine delivery. Or so he’d told Aunt Viola.

  Was the sheriff a customer? She was afraid to move, afraid to draw attention to her presence. The low murmur of their voices drifted on the wind, but she couldn’t discern the words. They didn’t sound angry or look agitated as they conversed for a few minutes. The sheriff tucked the proffered money from Thad into his uniform shirt pocket and pressed a small envelope into her uncle’s hands. Thad grinned as if he’d won the lottery and returned to his truck.

  No gallon jugs of liquor exchanged.

  She stood motionless, hardly daring to breathe, as the men drove off in their respective vehicles, and was relieved as they headed down the mountain instead of passing by her at the scenic overview. If they’d glimpsed her, they hadn’t given any indication. Slowly, Lilah returned to her car. Her hands trembled slightly as she started the engine.

  She’d never liked J.D. Bentley, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. Harlan admitted the sheriff had warned him off her. But if J.D. was so contemptuous of the Tedder name, why conduct secret business with Uncle Thad? Her best guess was that she’d witnessed a payoff to keep mum on the illegal moonshine operation. But what had J.D. given Thad in return?

  Whatever had just transpired, it was probably best she didn’t know. Forget you saw it. Chastising herself for being overly cautious, Lilah waited several
minutes before pulling back out onto the road and heading down the mountain.

  * * *

  HARLAN ARRIVED HOME LATE, as drained as if he’d run a marathon instead of sitting for hours at the nursing home by his mom’s bedside. Nothing peaceful for either of them at the Peaceful Paths facility. Between his presence and a dose of medication, they’d gotten through the hard day together.

  Damn his father. Oh, the doctors wouldn’t pinpoint his mom’s ill health as the result of enduring his dad’s abuse for years coupled with her hard work to scrape by an existence for the two of them. They would only admit stress might have been a “contributing factor.”

  But he knew the truth.

  His house was cheerily lit and Lilah was stretched out on the sofa in front of the television set. Blond hair shadowed her face like a veil, and he sucked in his breath. He could so get used to this. Lilah and a baby.

  But if it wasn’t his baby...what then? Could he live with that? Would the biological father insist on being a part of Lilah’s life?

  Harlan entered the front door as quietly as possible, but Lilah still jerked to a sitting position and regarded him with bleary eyes.

  “How’s your mom?” she asked.

  “Better.”

  She quirked a brow but didn’t press for details. Good. He didn’t want to talk about it, anyway. His gaze drifted down the vee of her cleavage. The impression of her nipples was plain through her thin cotton T-shirt. No bra. Was it his imagination, or were her breasts a tiny bit larger and more rounded already? His fingers twitched at his side. He wanted so badly to cup them and pull Lilah against him. She was so damn gorgeous and sexy, the only bright spot in this dark day.

  “Harlan.”

  Her voice was husky and he swiftly raised his gaze to her face. She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  It was more than he’d dared hope for. He drew her to him and squeezed her petite frame against him. Close enough that she had to feel his need rubbing against her core.

  Lilah moaned and pressed her hips into his arousal.