Worth The Wait (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 1)

by Sophia Sinclair

  “Aren’t you going to photograph my bruises?” she asked.

  “First I’m calling this in,” the deputy said. Then it was another long wait as a second deputy finally arrived, and pictures were finally taken.

  She began to tell her story all over to the second deputy, Deputy Taylor. This time, she added in the detail about Matt trying to rape her.

  “So now the story changes,” the first deputy said. “You said he attacked you. Now, all of a sudden, he was trying to rape you. Pretty big guy, Matt. If he was trying to rape you, how’d you get away?”

  “I kicked him in the nuts,” she said.

  “She has some pretty good bruises consistent with her version,” Deputy Taylor said.

  “She could have gotten those anywhere. Maybe she had a fight with her boyfriend,” Deputy Nichols replied.

  “Can I go home now?” Molly asked. “I’m not feeling well at all. And can somebody recover my things from the library? I need my purse and coat. I kicked my shoes off while I was running. They should be down the street a ways, somewhere between the library and here.”

  “You’re free to go, Miss Miller,” Deputy Nichols said. “You aren’t accused of any crime, unless Matt decides to press charges for your, uh, attack on him.”

  “My attack on him? Are you kidding me?”

  “This is all ‘he said, she said’ at this point,” Deputy Nichols said. Molly had been heartened when the second deputy seemed to believe her, but he hadn’t said much since. She felt an immense tiredness and despair. She had no job. Now that the adrenaline was gone, her whole body ached. Her feet hurt where she had apparently run over small rocks. Her arms hurt where she was bruised. And she couldn’t stop thinking about Matt’s claims that his own grandfather, not the Conrad son, had fathered Desiree’s baby. Had fathered David’s father. Could it possibly be true that David was not a Conrad but a Green? Did it matter to her if he was?

  Suddenly, she realized David must be wondering where she was — he’d expected her to come over as soon as she’d stopped at home to scoop up Clarence and an overnight bag. By now he must be worrying. But she wasn’t sure what even to say to him. She spared a thought for poor Clarence, too, who was no doubt impatiently waiting for kibble and a bathroom break. It was all too much. She turned away from the deputies and sobbed, paying little attention when the friendlier deputy, Taylor, left for a few minutes and came back with her shoes. She heard him suggest that Deputy Nichols go check out the library, something she was surprised hadn’t happened yet.

  Marsha offered her another cup of hot chocolate and Molly gratefully took it, not even drinking it, just holding it with her freezing fingers. She heard the sounds of people coming in to buy gas and lottery tickets and cigarettes, some of them curiously asking what the cops were there for. Marsha told them they were there to investigate a drive-off, bless her.

  “Miss Miller, I think I’ve got everything I need for the report. When Deputy Nichols gets back with your purse and coat, you can head home, assuming everything at the library checks out fine. You have somebody you want to call?”

  She nodded and glanced at the phone. The deputy tactfully stepped outside the doorway. Even though he’d be able to hear everything, he was at least giving her the appearance of privacy. Molly used the phone on the desk to call David, praying he’d pick up even though he wouldn’t recognize the number. Fortunately, he did.

  “It’s me. I’m at the gas station. Down the street from the library. I need you to come pick me up.”

  “At the gas station? Is something wrong?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell you when you get here. Please hurry.” He sounded puzzled and alarmed but said he’d come right away. She wondered what she should tell him. Should she tell him everything? Or would he kill Matt if she did? Or would he think Molly may have brought it on herself by telling Matt about his grandfather? They had agreed not to reveal what David’s investigation had uncovered, concluding it would do no good since the murderer was long dead. She shouldn’t have blurted it out — maybe she had set Matt off by telling him. But his insults had made her lose her temper. She had been swallowing her anger and discomfort with Matt since she was a teenager, but tonight she had found she just couldn’t hold back.

  And then David was there at the library, looking concerned and confused and telling Marsha he was looking for Molly.

  “She’s in the office with one of the sheriff’s deputies,” Marsha said. And then David was there. Molly didn’t throw herself into his arms. She just clutched the hot chocolate, now barely even warm.

  “What’s happened?” he said, clearly puzzled. In answer she resumed crying. At that point, Deputy Nichols returned.

  “Everything seems in order at the library, except it wasn’t locked. I found your purse on the floor. Sorry, I didn’t see your coat.” Molly realized he’d never have known to look in the little closet in the back and shrugged. It didn’t matter right now.

  “Was, was … Matt there?” she asked.

  “Nobody was there. I photographed the, uh, crime scene, recovered your purse and locked the door.”

  “Crime scene? What the hell?” David said.

  “Am I free to go?” Molly asked.

  “Yep. We’ll be in touch,” Deputy Taylor said.

  David was still asking her what had happened and she just shook her head. Confused, he led her to his car. She was numb. David had to remind her to fasten her seat belt.

  “Take me home, please,” she said. They’d planned to spend the weekend at his place, but all she wanted right now was her own familiar surroundings. David drove the short distance to her house and helped her out of the car and inside the house. Her hands were still shaking so badly that she couldn’t get the door unlocked; he picked up the keys after she dropped them and unlocked the door for her.

  “Molly, honey, you have to tell me what happened. Were you robbed?”

  “Matt attacked me,” she finally said, dropping onto the sofa.

  “He what!”

  “He’d been drinking. He said awful things. I told him what you found out about his grandfather, and then he attacked me.” She waited for him to say that she should have known better than to have confronted Matt alone.

  “Are you OK? Should we go to the hospital? Why did you tell him? I thought we agreed not to.”

  “He made me mad, OK? You don’t know how bad it was.” David put his arms around her rigid form.

  “It’s OK. I’m not upset. That guy would make anybody lose his temper. At least you didn’t punch him in the nose like I did.”

  “I kicked him in the nuts,” she said. David started to laugh but stopped when he saw Molly’s stricken face.

  “I hope they throw his ass in jail when they find that son of a bitch,” David said. “Did he hurt you, or just insult you?”

  “He ….” Molly couldn’t say it. But the expression on David’s face darkened as he began to understand.

  “Did he …?”

  “He tried,” she said. She pushed up the sleeve of her dress. The bruise was worse now than when she’d shown the deputy. “But I don’t think the deputy believed me. They said I could have gotten the bruises anywhere. I bet nothing happens to Matt. It never does. Oh, and he fired me.” She couldn’t talk anymore then.

  David gently stroked her hair as she cried against his shoulder.

  “That’s not even the worst part,” she said.

  “But you said he didn’t actually ….?

  “No, he just bruised me and grabbed me,” she said. “He lost interest in the other thing when I kicked him where it counts. But he said your grandfather wasn’t the father of Desiree’s child, David.”

  “Then who, supposedly?”

  “His grandfather. He said she left town because he got her pregnant and paid her off. Do you think it could be true?” she asked, turning her tear-stained face toward David.

  “That can’t be true,” he said, but the blood seemed to drain from his face. “No way am I related t
o Matt. That bastard! He was just trying to upset you.”

  “What if it’s true, though?” Molly asked, sobbing afresh.

  “Would that make a difference to you? If I were?”

  “No, of course not,” she said, but she didn’t know if she meant it or not. All her thoughts were jumbled up. She felt as confused and numb and drugged.

  “There are so many gossips in this town. Your kids are going to hear about this sooner rather than later. Best they hear it from you, I think. Are they at Hank’s?”

  “Oh, if Hank hears this, he’ll kill Matt!”

  “Only if I don’t do it first. Is Hank a generally decent guy? I mean, can I count on him not to flip out?”

  “He’s not a bad guy except he just can’t resist chasing women. But yes, I better call him.” She picked up her phone and made the call, then handed the phone to David. “Can you please just take care of it?”

  “Of course,” he said. He stepped out of the room. She could hear him introducing himself to her ex — an odd circumstance if there ever were one, and making some kind of explanation she couldn’t hear.

  “He said he’s coming over here. Is that OK with you? I didn’t get a chance to stop him.”

  “I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do about it in any case.” She pulled her feet up under her dress, still shivering. The bottoms of her feet were filthy and her stockings were shredded but she didn’t much care if she got the sofa dirty just now. David picked up an afghan — one Molly’s mother had made about a million years ago and that was always folded at the end of the sofa — and draped it around her shoulders. She always felt, when wrapping up with the afghan, that it was a little bit like receiving a hug from her mother — something she surely could have used just then. David took her frozen hands in his large warm ones and gently rubbed them.

  “I gather Matt has been a thorn in your side pretty much your whole life,” he said.

  “Yes. He’s always tried to get under my skin.” She remembered all the bra-snapping and crude comments she’d put up with in high school. “Hank scared him straight at one point, but I guess he figures he can get away with anything now. You haven’t met Hank yet, right?”

  “Can’t say as I have. I’m hoping he’s not the jealous type.”

  “He isn’t bringing the kids, is he?”

  “No, he said he’s coming over to check on you first. He made up some excuse for leaving and said he’d be here in a few minutes. He lives here in town, right?”

  “Yes. It shouldn’t take him long.” And at that point she heard the sound of Hank’s noisy truck. He didn’t knock, he just walked right in. That wasn’t usual for him, but she didn’t mind. She didn’t feel up to answering the door right now.

  “I came as soon as I could get here,” he said. She noticed the contrast of the two men in the room. Both were tall and handsome, but Hank’s working man roots were apparent in his camouflage pants and black T-shirt, whereas David, even dressed casually, carried the look of an academic. David made the first move.

  “Hello, Hank, I’m David. Nice to meet you.” He offered his hand to Hank, who didn’t hesitate to shake it. Molly felt relieved to see that both men seemed to accept each other; she didn’t know what she’d do if either of them had acted jealous. She worried David would judge Hank as a redneck and that Hank would judge David as being either an outsider or less manly because he didn’t work with his hands for a living.

  “I don’t know you, David, but my boy Tommy seems to think a lot of you, and you’re the first man Molly has really let into her life since the two of us split up, so I’m going to just ask you this — are you with me? Because I mean to deal with Matt. I should have done something about him years ago.” Molly grew frightened. She’d never thought of Hank as being a violent man, but she saw a fire in his eyes she’d never seen before.

  “I’m not sure violence is the answer,” David said. “I already punched him in the face once when he spoke to Molly disrespectfully. It hasn’t seemed to improve his behavior.” Molly looked at Hank’s face; she could see that hearing David had punched him had only elevated his opinion of him.

  “Hell, I’m not talking about beating him up. But I mean to go find that SOB tonight and make it clear that I will not have him threatening my ex-wife. Are you with me, or not?”

  “Hold on. We can’t just go over there making trouble with Matt without making more trouble for Molly. We need a plan. He fired her tonight. I think we need to give the man our conditions. He needs to resign from the library board immediately. Molly stays in her job. He agrees to leave her alone,” David said. “I don’t know whether the police are going to do the right thing or not; this town seems to be under the man’s power. But either way, he needs to know Molly has people who are looking out for him, and that the law is the least of his problems if he ever gives her trouble again.” Hank didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he reached out his hand to David and the two shook on it.

  “You guys aren’t going to leave me alone, are you?” Molly asked. She felt panicked suddenly at the thought of being in the house alone and vulnerable. “What if he comes over here? And what did you tell the kids?”

  “Nothing, yet,” Hank said. “Our next move depends a bit on what old Matt says and does. Why don’t you call Lori and have her stay with you?” Molly made the call. Lori had been on her way to meet her boyfriend, but agreed without hesitation to come over when Molly said she needed her.

  “She’s coming. She sounds worried,” Molly said. “You guys won’t get in trouble, will you? You’re not going to do anything stupid?”

  “We’re just going to talk to him,” David said. Hank didn’t say anything.

  Lori arrived shortly thereafter, all decked out in a tight red dress, sparkly faux diamonds around her neck and in her ears, and red strappy heels of the type she referred to as her “CFM” shoes. Molly had laughingly, in the past, teased Lori about her large collection of “come eff me” shoes. She didn’t joke tonight. After hearing the story, she said she thought Matt deserved to have his ass kicked by both of them, but added that she hoped they wouldn’t be stupid.

  “Matt has a lot of power in this town, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “I noticed,” David said. “He should have been arrested by now.”

  Molly felt she’d never be warm again. Lori sat next to her and Molly told her a few more of the details, including about the belief she and David shared that Matt’s grandfather was a murderer. Lori offered to make some coffee or pour some wine. Molly opted for the wine. She already felt jittery without caffeine. She hadn’t had but a sip when the doorbell rang. Lori said she’d get rid of whoever it was.

  “Don’t let anybody in!” Molly said. But she heard Lori speaking to a voice she recognized — Sheriff Watkins.

  “Sorry to bother you, Molly. But I heard what happened and I want to make sure you knew I’ve followed up on things. I heard a version from the deputies and now I’d like to hear your story straight from you.” He stood in front of Molly, overpowering the small room. He was a big man.

  “Do you want me to step out?” Lori asked.

  “No, it’s OK. Stay with me,” Molly said. Lori sat down next to her and took her hand. Matt and David took the recliner and ottoman. The room felt full of male anger.

  “We just poured this wine, Sheriff. She hasn’t had two sips, so she’s completely able to tell her story,” Lori said. Molly put her wine aside and began talking. She didn’t mention the murders. That seemed like it was another whole story. The sheriff took some notes and asked a few questions to clarify, but it didn’t take long to tell. She showed him her bruises, causing Lori to suck in her breath in shock and Hank to curse under his breath.

  “Matt has been getting away with murder,” Hank said, causing Molly to choke a bit on the wine she had just tried to take a sip of. But looking at the Hank’s face, she concluded he didn’t mean it literally.

  “I don’t disagree with you,” the sheriff said
. Something in his tone caught Molly’s attention and she and David traded wary glances. “I want to apologize for the way my deputies handled this. My next stop is Matt’s house. I’m going to arrest him. I’m going to arrange for you to get an order of protection against him that will keep him from coming near you, too.”

  Molly felt a huge relief and felt tears coming to her eyes. “Thank you, Sheriff. You can’t know how scared I’ve been tonight.”

  “But we want you to know we aren’t going to let him cause Molly any trouble,” Hank said. “We don’t trust the man, no matter what any order of protection says. They just told me about Matt’s grandfather. Bad blood in that family. You can tell. It always comes out.” She waited for the sheriff to ask a follow-up question about what Hank had meant about the grandfather and was surprised and relieved when he hadn’t. She had a sudden feeling that nothing she and David could tell the sheriff about Matt would come as a surprise. Maybe David wasn’t the first person to put the facts together and reach the same conclusion.

  “I’ll stay here tonight,” David said. “We just want to be careful.”

  Hank and Lori took their leave then, Hank saying he would only tell the kids that Matt had threatened their mother and that the police were taking care of it. No need to alarm them with extra details, they all agreed.

  Molly felt that she could fall asleep right then and there. “I’m going to bed,” she said. “I feel like I need to sleep for about a hundred years.” She folded the afghan and placed it back at the end of the sofa.

  “I’ll be up in a little while. I just want to check all the doors and windows first,” David said.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Do you think you could sleep down here tonight?” she said, glancing at the sofa. “I think I need to be alone right now.”

  “Of course,” David said. “Whatever you want.” But she could see he looked hurt and puzzled.

  Molly retreated to her bedroom. She wanted a hot bath badly but she wanted sleep more. She shucked off all her clothes, rummaged in the back of her drawer for a long granny nightgown she seldom wore, and put it on. Then she climbed into bed. She thought she’d immediately fall asleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so tired. But sleep didn’t come. Instead, she lay awake and the scene from the library repeated over and over in her head. She was warm at last, under her blankets and thick quilt her mother had made decades ago. Sleeping by herself all these years with no man to warm her had given her the habit of making her bed with flannel sheets and lots of blankets, so she felt like she was in a warm, safe cocoon. But sleep continued to elude her. She finally got up, drew a hot bath, and sank gratefully into the warm water. She glanced down and noticed she had a bruise on her left breast where Matt had groped her. She soaped her breasts, trying to wash away Matt’s hateful touch. Then she leaned her head back against the pink tiles and wondered what David was thinking downstairs. Was he upset that she wanted to be alone tonight? She wasn’t even sure what impulse had led her to ask him to stay downstairs. She regretted it now. Maybe she should go get him, after all. Her confused thoughts drifted to Matt’s claim that he and David shared the same grandfather. The thought of David being descended from that man scared her. Yet, it would be unfair to reject David for his relatives, she knew. David was nothing at all like Matt. She closed her eyes. Then Matt was back, grabbing her breast, hurting her. She screamed, confused to find herself not in the library but in her bathtub, and realized she’d dozed off in the warm water and had had a nightmare. Even as she figured out what had happened, David rushed in.