Running for Cover

by Shirlee McCoy

  She frowned, setting a crumb-covered plate into the sink and washing her hands. She’d made a promise to Lauren, and she planned to keep it no matter how tired she felt.

  How exhausted.

  Frustrated.

  Angry.

  How could it be that after so many years, that even after his death, Cody could still make her feel this way?

  So what if he’d sent a package to another woman? It didn’t matter. So why had she spent most of the hours before dawn trying to put a face and a name to the package’s recipient?

  And why was she thinking about it now?

  Frustrated, Morgan grabbed her purse, scrounged through the bookshelves in the living room until she found a Bible and started for the door.

  “Going somewhere?” Jackson’s voice was so unexpected, Morgan jumped, her pulse leaping, her stomach churning with the kind of anticipation she had no right to feel. If she could have ignored him and gotten away with it, she might have done just that.

  Coward.

  The word whispered through her mind as she turned, her breath catching as she met his eyes. She’d expected him to be sleeping soundly, but should have known better. If she’d learned anything about him during the past two days, it was that Jackson was dogged in his pursuit of a goal. And his goal was to keep her safe.

  She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  “I told you I was going to church this morning.”

  “Maybe I should rephrase the question. Are you going somewhere without me?”

  “We all had a late night. I didn’t want to wake you or Helen.” At least that was the excuse she’d given herself when she’d decided to get ready and go to church alone.

  The truth was a little harder to swallow.

  Jackson was getting under her skin and settling in. Putting some distance between them for a few hours seemed like a good idea.

  He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. Obviously, he’d been up and getting ready for a while. He was dressed as he had been the previous day. Dark slacks. White dress shirt. Black loafers. All of it clean and pressed. Apparently, he’d found and made use of Helen’s laundry room. A tie hung loose around his neck and he’d managed to find a razor and had shaved the auburn stubble from his face. He looked good. Too good, and Morgan turned away. “I made coffee. You want a cup before we go?”

  “That and some breakfast. Does your aunt keep the fridge stocked?”

  “It’s slim pickings but there’s bread and eggs and milk.”

  “Good enough. When do we need to leave?”

  “Five minutes ago.”

  “Then I guess I’d better hurry. Want to come in the kitchen? I’ve got some information that I want to go over with you.”

  “Information?” Her stomach churned again, but for a different reason. As much as she wanted answers, as much as she wanted to face the past so that she could put it behind her, she didn’t really want to know who Cody had been having an affair with.

  “Sheriff Reed spoke with the Bradshaws.”

  “Did he?”

  “He asked them about the package, but they denied any knowledge of it. Said you were lying.”

  “That figures.”

  “He didn’t push them. He figured there were other ways to get the information.” He poured a cup of coffee as he spoke, grabbing bread and dropping two slices into the toaster, moving as if he were as comfortable there as he was in his own place.

  Maybe he was.

  Maybe Jackson was that kind of person. The kind who fit in wherever he went, who easily made himself at home no matter where he was. The kind of person Morgan had often wished she could be.

  “Are you going to keep me in suspense or tell me what he found out?”

  “He told them he needed a list of Cody’s clients, and they sent an electronic file of his e-mail address book. Sheriff Reed sent it to me. He wants you to look it over and see if there’s anyone on it you know.”

  “That could be hundreds of people.”

  “It was. I’ve already narrowed it down,” he responded, topping off his coffee and liberally buttering both slices of toast.

  “How?”

  “I called in a few favors, had some investigators I work with help me do Internet searches on the names. We were able to pare the list down to seven people who live in Spokane and the surrounding areas.”

  “You must have been up all night.”

  “Most of it, but the results were worth the missed sleep.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, held it out.

  Morgan took it, her heart beating a strange, sick rhythm. She knew the truth about her ex, but on most days, she preferred not to think about it.

  Her hands trembled as she unfolded the paper, and she wondered if Jackson noticed.

  It didn’t matter.

  All that mattered was reading the list of names. Getting the answers they needed.

  She scanned the list, looking at names, but not really seeing them.

  “Do you recognize any of the names?”

  She blinked, trying to bring the paper into focus. “Luke Sanders. He owns a golf resort on Newman Lake. We vacationed there a couple of times after we moved to New York.”

  “Was he a client of Cody’s?”

  “I think so.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “Daniel Wilfred was a friend of Cody’s during college. I think he’s a doctor in the area. Probably also a client of Cody’s. Shannon Mallory was an old friend of mine from college.” And she couldn’t think of any reason why Cody would have been e-mailing her. She didn’t say that. She didn’t have to.

  Jackson frowned, placing his empty toast plate into the sink. “I don’t suppose Cody was planning a party for you? Birthday? Anniversary? Is it possible that he was contacting her via e-mail, trying to surprise you?”

  “Too much effort. He believed in quick, easy things. Jewelry. Spa days. Theater tickets. A party wasn’t something he would ever have planned.”

  “So, maybe we need to speak to Shannon. Find out why Cody was e-mailing her.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Do you have her contact information?”

  “Yes.” She’d called Shannon a couple of weeks after she’d walked out on Cody and had left a message on her machine. She’d never gotten a response. That hadn’t surprised Morgan. She and Shannon had lost touch and reconnected several times since college. Now she wondered if there was more than a busy schedule responsible for the unreturned call. “I’ve got a phone number and an address. And, now, her e-mail address. I shouldn’t have any trouble getting in touch with her.”

  “How about we tackle that after church? Fifteen minutes ago you said we should have left five minutes ago. Which makes us twenty minutes late.”

  A reprieve, and Morgan was glad about it.

  She and Shannon had shared a dorm room for four years, and when Morgan married it had seemed natural to ask her to be a bridesmaid. A year later, Shannon had gotten married and Morgan had been a bridesmaid at her wedding. When Shannon divorced, she’d spent two weeks with Morgan and Cody, getting her thoughts together, mourning the end of something she’d thought would last forever.

  Was that all she’d done?

  Morgan didn’t want to think about the possibility, didn’t want to imagine that her good friend and her husband had an affair. Didn’t want to, but couldn’t seem to stop the thought from circling through her head.

  Shannon and Cody.

  Cody and Shannon.

  Was it possible?

  When Morgan thought back, when she tried to pinpoint the moment when her friendship with Shannon had changed, that would be it. After those two weeks, Shannon had been more distant and much more difficult to reach. Morgan had chalked it up to grief, had convinced herself that Shannon was just trying to put the past behind her.

  She’d been burying her head in the sand, refusing to see what was right in front of her.

  Would acknowledging it have changed the way t
hings had played out? Would it have somehow led Morgan and Cody down different paths? Kept Sean alive? Prevented the nightmare that had been playing out over the past several days?

  Morgan walked outside and took a deep breath of cold, crisp air. There were no answers to her questions. No way of knowing what might have been.

  The rain had stopped and watery sunlight filtered through the trees. Birds sang. Leaves rustled. All was right with the world.

  And everything was completely wrong.

  Morgan knew the pain of betrayal. She’d felt it when she was a kid abandoned by her mother and again when she’d realized that Cody wasn’t faithful. She hadn’t ever wanted to feel it again.

  Too bad she didn’t have any say in it.

  “Ready?” Jackson opened the car door and Morgan climbed in, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

  She’d call Shannon after church.

  Or maybe she should call now.

  After all, what was the sense in putting it off?

  She pulled out her cell phone as Jackson got into the driver’s seat.

  “Where are we heading?” he asked, and she quickly typed the church name and road into the GPS system.

  “That should do it.” Her voice sounded raspy and old, and she swallowed hard, trying to clear her throat. “I’m going to call Shannon now.”

  “It can wait.”

  “It can’t, and we both know it. Besides, putting it off won’t change anything. If she and Cody were having an affair, it’s water under the bridge. Right now, all I care about is finding that disk.” That was partially the truth, and she clung to it as she dialed the familiar number.

  One ring. Two. Maybe Shannon had gone to church, though Morgan had never known her to be the kind to attend regularly. Three rings. Four. Morgan expected the answering machine to pick up, and she took another deep breath, preparing to leave a message.

  “Hello?” Shannon’s voice was such a surprise, Morgan’s voice caught in her throat and she couldn’t respond.

  “Hello? Is someone there? If this is a crank call—”

  “It’s me, Shannon. Morgan.”

  There was a heartbeat of silence, and Morgan wondered if Shannon would hang up.

  “Morgan…what a surprise. It’s been a while.”

  “A few years.”

  “I guess you went back to your maiden name. It’s on the caller ID and I didn’t recognize it.” Which was probably the only reason why she’d picked up.

  “I thought it would be easier to use my maiden name. Too much publicity around Cody’s.”

  “I’m sure it’s been tough.”

  “It has been, but I wasn’t calling to discuss my relationship with Cody.”

  “No?”

  “I’m in town. Staying with my aunt. I was hoping I could stop by and see you.”

  “I’m really busy right now, Morgan. Work has been crazy, and I—”

  “Cody sent you a package before he went to prison.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Of course you do. Cody’s mother mailed it out for him.”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “Yes it is, but that’s not what I care about. I need to know what was in the box, Shannon.”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Cody gave it to me in confidence, and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about it.”

  “Don’t you think the fact that he’s dead relieves you of the obligation to keep that promise?”

  “He’s dead?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “That can’t be. I spoke to him.

  “When?”

  “Last Sunday. Right before I left on a business trip.”

  “He was killed five days ago. Didn’t his parents tell you?”

  The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, and Morgan’s hand tightened on the phone. “Shannon? Are you still there?”

  “I’m here. His mom left two messages, but she didn’t say why she needed to speak to me, and I’ve been too busy to call her back.” Her voice sounded tinny and small, as if the news had stolen something from her. Maybe it had. Unlike Morgan, Shannon may have never accepted the truth about the man she thought she loved.

  “I’ve got to know what’s in the box. It’s the only way we can find the person who killed him.”

  “I’ve got it here, and you’re welcome to it. When do you want to come by?”

  “Noon?”

  “I’ll be here.” She hung up, and Morgan did the same, her stomach churning, her head pounding. She wanted to tell Jackson to turn the car around and go back to Helen’s place, but what good would it do to hide away? She couldn’t hide from the truth and couldn’t avoid doing what needed to be done. In a few hours, she’d have to face Shannon. Whether she wanted to or not.

  And she most definitely did not.

  “I’m sorry.” Jackson squeezed her hand.

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not, but you will be.”

  “I know. Shannon says I can come by at noon. She’s going to let me have the box.”

  “And we’ll have our answers.”

  “I hope so. I’m ready to go back to Lakeview and get back to my life.”

  “You’ve only been away for a day.”

  “A day too long. I’m sure you feel the same way about your life.”

  “Actually, I’m finding this trip a lot more pleasant than I thought it would be.”

  “You’re not going to start that again, are you?” she asked, shooting a look in his direction.

  “What?”

  “The whole ‘attraction’ thing.”

  “It’s better than the alternative.”

  “Which would be what?”

  “Letting you sit and mope about your jerk of an ex-husband and his unfortunate love interest.”

  “I wasn’t moping.”

  “Good, because the jerk wasn’t worth it.” He grinned, and Morgan found herself smiling in return.

  He was right, of course. Cody wasn’t worth wasting emotion on. Not regret, not sorrow.

  She needed to focus her energy on finding the disk, bringing it to the authorities and making sure that whatever secrets it contained were uncovered. It was the only way to stay alive, and she had plenty to live for. Her family. Her dreams. The brother and sister she wanted so desperately to find.

  She shifted in her seat, staring out the window, watching the landscape pass by. Pine trees and mountains, blue sky and white clouds. A simple kind of beauty that she’d missed during her years in New York. She’d said she was anxious to get back to Lakeview, but she wasn’t sure that was the truth. What she was really anxious for was resolution and an end to the nightmare it seemed she’d been living for much too long.

  SEVENTEEN

  If Jackson had had his way when he was growing up, he would have preferred to spend Sunday morning in bed, Sunday night with friends and Wednesday evening playing football. His parents weren’t on board with his plans. Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday night were for church activities, and Jackson went whether he wanted to or not.

  As an adult, he’d attended church sporadically, often finding it more awkward than comforting. Since Lindsey’s death, he’d found himself searching for something that had led him to church over and over again. Faith, maybe. Or hope. Though he didn’t often put his longing in those terms. As he pulled into the parking lot of the little country church, he wondered if this would be the place where he’d find what he was looking for.

  The thought irritated him. He didn’t need to find faith or hope. He’d had it for years. From the time he was a kid, he’d heard the story of salvation and he’d believed it.

  So why did he feel so empty?

  It was a question he’d been asking himself for a while. One he didn’t have an answer to.

  “Looks like we’re here,” Morgan said with a sigh.

  “No need to sound s
o excited about it.”

  “What’s exciting about sitting in church for an hour while everyone stares?”

  “It won’t be that bad.”

  “It will if we don’t manage to get a seat in the back.”

  “Don’t they always leave that for people who are late?”

  “In this church, the back pew is for whoever wants to take a nap while the pastor is speaking.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “A little,” she admitted, pushing open her door and stepping out of the car. “We’d better hurry. Service is about to begin.”

  Jackson followed her out of the car, walking with her to the church. She was quiet, and he didn’t try to engage her in conversation. She was dealing with a lot. Not just the attack against her and the constant danger she was in, but also her husband’s betrayal. Her friend’s.

  He held the door open, and she walked into the church, leading him to a small sanctuary where several dozen families waited for the sermon to begin. Jackson glanced around, searching the faces of the people here, studying each person, trying to find anyone who didn’t look like he belonged. Morgan’s pursuers would have to be pretty brazen to come inside the church, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t do it.

  “Let’s sit here,” Morgan said, tugging Jackson to a back pew and sliding into it, oblivious, it seemed, to his thoughts and his worries.

  Jackson dropped down beside her, angling his body so that he could see the entrance to the sanctuary.

  “Who are you looking for?” Morgan asked, and Jackson met her eyes.

  “Your family.” A lie, and Jackson wondered if telling it in church was a bigger sin. Hopefully not. His motivation was pure, after all. Keep Morgan as relaxed and at ease as possible. Allow her an hour of time when she wasn’t worrying about the men who’d chased her from Lakeview.

  “Really?” She raised a raven-colored brow, her almond-shaped eyes daring him to continue the charade.

  “No.”

  “You’re looking for the men who were at Helen’s house last night, right?”

  “Not because I think they’ll be here, but, yes.”

  “We weren’t followed here. We would have noticed if we had been.”

  “I wasn’t worried about us being followed.”