“You’re just jealous, Vern,” Henry quirked back.
“Maybe I am. Young lady, would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning? Don’t let old Henry hold this over my head. Do an old man a favor.” He wagged his shaggy, gray eyebrows.
Daleigh chuckled. “Now, no fighting over me. You’re causing me to blush.”
The waitress stuck a menu before her, but Henry suggested the pancakes and bacon. Daleigh agreed and ordered a coffee to go with it.
Henry tucked the paper away in the corner. “What I have to tell you might not mean anything, but I thought I would let you decide.”
“You never know what will help.”
Henry took another sip of his coffee. “Your father told me that the man who runs the food bank in Elizabeth City had threatened him.” He leaned closer. “Between you and me, the man has been locked up before. He started helping at the food bank as part of his parole, and he’d turned his life around so much that he eventually became director of the place.”
“Why would he threaten my dad?”
“The man—his name is Chuck Arnold—agreed to let your dad question some of the clients there for his research study. He got their permission first, of course. Your father showed Chuck the results of his study, and Chuck felt like he’d been duped. He’d hoped your father’s findings would result in more support of the nonprofit, but apparently it didn’t.”
“And he got angry enough over that to threaten my father?”
“The man’s always had a temper, from what I hear.”
“You sound like you know him.”
“He lives here in Hertford.”
“Why was he in jail?”
“Assault.” An eyebrow twitched up. “Think about it. Maybe Chuck came over to have a ‘friendly’ conversation with your father. Maybe things got heated. Maybe he gave him a little shove, your dad fell and hit his head, and Chuck realized that he’d accidentally killed him. That’s the only theory that my mind has been able to fathom.”
A shiver ran down Daleigh’s back. Could that be what happened?
“Thanks for your help, Henry. One more question.” She pulled out a piece of paper where she’d begun to jot her father’s schedule last night when she’d been unable to sleep. She smoothed the wrinkles and slid it across the table. “Can you fill in any more of these blanks?”
He pointed toward Sunday evening. “We played chicken foot.”
“Chicken foot?”
“It’s a game played with dominoes. Your father had only been playing with us for a couple of months. He seemed to enjoy it, though.”
“Who’s ‘us’?”
“Just myself and a couple of other old men around here. Something we did to pass time, I suppose.”
Daleigh still couldn’t picture her father playing dominoes. He’d always hated games of any sort. “Did my father have any other good friends here? People that he talked to on a consistent basis?”
Henry rubbed his beard. “Sometimes he and the pastor at the community church would have lunch. But besides that, he pretty much was acquainted with everyone. He was always waving to people on the streets, stopping to ask them how their day was. We’d become quite fond of him here in Hertford.”
“He was easy to become fond of.”
Henry smiled across the table. “As are you, Daleigh.”
The waitress set their breakfast before them. Her gaze remained on Daleigh for long enough to make Daleigh squirm. Finally the woman nodded and told Daleigh what was on her mind, “Some man was in here two nights ago.”
The tension became even tauter across Daleigh’s shoulders. “A man?”
She nodded. “Looked Italian. Said he’d come to town to find you.”
“Vince?”
The waitress nodded. “Vince. That sounds right. Good-looking fellow with dark hair and brooding eyes.”
“Sounds like Vince. You said you saw him last night?”
“No, two nights ago.”
A feeling of unease sloshed in her gut. If he was here two nights ago, why didn’t he let her know? Besides, that was when the graffiti had appeared on her cottage. Vince wouldn’t have . . . She shook her head. No, he wouldn’t sink that low.
Even if it was the only way to get her back to Nashville.
The waitress wandered to another table. Daleigh looked up to see Henry watching her. “Vince was my boyfriend,” she explained. “We’ve broken up, though.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s better this way. Believe me.”
“I see that you and Ryan Shields are becoming friends. How did he manage that?”
Daleigh’s cheeks warmed at just the mention of his name. “He fixed my car for me. The alternator went out.”
“Ah, yes. There’s not much old Ryan can’t fix. The boy’s a wonder with cars.”
“It sounds like you know him pretty well.”
He sliced into a pancake. “I knew his wife, actually.”
Daleigh blinked. “His wife?”
“I thought you knew.”
Her cheeks warmed. Was Ryan married? Certainly Hannah would have mentioned that. Ryan would have mentioned it. “No, I didn’t know.”
“She passed away a few years back. Sweet girl. I was so sorry that things ended the way they did. Such a shame.”
A certain sense of relief filled her. She hadn’t been totally fooled. Still, the idea of Ryan being married and losing his wife caused sadness to press on her chest. “What happened?”
“Overdose. Things were just starting to go well for them, too. They’d moved back here. It seemed like everything was on track for them.” Henry frowned. “You’ll have to ask him to tell you the rest of the story.”
Daleigh nodded. It wasn’t exactly a subject she’d bring up. The new insight into Ryan only made her feelings for him stronger. “Ryan’s been a great friend to me throughout this whole ordeal. Definitely a godsend.”
“He’s the real deal. He’s gonna make some woman mighty happy one day.”
Daleigh smiled and took another bite of her pancake. Yes, he would, she thought. Yes, he would.
She glanced out the window in time to see a man with dark hair and sunglasses pull up in a truck and stare right at her. As soon as Daleigh looked his way, he sped away. Her unease deepened.
“Did you see that?” she asked Henry.
He shook his head. “See what?”
“There was a man outside watching us.”
“A fan?”
Daleigh shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I’m sure you have star-struck supporters everywhere you turn. That or the paparazzi, right? You are famous, after all.” He leaned forward. “Why don’t you come over for dinner sometime before you leave? Your father was my best friend. It seems like the least I could do.”
“I’d love that.”
“How about Thursday evening then? You can even bring Ryan with you, if you’d like.” His eyes twinkled.
Just then, the whole atmosphere in the restaurant changed. Daleigh saw that a distinguished looking man in his fifties stepped inside. He was a striking man with black hair just graying around the temples and a fit build.
Henry turned back toward her, his face now etched with grim lines.
“Who’s that?” Daleigh whispered.
“Thorn Alligood. He thinks he owns this town just because his family has lived here for generations and he employs about half of the people in this part of North Carolina.” He leaned closer. “Now, he’s someone you might want to look at. He stopped speaking to your father a couple of weeks ago and didn’t make a secret of how unhappy he was with your dad.”
“What happened?”
Henry shrugged. “That, I can’t tell you. I can tell you that he likes to destroy people who stand in his way. He even threatened to call the state board, trying to have my pharmacy license revoked. Would have ended my career. Thankfully, he didn’t do it.”
“He sounds ruthless.”<
br />
“If you plan on talking to him, I’d be careful. There’s something about the man I don’t trust.
Chapter Fourteen
Thirty minutes later, Daleigh left the café. As she passed Ryan’s garage, she glanced through the open door and spotted him underneath a car. She contemplated crossing the street to chat, but knew she needed to check on Vince first.
Ryan waved then continued working. His mild reaction disappointed her. Daleigh wanted him to jog across the street like he’d done the day before. She wanted to see his eyes light up.
She shook her head, scolding herself for the silly thoughts. He was busy, probably. She couldn’t read into it.
Vince and Hannah were sitting on the porch as she walked up. Hannah’s reception to her last night had been aloof and, had Vince not been there, Hannah probably would have ignored her. But when her sister had seen Vince, her face lit up and her charm magically reappeared.
Daleigh stuffed her hands into the sweatshirt she wore. As she approached, she noted the mugs of coffee they sipped. They both leaned back in their rocking chairs and laughed together like old friends. Daleigh wondered if she was the cause of their laughter. She could mentally hear them talking about poor, naive Daleigh, and how desperately she needed both of them in her life to keep her straight. She pushed aside her insecurities and approached.
“Where have you been, Daleigh?” Hannah took a sip of her coffee.
“Having breakfast.”
“Well, you could have come here for breakfast. We had apple muffins and fruit.”
“It was a business meeting.”
“Business?” Hannah pushed. “And what kind of business do you have to do around here?”
“I’d rather not discuss it.” Especially after Hannah’s reaction to the implication that Dad’s death may not have been an accident. She could only imagine the fireworks that would explode if Hannah knew Daleigh was looking into what had happened.
The smirk fell from Hannah’s face, and she narrowed her eyes at Daleigh. “I see. Vince, would you excuse us a minute? There’s something I need to discuss with my sister.”
“No problem.”
He disappeared inside, and Daleigh took his seat. “What’s up?”
“Are you out of your mind breaking up with him? He’s perfect,” she said in a loud whisper.
“He’s not perfect for me.”
“Daleigh, you’re going to give up prestige and the promise of a good life where you don’t have to worry about making ends meet. Why would you do that?”
“Vince and I have been over for a long time, Hannah. It’s just that neither of us wanted to admit it. Besides, I’m not all about prestige and the ‘so-called’ good life. I just want to be where I’m supposed to be.”
“Daleigh, if you’d just listen to me for this one time, as your older, wiser sister.” She paused. “If you break up with him, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life.”
“My life is a little more complicated than that right now, Hannah. I want to date someone who respects me for me. That’s not something I can say about Vince.”
Hannah glared at her. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
Daleigh twisted the fabric inside her sweatshirt. Her sister had so much nerve. To act like she really knew Daleigh when they only spoke once a month, if that. Hannah was so wrapped up in her own life that she couldn’t see past her big, fluffy blonde hair.
Still, Daleigh felt she needed to say something. “I don’t get you, Hannah.”
“I don’t get you either, Daleigh.”
Tension stretched between them.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Ryan used to be a stockbroker?” Daleigh ventured to ask.
Hannah shrugged. “I figured you could figure it out on your own that he threw away his big chance and is now wasting his life as a mechanic.”
Daleigh started to retort when Vince appeared through the door, his luggage trailing behind him. “I should get going. I was able to change my ticket and catch an earlier flight out of here.” He glanced at Hannah. “Thank you for your hospitality. And it was nice to finally meet you.”
Daleigh rose to walk him to his car. Silence lingered between them as they hurried down the pathway. They paused at his Mercedes rental and faced each other.
“When did you get into town?” she blurted.
He shifted, as if caught in a lie. “Sunday evening.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?’
“I tried to call you.”
“I tried to call you back.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you. You weren’t at the cottage. I tried a couple of times Monday morning, but I still couldn’t find you. I worked on the computer in the meantime. I found a place to stay the next town over. When your sister graciously let me stay at her home last night, I couldn’t refuse.”
His words left her feeling unsettled. Was there more to his story? Had he used Hannah to try and convince Daleigh to stay with him? She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “So, you’re telling me that you, with your busy schedule, just sat around working on the computer for an entire day.”
Something in his eyes changed, and Daleigh knew she’d caught him in a lie. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“You never sit around and do nothing, Vince. Never.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Why don’t you tell me the truth?”
He stepped back and sighed. “Daleigh—”
She crossed her arms and waited.
His jaw locked in place, and he stared into the distance for a moment. “I may have gone up to Norfolk to check out a new band.”
Indignation rushed through her. How dare he pretend to drop everything to be with her when, in fact, he was mixing this trip with business? His words only confirmed her decision. “Of course you did.”
“It’s not like that, Daleigh.”
“You know what? Save it. It doesn’t really matter anymore.”
Vince’s eyes narrowed he looked at her. “You haven’t seen the last of me, you know.”
“Don’t make this any harder than it already is, Vince.” Her throat burned as she stared up at him. Her world had once revolved around this man. Thank goodness she’d finally come to her senses.
“You’re going to wake up one day and realize you’ve made a mistake. Only it will be too late to do anything about it.” He stared at her, and Daleigh knew he’d hoped for a reaction. Tears maybe? Regret? A moment of panic or fear? Instead, she held her chin up and offered a single nod.
He drove away and a chapter of her life closed. Daleigh leaned against the ancient magnolia tree while sadness and relief mingled in her heart. Would Vince’s prediction come true? Could she chance it? She was going to have to.
She jogged back to her cottage and grabbed her purse. It was time to visit the food pantry.
***
Thirty minutes later she pulled up to the Lunch Box. It was located in an old, downtown area of Elizabeth City. She pulled her purse over her shoulder before pausing by the door.
Maybe she should have waited for someone to come with her. But she couldn’t wait around all day. Ryan had to work, and there was no way Hannah would ever agree to come with her.
Besides, it felt good to do something by herself. Back when she’d started in music, it had only been her and her guitar. There hadn’t been any other songwriters to help her out, or a manager to schedule concert dates, or a record label breathing down her neck. It had just been Daleigh doing what she loved to do. There were times she missed the simplicity of those days.
She pulled the glass door open and stepped onto the grimy floor of the pantry. A man sat behind a desk with stacks of papers in front of him. He looked up and smiled at Daleigh.
“Welcome to the Lunch Box. What can I help you with?”
“I’m Daleigh,” she extended her hand.
As he rose, Daleigh’s throat went dry. The man easily stood a
t 6’5” and had the build of a linebacker. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. “I’m Chuck.”
“I don’t need any food, but I am hoping to find some answers. Maybe you can help.”
“Have a seat and let’s see what I can do for you.”
Daleigh lowered herself into a chair across from him. “It’s about my father. Dr. McDermott.”
His eyes darkened. “Yes, I knew your father.”
“I heard you didn’t like him.”
“I didn’t like his methods. I didn’t like being his case study.” The man’s voice had hardened.
“Look, I’m not trying to stir anything up. I’m really not. I’m just looking for answers about his death.”
“I heard it was an accident.”
“Some have said it was murder.”
His eyes widened. “You think I’m guilty?”
She shook her head. “No. Maybe we should start this conversation again . . .”
“Maybe you should leave.” He pointed toward the door.
Fear pounded with each heartbeat that echoed in her ears. “I just—”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Now, I suggest you leave before I have to call the police and have them escort you.”
She stood. “That’s not necessary. Nor is any of this hostility. I merely wanted to ask you questions.”
“No, you want to implicate that I’m a crutch for the weak. You want to use my own words against me in order to get my program unfunded.”
“It’s not like that.”
“No, you want to take it a step further and have me arrested also. I don’t think so.” He pointed to the door again. “I’ll let you see yourself out.”
Daleigh sighed, realizing she’d just hit another dead end.
***
Daleigh ventured outside just as the sun was setting that evening. She grabbed her guitar and sat on the porch swing. The Perquimans River stared back at her. Cypress trees draped with Spanish moss dotted the water’s edge. Between stumps stretched a pier—the pier where her father had died.
She pulled back the tears that threatened to escape again. Instead, her fingers plucked at the guitar strings absently. The woodsy, acoustic sound of the strings reverberating in the guitar’s body caused her to close her eyes.
Home Before Dark (Christian Romantic Suspense) (Carolina Moon Book 1) Page 12
