Christina Freeburn - Faith Hunter 03 - Embellished to Death

by Christina Freeburn

  Violet skidded to a halt, blonde hair wild about her head and fury shooting from her eyes. “You want to know who I am. Ask me. Or better yet ask him.” She kicked the bottom of Steve’s shoe.

  I stared from the enraged woman to a dismayed Steve. I stood, hands clenched, placing myself within catfight range to Violet. “Yeah, I do. So who’s going to tell me your real name? Since I know it’s not Violet.”

  “There was a part of my story I didn’t tell you last night.” Steve remained seated on the ground.

  “I don’t care. I want to know her story.” I glared at Violet.

  Violet laughed. “Trust me, honey, you’ll care.”

  I tightened my fists. “I want to know why you’re stalking me. You do realize that’s a crime.”

  She laughed again. “Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t stalking you. I was hired to keep an eye on you and Steve. He knows who I work for and why I’m here.”

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Steve said.

  “And it wouldn’t have if she hadn’t been going through my stuff.” Violet glared down at Steve. “So she’s going to get what she deserves.”

  What I deserve? My anger ebbed away as confusion and fear whipped through my mind. “Working for? What does she do?” I roamed my gaze between Steve and Violet, waiting to see which one would reveal the truth first.

  “I’ll tell her if you want.” Violet crossed her arms and a slow grin spread across her face. “And I’ll love doing it.”

  “I told them Morgan Ware was wrong.” Anger coursed through Steve’s voice. Finally, he stood, keeping a few feet between me and him. “They should’ve trusted me. Taken my word for it.”

  “They figured she weaved her spell around you also,” Violet said. “If she was able to trick Adam, you’d—”

  “Adam!” I screeched. Blood pounded in my head and a whirling sound erupted around me. Breath tightened in my chest. I gasped a few times before the air unlocked and I could talk. “How do you know about him? Why are we even talking about him?”

  “Because Adam’s parents think you set him up.” Violet fixed her gaze on Steve. “The original person who went to prove it changed his opinion. He got to know your family. Learned about you. Met you. Ended up believing you. So Adam’s parents hired Morgan. They were worried about the original person. They figured you turned his head just like you had Adam’s. They believed you planned on ruining their first investigator’s life, an amateur, just like you had their son’s. They couldn’t allow it to happen again. Couldn’t bear to have that kind of heartbreak repeated in their family. Isn’t that right, Steve?”

  A chill wrapped itself around my body and my heart and squeezed. Steve. Steve not only knew about Adam, but knew him. Tears wavered Steve’s form.

  Pain and remorse flashed across Steve’s face. “Adam Westcott’s my cousin.”

  The world stopped. Or at least mine. It looked darker and was without sound. Steve’s mouth moved. I heard nothing. Violet seemed to have vanished. I saw pain and truth in Steve’s face. He had always known I had married Adam. His cousin. Words I had never said pounded in my mind and soul, demanding release.

  Steve reached for my arm.

  He had stormed away from me, angry because I was keeping a secret from him. What about his? Why was his okay to keep?

  I stumbled away from him, using my wrist to swipe away the tears. “Damn you!”

  Birds chirped. The sun heated my skin. Everything returned to normal. Or at least the semblance of normal I had once believed was my life.

  Steve moved into my path. “Faith, please listen to me. My Aunt Janice and Uncle Frank couldn’t believe Adam would kill someone. I couldn’t either. So I decided to take a job as an assistant prosecutor in Eden instead of working with my father. Janice and Frank stood beside me during my darkest days. I was going to prove JAG was wrong. It broke my heart when I discovered the truth. Adam was a murderer. When I found out they hired Morgan to look into the cases you solved, I called my aunt and uncle. I told them I’d have the guy arrested for stalking if he got anywhere near you. They were wrong. They had to let their vendetta go. They said I was betraying the family by trying to stop them from uncovering the real truth. A truth I didn’t want to know because I fell in love with you.”

  “You’re a liar,” I said, teeth clenched. “Go to Hell.”

  Nausea clawed at me. I leaned against the rail, drawing in huge breaths of air. Steve was Adam’s cousin. Steve moved to Eden to prove I was a killer. He used my grandmothers to get information about me. Steve’s family wanted someone to hurt me. I found myself sinking to the ground. I drew my legs to my chin and rested my forehead on my knees. Tears coursed down my face. Violet stepped toward me.

  I bunched my legs, ready to kick and defend myself if she came any closer.

  Violet raised her hands and retreated a few feet. “He’s not lying. He does love you. Steve wanted his aunt and uncle to stop the harassment. I’ve worked with his father, Griffin, on cases so I’m trusted by the Davises. I’ve also had some dealings with Morgan and knew the kind of man he was. When Steve called and asked if I’d tell his family about Morgan, I agreed because in my line of work it’s nice to have favors owed to you by those in the legal field. I told them Morgan wasn’t above roughing up people to get the results he needed. They didn’t care. I’m sorry you found out this way, but I can’t have people going around calling me a murderer.”

  But I could? I pressed my forehead to my knees.

  “Griffin doesn’t like ugly out in the open so he hired me to make sure Morgan didn’t hurt you,” Violet said. “And to ensure you didn’t hurt Steve.”

  Me hurt Steve? He hurt me. Wounded me.

  Everything I knew about Steve was a lie. Everything I knew about me and Steve was a lie.

  No. He loves you. That’s not a lie.

  I covered my ears with my hands. A knot formed in the center of my chest.

  Someone touched my shoulder. I jerked away.

  “Faith, please,” Steve said.

  “Go away.” I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it shut up all the thoughts swirling in my head, some conjuring up a hope of there still being a beginning of a happily-ever-after for me and Steve, and others proclaiming the sad end of our relationship.

  The man of my dreams and the man of my nightmares came from the same family. How could I have a future with Steve knowing Adam would always lurk in my life? He’d be family. Still. I shuddered.

  “I can’t. I won’t.” Steve knelt down beside me.

  My heart asked if it really was such a bad thing. Steve knew. Always had known and had believed me. My brain said yes. He kept the truth from me even as he vented about me doing it to him. He knew I was in danger and didn’t tell me. Well, at least I could stop obsessing about the secret I hid from Steve. I choked out a laugh. To think of all the time I wasted worrying about him finding out. And caring about it.

  “I think we should talk.” He sat beside me on the cooling concrete.

  ‘You’re drawing an audience,” Violet said. “You might want to leave her alone.”

  “You can leave. Get away from Faith and this resort. You’re not needed here,” Steve said.

  “You’re not the one who hired me for this weekend.” Violet stared down at us.

  “Faith, please look at me.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this. Not now. Later.”

  “Later won’t help us. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I knew about Adam. I didn’t know how to bring it up. I was waiting for you to.” Steve attempted to take my hands into his.

  Violet walked away.

  I folded my arms against my chest. “I considered myself a failure and a shame to my family. I didn’t want anyone to think bad about my grandmothers. I left West Virginia determined to make it alone in the world.<
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  During basic training I realized I was a joke—the hillbilly. My first duty station in Germany wasn’t much better. When some people find out you’re from West Virginia, they automatically think you’re an illiterate whose parents were related.

  Adam was the first person I met who respected me… or at least he acted that way. I let my need to be loved and belong overshadow everything. I didn’t want anyone to know how far I fell.”

  “When someone pushes you, I don’t think you should call yourself clumsy if you trip.” Steve rubbed my back.

  Again I pulled away, tucking my arms and legs as close to my body as I could.

  “I’m so sorry, Faith. I didn’t want to lose you. I wanted time for you to know I wasn’t like Adam. I fell in love with you. Your loyalty. Your drive to see right done. The love you have for your grandmothers. Where do we go from here? Please tell me there’s hope for us beyond this.”

  Tears skimmed my cheeks and splattered onto my legs. I swiped them away. “I don’t know. I feel off-balance right now. I don’t know what to do or feel. I’m scared my life is going to be torn apart again.”

  Steve wrapped his arms around me, drawing me against his chest. “I won’t let them hurt you. I promise. And that one I will keep.”

  I pushed him away and stood. “People I called friends didn’t just turn away from me but gossiped about me even when I was proven innocent. I became the example of the holier-than-thou girl who got what she deserved. When my world fell apart, it filled them with so much happiness. It broke my heart even more than what Adam did to me. He was evil, but these were people who were well-respected and good.”

  “I’m not them, Faith. Neither are your grandmothers or your friends. Eden will stick by you. I know what it’s like to make decisions you regret.” Steve remained seated. “In my case, it was all my choice. I allowed anger to control me and placed myself in a situation I don’t think I can ever correct. Now, I find myself in the same situation again, I want to correct this one. Us. When I realized you weren’t going to confide in me, I was upset and angry that you still didn’t fully trust me. But I was also amazed by you.”

  I looked down at him. “Amazed?”

  “You would do anything in your power not to hurt the people you love, even if it meant hurting yourself.”

  “I didn’t hurt myself.”

  “You kept yourself closed off from everyone for so long.”

  “It’s the only way I knew how to survive at the time. I changed my mind because of you. And now, I don’t know if you’re really that person.” I craved distance from him.

  Pain flashed across his face. “I am the same person and I understand what you’re going through, because I’ve done it to myself. I’m not the untarnished hero everyone in town, especially your grandmothers, have labeled me. I’m also worried about what will happen when the truth comes out. But we have to tell them. It won’t hold any power over you. No one will be able to hurt you once you take this weapon away from them.”

  The truth was a powerful thing; it could set a person free or trap them in a life they never wanted. Right now, I wasn’t sure what the truth being finally released would do for me. Or Steve. Or our relationship. I didn’t even know what I wanted.

  I felt drained, and like I tore my soul out and tossed it outside of me. I didn’t want to spill everything out, especially to a man who hadn’t acted like he wanted to stand by me moments ago. But I was tired, and Steve wanted the truth. So, I’d given him what he wanted, and I hoped, unlike Adam, he didn’t use it against me and to his advantage.

  “When push comes to shove others doubt me because of it. That’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone. Because no matter the outcome, no matter the truth, it left a mark on my past. It’s a ‘what really happened’ question that no one but me, Adam, and the man who was killed will ever truly know the truth about. I didn’t want my grandmothers going through wagging-tongues again. You’ve seen the good side of Eden. You haven’t seen the dark side. As my grandparents grieved for their children, and raised their infant granddaughter, gossip spread. Did Charity and Randall die or did they abandon their baby, and pure-as-the-driven snow Hope and hoity-toity Cheryl want to keep it hushed? Even six years after my parents’ were buried, the room moms in elementary school liked to point me out and whisper. Look at that poor orphan, good thing her parents died so she didn’t have to live with being thrown aside.”

  Steve looked horrified.

  I scrubbed the tears from my face with the hem of my shirt and ran my fingers through my hair. I wanted to look presentable even though I felt ragged inside. “I left to prove I was someone and returned home knowing I was nothing. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to be more than what others claimed I did, in the end those false charges define me more than anything I’ve ever done in my life.”

  “Faith—” Steve reached for my hand.

  I did an about-face, avoided knocking into the bench, and marched myself back into the crop. A sharp pain squeezed my heart. I reached back into my arsenal of coping mechanisms and pulled out the well-worn and much loved decision of solitude.

  I should’ve continued with my vow of singlehood. Being content was good. Reaching for happiness was overrated. If I hadn’t, Steve and I would still be friends. We’d still flirt. Even sneak in a couple of a kisses. I’d have a content, stress-free life, even if it wasn’t full.

  I wouldn’t hurt. Steve wouldn’t hurt.

  And I’d never have known that Adam Westcott and revenge had brought Steve into my life.

  TWENTY

  I stalked back into the crop room. Laughter, electronic cutters, and bits of various music styles filled the air. Everywhere around me was happiness. Two women sat with their heads bent toward each other, flipping through a scrapbook. From their oohs and aahs, I gathered they were re-living a cherished moment. Sharing.

  I shuddered. I’d have some sharing… or confessing… to do soon. What would my grandmothers say? I sighed. I knew what Hope and Cheryl would say. They’d want to know why I didn’t confide in them earlier, and then commiserate with each other for not pushing me to spill the truth sooner. There would be some lectures about pretending, not trusting them, and also why I, of all people, should’ve known investigating murders wasn’t such a good idea. I knew it wouldn’t be all rainbows, chocolate, and ponies but it also wouldn’t be the sinking-of-the-Titanic ending to our relationship I envisioned.

  It was easier to keep the truth hidden when I convinced myself the direst situation would happen. It was the real reason I joined the Army and “ran away” from home. I didn’t want to transition into the life without my grandpas. If I left, I could pretend they were still alive and I’d see them soon. Living without them day-to-day would make that impossible.

  I bailed on my grandmothers when they needed me most. That was what my guilt was really born from, not falling for Adam’s con and being used. Not for ignoring signs. Not for being charged with murder. It was from giving control to selfishness and fear. I wanted a pretend life so I could hide from the pain of my grandfathers’ deaths, and I got it with Adam and found a harsh reality hidden in the fantasy I created.

  “You okay?” Darlene’s voice drew me from myself.

  “I will be eventually,” I said. “Let’s just say what I’ve been running from has finally caught up to me.”

  “That’s not ever pretty.”

  “Even worse when you realize there was no reason to be running.”

  Darlene shook her head and patted my arm. “Sometimes useless running gets us in shape for a marathon we’re going to end up competing in.”

  I hoped not. “Thanks for the advice. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a break in the foyer.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. Download a fun, light-hearted book onto your tablet. Nothing like a good laugh to pick up the spirits.�
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  “I’ll do that.” I smiled my thanks and headed into the foyer.

  I had left my tablet upstairs, so I needed to make a quick detour first. Reading in the foyer sounded like a perfect idea. I needed space but not complete aloneness. This way I could still be a part of the retreat without having my melancholy mood bring anyone else down.

  Darlene was turning into a better friend than I’d ever had imagined. That was the main problem in my life; I spent more time wondering, thinking, and trying to sort issues and people out in my head than living in the here and now. Darlene and I had gotten off to a bumpy start when I first moved home to Eden. She liked bossing people around and being treated like the expert-of-all-scrapbooking. And I hated being told what to do by a know-it-all. It was the same quality that had started to emerge from Adam in the last two months of our marriage. After that, our marriage and my life went downhill quick and fast, and plunged right off a cliff.

  Of course, our marriage had never been on a solid foundation. I had hints in the beginning but liked how Adam wanted to “protect” me as if I was fragile and could break at any minute. Feeling tender about those moments didn’t last long. My opinion never mattered to him. Matter-of-fact, he never wanted it voiced. Shut up and obey was Adam’s motto. And when I didn’t—

  I slammed the memory down. I didn’t want to go there. It brought fear and mistrust back into my life and for once, I truly needed to live past it as I’ve told myself I’ve been doing for the last seven years.

  Darlene wasn’t trying to hurt me or control me. She just wanted a place in the community where she fit best… scrapbooking. Darlene was talented, but her abrasive personality and determination to prove how good she was pushed people away. Maybe the real reason Darlene and I rubbed each other the wrong way was because we were so much alike. I knew what drove my need to prove myself. She might have some deep, silent pain driving her.

  I got into the elevator and went to the third floor. The hallway was empty. I heard running water coming from a few rooms, and the sound of a television set came from a room down the hall. In another hour or two, the exodus from the crop area back to bedrooms would begin. Not to call it a night, but for croppers to change into pajamas and also pick up their adult beverages stored in the room refrigerators.