You Can Run...

by Carlene Thompson

  I waited about three days before I told Glen. He got so mad! He said I’d get caught and arrested. I told him I did it for him and he got even madder and said I’d drag him into it and he’d get arrested, too. He hardly even spoke to me for a couple of weeks. I kept checking the box regular, though, and there was never anything—no money, not even a note from Mr. Cavanaugh. And I was always real careful to make sure no one was hanging around the post office waiting to see who went to that box. I told Glen there was no money and he didn’t seem disappointed. He said he was relieved that I’d just been dismissed as some money grubber. That hurt my feelings, but I told him we’d get the money some how and that I would never, never let him go!

  Then I started noticing him paying a lot of attention to Penny when he’d stop by your house. Whenever you were out of the room and she wasn’t working, he’d be talking to her. Then he came by a couple of times when he knew you weren’t home. I don’t know if Simon noticed or not—he’s pretty old. I got suspicious, though and I started following Glen whenever I could. And finally I saw him go to Penny’s. I started to go bang on her door and tell her I knew what was what, but I knew Glen would get furious. Besides, that old bat you dragged home with you Friday night was peeking out her windows, taking in everything. Why can’t she just watch television like a normal person? Anyway, that was Thursday night. And you know what happened Friday night. I had on my police scanner and I heard right off and I called Glen and told him about the explosion. He just hung up on me. He wouldn’t talk to me the next day when he came to see you. He wouldn’t talk to me Sunday, either.

  Diana, I think he set that bomb. Either him or that Mr. Cavanaugh. Maybe I went to a post office too close to home. Maybe someone did follow me. I don’t know, but I’m too smart to believe that bomb didn’t have something to do with my scheme. I didn’t like Penny, but I didn’t want anything like that to happen to her. I’m real sorry about the bomb. I know this is going to come back to haunt me, though. I’ve got a feeling. Either Glen or that Mr. Cavanaugh will know I’ve figured out everything and one of them will want to kill me. So I have to leave. I’m not telling you where I’m going. I’ve learned my lesson about keeping my mouth shut.

  Nanette Murphy (I’m going to change my

  name so don’t try to track me down.)

  Diana, shaking so hard she couldn’t move, dropped the piece of paper on the table. With frightening clarity she suddenly remembered going to Nan’s, hearing the music, entering the house, and finding the attic stairs pulled down. Her stomach turning, she recalled blood dripping onto her head, foolishly climbing the attic stairs, and looking at Nan’s lifeless eyes. Then someone had kicked dirt into her face, put a foot on her chest and sent her crashing off the stairs onto the hard, uncarpeted floor.

  “Oh my God,” she murmured. Then she cried, “Tyler!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  1

  Twenty minutes later Diana was sitting in the sunny kitchen with Tyler and Simon, both of whom had read Nan’s letter. “Simon, Clarice told me about seeing Glen at Penny’s and also about Nan watching them one night,” Diana said when Simon had finished the letter. “The coincidence is that Nan dropped by yesterday afternoon and she wanted to tell me about her and Glen. She didn’t get out much except that the affair had started in April. Then Blake came and I left her sitting in the kitchen. I knew she had more to tell me and I just left her sitting, waiting, while you and I spoke to Blake.” She looked at Tyler. “He told us Penny was pregnant.”

  Tyler stared at Diana for a moment, obviously stunned. Finally he said desolately, “I had no idea Penny was pregnant.”

  “I’m sure it’s Glen’s child,” Diana said flatly. The doctor thinks she’s about two months along. Clarice said Glen first visited Penny’s house two months ago. Thanks to Nan, Glen knew who Penny was. I think he was keeping his silence in return for sex.”

  “Dear God,” Simon said in disgust.

  “I believe that’s why Penny never told me about seeing him,” Diana went on. “I think his knowing about her past and the pregnancy were the reasons Penny was leaving. Anyway, Nan was here when Blake told us about the pregnancy. I heard Nan drop her glass. She was eavesdropping, as usual. I’m certain she didn’t know Penny was pregnant. I don’t know if she felt shock, or hurt, or both, but something sent her right out the back door.

  “To make things worse, Glen called and I stupidly told him Nan had been here and that she wanted to tell me something important.” Diana paused and took a breath. “I think Glen knew Nan had found out about him and Penny. He would have been humiliated if Nan told me about he was having an affair with Penny, but I believe he would have thought I’d keep it quiet for Penny’s sake.

  “But how would he have felt if Penny had told me about the sexual blackmail? You know Glen, Simon. Reputation is everything to him. He would know I’d tell you and you would be certain to inform the university administration, and worse still, if I thought he had anything to do with Penny’s death, I’d go to the police. And finally he had Nan who wouldn’t let him go and who knew too much.” Diana looked into Simon’s narrowed, dark green eyes. “If Glen placed that bomb in Penny’s basement, just how far do you think he’d have to be pushed to get rid of Nan, too?”

  2

  “Who wants to get rid of Nan?”

  Simon, Tyler, and Diana looked at Willow with various levels of shock and dismay. Simon was the first to recover. “Nan’s mother is coming back to work next week and we’ll all be happier. At least I will. How about you, Willow?”

  “I’ll be lots happier,” the little girl said. She looked at Tyler and frowned. “How come you’re still here?”

  “Uh . . . because Diana asked me to stay.”

  Willow immediately looked wary. “Diana did? Why?”

  Tyler took a deep breath, left his chair, and kneeled down beside the girl. “Your mommy didn’t want you to talk to people about me. I was supposed to be a big secret. But the secret’s out, kid.” He grinned. “Everybody here knows all about me, and your mommy would be glad they do. She told you to call me Badge just like she did. My real name is Tyler, but Badge was her nickname for me because I’m a police officer. I live in New York City, where you used to live. Your mother and I are like brother and sister, and I consider you my niece, just like Simon does. We all love you and we’re all here to protect you. But I’m the policeman, what they call an undercover cop, so I don’t wear a uniform.”

  Willow reached out and touched his earlobe. “Is that why you have a little hole there? So you can wear an earring sometimes and look like a tough guy?”

  “That’s exactly the reason. How smart of you. But whether I wear a uniform or an earring, it’s my job to keep bad people away from good people. I spent years training how to do it. I did it last night, didn’t I?” Willow nodded. “And you weren’t surprised. You said you knew I’d save you.” He reached out and touched the end of her nose. “Somehow, you sensed that’s my purpose in life—to protect pretty, smart little girls like you.”

  She giggled. “Mommy never told me, but I knew she thought you could do just about anything. That’s how I knew you’d always protect me.”

  Afterward Willow seemed slightly buoyed by Tyler’s presence, and managed to wolf down three doughnuts before Diana said, “I think we should save some for later, honey. You don’t want to get a tummyache.”

  “Okay,” Willow agreed affably. “Thank you for lettin’ me eat doughnuts instead of scrambled eggs, Uncle Simon.”

  Simon beamed with pleasure. “You’re most welcome, sweetheart, and I agree pastry tastes better than eggs, but we do need eggs sometimes.”

  “That’s what Clarice says.” Willow scooted off her chair. “I’d better go upstairs and check on the cats. They might need me.”

  She’d barely exited the kitchen before the phone rang. Simon answered the kitchen extension. Diana could hear a woman’s loud, excited voice. Simon remained calm, saying, “Yes . . . Of course . . . I underst
and perfectly—she must take care of her own health now. . . . I will be at the airport tomorrow to collect both of you. Just call me back and let me know what flight she’ll be taking.”

  When he hung up, he looked at Diana. “That was Martha Murphy’s sister. She says Martha is in quite a state today—who wouldn’t be after just finding out their daughter has been brutally murdered? We let her know last night, Diana, before you remembered what had happened. Anyway, the doctor advises that she not fly back from Portland until tomorrow. Her sister is coming with her, thank goodness. The last thing the poor lady needs is to be alone. I will be picking them up at the airport. I won’t have them out there trying to manage luggage and find a taxi.” He looked down at the elegant satin robe Diana had bought him the previous Christmas. “And now I believe I should put on more mundane attire and leave you young people alone to talk.”

  After Simon left, Tyler looked at Diana and quirked an eyebrow. “Well, young person, what do you think?”

  “I think I definitely need to give Nan’s confession to the police when I go in to make my statement today.” Tyler nodded. “And I’m now even more afraid of Jeffrey Cavanaugh than I was before. Tyler, thanks to Nan he might have known where Penny was for a couple of months before he showed up.”

  “Then why didn’t he show up?”

  “You sound like you’re defending him.”

  “I would be the last person to defend Jeffrey Cavanaugh for anything. I hate him. But that’s my emotional side. My logical side tells me something just doesn’t fit.” He sighed and ran a hand across his forehead then over his cheeks. He looked at her with slightly bloodshot eyes and smiled. “I had a perfectly lovely evening, Miss Sheridan. I’ve never enjoyed a night on a couch with a woman as much in my life.”

  Diana grinned. “I’m not certain how to take that statement.”

  “In the best possible way. But, my darlin’ girl, I need a shower, and a shave, and a change of clothes. Then I’m going to escort you to police headquarters so you can give your statement.”

  “Oh, Tyler, I’ve imposed on you enough.”

  “Shush. You haven’t even heard the rest of my plan. We aren’t going alone. We are going to take Willow with us.”

  “To the police station? It will scare her.”

  “I’ll bet it won’t. She’ll get a kick out of it. Then we’re going to take her out to lunch and then maybe you can show me Marshall University. Simon taught there. You attended it, didn’t you?”

  “Of course. So did Penny.”

  “Then Willow will love going there. You can take pictures of her.”

  Diana frowned. “With everything going on, don’t you think Willow might be safer staying here?”

  “No, I don’t. If Jeffrey or his relatives read the newspaper, they’ll know Nan was murdered. I talked to a couple of the reporters and pleaded that your name be left out as the person who found her, but I don’t have any influence around here. And if Jeffrey gets wind of what happened at this house last night, he’ll be here banging down the door until he gets Willow. He might have some trouble actually taking her away after that scene in the park yesterday—in a way, he did us a kindness—but that child doesn’t need to be frightened any more. She already looks pale and worn. She just had her appendix removed last week and now she’s going through hell with no recovery time. She needs to get out of this house, Diana. She needs to have some fun. I know you tried with her yesterday, but it didn’t work. So let’s try today.”

  “But she’ll be right out in the open, Tyler.”

  “That’s the point. Jeffrey was in a rage yesterday or he wouldn’t have almost hit you in public. He won’t repeat the mistake. And who else is going to try anything in front of a hundred witnesses?” He lowered his voice. “Whereas if Willow stays here, she’ll be under the protection of a man and woman in their seventies. Do you want them having to face down Jeffrey Cavanaugh?”

  Diana took only a minute to make up her mind. “Come back in an hour, Tyler. Willow and I will be ready to go.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said, standing and drawing her up, pulling her against him and giving her a deep, lasting kiss. “That’s the girl Penny said was the one for me.”

  3

  Diana informed Simon of her and Tyler’s plan, downplaying the suggestion that he and Clarice might not be adequate protection for Willow. If the man realized the implication, he didn’t reveal himself. “I think that’s just fine,” he said heartily. “Clarice will fret over Willow all day, wanting to check on her every fifteen minutes, and the dear woman needs to rest. Yesterday was a bit much for her—the arthritis is causing her pain. And Willow could certainly use some fresh air and some fun. The three of you go and have a wonderful day.”

  Tyler left and Diana went upstairs to tell Willow the plans for the day. Her face brightened considerably at the thought of going on an adventure with Diana and Tyler, and she immediately selected a pair of bright-yellow shorts and a T-shirt with color blocks of yellow, white, and blue. After her bath, she requested that Diana pull up her long strawberry-blond hair into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. They gazed at the finished product in the mirror.

  “You look stunning, mademoiselle,” Diana said. “Trés elegante.”

  To her surprise, Willow’s smile faded. “What language was that?”

  “French. I took it in college, but I don’t speak very well. Why?”

  “ ’Cause Mommy was tryin’ to learn a different language. She called me mamadosel once, too, so it must have been French.” She frowned. “And someone else said some words to me in that language, I think.”

  “Who was it?” Diana asked.

  “I don’t remember, but Mommy was tryin’ to learn the language for him.” Usually anything Penny liked intrigued Willow, but now the vague memory seemed to trouble her. “Mommy said some day I’d be able to talk in that language.”

  Diana turned the little girl around to face her. “It was a man who spoke the language to you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you know who?”

  “I told you I don’t remember.”

  “Was it when you lived in your house in Huntington?”

  “Yeah, but it was a long time ago. Maybe when we just moved here.”

  “It wasn’t Badge?”

  “Tyler,” Willow corrected. “We’re s’posed to call him Tyler, remember? And it wasn’t him.” Willow’s earlier brightness seemed to diminish. “Maybe I just dreamed it or I heard it on TV.” She rubbed her forehead. “I think I’m gettin’ a headache.”

  “Why don’t you sit on your bed and watch television while I get ready?” Diana suggested briskly. “If you still have a headache when I’m finished, I’ll give you a pill for it.” Get Willow’s mind off this subject, Diana thought. Something about this memory disturbs her. “Oh, honey, don’t let me forget to take back the clothes the nice nurse at the hospital loaned you to wear home. I washed the dress and the underwear, and the nurse’s little girl might want to wear those clothes this week. I can’t forget the sandals she loaned you, too.”

  “Do we have to stay at the hospital?” Willow asked cautiously.

  “No. You don’t even have to go inside. I’ll just drop off the clothes at the front desk.”

  Willow looked relieved to know she didn’t have to venture inside the hospital walls. No wonder, Diana thought. She probably remembered only the sound of firecrackers going off in a metal waste can and the ensuing pandemonium.

  Diana left Willow discussing her plans for the day with the cats, consoling them for not going along by telling them the streets of Huntington would be really hot and crowded and someone would be sure to step on Romeo. Smiling as she stepped into a hot shower, Diana imagined the two cats sightseeing like tourists.

  Lost in thought, she put on too much shampoo and spent five minutes rinsing it out of her hair and another five trying to flush it from her stinging right eye. Finally she emerged from the shower to blow-dry her thick golden-brown loc
ks, so like her mother’s, then use a flat iron to smooth the unruly curls.

  Diana certainly didn’t feel like wearing dark, heavy jeans, so she chose a pair of white cotton-sateen slacks that showed off her flat abdomen, and a lavender, pale-green, and blue tank top to wear beneath a delicate, white georgette blouse. She then swept some light-green shadow on her eyelids, a gold-apricot blush on her cheeks, sheer apricot lip gloss, and a coating of black mascara, and finished by pulling back the sides of her hair and fastening them with two faux-pearl combs.

  “What do you think?” she asked, stepping into Willow’s room and twirling.

  Willow quickly slid off the bed. “Gosh, Diana, you look be-u-ti-ful!” she exclaimed. “I can’t wait till I get to wear high heels like you.”

  “After you’ve spent a day in high heels, you might change your mind,” Diana said, looking down at her strappy sandals with the three-inch cork heels.

  “And your toenails are painted pink!” Willow laughed in glee. “Mommy’s are always painted pink or red. Always!”

  “Then we’ll paint yours pink tonight. Would you like that?”

  “Oh yes.” Willow sighed. “I just can’t wait to be grown up.”

  “Don’t wish away your time, honey” Diana said softly. “Being grown up isn’t always easy or fun.”

  Willow looked at her solemnly. “Neither is bein’ a kid, Diana.”

  4

  “Are you sure they won’t put us in jail, Badge—I mean Tyler?” Willow asked as they pulled up in front of the building housing the Detective Bureau of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done wrong, but maybe they have a file on me.”

  “A file?” Tyler asked.

  “Yeah. On TV the cops always have files on people.”