That was the problem. A predator would sometimes allow its prey to have a sense of false security right before it dealt its final blow. Were they being lulled into a false sense of security or had the perpetrator left town?
Noah’s cell phone chimed, giving Reese a chance to wiggle her fingers and disappear before he could stop her.
“Detective, what can I do for you?” Noah stood as he took the call, brushing off the dust that had accumulated on his jeans. “Have the DNA results come in?”
“We’re still waiting on the lab, but I thought you and Ms. Woodward should know that I did a little digging into Sophia Morton’s disappearance.”
“Can you hold on a moment?” Noah quickly crossed the bare floor in an effort to stop Reese. She should hear whatever was about to be revealed. Unfortunately, she’d already hopped into the cab of his truck and was pulling out of the driveway. “Um, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I took the information Reese gave me in regards to Sophia and did a little asking around.” The background noise of ringing phones and low murmurs of conversation became somewhat louder as Detective Kendrick must have put Noah on speakerphone. “Give me a minute. I had the folder right here. Steve, did you take those files off my desk?”
Noah gestured for his father to come closer, lowering his phone so that he could also put the call on speakerphone. It was easier than having to explain this call more than once, which is what he would have to do with Reese.
“Okay. This is what I’ve found so far, but I wanted verification before I called Ms. Woodward.”
“Verification of what?” Noah asked, confused as to why his opinion would matter in anything related to Sophia seeing as he hadn’t known her.
“Well, seeing as I can’t get ahold of your brother, you’re going to have to do for now,” Detective Kendrick shared before getting to the heart of the matter. “I’ve come to find out that Sophia Morton had a crush on your younger brother. The two of them were pretty close by the time camp ended.”
Noah and his father stared at each other in confusion.
“Detective Kendrick, you must be mistaken.” Noah shifted his weight and switched the cell phone into his left hand as he ran his fingers through his hair in bewilderment. “Lance was never involved with Sophia Morton. He would have said something to me or one of our other brothers at the time.”
“You’re right,” Detective Kendrick agreed, though it was obvious there was a but somewhere in that concord. “He would have said something to you had he wanted you to know, but he didn’t because Sophia asked him to keep their relationship under wraps. It had something to do with the fact that her brother was there, and she didn’t want him saying anything to their father.”
“If no one knew of this so-called relationship my brother had with Sophia Morton, then how do you know all of this?”
“Because your brother, Lance Kendall, was the one who drove Sophia into town to talk to Anastasia Osburn.” The pause over the line signified Kendrick wasn’t done dropping bombshells. “Not only did he sneak Sophia out of camp, but Emma Irwin tagged along to the meeting that night in your brother’s car.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Reese waved a hand out the window of Noah’s truck as Rose and Tiny continued down Main Street toward the Cavern. The two of them had been checking on her every day since she’d been attacked last week, though their concern was unnecessary.
They had apparently taken it upon themselves to protect her, because they had hosted her in Blyth Lake. In some small towns, that still meant something. Responsibility wasn’t something one delegated to another. That had been how she was raised, and it was true here in Noah’s hometown as well.
What had everybody on the edge of their seats was the fact that nothing else had happened that would indicate she was still in danger. Had the threat passed or was the monster lying in wait? Was he biding his time until another opportunity arose to perpetrate his next attack?
Disturbingly enough, time had slipped by. Everything had gotten back to normal ever since Deputy Wallace’s murder. It made her wonder if the killer was only lying low until the state police backed off the investigation, or did he or she complete what he or she had set out to do?
Reese had mentioned that fact to Detective Kendrick the other day on the phone, but he said that he could find no link connecting Deputy Wallace to Emma Irwin, Sophia, or herself. It was frustrating, but yet this past week had also been one of the best experiences she’d ever had in her life in the form of Noah.
Noah Kendall had swept her off her feet. She hadn’t meant to fall for him the way she had. If she were given any power, it would be to stop time so that this summer break would last forever. She suspected that many summer lovers wished for exactly the same thing, but none of them had kept that second hand from sweeping away the seconds until there were no more to be had.
“You’re going to get heat stroke if you stay inside that truck any longer.”
Calvin was staring at her strangely as he stood in front of the diner with his hand on the silver handle. Reese hadn’t realized how much time had passed since she’d shut off the engine. This was what Noah did to her…he made her lose any sense of time.
The summer was eventually going to end, and she would have to go back to her life in Springfield where she was all alone once again.
“You caught me, Calvin.” Reese brushed aside her melancholy about what the next month held for her as she stepped out of the truck. She smiled at him as he held the door open for her to enter. “Were the fish biting this morning?”
“No, damn it,” Calvin grumbled, taking off his baseball cap as he walked to his usual stool at the counter. “It’s too damn hot. I got out there too late in the morning. Someone had chores for me to do.”
“We’re due for some rain,” Harlan said after Molly refilled his iced tea. “I’m just hoping it holds off until after the open house on Sunday. I put a lot of money into advertising for the Langston property. I’d hate to see it wasted.”
“Oh, great. A cold weather front will push the fishing out for a few days.”
“What can I get you, doll?” Molly took the pencil from behind her ear and set the tip to her pad while she ignored all the drama.
“Three BLTs with steak fries, please,” Reese ordered before following up with a request of three slices of apple pie for dessert. “And I’ll take mine with a coffee while I wait, if you don’t mind.”
“You got it.” Molly ripped the small green piece of paper out of her pad before sliding it underneath a clip on the rotating aluminum ring. “Order up!”
Reese made her way to the booth she usually sat in when she came by herself, though she and Noah had rarely left her house this past week without one another. He’d brought over a small grill from his dad’s place. They’d had barbeque chicken, steaks, and even some brats. They’d gone to the small grocery store and stocked up for the week. That reminded her that she and Noah would need to make a trip back into town tomorrow.
“You’re settling in rather nicely, aren’t you?”
Reese grimaced when she realized that Whitney was sitting at the table across from the booth she’d chosen. The blonde woman didn’t have the most welcoming demeanor, and her intentions toward Noah were obvious.
“Oh, I’m just here for the summer.” Reese unraveled the napkin that was on the table and took out the fork. She wished Molly would hurry up with that pie. “But Blyth Lake is such a beautiful town.”
“That’s an odd thing to say after discovering a body, being attacked, and being the one to call 911 because Deputy Wallace was murdered.” Whitney was obviously done with her lunch, but she hadn’t eaten alone. There were two empty plates, along with two used glasses. What was keeping her here? “I would have left town a long time ago.”
“You still can,” Cassie quipped from the booth in front of Reese. She was doing paperwork, but apparently hadn’t missed the unwanted exchange. “No one is standing in your way, Whitney.”
“Humorous as ever,” Whitney replied wryly, snatching her purse off the back of her chair. “I’m just saying that trouble seems to follow poor little Reese around this town.”
“We all knew what you were saying. You aren’t that hard to read.” Cassie looked at Reese and lifted an eyebrow in commiseration. “How’s the job search coming along, Whitney?”
Reese really didn’t know Whitney’s background, other than the woman had come back home to take care of her dad. Regardless of the fact that her objective was probably to get Noah Kendall into her bed and then to wed, Whitney was due some credit for being there when health issues affected her family.
“You ready?” The question was asked by an older gentleman who had walked over from the restrooms on the other side of the diner. He was a bit out of breath, and his sunken cheekbones told of his ailing health. “You can drop me off at the Cavern. I’ll see if they need any help getting ready for tonight’s celebration.”
Her heart ached for the sorrow etched across Whitney’s face as she stared at her father with dying hopes that he would change his mind. Noah had mentioned that Jeremy Bell had a problem with alcohol. It didn’t look as if the man had any intention of giving it up in the last few years of his life.
Reese was surprised when his dark gaze landed on her, preventing Whitney from heading toward the exit. She even rested a hand on her father’s arm to stop him from engaging in conversation, but he shook her off.
“Are you that woman going around town asking questions about Sophia Morton?” The diner instantly fell silent, waiting for Reese to answer. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as he looked her up and down with interest. “I helped out at the camp that summer, you know. She was a very pretty girl and everyone knew her, regardless of what they might say now.”
Reese swallowed down the bile that had hit the back of her throat as his words indicated a familiar knowledge of her cousin. She’d never set down her fork, so she was able to grip the silverware rather than lash out in anger.
“Yes, I’m Sophia’s cousin.” Reese cleared her throat and dove headfirst into her initial reason for visiting Blyth Lake. “She went missing a year after Emma. I thought there may be a connection. Do you recall anything that might help me in my search for her?”
All eyes were now riveted to Jeremy Bell, who pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket on the front of his shirt. Whitney thinned her lips and took them out of his hand when he was about to take one out of the package.
“Other than telling you that Sophia was able to help Emma learn how to swim, I don’t know what else I could tell you.” Jeremy looked around the diner, catching sight of Calvin and Harlan sitting at the counter. He licked his top teeth before calling out one of the patrons. “Calvin, you remember that pretty brunette who hung around Emma, don’t you?”
“I’ve already spoken with Reese,” Calvin shared, never turning around to join the discussion.
“Hmmm, I don’t think you hung out with those girls much, did you, Whitney?” Jeremy eyed his daughter, who stood a good six inches shorter.
“No,” Whitney replied with a tight smile. It was obvious she didn’t know how to extricate her dad from this uncomfortable conversation. “Their cabin was on the other side of the property from where I was staying. Dad, we really should go.”
Jeremy surprised everyone when he took a few steps forward, placing his hands on the laminate table right in front of Reese. She was so surprised at his sudden movement that she didn’t have time to lean back.
Jeremy Bell whispered something in her ear that she initially thought she’d misheard. No one had ever given her any indication that what he was saying was factual. It wasn’t until he pulled away that she witnessed a softening in his expression that he’d not allowed anyone to witness.
He catered to the town’s opinion of him, but there was an underlying decency he concealed from those who had hidden agendas…such as his manipulating daughter.
“Good luck to you, Ms. Woodward.”
It was obvious to her that everyone wanted to know what he’d whispered in her ear, especially Whitney. She hesitated before following him out the door.
“Reese?” Cassie’s gaze lingered on the door as the Bells exited, as did everyone else’s. It wasn’t long before all eyes were on Reese. The reverberation of the bell overhead was the only sound carrying through the diner. “What was that about?”
“I’m not sure,” Reese answered honestly in a hesitant tone, not willing to share something so unsubstantiated. She really needed to talk to Noah. She suddenly had the urge to be in the protection of his arms. “Um, Molly? Could I have those pies to go, after all?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Noah texted a lengthy message to Lance, figuring his baby brother would eventually be able to reach out and explain the contextual bomb Detective Kendrick had dropped on the phone.
“Lance would have said something twelve years ago if whatever he and those girls had done that night had anything to do with either disappearance, of that I’m sure.” Gus took out his trusty handkerchief and dabbed the perspiration off his forehead. They’d moved outside to the shade of the large oak tree in the front yard to wait for Reese’s return. “Your mother and I raised you boys better than to keep something so important from the police.”
Gus wasn’t going to get an argument from his son. Noah agreed wholeheartedly that if anything illegal or illicit had occurred that particular night, Lance would have said something to one of his brothers or their parents. He was stateside, so getting ahold of him shouldn’t have been an issue. Why wasn’t he responding to Detective Kendrick’s calls?
“Lance is due home in a few weeks on terminal leave, but I’m sure he’ll call me back today.” Noah looked over toward the woods where the shortcut was located, finally recognizing the shitstorm they’d unraveled when he and Reese had taken a sledgehammer to one of the walls. “When you think about it, Lance was seeing Brynn by the time winter rolled around that year. Whatever relationship or crush Lance and Sophia may have had on one another faded after that summer was over. Plus, he wouldn’t have known she ever went missing a year later. He was getting ready to finish school and head off to boot camp, remember?”
“It still doesn’t explain why Lance would have risked the grounding of his young life to sneak two girls out of Birdie’s camp.” Gus had taken a large bucket of scrap wood they’d emptied into the bed of his truck and turned it over to use as a seat in the front yard. The porch still had some decaying planks that needed to be replaced. “You know how strict Birdie was with those overnight campers.”
The sound of his truck finally broke through the trees. It wasn’t long before she pulled up close to the porch. He only had to look at her pretty face through the windshield to know something had happened while she was in town.
Noah had his hand on the driver’s side door before her white flip-flop ever hit the ground.
“Are you okay?”
Reese didn’t answer, but his chest tightened when her bottom lip tremored. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her as she stepped into his embrace. Whatever had happened was more emotional than it was physical. He breathed a sigh of relief to know she hadn’t been attacked again.
“Reese,” Noah murmured reassuringly as he took her by the shoulders and pushed her back just enough so that he could see her expression. “What happened?”
“Jeremy and Whitney Bell were at the diner when I was picking up lunch.” Reese brushed back a flyaway strand, showing him her troubled gaze. Those beautiful brown eyes of hers were heavy with confusion. “At first, I had terrible visions of him doing something horrible to Sophia. He was acting so strange. But then he leaned down and whispered something in my ear so that no one else could hear what he was telling me.”
For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what Jeremy Bell had to do with Sophia or Emma. It wasn’t like Whitney had ever hung out with Emma, unless she tagged along with her older sister. Was that the c
onnection? Had Shae Irwin told Whitney something that would give an explanation as to why Emma had disappeared?
“Noah, Jeremy Bell said that I might want to talk to Annie about what she and Sophia really talked about that night.” Reese wiped the moisture away that had gathered underneath her lashes. “I knew there was something else to that conversation. I knew it. When we talked to Annie last week, it didn’t make any sense that Sophia would seek her out because she’d uncovered that Annie was actually Anastasia Pearl Osburn. There had to be more to the story.”
Noah didn’t like all of these loose ends, either. A lot of this responsibility had been on Sheriff Percy to help the state with their investigation. Towns of this size were close-knit, which is where the sheriff could have used his influence to seek out the truth. Unfortunately, the sheriff was all but retired on active duty. He didn’t want to do anything that might upset the applecart.
Was Emma’s time at camp related to the reason she vanished all those years ago? It was highly doubtful, but it was still a lead that should have been checked out by law enforcement.
“There’s something else.” Noah didn’t want to add to Reese’s stress, but he couldn’t withhold the information Detective Kendrick had given over the phone. “The night that Sophia went to see Annie? My younger brother was the one who snuck her out of camp and drove them over to her place.”
Noah shifted backward, giving Reese room to step away from his truck. He shut the door behind her, leaving the food in the back seat for now. She leaned against the hot metal as she absorbed this latest bit of news. She was taking this better than he would have thought.
“How do you know this?”
“Detective Kendrick called right as you were heading into town.”
“And you didn’t know? Lance never said anything to you about that?” Reese glanced past his shoulder to where Gus was waiting patiently. She’d gotten to know him this past week, so Noah wasn’t surprised that she was worried about hurting his feelings. “Can we call him? Can you reach out to him? We need to know what was actually said that night.”
Unlocking Fear Page 15
