Trail of Secrets

by Sandra Robbins

  Seth nodded. “Laura works at the hospital counseling families who have experienced violent crimes. They have a little boy who’s the cutest kid I’ve ever seen. Alex and Grace Crowne are going to be there, too.”

  Callie’s brow wrinkled. “So these are your partners in the Cold Case Unit?”

  “Yeah, and the two best friends I’ve ever had. They’re great guys, and I think you’d really like their wives. Alex’s wife, Grace, is the anchor on the news for WKIZ-TV.”

  “Oh, I’ve seen her on TV several times since I’ve been here, but I didn’t realize that she was your partner’s wife.”

  He put his spoon down and leaned closer. “So how about it? Would you go to a cookout with my friends?”

  She’d promised herself she wouldn’t involve herself in Seth’s life any more than she already had. So the smart thing to do would be to say no.

  She opened her mouth to say so, but the hopeful look on his face pierced her heart. He had done everything he could to help her and her uncle since she’d arrived in Memphis. The least she could do was go to a cookout with his friends. After all, it was only this once. She probably would never see any of them again.

  She smiled. “All right. I’ll go.”

  He exhaled and grinned. “Good. I’ll call Brad and tell him we’ll be there. They said come about seven. Is that okay with you?”

  “Seven is fine.” She pushed back from the table and rose. “I think I’ll go upstairs and pick out an outfit. Then I need to do some work on my fall classes. What time do we need to leave?”

  “It takes about thirty minutes to drive to Brad and Laura’s. Six-thirty okay with you?”

  “It is. I’ll see you then.”

  Callie turned and headed out of the kitchen. As she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, she shook her head in despair. If she had accepted Seth’s proposal two years ago, she might very well be friends with both Laura and Grace. But she hadn’t, and now she was going to spend the evening with them with the stigma of being the woman who’d broke Seth’s heart hanging over her.

  She shouldn’t have accepted this invitation. The last thing she needed was to be around two couples who she imagined were very much in love and who blamed her for Seth not getting on with his life. Then there was Brad and Laura’s child. Seth said he was the cutest kid he’d ever seen, and Brad had said the little boy adored Seth.

  At the top of the stairs, she stopped on the landing and took a deep breath. She’d faced challenges before, and she would again. But she feared tonight might be the worst one she’d ever had to endure.

  * * *

  Seth glanced at his watch as he and Callie got out of the car at Brad and Laura’s house. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. It wasn’t like he was bringing a date to meet his friends. They knew Dan, and they had met Callie at Brad and Laura’s wedding. Still, they knew he’d been through a rough patch because of her, and he hoped they could put that aside for the night.

  He rang the doorbell, and the door swung open. Grace Crowne smiled at them from behind the storm door and pushed it open for them to enter. “Seth, come on in.”

  They stepped into the entry, and Seth turned to Callie. “Grace, this is Callie Lattimer. I don’t know if you’ve met her before.”

  Grace’s eyes sparkled, and a big smile flashed on her face. She grabbed Callie’s hand. “I remember seeing you at Brad and Laura’s wedding, but to tell you the truth, that night is almost a blur to me. Alex and I were feuding at the time, and we happened to be the ones standing up with the bride and groom. It wasn’t a good night for me.”

  Callie shook her hand and smiled. “I remember seeing you there, and I’ve watched you on TV several times since I’ve been back home. You are so relaxed behind the camera. I don’t know how you do it.”

  Grace looped her arm through Callie’s and guided her down the hallway. “We’re all blessed in different ways. Now me, I could never be a teacher, and I’ll bet you love it.”

  “I do.”

  Grace glanced over her shoulder at Seth, who followed behind them. “Why don’t you go on out to the patio? The guys are out there, and Brad has a cooler of soft drinks. You and Alex can keep him company while he cooks the hamburgers.”

  Seth nodded. “That sounds great.”

  “I’ll take care of Callie,” Grace said as she led her into the kitchen.

  From inside he heard Laura welcome Callie, and he smiled. Maybe he’d been worried about nothing. Everything appeared to be going fine. He walked to the door at the end of the hallway and stepped outside. Alex Crowne and Brad Austin lounged in chairs at the table in the middle of the patio. Smoke curled up from a grill a few feet away.

  Seth laughed when he saw the two. “I knew I should have gotten here earlier. You guys always let the burgers burn if I’m not here to keep an eye on you.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Alex scoffed. “I remember that last cookout at your house. Thank goodness your mother was there that night. We almost had to go for takeout before she rescued the hot dogs.”

  Seth grinned, reached in the cooler and pulled out a canned soft drink. He flipped the tab, sank down in a chair and took a drink. “Mmm, that’s good.”

  Brad pushed to his feet and walked to the grill. “So how’s Dan today?”

  “About the same. Vital signs are stronger, but he’s still unconscious. Callie told me she saw you the other day.”

  Brad nodded. “Yeah, outside Abby Dalton’s office. What were you doing there?”

  For the next few minutes he told them about Carlos Allen’s community service hours and how he hadn’t served time in jail. “It seems to me that a judge would start to notice that an offender was getting off a lot with community service.”

  “Not if the cases are handled by different judges,” Alex said.

  Seth shrugged. “That’s true. Things just don’t add up with Carlos Allen, though. I still wonder why the officers outside the bar didn’t try to take Carlos alive. Marty Weaver didn’t like me questioning their actions, though.”

  Alex snapped his fingers, and his eyebrows arched. “Hey, guys, that reminds me. I forgot to ask you something yesterday at work.”

  Brad came over to the table and sat down. “What?”

  “Why would Marty Weaver have any interest in that racketeering case we’re looking into?”

  Seth and Brad glanced at each other and frowned. “You mean the five-year-old unsolved murder of the laundry owner who was killed after complaining to the police that an extortion ring was demanding protection money from him every month?” Brad asked.

  Alex nodded. “That’s the one. I went down to the evidence room yesterday to see if there was anything we’d overlooked. When I started to sign in, I saw Marty’s name on there from that morning. I asked the officer if anyone else had been looking at the evidence in our case, and he said Marty had been the last one.”

  Seth leaned forward. “Marty Weaver came to the evidence room and looked at our crime scene evidence?”

  “Yes. Why would he do that?”

  Seth shook his head. “I don’t know. Who investigated that murder when it happened?”

  “Maybe we need to find out,” Brad said.

  Seth curled his fingers around his soft drink can and thought for a moment. “There should still be an active investigation into the racketeering ring that extorts money from small-business owners. Have either of you heard anything lately?”

  “No,” Brad said, “but we need to look into that. I’ll get started on it Monday morning.”

  “Excuse me, guys.” Laura’s voice startled the three of them, and they glanced up to see her standing at the table with Callie behind her. Both held bowls of food. “I thought we had a rule we didn’t talk about work on nights when we were together.” She glanced at the grill. “I hope you haven’t let the burg
ers burn while you were discussing your case.”

  Brad jumped to his feet and kissed his wife on the cheek. “They’re coming right up, ma’am.”

  Her gaze followed him as he rushed back to the grill and began to pile the hamburgers onto a platter. The back door opened, and Grace stepped out. She held Brad and Laura’s son, Mark, in her arms, and she beamed as she walked across the backyard.

  “This young man is ready to join the party if someone will be kind enough to bring his high chair outside,” she said.

  Alex pushed up from his chair. “I’ll do it if the rest of you can get the food ready.”

  Seth rose and came around the table to where Grace stood. The baby smiled when he saw him and held out his arms for Seth to take him. He laughed and took the child from Grace. He glanced over at Callie. “This is my best buddy. His name is Mark. He’s named after Laura’s brother.”

  Callie’s gaze drifted over him and Mark before she blinked and looked back at him. She smiled, but her eyes held a sad look. “I met Mark while I was inside. I understand why you said he was the cutest kid you’ve ever seen.”

  Seth had seen that look in her eyes once before, the night she’d refused his proposal. He didn’t understand it then, and he didn’t now. How he wished he could penetrate the veil that shielded her innermost thoughts and feelings from him. Before he could ask her what was wrong, Alex came out the back door with the high chair.

  “Here we are,” he said.

  He set the chair down next to the table, and Seth glanced at Callie once more. She had turned her attention toward Brad. Seth pulled Mark close, kissed the top of his head and slipped the child into the chair. He slid the tray into position and stepped back.

  “Hold on there, Seth,” Alex said. “We need to put the seat belt around his waist. We want to make sure he’s secure.”

  Laura laughed and punched Grace in the arm. “Listen to your husband. He sounds like a child expert.”

  Grace smiled, walked over to Alex and slid her arm around his waist. He looked down at her and pulled her next to him. They stood side by side, smiling at their friends. “If he isn’t a child expert,” Grace said, “he’d better start practicing because we found out this week we’re going to have a baby.”

  “What?” Laura squealed before she ran to Grace and wrapped her in a hug. Then she put her hands on Grace’s shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Grace laughed. “We told our parents first, and we wanted to tell you when we were all together.”

  Laura turned to her husband. “Brad, isn’t this great?”

  Brad grabbed Alex’s hand and pumped it. “It sure is. Welcome to fatherhood, buddy. Your life will never be the same again.”

  Alex grinned and looked down at Grace. “I’m looking forward to the change.”

  Seth couldn’t move for a moment. Brad had a son, and now Alex was going to be a father. His two best friends were living the life he’d wanted so desperately for himself—a family where he could be the kind of father he’d always wanted to have. The kind he knew nothing about until Dan Lattimer had come into his life.

  He swallowed and walked over to Alex. “Congratulations. You’re going to make an awesome father.”

  Alex smiled. “Thanks, Seth. Don’t worry. Your time will come.”

  Seth bit down on his lip and turned away. He glanced at Callie, whose face registered no emotion at all. Before he could say anything, she stepped forward and stretched out her hand to Grace. “I’m so happy for you, Grace. I know you and Alex will make wonderful parents.”

  “Thank you, Callie,” she said.

  Callie took a deep breath, glanced back at the table and then to Laura. “I think we left the buns for the burgers inside. I’ll go get them while you finish getting the food ready out here.”

  Seth watched as she turned and hurried into the house. He still couldn’t figure out the look that had passed across her face when he was holding Mark or the way she had reacted to Alex and Grace’s announcement.

  Alex had told him his time for fatherhood would come, but would it, really? He closed his eyes for a moment, and for the first time in two years let himself give in to the thoughts he’d tried—and failed—to keep at bay.

  He needed to accept the truth. He was never going to be a father because he was never going to find a woman he could love enough to marry and build a family with. Not after Callie. She was the one he wanted, and he didn’t think that would ever change.

  TEN

  Callie breathed a sigh of relief when the evening finally came to an end, and she and Seth prepared to leave. Although she liked Laura and Grace, their conversation after Grace’s announcement had centered on the upcoming arrival of Grace’s baby and the things she needed to do to prepare for the big event. Every word they’d spoken had been like a nail driven into her heart, but of course they had no way of knowing that.

  Now as they stood at the front door and thanked Laura and Brad for dinner and the wonderful evening, Grace stepped onto the porch with them and touched Callie’s arm. “I understand what you’re going through with your uncle right now, and Alex and I are praying for both of you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “My father was injured in a drive-by shooting about two years ago. He lived, but he’s confined to a wheelchair. Prayer has become a very important aspect of our everyday life, and I wanted you to know you’re in ours. And on our church’s prayer list, too.”

  Callie’s eyebrows arched. “Oh, I didn’t know you attend church.”

  Grace laughed. “Yes. Brad and Laura and Seth and his mother go to church with us. We’d love for you to come while you’re in town.”

  Callie shook her head. “Thanks for the invitation, but I doubt if I’ll be able to come. I never have attended church much.”

  Grace smiled. “If you change your mind, come along. We have a great time there.”

  “I will, and thanks again for the wonderful evening.”

  Behind her Seth made his parting remarks to his friends while she hurried toward the car. Once inside, she settled back in the seat and pulled the seat belt around her. Within minutes Seth rejoined her and started the car.

  As they pulled out into the dark streets that seemed almost empty with the sparse traffic tonight, Seth glanced her way. “I heard Grace invite you to church. Would you like to go with Mom and me in the morning?”

  “No, thanks. I think I’ll go to the hospital and spend the day there.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, then he exhaled. “Callie, you know my friends aren’t the only ones who are praying for Dan. He’s in my prayers all the time.”

  “I know, Seth, but you know I’ve never been on very friendly terms with God.”

  “You do believe in Him, don’t you?”

  “Of course I believe in Him. I believe He created this beautiful world we live in, but I don’t understand why He lets bad things happen. When I was a child and found out my mother was sick, I prayed that God would save her. Surely a caring God wouldn’t take a father and a mother away from a young girl, but He did. I knew then He didn’t care about me.”

  “But you’re wrong, Callie. He did care about you.”

  She swiveled in her seat and faced him. “And how did He show that?”

  “He gave you Dan to take care of you. An uncaring God would have abandoned you, but God loved you so much He gave you an uncle who loved you more than his own life. I think he proved that when he shoved your head down to keep you from getting shot.”

  Callie stared out the windshield and thought about what Seth had said. His words made sense, but she still wasn’t convinced. The memory of the afternoon she’d sat in a doctor’s office two years ago and heard the devastating news that would shatter her life returned. She closed her eyes, but his
words still rang in her mind.

  “Miss Lattimer, I’m sorry, but the tests show that great amounts of scar tissue have developed from the surgeries you had as a child when your bicycle was struck by a car. It appears your fallopian tubes are blocked, which will prevent you from ever being able to have children.”

  She blinked back the tears and sniffed. “Does God answer all your prayers, Seth?”

  “Yes.”

  She jerked her head around and stared at him. “He does?”

  He nodded. “He either answers it with yes or no. The no answers are the hardest to take, but He’s always there to get me through the tough times. Later on I see that He only had my best interests at heart.”

  Callie gave a grunt of disgust. “Unfortunately, every time He says no to me it doesn’t seem to be in my best interest.”

  “Yeah, I’ve had that happen, too. All I can do is keep being faithful, and know it will all work out in the end.” Seth let his gaze drift over her face, and in the light from the dashboard panel she saw the hurt in his eyes she’d first witnessed two years ago. She knew what he was referring to, but she turned her head away and didn’t say a word.

  Her lips trembled, and she bit down on them and willed the tears in her eyes to go away. The chemistry between them was starting to make itself known again, and she couldn’t let that happen. She’d given Seth his freedom so he could have the life he wanted. She wasn’t about to do anything now to change that. The best thing she could do was get out of Memphis fast.

  “I’ve been thinking,” she said without turning to face him.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “I think we need to speed up this investigation. So I’ve decided I’m going to go to the Midtown Mission Monday and volunteer my services.”

  The car swerved, and he jerked the wheel to bring the car back into its lane. “You’ll do nothing of the sort.”

  She turned a stony gaze on him and spoke with all the authority she could muster. “Yes, I am. It’s time we found out who tried to kill Uncle Dan and me. Maybe while I’m there, if I keep my eyes and ears open, I can find out some information that will help us.”