At lunch I almost blurted out the truth. I simply could not exist like this any longer. Maybe Andy could help. Maybe he wouldn’t hate me. But as always I held back. Andy was so honest. Had thought highly of me since the day we met. He would be devastated at my lies. Should I ruin his life just to ease my own mind? I’d lived under the burden of seeing no justice for my mother’s death. Now it was slipping away for Clara. So much pain all around. I could not cause more. Not to the man who loved me so much.
We drove a wide circle, going north and through Lexington. There we stopped at a coffee shop for an afternoon latte. My mind was beyond numb. The cell phone weighted my purse like a time bomb. Had Tina sent more texts? What was she saying? What did she plan to do?
Lattes steaming, Andy and I perched at a high round table. He placed his hand over mine. “We should get married this summer. I don’t want to wait too long. June maybe? July?”
So soon. The mere idea overwhelmed me. “I watched Clara and her mother plan her wedding. It takes months.” And no doubt Andy’s mother would want a huge, perfect ceremony. I cringed at the thought.
Andy rubbed my hand. “Yeah. And Redbud’s not up for a big wedding this summer. Doesn’t seem right. Maybe we should just go to Hawaii. Built-in honeymoon.” He grinned.
The gesture couldn’t cover his unspoken words. I knew he was worried about what townspeople would think. People who’d aligned against me because of my support for Billy would not forget what I had done. What if our wedding became a battleground for the much bigger issue of Billy’s guilt—those who believed my cries of his innocence and so would attend the ceremony versus those who didn’t?
I nodded. “Hawaii sounds like a great idea.”
Maybe we could move there. Flee Redbud and never look back.
Until Tina found me again.
“Great!” Andy looked so happy. “Then there’s little planning to do. So let’s set it in June.”
I winced. That would have been Clara’s wedding month.
Andy gave me a sad smile. “I know. Not on that day. The following weekend, on the twenty-first.”
And so, as terror encircled me, I set the date I’d dreamed of for years. The date that would begin my forever family.
Not until later would I realize June twenty-first is the longest day of the year.
Late Saturday afternoon I arrived home, exhausted and nerves humming. My cell was about to burn a hole through my purse. I headed straight for my room. Pete tried to ask me about my day, but I waved him off. “So sorry, I have a horrible headache. Need to go lie down.”
I closed my door, threw my purse on the bed and yanked out the phone. For an eternal moment I held it in my sweaty hand. Part of me wanted to throw it off a cliff, never see what devastation lay inside.
With a wildly beating heart, I turned it on.
Five messages awaited me.
Been wondering where you went all these years, Laura. Then boom you’re on TV. Major fail. Delanie Miller--real name Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother.
Thirty minutes later: Did you think I wouldn’t find you? Delanie Miller--real name Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother. Now the fun begins.
One hour later: You can’t seem to stay away from murder, can you? Delanie Miller--real name Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother.
Next hour: Don’t think you can ignore me. Delanie Miller--real name Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother. BTW, so sorry about Clara.
And the next: Your life as you know it is about to end. Delanie Miller--real name Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother. Who’s to blame for the death of Clara Crenshaw? YOU.
Strangled noises bubbled up my throat. I stared at the last text. I was to blame for Clara’s death? Did Tina really think I’d murdered Clara, just like I’d “killed” my own mother?
The cell phone slipped from my fingers. This was it. How Tina would destroy me and end up with all my mother’s money. The fates, destiny, whatever you wanted to call it, had rammed together in her favor. She would call Police Chief Melcher, one cop to another, and tell him of my past. My conviction. How I was no doubt Clara’s real killer.
Her accusation would sound so plausible. No matter that I had no motive to murder Clara. That I’d loved her and would never want to hurt her. Those truths hadn’t helped me last time. Once again I’d “found” the body. Called 911. I’d made up the story about seeing a man in the Graysons’ front yard. Just like I’d concocted the story about looking at dress catalogues for ten minutes on my front porch in California. My only point of conscience this time had been in trying to save innocent Billy. Who just happened to be in the neighborhood.
I fell on the bed and curled up on my side, trembling. My thoughts grayed and jumbled. For some time I couldn’t focus on anything. Could only feel the jarring of my heart. Slowly, then, my brain began to grasp one pulsing question. What to do but sit and wait for Tina’s inevitable move? I had no offense. I couldn’t show anyone her texts, even if they turned threatening. Tina had been too clever to embed the truth of my past in every message.
From the floor, my cell phone chimed. The sound sent shock waves through me.
I curled in deeper, an arm over my face. My mind raced back to that first night in juvey eighteen years ago, just after my arrest. In one day the world had caved in around me. A black hole consumed my life for the next nine years.
Now the world was caving again.
This time, God, just kill me.
My phone lay silent. The rug around it seemed to crackle, pulling my torso over the edge of the bed, my fingers to the floor to pick it up.
I rolled onto my back, holding the cell in both hands. My lungs stopped moving.
Breathe, Laura, just breathe.
I hit the icon to read the message.
You’d better respond, Delanie Miller, aka Laura Denton, convicted in San Mateo, CA in 1995 of killing your mother.
The words blurred. I stared at the phone screen, wrenched by Tina’s grip on me from three thousand miles away. Respond? What did she expect me to say?
I slammed the phone down on my bed. Stared at the ceiling. Picked up the phone again. Before I knew it my finger was tapping over the keys.
What do you want?
Within thirty seconds the cell rang. Tina’s number. I stared at the digits, my veins freezing over.
After the third ring I answered. “What.” My voice sounded defeated. Resigned. I hated that.
“Well, there’s my girl.”
Slowly, I sat up. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk in person.”
“You expect me to come to California?”
“No need, dear Laura. I’ve made it easy for you. I’m in Redbud.”
The walls of my bedroom closed in.
“Now here’s what I want you to do.”
Tina was here. In my town.
“You listening, Laura?”
“I … yes.”
“On the west end of town there’s a little out-of-the way place called Redbud Park. No one seems to use it. You know where I’m talking about?”
She could leave her work—just like that? And how did she get here so fast?
“Laura.”
“Yes. I know it.”
“Good. There’s a bench toward the back. Be there in one hour. We’ll still have enough daylight. Come alone. Bring a laptop computer and your bank account statements and passwords.”
I gripped the phone, my heart tumbling. She was going to drain me of all my money. I should have known.
“You got all that, Laura?”
“And what if I don’t come?”
Tina laughed. “Then I make a phone call to your chief of police. Tell him who you really are. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”
I licked my lips.
“You’re telling me if I do everything you want, you’ll leave me alone?”
“Of course.” Such a sugar-coated answer. “Why would I want to make your life miserable?”
She was lying.
Or was she?
If Tina turned me in to Melcher after bribing me out of my money, I’d have no reason not to show him her texts. I could also show him my bank account activity as proof of what she’d done. She’d end up losing the money she’d just stolen from me.
Wouldn’t she?
What was I not seeing?
“Laura.” Tina’s voice hardened. “I’m warning you—you’d better show up.”
“I hear you.”
“Good. Look forward to seeing you.”
The line went dead.
Chapter 37
This was the last hour of the life I’d built.
After Tina’s call, I slumped immobilized on my bed, mind fixed on that reality. I was the mouse, Tina the cat. Now I lay helpless in a trap—and there was absolutely nothing I could do.
Why had God allowed me the last few years of relative happiness, only to snatch everything away? Had I not been through enough?
It wasn’t just the money. It was the fact that it came from my mother. The only thing I had left of her. Tina had already stripped away her jewelry. Far worse, I hadn’t managed to see justice done for my mom’s murder. Now I was going to allow her a second injustice. Everything her parents and grandparents had worked for would be taken from the family.
And I was to blame. I and my stupid, stupid choices.
Why had I ever thought I needed to assume a new identity? So what if Tina had hounded me wherever I moved? Maybe I would have had no friends, but at least the courts had awarded me my inheritance. She couldn’t have taken that from me. Now I’d given her the perfect opportunity to take it all. No doubt she would turn me in to the police as soon as she got what she wanted, just for spite. She was a detective. She’d surely thought of many angles I couldn’t see. Somehow she’d get away with my money.
Worse, I was going to lose Andy. My house. Pete, Colleen, and Nicole. And I’d probably go to jail. Not just for my illegal identity. Maybe even for Clara’s murder.
My head dropped into my hands. God, I know I don’t deserve it. But please help.
Thoughts in my mind jumbled and rolled. I struggled to logic through details of Tina’s call but could only dwell on the enormity of what was about to happen. The fallout of my own terrible decisions.
I could not believe it had come to this.
Then, out of the mental chaos a question resurfaced. How had Tina gotten here so soon after seeing the CNN news story?
At first I pushed the question away. What difference did it make? But the thought snagged in my brain. I tried to retrace the timeline but couldn’t make it work.
Maybe the CNN story had run a time or two before Cheryl King saw it, and I just hadn’t heard about it. Maybe … something. Had to be an explanation. Still …
I pushed off my bed. Started pacing the room. Another thought hit—so obvious once it rose through the fog. If I believed Tina would turn me in after forcing me to transfer her the money—why do it? The money was the only leverage I had.
Back and forth I paced, from my dresser on one side to bare wall on the other. I knew my mind was still too overwhelmed to think of everything. Surely I was missing key pieces of this puzzle. If only I had someone to talk to. But even now I could not admit my deceit to anyone.
When you live a lie for so long, it becomes a part of you. Like clothing first rough and scratchy, it eventually wears down, thins out. Sinks into your skin.
I checked the digital clock by my bed. Half an hour had passed. If I was going to meet Tina, I needed to start getting things together.
If.
I stopped my pacing. Sat back down on the bed. Gaze fixated on the carpet, I forced myself to think straight. I ran through various scenarios. Dared a few more prayers.
Time slipped away. With a jerk, I checked the clock again. Ten minutes left.
I knew what I had to do.
If I was going to lose everything, I’d at least go down fighting. The only way to do that was to meet with Tina face to face.
A strange feeling descended upon me, something akin to alert calmness. I rose and with purposeful movements gathered everything I needed.
Within minutes I was backing out of my garage.
Chapter 38
I took back streets across town toward the park where Tina awaited. Didn’t want to go through downtown and risk being followed by reporters. Halfway to my destination, I was struck by an idea. A good sign. My mind was further clearing.
Pulling over to the curb, I made a phone call.
When I arrived at the park my nemesis was already there, seated on the bench. Same hard face and black, glossy hair. No one else was around. Some distance down the curb I spotted a white rental car. Had to be Tina’s. I placed my phone in one of the inside pockets of the tote bag that held my computer and documents, and slid out of the driver’s seat. Walked toward Tina, back straight.
“Laura Denton, how nice to see you again.” The smile she gave me could have slit my throat.
I sat down beside her, placing the tote bag between my feet.
Tina glanced at it. “Looks like you brought what we need.”
“Looks like it.” My tone held a casual edge.
Tina’s eyes shone. She shoved out her hand. “Let me see the bank statements.”
My feet tightened around the bag. “How’d you get here from California so fast?”
“Give me the statements.”
“Answer my question first.”
“Let me see them.” Her expression blackened.
“Fine. Want to salivate some more?” I leaned over and slipped the offshore bank statements from the bag—three in total. Handed them to her.
Tina grabbed them from me, her eyes flicking over each page. “Hah!” She slapped the papers down on her thighs. “There’s still millions in here!”
My shoulder lifted. “I’ve been frugal.”
Tina leaned back and studied me. For a moment I saw doubt flash in her eyes. Why was I not cowering before her?
Her lip curled. “Fire up the computer, Laura.”
“I didn’t kill my mother.”
She rolled her eyes. “I am not going there.”
“I didn’t kill her.”
“Good for you. Turn on the computer.”
I made no move. Tina bent over toward the tote bag. I elbowed her away and pulled out the laptop. Set it on the bench between us.
Tina yanked open the cover and smacked the power button.
I watched the screen boot up. “You’ll need the password.”
“What is it?”
I picked up the computer and placed it on my lap. “On the way here I made a phone call.”
Tina’s jaw flexed. “Put in the password!”
How I enjoyed her desperation.
“I called the San Mateo Police Station. You know, where you used to be a detective?”
She shot me a dark look.
“Apparently you don’t work there anymore. They wouldn’t tell me why you left—or where you’d gone. Said they couldn’t give out that information.” I paused, deliberating whether to throw out some bait. “You know, the evasiveness you hear from an employer when someone’s been fired?”
Tina’s eyes narrowed—and I knew I’d hit home.
She tilted her head. “I can call this meeting off right now. Get in my car and drive to the police station.”
“Go right ahead. Of course, then you won’t get a penny of that money.” I gestured toward the bank statements.
She smirked. “Think so? I know for a fact your name change can’t be legal. Not with a felony on your record. Remember what the judge told you—the one who didn’t even like his own decision? Keep your nose clean—or you could lose it all.”
I flexed my shoulders. “Maybe. Even so, you’d have to fight for it, and that would take years in the courts. Meanwhile, seems you’re out of a job.”
“Oh, don’t you think you know everything. Listen to me, Laura, you have no power here. Your life is in my hands.”
Fear shot through me. I forced myself to return her stare. “How did you get here so soon?”
Her face crinkled in frustration. “What’s it to you?”
“I think you lied to me.”
“I don’t care what you think.”
“Why should I let you bribe me out of all my mother’s inheritance when I can’t believe you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”
“I told you I’m not out to ruin you, Laura.”
“Really? Then why did you track me down in Georgia? You had to have used resources at the San Mateo Police Station to do that. Did your boss know what you were doing? I was trying to build a new life. You hounded and harassed me just to tell my neighbors about my past.”
Tina raised her eyebrows. “Oh, you mean tell them you killed your mother? Maybe they’d want to know.”
“I didn’t kill her.”
Tina looked away and sighed. “I’m through with this.” She threw the bank statements on the ground and stood. “Go home, Laura. Wait for the police to show up at your door. Once Melcher hears who you really are, what you’ve done, he’ll look at you in a whole new light. In fact, you just might become his next best suspect for Clara’s murder.”
There it was. Her ultimate threat. My heart ground into a hard beat. “You know I didn’t kill Clara.”
She shrugged. “You killed your mother, why not kill your friend?”
“I did not kill my mother.”
Tina heaved another sigh. “Round and round we go. And I gave you the perfect opportunity. Shame you’re too stupid to take it. Goodbye, Laura.” She turned and walked away.
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