Marta Perry

by Search the Dark

  Maybe it was a good thing that was all he asked. She wasn’t in any shape to say no to anything. “I guess so.” She pushed thoughts of her mother away firmly. She’d handle it somehow.

  “Good.” He rose, taking her hands to pull Meredith to her feet. “Monday night, around seven. We’ll have one evening out and pretend we’re like anyone else. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She suspected he could read her feelings written all over her face, and right now she didn’t care.

  CHAPTER TEN

  WAITING UNTIL THE latest possible moment to tell her mother about her dinner date with Zach was only sensible, Meredith kept telling herself. It would give Margo less time to work up a head of steam, less time for her endless reproaches. On the other hand, maybe she was just being a coward about it.

  Well, time was up now. Zach would be coming for her in a little more than an hour. She had to get ready. Taking a deep breath, Meredith walked into the house with what she hoped was a confident stride. Work had taken her out all afternoon, but now she had no excuses left.

  “Mom?” Meredith paused in the hallway to set down her laptop bag. Her mother wasn’t in the living room, but cooking aromas wafted from the kitchen. She followed the smell.

  “Meredith, there you are.” Her mother closed the oven door on what looked like a chicken casserole, her cheeks pink from the heat. “Supper will be ready in fifteen minutes or so.”

  “It smells wonderful.” Her mother was an excellent cook, but often she preferred soup and a sandwich for supper, saying it was too much trouble to make a whole meal just for the two of them.

  “Chicken with mushrooms and rice. How was your afternoon? You were at Hammond’s, weren’t you?”

  Her mother seldom showed an interest in her work, but clearly she was in a good mood today. Was that going to make it easier or more difficult to tell her something she wouldn’t like?

  “Victor wanted me to look over the computer files and be sure his clerk was entering the figures properly. She still acts as if the computer is going to bite her, I’m afraid.”

  Victor had actually looked surprised to see her, as if he’d forgotten she was coming. He’d given her a quick nod and scuttled away, shutting himself in his office, leaving her to deal with Betsy Long, the computer-shy clerk.

  Her mother sniffed. “He should know better than to expect Betsy to master something new at her age. She never was very bright.” Her mother tossed her oven gloves on the counter. “Was Laura at the office today?”

  “Laura?” As far as Meredith could recall, she hadn’t ever seen Laura take an interest in Hammond Groceries. “No, she never seems to come in. Why would you think that?”

  Mom shrugged. “No reason. I just stopped by the Hammond house this afternoon, and the housekeeper said she wasn’t home.”

  The housekeeper might be a convenient buffer if Laura didn’t want visitors, or if Victor didn’t particularly want her to have visitors, for that matter.

  More surprising was the fact that her mother had gone anywhere this afternoon. Usually she took a nap, unless one of her several card clubs was meeting.

  “What did you want to see Laura about?”

  “The Historical Society is doing our fall membership drive. I thought Laura might like to join us. It’s not as if she has anything else to occupy her time.”

  Meredith recognized the slightly peevish tone with which her mother said the words. Nothing would convince her that people like the Hammonds didn’t look down on her, and it was a battle Meredith didn’t want to start. Not now, especially.

  “I suppose you could have left a note for her,” she murmured, trying to think of the right way to frame what she had to say. It was all very well for Zach to talk about how she should be firm with her mother. He didn’t have to live with her.

  “A note? Certainly not.” She opened the oven door to check the casserole again. “If Laura Hammond thinks she’s too good to answer her own door, I’m not going to pander to such foolishness.”

  “You don’t know that Laura was there. And even if she was, she might not have been up to visitors.” She hesitated, but since no comment was forthcoming, she went on. “It’s sad that she has so many problems. She was very popular and outgoing as a teenager.”

  “If by that you mean that everyone made a fuss over her, you could call it that. It’s no wonder she was spoiled. Everyone was fooled by that sweet act she put on, even your father. I remember him buying an ad in the yearbook just because she asked him and batted her eyelashes.”

  That really wasn’t what Meredith had wanted to hear. “I didn’t realize Daddy knew her that well.”

  “He was just as foolish over a pretty face as most men,” her mother said. She pulled on the oven mitts. “You can set the table. This is ready.”

  Time was up. “I’m not eating in tonight, Mom. The casserole looks wonderful, though. Maybe we could—”

  “Not eating in?” Her mother slammed the oven door. “Why not? The least you could do is let me know in advance so I wouldn’t have to go to all this trouble. Where are you going?”

  Be firm, remember? “Zach is taking me out to dinner.”

  Her mother stared at her for a long moment, and Meredith braced herself for an explosion. To her amazement, it didn’t come.

  “I suppose it won’t do any good to tell you how foolish you’re being. If you won’t consider my feelings about that man, there’s nothing else to say.”

  Meredith knew her mother too well to suppose that she wouldn’t find something else to say, despite her words.

  “Just don’t come complaining to me when he breaks your heart again.”

  “I won’t.” Her mother might well be right about the state of her heart, but it was already too late to prevent that from happening. “I’d better get ready.” She fled for the stairs, relieved that the anticipated storm from her mother had been so mild.

  An hour later Meredith came down, feeling as excited and nervous as a teenager going on her first date. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she last went out with anyone. She smoothed her palms down the skirt of the rose silk dress she’d bought on a whim and never had an excuse to wear. Eligible males tended to be thin on the ground in Deer Run.

  She glanced warily into the living room, half expecting to see her mother stretched out with an ice bag on her head. But Margo sat in her usual recliner, her slippered feet propped on the ottoman, an afghan spread over her legs. She looked settled for the evening.

  “I’m going now, Mom.” She hesitated, hardly believing she was going to get out this easily.

  Her mother’s gaze never left the television screen. “Lock the door when you go out. You know how I feel about being left alone here at night. Anything could happen.”

  Useless to point out that no malefactors could possibly know she was alone. “I’ll lock the door.”

  Headlights glanced off the glass of the front window as a car pulled into the drive, and her heart gave a ridiculous leap. She grabbed her bag and jacket and sped out the door, hurrying off the porch and looking for all the world as if she were escaping.

  By the time she reached the car, Zach had come around to the passenger side.

  “You don’t need to open the door for me,” she said. “I’m not helpless.”

  His hand closed on the handle, keeping her from opening it. “If I let you get in yourself, the inside lights would come on,” he said. “And then I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He bent and kissed her, a long, leisurely kiss that left her breathless. “Now we’re ready to go.” He whispered the words against her lips and then opened the door.

  She slid in, trying to control her racing heart. She’d been wrong. It wasn’t a matter of escaping. She was running toward something, not away.

  * * *

  MARGO PULLED ON a
sturdy pair of outside shoes, checking the clock as she did so. She had plenty of time until her appointment. She surveyed herself in the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. Black slacks and a dark sweater ensured that she wouldn’t easily be seen by someone who might wonder what she was doing.

  Meredith’s plans had saved her the trouble of sending her off with some excuse. Margo headed down the stairs, aware of a pleasurable sense of excitement.

  Of course, nothing might happen. Still, she had a good feeling about this. She’d spent several days practicing the wording of her note. This would work.

  It had given her an unpleasant jolt when Meredith realized she’d been in the office, but she’d needed the scrap paper Meredith kept there to formulate her thoughts before she wrote the note. And she’d been careful to print the final draft on an ordinary notebook page and use plain envelopes. No point in giving herself away before she had to.

  Margo headed for the kitchen, leaving the television playing to make it appear she was inside. A little shiver went through her as she took the flashlight from the drawer and checked to be sure it was working.

  She’d have preferred to set up this meeting in another place, at another time. But if what she suspected was true, then that truth would come out most easily at the place where it had happened.

  She opened the back door, stepped outside and just as quickly stepped back in. She hadn’t realized how chilly the nights were getting. Meredith’s tan windbreaker hung on a hook by the door, so she pulled it on. She was ready.

  Once outside, she went down the porch steps carefully. She didn’t want to switch the flashlight on before she had to. No point in rousing the attention of the neighbors.

  The sound of her footsteps on the driveway was lonely, and she darted a quick glance around. She seldom went out after dark other than to a meeting or social event, and then she was in the car. But she was perfectly capable of doing this, and it would be worth it to know the truth.

  Not that she’d do anything with it, necessarily, but it was high time certain people in this town realized they weren’t so superior, after all. Margo smiled, picturing the scene. She might be gracious, promising to keep the secret, but still, they’d always know that she knew.

  Or maybe she’d tell Meredith, show her that her mother could be just as clever as she was. If she were the one who exposed the truth after all these years, everyone would realize they’d been underestimating her.

  That pleasant picture gave her the courage to go on when the path wound through the brush. She had to turn the flashlight on there, but she shielded it as best she could with her hand.

  A loud rustle in the weeds off to her right had her swinging the light around wildly. It was nothing, but her heart was beating too fast. She pressed her hand against it, forcing herself to be calm. It wouldn’t do to get excited. She was in control. She took a deep, even breath, waiting a moment before she went on.

  Stepping into the clearing under the trees took courage, but no one could say that Margo King was a coward. She swept the beam of the flashlight around, searching the dark places under the trees.

  “Are you here?” she called softly.

  No answer. Well, she’d expected to be first to arrive. She advanced toward the pool, drawn irresistibly to the smooth, dark water. It looked so peaceful, with a sliver of moonlight making the surface shimmer like a mirror. People found it hard to believe it was so dangerous.

  Margo focused the light on the water coming over the dam, looking as innocent as a frill of lace. A breeze ruffled the surface of the water, and Margo shivered. She checked her watch. It was time.

  She’d wait ten minutes, she decided. If this didn’t work, she’d try something else. It might be—

  The thought left her head at the sound of a step behind her. A surge of triumph flooded through her veins.

  “I knew you’d come—”

  Before she could turn, before she could raise the light, something struck the side of her head. The flashlight fell from her nerveless grasp.

  She struggled, trying to deal with the wave of pain, trying to understand what was happening. But hands were pushing her, her shoes slipping in the wet mud. She couldn’t get her balance, she was falling—

  The water closed around her in a cold embrace, soaking through her clothes, muddying her face, her hands...

  She fought to push herself up, getting her face out of the water. She had to breathe, had to scramble out of the water, but hands forced her down, weight on her back, water stealing her breath, heart pounding and then...nothing.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MEREDITH HATED TO SEE the evening come to an end, but as the lights of her house came into view, she knew it was time to return to reality. Zach pulled into the driveway, but when she reached for the door handle, he caught her hand.

  “Don’t go in yet.” His smile was visible in the glow of the pole light at the end of the walk. “That’s what I always said, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” She relaxed, making no attempt to get out. “Luckily I’m not as much of a frightened mouse as I was at seventeen.”

  Zach’s eyebrows lifted, maybe mocking her just a little. “You sure?”

  “Positive.” She reached out to touch his cheek, her fingertips seeming ultrasensitive to faint stubble and warm skin.

  “I’ll consider that an invitation,” he said, and kissed her.

  Again. They’d pulled in at an overlook on the way home, one that was a favorite parking spot for teenagers. Any slight embarrassment she’d felt had slipped away quickly. They’d kissed, they’d talked, they’d embraced, only stopping when it became clear that if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to.

  Now she nuzzled against Zach’s shoulder, content to feel his arm around her. He squeezed her and then winced, drawing back a little.

  “Have you noticed that the gearshift is in exactly the wrong place in this car?” It was a soft murmur of frustration and amusement.

  “It does seem that way. Meant to discourage teenagers, maybe.”

  He grinned, stroking her hair. “No normal teenage boy would ever be discouraged by a minor hurdle like that.”

  “Amazing that...” She let the thought trail away, afraid she might be revealing more than was wise.

  “That we still know each other so well?” He finished for her.

  She nodded. Apparently she couldn’t hide her feelings.

  “I suspect that’s because what we had was real,” he said softly. “Not puppy love. Real.”

  And real love didn’t die, did it? Being with Zach was like seeing something totally familiar and yet discovering wonderful new facets to it.

  He still had that tough edge, but it was harnessed and controlled now. She’d seen that in the way he talked about the work he loved.

  But his work was a reminder that this couldn’t last. Even though it felt like pressing on a sore spot to be sure it still hurt, she asked the question she’d been avoiding.

  “When will you have to leave?”

  He gave her a quizzical look. “Eager to get rid of me?”

  “No, just...trying not to be surprised.”

  “Yeah. You never did like surprises.” He glanced down at their clasped hands. “My boss has hinted pretty strongly that he wants me back on duty next week.”

  Her heart sank. So soon. “I guess you’ll have to leave then.”

  “Don’t go sounding so final,” he said. “You’re not finished with me yet.” He lifted her hand to his lips and spoke, his breath caressing her skin. “I’ll come back to check on the progress of the house. Often. And you can come to Pittsburgh for a weekend now and then, can’t you?”

  She hesitated, glancing toward the house. The light was on in the living room, and she could see the flicker of the television screen. “I don’t know
if I can get away.”

  Zach moved, grasping her shoulders in a firm grip and holding her facing him. “Talk sense, Meredith. Your mother isn’t helpless. As far as I can see, she’s able to do everything she wants to do.”

  “Yes, but if she has an attack when I’m not here—”

  “She can call 911 like any sensible person. And if that’s not enough, you must know everybody in Deer Run. Surely there’s someone you can trust to keep an eye on her for a couple of nights. Just promise me you’ll try, okay?”

  With his face close to hers, there was only one answer she could make. “I promise.”

  Zach made it sound so easy. And with his lips on hers, she was able to convince herself that he was right.

  After several long, breathless moments, she slid out of the car. Zach rolled down the window, leaning across the seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”

  “Good night.” Good night, my love.

  The euphoria lasted until she put her key in the lock and opened the door. Meredith took a deep breath. Her mother was still up, and it was probably too much to hope that she wouldn’t have something tart to say. She may as well get it over with.

  “I’m home, Mom.” She put her bag on the hall console and walked into the living room. The television showed one of the reality shows her mother typically watched. The ottoman was positioned in front of her favorite chair. But her mother wasn’t there.

  Meredith had had such an image in her mind of her mother sitting there, counting off the number of minutes Zach’s car sat in the drive that for a moment she couldn’t believe the evidence her eyes were seeing.

  “Mom?” She walked through the dining room to the kitchen. Also empty, with the light on over the sink and the dishes her mother had used not in evidence. Meredith touched the dishwasher. Still warm.

  She checked the laundry room, powder room and her office. Nothing. Apprehension rising, Meredith headed upstairs. Her mother might have gone to bed, of course, but she would hardly leave the television on if so.