In Memory's Shadow

by Linda Wisdom

  Rick nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”

  “So Mom stayed at your house last night?” Steffie asked once Sam had returned to the truck and bundled the pup into the back seat where he bounced happily between the two girls.

  “That’s right.” He hoped his face didn’t turn red.

  The girls exchanged a telling look.

  “I didn’t realize the sheets for the guest room bed were clean,” Lisa commented.

  “Washed them last week,” Sam lied, fervently wishing he didn’t have such a smart daughter.

  When they walked into the house, an appetizing aroma was coming from the kitchen.

  “Mom’s stew,” Steffie said with reverence.

  “Something edible,” Lisa said, racing after her friend.

  Sam followed them after making sure the puppy did his business outside. He walked into the kitchen finding Keely wearing one of his T-shirts with her shorts. He instantly decided he liked the combination.

  “You had the ingredients for stew and we all needed to eat,” Keely told him.

  “I’ll put your suitcase in the guest room,” he offered.

  “Oh, we’ll take it in.” Steffie took it out of his hand. Before he could protest, she and Lisa were out of the kitchen.

  “We’re in trouble,” he muttered.

  “Why?” Keely’s eyes danced with amusement.

  Sam wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, not surprised to find it damp. “They’re putting your suitcase in the guest room and the first thing they’ll check is the bed.”

  “So?”

  “So, they’ll find the bed doesn’t have any sheets on it since they weren’t clean.”

  “Sam.” She touched his arm. “They’ll find sheets on the bed because I put them on this morning. I had very little to do and the last thing I wanted to do was watch a talk show on kids who believe their parents came from another planet and are now afraid the mother ship will show up and take them away to another galaxy.” She took a deep breath. “You looked around the house, didn’t you?”

  He nodded. “And found cigar bands among the trees. They hadn’t been there all that long either.”

  She looked relieved. “It wasn’t my imagination then.”

  “Not at all.” He traced the back of her hand with his fingertip. “Too bad I had to pick up the girls. We could have had a quiet lunch.”

  The gleam in Keely’s eyes told him she knew he was trying to get her mind off the seriousness behind her staying here—along with giving her a less than subtle reminder of the previous night. She inserted her fingers behind his belt buckle and wiggled them against his shirtfront.

  “Ah, but that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn’t it?” she murmured.

  Obviously, her hearing was better than his at the moment since she was two feet away when the girls bounced back into the kitchen with the puppy following them with his ungainly gait.

  “When will lunch be ready?” Steffie asked.

  “No ‘Hi, Mom, I’m glad to see you’re all right.’?” Keely mocked.

  “You’re with Sam, so I know you’re fine and I figured you didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “True, but remember it’s nice to say something. Lunch will be in about fifteen minutes.” Keely inserted a tray of rolls into the oven.

  “Then I’m going to unpack.”

  “This is going to be so neat!” Lisa enthused as the girls disappeared again.

  “They bounce back better than a rubber band,” Sam groused.

  “I’m glad they do,” she said quietly. “What now?”

  He shook his head. “You won’t like it, but when I’m not here, there will be a deputy in the driveway. You’re not to go anywhere by yourself and neither are the girls.”

  Alarm flared in her eyes. “Do you think—?” She stopped, afraid to voice the worst

  “I just want to take precautions,” he explained.

  Keely turned back to stir the stew. “This isn’t good, Sam. You have Lisa to worry about”

  “I’ll feel better with you here. Besides, I’m holding your computer equipment hostage. I’ll set it up on the dining room table if that’s okay with you. And we can have your phone calls forwarded over here.”

  She nodded. “I just hope I can work.”

  “I’m going to find him, Keely,” he vowed.

  Keely smiled and walked over, looping her arms around his waist and hugging him. “I know you will, Sam,” she said quietly. “That’s the only reason I’m staying here.”

  “That’s the only reason?”

  She grinned. “We can discuss the other reasons later on.â€�

  “I’m holding you to that.”

  “You two can find something to do while Keely and I take care of business, can’t you?” Sam said, after they finished lunch. “After you’ve done the dishes, that is.”

  “Dishes?” Lisa repeated.

  He nodded. “Wash and dry. By hand, no less. It will be good practice for you when you live in a place without a dishwasher.”

  A crestfallen Lisa looked at Steffie. “You are not company. You have to help.”

  “Fine, as long as I don’t have to wash.”

  Sam and Keely went into the family room where Sam had already laid out a pad of paper and a tape recorder on the coffee table. She sat in one of the chairs, deliberately keeping her distance from him as he took his place on the couch by the pad and tape recorder.

  “I want to record this so the facts will be straight,” he explained. “Is that all right with you?”

  She nodded jerkily.

  Sam switched it on, then stated his name, title, date and time. “Please state your name and address,” he said quietly.

  Keely cleared her throat and gave the information in a near whisper.

  “Now, Keely, I want you to tell me everything you did from the time you left the station yesterday,” he said

  She clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “I stopped at the hardware store for some supplies,” she said in a halting voice. “I had thought about going out to my parents’ house and doing some more work. I went home, changed my clothes and went out there about one o’clock.” He nodded for her to continue. “I was so focused in finishing the downstairs I didn’t realize it was starting to get dark. I didn’t worry about Steffie since I knew she was at a friend’s house. I drove home from there and went in.”

  “By what door did you enter the house?” he asked

  “The kitchen door leading to the garage,” she replied. “When I went inside, I heard the puppy crying and scratching the laundry room door. I tried to turn on the light, but it wouldn’t come on. I thought it was a blown fuse or burned-out light bulb, so I looked for the flashlight in one of the drawers. That’s when I heard the music.” She started shaking. “And someone calling me. Taunting me.” In her agitation, her eyes turned glassy. “I couldn’t find the flashlight and I just wanted to get away from the music and the voice. But wherever I went, I couldn’t escape the voice and the music. Then he started touching me. Teasing me.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were chilly. “I ran into the bedroom so I could reach the phone, but he followed me and kept touching me.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what happened then. I just blanked out until you showed up.” She huddled in the chair. She blinked several times. “Why did you come?”

  “An anonymous phone call alerted me they heard screams coming from your place,” he answered. “The voice was disguised and the call made from the gas station pay phone so we have no idea who made the call, but it was obviously whoever had been out to your house. The perp knew he wouldn’t get caught and probably hoped we’d find you an emotional wreck.”

  Keely looked away. “I learned something new last night, Sam. I learned that rape doesn’t have to be physical,” she said in a low voice throbbing with the emotional pain she’d been suffering. “My home was violated. My life was violated and my mind, especially, was violated. That scum didn�
�t want me to suffer physical pain. He wanted me to suffer and what better way than to scare the hell out of me, so my imagination can conjure up even more nightmares.” She shifted her position and lifted her hand to brush a lock of hair away from her face, which was screwed up in thought. “Nightmares,” she murmured to herself. “Nightmares.” She looked up. “The music! That song was always in my nightmare.”

  Sam wanted nothing more than to switch off the tape recorder, but not when she might unwittingly come up with something important.

  “Your nightmares played that same song?” He wanted to clarify her statement.

  She nodded then remembered the recorder was still running. “Yes. In fact, the first time I heard it was at the bookstore. And it frightened me then. But why?”

  “The music you heard in your house came from a CD. And you don’t own it?”

  “No.” Keely uttered a soft sigh. “I must have heard that song before, but why would it suddenly frighten me now?”

  Sam had an idea he had the answer, but he didn’t know if it would be a good idea to bring it up just yet He switched off the recorder.

  “I’m afraid most of your clothes were ruined,” he said quietly.

  “I couldn’t have worn them even if they had been cleaned,” she said with distaste. “It will give me a good excuse to go shopping.”

  “I’m sure the girls will be only too happy to help you with that chore.”

  Keely pulled her legs up under her body and remained in that position as she stared at Sam.

  “What?” he asked, confused by the intensity in her stare.

  “You know something, don’t you?” She leaned forward, bracing her arms on the chair. “What Sam? Tell me what you know? Damn it I need to know!”

  He stated back at her. “There are some answers I need first before I’ll know if I’m right.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what you think you know and perhaps I’ll have the answers for you,” she bargained.

  “No, Keely.”

  She reared back as if slapped. “You don’t trust me.”

  “I don’t trust me until I have the answers I need.” He stood up. “I have to get back to the station. One of the deputies will be out front if you need anything. Let the machine pick up the calls. I’ll have your calls transferred over here by the end of today.”

  Keely unwound herself and stood up. She looked tired and very unhappy. “The cop at work,” she drawled.

  A flash of emotion crossed his eyes then abruptly disappeared. “It’s my job.”

  She sat back down looking as if all the bones in her body had suddenly dissolved. “I’m sorry. I’m being a witch and you don’t deserve it. You’re doing everything you can and all I’m doing is giving you more trouble.”

  “Hey.” He pulled her up and into his arms. “I guess when you moved here, you didn’t expect all of this.”

  Her face was pressed tightly against his shirtfront so she settled for a quick shake of the head.

  “We’re going to get this all sorted out, Keely. I promise.” He caressed her hair in long soothing strokes.

  “Sure, easy for you to say.” Her grumbled words were muffled by her mouth still pressed against his chest. “You’re not the one in protective custody.”

  “I figured you’d be happier staying with me than with Rick. I’ve seen his place and he’s a regular slob,” he said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

  Keely tipped back her head and wrinkled her nose. “Steffie wouldn’t have been happy at all.”

  “Neither would I,” Sam whispered in her ear before stepping back. “I’ve got to get in. I know it won’t be easy, but try not to worry and if anything else comes to mind, write it down and we’ll go over it tonight.”

  She nodded.

  The moment Sam was out of the house, Keely felt forlorn. She could hear the faint sounds of music coming from Lisa’s bedroom and bits and pieces of words. She would have dismissed it if she hadn’t heard her name and Sam’s. She crept down the hall and remained a few feet from the bedroom doorway.

  “Maybe this isn’t exactly the right mood, but it’s great that they’re sharing a house,” Lisa said. “They’ll get to know each other better. Dad can see how great your mom is and vice versa.”

  “At least we know your dad isn’t slow on the uptake. What a kiss at the picnic! Better than anything in the movies.” Steffie giggled.

  Keely could feel her face burning and knew she was probably a flaming red.

  “Yeah, but you figured they slept together and we saw the sheets on the guest room bed. What made you think that?” Lisa asked.

  “Just something about them. You know, intimate.” Steffie emphasized the last word as if to give it special meaning. “You had to have felt it, too.”

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to think of my dad doing it,” she confessed. “I mean, he’s so old.”

  Keely covered her mouth with her hand to keep her laughter from spilling out.

  “Yeah, well, Mom’s not exactly young, but she’d tell me that while she’s way over thirty, she can still boogie,” Steffie declared.

  Keely pressed her hand tighter against her mouth. The pressure in her stomach to hold back her laughter was increasing by the second. At the moment, she wasn’t sure whether to go in and lecture the girls on their candid discussion or hug them for their idea of their parents making the perfect couple.

  Except at the moment, she wasn’t sure if she and Sam together was a good idea. She was positive he was keeping something back from her. And she meant to find out just what it was.

  She silently crept back to the kitchen. The girls had done their job, leaving the room gleaming.

  “May as well set up the computer and see if I can accomplish anything,” she said to herself, heading for the dining room.

  The moment Sam reached the station he headed for his office and flipped through his card file. After finding the number he wanted, he picked up his phone.

  “You’re talking about someone who was put in here thirty years ago,” one of his old contacts further north told him.

  “All I need to know is if he was released,” Sam explained. “He was given a life sentence, but we all know with good behavior he can be out by now.”

  “Be grateful for computer records, old buddy.” The faint click of computer keys sounded over the receiver. “Okay, here we go. Yeah, Willis was released about six years ago. He’d been a good boy while he was in. He stayed out of trouble and earned a hell of a lot more credit than demerits. I can give you the address and phone number we have on record, but there’s no guarantee he still lives there.”

  “I’ll take it. Anything else you can give me on him? Maybe a picture?”

  “I can do it, but it might not do you much good. The guy was roughed up pretty bad his second year in. Some guy didn’t like the idea of his making a cute little girl an orphan and sliced his face up. He had some plastic surgery to correct the worst of the damage, but he still looked pretty bad. He might have been able to have more since then. He doesn’t look anything like he did back in the sixties.”

  “Fax me the last photo you have, too.”

  “You know, the guy did his time, and since he’s kept his nose clean since he got out, you’re not going to be able to just haul him in without a concrete reason.”

  “I have a good one. There’s that orphaned little girl who’s all grown-up and being terrorized by someone very familiar with what went on back then,” Sam said grimly.

  “Whoa. All right, I’ll fax you everything. Get back to me once you hear something.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  Sam sat back in his chair and stared unseeing at the wall as he tried to compute everything he’d learned so far.

  If Willis didn’t look anything like he did before, would he have had the guts to come back here? Sure, why not. Especially with Keely no longer living here. Then she came back and he felt his new life was threatened. That she might see him for who he really wa
s. If it happened there ‘d be no doubt most of the town would come out for a lynching. Feelings still ran strong in regards to the Davis murder. One of the first violent crimes in years and there hadn’t been one since.

  He tried to think of anyone who had moved into the area in the last six years.

  “Freda!”

  “Why do we have an intercom if you persist in shouting my name?” A cloud of heavy jasmine perfume preceded the clerk as she appeared in his doorway holding several sheets of paper. “This just came over the fax for you.”

  “Thanks.” He laid out the papers side by side. “Who do you remember moving into town in the last six years?”

  She tapped her forefinger against her chin. “Let’s see. Stan, who owns the gas station. That old codger who has the hardware store. Wilkes, who took over the dry cleaners when Leonard retired. The Hendersons. Miriam Rogers moved back here after her divorce.”

  “Okay.” He held up his hand to halt her recitation. “Could you do me a favor and write out the names of everyone you can remember.”

  She gave him a stern eye. “I have my duties, you know.”

  “And this is another one. It’s in conjunction with the Harper attack.”

  Freda hadn’t been at her job for more than thirty years for nothing. “Are you saying that bastard Willis might be back here?”

  Sam nodded. “There’s a good chance he is.”

  Freda sat down. “But we’d all know him,” she protested.

  “He had his face cut up during a fight in prison and had to have corrective surgery. He doesn’t look the same at all and it’s guessed he had more surgery after he got out.” He slid the fax with a photograph on it across his desk toward her.

  Freda picked it up and studied the black-and-white grainy likeness. “A lot of scars on his face,” she murmured. “The idiot should have aimed for his black heart.” She tossed it down. “Saved all of us a lot of trouble. All right, I’ll see who I can come up with and I’ll give Miz Nan a call. Anyone I don’t remember, she will.” She stood up and headed for the door then paused. “Has Keely remembered anything from back then yet?”

  Sam knew he could trust her. “Only a series of bad dreams that she doesn’t realize has anything to do with her.”