by Mary Coley
“I’ve probably bored you silly,” she said at the conclusion of her life’s story. “But it’s all brought me here. And I don’t regret losing the job. I need time to figure out what I want out of life.”
Lamar finished eating. He placed his silverware in the center of his place and perched awkwardly on the edge of the chair, ready to charge out of the room.
Would it be too obvious if she left right after him?
“No man in your life?” Max asked suddenly.
A smile spread across her face. “I have been seeing someone, but I’m not sure how he’s going to take the sudden changes I’m contemplating. He’s not too happy with me right now.”
Dale patted her hand. “Well, if it’s meant to be... You’ve heard it before. You do what you feel is best for you. If he’s the right fellow, it’ll work itself out.”
Lamar stood and carried his plate to the sink. “Fine meal, Dale. Thanks. Think I’ll go into town for a bit.”
Mandy carried her plate to the sink too, reaching around Lamar to throw her paper napkin in the under-sink trash can. “I think I’ll take a walk,” she said. “Later, if I could, I’d like to make a few phone calls. My cell phone’s not working out here.”
“Absolutely. Come back in whenever you’re ready. And don’t worry about the charges. It’s a business line, inexpensive.” Dale nodded at the wall phone.
“Lamar?” Mandy left the house a few seconds after him, but the ranch hand was halfway to his cabin and the Chevy truck parked next to it.
“Yeah?” He stopped and faced her.
“If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you.” If Mandy failed to find out what she needed to know, she’d have to leave Jandafar. Lamar was her only lead.
“I got a minute. Shoot.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared down at her. The sun was dropping in the sky, and the early evening rays shimmered in his green eyes.
She swallowed. “Jenna told me to come here, and to find you.”
His face didn’t change. “Jenna?”
Mandy blinked. Of course, that wasn’t the name he knew her by. “Maybe you knew her as Molly Bergen.”
His eyes widened, and he pulled his hands out of his pockets. “Molly Bergen?”
“You remember her?”
“Molly Bergen,” he repeated softly. “And how is it you know anything about Molly Bergen? She disappeared twenty years ago.”
Mandy sucked in her breath. It was true. Jenna could be one of the girls who had gone missing after the fire.
“She told me to come here. Her name is Jenna Wade—that’s the name she’s using now. And I think she came here earlier this week. I think she’s in danger.”
“What magazine is it you work for again?” he sneered.
“No magazine. Honestly. I may not be here looking for a job, but everything else I’ve told you is true. I’m trying to find Jenna, or Molly, or whoever she is. If I don’t, I’m afraid something bad will happen to her.”
“Right. Well, you find another source for your little story. I’ve got better things to do.”
“Lamar, wait. Please talk to me.”
He whirled and stomped to his truck. Seconds later, the vehicle roared down the all-weather road.
Moby raced up to her, panting heavily; Doobie trailed behind. “Come on, boy. Time to put you up for the night.” She rushed to her cabin, calling the dog to come with her. Once inside, she poured kibble into the dog bowl.
What now? Mandy hadn’t expected Lamar’s reaction. And she couldn’t let it go.
“I’ll be back in a while, Moby. Be good.” Mandy hurried to her rented SUV, hopped in, and headed into town.
She had to catch up with Lamar.
~ Chapter 30 ~
Will
Will called Mandy’s phone one more time, but there was no answer. She was either out of range or she wasn’t taking his calls.
He paced the floor outside the conference room, holding his phone. Finally, he hit the autodial button for Sean.
“Hello, Will,” Sean growled.
“Sean! My God, man. I’ve been trying to reach you. What’s with the disappearing act? Mandy’s gone AWOL looking for Jenna and I’m at my wit’s end. I’m supposed to be in this seminar, but I can’t keep my mind on strategies right now.” Will ran his fingers through his hair and checked the hallway for anyone who might be listening in. “Where are you?”
“Still in Tulsa, but not for long.”
“Where are you going?”
“Can’t say. Not sure this line is secure. All I can say is that there are two hens on the same nest. Surprise, surprise. I’ll have to get back to you after I’ve checked the henhouse to be sure all the chicks are accounted for.”
The line clicked.
Will slid the phone into his coat pocket. Sean’s cryptic message told him two things: Sean was headed to the Wichita Mountains where Mandy and Jenna were. And the case Sean had been working, concerning a forger replicating modern art pieces, was somehow tied in with Jenna’s disappearance.
~ Chapter 31 ~
Mike
A horn blared.
Damn. Mike jerked the steering wheel to get the car back into his lane of the highway.
He’d fallen asleep again. His head hurt from the bullet wound, but he’d not given up or given in. He was going to see this through. They owed him money, and he’d be damned if he’d let them waltz off without paying.
He’d given them everything they’d asked for, all the info on Jenna he could uncover during the few months he’d been at Empire Marketing. He’d done surveillance outside—and inside—her house. He’d followed Jenna in her car, mapped her usual routes, noted her routines. And he’d called nightly to report his findings.
There was nothing more he could have done. The man was not going to stiff him.
He took a sip of coffee from the convenience store cup and cursed. Awful stuff. Cold.
It couldn’t be much further. Dusk hovered over the countryside, casting everything in a golden light that this city boy was not used to seeing. “Country” was not natural as far as he was concerned. Give him pavement and high-rise office buildings any day. Creatures lurked out here on the open countryside.
No scaredy cat, am I? He slapped the dash and resettled in the driver’s seat. This was easy-peasy. He’d be there soon, and tomorrow…
Mandy.
~ Chapter 32 ~
Mandy
Once she reached the outskirts of the tiny town, it wasn’t hard to figure out where Lamar had gone. The sign flashed “The Corral” in red light bulb letters, and an assortment of neon beer signs glowed from the front windows of the old clapboard building. Lamar had parked at the end of the row of cars in front.
Mandy parked beside his truck and stayed in the Trail Blazer. It had been a long time since she’d entered a bar by herself. She didn’t like the way people scoped out newcomers, judging, rating. She’d had the comfort of Will’s presence for two years now, and it seemed odd to be entering a bar without him.
What was she going to do inside? March up to Lamar and demand he tell her about Molly? How likely was he to talk to her in front of his buddies if he wouldn’t do it when the two of them were alone?
Another truck parked beside her. Two cowboys headed for the door. One of them glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. Years ago, she might have been encouraged by that smile, but tonight, it made her feel sleazy and unfaithful.
She decided to stay put and wait for Lamar to come out. Hopefully he wouldn’t stay until closing. She doubted she could keep her eyes open that long.
Mandy’s cell phone had three bars worth of signal. She called Will.
“How are you, honey?” she asked when he answered. Her heart beat faster.
“I’m fine. How are you?” His voice sounded distant, as if he didn’t recognize her voice.
“Are you busy?” In the background someone laughed, dishes and silverware clanked. Was he at the final banquet?
“Yeah.” Now his voice was curt, and the pit of her stomach suddenly hurt.
“I drove into town, can’t get a signal out at Jandafar Hills, so if you’re busy, we’ll have to wait to talk until tomorrow since I’m headed back there soon. Do you want to call me back?”
“Any news?”
“No, still trying to figure out what happened here. I think it involves Jenna’s family, and that Jenna and her sister disappeared after a fire that killed her parents. No one wants to talk about it. They think I’m a crime reporter doing an exposé.”
“Why don’t you tell them the truth?”
She thought about telling him how she’d been run off the road, but that would mean another lecture, and Will would insist she drop this quest to find Jenna. She couldn’t. It was only a matter of time until she figured it out. She would find Jenna.
“I will, tomorrow. Right now, I’m still digging at the truth.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“I’ll call again when I know something. Planning to head back Sunday, if not before.”
“Okay. Later.”
The phone clicked in her ear.
Mandy slipped the phone into her purse. Her heart pounded, and her stomach churned. Will was mad at her.
A man sauntered past her vehicle toward the entrance to the bar. The way he walked, the way he swung his arms, and the way he carried his head reminded her of Mike, but Mike couldn’t be here. He hadn’t known where she was going. But he wasn’t dumb. He could have made it here exactly the way she did. The information about Jandafar Hills was available to anyone who looked for it.
Had Mike come after her? She checked the missed messages list on her phone for a call from him. No messages since she’d left Tulsa yesterday. She had dropped off the face of the earth and no one gave a damn.
If Mike had decided to join her at Jandafar Hills, why hadn’t he let her know he was coming? Wouldn’t he want to meet up with her right away so they could search together? Maybe, she thought, unless he was still angry.
Or maybe the man only resembled Mike.
She slipped out of the SUV, locked the door, and walked to the entrance.
Inside, cigarette smoke hung in the air. A half-dozen men sat at the bar; a few single cowgirls flitted around the tables. In the pool room on the far wall, Lamar cued up the table and broke, scattering balls across the green felt surface.
Mandy scanned the room. Mike sat at a corner table, hands wrapped around a beer bottle.
She weaved between the tables to the man, pausing to study his face only a second before she dropped into the extra chair. “What are you doing here?”
He broke his stare to nod his head at an approaching waitress. “What’ll you have, Mandy?”
“Nothing. Answer, please.”
Mike flicked his hand and the waitress turned away. “I didn’t like being dropped. This is as much my investigation as it is yours.”
“What about your job?”
“What about it?”
“You quit?”
He smiled slyly. “I’m hurt, remember? Head injury. Can’t work, doctor’s orders. Doesn’t mean I can’t drive. Why did you come here without me?” His tone was hard.
“This thing with Jenna is my deal. She’s my friend. You hardly know her. I don’t understand why it meant so much to you to help me, especially after your truck was damaged and you were hurt. You should have been glad for me to continue the investigation alone.”
“Do I have to spell it out for you? You’re denser than I thought.”
She stared at him, and he stared back. He reached across the table and brushed her arm with his fingertips. “I know you and Will are together. Doesn’t matter to me. I’m willing to wait. It’s time you knew how I felt.”
She sat back in her chair. All these months, she’d thought he wasn’t interested in her romantically. Yes, he’d flirted with her endlessly, but he’d never made a pass, never asked her out. Because of Will. He was waiting. Waiting. Wasn’t that like stalking?
“I’m here to help you, Mandy. Will would be here if he loved you. He knows how important Jenna is to you.”
Mandy’s heart began to pound. “He wants to be here. But he has this meeting in Toronto. If he leaves, it may mean his job.”
Mike played with his glass, sliding it around on the thick cardboard coaster. He took a drink and placed the glass back in the exact center of the coaster. “Toronto, huh. Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ve called his cell phone and talked to him. He’s in Toronto.”
“Call his hotel.” Mike’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting there are things you don’t know about Will, like there are things you don’t know about Jenna.”
“And exactly how do you know?”
He tilted his head and smiled for the first time since she’d come into the bar. “Let’s say that while I’ve been waiting, I’ve been investigating Will. I want the best for you, Mandy, and I’m not sure he’s it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“So, you’ve gone from trusting me with important things, relying on me to help when Will won’t, to suddenly not believing me? I’m telling the truth, Mandy. You have your phone with you?”
She lifted her phone.
Mike handed her a slip of paper. “He’s supposed to be staying at the Rex, isn’t he? Here’s the number.”
Mandy hesitated, then punched in the digits. When the operator answered with the hotel name, she asked to be connected to Will’s room. He put her on hold and Mandy waited. When the operator returned to the line, he said, “There is no one by that name registered in the hotel. Could he be sharing a room?”
Stunned, Mandy disconnected. Her insides clenched. How could this be true? Only a few nights ago, Will had talked about moving in together, sharing every part of their lives.
“Are you okay?” Mike asked. He reached across the table for her hand.
Mandy shoved her chair back, bolted out of the bar, and raced to the rented SUV. Her hands quivered as she climbed in and grasped the steering wheel. Will had lied to her. Where was he? What was he doing?
Will had been talking all week about Jenna’s secrets and how it had bothered Sean. But he was as guilty of keeping secrets as Jenna.
~ Chapter 33 ~
Dale
Dale Hardesty stared out the kitchen window at the expanse of grassland and rolling hills outside the ranch house. A golden light touched the earth as the sun sank farther behind the hills, but a headache pounded behind her eyes. The two analgesics she’d taken did not seem to be helping. The last few days, these headaches had become brutal. They’d been horrible today after the woman, Mandy, showed up at Jandafar.
She liked her, that wasn’t the problem. But her suspicion that Mandy wasn’t being entirely truthful about the reason she was here continued to grow stronger.
Max had been suspicious from the moment he met her, but that was not unusual. He didn’t like strangers nosing around. He was overly possessive of her, always had been. He enjoyed their visitors to a point, if they didn’t get too comfortable here, or too friendly.
Her husband knew she needed help for the coming weekend, but she suspected he would not want Mandy to stay on as an employee. She’d seen him look sideways at the woman, when he thought no one was looking. His jaw hardened, and that muscle in his cheek twitched.
His eyes had narrowed.
It was a look she didn’t like to see. It made her afraid. She’d have nightmares tonight, no doubt, or crazy mixed-up dreams of meeting Max in Texas all those years ago, being swept off her feet and married within a month. They’d made a life there, until he decided to come back to Oklahoma. She agreed their home was beautiful. She agreed this was the perfect place to live.
They wanted children, but so far, pregnancy had eluded her. There was still plenty of time, the doctor in Lawton said. Plenty of time, even though something inside her seemed to be saying
that time had run out. She was so tired all of the time, and she kept forgetting things.
She rubbed her head. The MRI last spring had not shown a brain tumor. But she was certain it was the only thing that could explain her partial amnesia, tiredness, and the headaches. She would try to find out later this year how much time she had. Knowing the truth would be a relief.
A gunshot boomed and she jumped, then relaxed her tightened shoulders. It was the television in the downstairs common room. When they had no guests, Max preferred that room’s overstuffed leather chair and ottoman. He’d sit, legs up, smoking a damn cigar until she reminded him the place shouldn’t smell like cigars when they had a no-smoking rule for guests.
Outside, a squirrel caught her attention as it raced across the phone line from the pole to the house. An owl swooped low to the ground. After a mouse, no doubt. Bats flapped around the mercury vapor light, catching mosquitoes and moths.
The screen door slammed. Dale listened. The TV was silent. Max had gone out.
Maybe when he returned, he’d be in a better mood.
~ Chapter 34 ~
Mandy
Someone tapped the passenger window as tears oozed over Mandy’s lower eyelid and down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and shook her head, not willing to let Mike into the car. She didn’t want to discuss this. She had to get her thoughts together. Her heart hurt, every bit as bad as in junior high when Casey Morton had broken up with her.
The tapping continued, more insistent, and when she finally opened her eyes, Lamar, not Mike, peered in at her.
“Open up,” he mouthed.
When she unlocked the passenger door, he scooted in.
“You ran out,” he said, frowning. “What’s wrong? Who’s that guy?”
“What do you care? I got the impression you didn’t want to talk to me about anything.” She glanced in the rear-view mirror at the black smear of mascara beneath her eyes and rubbed them with a tissue.
