Chapter Twenty-five
Sidney drove her rental car into the library parking lot after a very brief, but nerve-racking drive. Harlan and Sidney got out of the car and walked around the side of the building to the main entrance. The thunder rumbled loudly nearby causing both to look to the dark sky. Harlan tried the front door, but it was locked. It was five minutes before eight o’clock. Sidney leaned against the railing, folded her arms across her chest, and couldn’t help saying what was on her mind.
“Don’t you think it’s time you told me what happened between you and my father?” she demanded to know.
“It’s not something I really want to talk about,” he replied with an uneasy look. “I’ll tell you sometime, okay?”
Sidney glared at him with some anger.
He smiled warmly then laughed at her. “Come on, love. Don’t look at me like that. Show a little trust here,” he announced. “I’m not the enemy.”
Sidney studied his handsome features and felt her cold heart melt. She couldn’t help wanting him despite her suspicions. Perhaps she didn’t have a problem with men after all. What was it about him that captivated her so? She again raised her defenses and placed her hands on the railing behind her.
“You want me to trust you, yet you won’t explain the things I need to know,” she said coldly.
“A little blind faith never hurt,” he replied gently.
“A little blind faith can get a girl killed,” she snapped then tilted her head and raised her brows suspiciously. “Last night Trisha received a death threat. The phone call was made from the pay phone next to the high school.”
Harlan stared at her a long moment with a concerned look in his eyes. “Across the street from the motel?” he asked with a surprised look.
Sidney raised her brows and nodded her head. “Think you might be willing to work with me a little here?”
Harlan drew a deep, nervous breath then shook his head. “I didn’t threaten Trisha. I don’t even know Trisha well enough to want her dead.”
“This isn’t a joke, Harlan,” she snapped. “Someone is making death threats. It must mean we’re on to something.”
“I know it’s not a joke,” he retorted lowly. “I also don’t like the way suspicion always seems to point back to me. It’s like this town is cursed or something.”
“Just be honest with me,” she said with a soft sigh. “Tell me what I want to know.”
Harlan stared at her a long moment then looked at his watch. “I thought you said you were meeting her by eight?”
He turned toward the door and knocked with the old, brass knocker. Sidney groaned and shook her head. He’d never tell her what she wanted to know. He was very good at changing subjects in order to keep her in the dark.
“She won’t hear you,” she informed him. “She works in the basement archives.”
“Is there another door?” he asked while giving her a curious look.
“There’s a back door near the basement. She might hear you knock on that one,” Sidney replied.
Harlan walked down the steps and headed around back with Sidney following. They approached the back door near what used to be the old garage. Harlan turned the knob.
“It’s locked,” Sidney replied with a smug smile. “She locked all the doors at closing.”
The door opened. Harlan looked at her with a raised brow. “She forgot one.”
Sidney became alarmed and bolted into the library ahead of him. The basement lights were still on, indicating Trisha hadn’t left. Sidney hurried toward the basement steps. Harlan grabbed her arm just before she reached the steps and pulled her back, proceeding down the steps before her. Sidney hurried behind him and strained to look over his shoulder. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Sidney slipped past him in the direction of Trisha’s desk. Harlan once more grabbed her arm and forced her behind him as he walked down the aisle. They reached Trisha’s desk, but she wasn’t there. The computer monitor was turned off.
Sidney looked around the basement with some concern. “Where is she?” she asked more to herself.
“I’ll check upstairs,” Harlan announced then gave her a firm stare. “Wait here.”
Sidney watched him leave then walked around the desk and collapsed into the chair with some confusion. She moved a couple of papers then noticed a plain envelope with her name typed on it. Sidney opened the envelope, removed the folded paper, and read the typed note aloud. ‘Sidney, I can’t handle the pressure anymore. Please don’t be disappointed. I’ll call when I reach my destination. Trisha.’ Sidney stared at the typed note as horror crossed her face. She leaped up from the chair.
“Harlan!”
Only a minute passed before she heard thundering feet running down the old steps. Harlan rushed across the basement and stopped before the desk while scanning the area.
“What is it? What happened?” He then looked back at her with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
She handed him the short, typed note. He briefly read the note then lowered the paper and looked back at Sidney.
“She left town?” he asked with surprise.
Sidney shook her head and remained frightened for her friend. “I’m positive she didn’t. Look at the ‘H’s’ in that note,” she said while pointing at the paper. “This was typed on the same machine I used to write that poem to you.”
Harlan studied the note more carefully then looked back at her. “What’s so odd about that?”
“That particular typewriter is at the high school,” she replied firmly. “Trisha didn’t type this.”
“You’re telling me someone typed this letter at the school?” he asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Something’s happened to her, Harlan,” Sidney gasped softly. “She’s been abducted or--”
Harlan set the paper down. “I think it’s time we called the police.”
“Sheriff Drukard? Do you really think he’s going to do anything about this?” she practically demanded. “He’d be thrilled if he thinks she’s gone. Besides, once he sees this letter, he’ll deduct that she left town with no further investigation.”
Harlan stared at her in silence for a long, uncomfortable moment. Sidney slowly sat in the chair and placed her head in her hand.
“I’ll search the library in case she’s here somewhere,” Harlan said softly then left the basement.
Sidney ran her fingers through her hair and stared at the note. She knew Trisha hadn’t left town. Earlier she vowed she’d never leave her home. There was no sign of a struggle and nothing to indicate a forced entry. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there before she heard Harlan calling her from upstairs. Sidney bolted from the chair, grabbed the note, and ran up the steps. She found him in the front area with most of the non-fiction books and the checkout desk.
Harlan stood before a typewriter near the desk and inserted a piece of paper. He typed a couple of words then sighed softly. “This was the typewriter used to type that letter. The school must have donated the typewriter to the library. ”
Sidney stood beside him and noted the position of the ‘H’. She frowned and shook her head. “No. I’m telling you, Trisha didn’t type this,” she insisted. “She never left town, leastwise, not willingly.”
“I believe you,” Harlan announced simply and looked at her. “Why would she come up here to type a letter then go back downstairs to leave it on her desk, when she has a perfectly good computer and printer downstairs? It would have been far more convenient to type it on the computer.”
Sidney studied Harlan. “Why bother typing a short note at all?” she asked sternly. “The only reason it wasn’t handwritten is because she didn’t leave it in the first place.” She stared at him with concern. “We have to find her Harlan. She may be in serious danger.”
As Harlan stared at Sidney, his eyes narrowed in thought. “Put that note in your pocket,” he said firmly.
“Why?” she asked.
“You said the sheriff won’t inve
stigate her disappearance as long as that note is here, so we’ll just get rid of the note. We’ll call the sheriff and report her missing.”
“That won’t work,” Sidney snapped irritably. “He’s not going to do anything about it for at least twenty-four hours. I know he’ll pass it off as her taking a walk or going out somewhere. He doesn’t care much for either of us.”
“Sounds like he wouldn’t be able to find her even if he wanted to,” Harlan replied and raked his fingers through his hair. He considered their next move then sighed. “Just hold onto that note. If she had been abducted, it’s obvious we’re supposed to believe she left on her own free will. Whoever took her may be hesitant to kill her if the town thinks she’s missing.”
Sidney nervously folded the note and stuck it in her jacket pocket. “What are we going to do?” she said softly with a pleading look in her eyes. “How can we find her?”
Harlan appeared to sink deep in thought then looked at Sidney. “Call her house,” he instructed. “Make sure she didn’t go home early.”
“The door was unlocked,” Sidney insisted. “She wouldn’t leave without locking up. It’s her job.”
“Humor me,” he remarked.
Sidney nodded then approached the phone on the desk and dialed Trisha’s number. Mary answered on the second ring. Sidney jumped with anticipation.
“Hello, Mrs. Allister? Is Trisha there?”
“No, Sidney,” Mary replied from the other end. “She’s working late tonight. I’m expecting her home soon.”
“Would you ask her to call me when she gets in? It’s rather important,” Sidney said while fidgeting. They exchanged goodbyes and Sidney hung up the phone. She fidgeted nervously while eyeing Harlan. “She’s going to be a wreck when Trisha doesn’t show up tonight.”
“We can’t worry about her mother right now. If Trisha had actually left town, I’m sure she’d notify her mother as well. By tomorrow morning, she’ll call the police,” Harlan said simply. “Until then, we’ll just have to review all the people she’d discussed the murder within recent days. We’ll go back to the motel. You have to tell me everything that’s happened since you arrived in town. First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll search her room. There could be an answer there.”
“She kept a personal journal,” Sidney interjected with a glimmer of hope.
“That could prove useful,” he replied, seeming tense himself. “I think we should go.”
They left the library, locking the door behind them. It had started to rain quite heavily while they were inside. They ran to Sidney’s car and jumped inside. Sidney fumbled with her keys and started the car with trembling hands. She took a moment to collect her emotions then pulled away from the library and drove to the motel. Sidney pulled into the motel parking lot and stopped near the rows of rooms. Harlan gave her a puzzled look.
“Aren’t you going to park?” he asked curiously.
She looked at him with some concern. “If my father sees my car parked outside the motel, he’ll tear the place down looking for me.”
Harlan rolled his eyes and groaned. “Your father can’t dictate how you live your life forever. Either you want my help or you don’t.”
Sidney bit her lip then looked to Sam’s just down the road. “I’ll park my car there and walk back.”
Harlan looked out the window at Sam’s Tavern through the pouring rain then looked back at her. “Daft bird. You’re going to be soaked.”
“Just get out,” she snapped lowly. “I’m not afraid of a little rain.”
“No, just your father,” he replied and opened the car door. “Room seven.”
Sidney waited for Harlan to move away from her car before she pulled back onto the road. She parked her car in Sam’s parking lot closest to the motel and ran the entire way. She approached room seven and knocked on the door. She was completely soaked from her brief run through the rain. Even the insides of her shoes were wet. Harlan opened the door and shook his head while staring at her. He then handed her the towel in his hand. She accepted the towel and entered the room with some apprehension. He closed the door behind her as she dried her hair and face.
“I’ll get you something to change into,” he remarked simply and removed one of his shirts from his suitcase. He handed her the shirt. “Here. At least it’s dry.”
Sidney wasn’t about to argue with him. She took the shirt into the bathroom.
§
Sidney entered the bedroom from the bathroom while drying her hair. Harlan sat on the bed with his feet extended and crossed at the ankle while scribbling something on a notepad. Sidney didn’t notice any chairs in the room, forcing her to join him on the bed. She put aside her insecurities and sat uncomfortably on the bed, tucking her legs beneath her. She felt a little less than comfortable in just his shirt and her underwear in his motel room despite that he didn’t even look at her.
“I need a complete list of everyone the two of you spoke with since you arrived in town,” he informed her without interrupting his writing.
Sidney shifted nervously. “Uh, well, we talked to you first. Then there was Paul Malcolm, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Randall, Billy Randall, Denny Phillips, and Sheriff Drukard.”
He looked up from his notepad. “And with whom did Trisha discuss her views?”
Sidney groaned and rolled her eyes. “Just about the entire town knew her view on the murder. Trisha’s always been very outspoken,” she informed him. “She created quite a reputation lately, the way I’m to understand it.”
“Did she upset many people?”
“Just about everyone,” she replied then frowned. “Even my father was irritated by her recent behavior.”
“That doesn’t narrow the field any,” he remarked while sighing as he tapped his pen on the pad. “Do you recall any one person being more upset than the others?”
“Denny was the most irrational. They got into a heated debate about the murder while we were at Sam’s Tavern,” Sidney announced. “It was so bad, Trisha and I left early.”
“Who’s Denny?”
“Billy Randall’s friend from high school.”
Harlan rolled his eyes then sighed. “What about Paul Malcolm?”
“I did most of the talking,” Sidney replied. Her eyes then widened. “But I remember Trisha was talking with him about something before I joined them in his classroom. I think they were arguing. I heard she and Paul Malcolm were on very bad terms. Do you think he was holding a grudge?”
“It seems too convenient an answer,” he replied. “But it’ll be a good place to start after we search Trisha’s room. In the meantime, where do you suppose he could stash a grown woman without causing suspicion?”
Sidney leaned on her elbow and thought about what he said. “I’m not sure. I don’t even know where he lives,” she announced. “He and his wife divorced, so he obviously moved.”
Harlan continued to write on his notepad. “I’ll look into that tomorrow.”
They talked straight into the early hours of the morning. Sidney made herself comfortable and rubbed her tired eyes while Harlan continued to talk. His sexy voice was low and comforting. She closed her eyes only a moment to rest them.
Chapter Twenty-six
Sidney tossed beneath the covers and clutched the sheets just before she cried out, shooting upward in the bed. Her heart pounded from her nightmare. She held her chest while breathing heavily and stared into the darkness of the motel room. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was.
“Sidney?” came Harlan’s tired, concerned voice. “Are you all right?”
“No,” she gasped while feeling slightly disoriented then trembled. “I had a terrible dream that Trisha was dead.”
Harlan sat up and placed his arms around her, comforting her. “We’re going to find her,” he said gently as he pulled her against his warm body.
Sidney turned, sank against his bare chest while fighting her tears then lost control, and sobbed softly. Harlan gently rubbed her back and held her h
ead to his chest. Sidney finally relaxed in his arms and sniffed.
“What if she’s dead?” she whispered.
“Don’t think like that,” he said sternly. “Whoever took her went through a lot of trouble to make it look as if she ran away. That tells me there’s a strong possibility she’s still alive.”
“I’m scared,” she said softly into his chest.
He gently rocked her while rubbing her back. “We’ll tear this town apart if we must,” he informed her firmly. “But you won’t be any good to Trisha or me if you don’t get some rest.”
Sidney sniffed once more. “Promise me you won’t leave me,” she whispered.
He groaned as his arms tightened around her. “I’m not going anywhere, Sidney. I’ll see you through this, I promise,” he said gently. “Will you get some sleep?”
She nodded and nuzzled his bare chest, smelling the fading scent of his cologne. At that moment, she realized the intimacy of their moment together. Despite the ache in her body for him, she couldn’t get Trisha off her mind, unable to shake the horrible dream. Harlan lay back down and took her with him. Sidney clung to him like a security blanket as he pulled the covers over them. He held her against him until she finally drifted back to sleep.
§
Harlan woke Sidney at seven o’clock the next morning. She stirred tiredly and looked at him where he sat on the edge of the bed, freshly showered and dressed, as he brushed the hair from her face.
“It’s time to get started,” he informed her.
Sidney sat up and raked her fingers through her mussed hair. “I should go home for some dry clothing.”
“You can borrow a pair of my shorts,” he remarked simply. “I want to talk to Trisha’s mother right away. You can go to your house afterward and change.”
Sidney nodded then gave him a curious look. “Do I have time to take a shower?”
“Sure, you have time to take a shower. Where are your car keys? I’ll get some breakfast for us at Sam’s and bring your car back with me,” he announced simply.
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