The Deadliest Institution Collection

by Holly Copella

  “You’ve got the wrong idea about Billy. Someone could easily say the same thing about you,” she snapped with sharply raised brows. “I mean, what’s more convenient than having me in your motel room? There was a time when others thought you were a child molester.”

  “Now that hurt,” Harlan muttered lowly while staring at her. “You know me better than that.”

  “Yes, I do, but there are those who don’t trust you. Billy has been very accommodating and helpful, so just lay off him, okay?” she remarked.

  Harlan drew a deep breath. “I won’t bring him up anymore.” He stood. “I’m going to get some coffee from the diner. Do you want anything?”

  “No, thank you,” she said softly then watched him leave.

  §

  Sidney thought about her situation while Harlan was gone. She realized she had become as obsessed with the murder as Trisha had, and it nearly cost Trisha her life. It was a dangerous game they’d been playing, and someone was bound to get hurt. But what about Sam? What was his involvement in Emily Fisher’s death? Nothing seemed to indicate he had anything to do with the murder, so why did he want to eliminate Trisha? Who drove the cab? There had to be an accomplice. Her thoughts then strayed to Harlan. After all the years that had passed, her feelings for him hadn’t changed, yet she hadn’t given him any indication of her feelings. She suddenly realized why she avoided relationships all these years. She was still thinking about Harlan. In her mind, she’d built him up to be her idea of the perfect man. A little older, she now realized that fantasy men were never what they seemed, but Harlan was still the man she wanted.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  It was nearly nine o’clock when Sidney decided to join Harlan at the diner. He had walked there an hour ago and still hadn’t returned, possibly because of their disagreement about Billy Randall. She knew she’d cross paths with Harlan somewhere between the motel and the diner. She was determined to tell him how she felt and finally let it all out. She left the motel room and found herself staring at Sam’s Tavern. The lights were out, and the bar was closed possibly for the first time in decades. Sidney rubbed her chilled arms then turned and hurried toward town. Once she reached town, there were some people on the sidewalks, but the night was a little too cool to sit on their porches.

  She approached the diner, which was a little busier since Sam’s was closed, and looked in the window before entering. Sidney saw Harlan sitting at the counter with Mrs. Lamont occupying the seat beside him. Mrs. Lamont threw her head back and laughed at something he’d said then placed her flirty hand on his lower arm. When she saw Harlan smile in reaction, Sidney immediately frowned. She couldn’t believe the nerve of Mrs. Lamont. She couldn’t believe Harlan was enjoying the flirting of the shameless, married woman. Sidney stood motionless while watching them. She had half a nerve to go in there and fight for the man she wanted. She suddenly felt defeated. If Harlan had any feelings at all for her, he would have made a move by now. She no longer saw the point in pursuing him. At least that explained why he hadn’t returned to the motel.

  As she turned and headed back toward the motel, Sidney decided she would go to Trisha’s house and see if her mother would allow her to spend the night there. She didn’t want to return to her parents’ house, not after the scene she had made earlier, and she wasn’t about to stay in Harlan’s room another night either. He’d obviously found a woman more his speed anyway.

  “Sidney,” came a familiar male voice.

  Sidney turned to her right and saw Mr. Taylor standing by his front door. He waved for her to join him. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone, but she reluctantly walked onto his porch and joined him.

  “Heard about Trisha,” he announced with a look of concern on his wrinkled, sagging face. “Is she okay?”

  It would seem Trisha had a place in more hearts than Sidney had given the town credit. She forced a tiny smile. “She’s holding her own,” she replied with optimism. “She’ll have to stay in the hospital a couple of days.”

  He shook his head vigorously. “That son-of-a-bitch Sam. I’m glad the bastard’s dead,” Mr. Taylor nearly shouted. “Never would’ve believed he’d do such a thing. I suppose they’ve closed the tavern.”

  Sidney nodded.

  “Huh,” he snorted lowly. “Those old boozers will have to go somewhere else for a while. Malcolm will be heartbroken. That was his home away from home. Swear that man didn’t have a life. Wife found out he was screwing around with that teacher who was murdered.”

  Sidney studied Mr. Taylor. It seemed surprising his mind was so sharp, despite his outward appearance. “What do you remember about Emily Fisher’s death?”

  He lifted a sagging brow and stared at her. “I remember I nearly hit that biker fella she’d been dating. He was fleeing the scene, so they said.”

  “We witnessed him running away from her body,” Sidney added as she insecurely placed her hands in her pockets.

  “Ah,” he remarked and waved her off with irritation. “I don’t believe the biker fella killed her.”

  Sidney tilted her head with surprise. “You don’t?”

  “Not after what happened today,” he boldly announced. “Trisha kept telling me that biker fella didn’t do it. I told her she was young and foolish. But on the day that Fisher woman was killed, I remember seeing Sam speeding through town as if he caught the devil.”

  “Is there something unusual about that?” Sidney asked without understanding his point.

  “Sam never drove through town. If he ever came this way, he’d walk,” he insisted. “Something possessed him to get somewhere in a hurry. I doubt that he stopped at the diner. He’d already been serving food at the tavern for nearly a year. Sides, he’d walk if that were the case.”

  “Around what time do you think you saw him?” Sidney asked then wondered if that was too much to expect him to remember after eight years.

  “Don’t remember the time anymore, but I was getting ready to leave for my granddaughter’s,” he informed her. “She’d just had a baby boy a week earlier. That’s when I saw Sam speeding past. About twenty minutes later, I nearly hit that biker fella on Cressman Road.”

  Sidney pondered his comment for several minutes while Mr. Taylor stared at her. “That would’ve given him enough time to be in the woods while Emily was alone, but if he had killed her, why would he drive to town to establish his alibi?”

  “Mrs. Randall has been a family friend for years,” Mr. Taylor responded to her question, nearly startling her.

  Sidney snapped out of her trance like state and looked at the elderly man before her. “So Mrs. Randall had said, but Mrs. Randall wasn’t home that afternoon, so he couldn’t have gotten his alibi from her.” Sidney’s eyes then narrowed as she thought about her conversation with Mrs. Randall in the library. “I wonder if she suspected Sam had something to do with the murder.”

  “If you talk to her long enough,” Mr. Taylor said simply, “she’ll eventually tell you everything she knows. That biddy doesn’t know how to shut up.”

  Sidney then looked to her right and saw Harlan leaving the diner. She held her breath a moment then saw him walk in the opposite direction from the motel. Sidney wondered where he was going. He wasn’t even heading in the right direction for Mrs. Lamont’s house. She looked back at Mr. Taylor and smiled.

  “Thanks for your help, Mr. Taylor,” she announced then hurried off the porch and followed Harlan from a safe distance.

  When he passed Mrs. Cooper’s house and entered the woods, Sidney became concerned. She kept her distance and remained hidden within the darkness of the woods. Harlan approached the stone bridge. Sidney could barely see him from where she stood, but she didn’t dare get any closer. A man appeared from the other side of the bridge. She couldn’t see who it was, but he was slightly larger than Harlan. It could have been her father for all she knew, though she doubted it. They spoke too softly for her to hear. Sidney wondered what he was up to. Why was he meeting people her
e this time of night? She decided it wasn’t a good idea to be where she was.

  She turned and hurried out of the woods before she was seen. Sidney walked at a fast pace back to the motel. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Should she continue with her original plan and go to Trisha’s house? Or should she play it cool and remain in the room until Harlan returned? A small part of her wondered if Harlan was connected with Trisha’s disappearance. She shamed herself for even thinking such a thing, but he had left the bridge with the knowledge of Trisha’s location. He was also back in enough time to have gone to the library, removed Trisha with Sam’s help, and arrive for their meeting by the bridge. He was also in town the night Trisha received the death threat.

  Sidney raked her fingers through her hair then shook her head. “No, I will not believe for one minute he had anything to do with it,” Sidney heard herself say aloud as she approached the motel room.

  Had he and Sam been in on it together, Sam would have said something in the cellar of the old house. They fought against each other. Even if they had turned on each other, something would have been said; she was almost positive. Sidney entered Harlan’s room and saw Billy standing by the dresser looking at the notebook that lay on it. Sidney was momentarily startled to see him in Harlan’s room.

  “Billy, what are you doing here?” she asked while eying him with surprise.

  Billy set the notebook down and turned to face her with a look of concern. “I was looking for you. Your mother said you fought with your father, so you came here with Harlan. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, of course,” she replied but didn’t move from the doorway. “You can’t stay here. If Harlan finds you here, he’ll flip.”

  “I’m not afraid of him,” Billy snapped lowly. “If you need a place to stay, you can stay at my house. I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone with him. You shouldn’t put so much trust into him.”

  Sidney folded her arms across her chest. “You think I have a lot of reason to trust you?”

  He suddenly turned defensive and cocked his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I heard Harlan’s version of what happened outside Sam’s Tavern with that girl,” she remarked while glaring at him. “Someone’s been lying to me.”

  Billy frowned and shook his head. “I wouldn’t lie to you. If you start trusting him, you’re going to get hurt. Don’t you know what older men want with younger women? He’s just going to use you until he gets his way, then he’ll discard you and go home. You’re smarter than that, Sidney.”

  She nodded her head and raised her brows. “You said it. Yes, I am smarter than that,” she informed him. “I think I can deal with Harlan. I really don’t want him to find you here, so would you please leave?”

  Billy nodded toward the notebook on the dresser. “You’re investigating the murder of Miss Fisher, aren’t you?” he practically demanded. “This isn’t some game, Sidney. If he was involved, as half this town thinks he was, you could be putting your life in jeopardy. I don’t want to see anything happen to you. If you use a man like Harlan, he'll hurt you.”

  Sidney rolled her eyes and groaned. “Look, I know what I’m doing. I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I visit Trisha.”

  Billy’s eyes strayed past her. Sidney turned around and saw Harlan standing behind her. She jumped with alarm then nervously ran her fingers through her hair. Harlan glared at Billy with narrow eyes.

  “What the hell are you doing in my room?” Harlan growled lowly.

  Billy folded his arms across his chest and returned the stare. “I was making sure Sidney was all right.”

  Harlan snorted a laugh and raised a cocky brow. “Of course she’s all right,” he snapped. “She’s with me, not you.”

  “I don’t know what lies you’ve been telling her, but I won’t tolerate it,” Billy said with anger in his voice. “This entire town knows what sort of monster you are.”

  “Monster?” Harlan growled. “What an interesting choice of words. Is that what that girl called you when you attacked her in your car?”

  Billy’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Harlan, but it had better stop.”

  “Get out of my room,” Harlan snarled. “Or I’ll throw you out.”

  Billy looked at Sidney then approached the door and Harlan. Billy was at least four inches taller than Harlan, ten years younger, and built more muscular. Harlan showed no fear and didn’t take his eyes off him.

  “If I hear you’ve harmed Sidney in any way, I’ll make you sorry,” Billy snapped coldly.

  “She’s not being forced to stay,” Harlan remarked lowly. “She can leave if she wants to.”

  Billy glanced back at Sidney with a gentle look in his eyes. “You don’t need him, Sidney. Whatever you’re looking for, I can help you find it.”

  Sidney held her breath, looked at Harlan, then back to Billy. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m staying here.”

  Billy nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He glared at Harlan then left the motel room.

  Harlan slammed the door behind him then locked it. When he turned around, his expression hadn’t softened.

  “So what was that conversation about?” he asked and gave her a cold stare.

  Sidney raised a curious brow. “What conversation?”

  “The part about you using me,” Harlan snapped with irritation. “What’s going on between you two? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  Her mouth opened with surprise. “There’s nothing between Billy and me. And I’m not keeping things from you.”

  “Why would you be using me?” he demanded to know.

  Sidney groaned and shook her head. “He thinks I’m using you to uncover the truth behind Emily Fisher’s murder. He came up with that assumption all on his own.”

  “If the two of you are conspiring, I think I have a right to know,” he snapped hotly.

  Sidney rolled her eyes and walked across the room. “We’re not conspiring against you, Harlan,” she snapped then spun around halfway across the room. “I have little involvement with Billy. You know just as much as I do. What’s your problem anyway?”

  “My problem?” Harlan launched back with wide eyes. “I’ve dropped everything to come back here and keep you from getting yourself killed. I was nearly killed by a disgruntled bartender, and a house almost fell on top of me. We won’t even discuss the little matter of the way I’ve been treated by your father. I’m starting to question my reasons for coming here in the first place. I must have been bloody mad to talk myself into it!”

  “I didn’t force you to come, Harlan,” she snapped then held her breath. She stared at him for a long moment. Her expression lightened, and she sighed softly. “But I was grateful that you had. I don’t want to fight with you.” She walked toward him and stopped a couple of feet away. “If you think there has to be sides taken, then I’m on your side. I thought that was rather obvious.” She stared into his eyes. “I don’t get it, Harlan. I’ve been defending you all along. Why have you stopped trusting me?”

  Harlan looked away and scratched his bearded chin. “I haven’t stopped trusting you. It’s just--” He held his breath then sighed. “It’s been a long day. Let’s just forget it, okay?”

  Sidney had to agree with that. If the day had been any more traumatic, she’d be on Thorazine. “Would you like me to leave? I could go to Trisha’s house. Her mother wouldn’t mind,” Sidney said softly.

  Harlan looked back at her and searched her eyes with a strange tenderness. “No, don’t go,” he almost whispered. He moved toward her and pulled her against him. “I’m sorry, Sidney. I didn’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.”

  Sidney felt her heart skip a beat then pound harshly. She placed her arms around his neck and returned the embrace. She sighed softly and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I haven’t exactly been the most pleasant person this past week either,” she gently replied.

  �
��I think we both need some sleep and pretend this day never happened,” he said gently.

  “No,” she said with a sigh. “I just needed a hug.”

  Harlan laughed softly. “Me too.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Sidney woke the next morning and realized that Harlan had snuggled against her from behind sometime during the night. His left arm securely clung to her waist, and his body was spooned against hers, allowing her to feel his entire body pressed against her from behind. She couldn’t deny she enjoyed the way he felt against her. She placed her left hand on his arm and gently caressed it. Her body ached with desire. He stirred slightly allowing his hips to grind against her buttocks. She could feel his morning desire, which only increased the dull ache throughout her body. His mouth touched her neck, and he gently kissed her. She tensed slightly and felt her heartbeat quicken. He abruptly stopped, possibly having awoken from his erotic dream.

  “Forgive me, Sidney. I--I didn’t mean to--” He pulled away and jumped from the bed. “Sorry.”

  Harlan hurried into the bathroom and shut the door before she had a chance to protest. Sidney groaned while rolling onto her back and pulled the pillow over her head. She heard the shower running a couple of seconds later. Had he initiated, she would have made love to him without a second thought. Perhaps it was better this way. Once the investigation was over, he’d return to California, and she’d have to morn losing him all over again. Sadly, she still couldn’t shake the overwhelming desire he’d stirred within her.

  §

  Harlan and Sidney stopped by the diner for breakfast that morning. They sat in one of the empty booths with an awkward silence between them. Mary Allister approached their table with a look of relief on her face.

  “Oh, Sidney, I’m so glad you stopped here this morning,” she announced with a pleasant smile. “Trisha was talking last night. She was still in and out, but at least she knew what was happening around her.”