There was a small flare of recognition in his features at the use of the word home. There was a part of her that would always recognize Blyth Lake as her home, but facing these childhood memories made her want to run away from her past and never return.
“You’re doing it again. I want an answer.”
Shae could see his confusion. It wasn’t fair to him that she was harboring resentment for a contrived slight she had rationalized for her own purposes.
“Jace, I—”
“Ms. Irwin?”
Jace thinned his lips and crossed his arms at the interruption. His reaction told her that he wasn’t letting this conversation go, but it did buy her some time.
“I’m Detective Kendrick. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“You, as well,” Shae replied, holding out an arm. The detective had a firm handshake and didn’t loosen his grip because she was a woman. She liked him already. “I’d heard that you were conducting a search of Jace’s property. I hope you don’t mind me being here.”
“I’ll be honest,” Detective Kendrick shared as he looked around the area. “I’m grasping at straws. We’ve hit a dead end with the investigation.”
“I’m aware that DNA evidence takes a few weeks.” Shae was grateful she’d taken the time to apply her makeup and change her clothes. It made dealing with the unpleasantness of this situation bearable. “Is there a chance something will surface from Whitney’s vehicle? Or her father’s house?”
“Anything is possible, although I’m not holding out hope.”
Detective Kendrick’s tone told her all she needed to know about his conviction on the forensics of the case. This killer had gotten away with abducting and murdering girls for twelve years—maybe longer. He didn’t get that way because he was careless or left physical evidence laying around to be found.
“I’d still like to meet with you this afternoon to go over some of the accounts the night your sister went missing to see if there are any discrepancies.” The detective was already being called away by a technician near the barn. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.”
Shae turned to continue walking toward the house where she and Jace had left the others when he caught her hand. The heat from his touch startled her, seeing as they’d both been walking in the sunshine. A part of her wanted to grab hold and soak in his warmth, but she instinctively pulled away.
“Are you upset with me because I went to boot camp that weekend? Shae, I’d already delayed my departure once due to illness. I couldn’t—”
“It’s not because of that.”
“So there is a reason you have a hard time looking me in the eye every time we see each other.”
Damn it. He’d gotten past her defenses. She scrambled for a way to give an answer without the outcome being one of embarrassment, but she came up empty. Where were all the techniques she’d learned in her profession over the years?
Shae figured sitting in the grass wasn’t the smartest thing to do while wearing white pants, but she needed some support while baring her soul. Besides, the view of the small pond gave her something to look at instead of his piercing blue eyes.
“You wouldn’t know that Emma and I argued the day she went missing.”
Jace had yet to join her on the ground, but she could sense that he’d gone still. He most likely wasn’t expecting her to open with that statement, but she only wanted to say this once.
“I argue with my brothers and sister all the time.” Jace lowered his large frame down beside her, though he gave her some space. She didn’t feel crowded, but instead secure. She’d analyze why later. “They know I love them just the same.”
“Emma said she hated me.” The slice of pain to Shae’s heart every time she replayed those words in her head never lost its power. “I could hear her and Mom arguing in the kitchen over who was getting the car that night. I was the oldest and had first right of refusal.”
Shae drew her knees up to her chest, hoping to ease the throbbing ache in her chest.
“You were already in college.” Jace raised one knee to rest his forearm on as he stared out over the water. She breathed a little easier knowing he wasn’t observing her reactions. “I remember you and Stephanie complaining about not being allowed a car on campus your freshman year.”
“It’s amazing what teenagers believe to be the worst of times, isn’t it?” Shae’s protected view of the world had been ripped away in a brutal fashion. “Emma was upset I was using the car that night, because I’d had it the day before. It was her turn, according to her understanding of our deal with Mom.”
“You’re a psychologist, right? I don’t need to tell you that playing the what-if game always produces nothing but losers. It’s worse than gambling with my brother.”
“I’m a psychiatrist, actually,” Shae replied, honored by the success she’d achieved over the years. It was also the reason she’d come so far in accepting a life without her sister. That didn’t mean she wasn’t without emotional scars. “I try to stay away from the what-if game, but sometimes the draw is like the gravitational pull of the moon, shifting tides and the like.”
“Wait. You came to the party that Nick threw for me that night.”
Jace connected the dots, but there was still some left dangling in that maze of tangled emotions. She might as well pick up the pen for him and map it out.
“I came to see you. Don’t you understand?” Shae let her words hang in the air, hoping she wouldn’t have to explain herself further. They were too far from the water to see his reflection. She didn’t have the courage to look at him. She’d seen enough pity on people’s faces to last a lifetime. “I could have easily hitched a ride with Stephanie and let Emma have the car, but I was hoping to stay longer than that night.”
There. The professional side of her was very proud of the way she’d faced her past. Now all she had to do was push past this awkwardness so that the issue was no longer between them. The knot in her chest loosened when he didn’t comment, giving her a chance to explain the rest.
“It’s not fair, but all I see is guilt when I look at you.” Shae bravely snuck a glance his way, testing her theory. “I let a high school crush prevent me from being a good sister. She would have been safe. And yes, I know all the arguments about how unhealthy it is to place blame on myself. Trust me, I’ve had years of therapy to see the facts clearly. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to take that advice. In fact, it makes it harder.”
They sat in silence, though Shae found it comforting. Jace didn’t try to make it better, nor did he say her emotions were unfounded, even though they were. She understood that in her mind, but emotionally it was a different story altogether. She glanced down when his hand found hers.
Distant sounds from the barn floated over the pond. The monotonous noise was disturbingly soothing. It meant that the police were actively looking for her sister’s body.
“I understand Emma’s gone.” Shae wasn’t sure why she said those words aloud. Jace had been keeping her company with no judgment as the minutes passed into hours. She wasn’t even sure what time it was, but Brynn had left a while back. His fingers were still laced with hers in a comforting embrace. “I’d like to see her properly buried, though. I want to give her peace.”
“Then that’s what we’ll strive to do.” Jace unfolded his large frame, never letting go of her hand. He helped her off the ground, and that was when she realized he did have something to say. He’d just been waiting for the right moment. “I’m sorry you feel guilt when you look at me. I’d like to change that, if possible.”
Shae wasn’t sure what to say to his request, because it wasn’t something she was expecting to hear. He might very well be asking her for the impossible. Unfortunately, she wasn’t given the time to answer before chaos erupted.
“We’ve got company,” Lance shouted, his voice carrying easily over the distance.
Jace led the way, still maintaining a hold on her hand. They quickly walked around the pond,
bypassing the back of the house and a couple of the state’s technicians. It wasn’t until they’d rounded the corner that Lance’s warning finally made sense.
Two media crews were driving up the hard-packed limestone driveway, leaving a trail of white dust in their wake.
“So much for keeping this quiet,” Jace muttered, finally letting go of her hand as he forged forward to deal with what was sure to be the six o’clock news. “Shae, stay out of sight. Noah, call Deputy Warner and tell him I’ve got some trespassers…”
Shae stayed back and couldn’t stop the painful memories from washing over her once again. The stress of the unwanted attention twelve years ago never truly went away. Even to this day she still got inquiries from journalists or authors who were pining for the next bestseller.
She wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly cold now that she was in the shadow of the house. Only she feared it wasn’t from the lack of sun. Jace’s touch had unexpectedly given her a sense of security she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jace ended up spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon running off unwanted reporters from his property. It was incredible the way they’d just barged onto private land and parked wherever they wanted. They asked a litany of questions about the search being conducted on his property in connection to the investigation. He informed them they weren’t welcome, and that they would have to move to the road where his property line ended.
One of the crews had actually started to drive stakes into the ground for a tent by the time Jace had got over to their location and asked them to leave. Others pointed to those who hadn’t moved and had the audacity to say they weren’t leaving until everyone else had. He’d had to explain to them in minute detail that once the police arrived he would press charges on anyone he told to vacate and hadn’t. Thankfully, that got them moving.
Even after the initial mess, two of the crews had launched drones with cameras to fly over the property. The police had told Jace that they couldn’t do anything about the drones unless they flew directly over groups of people or below one hundred feet. Apparently, an Ohio Court of Appeals had already determined that a land owner only controlled that much airspace over their own land. Anything above that height was public, and therefore, controlled by the FAA.
By the time Jace had talked to the authorities about enforcing those rules, the drones had already run out of batteries and the crews had put them away. It never escaped his attention for a moment that his residence was no doubt going to be front page in tomorrow’s paper. In fact, he suspected that most of the news networks statewide would run a feature on the latest developments in their series covering the local murders and disappearances. The only thing he’d managed to successfully do was keep Shae’s presence hidden from prying eyes. Lance had eventually driven her into town without anyone taking notice.
That last option had left her vehicle at Jace’s house, but that was better than the reporters getting a hold of her and demanding a statement. It was a given that Shae would ultimately be cornered, especially after one of the reporters supposedly ran all of the plates on the vehicles near the property. No one said those bloodsuckers didn’t do their homework. That didn’t mean her presence being announced couldn’t be on her timetable. The vultures could wait.
“I would suggest grabbing a sleeping bag from Dad’s place and staying at your house tonight,” Lance advised after he’d taken a drink out of the water bottle he’d swiped from behind the bar. They were all gathered around a table in the corner of Tiny’s Cavern, with the exception of Shae. She was upstairs being interviewed by Detective Kendrick. “I’ve got a twelve-gauge and some shells in the truck. I’ll also give you the name and number of the security company Noah and I used to install our systems. Remember, I even had a break-in prior to my system being installed. A photojournalist broke in to get some sexy snaps of my furnace.”
“Trust us, you’ll need it.” Noah tossed a peanut shell back into the bowl with a scowl. “At least your walls didn’t have any bodies inside the drywall and your basement didn’t contain any evidence left behind. I’m not sure how that helps Kendrick with his case, but it does go a long way toward helping clear this fictitious Kendall connection.”
“The Kendall name was never in need of clearing,” their dad said with a stern look. “No one with half a brain ever believed any of that horseshit. We’ve done nothing wrong. That reporter—Charlene Winston—is the one who made it seem as if we had some kind of nefarious connection to the case. But you are right, Noah. This should bring that part of this horrible story to a close.”
“Charlene Winston?” The name wasn’t familiar. “I don’t believe there was a woman by that name with any of the media crews today.”
“That’s because that bitch knows better than to show her face around here ever again,” Brynn called out from behind the bar.
She was discussing something with one of her employees, reminding Jace of how many things had changed since he’d been gone. Tiny Phifer had been the owner and proprietor of the Cavern for as long as Jace could remember. He’d learned that Brynn had bought the bar from him and his wife, Rose. It wasn’t much of a surprise considering that the older couple had taken Brynn in after she’d lost both her parents. The place was truly shaping up.
What was astounding was all the upgrades to the place—such as the pool tables finally being refurbished and the added stage for live music. Even a nostalgic Rockola jukebox had been installed recently with the retro bubbling lights. It played thousands of digital recordings that Brynn could update with regular downloads. Tiny had been old school. His old Wurlitzer, which was still in the corner, probably even had the same CDs it came with. His motto had always been why fix it if it wasn’t broken.
That particular saying made Jace think of Shae’s confession today. She experienced guilt every time she looked at him. How could she not? She connected Emma’s death directly to going to see him the night she was abducted. It made him sick to his stomach. She’d driven into the city the night her sister had gone missing to be with him—and not to say goodbye. How could he have so badly misread her presence that night?
She was riddled with remorse, regardless of how unfounded those emotions were in the grand scheme of things. And she continued to carry that blame around with her to this day.
It made him wonder if she could ever look at him again without reliving that tragedy.
“You need to make a call to the Benson twins,” Gus advised around the toothpick in between his lips. He drew Jace back to the conversation at hand. It wasn’t any better than trying to rectify the past. Unfortunately, the two went hand in hand. “You had your things shipped to their storage facility, right? TMO paid for temporary storage and local delivery, so maybe they can fit in a delivery tomorrow. In the meantime, you can borrow one of those cots in the basement.”
“I’m waiting on a call back from Drew.”
The oldest of the Benson twins handled the administrative work while his younger brother supervised the truck crew. They’d taken over the family business, and rather successfully from what Jace had seen. Their site on the east side of town was a maze of modern climate-controlled warehouses now. They even had newer model trucks and security.
“Speaking of moving, how is Reese holding up?” Jace figured she would rather be with them than at school, but she’d started a new job and didn’t want to take advantage of the principal’s understanding nature concerning the current situation. There had been a few things she’d wanted to get situated in her classroom before Monday morning rolled around. “I overheard her talking to Detective Kendrick today about some state inspector?”
“Reese has been playing amateur detective.” Noah cracked open another peanut, the action itself giving away his opinion on the matter. “I’m not very happy about it. She needs to let the police handle it, especially after what happened with Deputy Wallace out at my place. He was murdered in cold blood, just like those
girls. This isn’t a game for amateurs.”
Gus, Noah, and Lance began talking about the reason why Wallace had been killed, but no one truly had any answers that made sense. They could surmise all they wanted and the end result would remain the same. A deputy had been killed for stumbling onto someone who didn’t want to be discovered.
The comment about Reese getting too involved in the investigation hit home, though.
Shae’s sister had probably been the first victim, according to what Detective Kendrick believed from the timeline developed by the FBI. Apparently, he’d had some profiler take a look at his case notes. The BAU put together a detailed case file including the information they compiled and correlated from multiple other sources. Jace figured it was only a matter of time before the agency took over. The state had control over the case until such time that they requested the FBI take the lead with its virtually unlimited resources, but would their involvement come soon enough to prevent anymore murders?
Shae’s return to Blyth Lake was sure to stir up additional concerns. Jace couldn’t help but worry that her quest for answers would lead her down the same path as Emma. From what he’d heard about the residents in town, panic was taking hold and causing the townsfolk to act out in defense of their hearths and homes. Before the fairly recent discovery of Sophia’s body, it was rare to see a state police car even pass through Blyth Lake. Today, Jace had seen three parked outside the sheriff’s office.
“How sure is Kendrick that Clayton Schaeffer isn’t the guilty party?” Jace asked, wondering why his dad took a sip of the coffee instead of answering the question. As a matter of fact, everyone at the table fell silent. “I mean, he did try to burn Lance’s house down. Clay even admitted to having sex with Whitney within the last month. It’s not much of a stretch to think he’s involved.”
“Don’t you start,” Brynn warned with a pointed finger. She walked up behind Lance and rested her hands on his shoulders. Her blonde eyebrows were practically touching in her disappointment. Did Jace open a can of worms when he wasn’t looking? “Everyone in town is pointing fingers at someone. We’ve known Clay our whole lives. He might not be the most trustworthy guy, but he’s not capable of cold-blooded murder. Neither are Miles, Calvin, or Harlan, for that matter.”
Unlocking Lies Page 6