How Secrets Die

by Marta Perry

WHEN SHE COULDN’T stand the solitude any longer, Kate ventured out onto the porch. It was cooler today, with a chill in the air that reminded her it was fall. Time was passing.

  She’d come here in hope of laying to rest her burden of grief and guilt. Unfortunately, what she’d found out was that no matter what answers turned up, she’d never be able to deny her responsibility for Jason. She wouldn’t want to.

  Knowing the people he’d met here, seeing the place where he’d died—none of that was as important as the Jason she carried in her heart.

  Was she any nearer to finding the answers that had brought her to Laurel Ridge? It didn’t seem so, but maybe that was the pain talking.

  Giving in to depression wouldn’t help. She’d be better off doing something, even if it led nowhere. She’d go over to Blackburn House—take a look at the scene of her misadventure in the daylight. Maybe something would come back to her. Or one of the people there might remember anything odd that had happened yesterday. Surely, if Ax Bolt had been in the building to plan a trap for her, someone would have noticed him. The most trivial incident would be better than what she had now.

  Moving cautiously, she headed for the path through the shrubbery. She’d come this way last night, rushing and frightened for Emily. Running right into a trap that had been set for her.

  Kate spotted a few broken twigs. She’d probably done that in her hurry. There was the root she’d stumbled on, nearly falling. She stepped over it carefully, mindful of how the slightest jolt sent the pain ricocheting through her shoulder.

  If she hadn’t gone rushing off, would Mac have caught the person playing tricks in the building? Somehow she didn’t think it would have been that easy. There were too many hiding places, too many ways out of the old place. The person they sought was too clever to be caught so easily.

  Why? She came back to the primary question again. Why would someone want to harm her? It wasn’t as if she’d discovered anything. She didn’t have a clue to the person who’d attacked her. The person who’d probably, in some way, led Jason to his death.

  Kate came out into the open by the driveway with clenched fists. Who? Why? This was more frustrating than knowing nothing at all.

  The yellow crime scene tape still adorned the outside of the side door, so it didn’t look as if she could retrace her steps that far. She headed around the building toward the front door. She needed to do something.

  The police had the search for Bolt well in hand, and there was nothing she could do that they couldn’t do better. If Jason had died because he knew too much about drugs coming into town, Mac would find out.

  But if someone else was involved, either because of drugs or for some other reason, it was possible that person would make a slip talking to her. A slim hope, she supposed, but better than sitting and brooding.

  Not all lies indicated guilt. Some people just had to embroider what they knew, trying to appear important. Others were careful to present themselves in the best possible light. She’d dealt with both types as a reporter. It shouldn’t be difficult to tell the difference, not if she listened as a reporter instead of as a grieving sister.

  She’d nearly forgotten how imposing Blackburn House was from the front. The Italianate mansion must have been quite something when it was the most important house in town. Even now, its graceful lines and balanced exterior gave an air of dignity to the housing of shops and businesses.

  Maybe the best place to start was with Nikki. Maybe, since Larry’s injury and the focus on Ax Bolt, she’d be more forthcoming about her relationship with Jason. And Jason’s relationship with his job. She could slip back to the bookshop and call her from there on the chance she could get out this afternoon.

  Little though she would have imagined it a few weeks ago, she’d begun to care about this town. These were good people, by and large, and they didn’t deserve either drug dealers or untrustworthy investment brokers.

  No sooner had Kate entered the front hall than she realized that the idea of “slipping” anywhere without being seen was absurd. Sarah spotted her first and came hurrying from the quilt shop, calling to Allison. And Nick Whiting came out of the cabinetry showroom, leaving a pair of customers staring at what looked like samples.

  “Hey, how are you?” Nick reached her first with the long, purposeful stride that reminded her of his brother.

  “Shouldn’t you be resting?” Sarah’s expression was anxious.

  “Of course she should.” Allison shook her head at Kate. “Mac is right. You’re stubborn.”

  Nick grinned. “If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.”

  “If you’re implying I’m stubborn...” Allison began.

  Sarah interrupted by putting her arm around Kate’s waist. “Won’t you come in the shop and sit for a bit? I’ll fix you a cup of tea.”

  Their kindness was not only overwhelming, it was nearly suffocating. If she were on a city street, she could collapse in pain and everyone would walk on by.

  “That’s kind of you.” She disengaged herself firmly. “But I must go and see Emily. She called earlier, sounding so upset that I thought she’d like to see for herself that I’m all right.”

  Sarah still looked concerned, but she nodded. “Ja, that’s what it will take with Emily for sure. But if you need to rest afterward, you’ll come to us, ain’t so?”

  Irrationally touched, Kate had no choice but to agree. “I will. Thanks.”

  Allison insisted on walking with her back to the bookshop, just to be sure she was all right. “Mac would kill me if I let something happen to you,” she said, half laughing, half serious.

  “Mac worries too much.”

  “Not without reason,” Allison said. She gave Kate’s hand a squeeze, and they parted at the door.

  Of course Emily rushed at her but stopped short of an embrace. “I don’t want to hurt your poor shoulder. I’m so upset about it. Mac told me you thought I was in the building when the lights went out and that’s why you came rushing over and got hurt. Oh, my goodness, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. If only...”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” Kate put her good arm around Emily and gave her a hug. Amazing, how people instantly assumed the burden of guilt. “I should have been more careful.”

  And she was careful now, not sure what Mac might have told Emily. From her comments, it sounded as if Mac let her believe it was an accident, which might be the best thing.

  Emily dabbed at her eyes. “Well, you surely didn’t think you had to come in to work today.”

  “No, I didn’t intend to. I just felt like stretching my legs, and I thought I’d show you that I’m okay.” Although actually, her shoulder was starting to ache right up to her back teeth. “Is it okay if I use the phone? I just thought of a call I should make.”

  “Of course, of course.” Emily waved to the phone. “When I came in, there was powdery stuff all over it. I don’t know what Mac was thinking about to leave it that way. But it’s all cleaned up now. I’ll just take care of some things in the back room as long as you’re here, but you call me if a customer comes in.”

  Kate nodded, assuming that was Emily’s way of giving her some privacy while she used the phone. And really, she could use it, given the difficulty she was likely to have getting Nikki to meet her again.

  Simple enough to call the office number and ask if she was alone. At Nikki’s cautious agreement, the job began in earnest.

  “I have to see you again.” No point in beating around the bush. “We need to talk.”

  “You shouldn’t have called me at work.” Nikki sounded as if she were looking over her shoulder as she talked.

  “How else was I going to get hold of you? Anyway, they can’t know who you’re talking to. Just don’t mention my name.”

  “I know a better way,” Nikki said. “I�
�ll just hang up.”

  “Don’t.” She thought fast. “I suppose you heard what happened to me last night.”

  “I heard you had an accident.”

  “It wasn’t an accident. Any more than what happened to Larry was an accident. I’m getting too close to something. That’s why I need to talk to you again. You can help me figure out what.”

  “No.” The word came quickly. “It’s dangerous to be around you. Besides, if Mr. Gordon found out...”

  “He won’t. We’ll meet someplace he’d never go. Out in public, so it’s safe. Come on, Nikki. You were Jason’s friend. Don’t you want to help him?”

  She sensed hesitation in Nikki’s silence.

  “Listen, meet me the same place as last time. Around eight. No one at the office will suspect a thing.” She didn’t wait for agreement. “I’ll see you then.” She hung up quickly before Nikki could find any other arguments.

  She barely had time to look up before she saw Lina Oberlin entering the shop. For an instant she thought Lina had somehow found out about her call, but sheer common sense asserted itself. Lina couldn’t possibly know.

  Lina started toward her, a smile pinned to her face. “Kate, I’m so happy to see you out and about. Some of the rumors have you lying in the hospital unconscious.”

  “Rumors always exaggerate. I’m a little sore from falling down the stairs, but otherwise fine.”

  Setting her bag on the counter, Lina studied Kate as if looking for damage. “I must say, you look better than I expected. Just a little pale. Is that a bruise on your head? Are the doctors sure you don’t have a concussion?”

  “Positive.” Kate brushed a strand of hair across the angry-looking bruise. “I’ve always been told I have a hard head, and I guess that’s true.”

  Lina’s visit to check up on her was a bit surprising, since Kate hadn’t seen her since the day she’d stopped by the cottage to chat. Maybe Bart had sent her, hoping for news that she was leaving town?

  “In this case, it must be an advantage. But what happened? I heard you interrupted a burglar.”

  How much did the woman actually know? If Mac was downplaying the attack on her, he probably had a reason.

  “I’m not sure of anything.” Maybe her fall would excuse anything she might seem to have forgotten. “I came over because I saw all the lights go off in the building. I guess I must have fallen in the dark.”

  “That’s not surprising. I was in the building once when the power went off, and I couldn’t see a thing. I had to grope my way out. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse. But nothing was disturbed in our offices. Was anything taken down here?”

  “Not that I know of. I suppose I might have made enough noise to scare someone away. Or it could have been an electrical fault.”

  “That’s just what I was telling Bart. It could have happened to any of us.” Her expression seemed to say she was suppressing Bart’s opinion.

  “Let me guess,” Kate said. “He thinks it serves me right for poking around.”

  Lina gave a wry smile. “Something like that. You have to understand that he’s worried about the business. The past few years haven’t been easy.” She shook her head. “Sometimes he talks about throwing it all over and retiring to a Caribbean island, but I don’t know how he’d afford to do that.”

  She was about to say that she thought Bart would rather be a big frog in a little pond, but decided that wouldn’t be tactful.

  Lina picked up her bag as if preparing to leave, half turned and then stopped. “I... I suppose you know from Mac Whiting that Bart fired your brother.”

  “Yes.” She waited, suspecting there was more to come.

  “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the whole story when I spoke with you before. Bart was so determined not to let anything out that might reflect badly on him, and I need my job. He’s not one to forgive and forget if he thinks someone has betrayed his trust.”

  Kate would like to believe she wouldn’t knuckle under to a boss like that, but what did she know about Lina’s circumstances? So she just nodded.

  Lina, apparently satisfied, left more quickly than she’d come in, leaving Kate wondering what her real purpose had been. Trying to absolve herself of any blame for Jason’s death? Clearing her own conscience? She wasn’t sure.

  But the things Lina had let fall about Bart’s financial troubles were interesting. Everyone seemed to assume any problems with the firm had been due to Russell Sheldon’s failing mental powers. Was it possible that it was Bart who couldn’t live up to the reputation Sheldon had built for the firm?

  And if so, might he have been responsible for the errors he’d blamed on Jason?

  She’d like to talk it over with Mac, but she hadn’t heard a word from him since this morning. Toying with the idea of calling him, Kate pulled out her phone and felt that familiar curl of warmth in her stomach at the thought of hearing his voice.

  She shoved her phone out of sight. Things were tangled enough between them without her chasing him down when he was working. And what exactly was she going to do about that?

  * * *

  MAC STILL HADN’T figured out a way to look into that worrying claim Russ had made. He could never get an audit of the business ordered on that basis. He could try to talk to some of the investors, but he’d have to choose carefully if he didn’t want the news getting right back to Bart.

  The search for Ax Bolt seemed more urgent. He’d had a call from a nearby force, saying rumors indicated Bolt was back in Laurel Ridge. What he needed was a lead on where to look for him. So he headed to the hospital to see if he could get anything new out of Larry Foust.

  According to his sources, Larry was nearly back to normal, but he’d conned the doctors into keeping him another day or two. Maybe he felt safer there.

  Larry seemed to have known Bolt as well as anyone he’d found, and Mac intended to get it out of him. Even if he had to bulldoze his way past Larry’s anxious mother.

  But when he opened the door to the room, Ethel wasn’t in evidence. Instead, Larry was sitting up in bed, trying unsuccessfully, it seemed, to kiss the nurse’s aide. She swatted him away with an experienced hand. When she saw Mac, she looked relieved.

  “He’s all yours, Chief. I’m done. He can give himself a back rub from now on.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” Mac said. He approached the bed but waited until she was out of the room.

  Larry pulled the sheet up, looking apprehensive, and pushed himself back on the pillow. “I can’t talk now. I’m too sick.”

  “Not according to your doctor,” Mac said.

  Larry made a dive for the call button, but Mac grabbed it and tossed it out of reach.

  “I don’t think so. Let’s just have a nice, quiet chat, you and me.”

  “You can’t talk to me without my mother here.” Larry was beginning to look panicky.

  “Forget it, Larry. You’re not a minor, much as you act like one. You can talk to me here and now, or I’ll take you in for questioning. Then word would really get around,” he added, guessing that was what Larry feared most.

  “I don’t have to say anything.” Folding his lips, he tried to look resolute and only succeeded in looking like the spoiled brat he was.

  “That’s your right,” Mac agreed. “But then I might have to let folks think you had. How would your buddy Ax Bolt feel about that?”

  Larry paled. “You can’t do that. You don’t know him—he might do anything. He already—”

  “He already beat you up once, right? Why? Because he thought you’d said something about him to Kate Beaumont?”

  It was a shot in the dark, but it seemed to work.

  “No! No, I never... He never...” Larry buried his face in his hands.

  “Look, nobody can blame you for bei
ng scared of him. He’s bad news. Won’t you be better off if we put him away for a nice long stretch?”

  “I wish I was dead,” Larry muttered into his hands.

  “You might be if you don’t help us put him away. Come on, talk. Tell me where he hangs out when he’s in town.”

  “He crashes sometimes with some guys in a house down at the end of Miller Street.”

  “The place that looks ready for the bulldozer?” He knew the house. He’d suspected the residents of dealing, but he hadn’t caught them at it. Not yet.

  Larry nodded, seeming a little calmer now that he’d started. “Phil’s Roadhouse. He’s there sometimes. And he shows up at the Lamplight once in a while.”

  “Anyplace else? Any way you contact him?”

  “I don’t know any more. I swear it. Just promise me he’ll never know I’m the one who told you. Promise!”

  Mac suspected he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding his opinion of the kid. “He won’t hear it from me.” He tossed the call button back on the bed. “You might try behaving like a decent human being for once in your life.”

  He stalked out, already setting up a plan of action. He’d put Foster on to keep an unobtrusive eye on the house on Miller Street. Come to think of it, George would probably do a better job of being unobtrusive. He’d need Johnny himself later on. If Bolt was in town, he wouldn’t appear at either of the other hangouts until well after dark.

  Mac could pick up Bolt for the assault on Larry, at least. And that would give them a chance to dig for more evidence. The attacks on both Larry and Kate might well be classified as attempted murder, in which case Bolt would be going away for a good long time.

  * * *

  BY THE TIME she reached the cottage again, Kate was too tired even to think. Exhaustion had swept over her as sudden and fierce as a tidal wave. Maybe the doctor had meant it when he’d told her to take it easy for a few days. She collapsed on the sofa, not even willing to walk the few extra feet to the bedroom.

  The persistent ringing of her cell phone finally penetrated, bringing her reluctantly awake. She dived for the phone, lying on the floor next to the sofa, trying to orient herself.