Chapter 12
“We could have walked over, but I thought it was a little too cold,” Adam explained as he drove toward Garret’s cabin. Wearing a warm jacket, Sophie sat in the passenger seat.
“You think it’s going to snow?” Sophie looked out the car window and glanced up at the gathering clouds.
“According to the weather report, no. But I think those clouds might have another idea.”
“Considering the weather they’re getting in other parts of the country, I suppose we should be grateful it isn’t colder.”
“I agree. One reason I still live in Coulson. I don’t mind a little snow, but it’s nice to get out of it.”
“This is really sweet of you, Adam, taking me to see your mom and aunt.”
“Hey, no problem.”
“I was surprised when I discovered my cousin was married to your high school sweetheart.”
“Oh… uhh did Kim tell you?”
“Actually, it was what you said at the cemetery.”
“Well, we’re just friends now.”
“They both seem really nice, Nick and Kim. Nick’s dad is really sweet, too.”
“Yeah, I really don’t know him very well. I’ve met him a few times. But haven’t talked to him much.”
“We found a picture of my grandfather. Darn, I should have showed you.”
“I can see it later.”
“He was a handsome man. Looks a little like my father. Of course, the resemblance isn’t anything like the one between Nick and Franklin.”
“I imagine if Kim wants to know what her husband is going to look like when they get older, all she has to do is look at her father-in-law. Here we are,” Adam announced as he pulled into the driveway of a log cabin.
Five minutes later, Sophie found herself inside Garret’s cabin being introduced to Adam’s mother, stepfather, aunt, and uncle. After introductions, Sophie was served a cup of hot chocolate before sitting down by the fireplace.
“Adam’s grandpa owned the Cliffwood Motel,” Russell explained after Sophie asked about the motel her grandfather had been staying at when he disappeared.
“That was your father’s father?” Sophie asked Adam, trying to keep everything straight.
“Yeah. Grandpa died a couple years before my dad was killed in the car accident. Dad’s mom died before Grandpa bought the motel and moved to Coulson.”
“When I was a kid,” Russell continued, “I hung out with Alex’s brother, Tommy, and Adam’s dad, Ryan. I spent a lot of time at the old motel. From there, we’d ride our bikes over to the park and play ball.”
“So, do you remember my grandfather?” she asked.
“A little. We’d see him around, normally in the parking lot of the motel. He’d always say hi, ask us how we were. He was friendly. Ryan would come to school with the candy he scored. Your grandfather would leave it in the mailbox each morning in exchange for us staying away from his room. Considering how much noise and ruckus four boys can make, I can understand his reason for the bribe.” Russell chuckled.
“Who was the fourth boy?”
“My Uncle Jimmy,” Adam explained. “He’s dad’s younger brother. He was with Aunt Kate and Mom when they found the body.”
“I want to hear about all that, but is there anything more—anything else you remember about my grandfather?” Sophie asked Russell.
Instead of answering immediately, Russell glanced at his wife.
“No, nothing really,” he said at last.
“I remember him,” Garret spoke up. “I must have been around sixteen. I was out one night with some friends; we stopped at a liquor store looking for someone to buy us beer.”
“I am so glad Sarah and Hannah aren’t here,” Kate piped up.
“Your grandfather was in the parking lot,” Garret continued. “It was like he knew what we wanted, offered to buy and didn’t ask for anything in exchange. Normally, guys would expect us to give them a couple extra bucks.”
“I married a juvenile delinquent,” Alex said dryly.
“No argument here. And if a guy like me tries to date my little girl, I’ll show him the door,” Garret grumbled.
Alex laughed and patted her husband’s knee.
“That’s about all I have,” Garret said. “Other than the fact the FBI interviewed the family a couple times.”
“They interviewed your family? Why?” Sophie’s curiosity piqued.
“I suppose because of who we were,” Garret shrugged. “My grandfather founded Coulson. And the fact that not many people knew your grandfather—at least, no one from Coulson. Once, your grandfather sent over a bottle of champagne to my parents when they were at a restaurant with my grandfather and older brother. According to Dad, that was the only time he met your grandfather.”
“Why did he send over champagne?” Sophie asked.
“I suspect to try and cozy up to my grandfather. Marino was new in town and must have known who my grandfather was. I have no idea if the stories about him are true, but if he lived on the edge of the law, he could have seen my parents—or grandfather—as a good mark. Who knows?”
“Actually, there is something else,” Russell spoke up. Kate glanced over, wondering if he was going to mention the letter. “When they found your grandfather’s car in the lake, I was there with Alex’s brother, Tommy.”
“How did you happen to be there?”
“One of our friends had drowned the night before. This was a number of years after your grandfather went missing. We were in high school by this time. Tommy and I were down at Sutter’s Lake with a bunch of our friends, watching while they dredged the water. While looking for Mike, they found your grandfather’s car.”
“At the time, did you realize whose car it was?” Sophie asked.
“After they pulled it from the lake, one of us recognized it. I don’t remember if it was Tommy or me. Not sure we really knew it belonged to your grandfather. We just knew we’d seen the car before. You have to remember, we were pretty young when he went missing.”
“That’s really awful about your friend. Did they find his body?”
“They found it not long after they dragged the car from the lake.”
They were all quiet for a moment.
“My turn?” Kate asked when all eyes glanced in her direction. “I just remember it was Christmas break. We met a bunch of friends at Sutter’s Lake, and some of us decided to hike up to the caves. The path had been washed out by a recent storm, and I was the first one to come across the grave. I don’t think I understood what I had stumbled on.”
“By your screams, you obviously knew something,” Alex said.
“Well, I’ve never liked scary movies.” Kate shuddered.
“Did you realize who it was?”
“I wasn’t surprised,” Alex said. “I remembered when they found the car. I hadn’t gone up there when they dredged the lake, but Tommy told us all about it. And then it was in the paper, about who the car belonged to. There was a lot of speculation–you know, did he put the car there or did someone else. I figured it had to be his body.”
“Do you think your father will talk to me?” Sophie asked.
“I don’t know. Dad wasn’t really thrilled about us talking to you.” Garret said.
“Adam mentioned that.”
“If you really want to talk to him, you need to go through Kim,” Alex suggested.
“Kim? Why?”
“Well, I imagine if anyone could convince him to talk to you, it would be Kim. But honestly, my father-in-law is convinced all the stories about your grandfather are true. Adam mentioned you would like to find something to contradict that notion. I don’t think you’ll find that with Harrison.”
“I understand. And if my grandfather turns out to be everything the newspapers say, then I will accept it. The only reason I had hoped to find out the stories weren’t true was for my dad. He grew up believing his father was this gentle, loving man, who’d died in a car accident when my father was just
a baby.”
“So, what are you going to do now?” Kate asked.
“Monday morning I’m stopping by the police station and see if they have any old files or anything that might help me.”
“I’ll be happy to take you down,” Adam offered. “I wouldn’t mind checking in with Sam and see what he knows about Angela.”
“Speaking of Angela,” Russell said. “I stopped by Joe’s house this morning before we left Coulson.”
“What did he say?” Adam asked.
“I’m afraid he wasn’t very talkative. He didn’t invite me inside. We ended up talking on the front porch. When I asked him if he believed Angela was ready to come home, he just kept saying she was sorry for what she’d done. But I’ll be honest Adam; he didn’t seem that comfortable with the situation.”
“Does Sophie know about Angela?” Alex asked.
“Adam told me a little,” Sophie answered.
“Well, I came up here to forget about Angela. Sophie, you ready to go grab some lunch?”
An hour and a half later, Adam and Sophie were together in the Clement Falls Diner. The server had just removed the lunch plates and Adam excused himself to go to the restroom. Sophie had gone before they sat down for lunch, so she waited at the table for Adam and for the blueberry pie they had ordered for dessert.
Alone at the table, absently reading the dessert menu, Sophie was startled when a woman took Adam’s seat across from her and sat down. Sophie looked up into a pair of startling blue eyes. It was the young woman from the cemetery.
“Why were you with Adam at the cemetery?” the woman asked.
“You. You’re the one from the cemetery,” Sophie said.
“Why are you here with Adam?” the woman demanded. “This is twice now I’ve seen you with him.”
“Excuse me? Who are you?”
“I’m Adam’s fiancée.”
“Adam’s fiancée?” Sophie stared blankly at the woman, who seemed oddly calm. Finally, she said, “Angela? You’re Angela?”
Angela smiled brightly and then held out her left hand, showing off her engagement ring.
“So, he’s told you about me,” Angela said as she rolled her left hand from right to left in an attempt to make the diamond sparkle. Sophie glanced down at Angela’s hand and wondered briefly if that was the engagement ring Adam had bought the woman.
“Here’s the deal,” Angela said as she took back her hand. “I don’t think you should be going out with another woman’s fiancé.”
Sophie just stared, speechless.
Angela leaned over the table and whispered, “It would be a shame if you had an accident.”
Without saying another word, Angela stood up and walked out of the diner.
Chapter 13
“Didn’t they bring the pie yet?” Adam asked when he returned to the table. Instead of answering, Sophie looked up, a blank expression on her face.
“Sophie, are you okay?” Adam asked as he sat down.
“She was here,” Sophie whispered.
“Who was here?”
“Angela.”
“Angela?” Adam glanced around the diner but didn’t see any sign of his ex-fiancée.
“She left already.”
Adam stood up, walked to the front door of the diner, opened it, and looked outside. He didn’t see Angela anywhere.
“Excuse me; did you see a woman leave here a moment ago? Tall, slender, with dark hair?” he asked the hostess by the door.
“Yes. She got into a red car, parked out front.”
“I don’t see any red car.”
The hostess shrugged. “She must have driven away.”
Adam remembered Joe Carter owned a red car. “Was she with anyone?”
“I didn’t notice anyone with her. She got into the driver’s side. But there might have been someone else in the car.”
Adam returned to his table and asked, “Sophie, how do you know it was Angela?”
“She’s the same woman who was at the cemetery. The one I told you about, who ran out the back.”
“That woman was here? But how do you know it was Angela? I never said anything to you.”
“What do you mean?” Sophie frowned.
“By how you described her—the eyes—it fit Angela’s description. When you first told me, I had no idea she had been released, so I didn’t consider it could actually be her. Later, when I heard she was out, I suspected it might be. But I don’t understand. Why do you think it was Angela? I never told you what she looked like.”
“She came up to me, asked me why I was at the cemetery with you. She told me she was your fiancée and even showed me her engagement ring.”
“If you passed her when you were entering the cemetery and she was leaving, I wonder why she assumed you were there with me.”
“She obviously saw you at the cemetery, remembered me, and when she saw me here with you today, assumed I went to the cemetery to meet you,” Sophie suggested.
“Sophie, did you tell her you just met me, that there is nothing going on?”
“She’s not still your fiancée is she?”
“God no, but I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about you.”
“No… of course not. After all, we did just meet.” Sophie felt silly imagining there was a two-way attraction going on. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she glanced at the door where Angela had exited.
“That didn’t come out right.” He sat down. “Sophie, we did just meet, but I haven’t hidden the fact I’d like to get to know you better. Yet, the last thing I want is to drag you into this thing with Angela and make you a target. That certainly isn’t fair to you. I’d rather she think you’re nothing but Nick’s cousin who I was roped into introducing to my mother.”
“I understand, Adam,” she said with a shy smile, feeling a mixture of delight that he was interested and dread because so was Angela. “But, she did scare me, Adam.”
Before he could reply, the server came to the table carrying two plates, each holding a slice of blueberry pie. She set them on the table and asked if they needed anything else. When she finally left the table, they resumed their conversation.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
“She just walked up and sat down. I recognized her immediately from the cemetery. She started asking me why I was with you. I asked who she was, and she said your fiancée. She didn’t give me her name, but when I asked if she was Angela, she said something like, I guess he told you about me.”
“And she was wearing the engagement ring?”
“She was wearing one. She showed it to me—practically shoved it in my face. Does she still have the one you gave her?”
“I suppose. When I broke it off, I told her to keep it.”
“She also threatened me.”
“How?” Adam tensed.
“She said something about how I could get in an accident if I kept seeing you.”
“We’re calling Sam.”
“Who’s Sam?”
“He’s the police chief. This stunt should get her put back where she belongs, before she does something stupid.”
While still in the diner, Adam made three calls from his cell phone. He called both his mother and Kim to let them know Angela was up in Clement Falls. The third call was to Sam Peterson, the police chief. Unfortunately, being Saturday, he wasn’t in the office. Adam left a message for Sam to return his call as soon as possible.
More than an hour had passed since Sophie’s encounter with Angela at the diner when Sam finally returned Adam’s call. By that time, Sophie and Adam were back at the bed and breakfast, sitting in the parlor with Kim and Nick.
Adam explained to Sam what had occurred at the diner, and Sam promised to go to Joe Carter’s and investigate the situation. Another hour passed before Sam called back.
“I spoke to both Joe and Angela,” Sam explained on the phone.
“Is she going back to jail?” Adam asked. Kim, Nick, and Sophie sat quietly listening t
o Adam’s side of the conversation.
“Adam, she really hasn’t done anything to warrant that,” Sam said.
“What are you talking about?” Adam asked angrily. “She threatened Sophie.”
“Adam, I understand you’re upset with her release, but you really can’t expect them to lock her up again just because you imagine she’s posing some threat. As far as I know, she hasn’t violated the terms of the release. She hasn’t been by the Lucky Lady Restaurant, has she? Your neighborhood?”
“Sam, are you telling me it’s okay for her to threaten people?”
“What do you mean threaten people?”
“I told you. Angela threatened Sophie by saying she could get in an accident if she continued to see me. Angela flashed that damn engagement ring in Sophie’s face and claimed to be my fiancée.”
“Calm down, Adam. There’s been a misunderstanding.”
“There has been no misunderstanding!” Adam shouted into the phone.
“Adam Keller, I don’t have to sit here and listen to you yell at me. Do you want me to hang up on you?”
“No.” Adam took a deep breath and told himself to calm down. “Please, Sam, explain this so-called misunderstanding.
“Well, according to Joe, he took Angela up to Clement Falls for a little drive. She had to use the restroom, so he stopped there and let her go in to use the one at the diner. So, see, she hadn’t followed you up to Clement Falls; she wasn’t stalking you. It was all very innocent.”
“Uhh-huh… And what about what she said to Sophie?”
“It was all a misunderstanding. Angela explained it all to me.”
“Oh, I bet she did. What did she say?”
“Angela walked by your friend’s table on the way to the restroom, and your friend recognized her. She asked if she was Angela, your fiancée. Apparently she wondered if you were still engaged because Angela was wearing the ring.”
“That isn’t what happened,” Adam insisted.
“Didn’t your friend recognize Angela?”
“Yes, but it didn’t happen like that. She recognized her from the cemetery.”
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