She took a step closer. “I was proud of you for not going with the other kids. I baked a cake for you so we could celebrate your good decision.”
He glanced back at the water. “I didn’t think you’d find out, and I didn’t care if you did.”
“You were angry about our mother’s death. It wasn’t your fault, Ted.”
“I wanted you home with me.”
“Mom asked me to continue my studies.”
“She always thought of your needs instead of her own.”
“College was important to her, Ted. She had to drop out of school when her own mother died. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to me.” Holding out her hand, she beckoned him forward. “Let’s go home.”
He shook his head. “You don’t want me there.”
“That’s not true. I changed the alarm because someone came into the house a few nights ago. They left a note that said I never should have come back to Freemont. I wanted to ensure that person wouldn’t get inside again.”
“Did you think I left the note?”
She shook her head. “I knew it wasn’t you.”
He glanced up at the top of the marina where Brody stood watching them.
Ted pointed. “He thought I hurt Joshua. He probably thought I’d left the note.”
“I told him you didn’t, Ted.” She glanced at Brody. “He believed me.”
Ted sighed. “Can I stay at the house tonight?”
“Of course.” Once again, she held out her hand.
He dropped the cord on the bell and shuffled toward her, his head hung and shoulders slumped.
Her heart broke for him and for the struggle he was undergoing internally, a struggle that needed to be healed. He had opened up tonight. Hopefully, it was a good start that would continue in the days ahead. If only he trusted her enough to know that she wouldn’t let him down again.
Together they walked to where Brody stood.
“We’re going home,” she told him.
“Major Jenkins expects Ted back at the WTB.”
“Call Jenkins, Brody.” Her voice was firm. “Tell him he’ll be there in the morning.”
She helped Ted into the car and turned to find Brody staring at her, the frustration in his eyes making it clear he didn’t approve of her decision.
“I won’t leave him, Brody. A door has opened just a crack. Maybe it can open even more tonight.”
“It’s not safe for you to be alone with him, Stephanie.”
“You’re thinking of the past and not the present. I told you before. I’m not Lisa.”
He clamped down on his jaw. “I’m well aware of who you are. Stubborn and headstrong.” He shook his head and sighed. “But you’re also determined to help your brother, and I admire you for that. Let me stay at the house. If anything happens, I’ll be there.”
She shook her head. “I need to do this alone.”
Stephanie slipped into the driver’s seat, not knowing what would happen during the night. She had this one chance with Ted, and she wouldn’t do anything to ruin that fragile beginning to a new relationship.
As she pulled onto the main road, she looked into her rearview mirror. Brody was standing under one of the lights in the marina parking lot. He didn’t understand, because he was still trying to make up for what had happened to his girlfriend. That was his personal struggle.
Just as she had hers.
Life wasn’t easy. No one said it would be, and sometimes she felt totally alone. But tonight she had Ted beside her.
Coming back to Freemont may have been the right decision after all, if she and Ted could heal their relationship.
And Brody? Would he ever be able to forget what had happened? If he could move beyond the past, there might be hope for them. But right now, he was too focused on being a special agent instead of a man who cared about the future.
* * *
Heavyhearted, Brody stood at the entrance to the marina. Stephanie had made her choice and refused to listen to his concerns about her safety.
Once her taillights disappeared from sight, he let out a deep sigh and turned to look at the Upton cabin cruiser. It was state-of-the-art and a boater’s dream, yet Stephanie wanted nothing to do with the luxury craft.
He pulled out his phone, clicked on the photo he had saved from the Freemont paper and watched it unfold across his screen.
A water-drenched Stephanie stood on the deck of the cabin cruiser, a blanket hung around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide, and a look of shock and disbelief wrapped around her face.
Her brother was also onboard. Nikki huddled next to him. Paul and Joshua were sitting, shoulders slumped, while EMTs worked on a woman who appeared to be Cindy.
Stephanie had taken her father’s larger craft to the island that day. The painful memories probably kept her from boarding the cabin cruiser again.
Brody could relate. He hadn’t sketched since Lisa’s death.
His phone rang.
“Goodman.”
“It’s Nikki. I’m worried about Ted. He’s not answering his cell. Stephanie’s phone goes to voice mail, too.”
“They’re together and heading back to their house.”
“I’m so glad.”
Brody wished he shared her enthusiasm. “Your car’s parked at the marina, Nikki. Can someone give you a ride in the morning?”
“I’ll call Paul.”
On his way back to post, Brody phoned Major Jenkins. “Private Upton’s with his sister. He plans to stay at home tonight. Stephanie will drive him back to the WTB in the morning.”
“You sound worried.”
“I told Stephanie she was putting herself in danger. She refuses to see beyond the fact that he’s her brother.”
“Being with his sister might do Ted good.”
Brody wasn’t as optimistic as the major. When he disconnected, he contacted Don Palmer at home. “Sorry to bother you, Chief, but I need a favor. Any chance you could increase surveillance again tonight in the Country Club Estates, specifically the Upton home?”
“Did something else happen?”
“Only that Stephanie and her brother are together, trying to reconcile.”
“But you’re worried?”
“I just want her to be safe.”
The chief sighed. “Okay, I’ll increase the patrols and instruct my officers to keep their eyes and ears open.”
“I owe you, sir.”
“Help me wrap up this investigation, and we’ll call it even.”
Once back on post, Brody headed to the hospital and the ICU, relieved that Joshua was still holding on.
Brody approached the soldier’s bedside.
Joshua had sacrificed his own well-being for his country and had come home as a double amputee. Adversity hadn’t dampened his enthusiasm for life, from what Major Jenkins had said. But to have the attack happen when he was trying to make a future for himself...
“Why, Lord?” Brody couldn’t understand how a loving God decided who would live and who would die.
Lisa. Hayden.
Those two deaths had changed Brody and Stephanie’s lives. Both of them were still too caught up in the past.
Would he ever be able to get over what had happened? What about Stephanie? Would she ever be able to move beyond Hayden’s death?
No matter how much Brody wished things would be different, he and Stephanie didn’t have a chance. Their paths would soon part and stay apart no matter how much he wished things would be different.
SEVENTEEN
Stephanie and Ted talked until his eyes grew heavy, and she knew he needed sleep. After he headed to his room, she retrieved the messages from her cell phone. Nikki had called a number of times to check on Ted.
The conc
ern she heard in the girl’s voice warmed her heart. Nikki seemed to genuinely care about Ted’s well-being. A refreshing change from the way Brody regarded her brother.
The last voice mail from Nikki was more ominous.
“I’ve been trying to get Paul on his cell and home landline, but he fails to answer. I know he was upset about Josh and wanted to be alone tonight. It’s not like Paul to ignore my calls. I’m worried, Stephanie. Could you check on him?”
Glancing at her watch, Stephanie groaned. Almost eleven-thirty. Too late to be traipsing around the neighborhood. Surely by now, he’d be sleeping off the effects of the alcohol and probably wouldn’t respond, even if she pounded on his front door.
Still, he was a good kid and Ted’s friend. If anything happened, she’d feel responsible, and she didn’t need more guilt piled on her already-overloaded shoulders.
Quickly, she wrote a note for Ted and left it on the kitchen counter, not far from where she’d found the typed message and marked photograph of the old high school gang.
No need to think of the past, she reminded herself. She and Ted were in a better place. Grabbing her purse, she quietly left the house and climbed into the Cadillac parked at the curb.
Within a few minutes, she pulled in front of the Massey home. Just as earlier this evening, the front porch was dark, but a light in the rear cast the backyard in shadows. Perhaps Paul was on the deck. Hopefully, he wasn’t still drowning his sorrows.
She shivered, realizing the significance of the expression, especially since the Masseys had a pool and hot tub. Cross one bridge at a time, her mother used to say.
Determined to find Paul, hopefully groggy with sleep, and then hurry back to her own house, Stephanie climbed the steps to the front porch. She rang the bell three times and then pounded her hand against the heavy oak.
When he failed to respond, she rounded the house and called Paul’s name as she approached the backyard. Light from the overhead deck played over the pool. Her stomach tightened thinking of what she could find. If only she had brought her phone. Knowing she could call for help would have bolstered her courage. Instead, she had inadvertently left it on the counter at home. As much as she didn’t want to be prowling around Paul’s house, she needed to be certain he was okay.
Working to ignore the nervous tingle that played along her spine, she neared the wrought-iron fence surrounding the pool and peered into the water, seeing nothing except dark shadows.
Flicking her gaze over the patio area, she spied the hot tub in the far corner. The plastic top sat askew. Strange to have it half on, half off, especially in the middle of the summer.
A beach towel sat neatly folded on a nearby lounge chair. Her pulse kicked up a notch. She swallowed, her throat dry, her palms suddenly moist. She wiped them over her skirt, knowing she had no recourse except to enter the fenced enclosure.
The gate creaked as it swung open. A gust of hot, humid air rustled through the trees and caught her hair. She tugged the loose strands out of her face and blinked, willing her eyes to adjust to the darkened area under the deck where the plastic lid held her focus.
Her heart thumped a warning as she neared.
“Paul?”
She glanced again at the beach towel, then lowered her gaze to where something lay under the corner of the chaise.
An empty vodka bottle.
Her breath hitched and a roar filled her ears.
Bending down, she grabbed the plastic lip of the hot-tub cover, raised the lid and peered into the shallow pool.
Her heart stopped. The patio swirled around her as her knees buckled.
She screamed at seeing Paul Massey’s eyes staring at her from under the water.
* * *
“Thanks for notifying me,” Brody said to the Freemont police chief. Three patrols cars sat in front of the Massey home, their lights flickering through the night. Officers milled about on the front lawn while the crime-scene team worked in the patio area.
“I need to thank you for requesting extra surveillance,” the chief said. “One of my men happened by just as Ms. Upton ran screaming from the backyard.”
Brody glanced at the patrol car where Stephanie sat hunched over in the backseat.
“At this point everything appears fairly cut-and-dried,” Palmer continued. “Paul left a suicide note and mentioned wanting to ease Joshua Webb’s misery.” The chief shook his head. “Luckily, he wasn’t successful on that count.”
The chief filled Brody in on what had happened and then pointed to the squad car. “If you want to talk to Ms. Upton, I’m ready to send her home. She’s been very cooperative.”
Stephanie glanced up as Brody approached. Her face was noticeably pale and drawn. Fatigue added to the worry he saw on her furrowed brow and tight lips.
“You doing okay?” he asked, hoping she heard concern and understanding in his voice.
“Not really.”
“I’m sorry you had to find him.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Nikki called me. She was worried something might be wrong. I never...” She swallowed. “I never thought...”
“I’ll drive you home.”
She handed Brody the keys to her father’s car. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and ushered her forward, out of the glare of the police lights.
She was silent on the way to the house.
“May I come in?” he asked as they climbed the stairs to her front porch. “We need to talk.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight. I...I have to get some sleep.”
“You shouldn’t be alone, Stephanie.”
“Ted’s still here. I’ll be okay.”
He unlocked the door, and she hesitated before stepping inside. “It’s over, isn’t it?”
“You mean about Josh?”
“And Ted. Chief Palmer said Paul left a note. You can’t blame my brother anymore.”
Brody wished he could assure Stephanie, but while Ted was no longer a suspect in Joshua’s attack, he had showed too much antagonism for Brody to give him a total pass now. Only time would tell.
Which Stephanie wouldn’t want to hear.
She must have suspected the reason for his hesitation because, with a heavy sigh, she hurried into the house and closed the door behind her. The dead bolt clicked into place.
“Good night, Stephanie.”
He double-timed back to the Massey home. He wanted to see the crime scene for himself. Too many questions needed to be answered, but his thoughts continued to revolve around Stephanie and how he wished things could be different.
As much as Brody didn’t want to look back, he also didn’t want to think about tomorrow and the day after that and the day following if it meant he wouldn’t have Stephanie.
* * *
Stephanie woke the next morning to someone pounding on her door. She glanced at the clock. Six a.m.
Wrapping her robe around her waist, she hurried along the front hallway, hoping the knocking wouldn’t awaken her brother.
She peered out the front window, somewhat relieved when she recognized the car in the driveway.
Pulling open the door, she squared her shoulders.
“Brody, why in the world are you pounding on my door at this hour?”
“I need to talk to Ted.”
She groaned. “Haven’t we been down this path before?”
“He’s still here, isn’t he, Stephanie?”
“Yes, but he’s sleeping.”
“The note Paul supposedly left had the same flawed o. Just like the note in your kitchen.”
“Paul wrote the warning?”
“I checked the printers in his house. The letters weren’t smeared.”
“Which means what?”
“Which means the suicide note may hav
e been written by someone else. Someone who planned to do Paul harm. That’s why I need to bring Ted in for questioning.”
The air sucked from her lungs. She took a step back. Surely Brody didn’t suspect Ted. “Did the medical examiner determine when Paul died?”
“The M.E. provided an estimate. Sometime between nine and midnight.”
“That rules out Ted,” she said.
“How can you be so certain?”
“My brother and I were together from ten o’clock on. You were at the marina with us.”
“He could have killed him earlier.”
“Impossible. Paul called me at nine-fifty. He’d been drinking. I pulled into the marina and saw Ted minutes later.”
“Show me your phone.”
Hurt that he didn’t believe her, she steeled her jaw. Brody was determined to find Ted at fault no matter what evidence she provided.
Retrieving her cell, she showed Brody the call log. “Do you see the time the call came in? Nine-fifty, which was when I was approaching the marina. No other cars passed me en route, and Ted was at the marina by the time I arrived. I told the chief last night.”
She pointed to the phone. “Access voice mail and you’ll hear the message Paul left initially. He sounded drunk and said he was going to bed. I thought he needed to sleep off his binge. In hindsight, I should have notified someone. When Nikki phoned and told me he hadn’t responded to her calls, I decided to check on him.”
“You could have phoned me.” Brody worked the prompts and lifted her cell to his ear. Once Paul’s message had completed playing, he lowered the phone.
“The Freemont police will need to listen to the message and check the time frame. They also need to talk to Ted.”
She stared at Brody, unable to comprehend how he could continue to think Ted was at fault.
Her brother’s bedroom door opened. “Is something wrong?”
Brody stepped inside. “You need to come with me to police headquarters, Private Upton.”
“You called him?” Ted looked from Brody to Stephanie. “All of this was so you could set me up.”
The advances they had made last night collapsed in that one moment. Her relationship with her brother had hit rock bottom.
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