Buried Truth

by Jannine Gallant

He smiled back at her. “Good to hear. You have a great day.”

  “I intend to.”

  He shut the door behind him and hurried down the path, only to stop when Leah’s grandmother left her apartment and turned in his direction.

  Keen eyes widened beneath purple curls. “Hello there, Ryan. Should I tell my granddaughter you’ve been stepping out on her with an older woman?”

  His mouth dropped open. “I was just—”

  “Kidding!” She slapped her thigh. “You should see your face. Did you come for a visit? I was headed over to meet Magnus, but I don’t mind making him wait.”

  “Actually, I was talking to Mrs. Winston about something, but it’s great to see you, Evie.”

  “Walk with me then.” She took his arm and turned him in the opposite direction from the parking lot. “I had a real enjoyable evening with my book club last night. I told them all about that brash young man who robbed me blind. Of course they were horrified. But your mom, who may be even sharper than you are, came up with the solution to a mystery that had been puzzling me.”

  Ryan stopped walking. “She did? What mystery was that?”

  “One of the aliases the con man used has been driving me crazy because it sounded familiar.” She grinned broadly. “Leah would tell you that’s a short trip.”

  “What . . . oh, I get it.” He smiled back. “Crazy like a fox, maybe. What insights did my mom share?”

  “Anthony Benedetto was one of the names that fool used to bilk susceptible old ladies like me who are too darn trusting for our own good.” Evie pulled him along, shuffling through the scattered leaves. “Tony Bennett.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Tony Bennett was born Anthony Benedetto. That’s why the name sounded familiar to me, not because I’d met him before.”

  “Huh, odd. Maybe not very helpful in catching the con man, but still interesting.”

  “Not useful at all since I don’t imagine Mr. Bennett’s younger incarnation is out scamming senior citizens.” She stopped in front of a short walkway leading to a corner apartment. “This is Magnus’s place. I’ll let you go on your way now.”

  Ryan smiled and bent to drop a kiss on her cheek. “Bye, Evie. I’ll be sure to give Leah an update on the name.”

  “You do that. And tell her I said not to be a stranger. Oh, I also need to talk to her about expenses. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought that new wetsuit.”

  He opened his mouth then shut it. He wouldn’t even ask. “I’ll give her the message. Take care, Evie.”

  She waved, then continued up the walk to the door and entered the apartment without knocking. The door shut with a thump. Swiveling on the heel of his running shoe, Ryan hurried back toward his Jeep. Before he reached it, his steps slowed. No point in rushing when he wasn’t sure where to go next. Without knowing the type of car each of the suspects drove twenty years before, he had no way of eliminating anyone from their pool of potential homicidal maniacs . . . if that’s what the man was. Of course, there was always the possibility the person who picked up Merry Bright had borrowed a car from a friend or relative. Basically, he didn’t have shit to go on.

  He thumped a fist down on the hood before unlocking his vehicle to climb inside. What he really wanted to know was if any other women had disappeared from the area in the last twenty years. He could try searching through old newspaper accounts, but access to police files would be far more efficient. Staring through the windshield at the falling leaves as a strong gust of wind shook his Jeep, he spent about thirty seconds considering the feasibility of hacking into law enforcement computers. He might be able to manage it, but if he got busted, the idea of time spent in prison with a roommate named Big Bubba didn’t appeal.

  Ryan started the engine and backed out of the parking spot. He’d have to risk talking to the authorities. But not the local ones. He’d take a drive down to Coos Bay to look up Stannard and Hutch. Hopefully they’d have a few insights into the cold case. Because he damn sure didn’t.

  * * *

  Leah shut her classroom door and nearly jumped out of her skin when Sloan did the same only a few yards away. She clutched her bag in a tight grip and pressed her free hand to her chest as she forced herself to breathe. Her nerves were shot, and all she wanted to do was scurry home to hide.

  “Sorry, did I startle you?” He waited for her to join him. “I’ll walk out with you. What a day.”

  She gave him a sidelong glance. “Oh?”

  “The kids were all wound up over Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating, and we still have a week to go before the big day. I’ll be happy when the holiday is over and we can focus on Pilgrims instead of skeletons and ghosts.”

  A shiver slid through her. Does Sloan have any skeletons in his closet? The thought angered and depressed her, but as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t dismiss her suspicions.

  “Are you okay, Leah? You’ve acted a little off all day.” Gray eyes regarded her from behind his glasses. “Is something bothering you?”

  “No, why would anything be bothering me?” Cool it, Leah. He isn’t accusing you of thinking he might be a psycho murderer. She let out a shaky breath. “I’m fine. As you said, it’s been a long day.”

  “Hey, I heard Ryan Alexander was up at the high school to use their dark room. Was he developing the film we found in the time capsule?”

  She froze as they reached the front doors. When Edgar appeared from around the front counter, carrying a bulging trash bag, she stammered out a response. “No, I’m afraid I lost that roll for good. I don’t know what happened to it. Ryan was developing sunset pictures he took down on the beach with an old film camera he found in a closet at his mom’s place.”

  For God’s sake, don’t overexplain.

  “Well, that’s too bad. About the lost film, I mean. I guess we’ll never know who took pictures for our time capsule.” Sloan held the door wide as a gust of wind swept through. “Hey, Edgar, how’s it going?”

  “Not so good.” He slung the black plastic bag over his shoulder. “Jesse worries me. He lost his latest job after only a couple of weeks, right after he bought a new motorcycle. If that boy doesn’t settle down . . .” He shrugged. “You don’t want to hear my problems.”

  Leah led the way down the steps. “I’m sorry Jesse’s having troubles. Hopefully he’ll find work soon.”

  “He’d better.” The janitor turned to head toward the dumpsters. “Have a good evening, Leah. You, too, Sloan.”

  Sloan clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry too much about your boy. That kid always has a way of coming out on top.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Leah was quiet until she reached her car, then glanced over at her colleague. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He waved a hand toward her Audi. “You haven’t ridden your bike to work lately.”

  “No time. Seems like I’m always running behind in the morning.”

  “I know the feeling. Good night, Leah.”

  “Good night.” She let out a relieved breath, tossed her bag filled with vocabulary tests on the passenger seat, and slid inside. Surely Edgar wasn’t one of the men in the pictures. Or Sloan, even though he’d asked about the film . . .” The key dug into her palm as she started the engine and drove out of the lot. She’d go home and call Ryan . . . right after she stopped at the grocery store, since the damn refrigerator was practically empty. Nothing about this day was going right.

  A half hour later she pushed her cart loaded with bags out of the store and nearly nailed a man in a suit standing just beyond the door, talking on his cell.

  “Oops, excuse me.”

  Waylon Brewster turned and frowned. “Good to know. Yeah, I’ll definitely be there.” After tucking his phone in his jacket pocket, he stepped out of her path. “Leah, how are you?”

  “Fine, and you?”

  He ignored her polite question as his blue gaze narrowed. “Pete mentioned you treated poor Brock like a dog turd when he was in town last wee
k. Not very nice, parading your lover in front of him the way you did.”

  Leah gripped the bar on the cart so hard her knuckles turned white. “I guess that’s better than what he did with other women while we were still married.”

  Brewster shrugged. “Once in a while a man has a lapse in judgment. No reason to be unforgiving about it.”

  Leah tried to think of a suitable response that didn’t involve swearing or slapping his smug face, and failed. She pushed past him and nearly rammed a van in her rush to get to her car. After loading the groceries into the back with shaking hands, she took a few deep breaths and glanced skyward.

  “Please let it be him,” she muttered. “I so want that loser to be the guilty party.” She climbed into the car and slammed the door. “So we can nail his ass.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “I’m down in Coos Bay, waiting to talk to Detective Stannard. Doesn’t look like I’ll be back anytime soon.”

  Leah closed her eyes and propped an elbow on the counter as she clutched the cell phone in her other hand. “That’s too bad. I take it your conversation with Mrs. Winston wasn’t very productive?”

  “Not at all. After twenty years, she didn’t have any stunning new revelations.” Ryan chuckled. “I did speak to your grandma while I was at the apartment complex. She was in rare form. By the way, you’re to call her. She mentioned something about money problems and a wetsuit. I didn’t even try to figure out what she was talking about.”

  Leah cringed. “I know what she means. Damn.” She wondered how much the wetsuit for the scuba lessons had cost and if more of her grandma’s checks would soon be bouncing higher than a freaking kangaroo on meth. Drawing and quartering was too good for that low-life son of a bitch who’d—

  “Leah, are you still there?”

  “Yeah.” She forced her grandma’s financial issues to the back of her mind and focused on Ryan. “I miss you. I’ve gotten used to having you around when I get home from work. It’s been . . . nice.”

  “More than nice. Pretty damn special.” He paused for a moment. “Oh, I was also supposed to tell you that one of the con man’s aliases, Anthony Benedetto, is Tony Bennett’s birth name. You know, the singer. That’s why your grandma recognized it.”

  Leah couldn’t help smiling even though she felt like smashing something. “So, a world-famous crooner is bilking old ladies out of their nest eggs? Isn’t that special?”

  “It would be funny if the situation wasn’t so serious. I’ll probably be back pretty late tonight. One of the detectives on the Merry Bright case died of a heart attack not long after we buried that time capsule. The other is out interviewing witnesses in relation to a current crime and isn’t expected back to the precinct for a couple more hours.”

  “Let’s hope your wait pays off with a little information, then. If nothing else, you can give him those sick photos. I don’t want to ever see them again.”

  “I only brought two with me. The others are in the folder on your kitchen counter. I wasn’t sure how I’d want to handle this.”

  Leah glanced toward the coffeepot and wondered how the plain manila folder beside it could look so menacing. “Oh.”

  “I’m worried about your safety. If the person who dropped the film in the time capsule is the same man who knocked you out and searched your house and car, there’s no guarantee he’s given up. And if he finds out we printed those pictures—”

  “I told Sloan I lost the film for good, and Edgar heard me say it. Maybe I should take out an announcement in the local paper so the rest of the suspects get the message.”

  “I don’t like this. Can you find someone to keep you company this evening? Until we know exactly what we’re up against, I don’t want you hanging out by yourself at home.”

  “I’m not alone.” She eyed Barney, sprawled on the kitchen floor near his food bowl. “I have my fearless canine protector.”

  “That would be great if I thought he’d bite an intruder instead of licking him to death.”

  She smiled. “Fine, I’ll call Nina or Paige. Will that ease your mind?”

  “Yeah.” His voice softened. “I’ll talk to you before I head back. Be careful, okay?”

  “I will. Bye, Ryan.”

  “Bye.”

  She set the cell down on the counter and wondered why she hadn’t said what she was really thinking. That she loved him. Maybe their feelings were a little too new and fragile for casual declarations of love over the phone. As disheartening and at times downright frightening as her life had been lately, she was almost afraid to hope something wonderful with Ryan could result from it.

  Leah straightened. “On the topic of overwhelming problems . . .” She headed into the living room to retrieve her laptop and powered it up. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach as she waited to pull up her grandmother’s checking account. She wasn’t sure if asking for the password after their fruitless trip to the bank had been a smart move or not. She’d almost rather not know the truth . . .

  The balance left her gasping for breath. A check written to the local surf shop—for the wetsuit, she assumed—sent a chill through her. Had her grandma even looked at the price tag before she bought the damn thing? She only had half her latest retirement check left, and rent would be due in another week. Leah slammed the laptop shut. Gram would have to give up her apartment and move in here. There really was no other solution. Since the management company probably had a hefty security deposit, she might be able to stay there long enough to get all her stuff packed . . .

  “I am so not going to think about this tonight.”

  Springing to her feet, she went back to the kitchen, detoured over to feed Barney, then picked up her cell to call Paige. When her friend answered on the first ring, she let out a sigh of relief and didn’t bother with a greeting.

  “What are you doing this evening?”

  “Celebrating. I sold that giant buffet that was taking up half a wall in my shop. I don’t know what possessed me to buy it in the first place, but I turned a terrific profit.”

  “Congratulations. Are you at home popping open the champagne?”

  “I’m not that pathetic.” Her voice turned ironic. “Okay, maybe I am, but I’m not drinking alone tonight. Nina is meeting me at Poseidon’s for dinner at six thirty. Want to join us, or are you hanging out with Ryan?”

  “He’s busy, and I’d love to join you.” She scratched her elbow and frowned. “I feel like I’ve been neglecting my BFFs lately.”

  “You really have, but we might be willing to forgive you. Great sex trumps girls’ night out every time. I’d ditch you, too, if I had a hot guy waiting for me at home.”

  Leah sputtered with laughter. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “We tell each other everything, right? This evening you can dish the dirt on what you and Ryan have been up to, and Nina and I will live vicariously while we drink that champagne.”

  “Maybe not everything, but I’ll see you in an hour.” She disconnected and turned to stare at Barney, who’d finished wolfing down his dinner. “I guess I’d better grade those vocab tests, pronto.”

  Leah was only fifteen minutes late when she pulled into the parking lot next to the Poseidon Grill. Maybe Ryan’s promptness was beginning to rub off on her. Slamming the car door, she hurried through the swirling fog toward the glow of the lighted entrance, wishing Paige had chosen any restaurant other than this one for her celebration dinner, since the owner was one of the men on their list. Still, she obviously couldn’t avoid any of the potential suspects, not in a town the size of Siren Cove, not when she worked with two of them . . . Wrenching open the door, she stepped inside and approached the hostess stand.

  Rebecca, a young woman who’d been a student in Leah’s class her first year teaching, flashed her a broad smile. “Hi, Miss Grayson. Your friends told me to keep an eye out for you. You look fantastic, very sixties retro.”

  She glanced down at the clingy knit dress over colored tights, and
smiled. “I was going for warmth over style, but I’m glad you approve. What grade are you in now?”

  “Senior.” Rebecca tapped the open calculus book on the podium. “This job is going to help pay college tuition next year, and Mr. Dorsey is nice enough to let me study between customers.”

  “Good for you, but you make me feel really old.” Leah held up a hand. “Stay where you are. I can find my dinner companions on my own.”

  Her former student nodded and handed her a menu. “They’re at a table by the windows. Have a nice evening.”

  “Thanks.” Leah headed into the dining room and nearly dropped the menu when her gaze collided with Waylon Brewster’s. “Are you freaking kidding me,” she mumbled beneath her breath. “Twice in the same day?” Ignoring him, she nodded to Dr. Carlton, who was seated with the attorney and their local judge, as she passed their table. With a sigh of relief, she pulled out the empty chair between Paige and Nina and dropped onto the seat. “What are we drinking?”

  Nina eyed her up and down. “Cute dress. Very trendy. What’s with the scowl?”

  Paige poured champagne from the open bottle on the table and handed her the flute. “Are you going to ruin my good mood? I thought we established earlier you’re the only one getting any, so you should be all smiles.”

  Leah’s lips curved as she took a sip. “Sorry. Waylon Brewster pissed me off earlier when I ran into him at the store. Made a snarky comment about Brock.” She angled her head toward the trio of men not far away. “Not the first face I wanted to see when I walked in here tonight.”

  “Then don’t look at him.” Paige topped off her glass and Nina’s. “I agree the man is a jerk, just like his son.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I wonder what a nice guy like Dr. Carlton is doing with him.”

  “Doesn’t matter. We’re celebrating.” Nina raised her glass. “Here’s to you selling that giant buffet. Now you’ll have all sorts of room to display new stock.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Paige tapped her glass against the other two before taking a sip. “Here comes our server. Check the menu, Leah. We waited for you to order.”