“You’d have died with them,” Lindy offered. “I heard there was an explosion first. It was amazing they got the kids out alive.”
He sighed noisily. “Yeah. It was. I wish I could have adopted all three of them but, as you just learned the hard way, I’m not fit to be a father.”
“Give yourself time,” Lindy said gently. “You just need to heal.”
“Like you do?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The way you reacted to my confusion seemed pretty overblown. I know the phone call had you spooked but you practically got hysterical out there.”
“You surprised me, that’s all.”
“Right.”
Thad was nodding agreement and his reply indicated the same, yet the look in his eyes contradicted that opinion. The man was too wise, too intuitive to suit her. She did have a lingering problem; one that might forever hurt her.
The trouble was, she had no idea how to find the kind of peace she craved—for her son’s sake as much as for her own.
Just when she thought she’d dealt with the emotional baggage from her abusive marriage, something new happened to trigger her latent fear and almost incapacitate her. Like the events of tonight.
The difference was that this time the hands that had lifted, soothed and comforted her had been kind, gentle. Undemanding.
Lindy closed her eyes for an instant and relived that moment when she’d found unanticipated peace. She could still feel Thad’s touch, sense his concern, remember the reassurance she had drawn from his warm embrace.
That was the kind of wordless encouragement she yearned to impart to her son.
And, whether she was willing to openly admit it or not, she wanted the same thing for herself.
EIGHT
Lindy and Thad’s late-night, in-depth conversation had been fairly productive. He had fielded a few specific questions regarding his past trauma, keeping his main focus on how he could help her deal with everything that had happened to her, including her husband’s murder.
Their situation was pretty ironic, he concluded, since he and Lindy obviously shared enough survivor’s guilt to incapacitate a dozen people.
In the end, they had agreed to concentrate on dealing with their present problems and ignore the past as much as possible. He could tell she hated being in the dark about so many things, such as who was harassing her and how far they might eventually go if nobody stopped them. Right now, however, they agreed that they had little choice other than to exercise patience.
Thad had returned to his truck for the balance of that night. The following morning he had followed Lindy when she’d dropped Danny at school on her way to work, beginning a weekday routine that continued unchanged.
Thankfully, there had been no other incidents on subsequent nights, yet Thad still sensed that they were being watched, probably by more than one set of eyes, which was why he had insisted on installing new dead bolts on all her exterior doors.
He could tell Lindy was still dealing with lingering nervousness in spite of her outwardly calm demeanor. Every time she phoned the investment company where her late husband had worked and failed to get through to the executive she sought, she seemed more and more anxious, not to mention frustrated.
It was late one afternoon of the second week before she was finally able to connect. Thad heard the relief in her voice. He also noted how happy she was to speak with the other man. The jolt of jealousy that shot through him was a real surprise.
Lindy’s eyes brightened and a smile accompanied her greeting. “Mr. Reed! I’m so glad I finally reached you. This is Lindy Southerland.”
Judging by her widening grin, the executive was receiving her call without reservations.
“Fine, thank you,” Lindy said. “I hate to bother you but I need a small favor. You know that account where you’ve been sending my checks? I’ve had to close it.”
Again she paused, glancing at Thad and nodding as she listened to Reed’s reply.
“That’s right. I won’t be using that bank at all anymore. I’m moving my accounts to Arkansas and I was hoping you’d be able to hold any further payments until I can get you the new numbers for direct deposit.”
She flashed Thad an okay signal that eased his mind a little.
“No, there’s no problem you need to be concerned about. I just decided it was sensible to keep my money where I could access it more easily.”
Thad had gotten to his feet and was about to leave the office when he heard her sharp intake of breath.
“Oh, dear.”
He spun around. Mouthed, What?
Lindy merely shook her head and held up a hand to signal him to wait.
Continuing to listen, he saw her eyes grow misty.
“No. No, it’s not your fault. You’ve been more than kind to Danny and me. I understand. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.” She sniffled slightly. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Reed.”
Ending the call, Lindy looked to Thad. “He says it won’t matter about my new bank account because he’s already paid me for all of Ben’s sick leave and overtime. There won’t be any more checks coming.”
“Then you’ll have to keep working for me,” Thad said, hoping his smile was genuine enough to encourage her. “See? It all worked out.”
“Except for the house payments the bank claims I owe. Ben was making a lot of money when we bought that house. The monthly payments were exorbitant.”
“One crisis at a time, okay?”
“Okay.” To his relief, Lindy began to smile. “How are you coming with my messed-up computer records?”
“Still plugging away. In the meantime, it’s a good thing you wrote that protest letter to the Georgia State Banking Department the way the woman on the phone suggested. I did a little research. Involving a lawyer doesn’t do any good.”
“I can’t afford one anyway.”
“I told you we’d work something out if you needed more help.”
“And I told you I’d manage. Everything will work out.”
Thad knew it was futile to argue. The fact that he had met and hired Lindy at just the right time struck him as possibly divine intervention. Beyond that, he figured they’d have to bide their time and wait to see what developed.
The more he pondered her situation, however, the more it seemed odd to him that her late husband’s former boss would stop sending money at this precise time.
Sure, it might be nothing more than a coincidence but Thad’s instincts made him wary.
He turned to Lindy. “Tell me. How well do you know this guy—the one who just told you he was going to stop your checks?”
“Mr. Reed? Well enough. He was very solicitous after Ben was killed. Why?”
“Something doesn’t ring true, that’s all. Doesn’t it seem kind of odd to you that he would stop payments just when you were having other financial difficulties?”
“No. I didn’t tell him I was.”
“Suppose he already knew?”
“How would he? I haven’t talked to anyone at the firm for months. It’s my fault for not asking how long the checks were going to keep coming. I should have known they would stop someday. Ben never took sick time but that doesn’t mean he’d accumulated an unlimited amount.”
Thad shrugged. “Okay. If you say Reed’s on the up-and-up, I’ll accept your conclusion.”
“Actually, he was the only one who even bothered to come up from
Little Rock for Ben’s funeral. It was as if the others he’d worked with were ashamed to show their faces. James was the one who helped me sort out Ben’s papers after the authorities were through with them, too.”
It was James, now? “Really? That is interesting.”
He watched Lindy’s face, saw her arch an eyebrow and press her lips into a thin line.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said firmly. “Don’t give me that suspicious look. I know what you’re thinking and it’s impossible. The feds did a thorough investigation of everyone who worked with Ben and nobody was in on the crime. He had been laundering money for drug smugglers through a hedge fund that he had set up and managed all by himself.”
“What happened to that money after he died?” Thad asked.
“I assume the DEA got hold of it. Why?”
Thad drew his fingers down his cheek to the point of his chin, ending in a thoughtful pose. “I wonder. Suppose somebody thought you had it or knew where it was?”
“Then they know by now that I don’t,” Lindy countered. “I have no idea how large an amount was involved but I suspect it was a bundle. Believe me, if I had that kind of extra cash on hand, I wouldn’t be worrying about credit cards and my meager savings account.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Lindy’s smile blossomed. “Of course I am. I’m never wrong.”
The effect of her grin warmed him to the core and he had to smile with her. “That claim may work with your little boy but I’m a lot older and wiser. I know you must have made at least one mistake sometime.”
To his chagrin she immediately sobered and nodded before she said, “Yes. When I got married. Believe me, I am never going to try that again.”
There was no good reason for Thad to argue with her, nor was he sure she was wrong about matrimony. His own parents had had a rotten marriage and if it hadn’t been for seeing Rob and Ellen together, he might have thought wedded bliss was an impossible goal.
As it was, Thad knew better than to hope he could find a wife like Ellen. For one thing, he didn’t deserve that kind of happiness.
For another, he wasn’t able to be the kind of ideal husband his brother had been. Not even close.
* * *
Lindy fell into a comfortable daily routine. So did her son. And now that Danny knew Thad Pearson pretty well, she figured it was time she kept her promise to Samantha and took the boy to Sunday school.
They hadn’t been back to Serenity Chapel since the day of Ben’s funeral. At that time, Lindy had decided it would be easier to skip worship services than it would be to deal with the sidelong glances and the unspoken questions from members of the congregation.
Few church members had actually attended the short service that Brother Logan Malloy had conducted at her husband’s graveside. Lindy’s memories of that sad day were foggy but she recalled enough to feel pain. Abandonment. Loss.
Sometimes it was as if only a few days had passed since then. Other times, her life as a married woman seemed so remote that she saw those years as little more than a bad dream.
And now? Lindy asked herself. Now was now. She was finally making a stable home for Danny. Part of that newfound stability was directly due to her job and their relationship with Thad Pearson. If she was ever going to reintroduce her son to her faith, there might never be a better time.
Danny had pouted when she’d mentioned going to church again—until she’d told him who his Sunday school teacher would be. Then, he had beat her getting dressed and had even combed his unruly hair by himself.
She, too, was more excited than she’d expected to be. The dress she’d chosen was one that Ben had ridiculed simply because he didn’t care for the color. Shades of purple were Lindy’s favorite. And this outfit was one of the few she had picked out to please herself rather than her husband.
She didn’t wish to analyze that choice too deeply. The dress had simply spoken to her. She’d loved it the moment she’d seen it in the shop and when she’d tried it on it had fit so perfectly she’d had to buy it.
Smoothing the slim skirt she sighed. Remembered. Almost cringed.
“Take that ugly thing off and put on something decent,” Ben had shouted at her. He’d checked his watch. “And make it snappy. We’re already running late.”
Lindy recalled biting her lower lip to keep from weeping as she’d raced back to the bedroom to change. Ben favored dull colors that made her spirits flag. But she’d changed. For him. Because he was her husband and because she’d wanted to please him. It was just that the purple dress had made her feel so good.
And it still did, Lindy realized, smiling. Although there remained a niggling suspicion that her personal wardrobe choices were not all they should be, she intended to wear this dress. For herself.
And for Thad Pearson? she wondered silently.
Of course not.
Liar.
Am not.
Yes, you are.
Chuckling over having an argument with herself, Lindy picked up her purse, took her son’s hand and led him to the car.
Today was going to be another big milestone in their recovery. Today, Danny was going back to Sunday school.
And I’m going to face all those people who ignored Ben’s funeral as if it wasn’t worthy of their attendance.
Her chin jutted. Her spine stiffened. She could do this. She could walk into church with her head held high because...
Because Thad was going to be there, too. It was as simple as that.
* * *
Two men in business suits and dark glasses were waiting for Thad when he left his house. Since it was Sunday morning he thought for an instant that they were dressed that way for church. Seconds later, he recognized their stiff demeanor.
If he’d been armed, he would have closed his hand around the butt of his pistol. That was how menacing they seemed.
“Your name Pearson?” the graying, older man asked without smiling.
“Maybe. Why?”
The second suited visitor stepped to one side so that Thad had to turn his head to watch him. The tactic was textbook. Divide and conquer.
Wary, Thad backed up. “What’s all this about?”
“Simmer down, Sergeant,” the first man said. “We’re all on the same side here.”
“In case you haven’t heard, I’m a civilian,” Thad said flatly. “Either tell me what’s going on or get out of my way. I’m late for church.”
“That’s what your country likes, an honest man with good morals. You do have those, don’t you, Pearson?”
Thad had disliked these two from the moment he’d set eyes on them and his opinion wasn’t changing. Rather than continue useless verbal sparring, he folded his arms across his chest, concentrated on the obvious spokesman and waited.
“It’s like this,” the man finally said. “You’ve been poking your nose into affairs that are none of your business. Our department has gone to a lot of trouble to set up a sting and you’re interfering.”
“What sting? What department do you represent?”
“That’s irrelevant. All you need to know is to back off and stop trying to help the enemy.”
“You guys are crazy. I’d never do anything to hurt my country.”
“But you are assisting a suspect in a criminal investigation.”
Thad’s blood turned to ice water in his veins. There was only one person he was going out of his way to help. Lindy Southerland.
“Are you telling me that an innocent woman who never hurt a soul is being set up?”
“Look,” the agent said soberly, “we know you’ve been doing some computer hacking of your own and you’re getting in our way. All we ask is that you stand down.”
“While you ruin someone who doesn’t have a crooked bone in her body? Give me one good reason why I should cooperate.”
“New information has come to light. And because the only way any of us will ever be sure that Ben Southerland’s widow isn’t hiding millions in dirty money is if we force her to act.”
“Or what? Suppose she doesn’t know anything about the funds you’re looking for? What then? Do you plan to let her be thrown out into the street?”
“If that’s what it takes, yes,” he replied with an arch of a graying brow. “Look, Sergeant. We aren’t asking you to lie or stop employing the woman. Actually, we want you to continue befriending her so we’ll have somebody on the inside who can tell us when she makes her move.”
“No.”
“You’re willing to risk being indicted as an accessory?”
“I can’t be an accessory if there’s no crime,” Thad countered. “I will stake my life that Lindy Southerland is innocent.”
The younger, crew-cut agent chuckled quietly before muttering, “Suits us. We’ll take you both down if we have to.”
Frowning at his cohort and pointing to their dark sedan, the older man handed Thad a business card and said, “We’ll be in touch.”
Thad watched them drive out of sight before he studied the card. It told him basically nothing, not even which government agency the men represented, and he realized belatedly that he had not been shown any badge or official ID, either.
Slipping the card into his jacket pocket, he vowed to call the number later just to see who answered. If that didn’t tell him anything helpful, he’d do whatever his conscience told him to do next.
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