Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2)

by Johnson, Sherri Wilson

  "No, ma’am. I do not." Phil served the eggs, bacon, and biscuits onto the bar. "Let me say a quick prayer for us."

  Kathryn bowed her head and closed her eyes. A lump the size of Georgia grew in her throat at Phil's sweet words. When he finished praying, Kathryn wiped a tear from the corner of her left eye and sliced her biscuit in half then spread butter on each piece. It melted as soon as it touched the steaming bread, like her heart had melted at Phil's prayer, and her mouth watered. "Do you want to tackle this paint job after we eat?" She took a bite of the biscuit and rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling. She'd never tasted anything like it.

  "I didn't think you'd feel like doing it after what you went through last night." Phil bit into his biscuit and grinned. He must have agreed with Kathryn about their perfection.

  "Sure, why not?" Kathryn licked the butter off her lips and dropped a piece of bacon into Sadie's begging mouth.

  Phil agreed with a nod, licking bacon grease from his fingers. "Why don't we first go explore my properties and see if we can figure out if the gun is hidden in any of them? We can always paint later today."

  "Okay." Kathryn scooped up the last bit of her eggs, and her mouth formed into a frown. She should have eaten more slowly and savored each morsel. "You know what I'm sad about?"

  "What?" Phil gulped down the last of his coffee.

  "Two things: that my breakfast is gone..."

  "You want some more? I can whip up a few more eggs." He started to hop up off the barstool.

  Kathryn reached for his forearm and stopped him. "No, I'm good."

  "Okay. What else?"

  "I missed a sunset."

  "Yeah, you did, didn't you?" He laughed and patted her hand, sending electric shocks throughout her body. "Maybe you can stay one extra night to make up for it?"

  "I just might have to do that." Kathryn slid her hand from underneath his and headed to the bedroom to change clothes. Was she ready for another full day with this man? Her wall of defense was beginning to crumble, and that scared her more than swimming with the sharks out in the bayou. But she had to start somewhere. It was like learning to swim or ride a bike. If she didn't allow someone to teach her how to accept kindness and friendship, how would she ever learn to navigate life's waters?

  She scanned the items in the master bedroom closet she'd flung in there last night after dinner. She needed something comfortable for their day of exploring but something cute, also, to make a lasting impression on Phil. Her black drawstring shorts and gray V-neck with her pink sneakers would fit perfectly with his look. That's what she'd wear. She dressed in a flurry and walked down the hallway with a bit of a foxtrot in her step.

  #

  Kathryn juggled her keys, phone, and laptop bag in her hands, as she locked the beach house door and followed Phil around the back. A plane buzzed overhead, the birds and katydids serenaded them, and the ocean's breeze guided them toward their day of adventure despite the escalating heat.

  "I like your outfit." Phil looked over his shoulder and winked. "Sporty."

  "Thanks." Kathryn's stomach tightened at the compliment. Then her purse strap fell off her shoulders and landed in the crook of her elbow, causing her to tilt to the left and step off one of the steppingstones that led to the shed. The antihistamine still affected her balance. Or maybe Phil's compliment was the culprit. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen her stumble. She pulled the strap back up onto her shoulder and followed him to his SUV. "You moved my car around back?"

  "Yep. I didn't want my cousins scouting every street until they found it. In Cedar Key, it's easy to do that. I parked mine back here, too, so they wouldn't find me either."

  "Good call." Kathryn waited as Phil opened the passenger's side door of his SUV for her, and she climbed in. "So where should we go first?" Phil shut her door and went around to the driver's side.

  Phil hopped in, shut the door, and pulled his sunglasses from the visor. "I think we'll head over to the tree house first." He slid the sunglasses onto his face and tipped his head toward her as he cranked the car.

  There was that confident, almost cocky, attorney she knew was buried somewhere behind that cool and genteel façade. And there was that tingle again. She gulped and blew out her breath. "Tree house?"

  He eased the car out from behind the shed and around to the front of the house. "Yep, it's a one-bedroom built up in a giant oak tree. It's the smallest one, so I figured it'd be easiest to check out first. Cross it off the list. Plus, no one is staying there right now."

  "What are your other places like?"

  "Besides the tree house and the one you're in, which is the most luxurious, I've got one in the old mill complex over by the city park, and two cottages over on 4th Street. I doubt the gun is in the one in the complex though. Not private enough for burying evidence."

  "It seems like it would have to be somewhere secluded, if it hasn't been tossed out to sea. We already know it’s not at the honeymoon shack or buried in the cemetery." Kathryn's phone rang, and she swiped her finger across the screen to unlock it. Beverly. What could she possibly want? "I need to get this."

  "Sure." Phil turned down the volume on the radio.

  "Hello," she answered the Clerk of Court's call.

  "Hey, Kathryn. Sorry to bother you on your vacation."

  Some vacation. "That's okay. What's up?"

  "The D.A. shuffled your cases around for you since your time off came up suddenly, but he postponed a few of them because there were too many details that you were wrapped up in."

  "Okay. That's what he said he'd do when we talked on Sunday."

  "Oh, you talked to him? Okay. So they'll be waiting on you when you return."

  "Okay, thanks." She had to be fishing for something. Otherwise, she wouldn't have called. The office gossip ring must be too silent right now.

  "So when are you returning?"

  Seriously? Was it that impossible to get a break from the office? "I'll be in Monday, if not sooner."

  "Monday?"

  "Yes. D.A. Schwartz gave me the week off, so I'm going to take it."

  "Are you coming back in town before then though?"

  Kathryn sighed. What was this all about? "I don't know. Why?"

  "Well, a man has called three times wanting to know when you'll be back. He won't leave his name. Kinda sounds mysterious. I wondered if he might want to ask you on a date."

  "What did he say?"

  "He asked if you are available for appointments, and I just figured it might be for a date."

  "Why would you figure that?"

  "Oh, I don't know. I'm just a romantic. Now that you make me second-guess myself, he did get kind of angry when none of us would tell him more information."

  "Okay. Do me a favor. Tell D.A. Schwartz about him. And if he calls back, don't give out any information about me. At all. I'm afraid it could be related to the Ezzo case."

  Phil jerked his head toward her and questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  Kathryn shrugged. "I don't want him or anyone else who calls to know I'm off this case, and I don't want him especially to know anything about me."

  "You got it. What have you been doing?"

  She wasn't going to give up until she found out something gossip-worthy. "Relaxing. Having reactions to seafood. You know, the usual."

  "You had an allergic reaction?"

  "Sure did. Still under the influence of the antihistamine a bit."

  "Oh wow! Did you know you were allergic?"

  "Nope. I wouldn't have eaten it if I'd known." Kathryn sighed.

  "Oh, yeah, obviously. Did someone help you or did you have to call 9-1-1?"

  "Yes, I had help. Didn't have to go to the hospital." Kathryn sighed again.

  "Is Cedar Key on the Atlantic side or the Gulf?"

  "It's on the Gulf down past the Suwannee River. It's a nature preserve, so there's no white beaches. Just salt marshes and estuaries, lots of fishing and great sunsets." She was through with sharing information about her time in Ced
ar Key.

  "Sounds great! Well, take care. Catch some sun for me."

  "Okay." Kathryn ended the call.

  "She sure was nosey.”

  Kathryn shrugged. “Unusually so.”

  "What's happening back at the office? Did I hear correctly my uncle's name?"

  "Yep. Someone's been calling trying to find out information about me. He won't leave his name. It's probably one of your cousins."

  "Your coworker didn't say anything to him?"

  "No. She thought it was somebody wanting to ask me on a date. Like when does that ever happen?"

  Phil laughed. "You sounded like you were using discretion when talking to her."

  Kathryn nodded. "I'm not close to her. Not sure how much I can trust her yet. She's the new clerk for my judge, and she favors the men attorneys in the office over the women. I think she doesn't like women being in positions of authority. She doesn't take direction from me too well."

  "She sounds intimidated."

  "Maybe."

  "You think she'd tell someone where you are?"

  "I don't think so, but she might paint a bad picture of me to her coworkers. So I don't talk about my private life." Kathryn crossed her arms and rubbed her elbows.

  "I don't miss that about practicing law. Your whole life is an open book."

  "Yeah, I hate that part of it. I hate a lot about it."

  "Well, you don't have to think about it anymore today. Let's try to find the gun so you can prosecute my uncle."

  "Phil, you're terrible!"

  "Why?"

  "You know I'm off the case. Plus, why would you want your own uncle prosecuted?" She laughed and shook her head.

  "I want the truth to come out…even if it means my good old uncle is guilty."

  "I want that too."

  "And I want you to be reinstated to the case, if that’s what you want."

  "Yeah, I'm still thinking about that. But for now let's get on with our investigation."

  "Hang on!" Phil slammed the brakes on and jammed the SUV into reverse. Gravel and crushed shells spewed out from underneath the car.

  Kathryn grabbed on to the dashboard and braced herself with her feet pressed almost through the floorboard. "What are you doing?"

  Phil put the car into drive, pressed the pedal to the floor, and nodded toward a house that fit the description of the tree house. "That's Drew's car."

  Chapter Fifteen

  The black Mercedes with dark tinted windows looked like a monster waiting to devour them. "What's he doing there?"

  Phil turned left onto a desolate gravel road and stopped the vehicle. "I can only assume he's looking for the gun." He yanked off his sunglasses, rubbed his forehead, and pressed his fingers into his temples.

  "What does this mean? What does this mean? What does this mean?" Kathryn couldn't stop waving her hands in the air. She'd felt anxiety and panic before, but this was the worst. Sweat broke out on her upper lip, and her pulse tapped out a beat in the notch between her collarbones.

  "I don't know." Phil drummed the steering wheel.

  "Did he hide it? Or did he just figure out that that's where it most likely was?"

  Phil groaned. "Who knows? But I'm not taking the chance of him seeing us here together."

  Kathryn buried her face in her hands. "No way!" Now they both needed protection. Who was going to protect her protector?

  "We'll go into town and check out the rental at the old mill complex and wait it out at the park. We can come back by in a bit."

  Kathryn slapped her legs and turned toward Phil. "What's the point? If he knows where the gun's at, it won't be here when we get back."

  "What are you suggesting?"

  "Drop me back off at my place and then come back and confront Drew yourself."

  "Or…"

  She slapped the console. "Phil, come on! If he's collecting the gun, it'll be gone! We'll never know."

  Phil grabbed her hand and turned sideways in his seat. "Look, Kathryn, I don't want to get killed over this. If Drew's responsible for the murders, who's to say I won't be next? Especially if he realizes I know you."

  She slumped. "We can't chance that." Kathryn tapped her foot on the floorboard. "Call him."

  Phil puffed and ran his hands through his hair. "What?"

  "Call him and get him to meet you somewhere else. I'll come here by myself and try to find the gun."

  Phil turned off the ignition. "No way! You're forgetting one big problem. Barney. He doesn't care who he hurts."

  "Make sure Barney is with Drew. Get them to help you do something at your grandmother's cottage. Distract them both, and I'll try to find it."

  Phil groaned again and pulled his phone out of the console. "This is an impossible situation. I feel like I'm a married man trying to hide his mistress."

  Kathryn giggled. "Well, you sure know how to turn an impossible situation into something comical."

  Phil didn't laugh; he stared at Drew's number on the phone's display but didn't hit the call button.

  "Look, Phil, if you don't want to call him, don’t. If you've got a better solution, tell me."

  "No, I'll call him. I don't want you to think I'm a coward."

  "Coward? How could I? You've done nothing but protect me ever since I arrived. You're not a coward. I understand if you don't want to get involved any further in this case. Really, I do."

  Phil nodded and hit the call button. Kathryn couldn't read the look in his eyes, flecks of something painful clouding them. Was he frightened for her? Or did it go deeper than that? Was he really in fear for his life?

  "Hey, Drew. What are you and Barney doing right now?" He squeezed the steering wheel with his left hand. "You're still in Cedar Key?" He nodded to Kathryn.

  Drew's voice boomed through the earpiece, and her heart pounded.

  "Yeah, can you guys come over to Grandma's place and help me move a few things around? I'm going to be painting in there next week, and I need to move the furniture to the center of the room." He squeezed the back of his neck and planted his gaze on the headliner. "Yeah, I called. She's not on the case anymore. Someone else is prosecuting.” He listened. “Why are you still interested in meeting her? She’s not a key element of the case anymore.”

  So Drew was still determined to come after Kathryn. Phil should have told him that she’d had gone back to Georgia. Why couldn't things be as peaceful as they looked outside the car window? Light breeze. Birds fluttering in the bushes. Sunlight streaming through the trees.

  D.A. Schwartz had thought he was ensuring her safety by removing her from the case and making her stay in Cedar Key, but he'd been wrong. Not even in Cedar Key was she safe.

  Phil sighed. "I suppose the case will be dismissed without the murder weapon."

  Could he convince Drew that there was no need for them to stay in Cedar Key? Maybe if they left, Kathryn could enjoy the rest of the week with Phil unthreatened. And maybe they'd find the gun.

  "No, I didn't talk to Louie. I'll call the public defender later today and see what the evidence is, if he'll tell me." Phil cranked the car. "Okay, I'll see you over there in a few minutes."

  Kathryn buckled her seatbelt. Somehow, she'd unbuckled it in her moment of panic, ready to flee the vehicle for the wooded area if the need had arisen. "He didn't suspect anything?"

  "I don't think so." Phil pulled into the drive and around the back of the house. He slipped a key off his key ring and handed it to Kathryn. "Here. This is the key to the tree house rental. You follow me over there. If they're gone, you go in. If they're not, stay back. Don't let them see your car. They know what it looks like, remember?"

  "Right. Got it." Kathryn's nerves erupted like an earthquake, and her entire body shook.

  Phil grabbed her trembling hand. "Are you sure you're up for this after your allergic reaction?"

  "Yes, I want to get this over with. The sooner we find the gun, the sooner we can get this case behind us."

  He squeezed her hand. "And move forward
?"

  She nodded. "If you'd like to."

  "Oh, I'd like to." Phil leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

  When he pulled away, Kathryn leaned forward for a lingering moment. Why did it have to end? His lips were soft and comforting, yet there was passion in them. She could feel it.

  "Kathryn?"

  Her eyelids fluttered open. "Yes?"

  "We had better get going. Unfortunately."

  "Yeah. Unfortunately."

  He cocked his head. "Maybe we can pick up with this later?"

  "Rain check." Kathryn laughed and hopped out of his SUV. She skipped to her car with the same foxtrot she'd had earlier, almost forgetting about the threat to her life and his. Almost.

  #

  Drew and Barney were waiting on Phil when he arrived at Grandma's old cottage. Drew leaned against the car, and Barney stood on the front porch, looking as out-of-place here as Phil would look at a poker game with Uncle Louie's employees in the backroom of his shipping company.

  Phil yanked his sunglasses off, grabbed his phone, and jumped out of his SUV. He straightened his shoulders and sucked in a deep breath preparing himself for his interaction with his cousins.

  "Hey, Cuz. Thanks for making us work while we're down here." Drew dropped his cigarette on the ground and smashed it with the toe of his leather loafer.

  "I needed the muscle power, and I figured you needed something to occupy your time other than looking for the gun."

  "How do you know we're looking for the gun?" Barney tossed a toothpick on the ground.

  Phil sent a disapproving look toward the litterbugs. "Aren't you?"

  "Drew wants the gun. I'm looking for that D.A. The gun is probably long gone by now. Fun with the D.A. is a job perk."

  Phil was just about to reach his boiling point. He'd just as soon cut Barney's arms off than let him put one single finger on Kathryn. Stay calm! "I told Drew she's not on the case anymore. What makes you think she's even here?"

  "I told you that we heard she was down here, and we're going to convince her to drop her search."

  He threw his hands in the air. These buffoons were relentless. "Who cares if she's here, guys? She's off the case."