The Librarian’s Secret Scandal

by Jennifer Morey

  Chapter 7

  In the early afternoon of the next day, Wes waited in front of the prison for his brother to emerge. Damien was five minutes late. Getting out of the SUV, Wes walked around to the other side of the vehicle, stopping when he spotted Damien exit the prison. His longish dark brown hair was on the messy side, giving him a hard look even from this distance. He wore the jeans and black T-shirt Wes had delivered for him. Damien smiled as he approached. It was a rare sight.

  Wes put an arm around his brother for a brief hug. “I’ve waited a long time for this day.”

  Hard eyes that weren’t softened by his smile met Wes’s. “Thanks for never giving up on me.”

  The words were spoken devoid of emotion, as if prison life had drained Damien Colton. He wasn’t a weak man, but he had a thirst to find Mark Walsh’s real killer, to find justice and even retribution. How different would that effort be after enduring so much? How differently would Damien handle it now versus the pre-imprisoned Damien? More than once he’d expressed his disappointment in his family for not doing more, their dad in particular. Darius hadn’t gone out of his way much to help Damien. Maybe he felt he couldn’t. Maybe he doubted his son’s innocence. But Wes had never doubted Damien. Neither had Damien’s twin brother, Duke.

  “You get anything more about why Walsh was going to meet that agent?” Damien asked when they were on their way.

  “No.” The reply landed like a dry thud inside the SUV.

  Damien glanced over at him and Wes felt his cynicism. “You have nothing to go on?”

  “Jolene gave me a tape Walsh recorded shortly before he died. One of his lovers stole some jewelry from his wife and he caught her. She admitted to it in the recording.”

  “And Jolene waits fifteen years to hand it over?”

  “She says she only recently found it among stored items in her attic.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  “I think she’s afraid of becoming a suspect in the murder. A blackmailed lover has plenty of motive. Turning over the tape shifts the suspicion to the lover.”

  “He blackmailed her?”

  “He never said on the tape, but my guess is he recorded her admitting to the robbery for insurance. Maybe to make sure she did what he wanted. You know, use her in some way with his business dealings, on a personal level. Something like that.”

  “Who’s the lover?”

  “Her name is Tina Mueller, but she changed her identity after she met Walsh. At least I think she did. The tape suggests Walsh offered to help her and she agreed. I won’t know until I have something solid, though.”

  “Can I hear the tape?”

  “Sure. As long as you keep it to yourself.”

  “I want Walsh’s murderer just as much as you do.”

  More so. For Damien, it was very personal. It was still personal for Wes, but he also had a job to do.

  He went on to tell Damien about his talk with the Atlanta detective, particularly about the murder Tina had allegedly committed there.

  “How do you think she ties into Walsh’s murder?”

  “I don’t know if she does. But think about it. Tina’s stepfather abused her. If she killed him she did it to get away from him. If Walsh came back to Honey Creek after fifteen years being gone and she had been successful in starting a new life, she wouldn’t be happy to see him. What if he contacted her? Suddenly her new lifestyle is threatened.”

  Damien nodded. “Yeah, she may have murdered him now, but we still don't know who let me take the fall fifteen years ago.”

  Hearing the anger in Damien’s tone, Wes stayed silent.

  “If he wasn’t murdered back then, why didn’t the evidence show some thing?” Damien asked, frustration coming out in his tone. “You’d think something would have come up to cast doubt during my trial. But it didn’t.”

  “There was nothing fair about your trial.”

  “You can say that again. Somebody set me up.”

  “And we’re going to find out who.”

  Wes wouldn’t stop until he had all the answers. With the new FBI agent’s help, he’d get to the bottom of it. This time they had Walsh’s body—his real body, not a heaping pile of circumstantial evidence. Something was bound to break.

  Wes drove into town.

  “Mind if we stop at the Corner Bar?” Damien asked.

  Wes glanced over at his brother. He was going to start drinking now?

  Damien sent him an oh-please look. “I just want to taste a beer again. You’d want to celebrate a little, too, after spending the prime of your life behind bars.”

  Unable to argue that, Wes parked down the street from the bar.

  As they walked down the sidewalk, cars passed by and there were a few people out and about. Some looked more than once when they saw who was with Wes. He noticed how Damien didn’t miss it, either, and couldn’t tell how it affected him.

  His release had caused quite a stir in town. Wes couldn’t imagine Damien would be happy with the less-than-thrilled reception he was about to receive.

  One of Mark Walsh’s sons, Peter Walsh, and the CFO who had taken over for Mark at Walsh Enterprises, Craig Warner, exited Kelley’s Cookhouse just then. It was lunchtime.

  Sure enough, Peter’s face showed his displeasure at seeing two Coltons walking by, one of them none other than Damien, the man originally accused of killing his father.

  “Afternoon,” Wes said.

  “Sheriff,” Craig answered with a curious glance at Damien. Peter didn’t say anything. Maybe after a while he’d come around. Things might be awkward at first, but Wes hoped everyone would see that Damien was a good man. The same applied to Lily.

  Lily.

  Just the thought of her made him want to be with her. If he didn’t think he’d scare her away, he’d see her every day.

  A couple came out of the hardware store and stopped short when they saw Damien.

  Damien met their stares and glanced at Wes. “I can see some things never change.”

  The town was still a gossip mill. “Yeah.”

  They entered the Corner Bar and heads turned. Two patrons sat at the bar. All of the other tables were empty. Tall and tattooed, Jake Huffman paused in the act of filling a glass with ice and nodded his welcome from behind the dark, polished-wood bar.

  Wes followed Damien on a worn wooden floor through the dimly lit bar, past booths and tables. Damien chose a table and sat. Wes sat across from him just as Jake approached.

  “What can I get you?” He didn’t seem affected one way or the other by Damien’s presence.

  That seemed to ease Damien’s tension from seeing Craig and Peter. He ordered a dark microbrew.

  The bartender looked at Wes. “Water for me.”

  “Comin’ right up.” Jake left the table’s side.

  Wes leaned back in his chair. “What are you going to do now that you’re out?”

  “I don’t know. Work at the ranch for a while. Eat a lot of different food. Sleep in my own room.”

  Wes chuckled. “Sounds like a good start.

  The bartender dropped off the beer and water.

  Damien lifted the mug and sipped. “Mmm,” he murmured, then set the glass down on the table and looked across at Wes. “Simple pleasures are sure going to feel great for a while.”

  Wes smiled. More power to him. He hoped he went all out and enjoyed his freedom. But that made another thought come to mind. “Have you heard from Lucy Walsh since her father was murdered for real?”

  “Nope.”

  “I wonder how she feels about that now.”

  “Really, all I want to do is live my life again. If the Walshes can’t let go of the past, there’s nothing I can do to change that.”

  Wes couldn’t tell if his brother was hiding some buried emotion where Lucy was concerned. He’d been angered and hurt by her quick and easy belief in his guilt. Their breakup hadn’t been clean. Now that she was proven wrong, what would she feel when she reflected on the past and the love the
y’d shared?

  “That, and I want to find Walsh’s real killer.” His eyes grew driven and resolved. “I want that more than anything.”

  “Who can blame you?” He wanted that, too.

  “I’m not leaving town until I can put that to bed.”

  Wes grew more alert. “You’re planning to leave?”

  “I was thinking about it. As soon as this is over, I’m not sure I ever want to see this place again. Or the people. Especially if they hold a crime I never committed over my head.”

  “It might just be the fact that you were in prison so long. Something like that changes a man.”

  “How? By turning an innocent man into a murderer?” he scoffed. “They just need something to talk about.”

  True, but once Damien adjusted he might not want to leave, especially since his family was here.

  “Duke’s looking forward to seeing you. He would have come with me but something came up at the ranch and Dad kept him.”

  “I’ll see him when we get there. I talked to him before you came to get me. He told me about Dad.” Damien shook his head. “Sometimes I just want to hit that man.”

  And Wes had to agree.

  Lily stood from her desk at nine and started toward the door. What a long day. It was time to close the library.

  Something crashed behind her. Glass shattered. With a strangled yell, she turned and saw a flaming ball hit her desk and roll onto the floor in front of her feet. She’d been sitting at the desk just seconds before that. She might have been hit in the head.

  Running out into the library, she found a fire extinguisher and ran back to her office. Flames swirled over the surface of her desk, burning the papers she’d studied only moments before. More flames burned the carpet where the ball of fire had come to rest. Smoke began to fill the office. She sprayed the fire extinguisher just as the fire alarm went off and the overhead sprinkler shot on.

  The fire was extinguished.

  Lily heard her own breathing along with the sprinklers and felt her pulse ricocheting against her ribs and throat.

  She went to the broken window and peered outside. She didn’t expect to see anyone, but she did. A shadow standing behind the library. Pushing up the window, she coughed and waved the smoky air as it floated past her and out the window.

  The shadow moved, taking the shape of a person running down the alley.

  Lily ran from her office, jumping over the charred floor. She raced down the hall and burst through the back door. Sprinting down an alley, she skidded to a halt where it ended at a side street.

  A car engine fired up. She ran toward it, trying to see the license plate. It was dark so she couldn’t see much of anything. The car pulled away from the curb and sped away. It looked like a midsize car, a Buick or a Toyota. It was a dark color, too. Black or blue or green, maybe. She couldn’t tell.

  She stopped running, breathing hard from exertion.

  The sound of sirens made her turn and head back to the library. Reaching the back door, she went inside the smoky-smelling library and made her way to the front. By the time she got there, a fire truck had arrived. Outside, she approached the first fireman she saw.

  “We got a call from someone who said they saw smoke,” the fireman said.

  “Someone threw something flammable through the window of my office,” she told him.

  “Is anyone else inside?”

  She shook her head. “I was just about to lock up and go home.”

  Another siren sounded and Lily watched Wes’s SUV come to a stop behind the fire truck, parking at an angle in his haste, a thin bar of lights flashing along the top of the windshield.

  “You wait here while we check inside,” the fireman said.

  She absently nodded and the fireman left to do his job, though he and his team would find no fire to battle. They’d ensure the building was safe and be gone before too long.

  As Wes neared, she saw the worry etching his expression.

  “What happened?” he demanded.

  She repeated what she’d just told the fireman and he cursed.

  “I ran after the person, but it was too dark to tell who it was.”

  “You what?”

  She ignored his temper, knowing it stemmed from concern. “I couldn’t see the license plate, either. And I couldn’t tell what kind of car it was, only that it was midsize and dark-colored.”

  “You went after the person who tried to burn the library down with you in it?”

  “I…” He didn’t like it that she had taken it upon herself to chase her arsonist.

  “You could have been hurt. Or worse.”

  “Someone clearly doesn’t want me here. I wanted to find out who that is.” She wondered if Karen Hathaway had been the one to send her flowers, but hadn’t given the thought much credence since she wasn’t the only one who wanted her out of Honey Creek. The same thought had crossed her mind when her truck had been vandalized.

  “Oh, my God,” she murmured. If Karen would go to those lengths…

  “What’s the matter?” Wes asked.

  “I think I know who’s behind all this. The flowers. The vandalism. And now this.”

  “Who?”

  “Karen Hathaway. She…” Lily stopped short as the fireman she’d spoken with moments before reappeared. She didn’t want this getting around town.

  “All’s clear,” the fireman said. “But you’re going to need some repairs.”

  She already knew that. The other firemen were getting back on the truck. This one said his farewells and joined them.

  Lily watched them drive away.

  “I want you to come with me to my house and stay there for a while,” Wes said.

  She turned to look at him. The idea shocked her as much as she was sure it would stir the talk around town. “What?”

  “You heard me.” He was adamant.

  “No. No way. I can’t do that.”

  “You’ll be safe there.”

  “Wes…”

  He stepped closer to her. “This is getting serious, Lily. The flowers were an innocent enough prank. Writing on your truck was bad, but nobody tried to hurt you. This is different.”

  “Wes…I…I have May, and…my dad.”

  “We’ll pick them up. I’ll wait while you all pack. Anything else you need you can get tomorrow.”

  She was stunned into silence. “My dad will never agree to this.”

  “Then I’ll make arrangements for someone to take care of him.”

  Apart from her. As unpleasant as he’d been to live with so far, she wasn’t ready to give up trying to close their rift. Someday she hoped he’d be able to see her for the person she’d become, not the one who’d left Honey Creek with a bad reputation. And he was beginning to show an interest in May. She’d noticed it the day she and May had gone shopping. Before they left, he’d been a real grandfather for a few moments. That was so important to her.

  She didn’t have to live with Wes long. This wouldn’t last forever. So maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay with him a while. The security did appeal to her. She had to think of May, after all. It wasn’t only about herself. If anything happened to her daughter she’d just die.

  “Let me talk to your dad,” Wes said.

  She focused back on him. He’d do that for her?

  “Come on,” he said, and started toward the library.

  Lily followed him inside. She hadn’t exactly told him she’d go with him, but that didn’t seem to matter. He’d made up his mind and she was following him. After he helped her close up, he led her to his SUV. He was sure taking charge. Normally, this commandeering attitude would turn her away, but coming from Wes, it felt good. Like a safe place to land.

  “What were you going to tell me about Karen Hathaway?” Wes asked when they were on the way to her house.

  “I saw her at the Honey-B when I met Bonnie Gene there. She came over to our table. She wasn’t happy to see me.”

  “Why not?”

  “She�
��s married to one of the men I…had…relations with before leaving town.”

  “What did she say to you?”

  She was glad he didn’t judge her for having an affair with a married man. “Basically she told me she wanted me to leave town and threw water in my face.”

  He looked over at her. “She threatened you?”

  “In a way, yes.”

  He shot her an admonishing look. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “I didn’t think much of it.”

  “Didn’t you?” He sounded incredulous. “You should have told me about that when you received the flowers.”

  “I—”

  “How long after you saw her was it that you got the flowers?”

  “I don’t know. A couple of days maybe.”

  Wes sighed hard.

  “Sorry.” Maybe she should have told him. “I didn’t think there was anything you could do. I didn’t think there was anything anyone could do.”

  “I’ll talk to her in the morning.”

  There he went again, taking charge. It was such a new experience for her. Usually she was the one in control, calling all the shots. Until now she hadn’t liked to feel out of control. But for some strange reason it was different with Wes. She was afraid to think too far into the future.

  Wes reached over and put his hand on her knee. She looked at him, surprised by the softening change in him.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” he said.

  And a warm rush of something too close to love consumed her.

  After thirty minutes of talking to her dad, Wes finally got him to agree to come stay over at his house—at least for one night. All the way there Shay had complained, but she’d seen the way he’d looked at her when Wes told him about the fire. He hadn’t flinched when he heard about the flowers and the vandalism, but someone trying to burn the library with her in it had gotten his attention.

  She followed her dad and May into Wes’s house. It was a sizable white-pine-log home. The entry opened into a huge room with a rock fireplace that rose to the exposed purlin log roof. Pine steps on three sides lowered to a dark brown–carpeted seating area with sofas patterned in a rich-looking brown and deep blue fish design. A moose head hung on the rock above the fireplace. Past the living area was a dining table and chairs backed by floor-to-ceiling windows. The kitchen was open to the dining area. Stairs to the left of the entry led to an upper level, and next to those more led to a basement.