by D'Ann Lindun
He stepped back a step as if she were repugnant to him. “So, you have been lying to me. How many times have I asked you if you had seen your brother and you looked me in the face and told me you hadn’t? Do you know anything about Lindy? So help me God, if you do I’ll … ”
“What, Trey? You’ll do what? What more could you do to me?” She ignored the tears on her cheeks. His disdain shouldn’t hurt this much. She pointed at him. “I don’t care what you think of me. But for the record, I have no idea where Lindy could be. She wasn’t with Jace when he came to see me.”
“I’m supposed to trust you?” He looked at her like she was a stranger. “How?”
“Because I’m telling you the truth,” she insisted, the fight going out of her. “I asked Jace to stay. To see Mama, to turn himself in. But he refused. I had to protect him.”
“Like you’re doing now?” he asked, his disbelief obvious.
“No. If I knew where he was, I’d go to him myself and tell him to hide, or to go back to Angola. Don’t you see? I can’t bear it if anything happens to my brother.” She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.
“While you’ve been protecting your brother, my sister is likely lying dead somewhere. If you had only trusted me enough to tell me this sooner, we could’ve been hunting for her. You have no defense for what you’ve done.” He sounded so cold, so distant, she barely recognized him.
His scorn burned more than she could’ve imagined. She stepped back again, and bumped into the shelves. There was nowhere to hide. “You aren’t convinced he did it, then? Kidnapped Lindy and killed your mother?” She searched his face hoping for some sign, some crack. Just one iota of belief Jace hadn’t done these horrendous acts.
His silence rang louder than words.
“I can’t help you,” she whispered. “Just leave.”
Without replying, he turned and went out the door, leaving it open.
Blinded by a fresh rush of tears, Summer couldn’t see him walk through the front door without a backward glance.
Glory and Lilah rushed in with her.
“My gosh, Trey looked like a thundercloud,” Lilah said. “I wouldn’t want to be the next person he bumps into. They might not survive his mood.”
“Looks like he did plenty of damage here,” Glory commented as she dampened a washcloth in the utility sink and dabbed at Summer’s face with it. “You okay, hon?”
Summer nodded, too choked up to speak. She had hoped somewhere down deep that Trey didn’t think the worst of Jace, but it turned out he did after all. The grim reality was Trey thought Jace was not only a cold-blooded killer of anyone who got in his way, but also a kidnapper. She didn’t know what she expected Trey to do when he found out she had seen her brother and lied about it, but look at her like he’d never seen her before hadn’t been it. “I’m okay,” she managed.
“What’s wrong?” Lilah took Summer’s cold hands and held them in her own, warming them. Her amber eyes were filled with compassion.
Summer shook her head, unable to trust her own voice.
“What set him off?” Glory lifted a strand of Summer’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. “He tore out of here like the seam in a fat lady’s dress. Never said a word.”
Summer took a long, shuddering breath. “His mother died last night.”
“Oh, no,” Lilah cried.
“That’s too bad,” Glory murmured. “The cancer finally beat her?”
“No, that’s just it. It didn’t.” She pulled her hands away from Lilah and twisted them. She looked between her friends, and seeing compassion there, blurted out the rest. “Someone apparently murdered Emily in her bed last night. Trey believes Jace did it.”
Her friends’ mouths fell open in shock.
“That’s not all,” Summer told them. “The Chief has taken a shotgun and gone looking for Jace. He’s going to shoot on sight.”
“You’re the one who should be mad,” Lilah said loyally.
“I also told Trey I saw Jace the night he came home.” Summer looked into her friends’ faces. She didn’t see condemnation there. “Please understand. I only saw him for a few minutes and I don’t know where he went. I have no idea if Lindy Bouché is with him or not. I couldn’t tell anyone.”
“It’s okay, honey. We understand,” Lilah hugged Summer. “We forgive you.”
“Yeah, sure,” Glory said. “But I can see now why your boy stormed out of here like a hurricane. If you didn’t tell him about seeing Jace he probably thinks you’re holding back on everything.”
“Exactly.” Misery filled Summer. She didn’t want to admit to herself how much she had hoped Trey would come around to her way of thinking. Now she knew that was never going to happen. It hurt worse than she’d imagined.
“Who says Miz Emily was murdered?” Lilah asked. “Maybe that’s a mistake.”
Summer drew a shaky breath. “Apparently the killer wrote a message on the bathroom mirror in lipstick.”
“Oh my God.” Lilah’s eyes grew enormous. “That’s horrible.”
Glory, too, looked like she might be sick. Her pale skin went a shade lighter. “That’s insane.”
“Yes, it is.” Summer held her hands out, palms up. “Who would want to murder a dying woman? It just makes no sense. No more than pinning her death on my brother does.”
Glory frowned. “I hate to ask this, but do you think there’s a chance he did do it? I mean he might’ve snapped or something.”
“Of course he didn’t do it,” Summer declared. “How could you ask that?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Glory said. “I had to ask. I mean who else would have any reason to knock off the Chief’s wife? From what everyone says about her, she was a saint or something. Never a hair out of place, not even a chipped nail.”
Summer pinned her with a look. “Think what you just said. I bet The Chief has tons of enemies. Not everyone in this town likes him all that well. My brother can’t be the only one wrongly accused. Cops aren’t always the most popular people because of the work they do.”
“That’s true. Jody was a lot more liked when he played football than when he became a cop,” Lilah said. “Why not go after the Chief then? I mean it doesn’t seem like someone mad at him would kill his wife instead of him. They had to be some kind of sicko to do that to a poor, helpless woman.”
“Unless they wanted to make The Chief pay even more than Miss Emily,” Glory mused. “The living suffer much more than the dead.”
“That’s true,” Summer said, thinking of Mama, “the world can be a living hell sometimes.”
“What is Trey going to do?” Lilah asked.
“He said he’s going to try and stop the Chief from doing anything crazy, but I don’t know if he can,” Summer told her. “From what he said, the Chief has gone off his rocker, swearing revenge, and nothing is going to stop him. I pray Jace is nowhere around here. If the Chief finds him before Trey does Jace will be killed for sure.”
“Do you need to go home?” Glory’s emerald green eyes looked so kind, so caring that Summer wanted to cry again.
She shook her head. “No. I’ll just upset Mama if I’m there. She’ll know something is wrong and I don’t want her getting all up in the air. Besides we’re busy today and you need me here. If I keep my mind on other things, I won’t have so much time to worry.”
“You better comb your hair then,” Glory said with a grin, “because the way you look right now, the only customer who’d let you work on her is the Bride of Frankenstein. You’re face is a mess, too. Get fixed up then take Nora Lee Johnson. She’s coming in at eleven o’clock for a style.”
“Thanks a lot,” Summer said. “I needed that.”
“Let’s get busy,” Glory said. “Hard work can make a lot of things better.”
Chapter Twenty
&n
bsp; Trey drove without seeing the road.
He had known the truth all along, but still felt betrayed. He didn’t think he and Summer had ever lied to each other before, but her trust in him had been shattered the day he sat on the witness stand and told the jury he’d found her brother with blood on his hands. Trey supposed he couldn’t blame her, but he didn’t want to believe the bond they’d shared was gone forever.
Would he do any different if it was Lindy? He didn’t know. To find her, he had sacrificed the most important relationship he’d ever had. Would he lie to Summer to protect his sister? He told himself he wouldn’t, but a little voice in his head said he might. The big difference was Lindy might be a pain in the ass, but she wasn’t a killer. If she were, he wouldn’t try to stand between her and justice. Apparently Summer didn’t have the same ethics.
Bitter disappointment filled him.
Before he could dwell on it any further, his cell phone rang. He barked into it. “What is it?”
On the other end, Etta timidly asked for him.
“I’m sorry, Etta. What can I do for you?” He felt rotten for yelling at her.
“The funeral director phoned. He would like to speak to your daddy, but I can’t get him to answer the radio and no one at the office knows where he is. People are coming by to pay their respects, too. Your daddy should be here to greet them.”
Trey gritted his teeth. If the Chief were thinking clearly, he would be taking care of this. “I’ll try to find him, but I have no idea where he went.”
“Try Miz Clara’s house. Maybe Samuel went to his Mama’s place to get away to think. If you do go there, look for that sparkly blue brooch your granny always wore. I know Miz Emily would like to wear it now. She always favored that piece of jewelry.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will.” Trey hung up, his mind on Granny Clara. He had spent many summers with her. They all had. She had made simple things like fishing in the creek, picking berries, and canning jam fun. All his friends had loved to go there. Lindy used to fight them when it was time to go home.
He slammed on the brakes and almost threw himself through the windshield when he realized the implications. He picked up the phone and called Etta back. “Is there anything in Granny’s house? Could someone stay there?”
“Sure they could. Your mama didn’t want the place closed up. She said it meant too much to the family. She wanted to use it as a vacation house, but she got sick before that happened.” She sniffled and paused. “Why all the questions, Mr. Trey?”
“If I’m right, Lindy’s been hiding at Granny Bouché’s house.” His heart and pulse pounded at the thought. If his sister had been hiding — safe and sound — in plain sight all this time he would ring her neck. Then hug her. Then ring her neck.
“Oh, Lordy, I hope so.” Etta’s fervent hope came clearly through the phone.
“Me, too, Etta. Me, too.” He sent up a quick prayer of his own. “I’ll call you when I know something.”
• • •
Lindy had spent the night on the couch.
Jace tried to talk to her twice, but she hadn’t wanted to dissect their lovemaking — sex — with him. More determined than ever to dig for the truth, she hit the shower, dressed in a pair of jeans and tank top, and did her makeup, a little lighter than normal. It would be impossible to sneak in the police station in broad daylight, but nothing would stop her tonight.
Jace came to the doorway. He leaned on the doorway, one arm above his head. His expression was unreadable. He had no shirt, the top button of his jeans undone again. Her mouth went dry and she turned away. She sniffed. If he thought she was going to fall for pure animal lust and attack him again, he’d better have another think. Plus, she didn’t want to examine her feelings for him right now. Some time and distance would put her emotions in perspective.
A sound caught her attention. “What is that?”
Jace whirled toward the door. “Someone’s coming.”
Panic filled her and she couldn’t move. Like a deer in a spotlight, she froze. “What do we do?”
“Cover for me.” He spun around and disappeared into the bedroom.
Desperately seeking her mind for what to do, she looked around the room for signs Jace had been there. There were none. Her makeup was spread out across the table and the blankets she’d slept in fell across the couch, but a casual glance wouldn’t give his presence away. Briefly, she thought of running out the back door and hiding in the woods, but her Jeep parked in the garage would give her away to anyone who bothered to look there.
Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin and faced the door.
As the knob turned, she held her breath.
The door swung open and she exhaled.
Trey stepped through the opening.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Somehow she kept from darting a glance toward the bedroom door. Where was Jace? Had he run? She hoped so. If he went back to Angola now, all would be lost. He’d never have another chance to find the truth behind Soloman’s murder if he were caught now. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question.” Trey looked mad enough to do her bodily harm.
“You found me.” Pretending indifference, she shrugged.
“We’ve been looking for you.” His voice went deeper. “Everyone’s worried sick about you.”
“Why?” she asked. “I go off by myself all the time and no one cares.”
“You’re wrong. We all care.” He looked around. “Gather your stuff. You need to come with me right now.”
“I don’t have to do anything, Trey. You’re not my keeper.” She glared at him, defying him to move her.
“I could shake you,” he said. “While you’ve been out here doing God knows what, the Chief, Mother, and I have been worrying ourselves crazy over you. Things you don’t know about are going on. We know you were with Jimmy Ray Hunt. When you didn’t come home, we thought you’d been raped and murdered, your body dumped in the lake or the swamp.”
She rolled her eyes. “And everyone calls me the drama queen? Please.”
“Like I said, things have happened you don’t know about.” He reached for her and she avoided his touch.
“What? Did a meteor fall on Juliet? No, wait, I know. We got TV.” She laughed. “Maybe even color?”
“Shut up and listen,” he roared. “This is serious.”
Shocked, she snapped her mouth shut. He’d never spoken to her like that in his whole life.
He motioned toward the sofa. “Sit down.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but perched on the edge of the couch. “What is so all mighty important?”
“Plenty has happened in the last few days. Jimmy Ray’s been killed.”
Lindy knew she’d better make it good if he was going to believe that she didn’t already know. She widened her eyes and managed to gasp. “What? How? Why tell me? Do you think I did it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Trey said. “No one thinks that. But you do have some explaining to do, like how your bracelet ended up in his office.”
Lindy didn’t have to pretend this time. Her startled gaze shot to her arm. The gold band with the red stones he’d given her was missing. When had she misplaced it? Obviously when she and Jace had found Jimmy Ray. She wanted to curse her stupidity. One more time she’d screwed up.
“It’s not important right now.” He looked so solemn she wanted to scream. “I have to tell you something else. I don’t know how to say this, exactly, so I’ll just do it. Mother died last night.”
For a long minute, Lindy stared at her brother. Then she shook her head. “No. That’s not possible.”
“I’m sorry, Lindy, but it’s true.” His soft tone confirmed his words.
Tears formed and her throat knotted up. Mad at her
mother so long for being sick, Lindy almost couldn’t process that she was gone.
This time, Trey did touch her. His hand gripped hers. “Lindy. You’ve got to be strong. This isn’t easy to tell you either.”
“Tell me,” she managed through a wave of tears.
“Mother was murdered. The killer left a message on the mirror.” Trey’s hand nearly squeezed hers in two.
“What?” Lindy stared at him through streaming eyes. “Who would do something like that?”
“The Chief thinks it was Jace.” Trey swallowed. “In fact, he’s out looking for him right now with a gun. If the Chief finds Jace, he’s going to shoot on sight. Jody’s tracking Jace, too. I pray he finds him in time.”
Her gaze shot to the bedroom door. Could Jace hear this? “Jace didn’t kill Mother,” Lindy choked. She jerked her hand away from Trey’s. “We’ve got to stop this lie before it’s too late.”
“I know,” Trey said soothingly. “We will.”
“The Chief can’t kill Jace.” Lindy was near hysteria. “He didn’t murder Mother.”
“There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence,” Trey said. “Although I have a hard time believing it myself, Jace does have the best motive.”
“You don’t understand,” Lindy said on a sob. “Jace couldn’t have done it.”
“I wish it wasn’t so, too,” Trey said.
“Listen to me,” she shouted through her tears. “I’m telling you Jace didn’t do it.”
“How are you so sure?” Trey frowned.
“Because I was right here.”
Both Trey and Lindy whirled toward the voice.
Jace stood in the bedroom door, his expression defiant. “I’ve been here the whole time. I never left this house,” he said. “Ask her.”
Trey looked between them. He hadn’t expected to find Jace here, but he wasn’t surprised either. “Is this true?”
Lindy nodded. “That’s what I was trying to tell you. Jace has been with me the whole time. He never left.”
“How long have you two been playing house?” Trey’s voice had a deadly tone. He advanced toward Jace. “If you’ve touched her, I’ll kill you.”