Written in Blood (Otter Creek Book 3)

by Rebecca Deel

  “Is that the type of circumstance Ty came from, an addicted parent?”

  He stiffened. “I really don’t know. It was a closed adoption handled by our lawyer. I have no idea who the birth parents are, never wanted to know either.”

  “It’s obvious you love your sons, Senator.”

  He smiled. “I would do anything for my boys. They are everything to me.”

  “What about grandchildren, sir?”

  Drake sighed. “I’d hoped for a grandchild from Ty and Sherri, but that never happened. Now with my health going down, I’m not sure I’ll be around to enjoy that pleasure. I hope my sons will have children someday, children to carry on the Drake tradition of service to the community and the country.”

  And that sentiment, Meg thought, was the lead-in to his grand announcement about Kyle.

  “Enough about me, Meg. How are you? I understand you were injured as well Sunday night.”

  “I’m fine, sir. A few bruises.’

  “Very fortunate, my dear. Such a foolish chance you took. You could have been killed.”

  Did he really mean should have been killed? Meg shivered. The library didn’t feel quite so friendly any more. She was very glad Rod had insisted the door remain open.

  “You lied to me, Ty.”

  Ty Drake turned from the mantel. “About what?”

  “I asked you about your marriage to Sherri.”

  “And I answered truthfully.”

  “Who’s Candy Wilson?”

  Ty paled. “My secretary.”

  “That’s all she is to you? A secretary?”

  “Of course. What are you insinuating?”

  Rod studied his friend’s flushed face, then said, “Come clean with me, Ty. Each time you lie, you’re making yourself look even more guilty. What will Candy say when I ask her about your relationship?”

  “How should I know?”

  “I called your hotel in Florida, Ty.”

  He swallowed. “So?”

  “The manager told me you left the hotel on Thursday, not Sunday.” Rod moved closer to the mantel. “So, where were you from Thursday to Sunday, Ty?”

  “You’re trying to pin Sherri’s murder on me, aren’t you?”

  “You can answer my questions here or we’ll go to the station. Your choice.”

  Ty’s mouth gaped. “Are you insane? My wife’s funeral is in a few hours.”

  “Then it would be best for you to answer my questions here.” Rod’s voice dropped. “Where were you, Ty?”

  He thrust his fingers through his hair, his eyes closed. “All right. Candy’s place. Satisfied?”

  “What time Thursday did you arrive?”

  “After midnight. Maybe one o’clock.”

  “Anybody see you?”

  “Get real. I timed my arrival so I wouldn’t see anybody.”

  “Did you leave her apartment for any reason in those three days?”

  He shook his head. “Candy went to the store for more beer and food. I stayed in the apartment.”

  “You called Sherri Saturday night with your cell phone?”

  “Yeah. We have caller I.D. She would have seen Candy’s name on the screen.”

  “Were you planning to divorce Sherri?”

  “No.” Ty started to pace. “I loved her. No way would I divorce Sherri. We’d been together a long time, man.”

  “Were you bored with her?”

  “Where are you getting this stuff?”

  “Candy seemed to be under the impression you were ending your marriage to Sherri and coming to her.” Rod shoved a hand in his pocket. “When I caught up with her last night, Candy was trying on engagement rings.”

  Ty groaned. “No, Rod. It’s not true. Candy doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  “Then why risk your marriage on a fling? Seems more Kyle’s style than yours.”

  Ty finally stopped pacing and dropped onto the couch. “I just needed a break from her, okay?”

  “A break? You had an affair because you needed a break?”

  “It wasn’t like that.” His tone was defensive.

  “Quit the snow job and just tell me the truth.”

  Ty let his head lean against the back of the chair. “Sherri wanted to have a baby so much. We tried for years. I finally agreed to fertility testing.” His face twisted. “We found out my sperm count was low. It was my fault we couldn’t have kids. Do you know what that did to me? How much I felt like a failure? The one thing she wanted in all the world and I couldn’t give it to her.”

  “Did Sherri blame you?”

  A bitter chuckle came from Ty. “No. I might have felt better if she had. Instead, she turned to adoption.”

  Rod sat across from him in a nearby chair. “She wanted to adopt a baby?”

  “She obsessed about it, man. We filled out mountains of paperwork, endured multiple home visits, financial audits, anything imaginable. Then we learned it could take years before a baby became available.”

  “How did she react to the news?”

  “She was devastated at first. But she talked to Dad about helping us adopt.”

  “Why talk to your father?”

  “Dad’s helped a few people adopting children over the years. He travels extensively, knows diplomats and dignitaries in countries around the world. Sometimes he helps cut through the red tape that hinders adoptions.”

  “Sherri asked your father for help?”

  “She must have. In the last few months, she seemed happy, more than I’ve ever seen her since the rape.”

  “And yet you hurt her by turning to another woman?”

  “I didn’t mean to do that. It just happened, okay? Besides, Sherri didn’t know. I was careful.”

  “Not careful enough, Ty.”

  Ty stiffened. “What are you saying?”

  “You’re still lying to me.”

  “No.”

  “Can it, Ty. Sherri confronted you about the affair on the phone Saturday night, didn’t she?”

  He remained mute.

  “I’d say that gives you a great motive. You were in town so that gives you the opportunity. And how hard can it be to buy a gun off the street?” Rod clenched his fist. “You’re a resourceful guy and you have money. You could easily score a gun.”

  “You’re crazy, Kelter.”

  Rod heard Meg in the hallway with Senator Drake. He stood. “Don’t leave town, Ty. We’ll be talking again soon.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Are you going to the funeral?” Meg twisted in her seat to face Rod.

  “Yeah, though I doubt I’ll learn anything new.” Still disgusted with Ty’s insensitivity to his wife, Rod forced himself to loosen his choke hold on the steering wheel.

  “I should sit in the back. Ty still won’t talk to me. He blames me for Sherri’s death.”

  “He’s shifting blame for a lot of things to everyone but himself.” Just like Rod had done with the loss of his family, except he turned to a bottle to soothe his loss instead of another woman.

  “Will you change clothes?”

  His head jerked around. “Do I need to?”

  “No, but I do. How about lunch at my place so I can change?”

  Rod merged into another lane and turned at the next light. “Did you learn anything new from the Senator?”

  “He’s dying, Rod.”

  “What?” He hadn’t heard any rumors about Drake’s health.

  “Cancer. That’s why he’s stepping down and grooming Kyle to take his place. Sort of handing over the dynasty to his son.”

  “Did Sherri know?”

  “I don’t think so. The Senator told me he came home to tell Ty, that Kyle already knew. If Ty didn’t know, I’d say Sherri probably didn’t either.” Meg turned a puzzled gaze to him. “Do you think that’s what she overheard Sunday night? Were we just in the wrong place at the wrong time and some lunatic picked the trail as the place to hurt someone?”

  Rod thought through all he knew so far, precious little
that it was, and shook his head. “Too much tracks back to the Drakes, Meg. The attack wasn’t random.”

  She remained silent a while, then, as he turned into her driveway, she sighed. “I didn’t think so, but it’s hard to believe people you know could do something so evil.”

  “Anything else stand out as unusual?”

  “Drake seemed touchy about the subject of Ty’s adoption. It struck me as odd since it’s been over thirty years.”

  “Would you consider giving me a copy of your interview transcript?”

  She smiled at him and unbuckled. “If you give me a few hours to transcribe the notes, you can have the tape and a copy of the transcript.”

  Marcus Lang, pastor of Cornerstone Church, gestured toward the closed white coffin in front of the pulpit. “If Sherri could stand before you right now, she’d tell you not to mourn her passing. She’s standing before the throne of God as we speak, waiting for her family and her brothers and sisters in Christ to join her when God calls us home.”

  Rod shifted uncomfortably in the pew. The last time he’d been in Cornerstone Church for a service had been for Erin and Kayla’s funeral. Though much of that time was a haze, he remembered similar words from Lang’s message then.

  “She’d tell you that life is fleeting, like a shadow that passes and is gone. Sherri lived her life in such a way that she regretted nothing, was thankful for every experience God allowed in her life.”

  Beside him, Meg sniffed. He reached over and clasped her hand. A tear splashed on the back of his hand. With her hand in his, Rod thought about the preacher’s words. In his line of work, he came face to face with death on a daily basis, some from natural causes, others not.

  Life could end in an instant. Erin and Kayla’s lives had ended in a head-on collision. Flashes of memory from last night surfaced. His hand tightened around Meg’s. He came so close to losing her. And if he didn’t get his act together, he might lose her anyway.

  When the congregation stood for closing prayer, he slid his arm around Meg’s waist. After the prayer, he waited with the others for the pall bearers to escort Sherri’s coffin down the aisle. Ty walked behind, flanked by his father and brother.

  Rod wondered which one of the three men pulled the trigger that placed Sherri in that coffin.

  Walking from the cemetery to the car, Meg stayed in the circle of Rod’s arm, more determined than ever to go through with her plan.

  She glanced at Rod’s impassive face. He wouldn’t like what she was about to print. All the more reason to keep it under wraps until it went to press. She would deal with his fury afterward.

  “What’s next for you?”

  Rod’s gaze dropped to her face. “The station, then I’ll be tracking a few leads. Need a ride somewhere?”

  Meg shook her head. “Press time is in a few hours. I’ll be at the Gazette office late.” She stopped beside his car. “Stop by tonight before you go home.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just stop in, okay?”

  “You can count on it.”

  Rod knocked on Ethan’s office door. “You wanted to see me?”

  Ethan waved him inside. “Ballistics report came back. The bullets that killed Sherri and her mother match.”

  “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “You probably won’t be surprised by something else I picked up, either.”

  “What’s that?”

  Ethan slid a piece of paper across his desk to Rod. “Senator Drake owns a Smith and Wesson, .38 caliber.”

  “I’ll get a warrant so we can test the gun for a possible match.”

  “Already in the works. What happened this morning with the Drakes?”

  Rod recounted the information he and Meg learned from the Senator and Ty, ending with, “Meg promised to give us the tape and transcript later today.”

  “Let me know when it comes in. I want to hear the interview.”

  Rod stood. “Will do.”

  Back in the squad room, Rod settled behind his desk and booted Sherri’s laptop. This was as good a time as any to finish reading her journal entries. He scrolled through Sherri’s earlier journal entries and began reading where he’d left off. He reached an entry dated November 1 and his eyes widened.

  “I think that would be the best Christmas present I could give Ty. Mom’s willing to help me do some of the leg work. What a great gift. The names of his birth parents. What he does with those names will be up to him. I just want to give him the information. Maybe the knowledge will give him a measure of peace.”

  So Sherri and her mother were looking for Ty’s birth parents. He shut down the computer and stood. Listening to Megan’s interview with the Senator just moved up on Rod’s priority list.

  Meg folded the latest edition of the Gazette and laid it on her desk. Things might be a lot more interesting over the next 24 hours. If her editorial didn’t spark another attempt on her life, she didn’t know what would. Her whole family would be livid. She shuddered to think how Rod might react.

  She picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory. “Hey, Maeve. It’s Megan Cahill. Do you have time for a trim? Great. I’ll be right over.”

  Grabbing her bag, Meg stopped by Zoe’s desk. “I’m going across the street to Maeve’s. Call me if there’s a problem with the press run. I should return in twenty minutes.”

  Zoe’s fingers hovered over the computer keyboard. “Okay, Boss.”

  Meg dashed across the square, opened Maeve’s door and glanced around the empty beauty shop with a sense of satisfaction. She’d judged the timing perfectly. No nosy patrons to eavesdrop on her conversation with the town’s guru of gossip.

  An auburn-haired, petite woman waved Meg to a chair. “I have your seat reserved, my dear. I’ve wanted to get my hands on your hair for months.”

  “You have?” Meg swallowed hard. “Look, I only need a trim. Don’t whack off a lot.”

  Maeve waved her concerns aside. “Yeah, I know. Still, your hair will be healthier with those split ends removed.”

  “Split ends?” She sat in the chair and waited for the grandmother of six to finish examining her hair.

  “Yes, ma’am.” The hair stylist draped the cape around Meg’s shoulders and fastened it. “Noticed it when I styled your hair for Madison’s wedding to that handsome policeman. Those two look very happy.”

  “They’re crazy about each other. Almost as bad as Serena and Ethan.”

  “So what kind of information do you need, dear?”

  Meg’s face grew hot. “How did you know?”

  Maeve laughed and began snipping. “Usually your mother or one of your sisters schedules an appointment for you and then dares you to break it. I’ve never known you to come in voluntarily.”

  She grinned. “Got me. Do you remember the name of the Drake family lawyer?”

  “Arnie Castlebaum. Died back in 1997.”

  Meg’s heart sank. “Rats.”

  “His son, Willis, took over the practice.”

  “I don’t think Willis can help. I need information about something that happened thirty years ago.”

  Maeve moved around in front of Meg, her scissors flashing in the shop’s bright lights. “Talk to Mildred Barrett. She worked for Arnie from the first day he opened his law practice. Retired when he handed the practice over to Willis.”

  “Do you know where I can find her?”

  “Last I heard her daughter moved her to an assisted living facility in Kingsport.”

  Rod entered the Gazette’s front office and paused. No signs of life. Where was Meg? Zoe’s raised voice sounded behind the closed press room door. Of course. The press run. Meg was probably watching the presses.

  He strolled into Meg’s office and noticed the folded paper on her desk. Sitting on the corner of the desk, Rod unfolded the Gazette’s latest edition and began reading. After finishing Ruth’s piece on De Marco Water Works, he turned to the second page to Meg’s editorial. The more he read, the
tighter he gripped the paper’s edges. By the time he’d finished, the paper bunched in his fists and his face burned.

  How could she do this? Meg had as much as challenged Sherri’s killer to come and get her before she pointed an accusing finger. Had she remembered something more and not told him or was she trying to smoke out the killer?

  He leaped to his feet, newspaper still crumpled in one hand. Either reason didn’t justify hanging out a red flag to attract attention. Rod flung open the door to the press room. No Meg. He motioned Zoe over to him. “Where is she?” he yelled.

  “Getting a haircut.”

  He flinched, hoping she didn’t cut much. He loved her silky strands, even though he wanted to strangle her with them at the moment.

  Zoe grinned and pushed him out the door. “Go on. Maybe you’ll catch her before she loses her locks.”

  Rod darted across the square and down three doors to Maeve’s place. Meg was rising from the chair as he stepped inside the shop, chemical smells assaulting his nose. Undeniable relief rolled through him at the sight of her long hair still intact.

  He scowled at her. Now if he could just keep her beautiful head hidden from sight until he nabbed Sherri’s killer, he might be able to sleep nights. Maybe.

  Meg’s gaze dropped to the crushed paper in his hand. “Read something interesting?”

  “Are you crazy?” His voice rose to match the heat burning his face.

  “I think we already covered that topic.”

  “Not today. I knew you were up to something, but I didn’t think you had a death wish.”

  Maeve breezed by him on her way to the cash register. “I’m locking up now, kids. Take it outside. Maybe the cold air will cool you down.”

  Meg handed the woman a twenty and ambled outside without another word to him. He caught up with her on the sidewalk in front of the Gazette.

  Rod gripped her arm and hustled her inside to her office and slammed the door before swinging her around to face him. “Why?”

  “Desperate people make mistakes.”