Secrets of a Small Town

by Adele M Cooper

  To his credit, the senator regained his composure quickly. Johnson pulled himself up to full height, an imperious look on his face.

  “If you have any questions, you will need to go through my lawyers,” he snapped.

  “Oh?” Paige smiled slowly and twitched the hand holding her phone, causing his eyes to dart to it. “See, I think many people, including your current voters, would be very interested in hearing about your sordid affair.”

  It was blackmail, plain and simple. A highly illegal venture, and Paige could just imagine the disapproving frown Jack would have given her if he was here right now, but there was no way for Johnson to report her without bringing his own circumstances to light. She saw this understanding pass over his face, followed by defeat.

  Score one for Team Civilian, she thought with a smug smile. Her methods might be unorthodox, but it did mean she had a bit more freedom of movement than someone like Jack, constrained by his position.

  “You want to know about Cynthia, right?” Johnson asked, frowning. “What do you want to know?”

  “When did you see her last, for a start,” Paige said, wishing she had a notepad and pen with her.

  “Last week,” the senator sighed, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I saw her last week… on Tuesday, I think.”

  “Tuesday last week?” Paige asked incredulously. “It’s Saturday, which means you haven’t seen her for over a week and a half. Why didn’t you report her missing?”

  “While I’m loath to disclose details of my marriage to you, it isn’t odd for Cynthia and myself to be apart for several days at a time,” Johnson said, raising his chin and glancing once more at Paige’s phone. “She would occasionally leave on trips to the city with Olivia… sometimes she wouldn’t even leave a note.”

  Cynthia certainly hadn’t disclosed that information in their meetings.

  “As such, I didn’t find it odd that she wasn’t around,” the senator continued. “Receiving notification that she was…” He shook his head. “It was as much of a shock to me as to everyone else.” He sneered. “If you wish to know anything else about her movements, you should track down that asinine attorney Cynthia was seeing regarding our divorce; she met with her last Wednesday, according to my wife’s calendar.”

  Paige twitched, but otherwise did an admirable job of continuing to pretend that she wasn’t Cynthia’s “asinine attorney.” She drew in a deep breath; despite his insults and his reluctance, she should be at least grateful she was getting some information out of him.

  “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt her?” she asked, figuring it was something Jack would ask. “Right now, the investigation is looking at all options.”

  “My wife had both friends and enemies. Any number of them could be responsible,” Johnston said with a scowl.

  “What about your divorce? Can you tell me anything about that?”

  For the first time, the senator’s face fell. He looked oddly piteous all of a sudden, standing in the hallway of a hotel discussing his dead wife, his current fling tapping her foot behind him.

  “Cynthia asked me for a divorce in recent weeks,” he said. He struggled quite obviously to keep his tone calm. “She gave me no reason, just that she could no longer remain married to me.”

  “You can’t think of any reason she would want to leave you?” Paige pressed.

  “No!” the senator snapped, glaring at her. “I love my wife, very much so.” He ignored Paige’s glance at his companion. “I don’t know why she would have wanted a divorce.” He crossed his arms in front of him. “Are we finished?”

  Paige knew she had hit the limit for the day. She didn’t quite believe the senator’s words, but there was an odd rawness in them that told her to back off for now.

  “Yes, but we’ll be in touch,” she said.

  The senator glowered at her, but she had already turned away, thoughts spinning in her head. Perhaps it was time she looked back over her own file on Cynthia’s divorce.

  6

  A New Partnership

  Jack unsurprisingly knocked on her door early the next morning. Abandoning the files she was making notes on, she opened the screen door and quirked an eyebrow at the man, the very picture of innocence.

  “Can I help you, Sheriff?” she asked.

  Jack scowled, though whether it was at her continued insistence on calling him by his title or at her act, she didn’t know. Taking pity on him, she held the door open further in clear invitation.

  “Come in,” she said with a sigh. “Can I get you anything?”

  “A coffee would be great,” her old friend said gruffly, stomping inside.

  He clearly wasn’t in the mood for small talk, and she left him brooding at her tiny kitchen table until she returned with two steaming cups of coffee, moving her files out of the way.

  “Work on a Sunday?” Jack asked after a long moment.

  “I was just going over some notes on a case that I’m about to finish,” Paige explained, taking the seat across from him. “So, what can I do for you?”

  Jack stared down at his cup then met her gaze, his eyes hard.

  “How did you get the senator to talk to you?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Paige said blithely, taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Don’t play the fool, Paige, it doesn’t suit you,” Jack growled. “It didn’t take a genius to work it out; I left the office when it was clear the senator wasn’t there, and then you disappeared?” He scoffed. “Later, when I called the senator, he was suddenly eager to talk to me”

  For a moment, it looked like Jack might yell at her, but then he slumped, all his indignation draining out of him. He looked away, running a hand through his hair.

  “Look… I’m sorry I shut you out,” he said, and Paige blinked, not having expected that. “I thought it was for the best, but it looks like your investigation trumped mine this time.” He gave her a wry smile. “I have little enough help as it is; Jackson, the other officer, does his best, but he fainted at the sight of the body.” He drew in a deep breath and put his cup down with a soft chink. “Will you help me with the rest of the investigation?”

  Paige’s mouth fell open. She had expected to be in trouble, expected that she would have to argue her way out of it and use the information she had as a peace offering. She hadn’t expected to get an official invitation to investigate.

  “Mind you, this is highly inappropriate,” Jack went on when she continued to stare. “As a civilian, you shouldn’t be anywhere near a crime scene. But…” His face relaxed into a smile. “You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders; I think I can trust you to have my back.”

  A flush of warmth ran through Paige at the words. It was high praise, and she couldn’t help smiling back.

  “All right,” she agreed. “But no holding back on me from now on!”

  Jack laughed. It was a deep, cheerful laugh that made her want to laugh with him. She had always liked his laugh, and it occurred to her that she had missed this without even realizing it; seeing him smile and laugh, teasing him, working with him.

  “Good,” Jack said in satisfaction. “In that case, why don’t you talk me through what happened with the senator?”

  “I happened to run across him without any of his guard dogs,” Paige said casually. Jack raised an eyebrow, but thankfully didn’t press; she wasn’t sure how he would react to her blatant blackmail. “I just asked a few questions. He didn’t tell me much. He said he hadn’t seen his wife since last Tuesday.”

  “This didn’t concern him at all?” Jack asked, frowning as he pulled out his notebook and opened it to a page already scrawled with notes.

  “According to Senator Johnson, his wife had a habit of leaving the house for days at a time,” Paige said, shaking her head. “Unfortunately, she never said anything like that to me, so our only way to confirm that would be with Avery.”

  Jack frowned and circled something; leaning over, P
aige noticed that he had marked Avery’s name, which also had the word “minor” next to it. It would make things harder; they couldn’t actually speak to Avery without a guardian present.

  “What else?” Jack asked.

  “He said that Cynthia has a lot of enemies, though he didn’t give me any names or reasons,” Paige continued. “He also said he didn’t know why Cynthia was divorcing him; according to him, he still loved her very much.”

  Jack eyed her. “You don’t believe him?”

  “His grief looked real enough,” Paige allowed. “But his anger when he spoke about the divorce was more believable. He believed that her ‘asinine attorney’ would know more about her movements than he would.”

  Jack snorted, shaking his head. “He’s probably not wrong. On whether you would know more about her movements,” he added hurriedly when she raised an eyebrow.

  “I did know quite a bit about her life, but I last saw her on Monday,” Paige said. “We set the meeting on Wednesday to finalize some of the details; we were so close to drawing up the final contracts so she could present them to her husband.”

  “It’s been a long road?” Jack asked, looking at her closely and noting how tired she looked.

  “The senator put more blocks up than expected,” Paige admitted. “That’s why I couldn’t quite believe him when he said how much he loved her still; why would anyone cause so much trouble for a loved one even if that loved one were leaving?” She shook her head. “He acted more like she was just a trophy that he had lost. I honestly don’t understand how they got married in the first place.”

  “You probably didn’t really know Cynthia before you left; she was a few years younger than us,” Jack said, leaning back. “I only really got to know her a few years ago. When she first married the senator, she was whimsical and materialistic. Her family was wealthy, so it made sense to her to marry wealth. Whether she was in love with Senator Johnson or with his money, I don’t know, but it was a match made in heaven for her. But then she had Avery, and…”

  “She came to realize that money wasn’t making her happy,” Paige finished when he hesitated.

  “Cynthia matured after she had Avery; he was her life,” Jack said. “I think becoming a mother strengthened her in ways that surprised everyone.”

  “I feel the same way,” Paige agreed, draining the last of her coffee. “She really stood firm through all this.” She looked down at her empty cup. “That’s why I don’t think this was an accident. Cynthia was so determined to divorce the senator and find a better life for herself and her son. She wouldn’t have done anything foolish, not when she was so close. She already had an apartment for the two of them.” She laughed humorlessly. “This tiny, two bedroom thing. She looked so out of place there… but when she talked about it, her face just lit up.”

  It was something she could relate to. Paige had also gone from her large, expensive apartment in Portland to this tiny little place in the middle of nowhere. Yet she was more content than she had been for a long time. More content than she had believed she would be here.

  But Cynthia was never going to get to experience that final feeling of fulfillment. She wasn’t going to get to see that dream come true. The thought made Paige ache, all the more determined to figure out what had happened to her.

  “I’ve sent Jackson to ask Senator Johnson a few more questions, since he’s in a cooperative mood, but I doubt we’ll get much more out of him,” Jack said with a sigh, snapping his notebook closed. “If he truly didn’t see his wife after last Tuesday, then the only other information of importance we’ll get out of him is her demeanor before she left.”

  “If he even saw her before she left,” Paige pointed out. “He told me that sometimes she would just leave without saying anything; often she wouldn’t even leave a note.”

  “I wonder where Avery fits into that…” Jack mused. “I honestly can’t see Cynthia just taking off so often and for so long without him.” He shook his head. “I’d like to find some way to talk to Avery without anyone else there, but I don’t think that will be possible.”

  While Cynthia had told Paige a lot about her relationship with the senator, she had always felt that the woman had held some things back. She had never pried too far, but she wondered if she should have. Now, Avery was the only one who would be able to tell them the truth of the matter.

  “Right now, we need to focus on what we can do,” she said. She leaned forward, expression serious. “It’s too early to make judgments, I know… but do you think the senator had anything to do with this?”

  She could almost see Jack wanting to scold her for jumping to conclusions again. She was pleased, however, when he instead straightened his shoulders and thought about it.

  “As you said, it’s too early to tell,” he said slowly. “His attitude does warrant investigation; his lack of concern for his wife’s disappearance and what you said about his feelings toward the divorce are telling. Also…”

  He hesitated. Curiosity piqued, Paige sat up in her chair, waiting for him to continue. Just when it didn’t seem like he was going to, Jack sighed.

  “When you spoke to Cynthia about her marriage, did anything about it seem… odd?” he asked.

  “There was a lot that didn’t seem right, but I never looked too far into what she didn’t want to tell me,” Paige said, frowning. “Why?”

  “There were, of course, rumors about Cynthia’s relationship with her husband,” Jack began, his gaze intense. “Rumors that weren’t particularly nice.” He shook his head and sat back up before she could ask any questions. “At this present moment, I can neither confirm nor deny them. It will be something I need to look into, however. I know you’ll be looking over your own case files, so I’d just like you to keep in mind that there might have been some darker aspects to their relationship.”

  She hadn’t heard any of these rumors, but Paige supposed she hadn’t been in Otter Rock long enough. She wasn’t a fool, she knew what Jack was alluding to, and her eyes narrowed as she thought about it.

  “Well, thanks for the coffee,” Jack said, standing and stretching. “And for the information.”

  “You’re going?” Paige asked, a little disappointed.

  “I still have some things to do today; a murder doesn’t make for a light workload, unfortunately,” Jack explained, picking up his hat. He paused. “I’m about to go see Olivia Clark; she’s been calling me since we found Cynthia’s body, and I set up a meeting for this morning. She might have some useful information. Would you like to come?”

  “Yes!” The agreement burst from her without permission, and she flushed slightly at her own excitement when Jack smiled. While Jack had asked her for her help, she hadn’t thought he would act on it so soon.

  “I also have to see Elizabeth Benson, Cynthia’s mother,” Jack said. “Daylight’s wasting, so let’s get a move on.”

  Paige grinned and ran to get her shoes. At least she didn’t have to sneak around anymore.

  7

  Hidden Lies

  Olivia Clark’s house was modern and well kept; while modest, it showed the hallmarks of one that wished to be larger and grander, if the massive balcony and the expensive ornaments littered around it were any indication. Jack knocked firmly on the door and took a step back.

  “Olivia will really only want to speak to me, so try not to draw too much attention,” Jack warned Paige, who scowled. Correctly interpreting her displeasure, Jack shook his head. “This isn’t telling you to keep out of it. This is me telling you to keep your head down and your ears open… and your eyes peeled.”

  The message was clear; while Jack spoke to Olivia, Paige should use the distraction to look around. Understanding, Paige nodded once just before the door opened.

  “Sheriff Lewis?” Olivia asked, dabbing at her red-rimmed eyes with a tissue, which gave Jack some indication of how this meeting was about to go.

  “Good morning, Olivia,” Jack greeted her. “May we come in?”

&
nbsp; Sniffling, Olivia stepped back. She eyed Paige curiously, her gaze thankfully not hostile.

  “I remember you. You asked me some questions during the search,” Olivia said.

  Jack threw Paige an exasperated look, to which she shrugged sheepishly.

  “Paige Moore. It’s nice to meet you again,” Paige introduced herself, holding out a hand to shake.

  “Paige was Cynthia’s lawyer, and I’ve asked her here as a consultant,” Jack explained when Olivia glanced at him. “If you have any questions about Cynthia’s movements last week, Paige will be able to answer them.”

  Olivia’s expression cleared at this explanation, despite the fact that this was not why Paige was shadowing Jack at all. Allowing the woman to think Paige was here for her benefit, however, would make things a lot easier for all of them.

  “Now, where would you like to talk?” Jack prompted.

  “The living room will do,” Olivia said. “This way.”

  The living room was tastefully decorated in blues and whites, and Jack sat gingerly on the white couch, hoping that no dust or dirt clung to his uniform. Paige remained standing near an armchair, but Olivia didn’t seem to notice or care as she sat as well.

  “Thank you for coming, Sheriff,” she said, her eyes watering.

  “It’s the least I could do,” Jack replied. “You said you had some things to tell me?”

  Olivia sniffed once and then burst into tears. Sighing slightly, Jack plucked a tissue out of the box on the table and held it out; he couldn’t say he hadn’t expected this.

  “I’m s-sorry,” Olivia sobbed, taking the tissue and dabbing at her eyes. “I just… it’s just so hard, you know? Cynthia was my best friend, and now…”

  She broke into fresh tears. Jack glanced at Paige, surprised to see a skeptical look on her face, as though she didn’t quite believe Olivia’s dramatics. Upon seeing Jack’s look, Paige frowned in thought and then carefully pulled out her phone.