Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2

by Terri Reed

  “Thank you. It wasn’t without a few bumps along the way.” Had Johnny detected an accusation in Greg’s tone?

  “I had a job to do.”

  Greg smiled at an older woman who brushed past, then turned his attention back to Johnny. “I had thought we were friends back in high school. I was surprised how well you played us all.” His neutral affect was hard to read.

  Johnny thought back to the days when Greg had met him in senior homeroom and invited him to the house for dinner. Johnny had never been around a normal house where everyone sat together for dinner. Sometimes he’d miss dinner altogether because his mother had spent her entire paycheck on drugs and cigarettes.

  Johnny looked down and saw Ellie was staring up at him. He had obviously missed whatever she had been saying. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’m good for now.”

  “I wanted to tell you,” Greg said, “Roger Petersen and his wife are coming over.”

  Johnny ran a hand through his hair.

  “Roger has turned his life around since getting out of prison. He doesn’t live far from here.”

  Johnny already knew that. He had run checks on all the players from ten years ago.

  “So be nice.” Greg smiled stiffly. “I didn’t know you were coming or I would have warned him.”

  Johnny held his hand up. “I’ll play nice.” And maybe he could get a read on what these two men had been up to lately. It would crush Ellie if her brother was in any way involved. But it seemed unlikely Greg would put his sister in harm’s way.

  As if on cue, Roger appeared in the doorway. He pushed open the screen and it hit the edge of the frame with a clack. A dark-haired woman in capris and a pink top came up behind him. “Don’t stop in the doorway, Roger.”

  Roger glared at Johnny. If Johnny hadn’t been so focused, he might have missed the subtle quirk of a smile on Roger’s face.

  What is that all about?

  Roger strolled onto the patio and held out his hand. “Johnny Rock. Imagine you here.”

  “Roger Petersen. In the flesh.” Johnny mimicked him, accepting his hand.

  Greg stepped between the two men. “I imagine we can all be cordial.” He cast a warning toward Roger, then to Johnny.

  Roger blinked slowly. “Of course.”

  Roger’s wife came up behind him and rested her chin on her husband’s shoulder. Her perfectly straight teeth were visible through her parted lips, tilted into a beaming smile. “Hello.”

  Roger stepped to the side and wrapped his arm around the slender woman’s waist. “This is my wife, Ginger.”

  Ellie smiled her greeting and nodded in acknowledgment.

  Roger squeezed his wife closer to him. “Ginger and I have been house shopping.” He lifted his chin and scanned the yard. “We have an appointment to see a house in this very neighborhood. Wouldn’t that be great if we became neighbors?”

  “Fantastic.” Greg smiled but something cool settled in his eyes. “Excuse me for a minute. I have to do some hosting duties.”

  “Glad things are going well,” Johnny said, studying Roger.

  Roger smiled coyly. “I’ve had some tough breaks, but now I’ve got a good business. Ever been to the sub shop on Main Street?”

  “Can’t say I have. I’ll have to stop by,” Johnny said.

  “Do that.” The corners of Roger’s mouth tugged down as if he were giving something considerable thought. He reached for his wife’s hand. “It’s nice seeing you, Ellie. Johnny.” He nodded. “I think we’ll wander over and say hello to Mrs. Winters.”

  Johnny stepped away from the crowd and whispered to Ellie, “Your brother and Roger hang out a lot?”

  Ellie’s eyes grew worried. “Greg’s a very loyal person. They’ve been friends since kindergarten. What kind of person would he be if he turned his back on his friend in difficult times?”

  Greg wandered over. “Everything okay?”

  Ellie’s hand went to the hollow of her neck. “Johnny was asking about Roger.”

  “What about him?” An edge of defensiveness crept into Greg’s voice.

  “It’s okay,” Ellie said. “I was trying to explain to Johnny how you’ve forgiven Roger for getting you caught up in that mess.”

  Greg slowly blinked. “It’s more than that.”

  A look of confusion swept across Ellie’s face.

  “We need to talk.” Greg glanced over at his wife pushing their daughter on the swing. “Out front.”

  *

  “All three of us?” Ellie asked, confusion crowding in on her.

  A very somber Greg nodded. She rarely saw this side of her brother. He was always the clichéd calm, cool, collected.

  The proverbial Golden Boy.

  Ellie’s heart raced, just as it had when she’d seen her mother’s face after her father died. Ellie referred to those moments as defining. In one moment, life changed. How you handled it defined you.

  “Are you going to get the hot dogs on the grill?” an alarmed Beth called out from the far corner of the yard where she seemed stuck supervising the kids climbing all over the wooden play set. The play set her brother had taken three solid weekends to build from a blueprint purchased online. He really was a good dad.

  “Be right back, honey.” Greg plastered on a smile and waved. “I promise.”

  Her brother led them around the side of the house and toward the minivan parked in the driveway, perhaps where he felt he was far enough from his guests. He leaned against the side of the maroon vehicle and studied his feet.

  “What is it? Is everything okay?” Ellie’s nerve endings buzzed. Was someone sick? Had something happened?

  Johnny momentarily placed his hand on Ellie’s arm.

  Greg took a deep breath and released it. His eyes flicked up over Ellie’s head, undoubtedly to meet Johnny’s gaze.

  The vulnerable look on her brother’s face was a strange juxtaposition to the sunny fall day and the yellow mums planted around the tree near the street. The perfect fall afternoon.

  “I wasn’t as innocent as you think.” Greg spit out the words in a burst of confidence that belied his trembling hands.

  Ellie’s stomach bottomed out. “What are you talking about?”

  Greg closed his eyes for a long minute then opened them again. “I was guilty of dealing drugs in high school.”

  Ellie gasped and leaned back, bumping into Johnny. Nausea clawed at her throat but spewing her guts on the driveway wasn’t high on her list right now. Johnny’s solid hands steadied her at the waist. She swallowed hard and focused all her energy on staying calm. As she had when she’d approached her boyfriend about the inappropriate photos on his cell phone.

  “What?”

  “I stupidly got involved with selling drugs.” His shoulders slouched. “The only reason I got off was because Dad and Mom got the best lawyer.”

  The world seemed to close in around Ellie. The birds chirping got more distant. The blades of grass grew more defined. She blinked away her disorientation. She sensed, rather than heard, Johnny saying something to her. She couldn’t make out the words. She raised her hand, needing silence.

  “Does Mom know?” Tiny stars danced in her eyes. She feared a migraine coming on. A niggle of doubt slithered into her brain. Their mother had been their brother’s staunchest supporter. She hadn’t been putting on an act, too. Had she?

  No, no, no…

  Her mother couldn’t have known.

  Greg shook his head. “Dad never knew, either.”

  Ellie pressed her hand to her heart. At least part of her world hadn’t tilted off its axis.

  Greg shifted his feet. “I was so ashamed.” His voice grew very quiet. “Still am.”

  “How could you have done that?” She hated the squeaky quality of her voice. “How?”

  “Stupid, I guess.” She had never heard her brother sound so weak. So small. Poof! Gone was the image of her older brother, the one she had foreve
r looked up to.

  “Mom and Dad had given me every opportunity and I had let them down. I couldn’t face them if they had known I had done it. I was a coward.”

  “Why?” A throbbing pounded behind her eyes. “Did Roger put you up to it?”

  “I made my own bad decisions. It was so easy at first. Easy money, you know? Next thing I knew, the police were pounding on the door and I’m getting arrested.”

  Ellie shoved a hand through her hair. “Why are you telling me now?”

  “I’ve heard the news about the second drug overdose.”

  Ellie’s mouth grew dry. “What does that have to do with what happened ten years ago?” Her eyes grew wide. “Oh, no, you’re not…” She struggled to fill her heavy lungs with air. The image of his wife Beth herding the children in the backyard flooded her mind. He’d destroy them. “No…”

  “Oh, no, no. Absolutely not. I would never… I mean…” Greg stumbled over his words. “Not again.”

  “Why are you speaking up now, Greg?” Johnny’s husky voice sounded close to her ear. And then Ellie remembered how she had constantly criticized Johnny for ruining her brother’s life. For ruining hers.

  Greg had been the architect of his own downfall. He had been the one to cause his parents so much heartache.

  Her brother clasped his hands together and closed his eyes briefly. “Beth and I know Kerry from the church. He was a real nice kid who obviously made a bad decision. We need these drugs off the street.” He lowered his voice. “Am I right in assuming you’re in town investigating?”

  “Yes, do you have information?” Johnny glanced toward the yard. Was he also wondering about Roger?

  No, Ellie thought. Roger’s married. He’s changed. Didn’t God say people could change? Her brother had changed too, right?

  “I don’t.” Greg kicked the tire on the minivan. “I can’t believe I was so stupid and it pains me that kids are still killing themselves with this stuff.”

  “Stuff you had willingly sold to kids.” Hurt lingered with the bile in her gut. Her brother had lied to everyone. Her dreams had been derailed, her parents’ retirement gone, all because of her boneheaded brother.

  Horror widened Greg’s eyes. “I was young. Stupid. I would never do anything to jeopardize my family. I’m not that stupid kid anymore.”

  “Like Johnny said, why tell us now? To ease your stupid conscience?” She spat the words out.

  “If I’m being honest? Partially.” Greg crossed his arms and leaned back on the minivan. “I told you because I don’t want you to doubt Johnny. He’s great at what he does.” Her big brother’s eyes grew dark. Intense. “Trust him to find the bad guys.” He gave her the saddest smile that broke her heart. “He did catch the bad guys once.” Greg laughed; a thin sound.

  Tingles bit at her fingertips.

  Greg reached out and touched her arm. “Trust him to keep you safe. He’s a good guy.”

  Ellie curled up her fist and had the most irrational urge to slug her brother in his arm because she couldn’t wrap her head around all her emotions. He had put all of them through so much pain. He’d cost his parents a ton in legal fees. He had cost her a college education.

  And if you talked to the old men seated on the bench outside the hardware store, their arrest had cost the sleepy town of Williamstown their one chance of earning the state championship in baseball. But Ellie couldn’t care one bit about that.

  “Beth knows.”

  Ellie’s head shot up. “What?”

  “Beth knows. I told her before we got married.”

  Ellie shook her head, as if it would snap her thoughts into place. “Yet you never told your family.” She didn’t bother to frame it as a question.

  Greg shook his head. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I owe Johnny my life.”

  Ellie froze in place and cut a sideways glance to Johnny, who stood expressionless, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

  “If Johnny hadn’t had me arrested, my life would have continued down that dark path.” Greg shook his head, as if seeing an alternate future. He held out his hand to his well-tended house in the suburbs. “I owe all of this to you. Thank you.”

  Johnny and Greg shook hands. “I was doing my job,” Johnny said. “I had considered you a friend. It tore me up when I realized you were involved with drugs.”

  “At first I felt betrayed,” Greg said. “You were my friend, after all. I thought you were the biggest jerk. A liar. Then, once reality set in, I decided God must have had other plans for me.”

  Ellie wanted to ask him yet again why he hadn’t confessed to his own family, but decided she had already asked twice and both times he’d told her he was ashamed. Only her brother knew his heart.

  Well, her brother and God. He’d have to work on his relationship with God and his reasons for not revealing the truth to those he loved.

  “Just do me a favor. Don’t tell Mom. I’ll tell her myself this week.”

  “Let me know because I’m going to make myself scarce that day.” She laughed to release the tension and Greg pulled her into an embrace.

  She opened her eyes and found Johnny watching her intently. The feeling unnerved her.

  SEVEN

  “Thanks for coming out tonight.” The pastor, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and smile lines around his eyes, crossed the gym and shook first Johnny’s, then Ellie’s hand. They had left the barbecue at her brother’s house early in order to talk to the youth group at the church. It was just as well because rain had moved into the area.

  “Thanks for letting us talk to the youth. I know they’re running short on time to get things ready for the fall carnival next weekend.” Ellie tucked her fingers into the back pockets of her jeans and smiled.

  The loud bam-bam-bam of hammering sounded from the far corner of the gym and the pastor smiled. “These kids are good kids. They’ll get everything done in time.” His expression shifted to somber. “The kids are shaken up by Kerry’s overdose. I think it was important that an FBI agent came in and warned them about the dangers of drug use.” He shook his head. “Kids think they’re invincible. Some things never change. Remember those days, Johnny?”

  A shadow crossed Johnny’s face. The pastor would have had no way of knowing Johnny’s tragic upbringing. “I hope we’ve reached them,” Johnny said. “There are some really bad drugs out there. It’s no longer an issue of getting high and having a good time. One bad dose and it’s all over.”

  “You’d think the kids would have been scared straight after Peter Heim’s death last month. He was by all accounts a good kid, too,” the pastor said, threading his fingers in front of him.

  “Like you said, a lot of kids think it can’t happen to them. Or somehow they’re smarter.” Johnny glanced around the large gym where the youth had divided up to work on various projects for the fall carnival.

  “Let’s pray Kerry recovers. Maybe now the kids who are inclined to experiment will realize it could happen to them.”

  A young man with a baseball cap on backward approached the pastor. “You got duct tape?” he asked without regard for the adult conversation.

  The pastor smiled, lifted the boy’s hat off his head and turned it around. “I’m in the middle of a conversation, Sean.”

  The boy jerked his head back. “Sorry. Just looking for duct tape.”

  The pastor gestured with his chin toward the corner of the gym. “Look in the box near the door.”

  “Cool.” Sean’s sneakers squeaked as he pivoted on the gym floor.

  “Kids these days. All about instant gratification.” The pastor watched Sean make his way over to the cardboard box in the corner.

  “Have you heard any updates about Kerry?” Ellie asked.

  The corners of the pastor’s mouth tugged down. “No change.” He bowed his head reverently. “Our church community is praying for him. His parents are beside themselves. Many families are bringing them meals.” He shrugged. “It makes everyone feel like t
hey’re doing something when they feel so helpless.”

  A tinge of bitterness swirled in Ellie’s stomach. The church members hadn’t come with a parade of meals when her family was going through the biggest nightmare of their lives. Did they sense Greg’s guilt when our family was blinded by his Golden Boy image?

  Ellie wondered if she’d ever get over the sense of betrayal from her brother, one of the few people she truly admired. Looked up to. She glanced away when she felt the first prickles of tears at the backs of her eyes.

  “We’ll help clean up before we head out,” Ellie offered. Some habits died hard.

  “Thank you.” The pastor turned his attention to Johnny. “Will I see you again? Perhaps at Sunday service?”

  Johnny turned to Ellie with a help-me-out-here, wide-eyed gaze.

  She smiled, not quite ready to give him an easy out.

  “Um…” he muttered.

  “Perhaps you’ll give it some thought,” the pastor said, compassionate to Johnny’s discomfort. He lifted an open palm. “I better see that everyone has a project. A lot needs to be done before next weekend.” He raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Perhaps you and Agent Rock could find time to join us this week. Many hands make light work.”

  Ellie sensed Johnny tense next to her. He never came out and said it, but she assumed he wasn’t a joiner, and certainly not for a church-related activity.

  “I’ll see what I can do during the week.” She wondered if she’d be able to convince Johnny that reopening her store was a good idea. “I do plan to work the church booth on Saturday night so the kids can enjoy the carnival some.”

  The pastor patted her elbow. “Excellent. The apple cider is a big seller. See you then. If not sooner.” He smiled brightly. “Nice meeting you, Agent Rock. I’ll pray that your investigation goes well.”

  “Thank you,” Johnny said.

  Ellie walked over to a nearby table and closed the empty doughnut cartons and stacked them one on top of the other. She had decided the best way to get the teenagers to sit and listen to Johnny speak was by bribing them with doughnuts. The smell of chocolate icing and the doughy-fresh doughnuts always reminded her of a simpler time when her family went to church as a family and Ellie’s biggest concern was how well she had done on a math test or how long it would take her to write her English essay. Hard to imagine other teenagers had far more pressing concerns than homework.