by Debra Webb
The confirmation that the child wasn’t with that missing local opened up the possibility that she was with a stranger. But Jonathan’s instincts still leaned toward an intimate—someone the child knew well.
If she was still alive.
Chapter Four
11:20 a.m.
“I may have gone too far.” Harry Shepherd dropped his face into his hands. His heart ached with agony. “What have I done?”
Carol Talbot got down on her knees in front of him. “Harry.” She took his face in her hands and drew his gaze to hers. “You did the only thing you could.”
He wanted to believe she was right. Her eyes shone with the same pain he felt, but also a hope he couldn’t quite feel. They were in this together. She’d made a pact with him to do whatever needed to be done...and no looking back. Dear God. He pulled her into his arms. He’d needed someone for so long.
So very long.
This necessary horror had brought them even closer.
“You’re right.” He kissed her cheek. “It was the only way.” As painful as it was, in the end his actions would make everything all right again. The ends justified the means.
He’d worried himself sick for all these months. When William had gotten orders to deploy to Afghanistan, Harry had almost lost his mind. He couldn’t watch this happen again. Once in a lifetime was more than enough. He’d had to come up with a plan.
Carol pulled far enough away to look into his eyes once more. She caressed his jaw with the pad of her thumb. “You don’t have to worry. Stevie will protect her with his life.” The promise of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “This will all be over soon. William will be safe and, if he ever learns the truth, he’ll be thankful for the intervention once the initial shock has passed.”
Harry wasn’t so sure about that, but what the boy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Keeping the awful details secret would be the best way. Harry closed his eyes. He couldn’t love that boy more if he were his own son. Should have been his son. Harry shook off the heart-wrenching feelings. That had been a long time ago.
Another lifetime ago.
“As long as it keeps him away from that terrible place,” Harry agreed, “that’s all that matters.” He reminded himself of that fact every hour of every day. Without this intervention William might have perished just as his father had.
Carol moved up to sit on Harry’s knee. He smiled in spite of the misery twisting his soul...in spite of the terrible reality of what he’d done. Doubt nudged his determination once more. Dear God, please let this be the right decision.
“Having that no good bum recall seeing Stevie get on that bus was a stroke of genius.” She hugged Harry tightly. “You’re so smart. Reed didn’t suspect a thing. He swallowed the story as easily as he does that homemade cherry pie of mine.”
Something else Harry wasn’t so sure of. “I would’ve thought the chief would assume Stevie had taken the bus when the salesclerk came forward to say that Stevie had bought a bus ticket to Nashville.” Harry had planned this out very carefully. He’d instructed Stevie to buy that ticket two days in advance of setting this strategy in motion. But Reed Talbot had kept digging until Harry had had to come up with a way to provide confirmation.
Stevie Price had been fascinated with Nashville and country music since he was a kid. Playing guitar was his passion, and he was pretty damned good at it. No one ever believed the mentally challenged man would actually attempt following that dream. It had made complete sense to Harry to go with that idea. Most of the folks in the community didn’t care one way or the other about Stevie. Plenty of them were glad he was gone, for whatever reason.
Harry hadn’t expected the chief of police to push for finding a witness who’d actually seen Stevie get on the bus. The driver had insisted he couldn’t recall any specific passengers. Too many faces, he’d said. Harry had had to step in and pay that drunken fool Floyd Harper to say he’d seen Stevie get on the bus after begging him for a few dollars to buy a bottle of the rot-gut he preferred. Considering Harper’s reputation, Harry hadn’t been sure the sham would work. Evidently adding the part about his begging for the booze money did the trick.
Apparently it had. The chief had called Harry not twenty minutes ago to confirm that Stevie was in the clear for now. The Nashville police had been notified to keep an eye out for him, but the search for Polly couldn’t wait for confirmation of Stevie’s whereabouts. The investigation had to move forward under the assumption that Stevie wasn’t actually missing in a criminal or legal sense and obviously wasn’t involved in Polly’s disappearance. That was the chief’s position unless Nashville PD called with conflicting information.
After the call, Harry had felt as if a massive boulder had been lifted from his chest. Yet he still couldn’t draw a deep enough breath. No matter that the little ruse had worked, this nightmare was far from over.
“What about that man?” Carol asked, worry showing through the courageous face she’d no doubt kept in place just for Harry. “Jonathan Foley? Will he be trouble, you think?”
Harry wished he knew. “Melissa has never said much about him. She’d seemed pretty broken up when their relationship ended a few years back. It’s hard to say.” Harry exhaled a heavy breath. “What I do know is that Foley’s got far-reaching connections in the military, which Melissa believes will help Will.” Harry’s niece had done the one thing she felt she could to help her brother. But Harry’s gut had tied in knots this morning when she’d told him about the step she’d taken.
He was trying hard to give the idea the benefit of the doubt and not to borrow trouble.
This Jonathan Foley could be a godsend.
As long as he didn’t sniff around and get a whiff of the truth.
That would destroy the family. And Harry couldn’t bear that.
Mercy, what had he done?
* * *
SINNERS!
Scott Rayburn gritted his teeth as the disgust roiled in his belly. Harry Shepherd and Carol Talbot stood on her porch and hugged.
Scott shook his head. Did they have no shame? What if the chief arrived to find another man on his porch, hugging his wife?
Something was going on between these two. Scott had suspected as much for months now. Bay Minette was a small town. Folks had keenly honed eyes and ears and wagging tongues. He wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the looks these two shared whenever they bumped into each other in town.
“Adulterers,” he muttered. Scott wished the chief would come home right now. That he would put Harry Shepherd in his place. The man had lorded over his family all these years as if no one in Bay Minette was good enough to get close to a Shepherd.
Fury simmered in Scott’s veins. They weren’t even Harry’s family. But he’d sure as hell stepped in like they were as soon as his little brother was shipped home in a box by the military.
All these years, old Harry had remained unmarried and completely devoted to his dead brother’s wife and children. Then she had died and Harry had turned his attention to another man’s wife—only the chief wasn’t dead. The missing child had evidently given these two the nerve to flaunt their illicit affair a little more flagrantly.
Scott rolled his eyes. Either that or they were up to something more than tawdry behavior. He wouldn’t put this whole charade past the two of them to distract folks from their adulterous affair. Could be Harry’s attempt to rescue his nephew from going back to that godforsaken place the military had sent him.
No. That couldn’t possibly be right. Old Harry worshiped William and his sister, but he loved that little girl even more. He wouldn’t dare risk her safety in an outlandish plot such as this.
As boring as the concept was, Scott felt confident the child’s disappearance was about her no-good momma. That Presley was a worthless slut. Knowing her, she’d taken the kid off into the woods and left her, hoping she’d never find her way home. God knew Presley showed no real motherly feelings toward the child, much less wifely feelings
for her fine husband.
Scott’s teeth set hard enough to crack the high-priced enamel of the crowns he’d lavished his daddy’s money on. William deserved a whole lot better than that worthless woman. But some men were stupid like that. Let a woman use and abuse them. For what? An heir?
Adoption was far less painful.
Carol Talbot, the chief’s cheating wife, patted her lover on the back. Scott’s lips curled in disgust. Sickening.
The chief had better get on the stick with his retirement. If he kept hanging around Bay Minette he was going to end up retiring alone. He would be rambling around in that big luxury cabin he’d built in Gatlinburg all by himself. What retired couple needed such an enormous home? But nothing would do for his cheating wife but to have the very finest. Far away from the sweltering heat of southern Alabama.
Actually, Scott was in no hurry to see the chief go. The deputy slated to step into his position was about as worthless as a hung jury. With the older generation like Reed Talbot retiring, those Scott’s age were stepping into positions of power.
Anticipation trickled into his veins. He couldn’t wait for old Judge Baker to retire...or die. Scott was the top attorney in town. Between his stellar reputation and his daddy’s money, he was a shoe-in for the judgeship.
Scott slid down in his seat as Harry Shepherd drove past. Scott had parked at the corner of the block just beyond the Talbot home, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Harry might be crazier than Scott knew.
When the coast was clear, Scott started his car and eased out onto the cross street. He had a client coming. A wife who’d worked up the nerve to divorce her husband. Poor slob. He had no idea.
As an attorney, Scott knew all about trickery and surprise attacks. But if dear old Uncle Harry was pulling a fast one on William, Scott intended to find out. William deserved the truth.
The chief of police had better get this investigation moving. The longer it took to find the child, the more William would suffer.
Scott considered the outsider Melissa had called in. Maybe this Jonathan Foley would prove more useful than the chief, who was clearly blind. Scott pursed his lips. Somehow he had to ensure that this Mr. Foley had all the facts. No one else would tell him the whole truth the way Scott would. He would have to make that happen, as soon as possible.
That child had to be found.
It was the only way to make William happy again.
And Scott would do anything to see him happy.
He couldn’t just sit around here and wait for the chief to get the job done. Every minute that William agonized was one that Scott suffered, as well.
Whether he slept or ate or kept all his appointments or not, Scott intended to ensure the job was done.
Then William would know that there was no one he could count on the way he could count on Scott.
Scott would be a hero.
Chapter Five
1:00 p.m.
William refused to talk to Melissa now. She shouldn’t have pushed the issue of Jonathan questioning Presley right away. They hadn’t learned anything new and now Presley was even more upset—which made William all the more miserable. Jonathan had kept quiet while Melissa and William argued about Presley’s story. She was leaving something out. Something she was too afraid to tell. Melissa wished she could make her understand that if whatever she was holding back helped find Polly, then nothing else mattered. But Presley hadn’t been raised in a safe, nurturing home environment. More like a dog eat dog world where only the most cunning survived.
Melissa shifted in the seat of her car and studied Jonathan’s profile. What was he thinking? That her family was a little messed up? Probably. Melissa rested her head back against the seat.
“Arguing with your brother isn’t going to make his wife confess to whatever wrongdoing she’s committed.”
Melissa turned to the driver once more. She wasn’t surprised that he’d read her mind. It didn’t take ESP to know exactly what she’d been thinking. She shifted her attention back to the street in front of them. “Whatever happened that night was a mistake. Presley would never hurt Polly. She’s scared and William is terrified. It’s easier not to know, even if it’s a mistake.”
“I wouldn’t misread William’s long-suffering attitude for blissful ignorance.”
The statement hit a nerve. “I know my brother isn’t ignorant,” she snapped. “I didn’t say that.” Why was she biting Jonathan’s head off? Good grief, she had to get a grip here. “Sorry. I’m just tired.” She was. Totally exhausted, and worried sick. Part of her wanted to shake the hell out of both Presley and William. But more than anything she wanted to protect them...and find Polly.
Jonathan braked at an intersection. “Which way now?”
Melissa sat up straighter. “Sorry. Left. Then right on Blossom Street.” Jonathan had offered to drive considering the way her hands had been shaking when they’d left William’s. Now she had to focus. Of course Jonathan didn’t know which way to go. He’d never been to Bay Minette.
Not once during the six months they were together had he visited or even met her family. Obviously he hadn’t cared enough for her. More of that agitation churned inside her. It didn’t matter now. Their relationship had been over for three years.
Finding Polly was all that mattered now.
“This Johnny Ray,” Jonathan began as he made the turn, “is he going to be cooperative?”
“Depends upon his mood,” she answered. “Johnny Ray thinks he’s God’s gift to women. He can be charming when he wants and a total jerk other times. Honestly, I doubt he’ll be any help.” But they had to try. She doubted that the chief had pushed him for information. Johnny Ray Bruce had been getting away with just about everything in the book—except murder—since he was born.
Johnny Ray was the same age as William, twenty-five. The two had gone to school together. Had even been friends, sort of, at one time. But Johnny Ray preferred breaking hearts to settling down. As a teenager he’d had a knack for trouble—particularly because the chief of police was his uncle and he wasn’t worried about the consequences. Accountability had not been one of his strong suits. Thankfully he’d grown out of that part of his bad boy reputation.
Johnny Ray and Presley had a long, volatile history. One that hadn’t completely ended with Presley’s marriage to William.
Jonathan parked in front of the small house Johnny Ray’s parents had left to him. Neither was dead, just moved down to coastal Florida to retire.
“I guess we’ll see,” Jonathan said before getting out of the car.
Melissa stared at the small white house. A shiny red sports car sat in the drive out front. Johnny Ray worked as a certified nursing assistant at the same hospital where Melissa worked as a registered nurse. Johnny Ray was a kind and charming caregiver at work. It was only his sexual appetite when off duty that he didn’t appear to be able to control. Unfortunately his craving for Presley hadn’t lessened with age.
Melissa’s car door opened, startling her. Jonathan held it open, waiting for her to climb out. “Thank you.” When her mind began drifting off into disturbing memories, she stopped it. Focusing on the here and now was absolutely essential.
The air was thick with humidity, the sort they didn’t typically endure until late July or August. The idea that Polly might be trapped out in this heat made Melissa shudder despite the sweltering temperature. The child wasn’t old enough to understand that staying out of the direct sun was essential in temperatures this extreme. Dehydration was a major concern. Some had speculated that Polly had gotten up in the middle of the night and wandered off. Every neighborhood in town had been searched. The woods, the parks, no place had been overlooked. She hadn’t been found.
Or someone had taken her to a place far enough away that she wouldn’t be found.
Tracking dogs had failed to pick up on her scent no matter that local hunters had shown up with their hounds mere hours after word got out that a child was missing. Two days of rain after th
at had rendered any trace of her scent undetectable.
As much as Melissa didn’t want to believe anyone could have taken that sweet child, defeat was crushing in on her now.
The high-pitched whine of the screen door being opened brought Melissa out of her reverie. She heard Jonathan rap on the faded green door, once, twice.
Melissa swiped at the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand. Johnny Ray had to be here. He worked eight to five most days, but today he was not scheduled. She’d called one of her friends and checked.
Jonathan glanced at her, then pounded on the door a third time.
While they waited he surveyed the yard. Melissa started to ask what he was thinking, but the door flew open sharply enough to have shaken loose some of the flaking green paint.
“What?” Johnny Ray demanded, his eyes slitted against the sun’s bright light. He stood in the open doorway, his jeans not even fastened and his muscled chest bare, looking from Jonathan to Melissa and back with blatant irritation. That was another thing Johnny Ray Bruce spent most of his spare time on, pumping iron.
“Johnny Ray, I hate to bother you on your day off,” Melissa said. Damn it! Why did her voice have to sound shaky? “But it’s urgent.” She gestured to the man beside her. “This is my friend Jonathan Foley. We need to speak with you.”
Jonathan extended his hand; Johnny Ray hesitated, but then gave it a shake. “Johnny Ray Bruce.” He smirked. “Guess you already knew that.”
“You work at the hospital with Melissa,” Jonathan said. The way he said her name made her chest ache with an old, far too familiar tenderness.
Johnny Ray nodded. “That’s right.” In Melissa’s direction he flashed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “’Course, unlike me, she makes the big bucks.”
Ignoring his jab, she got to the point. “Jonathan’s here to help with the investigation into Polly’s disappearance.”
Johnny Ray’s cocky expression softened a fraction. “They haven’t found her yet?”
Melissa shook her head. “We’re hoping we can count on your help.”