Stiffening her spine, deepening her resolve, she assured herself that she was strong and brave enough to face anything as long as she knew Trevor—and God—loved her.
The little, white-painted house Trevor had found for them was everything Steff had hoped it would be, including modest, with a fenced yard in the back and a glorious flood of colorful flowers blooming along the front.
She’d loved the property from the moment she’d laid eyes on it and was delighted when he’d told her his offer had been accepted by the sellers.
“I’ll put the deed in both our names,” Trevor said as they stood on the quaint wooden porch, holding hands and looking into the backyard where a few abandoned toys still lay beneath a rusty swing set. “You can have it changed once we’re married, assuming you’re not going to keep calling yourself Stephanie Kessler.”
“Not on your life,” she said, rolling her eyes and grinning. “I’ve had all the years of being a Kessler that I can stand. Let Luke carry on the family name.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Mother says he’s fine. I suspect she’s oversimplifying but at least he’s getting the help he needs. That’s a start.”
“How about J.T.?”
“Dad’s hanging in there. He’s still upset over the Fowler fiasco, but he and Nat are speaking again.”
Steff slipped her arms around his waist and gazed up at him. “This house is a perfect place to raise a family. It’s as if I can feel clouds of love all around us.”
“That’s my love you’re feeling, Princess,” Trevor insisted. “I care so much it scares me.”
“If that’s all that ever scares either of us again, that’ll be just fine with me.”
“I’ll always protect you,” Trevor vowed. “Always.”
“I know. And just in case you ever need protecting, I’ll be there for you, too.”
“Okay,” he drawled, “as long as you leave your camera at home.”
Laughing and joyful, Steff reveled in life itself. God had answered her prayers in a way so far beyond her hopes and dreams that she could scarcely believe it.
She sighed. There were some things about her life and her job that she still wasn’t thrilled about, but any drawbacks were overshadowed by the prospect of a peaceful, secure future with Trevor.
She wasn’t going to fret about the things she couldn’t change or the questions she couldn’t answer. As Trevor had wisely said, all they had to do was their best. God would take care of the rest.
Thoughts of Adam tried to encroach on her happiness and she put them in their proper place, refusing to brood.
The past was over and couldn’t be changed. It was Trevor’s and her future that counted now.
She’d never been happier.
The man stepped outside and paused in the shade of an ancient oak to make the call on his prepaid cell phone. He wasn’t about to chance leaving a record of it on the college telephone system. He knew better. That kind of call could be traced.
“Things are starting to settle down here,” he said as soon as his party answered. “I thought you’d want to know.”
“Good. Have you heard any more about the body? Do they have any leads?”
“No. Nothing.” His voice had lowered and he’d cupped his free hand around his mouth.
He paused as a pair of students in navy-and-gold track uniforms jogged past on the expansive lawn, but fortunately they ignored him.
He resumed the conversation as soon as he felt the joggers were far enough away to ensure his continued privacy. “The police still have the site cordoned off and all work on the library has stopped. I can’t imagine what else they could be looking for. There was nothing identifiable in that grave with her, was there?”
“Of course not. I told you I was careful.”
“All right. I won’t call you again unless I hear something definite.”
“You disposed of that board with the initial the way I told you to?”
“Yes. I reduced it to a pile of ashes and plaster dust, then put the remains in several plastic sacks and dropped them in different Dumpsters around Magnolia Falls. The best forensics in the world couldn’t reconstruct anything identifiable from what I had left.”
He shuddered at the memory. He had no proof that the splashes or the letter were actually blood, or that their victim had been trying to leave a clue before she’d died, but he knew in his heart that that was exactly what had happened. Handling that board, destroying it, had left him weak, dizzy and gagging. If he hadn’t had such a strong sense of self-preservation he knew he’d never have been able to function well enough to actually destroy it.
“Then we’re done,” his cohort said. “Go back and tend to your work the way you always do. And while you’re at it, give my love to Stephanie.”
“You don’t really mean that, do you?”
“Of course not, you idiot! If I never lay eyes on any of those people at Magnolia again it will be too soon. I hate them all. You included.”
“Then we have nothing more to discuss.”
He broke the connection, closed the small phone and slipped it into his jacket pocket. There were some aspects of his life of which he was justly proud, but getting involved with that particular person was not one of them.
Snorting in self-disgust, he turned to reenter the stone edifice. If he were able to look into the mind of each person on staff, how many dirty little secrets would he discover?
Chances were, he wasn’t the only one hiding plenty, he decided. As long as he kept his mouth shut and didn’t accidentally give any indication that he knew whose grave had been discovered or how the victim had been killed, everything would be all right.
If he’d been a man of faith, he might even have paused and prayed for divine deliverance. Since he wasn’t, he simply squared his shoulders, took a deep, settling breath and strode boldly back inside as if he were as innocent as a newborn babe.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1181-4
HIDDEN IN THE WALL
Copyright © 2008 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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