Sidney inhaled deeply wishing she didn’t have to give up that information. “On the bank by the stream. It was at the same place where Emily Fisher was murdered.”
The sheriff groaned and rolled his eyes. “Missy, that rabbit could have been put there by anyone. There’s no way to prove it was meant for Trisha Allister.”
“Well, what about the threat she’d received?” Sidney demanded. “The phone call was made from the pay phone by the school. You could dust it for fingerprints.”
He rolled his little eyes with their red, swollen lids and shook his head. “That phone is used by every student in the high school and people staying at the motel across the street. There wouldn’t be one identifiable fingerprint on the entire booth. Even if there was, we can’t fingerprint the entire town.”
“So you’re not going to do anything about it?” she demanded to know.
“There’s nothing I can do. I have nothing to work with,” he remarked simply.
Sidney frowned, left the office, and walked into the empty corridor. Trisha had been right. Sheriff Drukard was completely useless. She then heard his voice calling her. Sidney turned in the hall as he approached. He was panting from his short jog to catch up with her.
“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you, darling,” he announced sternly. “There’s been talk around town that you and Trisha have been poking around in the Emily Fisher murder. You heed my warning, young lady. That case was solved eight years ago. If I hear any more about you harassing the good people of Marilina, I’ll find something to charge you with.” His look was threatening. “Do I make myself clear?”
Sidney tilted her head and folded her arms across her chest. “I have a New York lawyer,” she announced sternly. “He’ll slap you with a lawsuit so fast; you won’t even be able to get work giving parking tickets.”
Sheriff Drukard stared at her with a concerned look in his eyes then pointed a warning finger at her. “You just watch yourself, missy.”
“It’s Ms. McBride,” Sidney snapped lowly and gave him a stern look. “I’m no longer a child, and I will not permit you to treat me as such.”
Sidney proudly raised her head, turned, and walked out of the municipal building. She couldn’t deny it felt good telling off the lazy sheriff. Sadly, it also meant she was no closer to getting any help from the local law either.
Chapter Twenty-three
Sidney headed into the woods and paused before the path leading to the old, stone house. Apart from that night in her dream, she hadn’t been there since that day with Harlan eight years ago. Sidney traveled the path and eventually found her way to the stone house. She studied the house and old well from a distance. A tiny smile crossed her face as she approached the stone well. She walked around it and gently ran her fingers along the edge. She remembered the day she brought Harlan to this place. Sidney subconsciously climbed onto the well and teetered along the edge while her thoughts remained on Harlan. She walked the length of the well then paused by the post and hugged it insecurely behind her, remembering how Harlan extended his hand to her, and the first time she’d ever touched him. She drew a deep breath and sighed with sadness. She wished she could get Harlan from her mind.
“Don’t fall,” came a familiar, male voice.
Sidney’s heart leaped in her chest. She spun around on the wall and stared at Billy. Her heart sank, but she was polite despite her disappointment.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said and walked toward her with a pleasant smile.
Billy paused before her and extended his hand to her. She placed her hand in his, but the fireworks weren’t there. He helped her to the ground and stood unusually close. Sidney backed up a step to put some distance between them then proceeded to walk around the well.
“Do you come here a lot?” she asked while avoiding looking at him.
Billy looked around the area then looked back at her. “Hardly ever. Unfortunately, for you, the two busybodies saw you walking past Mrs. Cooper’s house. I hate labeling my own grandmother that way. I tried calling your house.” He chuckled nervously with some embarrassment. “Your father answered in his usual polite tone and said you weren’t home. I don’t know why, but I figured you had to be here.”
Sidney looked around the area and the fading light. “This place has some very fond memories and some very horrible ones.”
“I played here as a young boy myself,” he said simply. “Denny and I used to sneak into the basement of the house and smoke my father’s cigarettes.”
Sidney tilted her head and managed a tiny smile. “How old were you?”
Billy laughed. “Nine.”
She rolled her eyes and hid her grin. “You smoked cigarettes at nine?”
“Yeah,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Thankfully I outgrew that. Can I walk you home? Or drive you home? I have to pick up Grandma. We’ll be heading that way.”
“Why don’t you walk me as far as the stone bridge,” Sidney suggested. “I’ll walk home the rest of the way myself. It’ll be late until you tear those two apart.”
“It’s a deal,” he replied.
They walked through the woods at a leisurely pace as Billy joked around about their day at the hospital. Halfway back to the bridge he took her hand in his and gave it a playful pat.
“I’ll never forget the sight of you standing there with that plastic bag,” he said and laughed softly. “You’re full of surprises.”
He held her hand the rest of the way to the bridge. Something stirred inside her, but it wasn’t necessarily in a good way. She anticipated his next move with some anxiety then realized it wasn’t that she didn’t like Billy Randall; she just had a problem with men. There was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t desire this man. He was almost perfect in every way. Sidney stopped him before the bridge and gently removed her hand from his with some embarrassment.
“Thank you for walking me back.”
“Anytime, Sidney,” he said with a warm smile. “I’m on call for you twenty-four hours a day.”
Sidney hoped to slip away without a confrontation, but before she’d even realized what had happened, his hand slipped behind her neck, and he kissed her passionately on the mouth. He pulled away just as quickly, grinned, and walked back toward town. Sidney was stunned a moment then watched him leave and exhaled with confusion. She didn’t understand what her problem was with men.
“Was that as disgusting as it looked?” came a male voice from the bridge.
Sidney whirled around and saw Harlan leaning against the wall of the bridge with his hands casually in his pockets. Harlan had a sickened look on his face while staring in the direction Billy had headed. Sidney gasped softly with surprise at the sight of him. Her heartbeat quickened.
He met her gaze, straightened, and walked toward her. “Daddy won’t like that one bit,” he informed her bluntly.
“What are you doing here?” she gasped as her eyes widened.
“You mean other than becoming violently ill?” he muttered lowly and again stared down the path.
Once her heart had returned to its regular beat, Sidney managed a smile. “Oh, that’s right. Billy said you two didn’t get along,” she remarked then raised a brow. “That must be one hell of a feud to hold a grudge after all these years.”
“Ah, yes,” he snorted. “Billy Randall, star quarterback. Mister high school spirit himself.” He cast his back against a tree and sneered. “I have nothing but admiration for the little bastard,” he growled lowly.
Sidney eyed him with a humored look. “He’s a doctor now.”
Harlan glared at her with a surprised look. “Doesn’t that just figure for this town,” he muttered lowly and looked around the woods. “I can smell the ignorance as it blossoms.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Sidney said gently. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes swept back over her, and a frown crossed his face. “I came back to prove something to myself.”
“And what might that be?”
“That it’s this town that had the problem and not me,” he remarked lowly. “I can’t believe a town can be so bloody proper yet have absolutely no morals.”
“Did you just come back to insult my hometown?”
Harlan straightened and stared directly into her eyes. “I’ve decided to write an article on the murder of Emily Fisher. It seemed like a good way to piss off everyone and maybe help dig up some information for you.”
Sidney felt all the anger drain from her body. A warm smile crossed her face. “You came here to help me?”
He rolled his eyes and groaned lowly. “Not one of my more brilliant ideas.”
Sidney sighed as relief filled her entire body. She fought the urge to throw her arms around him with gratitude.
“Just make sure you keep the good doctor away from me,” he grumbled under his breath.
She remained overjoyed. “Wait until my father sees you after all these years,” she said with anticipation.
Harlan’s eyes widened as he stared at her. “I have no intentions to go to your parents’ home,” he said sternly.
Sidney was slightly taken back. Her shoulders sagged as disappointment swept over her. “Okay, so my house is out of the question. What if we go to Trisha’s once she’s out of work? She won’t be out until eight o’clock.”
“Where are you meeting her?”
“At the library.”
“Why don’t I meet you here at seven-thirty? We can go there from here,” he suggested. “We can either talk at the diner or go back to my motel room.”
Sidney’s heart skipped a beat when she thought about going back to his motel room. She gently bit her lip and smiled lightly. “Okay. We’ll meet back here at seven-thirty. Unless--”
“Unless what?” he asked.
“I was just going to suggest going with you, but I really need to get home and shower.” She felt unusually dirty after handling the dead rabbit even though she had washed her hands.
“I need to make some calls anyway,” he replied.
“I can appreciate that. I should make a couple of calls myself.” Sidney fidgeted slightly. “I’m really glad you came back.”
“Just do me a favor, and don’t tell your father we spoke,” he said simply.
Sidney became confused. “Why?”
“Just save us both the aggravation, okay?”
“Okay, Harlan,” she replied softly. “I won’t say a word to them, but will you tell me what happened between you and my father?”
“Maybe later,” he replied. “Now’s not the proper time.”
Harlan turned and walked across the bridge then down to the stream. She watched him walk through the woods and scale the hillside to Cressman Road. She wondered what he was up to. Why was he being so mysterious? Who was he really trying to avoid? She held her breath and debated her own safety.
Chapter Twenty-four
Sidney ate very little that night at her parents’ house since she was supposed to go to dinner with Trisha once she got off work. Her thoughts continuously strayed to Harlan. She picked at her food then realized her parents seemed unusually quiet. She wondered if they had been fighting a lot since she had moved away. It was odd that no one even spoke about what happened that brought her father home early from work. Sidney’s father said he would help clean up after dinner. Sidney didn’t mind bowing out on dishes then left the kitchen. As she headed toward the stairs, she could hear her parents talking quietly.
Were they talking about her? Her own parents? She shook her head and attempted to listen, but their voices were too soft. Sidney looked at her father’s gun case just alongside the stairs. She found the key in its usual spot on top of the case. Her father didn’t think anyone knew he kept the spare key there. She unlocked the case and removed a small revolver. She stared at the gun then thought about Sheriff Drukard. He’d love finding her in possession of a gun without a permit. He could make that one stick. She returned the gun and removed a six-inch stiletto dagger from the case in its sheath. With little forethought, Sidney attached the sheath clip to her pants and locked the case. She hurried to the nearby closet and removed one of her father’s old blazers. She slipped into it to conceal the dagger attached to her pants. As she turned around, her father approached from the kitchen. Sidney’s heart leaped into her throat as she nervously faced him. Had he heard her in the cabinet?
“Are you going out, Sidney?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.
“Yes,” she said quickly. “I’m meeting Trisha at the library. We’re going to hang out at the diner for a while, or maybe go to Sam’s for a drink.”
Her father frowned. “Before you leave, we need to have a talk.”
Sidney knew something was bothering him, but she really didn’t have the time to stop and discuss it now.
“What is it, Dad?” she asked while standing near the door.
“Your mother got a phone call today from Mary Allister,” he said gently.
Sidney’s heart sank. They knew about the death threat! She attempted to remain calm but didn’t offer any information.
“She said Trisha received a death threat last night,” he continued. “Someone called here last night for you as well.”
Sidney drew a deep breath. “It’s under control, Dad. I’m meeting Trisha at the library. We’re going to stay together. It’ll be all right.”
“Yeah, more convenient for someone to kill you both,” he remarked sternly. “I don’t think you should go out tonight. I’ll call Trisha’s mother and tell her to pick Trisha up at the library. It’s for your own safety.”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I don’t understand why you’re so worried. You’ve told me you’re convinced Alex Trexler murdered Emily Fisher. So this is just some hollow threat, right?”
Her father wasn’t amused. “I’m almost positive he’s the real killer, Sidney. But I’m not about to gamble with your life on my belief.” He inhaled deeply. “There’s something I think you need to know.”
Sidney tilted her head slightly. Was he going to confess something he’d refused to tell her for eight years? Was there some piece of evidence he’d never told before?
“Your mother and I had a visitor today,” he reluctantly informed her. “Harlan stopped by the house early this afternoon. He was looking for you.”
Sidney’s heart began to pound. She hadn’t expected Harlan to stop by the house. It was no wonder he didn’t want her mentioning she’d seen him.
Sidney forced a surprised look. “Harlan? You mean Harlan Brendan? Did he say what he wanted?”
“No,” Herb replied sternly. “I told him to stay away from you. I didn’t want to tell you this the other night because I know how close you two were at one time, but it was Harlan who had called here looking for you. He didn’t leave his name, but there was no mistaking his voice. Around the same time, Trisha received a phone call as well. Later she received the death threat.”
“It could be just a coincidence, Dad. No one called me later,” she remarked simply.
“That’s because I disconnected the phone before we went to bed,” he insisted. “I didn’t want him calling back looking for you.”
Sidney stared at her father with some concern and surprise. Was it possible? “I’ll take my car if it’ll make you happy, but I am going to meet Trisha.”
Her father suddenly groaned. “You’re out of your mind, Sidney. What if you run into Harlan? You have to promise me you’ll avoid him if you see him and come directly home.”
Sidney inhaled deeply. “I’ll keep an eye out for him, okay? I really have to go.” She turned and hurried out of the house.
§
Sidney drove her car along Cressman Road then pulled to the side and looked toward the wooded area across the street. Where she parked would have been about where Alex had parked his car when he returned to the bridge and found Emily Fisher dead. Sidney took a deep breath, got out of her car, and crossed the street. She
found the small path that led down the wooded hill to the stone bridge. She approached the bridge at seven-thirty, but Harlan wasn’t there. She paced the bridge several minutes and studied the area with great caution. She waited twenty minutes longer without a trace of him. She had to meet Trisha at the library on time. She didn’t want her waiting outside or doing anything as stupid as what she, herself, was doing right now. She could hear the sound of thunder in the distance. They were in for one hell of a storm tonight. Sidney was about to leave when she saw Harlan approaching from the direction of town. He hurried across the bridge and smiled with some embarrassment.
“Sorry I’m late,” he announced as he approached. “I had to wait for a return phone call.”
Sidney felt uneasy and shifted nervously. “Why didn’t you tell me you stopped at my parents’ house first?”
Harlan frowned. “It wasn’t a very joyful reunion.” He hesitated while studying her. “So what did he say?”
“He said I should avoid you,” she snapped. “He also told me you had called my house last night as well.”
“Yes, I called your house last night when I arrived in town,” he replied. “I guess I need to work on my American accent, huh?”
Sidney’s eyes widened in alarm as she stared at him. “You arrived last night?”
“Around nine o’clock,” he replied simply. “I called from my motel room. You weren’t there, so I tried Trisha’s house.”
Sidney’s heart pounded with concern. Was it really a coincidence? She then remembered Trisha at the library.
“We’d better meet Trisha. My car’s just up the hillside,” she announced gently.
Harlan walked alongside her as they crossed the bridge then followed her up the hillside. Sidney felt very uneasy with him behind her. She no longer knew what to think about Harlan. There were too many unanswered questions. He always seemed to be at the wrong place and the wrong time.
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