by Laura Scott
With her memory, she already knew the answer, but he understood that she wanted him to make the connection.
“Six weeks ago,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean anything. It can’t.”
“The timeline fits,” she pointed out.
“Coincidence?”
She raised a brow. “I don’t put much stock in coincidences.”
“Neither do I,” Liam admitted. “I still don’t see how Sam could be connected to what’s happening, but I can’t deny the timing.”
“I think we need to take a closer look at Sam Newley, see if we can find something that connects him with the killings. Something happened to him that day, something that turned him—how did you put it?—‘real still.’ I have a feeling it could be important.”
“Important how?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
* * *
Like Paige, Liam didn’t believe in coincidences. In fact, a healthy skepticism of them had saved his life more than once when he was deployed. One incident in particular stood out.
A local shopkeeper, one who had refused to help the Americans in the past, had suddenly experienced a change of heart. He sought out Liam and told him that a certain warlord would be at the marketplace in two days’ time. It just so happened that Liam’s unit had been searching for the man for months.
Liam and his unit had shown up, but not at the time the shopkeeper named. Instead, they arrived early to see him deep in conversation with a known associate of the warlord. It had been a setup from the first. They’d taken the associate as well as the merchant prisoner and had leveraged them for information.
If Liam had allowed himself to believe in such a beneficial coincidence, he and his team would have been wiped out.
So when Paige suggested a visit to Sam’s brother, Liam was on board.
They drove to Sam’s family home. Sam had bought the house from his parents as an investment and had invited his younger brother to live with him. It was a brick ranch, solidly in the middle class, with a well-kept yard fronting it and neat flower beds flanking it on either side.
Jerry Newley opened the door, gave a surprised look, then welcomed them inside. He was of medium height, with dark hair that failed to disguise a slightly receding hairline.
“Liam McKenzie. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Liam made the introductions.
Jerry shook Paige’s hand. “Ms. Walker, glad to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Liam. “I’ve been meaning to call you and say how much I appreciated you coming to Sam’s funeral and for the flower arrangement,” Jerry said. “He always liked you.”
Liam flushed at the thanks he didn’t deserve. “I should have visited more often. I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten with Sam. The last I’d heard, he was in remission.”
“Sam didn’t want his friends to know that the cancer had come back. If you remember, he was always kind of private, didn’t want any attention.”
“I remember. Still, I should have come to see him more. We shared something important.”
“The accident.” Jerry’s voice went flat. “It changed everything, didn’t it? I was too young to remember much about it, but I knew that Sam changed after it. He closed in on himself for a while, like he didn’t want anything or anyone to touch him. I always thought that’s why he went into research.”
When he paused, as though overcome with emotion, Liam glanced around the room. It hadn’t changed much since the years he and Sam had been friends. Family pictures topped a mantel, including one of a school class. From the year stamped on it, it had to have been Jerry’s class.
Something nudged Liam’s memory, something that could be important. The more he tried to recall it, though, the more it eluded him.
Jerry talked nonstop. Not at all like his tall older brother, who had given new meaning to the word quiet. Jerry kept up a constant stream of chatter that Liam did his best to sift through for any nuggets he and Paige could use.
Liam let a nod answer for him during Jerry’s recollections. He didn’t want to color any impressions Jerry might have gleaned from Sam with his own memories.
“You might have heard of the accidents that killed three of the survivors in the last six weeks.”
Jerry’s nod was a quick jerk of the head. “I have. In a way, I’m glad Sam is gone, that he didn’t have to see that. He said there was a bond between the survivors that could never be broken.”
Liam worked to contain his excitement that Jerry had brought up Sam’s memories himself. “I wondered if Sam might have said something else to you about the bus accident.” He kept his voice casual, not wanting to let on how much he was hoping for answers from Jerry.
Jerry angled his head, slanting Liam a curious look. “Like what?”
“Nothing in particular. Maybe he remembered something, something he shared with only you. After all, you were brothers.”
“Sam never talked about it much. He told me flat out that he didn’t want to remember what happened that day.” Jerry gave a slight smile. “Except for you and what you did. He said you kept going back in the water until...well, until there wasn’t anything more you could do. He always looked up to you. Did you know that?”
“I remember it being the other way around with me looking up to him.” Liam shifted subjects. “Did Sam ever say much about that day?”
Jerry shook his head. “About the only thing he said was that you were the hero of the day.”
“That’s not how some see it,” Liam said.
“What do you mean?”
“They blame me for not saving everyone.” As if it were yesterday, memories bombarded him.
Jerry looked surprised. “Sam said you kept going back down, even when you were so tired that you could barely lift your arms.”
He shrugged. “It’s over and doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It matters to someone,” Paige said and explained what was going on.
The younger man’s eyes widened. “You mean someone’s killing survivors from that day?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Liam said.
“No kidding. Then I really am glad Sam’s not here to see it,” Jerry repeated. “He wasn’t one to think bad about anyone. It wasn’t in him. He was always willing to give a person a second try.”
“You’re right. Even at seventeen, Sam had his head on straight,” Liam said. “Did he ever say anything, anything at all? You said he didn’t want to remember that day. Did he mention anything in particular he wanted to forget?”
“You mean beyond the obvious? That five kids died?”
Jerry’s voice had an edge now, with a bite of sarcasm that Liam chose to ignore. From the expression on Paige’s face, she had noted it, as well.
“Sorry,” Jerry said. “Didn’t mean to snap at you that way. It’s just that talking about Sam brings up memories. Most of them good, but not all. He pulled away from me after the accident and never really came back.”
“No problem,” Liam said easily. “Most of us don’t want to remember what happened that day, but it sticks with us anyway. I figured it might have been the same with Sam.”
“Sometimes Sam would get a far-off look in his eyes, like he was thinking about something that he’d rather not be thinking about. When that happened, I knew he was reliving the day of the accident. It changed him.”
“It changed all of us,” Liam said.
“Like I said, Sam was pretty closemouthed.” Jerry poked his tongue in the corner of his cheek. “You know Sam. He never said much even if he was feeling chatty.” Jerry’s mouth curved into a half smile.
Liam smiled in response. “Chatty’s not a word I’d use to describe Sam.”
“I wish I could help you out. Sam and I were never close until this last year, when he got sick and I moved in to take care of h
im.” He shook his head regretfully. “That’s on me. I should have made more of an effort.”
The words were right. Why didn’t Liam believe them? He dismissed that.
Paige stood, pulled out a card from her pocket and pressed it into Jerry’s hand. “If you think of something, please let us know. We’re trying to put a stop to this before anyone else is hurt.”
Jerry closed his hand around the card. “You can count on it.”
Liam stuck out his hand. “Thanks for your time. We appreciate you seeing us.”
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Though I wasn’t on the bus that day, I always felt close to the survivors because of Sam.”
“You never know what will help,” Liam said.
Liam and Paige took their leave and returned to the car.
“That didn’t get us much,” he said. “But it was good to talk about Sam. He was one of a kind.”
“I wish I’d known him.”
“You would have liked him. He wasn’t one of the popular kids, but he stood out. Maybe because of that. You could always count on him to do the right thing.”
At S&J’s office, they looked at the case from various perspectives, but none brought them closer to an answer.
A huge yawn caught Liam unaware, and he rubbed at eyes, gritty with fatigue. He was so exhausted he could barely put one thought after another.
“Maybe we’ll see things from a different angle tomorrow,” Paige said.
“Maybe.” But at that moment, his mind wasn’t on angles. It was on the courage Paige showed at every danger they faced. It was on the steadfastness of her belief. It was on the woman herself who refused to give up no matter what was thrown at them.
He yanked his thoughts away from Paige. She was helping him because it was her job. Nothing more. He should have felt better at the self-directed reminder.
But he didn’t.
SEVEN
Morning came in a blast of cold and rain. After being deployed in Afghanistan, Liam didn’t let a bit of cold bother him. Temperatures in the mountains there often plummeted below freezing. Though the days were blistering hot, nighttime brought on a bone-deep cold that was all the more bitter due to the need to remain absolutely motionless while on watch.
When Paige suggested visiting Reva Thomas, the sister of Liam’s old girlfriend, he agreed.
Even with the rain, the countryside was dazzling, the green fields lush and full of crops, the occasional barn painted brick-red.
When a shot punctured a tire, Liam steered the car to the side of the road, then motioned for Paige to climb out the passenger side. He drew his weapon and quickly followed.
He scanned the fields but didn’t spot the shooter. A trained sniper could be anywhere. Another shot landed terrifyingly close to where Paige was crouched behind the car. She, too, had her weapon drawn.
“I going to make a wide circle, see if I can spot the shooter,” he said.
“You’re the client,” she pointed out. “I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you.”
“Okay. We go together.”
They belly-crawled through the thick rows of soybeans in the general direction from which the bullets came.
When Liam spotted a glint of metal, he gestured to Paige. “If I can get behind him, I can take him out.”
She used her thumb to point to her chest. “My job.”
He was about to argue when a third shot landed not far from their heads.
Liam had a pretty good idea where the sniper was positioned now. Though Paige had excellent skills, it was Liam who had military training. He should be the one to go after the shooter.
“Stay here and cover me.” He didn’t give her time to object but took off in that direction and came within yards of the man. With close-cropped hair and a muscular build, he looked ex-military or ex–law enforcement or both.
Liam must have somehow alerted his prey, for his adversary turned and lifted his head, as though scenting the air. When he spotted Liam, he fired, but Liam was too quick, diving for cover in an irrigation ditch and returning fire.
The slam of a door and roar of an engine were brash in the morning quiet. Liam’s quarry had escaped.
He returned to where he’d left Paige. “Missed him.”
“That wasn’t some peashooter he was firing,” she said.
“No. Unless I’m way off, it was a 125 Sniper Vortex.” The Vortex was a particularly lethal weapon, a favorite among serious shooters. He’d seen it in action when he’d been deployed and knew just how deadly it was.
Fortunately, the trunk had a spare and Liam set about changing the tire. They stopped at the first gas station they found and had the punctured tire repaired and placed back on the vehicle.
Nearly an hour later, they were once more on their way to Reva Thomas’s place.
“Tell me about Reva,” Paige said.
“She was my girlfriend’s little sister. I was too wrapped up in Marie to pay her much attention.”
“You and Marie were the perfect couple in high school, you the football star and she the head cheerleader.”
“I don’t know that we were perfect, but I cared for her.” He’d cared a lot and had thought his life was over when she’d died. Knowing that he had no choice but to go on, he’d finished out the school year and graduated, but without any of the satisfaction he would have felt at one time.
Looking back, he realized that his feelings for Marie had been those of a callow boy and would have no doubt faded in time. She’d been his first love and, therefore, special, but they hadn’t had the foundation of real love to sustain them.
They’d been in love with the idea of being in love, not the genuine thing, and, though he hated to admit it, the same had been true of his marriage. He and Joelle had thought they were in love, when, in reality, all they’d had was an attraction that all but disappeared within the first year. Jonah was the one good thing to come from their union.
“Losing her must have been rough.” Immediately, Paige stopped herself. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.”
“Marie and I talked about the future, even about going to college together. When she died, I thought I’d lost part of myself, but life went on.”
“Did you keep in touch with her family?”
“For a while. Reva was on the bus that day along with Marie. She was equipment manager for the cheerleaders.”
“Was she one of the kids you pulled out?”
“No. She made it out on her own.”
“I read she’s now mayor of Willow Springs.”
Liam pulled up memories of his onetime girlfriend’s little sister. “She was smart and pretty, but she got on Marie’s nerves. She always wanted to hang out with us.”
Paige gave a wry smile. “The plight of the little sister. I was the same way with Brett.”
Liam navigated his way through morning traffic and pulled up in front of the house where he’d spent so many afternoons.
The Thomas home looked well maintained and even sported a new roofline with the addition of a second story and gabled windows. Though it wasn’t overly large, it had an air of prosperity, as did the neighborhood itself.
“Reva’s done well for herself,” Liam murmured as he knocked.
The door opened, and recognition lit Reva’s features as she smiled. “Liam McKenzie. It’s been too long. Well, except for seeing you at the funerals of our friends in the last six weeks, and that doesn’t count.” She hugged him, then stood back and gave him a once-over. “I heard you’d joined the army, made Delta. It looks good on you. Really good.”
“Thanks. I’ve been back for a while now.” He made the introductions. “Reva Thomas. Paige Walker.”
Reva glanced at Paige. “I remember you. Smart girl. Skipped a couple of grades, right?”
“Right. We gr
aduated in the same class.”
“That’s right.” Reva turned her attention back to Liam. “How’s it been going?”
He didn’t answer directly. “Can we come in?”
“Of course. Where are my manners? It’s been a hectic morning. City business, you know. I was able to work from home this morning, which is a blessing, given how frantic my life’s become.”
“I heard you were mayor of Willow Springs. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” She preened a bit.
Liam didn’t begrudge her the success she’d found. Even as a teenager, Reva always had her eye fixed on bigger and better things.
He gestured around. “You’ve done well for yourself.”
Another preen. “When my parents moved to Miami, I bought the place from them and did some fixing up. Can I offer you anything? Sweet tea? Coffee?”
“No, thanks,” Paige said.
“Now that we’ve gotten the small talk out of the way, tell me what’s brought you here.”
“We’re here to find out what you remember from the day of the accident.”
Bringing her hands to her lips, Reva made a sound of distress. “I’ve tried to forget that day.”
“I get it,” Liam said. “I feel the same way, but some things have happened that have us wanting to revisit it.”
“Oh?”
“You mentioned seeing me at the funerals of our friends. You knew that they had all recently died in accidents?” He made a question out of it.
“What does that have to do with you paying me a visit?”
“We’re not sure that they were accidents,” Liam said, choosing his words with care.
“What do you mean?”
“We think those deaths were disguised to look like accidents. They were all survivors of the bus accident. We’re checking with families of the kids who died that day to see if there might be a connection. Since you’re a survivor, too, I wanted to give you a head’s up and to ask you to let me know if you notice anything odd, anything that makes you uneasy.”