When Noonday Ends: A Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel - Nantahala - Book Two

by Carmen DeSousa

  “The child?” Shelby mimicked the woman’s ridiculous tone. “His name is Justin. He’s not an object; he’s a person, Mrs. Smith.”

  “Shelby,” Clayton cut in. “You’ll be right next door. This is only temporary. There’ll be a court date set in the next thirty days, and they’ll decide what’s best for Justin.”

  “What’s best for Justin?” She repeated. “I’m what’s best for my son. We don’t belong here. Neither of us. I just want to leave and get away from all of you crazy rich people. You think people are something to possess, not love. To abuse and manipulate.”

  “Ms. Castle…” Elise Smith’s voice was cold and monotone. She’d obviously been through this so many times she no longer felt or believed anything a mother claimed. She pulled out a couple of papers from the folder on her lap. “This is a court order releasing custody to Clayton and June Castle. You have visitation rights with your son as long as one of them is present at all times.”

  Shelby bit her lip to retain the tears. “My son…” she said on a shaky breath. “He’s all I have.”

  Clayton stood up from the couch and walked over to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. “Shelby, it was the only way.”

  She jerked her shoulder out from underneath his touch, sniffing back the tears and sucking in a breath. “You promised me.”

  He fell to his knees. “Shelby, no one is taking Justin away from you; I won’t allow it. This is just temporary custody.”

  “But I have to sit with you—or June. No, Clayton, that’s not right.”

  Elise Smith stood up. “It’s how it is, Ms. Castle. If we find out otherwise, we will remove the child immediately and place him in protective custody until your court date. Is that understood?”

  Shelby nodded, throwing her head up to retain the tears, refusing to show any more weakness in front of this coldhearted woman. Deep down, she understood that she probably only wanted to protect children, but there was no reason for her cold attitude.

  “Completely,” Shelby huffed out, glaring at Clayton. “So, are you gonna sit with us all day, Clayton? Because June sure isn’t.”

  “This isn’t my concern, Mr. Castle. Do you understand the restrictions of the order as I explained them to you?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Mrs. Smith walked toward the front door. “I’ll let myself out. You’ll hear from me within a few days, but know that we do random inspections.”

  Clayton nodded at the woman, then turned to Shelby. “You know I can’t sit here all day. I have a business to run. I’ll make sure June doesn’t give you a hard time, though.”

  “And how exactly are you gonna do that? She hates me.”

  “June and I have an understanding. I assure you, she will not give you a difficult time.”

  The sun hadn’t set yet, but Shelby backed away from the door per June’s instructions. Justin screamed for her. He didn’t understand, and why should he? She hoped Clayton would be home soon. She knew if Clayton was there, he’d have made it a game for Justin, and her baby wouldn’t be so upset.

  June had been quiet most of the day, allowing Shelby to play with Justin in the sunroom that overlooked the pool and lake. But at six o’clock, she’d announced that it was time to go. That she had work to do and she couldn’t spend all her free time watching them. Shelby and June had never been on friendly terms, but they’d always been civil toward each other.

  For the life of her, Shelby couldn’t understand how June thought she was responsible for Carlin’s death. Yeah, she gave him some Benadryl, but other than that, she didn’t force him to take the dinghy out on the lake. He’d probably woken up in the middle of the night and gotten drunk off his butt again.

  She stood outside until she heard Justin’s tears stop. She released the breath she’d been holding and appraised the backyard. The sun was starting to set, but the rays still poked through the distant trees, illuminating a light mist blanketing the water.

  A shiver swept through her at the thought that Carlin had drowned a couple hundred feet away from where she stood. For years, she’d wished he’d die, but the thought of him dying in their lake gave her a creepy sensation, as if maybe he would continue to torment her for years to come. His soul was mean enough to want to torture her long after his body rotted in the ground.

  A lone tear dropped on her cheek as she made her way to her house. So many wasted years and now when she was able to move on with her life, she still couldn’t leave. Not without Justin. He was the only reason she’d hung on as long as she had. If it weren’t for her baby, she’d have moved across the country.

  As soon as her foot hit the first step, she gasped. “Oh, God! Why?” Attempting to hold back the tears didn’t work this time. She stared at the bright red letters that spelled out LEAVE OR JUSTIN DIES on her front stoop. It couldn’t be blood, she knew, but the idea that someone would hurt Justin to make her leave…it couldn’t happen.

  She stooped over the letters to see if she could figure out what it was. If it was blood, she’d notify the police immediately, as they could do tests, she was sure. The sweet and vinegary smell hit her hard; she’d never been a fan of ketchup, especially when Andy would mix it in his scrambled eggs. It always looked like brains to her.

  She stood up, not knowing what to do. She leaned over the railing. The black roses were still where she’d kicked them. What would this prove if she called the police? Obviously, there wouldn’t be fingerprints, no writing analysis, no DNA. Just a freaked out woman making up stuff.

  Not that it would help, but she remembered to take a photo with her phone this time. Then she took an image of the roses on the ground.

  She walked around to the side of the house and pulled the hose to the porch. Within seconds, she washed away the written threat, but not the suggestion.

  Was Justin really in trouble? Had that crazy woman from the bar done this, or had June had a chance to walk over and do this while she was on the porch with Justin?

  Or Clayton? Why wasn’t he home? Maybe his kindness toward her was an act. Maybe he wanted her gone, so June and he could start fresh with her baby.

  She had to get away before she ended up having a misfortunate accident too.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Since Bearns was an able, willing body, Detective Meare had asked him if he wanted to be part of the search party starting at the Castles’ residence.

  Evidently, the missing persons division had gotten involved with the search for his missing adulterer, Roger Hale, and there was enough suspicion at the Castles’ residence for a warrant.

  According to Meare, Bearns was welcome to come along and aid in the search of the surrounding wooded area, while he and his team searched the Castles’ residences.

  It was clear to Bearns that Meare had no interest or concern about Hale, but if the stable master’s disappearance gave the detective the opportunity to find evidence in the suspicious drowning of Carlin Castle, he was game.

  Detective Meare lifted his fist to knock on Shelby Castle’s door, but it swung open before his knuckles made contact.

  “Oh!” Shelby threw her hand over her heart. “Detective? Um, what are you doing here? I was just walking next door.”

  “Ms. Castle, we have a warrant to search your residence and the surrounding area.” He motioned his head toward the house to the right. “My partner is serving an order to your in-laws as well. You are more than welcome to call your attorney, but we do not have any questions for you at the moment.” He handed her the warrant clutched in his hand, and she stepped out of his way. “Bearns, you go with Milton’s team; they’ll be searching the grounds.”

  Bearns nodded and tipped his head to Shelby. He’d known where he was supposed to be, but he’d wanted to see Shelby’s face when she answered the door. She didn’t have the instant reaction that many guilty criminals had on sight. Shelby was scared, and she hadn’t expected them.

  The young woman took a seat on a rocking chair next to the door and lowered her
head into her hands. Didn’t mean nothing.

  Most people felt guilty after they’d done wrong. If they didn’t, detectives wouldn’t be able to pull confessions out of them. When a spouse committed a crime of passion, they were almost always sorry afterward. He just had to figure out how Roger Hale played in all this. After all, his case involved finding Hale, not figuring out whether Shelby had somehow drowned her husband.

  He turned and descended the steps, heading toward Milton Williams in missing persons. The older detective stood on the front porch next door, in front of Mr. Castle, who was bouncing a crying baby on his hip.

  The scenario played out in Bearns head as he tried to figure out a connection. A woman had supposedly seen Shelby, but she was having an affair with Carlin and had still been drunk from the previous evening, according to Meare. Bearns wondered if Shelby could have been the woman having an affair with Roger Hale.

  No, he was too old, and he didn’t have the money that would attract a good-looking woman like Shelby. Clayton, on the other hand, though he was about the same age as Hale, did have money. He was also better looking and in better shape than Roger Hale, according to the pictures Bearns had seen that his client had given him.

  And he’d seen Clayton and Shelby embrace the other day. Shelby hadn’t seemed uncomfortable when Clayton, a man more than twice her age, had wrapped his arms around her. Maybe Hale had found out about an ongoing affair between Shelby and her father-in-law and had tried to blackmail them.

  Bearns stopped at the bottom of the stoop and stared up at the little boy crying for his mother in Mr. Castle’s arms. The kid didn’t look anything like his dead father.

  “You can come in, Detective Williams, as soon as I confirm this warrant with my attorney,” Clayton Castle said through gritted teeth. The man was smooth, but with a yard full of detectives, a squirming child in his arms, and a court order in his hands, his pompous attitude from the other day was beginning to melt.

  Williams crossed his arms, obviously not wanting to do anything that would jeopardize his case. A rookie detective would have probably muscled his way through the door with a court order, but this wasn’t drug dealers flushing evidence down the commode. Any evidence would be waiting when they got inside the house.

  “Shelby,” Clayton called across the yard. “Come on over and watch Justin while I call Belcher.”

  The young woman snapped out of the trance she’d been in since they’d knocked on her door, obviously remembering she was on her way over here as she’d mentioned.

  Bearns felt a twinge of remorse if she was innocent, one of the reasons he’d left the police department. He’d gotten so sick of all the scumbags he had to deal with day to day that he’d turned cold to all life, assuming there was no good left in anyone.

  His wife had told him that he had no passion left in him. Of course, she’d never said a word before she cheated on him. And when he’d suggested counseling, she’d refused. Currently, she was with another cold cop. Served her right.

  Bearns did care. And he hated watching this if this mother was innocent. Shelby Castle had to deal with being the prime suspect in the death of her husband, a missing stable master, and D.S.S. had removed her as guardian of her only child.

  The young mother darted up the steps and pulled her baby into her arms. The child’s tears stopped immediately as his mother sat on the swing, gently hushing him while she smoothed his curls.

  The boy released a few choking breaths as he tried to come down from his crying jag. Bearns couldn’t help but smile, remembering how his kids had done that. How they got themselves so worked up that they couldn’t catch their breath. It was clear that Shelby loved her little boy, and the feeling was mutual with her son.

  Clayton pulled out his phone, touched the screen, and then lifted it to his ear as he walked to the other side of the sprawling wood planks. The length and width of just the front porch had about as much square footage as Bearns’ apartment.

  “Yeah. It looks official,” Mr. Castle said as he made the trek back in their direction, into hearing distance again. “Of course I won’t. You know me better than that.” He stopped in front of Williams, as though guarding the entrance to his castle. “Yep, she’s right here. I’ll make sure she understands.”

  Clayton touched the screen to end the call and then looked down at the detective. Of course, Clayton Castle looked down on everyone, metaphorically and physically. He had to be at least six-five, and he didn’t slouch; the man held his back ramrod straight, as if nothing or no one rattled him. Now that the two-year-old boy was out of his arms, he played guardian again, as he’d done the first time Bearns had been here.

  Mr. Castle moved in between Shelby and the detectives and nodded toward the door. “Let me know when you’re finished downstairs, and I’ll wake up my wife.”

  Williams nodded and motioned for the forensics team to move ahead. “Bearns, you and I are gonna search the property.”

  Clayton sat on the swing next to Shelby, tipping his head to them.

  Once they got to the dock, Milton Williams turned to face Bearns. “What’s your cell number? Since you don’t have a radio, I’ll add you into my phone.”

  Bearns rattled off his number, then pulled his phone out, flipping it open.

  The older gentleman laughed.

  Bearns rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. My kids give me crap about it all the time,” he said.

  “I’m retiring age and even I understand the benefits of having a smart phone. Has no one introduced you to Angry Birds?”

  “Angry what?”

  The detective waved his hand at him. “How old are you anyway, Jason?”

  “Thirty-five,” Bearns answered, scrunching his face in response. “Why?”

  “You act forty-five. Been through a lot in the big city, huh?”

  “You could say that,” Bearns said.

  “Yeah, me too.” Milton nodded. “I don’t know how some officers can serve as long as they do. Missing persons isn’t so bad, though. Mostly I get calls about supposed runaway girls who end up at a boyfriend’s place or an Alzheimer’s patient who roamed off.”

  Bearns nodded in agreement. “Some days I miss it, but this is nice, working for myself…calling the shots.”

  The older man smiled. “Maybe we could talk about a job. I only have a few months until retirement.”

  That could work, Bearns thought. As it was, he’d been turning away clients. “Sounds good. Where do you want me to start?”

  Milton gestured his hand toward the large body of water behind them. “I’m gonna search around the lake and dock; I have a dive team looking for the dinghy they claim is missing. How ’bout you start in the woods? A few of our guys will join you when they’re finished in the house, which is a waste of time. I’m pretty sure whatever happened, happened out here. Carlin Castle didn’t decide to go for a midnight swim. And Roger Hale didn’t just disappear into thin air the same night.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Shelby cursed silently for not being a little bit faster.

  If she’d left the house ten minutes earlier, she’d already be gone. Her Explorer was ready. She’d hidden everything she needed in the cargo area of her SUV after throwing the spare tire in her garbage bin and covering it with household trash.

  She’d decided last night that she had to get away. Threatening her life was one thing, but not Justin’s. No way would she ever let anyone hurt her baby.

  Without a doubt, they’d arrest her if they caught up with her, but she’d just lay low until this entire mess settled. She had enough money to last her a year. All she needed to buy was food, as she already knew of a camping spot that she could stay indefinitely. She’d packed a few staples, but she needed more so she wouldn’t have to return to civilization for a while. The tent was a perfect size for Justin and her; they’d be comfortable.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the caller ID, smiling. He didn’t think she was too much trouble. />
  She clicked ‘accept’ for the call, but instead of saying hello, she spoke to her father-in-law, “Clayton, I need to take this call. I’d leave Justin, but then he’d probably start crying again. Is it okay if I go to my vehicle for privacy? I won’t be out of sight, as Mrs. Smith ordered.”

  Clayton nodded, obviously still putting on his kind act to her. She wondered when he’d reveal his true colors and that he was setting her up so he could take her son.

  It was only a matter of time before they found real evidence. Something planted. It wouldn’t be hard; she lived here. She wondered briefly how they could prove a drowning as a homicide, but she was certain with modern technology they’d find a way.

  She glanced at the phone to make sure Tom was still there, then lifted it to her ear. “Hey, hang on a sec. I’m walking to where it’s private.” She didn’t wait for a response, but kept walking toward her SUV.

  So she wouldn’t look suspicious, she put Justin in the front seat instead of his car seat, then walked around to the driver’s side. When she got inside, she turned to look at Clayton, who was still watching her from the porch. She wouldn’t take any chances. If now wasn’t the time, she’d wait. He’d leave soon enough, as he had to wake up June’s lazy butt.

  “Hey…” She whooshed out an exhausted breath into the phone. She wasn’t accustomed to all this devious stuff.

  “Hey, back. But, what’s going on? How did the interrogation go? I wish I could have been in there with you. I thought you were going to call me yesterday.” Tom shot several questions out at once.

  “I don’t even know where to begin. Oh, Tom, it’s all so convoluted. When I returned from the interrogation… When I called you… The reason I was so upset was because someone had spelled out ‘Leave or Die’ in black roses on my front porch. Then the next morning D.S.S. showed up with Justin, but also a court order releasing custody to Clayton and June—”