He lowered his body into the water on the opposite side of the tub. “Nor do you, Shelby Turner.” He reached forward and pulled her on top of him. He reached one hand up and swiped away the bubbles that were blocking his view. “I like this.” He brushed away the other side of her body. “And I like this.” He repositioned her so she was exactly where he wanted her on top of him. “And I especially like this.”
She gasped in response, then moaned in pleasure. “Me too.”
He ran the purple scrubby thing over her skin and she moaned again. “Ah…you’re so easy to please, Shelby. You’re supposed to make this a challenge.”
She laughed. “Just keep…” she gasped for another breath, “doing what you’re doing, Tom.”
He pulled her closer to his chest and opened her mouth with his, tasting her, wanting more and more. He stopped. “Um, Shelby.”
She tilted her head in confusion. “Yeah.”
“I seemed to have forgotten something in the nightstand. I didn’t know we’d be in the bathtub.”
She moved her lips over his and surged her body deeper onto him. Her lips trailed away from his mouth and moved over his face to his neck. “I’ve decided I’m gonna keep you, Tom Turner, and I think I’d love to have another child.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
A thrill surged through his body as he’d never felt. Sex was good, but sex with the woman he loved…this was incredible. And now he had a goal; he’d always been a goal-oriented person. He already felt like a father with Justin, but now he’d get a chance to have a family. Maybe he’d even have a little girl he could spoil rotten.
He accepted the list from Shelby; though, he’d told her three times he didn’t need it. He was quite capable of memorizing five items. “How do you think I passed the bar exam?”
She kissed his chin. “I just don’t want you to have to leave again for a while. I’ve sort of gotten used to having you around.”
“Well, as much as I’m fond of this cabin, I’d be much happier if we were here without every police officer in North Carolina looking for us.”
His wife squeezed her arms around his waist. “Are you sure it’s safe to drive? It’s late. By the time you return, it’ll be dark. How will you see the road…and the cliffs beside it?”
He laughed and released a long breath. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to have someone worrying about me, wanting me home. Up until recently, I’ve been working myself to death. Putting in too many hours at the office to keep myself occupied. Believe it or not, woman, you’re good for me.”
She laughed and shook her head in response.
He nudged up her chin. “It’s true. This is the first vacation I’ve taken in years. Even in college, I studied through my breaks. I had my kayaking and going up to Cherokee distractions, but I’ve never been away with nothing to do but hike, eat, talk, hang out…and of course do one of my favorite hobbies.” He kissed her softly, then pulled away from her arms and headed toward the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”
“Tom!” She ran up to him. “Don’t ever say that!”
“Say what?”
“‘I’ll be right back’. That’s like the white picket fence scene from a movie.”
He shook his head, laughing. “You’re so silly, Shelby. Leave it to you mountain girls to be superstitious.”
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
“Okay, darling.” He thought for a second. “What the heck do I say?”
Shelby sauntered over to him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She followed him out to the porch, and he jumped on the bike and drove down the mountain.
After he finished picking up the items Shelby wanted, along with a few surprises of his own, he found a space at the end of the lot, but close to the road.
In the event they were tapping Chad’s phone, he’d be out of here, and they’d have no idea where he went. But he doubted the courts would order a tap on a business line of an unrelated person in the case.
“ROCK, Chad speaking.”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“T—Hey.”
“I don’t think it matters once we start talking, but thanks. So, what do you have for me?”
“Well…several things actually. First of all, your sister is going out on a date with Bearns. How’s that for weird?”
Tom laughed. “Not so weird. I’d actually thought about the two of them getting together. They’re perfect for each other. He’s the one guy Michelle won’t steamroll. Cool.” Tom studied his surroundings again, making sure no one had snuck up on him. He’d never imagined he be a fugitive. “So what else?”
“Okay…well that was the easy news. There is the bad news and worse news.”
Tom huffed into the phone. “Chad, I’ve never known you to be so melodramatic. Spill already. I gotta return to Shelby.”
“Um…well, Shelby has another warrant out for her. Good news and bad according to Bearns. The good news is she might be able to beat this accusation. They determined that the cause of Carlin’s death was a hemorrhage due to his original injury. The hospital never should have let him go, but evidently, he hadn’t given them much choice. The bad news, of course, is that means that the injury Shelby inflicted is the overall cause of death.”
Tom exhaled deeply. Though it was better than the alternative of Shelby killing Carlin in cold blood, she had still been responsible for his death. But it’d been in self-defense, and Carlin had already testified that she didn’t hit him, so maybe that would help. “So there’s worse news than that?” Tom asked.
“Well, I guess that depends on who you’re talking to. Not something I would want to find out.”
“Oh my God, Chad. Would you please tell me already?”
“Clayton is Shelby’s father.”
“Wait! What? That would mean that—”
“No…thank God…that was the first thing Bearns asked. Carlin isn’t Clayton’s son.”
“This is a damn soap opera.”
Chad laughed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh…but, man, you ain’t kiddin’.”
Tom rubbed his hand over his face, not certain how to process this information. “So, where does Hale fit in all this?”
“That piece of information Bearns wouldn’t relay. He did say they had some evidence on Shelby, but that was all he’d say. Not that it matters, but I asked if he thought she was innocent, and he said yes, but he’d been wrong before.”
“All right. Thanks, Chad. I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Tom hung up, deciding to make one more call.
He called his cell phone and listened to the messages. His father…yep, he wasn’t happy. He skipped it.
His mother telling him to ignore his father and do what he knew was right. He had to smile. He had the best mom in the world.
According to his secretary, he no longer had a job… Figuring that, he skipped that message too.
Mr. Turner... My daughter left a message for you on Sunday. I can’t leave my number, but I’ll try again tomorrow ’round the same time. I know who the police are looking for.
Tom had completely forgotten about the woman’s call. And it sounded as though she might know everything. He latched on his helmet and slammed on the pedal to kick-start the bike.
He had to figure out how to tell Shelby she killed Carlin and worse…that Clayton is her father. He wasn’t sure which one would bother her more, but he had a pretty good idea.
Chapter Thirty-eight
The next day, Tom left the cabin before dusk to make it in time to get the woman’s phone call.
He hated leaving Shelby…she’d been a mess. He’d held her as she cried all day. She couldn’t get over how manipulative Clayton had been. As they’d brainstormed and put all the pieces together, it all made sense. As sick as it seemed, Clayton had somehow manipulated everything so Shelby would meet Carlin, they realized.
According to Shelby, Carlin had
said all the right things, done the right stuff to get her to go out with him. But it’d been Clayton pulling the strings the entire time. So he could have her in his life, have a grandson who would be heir to June’s fortune. It all made sense.
He hated leaving her, but the only way to clear her name was to find out what actually happened.
As soon as he made it to town, he found a place he could sit and see both sides of the highway, and there was vacant property he could disappear into if they tracked his call. He smiled as he realized he liked this undercover stuff. Maybe he’d talk to Bearns about a job after this was all over. Kayak guide by day, P.I. by night. He liked it.
He inserted his SIM card and prayed that he hadn’t missed the woman’s call. The missed calls and voicemails loaded. A few unknown numbers, but that wasn’t unusual.
The first message was from his father. Once again, he was griping at him as his mother told him to relax in the background. Obviously, she’d heard about him marrying and that his new wife had a child. As long as he was moving forward with having a family, his mother would be happy.
The phone rang and Tom jumped. He gulped. Maybe he wasn’t as good at this as he thought, since suddenly, his heart was pounding so hard that he felt the throb in his ears and could hardly hear the traffic from the road.
“Hello,” he said, wondering if this had been a good idea. Maybe Shelby and he could leave the area until everything worked itself out. Since she wasn’t guilty, eventually Bearns and the detectives would discover the truth.
“Mr. Turner?”
He released a breath, thankful it was the mystery woman. “Yes.”
“Okay…” She sighed. “Not that I have anything to hide. But…I’m afraid for my daughter’s life. So…can you promise not to bring her or my name into this? At least until this is all over.”
“Yes…” He hesitated, knowing he’d need help. “I won’t mention you or your daughter’s name to the police until this is over.”
“Okay…” She exhaled a deep breath. “My name is Laurie. My daughter is Tina. She’s been dating—umm…was dating Carlin Castle. I made her call you Sunday when that poor girl was in jail. You see…my daughter is a great girl when she’s not drinking. But get her around the likes of Carlin and his friends and she turns into a different person. Carlin has beaten my daughter so many times that even I wanted to kill him.”
She paused for a breath and Tom waited, knowing he should never interrupt a confession.
“Anyway,” the woman continued, “the night of Carlin’s death, Tina and I’d gone over to his place. Not to see Carlin. To see his parents. She’s pregnant, and Carlin didn’t want anything to do with her, but his parents promised to pay her to keep her mouth shut.”
Tom sighed into the phone.
“Yeah…I know. Anyway…when we got there, no one was home, but we heard yelling coming from the backyard. Tina was so drunk that she could barely stand, but she tried to run toward the docks. I wouldn’t allow her. She started fussing at me that Shelby was gonna kill Carlin this time. Only, it wasn’t Shelby. She just thought it was, and from a distance, I admit that it did look like her, but it was a man. And Carlin wasn’t anywhere around.”
The woman whimpered a bit and then sniffed. “There wasn’t nothing we could do, but we saw it all. There was a struggle and then we heard the gun go off. At that point, we ran to the car. We’d agreed that we weren’t gonna say anything because no telling what them rich folk would do to us. But Tina was gone the next morning. But like I said, she wasn’t thinking or seeing clearly. She thought it was Shelby and Carlin, and it weren’t neither of them.” The woman stopped talking again and he heard more sniffles.
“Laurie…” Tom said in a near whisper. The woman was obviously upset. “Who shot the gun?”
“I’m afraid, Mr. Turner.”
Tom tried to keep his voice level. He knew she’d run if he wasn’t careful. “I understand.”
“I need to make sure my daughter is provided for. I can’t afford no baby.”
“Okay. That can be arranged.”
“They said they’d take care of us, but I want to make sure that Shelby doesn’t pay for a crime she didn’t do.”
“Laurie, will you please tell me?”
“I can’t. I just want you to know it wasn’t Shelby. My daughter’s been gettin’ money from them…but I’m afraid.”
The line was silent. “Laurie…” Tom eyed his phone, but there was no connection. He rubbed his face and searched the area around him. No police cars.
At this point, though, he almost wished they’d show up. They needed to clear this up. Decision made, he popped his SIM card back into his phone and dialed the number he’d programmed into his phone. He should have called the State Attorney, Mike Bame, but he’d told her that he wouldn’t tell the police. So, he called the next best person.
“The only reason I’m picking this up is because it’s you, you know. I’m on a date,” the man growled into the phone.
Bearns had always been kind of gruff. “So I heard. Tell Michelle I said hi.”
“Your brother says ‘Hi.’,” Bearns repeated.
“Hey, little brother,” Michelle said.
“So, Mr. Turner. You’re on the lam, but you’re calling me, so this must be important. But I’m on the first real date I’ve been on in two years, so I’d appreciate it if you got right to the point.”
Tom didn’t feel like laughing, but there was something likeable about Jason Bearns. He hoped it worked out between him and his sister. “The police had a witness the first day, I understand.”
“Yep. But she was drunk and had been having an affair with the deceased.”
“Her mother was with her. So they have a second witness. Now, you can’t tell the detectives, but I need you to find out what you can. She knows who shot Roger Hale, I’m sure of it, but she disconnected the phone before she told me.”
“Okay…I’ll check out that tomorrow.”
“Thanks. Oh and, Bearns…”
“Yeah?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“Be good to my sister. She’s not as tough as she seems.”
He grunted out a laugh. “Will do. I suppose you’ll turn off your phone after this, so I should call Chad with whatever I find?”
“Yep!”
“Okay. Be smart, Tom. So far, I’m not so sure you made the right decision running, but I guess I understand.”
“Bye, baby brother,” Michelle called through the phone.
“I know, but you gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes.” Tom hung up, removed the SIM card, and started the bike.
All he could hope was that Bearns would get the answers so that they could come back quickly. He wasn’t sure how much longer they’d be safe here. Eventually, someone would see him.
He knew Michelle could figure out where he was, but he also knew someone could torture her and she’d never tell. Michelle might have been mean to him sometimes, but she’d kill anyone who tried to hurt him, and she was quite capable of doing just that.
Twenty minutes later, Tom pulled up in the driveway of the cabin, but what he didn’t see made him sick to his stomach.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Shelby waited until she could no longer hear the dirt bike and then ran inside the cabin.
She gathered a few things and then lifted Justin from the circle of toys.
After strapping him into his car seat, she fiddled with her phone and jumped in the driver’s seat. She crawled down the driveway, driving slowly, hugging the side of the road that didn’t have a seventy-five-foot drop-off. As much as she loved the cabin, she didn’t know if she’d want to drive this road on a regular basis.
When she turned onto the highway, she hit ‘call’.
He answered on the first ring. “Thank God. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Worried sick? How dare you?”
He sighed. “Shell…”
“Don’t ‘Shell’ me!” Tears burst from withi
n deep inside of her, blurring her vision. She swiped them away so she could drive. “Why didn’t you tell me? How could you have let me live there?”
“You were already pregnant,” he choked out, and she could hear the tears behind his words. “I was so scared. I went to see Clayton, and he told me that it was okay because Carlin wasn’t his kid.” He sucked in a breath. “God, Shell. What was I supposed to say? Don’t marry the man who got you pregnant because his stepfather is our father?”
“How long have you known, Andy?” she demanded.
“Since I was fourteen. I caught him and Momma together, and I knew immediately. I mean really, Shell…how can you say you never noticed? You look just like him for God’s sake. Even got his height, while I got Momma’s genes.”
Shelby squeezed the steering wheel. Why hadn’t she noticed? She’d always known she didn’t look anything like her mother, and Carlin didn’t look anything like Clayton.
“I’m tired of all this underhandedness, Andy, and I’m tired of running for something I didn’t do. I’m going to go talk to the Claytons.”
“No, Shell. The police have a warrant out for you. They’ll arrest you on sight.”
“Andy, I know I didn’t do anything, so explain to me why everyone thinks I was there. There’s only one person who witnesses could confuse for me and that’s you. Please tell me you didn’t kill anyone.”
“If they ’r gonna blame one of us, it may as well be me. I gotta make this right, Shell. I won’t let you get punished for something you didn’t do. I’ll fix things.”
“No, Andy. Don’t you dare,” she screamed into the phone.
The phone connection fell silent.
Shelby glanced at her phone and then at Justin. She punched the gas and headed toward the house.
***
Clayton picked up the phone and dialed Belcher. Now that he knew Shelby didn’t kill Carlin by giving him the medication, he needed to clear the air on a few things.
Belcher answered within a couple of rings, clinks from him swirling his nightly scotch echoed through the phone, as if in hi-def audio. “Clayton, my man, any word on your missing daughter and grandson?”
When Noonday Ends: A Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel - Nantahala - Book Two Page 19