Whispering Winds Widows, page 13
“Nice to meet you.” Reyna shook his hand. “You played football around here too?”
“When I was just a little kid. We moved to Nashville when I was ten.” He frowned then. “Now, why would someone as nice as Ms. Fuller be avoiding the two of you?”
“My bad.” Ben explained, “Reyna and I are looking into the disappearance of the Three. We’re actually making a little headway.”
“No kidding,” Jesse said. “Wow. It’s crazy that thirty years later we still don’t know what happened. My dad still talks about them.”
“For sure,” Ben agreed.
“Does your father ever talk about what happened?” Reyna asked.
Jesse turned to her. “I mean, he’s talked about it from time to time, but not so much, really. Nothing in particular that I remember. Wait.” He held up a hand. “There was this one thing I remember vividly. I guess I was, like, ten—it was just before we moved, in fact. Coach Landon had handpicked me from the peewee team to start on the middle school team a year early. I was super excited. It was a big deal to get picked for the team early by one of the most popular coaches in the state.”
Ben frowned. “I don’t remember you playing on the middle school team.”
“I didn’t. My dad pitched a heck of a fit. My mother would never tell me the details. I was pretty upset. But my parents just kept saying they didn’t want me to play for Landon. So I didn’t. In fact, we moved right around that same time—right after your dad and the others disappeared.” He frowned. “Or maybe right before. Man, thirty years. I feel old now.”
“I’m sure they had a good reason for not wanting you to play,” Reyna offered, hoping to prompt more from him.
“Guess so.” Jesse looked from her to Ben. “Well, it was good to see you, but I have to run. If you see Ms. Fuller, tell her I stopped by.” He shook his head. “She’s the only client I have in this neck of the woods, but Dad insisted I take her on as a client. I guess he thought she might need a trustworthy adviser. He said he owed her a big favor.”
“Will do,” Ben said. “It was good to see you too.”
When Jesse had driven away and Ben and Reyna had climbed into his truck, she said, “Duke, your father and Judson played football their entire school careers, for Coach Landon. Why the explosion when he learned a teammate’s son—the only son born to the group—was going to follow in their footsteps?”
“No idea.” Ben shrugged. “It makes no sense at all.”
“Exactly,” Reyna confirmed. “We should ask Landon. Maybe if we tell him we spoke to Jesse Carson he’ll be more forthcoming.”
“Can’t hurt to try.”
As Ben headed in the direction of the coach’s home, Reyna pulled her cell phone from her pocket to answer an incoming call. She listened for half a minute and then promised the caller she would be right there.
When she’d disconnected, she turned to Ben. “I have to get to Eudora. Can you take me back to get my SUV?”
“No need.” He sent her a sidelong look. “I’ll take you.”
The only thing that worried him more than the idea that at some point Reyna would leave was the notion of letting her out of his sight until he had no other choice.
The Light Memory Care Center
Lantern Pointe
Chattanooga
Noon
WHEN THEY REACHED Eudora’s room, Rey’s heart surged into her throat. She looked so frail...so pale.
As they’d headed out of Whispering Winds, Reyna had somehow had the presence of mind to ask Ben to go by the Jewel and pick up Birdie. The three of them had ridden in silence the entire half hour it had taken to reach the facility.
Reyna waited for Birdie to approach Eudora first. The worry on her face hurt to watch. She took Eudora’s hand in her own, and the frail woman’s eyes fluttered open.
“My sweet Dory, tell me you’re staying with me, please.”
Eudora’s nearly translucent fingers curled around Birdie’s. “I’ll always be with you, Bird. I’m just tired now, and I need to rest.”
The words gored Reyna. Eudora had never talked so negatively about hanging in there.
“I brought friends to see you,” Birdie said. She motioned for Reyna and Ben to join her. “Reyna is with me. She’s working on the story, just like you wanted.”
“Reyna.” The elderly woman’s eyes lit just a little. “I’m so glad you came. I need to tell you something, dear. It’s very important.”
“I’m listening, Eudora,” Reyna assured her.
“I should have told you they would try to stop you. Birdie told me the things they’ve done.”
“Who are they, Eudora?” Reyna asked. “I can’t protect myself if I don’t know who they are.”
Eudora’s expression fell. She looked beyond Reyna, and her frown deepened. “JR?”
Reyna’s heart stumbled. She thought Ben was his father. “Eudora, it’s—”
Eudora waved her off with one feeble hand. “Come closer, JR,” she ordered, her voice stronger than before.
Ben moved closer. “Ms. Eudora, you’re sounding stronger.”
“JR, you need to tell that wife of yours that I’m onto her. I know what she did, and I fear she’s in danger because of it.”
He exchanged a look with Reyna. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll tell her.”
Eudora turned back to Reyna. She blinked slowly. “Are you listening, dear?”
“I am, but you never told me who I should be afraid of.”
“Good gracious, have you not been hearing me? The Widows. You have to be careful because they will try to stop you.”
Chapter Eleven
The Jewel Bed & Breakfast
Whispering Winds
3:30 p.m.
“I should walk you in,” Ben suggested.
Birdie waved him off. “I’ll be fine.” She swiped at her eyes. “Thank you so much,” she said to Reyna, “to both of you, for taking me with you.”
Reyna reached for her hand, gave it a squeeze. “I wouldn’t have left you out for the world.”
“We’ll just hang around and make sure you get inside okay,” Ben said, determined to see that the lady made it into her bed-and-breakfast safely.
Birdie waved as she traveled the cobblestone path. She climbed the steps and crossed the porch. She unlocked the door—Sheriff Norwood had convinced her it was best—and stepped inside.
When the door had closed behind her, Reyna turned to Ben. “We need to find your grandfather and see if he can make sense of what Eudora said about your mother and the Widows and anything at all he remembers about the Carson family’s abrupt move.”
Ben’s face told the story of the emotions whirling inside him. They had tried repeatedly to reach his grandfather as well as his mother, and neither was answering their calls.
“Part of me wants to go to my mother’s house and demand answers. The other part is still worried about Pops’s early morning disappearing act. Something is going on with that man. He never does this kind of thing.”
“Let’s see if he’s back home now.” Reyna reached for the truck door, but Ben got it first. He opened the door for her.
“Thanks.” She smiled when he lingered before closing the door. “Is there something you need to say?”
He stared at the sidewalk a moment. “I don’t understand what’s going on around here right now, but if it all means the truth is finally coming to the surface—I’m glad.” His gaze connected with hers then. “And I’m glad you’re part of it.”
She laughed softly. “Don’t go getting all sappy on me, Mr. Kane. We’re not finished yet.”
He smiled, then hustled around the hood to climb behind the steering wheel.
Reyna kept her biggest concern to herself. Whatever truth or part of the story that was coming next might not be anything Ben wanted to know. If that turned out to be the case, he likely would wish he’d never laid eyes on her.
The latter was the part that worried Reyna the most.
Kane Residence
Lula Lake Lane
4:00 p.m.
THE HOUSE LOOKED exactly as they’d left it. Ward Kane’s truck was still gone. No new note from him on the counter or the door. No indication he’d been back.
Reyna watched Ben struggle with what to do next. The worry on his face had her wishing there was more she could do beyond offering moral support.
“Why don’t you call your mom again, leave a message asking if she’s seen or spoken to Ward. Maybe she’ll call you back if she realizes you’re worried about your grandfather. I’ll call Birdie and ask her to check around with mutual friends. This is a small town. Someone must have seen or heard from one or both of them today.”
Unless they don’t want to be heard from.
Reyna kept that part to herself. Something else Ben didn’t need to hear.
She stepped into the front hall to make her call and to give Ben some privacy for calling his mother.
Birdie’s cell went to voice mail, so Reyna called the bed-and-breakfast number. When it went to voice mail as well, she left a message.
“Hey, Birdie, Ward Kane is still not home, and he hasn’t called. Ben is worried about him. We haven’t been able to reach Lucinda either. Can you check with friends and see if anyone has spoken to or seen them today? Thanks.”
Reyna wandered to the parlor and walked around the room, admiring the many family photos. The family looked so happy in those photos. There were so many of JR growing up and plenty more of him and his young family. Ward’s wife had been a beautiful woman. There were lots of photos of her and Ward when they’d been younger.
Where were the photos of JR and his football team? The jersey he’d worn had been hanging in that cabin, so it had been kept all those years. And what about photos of him with his two best friends?
Reyna made her way back to the front hall and surveyed the photos there. No team photos. No photos of JR and his friends.
She climbed the stairs, scanning the tread-to-ceiling framed photos hanging there as well. Again, there were none of what she was looking for. Upstairs, she went to the guest room where she was supposed to sleep. She smiled. She kind of liked Ben’s bed better. No photos of the team or friends there either. The final room upstairs was Ben’s. The door was open, so she went inside. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been in there before—though she hadn’t been looking at photos, for sure. She checked all the ones hanging on the wall, then the ones placed about the room on the bureau and the dresser. There was a gorgeous photo of Ben with his parents when he’d been maybe five or six.
“Reyna!”
She jumped as if he’d caught her snooping. “Coming!”
He waited at the bottom of the stairs.
“Did you find him?” She hurried down, hopeful that Ward was home and okay.
Ben shook his head. “His phone goes straight to voice mail now, and so does Mom’s. I tried her house phone too, and she’s not picking up.”
“Should we drive over?”
“The sheriff is going to drive by. If she’s avoiding the two of us, it won’t do me any good to go over there. Maybe if our poking around in the past is the issue, she’ll respond to the sheriff.”
Reyna frowned at the idea. “I really hope my being here and doing the research I’m doing hasn’t upset your family.” She rolled her eyes and gave herself a mental kick. “Well, that was a ridiculous statement. How could it not?”
“Reyna.” He took her by the hand and pulled her down to sit on the third step with him. “Pops wanted this. He wanted you to help him find what no one else had—actual answers. I, unknown to him, was starting my own dig into the past. So nothing you’ve done has caused anything that wasn’t already going to happen.”
She felt a bit of relief at his words. The thought that she might have disturbed so many lives wasn’t an easy one to swallow. But he made sense. Still, there was that nagging question of who had reacted in such an extreme manner, with her damaged tire, the fire and that note. The answer might prove more painful than the not knowing.
The fact that Eudora had warned her about the Widows was eye-opening. Would they have hidden the truth all these years? Sadly, it seemed all too possible.
“Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better about my part in this.” Another frown tugged at her brow. “What did the sheriff say about Ward still not being home?”
“He’s a grown man with no known health issues, so we have to wait twenty-four hours. If he doesn’t show by then, she can officially get involved. Driving by my mom’s house is a simpler issue. It falls under a welfare check. Not that Mom would appreciate the gesture.”
Reyna laughed. “I’m sure she would not. But it’s the thought that counts.”
He braced his elbows on his knees, hands between his legs, and turned to her, putting them almost nose to nose. Reyna smiled. She really, really liked his eyes. His face. The rest of him.
“What’re you thinking?” He shrugged half-heartedly. “About all this, I mean.”
Focus back on the research, Reyna.
“I think that a lot of people know a little something. Maybe each one believes their particular fragment doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. But if we can get them talking openly, we might make some headway. In any puzzle, every little piece matters.”
“What about the fire and your tire and that warning?” He shook his head. “I swear I’ve never known folks around here to be so bullheaded.”
“The unknown is scary. Change is scary to some.” Reyna considered the people she had met. “Sometimes it’s easier to stick with the known, with the routine. Then you don’t have to wonder what will happen if anything or everything changes.”
He held her gaze for a long time before he finally responded. “You’re right. For a year now, I’ve been pretending what happened between me and my ex-fiancée didn’t matter. Was no big deal. But it did matter, and it was a big deal. But I’m okay with that. I’m beyond it—have been, actually. The trouble was I was holding myself back.”
They had talked last night about prior relationships. Reyna had confessed to never having had a serious one. And though Ben had been engaged, he had realized over the past year that what he’d felt had not been the deep kind of love he’d hoped for. He’d been reluctant to try again.
“I was afraid, as you say,” he admitted now, “of what moving on might look like.” He laughed softly. “But now I know exactly what I want looks like, and I can’t wait to see more.”
Her heart nearly stopped as the meaning of his heartfelt words sank in. “I’m right there with you. Ready to see what could happen next.”
Reyna watched him closing that tiny distance between them, felt his lips press against hers. Smiling, she closed her eyes and melted into the kiss.
His fingers forked into her hair. Reyna rested her forehead against his face. The feel of his afternoon stubble and the ridges and planes of his handsome face had tingles firing through her.
A knock on the door had them jumping apart.
Ben shot up to answer it. Reyna took a breath and a little more time getting up. She braced a hand on the newel-post since her head was still spinning.
“Sheriff Norwood.”
Beyond Ben’s shoulder, Reyna spotted the sheriff at the door. Her heart took a dive, and she hurried to join him.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Norwood said with a glance around the yard and driveway. “You mind if I come in for a minute?”
“Course not.” Ben opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
Reyna hoped this was not going to be worse news.
“I stopped by Lucinda’s house, and there was no answer.”
“I appreciate you stopping by,” Ben assured her. “She may have gone to the city for a day of shopping. She doesn’t always keep me up to speed on her agenda, but with what’s been happening, I can’t help but worry. She’s not answering my calls.”
Norwood nodded. “I get it, and I’ve got a bad feeling you have cause to worry.”
There was a new development. Her voice told the tale. “What’s happened?” Reyna asked.
“The fire marshal has determined that the fire at the Jewel was not an accident. The way the candle burned told him that it had been lying horizontal from the moment it was lit. So whoever lit that candle wanted it to turn into a fire.”
Reyna shook her head. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just take my laptop and other stuff?”
“I’m with you,” Norwood agreed. “Which tells me this wasn’t really about your stuff. It was about sending you a message.”
“So the note left on my truck windshield wasn’t some sort of prank,” Ben suggested. “It was another message, like the fire but not as aggressive. Don’t criminals usually escalate?”
“It doesn’t make sense, for sure,” Norwood said, “but there was a point—and that point was to scare you off.” The last she directed at Reyna. “The fire was set during a time when no one was around to be hurt and in the middle of the day so it was more likely someone would see the trouble and call for help. It’s as if the person or persons sending these messages weren’t actually trying to hurt anyone. Even the damage to your tire was not created for optimal potential damage.”
“Which suggests our perpetrator,” Reyna offered, “is either not a seasoned criminal or not someone who really wants to make me disappear altogether.”
“That’s my thinking,” Norwood agreed. “Whoever it is just wants you to stop digging around in the past. That said,” she added, “desperation could change what we’re seeing. We have to view this as a dangerous situation.”
