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“YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS …” —MATTHEW 7:16

“ I can’t believe you’re here.” Sydney’s eyes smiled over her cup of herbal tea. She watched Ginger thumb through the collection of videos and DVDs. Ginger called her a week ago to let her know that she would be coming to visit while Mark was out of town.

Ginger’s shiny hair bounced on her shoulders. Her red knit shirt accentuated her ample bosom and tiny waist. She was always complaining about having a size ten top and a size six bottom. If only the rest of us could be so lucky , Sydney thought.

“Let me see what we have here,” Ginger said. “ The Pelican Brief, The Fugitive, The Count of Monte Cristo . Hmm, wonder if there’s a clue in these titles.”

“Oh shut up and pick something.”

Ginger ignored Sydney’s remark and pretended to take stock of Sydney’s movie inventory. “I enjoyed meeting Kendall and Sean.”

Yeah, they were on their best behavior for you.”

“Syd, can I ask you a question?” Ginger turned to face Sydney.

“Sure.”

“Why are you eating hamburger when you could have steak?”

“What are you talking about?” Sydney put down her cup of herbal tea and looked at Ginger.

“Don’t get me wrong. Kendall’s a cute guy, but he doesn’t hold a candle to Sean. That guy is drop-dead gorgeous. You guys just look like you were meant for each other.”

“So did Adam and I, remember? And besides, eating steak all the time can get a little too rich, if you know what I mean. And so what if Sean is … good looking?” She almost said gorgeous but couldn’t bring herself to say it. That would be giving him too much credit. “When did looks become the only determining factor?”

Ginger raised an eyebrow and Sydney sought for the words to explain how she felt. “Look, I know Kendall isn’t as handsome as Sean.” It was the first time she’d admitted it. “But he has so many other wonderful qualities.”

“Such as?”

“He’s sweet.”

Ginger wrinkled her nose, and Sydney cringed when that tale-tell eyebrow of hers raised.

“And honest.” Sydney inserted before Ginger could say anything else. “Did I ever tell you about the time he lectured me about cheating?”

“I must’ve missed that one,” Ginger said dryly.

“I was in junior high. Emma, Kendall’s younger sister, and I were best friends. I spent more weekends at her house than my own.” Sydney’s voice became nostalgic. “Anyway, Emma and I had this math teacher. Mrs. Drucker.” Sydney spat out the name like it left a nasty taste in her mouth. “All the students dreaded her tests. They were long and tedious, and everyone knew that she used the same tests over and over. Somehow Emma got a hold of an old test that had all the answers. We were in her room making a cheat sheet when Kendall saw us.”

Cindy’s eyes turned to saucers when she saw what Emma was holding. “Where’d you get that?”

“Luke Holcomb gave it to me.”

“But we can’t.”

“Oh, yes we can.” Emma was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. “Aren’t you sick of getting C’s?”

“Well, yeah but?—”

“Don’t be a ninny.” She reached for a sheet of paper and turned over on her stomach. “Come on. I need some help to make sure it’s right.”

They were so intent that they didn’t hear Kendall enter the room. By the time Cindy felt his presence over her shoulder, it was too late.

“What ya got there?”

Emma jumped guiltily and moved to cover the paper, but he was faster. It only took one look to know what they were doing. He glared at Emma. “Where’d you get this?”

She reached for it, her eyes sparking with anger. “It’s none of your business. Give it back!”

“I most certainly will not! I can’t believe the two of y’all would do such a thing.”

Cindy wished she could crawl under the bed. Anything to escape this humiliation, especially from her idol.

“Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?” Emma’s voice sounded small.

Kendall shook his head in disgust. “I oughta.” He thrust the paper at Emma. “I’m not gonna look over your shoulder every minute to make sure you’re doing the right thing. You’ll have to let your own conscience be your guide.” He turned and left the room.

Ginger had gotten caught up in the story and was hanging on every word. “What did you do? Did you go ahead and cheat?”

Sydney smiled. “Emma did.”

Ginger’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How about you?”

Sydney laughed. “No, I didn’t cheat, not then or any other time. How could I? Every time I even so much as thought about cheating, a picture of Kendall, with his scathing eyes, would cross my mind. It was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

Ginger chuckled and then grew serious. “It must be hard to pretend that you don’t know any of these people.”

“You have no idea.”

“Do you think any of them recognize you?”

Sydney thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I look so different now.”

Ginger turned her attention to the movies. “Let’s watch this one.”

“Okay, I’ll go and make us some popcorn.”

Ginger moved to put the movie in the player but stopped. She went to the bookcase instead. “Where did you get this?”

“Get what?”

“This.” Ginger held out her hand to show Sydney what she was holding.

“Do you remember when I told you about the two men getting into a fight over the lockout procedure?”

Ginger nodded.

“Afterwards, when I was going over the area with a fine-toothed comb, I found this. It was on the ground beside the machinery, buried in sawdust.”

Ginger’s voice grew preachy like she was scolding an errant child. “Do you not have any idea what this is?”

“No, I don’t. What is it?”

“It’s an apparatus used for taking drugs.”

Sydney’s eyes flew open wide. “What?”

“People use this to take meth.”

Hot prickles pelted Sydney. She forgot all about making popcorn and took the device from Ginger and sat down on the couch to examine it. She thought back to the day of the fight and how the men were filled with such violent rage. Her mouth went dry as it all came together. All of the accidents at the mill had been caused by human error. If the men were on drugs … Her mind pondered the possibility. “This could be what’s going on at the mill. This could explain the accidents.”

Ginger frowned. “This could also be dangerous. Who’s in charge of drug testing at the mill?”

Sydney thought for a moment and frowned. “Who do you think? Sean O’Conner.”

Sydney brought the drug apparatus to his office at the end of the day. She plopped it on his desk. “You wanna explain this?”

His eyes narrowed. “What’re you talking about?”

“I found this on the ground next to where Clyde and Jerrold were having their fight. You and I both know it can only mean one thing. They were high on drugs. That’s why they were acting so irrational.” She clenched her fist. “I’d bet my life on it.” She leaned over his desk and looked him straight in the eyes. “Sean, is this what has been going on at the mill all along? Is this why we’ve been having all those random accidents? You have to tell me the truth.” Her face was hard but her eyes revealed pain and betrayal.

Sean leaned back in his chair. “Have a seat, Syd. And close the door first, will you?” He waited for her to sit down, his mind going a million miles a minute, mulling over the situation so he could come up with the right words to diffuse this thing. He propped his elbows on the arms of his chair and pressed his fingertips together. “You wanna start from the beginning?”

She took a deep breath. “Like I told you, I found this in the sawmill. It was lying on the ground, right next to where Clyde and Jerrold had that big blow up.”

He nodded. “Uh-huh. That was last week. Why are you just now bringing this in?”

“I didn’t know what it was at first. I shoved it in my pocket. I left it lying on my bookshelf at home.”

His eyebrow lifted, and she became flustered. “When Ginger came for a visit. Remember my friend Ginger? The one I introduced you to?”

“I remember.”

“Well, Ginger saw it and asked me where I got it. She told me that it was a device used for taking meth.”

“And how did Ginger know what it was?”

“Ginger’s husband is a police officer.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Do you?” Her voice became louder. “Do you really understand what this means? I’ve been busting my tail, trying to get all the safety issues cleared up, and all the while those lug heads in the mill have been high on drugs. It all makes sense now.”

“Just a minute. Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun here?”

Her brazen eyes met his. “Am I?”

He picked up the drug apparatus. “First of all, you should’ve never taken this home.”

“I already told you why I?—”

“That’s not good enough, Syd.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you’d brought this to my attention last week, then I could’ve confronted the men. Now, there’s not much I can do except keep my eye on them.”

“You could test them for drug use.”

“On what grounds?”

“I just gave you a good reason.”

“It’s a little late in the game for that, don’t you think? If I pull Clyde and Jerrold in here and demand that they go through testing, they’d start yelling discrimination so fast my head would spin.” He shook his head. “I’ve got enough to worry about without adding that to the list.”

She stood. “I’ve always known you were a stubborn mule, Sean O’Conner, but I never pegged you for stupid. I just can’t believe you’re not even going to check into this.”

“Whoa, hold your horses. I never said that. If there’s drug use going on in my mill, I guarantee that I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

She stood and he had a strong urge to sweep her up in his arms and get her as far away from Stoney Creek as possible.

“Let’s hope for both our sakes that you do.” She went to the door. Her hand reached for the knob.

“Sydney.”

She turned back to face him. His eyes met hers. “Can you just trust me? That’s all I’m asking for.”

“What are you talking about?”

He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“One more question.”

“Yes?”

“Are random drug checks being done on a regular basis?”

“Of course.”

“Who’s in charge of it?”

“I am.”

“And the tests have been coming up clean?”

“So far.”

“I just wanted to hear you say it.” She opened the door and left the room.

Ginger dipped a spoon in the peanut butter jar and pulled out a tablespoon-size portion and slathered it on her apple. She plopped down on the sofa and kicked off her shoes, sending them sprawling across the room. She gnawed away at the apple with her front teeth.

“You look like a beaver when you do that.”

She stopped and looked up at Mark. “Oh, sorry.”

“No, I like it.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re comfortable in your own skin.”

“Thanks.” She loved that about Mark. How he would compliment her on the most ordinary of things. She took another bite of her apple. “You know what? I had a great time at Sydney’s, but it sure is good to be home.”

He sat down next to her and scooted close. He kept his face serious, but his eyes danced with mischief. “I’m glad to hear you say that because I was beginning to wonder. I know how close you and Sydney are, and I was afraid I might have to catch a flight and drag you home.”

She held the apple out from her mouth and then poked him in the ribs with her free elbow. “Oh Mark, you know better than that.” She snuggled into the curve of his shoulder as he draped his arm around her. She held up her apple. “Wanna bite?”

“No thanks.”

She shrugged and then took another plug out of the apple. “Mark, you wouldn’t have recognized her.”

His face contorted in a mock surprise. “Don’t tell me: she cut off her hair and dyed it red.”

Ginger rolled her eyes, even though she wasn’t really annoyed. She loved it when Mark teased her. “Seriously, she’s changed.”

“How so?”

“Well for one thing, everything wasn’t all about her. There’s this crazy neighbor who dresses like a Hawaii gone bad commercial. Sydney looks after her. She insisted that we take Hazel—” Ginger looked at Mark, “that’s the lady’s name. Anyway, Sydney takes her a plate of cookies at least once a week. And then there’s Stella.” She caught herself. “This other lady that Sydney’s grown really close to.” She almost said Sydney’s grandmother and then caught herself. Ginger shook her head. “It’s obvious that she cares about these people. She didn’t seem so caught up in herself.”

“That’s fantastic. How’s the boyfriend situation? Who’s the man of the hour?”

“There are two of them in the picture right now.”

“Only two?” This earned him another jab in the ribs.

“That’s not fair.” Ginger wrinkled her nose. “I met both of them and was surprised that Sydney was leaning toward Kendall, the coach. Kendall looks like an all-American boy. He’s nice but shy. Sean, the other one, seems like more her type. He’s outgoing and handsome as the devil.”

Mark moved his arm from her shoulder and encircled her neck in a chokehold. “Hey now.” He let go.

She laughed and then batted her eyelashes before turning and looking into his eyes. “Well not as handsome as you. No one’s that handsome.” Ginger grew serious. “I liked Sean better at first. Now, after the drug thing, I’m not so sure.”

Mark’s eyes grew wary. “Drug thing?”

Ginger told him how Sydney found the meth apparatus at the sawmill and how Sean was in charge of the random drug testing. She watched Mark intently, knowing that the police officer in him would analyze every detail. After a moment he spoke. “Just because this guy, Sean, does the random drug testing for the mill doesn’t mean he’s involved.”

Ginger’s face relaxed. “Well, that’s what I told Sydney, but for some reason she jumped to the conclusion that he was guilty.”

Mark shook his head. “Meth is some dirty stuff. Unfortunately, it’s everywhere now. We deal with it all the time—even have a special unit that goes around disassembling meth labs.” He thought for a moment. “I could run a check on him.”

“I wish you would.” Ginger had already told Sydney that she would ask him. Mark had access to a system at work and could find out about anyone, providing that he had the person’s first and last name and either the date of birth or social security number.

“I’ll need his?—”

Ginger jumped up from the sofa and practically leapt to her purse. She reached in and pulled out a slip of paper and waved it in the air like a prize trophy. “I already have his date of birth.”

Mark reached for the paper and scanned the information. “Is there anything else you can tell me about him?”

Ginger thought for a moment. “Sydney said he was the starting quarterback for his high school football team. Does that help?”

“Sure, if I knew the name of the school.”

Ginger nodded and then reached for the phone. “I’ll call Sydney.”

“Ask her if she knows where he went to college.”

A few minutes later Ginger hung up the phone. “He went to McCullough High School. It’s in a town called The Woodlands on the north side of Houston. Sydney didn’t know which college he attended.”

Mark shrugged. “That’s okay. I’m sure I’ll be able to pull it up when I plug his name into the system.” He studied the paper he was holding. “McCullough High. The Woodlands. Why does that sound familiar?” His brows knitted. “Do you remember Dustin Akin?”

“I’m not sure.”“He graduated from the academy with me. He’s from The Woodlands, and I believe he went to that same high school.”

Ginger broke into a smile. Mark’s knack for remembering details never ceased to amaze her. He was always spouting off tidbits of information about people. “It’s a small world, especially among police officers.”

Mark shook his head and laughed. He held up the paper. “All this readily available information. Why do I get the feeling that I’ve been set up?”

She batted her eyelashes. “Would I do that?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Most definitely.”

A mischievous smile crept across her mouth as she sat down beside him and gave him a long kiss that left them both a little breathless. He drew back and put his arm around her. She reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. “Thanks for running the check. I worry about Sydney sometimes.”

He nodded. “She needs to be careful. If some of those people at the mill are taking drugs …” He let the sentence lag. “When people get involved in that, there’s no telling what they might do.”

Mark’s words felt more like an omen than an opinion. Ginger had never told Mark the real reason Sydney was in Stoney Creek. She had wanted to several times but had given Sydney her word that she wouldn’t. “Sydney’s smart. She’ll be careful.” Even as she spoke the words, she hoped that would be the case.

Sydney put the bag of groceries on the counter and took out a container of chocolate chip cookies. She smiled as she remembered her first visit to Hazel’s house. She pictured Hazel’s eager expression when she devoured the entire plate of cookies.

She made her way over to Hazel’s with the cookies, her step so light that she resisted the impulse to skip. Stella was right. Serving other people was therapeutic—just what she needed to escape her own problems. It felt especially good to do things for Hazel because she was so appreciative of the smallest gesture. The familiar fragrance of magnolias floated through the air like tender notes of music when Sydney approached the house.

“Giv’er back! I want to hold the cat. You’re gonna hurt him!”

Sydney strained to hear the conversation taking place behind Hazel’s house.

“No, I’m first. Wally, you said I could be first. Giv’er here! Louellen was first last time. I’m telling Mama!”

Sydney stopped dead in her tracks. Was that Hazel’s voice? It sounded like a child’s.

“Just because you’re my big brother doesn’t mean you get to pick who’s first every time. And besides, I know what you’ll do. I saw you put that kitten in Mamma’s pillowcase with a rock. You’ll throw my cat in the creek just like you did that kitten.” Her voice crescendoed. “I won’t let you drown my cat. You’re mean, Wally. Everybody thinks you’re nice, but you’re mean!”

Sydney peeked around the corner of the house. Even though she knew better, she halfway expected to see Hazel talking to two children. Instead, she saw Hazel sitting on the steps with Dixie lying across her lap. Her hands were waving through the air as she spoke to her imaginary companions.