Page 194

31

“THE LIPS OF TRUTH SHALL BE ESTABLISHED FOREVER: BUT A LYING TONGUE IS BUT FOR A MOMENT.” —PROVERBS 12:19

S ydney stared past the mountain of paperwork on her desk. She had a ton of work to do and hadn’t been able to concentrate on any of it. Last night’s incident was still too fresh on her mind, and she kept seeing the taillights of the beat-up Chevy racing off in the rain. She’d almost called the police but decided against it. What good would it do? She’d called them after Avery’s journal was stolen, and all they did was put her through the third degree, making her feel like she was the one to blame—or worse: crazy. She conjured up a picture of the young officer with the pasty face and crew cut. She could hear him now. There would be a hint of condescension in his voice and a look of pity in his eyes. “Let me get this straight, Miss Lassiter. Are you telling me that a truck nudged your bumper and caused you to run off the road? Are you sure you didn’t just run off the road on your own? After all, it was raining pretty hard last night and you were going awfully fast down the mountain.” She shook her head and massaged her neck. No, she wouldn’t call the police.

She turned her chair toward the window. The mishmash of fall colors outside would have been a feast for the eyes on another occasion. She watched a gust of wind send a pile of leaves spiraling in the air. Spiraling. That’s what her thoughts were doing. Who had been driving that truck? And why? Why did he race around her? Whoever it was was toying with her. Otherwise, he would have stuck around long enough to try and cause her to have a serious accident. She shuddered. Or a fatal accident. There were so many unanswered questions. Was this attack initiated by Lewis? Or did it have to do with her suspicion of drug use at the mill? Maybe she was being attacked by the person who stole the journal. She was a blind sitting duck.

The ringing of her phone brought her to the present. Barb’s voice sounded in the speaker. “Sydney, Louellen’s on line one.”

“Thanks, Barb.” Sydney reached for the phone. “Hello?”

“Sydney, I’m sorry to bother you.”

“What can I do for you?”

“It’s about Hazel.”

Sydney straightened in her chair. “Is she all right?”

“Her cat has climbed up in a tree, and we can’t get it to come down. She keeps saying, ‘Call Sydney. She’ll know what to do.’”

Sydney rubbed her forehead. “Have you tried opening a can of tuna and putting it at the bottom of the tree?”

“Would you believe? We have. We’ve tried everything short of calling the fire department.”

Sydney glanced at her watch—4:30. “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Thanks so much.”

The first thing Sydney saw when she pulled in her driveway was Hazel, wringing her hands. She hopped out of the jeep. “I’ll be right over,” she said to Louellen. “Let me put on a pair of sweats.”

When Sydney came out, Hazel was walking circles around the tree. “Sydney will know what to do. She can get Dixie down,” she kept repeating. When she saw Sydney coming across the yard, she ran and threw her arms around her. “Please get Dixie down for me, Sydney.”

Sydney smiled, trying to release herself from the tight embrace. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. I’ll get him.”

“I’m sorry we don’t have a ladder,” Louellen said, managing a weak smile, but her eyes were strained and Sydney guessed she was at her wits end.

Sydney grabbed the lowest branch and heaved herself up. “Not a problem.” She nimbly climbed higher toward Dixie. “Here kitty, kitty. Come here, Dixie.”

Dixie was hunkered down on the very edge of one of the top branches and had no intention of moving. From the looks of her, holding on for dear life, she figured Dixie was as terrified at the situation as Hazel was. She’d have to climb to the very top to retrieve her.

A few minutes later, Sydney descended from the tree and handed Hazel her cat. She watched Hazel bury her nose in the Dixie’s orange fur, hugging her like she was a long-lost family member. Maybe she hadn’t accomplished what she wanted to by coming to Stoney Creek, but she’d definitely made a difference in Hazel’s life.

Louellen touched Sydney’s arm. “Thank you so much.”

Sydney smiled. “You’re welcome,” she said, surprised by the emotion that was forming a lump in her throat.

Louellen took charge. “Hazel, let’s get you and Dixie inside so y’all can take a nap. Sydney, won’t you come in and have something to drink?”

Sydney shrugged. “Sure.”

It didn’t take long for Louellen to get Hazel settled down. Afterwards, Sydney and Louellen sat in the living room. All the while Sydney tried to figure out how to broach the subject of Lewis Jackson. She liked Louellen and dreaded the reaction that her questions were sure to generate.

“You’re quite the climber.”Sydney laughed.

“Yes, it’s a hobby of mine.”

“Well, it certainly came in handy today. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome.”

Louellen’s soft, cultured voice had a musical quality about it that was as soothing as a lullaby. “Hazel has grown attached to you, Sydney. She loves having you next door.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Sydney cleared her throat and placed her glass of ice water on a nearby table. “I went to the sporting goods store in Glendale the other day and ran into someone you know.”

“Oh?”

Sydney cringed as she watched Louellen’s eyes grow wary. “Lewis Jackson.”

Except for the slight tremor in her hand when she raised the glass of water to her lips, Louellen remained the picture of composure.

“I didn’t realize that you had an ex husband.”

“Yes.”

Louellen’s short answers weren’t going to make this easy. “I thought you told me that Lewis Jackson was dead.”

“I’m … um, I’m not sure what you mean.”

Sydney’s eyes caught Louellen’s and held them. “Remember the day I asked Barb about Cecil Prichard?” Sydney waited for Louellen to acknowledge her comment by at least nodding. When she didn’t, Sydney continued. “Anyway, I asked Barb how to get in touch with Cecil Prichard, and you told me. That’s when I asked you about Lewis. You told me he was dead.”

“Did I? I don’t remember saying that.”

Sydney tried to keep her voice kind. “Yes, you did. Why?”

Louellen shifted in her seat. “Well, if I told you that—which I don’t know why I would’ve—I apologize.”

“Are you and Lewis on good terms?”

“Well, no …” She looked like she was about to say more but stopped. “Why are you asking me questions about Lewis? To come to think of it, why were you asking about Cecil Prichard?”

It was time to give the pat answer that no one really believed. “I’m compiling an accident trend report?—”

Hazel burst into the room.“Don’t say a word, Sydney! Eyes are watching. Eyes are always watching … waiting.”

A shudder slithered down Sydney’s spine.

Louellen jumped to her feet. “Hazel, what in the world are you talking about?” She reached for Hazel’s arm, but Hazel jerked away.

“Ask Sydney.” She looked at Sydney. “You know, don’t you?”

Louellen looked at Sydney for an explanation, but Sydney was too shocked to do anything but nod. Louellen took Hazel by the arm again. This time she didn’t protest. “Let’s get you in the bed.” She looked at Sydney. “I’m so sorry about Hazel’s outburst. There’s no telling what triggered it.”

By this time, Sydney had collected her wits enough to formulate some questions. She looked at Hazel. “Whose eyes are watching? Tell me who you think it is.”

Hazel’s eyes darted back and forth between Louellen and Sydney. Before she could answer, Louellen intervened. “I believe Hazel’s had enough excitement for one day.”

Sydney’s eyes met Louellen’s for one long moment, and Sydney wasn’t sure if Louellen was trying to protect Hazel or herself.

“Hazel’s fine now. We’ll see you later, Sydney.”

A good hard jog would have been just the medicine to ease the tension from Sydney’s stressful day, but when she plopped down on the couch to put on her tennis shoes, she decided that a nap was more enticing. She was weary to the bone. Her blinking answering machine caught her attention. She had two messages, and the first one was from Kendall.

“Hey hon, it’s me.” She smiled. Kendall’s voice was like a warm blanket. “Just wondering if you have any plans for Saturday. Don’t make any. Give me a call when you get a chance.” Spending a day with Kendall was just the tonic she needed. He didn’t treat her like an outsider or expect anything from her that she couldn’t give. Her relationship with Kendall was … she struggled to find the right word … comfortable.

The second message was from Ginger. “Hey Syd. I’ve got some good news. All of Sean’s paperwork came back clean.” She laughed. “You can rest assured that he doesn’t have a criminal record. He’s as clean as a whistle. By the way, according to Mark, he had a 4.0 average in college. Looks and brains! What a combination! Oh, another thing, Mark hasn’t been able to get in touch with Dustin Akin, his buddy who attended Sean’s high school. He has been out of town. Anyway, I’m sure that’ll check out too, but I’ll let you know. Be safe and call me.”

Sydney deleted the message and sank into the couch. A 4.0 GPA. She wasn’t surprised. Nothing about Sean O’Conner surprised her. Sean was fire and Kendall was comfort. Which one did she want? Comfort. I want comfort, she repeated and drifted off to sleep.

When Sydney awoke from her nap, two things hit her at once: the darkness outside and her growling stomach. She sat up on the sofa and let her mind slowly adjust to the world of the living. She must’ve been more tired than she thought. She looked at her clock—10:30 PM—just enough time to make a quick run to Jacks before they closed at eleven. Any other night she might be tempted to eat a bowl of cereal and go to bed and sleep until morning, but she had some work to catch up on. With one hand on the back of her neck massaging it, she stood and looked around for her briefcase. She’d been in such a hurry to get to Hazel that she’d probably left it in the jeep.

A couple of clicks to the remote on her key chain, and the back door of the jeep popped open. She reached to retrieve her briefcase, but it wasn’t there. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized what she’d done. In her haste to get out of the office, she’d left it. How could she have been so careless? Since her arrival in Stoney Creek, she’d kept a meticulous record of her ongoing investigation into Avery’s death. She’d recorded all of the visits that she’d made. She’d even gone so far as to include her suspicion of drug use at the mill and how it could have been the cause of some of the accidents. Eventually, she hoped to compile enough evidence to convince Walter that Avery’s death was not an accident.

She ran back inside to get her purse, all thoughts of going to Jacks now forgotten. She was going to have to go to the office and get her briefcase. She couldn’t run the risk of Sean or someone else getting to work before her and snooping around in her notes. Besides, the only way she would get a wink of sleep was to have the briefcase back safely in her possession.

As she drove to the sawmill, the incident with the pickup truck kept running through her mind. She looked in her rearview mirror to make sure she wasn’t being followed. The road behind her was empty. Going to the sawmill by herself was probably not the wisest thing to do, but there was no other choice. Thank goodness Sean had given all the office employees a key to the building.

When she arrived at the mill, she was struck by the stillness of it. Normally, second shift would be operating, but not this week. Orders had been slow enough to prompt Sean to run only first shift. In a couple more hours, the filers would arrive to get the saws ready for the next day.

Fog was settling in the air, its invisible tentacles encircled the building and seeped dampness into the earth. She shivered and glanced up at the soft beaming haloes illuminating from the security lights on the building. It took her a minute to get the door unlocked. She stepped in and locked the door behind her. She looked around. What if she wasn’t alone? What if someone followed her here? She shook off the negative thoughts and walked briskly to her office. Her briefcase was in the corner, right where she’d left it. She bent to retrieve it when lights from outside caught her attention. She stole to the window and peered out. Two trucks were leaving the premises, their headlights casting long cylindrical columns against the fog, looking like four gigantic flashlights, all moving in a fluid motion.

She strained against the darkness to read her wall clock. It was now 10:45 PM. Why would trucks be leaving the mill at this time of the night? She left her office and went to the front door, all the while thinking that Sean O’Conner had better have a good explanation. As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait long to ask him. She opened the door, and there he stood.

His presence took her so off guard that it sent shakes down to her knees. “Sean!”

He looked as shaken as she felt. “Sydney! What are you doing here?”

“I forgot my briefcase.”

He glanced down to see her holding it. “Oh.”

Her eyes grew speculative. “A more appropriate question is what are you doing here this time of the night, and where are those trucks going?”

“What’re you talking about?” Before she could respond to his question, he pointed to her briefcase. “What kind of top-secret information are you carrying in that thing anyway?”

Her hand tightened around the handle. “What do you mean?”

“Well, whatever it is must be pretty important to send you rushing back here to get it in the middle of the night.”

Her heart began to pound, sending a sickening clammy feeling down to her stomach. She tried to laugh, but it came out more like a choked chuckle. “My, my, Mr. O’Conner, you do have a vivid imagination. I just needed to get some work done. That’s all.”

He studied her face. “One of these days you’re going to have to learn to trust me, Syd.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“I think you know.”

“No, I don’t have a clue. Stop playing games with me—” She stopped mid sentence. He was diverting her attention away from the trucks. “Why are you shipping lumber out this time of the night? You’re not running second shift this week. Besides that, trucks don’t go out at night. The whole place looked deserted when I got here, and then I saw those trucks.”

His only answer was a shrug. He was standing in the doorway. She took a step toward him, her eyes glaring into his, willing him to tell her the truth. “Well?” She had him, and they both knew it.

“I had a rush order to come through this afternoon.”

“Oh, really? Who?”

“That’s not your concern. Sydney, I have a mill to run. If I decide to ship something out at night, it’s my business. Not yours. I’m the mill manager, and you’re the safety consultant. Safety is your only responsibility.”

His comment stung, but she was determined to not let him know how much. “Point well taken. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”

His frame took up the bulk of the doorway, and he stayed where he was, blocking her way out. She clenched her teeth. “Get out of my way.”

He chuckled. “Gladly. Allow me to escort you to your jeep.”

She pushed past him. “Don’t bother.”

He tugged on her arm, and she turned to face him. Her face was flushed.

He still had her by the wrist. “Look Syd, I didn’t mean?—”

She jerked her arm away from his grasp. “I’ve had a rough day. I don’t want to argue with you any longer. I’m going home to get some sleep.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so … so?—”

“Heartless? Mean? Hateful?”

A smile stole across his face. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I was trying to say.”

His smile caught hers and tugged at the corners of her lips. She softened.

He reached for her hand again as if it was the most natural of gestures. “We do have a fiery relationship, Syd.”

Instantly, she was jolted back to Ginger’s call and the thoughts it had prompted. Fire, that’s what Sean was. Color warmed her cheeks. Ginger had given Sean a clean report and, despite their differences, Sean had always been fair with her. Why was she always so quick to assume that he was guilty?

Sean didn’t seem to notice the turmoil going on in her mind. He was too busy looking at her disheveled hair. She had it pulled up in a ponytail, and half of it had fallen out of the holder. He reached and pushed back a strand. His nearness was magnetic, and she felt the familiar attraction swell like an unquenchable flame.

“Look at you. Your sweats have black streaks all over them. What have you been doing?”

“Climbing a tree.”

He laughed. “I don’t doubt it.” He leaned down, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. This sent a quiver of eagerness racing down her back. She was annoyed at the disappointment she felt when he stepped back and squeezed her hand and then let it go. “I’d better let you get home.” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’d like to go out for a late dinner?”

“At eleven o’clock at night? I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Syd. We could drive over to Glendale and get some Krystals. They’re open all night.”

Krystals was a fast food restaurant that was famous for their little square hamburgers about the size of the palm of the hand. “Don’t tempt me. I like Krystals.”

“We could have a Krystal eating contest.”

Sydney wrinkled her nose. “No thanks. I’m a little leery about going to dinner with you after our last experience. I don’t want to get mauled again in the car afterwards.”

He laughed and patted his jaw. “If I’m remembering correctly, I don’t think you have any problem defending yourself. Just ask my tender cheek.”

She shook her head and turned to go down the steps toward her jeep. “You’re impossible. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She stopped.

Sean came up behind her. “What’s wrong?”

Parked beside her jeep was the old gray beat-up Chevy pickup she’d seen at The Jam Session, the one she suspected of running her off the road. Her knees went weak, and she struggled to keep the quiver out of her voice when she spoke. “Sean, where’s your truck?” She turned to face him.

“Syd, you’re trembling all over.”

“Why are you driving this truck?”

“It belongs to the mill. Buck or one of the other guys usually drives it. My truck went belly up this morning so I borrowed this one until I can get mine fixed.”

Her head started spinning wildly, making her feel like she was on an out of control merry-go-round. She took a step back from him and then turned to get in her jeep. Sean took her arm to steady her. “Syd, what is it?”

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

“Do you need me to drive you home?”

“No!” The word exploded out of her mouth. “No,” she said again, trying to keep her voice even. She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be all right. I just need to go home and get some rest.”

Unfortunately, rest was the one thing that wouldn’t come. Sydney tossed and turned all night, wondering if it was indeed the same truck she’d seen at The Jam Session. Who had been driving it? Sean? She shook her head. Surely not. He seemed genuinely surprised at her shock. If it had been Sean, he would have anticipated her reaction, wouldn’t he? Maybe he was a good enough actor to be convincing. But why? Why would Sean run her off the road? What could he possibly have to do with Avery’s death? He was an outsider. He’d taken up for her when Jake accused her of being negligent on safety issues. If Sean hadn’t rushed to her defense, Jake would have probably fired her. Sean could have gotten rid of her that way. He didn’t need to run her off the road. She thought of something else. She’d found the device used to take meth after the incident with Jake and then confronted Sean about drug testing. Was that it? Was he trying to cover something up? No, she couldn’t believe that it had been Sean.

Perhaps Sean was telling the truth. If he’d gotten the truck this morning, then someone else had been driving it last night. Who? Buck? She shivered, picturing Buck’s cold, fathomless eyes. Yes, it could have been Buck. She remembered the kiln accident. Buck placed the blame on her. Buck hated her. Then there was Lewis Jackson …

Time was ticking down. Whoever it was would come after her again, and next time he might do more than push her off the road. Next time he would come gunning for her for real.