One Little Lie Page 19

  “Yeah, we’re a one-party state, meaning as long as one party—in this case you—is aware it’s being recorded, it’s legal.”

  “Then I have proof. That’s a load off my mind.”

  If she kept looking at him like that, he was going to have a hard time resisting her. The silence between them stretched out until it felt like they were saying something without words. And maybe they were. The next thing he knew he was leaning toward her, and she wasn’t moving away.

  He slipped his arm around her, and she turned her face up to his. Her lashes fluttered closed and fanned across her cheeks. He stared, mesmerized, into her face before he lowered his head to brush her lips with his.

  It was like coming home, like they’d been together all these years. The sweet scent of her breath mingled with his, and her lips were as soft as peaches under his. He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. Nothing mattered in this moment but the feel of her in his arms.

  She gave a little gasp and pulled away. When he lifted his head, she was staring at him with her fingers on her lips.

  “Should I apologize?” he whispered.

  “N-No, just a silly flashback of some kind.”

  Had she felt what he did with that kiss? He didn’t dare ask if she had recognized him. Surely she would have said so if that were the case. Even his own son hadn’t recognized him in the pictures. A lot had changed in fifteen years.

  He scrambled to his feet. “I-I’d better get back to Will. We’ll come by tomorrow to go with you on the next phase of the investigation.”

  She was blinking like she’d just awakened, and he rushed for the door before it happened.

  * * *

  Jane’s hands shook as she locked the door behind Reid. She touched her fingers to her lips again. What a crazy moment of déjà vu. It took her back to a time she didn’t like to think about, to a young man as green as she was.

  There was no way she could sleep, not now. She grabbed her keys and her gun and unlocked the door again, then told Parker to stay. Olivia wouldn’t mind a visit. She was a night owl and would welcome a little company. Jane clanged down the stairs and went along the alley beside her building.

  Normally the darkness didn’t bother her, but the hair rose on the back of her neck as she walked through the darkened streets. Several times she whirled with her hand on her gun and her heart pounding.

  Olivia lived on Dauphin Street, two blocks from the water. Jane was practically running as she reached Olivia’s house and pounded on the door.

  “Hold your horses,” Olivia called from inside. The lock scraped and she opened the door. “Jane, goodness me, you’re as white as oyster shells. What’s wrong?” She stepped aside and shut the door behind Jane.

  “N-Nothing’s really wrong. Well, that’s not true. Nearly everything is wrong.” Jane was mortified to feel her eyes start to burn and well with tears.

  Olivia embraced her. “I’m glad you ran straight to me, dear girl. Tell me what’s the matter. Megan’s sleeping, and you can talk about anything.”

  A flood of emotions and tears erupted as Jane wept on her friend’s shoulder. “Someone’s framing Dad, and I can’t stop it. The town is falling apart, and it’s more than I can handle. I’m not up to this job, Olivia. I don’t know how I thought I could do this.”

  Olivia took Jane’s shoulders and nudged her back to stare into her face. “You listen to me, Chief Hardy. If anyone can figure out what’s happening, it’s you. You’ve solved more cases in this town than all the other detectives put together. And as for Paul—his heart’s a thumpin’ gizzard. You pay him no mind.”

  Jane managed a watery smile. “Okay.”

  “And this isn’t worthy of tears. What else has happened? The Jane I know wouldn’t be ready to run away over a few hard challenges. Tell me.”

  Jane rubbed her forehead. “I have to sit down. My legs are wobbly.”

  “So are mine.”

  Jane gave her a sharp look. “The ALS?”

  “Probably. I’ve been a little shaky, but maybe it’s nerves from the worry about Megan.”

  Olivia’s strong faith usually helped her weather any storm. “I should have been here more. And Reid told me something really encouraging. The famous physicist Stephen Hawking lived over fifty years with ALS.”

  “Really? I hadn’t heard that.”

  “Plus, he said Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed as ALS. Have you been tested for Lyme? We have so many ticks down here.”

  “I haven’t.”

  “I looked up the symptoms, and he’s right. What I read said you needed to be tested properly. I have a list of Lyme-literate doctors I’m going to send you.”

  “I’ll take a look.” Olivia grabbed her arm and steered her toward the living room of the French Quarter home.

  It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a minuscule kitchen, and a slightly more expansive living room. It was the homiest place Jane had ever stepped foot in. The place breathed welcome and warmth. She found her favorite chair, a rocker by the dining table.

  Olivia sat in the big armchair and picked up the baby blanket she was crocheting. She made baby blankets for all the new arrivals in town. The one in her hands was pink.

  Her crochet needle moved through the loops. “Tell me what’s riled you up. I know it’s more than your dad’s problem. This feels personal.”

  Jane held her gaze. “How on earth do you do that without looking at the yarn?”

  “Practice, honey. Quit changing the subject.”

  “You know about the nightmares.” Jane sighed. “But tonight I had a flashback.”

  “From the cult? I did some reading on recovery from one of those places, and that’s pretty typical.” Olivia pulled out more yarn from the skein. “Any idea what’s causing these thoughts?”

  Heat washed up Jane’s chest and neck. “Um, Reid kissed me tonight.”

  “Yes!” Olivia did a fist pump with the crochet needle in her hand, and the sight made Jane laugh. It was so out of character.

  “But it made me remember Moose and the baby. I almost imagined I was kissing Moose and not Reid. Isn’t that weird?”

  “How many guys have you kissed besides Moose?”

  Jane didn’t have to think about it. “None. That sounds weird, I know. In college I was still too broken to date. I’ve dated a few men in town, but when they’ve taken me home, I couldn’t wait to get in the door before they could put the moves on me. I’ve been scared.”

  “You’ve been as lost as last year’s Easter egg, honey. I’ve prayed and prayed for you to get past all this. So it’s no wonder you thought of Moose.”

  “You think that’s all it is? Something about Reid reminds me of Moose. It was almost like he was Moose. He smelled like him and tasted like him.”

  Olivia put down her needles. “What are you trying to say—that Reid is Moose? Surely you’d know your own husband if you saw him again.”

  “I-I’m not sure I would. He was only eighteen, but he was one of the few teens with a full beard. And his long hair and hat covered up most of his face. We were only t-together like-like that a few times, and candles don’t give much light. They worked us hard, and most of the time I only saw him from a distance in the day. Everything from that time is so blurry and distorted.”

  She couldn’t believe she was saying all this. The words had spilled out before she could stop them. She still shuddered to remember. She didn’t want to remember, but the kiss had opened the floodgates.

  “Did you love Moose?”

  She bit her lip, then shook her head. “I didn’t even know what love was. Every bit of life was regulated—who we were to marry, my duty to bear children.” Her voice broke on the last word. Her dear little baby. She could still smell the scent of his head and remember the softness of his skin.

  Sudden tears blurred her vision again. “I think I could have come to care for Moose if we’d been together more. He was kind and gentle. And I think he was just as confused as I was. All we knew was t
o do what we were told.”

  “Come to church with me again on Sunday. I need you with me.”

  Olivia had never asked her to come support her, and Jane found herself nodding. “Okay. I’ll pick you up.”

  “I’m going to pray for clarity for you, Jane. Come talk to me about this more, and maybe that will ease some of these fears and flashbacks.”

  “Maybe you’re right. This strange sense of déjà vu will pass. It’s probably all the stress.” She rose and went to hug Olivia. “Sleep well. Thank you for always being there for me. I’ll lock the door on my way out.”

  Jane stepped back out into the humid night and walked home at a slower pace. The moon lit her way, and she wished she had an internal light to figure all this out.

  Twenty-Eight

  Reid sat cross-legged on his dock and watched the moon glimmer on the river’s turgid water. It was a cool night for spring in the south, and the mosquitoes weren’t as troublesome as usual. A big splash to his right indicated the gators were active, but he wasn’t concerned about them.

  He should have told Jane who he was tonight. Instead, he’d made a fool of himself and kissed her. What had he been thinking? That was the problem—he hadn’t been thinking. He’d wanted to kiss her since the first time he’d seen her again. Being so close to her had worn down his defenses.

  Once she found out the truth, she was going to hate him. He hated himself. Why was it so hard to open up and tell the whole truth? Pure and simple, he was afraid. Afraid of being rejected, afraid of hurting his son, afraid of failing God. It was all a whirlpool of fear sucking him under. He’d thought he left all that behind as he’d healed from the experiences of his childhood.

  The pier groaned and shifted, and he looked back toward the shore. Will, dressed in the basketball shorts and T-shirt he usually slept in, headed his way. His black hair stuck up, and as he neared, Reid could tell he’d just awakened.

  “Dad, it’s after one. What’s going on?”

  Reid grinned at the plaintive note in his voice. He patted the dock beside him. “How’d you even know I was out here?”

  Will dropped beside him. “I woke up to go to the bathroom and saw the downstairs light still on. You weren’t anywhere so I looked out here and saw you.”

  Reid gazed across the water to Plash Island where a few lights still glimmered this time of night. A shrimping trawler moved past its mooring on the island, and he caught the strong scent of sea life from the boat. Maybe this was the time to be honest with Will, to tell him everything except Jane’s name.

  “There’s more to the story about me and your mom, Will. It’s an ugly story, and one I haven’t wanted to talk about—not with anyone. You were too young to hear it until now, but you’re nearly a man.”

  Will shifted. “Okay.” He sounded cautious and eager all at the same time.

  Reid had thought about this moment a thousand times over the years. How did someone convey that time without coming across like someone too stupid to live? It had taken him a long time to come to grips with his passivity and acceptance of something he now knew was ridiculous.

  “You were only a year old when I escaped.”

  “Escaped? From where?”

  “My dad was a rigid man. He believed he was second only to God and that every person should accept his word as law. I think I was about five when he started Mount Sinai up in Michigan.”

  “What was that? A town?”

  “A cult.” The word was bitter on Reid’s tongue. “He was sure the end of the world was coming soon, and when it did, he wanted to be ready to lead us all. It was a small community of maybe twenty cabins or so. When my mom objected to him having more than one wife, she went missing. I think he probably killed her, though I don’t know for certain. I’ve tried to find her in case he simply ejected her from the camp, but I’ve never found a trace of her.”

  Will made a slight sound that could have been a gasp or maybe a sigh. Reid didn’t look at him. He couldn’t—not if he wanted to get through this.

  It all sounded so ugly and sordid, and there was more to come. Much more. Nausea roiled in Reid’s belly, but he had to tell it all.

  “It was a hard, cold place. During the day I worked in the fields or stocked supplies. We practiced shooting constantly.”

  “No wonder you’re a crack shot.”

  Reid nodded. “With a gun and a crossbow both. I can use most any weapon. When the guys turned eighteen, we were expected to marry whomever my father designated for us. A fourteen-year-old girl was picked for me. Everyone called her Button because she was a preemie when she was born and stayed small. At fourteen she was about five two, I guess. They called me Moose. You could tell why by the picture you saw of me. We didn’t look like we went together. My father married us, if you can call it that. There was never a marriage license, and after I left, my attorney told me the ceremony wasn’t legal.”

  “Did you love her?”

  Reid tossed a small stick in the water and watched the ripples in the moonlight. “I didn’t know her very well. Relationships were discouraged. We were supposed to procreate for the good of the group. I didn’t live with her or anything like that. We were only alone a few times.”

  “Wow. I wasn’t expecting anything like this.” Will’s voice was shaky.

  Reid dared a quick peek at his son and saw Will staring out over the water with a stunned expression. This had to be a bomb to Will’s sense of right and wrong.

  “What happened?”

  “You were born on Button’s birthday, and it was the day Mount Sinai imploded. The state police swarmed the place and rescued a woman my dad had kidnapped. Fires broke out all over the camp. Everyone was screaming and running. It was total chaos.”

  “Which is why my mom thought I was dead?”

  “Yes. Her mother brought you to me to see. I was holding you when the first shots rang out. I wanted to protect you so I ran for the forest. I had a four-wheeler out there, and I got us out of the melee as quickly as I could. When I went back to the camp, it was in ruins, burned to the ground. A few people were left, but only a handful. My dad was dead.

  “An offshoot group, Liberty’s Children, wasn’t far so I took my four-wheeler to find help and tell them what had happened. Button’s mother was there too. She told me her husband had told Button you died in order to get her to leave with him. She was spitting mad about it and wanted to take you from me, but I wouldn’t let her.”

  “Where is my grandmother now? And your grandparents?”

  “Your grandmother is still with Liberty’s Children, and I’ve never found my grandparents on either side. The past is something I’ve tried to bury. For your sake I’ll see if I can find any of them. You deserve more family than just me.”

  Will clasped Reid’s hand. “You’re enough, Dad. You’ve always been enough.”

  Reid’s fingers tightened around his son’s. “I stayed with Liberty’s Children for about a year, then slipped away one night with you. I changed my name and tried to become someone else. Someone you could be proud of—someone I could be proud of.”

  “You were nineteen then and a single dad? How’d you make it?”

  “It’s a long story, and I don’t think I can tell it tonight.” Reid yawned and rubbed his gritty eyes.

  “Wow, a cult. That’s nuts.”

  “More than you know. It took a long time to find healing. And to find my way. You were the one thing that kept me sane.”

  Will reached over and gave him a fierce hug. “I want to hear all of it tomorrow, Dad. Thank you for what you did for me. You left because of me, didn’t you?”

  Reid’s eyes burned, and he clutched his boy back. “Yes. Everything I’ve done has been for you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  It had gone better than he’d expected, but there were still treacherous roads to navigate ahead.

  * * *

  Reid’s eyes were shadowed when he and Will entered Jane’s office. She shot a glance his
way before going to the coffeepot. She probably looked as bad as Reid did. She’d tossed and turned a long time before finally falling asleep sometime after three. Will was quiet as well, but the strain between father and son was noticeably missing, which relieved her.

  She’d relived that kiss for hours. Had it meant anything at all to Reid?

  Footsteps came running down the hall, and Paul burst through her doorway. He held up a paper. “Results from the blood. Same blood type as Gary Dawson. He was killed on your dad’s boat. We have to issue an arrest warrant.”

  “Did you check out his alibi?” Jane put her hand on Parker’s head and told him to stay.

  “Elizabeth already destroyed it.”

  “I meant with the stores he mentioned. Yes, Gary was killed on the boat, but that doesn’t mean my dad did it.”

  Paul gaped and shook his head. “Listen to you, Jane. If this were any other suspect, you’d haul him in here fast enough to leave a grease mark. You’re too close to this.”

  She tried to hang on to her objectivity. Was he right? She shook her head. “Paul, you know I always try to consider every single possible variant in a case. We haven’t checked out Dad’s alibi. Right now it’s his word against Elizabeth’s. That’s not good police work, and you know it.”

  “You’re really not going to arrest him?”

  “Not until we are sure of our facts. I’ll go up to Mobile today and see what I can find out about any corroborating evidence. Impartial evidence.” And she planned to talk to Elizabeth herself.

  “I can’t believe this!” Paul slammed his fist against the doorjamb, then turned and stomped out.

  “Trouble,” Reid said. “He won’t let it drop there.”

  “I just need a little time to see if Dad’s alibi checks out. He’s wrong about me being too close to it. If this were anyone else with the same evidence, I would still check the alibi first.”

  She wasn’t sure Reid believed her, but he didn’t know how careful she’d always been with evidence. When a prosecutor got a case from her, she wanted to make sure every T was crossed. The prosecutor had thanked her more than once. Paul’s cases weren’t always so clean.