W.L. Knightly's Blog, page 5
April 26, 2023
READ CHAPTER ONE OF FAULTY JUSTICE
As Hannah woke, a distinct image formed in her mind. It was something she had not wanted to see but would never forget.
It was difficult for Hannah to process or accept what she had seen at the crime scene as a human being because of the shape the girl had been left in. Unfortunately, what she had seen was playing on a permanent loop in her head.
Once the thoughts became too much, Hannah opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn’t home in her bed. Instead, she had slept over with Silas.
She turned to see him, but he wasn’t lying next to her as he had been the night before.
Instead, the sounds and smells from the kitchen gave him away. She moved to the edge of the bed and raked her hand through her mess of hair. She was sure she looked horrible with puffy, red eyes and her hair in all directions.
Silas had been a perfect gentleman, offering her a T-shirt to sleep in, as well as keeping his hands to himself. Other than the spooning, of course, which was what she needed more than anything else. It had meant so much to her that he hadn’t tried to take advantage of her vulnerability. She didn’t find herself in that state often, but the previous night had been an exception.
When Traeger called her, she wasn’t expecting anything like what she saw. She expected the body to at least be whole, and instead, it was in sections, dissected and skinned like something from a laboratory, and tossed out into the wilderness like garbage.
She scrubbed her eyes with her palms and took a few deep breaths. She had to get it out of her head, if only for a little while.
Hannah got to her feet and walked to the bathroom to take care of her morning regimen, including using the toothbrush that Silas had left with the fresh towels and soap on the counter.
He was so thoughtful. It made her think about how lucky she was to have someone like him in her life. Someone she could depend on. Sure, she had Henry, but that was different. It had been far too long since she had someone in her life who she could be vulnerable with.
She turned on the shower to freshen up, and when she stepped inside, a part of her wished that Silas was there with her. She couldn’t wait to get out and go and see him.
When she was done in the shower, she dressed in Silas’s robe, tucked her cell phone into the pocket, and went to the kitchen.
Silas looked up from the stove, where he was dressed in shorts and an apron. “I hope you’re hungry this morning. I think I’ve made too much.”
“You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. I’m not sure I’ll ever eat again after last night.” It was hard to think about food when the body had looked like something from a butcher shop.
“Come on. You should have something. It’s not good for you to go without.” He stepped over to grab a plate from the cupboard.
“I’ll try some, but no promises. And thanks again for taking care of me, Silas. I know I was a mess last night when I showed up.” She had been a mess of tears and could barely speak, so she had fallen into his arms as soon as he opened the door.
“I’m embarrassed I wasn’t stronger in that situation. I guess I always thought I would be, but I wasn’t ready for that.” She didn’t think anyone could be ready for a scene like that.
Silas gave her a sympathetic look. “Well, you didn’t think you’d be going into something like that. I could tell it was bad. I’m glad I was at least in your pocket. It was hard not to say something, knowing I’d be heard.”
Hannah had only told him a little bit about it. She’d wanted to spare him the gruesome details.
He still seemed bothered by the situation. “If you ask me what I think, I’m not happy with Traeger. He should have never let you see it. He knows better.”
He spooned a smaller part of the omelet onto her plate and the rest onto his.
“He’s just trying to let me in,” she said, taking her place at the table with him. The food smelled good, and despite the awful visions, her tummy rumbled with hunger. “I should be glad however he chooses to do it. And I guess, in a way, I asked for it. On my show, I’m always asking opinions about law enforcement, and some people really have some heated ones. Not to mention all my trash talk about why the police aren’t doing more. And how can they just ignore a case like this or that? I can understand why it upset him. He’s not some clock watcher ignoring the cases he’s been assigned. He’s out there fighting the good fight.”
“So, one crime scene, and you’re changing your views on Traeger?” Silas sounded doubtful.
Hannah shook her head. It would take a lot more than that, but it was definitely broadening her horizons. “Well, I wouldn’t say that, exactly. But I can honestly say I have a whole new perspective on what he does. Not to mention more respect for what he goes through. I swear, many nights like that, and I’d need therapy.”
Silas shrugged. “I’ve heard your shows, and I’ve never really concluded that you hated law enforcement.” He reached for the juice which was already on the table and poured her some before pouring his own.
“No, I just don’t like cold cases. And most of my complaints are about them. I feel they shouldn’t exist, but at the same time, I understand why they do.”
“So, does this mean you’re going to work with him now?” Silas seemed surprised by the notion.
“Yeah. I am. It’s my only shot to really help these girls. My show is great for putting out information, but this would mean helping on a whole new level. Besides, if that girl was the one Miley identified, it could have easily been her. And that woman she told Traeger about? Vida? She needs to be stopped.”
Silas shook his head as if he was unsure. “Just be careful. Keep your guard up where Traeger is concerned. You know what they say about leopards and their spots.”
“I will, but I’m going to share what he asked for. I think it’s well past time we start helping each other. We have to put aside our petty differences for the better of the community and for those girls. I’m always saying I wish I was out of a job, but I need to do more to make that happen.”
“What did he want from you?” he asked, looking suspicious.
“When I was a PI, I was hired by the Clark family to check into their daughter’s disappearance. Her name was Melissa. She was missing and later found dead, just like this girl last night.” The images tried to come back to the surface, but she pushed them down. “So Traeger wants us to work together. He asked for everything I have on the case and wants my help to establish a pattern where we can prove who did it.”
Silas nodded as if he understood. “So, he wants to know what you know. Is he willing to give you anything in return?”
“He did say something about giving me special evidence that no one has seen before. I think it could have something to do with the medical examiner’s report. Because when I saw it, there was a lot of stuff that had been held back and redacted. I wasn’t happy about it at the time. I figured whatever it was, it was something about the murders that law enforcement was trying to hide.”
“It’s standard for them to hold some things back,” said Silas. “They would want to make comparisons later, and the only way to do that is to know something no one else does. And if it came out that there’s another crime in the same manner that might be related, it could be associated with the same killer. Maybe whatever it is, it could be the killer’s signature.”
“I wondered that too. They have to protect something.” She understood it well. And often wondered what was held back in her aunt’s case.
“Or someone,” he said.
“I don’t think he’s protecting Owen Bishop. At first, I did, but now, no. I think he’s investigating him.”
“And you think that Owen Bishop is capable of what you saw last night?” Silas took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’m not sure, Hannah. From what you described? That’s just hard to believe.”
“It would explain why Claire Ford wanted to run off a bridge to end her life—I’ll tell you that. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe she knows what he’s capable of. There’s no telling what she’s seen.”
Silas looked her in the eyes. “I want you to be careful. But you can’t let this slow you down. You can’t let it change you, Hannah.”
She knew what he meant. It was getting in her head. “I know. It’s just going to take some time. I can’t help but think about Miley. If she had stayed with that woman, this could have been her.”
She didn’t want to think that Miley was better off at the moment, considering what she saw her and Henry doing the night before when she went into his room to get his keys, but at least Miley was alive to have the experience.
Silas glanced at his watch. “Shit, I have to get to the office. Bell isn’t going to be happy with me. I sort of got ahead of myself with him.”
She could tell that Silas was unsure about something he had done. “What do you mean?”
“I may have led him to think that Claire said something to me about him and Aria Patterson.”
“You did?” she asked, surprised to hear it. It wasn’t like Silas to make things up. At least not from her experience. “Did Claire say anything to you about them?” She wondered what it could have been.
Silas shook his head. “No, she didn’t, and yes, I did. But he’ll never find out.”
“Why did you do that?” She didn’t understand what came over him. He had always been so careful around Bell. And he had never wanted to step on the man’s toes.
He gave a sound of frustration. “Because I was pissed. He gave me the brush-off. It reminded me of how he treated me before the case, which was, in case you’ve forgotten, supposed to be a favor he was doing for a friend. Instead, he got me to do it. I thought it was because he didn’t want to defend Claire Ford based on her reputation, but the more I get into the case and the longer I know her, I think he was pushing it off on me because he knew he wouldn’t win. He didn’t want to tarnish his reputation. But he didn’t give fuck all about mine.”
“I’ve thought that,” she said, hating to admit it. “But I’m glad you were on the case. I’m glad we got to meet each other, for what it’s worth.”
“Me too,” he said, getting to his feet.
“I should go and get ready for work. You finish up your breakfast, and you can stay as long as you want.”
Hannah got up from the table and brought her plate to the sink. “I should get moving too.” She had a situation at home that she couldn’t ignore any longer, as much as she wanted to. “But hey, thanks again for last night. I mean it, Silas. You’re the best.”
Silas walked over and brushed her hair back from her shoulder. “Well, it wasn’t exactly how I thought it would be having you spending the night for the first time, but I’m glad I could be here for you, and I hope you know that I always will be.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, but Hannah turned and captured his lips. He had earned it.
Silas deepened the kiss, which they enjoyed, but eventually, he pulled away reluctantly. “You sure don’t make it easy for me to leave you.”
Hannah giggled. “Sorry. Maybe the next time, it will be different.” She kissed him again, this time giving him just a tiny peck.
“Are you saying you want to stay with me again?” He raised his brows as if he liked the idea of that.
“Yes.” She would like that too.
“You know, it can be arranged.” Silas went to kiss her again, but the sound of her phone ringing brought their attention to where she had tucked it into the robe pocket.
She took the phone out and glanced at it.
“It’s Traeger,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “I should take this.”
“Go on. I’ll go change.” Silas turned and headed to his room as she answered and put the phone to her ear.
“Hello, detective.” She hoped that he had good news for her.
“Ms. Faran.” Traeger was as professional as usual.
“Please, after last night, call me Hannah.” They had certainly been through an experience together.
“Fair enough, Hannah. I’m calling because I wanted to let you know that we made a positive ID with the hair we found at the scene. It is our girl, Haley Perkins.”
“Damn,” she said, wishing it wasn’t true. She put her hand to her heart and closed her eyes. But all that did was make her see it again.
“Yeah, that’s how I felt, too,” he said. “There are no words. And it means that there are a whole lot more girls who are in trouble if she comes from this Vida person’s house. I think it’s important to speak with Miley again. Do you think you could bring her down to the office to see me?”
“Yeah, if not today, I’ll do it tomorrow.” She wasn’t sure what she would find when she got home and didn’t want to make any promises. It was entirely possible that Henry and Miley were not trying to start a relationship, but instead, perhaps they were just taking advantage of their situation, which was even worse.
“Sounds good,” said Traeger. “I’ll see you then.”
Traeger hung up the phone, and all Hannah could think about was that she had to go home and tell Miley what had happened. She wasn’t sure how she was going to take it. It wasn’t like she had admitted to being very close with them, but the fact that one of Vida’s girls had ended up slaughtered, a girl that could have very well been Miley under different circumstances, was terrifying.
She went to Silas’s room and knocked on the door. “Can I come in?”
Silas opened the door. “Sure, I was just trying to give you some privacy for your call. What was that all about? Is there any news on the murder?”
“They made an ID on the girl. She was one of Vida’s girls who Miley identified.”
“Damn. I’m sorry. How do you think she’ll take it?” Silas had heard enough to know that Miley wasn’t with Vida long enough to make lasting relationships.
“I think, given the circumstances, she’ll be upset.” She walked over to pick up her clothes that had been hanging on the closet door since the night before. “It’s going to be a shock to her with all she’s been through.”
Silas was still buttoning up from tucking in his shirt, and while he went to get his shoes from the closet, she shrugged on her jeans and took off the robe.
Before she could put her top on, Silas came out of the closet and noticed her. “Wow, now I really don’t want to go to work.”
“We have to,” she said, giving a light-hearted giggle as she put on the top. “But I’d love to see you tonight.” She had a feeling she was going to need his company again.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’d like that.”
She finished getting dressed. Then he grabbed his keys and they walked out together.
“I’ll call you, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
They went their separate ways and she sighed. Going home was going to be tough.
She wasn’t sure what was going on with Miley and Henry, but she was going to have to face it eventually. Besides, the sooner she told Miley about Haley Perkins, the sooner she could start to process it and heal.
The sooner they both could.
April 5, 2023
READ CHAPTER ONE OF TRUE BETRAYAL…
After meeting with Claire, Silas headed back to the law firm in a hurry. Claire had thrown him for a loop with her confession, and now he was frustrated and trying to process what she had confessed to.
With this latest admission, the murder trial was finished before it started, and what was left was a sentencing hearing where the prosecution would most definitely ask for the maximum sentence.
Claire was many things, but a murderer wasn’t one of them. Just when Silas thought he was going to get the truth out of her, something was telling him that Claire was still not being honest with him.
Not only had she changed her story, but her admission was a bit too similar to a few of the suggestions that Silas had given her. And he was sure that after some thought, she had decided to use those ideas in her favor. But he just wasn’t sure why she thought this was the best route to take. Just when he thought she wanted out of prison, she had made sure that would never happen, and he felt it so odd that it had left him feeling confused. Whatever her reason was, he hoped it was worth it.
He went to the law firm and found Zoe making copies in the front office. She had her earbuds in and was bobbing her head slightly. “There you are,” he said.
“Hey.” She hit the button on her earpiece. “What’s up? I was just about to go back upstairs.”
“Good. I need to see you in the office. Hannah should be on her way too.” He turned to the receptionist. “Send her up as soon as she gets here.”
“Yes, sir,” said the girl, who gave Zoe a sideward look.
“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as he breezed past her toward the elevator. “Has something bad happened?”
“Come with me, and I’ll tell you.” He had a million thoughts rushing through his mind at once.
The elevator door opened, and as Silas went inside, Zoe hurried up and grabbed her copies as he held the door. She rushed into the elevator and leaned against the wall.
“What happened?” she asked as the door closed. “Or are you going to make me wait until we get upstairs?”
“Claire confessed,” he said, still feeling like he was stuck in his head. “There won’t be a trial. We have to shift focus to the sentencing hearing.”
“What?” she asked, raking her hand through her hair. “Holy shit. Just like that?”
“Well, we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but yeah, just like that, everything is changing.” That was the nature of the business. Things could always happen at the drop of a hat, especially with clients like Claire Ford.
“So, wait. Do you mean she actually told you what she did? All of it?” Zoe’s expression was clouded with disappointment and disgust. “I don’t understand. How could she do that on purpose? And to her own child no less?”
Silas felt sick over it as well and didn’t know what to think. “I don’t understand either. I thought I was confused before, but this. This is just too far out there. Something isn’t adding up to me. And I feel even worse about it than I did before.”
“It’s just so hard to believe.” Zoe put her hand to her heart. “I don’t understand how anyone can do such a thing.”
“I agree,” he said. “Nothing is easy to believe when it comes to Claire. Nothing she says can be trusted. It’s because she’s already admitted to being a liar.”
“Do you believe her?” asked Zoe. “I mean, do you think she really did this?”
“As much as I hate to say it, considering I wasn’t sure she was telling the truth before, I don’t know. I thought she was lying and holding back before, and strangely, I still have that feeling. It’s like we’re not getting the whole story. I can’t imagine why she would change her plea. But I can’t help but feel responsible for it too. Maybe I pushed her too hard before. And now, I don’t know how to help her. I tried to scare her into telling me what she was hiding, and it has backfired.”
“Well, she has to be telling the truth, right? Why would she lie about something like this?” Zoe looked more confused and hurt than he had ever seen her. “It’s awful. She’s going to prison for the rest of her life.”
“I don’t know. I have to figure this out. I’m still in shock. But I wanted Hannah to come down so I could pick her brain too. I have my theories. I have her statement recorded, and I wanted to go over it together. So, you can listen to that with us if you want. Maybe you’ll have an opinion. I wanted to have it on record, but I need copies. So, let’s get this file copied and make sure it’s transcribed too.” He hated to put her to work while she was still in shock, but they had to get busy.
Zoe nodded. “Sign into your computer, and I’ll work on it now.”
He turned and powered up, unlocking the device for her to use. “Here, knock yourself out.”
As Zoe’s fingers went to work on the computer keyboard, Silas went to make coffee, knowing Hannah would be arriving at any moment.
Before he could even turn on the machine, he heard a soft knock at the door.
Hannah stuck her head in. “Knock, knock.” She gave him a worried look as if she had already suspected the worst.
“Come on in,” he said. “Thanks for coming down.”
She came into the room and walked over to take a seat in front of his desk. She looked at Zoe. “This must be serious. You’ve called in all of the troops.”
“She’s copying Claire’s confession,” he said, knowing the disappointment was clear in his expression.
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Her what?” She cocked her head as if she wasn’t sure she had heard him right. “Did you say her confession?”
“Yeah, she’s confessed to driving off the bridge on purpose in an emotional breakdown due to Owen upsetting her. She said she couldn’t take it anymore. It just happened in a moment of emotion.” He threw his hands up in the air, not sure what else to do with himself. “It’s crazy.”
“You don’t seem to be taking it well.” Hannah narrowed her eyes. “You’re still not convinced.”
He shook his head to agree with her. “I’m not. It’s the language she used. It was just as if she was repeating things that I had asked her when I was trying to make her tell me what she was hiding.”
“So wait, you didn’t believe her before, and now that you get a confession, you still don’t believe her?” She let out a sigh. “Oh, Silas. Seriously? She didn’t kill that child on purpose. I’d bet money on it.”
“Is there any part of you that believes she was so distraught over Owen and his secrets that she would do something like this? Do you believe that she thought this was a better option than what Owen was putting her through? You are the one who knows him better than anyone.”
“It would seem there had to be some other way,” said Zoe.
“Unless whatever dark secret she was hiding about Owen was something even worse.” But he couldn’t fathom that. He was looking to Hannah to tell him he wasn’t way off base.
“I don’t know,” said Hannah. “I know he’s as bad as they get, and while I have my theories on that, I need to hear what she said. You know, thinking back, it’s just like when she made that deal with him and admitted to lying. I knew for sure it was a lie. I had seen the medical report with my own eyes. It’s like one minute. I think she’s brave. The next, she’s an idiot for making that deal with him. It’s hard to keep up with her.”
“She’s got my head spinning,” said Silas.
“I’ve got the confession right here,” said Zoe, who hit the play button on the computer.
Hannah listened to Claire go through the entire confession for Silas on the recording.
When it got to the part where Claire admitted to taking her baby from the seat and that, when she went over the bridge, she was holding her in her lap, Hannah shook her head.
“That’s crazy,” she said. “But it explains why the reenactment didn’t work.”
“Yeah,” he said. “But that’s what is eating at me. That’s something I told her about. I think she’s just using what I told her and making it make sense because I told her it wasn’t going to fly any other way. But why change her plea?”
Silas kept a careful watch on Hannah’s expressions the whole time. Claire continued to explain and could tell that she was having as hard a time with it as he had.
When it was done, she shook her head again. “Someone got to her,” she said. “That has to be the reason she’d just change her story like this. Just like she did before. It doesn’t make any sense. She wanted it over with?”
Zoe mumbled, “Oh, it’s over, honey.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Silas. “I even asked her if someone got to her, but she said no. She said she just wanted it over with. That’s when something she said struck me.”
“What’s that?” Hannah asked, giving him a look of concern.
“She said she didn’t want to go through the trial and have everyone digging into her personal life. I had told her that would happen at our previous meeting. And how things tend to come out in the trial. I told her that both sides would have the opportunity to dig into her life and find facts. I wanted to try and make her think I’d find out if she was hiding something, thinking she would go ahead and tell me. Instead, I think I pushed her into this confession. She wanted to avoid that at all costs.”
“Even at the cost of her freedom?” asked Zoe. “That’s crazy. She’s not mental, is she?”
“Maybe she was afraid of what we would find?” said Hannah. “If what she’s told me is any proof, whatever it could be might be highly embarrassing and detrimental. Maybe she was afraid it would come out and that it would put her family in danger. She may have felt pushed into a corner.”
“Well, it’s definitely something. But it doesn’t matter now. She’s changing her plea regardless.” Silas still felt responsible. “I asked her if she was absolutely sure and tried to explain what it would mean for her. She didn’t care. All she cared about was getting it over with without a trial. She claims she can’t put her mother through that, but I think it’s something else. I think it may have just killed her hope. If she thinks she’s going to lose anyway, letting the truth out isn’t going to be worth it. I didn’t even think about that.”
“I don’t think I’d care what people found out about me if it meant keeping me out of prison,” said Zoe.
Silas shrugged. “It’s hard to tell where her head is. All I know is I have to figure out what to do. If I don’t, she’s getting life without parole. She’ll die behind bars. No doubt about it.”
“This is insane,” said Hannah. “Isn’t there anything you can do at this point?”
“I think so,” he said. “It’s a long shot, but I think I might be able to help. They weren’t willing to deal before, and with Hannah not budging, I was against a wall, but if I can bargain with the DA, maybe he’ll take her confessing to a lesser charge just to be finished with it. I could probably get her a second degree with a twenty-year sentence. It’s not the best outcome, but I think it would be tempting for DA Spencer. I can’t see him having a good reason to turn it down.”
“This was going to be a high-profile trial,” said Hannah. “Spencer is probably going to want to stick with his charges just for the clout.”
“It’s possible. But the jokes on him if that’s what he wants. She’s confessing, so his trial dreams are done anyway. Besides, he has to know that charge is going to be tough to win to begin with. I know he’s confident in the evidence and how her story isn’t going to work out, but I also have to think he knows the charges are going to be a harder burden to prove. You get one juror with reasonable doubt, and he loses. I don’t think he wants that, either. I think he’ll want to guarantee that she gets time. And it’s not like I am going to tell him that she’s changing her plea without a deal.”
“I hope he has a rare moment and does the right thing.” Hannah didn’t seem too convinced that he would.
“I’ll have to make it sound like the right move. She’ll plead guilty to the lesser charge and serve a long sentence. It’s still going to end her life for the most part. She’ll never have other children. She’ll serve her time, and her life, her youth, and her career will be over. It might just make a difference to him.”
“I don’t know,” said Hannah, shaking her head. “I don’t have a lot of faith when it comes to Jay Spencer.”
“Well, I have to do something. I feel like I’ve let her down. And let’s face it. She’s pleading guilty either way. So, I can do one last thing to help her, or just let her curl up and be kicked into the system without a fighting chance.”
“What does Bell say?” asked Zoe.
“I haven’t mentioned it to Bell yet. I want to get my head around this before I go in to talk to him about it. So, this stays here between us until I say otherwise.”
“Got it,” said Zoe as she and Hannah both nodded in agreement.
“You’ve certainly got your work cut out for you.” Hannah gave him a regretful look.
But he wasn’t letting her go just yet. “You’re not getting off that easy. We all have a lot of work to do. I know the trial is a bust, but I still need you until the case is finished.” He wasn’t ready to stop working with her.
“I’m here. I’ll help any way I can.” Hannah gave him a look of reassurance.
“Good. And I need you too, Zoe. I want to keep digging. Just as we were. That can’t stop.”
Zoe looked confused. “You mean to carry on as if we’re going to trial?”
“I mean to go ahead with the research on Lonnie Smith and anyone else connected with Claire. I still think that there’s a connection there. If we find out what it is, we might just uncover whatever it is she’s so afraid of.”
“You think she’s scared?” asked Zoe.
“Scared enough to go to prison for the rest of her life over something she didn’t do? Yeah.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Zoe. “Besides, I’m having too much fun with Henry and those old movies to stop now. Even Miley is invested in them.”
“They remind her of her aunt,” said Hannah. “She meant a lot to her.”
Silas knew that Hannah and Miley had that in common. But he needed her head to be focused on Claire. “We have to look at every aspect of her life. We don’t have as much time as we did before, but the courts are running slow right now, so it could still take a couple of months before we get our hearing. And I still have to convince the DA to bargain with me.”
“Anything you need,” said Hannah. “I’m up for it.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
March 15, 2023
Read Chapter One of Model Behavior
As Hannah drove to Silas’s place, she texted him to warn him that she was on her way. She had tried in vain to reach him the night before, but for whatever reason, he never answered his phone. She was dying to tell him all about the most recent rape allegations against Owen Bishop that occurred at the public vigil.
Hannah couldn’t believe that had happened. And she still could hear the crowd’s reaction as the girl’s voice broke through the silence with the accusations. Hannah had only gotten a glance at the girl, but she looked distraught and anguished by the situation, and if she had to make a decision based on that first impression of her, she believed that something had gone down between the two. There was simply too much passion for it to be a lie.
When the accusation was made, the shock was apparent on Owen’s face, but so was the guilt. The look of evil that was always there under the surface had risen, and it had given him away.
And to make things worse, his new girlfriend’s composure faltered too. She seemed—by her own look of horror, that was sudden and unforgiving—that she too felt there was some truth to what the woman was saying.
But why would she feel that way? Didn’t she trust him? What did she know about Owen that no one else did? What could have made her suspicious? Had she seen the woman around before? Hannah wished she had five minutes to pick the woman’s brain. She’d get those answers and much more. Firstly, what was she doing with a man like Owen Bishop in the first place?
She checked the time on the dashboard and realized that the family memorial, which was set for ten thirty that morning, was just minutes from starting. Hannah was sure that the mood had been dampened by the new allegations, even though Owen had tried his best to play them off. And she couldn’t help but wonder what Win Bishop thought of his son’s night at the vigil, especially since he and his wife were absent from the event.
As she parked to go up to Silas’s place, she hoped that everything was okay with him. She still wasn’t sure why he was ignoring her texts and hoped that he hadn’t had his own emergency.
She went up to his floor and hit the buzzer a few times before he answered. It wasn’t until she waited that she hoped he didn’t have company. And suddenly, her heart began to race.
Maybe that was the reason he had avoided her? She suddenly felt a bit silly being there unannounced and thought that maybe she was overstepping a bit. But just when she decided to leave and check on him later, she heard his groggy voice call out to her.
“Who is it?”
She stepped back to the door. “It’s me, Hannah. Is it a bad time?”
He opened the door wearing nothing but a robe. His hair was damp, and he smelled like aftershave. “Come on in. I was just freshening up.’”
“I’m sorry to barge in on you. There was no one at the desk, so I came on up. I guess I caught you at a bad time.”
Silas shook his head and waved her in. “No, it’s okay. There’s never anyone there on Saturday morning.” He walked away to his room. “Make yourself at home. I’ll just be a minute.”
Hannah walked around to the sofa and sat down, where she noticed Aria Patterson’s book lying on the cushion next to her. She picked it up to see that one page had been dog-eared. Silas had only gotten a few chapters in, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was enjoying the read.
She moved it to the coffee table and noticed that his phone was also there next to an empty wine glass that still had a small amount pooled at the bottom.
If that was any indication of the previous evening, he’d spent it alone. That helped her not feel so awkward about showing up unannounced.
A couple of minutes later, Silas came out wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt that showed off his chest and arms. She much preferred to see him this way, not that his daily suits and ties weren’t attractive. But there was something about him like this that made him seem more laid back and down to earth.
“So, how did the vigil go?” he asked, walking to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.
“You really don’t know?” she asked, giving him a wide-eyed look.
“Know what?” He glanced over at her from the counter.
“Have you seriously been under a rock all night? I’ve texted you a hundred times. Did you not see any of them?”
“No. Sorry.” He finished up in the kitchen and walked over to join her. “I crashed early on the couch. At some point, I made it to my bed, and I don’t even remember that. I just dragged my ass out of bed and went to the shower before you showed up.” He looked around and found his phone on the coffee table. “Shit, I bet it needs to be charged.”
“Well, I’ll spare you reading the texts. I’ve been dying to talk to you all night. I would have come over after the event, but it took us forever to get out of there and back home.” The crowd hung around the park for a long time after Owen left, and with so much going on and a lot of confusion from the public, it made things a bit more chaotic leaving.
“Did something bad happen?” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me Bishop saw you.”
Hannah chuckled halfheartedly. “Oh, he saw me alright. And so did Traeger, but that’s not it. There was a woman in the crowd who spoke out against Owen. She started yelling at him and saying he raped her.”
Silas’s mouth fell open in shock. “What? Are you serious? This happened during the vigil?”
“Yeah. Of course, Traeger swooped in and took the poor girl out of there. I’m sure she was arrested for public disturbance, and if I have to guess, knowing Traeger, she’s still being held until after the family memorial this morning. He won’t want her around to make a scene again.”
Silas slumped back against the cushions. “This is a lot to take in. I swear, I have one lazy night, and all hell breaks loose.”
She hadn’t even told him half of it. “Yeah, well, it was crazy, alright. I saw Lonnie Smith there too. He was with his group of bikers there to pay tribute to Baby Ollie.”
“I guess it’s good to see there’s a human being in there after all. Did he see you?”
Hannah remembered Lonnie’s Hollywood smile fading as he met her eyes. “Oh yes. We even had a brief conversation. But the best part of seeing him was seeing his reaction to Owen Bishop arriving on the scene. The public had no idea he was going to be there. I only found out through a leak with my friend, so when they announced him, Mr. Smith’s expression was priceless, to say the least.”
“He didn’t like him?”
“Not at all. I don’t think there’s any love or friendship between them. In fact, it seemed as if Lonnie had a reason to hate him.”
Silas shrugged. “He’s a prick. Maybe Smith is pissed he’s not getting that attention anymore.”
Hannah didn’t take Lonnie Smith as the jealous type. “I think it’s more than that. I just don’t know what. But now, with this accusation, I’m even more curious.” She let out a sigh. “It’s like a Christmas gift.”
“What did Owen say about her accusations? What did he do?”
“He was shocked at first. And then he tried to play it off, saying she must be channeling Claire Ford. He laughed it off, but you could see his face. He was shaken up by it. And Karissa Shelby, the hot new girlfriend. Wow. You could have knocked her over with a feather.”
“I bet.” He got up to put his phone on the charger and check the coffee.
“Yeah, but there was something else.” Hannah could still remember the look in the man’s eyes.
“What?” he asked when he reached the counter. “Don’t tell me there’s more.”
“He looked right at me, and there was so much contempt in his eyes that I’m certain he thinks I had something to do with it.”
Silas sighed. “Great. So now he’s going to go after you?”
“What else is new?” she said with a shrug.
“And here I tell you to stay out of trouble.” He shook his head as he poured two cups of coffee. “Well, it shouldn’t really make a difference in the case. They are separate matters entirely. So, we can’t let it sidetrack us. His drama is his drama. We have enough of our own to deal with.”
“I don’t know. I think it makes a hell of a difference.” She got to her feet and went over to join him.
“How so?” He handed her a cup and pushed the sugar and creamer toward her.
“Well, it could speak to her frame of mind. If we paint her as a victim who was used, abused, and controlled by the monster Owen Bishop, it might gain her a little sympathy. We could suggest that she feared having her daughter around a man like him and that he had her all shaken up since she had just seen him.” She poured a little sugar into her cup and took a sip of the rich drink.
Silas was still unconvinced. “We don’t even know if this accusation is going to go anywhere. It might not stick, and in a few days, no one will care. Some could think that it’s just another attack on his reputation or that the woman is just some Claire Ford fan who is trying to stir the pot.”
“I agree. It’s possible. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any truth to it. That’s why I want to figure out who the girl is and why she made the allegations in the first place. I need the facts. And I know where I can get them. I just don’t want to talk to him.”
“Wait, you mean you’re going to talk to Traeger? Is that the only way you can get to her?”
“Not the only way. But it’s where I will start. He’ll have her statement. And not only that, but I want to know what he’s going to do with it. I think an allegation like that has to be looked into. He can’t just ignore it and hope that it goes away. He owes it to the girl to investigate it. And I want him to know there’s someone who cares about the truth.”
Silas turned and leaned against the counter. “He’ll probably just dismiss her with a warning.” He stepped away and carried his coffee back to the couch.
Hannah followed. “You should have seen her. She wasn’t some passionate fan girl looking for attention and fueled by anger. She was an emotional wreck.”
“She was probably on something,” said Silas.
“No. You could tell that wasn’t the case. Something happened to her. That’s the part that was the most shocking to me. She was a wreck and just what you’d expect to see from someone who had been abused.”
Silas sighed. “I should have gone. I would have loved to see that play out.”
“No, you did the right thing by not being there. You wouldn’t have been any good to anyone if you had gone. And it would have made things look even worse, especially when Owen started calling out Claire Ford’s name.”
“So much for lying low,” he said.
“I can’t help it,” she said with a wink. “I guess I stand out in a crowd.”
February 22, 2023
Read Chapter One of Family Pretense…
When Silas arrived at Hannah’s house, there were two police cars and a group of onlookers standing just outside her gate. Silas parked as close as he could get and wasted no time getting out of his car and jogging toward the crowd. He kept his head down as he went through the crowd toward the house, hoping that none of the reporters would question him about why he was there.
He managed to get past most of the onlookers without incident, but when he got to the gate, there was one man standing with a camera blocking his way in and arguing with the cop.
“Just tell us something,” said the reporter, whose tone made his frustrations clear. “We already know who lives here. Why all the mystery?”
“I said to stay behind the gate,” said the officer. He didn’t seem to be interested in feeding the man’s curiosities and only wanted to do his job.
“Are there any injuries?” asked the man, trying to push his luck. “Would you tell us that much?”
Silas didn’t like the sound of that. He still didn’t know if Hannah was okay either, and eagerly wanted to hear the answer himself as he waved his hand to be seen.
Thankfully, Silas got the cop’s attention. “I’m expected,” he said. “One of the officer’s called me.” He hoped he didn’t have to say more, and thankfully, instead of blowing him off, the officer called out to the other cop nearby.
This didn’t help the other man’s attitude, who sighed and gave up. But unfortunately, he found a sudden interest in Silas. “Are you a friend of Hannah Faran’s?” he asked. “Do you know if she is injured?”
“No,” said Silas, not wanting to talk to the man, but he was so desperate to know if Hannah was okay or not. “Did they say someone was injured? Did they take someone out?”
“The ambulance went in, so we think someone got hurt. They won’t tell us anything.”
That only fed his panic. And every second that he had to wait, he grew more anxious that something terrible had happened to Hannah. Even though he had just met her, he was looking forward to having her around for a while.
Thankfully, the officer got the okay to let Silas in and made the crowd clear the way for him to enter the gate without issue.
When he went in and rounded the corner past the gates, he saw the ambulance with its doors opened wide, and Henry was sitting near the door with one of the paramedics. The first thing Silas noticed was blood. Henry had a small cut under his eye that he was applying pressure to and a nasty bump on his forehead that was partially covered by his hairline.
“Henry!” Silas yelled as he approached. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” he said, looking like he was in a daze. His hair and clothes were disheveled as if he had been in a struggle, and there was blood on them both as well. “They want to take me to the hospital and check me out.”
“You should do that,” he said. “Where’s Hannah?” He was afraid that if she wasn’t in the ambulance, she might be worse off.
“She’s in the house,” he said.
The paramedic turned to Silas. “We’ve got to get him to lay down,” he said. “You can go inside and see her.”
Silas hurried to check on her, noticing the patio door that led out to the pool and Henry’s guest house was busted. And while that made his gut sink even more, he was relieved when he went inside and heard her voice coming from the studio.
“I could hear him destroying the place. But yes, I think it was just one man.” She saw Silas and gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Sorry about the mess,” she said halfheartedly.
“Are you the boyfriend?” the officer asked Silas.
“No,” they both said in unison.
“I’m a concerned friend,” he said, wondering why it mattered.
Silas felt horrible for her. Not only was it a scary situation, but it would take some time to clean it up and replace everything that was broken. She depended on her studio to make a living, and it had to be gut-wrenching to see it in that state.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said. “You are okay, aren’t you?” He didn’t want to just assume. Seeing her studio, which looked like a tornado had come through it, made him realize how much worse it might have been.
“I’m fine,” she said, tearing up. “I just feel horrible about Henry.” She wiped her eyes and turned her attention back to the officer. “As I said, the alarms were quickly shut off, and I went directly to the panic room.” She sniffled, still concerned for her friend.
“Do you have any cameras or monitors to see from inside the room?”
“No. I don’t. I just have the outside cameras. But I could hear him. I know he came upstairs, and I could tell where he was walking through the wall. He wasn’t up there too long and hurried right back down. He went to the studio, and that’s when I heard him breaking more things.”
“Sounds like someone didn’t like your show,” said the officer. “Do you have any disgruntled fans that stick out to you?”
Silas didn’t care for the cop’s timing to attempt humor but figured it was just another day at the office for him.
Hannah hesitated and shrugged. “None that I know of. But I’m not sure this is about my show.” She shook her head as if there was no way. But Silas thought it made a lot of sense.
The cop, whose badge had the name Stevens, tilted his head. “Well, it seems to be.” He looked around at the mess. “We’ll take the outside footage, make a report, and we’ll be in touch. You can go and check on your friend.”
“Right,” she said, looking less than confident in the officer.
When he walked away, she let out a heavy sigh. “Did you see Henry?” she asked. “Have they taken him?”
“I don’t think so,” he said.
She quickly walked back through the house and out the busted patio door. Then she beelined to the ambulance where they had finally gotten him to lie down and were loading him into the back.
“Henry,” she said. “Can you hear me? I’m right behind you. I’ll come as soon as the house is secured.”
“Don’t get in a hurry,” he said. “I’m fine.”
He didn’t look fine. He looked like someone had roughed him up pretty badly. But Silas still didn’t have the whole story. He waited for her to watch the ambulance leave. “I’ll take you to the hospital,” he said. “You shouldn’t drive yourself.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I can’t leave until I know the house is secured.”
“You have time. They won’t take him back right away. Is there anything you want me to do?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Thanks for coming. I just didn’t know who else to call.”
“No problem. You can call me anytime.”
One of the officers came over to her with a thick roll of plastic. “We’re going to put this over the door. But you may want to lock the gate when we leave.”
“Thanks,” she said, and let go of a deep breath as the officer walked away to cover the doorway. Her posture slouched, and she seemed to deflate all of a sudden. “I still can’t believe this happened. Poor Henry. He was just saying he hoped me helping with this case wouldn’t ruin everything, and now this.”
“You don’t think that’s why this happened, do you?” Silas was unconvinced and thought the officers’ ill-timed humor made more sense. “I mean, you have a lot of people who listen in to your show. If one person disagrees with something you say against law enforcement or someone related to a victim or their case, isn’t it possible that they did this to keep you from saying it again?”
Hannah shook her head. “I know what it looks like,” she said. “But I think that’s the point. They want this to look like an attack on my show, but it’s really an attack on me. And I know who it is.”
“You do?” He wasn’t so sure about that.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s Win Bishop. I’m pretty sure he knows I’m working on this with you by now, and he’s not happy about it. Can you think of a better way to get at me and send a warning?”
He thought she was too upset to think rationally. It didn’t seem to him that this was something a man like Win Bishop would stoop to, but he didn’t want to argue with her. “Let’s just get things locked up, and I’ll drive you out to the hospital to see Henry.”
“I hope he’s going to be okay. It’s all my fault. He was trying to check on me when he said he came face to face with the man who was already on his way out. He punched Henry several times, and Henry tried to fight back, but he went down and hit his head on the tile. He’s lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“Ouch,” said Silas. “But he seemed okay. I’m sure he’s fine. You two are both lucky it wasn’t worse. If he had come here intending to harm either of you, he could have killed you both.”
“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “And that’s what makes me sick. I don’t know what I would have done if Henry had been shot or stabbed. The cops found him when they got here, but the man was long gone.”
“He didn’t take anything?” he asked, looking across the patio at the cops who were finishing up with the door. Most of the others had already gone, as well as most of the onlookers.
“No,” she said. “They didn’t take anything because that wasn’t what this was about. It was about putting me in my place and showing me that he could and would do everything to destroy me.”
Silas let that sink in as he finished watching the officers do a shoddy job at securing her home.
Finally, Officer Stevens walked back over. “We’re all done. Again, lock your gate when you leave. And you may want to have someone stay with you tonight. Or you could go stay with someone else. I’ll have an officer patrol the neighborhood tonight as well.”
“Thanks,” she said.
She and Silas walked to the car, avoiding the questions that were coming at them from the onlookers who were left around the house. Stevens and his fellow officers headed out behind them.
“Who do you think did this?” one of the gawkers asked.
But Hannah wasn’t going to call anyone out for it. Instead, she remained tight-lipped on the way to the car.
She got in and put her seatbelt on, looking straight ahead. Silas walked around the car and got in behind the wheel.
“Maybe I should have told them who I think did this,” she said, raking her hand through her hair. “If I thought any good would come of it, I would have.”
“You did the right thing. You can’t blame him without proof. Besides, I’m not sure I agree. I just think you need to give it some time.” He thought if she gave it time, she would start to see her theory was absurd. Whoever had done this had targeted her show directly, trashing the studio like they had.
“I’ve got so much to do,” she said. “I have folks coming on live this week, and I have to make sure the files weren’t lost. I can’t even be sure that the work I’ve done this week is salvageable.”
“Maybe you should take some time off to regroup your thoughts. Give yourself time to get things back up and running and for you to deal with what happened.” Sometimes you couldn’t control what happened, and if she had a loyal following, they would understand that.
“No,” she said with a very determined tone. “I’m not doing that. That’s what this asshole wanted, to put me out of business. Besides, my show means a lot to some people, and I don’t want to let my supporters down. And it’s not like I’m not about to just roll over and let Bishop win.”
“Again, I’m not so convinced he has anything to do with this. Does this really sound like his style? He’s not going to risk making a move like this.”
“You’d think. But that’s because you don’t know what I know.”
Silas didn’t deny that. She claimed to have a hell of a lot on the Bishops. But so far, all he knew was her own personal issues with the family and a couple of other complaints that might be true or not. “Look, I want to trust what you say, Hannah.”
“But you don’t believe me.” She shook her head as if she expected as much.
“Hey, hear me out. I want to believe you.” He liked Hannah and trusted that she really believed she was right, and with that, he figured she must have a reason. He just needed to hear it. “Maybe it’s time you enlighten me.”
February 1, 2023
READ CHAPTER ONE OF DARK SECRETS
As Ted Brown reeled in another catch, he didn’t think the day could get much better. Not only was the weather perfect, but the fish were finally biting.
He had spent several weekends in his aluminum boat only to drag it in without a bounty on board. But today, when he went home to his wife, he could prove his time wasn’t wasted.
Times had been tough for them lately, and with him working extra on the weekends, Sundays were his only days to do what he liked. And if fishing brought a meal to the table, even better. It cut the guilt in half, and he did his best to ignore the rest.
Ted tossed the fish in his cooler and prepared to cast another line as another car came up the road. Even though the road was close, things had been fairly quiet and peaceful. So, when he heard tires squeal and what could only be described as metal scraping metal, he looked up at the bridge in the distance.
Instead of seeing someone clipping the short guard rail or sign post, he saw a car in mid-air just before it crashed into the water.
Ted’s heart began to pound as he reeled in his line. He dropped the pole into the boat and started up his trolling motor.
There was a driver in need of help, but he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to help them. What if they were already dead? Had he just watched someone die?
When he approached the area, he knew he couldn’t get too close and have his boat cause more trouble, so he tied it off to a tree and climbed out to wade up onto the bank. He was shaking like a leaf and still in disbelief at what he had witnessed.
How could something like that happen? He tried to work out the logistics in his brain, but it still didn’t add up. And as he approached the clearing closer to the bridge where he had parked his car and put his boat in, he spotted another motorist coming his way.
A man on a motorcycle had stopped, and he was just getting off of it as he pulled off his helmet. When he saw Todd, his eyes widened. “Did you see that?” he asked.
“Yes, I did. I was in my boat.” The car had flown at least twenty feet from a fifteen-foot bridge. “Do you think they are still alive in the car?”
“I think we have to find out,” said the man, who was already dialing his phone to call for help.
Ted wasn’t sure what he should do. What if he went into the water and didn’t make it out? But he couldn’t just sit by and let someone die. He took his phone from his pocket and put his wallet with it before going into the water.
“It’s right about here,” he said, noticing the top of the car was still visible under the surface.
The river wasn’t rough, but its undercurrents were swift, and with the car already submerged, he knew there was no time to waste. The car would be taking on the water already.
He said a quick prayer and went in, diving down to see if he could see anything.
The murky waters were not helpful, and the grit that had been disturbed by the sinking car was stinging his eyes.
He came up for air. “I can’t see anything,” he said, feeling the drop-off with his foot.
He went down again, this time swimming near the car, hoping to get inside. But that was when he felt something. It was either a big fish or a person. Either way, he came up to get out of the way.
That was when a blonde head came up from the water and gasped for air. Her hair was long and plastered to her face, so he couldn’t get a good look at her. But it was clear it was a female and a rather small one.
“Ma’am,” he said, swimming toward her.
She turned around and saw him, her eyes widening as she swam for the edge of the water.
She was out of breath when she finally got her footing, and even though Ted was still freaking out, he had to keep it together. “Is there anyone else in the car?” he shouted, treading water until he could feel the bank under his feet.
The woman got to the bank, her whole body animated as she tried to catch her breath. “My baby,” she said.
Ted, who was a father himself, felt a cold chill come over him. There was a baby in the car.
The biker, who had finally gotten his feet wet, came to get her. “Did you say your baby?”
“Yes,” she screamed. “My baby!” She looked to the water, her face a mask of horror, and pointed to the car. “My baby!”
Ted didn’t hesitate. He wasn’t about to let a baby die on his watch. He went back under and felt his way around the structure of the car. It was hard to see, but he could make out a door and an open window.
The car was shifting with the current, and while he didn’t want to leave anyone behind, especially a baby, it shifted as he was trying to go inside.
With it moving under him, he felt trapped. And he quickly found his way back to the surface.
He had to try once again, but he was losing his strength. He could hear the crying pleas of the woman as she screamed for her child, and finally, he could feel someone else in the water with him. He came up to see the biker had stripped off his leathers and jumped in.
“I got it,” he said before taking a deep breath and going under.
Ted was losing his strength fast and felt if he didn’t get out of the water soon, he was going to make matters worse.
As he swam to the shore, he watched the woman staring into the water. She had pushed her hair back, and now a fresh line of blood trickled from her forehead, smearing down over her eyes like something out of a horror movie.
She seemed to be in shock, and when he got out of the water and dripped his way over to check on her, she fell into his arms. “My baby,” she said again as if they were the only words she knew.
The other man came up for air and called out to Ted. “I don’t see anything. I think I found the car seat, but the baby isn’t in it.”
“Are you sure you had your baby with you?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I tried to take it out of the seat when the car was sinking, but the current—” Her voice broke, giving way to tears that trailed down her cheeks, causing strange streaks in the blood. “It took her from me. It ripped her from my arms. I had to come up for air. I had to.”
Ted could feel the mother’s pain as he relayed the message to the biker. “She says the current took her baby from her arms.” Even as he was saying it, it didn’t seem real.
The other man came out of the water. He was down to his underwear, but that probably had given him better movement than going in with the heavy leather clothing he had on. “I’ll try to go again,” he said.
The woman put her hands up and tried to wipe her face as if the wetness were sweat. She managed to clear away a little bit of the blood and tears, and that was when Ted realized something.
This wasn’t just any woman.
“You’re Claire Ford,” he said as the sirens grew louder while approaching. His wife had been watching the woman’s latest scandals for months. And she would surely flip out when she heard about this.
“Yes,” she said. “And I want my baby.” She wrapped her arms around herself, showing him how helpless she was.
The first police car pulled into the clearing about that time, taking his attention from the helpless woman. And though he would be expected to make a statement and stick around at the scene, at least there was someone else there to help out with the situation, which he had a feeling was only going to get worse.
That was the way things always went with Claire Ford.
January 11, 2023
READ CHAPTER ONE OF FRACTURED FOREVER…
Rowan could not believe her eyes. After so many years and so much sorrow, she had finally found her best friend. Or at least what was left of her.
Jessica sat on a tattered cot and stared at the floor, looking timid. She wore a dingy pair of scrubs, and her feet her bare.
From what Rowan could see, she had a ratty blanket, a toilet, and a small sink in the corner with a dripping faucet. There was another rough-looking cot across the room as well, and the floor was filthy damp concrete.
“Don’t you know who I am?” asked Rowan. She looked around at the dimly lit cell waiting for an answer.
“My name is Violet,” she said in a soft voice. “I don’t know any Jessica.” She shook her head as if to back up the point, but Rowan knew she wasn’t mistaken. Just as she recognized Ava, the resemblance to Jessica’s former self was still as plain as ever.
“I don’t care what you call yourself now or who they say you are. I know you, Jessica. Look at me. I’m Rowan. Don’t you remember me?” Rowan was sure if she just looked at her, she would start to remember. They had been closer than sisters for over half their lives.
Jessica glanced up at her and drew in an audible breath. But she quickly turned away. “You’ve been sent to trick me.”
Rowan wasn’t going to let her look away. She walked over and placed her hand on Jessica’s arm, which was so thin she could feel the bones in her wrist sticking out. “No, I haven’t been sent to trick you. Some men from here smashed into my car. They ran me off the road. They brought me here because they know we’re onto them. They know that we found this place. Jess, it’s me! I’m here. I’m real.”
Jessica shook her head and pulled away. “I’m Violet.”
Rowan closed her eyes and let go of an exhausted sigh. They had not only taken her and kept her, but they had stripped her of her identity, killing any former self she had to hold on to.
It was the saddest thing she had ever heard of. And one of the cruelest, though she knew it would only get worse. “Okay, fine. Violet or whatever you want to be called. It doesn’t matter. Tyler and Logan will realize I’m missing. They will come for me knowing I’m here. They will find us. Trust me on this.”
“No. No. There’s no way.” She turned, her eyes burning a hole through Rowan as she remained adamant. “That’s not possible.”
“Yes, it is. We had already found this place before they took me. We have proof that something’s not right here. That’s why the men from here were pissed enough to come after me. Trust me, Jess. They will get us out of here.”
Rowan understood her being confused. She had been there locked away for God only knew how long. She had probably given up the hope of ever being rescued years ago.
Rowan took her hand. “It’s me. Look at me, Jess. We never gave up on you.”
Jessica turned her face up to look Rowan in the eyes.
“See? It’s me, Jess. No tricks, I promise. I’m in just as much trouble as you are. So we have to stick together. Like always.”
“Rowan?” Her eyes searched Rowan’s face and recognition lit her eyes. “It’s really you?” She was so uncertain, even still. As if her eyes deceived her. But Rowan knew that she had probably never expected to see her again.
“Yes. It’s really me. Ask me anything. Or I can tell you something only we know.” There were a million secrets only they shared. So many memories, too, so many even Jessica’s keepsake box couldn’t hold them.
“Like what?” she asked, looking at Rowan to continue.
Rowan thought of the most memorable thing they had discovered when they were younger. “Well, how about this one? We laughed about it all the time. The fact that Ms. Opal keeps a flask of booze in the top drawer of her bedside table. We found it one day while snooping around. Whatever she had in there, it was so strong neither of us wanted to try it.”
“I remember that,” Jessica said, her eyes lighting a little brighter.
“And she keeps an old pack of her father’s pipe tobacco under her mattress. She takes it out and smells it because it reminds her of him. She said he only smoked it on special occasions.”
“Christmas morning,” said Jessica as a slight smile spread her thin lips. The moment of joy the memory brought was fast fleeting, and the worry returned, this time stronger than it had been before. “Oh no, Rowan. I didn’t want to believe it was true. But they got you too.”
Rowan realized the denial was more about not wanting to accept that she had been brought there. “It’s going to be okay. We have to be strong. But we have each other now.”
“I don’t even know what being strong is like anymore. I can’t tell you how many years I’ve been here. But I know it’s at least a few.” She drew her arms in closer. “The men, the leaders, they will never let us leave. They will never let anyone find us. They own us.”
“I meant what I said. Logan and Tyler know where we are. As soon as they realize I’m missing, they’ll know what happened. They are probably already looking for us. They will come here. They will get the authorities to force their way in.”
“Alden will kill them if they try,” she said, shaking her head as if it were no use. “Alden will just say you choose to be here. He always gets his way. He’s got the police in his pocket. Important people.”
While most of that must be true, Rowan realized she didn’t know the whole story. “They are coming for Ava and for us.”
Jessica’s suspicious look returned. “You know my Ava?”
She held her hand over her heart as if there were a gaping wound there. Rowan couldn’t imagine how hard it had been for her to be away from her child.
“Yes. Gosh, Jess. So much has happened. It’s how we found this place to begin with. I was working at the diner one day when all of a sudden I looked up and there’s the spitting image of you at seven years old standing outside.”
“She was there?” She shook her head. “How? Alden would never let her out of his sight. She is one of his own. He claimed her as his gifted.”
Rowan didn’t even want to know what that meant and figured it wasn’t good. “He didn’t have a choice in it. I think someone named Lilac, who must be Xavier’s mother, helped them to escape. Xavier was found in a shed at the Broussard’s farm. He had been there for days. By then, Ava was already at Ms. Opal’s, naturally. So, he was sent there too.”
“Lilac,” she said, giving another grateful smile. “She was my friend for a while. She knew Tolivar’s Nursery. She met one of the Seekers there and came here. But they tricked her. They trick everyone. It’s all an illusion, this place.” Jessica shook her head and pulled her lips in tightly as if she wanted to be careful about what she said.
“You don’t have to be afraid to tell me things. I’m not going to judge you.”
“Knowledge is dangerous here,” she said, shaking her head.
“She sent them with a man named Wayne Greene. Did you know him?”
She shook her head. “Men come and go. Especially the young ones. They use them up and turn them out to the fields. Some hope to enter the inner ranks, but that doesn’t ever go as they want. He kills them. I tried to tell Lilac, but she didn’t believe me.”
Rowan understood the lengths they would go to. “Well, whatever he had planned, it didn’t go well for him. But eventually, both children ended up with Ms. Opal. I knew Ava was yours the minute I saw her. She was like a little beacon of hope, that one. I convinced Tyler to help. And Logan too. We got a DNA match on Ava, but she wasn’t talking. Xavier either. We finally made a connection to Eden Society Herbals and the mark on the children’s arms.”
Jessica held out her hand, wrist up. In the dimly lit room, there was no way to see the details of the mark, but Rowan knew it was there. “Everyone with the mark is his property.”
“Alden Adams’s?”
Jessica nodded. “We’re labeled like fruit. Products for him to sell whenever he wants. You said they would come for Ava. And you tell me she is out in the world? How can both be true?”
“Well, she was. But not anymore. Some men finally came to get them. They attacked us and shot Tyler, who is thankfully still with us, but they managed to take Ava and bring her back here.”
The light faded a little more from her eyes. “No one ever gets away from this place.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry about Tyler. What Lilac did was careless. She should have known it wouldn’t work.”
“We will get out of here. You have to have some faith. And have some faith in me. I’m not stopping until we’re both free. Now, we have to put our heads together, Jess. We have to come up with a plan.”
Jessica put her hands to her head and pushed back her tangled hair. “A plan? The guards are all armed. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most people he puts here with me, Rowan, don’t last too long. I’ve seen so many come and go. That’s why I didn’t make eye contact with you at first. It’s hard to look upon their faces, knowing their fate. And he puts them in with me just to make me suffer.”
“What does he do to them?” she asked. Rowan wanted to know what to expect.
“You don’t want to know,” she said.
Maybe she was right. “It doesn’t matter. The guys won’t wait. They will be all over this. Trust me.” She didn’t think it was the time to tell Jessica that she was seeing Logan. That was a conversation for a different time.
Jessica gave her a sideward look. “I don’t doubt that you believe that. But no one came for me. Not in so many years.”
“It’s different now. They were all wrong when you went missing. They locked Logan up, and well, we all just sort of fell apart. By the time they cleared him, the police had closed the case, and you were presumed dead. They thought you fell in the creek and drowned.”
“I wish I would have,” she said.
Rowan couldn’t imagine the hell she had been through if a thought like that came so freely to her mind. She knew of her own struggles, which were minuscule compared to what Jessica had endured.
“You’ll see that I’m right,” she said. “You’ll see.”
“I hope so,” said Jessica. “I’ve never wanted to be wrong about something so much in my life.”
“You have to have something, some ounce of hope that you hold on to. A dream. Anything.”
“I do. I dream about it daily. I’m holding my daughter’s hand, and I walk out of this place. But every single time I look back, this place is burning to the ground behind me. I don’t want that either, Rowan. There are so many people here who deserve better. And seeing those flames? It makes me feel like I’m no better than him. In a perfect world, we’d all walk out together.”
“You will,” said Rowan. “You will.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Because not everyone wants to leave.”
Rowan let that sink in as Jessica turned away to lie on her cot.
December 20, 2022
READ CHAPTER ONE OF WITHERED GARDEN…
After being holed up in his house all morning, Tyler drove out to the police station despite his doctor’s advice. While his shoulder was still healing, he needed something to boost his mental health more than anything.
Finding out that Rowan and Logan were an item had been a punch in the gut, and while he wouldn’t deny that it had hurt him, it had also made him realize what he’d been holding on to from the past was only holding him back.
As he walked into the office, Peyton looked up at him. “Officer Harper,” she said as her eyes grew wider. “I thought your father said you were still recovering.”
“Yeah, well, that’s no fun. I could only take so much of staring at the same walls. Is my father around?” He had noticed his car was out front, but that didn’t always mean he was there.
“He’s in his office, but he’s with someone.” She turned the page on the beauty magazine that was on her desk.
“Who is it?” he asked, wondering if it was someone about the case.
“He said he’s from the FBI,” said Peyton.
“Did you get a name?”
She gave him a sideward look. “I don’t remember. Landon or something like that.” She waved her hands dismissively.
“Have you heard anything about John Mooney? Has he caused any trouble?”
“No. He’s been on his best behavior, as far as I know. But I did hear that they are going to move him tomorrow. They are bringing in backup.”
Tyler didn’t think the man would give them any trouble. He had done his job for the men who hired him, and now he would probably serve his time without complaint. “Has anyone come in to see him?”
“Nope.” Peyton flipped another page. “It’s been pretty quiet here.”
About that time, his father’s door opened and his father stepped out with the FBI agent. He was dressed in a dark suit with shiny shoes that made him look like he hadn’t done hard work in ages.
“I appreciate you keeping in touch,” said his father as he looked over and spotted Tyler waiting.
His chest swelled proudly as he gestured for Tyler to join them. “This is my son, Officer Tyler Harper. Tyler, this is Agent Landon with the FBI. He’s going to be working on the kidnapping case.”
“It’s good to meet you, sir.” Tyler offered his hand. His first opinion of the guy was that he seemed very sure of himself by the way he stuck his chin out with his hand and looked down his nose.
Agent Landon grinned. “It’s good to meet you. I heard you took a bad hit. It’s good to see you’re getting around.”
“It’s good to be getting around,” he said. “I’m hoping that you’ll be able to figure out who did this.”
The man nodded. “Oh, certainly. But you don’t need to worry about that. I’m on the case. You worry about healing.”
Tyler looked at his father to see if he could get a read on his opinions as the man continued.
“So, how are you doing? Are you healing okay?” he asked.
Tyler thought the man was doing his best to look interested. He just didn’t feel he cared as much as he was pretending to. “I’m doing okay, considering. I’m mostly fighting boredom, but I’m keeping my mind sharp.”
“My son is a hard worker,” his father said, giving Tyler a pat on the back. “I’m sure he’s eager to get back to work.”
“I bet he is.” The man’s enthusiasm faded. “Speaking of getting back to work, I should really get going. I’ve got a meeting later, but I look forward to speaking to you soon, Captain. And you as well, Tyler.”
Tyler waited as the man left the building and turned to his father. “What was that all about? Did he come down to tell you he found something?”
“No. He more or less just wanted to come down and make an introduction. I’d call it more of a posture move to let me know that he’s got it under control.”
“I’d agree. But do you think he really does?”
“That remains to be seen, but sooner or later, it will come to light.” He turned around and headed back into his office.
Tyler followed him into the office and shut the door. “He seemed pretty confident. Did he tell you anything about where he’s starting? Does he have any leads of his own?”
“He just asked me some questions about the incident and if he could get a few copies of the reports we had on record. Mostly yours, Ms. Opal’s, and Ms. Jenkins’s. And the other eye witnesses.” His father walked around his desk, sat down in his leather chair, and kicked back. “But I can tell you right now, he’s not going to be too forthcoming, considering you’re a victim and I’m your father.”
Tyler expected as much. “Did you tell him about the discoveries I have made?” He had directly connected Wayne Greene to the kidnapping, as well as his attacker.
His father sighed. “You haven’t exactly made an official report of your findings, so no. I didn’t want to bring them up without a proper report. But you do realize that once you do create a report, I will have no choice but to do that.”
Relief came over Tyler. He hadn’t planned on sharing his discoveries with anyone else other than his father. The agent would have shut down any attempts by Tyler to investigate the event on his own. He didn’t have any plans to put any of it on the record, and now he wasn’t sure whether to tell his father why he was there.
He pulled out a paper from his back pocket and unfolded it. “I wanted to show you something and ask for help. But I won’t if you will feel like you’d have to tell him.”
“Just show it to me and let me make that determination. As far as I’m concerned, what you’re up to on your time off is your business. And I’ll only have to tell him if it becomes apparent that it’s necessary or when it is undeniable that we need his help.”
Tyler moved a few things aside and unfolded the papers on his father’s desk. He, Rowan, and Logan had pieced together printouts of the satellite photos.
His father curled his lip as he looked at the display. “What the hell am I looking at? A craft project?”
Tyler expected the insult. “It’s a map. We were searching for a place on the satellite images that could be the plant supply company we have already associated with the children and Wayne Greene. We scoured the internet, and while there are plenty of phone numbers to call and ask for assistance, there is not an address supplied to state where the business is located.”
“They have to do billing somehow. Wasn’t there an address for that?”
“We checked. But all collections are done by a separate party, so that was a dead end as well.”
“Have you any proof that this is that place? Was there anything visible on the street view? Just looking at it, I think it could be anything.”
“No. You can’t get that close from the outside, but I’m not sure why. My guess would be that it wasn’t able to be mapped, which means it could be private property. Look here.” Tyler pointed at the page. “We believe these are crop rows. And these are commercial greenhouses. Logan certainly knows what those would look like.”
“It could be a farm.” His father shrugged it off as if he still wasn’t convinced.
“But we can clearly see commercial trucks on the satellite view. They look to be the same type of trucks that go to Logan’s for deliveries.” He indicated them on the map with his finger.
His father leaned in toward the table and rapped his knuckles on the desktop. “Speaking of Logan. Wouldn’t he know more about this company he does business with? I find it odd that all this time, he spouts his innocence and how he had nothing to do with it, and yet, the first evidence found leads us right back to his family’s nursery.”
“Are you suggesting he’s in on it somehow? Because if so, that’s a stretch. Why would he help us?”
“Well, it’s just an observation. Maybe he had some prior knowledge.”
“That’s not fair, Dad. You know Logan didn’t do anything. And Rowan had a plausible idea about what might have happened to Jessica. I think that it deserves some investigation.”
“Rowan and Logan,” his father said, rolling his eyes.
“Look, I know you don’t like me working with them, but they both care about this case, and it’s better than having them go off without us. At least with me working with them, we can tell what they are up to so they don’t do anything stupid. Besides, I’m making my own determinations without their influence, using my own experience. I’d think you’d trust me to do that.”
He didn’t think his father could argue with that.
He took a deep breath and let it out. “So, do you really believe this to be accurate? This is where you think they took the little girl?”
“Yes, and I think that there’s something suspicious about this area here. It appears to be walled in. There are other buildings inside this walled-off area. It is my guess that there are people living within this. Like a commune of sorts. There are pools clearly visible from the view.”
“You don’t know what they are. Those could be retainer ponds.”
“Maybe. But they are too perfect. Look at this natural water feature compared to the other.” One was perfectly shaped and appeared to be surrounded by concrete. The other had much more natural edges.
“I see what you mean,” said his father. “So, you want me to think these kids are being held there.”
“I think they live there. I think Wayne Greene took them from their home, and the father was trying to get them back.”
His father shook his head. “But again, you are just guessing.”
“We’re putting things together, and that’s just a theory, yes. The boy told Logan about his home. He said there were large greenhouses and crops.”
“Which he clearly kept to himself.” His father’s jaw tightened.
Tyler felt it was only fair that he spoke up about that. “He wanted to tell me first. Which, I think, was a good move. You didn’t have any prior knowledge about this, and we had all agreed not to take it to you until we had proof.”
“That is all I’m asking for now. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you want me to say or do in regard to this. You clearly don’t want me to tell Agent Landon, which limits what I’m capable of doing.”
“I wanted to see if you could help me find out something more about this. If you’re right, fine, but I think it’s only fair that we look deeper, considering that this is the only place remotely close to what we’re looking for.”
His father stared at the map. Finally, he eased back in his chair and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see what I can find out. But I’m limited. If Landon finds out, I’ll be forced to tell him about your theory. I can’t see that going too well for either of us.”
“That’s fair enough.”
“I’ll see if I can find out any other information on the location, maybe public records, land sales. That might lead to a name.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s going to take some time, so until then, I’d like for you to give it a rest. And stay at home. I know you’re not supposed to be behind the wheel.”
“I’m fine.”
His father gave him a hard look. “Let me see what I can find, and we’ll go from there. But don’t hold your breath.”
“Thanks.” Tyler knew he wasn’t going to sit on his hands and wait for his father to do anything. Time was precious, and he was determined to keep moving forward.
November 30, 2022
READ CHAPTER ONE OF CRUSHED UTOPIA
READ CHAPTER ONE OF CRUSHED UTOPIA Comments
November 9, 2022
Read Chapter One of Shattered Heaven
APPLE BOOKS AMAZON NOOK GOOGLE KOBO CHAPTER ONEROWANAfter her early morning shift, Rowan drove out to Logan���s to meet the man face to face. Not only did she want to ask him in person why he had been avoiding her calls, but she desperately wanted to tell him the news about Ava���s relationship to Jessica that had been confirmed by DNA testing.
Ava was Jessica���s daughter, and that meant Jessica hadn���t died the night she disappeared ten years before. She���d lived long enough to conceive. She might even still be alive out there, desperately hoping someone would find her.
And as if that weren���t wild enough, the tattoos marking the children���s inner wrists were stranger. Maybe Logan would have some ideas about it. Either way, she knew he would be eager to know what was going on, unless her rejection had made him rethink his involvement altogether.
She hoped that wasn���t the case.
When she pulled up at Tolivar���s Nursery, it seemed to be a fairly busy day. Shoppers were browsing the grounds looking at plants and flowers, and there was a delivery truck with colorful ceramic planters that were being unloaded by Logan���s cousins.
She still couldn���t get over the change in it from when they were younger. The business had surely come a long way.
Rowan got out of the car and walked around the stack of pots to go inside the front office, where she expected to find his cousin Brenda at her usual post.
Logan was in her place, looming over the desk as he bent down to look in a book. The stressful look in his eyes, as well as his clenching jaw, told her that he wasn���t in the best of moods as he held up a finger toward Rowan as if asking for a moment to finish the call.
Rowan watched as he paced the room and held his hand up to his head as if he was about to pull his hair out. But he had yet to really look her way.
���I���ve already checked the books,��� he said in a displeased tone. ���It���s two forty, so I don���t know what to tell you. You���ll have to talk to Brenda about that.��� He paused a moment and shook his head as if they could see him. ���I���m not sure. Yeah, okay. Okay, thanks. Have a good day.���
He ended the call and turned around, looking a bit surprised to see her. ���Hey, what���s going on?��� He let go of a ragged breath and walked over to the counter.
���Well, I thought I���d come by. You���re not answering my calls. I tried you five times last night.��� She thought for sure he was avoiding her because of what had happened between them. And while she was just as much to blame for it, she wasn���t sure where it should go or what it meant.
He let out a heavy sigh. ���Oh, sorry about that. I was at the hospital after work. Uncle Rick had a heart attack yesterday and had to have emergency surgery.���
Rowan couldn���t believe it. His uncle meant so much to him. He had always been more of a father to Logan than his own, who had passed many years ago. ���Oh, my gosh!��� She felt terrible that she didn���t even think there may have been a problem. ���Is he okay?���
���Yeah, he���s okay, but he���s going to be down for a while, so Brenda is taking care of him, which is why I���m stuck in here answering calls and dealing with that while I should be out there seeing to the grounds.���
���You should have called me. I would have come right away.��� She wasn���t sure what would become of their make-out session, but that didn���t mean she couldn���t be there for him when he needed her most.
���To be honest, I didn���t think you would want to hear from me after what happened. Besides, it was a little hectic.��� He raked his fingers through his hair.
���Of course, I would want to know. As for what happened, it doesn���t have to change anything.��� She knew that was a lot to ask. But it was true. Things could carry on as they had before, and in fact, she preferred it at least until she had time to understand her feelings. ���Do you need anything?���
Logan���s eyes were hollowed out with deep circles beneath them. ���Nah, I���m good. I���m dealing with things as best I can. But you didn���t come all the way down here to hear my problems. What���s up?���
She didn���t like the way he tried to shut her out. She knew what it was like to deal with an ailing relative. When her aunt���s cancer was at its worst, it was the kindness of the community that really shined a light of hope on an otherwise hopeless situation.
���You know you can always talk to me.��� She wanted things to be okay between them. All she had wanted from any of the recent reunions was to come closer together.
His eyes softened a bit. ���I know. Now tell me what���s so important that you came all the way out here. Was there news about the kids��� DNA?���
She took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the good news. Maybe it would brighten his day a bit, knowing that Jessica had a child. It meant a lot to everyone but especially for him. ���Yes, we did. The results are back, and they prove without a doubt that Jessica is the little girl���s mother just like I suspected.���
���That���s amazing. I���m so glad. Now they can reopen the investigation, and it proves that I���m in the clear. No more unwanted suspicion coming my way.���
���I know. I knew you���d be glad on all counts. No one can say you had anything to do with it. And it proves that Jessica lived long enough to have a child. Which could also mean she���s still alive.���
���I guess so. I won���t let myself believe that until I see her walk through the door, but it���s a hell of a start.���
���Yeah, for sure.���
���So, what about the boy? You didn���t say.��� His eyes narrowed with confusion. ���Was he a match too?���
Rowan nodded. ���To Ava, yes. They share a father. But not to Jessica. He has a different mother.���
���Damn. So whichever dirtbag took Jessica fathered children with someone else. Probably someone else he kidnapped. God, this is really big, isn���t it? I don���t know if I���m in the mental headspace to let it all sink in right now, but it���s all happening. They have to reopen the investigation. There���s no way they can ignore this.���
���It���s possible that the focus could be shifted. Captain Harper is more concerned with the father, but I think the shift in focus is simply to draw everyone���s attention to the father and not Jessica, considering he would have more to answer for with that one.���
Logan put his hands on his head again. ���It���s all too much. Whatever happens, I���m just glad we know that much.���
In her excitement, she had almost forgotten to tell him everything. ���Oh, that���s not all. Wait until you hear the rest.���
Logan���s eyes widened. ���I���m not sure I can take much more,��� he said, walking around the counter to glance out the front window where Rowan could see the cousins were still unloading pottery.
Rowan couldn���t wait to tell him. ���One of the boys was playing with a black light and found tattoos on the children���s wrists. They���re UV tattoos, so they weren���t visible before.���
Logan let that sink in. ���That is messed up. Who would do that to a couple of kids? What the hell kind of tattoos are they?���
���Ms. Opal called the symbol the Devil���s tree. But it���s just a circle with a tree with a snake wrapped around it. It would actually be kind of nice if it weren���t on a child.���
���Sounds like a cult symbol or a brand if you ask me.��� Logan narrowed his eyes. ���I wonder what it means.���
���Me too. So, Tyler and I are going to be looking into it if you want to help out.��� The symbol had to be out there somewhere. Or something similar. With all of the things you could find online, someone had to know about it.
But Logan didn���t look too enthused at the mention of his former friend���s name. ���I���ve got a lot to do here. With Uncle Rick down and Brenda out, I���ve got to be responsible for this place all on my own.���
She could tell a part of him was glad he had a valid excuse to say no. ���I understand. You know, I could help you out if you want.��� She knew that she would only be able to do so much.
���Nah, you���ve got enough to do. Besides, I���m used to being on my own in times of crisis.��� His tone was a bit bitter, but she wasn���t going to let that deter her.
She thought of the time he spent alone in jail. She hadn���t gone to see him. Not even once. That was in the past. She wanted to be there for him. ���It doesn���t have to be that way, you know? I don���t mind.���
But Logan sighed and shook his head. ���Look, it���s not a big deal. It���s just what I have to deal with.���
She reached for him, tugging on his arm to draw him closer. ���I understand. I just don���t want you to feel like you have to go through it alone.���
���But I am alone.��� He gave her a pointed look. ���And I���ll be okay.���
���Look, I know this is about us. And I���m sorry for the way things went down, but������ She could barely get the words out before he stopped her.
He turned to face her and placed his hand on her shoulder. ���Hey, it���s fine. You don���t have to apologize. In fact, I wish you wouldn���t. It���s not a big deal. Besides, it���s obvious neither of us has time for anything serious. So, don���t feel like you owe me an explanation.���
���I want to be here for you. I know we care about each other, no matter what, right?���
He stroked her hair. ���Look, you stay the course. That little girl is Jessica���s. It���s damned near a miracle that you were able to put it all together and prove it. So, think of this as a chance to help her.���
���I can help you both.��� She felt like Logan was slipping away, and she simply couldn���t allow that. Not again.
���Trust me. I���m good. Really.��� He stepped away and went to sit at the desk. ���Jessica would be glad that you���re going to help her little girl. I don���t want to take time off that. Do what you can for her.���
She got a strange feeling that he didn���t want her around. ���Are you upset with me? Is that why you want me to leave you alone?���
Logan shook his head. ���It���s not like that. And it���s not that I don���t want you around. It���s just I have to keep my head in this. And trust me, you���re more than a distraction.���
���So, you won���t mind me checking in on you?���
���You can if you want. I���m not stopping you. And I���m not going anywhere. I���ll be here when you come to your senses.��� He gave a laugh, but Rowan could hear the pain in his voice. She had hurt him with her rejection. It was never what she wanted to do. But what was done was done.
���Well, I guess I���ll just have to pop in again sometime. I should get going anyway.��� She had to meet up with Tyler, but she didn���t want to tell Logan. Some things were better left unshared.
���Thanks for coming by.���
���Yeah, well, keep your phone on.���
���Will do.��� The phone rang, and he let out a sigh. ���I should get back to it.���
���I���ll see you later.��� She left the building as he answered his call. She walked to the car, and when she got inside, her phone rang.
It was Tyler, and she was glad she had left Logan���s before his call came through. ���Hey,��� she said. ���I���m on my way.���
���Good, I thought you got busy at the diner.���
���No, I had to run an errand.��� She didn���t have to admit what the errand was, even though it wasn���t a secret. ���I wouldn���t miss this. See you soon.��� She ended the call and hurried out to meet him.
October 19, 2022
Read Chapter One of Imperfect Harmony…
APPLE BOOKS AMAZON NOOK GOOGLE KOBO CHAPTER ONE
ROWAN
Rowan crouched in front of the children with tears flowing from her eyes. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that the young girl was Jessica’s child. And that meant Jessica hadn’t died the night she disappeared.
Had someone taken her? Was she still alive?
Before Rowan could ask the young girl any further questions, Ms. Opal came over to take control of the situation.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself,” she said in a scolding tone. “You just had to come up here and upset these kids.”
She removed the little boy’s hand from covering his sister’s mouth and pulled them to their feet. She had the children stand protectively behind her, and the little girl peeked around her skirt.
Rowan was confused by the woman’s shocked reaction. “You heard her, right? You heard her say that Jessica is her mother.”
Ms. Opal looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “All I heard was Xavier tell you no and try to protect his sister.”
“By covering her mouth so she can’t speak? That’s protecting her?” It didn’t even make any sense. The little boy was obviously in control of his sister, and he was the one who had probably told her not to speak to anyone in the first place.
“You can’t just force yourself into their home and into their room and scare them like this. I want you out of this house right now. Lord help you.”
“He said no because she spoke,” she tried to explain. She looked to the door where Tyler towered. “You were right there. You had to have heard it.”
“Well, I didn’t. And I’m not telling you again.” She glared at Rowan with hard, black eyes and pointed to the door. She was like a stone wall when it came to something she felt passionately about.
As stubborn as she was, it only made Rowan want to protest even more.
Tyler came forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Rowan. You heard her. It’s time to go.” She glanced at him to see his lip was busted. His mood had changed as well, and he was no longer empathetic to her.
She got to her feet and gave Ms. Opal a pleading look. “Did you really not hear her? How could you not? Are you serious?”
She had never known the woman to lie, but now she was questioning everything.
“Enough, Rowan,” she said. “Go!”
“But—” She barely got the word out before Tyler took her by the arm.
“Stop, Rowan,” he said. “That’s enough for now. Let’s go.”
Rowan tried to get him to see reason. “But she recognized her as her mother. He only said no to keep her from speaking. That’s why he had his hand over her mouth.” She looked down at the little boy. “Tell her. Tell her what she said. You two have to tell the truth. We can help you.”
Xavier stared at her with angry eyes as his little chest quickly rose and fell in rapid succession. The little girl, who Rowan had just discovered was named Ava, was a mess of tears and deep sobs.
“You need to leave before I decide to press charges,” said Ms. Opal, who clearly didn’t want to hear anything coming out of her mouth. “And you are not welcome in this house again.”
Rowan glanced over to see that Logan was watching from the hall. He was red faced and disheveled from the tussle with Tyler, and he wore a look of confusion.
“I have a recording,” she said, taking the phone from the floor. “Listen to it first. Please.”
“I will not listen to you anymore. Get out!” Ms. Opal’s tone told her that she was done. And no amount of arguing was going to change that.
She was just about to get the recording to play when Tyler dragged her to the door. “Let’s go before I’m forced to arrest you,” he muttered in her ear. “Please.”
She went along with him, giving him a pleading look as they followed Logan back downstairs. Tyler didn’t stop until he had removed her from the house.
“Surely, you heard it,” she said once they hit the front yard. “You saw the little boy. He will not let her talk. You have to get them separated. There has to be something that will convince the girl to speak.”
“What happened?” asked Logan. “She really knew Jessica?”
He seemed to be the only one who was going to believe her, so she turned her attention to him. “Yes. She did. She took one look at the photo, said ‘mama,’ and the little boy screamed at her for speaking up. He covered her mouth. But she said it, listen.”
“Maybe because it wasn’t their mother,” said Tyler. “And he knew it wasn’t.”
“No. I saw the recognition in her eyes. She knows Jess. I could tell.” She fumbled with the phone but was shaking so badly that she couldn’t get anything to work right.
“I believe you,” said Logan. “But what do we do now?”
“The investigation can be reopened, right?” She looked at Tyler for him to agree. This was big evidence. Bigger than anything they had gotten before. This was what they had been waiting for. Now was the time to act.
Tyler let out a sigh and shook his head. “All I know is, you took things way too far in there. And my father is going to want more than a complaint from Ms. Opal and a voice recording that he will believe you’re taking out of context to reopen anything.”
Was he saying that what she had learned was no good? How could that be? “But they know her. There’s so much proof.”
“It’s not good enough. It’s not solid. No judge is going to see it that way.”
She turned to Logan. “You have to believe me. This is what I went in there for.”
Tyler shot Logan a pointed look. “He needs to get back to work, and you need to go, Rowan. Now.” Tyler was done asking. “Come on. I’ll drive you to your car. I’ve got to get myself cleaned up.” He glanced at Logan. “You’re lucky I don’t arrest you for assaulting a cop.”
“I only did it to give her a distraction, you dick. You know you’re just pissed you didn’t think about it first. That and because I kicked your ass.” Logan wasn’t backing down from Tyler.
“You need to walk away while you can,” Tyler said to his former best friend. “I took it easy on you only because I knew it was a ruse. But next time, I won’t be so considerate. Next time, I’ll throw you in a cell.”
“That’s enough,” said Rowan. “Will someone listen to me? I feel like I’m talking to myself. Do you hear what I said? That little girl is Jessica’s daughter. Her fucking daughter. I knew it the moment I saw her. The anklet, the dimples, it’s her. It’s proof she didn’t die the way your father believes she did. It’s proof she may still be out there.”
Logan looked like he didn’t know what to do. “Just do what he says, Rowan. I’ll get with you later. But for now, I’ve got to get back to work before she calls my uncle and I get shit-canned over this.”
She didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, and while she felt like she had proved something, no one else was as enthused about the earth-shattering news. “I have the recording,” she said. “Don’t you want to hear it?”
Logan gave her an apologetic look. “I’ll call you later.” He suddenly looked tired of the whole situation.
Tyler shook his head as if he didn’t like that idea. “No need to call her. She can play it for me while I drive her back to her car. You can stay out of it.”
Logan walked away, shaking his head.
She hit the play button on the recording, but Logan was already too far away to hear. “Listen to that. You can hear it plain as day.”
“Car. Now.” Tyler took her by the arm and led her around to the passenger’s side as Logan disappeared around the house to the backyard.
She got into the truck and buckled up.
When Tyler was settled next to her, his nostrils still flaring from all the excitement, she hit the play button again.
“Do you hear that?” It was a clear recording but Tyler seemed like he was lost in his thoughts.
She hit rewind and played it again. “There,” she said as the little girl spoke.
“Yeah, I hear it. But it’s not enough, Rowan. What don’t you get about that?”
“Isn’t my word enough for you? Why send me in to talk to them alone if you knew that no one was going to believe me?”
“I believe you. Will you be quiet for five seconds while I think? You’re giving me a fucking headache.”
“Fine.” She buttoned her lip and let out a ragged breath.
“You do realize that woman is probably already on the phone with my father. So can you think of someone other than yourself and Jessica? Forgive me if your little stunt didn’t impress me. Now, I get it as to why it’s so important to you, Rowan. I really do, and that’s why I came to help, but other people have lives too. Did you even think about those other kids? Or what you put them through? The sooner you get that this isn’t all about you, the better.”
She had thought that he was finally on the same page as her. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I know you care, and I appreciate your help. But it can’t be for nothing. I didn’t go through all of that so we could just forget about it.” She needed the investigation reopened or at least for someone to take action. “Isn’t it at least enough for DNA testing? Doesn’t it at least raise some questions that you need to follow up on?”
“For me, yes. I have to admit that it’s giving me a lot to think about. But my father is going to want more.”
“But you said you believe it, right? So, you’ll request that you need to test them?”
He seemed sick of her begging tone. “I don’t know what to believe right now, honestly. I know I can’t believe you tried to pull that stunt on your own. I know you’re acting on impulse, and it’s scaring me. I know I tried to protect you from yourself. But some people don’t want to be saved, I guess. I just don’t want you to be that person.”
“I don’t need you to save me from myself. I don’t need saving at all, thank you very much.” He had no idea how insulting he could be.
“You need something,” he mumbled. “I’m not sure if it’s saving.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked him. He thought she was slipping back into her dark place just like the others. “You know what? Forget it. Just take me home, and I’ll deal with this myself.”
“No. You’re not going to do anything. You’re going to leave this alone. You’re going to leave the police work and investigating to me. It’s my job. Not yours. It’s my responsibility and not yours. So just stop.”
“I can’t just forget it. I didn’t come this far to back down now.” She had quit enough in her life because of what happened. So, a part of her felt like she couldn’t quit again. Finding out the truth about Jessica was the only way to get her life back to what it was and hopefully what it could have been already.
“Yeah, well, I’m not giving you a choice. You back down and leave it alone. That’s not a request. It’s an order.”
She was sure he had forgotten who he was talking to. “When have I ever taken orders from you?” She sure didn’t when they were dating.
“Never, and that’s the trouble with you. You don’t listen. Stop this before you get hurt. Trust me for a change.” His tone had gotten so harsh that his voice cracked.
And in that break, she could tell just how frustrated he was by the subject. How tired he was of dealing with her.
He pulled up to her car and stopped the truck. “I’ll call you later when I let this sink in. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay? I need you to behave.”
“Fine,” she said, wanting to tell him to go to hell. She got out of the truck and went to unlock her car.
Why did it have to be so hard? Just when she thought someone was finally on her side, he ripped the rug out from under her.
At least she had Logan. He had work to do and a life she didn’t want to upset, but he had spoken up for her and done what he could to help. At least he was willing to reach out and hear her side of things.
Who would have thought that the two of them would be the only rational ones?
But no matter what, she wasn’t going to stop until she found out what happened to Jessica.
