Colleen Coble (8 page)

She grimaced. “Spoilsport.”

She gazed over the railing. The moon glimmered on the whitecaps. She seemed in no hurry to talk to him about whatever problem she was having.

He waited for her to speak, then shifted when she didn’t. “So what’s this about?”

She sighed and turned to look at him. “You’re Gina Ireland’s brother, right?”

“Yes. Did you know Gina?”

She put her feet back on the porch floor, then shrugged. “Just superficially. She worked on the senator’s last campaign.”

“I know. She was a big fan of his.”

“Yes, she was, and hey, I’m sorry for your loss.” She played with her necklace. “Will you endorse the senator’s campaign in her place? I know Gina’s boyfriend had some issues with him and all, but I’d hoped you would follow your sister’s lead.”

Curtis straightened. “Ben had issues with the senator? What was it about?”

Dara shrugged. “I just know he came stomping into the office one day, shouting that the senator owed him money.”

“Ben Lang?”

She nodded. “That was the name. Ben.” Her eyes widened. “Hey, is that Amy’s brother?”

“It was. He died a few weeks after Gina.”

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. How odd that they would both die.”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” he said.

“Of course, of course. So sorry.” But she didn’t sound sorry. Instead, she leaned toward him with her eyes shining.

“When did this happen?”

She paused a moment, a crease between her eyes. “The first week of November, I think.”

Two weeks before Ben died and about the time of Gina’s accident. “What else did he say?”

She rose and backed against the railing to face him. “I don’t know. I think he was on drugs. His eyes were all bloodshot, and he was slurring his words. The senator was about to call security.”

Drugs. Curtis didn’t want to have to tell Amy about this conversation.

Dara’s smile was self-satisfied. “So you’ll vote for the senator?”

“I like Kendrick. I’ll vote for him again.”

Relief lit her face. “Good. Would you consider taking part in the rally we’re having in a couple of weeks?”

“I don’t think I’ll have time.” He rose, eager to end the discussion. “I’d better go. Raine will be wondering where I am.”

How Amy had missed this church. Her church family in the city was nice enough, but talk went as far as “Hi, how are you?” before everyone wandered into their favorite pews. She probably knew the people in this church better than those she’d sat beside for fifteen years at her other church.

She sat in the third pew on the left beside Libby and Alec
and listened to the pastor bring the service to a close. Alec had reluctantly allowed Amy to hold little Noah, who was wrapped in a blue receiving blanket. His eyes were closed and his tiny mouth sucked at nothing.

The church had been built back in the eighteen hundreds, and while the solid oak pews had no padding, the seats had been worn comfortable by worshippers over the decades. A stained-glass window depicting Jesus in Gethsemane in rich tones of garnet, gold, and green was centered in the platform wall, and other beautiful windows lined the sides of the building.

At the final amen, Amy rose and handed over Noah to his daddy before she began to greet the friends she’d made over the years. Someone touched her arm, and the tingle that shot along her skin made her turn. Curtis and Edith stood waiting their turn to say hello. Curtis had little Raine in his arms, and her wide eyes took in everything.

“When you have a minute, I need to talk to you,” Curtis said.

Amy glanced around. The church was clearing out. “Now is fine.”

Curtis gave Raine to his aunt. “I’ll be right back.” He ignored Raine’s shriek of “Stay!”

Amy frowned as she followed him to a quiet corner. “Is something wrong?”

His eyes were somber. “I wanted to tell you something Dara Anderson told me last night after you left.”

“What did she say?”

“She works for Senator Kendrick.”

“Oh? You’d think I’d know her, then. My family is good friends with the senator and his family.”

Confusion clouded his eyes. “You are?”

She nodded. “He and Ben were good friends, and my father is a big supporter of his campaign.”

Curtis rubbed his forehead. “This makes no sense, then. Dara said Ben and Kendrick had a big argument, and the senator was about to call security and have him thrown out.”

“What?” Amy shook her head. “I seriously doubt that.”

“Why would she lie? It came out in an innocent way. She wanted to know if she could count on my vote even though my sister’s boyfriend had made a scene in the senator’s office.”

“Boyfriend? I thought they were just friends. Ben was engaged.”

“They were more than friends.” He hesitated, then touched her shoulder lightly before dropping his hand to his side again. “She said Ben appeared to be drunk or on drugs. His eyes were bloodshot and he slurred his words.”

She exhaled. “Your aunt said the same thing. It would take something catastrophic for Ben to drown it with drugs or alcohol. Ben liked being in control.”

He shrugged. “Well, I thought you’d want to know. This incident happened a couple of weeks before he died. Right about the time of Gina’s death.”

“Thanks. I’ll see what I can find out.” She followed him back to the group. This was not something she’d expected to hear about her brother. Could he have been involved in drugs somehow?

Josh and Alec were talking and they waylaid Curtis, so Amy stepped past them and rejoined Libby standing with Edith.

Edith smiled when Raine reached for Amy. “She likes you already.”

Poor little motherless baby. Amy took the child. “You smell good, honey.” She nuzzled the little one’s smooth neck, sweet with the scent of baby wash.

“You should have a bunch of those babies yourself,” Edith said.

Amy’s heart squeezed, but she managed to keep her smile. Why did she do that? Hide the pain instead of being honest? It wasn’t just here either. All around her she heard people asking,
“How are you?” and others answering, “Fine.” They all wore masks. It hurt too much to lay all the pain out for someone to see. It was something she couldn’t talk about yet.

“I’d love for you to come to dinner. How about Monday night? Curtis should be home by five. I make a killer enchilada.”

Amy’s heart stuttered. “I’d love to.” She glanced toward Curtis from the corner of her eye as he stood next to Josh. “Can I bring anything?”

“Just your pretty face.”

“How about dessert?”

“If you want. But don’t go to any trouble. I thought it would be fun for Raine to get to know . . .” Edith went red, then cleared her throat. “Get to know you.”

Amy eyed Edith’s discomfiture. “I’d like that too.” Was she playing matchmaker?

Edith cleared her throat again. “Wonderful. See you around five.” She took Raine, then hurried off toward the exit while Raine called, “Stay.”

Libby lifted a brow. “I think she’s trying to match you up with Curtis.”

Amy’s cheeks heated. “I thought she might be.”

“But you agreed to go. I think that says something. There’s some kind of heat between you and Curtis. I can feel it every time he’s around.”

“Heat?” Amy laughed. “I wouldn’t say that exactly.”

Libby chuckled. “But you’re interested.”

“I’m interested in getting his help to figure out what happened to Ben. That’s all.”

Libby’s smile widened. “And that’s why your cheeks are so red, right? It’s okay to admit he’s quite a hottie.”

Amy fixed her friend with a stern glance. “You’re still a newly-wed. You shouldn’t be noticing such things.”

“I’m happily married, but not dead,” Libby said primly. She shifted Noah to the other shoulder.

Amy laughed, but her gaze went back to Curtis. Maybe she did like him, but it was just friendship. “Want to come back to the cottage for lunch?”

“Sure,” Libby said. “It’s Delilah’s day off, so I’ll take any excuse not to cook.”

E
IGHT

A
my threw together shrimp scampi and a salad for lunch. Alec ate his weight in shrimp, then he stretched out on the sofa with Noah asleep on his chest and took a nap. Heather was working.

Libby rose from the rocker by the fireplace and patted her tummy. “I’m fortified with food and ready to check out Ben’s room with you if you’re sure you want to.”

“I’m sure.” Amy led the way up the stairs to the first door on the right.

Ben’s door had been shut ever since Amy had arrived. She steeled herself to turn the knob and step into the room. When she pushed open the door, the scent of Ben’s cologne was almost a physical blow to her midsection. She paused in the hall and gulped in courage.

Libby touched her arm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine, but she hated to show weakness. It had always been her job to keep smiling and make sure everyone else was taken care of. Ben, her parents. They all looked to her to find the silver lining of any situation.

Amy forced herself to walk through the doorway. “Look for anything that will help us figure out why Ben seemed tense those
last few weeks. Who might have been calling him. A-And if he might have been involved with drugs.”

Libby glanced around the room. “Can you get his cell phone records?”

“I can try. The problem is, my parents don’t want me stirring up anything. They might have to be the ones to request them.”

“Unless Tom could do it.”

“He thinks it’s a prank too.”

Libby pulled open the drawer in the bedside table. “I’ll have Alec talk to him. It can’t hurt to at least look into it.” She riffled through the drawer. “Nothing much but pens, paper, a few clips, and a flashlight.”

Amy eyed the dresser, then resolutely opened the top drawer. It held his underwear and socks as well as his swim trunks, but it was in disarray.

She frowned. “Ben was the neatest person I ever met. His clothes were always perfectly folded and arranged. This drawer looks like someone dumped everything in here without folding it.”

Libby joined her at the dresser. “You think someone searched the room? Check the other drawers.”

Amy pushed everything aside until she was sure nothing was there but clothing, then went to the next drawer of shorts and T-shirts. It was in the same condition. So were the other two drawers. “Someone has been here. Ben would never leave his things like this.”

“Someone was looking for something. You need to make sure you tell Tom.”

Amy nodded and moved to the closet. Clothing lay like confetti on the floor. “Look at this. Everything is off the hangers.”

Libby joined her and murmured in dismay. “The question is, did they find what they were looking for? This proves something was amiss. Do you know where Ben might have hidden something important?”

Amy stilled. She knew exactly where her brother would have hidden something. But she wanted to be alone when she went there. Instead of answering, she stood on her tiptoes and ran her hand over the shelf. She couldn’t quite reach to the back, but her fingers touched a hard rubber object. When she pulled it down, it was only one of his swim fins.

Little Noah began to fuss in the other room. “I’m going to have to go. He’s hungry, and we’ve got our Bible study tonight. I’ll come over tomorrow and help you look more.”

Amy thanked her and walked her to the living room, then hugged them all good-bye. Once Alec’s SUV pulled away, she dashed out the back door to the grove of trees at the rear of the property. The yard backed up to the state forest. The platform towered above her head in a live oak tree that had spread its branches in a canopy that shaded half the backyard. Their father had built it when he was twelve, and it had fallen into disrepair until she and Ben discovered it when they were about five and thirteen.

The pieces of wood that served as steps looked new. Ben must have replaced them. She planted her right foot on the first rail and climbed the tree. Her knee scraped the rough wood as she hiked her leg onto the platform. She lay panting on the rough boards for a moment, then sat up and looked around. The structure was eight feet square, big enough for the two of them to lie down and stare into the leafy roof over them. But the best thing about this place was no one looked up here, especially adults. It had been a secret haven she and Ben shared.

She got to her feet and found the rope ladder hidden in a tree hole. It had hooks on the top. This was always the tricky part, and Ben was much better at it than she was. She swung the hooks and aimed them at the large branch six feet above her head. The hooks scraped across the limb and fell. She tried again, and this time the hooks caught and held.

After testing the strength of the ladder, she climbed the rungs until she could peer into a hole in the tree that couldn’t be seen from the platform. Whenever she stuck her hand inside, she cringed because she never knew what might be there. Once she’d stuck her hand in a spiderweb and had nearly fallen to the ground in her panic to get the sticky stuff off her fingers.

This time there were no spiders or anything else scary. Instead, there was a book. She pulled it out. It was a leather notebook about six by nine, maybe an address book. The cover was embossed with Ben’s name, and she ran her fingers over it before stuffing it in her waistband and climbing back to the safety of the platform. She opened the book and blinked. It was all in gibberish. Was it some kind of code? She flipped through all the pages, but there was nothing on the few pages she could read.