Not What She Seems (10 page)

The next morning Steven was on his way to
Minnesota
. Stapleton didn’t have an airport, so Steven flew into
Minneapolis
and rented a car. Thirty minutes later he was entering Emily’s hometown. It occurred to him that he really didn’t have a plan. What was he to do? Walk down the street and ask everyone if they knew an Emily Grant who used to live there?

He slowed his rental car to a crawl, and tried to think as he drove down the downtown strip. Something caught his eye and he slammed on his brakes.

The library
.
It stood on the corner, relatively large for the size of the town, and in gold lettering on the front of the building it read
Grant Library
.

Steven parked his car and walked up to the library being careful not to slip on the icy walkway. Someone had scattered salt on it, but it looked like the ice was winning that war. The door was unlocked, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he entered and went up to the front desk. A young woman stood behind the counter, and she smiled at Steven as he came toward her.

“Ma’am, I was hoping you could help me,” he said softly, even though there appeared to be no one else in the building. There was something inherently wrong with speaking in a normal voice in a library. “I am looking for information about a young woman who used to live here. Her name is Emily Grant.”

“Is she related to Theodore Grant?”

“I’m not sure. I was hoping you could tell me.”

“Well, I moved here a couple of months ago, so I don’t know much about the Grant family. I know that Theodore Grant is quite wealthy. He owns a lot of this town, and he donated so much money to build this library that they named it after him.”

“Well, that’s a start I guess,” he said. “Do you know anyone who has lived here for years and who pretty much knows everyone?”

“If I wanted town gossip, I would ask Edna. She owns the diner, two blocks north of here. It’s called Aunt Edna’s.”

Steven almost kissed her. “Thank you very much!” he said, in a loud whisper. He ran out of the library, forgot about the ice and almost became intimate with the sidewalk. He caught his balance, and skidded over to this car. He was sure Aunt Edna was the person he needed.

Chapter Eleven

Aunt Edna’s turned out to be a bright little fifty’s style diner squeezed in-between a men’s clothing store and a barber shop. When Steven walked in the door, he was glad to see most of the breakfast crowd had left. The smell of bacon and eggs reminded him that he had not eaten since lunch yesterday, so he sat down at the counter and looked at the menu on the wall. A red haired, middle-aged woman came over to him and smiled.

“What can I get for you,
hon
?” She peered at him over her half-spectacles.

“I’ll have the bacon and egg breakfast platter,” he said, taking note that her nametag said ‘Aunt Edna’ on it.

“How do you want your eggs, sweetie?”

“Scrambled, please.”

“It’ll be just a few minutes.” Her eyes gave him the once over, then she turned her back and pinned a note to the order wheel. After wiping the counter where a customer had just left, she came back over as if she couldn’t help herself. “Are you new in town?”

“I’m actually here looking for some information. Did you know Emily Grant when she lived here?”

Edna frowned, and she took another long look at Steven. “Who wants to know about Emily?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. Steven thought about telling her his name was Ethan, but decided that he would get more information if he was able to throw his name around a bit.

“I’m Steven Ashton.”

Her eyes widened a bit, and her eyebrows shot up. “Well, Steven, what in the world brings you here to Stapleton looking for information about Emily Grant?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a personal matter. I would appreciate it if we were to keep this between ourselves,” he whispered, looking her over.

“Now, who would believe me anyway?”

He smiled, taking note that she didn’t actually promise not to say anything. “I met Emily a little over a week ago. We went out on several dates, and then she disappeared. I know she moved here when she was seventeen, and that she was married for a short while, but that’s about all I know about her past.”

Edna frowned, and she leaned closer to Steven. “Emily’s in a lot of trouble. Are you sure you want to know?”

Steven’s throat tightened. He nodded, “Yes, please, tell me what you know.”

“Emily married William Grant six years ago. They lived right here in Stapleton. They seemed happy enough at first, but then she started turning up with bruises on her face. William Grant was the son of the wealthiest man in Stapleton, so everyone just looked the other way – until William was found murdered in his own home, and Emily had skipped town.”

Steven’s heart sank. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Emily was involved in a murder?

Edna kept speaking, her voice low. “You know, William was a jerk, but I never would have imagined Emily to be the type of person who would take a hammer to the back of his skull. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this.” She patted his hand and then left him to take an order from another customer.

His head reeled with this information. Emily could not have killed her husband in cold blood. She must have been defending herself against his blows. He could get her the best defense lawyer in the country, and she could come out of hiding. It must be so awful for her, living with this kind of guilt all these years. A wave of sadness washed over him, and he longed to hold her and tell her everything would be all right.

He wanted to find out as much about the details surrounding William’s death as he could. There must have been something in the local newspaper about the incident when it happened. When had all this taken place?

His eyes followed Edna as she waited on her other customer, and went to the kitchen to get his breakfast platter. She enjoyed her work. It was plain to see she liked to chat with the local people, and lit up when they complimented her. She seemed to know everyone. When she came over to him, he took another opportunity to ask her more questions.

“Edna, could you tell me the date that William died? I would like to look up the article in the newspaper.”

“Sure, I remember it happened five years ago, just a few days before the old library burned down. It was somewhere in the beginning of September.”

“Thank you,” Steven said, “you’ve been a big help to me.”

“No problem, hon. But I will warn you, folks around here aren’t too happy with Emily. The only
person
who defended her, besides her parents, couldn’t take the gossip and moved away soon after the whole thing happened.”

“Who was that?”

“Richard Hamilton, Emily’s high school boyfriend.”

******

Emily glanced in her rear-view mirror for the tenth time as she left town. Richard wouldn’t suspect anything for a few hours, so she had a little time before he would get nervous. After he realized that she was gone, he would have to find another vehicle, which gave her even more time. She sighed, and wondered how long he would look for her before he gave up.

He hadn’t always been like this. He’d actually been a decent guy in high school. The memories came back in a rush.

“Emily, you’re going to be late for school.”

“Mom, do I have to go? No one talks to me.” Emily frowned, her blond curly hair just touching her shoulders. Her long legs and braces made her feel awkward and insecure.

“Yes, dear, you have to go to school.”

“Why did we have to move here? I liked my old school,” she complained.

“Look at the bright side. You only have two more years before you graduate.”

“
Wow, that
does make me feel better.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s so cold here. I hate it. It’s not even Halloween yet and it’s freezing outside.”

“I’m sorry dear, but we have to go where your father’s work takes him. Now, grab your lunch and hurry up. We don’t want to be late.”

Emily picked up her lunch sack and sighed as she stepped outside. She could see her breath as she walked to the car, and she clutched her books close to her chest. Even with her heavy winter coat, she shivered.

The warm high school didn’t do much to help her mood, as she walked down the hall and looked at all of the unfriendly faces. After two months of going to school here she still had not found anyone she could talk to. Everyone already knew each other, and they had no more room in their cliques for a new kid.

She walked up to her locker, and turned the combination lock. The handle lifted, but the locker wouldn’t open. She tried the combination again, but the locker still wouldn’t open. Tears rolled down her face as she slammed her fist into the door.

“Here, let me.” A tall boy reached out and fiddled with the handle. His long blond hair hung in his eyes, and he smiled a little as he got the door to open. “Sometimes these lockers stick. You have to wiggle the handle a bit.”

“Thank you.” Emily wiped her tears away. She felt her cheeks burn hot.

“No problem. I’m Richard.” He nodded a greeting and folded his muscular arms across his chest.

“My name’s Emily. Emily Carrington.”

“Well, I’ll see you later, Emily Carrington.” Richard gave her a little wave and started down the hall to his class. Emily watched him walk away, and thought that maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad day after all.

Emily blinked back the tears as she remembered how Richard had been there for her when she needed a friend the most. He had saved her from feeling unaccepted and unwanted, made her feel worthwhile. Everyone called him her boyfriend, but that really wasn’t so. They were close, but no more than friends. Every time their relationship would start to get more serious, he would push her away.

His mother died when he was young, and he blamed himself. Home had been a place of terror for him. Emily almost got physically sick when he finally told her what happened to his mother.

After high school they remained friends, getting together once or twice a month. That is, until she started dating William. She cringed, thinking about the day she had told Richard about him.

The winter snow was coming down outside, as Emily and Richard sat in the kitchen. She made them some hot cocoa, and they watched the snow fall and played cards on the kitchen table.

“I’m going to a party tonight, Richard,” Emily said.

Richard raised his eyebrows and looked at her quizzically.
“What party?”

“There’s a party at the country club. William Grant asked me to go with him.” Emily watched his face, to see his reaction.

Richard smirked, and folded his arms. “You don’t really want to spend time with those rich idiots, do you?”

“It’s only a party.” Emily frowned. "Besides, isn't it hypocritical of you to call them rich idiots when your grandmother has all that money?"

He ignored her question. The room stayed silent, and she started to fidget.

“William Grant, huh?” Richard said, after a while. “Since when do you and William Grant hang out?”

“We don’t hang out. He asked me to go to a party with him, that’s all.” Emily stood up and walked over to the window.

“So why are you telling me this,
Em
? You want my permission to date William?” Richard stared at her.

“No, I just thought…”

Richard started shaking, and she realized he was laughing. “You go out with William Grant.” He wagged his finger as he spoke. “You get all dolled up and go to the country club. Rub elbows with the rich and famous. But remember, those people don’t really care about you. They’re just–”

“No, stop. I don’t want to hear it anymore. I know how you feel.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Stay away from them.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Since when do you tell me what to do?”

Richard stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair.

“Don’t go, Richard. I’m sorry.”

“You call me when you need me, Emily.” He left and closed the door. That was the last time she had laid eyes on Richard, until the night William died.

Chapter Twelve

The librarian appeared surprised as Steven entered the building and walked up to her for the second time that morning.

“Hello, again.”

“Hi. Did you talk with Edna?”

“Yes, thank you. She was helpful. Now I need to look up some local newspaper articles. Can I do that here?”

“Yes, they are right over there.” She pointed to the reference section of the library. “All of the newspapers are chronologically filed. Any newspapers that are older than two years are archived in PDF form on that computer.”

“Wonderful. Are the archives searchable?”

“Yes. The program is pretty self-explanatory. Come get me if you can’t find what you are looking for.”