Secrets in the Shadows (5 page)

“So they’re divorced, I take it?”

Molly nodded. “For a long time now, I do know that much.”

“What is it he does, exactly?” Lauren asked. She didn’t even bother pretending she wasn’t interested.

“I’m not sure exactly. It’s some kind of security consulting business, and he works from home. I know he’s fairly successful, though, because he paid cash for his house.” A group of customers entered the tent. She fell quiet and stood to bag their purchases. The crowd picked up again just then, and there was no more time to talk.

By noon, they had sold out, and Lauren suggested they lock the moneybox in her SUV and stroll around to the other booths. As they walked through the park, they passed Randy Jarvis’s table, and Molly laughed.

“What’s funny?”

“Oh, just thinking about strawberries,” Molly replied nonchalantly. When Lauren sent her a puzzled glance, she explained. “When I asked Charlie what sounded good, he threw a little look in your direction. I thought for a minute he was going to tell me that you did.”

Lauren gasped. “Mom! He did not.”

“Oh, he most certainly did. Why shouldn’t he be interested in you? You’re of a similar age, you’re both attractive and unattached. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered him for you.” She gave a small shrug and moved on to the next booth.

Lauren decided that changing the subject might not be a bad idea. “Have you found that shower curtain you were looking for?”

Throwing her daughter an amused and knowing glance, she nonetheless answered the question. “Not yet. I’m going to try and persuade your father to drive to New Salem tomorrow morning. Want to come along?”

“No, but thanks. I’m planning on sleeping late in the morning and being utterly lazy all day. If I take a shower, I’ll consider myself ambitious.”

“You’ll be up at the crack of dawn cleaning the entire house, and you know it.”

She chuckled. “You’re probably right, but it’s hard to change old habits. I am going to try to be lazy, though. I picked up a stack of books, and I’m looking forward to getting through at least a couple of them.”

“You’re still planning on coming to dinner, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Lauren assured her.

As they reached their booth, they saw that the men had returned and were packing it up. Charlie had just finished folding the canopy and was putting it back in its bag, and Winston was trying to figure out how to open the coffee machine. Seeing them approach, he backed off, hands held up in surrender.

“I’ll leave it to the expert. Molly, where do you need me?” She directed him to fold the tablecloths and put them in the empty boxes. Charlie returned from taking the canopy to the truck.

“Where do you want the leftover coffee dumped?”

“In the storm drain is fine. Let me get the filters out first, though.”

As she reached down into the second pot, Lauren felt a tingle run down her spine. Frowning, she looked up and around. Her mother and father were at the back of their truck, apparently arguing over Win’s ability to lift something. Lauren tried to shrug it off, but the sensation of something being wrong, of someone watching her, grew stronger.

Charlie had finished emptying the first urn and was walking back. When he saw the expression on her face, he frowned and touched her arm. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling. “I don’t know. I feel like someone’s watching me. I can’t figure out who, though.” She scanned the crowds. Her gaze locked on a woman across the park, and she drew in a sharp breath.

He quickly looked in the same direction. “Who is it?” When she didn’t respond, he said her name.

She shook her head slowly, and then, hearing her parents’ voices nearing, took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Don’t tell my parents,” she begged Charlie. He frowned, but kept silent as Winston and Molly approached them. When she finished digging out the filter, he lifted the pot and carried it off to empty it.

Keeping her head down, she gathered the unused cups and other items, stashing them in their box. Her parents turned over the table the coffeemakers had been sitting on, folded the legs, and lifted it to carry to the truck, both a little grim-faced. When Charlie returned, he glanced at them and then back at Lauren, a questioning look on his face. She waited until they were out of earshot before answering.

“Apparently, they argued about his ability to lift.”

“That isn’t really what I was wondering about. You looked as though you’d seen a ghost a few minutes ago. Want to tell me about that?”

She shook her head. “I thought I saw someone I knew from years ago. I don’t know; it probably wasn’t her. At least, I hope not. It’s no big deal,” she said, not wanting to get into details. “It was just a surprise, that’s all.”

They made sure everything was packed up, then joined her parents at Molly’s truck. Lauren unlocked her SUV. Charlie lifted the coffee makers into the back and closed the tailgate.

“Do you guys want me to follow you back to the house?” she asked.

Winston shook his head. “We’ve got it covered, honey. You’ve done enough today.” He gave her a hug. “We’ll see you tomorrow evening?”

“Sure thing, Daddy.” She hugged her mother and pulled away. Smiling at Charlie, she thanked him for helping. “I’ll see you all later, then. Just call me if you need anything.”

As she pulled out onto the street, she kept a smile firmly on her face until she was out of sight. She forced herself to breathe slowly, trying to think calmly about the woman she had seen across the park.

It had been thirteen years, but Lauren had recognized her instantly. The last time she had seen that face, it had been contorted with rage. The face and the woman who owned it appeared older, worn, and weathered, but the hatred was still there. If looks could kill, Lauren would have dropped where she stood.

Night had long since fallen on Sunday when Lauren finally left her parents’ house. It had been a lively evening with her parents and Charlie. The four of them ended up playing cards until nearly ten o’clock. After the game, Winston and Charlie moved into the family room, and Molly drew Lauren into the kitchen to get some leftovers.

“I know you probably don’t want to cook this week, since Ava’s not there, so I’m sending these home with you.” She started getting the dishes out of the refrigerator and putting them in a box.

“I appreciate that, Mom, but I didn’t drive over here. I didn’t think I’d be here after dark. I can stop by tomorrow and pick this up, if you don’t mind.”

“You know I don’t mind, honey, but you’re not walking home after dark. I’ll drive you over.”

Lauren started to protest. Molly shot her a look and she backed down, hands raised. “Okay, you want to drive me home, I’ll let you.” Although she only lived about a mile from her parents’ house, the road was winding and very dark, without many streetlights to illuminate the way. “I’m grateful to not have to walk, to tell the truth. I’ll just go say goodnight to Daddy.”

Heading into the family room, she paused at the doorway. Her father had kicked back in his recliner and was holding court with Charlie. As Winston gestured expansively, she walked over and leaned on the back of his chair. He glanced back at her, and patted the arm of his chair.

“There’s my girl now. I was just telling Charlie about the time you painted your brother.”

Lauren groaned, sitting down and leaning against her father’s shoulder. “Daddy, tell me you weren’t.” She looked at Charlie for confirmation. Seeing his large grin, she realized that her father really had been telling the tale. “I was ten years old, for goodness’ sake. Tristan enjoyed being blue.”

Charlie burst out laughing, and she couldn’t keep a straight face. She told him about her parents’ reactions. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a look. Daddy was completely at a loss for words.”

“Oh, as I remember it, he had several choice words to say after the surprise had worn off,” her mother said, coming into the room. “I’m going to drive Lauren home, Win. Charlie, stay as long as you like. I’ll be back shortly.”

“What’s the rush?” Winston asked. “You can stay a little while longer, can’t you?”

She bent to hug and kiss him goodnight. “No, Daddy. Some of us have to get up early and go to work.” Her father wouldn’t be returning to work from medical leave until the following week.

“You work too much,” he told her with a mock scowl. “You need to get married to some nice man and let him support you. Stay home and make me some more grandbabies. Charlie, how about it?”

Charlie, who had just taken a sip of coffee, nearly choked.

“Winston!” Molly scolded, as Lauren exclaimed, “Daddy!”

“I was just asking his opinion, ladies. I wasn’t offering you up as a gift.”

“Win, I believe you’re digging deeper with every word.” Charlie cleared his throat, clearly trying not to smile. “If I were you, I’d just stop now while I was still a little bit ahead.” Winston grumbled, but didn’t say anything else.

With an embarrassed look in Charlie’s direction, Lauren mumbled goodnight. She stopped by the kitchen to grab the leftovers and, as she reached the garage door, her mother came up behind her.

“I swear I think your father’s taking those pills they gave him after his surgery. He says the first thing that comes to his mind lately, and damn the consequences.”

Lauren laughed, still embarrassed, but able to see the humor in the situation. “You know as well as I do that he threw those out the first day he came home.” She buckled her seat belt and they backed out of the garage. “He’s just a little stir crazy, from not being able to do much these past few weeks. I know it’s been hard on both of you, having him there day in and day out.”

Molly sighed. “I love your father dearly, more than anyone in this world except you kids, but I’m ready for him to go back to work. It makes me really worry about life after we retire. If we don’t have a world tour or something at least that ambitious planned by then, we might end up murdering each other. Having Charlie around has been a true blessing, you know. When he hasn’t been working, he and Win have kept pretty close company. They’re like two little boys, playing with their toys.”

“So it’s true, then, what they say about men and boys? About the only difference being shoe size and the price of their toys?”

Molly snickered and soon they were both laughing. “So what’s been bothering you all evening, daughter of mine?” Pulling into Lauren’s driveway, she put the truck in park. “You’ve been a little quiet. Is it Charlie?”

“No, he seems nice enough.” She stared out the window at the darkness and, for a few moments, she didn’t speak. Turning her head, she looked at Molly. “I saw Mary Margaret at the park yesterday.”

The shock coming off her mother was palpable. “Are you sure?”

“It was across the park, and it has been a while, but it was her.” They both fell silent for a few minutes. Molly reached out and squeezed Lauren’s hand, absorbing the implications of the woman’s presence in Leroy.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Daddy that might upset him. Have you heard anything from Shannon recently?” Shannon was her mother’s sister, who had married Earl Vernon, Carl’s brother.

“Not about the Vernons. I’ll call her tomorrow while I’m at work and see if I can find out anything. It’s been nearly thirteen years,” she said quietly. “I wonder if they think people have forgotten about what they did?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I thought I’d moved past all that, and then I saw her yesterday… it brings back a lot of ugly memories. After David and I divorced, I thought I’d worked through all that. Sharon warned me that I’d probably have to face one or both of them at some point, though,” she said, referring to her counselor, “and we talked about how to handle it if it happened.”

“Do you need me to do anything? You know that all you have to do is ask, and I’ll do whatever you need.”

Lauren smiled, squeezing her hand in thanks. “I’ll be okay. I’m not going to lie and say seeing her didn’t bother me, but I’m a big girl, and I can deal with the memories, as unpleasant as they are.” She unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the door handle. “Just give Shannon a call tomorrow, if you get a chance. I’d like to know if they really are back, so I can be prepared mentally.”

“I’ll take care of it and let you know.”

With one last hug, Lauren got out of the car. Grabbing the box of leftovers, she headed into her small house. She waved at her mother, then locked the door against the night, wishing she could do the same against the past.

When Charlie Clark’s alarm clock failed to go off on Wednesday morning and his coffee maker decided to throw all the water in its reservoir all over the kitchen cabinets instead of percolating it through the filter, he should have known it was going to be a bad day.

He was scheduled to work the afternoon and evening shifts at the Lighthouse, and the heavy work load was starting to wear on him. Sonny, the restaurant’s owner and Charlie’s friend, was hoping his doctor would release him back to regular duty sometime in the next couple of weeks, and Charlie would be able to return to his normal schedule.