Share No Secrets (34 page)

“Hmmm. He looks like a biter to me,” Keller pronounced. Then he turned to the other policemen. “Men, fan out!” he thundered to the small cluster of patrolmen standing right beside him. “You know the drill. Use utmost caution because our perp is armed and dangerous. I repeat,
dangerous!
Is that clear?”

A general disgruntled murmur and a few smirks appeared behind Keller’s back before his troops marched off into the woods with Keller’s dire warnings still echoing in their heads. Adrienne knew the guy drove Lucas wild. Now she saw why.

“Where is Sheriff Flynn?” she asked.

“Off duty,” Keller replied.

“I know that, but he was supposed to meet me up here,” Adrienne said.

Keller looked cagey. “A little rendezvous?”

Adrienne started to snap back a sarcastic remark, then thought better of it. “Lottie Brent called me. She was here at the cabin. I called Lucas and told him I’d meet with her first so she wouldn’t be afraid and run away again, then he could come just a little while later and we’d take her to the hospital. I didn’t think I could manage her alone. I also knew I should notify someone in authority that I’d located her. But he never showed up.”

The leer faded from Keller’s paunchy face. “You sure he was comin’ up here to meet you?” She nodded. “You sure he’s had plenty of time to get up here?”

“More than enough.” Adrienne knew better than to suggest that she take control of the situation. “Deputy Keller, would you please call him on his cell phone and find out where he is? Maybe he’s had car trouble.”

Sonny Keller frowned, his expression showing the first signs of intelligence it had since he arrived. “Or maybe he met up with that sniper before you did.”

“Just get in the car, Adrienne,” Drew said impatiently. “It’s getting chilly up here and you’re exhausted.”

“I don’t think I should leave until they’ve located Lucas.”

“There are a dozen cops looking for him.”

“Not a dozen.”

“A lot. And cops looking for Lottie. Cops with
guns,
which we don’t have, while there happens to be someone with a semiautomatic rifle roaming around. I, for one, think we should get the hell out of Dodge before we get ourselves killed. You have a daughter to think of, Adrienne.”

“Oh, that’s good, use the ultimate guilt card,” she nearly snarled at him, furious because he was right. She was accomplishing nothing by standing around outside of Lottie’s cabin making a possible target of herself. “I can’t just leave my car up here.”

“Why not? What’s going to happen to it? And may I point out that it’s stuck? It will have to be pulled out of those ruts. My car, on the other hand, had an excellent driver behind the wheel and is still functional. In peak condition. So get in and stop bitching.”

“You are
so
gallant. How could I possibly resist such an offer?”

Adrienne climbed into the dark Camaro that had cruised past her place several times one night, frightening her. Drew said he’d been looking out for her. And maybe he had, she thought. It would be like him to do something on a whim. He probably thought he was being terribly valiant. But she would still rather it was him cruising past her house than Rachel’s boyfriend, Bruce Allard. Vicky said he was okay, just a little arrogant, but Adrienne liked to make her own assessments of people, and the night he’d stopped at her house and nearly insisted Rachel leave with him, he’d made a less than favorable impression.

“I thought that last yawn was going to unhinge your jaw,” Drew said as they pulled off the hill and started south on the highway toward town. “Will you be able to stay awake all the way home?”

“It should only take ten minutes. I’ll make it. What about you? You look fresh as a daisy.”

Drew burst into laughter. “Well, now, I can’t remember the last time a woman said that to me. I think it was my mother when I was two. But I’ve always been a night person. Sometimes it’s not so great. Lends itself to insomnia.”

They drove in silence through the outskirts of town, then turned onto Adrienne’s street. Most of the houses had tasteful, glowing lamps standing beside their front walks. The grounds around Adrienne’s house glared like an amusement park.

“Oh God,” she said. “No wonder none of the neighbors are speaking to me since I had the lights installed.”

“They probably can’t get any sleep. It’s like being in those countries where it’s light half the year.”

“The Land of the Midnight Sun. My mother would be so embarrassed.”

Drew smiled. “Your mother would be glad you had sense enough to put up enough lights to scare away any intruder, unless he’s absolutely nuts.”

They pulled up in front of Adrienne’s house. Drew got out and rushed to open her door, startling her. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had opened a car door for her. She mumbled “Thanks” and could think of nothing else to say as he walked her to the front door, then stood looking at her. “I’m home now,” Adrienne said uncomfortably. “Good night.”

“You’re not brushing me off. I’m staying.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No need. It’s my pleasure.”

“Drew, you are not spending the night with me.”

“I’m not leaving you alone. You can’t call Kit and ask her to stay with you. She’ll be busy at the restaurant until after midnight and then she’s always tired enough to drop dead. Or so I’ve heard.”

“I
know
you have no direct knowledge of
her
sleeping habits,” Adrienne said. “She’s probably the only woman in town who’s missed out on your charms at night.”

“Oh, Adrienne, you make me blush. Of course, since Kit’s not available, you could call up Ellen and have a slumber party. She could tell you about all the spooky things that have happened at la Belle.”

“I think she already has,” Adrienne said morosely.

“Or there’s Miss Snow from the French Art Colony. Now she’s a live wire. She’ll keep you drinking and dancing and trying out new hairstyles till morning.”

Adrienne sighed. “I guess you’re invited for the night.”

“Why, thank you kindly, my lady.”

“Any port in a storm.”

“I was hoping for a more gracious acceptance of my offer, but at least I’m getting in the door.”

“And that’s all you’re getting, buster,” Adrienne said firmly. “If I weren’t scared witless tonight, you wouldn’t be staying here. This is
not
a romantic evening.
No
hanky-panky. Not even any flirting.”

“This is sounding like more and more fun. Am I allowed to take off my jacket, or must I keep it zipped up to my neck?”

“Zip it. I’m going to call and check on Skye. You and Brandon go sit in the living room. I’ll fix you something to drink later.”

“Thanks. We’ll each have a margarita. With salt.”

Louise Granger assured Adrienne that Skye and Sherry had gone to bed before eleven and were now pretending to be asleep, although she could hear them murmuring behind Sherry’s closed door. “Can you remember being that young and having so much to say?” Louise laughed. “Of course, when every little thing from hairstyles to movie stars are of utmost importance, I guess you do have quite a bit more to say than us middle-aged women. Oh, not that you’re middle-aged, Adrienne. You look a good ten years younger than me.”

“No I don’t,” Adrienne said truthfully. “Listen, Louise, I can’t tell you a whole lot about what went on tonight, but I don’t want to leave you completely in the dark. The woman who was murdered at la Belle, Julianna Brent, had been a friend of mine for a long time. I was close to her mother Lottie, too. Lottie has been missing. She lives in a primitive little cabin near la Belle, and she finally called me this evening. I went up there to find her, but she wasn’t home.” Adrienne decided to completely omit any mention of her being the target of a rifle. “The police decided to come up and look for her. Lottie isn’t well and she could be out in those woods, hurt. They wanted me to stay around for a while in case they found her so I could calm her if she was frightened by all the unfamiliar men in uniforms.”

“Well, that poor thing,” Louise said sympathetically. “I’ve heard of her. She sells candles, doesn’t she? We bought some at the Women’s Club. Quite a few of them, really. We do such good work at the Women’s Club. You aren’t a member, are you, Adrienne? You should become one. I’m sure you’d enjoy it
so
much!”

Adrienne nearly let out a groan. Since she was an adolescent, she’d hated club work. “Well, I’m pretty busy now, but we’ll see. So, I just wanted to check on Skye and give you a heads-up on what kept me away from home. Thanks so much for coming to get her and letting her spend the night.” Sensing that Louise was drawing breath for more conversation, Adrienne let out a noisy, fake yawn. “Oh, my goodness, I’m nearly asleep on my feet. Can hardly hold my eyes open. Thanks again, Louise. ‘Bye.”

Louise was saying something about talking more about the Women’s Club in the morning as Adrienne hung up. Please don’t let me be a spineless wimp who gets guilt-tripped into joining, Adrienne asked whoever controlled such matters. She wasn’t a joiner. That forte had always been Vicky’s.

Adrienne called from the kitchen, “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat a bear,” Drew yelled back.

“How about blueberry muffins instead? I got Vicky’s housekeeper, Mrs. Pitt’s, recipe and actually baked a successful batch this afternoon. I could heat them in the microwave and put on a pot of coffee.”

“Sounds good. But what happened to the margaritas?”

“We’re standing vigil tonight, Drew,
not
having a party. Besides, after one margarita Brandon always has the lampshade on his head and wants to salsa-dance.”

“Sounds like fun to me.”

“Vigil
Drew. Keep the word in mind.”

Ten minutes later, Adrienne clattered back into the living room carrying an overloaded serving tray while she talked fast and furious, laughing shrilly as she slopped too much milk into coffee cups and dropped a pat of butter on her best rug.

Finally, Drew reached out and placed two fingers on her lips. “Hush, Adrienne,” he said gently. “Just hush, take a deep breath, and relax.”

Her false gaiety popped like a balloon. “I don’t think I can. I was trying not to be a wreck, to act brave and resilient, but when I was in the kitchen, everything that’s happened tonight hit me. I could be dead—”

“But you’re not.”

She ignored the interruption. “And here you and I sit, talking and laughing like nothing’s wrong while both Lottie and Lucas are missing and someone’s going around
shooting
people, for God’s sake!”

“We don’t know that anyone has actually been shot You were only shot
at—”

“Oh, that’s fine. Shot
at.
I feel so much better now!”

Drew sighed. “Before you get mad at me
again
tonight would you let me finish a thought?” Adrienne shut her mouth. “First, someone shot at you—not once but three times—and you weren’t touched. Now, either that someone is a bad shot, or he didn’t mean to kill you. Second, Lottie wasn’t in the cabin. There was no blood, not even any sign of a struggle. Think of how easy it would for her to hide in the woods she’s lived in all of her life. She probably knows of hiding places no one else has ever seen.”

Adrienne thought of the Hideaway. Ellen knew about it Would Lottie have gone there? Should
she
have told the police about the place? She hadn’t. Now that seemed silly. Still, she didn’t know who might be in the woods, overhearing every word she said. “Third,” Drew continued, “Lucas Flynn didn’t show up. That’s odd, but not necessarily a disaster. A dozen things could have happened to him.”

“Like what?”

“He got a flat tire.”

“He doesn’t answer his cell phone.”

“The battery is dead.”

“You have an answer for everything.”

“No I don’t I’m just saying answers exist that aren’t catastrophic. C’mon, Adrienne, it isn’t like you to be a neurotic pessimist”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve known you since we were six. I had you completely analyzed by the time we turned seven.”

Adrienne gave him a hard look. “Life is just one big joke to you, isn’t it?”

To her surprise, Drew recoiled. Adrienne hadn’t thought anything she could say would really touch him, much less sting. “No, Adrienne, I don’t think life is a joke,” he said solemnly. “I think life is hard and hurtful and very often wantonly cruel. That’s why you have to look for the good things, try to be positive and not always expect the worst. If you don’t, the dark side of life will overwhelm you. You probably find that philosophy as unbearably shallow and banal as you find me, but that’s how I feel.”

He turned his attention to his coffee, taking a deep sip and wincing slightly at its heat, then looking over at Brandon. The dog stared back at him mournfully.

“I don’t think you’re shallow or banal,” Adrienne finally said. “It’s just that in the past you were so cavalier about life. About
me.”
She glanced down at her hands. “I was in love with you years ago. Really in love. And you knew it. If you didn’t feel the same, you could have talked to me, let me down gently,
something
that showed an ounce of consideration for my feelings. Instead, you took off for New York after graduation, called a few times, sent some letters, then some postcards, then got married! I had to hear about your marriage from someone else. Do you have any idea how that felt? I deserved better from you, Drew Delaney. I deserved
better!”

Drew stood up, walked to the front window, and stared out at her front lawn blazing under dusk-to-dawn lights. “Don’t stand in front of the window,” Adrienne said. “You’re making yourself a perfect target if the shooter decided to follow us home.”

“Thanks for caring,” he said absently and stepped back without haste. He didn’t seem at all concerned that someone might be aiming a rifle at him. Adrienne walked over, pulled the draperies shut, then returned to her chair. She couldn’t think of a thing to say.

“Adrienne, I wish I had a good excuse for what I did back then,” Drew finally began, his voice low and hesitant “AU I can say is that I was young and ambitious and extremely self-centered.
And
inexperienced. I’d lived all my life in this little town and then I went to New York City.” He looked at her and smiled regretfully. “It was like being on a different planet. So much was going on all the time. I was awestruck, and I dived into the action like I used to dive into the pool at la Belle. It wasn’t long before this town and everyone in it began to seem far away, not just physically but emotionally. I met new people I thought were bigger, better, more exciting than anyone I’d ever known. It took a few years for me to learn the simple lesson that people are basically the same underneath no matter where they live. It’s only the facade that sometimes glitters more brightly. And that’s when I decided to come home and try to start over.”