The Devil Wore Sneakers (18 page)

Where would he hide? Their talks had never centered on the sights in Barley. She’d no idea where the devil, Matt, was hiding.

* * *

The Moose had already opened when Liam knocked on Lucy’s door the next day. Yesterday, the local evening news repeated that Ali Smith was missing and asked anyone with information to contact their local police.

Now Liam wanted to check on Lucy. She stepped aside for him to enter the apartment.

“I wanted to see how you were doing. I know you took Ali’s disappearance hard yesterday.” He turned and scanned her face.

“Matt kidnaped her. It makes sense. He loves young girls and he’s in Barley.”

Her voice sounded strong. In reality, she was falling apart or plain old going crazy. Matt was in her head, in her every thought, and refused to leave. She needed to concentrate on Ryan. Yet Matt was in Barley because of her. Rubbing her forehead, she sank down into the chair.

“Did you talk to Teagan yet?”

“I’m not ready. Teagan and Lisa went through hell because of Matt. Both of them have had to deal with the emotional repercussions of Lisa’s abduction.”

Liam took her hand. The restaurant’s pine-scented freshener lingered on his clothes.

She drank in his warm touch, his look of concern, and the tenderness in his eyes. “Thank you, Liam, for your help.” She dipped her gaze and drew in a steadying breath.

He tightened his grip.

On impulse, she brushed her fingers across his cheek and felt the scrape of his whiskers. “I was wrong to judge you when I’ve done things that I don’t like to talk about, but I have to be strong and face my wrongs.”

He bent his head and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Her skin tingled, and she fought the urge to slip her arms around him and seek the emotional shelter she desperately needed. “I don’t want to make another mistake.” Whenever her life took a disastrous turn, she’d used a man to try to escape, which ended with dreadful results.

“We’re older and can deal better with our lives.”

Was he suggesting something?

“I’m always going to love you, Luce. No matter what happens. That’s how it works.”

She inhaled a quick, sharp breath. All these years later, he still cared— or did he?
Be careful. Don’t repeat your mistakes because he says what you wanted him to say.
Other men had whispered similar words to her. They lied
.

Yes, telling people what they hoped to hear was easy. She tapped her fingertips on her thigh, fighting to listen to the voice in her head. “My life is messed up right now, Liam. I’m sure you noticed.”

“Since your brother’s murder—”

“It’s not just Ryan’s death.” She swallowed, and her face heated. Nerves ate at her stomach.

She walked to the window and yanked it open. The cold air chilled her warm skin. Her eyes burned with lack of sleep. She turned to him.

His gaze fastened on her face. “You’ve admitted your mistakes and worked on amends. If we didn’t get second chances, no one would change. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“I don’t want pity, Liam.”

“I won’t give you any.”

She stared down at her fingers, which she was twisting together, and forced herself to drop her arms to her sides. If only she could trust her feelings for him and his for her. “You’re not impartial.” She stood motionless, afraid to breathe because then her resolve would disappear.

He moved away, and disappointment rippled through her.

“I have an idea. No more questions or doubts. We’ll look out for each other. No pressure.”

His speech stirred feelings and memories of the old Liam, the one she’d loved, and she wondered if he’d missed her. She’d second-guessed her decision to leave Barley years ago many times. “You can’t relive the past.”

“Really? Because having you here has made me understand even more how much I wished you’d come home sooner.”

It was the Liam she knew in front of her, challenging and teasing her. She shook her head. “You’re such a sweet talker, McAllister.”

“Lucy—”

A knock on her door interrupted him.

“Hello, Lucy? It’s Flo. I’m here for my picture.”

“Picture?” His lips parted in surprise. “Are you going into a new business or having your hair done?”

“Coming, Flo.” She crossed the floor while explaining. “I’m taking pictures for the website. Today is trivia. When we have the drink competition, I’ll do the same. I sent Flo a message last night when I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t expect her to rush right over to the Moose this morning.”

Lucy let their neighbor, the town hairdresser, inside.

She was dressed in a pink flowing dress, and her beehive hairdo seemed higher than ever. She’d finished her appearance with dark eyeliner and red lipstick. “Hi, Liam, how ya doing? I can’t wait to see your new website.”

“You and me both, Flo.” He lifted his brows in amusement.

“Lucy, my team is on their way. We named ourselves the Five Shades of Gray since there are five of us, and we’re the oldest. Get it?”

“I do. Ah, Liam, do you have a camera I can borrow? If not, I’ll use my phone.”

“One camera coming up.” He strode out of the room.

“This is great, but I apologize, Flo. I didn’t mean you had to hurry to the Moose.”

“No problem. I was free at this time, and so were the others. Three of them are retired and are more flexible.”

“I’m happy you’re up for the idea. I wonder where Liam went.”

“He’ll be in the picture with us, right?”

“I’m sure he’d be honored.”

“That man is such a hottie. If I were younger, I’d love to give him a spin.”

Lucy stared at Flo. Maybe their team name had another meaning.

The hairdresser winked. “You understand. You two used to go out.”

“I do.” She understood too well.

Chapter 24

Matt huddled closer to the fire he’d built on the dirt road. His new home, an abandoned trailer, sat a few feet away from the lane, with the added feature of feral cats living underneath the RV. The felines’ fights and shrieks during the nights brought up memories from his childhood of stifled cries while hiding in dark closets with his mother, praying her latest boyfriend wouldn’t find them— and her screams when he did.

He didn’t remember the men’s names. She’d exchanged them often, and they were all the same. How well he remembered his mother’s sobs and pleading. One of her men ordered Matt to be a man and watch the torture of his mother or endure a beating with a metal pipe.

As he grew older, he’d learned to steal to survive. Another of his mother’s boyfriends showed him how to hack into online accounts. His computer talents increased, but when he stole another person’s life and lived it, that was his finest moment.

The pop of the bonfire snapped Matt out of his reverie. He swiped up a handful of twigs and fed them to the blaze. Once the flames increased in size and heat, he’d be ready to bring her out from under the covering in the rear of the truck.

He visualized himself fastening his present around the girl’s slender neck. The look of fear would glimmer in her eyes, and muffled sobs would escape from her taped mouth. Her desperate struggle and then her helplessness when she couldn’t break the zip ties securing her wrists and ankles.

The wind whistled and howled. Nobody in this tiny town would venture out to hunt for the girl in the dark and cold. In the nighttime, the activity stopped, except in the Barley Center. Fools.

He picked up the dog-training collar and admired the name etched on it: Ali.

Chapter 25

March 27

Lucy worked in Liam’s office. The Moose was quiet when she finished uploading pictures on the bar’s website. Before yesterday had ended, the other six trivia teams had shown up for their photos. Each group suggested new poses, hoping to be more outrageous than the last, until she reminded them the site was G-rated. Liam dropped in during each session. He joked with all of them while asking about their families and work.

She clicked through the pictures until she came to the one she’d loaded last, the selfie of herself and Liam. He was pretending to serve her. She paused to study their expressions captured by the lens. She leaned toward him, her head tilted back, and stared into his eyes. The light in his made her pulse leap.

She hit Delete and glanced down at the suspects’ names on the piece of paper on the desk.

At the knock on the office door, she jumped in her seat.
Geesh, get it together.
She gathered her thoughts. Liam? No, he’d just enter. She turned off the computer and drew in a steadying breath. “Come in.”

Sadie bounced into the room. “Hiya. Boss wants me to take your lunch order. Our special today is tuna melt and fries.”

“I’m in for the sandwich, but I shouldn’t eat fries.”

“If you like ′em, you should eat ′em. That’s what I learned from your brother’s death.”

Lucy blinked at the unexpected sting. “Right. Ryan won’t be eating anything.”

“I’m sorry.” Sadie sank down on the couch, shoving the sleeping bag out of the way. “I shouldn’t have mentioned your brother. Sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with my mouth.”

“You’re human.” Lucy scrubbed a hand over her face and regained control. “I’m supposed to be working on the website, but I keep thinking about Ryan. I made up a list of people who’d shoot him.”

“Wow. That’s scary. Hey, I’m not on it, am I?” Sadie leaned forward, raising her chin to sneak a peek at the names.

“I didn’t write your name. How often did Ryan come into the Moose?”

“Not enough for me to want to kill him. He never complained about my cooking. In fact, he complimented me a few times.”

“Okay, did he ever have a run-in with a customer, or did you hear rumors that someone was mad at him? A girlfriend or a husband?”

“Sorry, hon. Bella talked about him, but if you listened to her, Ryan was better than all the guys who’d been on
The Bachelor
.”

“I’m sure.” Lucy glanced down at her short roll of suspects. “I’ve lost touch with the people Ryan hung with over the last few years.”

“That’s easy. He dropped in to talk to the boss and Bella. Hey, what about his ex-wife? She seems meaner than a turkey vulture on steroids.”

“Clarissa is memorable. Did Bella and my brother argue?”
The Girlfriend Did It
. That could be the name of a movie.

“If she had her way, she’d be living with Ryan. She explained he was gun-shy about marriage after his last one, but she’d picked out an engagement ring that he bought and she wore on Valentine’s Day. Supposedly, she returned it to him because she wanted a surprise proposal.”

“Maybe she got tired of waiting.” And she’d given him a surprise.

“They were together a lot, and Bella was always smiling. She’d have to change real quick to become a killer, but the TV shows talk about women who snap. Guess you should put her on the list. I don’t know his teacher friends.”

“No one mentions them much.” Mr. Carlyle might help, but he seemed almost like the token rep sent to all the funerals.

“I gotta go back to work or Chip will start cooking the orders. He has his eye on my job.” She started across the room.

“Oh, Sadie, how are things with you and Hank?”

Her mouth became a slash. “No action there. The guy says he can’t afford to get involved until he settles his custody case.”

“He mentioned a daughter.”

“Yup, he showed me her picture. She’s a cutie. I’ll put in your tuna melt order with extra fries.” Sadie winked. The door clicked shut behind her.

Lucy plugged Mr. Carlyle’s name into the search box on the monitor and found the school number. Thank you, Mr. Google. She dug out her cell and listened to the ring. Maybe she’d catch him at lunch. The secretary asked her to hold on, and she’d find out if Mr. Carlyle was available. As Lucy was about to disconnect, the teacher answered. Lucy set up an after-school appointment with him and then resumed work on the website.

Liam was busy with distributors most of the day. He stopped up to see her, and she pulled up the candids of the teams for him.

He nodded to the screen. “I doubt you’d call them candids since they posed, but they do convey each team’s uniqueness.”

“They look like people enjoying themselves at the Moose. When I put up the new website, I think you’ll attract more customers.”

He glanced out the window. His eyes darkened, and silence fell over the room.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“What? Yes, I’ll be busy with Moose business. If you need me—” He crowded up to her chair. “Text me.” His fingertips brushed her collarbone and lingered too long to be an accident.

Before she could say more, he turned and left. Unable to stop herself, she retrieved their picture from the screen’s trash.

* * *

The school bus had already driven past on its afternoon run when Mr. Carlyle arrived. Lucy was waiting upstairs and invited him into the kitchen. She put the kettle on the stove for his tea and opened her almost bare cabinet. Maybe she should have kept a cookie from Bella. Nah.