Secrets in a Small Town

Mama Jo’s eyes had misted and for a second he’d felt like that lost eleven-year-old boy again. She’d cupped soft, careworn hands around his jaw as she’d said, “You’re a good son. You do what you feel is necessary to make it right for you. Your daddy is gone and it don’t matter to him none. You do this for you. And when you’ve done what you feel needs doing, you know where home is.”

He’d choked up and Mama Jo had wrapped him in a hug that said as much as her words.

Heading back to California, it’d felt as if he were going to battle.

Just thinking of that day so many years ago caused tears to spring to his eyes and, if he wasn’t careful, he’d end up a slobbering, bawling mess at his desk.

So when Mama Jo called, he always answered if he could.

“Hello, Mama,” he said when she picked up the line. A smile formed at the sound of her voice as her face appeared in his memory. “I just got your message. What’s going on? Everything okay? Did you get that package I sent?”

“Sure did. Never seen fruit arranged like that before. It was good, though Christian and Thomas wiped out the chocolate-topped strawberries before I could blink.”

“Oh, Mama, you should’ve smacked their paws as soon as they tried reaching for them,” he grumbled. He loved his brothers but he’d paid a pretty penny to have the fresh fruit arrangement delivered across the states. The overnight cold-storage shipping had been nearly as pricey as the arrangement but Mama was worth it. “I just wanted you to have something different for your birthday.”

“It was very thoughtful of you and I loved it, don’t you worry. But I wasn’t calling about the arrangement. I want to know if I can get a commitment out of you to come visit.”

She always asked, but there was something else in her voice—an underlying urgency perhaps that gave him pause. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Does there have to be some kind of calamity for you to visit your family?” she joked, but it didn’t escape his notice that she’d sidestepped the question. A trickle of unease made his heart race. “It’s just time to come home for a visit. Don’t you think? It’s been years,” she reminded him.

“It’s high time,” he agreed, but he was looking at his calendar and there weren’t too many open spots. Still, he couldn’t get himself to just shut her down. “I’ll see what I can do, Mama,” he offered, but the weight of her disappointment pressed on him to try harder. He flipped his calendar, scanning for any possible leeway. “How about I bring you here for a visit? We could take a drive into the Bay, see the sights…”

“Maybe another time. You let me know when you can come. I’ll see that your brothers are here, too. It’s time we spend some time catching up.”

“Okay,” he agreed, but he didn’t know how the hell he was going to manage it. “Everything okay? You sound funny.”

“Never tell a lady that, son,” she admonished. “Take care, honey. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mama,” he murmured, still troubled even as he disconnected. He’d have to call Thomas. His older brother always knew what was going on with Mama. He was the only one who’d stayed behind, getting a job with the local FBI office out of Pittsburgh. He’d recently moved back to Bridgeport with his wife, Cassi.

In Thomas’s case, he’d married his childhood sweetheart—eventually. Before the happily-ever-after happened, he’d been hell-bent on putting her in federal prison. From the stories he’d heard, Cassi had communicated her displeasure with that idea by repeatedly punching, kicking and scratching Thomas each time he tried.

As for Christian, he’d managed to fall in love with a woman on the run from a real bad character that had, for all intents and purposes, enslaved her for his own gain.

His brothers had a knack for finding the most difficult women on the planet and then falling in love with them. He was going to buck that trend. If he didn’t, he might end up shackled to someone like that reporter.

He waited for the shudder. But when it came, a shiver of awareness followed and that freaked him out more than finding a rattlesnake in his toilet.

PIPER DONNED A BIG, FLOPPY HAT to shield herself from the sun and exited her car, scanning the farm for her parents. She found them laughing and talking with Tia and Rhonda as they fawned over the new baby. She trudged that way, each step reminding her to stow her annoyance at being pulled away from spending time at the library going through the archived newspapers on microfiche, because she truly loved these weird, left-to-center people with all her heart.

Tia exclaimed when she saw Piper. “There she is. Little Miss Intrepid Reporter. Come here, you, and give me a hug,” Tia demanded with mock seriousness. “For a while, I started to think you’d forgotten all about your friends and family in your quest for journalistic fame.”

“You’re a hard bunch to forget,” Piper said, returning the embrace. “How’s the new baby?”

Tia glanced down at the sleeping baby tucked into a beautiful antique pram that Tia likely rescued from a garbage heap somewhere and the corners of her mouth tipped in a gooey smile. “She’s perfect.”

Rhonda smoothed a lock of jet-black hair from the baby’s porcelain China-doll face. “More than perfect. Divine.”

Piper smiled indulgently, but held her tongue. She’d never understood the baby thing. To her, the kid looked like any other newborn. Sort of smooshy and wrinkly. And helpless. Piper couldn’t even commit to a fish, much less a kid. “So what’s her name?”

“Echo Breeze,” Tia answered, sharing an adoring look with Rhonda.

Echo. Whatever happened to traditional names like Mary or Nicole? She’d often wished her parents had picked something a little less out there when they’d named her. The kids in school had teased her mercilessly. She gazed down at the baby with a rueful expression. Good luck with that name, kiddo. “She’s cute,” Piper acknowledged, then moved to her parents with an expectant expression. “So what’s the plan? I have an appointment later today and can’t stay the full day.”

Her mother frowned but seemed to understand. “We’ll start with the seed blessings and the offering to Gaia and then we’ll start planting. It’s a shame you can’t stay. Farley was going to sing at the banquet.”

“Yeah, bummer,” Piper said, nodding, yet inside she chortled at her luck. Farley sang like a boy whose balls hadn’t dropped yet. She found it odd, and not in a good way.

“So what are you working on these days?” Rhonda asked. “I read the piece on Big Trees Logging. Fantastic. It’s about time someone called that sucker out for what he’s doing to the land under the guise of legitimate business. Hopefully, a follow-up piece is on the horizon.”

“Actually, that was the third piece and I’ve run out of steam on that angle. I’ve been working on something different now.” Something far more interesting. She smiled. “But don’t worry. There’s always something to uncover.”

“You bet there is,” Rhonda agreed vehemently. “With the amount of corruption out there, you could find things to write about for years. However, I’m sure your parents told you about the tree-sit that’s coming up, right?”

They hadn’t but she’d had to cut their conversation short during lunch, so that could account for her not knowing. “They might’ve mentioned it,” Piper murmured vaguely, mildly troubled at the prospect. Tree-sits always made her nervous. If people were meant to sit in trees, God would’ve given them feathers. Her aversion to heights wasn’t phobic but she certainly wouldn’t volunteer to shimmy up a tree unless her life was in danger.

“Well, it’s going to be great. We have a good group this time.”

“Are they really that effective?” Piper wondered out loud, earning a quizzical look from Tia that made it seem as if Piper had just uttered something in a foreign language. “I mean, you go up in the tree, you manage to shut things down for a few days at most until Big Trees Logging manages to find a way to get you to come down.” She’d never truly subscribed to the ecoterrorism bent of her parents’ group but what could she do? They were her family.

“Of course they’re effective, particularly when we have our very own reporter to capture everything, right?” Tia smiled but Piper could only return a wan imitation. She was beginning to feel more like a tool to further the personal agendas of her “family” than an actual journalist. Not for long, a voice whispered in her head, bolstering her flagging spirit. Soon, she’d have the biggest story this town had ever seen.

“Well, tree-sits aside, this town seems to have more than its share of corruption from philandering politicians to drug-trafficking,” Piper said. “It’s not hard to find people doing things they shouldn’t, it’s finding people who will go on record with their proof.”

Tia and Rhonda agreed, but Piper could see their interest level had slipped. The baby made some kind of gurgle—or a burp—and they both dissolved into cooing, doting mommies with a one-track mind, effectively forgetting the grown-up talk in the blink of an eye.

Somewhat relieved, Piper went to search for her parents, who had slipped away to mingle before the blessing ceremony.

She found them in a cool, shaded spot, enjoying fresh lemonade.

“I can’t wait to have grandkids,” her father said, surprising her.

“Well, you’re going to wait a long time,” she quipped, shuddering at the thought of being a parent. “My biological clock is set to snooze, so don’t start picturing little heathens just yet.”

Her father nodded but he was plainly disappointed. “Of course, sweetheart. I was just saying…looks like a cool gig.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” For someone else. “But I’m nowhere near ready for that kind of commitment. Besides, I can’t be thinking about kids when I’m chasing after big stories.”

Her mother agreed, nodding resolutely. “That’s right, Piper. Keep your eye on the prize.”

Yep. Although she didn’t think she and her mother were on the same page as far as the prize went. However, that was a fight for a different day. “I think I need some lemonade, too,” she announced, but as she turned she found herself face-to-face with Farley. “Oh! I’m sorry, I nearly ran you over,” she said, trying hard not to let her lip curl in distaste. Why her parents thought he was a good catch she’d never understand.

If Piper had one word to describe Farley Deegan it would be lanky. In fact, he reminded her of Charlie Yertz, and that wasn’t a compliment in her mind.

Farley was at least six feet tall and probably weighed one hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet. He always seemed to slink when he walked and when he touched her, she was overwhelmed by the urge to wash. He wasn’t that bad, really. In fact, at one time she’d been briefly charmed by his gentle manner and passive nature, but as she’d matured, she found him…annoying.

And the fact that he was clearly eyeing her as the most suitable candidate to bear his progeny made her want to run, screaming, the other way.

The idea of Farley’s penis… Ugh. It was too much to even fathom.

The awful part? She’d already seen it because, as Owen so mockingly put out there, a community of nudists had raised her.

And Farley had gleefully chucked his clothes whenever possible.

At the thought, she tugged her mom’s shirt hem and leaned over to whisper, “The blessing will be performed fully clothed, yes?” When Coral nodded, she didn’t hide her relief.

Farley, on the other hand, was quick to show his disappointment. “That’s a shame. It seems highly appropriate to be nude as the day we are born when asking for bounty from the earth.”

“Yes, well, it’s a little on the nippy side and we wouldn’t want anyone to shrivel up unnecessarily,” she said, unable to hold her tongue. She received a look from her mother for her uncustomary sharpness and she exhaled loudly. “I’m getting lemonade.”

“I’ll go with you,” Farley announced, making Piper want to groan, but what could she say? She forced a tight smile and started walking briskly in the hopes that it might curtail conversation. No such luck. Farley loped alongside her with ease and started yammering. “You look great, Piper. You blossom more and more into a beautiful woman each time I see you.”

“Thanks, Farley,” she said, and simply to be polite, added, “And you seem to get taller each time I see you.” And more annoying.

“When I see you, it’s nearly impossible not to remember what good times we’ve had together.” She cringed inside. If he had the gall to bring up the time they… “You know what I particularly enjoy remembering?” Oh God. He’s going to do it. She walked a little faster. He slipped his hand into hers, causing her to startle and jump a little. He took advantage in her loss of momentum and pulled her close even as she resisted. “Your lips were like drops of summer rain dancing on mine. It was like…heaven.”

Her cheeks fired with intense heat and she tugged her hand out of his grasp. She took a quick glance around to make sure they were relatively on their own then glared at Farley, who was watching her with confusion at her obvious rejection. “Listen, Farley, I don’t feel that way about you. Once, when I was a teenager, I thought you were mildly cute. But I’ve grown up and we don’t suit. Please stop trying to make something out of nothing.”

“We had a connection,” he persisted, his brown eyes going melty and gooey again. He grasped her hand and put it to his heart. “I felt it here. I know you did, too.”

“Stop it,” she snapped, jerking her hand away. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Go find a connection with someone else. I’m not attracted to you in that way and I don’t relish hurting your feelings but you have to take a hint. It’s not going to happen with you and me.”

His mouth hardened. “We do suit. In time, you will see that. But I’m patient. I’ll wait.”

She groaned. “What’s it going to take? Trust me, if you wait, you’ll wait your life away, because I’m not interested. I’ve changed and you deserve someone who will appreciate your particular beliefs and way of life.” She was trying to be nice but he just wasn’t getting it. She didn’t want to pull her ace because it was also an H-bomb but she didn’t see that she had a choice. “Farley, I stopped being a vegetarian years ago. I’m a…meat eater.”

His eyes widened at her admission, which was exactly what she was going for. She didn’t like to think of herself as cruel but she did register the smidge of enjoyment she gained from his look of horror. “Meat? How could you?” he asked, pained.

She shrugged. “What can I say? I like a juicy steak.”

He shuddered in revulsion and she nearly crowed. “See? We don’t suit. Stop wasting your time on me and find someone who likes tofu.”

Piper thought she’d won but then the look on Farley’s face made her uneasy. He had the look of a man on a mission, like he was going to make it his job to bring her back to the fold. Oh, Lord, please not that. He clasped her hands in earnest and she wanted to stomp her feet in frustration.

“Piper, you’ve just lost your way. You can come back to us. I’ll help you, my love. You just need to remember that you’re eating a living being and think of the terror that animal must’ve felt at its last moment before slaughter. I know you’re not capable of that kind of cruelty.”

Ugh. She pulled away. “Farley…leave me alone.”

She was thankful when he stayed behind.

CHAPTER FIVE

PIPER MANAGED TO AVOID Farley for the rest of the day, a small fact she was immensely grateful for, but there was no escaping her thoughts.

She couldn’t blame Farley entirely for his misplaced affections. At one time, she had thought Farley was cute enough, but really, thirteen-year-old girls have no true appreciation for what makes for an attractive male and that fact shouldn’t be held against her for the rest of her life.

It was safe to say she’d changed in more ways than just her penchant for meat. During the blessing, her thoughts had wandered to Owen and it was a full minute before she realized the route and quickly redirected.

Her gaze drifted covertly over the crowd, taking in the people she’d known her whole life, and while she loved them to pieces, there was the distinct feeling she sat apart from them. At one time she’d felt completely at home eating tofu and sunbathing nude. Now, she didn’t know if that was her path.

Her father caught the unhappy sigh that escaped before she could stop it.

“What’s wrong, peach pit?” he asked.

“I’m just preoccupied,” she answered, which was only slightly untruthful. “I’m sorry I’m not great company today.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Pah. You’re always good company. And you know, don’t worry about that stuff I was saying about grandkids. I’m plenty young enough to wait a while longer. Just not too long,” he teased, eliciting a rueful smile on her part.

“No promises, but I won’t rule it out. How’s that?”

“Sounds like a good compromise.”

“Jasper…I was wondering…the other day I got the impression that you and Coral knew more about the Red Meadows incident than you wanted to let on. What was I picking up on?”

He frowned and pulled away. “Nothing. Why?”

An odd, uncomfortable tingle buzzed the back of her skull. She’d never known her parents to lie to her, about anything. Yet, she couldn’t stop the nagging certainty that her father was lying to her. “Dad?”

She only used the traditional name when she wanted to get their attention. It worked. Jasper shook his head, faint agitation in the movement. “Honey, why are you so curious about the Red Meadows stuff? It’s a terrible shame on the town of Dayton. We all would just like to forget about it.”

“I imagine it’s hard for Owen Garrett to forget,” she murmured, glancing up to meet her father’s troubled gaze.

“We all have crosses to bear,” he said simply.

“Yeah, but some are heavier for others, wouldn’t you say?”

He shrugged. “That’s the way it goes.”

“Why should a son bear the sins of the father?”

Speculation glittered in Jasper’s eyes. “Where is this coming from? This sudden need to know all about Red Meadow? It happened when you were just a baby. It’s ancient history by now and best left there.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Why?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a little digging and—”

“Stop.”

She stared. “What? Why?”

“Because nothing good will come from dredging up that mess. There were too many people who were hurt, ashamed and broken after that incident. I don’t want you anywhere near it.”

“I don’t understand—”

“Just do as I ask,” he demanded sharply, startling her. He collected himself to add more gently. “Please.”

All her life, she’d known her father as the kindest man on the planet. Yet, with the topic of Red Meadows between them, he seemed to harden. She didn’t know what to make of this version of her father. She glanced at her mother, who was chatting with another community member, and wondered what hid behind the laughter of the two people Piper trusted the most.

The thought scared her as much as the knowledge that she wouldn’t stop until she found out.

OWEN’S CELL PHONE BUZZED on his desk, set in motion by the vibration and he caught it before it danced right off the desk. He frowned when he saw it was Gretchen.

“What’s up, Gretch?” he asked, noting the late hour.

But instead of Gretchen, he heard the frightened quiver of seven-year-old Quinn on the other line. “O-wen,” she said in a tight whisper. “Can you come get me? I’m scared.”

He stood and grabbed his keys. “Sure, honey. Where’s your mama?” he asked, keeping his voice calm even when a bad feeling had started to crawl down his spine. “Everything okay?”

“Nooo,” she wailed, letting loose with a stream of babbling that he couldn’t hope to piece together until she stemmed the tears.

“Hold on, honey, I can’t understand you when you’re crying. Tell me what’s going on. Where’s your mama?” he asked again.

She sniffed back the tears and answered in a watery voice. “He took her.”

“He who?”

“Danny. And he was real mad. They were yelling and mama was crying,” she said, lowering her voice as if she were afraid that Danny might hear her. “And he hit her in her tummy. Mama was hurt real bad I think. And I’m s-scared that he’s going to come back and get me, too. Please hurry, Owen.”

“You got it, sweetheart. But I want you to do something for me until I get there, okay?”

“Uh-huh,” she agreed, listening.

“I want you to walk over to Mr. Peters’s house and wait for me there, okay?”

“But Mama said not to leave the house when she’s gone,” Quinn said, worried.

“That’s a very good rule and I’ll tell your mama that I said it was okay just this once.”

“Okay,” Quinn said, her tone solemn and trusting. She sniffed again. “Do you think Mama is going to be all right?”

“I hope so, sweetheart. Now, hang up and walk to Mr. Peters’s right now. I’m leaving the office and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

Quinn hung up and he pictured her running through the dark to the elderly neighbor’s house, a man Owen knew would keep her safe until he got there. As he ran to his truck, he dialed 9-1-1 and quickly told the dispatcher the situation.

His mind raced with the bare bits of information Quinn had given him but he tried not to let his imagination paint the worst picture possible. It wasn’t as though a seven-year-old was the best source of information but there was an ominous feeling at the base of his skull that he couldn’t shake.

A punch to the gut when a woman was in her third trimester… He didn’t know much about babies but he had a bad feeling that it spelled tragedy.

Damn it, Gretchen, I told you he was bad news.

IN A LIGHT DOZE AFTER SLUGGING down a half-pint of creamy mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, Piper nearly jumped at the shrill beep of her portable scanner as EMS crews rolled out on a call. She blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes to focus on the time. Geesh, nearly eleven o’clock at night. She listened to the call, contemplating just following up in the morning and dragging herself to bed, until she heard “possible kidnapping, scene unsecure” and suddenly all remnants of sleep evaporated. She hopped from the sofa and ran to her bedroom to tug on her jeans and sweatshirt. Within minutes, she was on her cell phone to dispatch getting the location of the incident and then she was in her car, barreling toward what she hoped was something big.

She pulled up to a residence flanked by deep forest growth in a neighborhood sparsely populated by older homes typically used as rentals. She recognized the address for a few disturbance calls she’d read in the police log, but nothing major. She didn’t normally chase after ambulances on a domestic-violence arrest unless it sounded particularly violent.

She exited her car and was two steps toward the incident commander when a familiar voice turned her around.

“Sniffing after blood?”

She stared at Owen, momentarily thrown off track by his presence at the scene. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“None of your business.”

Her mouth tightened but she didn’t have time to play games or trade witty banter. “Fine. Suit yourself. If you’re a witness to whatever went down here, I’ll just find out myself when I read the report.”

In the pale moonlight, the planes of his face seemed to harden and he looked ready to hurl a litany of curse words her way but as she tried to leave, he stopped her again.

“Listen, I need a favor,” he bit out, and she turned slowly, not quite sure she’d heard him correctly. Owen needed a favor from her? How deliciously fortuitous.

“What kind of favor?” she asked, more curious than anything else. “Nothing illegal I hope.”

“Don’t print this story,” he said.

“I don’t even know what the story is yet. Why don’t you tell me?”

He looked away, plainly wrestling with his desire to tell her to go screw herself and his need to play nice to gain a favor. Finally, he said in a low voice, “Okay. I don’t know what’s going on but my office manager seems to be missing. Her daughter—”