Truth is in the Darkness (Paynes Creek Thriller Book 2) Read online

  His name was Rudy Richardson.

  He had since popped up countless times on camera in the kidnapping of girls, boys, men, and women. Always evading capture. He’d been involved in the case that had led to my fateful bust. And most recently—just eight months ago—he’d been caught on a surveillance camera just inside the city limits of Paynes Creek.

  While I had yet to see Richardson with my own eyes, I could feel that he’d been here. Perhaps was still here. I didn’t know why he’d come back to Paynes Creek after all this time, but I had the sense that someone was helping him, just as they had twelve years ago.

  It was the pursuit of Rudy Richardson that had led to me playing the role of a washed-up fed who could handle little more than traffic duty.

  I waited, and I watched.

  Fifteen

  Lil

  The cookout was in full swing Friday night, and thirty or so guests were gathered around Grammy’s pool and patio. The crowd included Cooper’s parents, the sheriff and his family, and more of Grammy’s friends. I knew almost all of them—most of them were my friends too, or had been once—although some of the names escaped me. Grammy herself was flipping burgers in a hot-pink-and-white-checked apron that read “Bitch, I Am the Secret Ingredient” across the front.

  Bryn’s yelling suddenly drowned out the music emanating from the other side of the pool. “Look, asshole. Stay, don’t stay, I don’t really care. It’s not like you and I are really together anyway.”

  Jake stood in front of her, looking like a cross between a lovesick puppy and a stunned witness crumbling under brutal cross-examination.

  I looked across the pool at Cooper and lifted my brows. By his expression I could tell he understood what was causing this drama. Once again, I was in the dark about what was happening with those I had once been closest to. And I was sure I was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. Jake had never been one for secrets when it came to girls. He’d dated pretty much everyone in Paynes Creek at some point.

  Jake stepped closer to Bryn and said something in a low voice.

  “There’s not a single person here who cares that I’m being loud,” Bryn said in response, swirling her beer bottle in the air.

  I didn’t think she was drunk. As far as I knew, that was her first beer. I think she just wanted everyone to hear her rip Jake a new one. She rarely turned down any opportunity to raise her voice when she was angry, and she didn’t need an alcohol primer.

  “Fine,” Jake yelled back. “Then I’ll be loud, too. I don’t want to leave, but I also don’t want to fight with you. If you don’t care that everyone here knows we’re sleeping together, then I don’t care either.”

  A laugh bubbled up my throat.

  I noticed Grammy rolling her eyes, but she stayed focused on her grilling, unfazed.

  “Then I want everyone to know that I don’t want you seeing other women,” Bryn announced, still yelling.

  “Fine! Then I want you to know that I haven’t seen another woman since I started seeing you.”

  “Fine.” Bryn huffed out a breath.

  “Fine.”

  A smile crossed Bryn’s face and she slipped into Jake’s arms and kissed him like he’d just professed his undying love for her. This brought applause from the crowd, all of whom, by this point, had been watching the argument.

  I laughed again, but mentally added this to the list of things my best friend had been keeping from me. Just as quickly I forgave her, because they really were cute together. And I was tired of being angry with everyone.

  Cooper came around the pool and joined me. “I’m guessing by the look on your face you didn’t know about the two of them seeing each other.”

  I shook my head.

  “I wouldn’t have either,” he said. “Except I walked in on them last week at Jake’s.”

  I looked up at him. “Walked in on them, as in…?”

  “Yep. And it was exactly as awkward as you might think. I think I’m scarred for life. I was also sworn to secrecy.”

  “This town has gotten better at keeping secrets since I’ve been gone,” I said. Then I closed my eyes. “Sorry, that was a low blow.”

  “I’ll forgive you if you’ll let me buy you a cheeseburger.”

  “You mean one of my grandmother’s Paynes Creek–famous burgers?”

  “She’s practically my grandmother, too, you know.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he grabbed my arm and looked hard into my eyes. “Please forget I said that. I don’t want that image in either of our heads because that would make us related, and I don’t want you having any sort of excuse when I get you to go out on a second date with me.”

  I turned fully toward him. “Second date?”

  “Yes. The first one is right now when I buy you one of those cheeseburgers.”

  “Cooper, I—”

  He placed a finger over my mouth. “Stop right there. I’m just flirting with you. I meant what I said—I do plan on taking you out—but for right now, don’t let this be anything more than me flirting with my high school sweetheart who has come back to town for a visit. Or whatever.”

  He said “or whatever” as if he knew something I didn’t. Like he knew that I had come back to stay but that no one had told me yet.

  He offered me an arm. I stared at it, then met his eyes. With an uneasy smile, I slid my hand through it. “Fine. If you’re lucky, I might even show you where Grammy hid the red velvet cake.”

  “She hid it?”

  “Yes. It always gets eaten too fast, so Drew and I talked her into putting one in hiding just for the grandkids—and anyone we deem worthy of a piece.”

  “I promise I’m worthy,” Cooper said with a smile.

  Loaded with plates of food, Cooper and I headed for Jake and Bryn, who were sitting at a picnic table with Sheriff Daniels and his wife.

  After we all exchanged pleasantries, I leaned across the table to Bryn. “So… when were you planning to tell me that you and Jake are a thing again?”

  “As soon as I knew.” She took a deep, cleansing breath, then spoke to me as if we were just starting a conversation. “Oh, hey, Lil. So, apparently, Jake and I are a thing. Just this moment we decided. In front of everyone at Grammy’s spring cookout.”

  Everyone at the table laughed. Cooper fist-bumped Jake as if he were congratulating him for winning the town’s charity golf scramble.

  “Lil,” Sheriff Daniels said from the other end of the table, “I’m sorry to talk business tonight, but have you had any more trouble?”

  I took a drink of my soda. “Not since someone slashed my grandmother’s tires yesterday.”

  “Yes, I heard about that. I’m staying in contact with the police chief, and Coop and I are still working together. I want you to come down to the station tomorrow morning so we can get your statement and establish a better timeline. And I want you to make a list of everyone who knew you were coming to town and when they knew it.”

  “I will. Thank you for sending officers by the farm throughout the day. It makes Grammy feel better.”

  The sheriff’s wife grabbed his arm. “I think that’s enough shop talk. How about you help me pick out some dessert before the kids eat it all?”

  Sheriff Daniels and his wife gathered their dinner plates and headed off in the direction of the dessert table.

  Cooper, who was already halfway through his cheeseburger, scooted closer to me. His leg rubbed up against mine, and I knew by the way he looked at me that he wanted to touch me. I couldn’t deny that I craved it too, even though I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a bad idea.

  “What about you guys?” Jake asked, pointing back and forth between us. “You seem awfully… close… this evening.”

  Coop shot me a sideways look, and I was sure everyone saw my face redden.

  Bryn gave Jake the evil eye. “You really are clueless sometimes.” She got up and circled the table, then leaned down and gave me a hug. “I’m sorry about yesterday, and, well, about
everything.” She returned to her spot beside Jake, shaking her head at him.

  “What? What did I say?”

  “We talked a few things out,” I said. “We all go way too far back to stay mad at each other for very long.” I winked at Bryn, then took a bite of my burger.

  Cooper placed his hand on my knee, and I sensed it was partly to comfort me and partly a habit he hadn’t quite outgrown from years ago. It seemed natural to be here with him, sitting on Grammy’s back pool deck, a place where we’d all hung out many times throughout high school.

  The four of us ventured down memory lane, sticking only to the good memories of high school. Before long, we were laughing so hard that Bryn nearly blew beer out her nose.

  We almost missed a murmur of whispers moving through the crowd like the first mosquitos waking from a winter nap. Then the sound of a very familiar voice hit my ears the way a spring hailstorm destroys early spring crops. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s total destruction.

  “Well, well, well. Had I known I’d be greeted with a party, I would have worn something fancier.”

  I reached down and grabbed Coop’s hand. “Please tell me that’s not who I think it is.” My eyes found Bryn’s. She looked both alarmed and sympathetic at the same time.

  “Now,” said the voice, “where’s my Calla Lily?”

  I turned slowly in my seat, then stood. Coop stood and grabbed my hand to steady me.

  Standing not ten yards away by the door to the house, was the woman who, legally at least, was my mother. Linda Thomas hadn’t lived in Paynes Creek in more than ten years—not since I left for New York—but she always knew how to make an entrance.

  “What are you doing here, Linda?” Grammy asked, stepping outside. She was wiping her hands on a towel as if she’d just washed them. Knowing her, she had snuck inside to clean up a little while everyone was eating.

  “Back off, Mama. I came to see my sweet Lily.” Linda turned her head, scanning the crowd. I’d seen her, but she hadn’t yet seen me.

  For nearly thirty years I’d dealt with this woman’s sporadic appearances—usually occurring because she’d run out of money—and I’d learned to handle them. To handle her. If I could take some of the resulting stress off of my grandmother, then I would do what I could.

  She wore skin-tight jeans with holes in the knees, and a fitted tank top. A couple of long necklaces draped between her cleavage, and she wore too many bracelets to count. Her hair was platinum-blond, the roots a mixture of salt and pepper. As I walked closer, I noticed that her eyes appeared hollow, and there was a dark tint to the skin beneath one of them.

  “There she is,” Linda said, stretching her arms out to me. “Come give your mama a hug, sweetie.”

  I felt a touch to the small of my back, and I didn’t have to look to know it was Coop. He’d consoled me over this woman too many times to count. And Grammy had been my rock anytime Linda disappointed me, which was often. In fact, I felt a warmth radiating from the entire crowd. I might have been gone from Paynes Creek for years, but these people, even the ones whose names I’d forgotten, were more of a family to me than the woman who was standing in front of me now, calling me her daughter.

  “I believe Grammy asked you a question,” I said when I found my voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “Calla Lily! Is that any way to talk to your mama?”

  “You’re not my mother, Linda,” I spat. I might have had her blood running through my veins, but the woman standing before me had never been my mother. Not really. And the way she’d treated me after I was kidnapped had marked the end of our relationship. “And everyone here knows that. So answer the question. Why are you here?”

  Linda straightened, and her face hardened. “Fine. You want to embarrass the woman who brought you into the world in front of all these nice people, have it your way. I’m here because I’m pregnant.”

  Whispers and gasps erupted behind me.

  “Pregnant,” I deadpanned. “And what? You want us to throw you a baby shower?”

  But not everyone took the news so calmly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Drew sprint across the sidewalk toward Grammy, catching our grandmother just as she fainted.

  “Everyone back the hell up!” Bryn shouted as she pushed through the crowd with a chair cushion and a bottle of water. “Give Grammy some room!”

  Sheriff Daniels supported Grammy’s shoulders and helped her drink some of the water.

  “I’m fine. Stop fussing,” Grammy said, pushing the water away.

  I grabbed Linda by the elbow and led her away from the party, around the side of the house, to the driveway.

  “Ow. You’re hurting me,” she whined.

  When we were alone, I released her elbow, shoving her forward. “Okay, you made your grand entrance. Now why are you really here?”

  She bent over at the waist and let out a whale of a laugh. “Did you see that? That old woman went down like a sack of potatoes. To think she actually believed I was pregnant.”

  I twisted my shoulder back the way a tennis player prepares to hit a forearm, but just as my flat hand was about to make contact with this vile woman’s face, Cooper appeared from out of nowhere and stepped between us. My hand made contact with his cheek, and a sharp crack erupted like a book dropped onto a hardwood floor.

  He simply stepped closer, wrapped his arms around me, pinning my hands to my sides, and backed me away from her. “You don’t want to hit her,” he said softly.

  “The hell I don’t!” I said, struggling in his arms.

  Linda jerked back. “Did you see that? She almost hit me. I should press charges. My own daughter assaulted me.”

  Amazing how fast it went from me almost hitting her to actually assaulting her.

  “That woman deserves everything she gets,” I snapped. “Did you hear her? She’s not even pregnant.”

  Coop loosened his grip on me so he could turn to face her. “I took a hit for you.”

  She walked up and cupped Coop’s reddened cheek. “You always were such a good boy. I always hoped my daughter would wise up and marry you.”

  That was funny. Especially considering how she had reacted after learning that Coop and I had made love for the first time. She called me a slut and commanded me to never see him again. She tried to convince me that all Coop was going to do was get me pregnant and then leave me just like my father had done to her.

  “Look, Linda. Maybe you need to just go,” Coop said. “Come back in the light of day.”

  “Or not,” I said from behind him.

  “And you should probably call first,” Cooper added.

  Linda leaned around Cooper. “I didn’t mean to start something, sweetie. I just wanted to talk to you. But I’ll come back tomorrow when you’ve decided to calm down.”

  Coop shot me a warning look. I decided not to say anything further.

  Linda turned and walked toward the road. A yellow taxi was waiting in the turnabout, the engine running. She got in, and the taxi started off.

  Cooper turned and put his hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay.” I looked away from the taillights disappearing down the long driveway and met Coop’s gaze. That’s when it fully registered what I had just done. “Oh, Coop. I’m so sorry.” I reached out a hand and touched the side of his face. Even in the dim light, I could see that his left cheek was bright red.

  He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I appreciate the warm touch, but let’s hold off for now while the sting is still fresh.”

  “I can’t believe I hit you.” I slammed my hands to my sides, curling my fingers into fists. “But that woman makes me so damn angry.” I shook my head. “I need to check on Grammy.”

  Coop stroked my arms. “She’ll be fine. I’m sure it was a shock to discover that her forty-seven-year-old daughter was pregnant, but mostly I think she just worked herself too hard today, getting everything ready for the party.”

  Bryn and Jake joined u
s in the driveway. “Is that wicked woman gone?” Bryn said. “I know she’s your mother, but I’d love to smack her a good one right now.”

  “I tried,” I said, “but Mr. Hero here stopped me.”

  “I might not have jumped in the way,” Coop said, “except I thought she was pregnant.”

  “She’s not?” Jake said.

  Bryn scoffed. “Puh-lease. You fell for that pile of horse shit?” She put an arm around me. “Come on. Let’s get some dessert. I already discovered where you and Grammy hid the red velvet cake.”

  On the back patio, we found Grammy already back up on her feet and chatting happily with her guests. When she spotted me, she walked over. “I’m so sorry.” She smoothed my hair. “Is she gone?”

  I nodded. “I’m okay. Have fun with your friends. We’ll talk later.”

  I had started to go inside to help Bryn get some plates of cake when Cooper grabbed my hand and pulled me off to one side. “How about you and I try to rectify this date by enjoying our cake on a blanket on the back of the farm? Just you, me, and the stars.”

  “You and me sneaking off together? With all these people here?”

  “These people are all on at least their third beer. No one’s going to notice.”

  I smiled. “It does appear that I owe you one after you managed to get in the way of that slap.”

  “If that’s what it takes, it’s worth it.” He lifted my hand and brushed a kiss across my palm, which still radiated heat. A slap always looked so gratifying in the movies, but no one ever warned that a hit like that stings like hell.

  “Give me a few minutes,” I said. “I’d like to freshen up, then I’ll grab some cake and meet you back out here.”

  “I’ll get the blanket.”

  I went inside, weaved through boxes in the dining room, and headed upstairs. On the second floor, I paused for a moment to press a hand to my heart. I had never thought Cooper and I would openly spend time together on this visit home. I didn’t even know he was in Paynes Creek. Yet now that it was happening, it was a pleasant, much-needed surprise. Especially with how everything in my life had been going lately.