Ever Present Danger (15 page)

She picked up her senior yearbook and began reading the comments classmates had written on the inside cover.

Ivy read remark after remark and wondered how these same classmates would react when they saw how different she looked. She doubted anyone would instantly figure out who she was, and there would be a lot of whispering going on. Could she handle them feeling sorry for her? She decided she could endure it for one night—especially if it meant getting Pete off her back and keeping the sheriff at arm’s length.

She read through several more comments and came across what Bill Ziwicki had written.

Ivy could almost feel the pain Bill must’ve felt when he wrote those words. How could Pete, Reg, and Denny and so many others have been so cruel? And was Ivy any less guilty for having kept silent when she was in a position to speak up and express her disapproval? In spite of her good looks and acceptance by her peers, she’d been as insecure as Bill. She wondered how shocked he would be to know she’d compromised far more than he had.

Ivy sighed. She turned to the pages of senior class photographs and found Joe Hadley’s picture. She studied his face, her mind replaying the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and then Joe gasping for air.

She closed the yearbook and laid it on top of the others, then turned off the lamp and fell back on the bed. She buried her face in her pillow and started to sob, and then sob harder and harder until it seemed as though a dam had broken somewhere deep inside her and there was no stopping it.

How was she supposed to face tomorrow, much less her wretched past, without Lu’s wisdom and gentle prodding? What if she never found the courage to tell the truth about Joe Hadley’s death? What if the pressure got to be too much and she turned to drugs again? What if she couldn’t be the mother Montana wanted or needed? What if life never got any better than it was at this moment?

Oh, Lu. What am I going to do without you? I feel so lost
.

Ivy wept until she had no tears left, then slid out of bed and knelt on the cold wood floor. She couldn’t make herself say anything to God. But she knew He was watching. He seemed so close she could almost feel His breath.

She knelt in the dark a long time, just resting in the quiet. Finally, she climbed back into bed and fell asleep almost the instant her head touched the pillow.

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, and Thursday seemed to run together, but by Friday morning, Ivy Griffith was feeling more like herself and anxious to get tomorrow’s reunion over with. She dropped Montana off at school, then came home and studied her pitiful wardrobe and tried to decide what to wear.

Carolyn Griffith came into Ivy’s room and sat on the side of the bed. “So what’s the verdict?”

“Everything I have makes me look anorexic. It’s depressing enough looking older than I am, but I don’t even have a figure anymore.”

“Is the reunion dressy or casual?”

“Somewhere in between. I guess I could wear my black stirrup pants and a sweater. I don’t really have anything else.”

“Then let’s go shopping.”

“Mom, I can’t afford to spend money on clothes right now. I’m saving for a deposit on an apartment.”

“So let me help out. You’re going to need clothes for work, too.”

Ivy looked at her mother and sighed. “I don’t expect you to buy me things. I can make it till I save some money.”

Carolyn got up and put her arm around Ivy’s shoulder. “I’m thrilled to have my daughter back. I’ve missed the girl stuff. It’ll be fun.”

“I’m not sure anything would seem fun the way I’m feeling these days.”

“I know, honey. It’ll take time for the grief to pass. But wouldn’t it be nice to feel good about yourself when you go to the reunion tomorrow night?”

“That’d take a miracle.”

“Or maybe just a new outfit, a good haircut, and a facial. A manicure might be nice, too.”

“It’s exhausting just thinking about all that.”

“I have a feeling you’ll feel energized once you see how good you can look. You’re still attractive, honey. You just haven’t done the maintenance for a while.”

Sheriff Flint Carter pulled into a parking space at the Phantom Hollow Lodge and got out of the Ford Explorer the county had provided as his official squad car.

He went inside and spotted Charlie and Robin Becket, owners of the lodge, behind the front desk, studying a computer screen.

Charlie gave him a double take and flashed a boyish grin, then put his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot. I’m innocent.”

“We both know that’s a lie.” Flint laughed. “Please tell me there isn’t a long wait for lunch. I’ve been craving Robin’s chicken potpie all morning.”

“We can get you in and out pretty quickly today. Tomorrow’ll be another story.”

“How many are you expecting at the reunion?”

“At last count one hundred and fifty-nine, which includes some spouses and companions. Should be great. They’re already starting to arrive.”

“Yeah, Bobby arranged to talk to some of Joe Hadley’s teammates this afternoon and during the day tomorrow.”

“Any leads on the case?”

“Nothing I can talk about.”

Flint followed Charlie out to the restaurant and sat next to the wall of glass that overlooked Phantom Creek.

“I still love the sound of rushing water,” Flint said.

“Me, too. Smartest thing my granddad ever did was build this place next to that creek. If the charm doesn’t draw them back, the sound will. If I could bottle it, I’d be rich man.”

“So are you ready for tourist season?”

Charlie smiled sheepishly. “You kidding? The back deck still needs to be stained, and the pool needs paint. I got caught up in the dirt bike races, and the cold weather snuck up on me before I could get to it. But I’m proud to say I did make a dozen new pine rockers for the deck. And six more to sell. Gotta do something to keep me out of trouble.”

Flint chuckled. For a moment he was a kid again, daring Charlie Becket to cross the rapids using the big boulders as stepping-stones. The two of them had gotten into plenty of trouble together. How they had managed to survive their foolhardy boyhood adventures seemed nothing short of miraculous.

“I’ll get that potpie right out to you,” Charlie said. “Small salad with blue cheese on the side and black coffee?”

“Yeah, one of these days I may shock you and try something different. Listen, Betty and I want to have you and Robin over for Sunday dinner before you get buried in tourists.”

“Sounds great. Just tell us when.” Charlie turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Flint glanced around the restaurant and noticed it was about half filled with guests. He placed a napkin on his lap and looked out at the rushing water and the bare trees that lined the creek bank, thinking it wouldn’t be long until all of Phantom Hollow was green and lush and dotted with wildflowers.

“I
thought
that was your squad car outside.”

Flint looked up and saw Elam Griffith standing there. “You here for lunch?”

“Yeah, Carolyn’s out shopping with Ivy, and I wasn’t in the mood to make a sandwich.”

“Why don’t you join me?”

“All right. Thanks.” Elam pulled out a chair and sat across from Flint. “So, the Hadley investigation keeping you busy?”

“The final autopsy report came this morning. Didn’t tell us anything new. We know Joe was strangled, but that’s about it.”

“So what now?”

“We’ve pretty much eliminated the ranch hands as suspects. They were mending snow fences on the north side of the ranch that day—miles from the scene. Bobby Knolls has set up a time to talk to the basketball players that are coming in town for the reunion. But truthfully, I don’t think it’s going to lead anywhere. Joe Hadley didn’t seem to have any enemies. Never got into trouble. Never bad-mouthed anybody. Far as I can tell, the kid was a real straight arrow.”

“Remind me if he was dating someone,” Elam said.

“No one steady. He’d gone out with a girl named Amanda Talbot the weekend before he disappeared, but she didn’t know anything.”

The waitress came over to the table and filled two mugs with coffee. “Your potpie will be out in a minute, Sheriff. What can I get for you, Mr. Griffith?”

“Potpie sounds great. Throw in a green salad with ranch dressing.”

“Coming right up.”

“So back to the Talbot girl,” Flint said. “She ran into Joe at school the day he went missing and thought he seemed preoccupied. But that could mean anything, even that Joe had decided he wasn’t interested in her. Everyone else we questioned said his behavior seemed normal.”

“So how in the world did he end up murdered?”

Flint shook his head. “I’ve wracked my brain trying to think what motive anyone would’ve had for killing him. After ten years, I’m still drawing a blank. All we’re really sure of is that Joe Hadley never got on the school bus the afternoon of January 18. We don’t know where or even when the strangulation took place, just that his body was buried on Collier Ranch.”

“Must be frustrating,” Elam said. “So close and yet not close at all.”

“Yeah, it’s become an obsession again. The only thing that
makes sense is that Joe either left willingly with someone after school—or he was abducted.”

Ivy stood in front of the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door and admired the young woman staring back at her.

“What do you think?” Carolyn said.

“I think it’s a miracle. The print on the dress adds at least ten pounds. The blond highlighting brought my hair back to life, and the bob made it look thick.”

“Your eyes are gorgeous,” Carolyn said. “I knew a little makeup would bring out the best in you.”

Ivy went over and put her arms around her mother. “Thanks. At least now I don’t have to feel like the ugly duckling. I was really dreading that.”

“You’ve never said, but since Pete’s called several times this week, I assume you’re going to the reunion together?”

“Actually, we’re not. If you don’t mind me borrowing your car, I’d like to drive myself.”

“You’ve seemed put out with Pete lately.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve both changed a lot.” Ivy paused to choose her words. “Plus he made some jerky comments about my appearance, and I really don’t care to spend time with him.”

“You won’t get an argument from me and your dad. Pete’s a little on the wild side these days. But don’t be surprised if he’s suddenly attentive when he sees how nice you look tomorrow night.”

Ivy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in him.”

“You ready to go downstairs and show off your new self? Montana’s been chomping at the bit since I picked him up from school.”

“I hope he doesn’t faint.”

“Come on,” Carolyn said. “This’ll be fun.”

Ivy followed her mother down the steps and into the living room where Montana was coloring a picture, Sasha lying on the floor next to him. Her father was reading the newspaper.

“Ta da!” Ivy waited until they looked up, and then slowly turned three hundred and sixty degrees. “What do you think?”

“Wow!” Montana got up and came over to her, wearing a wide grin. “You look really pretty, Mom! Your hair’s more blonder.”

Elam Griffith smiled warmly, the way he had the night she went to her first dance. “You look terrific, honey.”

“Thanks.” Ivy caught her mother’s gaze. “For everything.”

Ivy carried a platter of baked chicken and new potatoes to the table and took her place next to Montana. Elam said the blessing, and within seconds Montana had stuffed his mouth with a huge bite of a Parker House roll.

“While you girls were out shopping today,” Elam said, “I had lunch at the Phantom Hollow Lodge with Flint. He’s really working hard to solve the Joe Hadley case. He’s talked to everyone from the hired hands at Collier Ranch to a girl Joe was dating to the basketball team. Still no solid leads.”

Carolyn passed the platter to Ivy. “I just can’t understand why anyone would hurt a nice boy like Joe Hadley.”

“Maybe Joe was kidnapped,” Ivy said. “The sheriff always said that was a possibility.”

“Maybe,” Elam said. “But it’s not likely that a kid his size would be forced off the school premises. It’s more likely he left willingly, which implies it was with someone he knew.”

“But nobody saw him leave, Dad.”

“Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t. It’s hard to say what somebody might own up to now that it’s a full-blown murder investigation. Flint’s not going to leave any stone unturned, I’ll tell you that. The one thing he feels sure of is that whoever killed Joe was at the school that day.”

IVY GRIFFITH DROVE past Jewel’s Café and noted that it was already packed out in Saturday-night fashion. How she wished she were waiting tables instead of attending a class reunion she had no interest in. At least by the time her head hit the pillow tonight, the event would be history—and she could distance herself from Pete, Reg, and Denny until she got Montana settled with her parents and could come forward with the truth about Joe Hadley’s death.