Authors: Kathy Herman

Tags: #Murder, #Christian, #Single mothers, #General, #Witnesses, #Suspense, #Religious fiction, #Fiction, #Religious

Ever Present Danger (9 page)

BOOK: Ever Present Danger

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“I’m not glad,” he mumbled. “I wanna go back to Denver. I hate it here.”

“Hey.” Ivy came over and stood next to him. “That’s no way to talk. Grandmother Griffith has been very nice to us.”

“I don’t care! I want Gramma Lu!” Montana wiggled out from under Carolyn’s arm, then turned and ran up the stairs.

Ivy started to go after him, and Carolyn gently took her arm. “Let him go, honey. You’re not going to get a seven-year-old to change his mind about hating what’s happening. We all hate it.”

A door slammed, and Ivy sighed. “I won’t stand for him treating you like the enemy.”

“Well, maybe he perceives me to be the enemy right now. He’s about to lose the only grandmother he’s ever known, and it probably feels as though we’re all expecting me to take her place.”

“That’s not true.”

Carolyn’s eyes widened. “It is to a scared little boy.”

Ivy finished putting the dinner dishes in the dishwasher when the doorbell rang. A few seconds later, her father stood in the doorway, his mouth forming a straight line of disgust.

“Pete Barton is here,” Elam Griffith said. “What do you want me to tell him?”

Ivy didn’t say what she was thinking. “I’ll come talk to him.” Elam mumbled something under his breath and went upstairs. Ivy went to the front door and saw Pete standing on the porch,
a Denver Broncos stocking cap pulled down over his ears. She went outside and closed the door behind her.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet your high school sweetheart?” Pete flashed his trademark smile that would have melted her a decade ago.

“If you came to tell me the sheriff knows Joe was strangled, my dad already told me.”

“I figured.” He took a card out of his ski jacket pocket and handed it to her. “Actually, I wanted to give you the invitation to the class reunion. I called and made reservations for the four of us.”

Ivy glared at him. “I told you I wanted to think about it.”

“Okay. But now you’re all set if you decide to go.”

“I already told you I’m ashamed of my past and don’t really want to face everybody. Besides, I know I look awful. The last thing I want is everyone’s pity.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “Then do something about it! Have your hair styled. Wear something that at least makes you
look
like you have a figure. And put some color on your face.”

“Is that your idea of a pep talk?”

“What’d you expect me to say: You haven’t changed a bit? I’m not blind.”

Ivy hated that she was blushing. She struggled to find her voice and finally said, “I don’t have to go if I don’t want to.”

Pete leaned down until he was nose to nose with her, his breath turning to vapor. “Why don’t you cut the whiny kid routine? This is no joke. You know what’s at risk, so I suggest you start thinking about your loyalty to the other three people involved in the pact.”

“Or what?”

The look in Pete’s eyes sent a chill up her spine. Or was it the cold air?

“Do you really need me to spell it out again?” he whispered. “What happened to Joe happened a long time ago. I never meant to kill him, and I’m not going to prison for it. Period. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Are you threatening me?”

His face softened and he brushed her cheek with his hand.
“Why would I do that? Look, all I’m saying is there’s nothing to be gained by getting caught now. Rotting in prison won’t bring Joe back. You and Denny have kids to raise. Reg’s wife is pregnant. My mom needs me to run the deli. Just honor the pact. That’s all I ask. We’ve come too far to blow it now.”

The front door opened.

“Everything all right?” Elam said.

“I’m fine, Dad. I’ll just be a minute.”

“You need to come in out of the cold.”

“I was just leaving, Mr. Griffith.” Pete’s gaze caught hers. “Think about it. Everyone would love to see you.” Pete nodded at Elam, then turned and went down the steps and out to his shiny green truck.

“What’d he want, anyway?” Elam said.

“Our high school class is having its tenth reunion on the twenty-second. Pete thinks I should go.”

“Is he trying to date you again?”

“No, nothing like that. Besides, I have no interest whatsoever in Pete Barton.”
If anything, he scares me
.

Elam drew her inside and put his sweater around her shoulders. “Good. I should’ve discouraged you from dating him the last time. He made you miserable. And just so you know, Pete’s got a reputation with the ladies. He drinks too much, and he’s gambling over at the Indian reservation.”

“I couldn’t care less what he does.”

“So are you going to the reunion?”

“I don’t know. With Lu’s situation, I’m reluctant to plan ahead. But it might be good for me. I probably will.”

Her father looked into her eyes and it was hard to look back. “Ivy, you’ve lied so much over the years it’s going to take time for me to trust you again. But I love you. Always have. Always will. As long as you’re under my roof, don’t expect me to sit back and watch you go down the wrong path without speaking my mind.”

“I just want to get my life together. Honest. It won’t be easy without Lu, and I don’t have time to go down any path, much less a wrong path.”
At least not a new one
.

ON THURSDAY MORNING, Ivy Griffith put on her name tag and looked out beyond the green and white checked curtains of Jewel’s Café to Barton’s Deli across the street. She wondered if she had the courage to tell Pete Barton she had decided not to go to the class reunion and wasn’t going to be pressured into it.

“Doll, would you turn on that Open sign?” Jewel Sadler hollered from the kitchen.

Ivy bent down and plugged in the sign, then stood and turned just as Flint Carter came through the front door. “Good morning, Sheriff.”

Flint tipped the rim of his hat. “Good morning, yourself. So do you think you’re finally getting settled in Jacob’s Ear?”

“Yes, but I’m sure my dad told you my friend Lu’s very sick.”

“Yeah, sorry to hear it.” Flint went over and sat at the table closest to the moose head. “I don’t need a menu. I’ll have my usual: a—”

“Ham-and-cheese omelet with rye toast, a side of hash browns, a small orange juice, and a black coffee, right?”

Flint smiled. “You’re good.”

“Thanks, I’m working on it.”

“Interesting about Joe Hadley, eh?” Flint said. “All those years of wondering what had happened to him, and he was here all the time.”

“Well, I was shocked.” Ivy felt a shiver as Flint’s gaze caught hers, and she hoped he hadn’t noticed. “Do you have any leads?”

“I’ve got some theories I’m kicking around. Nothing I can talk about yet.”

“Why would anyone hurt Joe Hadley? He was such a nice guy.”

“I don’t know, Ivy. But I promise you I’m going to find out. I’ve waited a decade to get a break, and now that I’ve got it, no way am I letting this case get away from me again.”

“I’ll be right back with your coffee.” Ivy went over to the coffeemaker and picked up the full pot and a mug and went back to the sheriff’s table.

“By the way, I hear your class reunion is coming up,” the sheriff said. “I want to use the opportunity to talk to Joe’s classmates. Any idea what kind of turnout you’re expecting?”

“Not really. I just found out about it myself.”

“You going?”

Ivy nodded without intending to. “Sure. It’ll be nice seeing everyone after all this time.”
So much for not being pressured
.

Brandon Jones sat at his desk in the administrative offices of Three Peaks Christian Camp. He saw an e-mail come in from Buzz Easton and opened it.

Brandon,

Thanks for riding down to Durango with me the other day and taking a look at my white-water operation. I thought you might enjoy taking a look at some highlights of my other favorite interest.

Buzz

Brandon clicked on to the link, and pornographic images popped up on the screen. He quickly backed out of the site and deleted the e-mail, wondering what would’ve possessed Buzz to think he would find something like that amusing.

He reached over and picked up the phone and dialed Buzz’s cell number, wondering if he should wait till he wasn’t mad.

“This is Buzz.”

“I didn’t appreciate the link to your
other
favorite interest,” Brandon said.

Buzz laughed. “Why is your nose out of joint? It was just a joke. I’m sure you’ve seen naked bodies before.”

“I just don’t happen to believe sex is a spectator sport, all right? Plus I work at a Christian camp, and having stuff like this on my computer could threaten my job.”

“I said all right, but it’s not like it’s illegal.” There was laughter in Buzz’s tone. “Just hit the delete button. It won’t tarnish your halo.”

“You really think this is funny?”

“Truthfully? Yeah. I mean, you’re a grown man, and you’re reacting like my mother.”

“I don’t need that stuff in my life, Buzz. I’m serious. Don’t send me anything like this again.”

“Suit yourself. I just don’t get what you’re so afraid of.”

“I just don’t want it, is that clear?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

A few moments of awkward silence separated them, and then Buzz said, “So are you or aren’t you going to help me paint the inside of the gift shop?”

“Of course I am. But I need to be sure you and I are on the same page with this because I—”

“Okay, bud. I got the message. I’m going to head down to Durango again tomorrow. Can you take off?”

“Sure. I can pretty much set my own schedule for the next few weeks now that we’re finished hiring for summer camp.”

“How about I pick you up at your house at seven and we can make a day of it? With two of us painting we might be able to finish in one day.”

“All right, sounds good.” Brandon hung up the phone just as Kelsey walked in his office. “Hi, honey. How’s your morning going?”

“Busy,” she said. “I’m on my way to the break room to get coffee and wondered if you’d like some.”

“Sure. That was Buzz on the phone. He wants me to help him paint the inside of his new gift shop tomorrow. I said I would since I know you’re going to be taking your quilts to that shop in Silverton.”

Kelsey nodded. “They’re taking everything I’ve made on consignment.”

He pulled her onto his lap. “You’re starting to get a reputation as the quilt queen of Jacob’s Ear.”

Kelsey laughed. “Now
that’s
a title for you.”

“I love you, you know that?”

She put her arms around his neck. “I love you, too. And just to prove it, I’m making you beef stroganoff for dinner tonight.”

“Mmm, my favorite.”

Kelsey smiled. “Everything I fix is your favorite.”

“You’re right.”

“I’d better go get the coffee before Jake wonders what happened to me.” Kelsey eased out of his lap. “We’re in the process of laying out the new promotional brochure, and Elam’s coming by this afternoon to approve it.”

Brandon watched her leave his office, thinking she was all the woman he would ever need and wondering why Buzz Easton was too dense to understand that.

Ivy took the spray bottle of Clorox water and began wiping down tables in preparation for lunch customers. She heard the door open and looked up into Pete Barton’s trademark smile.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

He glanced around the nearly empty café. “Can we talk for a minute—outside?”

“Hold on.” Ivy poked her head in the kitchen where Jewel was making a batch of her famous chicken salad. “Would it be okay if I step outside for five minutes? The only ones out here are Deke and Roscoe, and they’ve been served.”

“Sure, doll,” Jewel said. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Ivy followed Pete outside and stood with her arms folded. “What is it?”

“Look, I know I hurt your feelings last night. It’s just that I hate to see you let yourself go when—”

“You made that crystal clear. I need to get back to work.” She started to go inside, and Pete put his hands on her shoulders.

“Wait. Some investigator from the sheriff’s department called. He wants to talk to me this afternoon, and I’m sure you can guess what about.”

Ivy turned around and spoke just above a whisper. “So? Just stick to the pact and tell him what we agreed on.”

“You’re right. Guess I’m a little paranoid. I know Sheriff Carter comes in here for breakfast every morning. Has he been pumping you for information?”

“No, but I haven’t ignored the subject either. I don’t want him to think I’m avoiding talking about it. I have more to lose than you do.”

There was that threatening look again. “Yeah, I guess you do at that.”

Ivy stood at the window and stared at nothing as Sonya Roe got into her car and drove off. She turned to Lu and studied her face, thinking how surreal it was preparing for her death.

“Sonya’s nice,” Ivy said. “And seems caring. So why do I resent her being here?”

Lu Ramirez held out her hand, and Ivy went over and sat on the side of the bed.

“Maybe what you resent is the intrusion of someone you don’t know helping to care for me.” Lu picked up Ivy’s hand. “But that resentment will go away if you let Sonya be your friend.”

Ivy closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side. “How am I going to go on without you, Lu?”

“You will. You’re stronger than you think.”

“I hate that there’s nothing I can do to stop you from dying.”

“So let’s enjoy each other while we have time. We have much to be thankful for. Just look how far you’ve come. No drugs for three years.”

Ivy sighed. “Yeah, but it’s still a choice every single day.”

“So keep choosing. You can do it.”

BOOK: Ever Present Danger

11.61Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Read Book Download Book

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