Blackmail (10 page)

She paused, staring out the windshield as he turned into the parking lot of Vermilion Oil. “No, it'd be better if we're not seen out together all the time. And I don't want to leave Caleb to fend for himself just yet. Why don't you come to the house for supper? I promise to cook something better than po'boys this time.” Her laughter lilted.

“Sounds like a plan. What time and what can I bring?” He pulled the car along the curb.

“Six-thirty, and don't worry about bringing anything but information.” She opened the door and stepped to the sidewalk. “Thanks for lunch.” She shut the car door before he could respond.

He headed back to the office, excited. Not only would he be doing something proactive to help Bruce, but also because he'd get to work closely with Sadie. As if that should make a difference.

Funny thing—it did.

S
he'd never get everything done in time.

Sadie rushed about, picking up the place. At least Sunday's newspaper was off the coffee table. Caleb would be home any minute and she needed to tell him about Jon coming over. He probably wouldn't be too happy, but she'd explain and it'd be okay. At least, that's what she prayed.

She finished straightening the living room and moved to the bathroom, which was in dire need of a good cleaning.

After lunch, she'd met with Deacon and updated him, gathered a list of her suspects, checked in with the investigators who had already eliminated more names on her list, then left work a little early. She'd stopped by the store on the way home and picked up three really nice steaks, which were now marinating in the icebox. Friday night and she had a date.

Not a real date. No, she wouldn't even allow her heart to feel hope. This was just a working arrangement. Two people trying to help someone. That was all. She didn't even know if he was a Christian, so it couldn't be a real date. She no longer dated men who hadn't given control of their lives to God. No, it wasn't a real date.

But her heart wouldn't stop pounding at the thought of sharing another meal with Jon Garrison.

The door slammed, rattling the pictures on the wall. Caleb had returned from summer school.

“Hey, Caleb, can you come see for a minute?” She put the toilet brush up and straightened the hand towel on the bathroom rack.

“Yo.” He crowded the doorway with his frame.

“Jon Garrison's coming for supper.”

“Again?” His slack features twisted into disappointment. “Why's he gotta check up on me so much?”

She emptied the trash can into the bag and replaced it. “Oh, Caleb, he's not here to check up on you.”

“Then why's he coming?”

“To see me.”

Caleb stepped back as if he'd been slugged. “You two hooking up?”

She should've worded that differently. “No, nothing like that.” Heat crept into her face. “We have a mutual friend who needs our help.”

“Small town, huh? Everybody knows everybody else.”

“I didn't know Jon before you.”

Caleb's brows shot up. “So you invited him here?”

“Yes.” Sadie leaned against the sink. “Is that a problem?”

Her brother shrugged. “He's the dude who's got me on a leash and you're bringing him around.” He shook his head. “Don't make a whole lotta sense to me.”

“Our friend is a suspect in the sabotages going on at my work. We both know he's innocent.”

“So what's the deal?” Caleb actually looked interested.

“He's a member of my church and on probation. Jon's his probation officer. The FBI seems to have focused their attention on him as the prime suspect.”

“I know how it works. Or rather, how it doesn't.” He rested his shoulder against the door frame. “Unless you have money.”

She hated to hear the cynicism in his voice, but after talking with Jon, she understood his feelings. “Was the FBI involved in your case?” She spoke softly, hesitant to probe too deep and have Caleb retreat back into his silence, but he'd never offered details about what had happened to him.

“Yeah, but they were all right. The judge was the one who was out to get me. Wanted to teach me a lesson, so he gave me a harsher sentence…that kind of thing. But I was in with some guys who weren't so lucky and some who had money got off easy.”

Sadie tried to rationalize the logic there, but couldn't. Before lunch with Jon today, she'd have wanted to write off her brother's words as nothing more than that—words. Now, she wondered if they had weight and merit.

Thank You, Jesus, for preparing my mind for Caleb's claims. I'm more open and that will help in our relationship.

Caleb stared at her, as if trying to discern if she would argue the point.

She took a slow breath. “I hate what's become of our justice system.”

“You and me both. One guy in juvie, he got busted with crack. Just one point two grams, mind you. That's less than the tip of your fingernail. Got ten years. He's fifteen, so he'll serve three in juvie, then be moved to a fed prison.”

Gasping, Sadie covered her hand with her mouth. She'd had no idea.

Caleb seemed to thrive on sharing the horrors. He leaned forward, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. “Another guy, from here actually, got caught with a stash of pot—with intent to distribute. But all he got was ninety days in juvie, was released the week before he was legal. Dude's family has money, so he'll never serve a day in a real prison. Where's the justice in that?”

“I don't know.” She couldn't fathom the lack of balance by the justice system. “But you understand why I want to help my friend, yes?”

“Why?”

“I thought I just explained—”

“No, why would you help this guy? Is he a boyfriend or something?”

She laughed. “Not hardly. He's married and expecting his first baby later this year.”

“Then why?”

“Because it's what's right.”

“Huh?” He looked as confused as he sounded.

“Caleb, as a Christian, I'm called to help those I can.”

“How do ya figure?”

Oh, no. She was still too new in her faith to try her hand at witnessing.
Father God, please give me the words to share. Ones that will reflect Your mercy and grace.
She took a deep breath. “Well, because that's what Jesus tells us in Scripture.”

“And you believe that religion stuff?”

“I believe the Bible is the word of God. I believe Jesus is God's son and died for me, for the forgiveness of my sins, yes.”

Caleb went silent, but his face grew pensive. “So, what can you do to help this dude?”

At least it was a beginning. She moved past him into the hall. “Give Jon some names of people with an ax to grind against my company. Some groups who I think could be involved.”

“You're not gonna work with the police, are you?” Worry sneaked into his voice as he trailed her to the kitchen.

The blackmail.

“Oh, no. I'm working with some P.I.s for the company and will help law enforcement as they contact me, but I'm not working with them at all.” Caleb deserved to know about the second letter—he was directly involved. “But I got another note from the blackmailers.”

“When?”

Sadie ignored his question and reached for her purse. She passed the letter to him.

His gaze shot back and forth as he read, then he locked gazes with her. “So helping your friend goes against what these dudes are telling you to do?”

Her mouth went dry. Surely he knew she'd protect him, but that she had to do this. Had she explained well enough that it was her duty as a Christian? “I suppose…somewhat.”

He smiled. “Cool. Ultimate defiance. I love it.”

 

Not bad.

Jon stared at his reflection in the rearview mirror a final time. He'd taken more care than usual in dressing for this nondate date. But he knew two facts for sure now:

Sadie Thompson wasn't like Aunt Torey.

And he was attracted to her.

There, he'd admitted it. Now what to do about it was a whole other ballgame.

Letting out a sigh, Jon exited the car and ambled up the walkway to Sadie's porch. He hated that he was so nervous, but there was nothing he could do about it. He knocked on the door.

The door swung open and Jon's mouth went dry. Sadie had changed into a casual pair of calf-length pants with a frilly white shirt and looked as fresh as water to a man in the dessert. “Hey, Jon. Come on in.”

When did his tongue decide to not cooperate with his brain? “Thanks.” He grinned, hoping to cover his acting like an enamored schoolboy.

The house smelled of flowers and spices, warm and welcoming. Something inside Jon moved into yearning.

“Let's head to the patio. I have the grill going.” She moved toward the kitchen door.

Jon followed her, trying desperately to snap out of whatever he'd fallen victim to. Since when did he yearn for anything from Lagniappe? He'd been treated like an outsider since he got here and time hadn't altered that.

Standing over the grill, Caleb held a pair of tongs in his hand. He passed them to his sister. “Just turned the potatoes and corn.” He gave Jon a cautious nod. “Mr. Garrison.”

He was impressed to see Caleb speaking to his sister without being forced. “Caleb.” And that he was participating in a normal activity like grilling…well, it reeked of growth.

Caleb turned to Sadie. “I'm gonna go to my room now.”

“I'll call you when supper's ready.” Sadie smiled as her
brother went back into the house. She turned the wattage on Jon when the door clicked shut. “We're making progress.”

“I see that. Well done.” He had to look away—the brightness of her smile reached her eyes and made his stomach clench. “Is there something I can do?”

“Why don't you pour yourself some tea. The glasses are in the cabinet over the microwave.”

“Would you like some, as well?”

“Oh, no thanks. I just refilled.” She flashed him another smile, again making him squirm.

He headed into the kitchen, found the glasses, poured the tea, then returned to the porch, taking in the vast backyard. Several flower beds decorated the space, as well as a rock garden around the large live oak tree in the center of the yard. “You have a really great space here.”

“
Merci.
It's the main reason I bought this house.” She let out a soft sigh. “One of these days I'm going to build a gazebo and put a little waterfall in the rock garden.”

“Lovely.” His gaze steadied on her face.
She
was lovely.

Pink crept into her cheeks. “I think the potatoes and corn are ready. How do you like your steak?”

 

She'd made it through supper and cleaned up without making a fool of herself.

Sadie carried her glass of tea to the patio, Jon following. Caleb had excused himself to his room. “I think it's nicer out here, don't you?”

“It cools off after the sun goes down, that's for sure.”

“Right. You're from up north, yes?” She lit the citronella candles on the table. Had to, or the mosquitoes would swarm.

“Nebraska.”

“If it's too warm for you out here we can talk in the living room.”

“No. I'm fine.” He sat in one of the wooden garden chairs.

She settled in the slingback opposite him and passed him a folder. “Inside are the names of people I consider suspects in the
sabotages. They fall into two categories—the workers who were laid off and the local fishermen and hunters. Both classes were vocal about not wanting the self-monitoring facilities put into the bayou areas. Well, the fishermen and hunters didn't want anything put in the bayou, man-monitored or self-monitoring. The P.I.s Vermilion Oil hired already ruled out several names.”

He flipped through pages. “There are still a lot of names in here.”

“Maybe you'll recognize a name or two and get a solid lead. Did you get to talk to the sheriff today?”

“I did. He's of the opinion that the FBI agents are veering down the wrong path, just as we suspected.”

“They're focusing on Bruce?”

“Yes. They went by and questioned his wife's ex, trying to get him to say that Bruce had threatened him.”

“Oh, no.”

Jon shook his head. “The sad part is, after the guy had been badgered for almost an hour, he finally said that right after Bruce and Allie got married, Bruce had made an implied threat to the guy to stay away from Allie.”

And the good news just kept coming. “Oh, no.”

“I don't know if that's true or not, I'll have to ask Bruce. But long story short, Sheriff Theriot thinks they're going to continue to work that angle.”

“That's so wrong.” Sadie shot to her feet, injustice rendering her unable to sit still. She paced the patio, staring out into the darkness. “I can't believe it.”

He moved behind her so quietly that she didn't know he was there until he touched her shoulder. She spun and faced him. With the moon shining overhead and the candlelight glimmering, Jon's golden eyes washed warmth.

Her heart pounded, thudding hard against her ribs.

“Sadie.” Her name rolled off his tongue, making the butterflies in her stomach turn cartwheels. Just one word. Her name. Her legs felt as if she'd run a mile in the swamp.

While his one hand rested on her shoulder, his other came up to cup her face. He ran a smooth thumb over the edge of her mouth.