Convicted (12 page)

"You seem to know a lot about that message, too," Doug continued. "Like I said, I don't know too much about email. Can you really tell all that from just a few clicks on the keyboard?"

Or did he know from some other way, Deacon knew the man meant. Like being the sender himself. "You can tell a lot about computers by just hitting a few keys, Doug."

"Too bad you can't do the same for people," Doug Shadd said. "Come on, honey. Let's get you out of here."

Lisa followed him willingly enough, with nothing more than a see-you-tomorrow for Deacon, left to stare at the mocking screen of her computer. His fingers poised over the keys, waiting while his mind struggled with how to react to Doug's silent accusation. He could try to learn more about who sent the message, but what would he do with the answer? Bring it to Lisa on a platter like some sort of offering? Cast himself further under suspicion?

Deacon didn't hesitate any longer. Maybe the message was a fluke. Maybe it was a joke. But whatever it was, it wasn't his problem.

A click of the mouse, a tap of some keys, and the message disappeared into the far reaches of cyberspace. Just like his hopes of putting the past behind him.

"I wish you'd reconsider," said Marcia Shadd quietly. She reached out to touch Lisa's arm. "Your old room is still here, you know. Any time you want it."

"I'm not Allegra," Lisa meant the comment to sound light. It came out harsher than she'd intended and she winced when she saw her mother's hurt look. "I'm sorry, Mom. I just meant that I'm okay. I'll be fine."

"Alone in that house all by yourself? You two girls worry me," Marcia fretted. She turned back to the kitchen counter and toyed with the several plastic bowls lined up along its edge. "Why you had to move all the way across town is beyond me."

Lisa sighed mentally. "Mom, I'm a big girl. And I like living where I live."

Marcia nodded. "I know, honey. I just wish you and Terry would finally settle down--"

"Mom!" Thankfully, they were the only two in the kitchen, so she didn't have to listen to any comments on her mother's admission. "Terry and I... We... What makes you think I'm going to marry Terry?"

"Well, aren't you?" Her mother looked surprised. Pursing her lips, she bent to pull a paper grocery sack from a drawer and began putting the containers in it. "Allegra says you two spend every evening together. She says you and Terry are getting serious."

"Allegra should mind her own business." Lisa grabbed a glass and got some cold water from the faucet. "Mom, I don't need all that food."

"What?" Her mother often pretended deafness when she didn't want to hear what was being said. Lisa didn't bother repeating it. "A mother can't send some leftovers home with her daughters?"

"It's a ten-minute drive from here." Lisa slipped onto one of the worn, red vinyl kitchen chairs. "And we both cook. You act like we're starving to death."

"It's not for you anyway," Lisa's mom answered in a bit of a huff. "Your sister will appreciate it, if you won't."

That could be because her sister didn't know how to do a damn thing for herself, Lisa thought resentfully watching her mom pack the bag. She thought about letting her mother in on a little secret--the food she sent would grow green hair and start to ooze before Al even noticed it was in the fridge, and it would stay in there until Lisa couldn't stand it any more and threw it all away.

"I swear," Marcia said fondly, tapping the top container which had once held non-dairy whipped topping. "I send over these containers and I never get any of them back. What do you do, eat them?"

Great.
Now Lisa would have to make sure she washed the containers and sent them back home. "Not exactly."

"Honey, is that thing about your email still bothering you?" Marcia poured herself a cup of coffee from the ever-present supply and sat down across from Lisa. "Dad said it was pretty graphic."

It was more than the email. It was all the strange things happening to her lately. It was Allegra's selfishness, and it was Terry's recent insistence on taking their relationship further than she was prepared to go. In short, it was just about everything in her life.

"Dad said he thinks Deacon Campbell had something to do with it. Not that he can prove it, of course, but you can bet he'll be keeping an eye on him."

"Deacon had nothing to do with it," Lisa said. Didn't that sound familiar? It seemed she'd been saying the same phrase over and over quite a bit lately.

From the other room came a burst of raucous laughter and Allegra's outraged squeal. "You're cheating!"

Family Fun Night. A tradition since Lisa's childhood, somewhat changed since most of the kids were grown and moved out of the house. The addition of spouses and grandchildren added to the fun, but also to the frenzy.

Allegra burst through the swinging doors and into the kitchen, breathing hard. "Troy sucks!"

"Allegra," Marcia admonished. "Your brother does no such thing."

Lisa bit back a laugh at her mother's unintentionally funny comment. "I thought you were playing Monopoly."

Allegra whirled to the fridge and whipped out a bottle of water. Gulping half the contents, she flung herself into the chair next to Lisa's. "They can play by themselves."

"Troy bought Park Place and Boardwalk again?" Lisa asked, knowing it was her youngest brother's favorite ploy, and Allegra's biggest pet peeve.

"That's just not fair," Allegra said. "I'm barely halfway around the board! Where's the cake?"

"I swear, how do you girls keep so thin?" Marcia gave Allegra a fond look that made Lisa want to choke.

"Nerves," Lisa said.

Allegra's eyes narrowed, but she didn't comment. "Are you staying over tonight?"

"No," Lisa said. "I'm meeting Terry in about an hour."

"Don't you think it's time you brought Ter-Bear over to the house for Family Fun Night?" Allegra asked coyly. "He is practically part of the family."

"That would be so nice," Marcia enthused. "We'd love for Terry to come. Why don't you invite him, Lisa?"

Lisa felt like slamming her head onto the table. Repeatedly. At least then the headache she felt pinching above the eyes would make sense.

"Maybe next time," she answered instead, knowing the answer might be enough to put off her mother, but wouldn't satisfy Allegra. A warning look might do that, and she gave her sister one of those.

Allegra switched tactics. "What are you two doing tonight? Just thought I'd ask, since I'm going to crash here tonight. You know, in case you two want to get busy."

Lisa growled. The sound hurt her throat, but she was powerless to stop it. Marcia looked startled, and Lisa could see her mother's mind slowly processing the exact nature of what Allegra had said.

"Oh, Allegra," Marcia scolded. "Such talk!"

Al shrugged. "She's an adult, Mother. She's entitled to a sexual relationship. Not that I agree, of course," she added with a moue of false saintliness.

That's rich.
Allegra had slept with more guys in the past two months than Lisa had in her entire life. But she could see her mother smiling dotingly at Allegra. The look she gave Lisa was slightly scandalized. Telling the truth as she knew it about her sister wouldn't win her any points and would only cause problems.

"On that note," Lisa said stiffly, pushing away from the table. "I'll be going now."

"Oh, honey, don't run off like that," Marcia protested. "Al was just teasing."

Lisa forced a smile to her mouth and bent to kiss her mother's cheek. "Great meal, Mom. Allegra, don't forget to take that stuff home with you. 'Bye. I'll call you later."

Allegra squeaked as she looked at the food on the counter. "Can't you...?"

"Nope, sorry," Lisa said blithely. "Gotta run. 'Night!"

And she was free. She slipped out the back door and stood in the summer night air, gulping it in like it was water and she was in the desert. From the back porch, she could see inside to the living room and her family gathered around the table. She loved them, she really did. But sometimes it was easier to love them from afar.

She hadn't bothered driving from home since the walk was only about twenty minutes. She'd never been afraid to walk by herself before, but now as she stepped out onto the cracked and bumpy sidewalk, Lisa couldn't stop a small shiver from tickling her spine. She told herself not to be ridiculous. The incident in The Evergreen's parking lot had been a fluke thing. She hadn't been hurt, had she?

Still, as the dusk made the automatic street lamps begin to turn on, she walked a little faster. The night was cooler than the day had been, but the goosebumps rising on her bare arms did not come from the night air. Lisa rubbed her arms briskly once, then forced herself to act nonchalant.

She had already made the left onto Russ Street and was heading toward Ida, meaning to take it all the way to Depot Street, then down to her house on Curry Avenue. Suddenly, walking through the dark, residential streets became incredibly unappealing. She'd walked that route a hundred times since moving out of her parents' home, and those streets a thousand times in the years she'd lived in Saint Mary's.

Even the fact her planned route took her right by the police station wasn't enough to make her go on. Well-lit and more heavily traveled Saint Mary's Avenue seemed a better choice, even though it meant dragging out her walk by another fifteen minutes.

I could always go back to Mom and Dad's and beg a ride,
she thought, to chastise herself for being such a fool. She wasn't desperate enough to do that though. She didn't want to admit to them that the attack still affected her.

Instead of continuing on Ida, Lisa made a quick right onto Dippold Avenue. The steep hill ahead would do her thighs good, and in a few minutes, she'd be on the main street. From there, she could easily make it to the police station and wait for Terry there. No need to tell him she was afraid, Lisa thought. He'd just think she was eager to see him.

A win/win situation.

"Fancy meeting you here."

The words, curling out of the dark, made her gasp in surprise. She knew that voice.
Deacon.

"What're you doing there?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he drawled, unfolding the length of himself from the concrete front porch.

"I was at my parents' house," Lisa said. "I'm walking home."

"Really?" He asked.

The light from the street lamp didn't quite reach his face. So why did she know he was smiling? Deacon's white shirt glimmered as he walked toward her.

Lisa's heart pounded, and she wasn't sure if it was from anticipation or fear. "Really."

"And you just happened to turn down my street."

"I didn't know this was your street."

He nodded, now a clear picture in the street lamp's glow. He looked tense and Lisa couldn't figure out why. "Allegra didn't tell you?"

Now she was beginning to be annoyed. "No. Why would she? How would she know?"

"Because a couple weeks ago she came walking down here herself," Deacon said.

"When my sister does something, she usually has a reason," Lisa said. "Whatever it may be. This is just chance."

"Lucky chance, I guess." Deacon seemed to relax. "You live down on Curry Ave."

He'd remembered. Of course he had. "My folks live up on Edward."

"That's a long walk," Deacon said. "Especially at night."

She could tell he was thinking about the night in the Evergreen parking lot, too. "I decided to take the main road."

"Nice night for walking anyway," Deacon said.

The conversation, for all intents and purposes, was over. She should keep walking. Lisa's feet didn't move. She and Deacon stared at each other. The harsh light cast his face into slashes of black and white, and she found herself wondering if the light was as unkind to her. And why should that matter?

"What're you doing?" she blurted.

Deacon looked around as though surprised she'd asked. "Sitting outside. Mom's down playing bingo, and my brother Steve is bringing her home later."

"So you're just...sitting."

He smiled, his teeth like ivory. "Yup."

Lisa didn't know why that struck her as funny, but it did. She began to laugh. Deacon joined her, and they laughed together, the sound ringing through the night and chasing away her fears.

"Sounds fun," Lisa said through her chuckles.

"It is. You should try it sometime," Deacon answered, as though daring her.

"Maybe I will," she said. "Right over there?"

He gestured broadly. "Best spot for it."

Lisa crossed the small hump of grass that passed for a lawn and sat down on the bumpy concrete. The porch was just large enough for two people to sit comfortably side by side. A large and fragrant rose bush spilled its perfume into the air from beneath the house's windows, and Lisa sniffed it.

"That's my favorite smell in the whole world," she said, as Deacon sat down next to her. "Too bad roses are such a pain to take care of. I'd have dozens."

"A pain?" Deacon said. "Don't let your dad hear you say that. Heiresses to The Garden Shadd shouldn't be talking bad about roses."

They sat in silence for a few moments, breathing in the scent and enjoying the night air. Lisa didn't feel chilly any more. If anything, sitting so close to Deacon made her cheeks feel flushed.

"So this is sitting," she murmured.

"Yup."

"Nice."

"Yup."

It had been a night much like this one three years before. A lazy summer night fraught with possibilities. If she turned to him now, he'd kiss her. And did she want that?

Lisa thought that yes, she probably did. But could she do it? Could she really throw away the past three years and pretend they'd never happened? Forget about Terry who certainly deserved better?

She was saved from deciding when Deacon spoke. "That day in my office when you were looking for your purse? Why didn't you search for it?"

Now she could look at him. With words between them, it would be easier to stop herself from giving in to the crazy desires flashing through her head.