Living Lies (16 page)

Fear, dark and edgy, consumed him as he drove. He did this. He brought this on. If he had stayed away, let sleeping dogs lie, she’d never have started looking for Michelle’s killer. If he had kept his hands off of her, she’d be safe at home now.

Memories of her body moving against him, her soft skin beneath his touch, her eyes like warm whiskey locked with his, fired his blood. Not even twenty-four hours later and he wanted her as badly as he had last night. More even.

Beyond the sex, wrapped in his growing fear, was something he didn’t want to dwell on for too long. A longing and an ache that went beyond the physical.

He dialed her number again. Answer, damn it. But her machine came on again. He snapped the phone closed and glanced at the clock in the dash. 7:10. With a sigh, he accepted what had to be done. He had no choice.

Ten minutes later he pulled into the driveway of his house, climbed out of the car and unlocked the front door. The air smelled heavy and still from being closed off for so long. His boots thudded against the wood floor as passed through the hall into his office, flipping lights on as he went.

A quick call to information and he had the phone number he needed. He dialed. Maybe Haley would be there, but deep down he knew this would be the last place she would go. A woman’s voice answered midway through the first ring.

“Paige, is Haley there?” Dean asked.

“No. Who is this?” she demanded, but judging from her tone, she already knew.

“Don’t hang up.”

“I knew it was you.”

“I can’t reach your sister,” he said quickly, before Paige could cut him off.

“What do you mean you can’t reach her?” Fear crept into her voice. Good. Why should he be the only one worried sick?

“I’ve been trying to call her all night and she’s not answering.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m home, in the city.”

“Have you tried the store? Maybe she’s working late.”

“I started calling around five-thirty and nobody answered.”

“She doesn’t close until six,” Paige said slowly, the hostility disappearing from her voice.

“Look, I would have started back sooner, but I got stuck in a meeting. I need you to go to her place and see if she’s okay.”

“How do I know you’re not trying to set me up?” Paige asked with renewed suspicion.

“What?”

“Sending me over there alone. How do I know you’re not just trying to lure me out of the house to kill me?”

First the Lintons and now this. How he didn’t pop a blood vessel in his head was a miracle. “Because,” he muttered through gritted teeth, “I’m two hours away. Take Garret, take your mom, take the whole God damn police force, but go and see if your sister’s all right.” Silence greeted him on the other end. Had she hung up? “Paige?”

“I’m here. When are you coming back?”

“As soon as I hang up.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you at her place.”

The line went dead and Dean set the receiver back in the cradle. It rang again almost immediately.

Let it be Haley. “Hello?”

“Just making sure you’re where you say you are,” Paige said.

“Satisfied?”

“For the moment. Do you have a cell phone?”

“Yeah.”

“Give me the number.”

Dean did as she asked.

“Good, I’ll call you when I get to Haley’s.”

“Wait.” Concern flickered inside him.

“What is it now?”

“Don’t go alone. Take someone with you.”

She chuckled. “I’ll consider it.”

She wouldn’t, of course. Just like Haley insisted on going to work, and wouldn’t let anyone walk her to her car. What the hell was wrong with the women in that family?

Chapter Nineteen

Haley spotted the car in her driveway as soon as she turned onto her street. What now? Exhausted, the last thing she wanted was a visitor. As she drew closer, she could see the make and color of the car. Her heart sank. Paige.

Sighing, she pulled against the curb in front of her house so as not to block the Mustang. She wasn’t up to another round with her sister.

As she climbed out of her car, Paige did the same and came to meet her on the sidewalk.

“Where have you been?” Paige asked, a note of hysteria tingeing her voice.

“Why?” Haley frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“When your boyfriend couldn’t reach you, he asked me to make sure you were okay.”

“My boyfriend?”

“Dean.”

“And when I wasn’t here you waited?” Haley started up the walk to the front door. “How long have you been here?”

Paige fell into step beside her. “Too long.”

Haley unlocked the door, and Paige followed her inside. After flipping on the hall light, Haley shrugged her coat off and tossed it onto the armchair.

“No. You’re not staying,” Haley said when Paige unzipped her own jacket.

“Yes, I am.” Paige smiled sweetly and dropped her coat on top of Haley’s. “I’m not leaving until you tell me where you’ve been. What has our diligent Haley closing the store early this close to Christmas? What could be such a big secret she didn’t even tell her precious Dean?”

“You sound like a ten-year-old. And I didn’t close the store early.”

“Dean tried calling the shop around five-thirty and no one picked up.”

“Damn, Allister. I bet he closed early just to spite me.”

“Probably. So where were you?”

Haley flopped onto the sofa. Memories of last night flooded her and her cheeks heated. She stood quickly and went into the kitchen before Paige noticed.

“I don’t understand what you’re even doing here,” she muttered as she started to make coffee.

“God, this house is freezing.” Paige rubbed her arms briskly. “While your boyfriend was stuck in the city and couldn’t get a hold of you, he called me to check on you.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m just fine. You can go now.”

“Actually, I can’t.” Paige smiled sweetly. “Dean asked that I stay with you until he gets here. He’d just turned onto 25 so you’re stuck with me for at least another twenty minutes. Longer if you don’t tell me where you’ve been and what’s going on.”

Haley filled the pot with water and poured it into the machine, doing her best to ignore the prick of jealousy, but failing. “Since when do you listen to Dean? What, are you best friends now?”

“He was really worried about you,” Paige’s dark eyes bored into her, as though she could see inside her. Haley looked away.

“Is it serious between you two?” Paige asked.

“If I say yes, you’ll probably to want to make out with him.”

“Thanks.”

Haley sighed. “I was kidding.” Sort of.

“I am sorry about Jason.”

Surprised, Haley looked up from the decaffeinated grounds she was spooning into the basket. “Paige apologizing? Is it a full moon?” Haley never believed she’d ever hear those words from Paige.

“I’m serious. I know sorry is kind of inadequate, and I don’t have an excuse. He kissed me, caught me off guard, and I was so mad at you that day.”

“You were mad at me?”

“If I had to listen to one more person at that funeral talk about poor, sweet Haley, and how much Dad had loved you… Anyway I’m sorry for what I did, and I’ve regretted kissing him everyday since.”

Haley nodded slowly. Paige’s words were only slightly less out of character than her almost pleading expression.

“He was a jerk anyway.” Haley shrugged and finished with coffee before turning on the machine. “You did me a favor.”

“I said the same thing to Garret, and he yelled at me.”

Haley smiled and shook her head. “I’m going upstairs to change.”

“You still haven’t told me where you were,” Paige reminded her as she followed. “Why is this house so damn cold? Can’t you turn up the heat?”

Haley froze in the middle of the stairs. Paige was right. The house was cold, especially where she stood. An icy draft circled her like an invisible shroud.

“What is it?” Paige asked.

With a quick shake of her head, Haley continued forward. The fear of what she would find when she reached the top dried her mouth and made her heart pound. She flipped the light switch in hall as she came to the last stair. The soft light poured through the open door into her bedroom, across the bare mattress, and dresser. She hadn’t used the room since finding the candles. Nothing appeared out of place.

She crept farther down the hall to the guestroom, where she and Dean had slept the night before.

“There’s a draft in here,” Paige said. “Like you left a window open. Did you?”

Unable to produce sound, Haley shook her head and surveyed the chaotic state of the room. With trembling fingers she reached for the switch. The wall sconce knocked sideways, flickered then shone brightly over the mess.

“My God,” Paige murmured beside her.

Tiny white feathers from the shredded duvet buried the smashed and broken pieces of furniture like a blanket of snow. A frigid wind rushed through the open window.

Paige pushed past her, stepping over glass from the broken lamp. She bent over the bare mattress and ran her fingers over long gaping tears in the fabric. “Someone slashed your mattress? My God, Haley, what have you and Dean been doing?”

“Someone broke in again,” Haley said, her voice dispassionate.

“Obviously, but why?”

“I told you before. I think Dean and I are closer than we realized to Michelle’s killer.”

Memories of Richard and his parting wink filled her head. Had he done this? Was he her killer? Or Jonathan? Or Lara? Or any one else in Hareton? She didn’t have a clue. If these break-ins were scare tactics, they were a wasted effort. She didn’t even have an educated guess as to who killed Michelle.

“Haley? Paige?” Dean’s voice drifted from downstairs.

“Up here,” Paige called.

Haley winced and considered trying to head Dean off. She didn’t want him to see this. His protective instincts were already on overload, but she couldn’t hide this kind of vandalism.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“Another break in,” Haley muttered, tugging her bottom lip with her teeth.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. She pressed her cheek to the solid wall of his chest and closed her eyes when his arms wrapped around her. She should move away. Moments like these were coming too often, and she could easily get used to them. But it had been such a long day.

“So, Lawson, would you like to tell me what you’ve gotten my sister into?”

Dean lifted his head and Haley stepped out of his embrace, wishing Paige would go home.

“I’d be happy to. Let’s call the police first.”

“Why bother?” Haley yawned. “They’re just going to blame to you again.”

“We’ll see,” Paige muttered.

Dean made a mental note. Should he ever have to deal with the police again, he would have Paige do the talking for him. Her short responses and harsh criticisms had Beckette’s young partner stuttering and Beckette agreeing to speak to the neighbors in the morning. Whether he actually would, Dean doubted.

Now that they were gone, she leaned back in the armchair and exhaled a thin blue stream of smoke to co-mingle with the cloud hovering over her head. Dean sneezed twice, went to the front window and slid open the glass. Cigarette smoke had the same effect on him as dust. The allergy being the only reason he hadn’t taken up the habit during his misspent youth.

Outside, the night was quiet and still. The flurries he had driven back in had tapered off and the streetlights glittered off the fresh snow. No sign of last night’s peeper.

“Is the smoke bothering you?” she asked as he sat down next Haley on the sofa.

“I’ll be fine.”

“It’s bothering me,” Haley said.

“Tough.” Paige leaned back and put her feet on the corner of the trunk, crossing her legs at the ankles and carefully balancing the blue china saucer she was using as an ashtray on her lap. “I did an excellent job handling the police for you. The least you can do is not force me to smoke outside in the elements.”

Dean slid his arm around Haley’s shoulder and drew her against his side, relishing the feel of her soft warmth. He’d never known fear like he had on the drive to Hareton. What would he have done if she’d vanished, knowing that he had been the catalyst? Bad enough, he’d been responsible for her break-ins.

“So, Haley.” Paige ground the cigarette butt in the makeshift ashtray. “Where were you tonight?”

Dean shifted so he could see Haley’s face. She quirked a brow and glared at her sister. “It’s not a secret. I went to visit Jonathan Williams at his mill.”

He sat up. “Why?”

“We did want to know what had been going on in Michelle’s life before she disappeared. He was the last person to see her alive and he seemed an obvious choice.”

“You could have waited for me. What did he say?”

Haley relayed her meeting with Jonathan, but nothing she said came as a shock. “I also saw Richard while I was there. We might want to add him to our list of suspects.

“Why?” Paige asked

Haley shrugged. “He tried to intimidate me.”

Dean tensed. “What did he do?”

“He was a jerk, but it’s not a big deal. I will tell you this, though, right before I left he turned and winked at me, it was the creepiest thing. He could easily be our peeper.”

Richard. Dean had never considered him. He could have influenced Lara, but why would he have killed Michelle?

“Okay,” Paige said, leaning forward. “You two are talking in code. Let me get this straight. You don’t think our father did it anymore?”

Dean hesitated. “Let’s just say that I agree there are other avenues worth investigating.”

Paige nodded and turned to Haley. “And you don’t think it was Dean.”

“No,” Haley said. “I don’t.”

“Well, I’ve spoken to the detective,” Paige said. “And while town gossip is pointing a finger at Dean right now—your break-in the obvious proof apparently—the police are after Dad.”

Haley paled nodded. “What did they say?”

“Not a lot. Faron asked me about a million questions. I would have liked to have done better, but the whole thing happened so long ago, some things I just couldn’t remember.”

“He hasn’t contacted me yet,” Haley said.

“He will. He’s talked to Garret and Mom.”

Haley rubbed her eyes with her fingertips, her body rigid. Dean wanted to ease things for her, but didn’t know how.

“How was she?” Haley asked.

“Pretty drunk,” Paige admitted. “I kind of hoped she wouldn’t be coherent enough to understand the detective. That his questions wouldn’t sink in.”

“But they did?”

“She was furious and afraid. She didn’t know about Dad’s first wife, either.”

“Maybe she just forgot. Drinking the way she does, she forgets things all the time.”

“Haley, I am telling you she had no idea. When Faron told her, I thought she was going to physically attack him.”

“Dad couldn’t have done it. Why would someone go through all the trouble of breaking into my house twice and Dean’s hotel room?”

“To keep me looking guilty and to protect your father’s memory,” Dean said.

“Who would do that?” Haley snapped. “The only people who my father’s memory matters to are my family. And none of us would let you take the blame if we believed you were innocent."

“She has a point,” Paige interjected.

“Who are you kidding?” He understood the desire to believe in her father’s innocence, but she was letting emotion cloud her judgment. “Until now, Paige thought I was guilty, and she’s probably still not convinced.”

“Ooh, now he has a point.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.”

“Well, you both make a good argument. Besides, I don’t really see what either of you have done that would make a murderer feel threatened.”

Haley sighed. She wished Paige would go home so she could climb into bed. Then she remembered the state of her guestroom. Looked like the couch tonight.

“We’ve been to see Rhonda Kearney, the woman who bought Nan’s house, and Sandra Gallagher who was at the house when they found Michelle’s body.”

“You’ve been busy. What did they tell you?”

Haley shrugged and repeated Brian’s ghost story. As she spoke, the color drained from Paige’s cheeks.

“What is it?” Haley asked.

“Do you believe anything they said?” Paige asked, her voice hoarse. Her hand trembled as she lit another cigarette.

“Do you?”

With a harsh exhale Paige shrugged. “No.”

“You’re lying.” Haley’s heart rated quickened. “Tell me what happened.”

“Nothing.”

“Would you tell me if I told you something strange happened to me?”

Paige leaned forward. “What happened to you?”

“You first.”

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“No crazier than I am.”

Paige drew hard on the cigarette. “When I was coming back two nights ago I saw her, Michelle, on 25.”

Haley’s insides tightened and turned cold. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. I passed the same person on the highway twice. The second time I stopped. When I looked out the window, Michelle was looking in at me. I dropped my cigarette and when I looked up again she was gone. I got out of the car to look, and there was no trace of her. Not even footprints in the snow. I thought I had lost my mind. Now you.”

“I dreamed about her.”

“That’s not strange,” Paige snapped.

Haley swallowed hard. “Let me finish. In the dream she said ‘He used to send me flowers’ and when I asked Sandra if the girl they picked up said anything, she told me Michelle had said the same thing. ‘He used to send me flowers.’ How could she have known what I’d dreamed?”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Dean said.

For a moment Haley had nearly forgotten he was there. Heat climbed into her cheeks. “I thought I might be going crazy and wasn’t real eager to share.”