Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (36 page)

Ta
ylor shook her head, trying to make order from her jumbled brain
.
“W
hat happens
next
?”

“The county has hired Jeff as a consultant.
He understands all the nuances of this field.
That’s
w
hy I brought him
w
ith me to explain.”
The sheriff looked over at Jeff.

“Taylor, I”

“
W
hy didn’t you tell me you
w
ere
w
orking on this?
Don’t I deserve a chance to refute or at least be on the same page as everyone else?”
Hurt filled her.
“
W
hy, Jeff?
W
hy?”
She looked at him
w
ith sadness.
Her friend had betrayed her by his silence.

“Taylor,” her father interrupted, before the sheriff could.
“Jeff, couldn’t tell you.
T
his is an ongoing investigation,
a police matter
,
a legal matter.
He
w
ould have been betraying a confidence and a trust.
Just as I can’t discuss a patient, he can’t discuss a case.
Please understand,” Martin said, quietly.
“Please.”

The entire time her father spoke, Taylor focused her attention on Jeff.
Oh, she heard her dad’s
w
ords, but they hadn’t fixed in her mind until he compared the situation to his o
w
n practice.
She had gro
w
n up kno
w
ing that her father
w
ould not discuss his patients at home.
He might joke about something at the office, but the person
’s
personal health problem, never.
She remembered
w
orking in his office as
she did most summers and during the school holidays.
Her job
w
as to file and later enter the information on the computer regarding the treatment and the condition of the patient.
Her father made her s
w
ear that she
w
ould not divulge anything that she had seen.
Reluctantly, she pushed her anger aside and tried to stem the hurt.
“I still
w
ish I had been a part of this,” she allo
w
ed.

Looking at Jeff, she said, “I’ll listen.”

“
Thank you.
I haven’t really found much.
The judge just ruled yesterday afternoon that
w
e could have access to Rod’s construction trailer.
I
w
ent over last night to pick up his computer, but I couldn’t find one in his office
and the one the Sheriff discovered at home is an antique
.
After I leave here, Sheriff
Trotz
and I
w
ill
go to his house
and check again
.
Did he use a desk top
or a notebook?”

“N
otebook.
He told me until the project got off the ground he’d prefer to have only one computer.”

“Makes sense.
Computers cost money and the less spent initially
,
the better for the project.
Back to my investigation, I found the architectural rendering for a couple of projects.” H
e looked at Taylor and
watched the color drain from her face. Reluctantly, he
pushed for
w
ard.
“
T
he name of the architect is on each sheet.
On Monday, I’ll call Sam Peabody
’s
architectural firm and see if he
and Rod had
a schedule for starting.
As to the financing, the bank told me he had a special rate and a
special deal,
something involving partial
county
financing
.
That’s probably the main reason the
y
hired me,” Jeff said,
w
inking at
Sheriff Trotz
, “an outsider.
”

The Sheriff didn’t disagree or agree.

“I believe, because Rod planned to have lo
w
cost housing as a part of his project and the county is eager for this, they may have helped or s
w
eetened the deal,
delayed taxes until the project
w
as completed,
some
break
.”

Nothing could be read from the Sheriff’s face.

“The plaintiffs in the case are listed.
After classes on Monday, I’ll contact each of them and find out
w
hat arrangements Rod made.
Hopefully, by that time I’ll have Rod’s computer and the legal papers the individual investors signed.
That updates
w
hat I’m doing.”

“There’s one other piece of news.” Sheriff Trotz scrolled on his cell for a moment. “Heard back from the Feds regarding the DNA. Belongs to a Samuel LeFarge.
Ran into a bit of trouble in
Louisiana
awhile back. Information matches.
”

Everyone focused
on the sheriff.

“Called a
Ms.
Delilah
LeFarge
, the vic’s sister and only surviving family. She’ll be arriving shortly to claim the
…body. Told me her brother’s a guide in Louisiana. Came to Beaufort to help Rod. Didn’t know with what.

“Taylor, know anything about LeFarge?” Sheriff Trotz eyed her curiously and held his cell as if waiting to enter data.

She leaned against the cushions. “Every year, Rod took off to go fishing, usually in the Bayou
country. He never mentioned
a guide’s name or if he did I’ve
forgotten. Sorry, Sheriff.”

“The Pinckney’s originally came from Louisiana
,” Jeff said. “Rod’
s dad worked at a military b
ase that closed. He
got a job here, worked there until he started the fruit and vegetable stands.”

“
Really?” said the sheriff.

“I’d forgotten that,” Taylor said, frowning.

The sheriff continued,
“
Ms. LeFarge should be arriving any day.
Perhaps, she’ll know something.
”

“Anything else we should know,” Martin asked.

Glancing at his cell again, he shook his head and flipped it closed.

“
Before you go, i
s anyone
seriously
search
ing
for Rod?” Taylor asked
even though she’d received an answer before
.

He puckered his lips in a tight line.
“
Taylor,
I’ll call in a few favors
. A
sk t
he local
people
to increase their
hunts for him while they
go about their other duties.
C
ommunity
w
ants to find him.
W
on’t
give up
investigating
until they do,” Sheriff
Trotz
said.
“Y
ou must face re
ality. Surviving a month alone in our environment …”

Whipping her eyes with the back of her hands, Taylor
blinked back her tears and
surveyed the group.
“
Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “
I’m sorry I exploded.
I
do
appreciate
w
hat everyone has done.
This has been the
most difficult month of my life.
”
She
slo
w
ly stood up
,
nodded to the people in the room,
and
w
alk
ed
out the door
w
ay leading to the kitchen.

Sheriff
Trotz and the other two men rose when Taylor did.
“
Guess
I’m finished here.”
He shook hands
w
ith Jeff and Martin.
“Thanks, Mary
,
for the snacks.”

“
Anytime
,
Sheriff. Would you like to take a ‘to-go’ bag?”

“No, thanks, but
I’ll
take a corn muffin and eat it later.” He smiled at her as he grabbed one.

“I’ll
w
alk out
w
ith you,” Martin said.

“And, I’ll try and find Taylor.”
Jeff hastened out the same door
w
ay she’d used moments before.

After looking around the pool area and discarding the stables since she had been there this morning, he
w
alked to the camellia garden, entered, and called, “Taylor, are you here?”

“Yes.
”
Her voice sounded quiet and
subdued.

He follo
w
ed the path that le
d through the garden and to the dock.
He found her sitting on the tree
w
here they’d had their picnic.
W
ithout asking permission, for h
e feared she’d refuse, he stradd
le
d
the th
ick
trunk so that he could view
her profile.
He sat quietly for many minutes
, before asking,
“Anything I can do?”

She turned her head and stared
at him.
Her eyes sho
w
ed no anger, but they also sho
w
ed little emotion.
“Yes
, continue being here for me
.
”

He started to speak, but she shook her head.

“
My father’s
w
ords remind
ed
me of ho
w
important trust is.
As a little girl, I al
w
ays
w
anted to kno
w
w
ho had come to the office to see him and
w
hy.
He
often
w
ould tell me
w
h
o,
not al
w
ays
,
but often, but
never
w
hy.
As a teenage
r
, I resented his silence.
When
I
w
orked for him
,
I understood more.
You and he are so much alike
,
honest, kind, and generous.” She placed her hand over the one closest to her and squeezed.
“I value that, especially right no
w
.”

“Coming,” Taylor shouted as she raced down the hall steps. As she rounded the final corner, she stopped and stared at the woman on the other side of the screen.
A tall, shapely brunette wearing a very short
green sleeveless dress
that did nothing to hide gorgeous long legs
,
stood waiting.
“Hello,” Taylor said approaching the door
way
, but not opening
the screen
. “May I help you?”

“I’m
Delilah
LeFarge, Sam’s sister.
I presume you’re Taylor Harris?”

Taylor nodded.

“
I’ve just seen
Sheriff Trotz
and … h
e
mentioned your name.
” Her voice a mixture of Cajun and southern sounded pleasant to Taylor’s ears.
“May I speak to you
, please
?”

Un
sure what the woman wanted, but curious to discover any information, Taylor un
latch
ed and opened
the door. “Please come in.”