Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (38 page)

“
I’ll ask
the Sheriff
to
show me
a copy.” Jeff took a sip of his coffee.

“I’d like to see that
,
too,
” said Martin, easing his back against the cushion on the wrought
-

iron chair.

“What
’s
the latest on Rod’s parents?” Mary
asked
.
“
An
y
thing new
?”

  “Not that
Leroy
mentioned. He did tell me he’d called the Louisiana State Police and
asked them to check the cott
age in Bayou. They told him they’d
do that in the next day or so
.
T
he town’s barely surviving, so there’s no local police department. Normally, the county sheriff’s department would do the checking, but their people are stretched so thin the State offered to go
by and inspect the property on their regular patrol of the area
.
”
Martin laughed. “Leroy always telling me that
doctors’ protect their own. Now I have proof that
police are just as bad.” He chuckled again.

Everyone stared at him.

“Seems like police don’t like to share information with other cops, whether it’s local, state
or federal. So before he calls
the Louisiana Troopers, he spoke to his cousin, Johnny Trotz,
a local sheriff and asked who L
e
roy
should speak to about getting a house checked. Johnny’s worked with Troopers
several times in the past
and
will
square it so everything can go forward.” He smiled, broadly.

“
Wonder what Rod kept at the cabin
?”
Taylor
asked.

“Guess the Sheriff’s curious, too. He decided to fly out and join the search.
He’s hoping to find Rod’s current computer. The one we’ve examined latest entry is several years old. When you mentioned he went fishing in Bayou shortly before …
” He flushed.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Taylor said, in a firm voice.

“The Sheriff’s hoping that he
,
for whatever reason
,
left
or forgot
his
latest
computer there.
Wish he’d invited me.
I’d love to see that hard drive.
” Lifting a sugar-coated pecan from the dish, Jeff examined it and then popped the morsel in his mouth.

Martin took a small handful of the treats before saying, “
Having a civilian wit
h him might have complicated his
situation even more.
”

Jeff nodded his agreement.

“
Have you discovered anything you can share?”
Martin asked.

“Not really
. We don’t have his cell. Although
we’ve traced his past calls, but all we know is
to
who
m
he spoke to, not what was discussed.”

Taylor
gestured with her hands
and shrugged
.
“
After talking to Delilah,
I wonder how much I really knew about him or his business.”

“M
y curiosity
’s aroused, too,” Mary said. “I never
did
trust him.” She stared at Taylor.

Martin looked at her. “We’
re aware of your feelings, Mary,
”
he said, a gentle warning in his tone.

Pushing back her chair, Taylor excused herself and dashed into the house.

“Oh, Martin, I’m sorry.” She stood awkwardly. “I won’t hurt her for the world. She’s the child I never had.” Mary began to cry and Martin, who had also risen, held her in his arms to comfort her.

“I’ll see to Taylor.” Jeff pushed open the screen door and dashed in
. He heard footsteps on the second floor and hurriedly followed. Before Taylor could close the door tightly, he eased inside. A second later he held her in his arms. “Don’t cry. Please.”

She sobbed a while longer; finally
,
a few hiccups ended her tears. Jeff refused to allow her to move away when she pushed against him. “Stay still, Tiny. Let me comfort you, please.”

Finally, h
e sensed her relaxing
. Easing his hold, he led her to a club chair in the corner near the window took a seat and pulled her onto his lap. His arms tightened around her, but he refrained from speaking, wanting her to break the silence.

“Jeff, I’m so confused. I’m sure all couples have secrets, but his appear legion: the cottage in Louisiana, his friend, Sam, his computer, the money and land he
received from our friends,
even his parent’s whereabouts
. Why didn’t he share these with me?
Should I have asked?” She leaned back, slightly and peered at him.

“Why would you? Since everything you said is new to you, how could you have asked about things you knew nothing about?”

“Why didn’t he share?” Her eyes glistened with moisture.

“Taylor, Rod always had a secret side.”

“He did?” Her tone and her face showed her surprise.

Jeff nodded. “An example is his parents.”

She blinked back the unshed tears. “His parents?”

“He and his dad had a love/hate relationship. While I don’t believe Mr. Pinckney beat Rod physically
, his sarcasms struck as hard.”

“About?”

“Everything and nothing,
” Jeff thought for a few moments. “If Rod received a B on a report, his father expected an A. With football, if a pass
of his
was intercepted, his dad derided his ability. One day, after practice, his dad railed at him. Everyone had gone home
.
I was waiting for a ride.
Don’t think either of them saw me.
Rod grabbed his father by his shirt collar, shouted, and swore at him.” Rememberi
ng the scene vividly
, Jeff said, “
For a moment or two I considered breaking up the fight.
When
I’d almost made my decision to do so, Rod
release
d his hold. His father could barely
stand up. By this time, I was
too embarrassed to show my face.
Life’s tough and confusing for a junior in high school
. Rod
’s
comment still rings in my head. He told
his dad
he
would be
really
sorry if he every touch
ed
or said anything negative
to him
again
.”

Her brow wrinkled. “Didn’t you and Rod have a disagreement r
ight before the last game of that
season?”

Jeff cleared his throat.
How to tell her?

“Jeff?”

“His rough treatment of his dad concerned me, not for Mr. Pinckney, but for you.”

“Me?”

“You’d promise to go to the homecoming dance with him. Being sixteen, I decided to protect you.” He felt his ears redden. “I informed him if he ever hurt you, he would be sorry.”

“Why?”

“Anger’s hard
to handle. In my mind, he had to know I knew about his discussion with his father.”

“That’s what ended your friendship?”

He nodded. 

“
And Rod’
s
relationship with his
mother?”

“From what I remember, his mom spent her time working either inside the house or at her job. She never made an impression on me.”

“I do remember she didn’t attend his games,” Taylor said. “She came to his graduation, but refused our invitation to the party after the service.” 
 

“Remember the whole school thought he’d attend Holden University on a football scholarship?”

She nodded.

“Turns out he didn’t get the scholarship.”

“That piece of info was on his computer. He wrote a nasty letter to them.”

“Wow!”

“If for most of your life, you had to watch everything you did and protect yourself if something went wrong, having a secret life makes sense, I guess.
”

“Mary!”

“What about Miss Mary?”

Suddenly, Taylor stood up. “She’s psychic and often senses things about people. Maybe that’s why she didn’t trust Rod, because of his secrets. Until tonight, she’d never shared her belief
about not trusting him
with me.” She began walking around the room.

“Yet, your father appeared to know her feelings.”

“
You’re right. He did.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head as if trying to clear her mind. “
I’m so confused.”

Jeff gently touched her shoulders. “Why don’t you start by going downstairs and talking to Miss Mary? She started crying as soon as you fled the porch.”

“
Oh, no! She’s been such an important part of my life.
Should I apologize?” Her voice showed her doubts.

“A simple, I love you, will probably
be enough.
”

As they
walked
side-by-side down the steps, touching shoulders, but not hands, Jeff whispered, “You can do this.”

Taylor and Jeff pushed open the screen door then stopped. Mary and Martin sat next to one another on the two-seated glider holding hands.

Her father jumped up. “Taylor, Jeff, we have an announcement. Mary and I intend to marry. Before either of you say anything, we’re not planning anything soon. Gossips would love that. In a few months, six at the most, we’ll have a quite ceremony here, with Father Mike officiating. Our attachment grew over the years.
Neither of us spoke about our feelings.
We believe we hav
e a right to happiness together.
”
His last words sounded almost defensive.

“Indeed you do!”
Taylor ran to them and hugged each in turn
, starting with Mary. “I love you both. I’m
glad you’re doing this. Who cares what people say?”

“We do!” they said in unison.

*~*

“What can I do for you, Sheriff?” Jeff strolled into the small, corner office with a small window directly behind a larger, oversize desk that almost occupied the entire room.

He gestured to a wooden arm chair that was probably new when the town was founded in 1711. “Sit down.”

Gently, he sat. Surprising, the chair appeared to mold to his frame and he began to relax.

“Did I mention I’d spoken to my cousin, Johnny Trotz?”

Jeff nodded.

“Heard back from him. He arranged with a Louisiana State Trooper …” He glanced over at his computer screen. “Name of Davies
to meet me. Cousin Johnny worked with him several times. Says he’s a good guy. I head out tomorrow. Will bring back the computer if it’s there.”

“A copy of the hard drive will work, too,” said Jeff.

Both men rose and shook hands.

“Keep me informed.”

“Will do,” said Leroy.

Louisiana

Sheriff Trotz shifted his backpack
higher
on his
left
shoulder and walked to
ward
two men
standing at the entrance to the airport
. E
ven if he hadn’t seen their photos,
they
stood out
. Stretching out h
is thin, yet muscular right arm, he reached out to shake hands with the
Louisiana
State
Troopers
. “I’m Leroy Trotz, Sheriff of Beaufort.”

The taller of the two men grasped the offer
ed
hand. “Jim Davies.” He released his hold and pointed to the
shorter man
standing next to him. “My partner
’s
Ray Morris.” The latter shook the Sheriff’s hand.
“Let’s head out to the car and we can talk as we drive.”

The three men headed for the door. “My info tells me the drive’s about two hours.”
Sheriff Trotz said.

Ray
, shorter and thinner than his six-foot six partner, opened the rear door for the Sheriff. “Near enough.”

“We receiv
ed your request and after talking to your cousin, Johnny, our lieutenant told us to do what we could to help.” Jim slid into the car and removed his hat.