Suspicions (13 page)

“I don’t know what I can tell you. I only
work in the office. You’d probably be better off talking to one of
the teachers.”

“What teachers I've talked to already told me
you're the one Mr. Stone spends the most time with, that you eat
lunch with him nearly every day.”

“Well, I think he’s a great teacher,” she
said, straightening a stack of forms on her desk.

“How long have you known Mr. Stone?”

“I guess I've known him about eight
months.”

“And you've worked here . . . ?” She let the
question trail off.

“Four months,” Deanna said quickly.

It was then Stacey noticed the wedding set on
Deanna's right ring finger. She made a mental note to look up some
background information on Ms. Deanna Everett. “How did you meet Mr.
Stone?”

Deanna pushed back from her desk. “I don't
think that's any of your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have
a job to do.”

Stacey stood as well. “Thank you for your
time, Ms. Everett. I'm sure it will be helpful to my article.”

Once back in her car, Stacey sat for a
minute, deciding what to do next. None of the information she had
gotten from Deanna was worth taking to the police.

As she stared toward the school, she saw
Deanna walking toward the parking lot, digging through her purse
for something. When she saw Deanna pull her keys out, she decided
it might be interesting to see where she went.

Sliding down in her seat as Deanna passed
nearby, Stacey watched her walk with a single-mindedness that
didn't allow her to notice anything but her own car.

Deanna drove out of the parking lot and
Stacey followed at a discreet distance, noticing Deanna's car
looked like the car mentioned in the file in Mark's office. Deanna
stayed to the main roads, which made it easy for Stacey to follow
without notice.

When Deanna pulled into a parking lot, Stacey
had a hunch where she was going. She pulled off to the side of the
road to make sure she was right.

Deanna left her car and entered the building.
A knowing smile spread across Stacey's face as she read the sign
over the door. Valley Health Club. This was the same health club
Mark belonged to. Stacey realized that could mean nothing or that
could mean everything.

While looking through her purse for some
paper on which to make a note, her hand brushed against something
cold and metallic. She pulled it out and saw the key she had taken
out of Mark's desk.

Her eyes lit up with the realization that the
key could very well go to a locker at the health club. But she knew
she couldn't go in there now, not with Deanna, and possibly Mark,
inside.

Stacey pulled away from the curb, hopeful the
Valley Health Club would hold some answers to the puzzle. Before
going home, Stacey ran several errands, hoping the time away would
give Jason’s anger a chance to cool.

Later that afternoon, when she knew the kids
would be home from school and a good distraction, Stacey drove
home. As she pulled into her street, she noticed the same dark car
parked across from her house. A fresh wave of regret washed over
her as she thought of Jason trapped in his own house.

That regret was replaced by fury when she saw
Patricia’s car in the driveway. She pulled to the curb and jammed
on her brakes. Slamming the door as she got out of the car, she
marched to the front door.

When she entered it was like de'ja'vu. Once
again she heard Patricia's throaty laughter followed by Jason's
voice. Clenching her jaw, Stacey walked into the family room to a
scene of domestic tranquility.

Spread out on the family room floor was a red
and white checked blanket with cheese, crackers, fruit, and muffins
set out in four place settings. Robby and Nikki appeared to be
having a wonderful time, both of them holding crackers piled high
with cheese.

All conversation stopped when she entered the
room. Robby and Nikki jumped up and ran to her, almost knocking her
over with their hugs, which helped boost her suddenly sagging
confidence, and she pulled them closer.

“Mom,” Nikki said, trying to wriggle loose
from Stacey's grasp. “Look what Mrs. Summers brought over for us.”
She tugged on Stacey's arm. “Come have some cheese and
crackers.”

Stacey's gaze rested on Jason, who looked
away uncomfortably. Then she turned her eyes to Patricia. “How nice
of you to bring my family some dinner.”

Patricia, who was sitting next to Jason,
looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “I just thought it
might be appreciated, what with you spending so much time with your
friend.”

Stacey looked at Jason again, wondering how
much he had told Patricia. A feeling of betrayal permeated her and
she had to swallow hard to keep a lump from forming in her
throat.

“Well, I'm home now,” she said evenly. “I
think I can manage to take care of my family.”

Patricia looked at Jason, as if to ask him if
he wanted her to go.

He didn't look back at her. “Once again,
Patricia, thank you for the food. It was very thoughtful of
you.”

Patricia stood to leave. “By the way Stacey,
I noticed you didn't eat any of those cookies I made for you.
They're really quite delicious.”

“I'm sure they are,” Stacey said, watching
Patricia walk to the door. When she heard the front door close,
Stacey walked over to the living room window to watch Patricia
drive away. Once Patricia was gone, Stacey went back into the
family room to confront Jason. He and the children had begun to
clean up the leftovers from the picnic. Stacey stood there, waiting
for him to finish. He seemed to be working slower than necessary.
Seeing the cookies on the counter, Stacey walked over to them,
gritted her teeth as she looked at them, then picked them up and
dumped them into the trash.

The children looked at her with surprise.

“Mom, why'd you do that?” Robby asked.

A tight smile on her face, Stacey said, “I
just didn't want them.”

“That's okay. Mrs. Summers told us not to eat
those 'cause they were just for you. She made other ones for us
without nuts.”

Trying to sound pleased, Stacey said, “Well,
wasn't that nice of her?”

Robby nodded in agreement.

“Take Nikki and go play out back,” Jason told
Robby.

Watching them go, Stacey sat down on the
couch as Jason came toward her. He sat close to her, and when he
put his arm around her shoulder, she shrugged it off.

Barely controlling her rage, she turned to
him. “What did you think you were doing? Allowing Patricia to come
in here like she's the lady of the house?”

“What's the big deal? She's your boss.” He
glanced down at his hands then back at Stacey. “Anyway, there's
nothing to be worried about with her.”

She looked at him, scorn filling her eyes. “I
should hope not.”

Stacey was surprised to see her husband’s
eyes begin to water.

“It's not like that. Honest,” he said.
Kneeling on the floor in front of her, he looked at her with his
deep blue eyes. “You are the most important person in my life. I
love you more than I've ever loved anyone.”

Stacey felt her anger melting. Her voice held
a tone of bewilderment. “Then why do you keep allowing these things
to happen?”

He took her hand in his and frowned. “That
woman is persistent, I'll say that much for her.”

Stacey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“What do you mean?”

He smiled, embarrassed. “Hasn't it been
obvious she's been coming on to me?”

“Then why do you let her come in?”

“She doesn't take 'no' very well.” Annoyance
clouded Jason's face. “She's even come by the dealership to see
me.”

Surprised to hear that, Stacey wondered what
else Patricia had done. “Go on.”

His hesitation made Stacey wonder what he was
hiding.

“She's just very persistent, that's all,”
Jason said.

“Well, it’s up to you to tell her no.”

He frowned, obviously annoyed. “I know
that.”

“I’m starting to feel like I can’t leave you
alone,” Stacey said.

“Look. It won’t happen again. Can we drop it
now?” he said, clearly irritated.

“Fine.” Stacey walked into the kitchen and
looked out the window into the backyard and watched Robby and Nikki
on the swing set. Feeling bad she had neglected her family so much
lately she suddenly turned to her husband and said, “Jason, if you
don't mind, I think I'll take the kids to the park for a while. In
fact, why don't you come with us?”

“Actually, I could use a little time to
myself.”

“Okay.” She smiled briefly, then walked out
back to tell the kids the good news. They jumped up and down and
yelled, “Yahoo, Mom's taking us to the park!”

“You'd think I never take you there,” she
said, ruffling Robby's hair.

Kyle rubbed his eyes, just waking from a nap.
He tried to sit up quickly even though he felt a little groggy. He
knew he was too old to take naps and didn't like the way he kept
falling asleep. Looking around the room, he saw the tray of food
sitting on an otherwise empty table. Still feeling drowsy, he
plodded over to it and surveyed the items placed precisely in the
middle. He poked his finger at the hamburger and felt the cold meat
lying dead on the stale bun. The fries were limp and the soda was
watery from the melted ice.

He devoured the meal in three minutes.

When he was done he walked back over to the
bed, lay down on the thin mattress and pulled the scratchy blanket
up to his chin. He stared up at the ceiling and wondered what was
happening. He didn't understand why he was there. The man with the
mask had told him if he was good he would be able to go home soon.
Kyle had never in his life tried harder to be good.

The kidnapper listened at the door as Kyle
ate his meal.

I hope that will knock him out for a long
time, the kidnapper thought. But not until after the phone call.
And I hope his mom pays up too. That money is going to make all my
dreams come true.

Once I have the money I’ll move far from here
so no one will know how I got it. That’s not important anyway. The
important thing is that I’m finally taking control. No one is going
to determine the outcome but me.

And if anyone plans on getting in my way,
they’ll regret it.

Spreading the blanket under the shade of a
large tree, Stacey enjoyed the feel of the gentle breeze brushing
by. The beautiful weather had brought several families to the park,
although it wasn't too crowded.

Robby and Nikki ran over to the swings and
jumped on, making themselves go high into the sky. “Look at me,
Mom!” they shouted.

Stacey felt a deep contentment at that
moment, enjoying the illusion that all was well. Trying not to
think about Jason and the problems they were having, she pulled out
the magazine she had brought along, curled her feet beneath her and
began reading. After several minutes she looked up to check on the
children and saw them happily building a sand castle.

When she looked around to see if she knew
anyone there, she was shocked to see Deanna sitting on a bench
under a tree.

Stacey hoped she was too far away to be
recognized.

Deanna looked the other way, as if she were
waiting for someone and Stacey watched to see if anyone would show
up.

When Mark Stone's car pulled up to the curb
Stacey was actually surprised. She noticed he had parked behind
Deanna's car.

He strode directly over to Deanna, who stood
at his approach. When Mark looked around, Stacey turned her face
away from his line of vision and looked down. When she peered over
at them again, they were sitting on the bench and after a short
while appeared to be arguing. Then Mark stood abruptly and walked
to his car. After he left, Deanna put her head in her hands. Soon
after she stood and walked slowly to her car, got in, and drove
off.

Stacey glanced at her watch. It was
four-fifteen. Deciding to stay for a little while longer, she
couldn't help but think about Mark and Deanna as she stared at the
bench they had occupied. She felt angry for Amanda. Here she was,
sitting at home wondering where her only child could be, and her
husband was carrying on with another woman. A woman nearly ten
years his junior.

She wondered if this could have anything to
do with Kyle's abduction. She knew Mark was pushing Amanda to
liquidate her assets to pay off the kidnapper. Yet he wasn't
waiting at home to see if there were any new developments. Instead
he was meeting his mistress at the park.

His actions made him look guilty in Stacey's
eyes. Yet she didn't think she had enough evidence to go to the
police. She knew she needed more.

A few minutes later Robby plopped down on the
blanket next to Stacey. He lay down to catch his breath and Stacey
ran her fingers through his damp hair.

He grinned up at her. “Did you see how high I
was going?”

She smiled back. “I sure did. Do you go that
high on the school swings?”

“Sometimes.” He sat up suddenly. “Mom, do you
think Kyle will be okay?”

Stacey's smile dimmed. “I sure hope so.”
Rubbing his back, Stacey said, “I noticed you talking to Mr. Gowen
the other day when I drove by. Do you talk to him often?”

“Sometimes.” A puzzled expression crossed his
face. “Why?”

Stacey wasn't sure how to go about expressing
her concern without frightening him. “You see, Robby, I don't
really know Mr. Gowen that well and it made me feel uncomfortable
when I saw you talking to him the other day.” She paused. “What
were you talking about anyway?”