The Stranger's Sin (13 page)

T
HE HOMEMADE BLUEBERRY
scones at the Blue Stream Bed-and-Breakfast were so renowned that rumors abounded of townspeople booking a room just to experience the breakfast that came with it.

The last time Kelly had stayed at the B and B, she’d arrived for breakfast so late in the morning that all the scones were gone. She’d made sure that didn’t happen today, showing up in the quaint Victorian-style room where breakfast was served in plenty of time to nab one of the rich, savory pastries.

She transferred the scone to a piece of flowery china, poured herself a cup of fragrant coffee and sat down at an empty table. Then she picked at the treat, unable to judge its merits because her taste buds were as numb as her heart.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that ten minutes had gone by since she sat down. Ten minutes that took her closer to leaving Indigo Springs.

She could only afford to linger a little while longer over breakfast before it would be time to gather her meager belongings and set off for the bus station. Her destination was Harrisburg, the city where Mandy had
been living when she met Chase. It was the only place Kelly could think of that might yield clues to Mandy’s whereabouts.

Kelly didn’t fool herself that Mandy was in Pennsylvania’s capital, waiting to be found. She’d dismissed the idea earlier, but with the hearing only two days away she had no recourse but to cover the same tracks Chase had. She planned to question people who’d known Mandy, hoping Chase had missed something the first time around.

She’d be forced to use some of her finite supply of cash to rent a car and check into a hotel. She didn’t want to think what would happen when she ran out of money—or if she didn’t find evidence to exonerate her.

“There she is, Toby. There’s Kelly.”

Wondering if she was hearing things, her head jerked up at the familiar voice. But there was no mistaking the baby’s sweet face or the gray-haired man holding him. Charlie waved, then strode to her table.

“Good morning, Kelly,” he said, as though meeting over scones at the Blue Stream B and B was a regular occurrence.

“’Morning, Charlie.”

Toby held out his arms, effectively conveying his meaning. Kelly took him from Charlie, gathering him close and breathing in the scent of baby shampoo. She had no trouble interpreting the nonsense words he was babbling.

“I’m glad to see you, too, Toby.” She looked over his head to Charlie. “What are you two doing here?”

“We came to have breakfast with our favorite girl,
didn’t we, bud?” Charlie chucked Toby lightly under the chin. “After Chase left for work this morning, Toby went room to room searching for something. I finally realized it was you. So here we are.”

The anecdote touched her. In the time she’d spent with Toby, she’d learned she didn’t have to be related to a child to love him.

Charlie placed a small container of dry cereal and a bottle of juice in front of Toby, then told Kelly, “Be right back.”

The little boy picked up some of the
O
-shaped cereal but not with his usual gusto. He sniffled and laid his head against her chest, his small body warm against hers. She kissed his soft hair, trying not to think this would probably be the last time she held him.

Charlie returned to the table shortly, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a plate containing a blueberry scone in the other.

“I thought only guests got scones.” Kelly expected him to make a joke, perhaps along the lines of the owner not being able to resist him, possibly even suggesting she’d propose if she wasn’t already married.

“The owner’s father is a friend of mine,” he said.

Kelly blinked, a bit taken aback by the very un-Charlie like answer, then asked, “Have you had the scones before?”

“I love them,” he said. But his pastry, like Kelly’s, sat untouched on his plate. Toby, too, ignored his cereal.

“Is Toby all right?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” Charlie said. “I’m afraid he might be coming down with something. What do you think?”

She laid a hand on his forehead, which felt cool to the touch. “He doesn’t have a fever but he seems listless. It’s probably just a little cold, but you should keep an eye on him.”

Charlie nodded.

“How are
you?
” she asked.

“Fine,” he said quickly. Too quickly.

“Really?” she ventured. “Because it seems to me that’s something’s wrong.”

“Wrong? What could be wrong?”

“I don’t know, but you’re not your usual cheerful self.” She laid a hand on his arm. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m a good listener.”

He closed his eyes briefly, seeming to debate her offer. When he spoke, it was clear the words didn’t come easily.

“We drove past Teresa’s house on the way here. There’s a for sale sign in her yard.” Charlie rubbed his forehead as though his head hurt. “I knew she was thinking about selling, but I didn’t think she’d go through with it.”

“Is she planning to leave town?”

“Her daughter wants her to move to Philadelphia.”

“And you want her to stay in Indigo Springs,” Kelly finished.

He nodded miserably, confirming what Kelly had suspected all along. Something was going on between Charlie and Teresa.

“Then tell her you love her,” she advised.

He almost knocked over his coffee, managing to right the mug at the last moment. “How do you know I love her?”

“Because of the way you look when you talk about her,” she said. “But some women need to have it spelled out. Teresa might be one of them.”

“Teresa already knows I love her.” He lapsed into silence, staring down at his hands, then mumbled. “That’s not why we’re having problems.”

“Then what is the problem?” Kelly asked gently.

He raised his head, and for the first time since she’d met him she noticed the wrinkles on his face. “The worst time of my life was when my wife died. Teresa was greatly affected, too. They were closer than sisters. But she hasn’t even been gone a year. How would it look if I took up with her best friend?”

“Who cares how it looks?” she retorted.

“I care,” he said. “How could Teresa and I be truly happy if our being together hurt other people?”

“Who would it hurt?” Kelly tried to make sense of his rationale and arrived at the only possible conclusion. “Are you talking about Chase?”

The way his eyes flicked away from hers told her she’d guessed right. Charlie rubbed a hand over his jaw. “He loved his mother.

“He loves Teresa, too,” Kelly said.

“That’s not the point. You’ve gotten to know him. Do you really think he’d approve of me being in love with another woman only nine months after his mother died?”

“You don’t know for sure that he’d disapprove,” she said, even though she’d seen his shocked reaction to the possibility the other day. But Chase had altered his position on DPW and Toby. Maybe he wasn’t quite so
hard-line as they all believed. Maybe she could talk to Chase and make him understand that love was precious, no matter where—or when—you found it.

“I can see in your face that you want to help, but you can’t,” Charlie said. “I told you about Teresa in confidence. I need you to promise you won’t mention it to Chase.”

His comment brought the truth crashing down on her. How had she forgotten, even for a second, that she wouldn’t be around to persuade Chase of anything?

“You don’t have to worry, Charlie.” She briefly debated telling him she was leaving town, then decided not to. She couldn’t risk Chase finding out and trying to persuade her to stay. Besides, she’d never been great at goodbyes. “I won’t tell him.”

Toby rubbed at his eyes and whimpered. She bounced him on her knee, staving off a cry, but the tactic wouldn’t work for long. She smoothed his fine hair and kissed his soft cheek, feeling her own tears prick the backs of her eyes.

“It looks like Toby’s already ready for his nap,” she remarked.

“He got up at the crack of dawn this morning,” Charlie said, “probably because he wasn’t feeling well.”

“Then he needs his rest. You should take him home.”

Charlie nodded and stood, reaching for Toby. Kelly’s arms clung to the boy for long moments before she finally surrendered him. She stood up, too, noticing neither she nor Charlie had come close to finishing the scones that were supposed to be so delicious.

“I wish you hadn’t moved back to the B and B,” he said.

Kelly didn’t know how to reply to that without revealing she was leaving for good, so she said nothing. She’d given both Charlie and Chase the impression she planned to stay in Indigo Springs for a few more days, continuing to search for clues on Mandy’s whereabouts. Clues she now accepted she wouldn’t find.

“You’re perfect for him, you know,” he said.

She swallowed, aware that wasn’t true.

Kelly Delaney, the uncomplicated elementary-school teacher who’d grown up in a two-parent family and had never been in trouble in her life, was perfect for Chase.

Kelly Carmichael, whose mother was in prison and who might soon end up there herself, wasn’t.

“You’re perfect for Teresa.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “I hope you two work it out.”

“Me, too,” he said but didn’t sound hopeful.

She watched until Charlie and Toby were completely out of sight before heading back to her room, stuffing her belongings into her backpack and checking out of the B and B.

She tried not to think about all she was leaving behind as she walked the few blocks down Main Street to the bus stop, but the tactic didn’t work. Her mind kept drifting to how things might have been had she met Chase under different circumstances.

Would they hold hands when they walked side by side, the same way as the couple coming toward her on the sidewalk? Envy gripped her and unshed tears blurred her eyes. She blinked a few times, clearing her eyes of moisture, just as the couple drew even with her.

The woman, who was about twenty years older than
Kelly but in fantastic shape, wore a T-shirt depicting an image of a happy turtle. A familiar image.

“Wait!” Kelly cried, startling both of them. She stepped in front of the couple, forcing them to stop, aware from the looks on their faces that they thought she was crazy. “I’m sorry. But could you tell me where you got that T-shirt?”

The man backed up a step, taking the woman with him. His wary gaze shifted from Kelly to the giant tongue on his shirt. He was older than he’d first appeared, gray hairs visible in the dark hair he wore in a ponytail. “At a Rolling Stones concert.”

“Not the tongue.” Kelly gestured to the woman’s shirt. It was pink, the same color as the one she’d found rolled up under the bed in Mandy’s room. “Where did you get the happy-turtle shirt?”

The woman’s grip on the man’s hand was tight enough to stop circulation. Kelly tried smiling to put her at ease, but Kelly’s anxiety quotient was so high the smile probably looked feral.

“It’s not a happy turtle,” the woman finally said. “It’s a dancing turtle. They sell them at the restaurant.”

“What restaurant?” Kelly asked.

“The Dancing Turtle. It’s in Fox Tail, a little town in the Poconos near the New York border. It’s kind of a tourist trap but I thought the shirt was cute.”

“It is cute. Very cute. Thank you so much,” Kelly said, probably overenthusiastically. The couple edged away from her. “I’m sorry for stopping you. Thanks again.”

Both their heads bobbed, then they quickly crossed the street.

Kelly glanced at her watch, then walked briskly in the opposite direction of the bus stop, the trip to Harrisburg forgotten. The public library opened in fifteen minutes, and she planned to be first in line to sign up for a computer with Internet access to find out all she could about the Dancing Turtle.

An hour later, after making a long-distance call to a place called Fox Tail, Kelly was on the phone, looking for Chase. She got his voice mail. “This is Chase Bradford. Leave a message at the tone.”

“Chase, this is Kelly. Call me as soon as you get this.” She didn’t attempt to keep the excitement from her voice. “I’ve found Mandy.”

F
OG ROLLED OVER THE
mountain, hugging the four-lane highway that cut a swath through the Poconos. Chase eased his foot off the gas pedal and kept his eyes on the slick road. He didn’t even dare glance at Kelly, who was in the passenger seat.

He’d phoned her at the bed-and-breakfast immediately after getting her surprising message about Mandy, but they’d decided to wait until after he finished work to set out for Fox Tail.

The little town in the northern Poconos was less than two hours from Indigo Springs, and the restaurant where Mandy worked included a bar that stayed open until 2:00 a.m.

“I hope the woman I spoke to on the phone doesn’t tell Mandy somebody called asking about her,” Kelly sounded worried.

“Did you tell her not to?”

“It seemed smarter not to say anything. I thought she’d tell Mandy for sure if I made a big deal out of it.”

The day had been hot and sticky until a recent rain shower had cooled the air, the perfect conditions for fog, which was thicker up ahead, making it feel as if they were driving through a cloud. Chase slowed down another ten miles per hour.

“I just hope she doesn’t run,” Kelly said.

“Why would she?” He drove through the thickening murk, his attention divided between his driving and the conversation. “All I want from her is permission to raise Toby, and she probably thinks she got away with stealing your money.”

“Neither of us knows very much about her,” Kelly mumbled. “She could be guilty of other things, too.”

The faint glow of red taillights suddenly appeared out of the misty whiteness, signaling a car ahead of them. His heart hammering, Chase swerved the Jeep into the passing lane, traveled a safe distance in front of the car and switched back into his original lane. Then he slowed down yet another ten miles per hour.

“The fog’s getting heavier,” Chase said. “We may have to stop.”

“We have to keep going,” Kelly protested. “Mandy’s working tonight.”