We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) (13 page)

He grinned and shifted
the phone to his other ear. “At least Ebony is enjoying our outing. That dog is
actually growing on me.”

“Maybe you should keep
her.”

A maroon, compact car
slowed as it passed the park. Brake lights flashed when it turned right into
the driveway leading to Jennifer Reed’s small, ranch style house. The engine
died, the door opened, and a woman with curly, red hair stepped out. Jennifer,
he presumed.

“Ethan, are you there?”

“Must be our quarry’s
day off. She just pulled into the driveway.”

Sam’s breath swooshed
across the line. “You’ll call me?”

“As soon as I know
anything. Gotta go. I want to catch her before she goes inside. Bye, babe. Hang
in there.”

“I’ll try.” Her voice
sounded strained.

He clicked the phone
off. Stuffing it into his pocket, he whistled to Ebony and crossed the street
with the dog at his side.

The woman lifted two
bags of groceries from the backseat of the car and kicked the door shut then
turned just as a huge, gray cat with a plumy tail stalked down the sidewalk.

“Ari, how did you get
outside?” Her voice carried clearly on the breeze.

Ebony stilled, ears on
high alert, then tore up the driveway. The woman screamed and dropped her
groceries. Cans rolled in all directions.

“Shit!” Ethan sprinted
toward the impending disaster.

When Ebony reached the
cat, she stopped, her whole body quivering. Green eyes narrowed as the gray
beast reached out a paw and swiped it across the dog’s nose. Ebony yelped and
lurched backward.

“I’m sorry. She won’t
hurt your cat, honestly.”

Hand pressed to her
chest, the woman turned to face him. A mop of curly, red hair dominated
freckles and brown eyes. “Your dog scared me, coming out of nowhere like that.”

“I’m really sorry.
Usually Ebony has better manners, though your cat certainly put her in her
place.” He smiled. “Let me help you with your groceries.” Without waiting for a
response, he snatched up two cans of cat food that had ended up at his feet and
dropped them into the half empty bag.

She studied him with
wary eyes as he gathered up the rest of the cans and boxes.

“At least I didn’t buy
eggs.” She gave him a shy smile as he set a head of lettuce on top and lifted
the brown paper sack. “Thank you. Just put that on the porch.”

Setting it down on the
top step, he walked back to her car. Neither Ebony nor the cat had moved, just
stared at each other, neither giving an inch.

He pointed at the
sticker on her bumper. “I see you’re a UC Davis alumna. My older brother went
to school there. Class of ’96.”

Her eyes widened.
“Really? That’s the year I graduated.”

“Small world. Joe
Williams, economics major, I don’t suppose you knew him?”

She shook her head. “I
took mostly science classes.”

“It’s a big campus.” He
scratched his arm and glanced casually about the yard. “I was still a kid when
my brother was in school. He told me all sorts of wild stories about campus
life. One, about this girl he met at a party his junior year, scared the
bejeezus out of me. Joe asked this girl out, but she said she had a boyfriend.
Then a week later, she just vanished.” He frowned then added a little shrug. “I
don’t mind telling you it gave me a few sleepless nights imagining what
happened to her.”

“Are you serious?” she
gasped.

Reaching out, he touched
her arm. “What did I say? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do you need to sit
down?”

“No, I’m fine.” She
leaned against her car and fisted shaking hands. “It’s a smaller world than you
think. Something like that happened to my roommate.”

“No! What are the odds?”
Giving her his most innocent look, he prayed his acting skills didn’t suck.
“Joe mentioned the girl wore a pink jacket.”

“Oh God, it was Iris all
right.”

“What happened to her?
I’d love to clear up the mystery for my brother.”

Her sigh was long and
heavy. “Nothing good, I’m afraid. They found her body not long ago. Hard to
believe after so many years.”

“They what? You’re
kidding! Hey, I’m sorry. I sure didn’t mean to dredge up a bad memory.”

“I haven’t thought much
about Iris in years, but it all came back when I heard they’d finally found her
body.”

“I’ll bet.” At this
point, he didn’t have to pretend sympathy.

Lines bracketed her
mouth, and a wealth of sadness filled her eyes. “Iris was a really sweet girl.”

“I guess it’s lucky for
my brother he didn’t get that date he wanted. I expect the police will question
the boyfriend.”

She frowned and ran the
toe of her sandal along a crack in the cement. “I know Iris wasn’t happy the
week or so before she disappeared. The guy she was seeing was a bit of a
control freak. I only met him a couple of times. They usually hung out at his
apartment.”

“What was his name?”

The frown lines
deepened. “The police asked me that when she disappeared. Iris called him J.R.
I never knew his last name.”

“Joe told me the girl he
talked to at the party kept looking across the room at a big guy.”

“It was probably J.R. He
was good looking, tall, with dark hair.” She closed her eyes for a second and
rubbed her temples. “I can’t imagine he had anything to do with what happened
to Iris. The guy was controlling, sure, but it was because he cared so much
about her. You could see it every time he looked at her.”

“These intense types…”

She rolled her eyes.
“J.R. was a football player. I’m not sure you’d call a jock like him intense.”

Ethan shook his head.
“Maybe not. Well, I won’t take up any more of your time.” He whistled to Ebony.
“I’ll be sure to pass along the news about—Iris, was it—to my brother.”

She bent and scooped up
her cat, pressing her cheek against its furry head. “I haven’t seen you around
before. Are you new to the neighborhood?”

“No, just visiting an
old friend. It was nice meeting you…”

“Jennifer.” She held out
her hand.

He shook it. “Ethan.”

Her wistful smile
followed him as he turned to leave. With a final salute, he ran down the
driveway with Ebony at his side.

Darby stopped on the
sidewalk and turned to face Sam.  “How many J.R.’s could there have been
on the UC Davis football team that year?”

“Apparently none. No
J.R.’s, but there were a couple of Juniors and a few players who’s first and
middle names begin with a J and an R. Ethan is spending every spare minute
checking to see if any of them have ties to Ravenswood.”

“What are the police
doing?”

“I haven’t asked, but
Ken would have called if they’d arrested someone. He knows Ethan and I feel a
connection since we discovered the body.”

Uneasiness sent a
shudder through her. With each passing day they kept quiet about what they’d
witnessed, her worry that they would be in serious trouble with law enforcement
escalated. Would they all be arrested for obstruction of justice when it was
over? Maybe the cops would be a little more understanding if—when—they found
the man responsible. She forced the thought away and pushed open the door to
Sierra Sports. Bells jingled overhead.

“I’d be more use
tracking down this J.R. guy, but I promised Lenore I’d help with set up for the
fall festival.”

“I’m glad I’ll be in
town for it this year.” Cute and spunky in a pair of skinny jeans and an azure
top that matched her eyes, Darby glanced around the sports store. “It looks
different in here, more open.”

“Logan made a lot of
changes after he bought out old man Harper. I guess he learned what works best
in his other two stores. He owns a Sierra Sports in Tahoe and another one in
Mammoth.”

Running her hand along
the soft fabric of a fleece jacket, she shot a look in Sam’s direction. “Sounds
like a regular mogul. Logan who?”

“Nash. His grandfather
lives in the big old house on the south edge of town that we thought was
haunted when we were kids. According to Ken, Logan’s been staying there while
he renovated this place.” She waved her arm in a sweeping gesture.

Darby bumped into a
display of sleeping bags and put out a hand to keep them from falling. “Guess
I’ll meet him soon enough. His grandfather is my latest client. That’s why I
drove up to Ravenswood for a few days, to meet with Irving Nash.”

Sam stepped back and
stared. “You’re going to be working here in town?”

“Yep. Soon as I wrap up
my current project, I’ll start researching the Nash family history. My mom was
talking to Irving at the post office one day, and he said he wanted to trace
his roots before he dies. Of course she bent his ear and then some with a
glowing account of her daughter’s credentials. He’s a feisty old guy. Should be
an interesting…” Voice lowered, she angled her head. “Who’s the hunk?”

The new owner of Sierra
Sports was headed their way. He wore a pair of khaki pants and a forest green
polo shirt that stretched across a broad chest. Gray eyes with hints of silver
fastened on Darby before he slowly glanced in Sam’s direction and smiled.
Dimples gave him a boyish charm.

“Lenore told me you’d be
by to pick up the lanterns. I have them boxed and waiting.”

“Thanks, it’s wonderful
you’re letting the fall festival committee use them for the dance tomorrow
night.”

“They’re my display
models, so I’m not putting a dent in my inventory. Anyway, I’m happy to support
a worthy cause.” His gaze roamed back to Darby. “I’ll help you ladies carry the
boxes out to your car.”

“Logan, I don’t think
you’ve met my friend, Darby Kincade. She’s actually in town to—”

His smile faded. “My
grandfather mentioned he’d spoken with you, something about tracking the
origins of the ghost story connected to the family home. If you think you’re
going to fleece an elderly man with a lot of crap—”

Darby held up a hand
inches from his nose and waved it. “Stop right there.” Blue eyes sparked. “I’m
a genealogist, not a ghost hunter, and I wouldn’t think of fleecing anyone.
Your grandfather wants to trace his family history with my assistance. If you’d
like me to provide references, I’ll be more than happy to do so.”

Sam checked Logan for
frost bite and shivered, surprised he hadn’t flash frozen to the glossy wooden
floor. When she was still in college, Darby had acquired a knack for reducing
people to the size of a termite without even raising her voice. Her skill had
only improved over time.

Logan didn’t look
intimidated. His gaze remained fastened on his adversary’s face, and a hint of
amusement tilted his mouth upward. “My mistake. Possibly I jumped to
conclusions.”

“Possibly.” Darby
bestowed her most charming smile, one with a distinct edge. “It’ll be a couple
of weeks before I can start on your grandfather’s project, but I’m certain
we’ll be in contact once I do.”

“Count on it.” He turned
toward Sam. “Where are you parked?”

“I borrowed Ethan’s
pickup and left it behind the store.”

“Great, we can go
through the storage room and out the back door.” He spun around, and they fell
in behind.

It only took a few
minutes to load the boxes of lanterns. When they finished, Sam gave Logan a
salute and pulled out of the parking lot. Darby’s gaze stayed glued to the
rearview mirror.

“He reminds me of those
actors from our grandparents’ era with the classic good looks and smooth
attitude.” Sam flipped on her blinker and headed toward the park on the edge of
town where set up for the fall festival was in full swing.

“Full of himself and
suspicious was my impression,” Darby said, her lip curling.

Sam grinned. “You’re
just irritated because he didn’t cower when you put him in his place.”

“There is that.” Darby
turned and gave Sam an assessing look. “If we hurry through Lenore’s list of
chores, Juliette will be finished teaching her last class, and we can all go
out to dinner. Unless you have a hot date with Ethan?”

“Nope. He’s meeting a
client this evening.”

“Are you serious about
him?”

“We’ve only been dating
a couple of weeks. I think it’s too soon to tell.”

“A lame excuse if ever
I’ve heard one. With some people, you just know.”

The pickup bumped
through the rutted parking area before Sam pulled up next to a truck filled
with hay. “True. Look how you, Juliette, and I bonded our first day of
preschool.” She turned off the engine and leaned against the steering wheel. “I
care about Ethan—maybe more than I have a right to. I do know I want to give
what we’re building a chance to grow.”

“Good.
Good
.” She
squeezed Sam’s arm. “Let’s get these lanterns unloaded. We’ll have to make it
an early dinner since I promised my mom I’d help set up her new computer system
and show her how to use it this evening. Can you believe she still writes her
books on yellow tablets and has someone else type them for her? I thought it
would take an act of Congress to launch her into the twenty-first century.”