Part 16 (2/2)

Cold Target Patricia Potter 43060K 2022-07-22

Harry was napping. She had been working and stopped long enough to get a gla.s.s of water. Her hair was messy. She had no lipstick on. Her feet were bare.

The man she'd met at the picnic the other night--Sheriff Menelo--stepped out of the car. No one was with him. Surely there would have been if they had come to arrest her. She started to breathe again; she had to concentrate to keep her hands from shaking.

What could he want? She thought about pretending not to be home, but her car was in front. She could not postpone trouble forever. She had discovered that with Randolph.

And if there was any suspicion about her story, perhaps she would see it in the lawman's face. Then she and Harry 'would' have to disappear again. She kept their things ready.

She approached the door and opened it just as Sheriff Menelo was about to knock. His hand was in midair, and he looked at it sheepishly when there was no place to knock.

”Sheriff?” she said.

”h.e.l.lo,” he said awkwardly. ”Russ, well, he told me your boy liked animals and might want to go riding. I board a couple of horses at his place, and I'm taking Jenny, my niece, out there now for a ride. I wondered if you and Harry would like to go. Russ has several ponies.”

'No!'

'Yes.'

Once more her head was telling her one thing, and her heart something else. She knew how much Harry wanted to ride.

She'd promised him a great adventure. She had encouraged his interest in cowboys. But how long could she pretend to be something she wasn't with a man trained to detect deception?

”I don't think--”

”If you're busy, I can take him. The whole city will vouch for me,” he said with a slow, easy smile. ”I'm mighty careful with children. Been looking after my niece since her father left her and her mother.”

”I'm sorry,” she said. And she was.

”I'm not. He was a sorry--” He stopped suddenly.

She had a pretty good idea of what he would have said if she had not been standing there. ”How old is she?”

”Seven, going on thirty.”

She smiled at that. Harry surprised her at times as well.

”You should do that more often, Mrs. Baker.”

”Do what?”

”Smile. It's very nice.”

Not beautiful. Not elegant. Not lovely. All adjectives she'd heard before. Just ”nice.” It was the best compliment she'd ever received.

”Mommy.” She heard Harry's voice behind her.

She turned. A sleepy-eyed midget stared up at her with confusion.

”Hi,” she said. ”Do you remember Sheriff Menelo?”

Harry looked up--a long way up, Holly noticed. He nodded.

She waited. She expected Sheriff Menelo to make the same offer to her son, to make her the bad guy if she refused. That's what her husband always did.

But this man didn't. ”Hi, buddy,” he said.

” 'Ello,” he said as he had last night, then looked at her. She had emphasized over and over again not to trust strangers, especially not to talk to adults without her being present.

”He wants to know if you want to ride a horse,” she said.

All the sleep left his face and he looked as if someone had handed him the world. His face was so full of hope that her heart broke. ”Mommy, can I?”

She nodded.

”Good,” the sheriff said. ”I'll take the patrol car back and pick up my niece. I'll be back here in, say ... an hour.”

She wondered what she was doing. Yet there was a shy sincerity about the man that disarmed her. Several hours of being very careful would be worth seeing pleasure on her son's face. And maybe feeling a few moments of pleasure herself.

Yet deep down, she knew she would regret this. She knew it to the depths of her soul.

'NEW ORLEANS'.

Fingering her rarely used key to her parents' house, Meredith rang the bell first and waited.

No Mrs. Edwards. After several minutes, she put the key in the lock and let herself in.

The house was like a tomb. Big and silent. She went into the kitchen. It was spotless. Then she stopped by her father's study. The room was large and wood-paneled. Certificates lined the walls. The desk was completely clear, the mahogany gleaming in the light drifting through the windows.

A computer was on a computer stand to the right of the desk. She resisted the urge to go over to it and turn on the power.

She looked at her watch. She thought she had several hours before Mrs. Edwards returned. Meredith didn't want her father to know she was snooping and didn't want to put Mrs. Edwards in an awkward position of choosing between two loyalties.

Meredith went up the stairs, then opened the door that led to a second set of stairs. She reached for the light overhead, wondering whether it still worked. No one came up here. Relief flooded her when it illuminated the dim stair area. She climbed the steps to the attic door and turned the k.n.o.b. It was unlocked.

The room was lit by sun streaming in through two windows.

She looked around, stunned.

The attic was empty. The file cabinets were gone. So were the boxes that had been piled against the walls.

She stood there for several moments, then ran her finger along the floor. No dust. The boxes had been removed recently.

Very recently.

What was her father trying to hide?

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