Читать книгу Texas Secrets, Lovers' Lies - Karen Whiddon - Страница 11

Chapter 3

One of the bad things about having an extremely popular blog, Zoe thought, was the need to update it every single day. Though that had become easier since the blog’s advertising revenue had enabled her to quit her day job. She’d divided her site into sections, calling one “Observations,” another one “Fashion Picks,” and a third “Things I Like.”

According to her stats, most people visited the site for the “Observations” section, where she let herself go, writing about whatever topic interested her at the moment. Since she wrote City Girl anonymously, she never held back, whether writing about matters of the heart or sniping at life’s minor irritations.

About a month before Shayna disappeared, Zoe had acquired a literary agent who’d been shopping a proposal based on her blog posts for a book deal. So far they’d garnered several rejections, but the agent remained hopeful.

Zoe already had the outline finished for a second book, in case the first one sold. She was glad she’d gotten that done before Shayna disappeared.

Now she had a few hours before she had to attend Cristine’s gathering. She wrote a quick blog post, one from the heart, talking about the value of best friends and how one doesn’t always appreciate what one has until it’s gone. After she’d finished and published it, having written it with Shayna in mind, she could only hope her friend would somehow see it and come home.

Then Zoe closed her laptop and prepared to leave. Mama Bell waited in the living room, dressed and ready.

As they arrived at the time stated on the flyer, Zoe couldn’t believe the packed parking lot. She circled until she found a space, parked and then hurried around to open the door for Mama Bell, who waved her away.

“Cristine sure got a good turnout,” she said.

Mama Bell nodded. “Everyone loves Shayna. Even though most everybody thinks she took off of her own free will, they all want to do what they can to help.”

Stunned, Zoe nodded. This made no sense. If Shayna was anywhere in town, she’d have put in an appearance before now. Together they went inside. Immediately, Mrs. Bell spotted a group of her church friends. “Excuse me, honey,” she said, patting Zoe’s arm. “You go ahead and mingle. I’m sure a lot of folks will be glad to see you.”

Though Zoe doubted that, especially since she’d left without a word to anyone, she gave a fond smile and moved away, listening to snatches of conversations as she wove through the throng. The parallel between her disappearance five years ago and Shayna’s now was worrying her. Not because she believed it, but because she didn’t. Everyone in Anniversary appeared to think Shayna had simply taken off. Zoe hoped that was true. The alternative was unbearable.

A woman came up, tall, wearing skintight jeans and a low-cut T-shirt. Smoothing her sleek cap of shoulder-length hair, she gave a faint smile and wrapped her arms around Zoe. After a second of hesitation, Zoe hugged her back.

“Zoe! So good to see you. I’m glad you were able to make it back and help bring Shayna home.”

Zoe nodded, wishing for name tags. “Of course. I’m sorry, you are...?”

At her words, the woman’s smile widened. “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

“No.” Zoe frowned. “You do look familiar, but I just can’t place...”

“Cristine, where are the sign-up sheets?” Brock said, as he came up to them.

“Cristine?” Stunned, Zoe tried not to show it. “Cristine Haywood?”

The woman’s smile widened. “That’s me.”

“Shayna’s best friend,” Brock supplied.

The sound of his voice sent a pleasurable shiver through Zoe. To hide her reaction, she focused on Cristine, who looked nothing at all like the awkward girl she remembered from years past.

“I don’t know what to say,” Zoe began. “You look totally different than you did in—”

“High school.” Dipping her head as though Zoe’s words had embarrassed her, Cristine smiled shyly before turning her attention to Brock. “The sign-up sheets are on the table by the refreshments.”

He gave a curt nod before turning away. Unable to keep from watching him go, Zoe wondered why she got the feeling he didn’t much like Cristine.

When she looked up, she noticed Cristine also silently watching him walk away, her expression a mixture of regret and dislike. Apparently the feeling was mutual.

“He can be such an ass,” Cristine said, catching Zoe eyeing her. “Seriously. If Shayna were here, she’d tell you.”

“Is he always like that?” Zoe asked, before she thought better of it. The Brock she remembered had been happy-go-lucky rather than irritable.

“Sometimes.” Cristine shrugged. “He’s pretty moody. I honestly don’t know how Shayna put up with it.”

Interesting. Zoe filed that bit of information away. She’d ask Shayna about it later, after she was found. Which she would be, Zoe had no doubt. Whether to deal with the pain of realizing her relationship with Brock would never be more than friendship, or something else, eventually Shayna would tire of hiding and return home.

The only troubling detail with this scenario was the apparent fact that either Brock was not telling the truth, or pretty much every word Shayna had told Zoe in their last few conversations had been a lie.

So what was going on? Maybe Cristine would know. Zoe just had to figure out how to ask her.

While she considered this, someone called Cristine away. “We’ll catch up later,” she told Zoe, and hurried off.

Zoe continued on, still listening rather than interacting with people. She needed to talk to Brock. See if she could get a feel for whether or not he was telling the truth.

Searching the crowded room, she found him on the other side. Somehow, their gazes locked. Even now, when she wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t had something to do with Shayna’s disappearance, a shiver of wanting ran through her, all the way from her heart to the soles of her feet.

Damn. She’d told herself a thousand times she wouldn’t let this happen. But she no more knew how to stop it than she knew how to quit breathing.

Giving herself a mental shake, she wished she could avoid him totally. But she couldn’t. She needed to talk to him, to try to discern truth from lies. Despite the fact that the old attraction still lingered, she had no choice. As Shayna’s former boyfriend, he would have a better insight than others.

She caught up with him near the sign-up table. “Do you have a minute?” she asked, after carefully penning her name directly underneath his.

He gave her a decidedly unfriendly look. “For what?”

Refusing to let his attitude bother her, she took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you a few more questions about Shayna, if you don’t mind.”

Apparently he did. Just like that, his expression shut down. Alarm bells went off inside her. Why was he acting like this? Did he have something to hide?

“Why are you here?” he asked, sounding stiff. “And don’t tell me you and Shayna were still as close as you used to be, because she told me how you’d cut her out of your life.”

Dumbfounded, Zoe was too stunned to hide her shock. Slowly, she shook her head. “I never cut her out of my life. Sure, we didn’t talk as much as we used to, but we were still close. Or so I thought.”

He crossed his arms, giving her a look that told her he didn’t believe her. She didn’t care; she wasn’t entirely sure she believed him, either.

“What happened?” she finally asked. “I know you said you two were splitting up. What else was going on that would make her want to go into hiding like that?”

“First off, let me reiterate again—Shayna and I didn’t work out. We were never engaged. She was moving on and moving out. As to what else was going on in your best friend’s life, I can see you have no idea,” he muttered. “Really, if you’re basing your information on what she was like in the past, you didn’t know Shayna at all.”

If he thought his harsh tone and narrowed eyes would scare her away, he had no idea how far she could go.

“Then tell me,” she pushed, wishing she dared touch him. She considered herself a brave person, but even she wouldn’t go that far. “Fill me in on what was going on.”

But he simply shook his head and walked away, his entire body stiff and unfriendly. Despite that, she ached to go after him, if only for the simple excuse of touching his skin.

Damn. This yearning for the past needed to stop. Obviously, she wouldn’t be getting any help from him without a battle, which was understandable. She couldn’t blame him for still holding a grudge against her for what had happened between them five years ago. Though she hadn’t stayed in touch with him—her heart had been too broken—Shayna had kept her filled in on what was going on in Brock’s life. As far as she knew, he was happy and content with his life. He didn’t seem the type to be carrying a torch for anyone.

Unfortunately, she was definitely the type to pine for someone. Brock McCauley had been the love of her life. She’d never met anyone else who even came close to measuring up.

He’d obviously moved on. It had to be something else, some other reason he refused to discuss Shayna with her.

Again, the prickling sense of unease. No, she told herself. Not Brock. It had to be something else. Maybe whatever had driven a wedge between him and Shayna had hurt him. He had to be saying there’d been no engagement to mask the pain he must have endured when Shayna broke things off.

That made sense. Zoe looked once more for Brock, unable to find him in the crowd. He had to be lying. Because the Shayna she’d known all her life was giving and generous, happy and carefree. And she didn’t tell her best friend outright lies or keep secrets.

“Wow. What’d you do to set him off?” Cristine appeared again, right behind Zoe, as though she’d been watching and waiting for the opportunity. “Then again, it doesn’t take much these days.”

Trying not to show her irritation, Zoe shrugged. “I have no idea. I simply asked him something about Shayna.”

A shadow crossed Cristine’s face. “Oh. That would do it. He and Shayna weren’t getting along at all.”

Debating, Zoe decided against asking Cristine if Shayna had told her she and Brock were engaged. In view of Brock’s denial, and Mama Bell’s shock, that particular bit of information could wait.

“You and Shayna were good friends?” Zoe asked.

Cristine’s sallow complexion lit up. “Best friends,” she emphasized. “We ran around together every single weekend.”

Zoe cocked her head. “What did you two do?”

Cristine’s smile widened proudly. “Party. Though I tried to keep up with her, Shayna could drink me under the table.”

“Oh.” Zoe wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “So do you have any idea what might have happened to her?”

“Zoe, Shayna was worried.” Cristine looked around, her furtive behavior making Zoe tense up. “You might as well know that we—she and I—experimented a little with drugs.”

At Zoe’s dismayed expression, Cristine shook her head. “Oh, nothing serious. A little X, some weed, the occasional hit of crank.”

Nothing serious? While Zoe was still trying to process this, Cristine took her arm. “She was worried about something, but she wouldn’t tell me much more than that.”

Damn. Zoe’s heart skipped a beat. Yet again, the last conversation she’d had with Shayna replayed in her mind. She should have listened, should have done something. Maybe if she had, Shayna would still be here.

Guilt flooded her. Then, as blood rushed to her head, she inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath.

“Zoe?” Cristine leaned in, peering at Zoe’s face. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. No,” Zoe said, taking a deep breath. “Cristine, what’s the deal with the sheriff’s office? Mama Bell says they’re not exactly helping to find her.”

Cristine grabbed her arm. “They say since Shayna’s an adult and has been talking about leaving town, she probably just took off. They won’t take us seriously.” She sounded bitter.

Zoe shook her off. “Why the hell not? Shayna is missing. How can they dispute that?”

“According to them, an adult has the right to go anywhere they want without telling anyone where they went. Without evidence of foul play...” For a second time Cristine looked around, lowering her voice. “Part of it might be that Shayna was seeing Roger Giles, the new sheriff.”

Dumbfounded, Zoe narrowed her eyes. “Recently?”

“Yes.”

Oh jeez, this really didn’t sound like the Shayna Zoe knew. “You’re telling me she was seeing someone behind Brock’s back. Was this before or after they broke up?”

“Who knows?” Cristine gave a brittle laugh. “Honey, Shayna was seeing lots of people behind Brock’s back.”

“Brock told me they’d become like roommates.”

“Okay.” Cristine gave a short bark of laughter. “But she was still living there. I told her to wait until she moved out. For Brock, I think it was a slap in the face.”

Gut twisting, Zoe nodded. “So you’re telling me Shayna was...cheating?” She could scarcely say the word. The Shayna she knew despised both liars and cheaters.

“No, not cheating. Shayna wasn’t exclusive with anyone. She made that clear up front. Roger Giles was aware he wasn’t the only one. Brock knew it, too, though he wasn’t too happy about it.”

Zoe had to give Cristine credit for sticking by her friend. In fact, Cristine actually managed to sound indignant.

“What about Brock?” Zoe asked. “You say he knew she wasn’t exclusive, but was he aware of all this?”

Cristine shrugged. “It wasn’t that way in the beginning. The two of them tried, they really tried. All I know is Shayna was pretty devastated when she and Brock didn’t work out. At first, I think she started fooling around trying to make him jealous.” She shrugged. “Or maybe she was getting even. Who knows?”

Zoe didn’t know what to say.

Again, Cristine leaned closer. “Think whatever you want to about her, but I can tell you this much. Shayna sure knew how to live life to the fullest. She and I had a lot of good times together.” Wiping a tear from her eye, she looked away. “That’s why I don’t believe she left willingly. She has to be in trouble. Otherwise, she would have let me know. We were best friends.”

So were we, Zoe added silently. Once. Only now she was finding out she really didn’t know Shayna at all. The woman she thought she knew was turning out to be a remnant of the past.

Scary thought. Just like with Mama Bell, Shayna had shut Zoe completely out of the truth about her life.

Drugs. Alcohol. Sex with random men.

Zoe’s mother had been a party girl. Zoe could only hope Shayna hadn’t gotten mixed up with the same type of people. After all, that was the reason Zoe’s mother had ended up dead, with her killer in prison.

Zoe made a mental note to check online later and make sure nothing had changed. The last time he’d come up before the parole board, he’d been denied.

Meanwhile, Cristine watched her like a hawk. A concerned, slightly ditzy hawk, but closely nonetheless.

“I’m still going to talk to the police,” Zoe repeated. “Now, please excuse me.”

Cristine stared and then nodded. “Let me come with you.”

Glancing around the crowded room full of people she should recognize but didn’t, Zoe shook her head. “Thank you, but that’s not necessary. You’ve got plenty to occupy you here. I’ll handle this on my own.”

Cristine dipped her chin, swallowing hard. “But you are signing up to help search, right?”

“Of course.” Zoe forced a smile and gestured to the line at the sign-up table. “Judging from the size of this turnout, you should have a ton of people show up tomorrow to assist.”

Cristine bit her lip. “About that. Will you help me organize it?” she blurted. “I want Shayna found, and no one else besides you and Mrs. Bell is taking her disappearance seriously.”

Surprised, Zoe considered. What Cristine said made sense. Still, until she got a better feel for things, Zoe preferred to go it on her own. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “It looks to me like you have everything pretty much under control.”

Then, before Cristine could say anything else, Zoe turned and hurried away.

Rushing outside, she nearly ran into Brock. Immediately, she felt a tingle of excitement low in her belly, which she ignored.

“Leaving already?” he asked, blocking her way and making no effort to move.

She tried to catch her breath, nodded and kept her expression impassive. It wouldn’t be a good thing if Brock learned how her body still reacted to him. “I thought I’d head over to the police station and see if I can light a fire under them.”

“Good idea.” He fell into step beside her. “It’s a short walk. Do you mind if I go with you?”

Would wonders never cease? Suddenly everyone wanted to go with her to the police department. First Cristine, and now Brock. She had to wonder if ulterior motives might be involved.

Glancing at Brock, his ruggedly handsome profile strong and rigid, his massive shoulders stretching the cotton of his button-down shirt, Zoe again quelled her inner quivering. She tried to be objective—as if they hadn’t shared a past—and debated asking him if he knew about Shayna and the sheriff. In the end, she decided against it. She wasn’t yet positive it was the truth.

“If you want,” she answered, turning away, unable to keep looking at him, hating how badly that hurt. “Though judging how you’ve been acting since I got here, I can’t help but wonder why you’d want to go anywhere with me.”

He touched her shoulder, making her jump and face him. From his expression, he wasn’t too happy about her statement.

Tough. She’d only spoken the truth.

“Look, Zoe,” he began, his husky, Southern-accented voice both familiar and exotic. “Though I’m of the opinion Shayna took off with some guy for an extended vacation, I still want her found. Just because we weren’t getting along doesn’t mean I’m not worried about her.”

Interesting. Now she definitely had to wonder what he was hiding. And he was hiding something, of that she had no doubt. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” she said, deciding to test his veracity. “The way I see it, we’re going to have to put our differences aside so we can work together. Don’t you agree?”

His face revealed his surprise, and he slowly nodded. Of course, he had no idea that the look in his eyes plainly communicated the opposite. Work together? He might as well have given her a hell, no. At least that would have been truthful.

“I have to admit I could use your help sometimes,” she continued, again speaking only the truth. “I’m getting too many conflicting stories.”

He gave a heavy sigh. “I have a feeling I know what you mean.”

“Do you?” Now would be the perfect time to find out his version of the truth. “What exactly happened between you and Shayna?”

“That’s private, between me and her. None of your business.”

“It is my business if it has something to do with her disappearance. What happened, Brock?”

He took a deep breath and then shook his head. “Look, Zoe, you turned your back on me, on us and on this town. People around here might be more forgiving, or they might tell you all of this is none of your business. I don’t know why Mama Bell called you or even why you came. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve amply demonstrated you don’t give a damn about any of us.”

His words hung there, lodging in the empty space inside her heart. She shriveled a little at his tone, but then she’d known coming back wouldn’t be easy. He might not like it, but she knew she needed to probe into the relationship between her missing friend and her former fiancé. If she wanted to gain insight into what had happened to Shayna, she would have to ask difficult questions. And if Brock wanted her found, he’d have to answer them.

They started walking, side by side, close but not touching in any way. She felt unsettled, as though his body exerted some sort of gravitational pull on hers. “What do you mean, you know what I’m talking about?”

Not looking at her, he responded. “Shayna had gone wild. Cristine was her partner in crime. They were into drugs, alcohol and one-night stands. I couldn’t exactly stop her, but I could make her keep it out of my apartment. She couldn’t wait to move out.”

Again, nothing should have surprised her, but she found it hard to reconcile the Brock she’d once known putting up with the kind of behavior Cristine had ascribed to Shayna. And what had her best friend been thinking? None of this even remotely made sense.

But then again, people changed. Everyone did. Including her. Except for one thing. Who would have guessed that she’d still get that internal zing straight to the heart every time she even looked at Brock?

As they neared the building that housed the Anniversary police station, Zoe had to wonder if it wasn’t entirely possible Brock knew about Shayna and the chief and had come along to enact some sort of testosterone pissing contest.

But then again, pulling something like that off surrounded by armed officers of the law would be more than foolish—it would be downright suicidal.

She needed to calm her overactive imagination and find out what the Anniversary police department was doing to help find her friend.

And she suddenly realized this was one thing she’d be better off handling by herself. As it stood, she suspected Brock’s motives for the abrupt about-face. After all, why would he want to work together with the woman who’d basically left him at the altar? Especially if—she shot a quick sideways glance at him—Shayna had been cheating on him constantly?

“Wait.” Without thinking, she touched his arm, nearly gasping at the sizzle that ran up her fingers straight to her heart. “I think I’d rather do this alone.”

“Of course you would,” he responded, the crease between his brows revealing his displeasure. Though he didn’t move, she could see him visibly withdraw.

Fighting the odd urge to apologize, she nodded. Good. Maybe now she could breathe. After all, there was no sense in letting him get too close. He might be the man who’d made her friend disappear—and still she was attracted to him.

“Look, Zoe,” Brock said. “Whatever went wrong between us, Shayna matters now. Nothing else.”

“You’re right,” she said. “But I honestly think this is something I need to do on my own.”

“Fine.” Crossing his arms, he gave her a hard look. “Call me if you need me.”

After a second of hesitation, Zoe agreed.

Once inside, she saw several people she recognized, more proof that life in a small town remained essentially the same.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked, her voice cool. Great. Agnes Caliburton from high school. She’d been part of a gang of girls who’d tormented Zoe to no end, simply because Zoe had been pretty.

Zoe pretended not to recognize her. “Yes. I’m here to see the sheriff.” In the old days, when Renee Beauchamp had run the place, Zoe could have just walked right in. Apparently not anymore.

Agnes stared, her expression hard. “Do you have an appointment?”

Zoe met her gaze and held it. “No. But I’m sure he’ll see me. Tell him Zoe Onella is here to see him.”

Agnes didn’t move. “Regarding?”

“Shayna Bell.” Crossing her arms, Zoe waited, practically daring the woman to say anything else.

Instead, Agnes spun on her heel and headed toward the back.

Leaning on the counter, Zoe waited.

A moment later, Agnes returned, the downward twist of her mouth showing her displeasure. “Follow me,” she said, lifting a part of the counter so Zoe could go through.

A few paces behind Agnes, Zoe kept her gaze straight-ahead, well aware of the curious stares of the half-a-dozen officers milling about in the common room.

When they turned left, into a short hallway, Agnes stopped short of knocking on the closed door. “Here you go,” she said, and beat a hasty retreat, leaving Zoe unannounced.

Fine. Rapping sharply on the door, Zoe waited until the man inside spoke before turning the handle and entering.

She stopped short at her first sight of Shayna’s lover, assuming what Cristine had told her was true. Blond and deeply tanned, he had the look of a Colorado ski instructor or golf pro. His sparkling blue eyes were friendly and his smile warm. Not at all what she’d expected.

But then what had she thought? That Shayna would cheat on Brock with a man who was ugly?

“What can I do for you, Ms. Onella?” he asked, his Texas drawl completely charming.

“Please, call me Zoe,” she said automatically.

“Fine, Zoe. I’m Roger.” He held out his hand and she shook it. “Agnes tells me you’re here to talk about Shayna?”

“Yes.” She searched his face for some hint of emotion at the name. “I don’t know how else to put this, so I’m going to be blunt. I understand you and she were...intimate?”

One corner of his mouth quirked as she felt her face redden. “We were friends with benefits, if that’s what you mean. But I’m curious. Surely that’s not what you came to talk to me about?”

Despite her discomfort, she held his gaze. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“In what way? Shayna hasn’t been charged with a crime.”

“Actually, I came here to find out what your office is doing to find her.”

“Everything we can, Zoe,” he assured her, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “We have a missing persons report on file. Our hands are tied. Shayna is a grown woman who told many people she wanted to get out of town. There’s no evidence of foul play or anything suspicious—”

“Something happened to her,” Zoe interrupted. “Why can’t you just consider that a possibility?”

He took a deep breath. “She never stopped talking about the fact that you did exactly what she longed to do. Not only did you get away, but you were living what she considered a glamorous life. I think she was envious of you. I think she left to try and make it on her own away from here.”

Damn, that hurt. “Glamorous? I worked as an executive assistant. Plus, even if that was what happened, Shayna would never disappear without telling anyone where she was going.”

“And how do you know she didn’t?”

He wasn’t taking her seriously and that infuriated her. “Because she had no reason to. Everyone she knew and loved is here. On top of that, her bank accounts haven’t been touched. I’m willing to bet if you checked, you’d find the same with her credit cards.”

“First off, we can’t. Shayna has a right to privacy just like anyone else.”

“What if her parents insist? Or Brock, since they were living together?”

“Shayna would have to give permission, whether verbal or otherwise. Since she did not...” He spread his hands. “We can do nothing.”

“She would have called me,” she insisted. “There’s no way she would have left without at least letting me—or her mother—know.”

“You can’t be sure of that. Zoe, the Shayna I know is a restless, unhappy woman. She was, whether you knew it or not, insanely jealous of you and your success. She wanted to escape this town, this life.” He shrugged. “That’s one of the reasons why the relationship between us didn’t work. I left Houston to escape the big city. I love Anniversary. She’d come to despise everything about it.”

Despite herself, she recognized the validity of his statement. “You have a point,” she grudgingly admitted. “But still...”

He stood, indicating the discussion was over. “I can promise you this, Zoe,” he said. “The instant we have any reason to think differently, we’ll expend every resource to make sure Shayna is found. But as it is...”

She dipped her chin. “I understand.”

The sad thing was, she did. But on the other side, she wasn’t sure she trusted Shayna’s former lover to be in charge of searching for her.

Unfortunately, she was beginning to think the search would be pointless. All indications seemed to point to Shayna leaving town on her own, in much the same way that Zoe herself had done five years earlier.

Still, a niggling doubt remained. Mainly because no matter what Shayna might have become, Zoe knew she wouldn’t have taken off without talking to her and she’d have put on a show for Zoe, at the least, which means she cared what Zoe thought. Whether Shayna lied or not, she’d clearly needed some kind of help all along. Now she was missing. Zoe’s heart ached for her troubled friend.

So she would continue looking, no matter what. And, until she knew more, she’d hope for the best but suppose the worst.