“I’ve had calls from most of the students and loads of people in town. I’m grateful that they care and are offering help, but I’m going to feel badly when I have to tell them that Sharon isn’t dead and we lied to them.”
“Lynn, I’m so sorry. It looks as if I’m going to be an albatross to you all our lives.”
“You are not,” Lynn said firmly. You’re my dear sister and I love you so very much.” She burst out crying and she and Sharon stood hugging.
“Shock,” Sean explained. “Lynn, darling, you’ve been so brave and have taken a lot on your young shoulders. I wondered when it would catch up to you.” Sean put an arm around each girl. Lynn turned and hid her face on his shoulder.
“Oh, Dad, I’m such a baby, but I keep thinking that horrible person is still out there and will still try to kill Sharon, or any of us that he thinks she has told something to. We can’t hide here forever.”
“Shhh. I know. We’ve all had the same thoughts. You’ll just have to go about your work as usual and everyone must keep alert and be suspicious of everyone and everything that’s either out of the ordinary or around too much.”
Jake, moving restlessly, reached for a Kleenex and blew his nose. “We’re all going to stay on guard and take care of both of you. That d - uh- person isn’t going to get Sharon.”
“He won’t have another chance,” Megan wiped her eyes. “Honey, pack your clothes. You’re coming home with us.”
“No, Mom. There’s no way I’d drag this dirty business in on you. It’s bad enough that all of these people have been placed at risk because of me. Besides,” she grinned, “I still can’t stand to be in the same town with Agnes Taylor.”
Sean snorted. “Who can stand her? That reminds me. I need to call Malcolm and let him know about Sharon. He was grieving and in agony when I last spoke to him. I talked to him on the car phone as we drove up.”
The call was made and Malcolm insisted on speaking to Sharon. “Honey, I’m coming up there tomorrow. I have to see with my own eyes that you’re all right and hug you. I’ve been so angry remembering what my son did to you and then to think you had gone through what was reported made me forget I’m a gentleman.” His grief and anger were palpable over the phone. “Thank goodness Agnes is at her sister’s and doesn’t know this yet. You can be sure it will come out eventually. Be very careful.”
“I’ll be glad to see you, Dad Taylor, but don’t go to any trouble just for me,” she hesitated, “or cause more trouble for yourself.”
He knew she meant she didn’t want Agnes angry at him. At that moment a voice could be heard screaming in the background.
“You mean that witch isn’t dead after all. What will it take to kill her? That proves she’s evil. She’s protected by her guardian devils.”
“I’m so sorry, Sharon. I didn’t realize she had come in and was standing behind me. I have to hang up, but rest assured I’ll be there and your dad and I will get to the bottom of this.”
Sharon was shaking as she told the group of the conversation. Just the thought of Agnes made her skin crawl. Then she felt ashamed. I should be trying to understand her and feel sorry for her, but she sure makes it hard for anyone to care about her.
“Did any of you think that woman might have a mental problem?” Keanu asked. “I sure hope I never meet her.”
Sean pinched his lower lip and pulled it out with his right hand. It was a habit he’d formed when thinking deeply. “Malcolm and I have discussed that she needs professional help, but she’d fight getting any help. I just hope she doesn’t go off completely and hurt Malcolm - or someone else.”
“That’s enough,” Megan spoke. “We need to calm down and think happy thoughts.
It’s time to get settled for the night. Like Scarlet, we’ll think about this tomorrow.”
Keanu ran out to see who had driven in. He came in about ten minutes later spluttering with indignation. “That was another deputy that just wanted to stick his nose into things. He didn’t know much about the situation and asked the most stupid questions. I told him Deputy Belasic was handling everything admirably. This man reminds me of Barney Fife, you know - Andy Griffith - Mayberry. This deputy is a bullet short of a load.” Keanu’s comments helped to relax the others as they chuckled at his reaction. “He needs to take lessons from Deputy Belasic.”
David looked thoughtful. “I may be swallowing a camel and choking on a gnat, but we need to be careful, and suspicious. We don’t know if there’s a rogue cop out there.”
There was a quick discussion about what each would do the next morning. Sean said a prayer for the group. David, Keanu and Jake went to their apartments. Megan and Sean slept in Lynn’s bedroom and Lynn and Sharon snuggled down on a sleep sofa in the back room downstairs.
It seemed that they had just gotten to sleep when they were awakened by a banging on the outside door and Keanu shouting. “Wake up! Wake up!”
Lynn threw on a robe and raced for the door. She opened it enough for Keanu to slip through in case there were people that she didn’t want in or to see in the room. By then Megan and Sean were downstairs.
“What’s up?” Sean asked.
“There’s a police car coming up the drive and a lot of cars following.”
Answering another knock, Lynn let David and a uniformed police officer in.
“Good morning. I’m Deputy Angelo Diaz. Sorry to get you folks up so early, but someone is leaking information to the press, or one of them is mighty enterprising.”
Deputy Belasic ran in at that moment followed by a puzzled looking rookie deputy. It was obvious that Belasic was agitated.
“What’s being told to the press?” Sean asked with a grim expression. “By the way, I’m Sean Donnelly. I’m Lynn and Sharon’s father. This is my wife, Megan.”
“Boy am I happy to see you. I’m Deputy Vincent Belasic and this is Deputy Bob Wakefield. It’s a relief to know there’s a man on the property, especially a relative.”
“We’re here,” Keanu bristled. “We care about these girls and will protect them with our lives.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I worded that badly because we’re all upset. I just meant the girls probably feel better with their daddy here.”
“You must have come for a specific reason,” Lynn broke in.
“A reporter came to the sheriff’s office this morning and asked if we knew who had planted the remote-controlled bomb on Sharon’s car and if we knew why Sharon is targeted. We deliberately kept it quiet that a remote-controlled bomb was used. We were hoping that someone would get careless and give themselves away.”
“What was the reporter told?” David asked.
“That an investigation is in progress and nothing will be discussed until there is more information. I reminded them that if the police told everything the criminal might be alerted and get away.”
“We’d better get out there and protect those reporters,” David chuckled. “Jake has a shotgun across his arms and is daring anyone to come any closer.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Lynn spluttered. “As if we don’t have enough problems. Let me get dressed and I’ll be right out.” She ran upstairs, Sharon right behind her, mumbling, “They could have at least waited until after we had breakfast.”
“Sharon,” Deputy Belasic called to her as she came back down. “I think it’s time to tell them you’re here, but I want to be with you when you speak to them. Don’t tell them anything except that you had gotten out of the car and didn’t know about the incident until you heard it on the news. Impress upon them that you’re still in shock and have no idea why your car was destroyed. It’s better that all this information comes from you instead of them getting piecemeal information and arriving at the wrong conclusions.”
“I can do that,” she said softly.
“I’ll be right beside you, Sharon,” David said.
“And I’ll be on the other side,” Keanu stated fiercely.
As soon as everyone was ready, they followed Vincent Belasic to the stable. There was a collected gasp and shouts of excitement when some, who knew Sharon, caught sight of her. The reporters began to run toward Sharon, crowding each other. They were all yelling at once asking questions and making observations.
“Jake! Put that gun down,” Lynn yelled as she ran to him. She was too late to stop some of the reporters from taking pictures of Jake aiming the rifle.
“What do you people want? Technically you’re trespassing on private property.” Lynn demanded that they back up and leave.
“It isn’t so private when you have a school for the public to use,” one reporter answered Lynn as he took a picture of her.
“It’s still private property and I have the right to say who comes on these grounds.”
“Deputy Belasic, maybe you’d better take charge and clear the grounds,” Sean suggested.
“Who’er you?” a woman pushed a mike in Sean’s face.
“This is the father of these two young ladies,” Deputy Belasic answered her.
David placed a protective arm around Sharon and pulled her close to his side. She willingly leaned against him. The reporters were so anxious to get a sensational story that they didn’t seem to be human for a few moments. They were all yelling at once. Flashbulbs were popping, cameras were whirring and there was a lot of shoving.
Keanu stood slightly in front of Sharon, his feet spread apart and his arms akimbo.
He thrust his chin out and gave the impression that he would welcome a physical confrontation.
“Hey, Sharon, who’s your protector?” A man laughed. “Hey, kid, you look Indian. Are you Indian, kid? What’er you doing here?”
“Are you Sharon?” A woman tried to shove a mike in Sharon’s face while a man stood behind her and aimed a camera. They couldn’t get past the firm, determined body of Keanu. David hugged her closer and turned so that she was slightly behind him.
“We thought you were dead. Why did you let us think you were dead? Who was in the car? Somebody was killed, and it was your car.” Several crowded in closer.
Keanu knocked the mike down. “Lady, and I use the term loosely, you need to learn some manners. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s bad manners to shove something in anyone’s face?” he asked belligerently.
“Stop it, kid. Someone needs to teach you manners. Who are you anyway?” The man who had talked to Keanu before came to stand beside the woman reporter.
“Well mister, there’s no bulb lighting up over your head. It’s plain that you’re not the sharpest tool in the box or you could see that I am an Indian. You would also observe that I will not allow anyone to harass either Lynn or Sharon. Now play nice or leave. Call me the Lone Ranger if you wish.” The reporters began to shove in closer.
“Why were we given to believe that you were dead, Sharon?”
“Were you in the car at all?”
“Who was killed in the car and why did he or she have your car?”
“Who wants you dead enough to blow up your car?”
The questions came too fast for Sharon to answer even if she wanted to. She might have been naïve when she married Jeremy, but she had learned to be self-reliant. The trauma of her marriage was still fresh, however, and she shrunk against David at the audacity of the reporters.
Deputy Belasic called for order. “All right everybody. You were told earlier that no information could be given because an investigation is in progress. I’ll answer a few questions. No, as you can see, Sharon was not killed. We have some leads, but you folks know they can’t be discussed. We’ll give you what we can. I appreciate the fact that you have a job to do, well, so do I. Let’s respect each other and act like civilized people.”
Keanu snorted, then thinking of something, he began to walk slowly and methodically among the reporters and cameramen. He ambled back to stand by David.
“He isn’t here,” Keanu looked worried.
“Who?”
“That tall, mysterious man I’ve been seeing. He isn’t in this crowd.”
“Maybe he hasn’t heard the news yet. Stay alert.”
“You know I will.”
Deputy Belasic brought Megan and Sean forward. He hoped to get the attention off Sharon. “This is Sean and Megan Donnelly, parents of the two young ladies. Naturally they’re here because these are their daughters and they love them and want to be with them at this time.”
“Mr. Donnelly, did you think your daughter was dead?”
“Yes, I did - we did,” he hugged Megan to his side. “How thankful I am that it was a mistake.”
“When did you learn that Sharon is alive?”
“Yesterday afternoon as soon as we got here.” He half turned and gave a small nod to David. David whispered to Keanu and Jake, and the three men began slowly to move between Sharon and the crowd while they slipped around to the back of the stable. As soon as they were out of sight, they made a run for the back door of the office. Lynn was right on their heels.
“I’m ashamed to run off and leave my folks out there to face the reporters,” Sharon said, looking concerned.
“Don’t worry,” David reassured her. “Your dad signaled me to get you away. Have faith in him. He’s an excellent attorney and will talk a circle around them.”
“There’s a car pulling in. Some big guy just got out and is running toward Sean,” Keanu was excited, acting as if he didn’t know whether to run out and challenge this new arrival or stay and protect the girls.
Sharon quickly moved to look out the window. “That’s Dad Taylor,” she said happily. “He’ll stand by dad and they’ll take care of everything. Deputy Belasic is doing a great job, and I’m so glad he’s the one assigned to the case.”
The reporters hadn’t yet discovered that Sharon was missing. “Who’s this man? Is he an attorney? Did Sharon hire him to represent her?”
Sean smiled. “Yes, he’s an attorney. He’s my partner. We have an office in Fort Lauderdale. This is Malcolm Taylor. He’s known Sharon all of her life and has been very concerned at the distressing news we first heard.”
“Taylor?” a man said. “Didn’t I read that Sharon used to be married to a Taylor? Yeah! He was an alcoholic and killed himself crashing a plane. Does his death have anything to do with Sharon’s car being blown up? Hey, I have a photographic memory.”
“Too bad he’s out of film,” Keanu muttered. He was leaning against a window that was opened just a crack so that he could hear what was being said.
“I can’t say that the two incidents are related,” Malcolm said. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to talk to my partner.” he got between Sean and Megan and they walked quickly toward the office.
“Where’s Sharon? Does she have something to hide?” The reporters milled around.
Deputy Belasic held his hands up for quiet and order. “Thank you for being so understanding,” he said diplomatically. “This has been a shock to Sharon and her family. They don’t know any more than you do. We’ll keep you informed. Please leave in an orderly way and try not to damage the grounds with your tires. I promise you that I’ll tell you everything just as soon as I feel it can be told without jeopardizing the case.”
“One thing Sharon knows that we don’t,” a man shouted.
“What’s that?” Belasic asked.
“Who was in the car?”
“A beautiful young woman who was a veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Monroe. She was here for a cookout and was called out during the storm to doctor some horses near Dade City that had been hit by lightning. Her truck wouldn’t start, so, she borrowed Sharon’s car. That’s all we know at this time.” He had not wanted to tell that much, but realized that he needed to give the reporters some new facts until the investigation would reveal more.
The questions came fast and furious as they gathered tighter around the deputy.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve told you all that we know. Thank you again.” As he walked toward the office the reporters followed him shouting questions. Suddenly there was silence. He looked around to see why everyone got so quiet. He grinned and walked on to the office.
Jake hadn’t said a word, but he stood with the shotgun across his chest in a position that it could be brought in firing position quickly. Mumbling angrily the reporters fled to their cars, each trying to be the first one out.
Sharon ran to hug Malcolm. “How sweet of you to come.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my little girl, too.” He turned to hug Lynn. “How are you doing, sugar? It’s rough on you, I know.”
“Not too bad now. When I first thought Sharon was dead, I was devastated.”
“I can well imagine. We all were. Will someone please enlighten me as to what’s going on.
They all sat in the back room while Malcolm was brought up-to-date.
“Thank God, you’re all right. I’m not going to apologize for Agnes any more. All of you know how she is. Sharon, you know that I love you and will do anything I can for you. You too, Lynn. You’re both as dear to me as if you were my own children.”
David laughed out loud. “Hey, everyone. Come listen to the news.” They all turned to look at the television and burst out laughing.
“Aw,” Jake grumbled. “It doesn’t take much to amuse some people.”
There was a big picture of Jake holding the gun across his chest. The reporter made a joke of Sharon being protected by a modern day Wyatt Earp. Pictures were shown of Sean, Megan, David and Keanu and finally of Malcolm. The reporter congratulated Sharon and her family. He then told a sweet story of Jenni and extended sympathy to her family. It was obvious that he had done some research on Jenni and was honestly sympathetic to Sharon.
The next day Malcolm went home with a promise to come at once if needed.
“Hank, I swear I did what I was supposed to.”
“Fool. You’ve put us all in danger by taking matters in your own hands. You were told to go back to Texas and wait for orders.”
“I wanted to clean up loose ends.”
“Well, you only pulled them out farther. Where no one was bothering us before, there’ll be a detailed investigation now. The Donnellys are friends of people in high political places and can get some mighty important help. I’m sure glad I’m not in your shoes. I pity you when the Boss hears about this.”