“COPS ARE THE good guys,” Oscar reminded her. Knowing that Shelley didn’t believe in the badge, didn’t believe in him, hurt.
She gave him a tight-lipped look that wasn’t a frown but definitely wasn’t a smile, either.
“And,” he reminded her gently, “if you’d trust me, I’m sure I can help. Just answer my questions.”
“What question haven’t I answered?” She carefully, as only a pregnant woman could, maneuvered her way behind the steering wheel.
“It’s not what you’ve answered. It’s more what you haven’t shared.”
“I’ve told the truth.” With that, she reached out and started to close her door. He finished for her, giving it a push and stepping back.
She turned the key. The engine rolled over once and sputtered. She tried three more times before he commanded, “Pop the hood.”
She closed her eyes, and he knew she wished it were anyone but him, a dreaded cop, helping her. Still, she reached down, and he heard the ping of the hood’s lock disengaging.
He checked for the easy fixes, but everything appeared connected and in working order.
“What time is your appointment?”
She looked at her watch. “Ryan’s preschool started five minutes ago, and my appointment is in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll take you.”
“You have a motorcycle!” Her cheeks turned a faint pink that looked good on her, except that it matched the faint red of her eyes. There were no tears, and he knew she’d deny them if he asked.
“You get the car seat while I borrow my aunt Bianca’s SUV.”
Five minutes later, they were on their way. Ryan thought it great fun to have a new person around and be in a different vehicle. After giving directions, Shelley picked at the hem of her red shirt.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“I’ve never liked going to the doctor.”
“I meant about being in the car with me.”
She stopped fidgeting. “You mean being with a cop?”
“Yup.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Shelley said. “If you don’t ask me any questions that I’ve already answered, I’ll try not to act like I’m stuck with you.”
He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “Okay, but only because I’ve always heard that you should let pregnant women have their way or they get really cranky.”
“It’s true. I’ve been cranky for the last eight months.”
“You’ve had good reason to be cranky,” Oscar observed.
The preschool came into view. Shelley showed him where to park, told him to wait, quickly unbuckled Ryan and hurried him inside a double set of doors. When she finally returned, she changed the subject. “So, what do you think is wrong with my car? It worked fine yesterday.”
“I don’t know. I gave it only a cursory look. I’ll tinker with it more when we get back.”
“You know cars?”
“One of my uncles owns an auto repair shop. I worked there while I was in high school.”
“I worked with my mother.”
Oscar let out a whistle. “I remember your mother. She used to bring desserts over to Bianca every morning. I thought her chocolate muffins were the best things I’d ever eaten.”
Shelley nodded, her pursed lips relaxing a bit. “I remember you sometimes convinced me to snatch them, especially right out of the oven.”
“Never,” Oscar protested. “I’m an officer of the law. I’d never encourage stealing.”
“You were twelve.”
“I’m glad you remember.”
They drove through one residential street and down another, passing parks and a grade school. Downtown Sarasota Falls came into view, and Oscar felt a moment’s disappointment. For the last few miles, they’d dropped the cop/suspect personas and had actually had a conversation.
Perfect timing. Just as they hit the street, the ten o’clock train approached, the lights started blinking and the post went down. From their left came a long, low whistle.
“I’m really late,” Shelley muttered.
“I’m glad we’re stopped by the train. It gives us more time to talk.” He ignored the face she made. “I promise, nothing about your ex-husband or Candace. Did I tell you when I was young, I thought the Sarasota Falls City Hall was haunted?”
“Really? Why?” Her fingers tapped on the door handle.
He knew she was just itching to get out. “Because of the gargoyles.”
She laughed, and it surprised him so much his foot almost slid off the brake. This was the second time she’d laughed today. The first time, she’d laughed with her son, but now she was laughing at him.
With him.
“Hey,” he protested. “The gargoyles scared me.”
“I love those gargoyles, especially after a rainstorm when the water pours from their spouts. You know that’s what they’re for.”
He didn’t know, but he liked that she did.
“They’re a type of drain. When it rains, they allow the water from the roof to pour down without having to touch the side of the building.”
The train finally arrived, going slow because it was traveling through a town. Shelley took her fingers off the door handle and looked at him. “I know the history of Sarasota Falls. During Sarasota Falls’ Founder Days, I not only rode in the parade but also I participated in some of the reenactments. There were about fifteen of us schoolkids. I usually played the town’s schoolteacher. But—” she gave him a look “—I did not go about slapping any knuckles with my ruler.”
“I wasn’t going to say a word.”
“Cops always have something to say.” She gave him a look. Then she turned her attention to the train and muttered, “It’s going to be a long one.”
Oscar noted he couldn’t see the end of the train. “I’ve always liked trains.”
“Have you been to the Station Diner? It used to be a depot and has a bunch of original railroad stuff. During reenactments, the owner, Jimmy Walker, even makes boarding passes that he hands out with the names of famous Sarasota Falls citizens on them.”
“Really? Who from Sarasota Falls is famous?”
“Billy the Kid came through town.”
“Okay, now I’m impressed. Does someone dress like him?”
“Of course, but everyone fights to be him, so the role doesn’t belong to just one person. Once Tom Riley played the part, but that was before...”
Oscar silently added the words she didn’t say. Before his partner died and his wife left him.
“Tom used to be a lot of fun,” Shelley said. Then she quickly changed the subject. “Sometimes your aunt Bianca’s home is on the tour. You should ask her.”
“Really?”
“Sure. You know its history, right?”
“I know only that it was built to house the main officer who ran the munitions depot.”
Visibly she relaxed. This might be a tactic he’d want to use later. Get her talking about her town. It was a great way to have her open up about people. Maybe she’d accidentally share something.
“You do know,” she asked, “the name of the area of town you live in?”
“Claradan.”
“The munitions depot’s head officer was Daniel. His wife was Clara.”
“Clara and Dan. Claradan,” Oscar figured out. “But Sarasota Falls is older than the munitions depot. Aunt Bianca has some of the old photos on display in the living room. Her guests like to see them.”
“You’re right. At the turn of the century, the twentieth century, Sarasota Falls was called Dead Bull’s Corner.”
Oscar looked at her. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. No one knows why, but I’m guessing some cowboys sitting around a campfire had great fun coming up with the name.”
“Could have been worse,” Oscar considered.
“The town first changed its name when the school for the deaf was built. Guess the more genteel people in town didn’t think Dead Bull’s Corner would inspire people to send their children here.”
“How did a school for the deaf wind up here?”
“A wealthy cattle rancher built the school, recruited a doctor and teachers and then advertised.”
“One man?” Oscar queried.
“It’s amazing what one person can do, both good and bad, especially one with a daughter who’s deaf.”
Oscar got the idea she wasn’t thinking about the town’s history anymore. Because he didn’t like the tenseness already forming around her lips. He asked, “Why wasn’t the town renamed for him?”
“Because his name was Cornelius Pigg, and he didn’t think the town’s reputation would improve much by the changing of Dead Bull’s Corner, New Mexico, to Pigg, New Mexico.”
Oscar suddenly appreciated the name Guzman a whole lot more.
The last train car rambled by, but the post didn’t immediately rise.
“The school was called the Academy for the Deaf of New Mexico. Soon the town voted to change its name to Academy.”
“Academy, New Mexico.” Oscar didn’t think it rolled off the tongue well.
“Yup, Academy increased the size of the town’s dot on the map tremendously. For a few decades, the cattle farmers and the school coexisted, and the town had something for everyone. When the school closed, though, the population decreased by half and the town stagnated.
“Some say that for ten years, the town existed with only a post office and a train station. Hard to imagine.”
The warning arm finally rose, and Oscar followed her directions to the parking lot of the doctor’s building, the same one he’d been to at age twelve when an attack of vertigo hit during a tree-climbing contest. Funny how some of those long-ago memories came back.
He parked, and for a moment they sat. Sensing her discomfort and knowing she needed a ride back home, he said, “I want to get a few things at the store. Why don’t I do that? Call me when you’re done, and I’ll come back.”
She hesitated, then seemed to realize she had little choice. She knew, after all, that he had her number. Now she just had to accept his.
“Perfect.” Her tone implied anything but. She opened the door and hurried toward the entrance without a backward glance. She was a woman on a mission and intent on doing her battling alone. He’d admired that, but he also saw the look in her eyes and the slump of her shoulders.
He really didn’t need anything, so he parked down the road and called Townley, the man responsible for Oscar’s assignment to get close to Shelley Wagner and delve into her secrets.
Oscar was delving a bit too deep, because he was starting to care more about her than her secrets.
This could be a problem.