Chapter Twenty-One

Peyton emerged from the locker room to the familiar sights and smells of a competition swimming venue. The air was electric as the stands began to fill with fans wearing their school colors. An enthusiastic pep band played songs with upbeat tempos while family and friends waved signs of encouragement in support of their favorite athlete. The scents of hot dogs and buttery popcorn mingled with the antiseptic tang of chlorine. This sport was her life. There was nothing like the rush of adrenalin she felt when she walked onto the deck. That’s why she agreed to the personal coaching job—to experience the excitement and anticipation of racing. But today, the atmosphere which had brought her so much joy over the years was clouded with bittersweet memories. Kurt was dead. Murdered. Her teammates Lotus, Laura and Jenny were gone. The sport would never be the same for her. She’d still run her swimwear company and volunteer with children, but she would never compete again. Not without Kurt.

She hadn’t wanted to come tonight, but Aurora counted on her. The girl had been working hard all week despite being hospitalized and almost run over. Plus, Peyton had committed to helping Aurora’s high school coach with the event. She felt like a shell of herself. She knew her eyes were swollen from tears and her heart felt as if it’d been sliced in two, but this was for Aurora. Her practice had been phenomenal this morning. She’d logged her best times ever. If she swam that way tonight, she’d not only win her heats, but advance directly to Sunday’s finals. She’d not only improved her swimming, but her entire attitude had changed. She was excited about competing, she listened to what Peyton told her and she looked genuinely happy. It made Peyton’s battered heart sing to know that Aurora had finally fallen in love with the sport.

She hadn’t told Aurora or her parents about Kurt or Lotus or the others, though they might’ve read it in the papers. She didn’t want them to worry. If the police didn’t catch the guy before the end of the weekend, Peyton would be leaving, and the Bentons would be safe. Detective Caldwell had assigned an officer to keep an eye exclusively on Henry and Avery in the stands and Peyton appreciated his efforts.

With very short notice, Noah and his company had been instrumental in having metal detectors situated at the entrances. No one would be getting in with a gun or knife. Plus, Detective Caldwell had assigned a dozen cops stationed both inside the venue and out to be on alert for any threats.

“Oh my God, Peyton Durant.”

Peyton turned to see who’d scoffed out her name like a curse. A woman was standing with her hands on her ample hips, her beady gaze narrowed with contempt. She had short brown hair cut into a bob and permanent frown lines. Then she noticed the small scar on the woman’s chin.

“Sarah Sanderson.” Her long-ago nemesis in the flesh.

“It’s Sarah Buck, now. What are you doing here? Trying to steal the spotlight from the deserving high schoolers? Need your overinflated ego stroked?” she sneered.

Peyton bit back a nasty retort. Sarah had always tried to push her buttons. She’d always been jealous of Peyton’s success. When she was younger, she took the bait. But she was older and wiser now. Peyton narrowed her eyes. Could Sarah be responsible for what happened to Kurt and Lotus and the others?

“I’m coaching one of the competitors.”

“You? Coaching?” She barked out a laugh. “That’s a riot.”

Peyton crossed her arms. “Yeah? Why is that?”

“Because you’re too selfish to want someone else to succeed.”

“You have no right to say something slanderous like that. You don’t even know me.”

“I know that you’re a bitch.”

She was so tired of this woman and her hostility. “I’ve never done anything to you except swim faster. That’s on you, not me. And if you can’t get over it, that’s your problem, too.” She turned to leave when Sarah’s next words stopped her in her tracks.

“Too bad about Kurt.” She tsked. “You must be so upset.”

Her emotions, already unsteady, snapped. She spun around, her hand clenched into a fist, ready to swing at the evil woman when a young girl came jogging up to them.

“Mom, where are my goggles?”

Peyton dropped her arm. She’d never resorted to violence but then, she’d never met anyone as despicable as Sarah Sanderson.

“I don’t know where your goggles are, Catherine. They’re your responsibility. Check your bag.”

The girl started to leave but did a double take when she spotted Peyton. Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, you’re Peyton Durant!” She jumped up and down and squealed. “You’re my idol! I heard a rumor that you’d be here.” Then she slammed her fists to her hips and pinned Sarah with a glare. “You know Peyton Durant and you never told me? You know how much I adore her.”

Sarah looked like she’d sucked a lemon. Peyton took great satisfaction in knowing the other woman was uncomfortable.

“I don’t know her,” Sarah sniffed.

Peyton wasn’t letting her get away with it. “That’s true, we don’t actually know each other,” she agreed easily. Peyton would never be friends with someone so vindictive and cruel. “But we’ve swam against each other several times over the years.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s so cool!”

“No, it’s not,” Sarah muttered, petty till the end.

“Did you ever beat her, Mom?”

She fluttered a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Sure. All the time,” she lied and then smirked at Peyton, daring her to contradict the fib.

Peyton shouldn’t be shocked that the meanspirited woman would deceive her stepdaughter. Sarah was pathological, malicious, and downright hateful. If she was so insecure, she needed to feed the girl lies, that was her problem. Peyton refused to lower herself to her level.

“Wow, my stepmother actually beat Peyton Durant!”

Sarah’s mouth curved with triumph. Peyton shook her head sadly at the woman. Sarah’s smile dimmed.

“Mom, take a picture of me with Peyton.”

The sour look was back. “I don’t have my cell with me.”

“It’s right there.” Catherine pointed to the phone sticking out of her pocket.

“Battery’s dead.”

Peyton had heard enough. If she spent another minute in this woman’s presence, she would resort to violence. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go. It was nice to meet you, Catherine. Good luck tonight.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you knew her,” Catherine chastised as Peyton walked away. She’d always known Sarah didn’t like her, but she didn’t realize the hatred was so intense, even after all these years. If Sarah still held a grudge, then she could very well be the person responsible for the murders. She spun around but Sarah and her stepdaughter were gone.

#

Noah scanned the arena, looking for any potential threats. His neck itched. There were too many people milling about. Detective Caldwell had arranged for all six COBRA Security agents to be able to come and go as needed, and to carry their weapons. That was important. No way was he letting Peyton attend if he couldn’t protect her with firepower if necessary. She’d worn the Kevlar vest under the official school polo shirt that Aurora’s high school coach provided, so that made him feel marginally better.

Once inside the building, there were three ways to enter the main competition arena. Carter, Alex and Dorian were each covering one entry. Maggie was posted at the top of the largest set of bleachers so she could oversee the entire area. He and Ethan roamed between the main pool and the warm-up one. They’d been politely ordered to stay off the deck as much as possible to avoid interfering with the competition. He’d agreed, but if there was a threat, all bets were off.

All agents were linked with comms and they’d provided one to Caldwell, too. Noah figured it was a two-way street because if the cops caught someone, he wanted to know as soon as possible.

He’d recognized the woman speaking with Peyton as Sarah Sanderson, now Buck, one of his top suspects. He’d moved closer, prepared to take the woman out if she made a move. He’d heard most of the conversation and it took everything in him to refrain from tossing the nasty woman into the water. She’d flat-out lied to her stepdaughter, telling her she’d beaten Peyton several times when the exact opposite was true. Peyton had won every single time. But her untruths were a result of her insecurity and mean spirit. What had steam coming from Noah’s ears was when she had the gall to goad Peyton about Kurt’s death. It was a low blow. Sarah Sanderson Buck had absolutely no class. Noah planned to accidently on purpose run into her and issue a warning. If she ever said or did anything to upset Peyton again, she’d have to answer to him, and he could guarantee she wouldn’t like the question.

#

A woman carrying a clipboard marched up to Peyton, the nametag announcing that she was Phyllis Stone, race official. Her hands shook so hard the clipboard trembled in her grip. Peyton wondered if she had a disorder that caused the tremors.

“Ms. Durant, there’s a problem with Aurora Benton’s paperwork. I need you to correct it before the races begin.”

“I’m sorry, you’ll need to talk to Mrs. Harris. She’s the head coach. The school handled all of the paperwork for the athletes.”

Phyllis glanced behind her and pointed in the direction of the warm-up pool where Aurora and her teammates were swimming laps. “I just spoke with her and she asked me to find you. She said you would be able to take care of the issue.”

Kat Harris probably was busy with a dozen athletes to watch over. Peyton had agreed to help when needed. She caught Noah’s eye—his gaze never seemed to leave her for long—as she followed the woman. She mimicked signing a form and pointed to the office down a small hallway. He nodded in understanding. Phyllis opened the door and held it for Peyton to enter. It drifted closed in her wake. The woman continued through the cluttered office to another door. “Follow me.”

This door opened to a short hallway with another door at the end. “Mrs. Stone? Are you sure this is the right way?”

Phyllis either didn’t hear the question or she ignored it as she led Peyton down two flights of steps into an eerily abandoned corridor.

Alarm bells sounded and Peyton was just about to turn around when Phyllis stopped in front of a closed door. “We keep all of the forms in here.” She opened it and motioned for Peyton to enter.

“I’m so sorry.”

Peyton spun around as the door slammed shut in her face. She grabbed the handle and twisted, but it was locked. Her hand was poised to knock when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.

“I-it’s about time you got here.”

She slowly turned around and came face to face with her nemesis, Sarah Sanderson. And she was holding a medal.