CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Randall’s jaw clenched. He ducked behind a thick curtain, getting out of those kids’ line of sight. What the hell did they want with Mary? Asking more questions about the derailment? About him?

No. That guy Jake was all about hero worship, a real fan of his past accomplishments. But he didn’t trust the blonde. Amanda? That witchy one—he’d seen green eyes like hers before. Eyes that knew things.

She might discover what really happened at Zephyr Land that day. He wasn’t about to let that happen.

Catfish padded his way over and stood by Randall’s side. “Good boy. Don’t let us be seen.”

The dog snuffled and kept a steady panting rhythm. That was the thing about dogs. They never betrayed. Not like those bastards at the company.

Once the Civic left Mary’s driveway, Randall put on his working boots. Laced them up. He poured some dog food for Catfish and then walked to Mary’s house.

“Who is it?” a timid voice asked.

“Randall Kern.”

Silence.

“Mary, I know you’re in there. C’mon now. Open up.”

Slowly, she pulled the door open. “What can I do for you? You out of grits again?”

He leaned one hand against her doorframe. “Nah, I got plenty of corn grits. Enough to last six months.”

“Stocking up for winter?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to push into your business, but I couldn’t help but notice the strange car in your driveway earlier. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, holding on to her arms like bracing against a cold wind. “Oh, that was Jake and Amanda. I’m fine. They were just asking questions about the firm, the coaster. I think Jake is writing some paper for academic purposes.”

“Yeah, about that…”

“What?”

“These two youngsters. They show up out of nowhere. Jake claims to have followed my career. He knew most of the highlights. All of a sudden, they’re interested in the derailment, and they want to know more?”

“That’s right. I think he’s working on a paper for his college department, and she’s doing a study on the carousel.”

Randall took a deep breath. How could he get Mary to see his side of things? This had to be done carefully.

“Would you mind if we visited for a little bit? My back is killing me from lifting heavy equipment in the yard.”

Her mouth twitched, but she opened the door wider. “For a few minutes, sure.”

“Much obliged.” He hobbled in for effect and sat in the corner chair of the front room.

“Want some lemonade or tea?”

“No, no, thank you.” He situated a small couch cushion against his lower back. “As I was saying, those kids came knocking on my door. But we’re a small town. We’ve never seen these two before. How do we know they are who they say?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Mary asked, ever the naïve Southern lady.

“I’m not casting false words on them,” he said, keeping his accent slow and Southern. “But we need to be careful, Mary. What if they’re reporters? What if they represent some grandson of Chester and Andrew, here to get more money?”

Mary waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, Randall. You’re being paranoid.”

“I think we should just make sure they have a right to be here. Jake told me he had permission to go into Zephyr Land. But how does a twenty-something guy get access to a park that’s been closed off for a decade? Don’t you think something is suspicious?”

She shrugged. “What do you think we should do?”

“Maybe get the sheriff to check it out? Ask them for their permission papers to get into the park, at least?”

“I don’t know. They seem like such sweet kids—”

“Doesn’t mean they won’t jump at the chance to ruin this town with reporters, false accusations. You don’t want more people burdening you with questions about the derailment, do you?”

She nodded. “You’re right on that. Someone’s been crank calling me. No caller ID so I can’t find out who.”

“I’ve experienced the same thing. One thing is for certain—the strange occurrences began when those two arrived in Abandon.”

“What do you want me to do? Call the sheriff? I don’t know that he’ll find anything.”

“You know no one trusts me in this town anymore,” Randall said. “You’re one of the few people who continue to speak to me.”

“I was brought up to see the good in everyone,” she whispered.

“Good Christian woman,” he said. “Right now, I’m asking that you use your head and keep this area safe. The sheriff won’t take anything I say seriously, but he’ll listen to you.”

“If you think it best,” Mary said. “But I’m going to call the nonemergency line. I don’t think being suspicious of two youngsters is worthy of calling 9-1-1.”

“However you see fit.”

Randall smiled. Mission accomplished. Time to find out what Jake and Amanda were really doing in the town of Abandon, Alabama.