Ten

Laura clipped a dead rose from the bush and added it to the yard waste pile. A door closed nearby and she glanced up to see Rusty walking down Mandy’s driveway. Tears stung her eyes. She needed to stop thinking of it as Mandy’s. Laura blinked away the tears and waved to Rusty. 

“Hey, neighbor.”

Rusty glanced over and gave a little wave. He walked over, and as he neared, Laura noticed the frown on his face.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m starting to see what you mean about Chris.”

“Uh, oh. Do I want to know?”

Rusty leaned against a maple tree. “I’m trying to chalk it up to the grieving process, but he’s not making it easy.”

“He doesn’t make anything easy.” Laura jammed the clippers into the dirt. “If you need somewhere to stay, I have plenty of spare rooms.”

“Thanks, but I’d like to keep an eye on the kids. If that means putting up with their dad, then I’ll deal.”

Laura nodded and brought her hand up over her eyes to block the sun. “It’s already getting hot out here. Want to come in for some iced tea?”

“That sounds great.”

She slid off her gloves and threw them next to the clippers. “Come on in. Let’s talk about Travis. That’ll get your mind off what’s-his-name.”

“There’s not much more to tell.”

Laura opened the front door and let Rusty in. “I want to hear about him spitting champagne on you again.”

“It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds.”

She smiled and dusted dirt from her knees and came inside. “Kitchen’s this way.” She led him up the stairs of the sprawling split level and washed her hands before grabbing the freshly made iced tea. 

Thank goodness for Cindy, who was much more than just a one-woman housecleaning service. Without her, the house would have been a mess. 

She and Rusty sat quietly sipping the tea. He appeared as lost in thought as she was. 

“What set Chris off this morning?”

Rusty groaned. “The fact that I deserve the award for the worst brother of the year.”

“Oh, don’t let him get to you. Mandy never reached out to you, either. She didn’t hold a grudge against you, though. I could tell by the way she talked about you.”

He set his glass down and stared at it. “That’s good news, at least. I just wish I would have tried to contact her. If I’d have known…”

“You didn’t.” Laura reached over and put her hand on his arm. “There was no way you could have. None of us could have. You know what?”

“What?”

“I’ll bet she was planning on getting in touch once she got her own place. She was pretty excited about getting out on her own. I think she felt like she’d always lived under someone’s thumb. From what I gather, your dad isn’t much different from Chris.”

Rusty glanced up, looking deep in thought. “I can’t deny there are similarities. Some of them came shining through this morning.”

Laura’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a text from a blocked number.

Rusty had his phone out, too.

They exchanged a curious glance. Laura opened the text and gasped.

You need to mind your own business. Now. Or there will be consequences. Serious ones. Undoable.

She looked at Rusty. “Did you…?”

They showed each other their phones. Rusty had the same message from a blocked number.

“Do you think it’s from Chris?” Rusty asked.

“I was thinking Travis.”

“Chris took Mandy’s journal from my guest room.”

Laura’s stomach dropped to the floor. “What?”

“It’s gone, and before I had the chance to read all of it. I was hoping to finish it today.”

“I’ll bet it had incriminating evidence.”

“We won’t know now. He’ll hide it somewhere I’ll never find it—I’m sure of it.”

“Me, too.” Laura leaned back in her chair. “I wonder if there are any more diaries lying around.”

“Maybe, but I’ll bet he’s searching for them now.”

“At least we’re going back to Travis’s party tomorrow night. It’ll give us a chance to see if we can find anything out.”

“You think he’s going to fess up to knowing about Brady? Or being behind Mandy’s death?” Rusty wrinkled his forehead.

“No, but maybe we can find something out.”

“We should take this to the police.”

“Why?” Laura asked.

“They already suspect Chris. They wouldn’t have held him for a full day otherwise. And they let him go, so obviously, they couldn’t find anything. If we tell them about Travis, they’ll—”

“What? Confront the wealthiest and most powerful man in town?” Laura shook her head. “That won’t happen. Not without evidence.”

“The resemblance between him and Brady is undeniable.”

“You don’t understand the influence of the Calloways. They built this place. We weren’t even on the map until Clockworks came around. They employ at least a quarter of the adult population. Clockworks employees get discounts and benefits everywhere. Did you notice the signs around town?”

Rusty shook his head. 

“Look around next time you go out. You won’t be able to miss them. We’ll have to think of something else.”

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but closed it.

“What? Do you know something?” Laura twisted a strand of hair around her finger. It was a nervous habit she’d had since she was a child.

Rusty brought out his wallet and pulled out a shiny, silver key.

“What’s that?” Laura eyed it. It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why. It was too small to go to a house or a car. A safe, maybe?

“It was taped to Mandy’s journal. At least I had the sense to remove it.”

“Let me see that.” 

He handed it to her, and Laura studied it. 

“Do you know what it goes to?” she asked.

“No, but it’s similar to my own bank lock box key.”

“That’s it!” Laura looked at the key again. “I have one to the First Security bank downtown. It looks just like this one.”

“Sounds like we need to take a trip over there.”

“Yeah, we do. Do you think he’ll go through your stuff?”

Rusty shrugged. “I don’t have anything to hide. Or anything worth stealing—at least that I brought.”

“Maybe we should head down to the bank before he finds the key.”

“Even if he knows it’s missing from the diary, he wouldn’t know where to look.”

“Your wallet isn’t exactly a tough guess.”

“And he wouldn’t likely know the difference between my key and Mandy’s. He’d be stupid to risk taking mine.”

Laura held up her phone. “Someone’s already pissed that we’re looking into her death.”

He leaned back. “I have a feeling we haven’t seen pissed yet. You want to head over to the bank?”

She pushed the button on her phone to turn on the screen. They would probably get there a little before it opened, but they could sit near the fountain and talk. And Laura rather enjoyed their conversations—she wasn’t sure if it was because he also grieved for Mandy or because there was something about him that reminded Laura of her. “Let’s go. We can take my car.”

They got into her car and Rusty pushed the passenger seat back, reached into a pocket, and slid on some sunglasses. He was obviously comfortable letting her drive. Laura liked that. So many men were too insecure and had to be in the driver’s seat—not that Laura was one to hand over the keys to her car. 

No. Guys like that could take a hike as far as she was concerned.

She slid on her own sunglasses and started the car. A top twenty song played on the radio.

“Hope that’s okay.”

Rusty’s foot tapped in time with the music. “Perfect.”

They listened to music on the way downtown. Rusty hadn’t struck Laura as the type who would know the most popular songs, but he sang along with each one. He actually sounded good, too. Unlike most guys she’d known who just thought they did. 

She turned into the bank’s nearly-empty parking lot and pulled into a spot near the door. 

He tapped his fingers along with the new song that played.

“Do you listen to a lot of radio for your job?” she asked. “Seems like you would, spending a lot of time in the tow truck.”

“It comes with the territory. If someone is being especially obnoxious, then I crank it up. How do you like your job?”

Laura shrugged. “Consulting is what it is. But I love the flexibility and being able to work from home.”

“Nice.” 

“It looks like we’re a bit early. We can hang out in here or we can wander outside. There’s a fountain and some benches out front.”

He slid his sunglasses to the top of his head. “I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs.”

“You and me both. I haven’t gotten nearly enough exercise since… all of this.”

“The two of you were pretty close?” Rusty unzipped his hoodie and set it on the middle console. 

Laura’s breath caught. The light blue t-shirt clung to his muscular frame.

He turned to her, his brows raised. He’d asked her something. Crap. What, though?

“You and Mandy were close?” he asked.

Guilt flooded Laura. They were there to clear Mandy’s name and here she was getting distracted by Rusty’s physique. She didn’t want to have feelings for him—or anyone. After her dad left her mom high and dry, Laura had always had a bad taste in her mouth about marriage. Her ex-husband and the few serious boyfriends she’d had hadn’t helped matters, either. 

Laura would never forget when her last boyfriend had raised a fist at her. That had been enough for her to write off men forever. She’d sent him packing and had started gardening. It brought a lot more purpose to her life than relationships ever had.

She remembered Rusty’s question. “Yeah, we were close. I suppose she was my best friend.”

“Suppose?”

Laura let out a long, slow breath. “We both would have liked to have hung out more.”

“But Chris…”

“Exactly.” 

A smiling family stared at her from the bank’s window—a decal advertising a CD promotion. Laura focused on the little girl with pigtails. Anything to get her mind off losing Mandy and the growing feelings for Rusty. She didn’t need any kind of relationship. It only brought pain, and she certainly didn’t need any more of that in her life.

“Let’s see the fountain.” She scrambled out of the car and kept her attention on the family on the window. They were the perfect distraction.

Rusty closed his door and Laura locked the car with her remote. She hurried around the building. The tall, three-tiered fountain came into view. Water shot from the top, overflowing into the lower levels. Little birds chased each other around it, darting in and out of the top part only long enough to shake off after a quick dip.

Another great distraction. Rusty stood next to Laura, but she kept her focus on the birds.

“That’s a good reminder,” he said.

Laura kept herself from turning to him. “What is?”

“Those guys. They’re just playing without a care in the world. Nature provides gentle admonitions, don’t you think?”

She arched a brow. He was almost too much. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right.”

He leaned against a bench, still watching. She stayed in place. 

Something dark caught her attention. A couple crows flew down to the fountain, scaring away the little birds. They scattered in all directions. A crow cawed, and then they took off, too.

“What’s that a sign of?” she asked and turned to him, keeping her focus on his eyes.

Rusty’s lips curved down. “A reminder to watch our backs.”