Secrets Never Told Read online

  Secrets Never Told

  Books by Raegan Teller

  in the Enid Blackwell Series

  Murder in Madden

  The Last Sale

  Secrets Never Told

  Secrets Never Told

  Raegan Teller

  Pondhawk Press LLC

  Columbia, South Carolina

  Copyright © 2019 by Raegan Teller

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Pondhawk Press

  PO Box 290033

  Columbia, SC 29229

  www.PondhawkPress.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  SECRETS NEVER TOLD/ Raegan Teller. 1st ed.

  ISBN 978-0-9979205-4-3

  Dedicated to William Earl Craig, Jr.,

  the best man I know.

  We dance round in a ring

  and suppose,

  But the secret sits in the

  middle and knows.

  – Robert Frost, The Secret Sits

  CHAPTER 1

  Enid Blackwell glanced at the clock on the wall and grimaced. She would have to hurry to make her deadline for tomorrow’s weekly newspaper edition. She got up and shut the door to her tiny office at the Tri-County Gazette in Madden, South Carolina. With no interruptions, she just might make it.

  The newspaper’s mission, “Truth First,” applied equally to all the local events and topics of interest, most of which the larger newspapers didn’t carry. Today, Enid was writing about a rash of animal disappearances from the local farms. First a goat, then a couple of chickens at another location. When one of Madden’s finest citizens, a steady advertiser in the paper, reported his prized miniature horse missing, the story earned its spot as front-page news. Sadly, there was nothing to report, other than the details of the missing animals and their descriptions. A reward was posted for the tiny horse, which was sure to elicit some interest.

  When Enid heard the knock on her office door, she tried to ignore it. Most likely, it was Jack Johnson, her editor and the owner of the newspaper, wanting to know if she had the lead story of the week ready.

  Another knock on the door. “Hold on. I’m uploading it now.” Her fingers danced across the keyboard.

  “It’s me. Theo.”

  Enid’s fingers stopped moving. Theo Linard managed the Glitter Lake Inn, a century-old bed-and-breakfast just outside of Madden. A year ago, Enid had helped him look for his missing daughter. Although they were close friends now, she couldn’t remember him ever coming to the newspaper office to see her.

  She hit the “submit” button on her laptop. “Come on in.” She stood and gave him a hug. “It’s good to see you, Theo.”

  His face was etched with the same concern as when he told Enid his daughter had disappeared. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to Jack. The lady up front said he’s out.”

  Enid moved some file folders off the metal folding chair against the wall and offered him a seat. “Jack won’t be back until later. Is there something I can help you with?”

  He took a deep breath and clasped his hands. “You know we’re renovating the inn’s kitchen, right?”

  “Jack mentioned you were upgrading to a commercial stove and refrigerator. Since you’ve been doing so many events at the inn, I know you’ll be happy to have better equipment.”

  “Jack has been generous to us.” In addition to owning the newspaper, Jack owned the Glitter Lake Inn, which had been left to him in a friend’s will. He mostly left the inn and its business to Theo, as he wanted no part of being an innkeeper, but he had vowed to hang onto it as long as he could. It was the least he could do for the woman who might have become his wife, had her life not been tragically ended.

  Enid waited for Theo to explain further, but he was silent. “Something is bothering you, I can tell.” She pulled her chair from behind the desk and sat across from him, taking his hands in hers.

  “I’d rather show you, if you have time.”

  “Of course. I just finished the article, so I’ll let Jack know I’m leaving. Give me a minute.” She made the call and picked up her worn leather tote from underneath the desk. It had been an anniversary present from Cade years ago when she was an AP reporter. She kept using it, not only because of its sentimental value but because the fine Italian leather was buttery soft and the tote was big enough to carry extra shoes, her laptop, a bottle of water, her notepad, and any other supplies she might need.

  “Ready? Let’s go.”

  ◆◆◆

  Fall, in all its colorful glory, signaled the change of season. Splashes of orange, red, and yellow leaves painted the woods on both sides of the rural county road. A cold front was coming through, and fallen leaves danced in the brisk breeze.

  When Enid arrived at the inn, the beauty of the old mansion and the sparkling water of Glitter Lake captivated her. She never grew tired of that view. Theo parked in the area beside the inn, and Enid pulled in beside him. Lately, there had been work trucks in the parking area: electricians, carpenters, plumbers, and the dreaded inspectors. Upgrading the old house had proven to be a bigger undertaking than either Jack or Theo had bargained for. The wiring wasn’t up to code and couldn’t handle the demands of a commercial kitchen. The gas lines had to be moved to accommodate the new layout, and the plaster walls would eventually have to be re-mudded in keeping with the historical materials at the inn. Today, none of the usual workers were there.

  Theo entered the inn’s back door, and Enid followed him through the mudroom and into the kitchen. He stopped suddenly and pointed to a hole in the wall big enough to walk through. “There.”

  Enid peered into the dark void where the old sixty-inch O’Keefe & Merritt antique stove had once sat against the wall.

  Theo held a construction light one of the workers had left, the kind that had a wire cage around it and a hook on the top for hanging. “Follow me but watch your step.” He walked into the opening, holding the light out in front of him.

  When Enid was a kid, her mother had taken her to see the Luray Caverns in Virginia. Stepping into the caves, she had experienced a stillness that was hard to describe. She had that same feeling now, as she looked around the big space and inhaled the dank air. “What is this? A secret room?”

  “When they tore out the wall today to run the new wiring, they found this small room that had been sealed shut.”

  “This inn is so big, I guess no one ever noticed this space had been walled off.” She looked at the wooden floor, covered with decades of dirt.

  “Over here,” Theo said, walking to the corner by the far wall. He stopped and held his light over a portion of the floor where the wood had some water damage and had rotted. Several of the damaged floor boards had been pulled up and piled to the side, so that an area about four feet square was nothing but dirt. The dirt floor was about three feet lower than the wooden floor, creating a shallow crawl space. “Careful, watch your step.” He put the light down into the hole to illuminate the area.

  Enid peered into the opening and pointed. “What is that?”

  “Bones. Human, I believe.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Madden Police Chief Joshua Hart leaned back in his chair as he listened to Theo telling about the discovery of the bones. Enid sat beside Theo.

  After a few minutes, Josh interrupted. “One thing I’m confused about, Theo. Why didn’t
you call me immediately? You know, before you went to see Jack or Enid.”

  Enid started to speak, but Josh held up his hand. “Wait, I asked Theo.” He smiled at Enid with a look she knew well. She and Josh had been “an item,” as the Madden ladies called it, for about a year. That look meant “stay out of police work.” The relationship between reporters and police was tenuous at best, but being romantically entangled added another dimension of difficulty.

  “Since it’s outside the Madden city limits, Enid and I called the sheriff’s office right after we went back to the inn,” Theo said. “I wasn’t sure what to do, and Enid has always given me good advice.” He looked like a child who had been scolded for misbehaving in class. “I meant no disrespect toward you.”

  “None taken,” Josh said.

  “Where will they send the bones for analysis?” Enid asked.

  “I’m sure the sheriff will ask the county coroner to handle it. Can’t say that I have much experience in this state on this kind of thing. It’s wasn’t that unusual in New Mexico to find human remains in the desert, but here, well, that’s a different matter.”

  “Are we even sure they’re human?” Enid asked.

  “Can’t say at this point.” Josh looked at the photo Enid had taken and pointed to what looked like a ribcage. “But they definitely look human.”

  Theo cleared his throat. “I’m worried about what this will do to the inn’s business.”

  Josh threw back his head and laughed. “Are you kidding me?” He waved his hand across an imaginary sign in the air. “I can see the billboards along the highway now. ‘Stop at the Glitter Lake Inn and see the haunted secret room.’”

  Neither Theo nor Enid laughed with Josh.

  “Okay, sorry for the bad joke. Since Jack is the owner of the inn, I’m sure they will talk to him right away.” Josh looked at Theo. “I’m sure the county sheriff will do what he can to minimize disruptions at the inn. His forensics team will take photographs and get whatever else they need. You know, soil samples for decomp materials and things like that.”

  “We have a big dinner party a few weeks from now. It’s a fundraiser for Miss Madelyn’s campaign. I don’t want to disappoint her.”

  As a successful attorney in Columbia, Madelyn Jensen had been courted to run for the state senate. She was also a niece of the previous Madden police chief, Dick Jensen. Everyone who knew Madelyn said she should run for something, because she could work a room like no one else. Although she and Enid were close friends now, their relationship had begun with mistrust and accusations of Madelyn’s having an affair with Cade, Enid’s ex. Enid had accepted both Madelyn’s and Cade’s assertions that nothing had ever happened between them. Still, there was no denying that Cade admired the strong-willed, attractive attorney.

  The election was just over a month away, and Madelyn had been leading in the polls since early summer. Everyone assumed she would win. Even though the Jensen family’s power was centered in and around Madden, their name was known throughout the state for their philanthropy and for their influence.

  “I think you’ll have more problems with the county inspectors approving your new wiring and gas lines than you will with investigators,” Josh said. “The county investigator will question you, but it’s pretty clear those bones have been there a while. I doubt they’ll hold up the inn’s construction plans until they figure out what, or who, those bones once were. If it’s someone’s pet dog that was buried under the floor, then you won’t have to worry.”

  Theo nodded. “Thank you, Chief Hart. I need to get back to the inn now unless you have more questions for me.”

  “Nah, we’re good. I’ll be in touch later,” Josh said. He walked Theo to the door of the small cinder block police station and locked the door behind him.

  After Theo left, Enid said, “Please don’t lecture me about not getting involved in police business. It’s late and I’m tired.”

  “I’ll make a deal with you. You don’t meddle, and I won’t lecture.” He flashed a boyish grin. “That work?”

  Enid reached for her tote on the floor and stood to leave without responding. “I’ll see you later.” She blew him a kiss. “Deal.” She smiled, but her reporter’s instincts were kicking in. While she enjoyed unraveling a good mystery, these bones could be the beginning of another test of her relationship with Josh.

  CHAPTER 3

  Thursdays were special to Enid. Especially rainy Thursdays. Cade had proposed to her on one, and she had won two awards for her investigative reporting, both presented to her on rainy Thursdays. Today held a different significance. The weekly newspaper was delivered each Thursday, so the staff took this day to catch its breath before launching into the next week’s edition.

  Since it was drizzling rain and dreary, she didn’t feel particularly special today. Mostly lazy. Jack had run her article on the missing miniature horse with only a few edits, and she had asked for the day off. She had moved into her new house in Madden several months ago but hadn’t unpacked the last stack of boxes in the corner of the living room. Today was a good day to tackle that project, but she was mostly trying to avoid it again.

  After making herself another cup of Lady Grey tea, she halfheartedly opened one of the boxes. It was the smallest one, and a bad choice. Inside was a linen, lace-edged handkerchief belonging to her late mother, a small framed photograph of her, and Enid’s wedding ring. After touching each one of the items, she taped the box and put it on the top shelf of her bedroom closet. She cherished both of those memories, her mother and her marriage, but she needed to move on.

  This time, she would go for the biggest box, since small boxes seemed to pack the biggest gut punches. It was full of bed linens. She pulled out the handmade quilt she had bought at a craft festival when she and Josh visited Asheville, North Carolina. Running her hand across the intricate hand stitching, she marveled at the time and patience embedded in the artwork. It was almost too precious to use, but it would feel good across her feet as the cool October weather approached.

  She worked her way through three more boxes before the door knocker announced a visitor. “Coming,” she called out. Peeping through the translucent glass panel that ran beside the length of the door, she saw a man’s shape. He had his back to the door. “Who is it?” she called out.

  “Have you forgotten me already?” a male voice responded as he turned around.

  Another gut punch. So much for special rainy Thursdays. She opened the door to the man holding a bunch of flowers. “Hello, Cade. This is quite a surprise.”

  They embraced each other with the distant politeness of strangers. “You are as beautiful as ever,” Cade said to his ex-wife. “Small town life seems to agree with you.”

  Enid bristled at the veiled put-down. As an investigative reporter for the Associated Press, Cade traveled all over the world on assignments. That was the life he wanted and that she had wanted, at least at one time. During their life together, he had often scoffed at rural life, saying that small towns bred small minds.

  “Thanks. It’s good to see you.” Enid hung his wet jacket on the wooden peg near the front door and offered him a cup of coffee.

  “That would be great, if you have some. I know you don’t drink the stuff.”

  “I keep coffee for my guests.” Especially for Jack and Josh, she wanted to say.

  Enid put the flowers in a vase and watched Cade as he sipped coffee. Memories flooded her mind; some good, some painful. “Madden is not exactly on the way to anything. I’m surprised to see you.”

  Cade sat his coffee mug on the low table in front of the sofa. “Actually, I’m here on business.”

  Enid waited for him to elaborate, but he just stared at her, as she sipped her tea. “Do you need a place to stay?”

  “No, thanks. I’m staying at the Glitter Lake Inn. Got a pretty good discount since the kitchen is under renovation. No meals, but that’s okay. I just need a place to sleep. And I met the new manager. Theo? Was that his name? Anyway,
he speaks very highly of you.”

  “Yes, Theo Linard. He’s a great guy. Oh, and I want to thank you for that profile you did about me searching for Theo’s daughter. You made me sound like a superhero, rather than a small-town reporter.”

  Cade unexpectedly put his hand on hers. “You’ll always be my superhero.”

  Enid gently pulled her hand away.

  Cade apparently took the hint and broke their gaze. “I’m not trying to be mysterious, but I’m not sure how to tell you about this story I’m working on. As you know, throughout my career I’ve focused on corruption, both in the government and in law enforcement.”

  “Those stories got you fired once when you refused to drop an investigation on a powerful senator.”

  Cade laughed. “That’s true.” Then his smile faded. “Anyway, I’m working on a story about police vigilantism, and I got a tip about an undercover detective in New Mexico who is suspected of killing a perp acquitted for murder.”

  Afraid she might drop her tea cup, Enid gripped it tightly.

  Cade shifted his weight on the sofa and continued. “The detective is Joshua Hart. I believe he’s the Madden chief of police now.” He picked up his coffee mug and stared at its contents. “And I believe you’re dating him.”

  After holding her breath, Enid exhaled deeply. “Yes, Josh and I are seeing each other.” She fixed her eyes on Cade’s. “He’s a good man.”

  Shifting again, Cade said, “This sofa is not very comfortable. Maybe I should get you a new one, as a housewarming gift.”

  “This one’s okay.” Josh had given her the sofa when he bought a new one for his house.

  “What do you know about Josh’s late wife?”

  Could she trust her ex-husband? Should she refuse to discuss Josh? “He told me she was murdered in New Mexico, where she worked on an Indian reservation.” The only time she had questioned Josh, he had been evasive about the details.