Secrets Never Told Read online

  “The bed, nightstand, and dresser belong to the facility. When you’re ready, I’ll take you to the storage area.”

  “What about her favorite chair over there?” Jean asked, pointing.

  “That must be hers, too. As I recall, her husband brought that for her. Go ahead and take it if you want it. It’s too worn to use anyway.”

  Jean went back to the waiting area and got Enid. For the next half hour, they packed clothes in plastic bags and got everything from the closet shelf. Two of the men who worked at the facility loaded the rocker and chair on the pickup and then all the boxes and bags.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. There are some other items in a storage area.” Jean turned to one of the workers. “Do you know where that is?”

  “Yeah, I can take you there.” He looked at the ring of keys on his belt and patted it with his hand. “Got the keys right here.” The man pointed out the window to a small road. “If you want to drive down there just a bit, you’ll see a building. That’s where we store everything. I’ll meet you there.”

  Enid pulled the pickup truck in front of a big steel building that looked like a barn. The man from the facility drove up in a golf cart and got out. “Go on in. They said at the desk her space is number 40. It should be near the back on the first level.”

  Enid and Jean walked into the building. There were wire cages everywhere with padlocks on them. Each storage space was about five feet square. Jean walked ahead, as Enid looked at the belongings inside those cages. Just as the owners of these items were locked inside their own mental prisons, so were the things so dear to them. She saw boxes, silver chests, and other containers that held their past lives and memories.

  “I found it. Here’s number 40,” Jean called out from the rear of the building. “There’re a lot of plastic containers in here.”

  The facility worker pointed to a dolly on wheels at the back wall. “We can put everything on there and wheel it out to your truck.” He unlocked the cage, and the three of them started stacking plastic boxes. Most of them were fairly small, not much bigger than banker boxes used to store files.

  When they had all the boxes loaded, Jean tried to tip the worker who had helped them. “Oh, no, ma’am. But thanks. I’m sorry for your loss. Miss Lillian was one of the good ones.”

  “Did she ever talk to you?” Jean asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. She said a lot with her face and eyes. We communicated regularly, just not in the normal way. You have a safe trip home now. Have a blessed day.”

  ◆◆◆

  When they were on the road, Enid called Jack to let him know they were on the way to Boogie’s house. He agreed to meet them there and help unload.

  A little more than an hour later, Enid pulled into the driveway. Jack was sitting on Boogie’s porch reading articles for the next edition. “You two look like trouble. Although, I have to say there’s something appealing about two beautiful women in a truck.”

  Jean smiled. “That sounds like something my father would have said.”

  Jack put down the tailgate and started carrying the storage boxes. “Where you want me to put these?”

  “Just put them in the dining room. I’ll go through each box at the table. Most of it is probably old papers, but I’ll go through each one to be sure I don’t throw away anything we might need to settle the estate.”

  By the time the three of them finished, there were eleven containers stacked up beside the dining room table. “What do you want to do with the rocker and chair?” Enid asked.

  “They’re both junk, but would it be foolishly sentimental of me to keep them?” Jean asked.

  “Not at all,” Jack said. “Although, getting them to Memphis might be a challenge. Tell you what. Unless you want them right away, I can put them in my storage building behind the house. In a few months, if you still feel the same way, we’ll have them shipped to you.”

  “That’s very kind of you, but I don’t want to impose.”

  “Jack’s a fixer. He likes to solve everybody’s problems.” Enid laughed. “So indulge him. It’ll make him happy.”

  “Well, alright then, I will,” Jean said. She hugged Jack, apparently catching him by surprise. “You’re the best.”

  “Do you need for me to stay here and help you?” Enid asked Jean. “I’ll be glad to.”

  “No, thanks. I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll just pour myself a glass of wine and sip my way through all this stuff.” Jean took Enid’s hands in hers. “I will never forget what you’ve done to help me.”

  Before Enid could reply, her cell phone signaled an incoming text. She looked at the screen. “Call me ASAP.” Enid looked at Jack. “I need to make a call, but I can do it on the way home. It’s Cade.”

  ◆◆◆

  After riding several minutes in silence, Jack asked Enid, “Do you want me to pull over somewhere so you can call Cade in private?”

  Enid stared out the window.

  “Enid?”

  “Sorry. I was lost in thought. What?”

  “Do you want to call Cade in private?”

  “I don’t have any secrets from you. In fact, I was just thinking about Cade. Maybe I shouldn’t have called him.”

  “You called him because you wanted to. Seems pretty simple.”

  Enid frowned at Jack and tapped on Cade’s cell number.

  When Cade answered, he said, “I’m in Chicago getting ready to board a connecting flight.”

  “You couldn’t get a direct flight back to Charlotte?”

  “Flight got canceled in L.A., had to be rerouted. When I get to the airport, I’m going to rent a car and drive to Madden. I’ll be there later tonight.”

  “You’re coming here?” Enid looked at Jack, who was staring straight ahead at the road.

  “I’ll explain later. See you in a few hours.”

  Enid put her cell phone back in her tote and stared out the window again. “Please don’t say anything right now. I really don’t want to hear whatever is on your mind.”

  “What would I say to you? Oh, you mean something like, ‘I think you’re still in love with Cade.’ Is that what I might say?”

  Enid closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headrest. “Yeah, you’d probably say something like that.”

  They rode in silence the rest of the way, and by the time Jack dropped Enid off at his house so she could get her car, the tension between them was palpable. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Enid said as she got out of the pickup.

  “If you need some personal time, I can divvy out your small assignments so you can focus on the bones and Boogie’s story.”

  “Why would you think I need time off?”

  “Just offering, that’s all.”

  “‘Bye, Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She slammed the door and walked to her car.

  CHAPTER 58

  Jean went through about half of the boxes and filled several big plastic trash bags full of papers to be either trashed or shredded. She took off her reading glasses and massaged the bridge between her eyes to relieve the tension. While taking a break, she opened her laptop and checked flights to Memphis. There was little left here that she needed to do right now, and the hospital was shorthanded. It was time to step back into the life she had before her father had called her. In some ways it seemed long ago, but in other ways, the shooting still seemed fresh and raw. She had tried repeatedly to wipe the image from her memory of her father’s bloody body lying on the ground at 7 Crows Farm, but it would likely be a long time before the pain eased.

  As she resumed going through her mother’s boxes, Jean was overcome with a sense of loss, not so much from Lillian’s passing, but from the years spent apart from her, from both of her parents. Jean’s sorrow felt like a weight pulling her down into a deep, emotional abyss.

  She pulled one of the few remaining boxes across the floor to the side of her chair and took off the cover. Most of the boxes had contained loose papers that appeared to have been hurriedly packed. W
ith more time to sort through them, most of those papers would likely have been discarded. She could imagine her father having someone put all the papers in the boxes and stored when he had to put Lillian in the nursing home, with intentions of going through them later. But later never came, and now decades of papers filled the trash bags in his dining room. But this box was different. It was full of books that appeared to be journals. Blank pages had been filled with handwritten notes, some dated, some not. All of the pages were yellowed with age, and a few had water damage.

  Jean put the cover back on the box of journals and set it aside to go through later. Part of her was anxious to read what her mother had to say, but part of her was afraid.

  CHAPTER 59

  After waking up the next morning, it took a few minutes for Enid to remember that Cade was in her guest room. He had arrived late, nearly midnight. They had spoken only briefly before he crashed on the futon sofa bed in the multipurpose room that served as guest room and office. Before getting up, she tried to assess her feelings. Was she glad he was here? Or had she made a mistake in inviting him back into her life? The smell of bacon and coffee aroused primal responses of hunger and pushed all other thoughts aside.

  When she walked into the small kitchen, Cade was standing there in jeans and an old tee shirt she had bought him at an Aerosmith concert years ago. The printing had faded and the back had a large tear in it.

  “I can’t believe you’re still wearing that old thing,” Enid said.

  “Good morning.” Cade looked down at his shirt. “Lots of good memories with this shirt. Remember how we—”

  “It’s a bit early for reminiscing, don’t you think?” Enid took a cup from the cabinet. “Thanks for heating water for my tea.”

  “You still like bacon, or have you gone healthy on me?”

  “I don’t eat it often, but I still love it. Nothing else smells like bacon cooking.”

  Cade pointed to the small dining table. “Drink your tea. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”

  Enid sat at the table and watched Cade cook. He never used to do that. When they were married, he drank a couple cups of coffee and bolted out the door each morning. Living alone had made him self-sufficient. Or was he living alone? “I see you’ve taken up cooking. But then I guess you’d have to unless you eat out every meal.”

  “I do alright. What about you, did you learn to cook?”

  Enid laughed. “I do alright.”

  Cade put a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her. “Good thing I stopped by the store before I got here. Your cupboard was bare.”

  Enid took a bite of eggs and munched on a piece of crisp bacon. “Why are you here?”

  “You mean instead of staying at the inn? I can do that, if you’d prefer.”

  “No, I mean why are you in Madden at all?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things, and I’m also doing an article on Madelyn Jensen’s campaign.”

  “So you came to stay with your ex-wife so you could visit Madelyn?”

  Cade wiped the bacon grease from his fingers with his napkin. “I thought you and Madelyn were friends.”

  “We are.” Enid pushed the plate of uneaten food away from her. “It’s just that, well, having you back here, the memories, the pain. I feel unsettled, that’s all.”

  “I get it. But let’s not complicate things. Fair enough?”

  “Sure. So what else is going on?”

  “I know you were concerned about the article I was doing that involved Chief Hart.”

  “He’s Sheriff Hart now.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot. Anyway, I wanted you to know he’d been cleared.”

  Enid sat up straight. She had pushed Josh’s personal problems out of her mind lately. So many times, she had wanted to ask him, but he was a private person and needed to work through whatever was going on. She trusted that in time, he would tell her everything she wanted to know. “You mean, you’re not doing the article on him?”

  “I’m doing it, but the focus has changed. His younger brother confessed to the killing. He apparently idolized Josh’s wife and was determined to avenge her death.”

  A flood of emotions washed over Enid. She was relieved that her faith in Josh had been affirmed. Yet, she was hurt he had not told her what was going on. Maybe Josh wanted to protect her from getting involved. “I knew Josh wasn’t the killer. He’s a good man.”

  “As you’ve reminded me.” Cade sipped his coffee. “You also asked me to check on Boogie’s killing and the suspect they shot and apprehended.”

  “Is he still alive?”

  “Yes, but barely. He probably won’t make it. His name is—”

  “Fred Peterson,” Enid said, interrupting.

  “That’s right. He was staying on the farm his family used to own. Boogie must have stumbled onto them, and they panicked.”

  “Fred’s sister was Angelina. Phyllis thinks those bones found at the inn are her.” Enid explained to Cade how Lillian had asked the contractor to move Angel’s bones to the inn and then instructed him to seal off the storage room.

  “I hope you’re going to write about that, otherwise I might steal that story from you.”

  “We’re waiting to positively identify the bones. There was no DNA match or dental records. I’ve got a photo of the facial reconstruction.” She got her phone from the bedroom and brought it back to the table. “Phyllis says this is Angel. She’s sure. But I’m going to push Josh to get a DNA sample from Fred to compare with the bones.”

  “When we talked earlier, you said something about Phyllis’ brother, I can’t remember his name, being convicted for killing Angel.”

  “His name was Reggie. He was convicted on flimsy evidence and died in prison. I’m going to help Phyllis see if we can get the courts to vacate the conviction against him.”

  Cade threw back his head and laughed. “You don’t play small, do you? That’s a tall order.”

  “I know, but it’s worth trying. Maybe if we got a national news story and built some public support it would help.”

  Cade put his hand on Enid’s. “Are you using me? If so, I’m loving it.”

  Enid eased her hand away. “But even if it is Angel, we still don’t know who killed her.”

  CHAPTER 60

  Instead of calling ahead for an appointment, Enid drove to Josh’s office, hoping to catch him. When she walked into the sheriff’s office, the desk officer told her Josh was out. Disappointed, Enid scribbled a note for Josh and left it.

  As she was walking to her car, she heard her name called by a familiar voice. “Enid, wait.”

  Looking across the parking lot, she saw Josh walking toward her. She wanted to run to him, put her arms around his neck, and turn back the clock to the time before Cade’s investigation, before this feeling that they were slipping away from each other. “Josh, I’m glad you’re here. Can we talk?”

  Josh’s gaze held hers until they were both uncomfortable. “I miss you. Forgive me for not calling you back. It’s just that—”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Let’s go to the coffee shop down the road. If I go inside, we’ll never get to talk.”

  Enid followed Josh in her car until he pulled into a small diner near the interstate. When they walked inside, Josh looked around to check out the lay of the land, as he called it. He sat with his back to the kitchen so he could see who was coming and going. He looked tired.

  “How are you adjusting, to the new job, I mean?” Enid asked.

  “It’s fun in some ways, but I miss Madden. And I really miss seeing you.”

  “Are you going to move here?”

  “I haven’t decided. I love my home in Madden, but I do need to be closer to my office. If I rent out my house instead of selling it, why don’t you move in? I’ll give you a great deal.”

  Enid picked at her napkin. “I don’t know if I could do that. It just wouldn’t be the same without you there. And it would stir up even more gossip
.”

  “I want to spend more time with you, it’s just that—”

  “You don’t have to apologize for being dedicated to your work. That’s something I understand.”

  He glanced around the diner. An elderly couple, the only occupants, sat across the room. Josh took Enid’s hands in his. “But I want a life, too, not just a job.”

  “I keep thinking about Boogie and Lillian. I can’t imagine how hard and painful it must have been to keep their marriage and child a secret all those years. We can’t live our lives trying to hide our relationship, not if we want to be happy. As for your job, it will get easier. You’re still learning the ropes.”

  “I sure miss Boogie. If he were here, he could help me a lot.”

  “Cade is in town.”

  Josh let go of Enid’s hands. “Oh? What’s going on?”

  “He’s doing an article on Madelyn’s campaign. And he’s helping me do some of the legwork on the suspect’s shooting.”

  “I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to share anything with you,” Josh said. “We don’t know much at this point.”

  “I hope you plan to get Fred Peterson’s DNA.”

  Josh massaged his neck, much in the same way Jack did when he was stressed. “Of course. I’ll order the test as soon as I get back. I admit I haven’t worried too much about the bones, what with Boogie’s murder, and then the suspect’s shooting.”

  “I’m convinced it’s all connected. What about the girl you took into custody? What’s her story?” Enid paused. “Or can you tell me?”

  “She’s not in the system, so no prior run-ins with the law. I suspect she’s related to Fred Peterson, though.”

  “Why is that?” Enid asked.

  “More of a gut feeling than anything else, and there’s a slight family resemblance.” Josh’s police radio crackled. “I’ve got to take this.” He went outside.

  When Josh returned a few minutes later, he motioned for the wait person so he could pay the bill. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. Can we do dinner tonight? I’ll cook.” He paused. “And there’s something I need to tell you.”