Chapter Two
Kindred Residence
Tupelo Pike
Rory had spent an hour walking around the backyard.
The yard wasn’t that large, but she’d spent a good deal of that time weeding flower beds and just admiring the many things her aunt had planted over the years.
She had owned this place since she was about Rory’s age. There was a lifetime of Lulu here.
For Rory it felt good to be outside and to breathe the warm air without fear of who might come after her or that her time outside her cold, austere cell was almost up. Freedom smelled and tasted better than almost anything.
As good as this felt, she reminded herself this freedom was only temporary. There were already hearings happening to determine if she was a flight risk. Her attorney, Gerald Patterson, had insisted in his last phone call to her that she needn’t worry.
But she did and would.
You didn’t lose everything when you had done nothing wrong and learn to trust again easily. She wasn’t sure she would ever trust anyone other than Austin again. She had trusted Lulu, of course, but Lulu was gone.
The sound of a car turning into the driveway had her hurrying back into the house.
It was about time for the Colby Agency investigator to arrive, but she wanted to be sure before going around front.
Again, it was the trust thing. In the living room, a quick peek out the window confirmed she had made the right decision.
A convertible sports car had parked in her driveway. Two men hopped out and headed for her door.
Rory drew back from the window. Her gaze flew to the new dead bolt. It was locked, as was the other lock. Should she call the police?
She rolled her eyes. Like they would come. And even if they did, somehow it would be turned around and made to appear her fault.
A bang on the door made her jump.
“We know you’re in there,” a deep male voice warned. “You don’t have to open the door or come out. We just want to give you a message.”
A sudden blast of fury obliterating her fear, she unlocked the door and yanked it open, then she pushed open the screen door, forcing the two to step back. She looked from one to the other. Cade Coleman and Ronnie Smith. Both lifelong friends of Pete’s.
“I’m listening.” She looked from Cade to Ronnie.
Both men stared at her as if they’d lost their collective nerve, or maybe they were just so startled that she would risk opening the door they couldn’t remember what they’d come to say.
“You’re not going to get away with what you did,” Ronnie warned. “One way or the other, we’ll see that you don’t.”
Rory stepped past the screen door, let it slam behind her. “What will you do, Ronnie? Kill me? Is that what you believe Pete would want you to do?”
“Don’t even say his name,” Cade growled. “You lost that right when you murdered him.”
Rory flinched. “Well, we agree on one thing.” She stared the former high school football star in the eyes. “He was murdered all right, but it was a couple of guys—like the two of you—who did it.” She looked from one to the other. “Maybe even friends of his.”
Fury whipped across Cade’s face. “You better watch your mouth—that kind of thing can get you dead.”
Her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe…
but that beating in her chest was the only thing that told her she was alive anymore.
Otherwise, she had died two years, one month and four days ago…
the same night as her husband. The husband she did not…
would not…could not have hurt, much less murdered.
“Don’t waste your time,” she said, the bravado draining away, defeat taking its place. “I’m already dead.”
She turned her back on the two and went inside. She didn’t even lock the door. What was the point? If those two wanted to storm her house, she couldn’t stop them. Maybe she wouldn’t even try.
Raised voices drew her back to the window. A Jackson County police cruiser had pulled into her driveway next to the convertible. The deputy was yelling at the two men. Rory couldn’t determine who he was since his back was turned to her. But she hadn’t called the police.
She shook her head. Ronnie and Cade would assume she had. Great. Now the two would be even angrier.
Cade spun out of her driveway, spraying gravel. What a fool. The one thing Rory knew with complete certainty was that Pete would be ashamed of his friends. Angry too. He would never have allowed anyone to talk to her that way.
But Pete was gone.
A knock on her door had her jumping again.
She pressed a hand to her chest and went to the window. The deputy—surprise flared inside her as she recognized him as Shane Carter, Pete’s cousin—was standing at her door.
Fingers fumbling, she quickly unlocked and opened it. For a moment, she stared at the man through the screen door.
Then he drew it open. “Hey, Rory.”
“Shane.” She wanted to be glad to see him, but she wasn’t sure why he was here or where he stood about what happened. He was part of Pete’s family, and they blamed Rory. Hated Rory. Had done all in their power to put her away for good. One had even pushed for the death penalty.
“I told Cade and Ronnie I’d better not catch them here harassing you again.”
As much as she appreciated what he’d done, she was confused. “Did someone call you?” She had no close neighbors, but she supposed someone driving by could have noticed the drama.
“No.” He shook his head, stared at the floor a moment.
“I heard you were coming home today, and I figured it would be best if I drove by occasionally while I’m on duty.
You’re right inside the city limits, out of my jurisdiction, but I figured just seeing an official vehicle would help ward off troublemakers. ”
She nodded slowly. “Thank you.” She shrugged then. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I guess I’m trying to figure out why you would care.”
He met her gaze then. “I’ve done a lot of thinking over the past two years, and I think what happened to you is wrong.
Plain wrong. Back then…” He looked away a moment.
“It was all too fresh. Everyone was too hurt…too angry to think straight. And I was still in training. But two-plus years is long enough to realize that maybe things weren’t the way they seemed.
And I’ve had some experience on the job.
” He shrugged. “I see things a little different now.”
Hope swelled in her chest. “Does anyone else in the family feel the way you do?”
He exhaled a big breath. “Not that I know of. Sorry. They still see things the way they did back then. Around town the talk is mixed. Some folks believe what the jury decided was right. Others think you were telling the truth. But those folks don’t speak up to just anyone.
You know how it is. The Harris family owns everything around here.
If you take a side that’s not theirs, then you could lose a job or have a loan recalled. ”
Which basically meant nothing had changed in this town. No surprise there. It was a small town, and when one family owned or had a big stake in the places that provided jobs or loaned money, it was difficult to speak your mind.
“Well, I guess they’ll get another chance to make me look like the monster they believe I am.” What could she do? Nothing except fight through the legal system that had failed her from the beginning. She had no other options.
Shane reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. “You’re no monster. Anyone who knows you is aware of that.”
She almost snorted out loud. Where were all those people when she needed them? No need to go there. She knew how things worked around here. Honestly, if she’d had any other option when she was released, she would have gone as far away from here as possible.
But she had nothing. No home if not for her aunt’s generosity. No money in the bank except for the same. No job or possibilities of one. Nothing. Not to mention she had to be on hand for the new investigation.
The radio attached to Shane’s shoulder sounded off.
He responded, then flashed her a smile. “I gotta go.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
He offered it to her. “This is my cell number. Call me if you need me.” He shrugged again.
“If there’s any trouble, I’ll come as fast as I can. ”
She accepted the paper. “Thank you, Shane.”
“Good to see you,” he said before taking off.
Rory watched him drive away. She wanted to feel like this was a good sign. Maybe an indication that at least some attitudes toward her had changed. But that required trust, and she just couldn’t go there yet.
A black sedan slowed and made the turn into her driveway. The car parked, and the driver’s side door opened.
This was most likely Chance Rader, the Colby Agency investigator. She sure hoped so. She was ready to get the initial meeting over and move forward with whatever plan he had developed.
When the man emerged from the driver’s door, she recognized him. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair with a classically handsome face. None of which mattered as far as his credentials were concerned. But she had eyes, and his description was his description. She waved, pushed a smile into place.
He waved back. “I finally made it,” he called to her. “Traffic was backed up on 565. Slowed me down.”
“That’s Huntsville. Always a traffic jam somewhere.
” She hugged her arms around herself. Though Austin had brought her jeans and a nice pullover for changing into when they left the prison, she still felt the smell and the aura of the place clinging to her skin.
Maybe she should have gotten in the shower as soon as she arrived home, but she hadn’t wanted to have Austin waiting around with her shut up in the bathroom, and then being outside had been too tempting.