Faith"s.
Wade stared at it in disbelief until his head began to spin with the possibilities. Was this one of Sydney"s picture that had fallen from her purse? Had it been in Melissa"s hand before she left? Or maybe it was Cara and Pete"s. If not, then he had no idea why there was a picture of her at a murder scene.It was a recent picture of the little girl, her curls neatly combed as she stood in profile.
It wasn"t a posed picture like one Wade would imagine Sydney taking on the first day of school. The fact that Faith wasn"t looking at the camera and was obviously moving through the picture by the slight blur of her legs told Wade the little girl probably wasn"t even aware she was being photographed.
"It looks like she"s at school." Sam pointed out the white brick wall and the bicycle rack that was visible in the corner of the frame. Those bricks weren"t at all common in Elton except for at the school. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the image in the bag.
"I"ll have to show it to Sydney. It"s probably hers or maybe Cara"s." The two men stood in silence, until they heard the squeaking noise growing louder. The coroner was rolling his gurney toward the woman"s body. Wade glanced back at her one last time and in his head repeated his promise.
I"ll find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
With nothing left for him to do there, Wade rushed past his deputies, barking orders and setting up a time to meet in the morning.
Ideas were spinning through his head as he drove away. Connections were being made in his mind that he wasn"t ready to deal with or address. But several things were nagging at him. Two women were dead, both savagely murdered in the last two weeks-one in Elton, and the other just outside the city limits. Was there a connection?
There was also the picture of Faith to consider. Wade learned a long time ago that there was no such thing as a coincidence. He hoped it was Sydney"s and that would put everything to rest, but if not, well... he couldn"t even go there yet. His head was spinning by the time he noticed he was stopped in front of Sydney"s house. And at this moment, right or wrong, he didn"t want to think any more about it.
All he wanted to do was get back to Sydney.
THE DAYS FOLLOWING THE second woman"s death had been awful for everyone. Sydney was still unable to come in through the back entrance of the diner. She couldn"t stomach pulling around back, the thought of seeing where someone had died still too eerie. More than anything she wished Melissa was still in town for her to talk to about all of this.
But she was gone now.
"I"ll have a BLT with extra mayo," Johnny said as Sydney"s pen scratched across the paper, but she wasn"t really listening, her thoughts taking her places in the past she"d just as soon forget.
The anger she felt about the woman"s death surprised her. It was bad enough her body had been dumped where she worked, but the discovery of the picture of Faith made Sydney lose all reason. Cold dread had slid down her spine as she had looked at a photograph that she hadn"t taken of her daughter. She had managed to calmly tell Wade it wasn"t hers, while her deepest fears churned her stomach, nearly making her sick.
They"d been found.
For years Sydney had been running from a shadow. The faceless, nameless, person who would slip into their lives and terrorize her, then vanish. If he even existed. She still had no concrete evidence that it all wasn"t a figment of her imagination. But her gut feelings had kept them safe and sound so far, and right now it was screaming one thing: Run.
For the last few days she had been itching to leave. Ever since she saw that picture, she"d been ready to take her daughter and go. Start over again. But when she hinted it might be time to move on, Faith had burst into tears, saying how much she loved school and begged Sydney to stay. She was looking forward to her birthday party which was less than two weeks away with all her friends from school more than Sydney had realized. They"d picked out the princess plates and the balloons, reminders of the upcoming celebration everywhere in their house. In six short months, Elton had become home to her little girl and the thought of leaving broke her heart.
The crazy thing was, Sydney felt the same way about the town. If only she hadn"t let them both get so attached to the town and the people. Melissa had been the biggest reason they stayed in the beginning. It felt good to have a friend, someone to talk to and be normal with. Sydney had never had that in her life before. Her mother had been unstable for as long as she could remember which meant her friends had been few and far between. Who wanted to hang out at their friend"s house when her mom might accuse you of trying to steal something every time you left?
And now there was Wade.
"You gonna take my order to Pete or stare out the window all day?" The sharp tone of Johnny"s voice startled her back to the here and now.
"Sorry, I"ll be right back with your food." She"d become a zombie without Melissa at the diner to keep her spirits up. Sydney missed her terribly and it had only been a few days since she left. Reminders of Melissa were everywhere.
Sydney secretly dreamed of settling in Elton permanently. Faith was in school with friends like other normal kids. That was what she had always wanted for her daughter. Sydney had a good job, with good people around her. She even went on a date and kissed the hottest man in town until she couldn"t breathe. She"d also wept in his arms for a woman she didn"t even know and he"d held her until she drifted off to sleep. Even in the midst of her unspoken fears, Wade found a way to make her feel safe.
But the two murders had changed everything.
"You okay?" Cara"s brow pinched with worry. Sydney realized she had been standing in front of the window holding the order in her hand instead of pa.s.sing it to Pete. It seemed as if she spent every minute of every day deep in her own thoughts. Planning. Watching. Preparing.
If Sydney had been cautious before, she was on high alert now. Paranoid about every person she encountered and every noise she heard at night. She"d slept very little lately for countless reasons. Thoughts of what she needed to do plagued her when she closed her eyes in the very early hours of the morning, when the rest of the world was fast asleep.
In reality, Sydney knew she couldn"t leave. Not yet. There were too many things she needed to do. She had to stay and help out Cara and Pete at the diner until things settled down. Melissa had just left so they were shorthanded at the diner and Pete and Cara were far more disturbed by finding that woman than either one of them let on. Sydney didn"t miss the way Cara shivered when she had to take the trash out to the dumpster now. They had been good to Sydney and she insisted on being there for them when they needed her the most.
Then there was Faith she had to protect. The idea that someone could be watching her daughter terrified her. Sydney knew she was smothering Faith with her constant attention and the little girl was starting to rebel. Sydney wanted Faith to live as normal a life as possible but she couldn"t comprehend the danger they were in. Sydney needed to remember that.
She also had to find a way to walk away from Wade. That was going to be more difficult than she realized. Her new work schedule had helped. It took Wade a while to figure out when she"d be at the diner and that made it easier on her.
Not seeing him.
As wonderful as their date had been, Sydney knew it couldn"t last. It was obvious to her now that she shouldn"t have let herself lose control like that with him. It had been selfish. Every time she thought about him, she remembered the feel of his hands on her and the gentle way he held her in his arms. Because of that, she had all these deep feelings for him, ones that were complicated and stupid. Ones that would end in disaster for everyone, including Faith.
Cara knew something was up but she didn"t question it when Sydney asked her to switch sections because Wade sat at one of her tables. He knew she was avoiding him, too. He was a cop after all. He knew how to read people and everything about Sydney"s body language probably screamed "stay away" because her emotions were still so raw and frazzled. Like the gentleman he was, Wade kept his distance, which only made Sydney feel worse. She never should have allowed herself that one night of happiness because now every time she looked at him she knew exactly what she was missing from her life.
"Why don"t you take a break?" Pete stuck his head out from the kitchen and motioned toward the door. "Get some fresh air, clear your head."
"I"ll cover your tables," Hailey offered with a smile. Hailey was the new girl that Pete had hired to take Melissa"s place. Not that anyone ever could. Hailey was only nineteen, perky, and not that bright, but she did what Cara asked and she was scared of Pete, so that was good enough for them.
The backdoor of the diner loomed ahead of her through the kitchen. Sydney hadn"t been out there since that night. The blood, the violence brought it all back. But it was high time to face a demon-or ten-otherwise she"d never get past it. With a steadying breath she pushed open the metal door and forced her feet to step outside. She imagined there would be markings on the ground, forever indicating the place where someone had died. Angie, her name was Angie and she had been from Greenville. Surprisingly, it looked as if nothing had happened. The area round the dumpster was free of markings except whatever liquid had leaked out of the bottom from all the trash. A few leaves blew across the asphalt in the breeze. But everything looked the same.
How was that possible?
"I"m sorry." Sydney had no idea why she was suddenly swamped with grief as she looked at the barren s.p.a.ce behind the diner. It seemed so unfair that there was nothing to mark the pa.s.sing of this woman"s life on this spot. It was almost as if it never happened. But it had. And somewhere, there was someone whose life was changed forever because of it.
A jumble of emotion sent Sydney spiraling deep into the past. When she looked at the ground it wasn"t asphalt she saw but gravel on the side of the road. She could hear the brittle cornstalks brushing against one another.
"I don"t know if I did the right thing that night," she said to no one in particular, but hoped the words would somehow find their way to heaven. "Maybe I should have fought him." She wrung her hands together and paced across the concrete, but her mind was thousands of miles away. "Every day I wonder if I did the right thing that night. But since then, I know I"ve done right by you, and your daughter. Our daughter." Sydney turned her face up to the sunshine and felt it"s warmth settle deep into her bones, lifting some of the terrible weight from her shoulders.
"Faith had to come first. She always has for me." She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "I"m sorry for everything you went through."
She collected herself and made sure her tears were gone before stepping back inside the diner. Somehow Sydney"s mind had needed to purge itself of years of guilt, and seeing where the woman, Angie, had died had given her the connection to death, and whatever came next, to make that happen. With less guilt in her heart, she hurried back to wait on her tables.
"There you are," Hailey said, dropping a mangled piece of pie onto a place. Pete would kill her if he caught her trying to serve that to a customer.
"Why don"t you go on break now? Take that piece and go enjoy it. I"ll cut a new one and serve it for you." Sydney swiftly cut a perfect triangle of pie and got it onto the plate without smearing blueberries from one edge of the plate to another like Hailey had done. "Which table ordered pie?"
"Wade, of course," she said licking her fingers. "It"s all the guy orders."
Sydney closed her eyes wondering if this was the cosmos"s way of exacting a little revenge from beyond. "No problem, I"ll take care of it." She neatly folded a napkin and slipped a fork onto the plate beside the pie, allowing a few seconds to compose herself. With a smile that felt as forced as it must have looked, she brought over the dessert.
"I hear you ordered blackberry pie."
Don"t look at him, don"t look at him, she told herself. If she saw any kindness in those green eyes she"d start crying again. She was just about to slide it onto the table when she heard her name.
"I almost forgot," Hailey called from behind the counter, "you got a call when you were out back."
"Who was it?"
Hailey shrugged, shoving a big bite of pie into her mouth, garbling her words. "Some guy. Wanted to know if you were here. I said no. Then he asked if you were with Faith."
The plate holding the pie nearly slipped from her fingers. Wade grabbed it right before the fork went clanging to the floor. "W-What did you tell him?"
"I told him she was in school until three."
"Why would you do that?" Sydney knew she was screaming but she couldn"t help it.
Hailey paused. "I thought it was your brother."
"I don"t have a brother." The gravity of what happened sank in and Sydney exploded. "Oh, my G.o.d." Ripping off her ap.r.o.n, Sydney ran for the door. The bells clanged wildly as she rushed outside. She heard someone shouting her name, but ignored it. Her only thought was getting to Faith.
"Sydney!" Wade"s hand slammed down on the door as she tried to free the lock. "Look at me."
Her head was shaking side to side, "I-I can"t. I need to see Faith. I have to get to her." She pulled on the door handle but it wouldn"t budge with Wade"s body leaning on it. Why wouldn"t he just go away?
A firm hand settled on her shoulder. She forced herself to look Wade in the eye and straightened her spine to show him how serious she was. "Get out of my way."
"Fine," he said grabbing the keys from her trembling fingers. "I"ll take you to Faith. You can"t drive like this, you"re too upset." He opened the door and Sydney scrambled across, settling into the pa.s.senger"s side, too desperate to get to Faith to be mad at him right now. It"d come later, she was sure, but for now all she needed was her daughter.
The car dipped as Wade climbed inside, his long legs crammed under the steering wheel. He moved the seat back and the engine roared to life. Wade pinned Sydney with a hard look. "After this, you and I need to have a long talk. Do you understand?"
She nodded even though she had no intention of telling him anything. Lying was second nature to her and it was the only way to get him to step on the gas. He flew down the road, thankfully rolling through the stop signs. The car had barely slowed in the parking lot when she jumped out and ran toward the school building.
"Thanks," she called over her shoulder, not really caring if he heard or not.
She pushed the buzzer on the intercom repeatedly until someone answered. "Sydney Ross, I need to see my daughter, please." The delay was just enough time for Wade to catch up and follow her inside.
"You need to calm down, Syd. You"re going to scare her." Deep down inside she knew she was being completely irrational. The call could have been from Luke, or one of Wade"s deputies with more questions. Just because Hailey didn"t know who it was didn"t mean they wouldn"t have offered the information if asked. It didn"t mean it was him.
Realizing that Wade was right, Sydney paused and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down as she stood outside the office. It would do no good to run into Faith"s cla.s.sroom, s.n.a.t.c.h her from her friends, and toss her in the car so they could run away. It would only upset her more. In plain sight at school was probably the safest place for Faith right now. She pressed a hand to her stomach then touched Wade"s arm as he stood beside her.
"I"m sorry. I know I"m out of control." She adjusted her shirt and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it right before the princ.i.p.al walked out of the office.
"Miss Ross, is something wrong?"
In a millisecond she managed to wipe the distress from her face and replace it with a sheepish calm. "No. No, sorry. Faith wasn"t feeling well this morning and I just wanted to check on her but I don"t want her to know I"m here. Would you mind if I peeked in on her through the window?"
The princ.i.p.al seemed to buy her explanation. She led them down the hall to the kindergarten cla.s.sroom. Inside, Faith sat at a table surrounded by friends making snakes out of paper plates. Watching her tiny tongue stick out of her mouth as her fingers worked the scissors reminded Sydney how precious a gift she had been given and that she needed to protect her. No matter what.
"Thank you so much. I"m sorry to show up out of the blue." The two women walked back toward the office while Wade lingered at the door, watching the children play.
"Um, while I"m here, I wanted to thank you for all you"re doing for Faith. This is a wonderful school and she couldn"t be happier."
The princ.i.p.al"s face broke out in a wide smile. "We"re thrilled to have her here. She"s such a sweet girl."
Sydney nervously glanced at the security monitors in the office. "And all the teachers and aides know about our arrangement, right?"
"Absolutely," the princ.i.p.al said, laying her hand on Sydney"s arm. "Everyone knows that you"re the only one who will pick her up from school." She thought for a moment then said, "But don"t you want to name one other person who can get her, in case you"re sick?"
"No. I"m the only one." Sydney answered way too fast, startling the woman but she didn"t care. "Even if I"m sick, I"ll crawl from my bed to pick her up and that"s the end of it."
"MOMMY, CAN I GET this?" It seemed to be the phrase of the day. Faith must have said it a thousand times during their trip asking for everything from a piece of candy to a four foot tall teddy bear.
When Cara came up with the idea of a shopping trip, Sydney could have kissed her. The day long trip wasn"t the same without Melissa. Both Sydney and Cara had received a quick call from Melissa as she checked in with them just outside of Paris. Things were wonderful and she was looking forward to the next leg of her trip. She had said it would probably be a few weeks before they heard from her again and to not worry. It had been so wonderful to hear her voice. When Cara suggested the outing, Sydney knew it was the right thing to do.
Cara was more of a surrogate mother for Sydney than a girlfriend, but for today it didn"t matter. She was exactly what Sydney and Faith both needed-a little motherly TLC. The most important thing was they were getting out of Elton and leaving all the awful stuff behind them so they could relax.
"No, honey, we don"t need a dog toy today. We don"t even have a dog. Put it back." Sydney stood her ground, even when Faith put on her best pout.
"Then can we get a dog?" Faith asked excitedly. She used her adorable toothless smile as a weapon when she really wanted something.
"No. Now put that back."
"Are you sure she"s only five?" Cara laughed as Faith stomped away, the rubber chicken in her hand dragging along on the ground. "She"s adorable. My Jennifer would have screamed her head off if I said no to her when she was that age."
"I think she"s over that phase. Now that she"s almost six, she"s moved on to full-fledged manipulation and her own brand of logic," Sydney said with a grin. "It"s kinda scary if you ask me."
"I heard about what she said to Wade at the auction." There was no mistake where this conversation was leading, and Sydney wanted none of it so she tried to change the subject and keep it away from her love life. Or lack thereof.
"That"s what I"m talking about. The things that come out of her mouth terrify me." She held up a striped blouse from her bag. "What do you think? Does it make me look fat?"
Cara rolled her eyes. "Nice try. We"re talking about Wade, child. Whether you like it or not."
"Not." There was nothing to say on the topic. She was done with Wade, not that anything even got started except an evening of heavy petting and could-have-beens that she would be thinking about for the rest of her life.
Not to be put off, Cara became a walking talking resume of Wade"s good attributes. "He"s employed. Has been since he came back from the service."
Sydney nodded her head in agreement while inside she had her own internal dialogue going on. As a sheriff and he"ll have me arrested when he finds out about Faith.
"He treats women well."
Her face flushed at that statement. She knew exactly how Wade treated women and it was spectacular. Unfortunately she didn"t deserve any of it. He"d cringe when he found out the truth.
"He likes you."
That was the hardest one for Sydney to think about. He was interested, he"d made that perfectly clear the night of their date. But that"s because he doesn"t know what a horrible person I am. But I do.
"Five more minutes, Faith. Then we have to leave." Faith scampered over to admire some toys and it warmed Sydney"s heart to see her so happy. Cara was distracted so Sydney hoped the Wade litany would end, but it didn"t. It only became more awkward.
"He"s very handsome." When Sydney"s eyebrows shot up, Cara laughed. "I may be old, but I"m not dead. The guy"s gorgeous in that rebel-without-a-cause way. Why, if I were thirty years younger, you"d have some compet.i.tion."
"Maybe you should date him then!"
"Except he wants you." The flush came back full force. "And I know you"re attracted to him. Melissa and I talked all about it. I see the way you hide from him or get nervous when you have to talk to him. It"s sweet."
"It"s embarra.s.sing." Sydney shook her head. "Listen, Wade could do so much better than me."
"I think that"s for him to decide."
"I don"t even know how to talk to him. I can talk to Luke and any other man in the diner just fine, but with Wade I"m constantly making a fool of myself."
"Luke is a friend, nothing more. Wade gets you excited. You"ve gotta flirt with him, child. Let him know you"re interested. Be playful."