Cori shut down her computer monitor, rose from her chair, and grabbed her purse. She had a whopping three hours between shifts, and the day before had made plans to spend that time with Ben. But now, after what she’d seen last night had her wishing to never lay eyes on him again.
Especially after the intimacy they’d shared. How could he go to Julie’s and then lie to her about it? He wasn’t worth the tears she’d cried over him last night.
“You okay?” Investigator Markie Pearson asked.
“Huh?”
“Just wondering if you’re okay. You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
The woman stepped closer while keeping her quizzical gaze on her. She hadn’t seen her at all today; the woman had been busy investigating the murders of Scarlett and Jessica. Yet, she took the time just now to ask her how she was.
Cori averted her gaze. Undoubtedly the wrong thing to do with a trained observer. Markie would know if she lied to her, or simply avoided telling her the truth. Her heart was broken, and she was mad as hell she’d let her guard down to be hurt by another man.
Returning her gaze to Markie’s, Cori felt a need to provide some sort of answer. “I’m fine. Just a lot going on with the boys and all. It’s the end of the school year, and we’re trying to get things wrapped up.”
The woman nodded in acknowledgment.
“And you guys, you, the Chief and Captain, you doing all right? You’ve been burning the midnight oil.”
“Yeah, it’s all good,” Markie replied.
She hadn’t expected to get any information from her about the murder investigations; she was just returning the nicety. But, from being in the office, she knew they had a couple of leads, and she prayed they’d catch the killer before he struck again.
Cori nodded her goodbye to the investigator and made her way to the door.
She slid into her car, but rather than head home and visit with Ben, she decided to go to the grocery store, and then anywhere else she could think of to avoid seeing him before her waitress shift at four o’clock.
Anger had her gripping the steering wheel in a death-lock. She released the wheel with her left hand and flexed her fingers, then did the same with her right. How could she have let this happen, let another man into her heart only to be screwed over again? She was such a fool. Of all things, he lured her into bed then sought comfort in someone else’s, a married woman nonetheless. Then to lie about it.
Tears flooded her eyes. She patted them with her sleeve as she drove the short distance to the store. The nice thing about the market this time of day was that there weren’t many shoppers—nobody to notice her red puffy eyes.
The cell phone in her purse chirped as she pulled a can of soup from the shelf and placed it into her cart. She reached into her bag and grabbed the phone to find Ben’s number on the screen. Not one ounce of guilt came with sending the call to voicemail. He deserved it.
After leaving the grocery store, she stopped at the gas station and then the pharmacy, killing almost enough time before Holden would return home from school, giving her an excuse to not go over to Ben’s as she’d originally planned. And then, it would be off to the second job.
With arms full of bags, she practically ran into her house in the hope her neighbor wouldn’t see her. She loaded the kitchen countertop with purchases when her phone chirped again.
Ben.
Nope. She wasn’t having that today. The call went to voicemail.
Curiosity got the best of her, and she stabbed at the message button on the screen of her phone so hard a slicing pain ripped through her fingertip as she listened.
She deleted his first message. The second was just a hang-up.
Peeking out the kitchen window, Cori saw no activity at Ben’s. His truck was in the driveway, so likely he was home. Moments later, she caught a glimpse of Eli’s car pulling up to the curb. The passenger door flung open and Holden slid out, slinging his overloaded backpack over his shoulder. Her oldest son then took off to the grocery store, she presumed for his four-hour shift.
Holden took a few steps up the sidewalk before his head snapped in the direction of Ben’s house. In the split second she’d looked away, he must have stepped outside.
The two walked toward each other, meeting in the middle of the yards. They chatted for a bit, shared a laugh, then Ben smacked Holden on the back in a proud fatherly type manner deepening the crack in her heart. Her son liked the man, looked up to him, and Ben treated him well, giving him the attention a teenaged boy needed from a father figure. But now, this particular man nauseated her, and she could barely stand to look at him.
Yet, Holden needed him, so she could hardly cut off all ties after what he’d done to her. Her son desired the man’s attention more than she needed to rid herself of him. But, she, personally, could stay distant.
Ben and Holden parted ways, but her gaze stayed on her neighbor until her front door slammed shut, startling her. Holden tossed his backpack onto the kitchen table. His smile was unstoppable.
“Good day at school?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
His smile widened as he yanked an apple off the counter and bit into it.
His gleam was infectious. “You going to make me beg?”
He chuckled a deep chuckle— a different sound from what she was used to. It was the tone of a young man, not a boy. Her heart constricted. When had that happened? Her baby was not a baby.
“Ben’s coming to the baseball banquet next week.”
The air drained from her lungs. Her shoulders slumped.
“Why?”
“For the award’s ceremony. Every year they bring back a record holder, and this year it’s Ben. Did you know he holds the school record for most home runs?”
“Uh, huh.”
“He’s going to hand out the awards, and he’s gonna sit with us.”
“Oh, and Ben asked if you were home.” Her son knit his brow. “Why would he ask that when your car is parked out front?” Holden asked as he pointed in the direction of the street.
“Hmm. I don’t know.”
Cori glanced at the clock. “I have to get ready for work. There are leftovers in the fridge for you and Eli for dinner. He should be home a few minutes after eight tonight, and I should be home by ten.”
“Two more days to go!” Holden said as he snatched his backpack off the table and headed for his room. The bounce in his step did nothing to mask his excitement.
In two days, she’d have a senior and a sophomore in high school. Where had the time gone? It seemed like just yesterday they were kids pushing toy trucks around the house. Now, as it was, Eli was hardly ever home, and when Holden started his new job at the city park department next week, he’d be gone more as well.
Her shoulders weighed a ton as her sluggish feet carried her to her bedroom to change for work.
Ben watched from his kitchen window as Cori slipped into her car and pulled away from the curb. She hadn’t returned his calls or come over as they’d planned. His chest tightened as if there were a wide belt pulled taut around it. Had she figured out he’d lied to her? He had a strong feeling she did. Why else would she avoid him?
The second he’d realized she wasn’t sticking to their plan to see each other between her work shifts he should have run over to her house. The perfect opportunity presented itself through Holden, but guilt held him back. He sighed knowing she was better off without the likes of someone like him.
With her working tonight, at least he wouldn’t have to sneak out of his driveway to stalk Julie’s house. Stalk seemed like a derogatory word and action, but it wasn’t intended that way. He only had her best interest in mind. Like last night, Ben hoped William didn’t plan to spend the better part of his night with his lover, and that he’d arrive home early so Ben didn’t have to stay up until the wee morning hours to make sure Clyde’s sister stayed safe. He hadn’t gotten his wish last night. Maybe he would tonight.
Shortly before eight o’clock, he climbed into his truck and headed off to the grocery store to get some snacks for his stakeout. As he walked in, Eli walked out. They chatted only briefly before it was clear that the kid was in a hurry to get somewhere.
“On your way home?” Ben asked, knowing full well that likely wasn’t the case based upon Eli’s recent behavioral pattern.
“Yep.” The teenager’s gaze hit the ground.
He proceeded into the store and grabbed a bag of chips and some soda, both of which would now likely play havoc on his ill stomach.
When he pulled out of the parking lot five minutes later, he caught a glimpse of Eli’s car in the middle of the lot. That struck him odd since employees’ cars were generally parked in the far corner.
Eli and a group of young men stood between his car and another vehicle, talking to the driver through the window. Something didn’t feel right about this, so he slowed down to get a better look. The driver handed Eli a paper grocery bag as he turned his head from side to side as if looking to see if anyone watched them.
Needing to learn more, Ben turned into the bank drive-thru, spun around, and drove past the grocery store lot again. By now, Eli had climbed into his car and headed toward the exit on the opposite side of the lot. He spun around again and drove fast to tail the teenager falling in line a couple of vehicles behind him, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed. Thankfully, the sky had darkened, so it would make it easier to stay incognito.
Eli flipped on his left blinker and pulled into the fairgrounds parking lot, drove around the detention pond, and then tucked in the corner, taking some cover by the cedar trees. Ben continued on, but curiosity gnawed at him, so he drove into the trailer park bordering the fairgrounds, parked, and then slinked between two mobile homes until he neared the tall chain-link fence that separated the mobile home park. He wrenched some cedar branches aside so he could squeeze between the trees and belly up to the fence. The trees on the opposite side impaired his view, but not so much that he couldn’t see another car had pulled up beside Eli. Through the driver’s windows, a small package was exchanged for the paper grocery bag.
His heart leaped into his throat. The kid was dealing drugs. This made sense—explained the young man’s terrible behavior lately.
Ben wished it wasn’t true, but he was sure it was. He’d heard talk at the shop that grocery stores were a prime location for drug exchanges.
This news would break Cori’s heart, but as Eli’s mom, she needed to know.
But first, he would confront the teenager to make sure he was correct.
Ben turned to step out of the cover of the trees when the sound of sirens had him spinning back around.
His heart raced. Was it too late? Was Eli going to get busted? Ben peeked through the cedars to see the cops traveling at a good rate of speed down Fourteenth Avenue. Thankfully, they sped right past the fairgrounds.
He pressed his hand to his tightening chest. Between this and the dead bodies, he was likely going to die of stress. Now, who to deal with first. He’d only seen Eli take one package at the grocery store which now appeared to be delivered, so maybe he was in the clear for the night. It was dark and getting late, so it was probably best if he checked on Julie.
Like the night before, Ben parked in the driveway of the wooded lot across the street from the Spencer’s house. The garage door was closed, but lights were on in the house, so he didn’t know if William was home or not. He unlatched the seatbelt and sunk more comfortably into his seat, ripped open the chip bag, cracked open a soda, and watched the house across the street.
Twenty minutes later, William pulled into the driveway. Excellent. Ben could go home and get a decent amount of sleep tonight. The soda and salty chips he’d wolfed down bubbled up from his churning stomach. Scratch that—the thought of a restful night, unfortunately, he’d have to wait up for Cori to give her the bad news about her son.
Ben pulled into his garage and shut the door. From the window, he glanced toward Cori’s driveway. No sign of Eli’s vehicle. He swung his gaze to the street. The kid’s car wasn’t parked there either.
Ben slipped through his back door, strolled into the kitchen, pulled a beer from the fridge, and waited, staring out the window at Cori’s house. She should be home in less than an hour. Until then, he would try to figure out how to tell her about her son. He took a swig of his beer as he questioned himself. Was he right? Is a drug deal really what he witnessed? It sure looked like it…but he couldn’t say with one hundred percent certainty.
At a few minutes to ten, Eli pulled up to the curb.
Ben raced out the door to catch him before he went into the house.
“Eli!” He called out.
The young man turned toward him. “Yeah,” he replied in an annoyed tone.
Ben remembered the days when Eli spoke to him as innocently as Holden did. But that was some time ago.
As he got closer to the lad, he noticed the worry lines around Eli’s eyes. The young man looked drained, weathered, almost like a tired old man, yet he was only seventeen. This was beyond a look of exhaustion. Something was seriously wrong.
Anxiety swirled in his stomach. He was most likely correct about the drug dealing. And, if he was right, he needed to find a way to help him out of this mess.
“Are you feeling all right?” Ben asked.
The kid glanced nervously down the street.
Was that anxious look a result of fear his mother would be home soon and catch him violating his grounding, or was it in fear of his drug-dealing buddies keeping an eye on him?
The young man nodded. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. In fact, you couldn’t look more the opposite. Do you want to talk about it?”
“I said, everything is fine,” Eli snapped as he turned away and made a move for his house.
Ben reached out and grabbed his arm. The teenager shifted, tugging his arm free.
Ben threw his hand up, palm facing forward as a form of submission.
“Sorry. I just want to talk to you,” Ben said in a forced soft tone in an attempt to keep Eli from bolting.
“It’s late, and I need to get inside.”
“It’ll only take a second.”
The teenager turned to walk away.
“I saw you tonight. At the fairgrounds.”
Eli halted but didn’t turn to look at him.
“I need to know what that was about,” Ben added.
Eli turned to face him. He straightened his spine and hitched his chin, jaw knotted.
Their stare-down felt like an eternity. From experiences with his son, Ben knew he needed to play the adult here no matter how difficult it would be. He arched his brow. “What were you doing at the fairgrounds tonight?”
The young man’s hard-eyed scowl hardened even more, and he tilted his head to the side. A bit of a smirk crossed his lips before he parted them to speak. The second Eli crossed his arms over his chest, Ben knew he was in trouble.
“Isn’t what were you doing parked outside of Julie Spencer’s home two nights in a row the bigger question right now? Especially since you’re trying to get into my mother’s pants? Hmm, I wonder how successful you’d be if she knew that information?”
Ben’s heart seized. He wouldn’t, would he? The young man’s taut features indicated he would.
Car lights glowed from down the street. They drew closer as he and Eli continued their standoff. The car turned left at the intersection before their block. Moments later, headlights shone from the alley. Cori turned into her driveway and pulled into the garage. It didn’t pay for either of them to try to dodge her as she’d probably already seen them talking to one another. Her son must have been of like mind because he stayed put as well.
“Decide what it’s going to be before she gets over here,” Eli whispered.
A lump clogged his throat. If Eli had seen him at Julie’s house, who else had?
He of all people knew there was no such thing as a secret in this small town.
At the risk of losing Cori, and becoming murder suspect number one, he figured it was more important to tell her about Eli so she could help the boy get out of the mess he’d gotten himself into.
Cori stepped near as she bounced her curious gaze between them. “It’s late. What are you two doing out here?”
The iciness of her tone sent shivers up his spine. Maybe that tone was meant for her son and not him. After all, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out Eli had broken curfew. Again.
Cori’s frosty gaze clamped onto his. Nope, the tone was meant for him.
“I need to talk to you,” Ben said.
Eli’s gaze shot daggers at him, and he arched a challenging brow, daring him to go there.
She looked at him with a similar blade-firing glare as her son’s. Did she already know he’d lied to her about his whereabouts last night?
“It’s late. It’ll have to wait,” she replied matter-of-factly.
The smug expression the teenager flashed him was beyond annoying.
“It’s important, Cori.”
For a change, Eli immediately obeyed. Why wouldn’t he? That maneuver kept his mom away from the man who’d be outing him.
Cori and Eli marched away without so much as a backward glance.
Ben threw his hands in the air in frustration, spun on his heel, and headed for his house. Within minutes, he’d climbed into bed, only to be tormented by Cori’s heavenly lavender scent that still clung to his sheets. His chest ached at the thought of never having her in his bed—arms—again.
He needed to figure out a way to right this ship, find a way to get Eli out of the drug business, get through to Cori, and help the police catch a killer before there was another victim…or before they really started to look at him as the number one suspect.
