Buch lesen: «In His Sights»
“I really did scare you, didn’t I?”
Edgar asked, wrapping an arm around her. “Your heart is beating like crazy.”
Dee pushed herself away from him as she inhaled the scent of his spicy aftershave. “I’ve just been…” She couldn’t tell him she’d been reading about him. Let alone daydreaming about working together.
“You were just what?” He studied her intently. “Are you sure you’re okay, Dee?”
She tried to shake it off. Between the phone call she’d received and feeling that someone had followed her into the library…and thinking about Edgar, there were plenty of things to be shaken up about.
REUNION REVELATIONS: Secrets surface when old friends—and foes—get together.
Hidden in the Wall—Valerie Hansen (LIS#84) January 2008
Missing Persons—Shirlee McCoy (LIS#88) February 2008
Don’t Look Back—Margaret Daley (LIS#92) March 2008
In His Sights—Carol Steward (LIS#96) April 2008
A Face in the Shadows—Lenora Worth (LIS#100) May 2008
Final Justice—Marta Perry (LIS#104) June 2008
CAROL STEWARD
To Carol Steward, selling a book is much like riding a roller coaster—every step of the process, every sale brings that exhilarating high. During the less exciting times, she’s busy gathering ideas and refilling her cup. Writing brings a much-needed balance to her life, as she has her characters share lessons she has learned, as well.
When she’s not working at the University of Northern Colorado, you can usually find her spending time with her husband of over thirty years, writing and thanking God she survived raising her own three children to reap His rewards of playing with her adorable grandchildren.
Throughout all the different seasons of life, God has continued to teach Carol to turn to Him. She has also learned to simplify her life and appreciate her many blessings—His gift of creativity, sharing her love for God with readers and setting an example of what God can do when we say, “Yes, God, take me, shape me, use me.” To find out more about Carol’s slightly crazy life and her books, visit her Web site at www.carolsteward.com.
In His Sights
Carol Steward
MILLS & BOON
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Special thanks and acknowledgment are given
to Carol Steward for her contribution to the
REUNION REVELATIONS miniseries.
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in
me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33
To Val, Shirlee, Margaret, Lenora and Marty,
my coconspirators—my light in the shadows.
You’re the greatest!
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
ONE
Something had to be wrong. The caller ID showed her sister’s number, and Lauren knew not to call her at work.
“Deandra Owens, how may I help you?” she answered out of habit. “Sorry, Lauren. What’s up?”
“It’s happening again, Dee. There’s another warning on the Web site.”
Dee hadn’t heard Lauren this frantic in weeks.
“Log on the site, now,” her sister demanded. “Hurry!”
Dee swung her chair to the computer and moved her mouse to pull up the site. “Magnolia Falls: Where Are They Now?” scrolled to the top of the computer monitor and the photograph from the reunion began to load. “Where?”
“Someone put a picture of the group at the reunion on there,” Lauren said.
“I did,” Dee said with a sigh of relief.
“Yes, on the home page, but, it’s in the blog now—with flames burning over it.”
“You can’t be serious!” Her mind raced to the angry posts they’d received in the guest book. Dee stared as the blog loaded, her pulse racing. She scrolled through the comments, then came to the digitally altered photo posted by Anonymous and gasped. “Who would do this?”
“The police never even figured out who sent that entry last month.”
Dee looked for some clue, ignoring her sister.
“The one telling us that someone on campus isn’t who they seem to be.”
“Yes, I remember,” Dee said. “I’m—”
The fear in Lauren’s voice returned. “We have to do something.”
The police hadn’t given the Web site much attention, claiming pranks and inappropriate postings were pretty common on any public site. Dee stared at the photo in disbelief. Who would have such anger toward those at the reunion?
“Dee…”
“Where are you, Lauren?”
“I’m at Seth’s with Jake. Seth has a late appointment today.”
Lauren had had enough scares in the recent months. Dee didn’t want to see it start all over again. “Stay put and lock the doors.” Dee looked up to see, Edgar Ortiz, the assistant director of admissions in her doorway, pointing at his watch. “Thanks for calling. I’ll call you back after the press conference.”
“Dee, you ready?” The handsome Brazilian made her heart flutter, even when she wasn’t under stress.
“Just a minute, Edgar. I need to fix a little problem right away.” Her hands were shaking.
He stepped to her side. “Can I help?”
“No, thanks, it’ll just take a minute.”
“We’re in a hurry. The police need a minute to prep you.” He leaned closer, making her nerves that much worse.
“I’ll be right there, just hold them off for a minute. You know, work your charm.”
He cleared his throat and headed for the door. “You’re the charmer. That is why we hired you.”
Dee highlighted the name of the picture and all of the Java script that went with it, then read the options she had for removing the data from the blog: “Remove Locally” or “Remove locally and from server.” She tried to reason out which would keep it so the police could trace it. One option would keep it on her computer, but remove it from the site. The other would remove it from everywhere. Dee moved the mouse to “Remove Locally” and thought it through again before clicking the button.
“Dee, come on.” Edgar paused as he stepped through the door, his voice full of annoyance.
She jumped and with one slip of the wrist, she hit the wrong button and everything was gone.
Edgar leveled her a stare and she felt the emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Temporary or not, every day they were together they always seemed to be needling each other.
She picked up her notes and rushed out the door after him. “Someone’s posting harassing messages on the Web site again, and thanks to you, I just lost the evidence.”
“Yes, I saw the flaming picture. I was going to talk to you about it after the press conference. Maybe it’s time you just give up on the Web site.” He waited for her to walk beside him, then pushed a stray hair from her face.
How could he be so cavalier about it? “You’re one of the people in the picture, Edgar. We don’t know who they’re targeting.” She never went into a press conference so distracted.
“Miss Owens, we need you to read this release also,” Detective Jim Anderson said as he handed her a sheet of paper.
Dee read it, then glanced through the doorway to the members of the press watching her every reaction. “In here please.” She walked into the empty office and turned to Detective Anderson. “You’ve had this information for weeks, since Cassie Winters planted the memorial garden. Why haven’t you said something sooner?”
“We’ve run out of leads with what we had. We’re hoping that we can flush out the person if he or she thinks we have more information to go on,” the detective responded.
Dee struggled to regain her composure as she watched Edgar walk to the back of the room with the other college administrators.
She loved Magnolia College. She had to make that come across, above all else.
Look pleasant.
Professional. She forced a smile and realized it was overdone. She couldn’t look happy, sharing terrible news like this.
She didn’t want to look disrespectful.
She took a deep breath to steady herself before facing the cameras. With a serious smile on her face, she gazed past the reporters and cameras to Edgar.
This was about the college they both loved.
People they cared about.
Edgar had been dead set on getting her position as a PR specialist soon after the construction crew had uncovered a woman’s skeleton on campus. Yet in less than six months, they’d had three huge scandals that rocked the community’s foundation, and would likely hurt enrollment if they didn’t do some damage control immediately. Edgar—and his boss—weren’t happy with the rash of negative publicity. That was perfectly clear.
“The faculty and staff at Magnolia College are shocked by recent events involving our tight-knit community.” She took a quick breath for strength. “We are deeply saddened by the shooting of three individuals with ties to Magnolia College. The three were following leads in the death of talented alumnus, Scott Winters. Scott graduated two-and-a-half years ago with his bachelor’s degree in Journalism and went on to write for the Savannah Herald. The victims are identified as Scott’s sister, Cassie Winters, Professor Jameson King, and former teammate of Scott’s, Kevin Reed. All three have been treated and released from the hospital.
“The police have made two arrests in connection with the shootings, which took place at the old sugar mill in Riverton. Both are being held in the city jail and will undergo questioning in relation to an alleged point-shaving scheme, as well as the murder of Scott Winters.”
Dee paused, waiting for the lump in her throat to dissipate. She fought to get the image of Scott’s sister out of her head. I can’t think of Cassie or I’ll never get through this.
Dee could see the administrators cringe, those whose faces didn’t look like they were carved from stone. Her stomach churned. “The Magnolia Falls Police Department expect to reveal at least one more suspect soon.” Hands immediately raised, but Dee knew what they wanted. “I’m sorry, we will not be revealing the suspects’ names at this time.”
She pulled out the prepared statement given to her by the police chief and noticed her hands shaking. She took a deep breath. “The staff at Magnolia College is cooperating fully with authorities. We ask the public to respect the school’s responsibility to protect the privacy of every member of our staff and student population. Progress is being made on both the recovered skeleton and the point-shaving cases, but we would like to remind the community that these are ongoing investigations, and the details must be kept confidential in order not to compromise the integrity of the investigations.”
Dee cleared her throat and took a sip of water. “The police chief has asked me to update the public on evidence found in relation to the unidentified woman’s skeleton. A charm, found during the planting of the Scott Winters Memorial Garden, is now believed to be key evidence. Crime-scene investigators have determined a set of initials on the charm and believe it will open up new leads. If you have information related to any of these cases, you are asked to contact the Magnolia Falls Police Department directly.
“Magnolia College will continue to provide our students with an excellent education and will maintain a normal schedule. Thank you.”
Television stations from all over the region had come to cover these events, and the room was filled to capacity. Dee shifted behind the podium and pointed to a reporter who refused to be ignored.
The young man looked to be about Scott Winters’s age. “Miss Owens, what is being done to ensure student safety?”
“I will point out that Magnolia College has the second lowest crime rate in the region. We have not seen any increase in crime on campus since the skeleton was found. However, we are taking every precaution possible. In addition to seminars on personal safety, new emergency phones have been installed along the inner-campus walkways, and patrols have increased. The college did go through a major security upgrade just two years ago.”
She glanced to the back of the room and saw Edgar leaving before the press conference was finished. While she couldn’t help but feel she’d let him down, she was also furious. He’d touted her as the “Queen of Spin” when it came to recovering from bad publicity. But what did he expect after a second murder connected to Magnolia College?
Dee regained her composure and continued. “The upgrade included key cards for external entrances to every dorm and building holding evening classes. Security cameras are in place in many undisclosed locations. The college is in the top ten on safety studies. The board of trustees is gathering information on whether further changes need to be made.”
Hands shot up, and Dee nodded to another reporter. “I’ve heard rumors that some Magnolia College staff are involved in the point-shaving scheme. Are they going to be fired?” she asked.
Another reporter stood up. “What about the coaching staff? To what extent is Coach Nelson involved?”
Dee held up one hand until the room quieted, regaining control. “One question at a time, please. Chairman J. T. Kessler has called for a special session of the board of trustees this week to discuss possible disciplinary action for any involved faculty and coaching personnel. Until then, no further details will be released.”
As she answered each question, her mind drifted back to Edgar. Though he had been forced to reduce their recruitment team, the two of them were working hard. She had thought they were becoming close, and she realized, with disappointment, how much his approval meant to her.
What more did he expect of her?
TWO
“I told you to stop calling. In case you missed it, I have enough problems without…” The deep voice growled.
“And I thought you were going to scare Dee Owens off. We can’t have her sticking her nose into the investigation!”
“You’re getting paranoid…”
“Well, now, that’s like the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?” There was an awkward silence, filled with tension as one waited for the other to continue. “I need more money. If you aren’t going to get rid of Dee, I’ll have to find someone else to do it.”
“Dee Owens doesn’t know anything more than what the cops tell her. Quit worrying. I’m keeping tabs on her—and that ridiculous Web site. Just lay low! Stop sending e-mails. If I were you, I’d get out of the country while you can.”
“I would if I could, believe me. If I could count on you to clean up this mess once and for all, that is. Dee may not know anything yet. All she needs is another chance to dig deeper. Get rid of her. Now!”
THREE
Dee and her friend Steff Kessler, director of alumni relations, spent the afternoon brainstorming ideas to counteract the scandals. They figured out a way to pull a list of distinguished alumni from the college database and they drafted a letter requesting alumni get involved. Dee hadn’t been this encouraged in weeks. Excited to move forward with the campaign as soon as possible, she left a message for Edgar.
She tidied her desk after Steff headed back to her office in the library. Dee reviewed her notes, jotting additional suggestions in the margins as she waited for Edgar to return her call. At a little after five o’clock, she decided Edgar wasn’t going to call. Dee placed the drafted letter into her briefcase.
As soon as Dee closed her office door the phone rang. She hurried back inside, dropped the purse back into the chair and lifted the receiver, hoping it was Edgar returning her call. “Deandra Owens, how can I—”
The caller interrupted Dee. Static mingled with hushed words. “Miss Owens, you must help—” the woman said before her Southern accented voice cut out.
“What?” Dee waited a few seconds then tried to get the caller’s attention. “Hello?”
“Those…on the reunion Web site—” The caller was interrupted by yelling and commotion on her end.
Dee could hear doors slamming, then more static. “Hello?” She considered hanging up but couldn’t. Two words had her hooked—Web site. How could anyone know she’d just taken over as Webmaster? “Hello, are you there?” She looked down at the caller ID, which read “unknown number.”
“Just a moment, please,” the caller whispered, “Mother and Father don’t want me calling, but something is wrong.”
“Who is this? Are you okay?” Dee heard the squeak of metal on metal. “Hello? What’s your—”
She heard someone in another room yelling, but couldn’t tell what was said.
“Miss Owens,” the caller whispered, “you must find out who is pretending to be Josie.”
“Pretending? What makes you think—”
The caller was gone.
Dee stared at the phone, willing it to ring again. Surely the caller would phone back. She had to. Dee needed more information.
Josie? Racking her brain, Dee recalled a girl in her dorm with the name Josie. What was her last name? Were there other Josies at Magnolia College ten years ago?
There was something familiar about the caller’s voice. Logically speaking, it could be any well-bred Southern woman, but Dee couldn’t shake the feeling that they knew each other.
She waited a few moments, hoping the mystery woman would call again. When it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, Dee logged into the Web site and reread all of the posts. The only Josie to leave a message hadn’t given a last name. Dee had assumed at the time it was from the Josie she remembered, but maybe there had been another Josie enrolled at Magnolia College. The post said Josie had taken a whirlwind tour of Europe after graduation and mentioned a daughter. But why would someone pretend to be someone else on a college reunion Web site? And why was this caller so sure it wasn’t the real Josie? Maybe it was simply a case of mistaken identity.
While she was logged on, Dee searched the Web site, wondering how the caller had gotten her contact information. Unless this was the person who’d hacked into the site and found Dee’s name as the administrator, she had no clue how she could have known. After another hour, Dee finally gave up waiting to hear back from the frantic woman.
Grabbing her belongings again, she went down the back stairs of the administrative building, toward Kessler Library, noticing the new memorial garden that Cassie Winters had planted after her brother’s murder. She also noted the new emergency phones dotting the sidewalks across campus.
Walking past the new library’s construction site, Dee felt an odd sense of stepping back in time, to her own college days again, when they’d all felt perfectly safe walking across campus any time of day. All that had changed with recent events.
The air smelled like rain, bringing back memories of dashing to class, soaking wet.
She felt a few raindrops and walked faster.
She’d never liked studying at the library. Something about the huge old building gave her the chills. That feeling was heightened now, since a body had been uncovered on the library’s grounds.
Maybe it was just that she was thinking so much about the skeleton lately, who the victim was, and what she’d gone through. Not fifty feet from where she stood, Dee realized. Glancing over her shoulder, Dee noticed a dark shadow behind the row of azaleas that Cassie had planted in the memorial garden.
She picked up her pace, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. As a chill went up her spine, Dee looked to the left, then the right. The few students out walked in groups, ducking under trees to stay dry. All except one person—a short and slight figure wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt. The person turned away from her, then walked toward the music school. Dee let out a sigh of relief. Even though the campus was well lit, she still had an eerie feeling. Her imagination was probably getting the best of her, she told herself. Just in case, when she was done at the library, she’d call the campus security office and request an escort to take her back to her car, another of the changes the college had put into place recently.
She replayed the phone conversation over in her mind, focusing hard to think of something she’d missed. The woman had had a very strong Southern accent and a formal speech pattern. But that was little help—Georgia was full of women with Southern accents.
Dee glanced back at the music building as she went up the steps to the library. She didn’t spot anyone, though it was difficult to see much with the lush undergrowth of palmettos and Spanish moss hanging from the live oak.
After stepping through the heavy oak doors, she passed the front desk. “Ma’am, would you scan your campus ID card?”
Dee kept an eye on the entrance as she dug through her purse for her wallet. “I know it’s here somewhere.”
The student working behind the desk said, “If you don’t have it with you, I need to have you fill out a community ID. It’s part of our new security policy.”
“I just got a new card—I hope it’s in this purse.” With a sigh of relief, Dee pulled her staff ID card from her wallet and brushed it past the scanner. “Are the yearbook archives still in the basement?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Dee hurried downstairs. At a table in a quiet corner facing the exit, Dee piled decade-old school yearbooks and newspapers from when she attended Magnolia College around her and started through them, recalling events she’d almost forgotten.
She laughed quietly at the costume contest pictures from her freshman year. The girls on her dorm floor had gone in the pajama party theme. She and Steff Kessler wore their freshly curled hair in banana clips on the back of their heads. Jennifer Pappas had her toothbrush tangled in dental floss hanging around her neck like a necklace; Josie Skerritt’s curling iron was twisted and dangling from her hair. That was her last name—Skerritt! Trying to place the other girls in the photo, she looked closer. Payton…Payton Bell and Alicia Whittaker.
Dee knew from the e-mails that Josie hadn’t been at the reunion, but was Payton there? That was her only regret about the reunion: she’d spent so much time with Edgar that she hadn’t really talked to anyone else there, besides her closest friends. She smiled. It had been a wonderful night.
Now, looking through the old photos, she couldn’t believe how much they had all changed. It took her a moment to find Cassie Winters in the group photo. Who was that in the baby-doll pajamas? Penny Brighton. And next to her, Kate Brooks dressed in footie pajamas and bunny slippers with her hair in knots all over her head. They’d nearly caused a riot on campus with their outrageous ideas. But they had won the gift certificate which allowed them to order pizza a couple of nights. Pure gold in those days.
Suddenly she stopped reminiscing. The body had been buried ten years ago. The skeleton could be one of us, she realized. She pulled her PDA from her bag and started a list of classmates and who she’d known in the photos, along with the issues of the newspapers. She hoped someone’s picture or name would leap out at her and remind her of the mystery caller’s voice. She noticed another photo of Josie and Payton and added them to her lengthy list.
After an hour of skimming through several old newspapers, Dee wondered if she should skip the search and call the police with her list. Then again, Detectives Anderson and Rivers had pretty much dismissed her when she reported the flames over their reunion picture. Dee was hesitant to go to them again without strong proof. She still couldn’t believe she’d accidentally deleted it from the server. Without actual evidence, the police didn’t have anything to work with.
As she picked up another newspaper, her stomach growled. Dee checked at her watch and considered running to get a bite of supper, but decided that by the time she walked to her car, drove over to Burt’s Pizza, then back, she’d waste at least an hour. The library didn’t close for four more hours, and she knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink if she didn’t figure out who had called. She hated to let this go even another day. She’d find a snack machine and see if they had something semihealthy to get her through another hour or two.
Dee headed up the back stairs on her search for food. The hallway was dim and quiet, reminding her again why she’d never studied here. She liked noise, felt a sense of security in crowds. The soft voices and pages turning here did nothing to soothe her nerves.
Neither did the dark-haired woman in the black sweatshirt standing outside the main entrance.
Was that the same person I saw outside? From this angle, she couldn’t tell for sure if the woman’s sweatshirt was hooded. The woman didn’t seem to notice Dee, so she hurried back to the lower level—chocolate bar and a bottle of iced tea in hand, annoyed at her own paranoia.
The research section seemed emptier than it had been when she arrived. The library assistant was nowhere to be seen, or heard. Dee clutched her purse a little closer and opened the next newspaper.
Soon she was distracted by a feature article on Edgar. She forgot about the lack of noise and barely heard footsteps at the next table. She glanced up to see a young woman set a book on the table and sit down to read.
Dee glanced quickly at the picture of Edgar with longer hair and moved on to the article. No wonder she’d never met him in college. He had come to the United States as a missionary of sorts. His church had sponsored his trip to the States and he’d lived off campus with the pastor’s family.
She thought back to the reunion, when she’d finally met Edgar….
“Lauren Owens, I’m glad you could make it tonight.” Edgar had greeted them as they came in the door. He smiled at her sister, but his eyes caught Dee’s and he paused.
Lauren smiled back and flung her arms around his broad shoulders. “It’s not like I came all the way from Brazil for the reunion! What are you doing now, Edgar?”
“I’m living here in Magnolia Falls, for starters. I’m in the process of naturalization.”
Dee had intervened. “You’re the assistant director of admissions, now, aren’t you?” She’d seen his picture in the Gazette a while back. It was impossible to miss a picture of Edgar, ten years ago, or now. She’d seen him on occasion at business events, but somehow their paths hadn’t crossed in school or now.
He glanced at Dee and offered his hand. “I am. You must be Lauren’s sister. Lauren, why didn’t you ever introduce your sister and me?”
“Didn’t I?” Lauren pretended to be puzzled, but Edgar simply laughed.
“I wouldn’t have forgotten someone so beautiful.” Edgar’s grasp was warm and firm, not bone crushing like most men she worked with. He kissed the back of Dee’s hand, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Typical Brazilian, suave and macho, wrapped in a to-die-for package. Too bad he’s wasting all this charm on me. I’m tired of the love-’em-and-leave-’em type.
Lauren leaned close to Edgar and whispered intentionally loud enough for Dee to hear. “That’s because she doesn’t like to be noticed for her looks. Dee is a brilliant public relations specialist.”
“She exaggerates,” Dee said with slight embarrassment.
“Forgive me for noticing the obvious, Dee. Lauren used to tell us you couldn’t join us on Sunday nights because you were studying. She was always very proud of you.”
Dee had stopped going to church after the pastor mishandled counseling family and friends through her best friend’s illness. She recalled how, after calling in the pastor, Annie’s parents had refused treatment for her cancer, insisted if they had enough faith, God would heal her. She’d watched Annie fade away. Dee had been angry at the parents, at the church members for not intervening, and at God. Surely God hadn’t given doctors the wisdom to heal if He’d meant for humans to turn their back on medical care. She let out a sigh and felt the familiar old emptiness. Her sister had tried to convince her that being a Christian didn’t mean using one’s faith as a crutch. That had been a decision made by one family. Everyone made mistakes, she realized.
Before Dee could respond, Jennifer Pappas joined their group. “I’m sorry to intrude. Edgar, Dee, it’s so good to see you both here. Lauren, could you help me with something?”
“We’ll catch up later.” Lauren gave Edgar another quick hug then dashed off to the foyer of Moss Hall, leaving Dee awkwardly alone with him.
“It’s good to see everyone again.” Edgar’s gaze settled on Dee. “Could I get you a drink?”
Why hadn’t she taken her chance to escape with Lauren and Jennifer? She’d never known him in school, and now it would be awkward to just walk away and leave him there alone. Edgar seemed nice, but…there was something she just couldn’t quite figure out about him.
“I’d love some mineral water.” She heard herself say.
“With a lemon?” Edgar said.
“With lemon would be wonderful.” Dee followed him, surprised that Edgar had left his assignment on the welcoming committee. “I understand the school will be conducting a search for a new director of admissions soon. I presume you have put your name into the running?”
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