Appalachian Prey Page 5

“Shot in the back.”

  Murder again. The air pressed in and her lungs seized. She squeezed in a painful breath and exhaled. “Same as Dad?”

  “Yes.”

  Without thinking, she collapsed onto his broad shoulders, her body shaking uncontrollably. Not again. Not again. Harlan shifted into the chair beside her and guided her onto his lap where she felt cradled by his strength. His hands rubbed up and down her back. She focused on his touch—it was all she could grasp to stop the maelstrom of mourning, which threatened to overwhelm her.

  First Dad, and now Darla. All in the space of a week.

  Lilah snapped her head up, remembering she wasn’t alone in her grief. “Those poor kids! And Ed, too.”

  Harlan brushed away the tears on her cheek. “We’ve called Ed’s parents, and they’re on the way. If need be, they can keep the children at their place while we get to the bottom of this.”

  “Surely Ed wants them there with him. And I can go over and stay a bit until things settle down. Help him out. He must be devastated.”

  “You think so?”

  “Of course.” She cocked her head to the side, digesting the impact of his words. “You don’t... I mean... You aren’t saying Ed killed Darla, are you?”

  “We’re not ruling anything out. Usually, a killer is someone known intimately by the victim.”

  She tensed, fighting the sudden shudder that crawled up her spine. “Not in this case. It’s the same way my dad was killed, so it must be the same person. And Ed had no beef with Dad.”

  “That you know of,” Harlan corrected.

  “Only when he got Darla pregnant in high school. Once they got married, Dad and Ed got along just fine.”

  “Did your brother-in-law ever work for your dad on the side?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Are you arresting Ed?”

  “J.D.’s questioning him now.”

  She jumped off his lap. “And the kids? I have to get down there. They might need me.” Guilt snaked its way through her gut, insidious and slimy. Who was she kidding? Nobody needed her. She and Darla had had a major argument over the stolen money. The last time she’d seen her sister, she’d stormed out of the house, threatening to put the cops on her tail.

  Frantically, she grabbed her purse off the table, eager to leave and keep her mind and hands busy instead of dwelling on the news. “I’ve got to pack a few clothes, and...and...” She blindly stumbled into the coffee table and rubbed her shins.

  “I’ll drive you.” Harlan took her purse and set it on the sofa. “Go ahead and pack. Take your time. There’s no rush.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’ll need my own vehicle. I don’t want to be dependent on you to drive me everywhere while I’m back.”

  “Yeah, about that. The easiest thing all around is for you to stay with me. Ed and the kids have his parents to help out, and there’s no sense in you wasting money on a motel.”

  No. He didn’t love her, and she wouldn’t be a burden to him or anyone else. Lilah thought fast. There was always Uncle Thad and Aunt Vi, but with their eight children, it tended to be a bit noisy and cramped.

  “I can stay with my Aunt Ruth who lives about forty miles from here. She has health problems so she’ll appreciate my help around the house and my company.” She stifled the impulse to cross her fingers behind her back. Ruth was nearly seventy years old and had never married or had children—a quiet woman like her preferred the solitary life. Yes, she’d recently had minor surgery but, truth be told, Ruth was just fine on her own.

  His brow furrowed. “She doesn’t have anyone else to take care of her? I don’t like you working so hard.”

  “No. Besides, what’s it to you?”

  His eyes trailed down to her belly. “Somebody needs to look out for you.”

  Lilah couldn’t help it. She blushed.

  Harlan quirked a brow. “Since when have you ever been shy with me?”

  Yeah, he was right about that. No point in modesty after he knew every inch of her body. Lilah shook off the sudden images of Harlan’s intimate kisses. Now wasn’t the time for remembering such things.

  “I’ll need to call the Red Cross again and get word to Jimmy.”

  “I can do it for you,” Harlan volunteered.

  “No. I’m family. I should.” Lord, she didn’t want to, though. Her brother had enough stress without hearing that yet another family member had been murdered.

  “We’ll do it together. Tonight.”

  Lilah wavered. It would be nice to stay with Harlan. There was nowhere she’d feel more protected. On the other hand, going to his place would stir up the old memories of the time they’d spent together. A happier time when she’d thought they’d be together forever.

  Harlan obviously sensed her hesitation and moved in for the kill. “Come on,” he said in his husky, sexy voice. “It’ll give us an opportunity to talk. I’m still not convinced the baby isn’t mine.”

  The baby. Lilah’s hand went to her stomach. She had to consider more than just her own feelings. Harlan could protect her...protect them. It didn’t mean they were a couple again. And there was no denying that she and all her family were in danger. This was far from over—something deep and rotten and evil lay at the bottom of these two deaths.

  It was only a matter of time before the killer struck again.

  Who would be next?

  Chapter Five

  “It’s a formality.”

  Harlan placed his broad hand on the small of her back and guided her into the antiseptic, frigid forensics room located in the bowels of the county hospital.

  Lilah’s breath came in rapid, shallow bursts. I can’t do this. She thought of Ed. He was always in the background at family gatherings, a quiet presence and foil to Darla’s chatter and dramatics. A seemingly decent guy.

  But now, the normally stoic Ed was barely holding himself together. His large hands were trembling by his sides.

  I have to be here. It’s the last kindness I can do for my sister. Help her family in their time of need.

  “It will all be over in a minute,” Harlan whispered reassuringly in her ear.

  “Right.” One quick glance, a thumbs-up to the coroner from Ed and she was out of there.

  An older woman in pastel blue scrubs and a white coat nodded at her briskly, but not unkindly. Lilah’s gaze dropped to the gurney where a body was draped over with a white sheet. Darla’s body. She forced her leaden feet forward and nodded, glad Harlan’s hand remained at the base of her spine. Ed groaned and then pinched his lips together in determination. Lilah patted his arm.

  At his nod, the woman turned down the sheet with a practiced flick of her wrist.

  Red lipstick blazed against pale alabaster skin tinged with a morgue-blue undertone. Dishwater-blond hair fell carelessly over stiff shoulders. The curve of her jaw and cheekbones, the delicate arch of her brows, a certain sculpting of the nose and lips—Lilah could see herself in the family genetics. Thank heavens they had only revealed her face. There was no hint of the violence she’d endured. But if rolled over, Darla’s body would have been visibly marred by shotgun pellets.

  The sheet was short on the left side and Lilah observed Darla’s lifeless hand that peeked out from under the edge of the cover.

  “It’s her,” Ed croaked. “Darla Marie Tedder Stovall.”

  The woman immediately pulled the sheet back over Darla, covering her face.

  Harlan nodded to the technician. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “The secretary out front will have you sign a paper confirming the identification. Sorry for your loss.”

  They were officially dismissed.

  Lilah wanted to say goodbye to Darla, say she was sorry that sharp words were the last ones spoken between them. But it was too late. She swallowed the regret and walked out of the cold room, breathing deeply
as they headed toward the desk. A young man handed them a clipboard and pen. “Sign here,” he said, motioning to the signature line at the bottom of the sheet.

  Ed scribbled his name with shaking hands.

  “There’s freshly brewed coffee,” he offered them. “Can I get y’all a cup?”

  Ed shook his head and looked up at the ceiling.

  “Yes—I mean, no.” She sure could use the comfort of warm caffeinated liquid, but her own needs were secondary for the next few months.

  “How about some water?” Harlan asked her, his deep voice rumbling behind her.

  “What I really want is to get out of here first.”

  Harlan nodded. “Thanks, but we’re fine,” he told the tech, ushering them to the elevator.

  Once inside, Harlan pressed the button and they rumbled up to the main floor. Ed exhaled and scrubbed at his face.

  She couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. “How are the kids doing this morning?” she said around the burn in her throat.

  “Mom’s watching them.”

  The elevator door opened and they emerged into the main lobby. The hustle and bustle seemed miles away from the stillness of the basement morgue. Ed walked out first, eyes blinking. He held out a hand to Lilah. “Thanks for coming in with me. It helped. I could tell Dad didn’t want to do it.”

  She glanced over toward the patient waiting area where Ed’s father slowly rose from a vinyl sofa and shuffled their way. “Understandable. Call me if there’s anything I can do. Anything.”

  He nodded and she watched as he and his father exited the building into the beautiful, sun-shining day.

  “It should be dark and stormy,” she said, lips trembling. “And pouring down rain.”

  A nagging sense of unease quivered in the dark recesses of her brain, and she rubbed her temples. Something wasn’t quite right about the viewing of Darla, other than the obvious.

  “Headache?” Harlan asked.

  “No. I can’t explain it. But I feel like I’m missing some important detail. I looked at Darla and...” Her voice drifted off.

  “It’s been a shock. I should have insisted Ed do this himself.”

  “It would have only made things harder for him, and he needs to be strong for his kids. And it wasn’t just seeing her dead. It’s something else.”

  “I’ll get you that water and we’ll be on our way.”

  Alone, she regarded the preoccupied staff and visitors go about the business of living.

  Harlan returned and pressed a bottle of water into her hands. Lilah sipped it tentatively. Not too bad, actually. It erased the lingering chill in her belly. “Maybe this will help me think better.”

  “Do you need to go back into the examining room?”

  “Hope not. Let me sit here a spell and concentrate.”

  His hand was powerful and comforting as he guided her to an unused waiting room and onto a sofa. “Take your time. If you want, we can come back tomorrow and talk to the forensics doctor if you need to. No rush.”

  She didn’t want to return and she didn’t want to see her sister’s body again. Think. Lilah placed her head in her hands and reviewed the last few minutes as if she were a camera, detached and methodical, scanning the scene to replay it for details. She’d entered the morgue, blinking from the glaring whiteness of the fluorescent lights and the white walls. The technician had unrolled the white sheet, exposing Darla’s face, and then she’d glimpsed Darla’s left hand where the sheet had exposed her bare fingers curled at the edge of the metal gurney.

  “That’s it!” Lilah jerked her head up and snapped her fingers. “Darla wasn’t wearing any jewelry. Not even her wedding ring.”

  “She always wore it?”

  “Always.”

  Harlan didn’t appear too impressed with her realization. “They might have removed all the jewelry before you saw her.”

  She hadn’t considered that. They’d probably given Ed the wedding ring and the costume jewelry Darla had been wearing from the cabin.

  “Why Darla?” she whispered, leaning her head against the cold hard wall. “Maybe Dad was involved in shady business. Even bigger than moonshine. Maybe even Ed and Uncle Thad and my boatload of cousins are as well. But Darla?”

  “Women commit crimes, too—not that I’m saying your sister did.”

  She shook her head adamantly. Darla hadn’t been concerned about anything past her own little world of her kids and her home. And she was much too lazy to get involved with work in any shape, form or fashion.

  Lilah wanted to bite her tongue at the traitorous thought. Darla had plenty of good qualities like... Well, no need to make an inventory.

  What kind of mess had her father dragged them all into? She would never feel safe again until the killer was captured. And now, she had a baby to protect as well.

  * * *

  HARLAN SHIFTED THE suitcases in his hands and glanced longingly at the master bedroom.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Lilah said flatly. “I’ll take the spare.”

  With a sigh, he walked across to the guest bedroom and set the suitcases at the foot of the bed. Things would certainly be less complicated without sex. “You know where the bathroom is. Anything else you need?”

  “I’m good.”

  Her tone was rigid. So much for their brief moments of closeness during the day’s crisis. He’d only been someone to lean on temporarily. Not that he blamed Lilah a bit. He deserved nothing but her mistrust after the way he’d disappeared from her life. And, apparently, she’d found another man soon afterward to take his place. Or so she claimed.

  Awkwardly, he placed a hand on her tensed shoulder. “Sorry about Darla.”

  She nodded and averted her face, but not before he saw a well of tears threatening to spill over. “I’ll just head to the shower now.”

  Lilah opened one of the suitcases and haphazardly rummaged, finally pulling out a pair of flowered cotton pajama shorts and a matching pink tank top. “Excuse me.”

  She brushed against him and headed out of the room and down the hall. The sound of the shower spray teased him. He shut his eyes, stifling a groan. Lilah was naked. In his bathroom. Just down the hall.

  What kind of a man was he to be lusting for her body when she’d just learned about her sister’s murder? A sex-starved one, he admitted to himself. There’d been no other woman he’d even thought about being with since Lilah had swept into his life that past March. She’d come home to spend time with her ill father. Her days had been spent with Chauncey, but her nights had been shared with him.

  Now it was June and she’d returned pregnant. What was he to think?

  Rousing from his stupor, Harlan went to his own room and stowed his gun in the chest of drawers before stripping out of his uniform. He pulled on a pair of shorts and sat on the bed, waiting for his turn in the shower. Too bad they couldn’t take one together. He recalled a memorable time when they had. Her soft skin had been wet and slippery to his touch, and the needles of water had sprayed on them as they’d kissed, long and hard, hands exploring every inch of naked flesh.

  Stop. Going down that particular memory lane tonight would lead to nothing but frustration and insomnia.

  He didn’t have to wait long for her to finish. Lilah strode past his open door and then paused. Her hair was plastered to her head, and tiny rivulets of water ran down the front of her thin tank top. Her very revealing top, which exposed a faint impression of nipples. His groin tightened and his heart thudded. How was he going to survive Lilah staying with him and obey her no-touch rule?

  She leaned against the doorjamb, long legs crossed at the ankles and a couple inches of flat midriff exposed.

  It wouldn’t be flat for much longer.

  Lilah slowly rubbed a towel through the ends of her long hair. “Didn’t mean to act bitchy a moment ago. It’s j
ust...” She took a deep breath, and her cheeks flushed crimson. “I can’t forget the way you cut me out of your life.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to—”

  She waved an arm, dismissing his excuse. “It’s done. If you cared so much about what everyone thought, then what we had wasn’t as strong as I’d imagined it to be.”

  He rose to his feet and crossed the room. “You know my reasons. If I could do it over again, change my past decision, perhaps I would.”

  “Really?” Her gray eyes pierced his soul. “You might have cared about me, once—a little—but winning an election is more important to you than I ever could be. You’ve spent years dreaming of this opportunity. And I’d only mess it up for you.”

  “I won’t lie. I want it bad. I want the chance to prove I’m not the kind of man my father was.”

  He hadn’t ever revealed very much to her. Only that his dad drank too much and had been absent almost all his life. His mom had suffered a debilitating stroke last year and Harlan seemed to believe that the years of hardship she’d suffered had played a significant role in her compromised health.

  “And you can’t prove anything if you’re associated with someone like me. A low-class Tedder. A woman with an outlaw family.” Her mouth twisted. “You want some kindergarten-teaching, Sunday-school-attending, upstanding kind of gal who’ll help your campaign and make you appear respectable.”

  He scratched the back of his neck. “When you put it like that, you make me sound like a hypocritical jerk.”

  A sad smile tugged at her lips. “No. I understand why winning’s so important to you. I can’t fault your goal to clean up the county.”

  The heaviness of the unspoken lay between them like a smothering blanket.

  “But?” he asked, quirking a brow.

  “You’re the right man for the job. Everybody knows it. You have nothing to prove. And a woman like Jolene would be damn near perfect for you.”

  He recoiled instinctively. “I have no interest in Jolene.”

  Her eyes softened. “Glad to hear it. She’s kind of a bitch.”

  The scent of soap and shampoo was all Lilah left behind as she entered her own bedroom and softly shut the door.