Unease skittered along her nerve endings. “Someone left the door open. I was just closing it.”
He nodded, his gaze running down the length of her body like an intimate caress. But instead of stepping aside so she could pass, he moved a half step toward her. “Wouldn’t want anyone to escape, now would we? That could be bad. That could be very bad.”
Sam’s instincts went on high alert. The look in his eyes, the cool tone of his voice, the way his gaze kept skipping back to her breasts . . . it all made her adrenaline shoot sky high. “Look, Kenny, I need to get back to my room.”
“Why the rush?” He took another step closer, forcing her back into the corner. Something dark churned in his eyes. Something dangerous. He braced one hand on the wall beside her head. “You’ve got no one to meet there.”
Sam’s skin grew hot, and panic clawed at her throat. “Please step back, Kenny. I don’t—”
“Miss Parker?”
Kenny’s jaw hardened, and he stared at Sam a hard, scathing moment before dropping his hand. But he didn’t move back.
“Thomas.” Sam tried to keep her voice from quaking, but it didn’t work. She darted around Kenny and stepped quickly away. “Are you ready to redo that lab?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” The kid had no clue what she was talking about, but he didn’t miss a beat. And his narrowed gaze locked solidly on Kenny told her he knew exactly what had been going on.
A tense moment passed. Finally, Kenny picked up his broom. After another hard glare at Sam, he shoved his shoulder hard into the teen’s shoulder, then swept his broom over the floor as he whistled and disappeared down the hallway.
Thomas turned and stared after the janitor. Sam reached for the boy’s arm. “Let him go.”
“I don’t like what that guy was doing.”
Sam’s heart warmed. At seventeen, Thomas had probably reached his full height at just over six feet, but he was lean and gangly and had yet to grow into his stature. And even though he had three inches on Kenny, she was sure he wouldn’t stand a chance against the older man. But he was still standing up for her. “I’m fine. Nothing happened.”
He frowned as if he didn’t believe her.
Sam moved back toward her room. “So what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you already be home by now?”
“I was down at the public library.” He followed her into her classroom and hefted his backpack onto one of the black-topped lab tables. “Was hoping maybe you could look over my research project before I go any further.” He pulled a handwritten paper from his backpack and handed it to her. “I, ah, would have done more, but I wasn’t sure if it was good enough. I stopped by your house over the weekend to see if you could look over it, but you weren’t there.”
An odd tingle slid down Sam’s spine over the fact that Thomas knew where she lived and had tried to visit her at home, but since he’d just saved her from an uncomfortable situation with Kenny, she kept the comment to herself.
She scanned the page. “Reverse osmosis for water purification. Hefty project.”
He shrugged and looked down at his feet, kicking something on the floor with the tip of his dirty sneaker. “Yeah, it’s not that hard.”
No, for him it wouldn’t be. She read quickly through his proposal, then handed the paper back to him. “Looks good. But then you already know that.”
His gaze lifted.
“Don’t look so surprised, Thomas. You could probably teach my chem class if you wanted, and we both know it. If you actually turned in your homework, you’d be getting an A.”
“Homework’s boring.”
Sam smirked. “Yeah, it is. But it’s important. You can’t just skate through life without doing the work.” When he didn’t respond, she tipped her head to the side and studied him. Light-brown hair fell across his forehead, hiding his eyes, and for one split second he reminded her of Seth.
She blinked and refocused. There was obviously more on his mind than a science project he could probably do in his sleep. “What’s up, Thomas?”
He was quiet for a minute, his shoe tracing a line along the floor. “You grew up here, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Chief Branson when you were in school?”
Interesting question. “Yes. Though he’s a few years older than I am.”
“So you were, like, friends?”
She couldn’t quite gauge where this was going. “Yeah. You could say that.” Sam’s eyes narrowed. She liked Will, always had, but she hadn’t missed the way he stiffened whenever Thomas’s name was mentioned. Or vice versa. “Is Chief Branson giving you a hard time, Thomas?”
Thomas kicked at another spot on the floor. “Did you know that teacher everyone’s talking about?”
So that’s what this was about. Sandra Hollings had been the talk of the town ever since they’d found those remains. “Not really. I was in elementary school when she disappeared.”
“But Chief Branson knew her, right? ’Cause he’s older than you? He would have been in high school then.”
“I suppose. I haven’t really thought about that.”
He reached for his paper and backpack. “I need to get home. Thanks for the help, Ms. Parker.”
Thomas swept out of the room, leaving Sam to look after him and wonder what the heck that had been about. His discombobulated questions swirled in her mind, but before she could find a connection, she heard Kenny’s whistling from the end of the empty corridor.
She’d lingered too long. Grabbing her purse and coat, Sam headed for the parking lot. Briefly, she thought about taking Ethan up on his offer of dinner, then dismissed it. As much as she loved spending time with him, he was getting too close. Her run-in with Kenny in the hall had reaffirmed one thing to her: she was not staying in this town. The sooner she sold her mother’s house and got the hell out of Hidden Falls, the better. And as wonderful as it was to fantasize about spending time with Ethan in San Francisco, she knew long-distance relationships never worked.
Which meant he was a distraction she just couldn’t risk right now. No matter how much she wanted to be with him.
Kenny watched as Sam rushed across the pavement, looking down at the keys in her hand. She bent at the waist to slip her key in the lock, giving him a nice view of that fine ass. Straightening, she pulled the Mazda’s door open, and slid inside the vehicle. Seconds later, her engine roared to life, and she zipped out of the staff parking lot then disappeared around the bend.
“Quit ogling.”
Kenny cut a glare at Margaret, sitting at her desk, scribbling a note. Man, he’d like to knock her on her ass. She’d been treating him like shit his whole life—because she had money and he didn’t, because she’d gone to college and he hadn’t, because she took pleasure in making people feel like crap.
He hated her, hated everything about her, from her bleached-blonde hair to her expensive designer shoes. He’d love to see Jeff beat the crap out of her, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. The pansy-assed wimp had only married her to keep her from talking. The guy could barely stand her himself.
Someone needed to take control of fussy Margaret before it was too late. Even Kenny could see she was a time bomb waiting to go off.
Margaret leaned back in her chair and tapped a pen against the edge of the desk. “I want her out of here.”
He didn’t need to ask which “her” she was referring to. He went back to sweeping the classroom floor. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“You and I both know she’s gonna fuck this up for us. It’s up to you and me to make sure she doesn’t talk.”
“Who’s she gonna talk to, Margaret?”
“Anyone. Jesus, Kenny, she’s screwing that damn shrink. God only knows what he’s gotten out of her at this point.”
Kenny paused his sweeping. “What?”
“God, you’re dense.” Margaret rolled her eyes. “Use your brain. She showed up with him at my house Friday night. His car was parked outside her place
all night long.”
Kenny’s muscles flexed at both her blasé revelation and her verbal put-down. He could just picture himself popping her right across the jaw, sending her sailing back into the desks in her room. He’d love to see the look of shock on her face. Just once.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“I have my sources. It doesn’t negate the fact she’s a weak link we need to eliminate.”
When he didn’t say anything, her facial expression softened. She pushed out of her chair, rounded her desk, and stopped right in front of him. “Kenny, we need to stick together on this.”
She rested her fingertips on his forearm, then moved them ever so slightly against his skin. He knew her well enough to know she was switching tactics. He’d watched her do it with other men too many times to count. But he didn’t pull back. Yes, she disgusted him, but he wanted to see just how far she was willing to go.
“If we get rid of Sam,” she went on, “things can go back to normal around here. She knows things, Kenny. Things she’s either not saying or hasn’t quite remembered yet. But she will. All this talk about Hollings is only going to make her remember.”
Sam was a concern of his too, although he’d be damned if he’d admit that much to Margaret. She thought she was so smart, using him to do her dirty work. She didn’t have a clue.
Her fingertips slinked up his arm and down across his chest. She tipped her eyes up seductively. “You know you have the most to lose here. Who do you think’s going to take the fall when it all comes crashing down?”
“That won’t happen.”
“I can make sure it doesn’t.” She stepped closer, until her breasts brushed against his chest. And even though she churned his stomach, he grew hard. “All you have to do is help me with this one small problem.”
She lifted to her toes, pressed her body against his, and whispered, “If you help me, I’ll make sure no one blames you.”
The tip of her tongue grazed his ear, and in the back of his mind, he knew she wasn’t interested in him but that she was going to fuck him senseless just to get her way.
That was all the reason he needed.
He let go of the broom. It clanged against the tile floor. Grasping Margaret at the shoulders, he pushed her to her knees. Disgust rushed across her features, but she didn’t pull away. And that only made him harder.
He reached for his belt buckle. “Open that mouth and talk me into it.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sam checked her watch as she made her way down the hallway the next day. With her prep period and the lunch break combined, she had roughly an hour and a half before she was due back in class.
She peeked into the office and frowned. Annette wasn’t at her desk. Rounding the corner, she knocked on David’s office door. He grumbled a terse “Come in.”
“Hey, David. I need to run home. I left a few supplies there I need for this afternoon’s labs.”
“Great. Wonderful.” He reached for the phone. “All I need is another teacher out of the building. Just promise you’ll be back before fifth period.”
When he rubbed a hand across his forehead in a sign of obvious frustration, Sam stepped forward. “What’s wrong?”
“Margaret didn’t show up today.”
She glanced at her watch. “Is she sick?”
“Who the hell knows? Annette just left to drive out to her house and find out what’s going on. It’s not like Margaret to be late and not tell anyone.”
“I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she just went back to bed and forgot to call in.”
“She doesn’t have any more sick days left. She’s already used up hers and half of everyone else’s.” He waved his hand. “Go on. Just be back in time for your next class.”
“Thanks.” Sam paused by the door. “Is Thomas Adler absent today? He wasn’t in third period.”
“We’re working on that one too.”
Sam nodded and backed out of the office, a strange sense of unease swirling in her stomach. She pulled the keys out of her jacket pocket. Cool air surrounded her when she moved down the front steps of the building and headed for her car.
Margaret’s absence didn’t really bother her. She couldn’t care less what Margaret did. Thomas, on the other hand, was another story.
She drove out of the school parking lot and headed across town, hoping Thomas hadn’t gotten himself into some sort of trouble. That strange conversation after school yesterday aside, his grades were finally starting to come up, and he seemed to be making friends. If he was cutting classes with Manny Burton, though, he’d only get himself into a world of hurt.
Her house was quiet as she pulled into the gravel drive. Grimly was likely snoring on her bed. After jogging up the porch steps, she slipped her key into the lock and turned. A soft click echoed, and she pushed her shoulder against the old door.
It didn’t budge.
Confused, Sam pulled the key out of the lock, checked to make sure she was using the right one, then slipped it back in the catch. Again, it didn’t move.
She rose up on her toes and looked through the four rectangular windows at the top of the door. Couldn’t see anything besides the hardwood floor running down the hall and the stairs that led up to the second floor.
“Dammit.” She didn’t have time for this. She needed to get her stuff and get back to school. She still had to clean up supplies from third period, then get her labs set up for the classes after lunch.
Muttering curses, she jogged back down the front steps and picked her way around the house. She used her key on the back kitchen door and turned the handle. The door gave with a pop.
Sam was immediately inundated with a rancid scent and winced. Something was definitely rotting in that refrigerator. Probably one of those healthy things Ethan had bought and left for her to eat.
Do not think about Ethan. You don’t have time for that now. She definitely didn’t. But she couldn’t help remembering the disappointment in his voice when she’d told him she wouldn’t be able to meet for dinner yet again tonight.
Backing away was the best idea all around, right? He had a life in Portland, family he was close to. He wasn’t going to uproot and move to San Francisco for her. She was saving them both from heartache and angst by calling things quits now.
Right?
So why don’t you tell him that’s what you’re doing? Why are you leading him on?
She wasn’t leading him on. Was she?
“Grimly? Where are you?” Irritated with herself and stressed for time, she moved through the kitchen. Where was that darn dog? Why wasn’t he barking? He usually went haywire when anyone came to the door, her included.
Her shoes clicked along the hardwood floor of the hall as she moved from the back of the house to the front. As she approached the entry, she finally spotted Grimly lying against the front door. There was the reason she hadn’t been able to get in. His big-ass body had been blocking her entrance.
“Get up, lazy. I don’t have time for your games right now.” She glanced through the archway into the living room and spotted the box of supplies she’d left sitting on the coffee table this morning. “There it is.”
She picked up the box and walked back into the entry, running through lists of materials she still needed to grab at school. Grimly continued to sleep. Frowning, she stopped beside him, then nudged his side with the tip of her shoe. “I said get up, you lazy dog.”
Not a single muscle moved.
Several heartbeats passed before Sam realized something wasn’t right.
“Grimly?”
The box fell from her fingers, landing with a thud against the hardwood floor. She dropped to her knees and reached for his furry head.
“Grimly?” His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and shallow. She pried one eye open to find dilated pupils. “Oh my God.”
Sam’s heart raced as she scrambled for the phone on her mother’s antique desk at the base of the stairs. Grasping the phone book from the t
op drawer, she frantically searched for her vet’s number.
Her fingers shook as she dialed. She pressed the phone to her ear and fought back tears as it rang. Running one hand over her forehead, she paced the hall and watched Grimly while she waited for the receptionist to pick up. Just after the fifth ring, a voice chimed through the line. “Hidden Falls Animal Hospital.”
“Hi. Um, there’s something wrong with my dog. He collapsed and isn’t moving. He’s a golden. Four years old. I’m not sure what to do.”
“Is he breathing?”
“Yes. But not well. He just had a checkup two weeks ago and was fine. And he was acting normal before I left for work a few hours ago.”
“Okay, what’s your address so I can find him in the system?”
Sam turned a slow circle. Please be okay, Grimly. Please be okay . . . “2753 Inglebrook La—”
The words choked in her throat as she looked through the archway to the dining room, and she gasped as the phone fell from her fingers.
Because she wasn’t alone. Margaret Wilcox’s limp body lay on her dining room table, eyes open, gaze staring blankly toward the ceiling.
Sam dug her fingers into the cracked plastic bench in the veterinarian’s empty waiting room while the unmistakable scents of animal hair and dog saliva wafted on the air. Closing her eyes, she blew out a shaky breath in an attempt to settle her rolling stomach, but just as they did every time she closed her eyes, images of Margaret lying still and lifeless in her dining room flashed in her mind.
She rose quickly before the sickness could claim her and paced the small room. The bell over the door jangled just as she reached the far side, and she turned.
“Hey.” Will slipped the cap from his head and shot her a weak smile. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay.” If there was one person who would understand any of this, it was Will. He’d found his mother’s body all those years before. He knew what Sam was going through.
Her gaze darted around the sparse room, searching for anything normal to focus on. A dwindling ficus sat in the corner, fallen leaves littered around its base. Magazines lay scattered across a beat-up coffee table. A cat slinked behind a chair, his pathetic mew echoing through the room.