Deadly Echoes (15 page)

When I opened the door, I found Janet sitting in the living room, a look of concern on her face. “Cicely just ran up the stairs without saying a word to me. What's going on?”

I quickly filled her in on the day's events. She reached over and took my hands.

“I'm sorry, honey. How frustrating.”

“What do I do?” I asked. “I can't ignore this. Cicely could have been seriously hurt, Janet. I can't stand by and watch her make such bad decisions.”

“No, I guess you can't. Part of showing love is correction, Sarah. God corrects us because He loves us, and you'll have to do the same.”

I knew she was right, but this wouldn't be easy. Although there were times I'd had to handle behavioral problems at school, I had the parents to back me up. This time I
was
the parent.

“Well, I'd better get it over with. Pray for me.”

“I always do, honey,” she said gently. “Before you face Cicely, I need to tell you something.” Janet got up from the couch, went over to the table that held the phone, and picked up a note pad
she kept there to write down messages. She tore off the top sheet of paper and brought it to me.

“Detective Sykes called. Said he can't get away from work right now after all, but he's sending someone else. A Mike Templeton.”

I took the sheet of paper and stared at it. “Is that all he said?”

“Yes. He said you'd understand.”

I shook my head. “Well, I don't. He called this morning and claimed he'd discovered something important about Hannah's murder. And warned me not to talk to anyone I don't know. He really frightened me. Now he's sending someone else? A stranger? I don't like it.” I frowned at her. “Did he say when this man will get here?”

“I asked him that, but he didn't know for certain. Just as soon as he can get away, he said.”

“Okay.” I folded the note and put it in my coat pocket. “Guess I'll wait for Mr. Templeton, but I'm really disappointed in Detective Sykes.”

“At least someone is coming, Sarah. Maybe we should take that as a good sign.”

“Maybe.”

I had to push the phone call out of my mind for now and concentrate on Cicely. I walked slowly up the stairs, asking God to give me the right words to say. How could I punish her but still let her know I loved her?

When I reached her door, I took a deep breath and knocked lightly. No answer. I knocked one more time, but when there was still no response, I opened the door and went inside. Cicely was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tears ran down her face and into her hair. I wanted to run to her. Gather her up in my arms, but something told me it wasn't the right thing to do.

“Cicely, I need to talk to you. About what you did today.”

She turned away from me. “Well, I don't want to talk to you,” she mumbled, her voice heavy with emotion.

I walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. “I can't imagine what you were thinking. That old mine is dangerous. You and Jeremiah could have been hurt. Going there was foolish. Jeremiah knows better. He shouldn't have taken you.”

She flopped back over and sat up, glaring at me. “Jeremiah didn't take me to the mine. I went there on my own. He went with me to try to talk me out of going inside.”

My mouth dropped open. “Why in the world would you do that?”

“Some of the kids told me about it, and I wanted to see it. I asked Jeremiah to show me where it was, but he wouldn't, so I decided to find it myself. It wasn't hard.”

“You walked there?”

She shrugged. “Yeah.”

“And Jeremiah followed you?”

She nodded. “I told him not to, but he wouldn't let me go alone.” The impudent look on her face slipped a little. “He shouldn't get in trouble for what I did. Please tell his dad that, okay?”

I sighed. “Well, I'd like to, but they don't have a phone. Your defense of Jeremiah may come a little too late.”

“What will happen to him?” Cicely's sudden concern for her friend was real.

“I don't know, but if you care about him, you should have considered the consequences of your actions before you got him in trouble. Your choices today were very selfish, Cicely. Not only have they hurt Jeremiah and his family, they also hurt me. And Reuben had to take time out of his schedule to go after you. He was getting ready to go into the mine to look for you. What if he'd been injured? What if you and Jeremiah had gotten hurt?
Besides being unstable, there's a very deep shaft inside. If you'd fallen down it—” My breath caught in my throat.

Her expression hardened again. “So what?”

“Cicely, how many times must I tell you I love you?” I shook my head. “I know you're hurting, but I can't let you make such terrible decisions. If anything happened to you . . .” I choked up again.

She raised an eyebrow and stared at me, a look of rebellion on her face. “So what are you going to do? Spank me? I'm too old for that.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my jagged nerves. “I agree. So I'm taking your phone away, and you won't watch TV for a month. You will go to school and come home. When you're not in school, you'll sit in your room and study. Is that clear?”

She flushed with anger. “You can't have my phone! It's mine!”

“Really? And how do you propose to pay the bill?”

She didn't answer. I could see she hadn't thought much about it.

“If I have to pay for the phone, that makes it mine. When you can pay for it, we'll talk.” The phone was lying on the bed next to her, and I grabbed it quickly before she could think to pull it away.

“Give that back!” she shouted.

Shaken by her obvious rage, I stuck the phone into my coat pocket and walked to the door. “You'll get your phone back when I see some real changes in your attitude and your behavior. And don't forget about TV. Nothing for a month.” I hesitated a moment before saying, “I love you, Cicely.” Then I opened the door and stepped into the hall. Once I pulled the door shut, I leaned against it. “How am I going to do this, God?” I whispered. “Help me.”

Realizing I still had my coat on, I went downstairs and hung
it up in the hall closet. I'd have to tell Janet about Cicely's punishment, since they were TV buddies. I found Janet in the kitchen making dinner and told her what I'd done.

“I think that was an appropriate punishment,” she said. “I'll support you in it.” She stopped stirring the soup on the stove and turned to smile at me reassuringly. “I know it's hard, Sarah, but you did the right thing.”

“I hope so. When I came here to live, I wasn't like this, was I?”

Janet chuckled. “No, but you were older than Cicely. Although you were very grateful for a home, you certainly tested me in your own way.”

I shook my head. “I don't understand.”

She went back to stirring the soup. “Your rebellion showed up in smaller ways. No matter how many times I asked you to wipe your feet before you came into the house, you almost never did. And then there was the whole towel fiasco.”

I frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

She laughed. “Every day I asked you to put your dirty towel in the clothes hamper, but every day I'd find it on your bed.”

“I just forgot . . .”

She turned to look at me. “Now, Sarah. You're one of the smartest people I've ever known. Are you telling me you don't have the ability to wipe your feet or put your towel in the hamper?”

I looked at her in amazement. “You mean I was testing you?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, now that I think about it, it doesn't make much sense. I guess I was doing it subconsciously.”

“Exactly. Just like Cicely. Her disobedience might be more extreme, but it's coming from the same insecurity. You hold the line. Let Cicely know you can be counted on to stay strong. For both of you.”

I sighed and shook my head. “You're a wise woman, Janet. You should be raising lots of kids.”

“You're enough for me. No woman ever had a better daughter. I feel blessed every day.”

I wrapped my arms around her. Her love for me was like a balm to my injured soul. “I don't know what I ever did to deserve you.”

She patted my back with one hand while stirring the soup with the other. I heard her sniff. “You go on and get ready for dinner,” she said, pushing me gently away. “Or I'll get tears in our supper.”

I let her go and headed for the kitchen door. Before I left the room, she called out my name. “What about Cicely? Will she be joining us for dinner?”

“I hope so. I'll tell her it's ready, but the decision will be hers.” I shook my head. “I would imagine she's starving. She didn't pack a lunch this morning.”

“We'll be ready to eat in about thirty minutes. I want to pop some apple cinnamon muffins in the oven.”

I grinned at her. “Cicely's favorite. Good thinking.”

“Let's hope it works.”

I went back upstairs. Cicely's door was still closed. After going into my room, I shut my door and picked up the phone. When I got Paul on the line I told him about Doug's newest call.

“I don't understand,” I told him. “He acted like he really wanted to talk to me. Why would he send someone else?”

“I have no idea,” Paul said slowly. “Maybe somebody higher up doesn't want him talking to you. What was this guy's name again?”

“It was Mike. Mike Templeton.”

“Okay, let me see what I can find out about him. We need to figure out who he is before he shows up. When is he supposed to get here?”

“I have no idea. Doug just said he'd come when he could. I'd call Doug back, Paul, but I'm afraid he might get into trouble.”

“Don't worry. Let me see what I can dig up. I'll get back to you.”

I said good-bye and hung up. Then I pulled out Hannah's phone book. I began to look through it, page by page, searching specifically for people, flipping past numbers for fast-food restaurants, Hannah's doctor, the local pharmacy, the bank, work, and a couple of repair shops. I knew a few of the names because I'd met them at Hannah's funeral. Claire's name and number was listed, as was mine. There weren't a lot of personal entries. The remaining names didn't mean anything to me. There was one interesting note though. Just the initials
JR
and a big star drawn next to it. No address, but there was a phone number.

I slid the book back into the drawer, wondering if I should try talking to some of Hannah's friends. Maybe one of them knew something that might put us on the right track to finding her killer.

I was just getting ready to go downstairs when the phone rang. I picked it up. It was Wynter.

“Sarah, I talked to my friend in Kansas City. He told me that your sister's death has been blamed on a junkie named Steven Hanks. Seems he committed suicide in jail. Probably because he knew he wasn't going to get any more drugs. Is this the guy you told me about?”

“Yes.” So it was official.

“I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear.”

“I understand. Thanks for trying.”

“Before you get too upset, why don't you wait to see why they believe this Hanks guy was involved? I expect they'll contact you soon to explain their reasoning.”

“I guess, but it sounds like they're trying to close this case as quickly and conveniently as possible. I'd sure like to know why.”

Wynter paused for a moment. “Why are you so convinced Hanks isn't guilty?”

I sighed. “I truly don't believe the person who killed Hannah was some out-of-control drug addict. Why would he leave white orchids on her body, Wynter? Whoever did that knew about my parents' murder. How old was Hanks?”

“I'm not sure, but I think he was in his twenties.”

“Then he couldn't have killed my mother and father almost twenty years ago.”

“I see your point,” she said slowly.

I heard something odd in her tone. “Is there something else?”

“I don't know. Maybe it's my old reporter instinct rearing its ugly head, but my contact seemed . . . stressed. Like he couldn't get me off the phone fast enough.”

“What do you think that means?”

There was a pause while I waited for her response.

“I don't know, Sarah,” she said finally, “but I think it's time to let this go.”

I took a deep breath and told her about my conversations with Doug.

Another pause. “Strange how things look so different on the other side of the fence. Now I know why people were worried about me.” She sighed. “Look, keep me updated, okay? I can't call my contact again, but I might call a friend back at my old station. Have him nose around a bit. Find out what they have on Hanks.”

“Are you talking about Zac?”

“Yes. He's great at uncovering things. Please be patient, Sarah. And be very careful, okay?”