Suspicions (18 page)

Running to the base of the large oak tree, he
stared up at its branches. It was enormous. Much larger than it had
looked from a distance. He spit into his palms and rubbed them
together.

Taking a deep breath, he jumped as high as he
could, grabbing the lowest branch. His shoes dug into the bark,
biting into the rough surface. He scrambled up the trunk, using
branches as handholds.

When he was level with the roof he glanced at
the ground and gasped. He didn't like being so high. His heart beat
so fast he thought it might explode. Wrapping his arms and legs
around the huge branch, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to gather
his courage.

Slowly, he worked his way toward the barn
roof. Once he reached the end of the branch, he was shocked to find
it barely touched the roof. His courage faded and he almost turned
back.

The sound of whimpering reached his ears
again and he buried his fear. Without allowing himself to look at
the ground far beneath him, he held onto the end of the branch and
slowly turned his body so his back was to the roof. Clinging
tightly to the branch, he carefully stretched his leg out until his
toe touched the roof. He wiggled it out further until he could put
weight on it.

Feeling more confident, he unhooked his other
leg from the safe haven of the tree and reached it out until both
feet were securely on the surface.

Still holding onto the branch with both
hands, his back to the barn, he squatted down, bending the tip of
the branch until it would bend no more. He reluctantly let go of
his only safety.

Once freed from its captive grip, the branch
snapped back into place and Robby fell backward against the roof.
He let out a little cry of fear and dug his nails into the surface.
He was ecstatic when he realized he hadn't slipped.

Trying to get his heart rate to return to
normal, he stayed still for several minutes. Then, flipping over
and lying flat on his belly, he slithered to the window he had seen
from the ground. Thrilled to find it was bigger than it had looked
from the earth, he was even happier to find nothing covering
it.

Gripping the edge with his hands, he peered
into the darkness. He blinked several times, forcing his eyes to
adjust to the dim interior. A loft was on the other side of the
window and he slipped easily into the barn. He took a step and
froze when the floorboard creaked. Nothing moved so he continued
forward.

A moment later he reached the ladder and made
his way down. The inside looked the way he had remembered it and he
headed directly for the door that had brought him there. Wrapping
his fingers around the doorknob, he felt suddenly frightened of
what he might find on the other side.

The whimpering sound was louder now and he
gathered his nerve to find out the source. He turned the knob
sharply and was elated when the door swung open.

The bright room blinded him after the
darkness of the previous area. He covered his face, tears springing
to his eyes. Wiping his sleeve across his face to dry the moisture,
he felt something rub against his leg and he jumped back,
startled.

Looking down, he was delighted to see several
brown and white puppies roaming about the straw on the ground. He
wondered where their mama was and understood they were the ones
whimpering, probably from hunger.

“Hi guys,” he said enthusiastically,
crouching down to rub their tiny tummies. “I'll bet you're hungry,
huh? Your mama will probably be back real soon.” At least he hoped
she would.

Standing back up, he looked around the small
space. There wasn't much there and he wondered what he'd expected
to find. He bent to pet the puppies one last time before turning to
depart for home.

He didn't want to leave the same way he had
come and walked to the broad doors that led to the outside. He was
dismayed to find them chained and locked.

Resigned to climbing back onto the roof and
down the tree, he turned and headed back up the ladder.

Wait a minute, he thought. How could Mr.
Gowen get in if it's locked from the inside?

He jumped back down onto the main floor and
rushed around the cavernous room, looking for another way out.
Tucked back in the corner was a door he hadn't noticed before. It
was locked too. But as he turned the knob, the button popped out
and he easily opened the door to the outside. He made sure to press
the button that would lock it so Mr. Gowen wouldn't know someone
had been inside.

Pleased with the success of his mission,
Robby wasn't paying attention as he turned the corner of the barn.
He walked right into Fred Gowen.

They both let out a yelp of surprise at the
unexpected encounter.

“Robby! What are you doin' here?” Gowen
didn't sound too happy to find a young boy traipsing around his
property.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Gowen,” Robby stammered.

“You didn't answer me, boy. What're you doin'
here?”

Robby glanced behind him, toward the way he
had come. “I don't know. I was just walking around.”

Gowen looked past Robby in the direction of
the door Robby had just come through. “You stay right here,
boy.”

Robby was rooted to the spot. He watched as
Gowen walked to the door Robby had recently used, tried the knob
and smiled to himself with satisfaction.

Robby was extremely thankful he had thought
to lock the door.

Gowen returned to where Robby was standing
and shook his finger in his direction. “I don't want you pokin'
around my property. Is that clear?”

Nodding meekly, Robby had to blink back
tears.

Noticing his distress, Gowen allowed a smile
to grace his face. “You know you can use that treehouse anytime you
want, but my barn is off-limits.”

“Yes, sir,” Robby said softly.

“Now go on home. You don't want your folks to
worry.”

Robby turned and ran.

At dinner that evening Nikki chatted happily
while Jason and Stacey were silent. Jason had tried to make
conversation with Stacey but after she had responded with several
“uh-huh's,” he had given up. Noticing Robby was quieter than
normal, Stacey hoped the marital tension wasn't the cause.

When the dinner dishes had been washed and
the children put to bed, Stacey sat on the couch and turned on the
television. She had no idea what she was watching but found it a
good way to avoid conversation with Jason. Though she’d spent time
thinking about what to say, she hadn’t come up with anything
good.

Jason sat on the chair next to the couch
reading a book. After a few minutes he came over to her. Stacey
felt her muscles stiffen, but then her heart began pounding as he
sat down right next to her and pulled her close.

“What's wrong, Stacey? You've been acting
strange all evening.”

She pulled away and looked at him, her eyes
hardening. “You have the nerve to tell me I've been acting strange?
You're the one who's been acting funny.”

He pulled back from her, his eyes showing
hurt. “What do you expect? My own wife tells the FBI about a car I
owned months ago, making me the prime suspect in a kidnapping.”

“If it wasn't for you selling your car to who
knows who, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.”

“Don't you lay this at my feet, Stacey. I
haven't done anything wrong and you know it.”

“Do I, Jason? Do I know you haven't done
anything wrong?”

His eyes shot open in shock. “You don't
believe me?”

Her lips were a straight line on her face. “I
don't think you kidnapped Kyle if that's what you're talking
about.”

His eyes narrowed. “What else would I be
talking about?”

She had to bite her lip to keep it from
trembling. “What about Patricia?”

“What about her?” Impatience showed in his
voice.

“Why was she at the dealership today?” She
couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.

“What?!”

She felt victorious. “So you admit it?”

He stood up and began pacing the room. “She
was thinking about buying another car.” He glanced at Stacey, then
looked away.

Her mouth fell open at the transparent lie.
“You really expect me to believe that, after all that's been going
on with her lately? Do you think I'm that stupid?”

Kneeling in front of her, he gazed at her,
his blue eyes beginning to melt her anger. “I love you, Stacey. No
one else. You've got to believe me. I would never do anything to
hurt you.”

Her voice was even. “Then why was she there
today?”

He pulled back. “How do you know she was even
there? Were you spying on me?”

The pitch of her voice went up one octave.
“No. Of course not.” She looked around, trying to think of a
legitimate reason for having the information. “I was shopping at
the grocery store across the street from the dealership and I guess
I just happened to be there when Patricia showed up.” She watched
him to see his reaction and he seemed to believe her.

“Oh,” he said with resignation.

“So? Why was she there?”

His shoulders drooped. “I told you before,
she's been coming on to me.”

Stacey nodded warily.

Swallowing hard, he went on. “She won't leave
me alone. I keep telling her I'm not interested but she won't
believe me.”

Something told her his story was incomplete.
“Did you ever give her any encouragement?” A searing pain filled
her heart as she waited for his answer.

“Not that I know of.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Stacey asked
above the drone of the television.

Jason looked at her with irritation. “Just
what it says. I don't know what her problem is.”

“When did her interest in you begin?” Stacey
asked, not understanding what was happening.

“I guess it was after her husband ditched
her.” He looked away from her. “At first I liked it, you know? It
was a big ego booster.”

She closed her eyes, not able to believe what
her husband was telling her.

“She gave me a lot of attention. I guess I
felt like you were so busy you didn't have time for me anymore. She
seemed to understand.”

Stacey felt her heart drop at the accusation,
knowing she had probably been taking Jason for granted recently.
“I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve haven’t been paying attention to
you.” She took a deep breath. “What happened then?”

Glancing at her, then quickly looking away,
he said, “It was when she came to buy her car. I wanted to make the
sale so I went along with her flirting.” He grimaced at the memory.
“I didn't do anything to discourage her which probably made her
continue.”

Stacey shook her head, feeling angry again.
“All for a sale. Is that the usual method?”

Now he looked annoyed. “I do what I can to
earn a living, okay?”

“Of course you do,” she said sarcastically.
“Then what happened?”

He ignored her tone. “She kept stopping by
work and calling me there, too.” He glanced at Stacey to see how
she was taking the news. “One time she invited me out to lunch and
I agreed. I was planning on telling her then to leave me alone. We
met at the restaurant and she had on this skin tight dress that
showed everything.”

Stacey shook her head in disgust.

Jason looked at her, embarrassed. “As soon as
we sat down she said some things that made it clear she wanted to
be more than friends.”

Stacey's eyes stung as the tears began. “How
could you do this to me?”

He knelt down in front of her and spoke
softly. “It actually gets better.”

Disbelief filled her eyes as tears trickled
down her cheeks.

“No way was I going to do anything with her.”
He lifted her chin and made her look directly into his eyes. “I
realized how much I love you. I knew I couldn't stand to lose you
so I told her I was sorry but I would never do anything to hurt
you.”

Her tears slowed and finally stopped. “How
did she react to that?”

He shook his head as he recalled that
day.

Jason had tried to be kind when he turned her
down, joking that he couldn’t afford alimony and child support.

She’d gotten a funny look on her face. “I
understand. But I don’t appreciate your pretended attraction to me
and then being humiliated like this.” She had stood to leave the
table and then turned back to Jason. Speaking very softly, she had
said, “You'll see. You'll come crawling back to me.”

Jason had run after her, wanting to smooth
things over, afraid Stacey would find out about what had been
happening.

Patricia had jumped into her car and revved
her engine.

Not knowing what to do, Jason had stood
there. When Patricia had backed out of her parking stall, Jason had
approached her car, ready to convince her it was for the best. As
he’d gotten close, she had pressed the gas pedal, seeming to aim
her car at him, then she had laid on the horn and Jason had to jump
out of the way.

Jason told Stacey, “She wasn't happy.”

Stacey could certainly believe that. She knew
Patricia liked to get her way. She was a very determined woman.
“What I don’t understand,” Stacey said, “is why you’ve been letting
her come here when I’m not home.”

Disgraced, he shook his head. “She said if I
didn’t let her come in, she would tell you what had happened. She
said she would tell you that she and I had . . . well, you know.”
Jason looked to Stacey for understanding. “I was embarrassed by the
way I acted and I didn’t want you to think less of me. I’m sorry
I’m such a coward.” He sat next to Stacey on the couch.

Though upset by what had happened, Stacey was
relieved to know where Jason’s loyalties lay. However, she could
also see their marriage needed work. “What do we do now?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, obviously
thinking everything was fine now.