Repressed (Deadly Secrets) (27 page)

Sickness gathered in her stomach. Sickness and a frantic need to know whom else had been at the falls that night.

Think, Samantha.

A sharp tap at her window made her jump. Sam twisted and peered up at Jeff’s worried face.

Pressing a hand against her heart, she rolled down the window. “Hey, Jeff. I didn’t see you drive up.”

“Everything okay?”

No. Everything was completely wrong. “My car died.”

“Pop the hood. Let’s have a look.”

She wasn’t really in the mood to play mechanic, but she was stranded out here and didn’t have another choice. She pulled the hood release, pushed the door open, and stepped out. Tugging her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, she followed Jeff toward the hood and took his suit jacket when he handed it to her.

He was dressed in slacks and a tie, as if he were headed somewhere important, and a new sense of guilt stabbed at her. “I’m sorry. You’re going to get all dirty.”

“It’s okay. I’d rather help a damsel in distress than meet with the press any day.”

“You have a press conference?”

“Yeah.” He checked hoses as he searched for the cause of her engine problems. “Will has some new info about Maggie’s case.”

Sam’s stomach dropped, and she clutched his jacket to her chest, unsure what to say. Yes, her life was in shambles, but it could be so much worse. “Oh.”

A crisp breeze blew across the highway, whistling through the woods on both sides. She glanced up and down the deserted road. She’d made it all of five miles out of town before her car had broken down. She hadn’t even known where she was headed; she’d just wanted to get away. And right now she felt like a complete idiot because she was freaking out about something that had happened almost twenty years ago, and here was Jeff, looking like a rock after just losing his wife.

Will Branson and Jeff Kellogg were at the falls the night Seth died . . .

Unease trickled through Sam. Could he have been there? What if Ethan were telling the truth?

“Looks like you ran out of coolant,” Jeff said. “Overheated and ruptured a hose.”

Suddenly, Sam just wanted to get back on the road. Alone. “Oh.”

He snapped the hood closed. “You’re not going anywhere anytime soon in this thing. I’ll give you a ride into town, and you can call a tow. Don’t worry. It’s an easy fix.”

“I can just wait here for a tow. It’s no big deal.”

He frowned down at her, took her elbow, and turned her toward her car. “Don’t be silly. I’m not leaving you out here alone. Not after what happened to Maggie.”

Sam’s pulse picked up speed, and her hands grew sweaty. Margaret had been at the cabin the night Hollings had been killed. Sam had heard her voice and others. Could he have been one of them? And if that were true, could he have killed her? His own wife? “Really, Jeff. I don’t—”

He pulled her door open, grabbed her purse from the front seat and handed it to her, then maneuvered her around to the passenger door of his Lexus. “Stop arguing, Sam. I’m driving you home. End of story.”

Sam swallowed hard as he pushed her gently into the seat and closed the door. She didn’t want to make a scene. Didn’t want to do anything to let him know she was suspicious. The best thing she could do was sit quietly, let him take her home, then get as far from him as she could.

He rounded the hood, slid behind the wheel, and started the engine. “You okay?”

She stared out the side window as he made a U-turn and headed back toward Hidden Falls. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t. She was freaking the hell out. Was Jeff a murderer? Was Will?

His finger grazed her cheek. She jolted and glanced in his direction with wide eyes.

“Sorry. You had a little smudge of dirt there.”

Her heart pounded even harder. “Oh. Thanks.”

Her cell phone buzzed, making her jump. She fumbled inside her purse, grasped it with shaking fingers, and pulled it out. But in her haste, it slipped out of her hand and flew across the console to land on the floor at Jeff’s feet. “Sorry.”

Keeping his eyes on the road, Jeff reached down for it. “Slippery little bugger.” He picked it up and glanced at the screen. “I’m sure—”

His foot shifted to the brake, bringing the car to a screeching halt. Sam shot forward and hit the dash, then bounced back. Groaning, she cursed herself for not latching her seat belt.

“Son of a bitch,” Jeff muttered at her side.

Dazed, Sam pulled herself back onto the seat. “Jeff, what the—”

“Stupid fucking son of a bitch.” He tossed her phone in her lap, then reached for his from the console, hit “Dial,” and held it to his ear. The car whipped quickly around on the street, and he punched on the gas. “Yeah, it’s me. I know I’m not supposed to call, but we have a major problem.”

Icy fingers of fear rushed down Sam’s spine. Hand shaking, she looked at her phone. A message from Ethan showed on the screen.

Ethan: If Branson or Kellogg discover you were at the cabin that night, they’ll come after you. Whatever you do, don’t go near them, and don’t tell them who I am. Just please, PLEASE go home and stay put until I get there. I would never hurt you, Samantha. All that matters is that you’re safe.

Ethan knocked on Samantha’s front door and waited. Grimly’s muffled barking sounded somewhere upstairs, but nothing else moved. Turning a slow circle, he looked out across the front yard. Her car wasn’t in the drive, but the fact she’d left Grimly at home meant she hadn’t gone far.

He checked his phone again. Still no response to his text. Tapping his hand against his leg, he tried to figure out where she could be. A friend’s house? Not likely. She wasn’t close to anyone as far as he knew. The more logical explanation was that she’d gone for a drive to blow off steam and work through everything he’d told her. He just hoped she’d read his text and wasn’t somewhere confiding in Branson or Kellogg.

Panic pushed at his chest again as he jogged down the porch steps and climbed into his car. Frustration, fear, and worry churned in his stomach as he stared at her house. He had two options. He could sit here and stress, or he could drive around and look for her.

He started the engine before he could change his mind and drove slowly through town, searching side streets for any sign of her car. When he turned onto Elm, his eyes locked on the Hidden Falls Library to his left. He pulled to the curb and looked up at the building.

He needed proof. Alec and Hunt hadn’t been able to get it for him. If he was ever going to convince Samantha she wasn’t safe in this town, he needed more than his word. He needed something concrete to show her.

He glanced at his phone again. Still no response. Indecision warred inside him. Branson and Kellogg didn’t know she’d remembered anything from the cabin. No one knew but him. She wasn’t in any immediate danger. He was letting fear and panic get the best of him when what he really needed to do was think. Twenty minutes wouldn’t change anything, and hopefully, by the time he was done, she’d already be home and he could present her with proof that would make her believe.

He climbed out of the car. A brunette with a ponytail and thick glasses sat at the information desk with her nose buried in a book when he walked in.

“Need somthin’?” she asked when he stopped in front of her.

“Yeah. Do you keep past copies of the
Hidden Falls Herald
?”

She frowned like he were the biggest idiot on the planet. “Of course we do.”

“Great. I’m looking for editions in a four-month span from this date.” He jotted the month and year on a scrap of paper on the counter and slid it across to her.

“That’s eighteen years ago.”

“Yeah. It’s research. For a town project,” he added quickly.

She rolled her eyes, stuck a bookmark between the pages of her book, and shifted to the computer at her left. While she typed, he glanced at his phone to make sure it was still on.

Still nothing from Samantha.

The brunette picked up her book. “They’re in the microfiche room downstairs.” She pointed toward a small door without looking up. “Take the stairs.”

“Thanks.”

Ethan jogged down the steps and checked the time again. Fifteen minutes left. Thankfully, the woman manning the microfiche counter was more helpful than the one upstairs, and within minutes he had a stack of film ranging from January to May.

He settled into a seat at a viewer and put the first film on the slide. Spinning the knob, he scanned articles as quickly as he could, searching for anything related to Sandra Hollings.

Just when he was sure this was a dead end, he came across a small article on the third page of the February 21 edition.

Science Teacher Released from HFHS.

Like Hunt had told him, the article stated that due to teacher misconduct, the school board had released her from her contract. No legal action was being pursued from either party involved. No mention of any student or what the misconduct included.

Ethan sat back and frowned.

“Anything I can help you with, Dr. McClane?”

Ethan glanced up at the bald, middle-aged man standing just behind him, searching his memory for the connection he knew was there. “Jenkins, right?”

Lincoln Jenkins smiled. “Call me Linc. Everyone does.” He grasped the back of a chair, pulled it up next to Ethan, and sat. “I came in to pick up a few books I put on reserve, and Molly told me you were down here going through old fiche of my paper.”

Ethan ran a hand over the nape of his neck and looked toward the viewer. The tight-lipped Molly had suddenly become chatty. Nothing was secret in this town. Which meant there
had
to be info about Sandra Hollings somewhere. “Just doing a little research.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“How long have you run the paper?”

“Goin’ on thirty years now. Started right after I got out of college.”

“So it’d probably be accurate to say you’ve had your finger on the pulse of the big stories here over the years?”

“On every single one.” Jenkins grinned.

“What can you tell me about Sandra Hollings?”

Jenkins’s expression sobered as he leaned back in his chair. “Had a feeling that’s what you were looking up.” He shook his head. “That woman caused a lot of trouble in this town. I understand the curiosity, but some things are best left dead and buried, Dr. McClane.”

Interesting choice of words. “I’m a shrink. I’m not in the habit of letting things lie.”

With a chuckle, Jenkins shook his head. “I like you, McClane. You say what’s on your mind.” His tone lightened. “What do you want to know? I’ll see if I can help.”

“For starters, why was she fired?”

“If memory serves, the school board felt it was in everyone’s best interest if she found employment elsewhere.”

“Just like that?” Ethan asked. “And she didn’t fight it?”

“No, not just like that. By that time, her affair with Henry Branson was pretty well-known. Henry had been fairly stupid where Hollings was concerned. She was . . . ” He looked away, as if trying to find the right words. “When she talked to you, she had a way about her that made you feel like you were the only person in the room.”

“She was charming,” Ethan stated plainly.

“She was more than charming, Dr. McClane. She was dangerous. More than one man in this town fell prey to her good looks and intoxicating voice. Henry was just the poor sap who got caught.”

“By whom?”

“His son.”

“Chief Branson?”

Jenkins nodded. “Way I heard it, the boy and his friends walked in on them in Henry’s classroom one day after school.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Traumatic for young Will. Henry broke things off after that, but three days later, Will’s mother committed suicide. Poor Will found his mother’s body hanging in their shower. Horrible thing for any kid to live through.”

It would be. But it would also give Will Branson a motive for killing the woman who’d destroyed his family.

“Word spread through town,” Jenkins went on. “People can be vicious when they gossip.”

Ethan knew that to be true. “So Hollings just left after that? All because of the affair?”

“No. There were other issues with the board. That was just a big strike against her.”

“Other issues,” Ethan said, thinking about what Alec had told him. “Issues with a student?”

“I don’t know. If there were, it was never made public. But . . . ”

“But what?” Ethan asked.

“Well, there was talk that she’d been involved with one of her students. Some said it was her way of getting back at Henry for ending things, and at the school board for reprimanding her over their affair. No one knows for sure, though.”

“Wait. You’re telling me she was screwing around with a student, and the student’s family didn’t press charges?”

“None of that was ever proven. But that was the general consensus around here. My guess is the family didn’t want to drag their child’s name through the mud. People in this town don’t forget anything either, Dr. McClane.”

“I don’t suppose you’d know who that student was?”

“Sorry. That I don’t know.”

But he sure had a guess and wasn’t saying.