The Devil She Knew
Rena Koontz, author of
Love’s Secret Fire
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2013 by Rena A. Koontz
Previously published by F+W Media
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by AmazonEncore, Seattle
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and AmazonEncore are trademarks of
Amazon.com
, Inc., or its affiliates.
eISBN: 9781503942219
This title was previously published by F+W Media; this version has been reproduced from F+W Media archive files.
For Ron,
Always my twin
Acknowledgments
As always, I thank —
My husband, Jed, for keeping the romance alive;
My friend, Shirley, who keeps my stories on track;
My family and friends, for their support;
And police, fire, and law enforcement personnel everywhere.
Black rivulets swirled in the white porcelain sink, gurgling in the drain as it swallowed her old identity. Her head under the faucet, Cassidy Hoake watched the waves of dark liquid fade while she continued to massage her scalp under the warm water. The box said to rinse until the water ran clear. Just a few more minutes.
She grabbed a towel, draped her head, and stood, rubbing vigorously with her eyes closed. Ready or not, she looked at her reflection in the mirror behind the sink.
The new look surprised even her. Gone was the thick, auburn mane her mother had often bragged about. She’d replaced the shoulder-length locks she’d worn since high school with a lustrous black, short haircut that she planned to spike up and out and fringe to frame her face. She stared wide-eyed at herself, then walked barefoot into the bedroom and retrieved a pair of burgundy-framed eyeglasses from the bureau. Thank goodness she’d discovered that year-round costume store. Buying items for a disguise was easy.
Standing in front of the mirror again, she took a deep breath and carefully edged the eyeglasses up her nose. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at the result. She barely recognized herself. Surely, he wouldn’t.
• • •
Clay Cestra gently laid his nephew in the crib and switched on the overhead mobile. Four stuffed bears in football jerseys and helmets began to circle slowly around a plush football in the center. Softly, the Ohio State fight song played, making him smile. He checked to make sure the baby monitor was switched on, then quietly walked out of the nursery, leaving the door halfway open. With the portable phone in his hand he walked to the bathroom.
He knocked on the open bathroom door. “I’m going in to work early, Sis, and relieve Dan. Are you sure you are okay? Do you want Dan to bring you anything?”
Maggie Armstrong sat beside the toilet, her back against the wall and a white washcloth molded to her forehead. She opened her eyes and inhaled tentatively. “I think it’s stopped. Remind me to never order bleu cheese dressing again. Just ask Dan to come straight home. I’ll be fine, go.” A weak hand wave punctuated her words.
Clay stepped into the bathroom and leaned over to kiss his younger sister on the forehead. “Jack’s asleep.” He handed her the phone. “I will call and check on you when I get to the station.”
He retrieved his gun from the top of the china hutch and tucked it into its holster as he walked to the car. Opening the car door, Clay smiled. Who would have ever thought when he introduced his partner to his sister they would end up together? Maggie said the minute she looked into Dan’s eyes, her heart lit up with stars. He turned his gaze to the sky. It shone tonight with a thousand different lights. That must be how she felt.
He drove to the Stakron police station, the full moon casting everything below in a hazy shadow. The midnight shift was his favorite. The city looked softer in the dark and usually, by mid-shift, would be quiet except for the stray drunk, burglar, or speed demon.
Hopefully, tonight would be no exception.
• • •
Cassidy loved the chimes on her mantel clock, one of the few treasures she had left of her mother. It chimed in the other room and she counted twelve bells. Midnight and she was wide awake. Tomorrow, she started her new life, or at least would try again to forget her old one. The gold clock under its glass dome stuck out in the dowdy room like a rose in the desert. She had no furniture except for a folding card table and two chairs she bought at a garage sale. Her bedroom was just as sparse, with only a recycled full-size mattress and box spring on the floor in the corner and a scratched and worn nightstand and lamp. She’d cleaned the two rooms as best she could, but the carpet still looked filthy and the windows seemed permanently stained.
A dozen second-hand throw rugs she laundered twice protected her bare feet from the dirt-packed carpet and marked a path through the apartment, like the yellow brick road leading the way for Dorothy. She tiptoed along the rugs to the apartment door, knowing it was latched, but needing reassurance. She checked the deadbolt, patted the door chain, and then made sure the two windows in the front room and the one in the bedroom were locked. She’d rented here for two weeks now and still the noises of the other tenants unnerved her. How long would it take to get used to that?
Fully clothed, Cassidy pulled the blankets back and slipped into her make-shift bed, longing for the soft cotton comforter on the four-poster she used to own. That was another thing she would have to get past, sleeping with her clothes on. Always ready to run.
She dozed fitfully, ready to wake the second the radio alarm filled the room with soft jazz. She bathed, applied her makeup, fussed with her new hairstyle until it was just right and put on The Packing Place’s uniform — black pants and a brown pullover shirt. Yesterday, she rode a test run on the bus to familiarize herself with the route. The seven-ten bus would get her to the store about twenty minutes early. A good way to start her first day on the job.
• • •
Cassidy walked in the front door of the store with her shoulders straight and her head high. She remembered an old commercial slogan that suggested “never let them see you sweat” and decided it would be her new mantra. She could do this. She had no other choice. Her funds were low and she’d been on the run long enough to be tired, really tired. She needed to fly under the radar for a while.
The first handshake with her new boss felt wrong. Warm, slightly clammy, yet forceful, almost clutching, sending a sensation up her arm like a band of tiny ants in a convoy. Wayne Keaseling released her hand and she raised it to the back of her neck, thinking to smooth her hair and shake away the uneasiness.
“You’ve observed what we do here for two afternoons, so you know a little of what to expect,” he said, smiling. “I wanted Rosie to train you. She’s my assistant manager. But she is not back from vacation, so we’ll start you with someone else. Any questions you have, any concerns, you come to me.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I want you to be happy here.”
He turned toward the front of the store and called out to his other employee. “Amber?”
Amber Malone appeared in the doorway — flashing a bright white, even-teethed smile that said at one time she had worn braces — and inspected Cassidy from her sneakered feet to her oversized glasses.
Cassidy likewise eyed her new co-worker. Amber had a pierced right eyebrow, a pierced tongue, and a microdot in the left side of her nose. A two-inch wide magenta streak highlighted her shoulder-length midnight black hair. Straight cut bangs hung into her eyes, which were outlined in coal black, as if she used a charcoal briquette to make herself up.
Amber raised the pierced eyebrow and a tiny shudder jolted Cassidy’s spine under the intense scrutiny, the second time in her first ten minutes on job. It was as if Amber saw right through her disguise. Had Cassidy been more like the thug she was running from, she would have changed her name along with her looks and paid for forged documents to authenticate her new persona. But who knew how to do that? Besides, she’d had to show identification to rent her dingy apartment, so a fake name was out of the question. Did Amber recognize her? It was unlikely.
Standing with a hand on one hip, Amber shifted the wad of pink bubble gum in her mouth, cracking it three times in the process. “Sure, Boss, I’ll train her.”
“Get rid of the nose doo-dad and the gum first. I’m going to the bank and then to the other store. I’ll be back later.”
He walked out the rear employees’ door and Amber stuck out her tongue at his back, giggled, and offered Cassidy a conspiratorial grin. “Welcome,” she said, extending her hand and widening her smile until it reached her eyes, immediately putting Cassidy at ease. Unlike the boss’s handshake, Amber’s was warm and firm, but not dominating.
“I heard you just moved into town. Where’d you come from? No ring on your finger. Have a boyfriend? If you don’t, make one up or he’ll be all over you. C’mon, I’ll show you how to clock in.”
Cassidy stood dumbfounded. “What? Who?”
Amber strolled to the computer keyboard and began punching keys. “Don’t worry. It will take a while. He’ll be on his good behavior at first. Use your name to sign in and you’ll need a password. What do you want to use?”
The entry bell chimed and both women looked toward the front door at the day’s first customer. Amber smiled and leaned forward onto the counter, pushing her breasts into the opening of her collared shirt.
“Good morning, Officer Good Body. I was a very bad girl last night.” She swiveled her hips. “Don’t you think you should handcuff me and take me away?”
Mouth agape, Cassidy watched her ball her fists, lock her wrists together, and extend her arms to the police officer standing at the counter.
“Good morning, Amber,” he said chuckling. “You are in rare form this morning.”
Amber winked, straightened, and began typing on the computer screen. Cassidy stepped up behind her in time to see a shipping label appear on the screen.