now, his broad chest close enough to lay her cheek there. Lacy lifted her head and unwanted heat roared through her. “I wouldn’t know,” she said, her voice cracking. “I wasn’t married to him.”
Another wicked tilt of his lips. “You won’t win, Lace. I’m not that easygoing good old boy I used to be. I’ve got your number. You and your friends are in this up to your pretty necks. Tell me what you know and I’ll find a way to protect you.”
Fury swept through her, banishing her fear. Lacy crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him. Protect her. What about the others? “Go to hell, Rick.”
“Now, now, there’s no need to get nasty.” He massaged his beard-darkened chin, the sound rasping over her nerve endings, making her shiver with new awareness despite the anger rising inside her.
“I’m only giving you the opportunity to come clean with me. What are you so afraid of? Charles is dead—he sure as hell can’t hurt you. In my opinion he got what he deserved.”
Something snapped inside Lacy then. “You’re right,” she said, her voice too calm, and so low that she barely recognized it as her own. “He’s dead. And I’m glad he’s dead. I only wish he’d died sooner.” A new surge of fury streaked through her. For the first time in ten years, she felt liberated. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Chief?”
The scant inch of space between them sizzled with heat and visceral desire. Lacy refused to visibly acknowledge it. Instead she stared directly at him, her own eyes purposely void of the emotions whirling inside her. Let him take his best shot. She was tired, physically and mentally. She’d had enough.
He looked away first. “Dammit, Lacy, you can’t go around telling people you wanted him to die.” He swore again then glowered at her, his expression dark with anger and something else she couldn’t readily identify. “That single statement is motive.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” she pressed. “Didn’t you come here tonight to finagle a confession from me?”
He plowed a hand through his short dark hair. “Hell no.” A muscle started to tic in his square jaw. “I came here to get you to come clean with me about what you know. You’re hiding something from me, Lacy, I know it. The four of you have a secret, and I’m damned well going to find out what it is and how it plays into Ashland’s murder.”
He was angry now, almost as angry as she was. “We all signed statements ten years ago as to our whereabouts that day. Check your records, I’m sure you’ll find them.” She spun away. This conversation was over. “It’s late. You should—”
Long fingers curled around her arm and swung her back to face him before she took her second step. His expression was savage, intimidating. A new kind of fear shimmered through her. “I will get the answers I need, Lacy, one way or another.” He yanked her a few inches nearer, his full mouth close. “I won’t stop until I do.”
“Is that a threat?” Hard as she tried not to, she trembled.
He released her abruptly, but that fierce gaze held her a moment longer. “It’s a promise.”
Without looking back, Rick stormed out. She heard the front door close behind him. Lacy brought one shaky hand to her mouth and choked back the sob that swelled in her throat. Oh, God. She had to call Cassidy. He might not have any evidence, but his instincts had hit right on the money. Forcing herself to breathe, breathe deeply, Lacy made her way to the telephone. Before she could pick up the receiver, it rang. She frowned. Her parents? Cassidy?
Fear snaking around her chest once more, she snatched up the receiver. “Hello.” She had to calm down. She closed her eyes and cursed her loss of control.
“Lacy Jane Oliver?”
The slow, barely audible whisper tightened the strong hold of fear clutching at her, paralyzing her. Lacy opened her eyes, then blinked. Her mind raced to identify the strangely terrifying voice, but it was no use. She didn’t recognize it. Couldn’t even tell if it was male or female. “Yes,” she breathed the simple response.
“You should be very, very afraid.”
Adrenaline fired through her veins. “Who is this?”
“I know your secret.”
Chapter 4
Lacy waited at Mama Betty’s for the others to arrive. She’d selected a table far from the breakfast crowd. She sipped her coffee, scrolled through her PDA, anything to prevent looking as nervous as she felt. It had taken every ounce of courage she possessed not to call Cassidy last night. The call had come in after midnight, almost immediately after Rick had left. With Cassidy having spent the night at Melinda’s, calling her would have meant alerting Melinda to the situation. Melinda needed her rest more than any of them.
A hollow feeling dragged at Lacy’s stomach.
Rick was on to the fact that they were hiding something—so was someone else obviously. How could anyone know their secret?
It was impossible!
Forcing herself to smile when her attention accidentally landed on an arriving patron she didn’t quite recognize but who, apparently, remembered her, Lacy reminded herself to breathe and downed another swallow of her third cup of strong, black coffee. She’d had two at home before coming here. She was wired to the max.
The bell over the door jingled again and, thank God, this time it was Cassidy, with Melinda right behind her. Dread welled inside Lacy all over again. She hated so badly to even bring up Rick’s visit and the bizarre call, but what choice did she have? Her nerves jangled as involuntarily as the bell over the door when someone shoved it inward. What if the caller really did know what they’d done? And what if Rick persisted in his assertions?
How much time would it take before his instincts drove him to dig deeper, to push harder? To find something…maybe even a witness who had seen them leaving Charles’s house at dark on Christmas Eve ten years ago.
Lacy tried to swallow around the muscles contracting in her throat. More important, how much longer could she hold out? Pretending what they’d done was justified? If she failed all their lives would be destroyed and it would be her fault for not being strong enough.
Cassidy slid into a chair directly across from Lacy without a word, but her expression said it all. What’s happened now? And why the hell do you look so guilty?
“You didn’t sleep last night, did you?” Melinda asked, settling into the seat next to Cassidy and breaking the awkward tension.
Lacy resurrected the smile that kept dying too quickly each time she rammed it into place. “I slept okay. How about you?” Her friend looked as if she hadn’t eaten or slept for a week. The dark circles beneath her eyes gave them an even more sunken appearance. Her face looked as white as a sheet, the skin thin and fragile. This had to be tearing her apart inside—the not knowing, the wondering if someone would figure out the truth and take her kids away from her permanently.
Or if someone, like her best friend, would fall apart and ruin all their lives?
Melinda lifted then dropped her shoulders in confusion or maybe indecision, as if the answer to Lacy’s question took all her energy and left her slumped with defeat. “I drifted off once or twice.” She managed a faint smile. “But I’m okay,” she added softly.
“What’s going on, Lacy?” There was nothing soft or reassuring about Cassidy’s tone. She wanted to cut straight to the chase.
Though Melinda and Lacy had always been the closest of the four, Cassidy read each of them better than anyone else. Her ability to see through bullshit was almost uncanny. And she didn’t like beating around the bush.
Another jingle drew Lacy’s gaze back to the diner’s entrance. “Here comes Kira. Let’s wait for her.” She didn’t know why she put off the inevitable. But she’d take any excuse to gain another few seconds to steel for the reactions of the