Beverly Barton - Silent Killer

“Ruth Ann, I thought we agreed years ago that neither you nor your mother knows who set the fire that killed your father. It serves no purpose to do this to yourself.”

“But what if…if…” She brushed the tears from her face, took a deep breath, grabbed John Earl’s upper arms and held on tightly. “What if the person who set fire to our house and killed my father is the same person who killed Mark and the Lutheran minister and the Catholic priest?”

“Merciful Lord, do you honestly believe that’s possible? Is that what has you so upset, why you had another one of those nightmares?”

“Tell me that I’m wrong.” Her nails bit into his biceps. “Tell me I have no cause to worry.”

He pulled loose of her tenacious grip, held her hands between them and said, “You’re wrong. You have no reason to worry. I’m safe. You’re safe. Your father’s death nearly twenty years ago has nothing to do with what happened to Mark or the others.”

I am right, aren’t I, dear Lord? Please, let me be right.

“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” Cathy said when Jack offered to help her out of the car, but she took his hand all the same.

If two weeks ago someone had told her that she would have dinner with Jackson Perdue at the Catfish Shack, she wouldn’t have believed it possible. But not only had she shared dinner with Jack, she had laughed with him and danced with him. And he had helped her hold back the memories that threatened her hard-won sanity, memories of the day Mark had died.

Jack had been true to his word. He had given her what she had told him she wanted-not to think about what had happened today or a year ago or eighteen months ago. She had desperately needed to forget about all of it, just for a little while.

They walked up the sidewalk, hand in hand, and then, halfway to Lorie’s porch, Jack stopped, looked up at the night sky and said, “It’s a beautiful night.”

Cathy gazed up into the star-studded sky and remembered a long-ago time when they had lain on a blanket in the park and gazed up at a night sky equally as beautiful. Was he remembering that night, too?

He slipped his arm around her waist but didn’t pull her against him. “I’d like to kiss you good-night, but you’ve already laid down the law about that. So how about a kiss on the cheek?”

“I think that after your playing my knight in shining armor and running away with me, you deserve a kiss on the cheek.” She lifted her hand and caressed the side of his face.

He tensed instantly and grabbed her hand.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He held her hand against his cheek, then eased it down his neck and beneath the collar of his shirt. Her fingertips encountered a rough patch of flesh at the base of his neck.

“Feel it? The doctors did a good job on my face, but my shoulder and arm and part of my chest aren’t so pretty.”

“Then you were badly wounded, weren’t you? Is that why you left the army?”

“I’m not the man I used to be. I wanted you to know, up front, that I’ve got battle scars on my body and, according to the psychiatrist, on my soul, too.”

“I’ve got my own battle scars,” she told him. “They’re invisible because they’re on my heart and my soul, so I truly understand.”

“We’re just a couple of wounded warriors, aren’t we, honey?” He lifted her hand away from his face and brought her open palm to his mouth.

When he kissed the center of her palm, she drew in a deep breath. “I-I’m not a warrior.”

“Yes, you are.” He released her hand. “You waged war in your own mind. You fought your demons and won.”

“For the most part,” she said. “Sometimes I still have to fight them. Like today. You helped me more than you can ever know. Thank you.”

He shrugged. “I know quite a bit about fighting demons. I have a few of my own. So anytime I can help you…”

Cathy stood on tiptoe and, without touching him, kissed Jack on the mouth. She had acted purely on instinct. When he kissed her back, she withdrew quickly and said, “I think it’s time for me to say good-night.”

Neither of them said anything else. He walked alongside her up the stone pathway and onto the porch. Just as they neared the front door, a dark silhouette rose up out of the porch swing.

“Where have you been?” Seth demanded as he emerged from the shadows. “And who is he?”

“Seth?” Cathy gasped his name. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you,” he told her, but his gaze surveyed Jack from head to toe.

Jack held out his hand. “I’m Jackson Perdue. I’m the new deputy Sheriff Birkett hired.”

So this was Cathy’s son. She was right-he looked like her. Same glossy brown hair, same full mouth, same oval face. He was a handsome boy, tall and lanky.

Seth stared at Jack’s hand, then grabbed it firmly. They exchanged a man-to-man handshake.

“I’m Seth Cantrell. I’m her son.” He inclined his head in a quick nod toward his mother, then turned to Cathy. “Are you okay? Did something happen?” He looked at Jack. “Why is my mom with you? Is she in some sort of trouble or…?”

“Seth!” Cathy’s tone implied a mixture of censure and surprise.

Jack tried not to grin. He respected Seth’s protective attitude toward his mother. It was obvious that the boy loved her.

“It’s okay, son. Your mom’s not in any trouble,” Jack explained. “Your mother and I are old friends. We knew each other when she was a teenager. I took her out for dinner this evening.”

“You took her out for dinner?” Seth turned to Cathy. “Granddad said you were all right, but I worried all the same. I called Lorie, and she said you were out with a friend, but I had no idea you’d go out on a date. Not after what happened today.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Cathy said. “Not exactly.”

“You kissed him,” Seth said. “I saw you.”

“We weren’t on a date. Tonight was about a couple of old friends getting reacquainted,” Jack told him. “Your mother was upset and needed a distraction. She kissed me to thank me. That’s all there is to it.”

Cathy placed her hand on her son’s arm, which gained his full attention. “Do your grandparents know where you are?”

“No, ma’am. I slipped out after they went to bed.” He lowered his head. “I didn’t think Granddad would approve, but I had to make sure you were okay.”

“Why don’t you come inside, and we’ll talk,” Cathy said, then looked at Jack. “Thanks again for tonight.”

“You’re welcome. Any time.”

He guessed that was his cue to leave. Cathy needed time alone with her son, and he needed some fresh air to clear his head

As soon as Jack said good-night and headed for his car, Cathy rang the doorbell. Lorie, in her satin pajamas, opened the door, glanced from mother to son, then stepped back and waited for them to come inside.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Lorie looked outside to where Jack stood beside his car. He threw up his hand and waved before opening the door and sliding in behind the wheel.

After they entered the house, Cathy closed the front door behind her. “Jack was just dropping me off, and we found Seth sitting in the swing waiting for me.”

“Oh, I see. So Jack and Seth met, huh?”

“I think I just said that, didn’t I?”

“Who is that guy to you?” Seth asked. “I know he said you two were old friends, but I never heard of him. And why would you go out to dinner with him?”

Lorie’s eyes widened in an uh-oh gesture. “I think I’ll head for bed and give you two some privacy. Cathy, if you want to talk later, I probably won’t be asleep.”