Free Share No Secrets by Carlene Thompson Page A

doesn’t take defeat well. He’s one of those golden boys who almost always get what they want.” She sighed. “That was a bitchy thing to say.”
    “It was truthful. I can’t say I’m a Philip Hamilton fan, either, but I’ll probably vote for him.”
    “Not because of me, I hope.”
    “No. Because he’s the lesser of two evils.”
    Adrienne laughed. “I guess you should know. After all, you used to work for him. Still, I’ll pass along the compliment.”
    “I worked for him many years ago when I was young and stupid. I’ve always hoped people would forget about my tenure with the Hamilton camp. Besides, nowadays he’s not crazy about me, either. He was dead set against my becoming sheriff.”
    “He can’t charm you. Philip doesn’t like it when he can’t charm people. Then he can’t use them, and using people is what he does best.” Adrienne paused. “Clearly the nap I took with Skye didn’t do much to improve my disposition.”
    “You’ve just lost one of your closest friends. It’ll take more than a nap to make you feel better. And to make things worse, we can’t find Julianna’s mother.”
    “Lottie? She’s missing?”
    “She hasn’t been home all day, and no one we’ve talked to has seen her.”
    “My God! Do you think something happened to her, too?”
    “There’s no sign of violence at her place.”
    “But it’s in the woods not far from the Belle. She could be anywhere around there, hurt, maybe even dead.”
    “We’ve been searching the woods. There’s no reason to think she hasn’t just gone wandering. She does that sometimes.” Adrienne sensed that Lucas wasn’t as calm about Lottie as he was trying to sound. “How’s Skye doing?”
    “I’m not sure. She seems all right, given the circumstances, but kids can keep a lot to themselves. When Trey was killed, she was sad but calm for over a week. Then nightmares, storms of sobbing, and depression started. It was nearly six months before I got back my sunny little girl.”
    “Poor kid. Now this. I know she liked Julianna.”
    “What wasn’t to like? She was beautiful, fun, a former model, for heaven’s sake. Julianna and Rachel were Skye’s idols.”
    “Rachel is probably the better role model. She seems like an exemplary girl. Julianna, on the other hand … well, no disrespect, but with her problems with drugs—”
    “Former
problems,” Adrienne said stiffly, immediately defensive about her friend. “Julianna worked hard at getting herself straightened out and she never returned to her old life for fear of messing up again. I admired her tremendously for that. I think everyone should.”
    “Yes, I suppose so. But I need to warn you and Skye not to tell Rachel or anyone else the details of the crime scene. You haven’t already, have you?”
    “No, although Rachel was here at lunch.”
    “Good. You know the drill—we like to keep some things secret so that when the nuts come in and start confessing, we can trip them up on details.”
    “Yes, indeed. I know the drill from all my reading of murder mysteries. And Skye will keep her lips sealed if she knows the order has come from you.”
    “Good girls.”
    “Women. Smart, savvy women. Both of us.”
    “Yes, ma’am!” His laugh sounded weary and strained. “I’m going to let you go, now. Talking about what happened can only be making you feel worse. Watch some television or read if you can. And try to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    “Thanks, Lucas. I’m sorry for my bad temper when we had to stay at the hotel so long this morning until you could question us.”
    “You never need to apologize to me.” Which was true, Adrienne thought. Lucas was always kind, always patient, always earnest, always doing the exactly the right and responsible thing. A good, steady man. “Love you, Adrienne. Good night.”
    “’Night, Lucas,” she said quickly, wishing she could say, “Love you, too.” But she couldn’t. She hung up the