Free Terry Odell - Mapleton 01 - Deadly Secrets by Terry Odell Page A

you, I don’t know,” he said. “And things are complicated. You have to give me time.”
    “There’s not a lot of time left.” His tormentor’s voice was calm. Refined. But the threat beneath the even tones came through loud and clear.
    “Maybe I don’t care,” Justin said. “It’s not as if it’s going to affect my life.”
    “Don’t pull that,” the man said. “And even if you don’t give a shit about your own life, what about your grandparents? The only reason I haven’t dealt with it myself is as a favor to you. A favor with an expiration date.”
    Justin felt like someone was twisting his gut with a pipe wrench. “Are you absolutely positive it’s here? I’ve already torn the place half apart.”
    “My sources say yes.”
    “But if it’s not? Or if it’s never found? Everyone could get on with their lives.”
    “That’s not acceptable. It’s there somewhere. Find it.”
    “I have until Sunday night,” Justin said. “I’m counting on you to honor our agreement until then.”
    Without waiting for a response, he ended the call.
    Water ran in the bathroom. Had Megan overheard? He held his breath, waiting until the water stopped, expecting her to knock on his door. He remembered the way she used to knock twice before swooping in anyway, and he grabbed his discarded running shirt from the floor and wiped the cold sweat from his face. He took a deep breath, held it for five counts, exhaled slowly, and hoped he could divert any questions she might ask.
    Maybe the years had planed away some of her rougher edges. The way she’d barge in and speak her piece, demanding answers, never thinking she was prying into areas outside the bounds of privacy. He recalled she never seemed to draw lines between family, close friends, or casual acquaintances. What was in her head spilled out of her mouth.
    He waited a full minute, listening. The far door closed. He dragged his fingers through his hair. Off the hook. For the time being.
    Footfalls ascending the stairs, too quick and heavy for either of his grandparents, destroyed any sense of his calm. He tensed as they slowed, approaching his room. But the knock didn’t come. Instead, it was at Megan’s door.
    “Come in,” she said.
    The door opened, then closed.
    “How are you feeling?” The cop’s voice. “Up to a few questions?”
    Justin wasn’t above a little eavesdropping himself. He sidled to the bathroom door and eased it open. He didn’t hear Megan answer, but a chair dragged across the floor, creaking a little as the cop sat in it.
    After a brief interval of unintelligible whispers, Megan called out, “Come on in, Justin.”
    So much for stealth.
    Megan sat in bed, propped up in a nest of pillows. Too pale, he thought. And when she blinked, it seemed to be in slow motion.
    “Is this a good time?” Justin addressed Gordon. “I think she needs to rest.”
    “And I need to ask some questions.”

 
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    Megan took a sip of water from the glass beside her bed, the cool liquid soothing the dryness in her throat.
    “How’s the memory?” Gordon asked.
    “Blurry,” she said, avoiding his eyes. Why did he have to show up here? The stranger had said he’d be watching. Without thinking, she cast a quick glance toward the window. Seeing the closed curtains, she relaxed.
    But if the man was watching, and saw Gordon’s car, would he think she’d called them? Another thought chilled her. Could the man have bugged her room while everyone was at the hospital?
    She trusted Gordon, wanted to tell him everything, but not now. Not here, with Rose and Sam in the house. Why hadn’t she told him to go away? Had to be the pain meds slowing her brain functions. She had to think it through. For now, she’d be content that she’d made him promise not to tell Rose and Sam about the papers in the dead man’s car.
    The pills dulled the pain, but not the fear. She’d do as the stranger demanded and keep her mouth shut about what he’d said until she