Fatal Mercy by Dan Padavona (freenovel24 .TXT) 📗

The call went to a recorded message. He redialed and waited. This time, his mother answered.

“I wanted to check on you and make sure you’re all right.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lindsey Shepherd asked with a contemptuous cough.

“You left the church without talking to me, and you haven’t answered your phone.”

“Why are you really calling, Thomas? Unless you’re prepared to take over Shepherd Systems, your father and I have nothing to discuss with you.”

Thomas swallowed an angry reply. He’d reached out to them since his father revealed his cancer diagnosis, and they’d slammed the door in his face every time. But Lindsey mentioning Shepherd Systems gave Thomas an idea.

“Let me speak to Father.”

“Your father is resting in his study.”

“Please, it’s important.”

Quiet. Then a huff, as Lindsey transferred the call to the study. Mason Shepherd answered.

“How are you feeling today, Father?”

“I’m reading, Thomas. Why are you bothering me?”

“I’d like to discuss the company.”

“Then speak. I’m listening.”

“I have someone who’s a perfect fit for Shepherd Systems. She’d be an invaluable asset to the company.”

“She?” The word rolled off his lips with derision. “Who is this woman, and what makes you think my company needs her?”

“Her name is Naomi Mourning.”

After Thomas explained her background, Mason chuckled in his ear.

“She had success in Ithaca, not New York City or Chicago. We work with clients all over the world. There’s nothing in her background to convince me she’s fit to work for Shepherd Systems.”

“If you’d been there when she spoke with Ruth Sims…Naomi’s ideas saved the Broken Yolk from—”

“That hole in the wall isn’t worth saving. But then you could never say no to their cheap treats. You’re still a child, concocting fantasies where you save all your friends. Grow up. The real world is about utilizing superior ideas to squash the competition. If this woman friend of yours was worth her salt, she wouldn’t be unemployed.”

Thomas ground his teeth. His father didn’t know what Naomi had gone through.

“You’re playing with people’s lives. She has a paralyzed daughter and can’t pay her medical bills. Shepherd Systems has a first-rate benefits package, and she—”

“Tell you what, Thomas. Quit your job and run the company. Then you can hire all the friends you want.”

The line died. Thomas stared at the phone in disbelief, hands trembling. He wanted to whip the phone through the glass before his shoulders wilted. Seeking attention from his parents sapped his strength and stole his will.

He shifted into drive and swung the truck into traffic. A drive around the lake would clear his head. As he angled toward the lake road, his phone rang. Thomas suspected his father had called back, seeing his error in judgment. But his parents were only reasonable with Thomas in his fantasies, and Mason Shepherd wouldn’t speak to Thomas for weeks unless he retired from the sheriff’s department. LeVar’s name popped up on his phone.

“Deputy Shepherd.”

That LeVar hadn’t called him Deputy Dog or even Thomas gave him pause. The teenager’s voice carried a smile whenever he spoke, and had so since he left the Harmon Kings and moved into the guest house. Thomas didn’t hear that smile now.

“Is everything all right, LeVar?”

“Raven was supposed to pick my mother up for therapy at four. She never showed.”

“That’s no problem. I can swing by the house and drive Serena to her appointment.”

“No, that’s not the issue. I can drive her. It’s not like Raven to forget Mom’s sessions.”

“Your sister is working a case in Syracuse and Kane Grove. It’s conceivable she lost track of time and is on her way to Wolf Lake now.”

“Maybe, except she ain’t answering my calls.”

That was strange. Possibilities flew through Thomas’s head—Raven was trailing Damian Ramos and needed to keep her phone silenced, she got stuck in traffic and lost cell coverage, her battery died. None of the theories held water. Something was wrong.

“Have you called Wolf Lake Consulting?”

“Nah, I don’t call that place. Not since her boss accused me of killing that girl in Harmon.”

Thomas shifted his jaw. Chelsey hadn’t accused LeVar. But the teenager had sat at the top of her suspect list before Thomas proved Jeremy Hyde was the killer. He couldn’t blame LeVar for holding a grudge. How do you accept an apology from someone who investigated you for murder?

“Tell you what. I’ll phone Wolf Lake Consulting. Chelsey must know where Raven is. Then I’ll call Darren Holt at the ranger’s station and find out if Raven contacted him today.”

“All right, I appreciate it. I’m picking Mom up in five minutes. If Raven shows her face before then, I’ll call you.”

“Thanks for letting me know. Hang in there, LeVar. I’m sure your sister is fine.”

Thomas hung up the phone and let his lie simmer. LeVar didn’t buy it, and neither did Thomas.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Saturday, July 18th

4:45 p.m.

Darren hoisted the ax over his head and brought it down, splitting the log. It was too hot to stack firewood. But the chilly air of winter was never far away in upstate New York, and he’d be running the new wood stove before Halloween. He carried the halved log behind the cabin and set it on the stack. With a satisfied grin, he estimated he’d accumulated a full cord. He needed two more to get through winter.

He tossed his gloves aside and slipped into the cabin, the breeze making the curtains dance at the windows. From the refrigerator, he grabbed a pitcher of lemonade and poured a tall glass. A green sofa he’d purchased at a garage sale sat beside a window overlooking the neighboring cabins. As he relaxed his fatigued muscles, he watched a couple with twin six-year-old girls build a fire behind cabin three. The sisters scavenged for sticks, choosing pieces long enough for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

This was a good life. Better than slumping over a desk at the Syracuse Police Department, or responding to a fight at the local bar. He’d spent the day trimming the plant life encroaching on the trail. It got lonely at the state park