A Love for Safekeeping (9 page)

B
y Monday when she returned to school, Jane’s sprained ankle was only slightly swollen. When Lena came through the door, Jane heard news that froze her to the spot.

“Miss Conroy, did you see me at the cider mill?”

Jane’s heart skipped a beat. “No, Lena. Were you there?”

“Yep, my daddy took the whole family to buy cider.”

Jane wanted to quiz the child for more details, but cautioned herself. A coincidence. That’s all it was.

“I wanted to watch the waterwheel and say hi to you, but Daddy made us sit in the car while he talked to a friend.”

Jane struggled to keep her voice calm. “Maybe next time,” she said, her pulse racing. Sam Malik went to talk to someone? Could it be he went to
push
someone? She couldn’t allow herself to think about it. She remembered her plan to lay her burdens on Jesus, but they clung to her, and the fear chilled her to the bone.

As soon as Jane saw Kyle, she told him about Malik being at the mill. But as always, the police could do nothing. Kyle warned her to stay rational. His attitude jolted her with disappointment.

Frustrated, Jane’s mind whirled. If the police would do nothing, she would do something. She pulled out a notepad and listed everyone she knew who’d been at the cider mill. Kyle, Celia, Len—and now Sam Malik. Had it been one of them? Or someone lurking in the shadows? Kyle and Celia? Never. Weighted with shame, she rested her chin on her folded hands and thought.

By Wednesday, her ankle seemed almost back to normal, and she pushed the fear as far from her as she could. At school that morning, heading for her teacher’s mailbox, Mary handed her a note.

Jane glanced at the memo, and her heart sank. She had another meeting after school with Mr. Malik. Then, remembering Skylar’s instructions, she caught Mary’s attention.

“Would you ask Mr. Skylar to sit in on my parent conference this afternoon? Mr. Malik is coming in to go over Lena’s test results, and Mr. Skylar suggested he should be there.” Suggested? He’d demanded.

Mary’s brows knit together. “He isn’t in today, Jane. He’s at a two-day conference.”

Two days? “Postpone the meeting then.”

Mary shrugged. “That’s up to you. The man sounded rather adamant that he meet with you today.”

“What do you think I should do, Mary?”

She shook her head. “It’s up to you.”

Jane dealt with the problem. She used the conference phone and called Sam Malik, but nothing would change his mind. He insisted meeting with her after
school. When she replaced the receiver, she folded her hands and prayed.

Heading to the classroom, she felt burdened with too many problems. Tonight, Malik, and tomorrow, a meeting with her co-workers that could prove difficult.

With Halloween approaching, Jane, along with other teachers who opposed the school’s traditional celebrations, agreed to discuss an alternative activity, something special for the classes. She prayed that most of the teachers would agree to find a more acceptable way for the students to celebrate the harvest.

Morning class plodded along, and at noon, Jane gulped her lunch and spoke with Betty Durham, the special education teacher. After they reviewed the test for the second time, Betty offered to sit in with Malik, but knowing Malik’s attitude, Jane refused.

At the end of the day, Jane took a deep breath and met with him, despite Skylar’s orders. She covered the test scores point by point. When she finished, he leaned back against the chair and sneered.

“I expected as much,” he said. “I know my daughter. No matter what you say, she’s slow and needs help. If you can’t provide my daughter with a proper education, you’ll hear from my lawyer.”

“But, Mr. Malik, I really—”

“No ‘buts’ about it, Miss Conroy. You and I’ll be sitting in court.”

He rose and stalked from the room.

The second weekend after Jane’s fall, Kyle lounged in her living room, watching her pull a piece of pepperoni from the top of a double-cheese pizza. He studied her slender fingers as she plucked the round disk
from the mozzarella, raised it to her mouth, then dropped it between her lips.

He couldn’t keep his attention away from her soft, pliant mouth, longing to kiss her. Somehow she kept her emotions in check like a bulldog. He admired that.

Unsuccessfully he’d tried to do the same. Their kisses had been few, considering how eager he was to lavish her with them. And often he wondered if he were protecting her or himself.

Being a cop made falling in love dangerous. How many times had an officer been shot down, trying to avoid gunfire…thinking about his wife and kids? Wife. He let his gaze explore every inch of Jane’s slender frame.

“Why are you staring at me?” She licked her messy fingers. “Suppose you think I’ll drop over from high cholesterol.”

Her look sent waves of emotions charging through him. “No, I was wondering what it might be like to be that pizza.”

“Huh?” Her nose wrinkled.

His heart skipped a beat with his developing plan. “I’ll show you.” He rose from the chair and moved to the sofa, slipping his arm behind her as he settled.

Her expressive eyes followed him in question.

“See, I’ll be that piece of pizza. Now…you do your part.” He leaned toward her, and she did exactly as he requested.

She met his mouth eagerly, savoring the first taste, then nibbled his lower lip, teasing, lingering for a moment before she covered his mouth again.

When he thought he might die, she drew back to catch her breath.

“Whew!” he said, looking into her laughing eyes.
“Now that was some pizza. But I should mention I always have more than one slice.”

She braced both palms against his chest. “Not this pizza you don’t. But here you go.” She snatched a slice of the real thing and raised an edge to his lips while she nipped at the other end.

He licked the sauce from his mouth and protested, “Delicious, but not fair.”

“Not fair, but safer.”

Wilcox rose from his curled fur ball and slithered over to Jane’s feet, wrapping himself around her ankles.

Kyle gestured to the cat. “See. There’s someone who won’t settle for wishful thinking. He wants food.”

“I’m not worried about the cat,” she said. “Just about you.”

Wondering how long he could hang on, he took a deep breath and prayed. He cared about her too much to let anything jeopardize their growing relationship.

Jane nuzzled her head against his shoulder. “I feel safe when you’re here, Kyle. I’m so jittery. I jump at every sound. But it’s been quiet for a couple of weeks. I don’t know if it’s over or just a welcomed lull.”

She looked at him with fearful eyes, and he ached for her. “If I could do something, I would. Not just me, but the department.”

“I know, there’s nothing concrete. You told me that. Everything could be accidental.”

“Not anymore, Jane. Now, we have the notes on file. They dusted, but no fingerprints. Still, if something clicks to give us a clue to the perpetrator, we can build a case and file charges. But we need a suspect. Any thoughts? That art teacher, Larry, or the teacher you replaced, Dale Keys?”

“It doesn’t make sense. Why would they want to hurt me?” She shook her head. “But I’m keeping notes.”

“That’s good. You’re probably right, Jane, but please, don’t play detective.” Kyle drew his finger down her jaw to her lips. “Are things better at school?”

“Not really. Since the Malik situation, Skylar’s giving me those pursed-lip expressions.” She shifted to face him. “Did I tell you that our meeting about the autumn celebration went well?”

“Autumn celebration? What’s that?”

“An activity to replace the Halloween party. Being a Christian, I don’t like the witch and goblin thing. So I talked it up at the meeting, and we decided to have a harvest celebration.”

He admired her courage. Like his brother, Paulie, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for her beliefs. “What will you do?”

“We’re going to a pumpkin farm. After a hayride and farm tour, they help the children paint pumpkins. The workers even dress like scarecrows.”

“That sounds fun. I’m proud of you for standing up for your beliefs.”

“You are?”

He nodded, then raised his hand and caressed her hair, feeling the mass of curls beneath his fingers. Although unwanted, his mind drifted back to the stalker situation. “Jane, we still need to come up with a suspect. Are you thinking about people you know…or people you knew years ago who might be involved in this?”

“I don’t know. I’ve asked myself a million questions
about everyone, Kyle.” She lowered her head, and a faint flush rose on her cheeks.

“And?” He could guess what she was thinking.

“I’ve even wondered about you.”

As she lifted her head, he saw her eyes filled with sadness, and he hurt for her.

She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. But once in a while, I remind myself that you’ve been nearby during most of the incidents.”

“I suppose I have. The tires, the notes, the book.”

“And at the cider mill,” she added.

How could he blame her? He could be as guilty as anyone.

Jane pulled her hand through her curls. “I even wondered about Celia after you mentioned the guilty person could be a woman. But in my heart, I know it’s neither of you.”

Kyle wished he could do something to ease her fears. He slid his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t blame you for wondering, Jane. I keep wishing something might trigger your memory. Someone who was jealous of you in your past. Someone who wants revenge. Maybe you were a beauty queen and stole the crown from a ‘wanna-be’?”

“I wasn’t a cheerleader or the queen of anything. I told you. I’ve gone over it so many times. I even asked my friends Perry and Betsy.”

“Nothing, huh?”

“Nothing. They both agree I’m purely delightful.”

Her flickering grin caused him to smile. “Well, then. We’ll wait and see.”

“I don’t want to hear ‘wait and see’ anymore.” She raised her finger and traced the line of his mouth.

His stomach tightened, and he wondered what she was thinking as he studied her serious expression.

“Kyle,” she said finally, “you’re wonderful. Handsome and brave and…I—I don’t understand.”

Her look put him on edge so he went for humor. “You don’t understand why I’m wonderful, handsome and brave?”

“No, why you’re single. Why you haven’t married. You could have a girl on every corner.”

“What makes you think I don’t?” he joked, but her question was a direct hit.

“You always make a joke when I ask you something serious,” she said. She stared at him, waiting for a response.

How could he answer her? It was a feeling more than anything else. Families hurt when loved ones died. He knew the pain himself. Marriage and cops? He wasn’t sure the two went hand in hand.

As he searched for an answer, Jane studied him.

“I scare women off with my wonderfulness. Do you believe that?”

“Kyle, that’s another joke. Please.”

He owed her this one, no matter how difficult it was to explain. “Family, maybe. I value families, and I’ve watched my parents’ pain…and felt my own when Paulie died. His death blasted a hole in my family as horrible as the bullet that put a hole in him.”

A long time had passed since Kyle dealt with these feelings. The pain swelled in him like a sucker punch.

Jane seemed to sense his distress. Caressing the back of his hand, she didn’t speak, but her face said she understood.

“When I leave for work in the morning,” Kyle continued, “I never know if I’ll come home at night. I’ve
asked myself many times if I want to put the woman I love, maybe even kids, through that kind of agony. You’ve lived it, Jane. You told me. You understand.”

Her head drooped. “Then…what about us?”

His serious words were cushioned with a comfortable awareness. “Emotions don’t seem to use reason. They just grow into relationships. I can’t fight it anymore, Jane. Like the old song says, ‘Whatever will be, will be.”’

Her stressed face softened to a smile. She lifted her empty fingers, pinched them together as if holding something, and waved them back and forth. “Can you tell what’s in my hand?”

“You’re directing a band?”

“It’s my white flag. I surrender,” she said with a shy look Kyle had never seen before.

For a moment, he lingered on her smile. When he leaned forward to kiss her, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he could feel her hand waving the imaginary flag above his head.

O
n Wednesday of the next week, Jane stopped at a neighborhood café for dinner before she returned to school for her first parent open house. Though Kyle was working the afternoon shift, he said he’d try to join her, and she grinned when she saw him come through the door.

“Things are quiet tonight,” he said, sliding into a chair across from her. “I called in my dinner break. They’ll radio me if there’s a problem.”

“I’m glad. I miss you on this shift.”

He slid his hand over hers. “I miss you, too.” His seasoned eye studied her face. “Something wrong?”

Lying to him made no sense. He could read every nuance of her expression. “A little nervous, I suppose. This is my first parent open house. I’m not sure what to expect.”

“Thinking all your parents will be like Malik?”

“Something like that.” She glanced again at the menu, then laid it next to her place setting. “My room looks nice though.”

“Anything special?”

“I’ve put up all the science and social studies projects. The drawings of Michigan birds and flowers are pretty. And then we made a fort out of Popsicle sticks. Not bad if I do say so myself.”

“Wish I’d had a third grade teacher like you.”

Before she could respond, the waitress stopped by to take their order.

When she left, Kyle gripped her hand more tightly. “Okay, now it’s my turn.”

His face appeared relaxed, but his words frightened her. “Is something wrong?”

“Not really.”

He was lying. She saw it in his face. Her pulse skipped. “Is it something about me?”

He didn’t respond, but she saw a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Come on, Kyle.”

“It’s about
us,
but I’m not sure you’re ready to hear this.”

“Say it.” She shook her hand captured beneath his. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“That’s it, Jane. You’re driving
me
crazy. You’re all I think about.”

Her galloping pulse became a stampede of wild horses, but she struggled to keep some focus on reality. No matter how much he made her heart skip, he was a cop. “But we’ve only known each other such a short time.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed it with a kiss. “It’s been less than two months, I know. But is time really that important?”

“It’s not just time.” She eyed his familiar blue uniform, the badge, the weapon. Memories and fear sailed
into her mind. It was too much too soon. “Since I met you, I’ve been under so much pressure. And…my dad, well, I have a lot of negative feelings about—”

“I’m not your dad, Jane. And I’m not pushing you for anything right now. I just want you to know what I’m feeling.”

“Then I’ll be honest. You’re important to me, too.” But was important enough? Would time soften the excitement and fade into bad feelings and resentment— old hurts resurfacing?

He nestled her hand between his. “Just remember.”

“How can I forget?”

But Jane sensed he had something more serious on his mind. “What else, Kyle? You’re thinking again about something.”

He studied her. “I’m thinking about your past, Jane. Does anyone you work with seem familiar—someone you knew years ago? Skylar? Charlie, maybe? Or how about Dale Keys?”

Irritation surged up her spine. “You’re stuck on this
past
thing, Kyle.” She flung her hands out to her sides. “I recognized Perry right away. People change, but not that much.”

“I’m sorry for pushing you, Jane, but…forget it. Don’t worry about it.”

Though his expression looked apologetic, she glowered at him. “
Don’t worry?
Easy for you to say.” Immediately she was sorry.

“You carrying the cell phone?” he asked.

She nodded, recalling the black compact telephone in her shoulder bag, which should be giving her a sense of safety. But it didn’t.

Kyle became thoughtful. Jane looked at the concern on his face and wanted to reach out and hug him…kiss
him for his goodness. He’d done everything he could, and she acted so ungrateful.

The day they met rose in Jane’s mind. She remembered how his uniform caused a gate as thick as a castle wall to drop between them. But Kyle’s gentleness and good humor punched holes in the barricade she’d built. Little by little it was crumbling away.

Still, at times, the memories rose, tearing at her like a wild circus lion, and she would hold them back with the whip of reason and sensibility. Then the lion transformed to a kitten again, purring against her chest, becoming her best friend.

Jane refocused as the waitress appeared and slid the platter of pesto pasta in front of her, its savory aroma tempting her appetite. Tonight she’d appease her stomach. If she could only do the same for her thoughts.

Before the parents arrived for the conference, Jane organized her displays and set out students’ math workbooks. She jumped when Celia leaned into the room. “Can you do me a favor?”

Jane chastised herself for her jitters. “Sure. What?”

“Unlock my door.”

Unlock her door?

“I left the key at home in the blazer I wore yesterday.”

“You mean my key opens your classroom?” Jane asked.

She nodded. “All the keys in this hall are the same. All the corridors are that way.”

Jane’s mind grasped the new piece of information, tucking it in her mental file; then she followed Celia. When she reached the hall, Charlie stood outside Celia’s room.

“Never mind, Jane,” Celia said. “Charlie’ll do it.”

Jane nodded and watched Charlie unlock the door. He attached the key to the ring on his belt while his gaze fastened on Jane.

An eerie feeling crept over her. She wet her dried lips and hurried back into her classroom. Her first parent entered on her heels.

Trying to spread herself between the parents who arrived, Jane used all the tact she could muster. The hardest part of the evening was dismissing parents who didn’t want to stop talking.

Her feet ached, and her mind muddied as the last few parents wandered around the room, viewing their children’s work. To Jane’s relief, Sam Malik didn’t appear, and her tension faded as time moved forward.

At nine o’clock, the P.A. hissed, and Skylar’s voice concluded the evening with a “thank you” to the parents and an announcement ending the open house.

Jane spent the next few minutes edging parents toward the doorway. As the last couple made their way through the exit, she closed her door with a deep exhale.

Though she felt tired, the evening lifted her spirits. Her students liked her, that was certain. She heard it in the parents’ voices. She closed the workbooks, placed them on the shelf, then slipped on her coat and locked her room.

Heading for the exit, Jane slowed her pace. An old fear slithered into her mind. The parking lot set her imagination whirling.

As she opened the wide outside door, Celia caught up with her. Having company, Jane relaxed. They compared notes on the open house, and as Jane approached her car, she pushed the keyless remote and heard the
comforting beep. Celia said good night and moved off toward her own car.

Jane started the motor before she noticed something under her windshield wiper. Her breath shallowed, and she slammed her eyelids closed, praying it was only an illusion or shadow. Opening them, she caught her breath. It was really there.

Peering cautiously into the shadows, she steeled herself and threw open the door. In a matter of seconds, she’d grabbed the paper, hopped back into the car and pushed the lock button.

She sat like a statue, staring at the folded paper. Celia’s headlights retreated from the parking lot. Jane wanted to laugh at herself. Maybe it was only a note from Kyle saying he’d drop by later…or a scribbled thank-you from an appreciative parent.

She inched open the paper and squinted into the darkness. In the dashboard light, she saw three printed words. Her heart rose to her throat.

She tilted the paper closer to the dash.
See Puff vanish.
The words made no sense, but the pattern was the same as the others.

Her immediate thought was Kyle. She opened her purse, and gratitude filled her mind as she dug inside for the phone. How would she feel now if she hadn’t heeded Kyle’s advice? Staring at the push buttons, she had second thoughts. Why not just drive to the station?

She peered through the windows, watching cars file from the parking lot. She was nearly alone. She dropped the phone to the passenger seat and shifted into reverse. She’d feel better in a lighted building than alone in a dark parking lot.

In a few minutes, Jane arrived at the precinct and hurried into the building, wondering what to say. How
could she explain that a note saying “See Puff vanish” frightened her? She prayed Kyle was there.

As she approached the desk, a woman in uniform rose and met her at the counter.

“Can I help you?” she asked

“Kyle Manning? Is he around?”

“No, he’s out. Would you like to talk to another officer?”

Jane’s spirit nose-dived. “Not really. He’s my…well, a friend, and I thought maybe—”

The woman’s face broke into a broad smile. “Are you Jane?”

“Yes.” Relief. The tension fell from her shoulders. “I need to talk with him, but it can wait.”

“I can call him and see where he is.”

Her pulse skipped. “Could you? Thanks.”

Jane listened to the static-filled squawk of the radio, trying to make sense out of the noise.

“Can he meet you at your house?” the officer asked.

“That would be great.”

The woman repeated her message and ended the call. She gave her a smile. “He’ll pass by your house.”

Jane thanked her, then hurried to her car and home. As soon as she arrived, Kyle’s squad car lighted the road from the opposite direction. He pulled in behind her.

Kyle exited the squad car, his broad chest and towering frame a refuge for Jane. The sensation charged through her. Instead of fear, she felt safe, seeing the blue uniform.

Silhouetted in the front seat, Jane noticed another figure. She felt embarrassed to share her silly fears with a stranger.

She stepped from the car and met him on the grass.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice deep with worry.

Her hands trembling, Jane handed him the note.

He used his flashlight to see the words. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t know.” She stared at the small paper in his large hand.

“It’s like the other messages…except what’s a puff?”

Jane shrugged.

He glanced toward the squad car. “Let me see if George has any ideas.” He walked back to the other officer.

Though the note was meaningless, the cryptic message frightened her. Puff. She faltered. Was that the Dick and Jane cat? She braced herself against the car to combat the horrible sinking feeling.

The second officer followed Kyle from the car and introduced himself. “Puff’s the cat in
Dick and Jane,
” George said, validating her own thinking. “You don’t happen to own a cat, do you?”

She nodded, her heart hammering double time.

“We’d better take a look,” Kyle said. He clutched Jane’s arm and steered her toward the doorway.

Stunned and fearful, she let Kyle lead her up the porch stairs and turn the door handle. “It’s locked, Jane.”

Hope filled her. If her tormentor couldn’t get inside, Wilcox was safe. She handed Kyle the key. He entered first.

Jane flipped on the light switch. She faltered. Wilcox usually greeted her at the door. She raced through the house, calling the cat’s name. Wilcox was silent. A wave of nausea swept through her.

“Do you see anything missing?” Kyle asked, surveying the rooms as they passed through.

“Just Wilcox,” she said, her legs weakening with each step.

George returned from the kitchen. “The back door’s locked. It looks like a hoax.”

Jane stopped in the hallway. “Maybe, but where’s my cat?” She dashed into her bedroom with the men behind her. Pivoting, Jane saw nothing out of place. But before she spoke, an urgent “meow” came from her closet. She froze.

Kyle’s hand shot forward, pushing her out of danger, and he edged toward the closet, his pistol drawn. Then, stepping to the side, he yanked open the door.

Wilcox leaped from the confines and darted from the bedroom with George hurrying after the cat.

Dazed, Jane gaped at the action.

“You must’ve locked him inside when you got dressed this morning,” Kyle said, eyeing the closet.

“I don’t think so. If I did, what about the note? Is that another coincidence?”

A ragged sigh escaped him. “Jane, I don’t know.”

Her hands knotted to fists. “And who knows I have a cat? That scares me, Kyle.”

Seeming distracted, Kyle gave her a faint nod, then crouched in front of the closet and frisked the floor. Palming something, he straightened and gave her an uneasy look.

George barreled through the doorway. “The cat seems to be okay,” he said, cradling Wilcox in his arms. He came to a stop.

Kyle glanced at him, then back to the slip of paper clutched in his fingers. He unfolded the note and
scanned the message, then shook his head. He thrust the paper in Jane’s hand.

She stared at the words.
See Jane suffer.
Tears she’d struggled to control streamed down her cheeks, and she swung toward Kyle. “I can’t stand this anymore.”

He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against his chest, and she gave the sobs free reign. When she calmed, she lifted her head. “How did he get in? The doors were locked….”

Suddenly the answer struck her. She bolted from his arms and down the hallway. The key in the rock. Someone knew. But who? Celia…and Kyle…or Len. No, he’d been at the pharmacy. Or had Celia told him about the key? Maybe someone else had stood in the bushes and watched her.

Kyle tensed when she broke loose and darted from the room. With George on his heels, he followed, having no idea where she was headed until he saw her open the front door. Then he remembered the key. He stood at the door as she knelt on the ground, groping beneath the shrubs.

He jumped off the edge of the porch as she pulled out the rock. The key lay inside, as if untouched. She raised her face to his, tearstains lacing her ashen skin.