Suspicions: a novel of suspense

  Suspicions

  Christine Kersey

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2010 by Christine Kersey

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

  Visit Christine’s website: www.christinekersey.com

  Also by Christine Kersey

  No Way Out

  He Loves Me Not (Lily’s Story, Book 1)

  Don’t Look Back (Lily’s Story, Book 2)

  Chapter One

  Day 1 - Monday

  Eight-year-old Robby Hunter closed the front door with a soft click and stepped onto the porch, unaware he was about to witness something that would change his life forever.

  He paused on the doorstep, half-expecting his mother to yank the door open and catch him sneaking out. Though he wanted to be obedient, the plans he and his best friend Kyle had made drew him away. Once Kyle got out of school, Robby would be waiting for him so they could go to their treehouse.

  The two boys usually walked home together after their third grade class let out, but today Kyle was staying after to help Mrs. Hershfield take down the red and pink valentine hearts and put the green St. Patrick's Day clovers up in their place. If Robby hadn't been grounded he would have stayed to help too.

  Sometimes Robby had trouble minding his mother; that's why he was grounded in the first place. She had gotten tired of telling him to check in with her after school before going off to play.

  I just keep forgetting, he thought, not understanding why it was such a big deal.

  Stuffing his hands in his coat pockets, he continued to the school, chilled by the breeze despite the warmth of the California sun. He glanced around, relieved none of the neighborhood kids were out playing; he didn't want anyone to tell on him.

  As he approached the corner near the school grounds, Robby thought it might be fun to give Kyle a scare. He crept behind some low green bushes, every few seconds poking his head up to watch for his friend. His wait was rewarded when he saw Kyle ambling in his direction, dragging a stick across the chain link fence surrounding the school.

  Looking across the street at the walnut orchard, Robby spied the treehouse he and Kyle had built. Robby was pleased to see it was vacant; he didn't like it when other kids played there.

  Old Mr. Gowen had allowed them to use one of his walnut trees and Robby and Kyle loved to go there to play. They would pretend they lived on a desert island. They'd even brought some of their parents' old belongings to the treehouse, like an old wind-up alarm clock and a battery-operated radio.

  Robby could hardly wait until he and Kyle could go there and play. He just hoped his mom wouldn't notice he wasn't in his room.

  Robby peeked over the bushes again to check Kyle's progress and saw he was nearly to his hiding place. Not wanting to give away his position, Robby stifled a giggle as Kyle drew closer. When Kyle finally reached the bushes where Robby lay in wait, Robby jumped out and yelled “Boo!”

  Kyle jumped, startled, and then laughed along with Robby as they raced each other across the street to their treehouse. It was a tie. They scrambled up the short ladder, pushing and shoving each other in their haste to reach the top first. They flung themselves onto the hard wooden floor and wrestled around, knocking over a large square of wood placed on bricks that they used as a table. Stopping to catch their breath, they grabbed the container of red licorice stashed in the corner and pulled out a few of the long pieces.

  Kyle bit off a large chunk. “Hey, Robby, I thought you couldn't play today.”

  He giggled. “Yeah, but I snuck out.” He took off his jacket and tossed it in the corner before reaching for more licorice. “My mom was busy and she didn't see me leave.”

  After placing the wood back on the bricks and balancing the battery operated radio on top, they played with the dial, listening to a station for a few seconds before spinning to another one. Soon tiring of that game, they sat without speaking, munching on their candy.

  A twig snapped.

  “Hey,” Kyle whispered. “What was that?”

  Robby looked around. “I don't know. But I hope it's not my mom. I'll be in big trouble.”

  Someone was climbing the ladder.

  “Hey kids. What are you doin'?”

  “It's only Mr. Gowen,” Robby said to Kyle, relief clear on his face.

  Fred Gowen looked like he needed a shave. In his late sixties, he owned the walnut orchard where the boys had built their treehouse. “What're you eatin'?” he asked as he gazed into their sanctuary.

  Kyle held out the box of licorice. “Want one?”

  Mr. Gowen stayed on the ladder and shook his head. “You be careful now, hear?”

  The boys nodded.

  Gowen climbed back down and his footsteps faded away.

  Robby scooted toward the door, the unexpected meeting with Gowen reminding him he didn’t want to get caught out of his room. He remembered the last time he’d been grounded and his mother had discovered he’d snuck out; she’d added a whole week to his punishment. “I’m going home, Kyle.” He stepped onto the top rung of the ladder. “Are you coming?”

  Kyle shook his head, his eyes downcast, “Not yet.”

  “How come?”

  “I don't know,” Kyle said, a solemn expression on his face. “I just don't want to go home right now.”

  “But you might get in trouble from your mom,” Robby said, his brow creased with concern.

  Kyle stared at the piece of licorice in his hand. “Maybe she'll just think I'm still at the school.” He looked up at Robby and said with intensity, “Promise you won't tell I was here by myself.”

  “How come?” Robby asked, pausing on the threshold of the treehouse.

  “My mom told me I’m not supposed to play here by myself. She said something could happen to me and no one would know.”

  An unexpected shiver of dread shot up Robby's spine. “What do you mean?”

  The red licorice seemed to capture Kyle’s attention once again. “I don’t know.”

  Robby didn't understand what Kyle was talking about. What could happen? He wondered if Kyle was trying to spook him to get even for surprising him at the bushes earlier.

  It was working.

  “I thought you were going home now,” Kyle said, watching Robby hesitate in the doorway.

  “Yeah, and you should, too.”

  Kyle reached for another piece of licorice. “I will in a little while.”

  Jumping to the ground below, Robby replayed Kyle’s comment about something happening to him and no one knowing. Of course his parents would know, he reasoned. Parents always know what's going on.

  That thought led him to hurry toward the street so he could get home before his mother found out he had been disobedient. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she discovered he'd snuck out.

  Robby paused as he reached the sidewalk while an older brown car drove slowly by. His thoughts were preoccupied with getting home and he hardly noticed the vehicle as it passed.

  When he was half a block from home he realized he'd left his jacket in the treehouse. He remembered his mom scolding him for dumping it on the floor when he'd gotten home from school that afternoon. He also remembered the fuss she'd made that morning when he didn't have it on.

  He would have to go back and get it.

  As he retraced his steps his mind filled with thoughts of playing w
ith his friend and concern about his mother faded.

  Nearing the spot where he had surprised Kyle earlier, Robby watched Kyle jump down from the bottom rung of the ladder and cross the street by the school.

  I guess he decided to go home, Robby thought as he approached shouting distance.

  Kyle stared at the ground as he moved along the sidewalk.

  It suddenly occurred to Robby that he might be able to scare Kyle a second time. Robby grinned to himself as he slid behind the bushes.

  Peering over the top for a better view, he watched Kyle bend down to tie one sneaker. Robby couldn't hold back a giggle as he waited for Kyle to get closer. When Robby saw a car coming, the same one that had driven past a short time before, he ducked back down, the giggles finally under control.

  He waited in silence as the sound of the car changed. It seemed to be stopping. He heard the low hum of voices. He thought he heard a car door slam. He was certain he heard someone cry out. Unexpected fear rolled up his spine and he shuddered, suddenly longing for the safety of his room. He remained hidden, paralyzed by an instinct he didn't understand. Only after the sound of the car's engine was completely gone did he venture a glance.

  Kyle was gone.

  Robby stood on his tiptoes to get a better look. Heart pounding, he darted out from behind the bushes. Uncertainty mixed with fear when it became clear Kyle was nowhere in sight.

  Where did he go?

  Kyle's words echoed in his head. My mom told me I’m not supposed to play here by myself. She said something could happen to me and no one would know. Robby didn't understand. What had happened?

  Then Kyle's other words came back to him. Promise you won't tell I was here by myself.

  Fear poured over him in icy torrents. He turned and ran all the way home.

  Chapter Two

  Stacey Hunter sighed as she ran her fingers through her wavy brown hair. Finishing up some paperwork for her “Beautiful You” cosmetics home business, she leaned back in her comfortable gray chair and realized she probably knew more about skin care and make-up than she had ever wanted to know.

  Although she didn't like to wear much make-up herself, she found she had actually enjoyed working for the company for the past two years as a beauty consultant, giving make-up demonstrations in women's homes, and was quite good at it. She wouldn't have taken the job at all except for the fact they needed the money to pay some bills. Straightening the ever-growing pile of unpaid bills, she sighed again.

  Would they never stop coming? She wondered.

  They seemed to multiply every time she turned her back. She flipped through the stack and closed her eyes, imagining what it would be like to not have any debt. She now regretted all the times they had used their charge cards when they didn't have the cash to buy items they “needed”. And although he'd told her he didn't blame her or their family obligations for their financial struggle, she knew how much it bothered her husband to have these bills hanging over them.

  She stacked the envelopes in order of payment amounts with the lowest payment going on top. Setting them aside, she tried not to think about their financial struggle, then surveyed her desk, satisfied she had done enough for the day. There were still a few papers piled in one corner but they could wait.

  Tilting her head, she listened to what sounded like the front door closing. “Robby? Nikki? Is that you?” When neither child answered, Stacey pushed back from the desk and went to check on her children. She found them where she expected them to be.

  “I guess I’m hearing things,” she murmured as she headed back to the office. Once there, she picked up a small glass vase that held a single red camellia. Gazing at the vivid petals, she brought the flower toward her nose and breathed in the faint scent. Nikki had wanted to bring that one in the house and Stacey hadn’t been able to resist her six-year-old daughter’s logic: “If you don’t bring it in the house, it will just die out here in the yard.” Stacey loved the early blooming flowers the central valley of California provided and had quickly agreed to bring the blossom into the house.

  Setting the camellia down next to the answering machine, she reached for the recent portrait of her family. She was in the center of the picture, sitting on a bench, with Nikki on her lap, Robby standing on her left, and her husband, Jason, straddling the bench on her right, his arm draped around her shoulders. Hope in the future flooded her heart as she looked at her family. Even though they sometimes drove her crazy, she wouldn't trade them for anything.

  Her eyes settled on her own image and she smiled. She thought she looked younger than her twenty-nine years. Her large brown eyes sparkled with intelligence and she remembered what had prompted the broad smile she wore in the picture: Jason had given her a beautiful bouquet of long-stemmed yellow roses that day, with a note telling her how much he loved her.

  Gazing at the family photo, Stacey thought about her marriage to Jason and felt a twinge of sadness mix with the optimism she had felt moments before. Their ninth anniversary was the next week but their relationship had seemed strained lately and she didn’t know why.

  Sudden pounding on her front door jarred Stacey out of her reverie. She set the photo down and pushed back from the desk as the knocking became louder and more insistent.

  “I'm coming, I'm coming,” she yelled at the door.

  Standing on her front porch was her friend and neighbor, Amanda Stone. Although her blond hair was in a perfect French braid, her blue eyes showed sharp worry. “Have you seen Kyle?” she blurted.

  Stacey was surprised by the question. Very protective of her only child, Amanda usually knew exactly where Kyle was.

  Stacey shook her head, feeling sudden unease herself. “No. Why? What's wrong?”

  Concern creased Amanda's brow. “He should have been home twenty minutes ago. Mrs. Hershfield said she sent him home at three forty-five.” Amanda paused. “Is Robby here? Didn't he stay after and help Mrs. Hershfield too?”

  “He’s here. He was grounded today so I didn’t let him stay after.”

  “I wish I'd known that,” Amanda said. “I would've walked Kyle home from school myself.”

  “I’m sorry. I . . . I didn’t think to tell you.” Stacey suddenly felt somehow responsible for what was going on. She invited Amanda in and had to shove aside a pile of laundry to make room for them to sit on the couch. “Have you called his other friends?”

  “Yes, of course. In fact, I tried calling you but your line was busy.” Tears filled her eyes. “No one's seen him since he left the school.”

  Stacey handed her a tissue. “I had to make some calls for . . .” She let her words trail off, realizing Amanda didn't care why she had been on the phone. “What about the boys' treehouse? Have you checked there?”

  Amanda wiped her eyes, then carefully folded the used tissue as she spoke. “He wasn't there.” She bit her lip as a new thought seemed to occur to her, and fresh hope filled her eyes. “I didn't look around the orchard though. Do you think he could be playing in the orchard?”

  “Well, there's only one way to find out. Come on.” Stacey stood. “I'll help you look.”

  “Thank you. I'd really appreciate that.”

  “Do you want to go ahead? I need to get Nikki and Robby ready.”

  Amanda agreed to meet Stacey there.

  Watching Amanda hurry down the street, Stacey felt anxiety wash over her. She turned from the window to gather her own children.

  She found Nikki coloring a picture at the kitchen table. She held it up for her mother to see. “Look, Mommy. I drawed a picture of our family.”

  “Drew a picture, Nikki,” Stacey automatically corrected. “And it’s beautiful. But right now I need you to get your shoes on. We’re going on a walk.”

  “Okay!” Nikki dashed out of the kitchen and down the hall to her room.

  Stacey followed her out and went to Robby's bedroom where he was driving his toy cars on a road he'd constructed. Apparently he didn't hear Stacey come in because when she spoke his
name he jumped.

  “Mom, you scared me!”

  Stacey squatted down beside him. “Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to. Please put your shoes on. We, uh, we're going on a walk.”

  To Stacey's surprise, Robby obeyed without comment.

  “Kyle's mom needs our help,” she added.

  Robby glanced at his mother, then looked back at his feet and continued pulling on his socks.

  “Have you seen Kyle, Robby?”

  He stopped mid-pull and stared at his feet, but then softly answered, “No.”

  “Are you sure? His mother is really worried. He, uh, he hasn't come home from school yet.”

  Robby's hands froze for the briefest of seconds, so briefly that Stacey thought she had imagined the hesitation. Then he shook his head so imperceptibly it almost seemed as if he hadn't heard the question.

  “Robby, if you know something about where Kyle is, it's very important you tell me.”

  He looked up at her, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. “I told you, Mom. I don't know where he is.”

  As she looked at her young son's face she wondered why he seemed so upset. “Okay, Robby. Come on out into the living room when you're ready.”

  When she got no response she went into the living room where Nikki was arranging her dolls in a baby stroller. “I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you need to leave the stroller here this time.”

  “But, Mommy,” she cried.

  Stacey felt her nerves stretch with tension. “Go see if Robby's ready.”

  Nikki stomped down the hall.

  Stacey's heart softened at the angry look on Nikki's face as she returned to the living room, followed by Robby. Nikki was angry, but at least she was home.

  As the three of them walked down the driveway, Stacey noticed Robby's reluctance to leave their yard.

  “Mom? Can I just stay here?” He whined.

  Stacey let out a sigh, not wanting to deal with his petulance when Amanda needed her help.

  Five minutes later, after getting another neighbor to watch the children, Stacey joined Amanda in the nearby walnut orchard.