Secrets In The Shadows Read online

  Secrets in the Shadows

  T. L. Haddix

  Streetlight Graphics Publishing

  A division of Streetlight Graphics

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright 2010 by Tabatha L. Haddix

  ISBN 13: 978-0-9845281-2-7

  ISBN 10: 0-9845281-2-1

  Revised Edition released: January 2012

  Cover Design by Streetlight Graphics, Copyright 2011

  Visit www.tlhaddix.com for updates, news, bonuses and freebies.

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  www.streetlightgraphics.com

  Editor: Karen Allen of Red Adept Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Streetlight Graphics Publishing, a division of Streetlight Graphics.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Epilogue

  Dedication

  To all the women and men out there who have known the pain of abuse - never stop fighting for yourselves.

  Cast of Characters

  Lauren Grant - Owns the Brown Bag Café. Single mother to Ava, daughter of Molly and

  Winston Taylor.

  Charlie Clark - Owns Clark Consulting, an internet-based security company. Neighbor of

  Winston and Molly.

  Winston and Molly Taylor – Parents of Lauren Taylor Grant.

  Ava Grant – Daughter of Lauren Taylor Grant.

  Margie Vernon – Lauren’s cousin through marriage. Has been missing for over thirteen

  years.

  Carl and Mary Margaret Vernon – Parents of Margie Vernon.

  Troy Vernon – Youngest child of Carl and Mary Margaret, brother to Margie.

  Charity Vaughn – Owner of The Gallery, Leroy’s upscale art gallery.

  Beth Hudson - Reporter for the Olman County Journal, the newspaper owned by her

  grandfather, Sampson Olman.

  Ethan Moore - Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department.

  Annie Jameson Tucker - Owns Annie’s Arbor, flower shop. Best friends with Beth and

  Lauren. Half-sister of Charlie Clark.

  Stacy Kirchner - Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department.

  David Grant – Ex-husband of Lauren, Ava’s father. Police officer in New Salem, Indiana.

  Josie Grant – David’s second wife.

  Chapter One

  Margie Vernon was in a foul mood. No one thing in particular had set her off, but a slow-burning hatred seemed to erode her very soul, leaving nothing but the anger behind. As she drove down the interstate, wind whipping through her hair, she took a drag off her cigarette and held the smoke in her lungs until it hurt. Exhaling, she thought about the mess she was leaving behind.

  Glancing at the clock on the car’s dashboard, she saw that it was nearly nine o’clock. The sun had been up for three hours. She felt a tiny pang of guilt, thinking about what had gone on the previous night. Her cousin Lauren hadn’t had a clue what Margie’d had in store for her when they went to bed last night. It was late enough now for Lauren to be awake and know what happened. Or maybe not, if the drug Margie’d given her had done its job.

  She felt a wave of nausea roll through her stomach. Cursing, she chalked it up to morning sickness and started looking for the nearest exit. When she saw the sign denoting a rest area ahead, she had to bite her lip to keep from crying with relief. She refused to acknowledge her grief and guilt, instead blaming her distress on the child she carried in her womb.

  A short while later, she was back in the car, feeling the need to put more miles between Indiana and herself. After all, the last thing she wanted was to get caught in a stolen car.

  ~ * * * ~

  Margie hadn’t always hated Lauren. Quite the contrary—they’d been as close as sisters, perhaps closer, ever since they were respectively nine and eight years old. Cousins by marriage, they saw each other at family events, holidays, reunions, and the like. During the summer, the girls would visit each other, spending two weeks at a time at each other’s houses. They had halcyon childhoods for the most part; at least until things changed.

  The third of six children, Margie had always been happy, making good grades, and quietly setting goals for her future. Her plans didn’t mesh well with the ideals and plans of her devoutly religious and fundamentally conservative parents.

  “I love them, but I don’t want to be them. I want a life outside of hearth and home,” she’d told Lauren the last time they’d really talked, at the family’s Labor Day picnic the previous year.

  Carl and Mary Margaret Vernon had the tendency to come across as superior when questioned about their beliefs. When Margie had expressed interest in going to college to become a teacher, they were taken aback. They couldn’t understand where her independent streak came from and dismissed her wants and desires, blaming outside influences for her disregard of the traditional woman’s role.

  Lauren, whose parents always encouraged her and supported her dreams, was infuriated, but Margie brushed aside her concern.

  “I’ll keep my head down and let them think I’m toeing the line. When I turn eighteen, I’ll be ready to go to college, and they won’t be able to stop me.” She learned to keep her ideals and opinions to herself, quietly planning the course her future would take. Then, a few months after her sixteenth birthday, it happened.

  She’d been so shocked the first time, she almost thought she’d imagined it. But there had been the blood and the soreness.

  When her father had sneaked into her bedroom that night, it seemed funny at first. After all, she loved her father, trusted him.
He made a joke out of it, at least in the beginning. By the time she realized he wasn’t playing, that it wasn’t a game, her innocence was gone forever.

  “There’s no need to tell your mother about this, you know. I gave her something to help her sleep tonight. This can be our secret. Something we can share. It’s not like anyone would believe you, anyhow.” He patted her on the head and left.

  She waited a long time before easing out of bed and into the bathroom down the hall, where she proceeded to scrub her skin until it was raw. When she got back to her bedroom, she crawled into the other bed, the one Lauren used when she visited. She never slept in her old bed again after that, and she had never allowed him to use her in the other one.

  Checking her gas gauge, she saw that it was closing in on empty. She decided to pull off at the next exit and refuel, maybe stretch her legs a little bit. She’d been driving since midnight the night before and, as she swerved a little on the exit ramp, she realized she should probably find someplace to get some sleep. Signs on the ramp pointed toward a seedy chain motel, and she aimed the car in that direction. With very little effort, just a little flash of cleavage and a fake ID, she had herself a room. She didn’t even turn on the light; just shut the door, closed the curtains, and fell on the bed.

  ~ * * * ~

  When Margie awoke several hours later, she was starving. Sitting up, she felt a pressing need to visit the bathroom. While in there, she went ahead and took a shower. Despite her best efforts, her mind kept returning to home.

  She’d been in a downward spiral for several weeks, ever since she discovered that she was pregnant. Apparently, that spiral had been fodder for the family grapevine. Her mother had been livid when she found out.

  “You’ve shamed us with your behavior, girl. You’re no good, a bad seed. I’ve called the pastor about you and your whorish ways, and he’s found a man who’ll take you. You’re going to marry him, and I’ll wash my hands of you.”

  Margie laughed in her face. “Old woman, I won’t marry some man you pick out for me. I’m seventeen years old now, and you can’t touch me.”

  Mary Margaret slapped her so hard, she’d knocked Margie down. “‘Honor thy father and mother,’ the Good Book says. Satan himself has hold of you.”

  With a sneer, Margie got to her feet, blotting away the blood from her split lip. “I do honor my father. I honor him every night, when he comes to my bed.”

  Margie thought her mother might have killed her on the spot, if her father hadn’t come into the kitchen at that moment.

  The annual family reunion took place three long weeks afterward in Madison, Indiana. The day was etched into her mind, a scar that shone brightly alongside several others. Though Margie had planned to leave at the end of summer, she hadn’t been planning the rest. Everything changed that day—the day she’d started plotting her cousin’s downfall.

  Margie had been on pins and needles for several days. Her lip had healed, and she was running on pure nerves. The day of the family reunion dawned bright and sunny, a day completely opposite the somber and sullen mood of the Vernon family as they piled in the car and motored down to the state park.

  They’d arrived early, like always, helping the others set up for the expected crowd. She’d run into Molly and Winston Taylor, Lauren’s parents, almost as soon as they got there.

  “Margie, honey, it’s so good to see you. How are you?” Molly hugged her tightly, then drew back to study her. “You’ve lost some weight, and I swear you’re two inches taller.”

  Margie smiled, trying to mask her dismay. “I’m okay, Aunt Molly. Where’s my cuz?”

  “She’s coming up a little later with her brother. She was working late into the evening, tutoring one of her classmates in algebra. I know she’s anxious to see you. The two of you haven’t had much of a chance to visit with each other lately.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing her, too.”

  They walked to Molly’s van to get the casseroles she’d brought. “Did you bring your bag to go back with us for a week?”

  Margie’s gaze flew to hers. “No. I didn’t know if you’d want me this year.”

  Lauren’s mother frowned. “Why in the world not? Look, we know you’ve had some problems lately, but you’ll always be welcome in our home. You know that.”

  She had almost broken down then and there and confessed everything. If her mother hadn’t hollered across the picnic grounds at her, she might have begged for help. But Mary Margaret had yelled, and the moment was lost.

  A couple of hours later, Lauren pulled up and let her brother, Tristan, out with several bags full of supplies. Before Margie could reach her car, Lauren left.

  “Where’d she go?” Margie asked Tristan.

  Tristan grinned. “Hey, Margie. She can’t find a place to park. She’s going back up the road a little ways.” He loped off toward the shelters with the bags, and Margie decided to walk up the road and meet Lauren. Before she reached the main road through the park, however, a large pick-up truck pulled up alongside her. The driver was a man she’d seen at parties around town.

  “Hey, babe. Fancy meeting you here.”

  With an inward groan, she leaned against the truck, a fake smile plastered on her face. “Yeah, fancy that. What’re you doing out here?”

  He reached out and touched her shoulder with a suggestive caress. “Oh, just looking for something to do. You available?”

  She’d swallowed against the bile that rose at the suggestion, looking down to conceal her eyes. Having practiced in the mirror, she knew the move looked flirtatious. “That depends. Do you have any reason I should be?”

  His smile was cocky. “I have fifty reasons you should be.”

  She backed up a step. “Then why don’t you park this truck and follow me?”

  He did just that, pulling into the grass to park illegally, and as they crossed the parking lot, Margie saw Lauren duck into the restroom. Inspired, she took her ‘date’s’ hand and dragged him in that direction.

  “Oh, kinky.”

  “Give me the money.” She held out her hand, and he handed her a fifty-dollar bill.

  They went into the largest stall, and she let him have her. Thankfully, most men didn’t seem to last long when they had to perform in situations like this. She’d been pimping out her body for a couple months now and had quite a stash of money saved up. It was tremendously ironic; the body that had been her downfall providing her with the means to escape, hopefully. She didn’t even bother asking him to don a condom. As far as she was concerned, her life was over. It wasn’t as if she could get more pregnant.

  When he was finished, the man zipped his pants. “Baby, I heard you were a good ride. I gotta say, you were worth every penny.”

  She cleaned herself up with toilet paper then opened the stall door. “I’ll go first and make sure it’s clear. Wait here until I look. If we get caught—”

  “Yeah, I know. You aren’t exactly legal now, are you, darlin’? I haven’t got any desire to end up in jail, even for a nice piece like you.”

  She made sure the coast was clear, then ushered him out of the building. Once in the parking lot, they went their separate ways. Thinking about Lauren, who had been quiet as a mouse the entire time they’d been inside, she felt her mouth twist in a tight grimace.

  For so long, Margie hadn’t had an outlet for her anger. She loathed her parents, of course, but her situation at home was precarious. She had to be careful how much hostility she showed, at least until it was time for her to leave. Lauren, however, made the perfect target. Her cousin represented everything Margie no longer had—good grades, loving parents, a normal life. It served Miss Goody-Two-Shoes right, being stuck inside a public restroom while strangers had sex.

  ~ * * * ~

  After getting a quick meal at a nearby diner, she hit the road again, heading for Georgia and the cousin. She’d made it to Tennessee before collapsing that morning, and only had a few more hours to go until she reached her destinatio
n.

  During the last couple of weeks, Lauren had tried repeatedly to get her to tell her what was going on. Margie steadfastly refused. They spent the first week at Lauren’s, and the second at Margie’s.

  The first night they were back, Margie’s father approached her with a proposition. “Look, I know you’re pregnant. You can’t hide it much longer, and I don’t want to have to answer any more uncomfortable questions. It’s been bad enough the last few months, explaining your behavior. But I have a plan that will get both of us something we want.” To an outsider, they looked like any father and daughter, standing at the fencerow, having a talk in the fading twilight.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I know about your little boyfriend. Did you really think you could hide him from me?” He snickered. “Anyhow, I want you to get the hell out of here. I bet you want out, too. You don’t want him to find out about us, what you really are. If you do something for me, I’ll not only not tell him your dirty little secret, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. Cash.”

  “I’m interested. What do you want me to do?”

  He held out his hand, a white, oblong pill in its center. “Two nights from tonight, slip this to your cousin. It’ll knock her out and she won’t remember a thing. I’ll give your mother one and, once they’re out, you leave. Then I’ll have some fun, and nobody will be the wiser.”

  Margie felt sick at the suggestion. “I won’t do that. You’re crazy.”

  Her father laughed. “No? Then I guess I’ll go have a talk with this boy you think you love so much.”

  She didn’t know that he was aware of her relationship with Travis Tyler. She had met him back in the winter at a party and they’d hit it off. Sure, the sex was good, but more importantly, he treated her well. They talked to each other, and he cared about her, or at least he had, until she had broken it off with him a few weeks earlier. Still, she didn’t want Travis to know about her relationship with her father.