Texas Secrets, Lovers' Lies

A few paces behind Agnes, Zoe kept her gaze straight-ahead, well aware of the curious stares of the half-a-dozen officers milling about in the common room.

When they turned left, into a short hallway, Agnes stopped short of knocking on the closed door. “Here you go,” she said, and beat a hasty retreat, leaving Zoe unannounced.

Fine. Rapping sharply on the door, Zoe waited until the man inside spoke before turning the handle and entering.

She stopped short at her first sight of Shayna’s lover, assuming what Cristine had told her was true. Blond and deeply tanned, he had the look of a Colorado ski instructor or golf pro. His sparkling blue eyes were friendly and his smile warm. Not at all what she’d expected.

But then what had she thought? That Shayna would cheat on Brock with a man who was ugly?

“What can I do for you, Ms. Onella?” he asked, his Texas drawl completely charming.

“Please, call me Zoe,” she said automatically.

“Fine, Zoe. I’m Roger.” He held out his hand and she shook it. “Agnes tells me you’re here to talk about Shayna?”

“Yes.” She searched his face for some hint of emotion at the name. “I don’t know how else to put this, so I’m going to be blunt. I understand you and she were...intimate?”

One corner of his mouth quirked as she felt her face redden. “We were friends with benefits, if that’s what you mean. But I’m curious. Surely that’s not what you came to talk to me about?”

Despite her discomfort, she held his gaze. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“In what way? Shayna hasn’t been charged with a crime.”

“Actually, I came here to find out what your office is doing to find her.”

“Everything we can, Zoe,” he assured her, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “We have a missing persons report on file. Our hands are tied. Shayna is a grown woman who told many people she wanted to get out of town. There’s no evidence of foul play or anything suspicious—”

“Something happened to her,” Zoe interrupted. “Why can’t you just consider that a possibility?”

He took a deep breath. “She never stopped talking about the fact that you did exactly what she longed to do. Not only did you get away, but you were living what she considered a glamorous life. I think she was envious of you. I think she left to try and make it on her own away from here.”

Damn, that hurt. “Glamorous? I worked as an executive assistant. Plus, even if that was what happened, Shayna would never disappear without telling anyone where she was going.”

“And how do you know she didn’t?”

He wasn’t taking her seriously and that infuriated her. “Because she had no reason to. Everyone she knew and loved is here. On top of that, her bank accounts haven’t been touched. I’m willing to bet if you checked, you’d find the same with her credit cards.”

“First off, we can’t. Shayna has a right to privacy just like anyone else.”

“What if her parents insist? Or Brock, since they were living together?”

“Shayna would have to give permission, whether verbal or otherwise. Since she did not...” He spread his hands. “We can do nothing.”

“She would have called me,” she insisted. “There’s no way she would have left without at least letting me—or her mother—know.”

“You can’t be sure of that. Zoe, the Shayna I know is a restless, unhappy woman. She was, whether you knew it or not, insanely jealous of you and your success. She wanted to escape this town, this life.” He shrugged. “That’s one of the reasons why the relationship between us didn’t work. I left Houston to escape the big city. I love Anniversary. She’d come to despise everything about it.”

Despite herself, she recognized the validity of his statement. “You have a point,” she grudgingly admitted. “But still...”

He stood, indicating the discussion was over. “I can promise you this, Zoe,” he said. “The instant we have any reason to think differently, we’ll expend every resource to make sure Shayna is found. But as it is...”

She dipped her chin. “I understand.”

The sad thing was, she did. But on the other side, she wasn’t sure she trusted Shayna’s former lover to be in charge of searching for her.

Unfortunately, she was beginning to think the search would be pointless. All indications seemed to point to Shayna leaving town on her own, in much the same way that Zoe herself had done five years earlier.

Still, a niggling doubt remained. Mainly because no matter what Shayna might have become, Zoe knew she wouldn’t have taken off without talking to her and she’d have put on a show for Zoe, at the least, which means she cared what Zoe thought. Whether Shayna lied or not, she’d clearly needed some kind of help all along. Now she was missing. Zoe’s heart ached for her troubled friend.

So she would continue looking, no matter what. And, until she knew more, she’d hope for the best but suppose the worst.

Chapter 4

As Zoe left the police station and stepped outside into the bright sunshine, her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway.

“Zoe, it’s Cristine.” The other woman’s words were rushed, as if she was nervous. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Zoe checked her watch. “I’m just leaving the police station. I can be back there in a few minutes.”

“Oh, not here.” Cristine coughed delicately. “It’s too crowded. I’d like someplace a little more private.”

Interesting. Zoe sensed it could be important, but still needed clarification. “Is this about Shayna?”

“Yes. I’m tied up with this until late this afternoon. We’ve already started organizing some searches, though the big one will be on Saturday, when everyone is off work. How about we meet for breakfast tomorrow morning? How about Joe’s coffee shop?”

“Joe’s is still there?” Zoe and the Bell family had spent many a Sunday morning at that diner. “From what I remember, it’s always really crowded.”

“On weekends, yes,” Cristine said. “But since tomorrow is Friday, if we go right after the morning rush, say about eight-thirty, it will be fairly empty. We should be able to have a private conversation with minimal interruptions.”

“Sounds good.” Ending the call, Zoe didn’t see the need to head back to the high school. At this point, it appeared she was on her own. She texted Mama Bell, letting her know to take the car whenever she was ready to go. Mama replied almost immediately with an okay and a smiley face.

Relieved, Zoe popped into the corner gas station and purchased a bottle of water. She set out, glad of the alone time, planning to walk back to the Bells’ house at a leisurely pace. It was probably just over a mile and she knew she could use the exercise. She walked a lot in the city and not only was the movement therapeutic, it always helped clear her head.

And she certainly had a lot to think about.

As she left downtown behind, she realized she’d always considered Shayna fragile. Zoe loved her like a sister—and always would, no matter what. The woman Shayna had apparently become proved that point. From what Zoe had heard, Shayna was more fragile than ever, doing drugs, sleeping around—and disappearing.

What the hell had happened to make her change so completely? Had it been Brock, as Cristine had hinted? Or jealousy over Zoe’s life, like the sheriff thought? Or was it something more, something no one yet realized or understood, that same something that had made her tell Zoe she needed her? Zoe suspected if she learned the secret to that, she might find out what had become of her friend.

* * *

Emotions—chief among them jumbled regret and longing—swamped Brock as he’d watched Zoe stride into the sheriff’s office. Was she playing some sort of game with him? First she’d asked for his help and then, barely a minute later, told him she’d changed her mind.

And she’d claimed they needed to put their differences aside? As if what had happened between them was that simple.

Did she not understand that she’d freakin’ ripped out his heart? That every time he saw her and she gave him that patently false smile, he wanted to haul her up against him and kiss her senseless, before shoving her away and then daring her to tell him that he meant nothing to her. Did she not realize she was the reason he couldn’t love Shayna the way she deserved, and, worse, that Shayna had guessed it, too?

Of course, he couldn’t. Not when the only reason Zoe had returned was because her friend Shayna had gone missing.