Page 698 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Walter chuckled. “Spoken like a true safety consultant.”

Their words got lost in silence and they sat staring at the fire. Walter spoke first. “I’m glad you told me about Avery’s journal.You’ve raised some good questions. And you don’t have any idea who stole it?”

“No.”

“I want you to know that I’m going to do everything I can to get to the bottom of this, but you have to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“If I come up empty-handed, you have to let it go.”

Sydney stared into the fire and watched the flames devour the logs. She thought of Avery, then looked up to meet Walter’s eyes. “No, I won’t let it go. I can’t. I have to find the answers … even if I die trying.”

40

“… A TIME TO KEEP SILENCE, AND A TIME TO SPEAK.”—ECCLESIASTES 3:7

Whenever the stress in Sydney’s life became unbearable, she could count on a good hard run to ease the tension and clear her mind. Today even that had not done the trick. Hot water from the shower pounded on Sydney’s back as she replayed her conversation with Walter over and over in her mind. Then her thoughts shifted to Kendall. He’d called and awakened her at 8 o’clock this morning, saying that Walter wanted to take them out on his boat. It was so frustrating to try and explain why she didn’t want to go without revealing all the facts. There was no way she could make Kendall understand. Why would Walter even suggest such a thing? Surely he knew how she felt about boats. Maybe Walter was trying to help her face the fear, but he was certainly going about it the wrong way.

Sydney stepped out of the shower and wound a towel around her hair. The phone was ringing. She threw on her robe and rushed to answer it. “Hello?”

Silence.

“Hello?”The words were garbled and husky, like they were all wrapped up in barbed wire. “They know! They know who you are! Get out now while you can!”

Hot prickles pelted Sydney. She gripped the receiver. “Who is this?”

The line went dead.

Sydney’s hand was shaking when she put down the phone. She tried to place the voice. Something about it was hauntingly familiar.

The sound of the doorbell jolted her and she moved to open it.

“Kendall, you’re early.”

He stepped into the living room and glanced at her attire. He looked at his watch. “I told Walter we’d meet him at two.”

She swung around, causing the towel to fall off her head. The nerve of him. The phone call, her conversation with Walter—it all melted to the razor-sharp tip of an arrow. And that arrow was pointed at Kendall. “If you’re in such a big hurry to get there then maybe you should just go on without me!”

An arched eyebrow was his only reaction. “No, I’ll wait.” He sat down on the sofa.

How could he be so oblivious? Couldn’t he tell that something was wrong?

Sydney stomped to her bedroom and slammed the door. She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and retrieved her tennis shoes from the closet. Any other time she would have put more effort into her appearance, but she’d be darned if she’d put Kendall out any further by making him wait an extra minute! She reached for a hairbrush and raked it through her hair in jerky movements. She was going to take her jeep instead of riding with Kendall. That way she could talk to Walter for a minute and then leave. If Kendall didn’t like it, that was tough.At least one good thing would come out of the whole ordeal. She could tell Walter about the phone call.

When she returned, Kendall was pacing back and forth in front of the door. “All right,” she said, “let’s go. I’d hate to keep your dear friend Walter waiting.” She reached for her jacket and purse and stormed out the door with Kendall following close behind. She noticed Hazel’s curtains part as she approached the driver’s side of the jeep.

“What are you doing?”

Sydney’s chin raised a notch. “I’m going to follow you to the dock. I told you earlier that I don’t want to go out on the boat.”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Why would you not want to go? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a beautiful day, and we’ll have a wonderful time. It means a lot to Walter. I want the two of you to get to know each other better.”

She had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

“Come on, it means a lot to me.”

Normally, she would give in. Kendall didn’t know, couldn’t possibly understand, what he was asking of her. She raised an eyebrow, letting him know that she still wasn’t convinced.

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