Page 630 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I was going through some of the old files and came across the name several times.”

Louellen studied Sydney and waited. Finally she spoke. “Yeah, I know who Lewis is.”

“Well, do you know where he is or what happened to him?”

“Yes.”

“Well?” she prompted. This was about as useless as trying to eat a bowl of cereal with a fork.

“He’s dead.” Louellen turned and regally walked away.

What was that about? Louellen had freely given the information about Cecil Prichard, but when Sydney mentioned Lewis, Louellen clammed up.

The nursing homewas a far cry from the Prichard’s home place. Sydney couldn’t help but compare the old shack and junky yard to the modern buildings with the meticulous landscaping. “Are you a relative of Mr. Prichard?” the girl behind the glass window asked.

“Yes, I’m his niece,” Sydney said, hoping that Mr. Prichard had one.

After a few minutes of waiting in the lobby, a nurse appeared and escorted Sydney out of the administration building, across the lawn, and into the large room of another building where an elderly bald man sat in a wheelchair, looking out the window. He was neatly dressed and had a blanket spread over his legs. Although they were the same build, it was hard for Sydney to believe this was the father of the repulsive man she’d met a few days before.

“Cecil, I’ve brought someone to visit you.” The nurse smiled and left Sydney with him.

“Cecil.” Sydney held out her hand.

“Hello,” he said, studying her face.

Sydney looked around to be sure the nurse had left before starting her conversation. “Mr. Prichard, you don’t know me. My name is Sydney Lassiter, and I work for the sawmill where you used to work.”

“Yeah.” The man nodded.

He did remember! “Do you remember a man named Avery McClain?

“Yeah, I knew Avery.” Mr. Prichard smiled and nodded again. “I thought a lot of Avery. He was a fine man.”

“Mr. Prichard, do you remember the log accident in the wood yard where Avery was almost killed?”

“Yeah, I remember that. Like to have scared me and him both to death. That chain didn’t just break, you know. It was cut.”

“Can you tell me who would have wanted to do such a thing?”

Sydney held her breath and waited for an answer. Then Cecil smiled like he recognized her for the first time. “Honey, I thought I were never gon’ see my little girl again. You do love your old daddy after all, don’t you?” He held out his hands.

At another time and place, Sydney would have gladly offered her hands to someone like Cecil, but not today. “What? No, we were talking about Avery McClain and the log yard accident. Don’t you remember? Just a second ago, you said you knew Avery. Listen to me!” She felt like shaking Cecil.

“Yeah.” Cecil laughed. “You look just like your momma. Where is she?”

“Ma’am.” The nurse patted Sydney’s arm. “Don’t let Mr. Prichard upset you. He don’t mean to. He has Alzheimer’s.”

Sydney nodded. She tried to sort through her mixed emotions. Yes, pity was the word she was looking for, but she wasn’t sure who she was feeling sorry for—Cecil Prichard or herself.

18

“EVEN A FOOL, WHEN HE HOLDETH HIS PEACE, IS COUNTED WISE.”—PROVERBS 17:28

Fall came swiftly to Stoney Creek. Not that Sydney minded. She’d forgotten how beautiful the change of the season was in the Southeast. It was as if Mother Nature took pity on the suffocating, listless terrain and decided to brush a leaf here and there with a smidgen of scarlet or gold. Before long the mystical process caught like wildfire and the whole mountainside became ablaze with brilliant color. The air was so crisp that it gave wings to the soul. It was a day for healing. The kind of day that made you believe you could accomplish anything.

Sydney opened one of her bedroom windows. The wind felt good on her face. She turned her attention away from the window to the closet. Sydney’s small closet was stuffed so full that she grabbed a handful of hanging clothes and put them on her bed, just so she could sift through what she had. She sighed. With all these clothes, it shouldn’t be that hard to find one outfit. She tried on one thing and then another, tossing the rejects in a heap on her bed.

The plan was to meet Kendall at football practice and then they were going to dinner with a few of his friends. She knew that Emma would be there with her boyfriend, Chuck Lingerfelt. Theonly memory Sydney had of Chuck was that he was very quiet and had so many pimples that he’d been nicknamed “pizza face” by some of the meaner kids in school. Sydney wasn’t sure who else would be there.

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