Resurrection Road by Kathryn R. Wall

Author:Kathryn R. Wall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2012-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

I plucked my own parking ticket from under the wipers of the T-Bird, then wandered down to the waterfront. A few tourists still lingered along the shaded walkways, and squealing children chased each other around a sandy area filled with swings and slides. The withering heat shimmered across the placid surface of the river.

I stood for a while at the water’s edge. The high, arched bridge which connected the mainland to Lady’s Island was just swinging closed, and a long line of idling cars stretched out of sight in both directions. The elegant, tall-masted sailboat whose passage had necessitated the delay glided serenely toward the tiny marina just up the waterway as I pondered my assignment from Gabby Henson.

I had avoided thinking about Millicent Anderson for the better part of a year. A conversation with my mother’s old rival would force me to examine things I’d hoped never to have to face again. I stepped back into the shade and settled myself on a deserted bench. I drew a long breath and tried to empty my mind, but the memories I’d buried for so many months kept struggling to break free …

The Grayton’s Race investment scheme for which Millicent’s son had died had been a scam, although the shadowy men behind it had never been prosecuted. Geoffrey Anderson had been their front man, the local boy turned advisor and attorney to some of the more questionable members of the south Florida power elite. I had stumbled into the mess quite by accident. Approached by family friends because of my financial expertise, I had set out to assure the viability of their considerable investments in the project supposedly designed to reclaim the old Grayton mansion and turn its grounds into an upscale housing development.

Despite the blistering sun, I shivered. Blinded by the memory of a girlhood crush on the dashing Geoff Anderson, I had let myself be seduced by his easy charm and lying heart. I rubbed my arms, remembering the touch of his hands on my skin …

I closed my eyes, but the images of that horrible night shimmered before me in vivid color: flashing blue lights against the black August sky, the flickering reds and yellows, the overpowering heat. And the smell …

Stop it! I swiped at the tears I couldn’t control and rose abruptly from the bench.

I’d done all I could, I told myself. I’d confronted one of Geoff’s cronies, a sleazy local lawyer named Hadley Bolles, and blackmailed him into returning my friends’ investments. I’d never told anyone, not even my own father, of my former lover’s involvement. Or of his admissions about the bomb which had killed my anti-drug-crusading husband the year before. I’d done my best to keep my surviving family safe and tried to get on with my life.

I drew a tissue from my purse as I approached the car. I slipped inside, blew my nose, and ordered myself to get a grip. I had made my deal with the devil. I had

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