Vows of Silence. Debra Webb

it was said I should be very, very afraid. For a split second I thought maybe it was a prank but then he said I know your secret.”

      Another long beat of nerve-racking silence passed before any of them found their voices again.

      “But that’s…” Kira looked at each of them in turn. “That’s impossible. No one knows.”

      “Could someone have seen you guys…?” Melinda moistened her trembling lips. “You know…”

      “No one saw us,” Cassidy said flatly. “If someone had seen or had known anything we’d all be behind bars serving out our sentences.” She leveled her most intimidating stare on Lacy. “This is a hoax. You say the call came in right after Summers left?”

      Lacy nodded. “Almost immediately.”

      “Damn him,” Cassidy swore. “He’s trying to scare you. He can’t get away with that.”

      “What do I do?” Lacy argued. “Tell him that his creepy calls about my secret are not going to work?”

      “You don’t tell him anything,” Cassidy cautioned. “That’s exactly what he wants you to do. Ignore it.”

      “But what if it’s not him?” Melinda leaned in close. “From what I’ve seen so far, Rick is a good chief of police. I can’t imagine he would stoop to this kind of underhanded tactic. Someone had to have seen what you did.”

      Cassidy glanced around the diner as if worried that they were being watched. Deputy Brewer seemed to be focused on his breakfast. “Melinda,” she said, turning her attention back to the woman at her side, “you’re overreacting. No one saw us. If they had, they would have talked years ago. Don’t forget that Senator Ashland offered a sizable reward for any information on his missing son.”

      Lacy had forgotten about that. Rumor had it that Charles, Senior, had even hired a private investigator in hopes of locating his son, but the man had found nothing. She wasn’t sure whether the four of them had simply been smart or extremely lucky.

      Either way, Cassidy was correct. If someone had seen anything, they would certainly have cashed in on the reward ten years ago. But would Rick really go to such extremes to scare her?