Chapter Fifteen

SARA left the clinic at quarter till ten so that she could go by the pharmacy before she saw Jeffrey. There was a chill in the air and the clouds promised more rain. She tucked her hands into her pockets as she walked down the street, keeping her eyes on the sidewalk in front of her, hoping her posture and her pace would make her seem unapproachable. She needn't have bothered, though. Since Sibyl's death downtown had taken on an eerie quiet. It was as if the whole town had died with her. Sara knew how they felt.

All night, Sara had lain awake in bed, going over each step she had taken with Julia Matthews. No matter what she did, Sara kept seeing the girl laid out on her car, her hands and feet pierced, her eyes glazed as she stared without seeing the night sky. Sara never wanted to go through anything like that again.

The bell over the pharmacy door jingled as Sara walked in, breaking her out of her solitude.

"Hey, Dr. Linton," Marty Ringo called from behind the checkout counter. Her head was bent down, reading a magazine. Marty was a plump woman with an unfortunate mole growing just above her right eyebrow. Black hairs shot out from it like bristles on a brush. Working in the pharmacy, she knew the latest gossip about anyone and everyone in town. Marty would be certain to mention to whoever wandered into the store next that Sara Linton made a special trip to see Jeb today.

Marty smiled slyly. "You looking for Jeb?"

"Yes," Sara answered.

"Heard about last night," Marty said, obviously fishing for information. "That's a college girl, huh?"

Sara nodded, because that much could be found from the paper.

Marty's voice lowered. "Heard she was messed with."

"Mmm," Sara answered, looking around the store. "Is he here?" she asked.

"They both looked alike, too."

"What's that?" Sara asked, suddenly paying attention.

"Both them girls," Marty said. "You think there's some kind of connection?"

Sara cut the conversation short. "I really need to talk to Jeb."

"He's out back." Marty pointed toward the pharmacy, a hurt expression on her face.

Sara thanked Marty with a forced smile as she made her way toward the back of the store. Sara had always liked being in the pharmacy. She had bought her first tube of mascara here. On weekends, her father used to drive them to the store for candy. Not much had changed since Jeb bought the place. The soda counter, which was more for show than for serving drinks, still shone from polish. Contraceptives were still kept behind the counter. The narrow aisles up and down the length of the store were still labeled with signs made from marker and poster board.

Sara peered over the pharmacy counter but didn't see Jeb. She noticed the back door was open, and with a look over her shoulder, she walked behind the counter.

"Jeb?" she called. There was no response, and Sara walked to the open door. Jeb was standing to the side, his back to Sara. She tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped.

"God," he yelled, turning around quickly. The fear on his face was replaced by pleasure when he saw Sara.

He laughed. "You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm sorry," Sara apologized, but the truth was she was glad he could get worked up over something. "What were you doing?"

He pointed to a row of bushes lining the long parking lot behind the buildings. "See in that bush?"

Sara shook her head, not seeing anything but bushes. Then, "Oh," as she saw a small bird nest.

"Finches," Jeb said. "I put a feeder out there last year, but some kids from the school took it away."

Sara turned toward him. "About last night," she began.

He waved her off. "Please, Sara, believe me, I understand. You were with Jeffrey a long time."

"Thank you," she said, meaning it.

Jeb looked back into the pharmacy, lowering his voice. "I'm sorry about what happened, too. You know, with the girl." He shook his head slowly side to side. "It's just hard to think about things like that happening in your own town."

"I know," Sara answered, not really wanting to get into it.

"I guess I can forgive you, skipping out on our date to save somebody's life." He put his hand over the right side of his chest. "Did you really put your hand on her heart?"

Sara moved his hand to the left side. "Yes."

"Good Lord," Jeb breathed. "How did it feel?"

Sara gave him the truth. "Scary," she said. "Very scary."

His voice was filled with admiration when he said, "You are a remarkable woman, Sara. Do you know that?"

She felt silly being praised. "I'll give you a rain check if you want," she offered, trying to move him off the topic of Julia Matthews. "For our date, I mean."

He smiled, genuinely pleased. "That'd be great."

A breeze came and Sara rubbed her arms. "It's getting cold again."

"Here." He led her back inside, shutting the door behind them. "You doing anything this weekend?"

"I don't know," Sara said. Then, "Listen, I came to see if Jeffrey picked up his medication."

"Well." Jeb clasped his hands together. "I guess that means you're busy this weekend."

"No, it doesn't." Sara paused, then said, "It's just complicated."

"Yeah." He forced a smile. "No problem. I'll check his script."

She couldn't stand to see the disappointment on his face. She turned the Medic Alert display to give herself something to do. Bookmarks with religious sayings were alongside diabetes bracelets.

Jeb opened a large drawer under the counter and pulled out an orange pill bottle. He double-checked the label, then said, "He called it in but didn't pick it up yet."

"Thanks," Sara managed, taking the bottle. She held it in her hand, staring at Jeb. She spoke before she could back out of it. "Why don't you call me?" she asked. "About this weekend."

"Yeah, I will."

She reached out with her free hand, smoothing the lapel of his lab coat. "I mean it, Jeb. Call me."

He was quiet for a few seconds, then suddenly he leaned down, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Great," Sara said. She realized she was gripping the pill bottle so tightly that the top was about to pop off. She had kissed Jeb before. It was really no big deal. Something in the back of her mind was scared that Marty would see, though. Something in her mind was scared that news of the kiss would get back to Jeffrey.

"I can give you a bag for that," Jeb offered, pointing to the bottle.

"No," Sara mumbled, tucking the bottle into her jacket pocket.

She murmured a thanks and was out the door before Marty could look up from her magazine.

Jeffrey and Nick Shelton were out in the hall when Sara got to the station. Nick stood with his hands tucked into the back pockets of his jeans, his regulation GBI dark blue dress shirt tight across his chest. His non-regulation beard and mustache were trimmed neatly to his face, and his equally forbidden gold rope chain was hanging from his neck. At just under five feet six inches, he was short enough for Sara to rest her chin on the top of his head. This had not prevented him from asking her out a number of times.

"Hey, girl," Nick said, putting his arm around her waist.

Jeffrey had about as much to worry about competition-wise from Nick Shelton as he did from a reindeer, but he still seemed to bristle at the familiar way Nick held her. Sara thought Nick was overly solicitous for this very reason.

"Why don't we start the meeting?" Jeffrey grumbled. "Sara has to get back to work."

Sara caught up with Jeffrey as they walked down the hallway toward the back. She tucked the pill bottle into his coat pocket.

"What's this?" he asked, taking it out. Then, "Oh."

"Oh," Sara repeated, opening the door.

Frank Wallace and a reedy-looking young man in khakis and a shirt like Nick's were sitting in the briefing room when they entered. Frank stood, shaking Nick's hand. He gave Sara a firm nod, which she did not return. Something told Sara that Frank had a hand in what happened last night, and she did not like it.