Rickey glanced up then. His gaze met hers. The hair on the back of her neck prickling, she lifted a hand in goodbye, turned and walked quickly away.

CHAPTER 28.

Avery went home to regroup and decide on her next step. She sat at her kitchen table, much as she had for the past hour, untouched tuna sandwich on a plate beside her. She stared at her notebook, at the names of the dead.

Such damning evidence. Didn't anyone in Cypress Springs find this rash of deaths odd? Hadn't anyone expressed concern to Buddy or Matt? Was the whole town in on this conspiracy?

Slow down, Chauvin. Assess the facts. Be objective.

Avery pushed away from the table, stood and crossed to the window. She peered out at the lush backyard, a profusion of greens accented by splashes of red and pink. What did she actually have? Gwen Lancaster, a woman who claimed that a vigilante-style group was operating in Cypress Springs. A number of accidental deaths, suspicious because of their number. Two missing persons. A murder. A suicide. And a box of newspaper clippings about a fifteen-year-old murder.

Accidents took lives. People went missing. Murders happened, as tragic a fact as that was. Yes, the suicide rate was slightly higher than the state average, but statistics were based on averages not absolutes. It might be two years before another Cypress Springs resident took his own life.

And the clippings? she wondered. A clue to state of mind or nothing more than saved memorabilia?

If the clippings were evidence to a state of mind, wouldn't her dad have saved something else as well? She thought yes. But where would he have stored them? She had emptied his bedroom closet and dresser drawers, the kitchen cabinets and pantry and the front hall closet. But she hadn't even set foot in his study or the attic.

Now, she decided, was the time.

Two and a half hours later, Avery found herself back in the kitchen, no closer to an answer than before. She crossed to the sink to wash her hands, frustrated. She had gone through her father's desk and bookshelves, his stored files in the attic. She had done a spot check of every box in the attic. And found nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary.

She dried her hands. What next? In Washington, she'd had colleagues to brainstorm with, editors to turn to for opinions and insights, sources she trusted. Here she had nothing but her own gut instinct to guide her.

She let it guide her now. She picked up the phone and dialed her editor at the Post. "Brandon, it's Avery."

"Is it really you?" He laughed. "And here I thought you might be hiding from me."

He appreciated bluntness. He always preferred his writers get to the point-both in their work and their pitches. The high-stress business of getting a newspaper on the stands afforded no time for meandering or coy word games.

"I'm onto a story," she said.

"Glad to hear your brain's still working. Though I'm a bit surprised, considering. Tell me about it."

"Small town turns to policing its citizens Big Brother-style as a way to stop the ills of the modern world

from encroaching on their way of life. It began when a group of citizens, alarmed by the dramatic increase in crime, formed an organization to counter the tide. At first it was little more than a Neighborhood Watch-type program. A way to help combat crime."

"Then they ran amok," he offered.

"Yes. According to my source, the core group was small, but they had an intricate network of others who reported to the group. Citizens were followed. Their mail read. What they ate, drank and watched

was monitored. Where they went. If they worshiped. If the group determined it necessary, they were warned that their behavior would not be tolerated."

"Goodbye civil rights," Brandon muttered.

"That's not the half of it. If their warnings went unheeded, the group took action. Businesses were

boycotted. Individuals shunned. Property vandalized. To varying degrees, everyone was in on it."

He was silent a moment. "You talking about your hometown?"

"Yup."

"You have proof?"

"Nope." She pulled in a deep breath. "There's more. They may even have begun resorting to murder."

"Go on."

"The deaths are masked as suicides or accidents. A drowning during a fishing trip, a farmer falling under

his tractor, a hanging, a-"

"-doctor setting himself on fire."

"Yes," she said evenly. "Things like that."

"Avery, you're not up to this. You're not thinking clearly right now."

"I can handle it. I haven't lost my objectivity."

"Bullshit and you know it."

She did, but she wasn't about to admit that. "I just want to find out the truth."

"And what is the truth, Avery?"

"I'm not certain. The story could be a work of fiction. My source is-"

"Less than credible? Unreliable? His motivations questionable?"

"Yes."

"They always are, Avery. You know that. And you know what to do."

Follow leads. Find another source. Prove information accurate.

"Not as easy as it sounds," she said. "This is a small community. They've closed ranks. Others, I suspect,

are frightened."

"I think you should come back to Washington."

"I can't do that. Not yet. I have to pursue this."

"Why's that, Avery?"

Because of her dad. " It'd make a good story," she hedged. "And if it's true, somebody's getting away

with murder."

"It would make a good piece, but that has nothing to do with why you want to go after it. We both know that."

In her editor's vernacular, admitting the story had potential equaled a green light. "It's the stuff Pulitzers

are made from," she teased.

"If what you're telling me is true, it's the stuff that fills morgues. I want you back at your desk, Avery. Not laid out on a slab."

"You worry too much. Got any suggestions?"

"Look closely at the facts. Double-check your own motivations. Then go to people you trust." He

paused. "But be careful, Avery. I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted you back alive."

CHAPTER 29.

Avery took her editor's advice to go to people she trusted. She decided to start with Lilah, who she had been meaning to pay a visit to anyway.

She parked her rental in the Stevenses' driveway and climbed out. Their garage door was open; Avery

saw that both Lilah's and Cherry's cars were parked inside.

Avery made her way up the walk, across the porch to the door. She rang the bell. Cherry answered.

"Hey," Avery said.

The other woman didn't smile. "Hey."

"I stopped by to see how Lilah was feeling."

Cherry didn't move from the doorway. "She's better, thanks."

Avery had been meaning to call Cherry and apologize for the way she'd snapped at her at her father's

wake, but hadn't. Until that moment, Avery hadn't realized just how badly she had hurt the other woman. Or how angry she was. Her reaction seemed extreme to Avery, but some people were more sensitive than others.

"Cherry, can we talk a moment?"

"If you want."

"I'm sorry about the other night. At the wake. I was upset. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I've been

kicking myself for it ever since."

Cherry's expression softened. In fact, for the space of a heartbeat, Avery thought the other woman might cry. Then her lips curved into a smile. "Apology accepted," she said, then pushed open the screen door. Avery stepped inside and turned to the younger woman who motioned toward the back of the house.

"Mother's on the sunporch. She'll be delighted to see you."

She was. "Avery!" the older woman exclaimed, setting aside her novel. "What a pleasure."