Read Online Dead Silence by Brenda Novak - Free Book Online Page B

conversation that her stepsister was leading them straight to the topic she least wanted to discuss.
    â€œTell her what?” he asked, sprawled out on one end of Grace’s plush, olive-colored sofa.
    An illegitimate baby, Kirk had been raised by his grandmother in the small brick house next to the library on First Street, until his father was old enough to take him. Because he was eight years older than Grace, she hadn’t had much contact with him whenshe lived in Stillwater. But she’d always liked him. He was the strong silent type, immovable in his loyalties and affections. And he wasn’t bad-looking. He had a crooked nose—something he’d acquired playing football—and fine brown hair that lacked body. A pair of intense brown eyes easily redeemed his appearance, however. And he had great hands. Large and masculine, with plenty of nicks and gouges from his work as a roofing contractor, they were very different from George’s long, narrow fingers and perfectly manicured nails.
    â€œTell her what you heard at the tavern last night. I didn’t bring you over here just so you could wolf down two plates of pasta,” Madeline teased, pulling her long auburn hair over one shoulder.
    Picking up her wineglass from the table, Grace stood and crossed the room to stare out the front window. Barker would never be forgotten, she thought bitterly. Even after eighteen years, it seemed that every conversation, at least with anyone remotely connected to Stillwater, included him—if not directly, then in some kind of subtext.
    â€œI ran into Matt Howton,” Kirk said.
    Grace sipped her wine. “ Matt? I don’t recall him.”
    â€œHe’s John Howton’s oldest. Tall, skinny guy, about twenty-three. Works for Jed Fowler down at the auto shop.”
    At the mention of Jed Fowler, tension knotted the muscles in Grace’s back and shoulders. “What did Matt have to say?”
    Kirk leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and letting his hands dangle between his knees. “We were just kicking back, having a few beers and shooting some pool, you know? And then he asked me howMadeline’s doing, which led to the fact that you’re in town, which led to what he thought about your stepfather.”
    â€œAnd?” Grace asked, bracing herself.
    â€œHe suspects Jed Fowler might’ve had something to do with what happened,” Madeline inserted, as if she couldn’t wait for Kirk to get to the point.
    Grace wasn’t surprised by this declaration. Matt wasn’t the first to suggest the taciturn repairman had been involved in the reverend’s disappearance. But the excitement in Madeline’s voice indicated there was more. “Did he say why?”
    â€œFirst, you know Lorna Martin, who lives behind Jed’s shop, says that on the night our father disappeared, she heard Jed’s truck pull in around midnight, right?”
    Grace nodded.
    â€œThe light went on in the shop and stayed on until 3:00 a.m.,” Madeline continued. “She insists it’s the only time she’s ever seen him there so late.”
    â€œShe reported that to the police,” Grace said.
    â€œ Now tell her what Matt said,” Madeline urged Kirk.
    â€œMatt claims Jed has a file drawer he always keeps locked,” Kirk said.
    Grace’s stomach began to hurt. She’d had enough of locked file drawers. From her experience, nothing good was ever inside. “So?” She scowled as she turned to face them. “Maybe he’s got something valuable in there.”
    Kirk’s eyebrows notched up, as if it surprised him that she wasn’t more excited about the news. “Maybe he does, and maybe he doesn’t, but according to Matt, he acts very strange about it. Matt wasdoing some stuff in the office two days ago and happened to find the drawer unlocked for a change. Curiosity got the better of him, so he opened it. Jed walked