Best Kept Secrets(167)

boys wouldn't ask any questions, either. I depended on their

loyalty to each other. It was the perfect crime. Angus, thinking

he was protecting the boys, made his deal with the judge.

I hated that Junior had to get married so young, but I was

glad it was to Stacey rather than Celina."

The smoke was growing thicker. It was swirling around

Sarah Jo, though she seemed unaware of it. "You started



asking too many questions," she told Alex, drawing a sad ,face. "I tried to scare you off with that letter. I made it look like it had come from that crazy Reverend Plummet, but I sent it." She seemed quite pleased with herself. Alex used & her complacency to creep forward, moving slowly, one step

at a time.

"You still didn't take the hint, so I ran you off the road

with one of the company pickups. Judge Wallace would probably

still be alive, and the deal Angus made with him would still be a secret, if only you had died when your car crashed.''

She seemed genuinely perturbed. "But, after today, I won't

have to--"

Alex lunged forward and struck Sarah Jo's wrist. She was

stronger than she appeared. She managed to maintain her grip

on the knife. Alex grabbed her wrist and hung on, trying to

dodge the stabbing motions aimed toward her body.

"I won't let you destroy my family," Sarah Jo grunted as

she plunged the knife toward Alex's midsection.

The two women struggled over control of the knife. They

fell to their knees. Alex tried to dodge the downward arcs of

the blade, but the smoke was getting too thick for her to see

it well. Her eyes filled with tears. She began to choke. Sarah

Jo knocked her into the wall. Upon impact, she felt the stitches

in her scalp pop open.

Somehow, she managed to get to her feet, and began dragging

Sarah Jo down the hallway, where smoke was billowing

around them. All the rules of fire escape fled Alex's mind.

She tried to hold her breath, but her lungs demanded oxygen

for the difficult task of pulling Sarah Jo along with her.

They had almost reached the living room before Sarah Jo

realized that Alex had gained the upper hand. She renewed

her efforts and came back stronger than ever. The knife

slashed Alex's ankle and she screamed. Its serrated edge

caught her again in the calf, and she staggered back toward

the living room.

Suddenly, she lost her grip on Sarah Jo. While seconds

ago, she'd been fighting for her freedom, she now panicked



at the thought of losing her attacker in the suffocating black

smoke. It was so thick that she couldn't even distinguish an

outline of the other woman.

"Sarah Jo! Where are you?" Alex gagged on a mouthful

of smoke. Stretching her arms far out in front of her, she

groped for the woman, but touched nothing except the searing

air.

Then, survival instincts took over. She turned, ducked,

and plunged through the hallway. In the living room, she

dodged burning furniture and ran blindly in the direction of

the door. The door was intact, but smoldering. She grabbed

the knob; it branded the palm of her hand.

Screaming in fear and pain, she barreled through the door

and out onto the porch.

"Alex!"

She stumbled in the direction of Reede's voice and saw

through smoke-damaged eyes the wavering image of a Jeep

coming to a screeching halt only yards in front of her.

"Reede," she croaked, reaching for him. She fell. He

leaped from behind the steering wheel and bent over her.

"Sarah Jo," she wheezed. With an effort, she raised her hand

and pointed toward the house.

"My God, Mother!" Junior went over the side of the Jeep

and hit the ground at a run.

"Junior, come back!" Stacey screamed. "No, God, no!"

"Son, don't!" Angus reached for Junior's arm as he sped

past. "It's too late!"

Reede was already on the porch when Junior knocked him

aside. Reede fell backward down the steps and onto the

ground. He made an unsuccessful grab for Junior's ankle.

"Junior, you can't!" he roared.

Junior turned and looked down at him. "This time, Reede,

I'll get the glory."

He flashed Reede his most beautiful smile, then ran into

the burning house.



Epilogue





"I thought you might be here."



Reede gave no impression of having heard Alex approach until

she spoke to him. He glanced at her over his shoulder, then

back at the two fresh graves. For a moment, there was an awkward

silence, then he said, "I promised Angus I would come out

every day to check on things. He's not feeling quite up to it yet."



Alex moved nearer. "I stopped by to see him this afternoon.

He made a feeble attempt to be the hale fellow well

met," she remarked sadly. "He's entitled to grieve. I told