COLD CASE AT CAMDEN CROSSING by Rita Herron Page B

wondered about the girl’s home life.
    A second later, the woman looked up, her amber eyes flashing with surprise. “Tawny-Lynn, you really are back?”
    Tawny-Lynn shifted, her hands jittery although she didn’t know why. “Not for long. Just to settle my daddy’s ranch.”
    Rudy’s expression softened. “Well, good luck with that.”
    “Thanks.” Tawny-Lynn gestured at the jerseys and trophies. “So you own this place now?”
    Rudy grinned. “Yes. I guess the tomboy in me never died.” At the word died, she winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it—”
    “Don’t apologize,” Tawny-Lynn said. “I always loved this store. It’s nice to know it’s in the hands of someone else who appreciated it.”
    Rudy walked around the counter, and Tawny-Lynn noticed she was pregnant. “Oh, when’s the baby due?”
    “A couple of months,” Rudy said. “I married a guy I met at A&M, Jo Farnsworth. He played football for the Aggies.”
    “Congratulations.” A silence fell, and she fidgeted with one of the sweatbands on the shelf. At least Rudy had moved on and seemed happy.
    Something she’d been unable to do. Even miles away in Austin, it was as if she were permanently stuck here in the past.
    “I’m so sorry they never found Ruth or Peyton,” Rudy finally said.
    Tawny-Lynn gave a slight shrug. “I wish I could have helped more. Remembered...”
    “It wasn’t your fault,” Rudy said. “Everyone was way too hard on you.”
    “Thanks.” Unexpected tears burned Tawny-Lynn’s eyes. “Can I ask you a question, Rudy?”
    Rudy rubbed a hand over her belly, but a wary look pulled at her face. “What?”
    “Did you ever hear my sister talking about a boyfriend after she broke up with J.J.?”
    Rudy started refolding a stack of jerseys that were perfectly folded. “It was a long time ago, Tawny-Lynn, and you know Peyton and I weren’t close friends. She was the pretty popular girl and I was...a dork.”
    Tawny-Lynn laughed for the first time in a long time as if she might have found a friend. “I always felt that way around her, too.”
    Rudy gave her a sympathetic look. “I always liked you. And I’ll never forget that last game. You were awesome.”
    Tawny-Lynn blinked back more tears. For so long, she’d associated everything about Camden Crossing with that horrible day. But there had been some good memories and people here.
    “Thanks, I thought you were cool, too.”
    They both laughed.
    “Good luck with the baby.” A seed of envy sprouted inside Tawny-Lynn. She’d closed herself off from relationships for so long that she hadn’t bothered to fantasize about marriage and a family of her own. She’d been too busy grieving the one she’d lost.
    She turned to go, but Rudy rushed up behind her. “Tawny-Lynn, I...didn’t want to say anything because...I don’t want to speak bad about Peyton, but...”
    “But what?” Tawny-Lynn clenched Rudy’s hand. “Tell me. J.J. said he thought Peyton might have been involved with a married man.”
    Rudy’s eyes flickered with regret. “I think she was, too.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “A couple of days before the accident, I left my bag in the locker room and went back to get it. I heard Peyton and Ruth talking.”
    “What were they saying?”
    Rudy rubbed her swollen belly again. “Peyton was crying and said that she thought he’d leave his wife for her, but he wasn’t going to. She sounded really upset.”
    “Did she say who the man was?”
    Rudy shook her head. “No. Apparently he told her she’d better not tell anyone about the two of them, that he’d ruin her life if she did.”
    Tawny-Lynn’s heart hammered. She had to find out who Peyton had been sleeping with. The man who’d made that threat could have killed her.
    And if Ruth had known about him, he might have killed her to keep her quiet.
    * * *
    “M RS . D OTHAN ,” C HAZ said as he paused at the doorway. “If I find out you’re lying to protect Barry, I’ll come back and