As she was walking down the hall, she heard her name mentioned. She stopped, straining to hear the conversation.
"Are you sure?" came Sarah's voice from the family room.
"I had my suspicions the day she fell from the cliff. If she had asked about the building when we passed it, I might have figured she had never seen it, but she pretended she didn't notice. Then today when I couldn't find her . . ." He must have been moving, because his voice faded and then became clear again. " . . . found the window unlocked."
"Do you think she'll say anything?" Sarah asked.
There was a brief pause. "I don't know. Her friend called today. I thought . . ." His voice faded again. He must be pacing.
"What about this boy Allen who called yesterday?"
"I think that possibility has been eliminated. He . . ." mumbling, then something about Len and a cell phone.
"She'll be going to college next month. She'll be leaving then."
There was a long pause. "I don't intend to let her leave," Yancey answered gruffly.
Lisa put shaking fingers to her mouth to silence an involuntary cry. No wonder he didn't ask her to leave. What was it he said that day in the mountains . . . a body could be lost in those hills forever? Apparently her instincts had been correct when she suspected that he was trying to warn her. She should have listened then. And Sarah was involved? It was hard to believe sweet little Sarah would be involved with anything so sinister.
"Now son," Sarah spoke calmly. "How do you propose to stop her?"
Would Sarah stand up for her? Lisa waited for his reply in tense silence, but his response filled her with equal anger and pain.
"That's just it. I'll propose."
Lisa clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes burning with tears. So that was why he was so attentive. Wasn't there some law that prevented a wife from testifying against her husband? She swallowed a sob as Sarah's response came.
"And if she doesn't want to marry you?"
The telephone drowned out his response, and Lisa darted to her room. If they caught her listening into their conversation, there would be no chance to get away. In her room, the tears flowed freely. He cared nothing about her. His only concern was protecting his business, even if he had to marry someone he didn't love. A horrible thought burst unwanted into her mind. Did he marry Valorie for love, or because she found out about his business? Did she actually die in childbirth?