SOME SECRETS ARE MEANT TO STAY BURIED
Laura Webber is determined to uncover the truth behind her parentsâ murders. But after being interviewed about the unsolved case, sheâs abducted and dumped in the Mississippi River with a warning to stop digging up the past. With her life in jeopardy, she knows that her former fiancé, Brad Austin, is the only person she can turn to for help. The cold-case detective has spent years trying to forget Laura, yet he canât turn her away. But before Brad can wrap her in his protection, will their reunion be cut short by a killer threatening to silence Laura forever?
The Cold Case Files: Uncovering secrets of the past
Laura cast one last terrified glance around the parking lot and took a deep breath. âWeâve got to get out of here. Theyâre watching us.â
Bradâs frown deepened. âWhoâs watching us?â
âThe man who abducted me last night. He knew Iâd been to the police, and he knew what I was wearing.â
Brad steered her back toward the car. âGet in the car, Laura. I need to get you out of here.â
Once inside he cranked the engine and roared from the parking lot. As he sped down the street, he looked in the rearview mirror from time to time. âI donât think weâre being followed. I donât know who these guys are, but weâll do our best to find out. Until we do, I want you to lie low, and let us do our job.â
She stared out the window without answering him. For years she had convinced herself she could live with the unanswered questions about her parentsâ deaths, but now she knew that was impossible.
The events of last night and today had propelled her past a point of no return, and now she wouldnât give up until she had the answers sheâd craved.
SANDRA ROBBINS,
a former teacher and principal in the Tennessee public schools, is a full-time writer for the Christian market. She is married to her college sweetheart, and they have four children and five grandchildren. As a child, Sandra accepted Jesus as her Savior and has depended on Him to guide her throughout her life.
While working as a principal, Sandra came in contact with many individuals who were so burdened with problems that they found it difficult to function in their everyday lives. Her writing ministry grew out of the need for hope that she saw in the lives of those around her.
It is her prayer that God will use her words to plant seeds of hope in the lives of her readers. Her greatest desire is that many will come to know the peace she draws from her life verse, Isaiah 40:31. âBut those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.â
But I will hope continually,
and will yet praise thee more and more.
âPsalms 71:14
To my sisters Pam, Fran and Sandy for all your encouragement and support
ONE
Even though Laura Webber had watched the prerecorded television interview on the six oâclock news, she couldnât wait to see the repeat at ten. Sheâd spent the time between the broadcasts finishing up paperwork in her office at the hospital, and then switched on the television to catch it again on the late news. She stared at her pale face on the screen and wondered how her friend and roommate, Grace Kincaid, had ever talked her into doing that interview.
Sheâd promised herself when sheâd returned to Memphis she wouldnât dredge up the memories sheâd lived with for the past nineteen years. And yet, there she was on the most watched television station in the city telling how her parents had died in a car bomb explosion when she was ten years old.
Grace, ever the professional reporter, stared into the camera to close the interview. âThe deaths of Lawrence Webber and his wife, Madeline, are one of the many unsolved cases that have prompted local authorities to establish a new Cold Case unit within the police department. The Webbers are but one family who hopes they will soon have answers concerning the fates of their loved ones. I am Grace Kincaid reporting for WKIZ-TV. Thank you for watching.â
Laura pressed the remote to switch off the television, leaned forward and folded her arms on her desk. At first she hadnât wanted to do the interview. The memory of seeing the car bomb explode and engulf her parents in flames still haunted her. Grace had reasoned with her that people needed to be reminded that a federal prosecutor and his wife had been murdered while his children watched, and she was right. It felt good to know she had told her parentsâ story.
She glanced at the clock and jumped to her feet. Time to get home. If she was to make it to her early appointments with clients at Cornerstone Clinic in the morning, she needed some sleep. She grabbed her purse hanging on the back of her chair and slid its strap over her shoulder. A chill rippled down her spine as a thought flashed in her mind. The next hospital shift wouldnât occur for another hour. The parking lot would be deserted this late.