“I was attacked by the killer at Magnolia.”
Ben set his cup on the desk. “What happened?” Greer told her story again and made sure Ben took the report. She didn’t want to keep reliving the attack every time she had to tell it.
“She needs a first aid kit,” Locke said.
“Oh, right. It’s on Adam’s desk. He had a problem with a rowdy drunk over at Shady Glen apartments during the evacuation.”
“Is he okay?” Greer asked.
“I’m dandy,” Adam quipped as he strode into the bullpen. Jeans. T-shirt. “And dry now.”
“Where’d he get you?” His face seemed clean. No bruises.
“Everywhere.” His expression was grim, but he tossed her the first aid kit and aimed a scowl at Locke.
“She was attacked by that carny killer again,” Ben offered. “I just took the report.” Adam snatched it and skimmed it, then glanced at Greer, studied her face—probably the small cuts and abrasions. She was piling them up lately. “She stabbed him in the shoulder with a knitting needle.”
“They’re long.” Greer shrugged.
Adam’s eyebrows raised.
“It’s all I could find.”
“Well, he’s wounded then. Right along with the rest of us. I guess we go up to the carnival workers and give them a good squeeze to the shoulder. Whoever flinches did it.” He tossed the report on the desk and stomped out of the bullpen into the back.
This wasn’t like Adam at all. She started to go after him, but Locke held her back. “Let him go, Greer.”
If he didn’t have a decent grasp on her arm and a strange look on his face, she would have beelined it after Adam. Confront him about not keeping her in the loop. “Fine. Let’s go.” Before they headed out, she also updated Ben on the box of evidence they found and the masked man who had taken it from them. Then they left the station. The rain had slackened but the skies were still full of doom and threatening another torrential storm.
“I want to talk to Rudy Dennison about Jenna’s son. And I want to talk to Jenna about Bolt Masterson.”
“You sure? Now?”
“I’m sure.” One or all of them were hiding something. Protecting Flip. Or each other.
* * *
Locke held Lin as she slept in his arms. She’d just finished her bedtime bottle. It was almost nine. She’d stayed up as long as her little, lovely self would allow. He ought to put her down in the portable crib in Tori’s room, but he couldn’t make himself. Not when she was warm and snuggly against his chest, her chubby hand shoved near her lips. Her tiny breathing was rhythmic and precious. He rubbed her soft cap of hair and inhaled her baby scent.
The lamp cast a dim glow. Rain came down like white noise outside. Only rumbling thunder was loud enough to stir her—but she slept hard like her mama, who dozed on the couch, the afghan half on her legs, half on the floor. Didn’t even move.
Evan and Jody were upstairs with Hollister. Tori had gone to work at the hospital.
This day had been exhausting. Locke and Greer had interviewed Rudy Dennison, who denied having an affair but admitted that Jenna’s son was a drug dealer in Birmingham. He suspected he might have been supplying Tiny Tim with recreational drugs but denied he knew anything about Tiny Tim dealing. Yeah, right. Rudy also denied Flip Bomer blackmailing him.
Jenna Dennsion denied the allegations about her son as well.
Without proof the lies would never be uncovered. With no concrete leads and solid evidence, the carnival would be leaving in a few days. Locke wasn’t sure where that left the killer. Would he go? Stay? Come back? He hoped after Greer injured him, he’d lay low and move on. Well, he hoped they caught him, but if he was a smart killer—and he seemed to be or he wouldn’t have gotten away with so many murders for so long—he’d pack it up and go. But more victims would be left in his wake. They had to find this guy. Stop him from hurting and killing more women. Jody promised they’d stay on it. No matter what. Plus, the FBI would be in town before the carnival cleared out. Birmingham had been hit hard. Locke hadn’t seen that kind of devastation in a long time. And that had only been an F3.
Now that it was quiet, with only the rainfall in the background, Locke thought back to the kiss earlier today. Right before Greer had given him an ultimatum. One he was afraid of. He’d failed so many times when he’d been given parameters to live in, work in. Rocking with his baby girl in his arms, this is where he wanted to be. Every night. But that wasn’t going to happen unless he got out of the last two months of his contract and found work here. He liked Goldenville. Liked the church. The people.
Except Adam Crisp. Until he could pinpoint exactly what gave him the willies with regard to the man, he wasn’t going to let Greer be alone with him. Today, Adam had been angry at Greer. Furious. When he should have been concerned.
That bothered Locke. Enough that he carefully slipped his cell phone from his pocket to text Jody just as she tiptoed into the living room. Locke raised a finger then slowly stood and put Lin to bed, flipped on her monitor, then met Jody in the kitchen. “You wanna sit out on the porch?”
“Sure.” She finished pouring a glass of tea and they crept through the living room so they wouldn’t disturb Greer and onto the front porch. Sitting in matching white rockers, they remained silent. Listening to the rain. Flashes of lightning illuminated the yard. “Well, what’s going on?” she asked.
“Greer wants me to be in Lin’s life.”
“Great.” She sipped her tea. “But?”
Locke leaned on his elbows. “I have to be here in Goldenville. Every day. Nine-to-five kind of work. No traveling.”
Jody sat quietly. “You don’t want to do that?”
“I don’t know if I can, Jode. I mean...she’s right. I can barely sit still for thirty minutes. How can I stay planted day in and day out?” He was torn. Conflicted. Already feeling like a selfish man and dad. “She has daddy issues and well deserved.” He gave Jody the gist without revealing all the intimate details Greer had shared with him. That was private.
Jody sighed. “I see where she’s coming from but Beckett travels with us and they have a baby and another one on the way. Caley is pregnant and Shepherd travels when he needs to. They come home and they’re great fathers. She’s afraid and not seeing that reality. Lots of parents have to travel for work. Is it the danger of your job?”
“If you haven’t noticed, Greer’s occupation has placed her in greater danger than mine. No, it’s not that. She knows I’m careful. It’s the whole idea of me leaving Lin later to do my own thing. I would never think Lin trapped me.”
“But you feel caged by Greer’s ultimatum.”
“Yes,” he murmured. “So, does that make me like her dad? Would I walk away?” Greer had him so upside down and dizzy. He was afraid he might fail his daughter. And even Greer. Definitely himself.
“Locke, you aren’t Greer’s dad. You can be a bit self-absorbed, sure. We all can. When it counts, you’re there when you need to be. I don’t have the right answer. I could tell you to suck it up and get a job here and be a dad. Or I could tell you to try to talk Greer into some sense. That you’re only gone from April to end of June and you’d have some weekends in between there. That you can buy a house here and July through April you’re not going anywhere. But I don’t know the answer. Have you prayed?”
“Not really. I mean...not really.” He laughed. “I have a hard time hearing God. I can’t ever get quiet enough. My mind never settles. I’m a bad listener, too.”
Jody snorted. “God knows exactly who you are, how you hear, and He can get through to you in the quiet or in the storm. He made you the way you are, Locke. Not to fail. I know you think you fail at everything you’re supposed to be doing, which is why you don’t settle for the ‘norm,’ but this baby is yours. God has a plan for you. Her. And Greer. It may be settling in like a ‘normal’ family or it may
not. I just don’t know.” She stood. “I’m going to go inside and let you crack the Bible open. I know you have a Bible app on your phone.”
Jody was right. “Hey, while you’re inside can you have Wheezer do a deep search on Adam Crisp? He’s a deputy with Greer but he’s into her and today he got hurt on the job. Coincidence? Maybe. But I want to be sure.”
“Sure.” Jody left him on the porch, the wind sweeping a few dots of chilly rain onto his bare feet. He scrolled to his Bible app and opened it. The verse for the evening popped off the screen into his heart.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
All things.
His hopes of reconnecting with Greer were dashed. But there was a ton of hope where Lin was concerned. She needed him. And he needed her.
“Whatever it takes, Lord. If moving here and taking a job is the right thing and the only way to be with my daughter, then I’ll do it.” Isn’t that what love was? Sacrifice. And God would give him strength.
He’d never been a fan of photographing people. But he could do it. Run his own studio. Do some nature photos on weekends, taking Lin with him. He could teach her the ins and outs of photography. He didn’t have to be out chasing storms, helping scientists help people.
He came inside. Greer continued to snooze on the couch. He was glad she was getting some sleep and that it wasn’t restless. He kneeled beside her and brushed a strand of hair from her face. What about her? How did he feel about her? Confused. On one hand there was no escaping that he carried deep feelings for her. And not just ones from the past that had him falling in love with her in the first place, although those were still there burning bright. But in all this, the way she carried herself, the way she was an amazing mama... New feelings had developed. On the other hand, she had deceived and lied to him. Kept secrets. Locke couldn’t deny being apprehensive about trusting her again...but then it was clear she didn’t even want to try for a second chance, and getting back together for Lin wasn’t right in his eyes. His parents had adored one another. Locke was blessed to have grown up with them as great role models. Lin deserved nothing less.
“Greer,” he whispered. “Wake up. We’ve got to get back to your place.”
She didn’t stir. Exhaustion had overtaken her. Instead of forcing her awake, he stood and lingered longer than he should, battling the war going on in his heart and head.
He loved her.
That was as pure and honest as it got.
After everything. In spite of everything, Locke loved Greer. Had always loved her even when he tried to convince himself he’d gotten over her. He never had. Never would. He wasn’t here to keep her safe for Lin’s sake, but for her own. Because he’d never be able to breathe again if something happened to her. He knew instantly he’d have died for his own daughter—he’d die for Greer, too.
But the heaviness in that truth smothered reality. Because he’d never be able to convince Greer that he wasn’t like her dad. That he would never leave. So, he’d have to work on being content as only Lin’s father.
TWELVE
Greer swiveled in her chair and toyed with a pencil at her desk at the station. She’d awoken this morning on Tori’s couch. Locke on the love seat. He’d been unusually quiet and fidgety this morning even when he’d dropped her off here. She wasn’t technically on duty, but she’d come in to work to at least file some papers and fill out reports. Be of some use.
“Hey.”
Greer glanced up. Hollister stood with his arms over his chest.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were going to finish cleaning out the storage unit and attic this morning.”
“I got most of it done, but I got a call. My pastor’s little girl—she’s four—went missing. They had eyes on her one minute while at the park this morning and then the next minute she’d vanished.” Hollister’s voice was strained and his eyes held a mix of concern and fear. “Just...gone.”
Greer stood and embraced her big, burly brother with the softest heart known to man. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could come and help with the search. I’ll keep the girl and your pastor’s family in my prayers.”
“Grace is leading the charge. She called me an hour ago when it was clear she wasn’t going to be found by her parents.”
Grace Thackery had been in Hollis’s life for the past two years, since he’d found her left for dead and with no memory on the banks of the Mississippi River. She now volunteered with the search-and-rescue team. “How is Grace? Any news on her situation?”
“The private eye she hired has hit nothing but dead ends.” He shrugged.
“I hope she finds some answers about her past soon.”
Hollis nodded. “Me too. But if anyone can find Pastor Reed’s baby girl, it’s Grace. It’s like she was born for this kind of work.”
“Maybe she was.”
“Maybe.” He flicked a pen on her desk. “I don’t want to leave but I know you’re safe, and Jody and Evan are a blink away...and then there’s Locke.”
Greer sighed and sunk into the office chair. “He wants to be part of Lin’s life, Hollister.”
Hollister rubbed his scruffy chin. “And? You don’t want that?”
“I can’t knowingly allow him to love and then leave our daughter. She’ll live with that guilt her whole life and—”
“Back the bus up,” Hollister said with a measure of sternness in his voice as he kneeled in front of her. “Why would she live with guilt? If Locke decides to walk out—which I don’t think he would—how is that her responsibility? Why should it fall on her shoulders?” He cocked his head and squinted, studying her. “Greer, tell me you haven’t been blaming yourself for what our jerk of a dad did?”
Greer’s bottom lip quivered. “I heard him that night, Hollis. He said we trapped him. Mama getting pregnant was her way of keeping him tied down and he wanted out. We did that.”
“No, ma’am, we did not. He was selfish and made a choice. I know it hurt. I hurt. But at some point, you have to let God heal you so you can be free of that. And free to trust another person. To trust Locke.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “And I don’t know how to let God heal me. I don’t even know how to start. Not really. This pain, this guilt and overwhelming fear, it’s—it’s become part of me.” She’d carried it since she was a child. If she hadn’t come home to Mama when she was sick, part of her might have found a way to sabotage her relationship with Locke later on down the road. To back out before he abandoned her. “He’s so much like Dad.”
“And I see so many things about him that aren’t. Locke isn’t selfish and the choices he’s made, to stick around and risk his life for Lin and for you—there’s no resentment in him. It’s not a chore to protect you and his daughter. Just coming to my baseball game was a chore for Dad when he wanted to be out with his buddies at the bar. He missed birthdays because he’d scheduled fishing trips. All. Selfish.”
Hollis was right. Dad missed a million events and big things to be off doing his own thing. “Locke chases storms. One adventure after another.”
“And he gets paid for it. It’s called a job. That’s not selfish.” Hollister lightly clipped her chin. “Dad didn’t give up anything to settle down and be a father because he never settled down. He used us as an excuse to freeload off our mother half the time and have his cake and eat it, too. I think at one time he loved Mama but he loved himself more. I don’t see that in Locke. And if you can get past the fear and really look, I don’t think you’ll see that, either.”
Greer’s heart was about to burst. Hollister’s words warred with what Greer had believed for so long. She threw herself into his arms and buried her head in his neck. “What would I do without a brother like you?”
“Never get that attic and garage cleaned out for one.” He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you. I want you to be happy,
Greer. Happy and whole, okay?”
Greer wanted that, too.
“What about you? Are you happy?” He may have healed and held no resentment or guilt over Dad’s abandonment, but his eyes never fully lit up. He’d never married, either. If it wasn’t over fear of being abandoned then why was he still alone?
“I’m doing fine, baby sister. Don’t you worry about me.” His words held no confidence. But she knew not to press. If Hollister didn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t. No amount of pestering or even torture would break him. He was iron inside and out. “I’ll be back as soon as we find Lilly Reed, okay?”
“I’m going to be fine, too. Focus on that little girl, not me.” She patted his scruffy cheek. “Call me when you find her.”
“I will.” He tousled her hair. “Greer, one thing that helped me was knowing that no matter who leaves me, God promised He never would. He never leaves us. Abandons us. And at the end of the day, His love is greater and stronger. I can survive anything knowing that nothing separates me from God’s love. That’s how I made it through two tours, and it’s how I made it through knowing that our dad didn’t care enough about me to stick around.”
God had promised that, but Greer hadn’t focused on it. Hadn’t let that truth soothe her wounded heart like salve. Instead, she’d focused on the one man who had broken his promise. And feared all other men might, too.
What would happen if she found peace in knowing no matter what... God loved her unconditionally and would never abandon her? Even with a killer after her, He was with her. He’d surrounded her with people who cared about her and loved her. People had flown in to help her out. She worked three jobs, but she had the jobs. Ends barely met...but they met. She was lonely often...but then how many times did she let the loneliness consume her instead of turning the pages of scripture and letting God’s love, grace and mercy consume her?
Hollis squeezed her shoulder and left her spinning in the chair and rolling his words around in her heart.
Killer Exposure Page 16
