Safe Harbor

by Christy Barritt

  “What if he did this as a publicity stunt?”

  She blinked, thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. “Sadly, I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s always thought that bad publicity was better than no publicity.”

  She lowered herself into the chair behind her, almost as if her legs couldn’t hold her up anymore.

  “I’m sorry.” Dez’s gaze softened. “I know this has to be hard on you.”

  “I keep thinking that it can’t get worse, and then it does. I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

  “Hey . . .” He pulled a chair beside her and sat down.

  As his arm wrapped around the back of the chair, Bree leaned into him. Dez pulled her toward him, relishing the feel of her body against his. Savoring her honeysuckle scent. Dreaming about doing this not just right now but for a long time.

  Why did this feel so natural? Like they’d done it a million times before? This should feel off-limits.

  “You’re going to get through this,” he murmured, stroking her back.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She sniffled. “But I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  “I’ll be around to help you find it.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you. It’s a good thing I paid for the best.” Her voice cracked.

  Dez pulled her closer, hearing the uncertainty in her voice. She was wondering if he was comforting her out of professional obligation. “This isn’t just about me doing my job. You know that, don’t you?”

  She pulled back until their gazes met. “Then what is this about?”

  His heart pounded in his ears as their faces remained only inches apart. He pushed a stray hair behind her ear.

  He wanted nothing more than to lean in closer, to feel her lips against his—

  “Police!”

  It was Cassidy. Her voice had come from downstairs. She was here and ready to take their statements.

  Dez and Bree moved back from each other. Dez would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed.

  But Cassidy’s arrival had come at just the right time. He didn’t want to break the rules by crossing boundaries on the job. He silently thanked Cassidy for stopping him.

  Except, he didn’t feel entirely thankful right now.

  He comforted himself by thinking that maybe the police chief had learned something new, something that would get him off this job and ensure that Bree was safe.

  If Emerson was behind this, had he run away out of fear of being caught? Something about that didn’t seem quite right. But, if not, what happened to him?

  That’s what they needed to figure out.

  Bree’s thoughts continued to churn. As they did, more anger grew inside her. How could Emerson do this? It just didn’t make any sense to her.

  “We’ll put out a BOLO for Emerson.” Cassidy wandered back into the room, easing her phone into her pocket. “He has to be around here somewhere. There’s no sign of violence, so that’s a good thing.”

  Bree and Dez sat at the dining room table as they tried to figure out their next step. Wait for Emerson? Search for him? Call her lawyers again?

  “I thought all this was over when you arrested Trixie’s brothers,” Bree said. “I just can’t believe it’s still going on.”

  Cassidy tilted her head. “I know. This one is baffling. But we’re not going to stop investigating until we have answers.”

  As she said the words, they heard footsteps on the stairs. Cassidy drew her gun while Dez moved in front of Bree. Bree braced herself for whoever was coming up the steps. Another police officer would have announced himself.

  A moment later, Emerson appeared. His beady gaze wandered around the room as surprise flashed in his eyes.

  “What in the world are you all doing here?” he demanded. “And how did you get in?”

  “You have some explaining to do.” Cassidy held up one of the photos. “What is this all about?”

  Emerson’s face paled, as if he knew he’d been caught. He shook his head. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Then you’d better start talking,” Cassidy said.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “I started getting these in the mail about three months ago,” Emerson said.

  Bree narrowed her gaze at him, completely done giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Because you were sending them?”

  Emerson’s eyebrows shot up as if he was offended at the very notion. He sat across from them at the dining room table, which felt a bit like an interrogation room right now. He was on one side—alone, while Bree, Dez, and Chief Chambers sat across from him.

  “No!” Emerson said. “Of course, I wasn’t sending them. I was just as surprised as you were to get these.”

  “But you never mentioned that you were getting these along with me.” Bree hoped she wasn’t overstepping by inserting herself into this conversation.

  “I knew how it would look so I didn’t say anything.”

  “But the fact alone that you got these as well could have helped the police locate who’s behind this,” Bree said.

  “Look, I know.” Emerson ran a hand over the top of his head before leaning forward. “I know, okay? I didn’t know what to do so I stayed quiet.”

  “Why did you stay quiet?” Chief Chambers asked.

  “As I said before—I knew how this would look.”

  “And how is that?” Dez crossed his beefy arms.

  “It would make me look like I had something to do with it,” Emerson’s words collided with each other.

  “And did you have something to do with it?” Chief Chambers asked.

  “No! Why would I have something to do with this? Bree is my client. What sense would it make?”

  “Maybe you were trying to drum up some publicity for my tour?” Bree suggested.

  Emerson scoffed at the idea. “I may like publicity, but I wouldn’t take it that far.”

  “Listen, you just need to tell us everything.” Chief Chambers locked her gaze on Emerson. “Because you’re looking like the bad guy right here.”

  “Okay, okay, okay! No one’s giving me a chance to talk. You guys just keep asking questions . . .” Even while he was being interrogated, Emerson had found a way to manipulate the conversation to make everybody else feel bad.

  It was so typical of Emerson.

  “I started getting these threats around the same time Bree did, like I already told you. I’m not sure why I was getting them as well as Bree. I just figured somebody wanted to drive home the threats by letting me see them too.”

  “I’m not buying that,” Chief Chambers said. “I’m going to ask you again. Do you have any idea who is sending these threats?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “And everything that you got was exactly the same as what Bree was getting?” Cassidy continued.

  Something flashed in Emerson’s eyes. The chief had him. There was something that he wasn’t saying.

  “It seemed like it was almost the same.” Emerson frowned.

  “What does that mean?” Chief Chamber’s voice hardened. “Why don’t you just give it to us straight?”

  Emerson wiped his brow as a layer of sweat formed there. “The truth is that someone’s been blackmailing me.”

  Bree felt her jaw go slack. “What does that even mean? Blackmailing you how?”

  He let out a long breath. “They told me if I didn’t pay them, they were going to kill Bree. They sent me these pictures and threats to let me know that they were serious.”

  “How much money have they been asking for?” Dez asked.

  “So far, I’ve paid out fifty thousand. But I just got another threat this morning. They asked for twenty thousand more. That’s where I was. I just made the drop.”

  “You had twenty thousand on hand?” Chief Chambers stared at him, her disbelief obvious.

  “I had some cash on hand. I left my Rolex to pay the rest. It’s worth . . .” He tugged at his collar. “Quite a bit.”

  “Wh
ere did you leave it?” Chief Chambers continued.

  “At some controversial land,” he muttered. “They said something about Gilead’s Cove property. The instructions were specific. I couldn’t drive. I had to ride a bike.”

  “Why was your door unlocked?” Dez asked.

  “I don’t know. I must have left in a hurry. They only gave me thirty minutes to get there.”

  “Someone must have known how much money you could get and how quickly,” Chief Chambers said.

  Emerson nodded. “I suppose they did.”

  “Why would someone be blackmailing you like this?” Chief Chambers asked.

  “Because they know that Bree is my cash cow.” Emerson glanced at Bree and grimaced. “Sorry to be crass, but that’s the way some people see it. They knew if something happened to you that I would also be hurting.”

  “That’s good to know. It’s not because you cared about me or anything,” Bree muttered.

  “Well, it’s that too, of course.” Emerson halfway rolled his eyes.

  Dez nudged him. “You better show some respect to the lady.”

  At Dez’s deep voice, Emerson straightened and nodded.

  A brief moment of delight fluttered through Bree at seeing her manager sweat.

  “Because Bree is your ‘cash cow’ isn’t a reason for blackmail,” Chief Chambers said. “There has to be something else.”

  Emerson’s gaze darkened. “They want me to admit that I mistreat people. Confess my sins. In public. And if I don’t . . .”

  “If you don’t what?” Dez asked.

  Emerson’s gaze fluttered up to Bree’s. “Bree will die.”

  “You never considered going to the police with this information?” Chief Chambers looked downright flabbergasted. “That’s what I find so hard to believe. This is a serious threat.”

  “They said if I told anybody, it was a deal breaker. I didn’t want to risk it.”

  “But you would risk Bree’s life?” Dez shook his head, making no effort to disguise his disgust. “You should be thankful right now that there’s a police chief present because . . .”

  Emerson swallowed hard and rubbed his throat. “I was in a bad position.”

  “I’d say,” Bree muttered. “You chose your own personal success over my life. If I ever had any doubt that you were vile, all of that doubt is now gone.”

  “It’s not like that. I was trying to figure out a solution. I just knew there was something else I could do but . . .” He shrugged. “Then the shooting happened.”

  Chief Chambers, Dez, and Bree all exchanged looks. The story seemed outlandish. But what if he was telling the truth?

  Finally, Chief Chambers looked back at him. “I’m going to need a list of people who might hate you.”

  Emerson locked his gaze with hers. “I hope you have a while because this could take all day.”

  Dez leaned back in the chair and ran a hand across his eyes. This whole day had not turned out the way he’d anticipated. And now Emerson was here with his bizarre tale.

  Dez thought that there were pieces of the truth in what the man said. But Dez’s gut still told him that there was more to the story that Emerson wasn’t sharing.

  Emerson had just gone through a list of people who didn’t like him, a list so long that Dez was losing interest.

  “Let’s talk about people who might be here on the island who have a vendetta against you,” Cassidy said. “Anybody who fits that bill?”

  “Well, yes,” Emerson said, as if it was a given. “Trixie Dare, for starters.”

  Now there was a familiar name.

  “Why does Trixie hate you?” Cassidy asked.

  Emerson reached into his pocket and pulled out a stress ball. He began working it in his hands. “She was desperate for me to sign her. She told me she would do anything if I would represent her. I told her no, and, as you might imagine, she was very upset.”

  “How did she react?”

  “She said that I would regret it.”

  Dez watched the man, noting how his stress ball was a yellow smiley face. It didn’t fit the man, but maybe it reminded him to try to find joy.

  Maybe.

  “Did you ever see or hear from her again after that?” Cassidy continued.

  “Just at various events around town. She never really spoke to me again, but she could give a man a cold stare across the room.”

  “Anyone else who comes to mind?”

  Emerson squirmed, as if he was suddenly uncomfortable. “There is one other person who was on the island. Bobby Dee.”

  “Bobby Dee?” Bree’s voice rose an octave. “My drummer?”

  “The man hates me.” He squeezed his stress ball again.

  “So why did you bring him on for my band?” Bree asked.

  “Because he’s one of the best in the business. He knows if he’s in one of my bands that he’ll have a steady paycheck. But he always wants more. So it makes sense that maybe this was his way of getting more money.”

  “But Bobby Dee is no longer here on the island, correct?” Bree asked.

  “I’m not sure. He certainly doesn’t report to me. But whoever is behind this is obviously still on the island. Now, is there anything else that you need? I’m getting a migraine, and Bree can tell you exactly what I’m like when I have one of those.”

  She resisted an eye roll. Bree wasn’t doubting that the man was telling the truth about the migraine. But he was so dramatic and manipulative that she didn’t know what to believe right now.

  “You’re going to need to go down to the station.” Cassidy leveled her gaze. “We have some more questions for you.”

  “Am I being arrested?” Emerson’s eyes widened.

  “Not yet,” Cassidy said. “But your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.”

  One of her officers arrived and led him away. Bree didn’t have a chance to talk to him about her contract or paychecks. That would have to wait until later, she supposed. They had enough other stuff to deal with right now.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Bree couldn’t stop thinking about the almost kiss that had happened with Dez. Everything in her had been longing to feel his lips against hers, to know if the chemistry would explode between them.

  But the chief had shown up before she and Dez could explore that further.

  Bree tried to put it out of her mind and focus on what the police chief was now saying.

  Emerson had been taken into custody, but he wasn’t being charged yet. The police had enough to hold him while they looked into his background.

  Now the chief was putting all her efforts into finding answers.

  “Officer Dillinger is at the drop site,” Chief Chambers said. “I want to go down there and check it out myself. There’s probably no evidence, but I’d like to put my eyes on the scene.”

  Dez’s eyes met Bree’s before he said, “I’d like to go too, if you wouldn’t mind. The person behind this is targeting Bree, and it’s my job to keep her safe.”

  “I don’t mind tagging along,” Bree said. It beat staying here without Dez.

  Chief Chambers and Dez exchanged a look before the chief nodded. “That’s fine if you come, Bree. As long as you stay close.”

  A few minutes later, they were all in the chief’s police SUV, heading down the road.

  “This place—the old location of Gilead’s Cove—has a lot of bad memories.” Chief Chambers frowned as she gripped the steering wheel. “It’s like the very ground is haunted.”

  “I wasn’t here when the cult was around, but I’ve heard plenty about it,” Dez said.

  “What’s Gilead’s Cove?” Bree asked. “I’ve heard it mentioned a couple of times, and it sounds vaguely familiar but . . .”

  “They were a cult that moved to the island last year. They set up camp on a property here,” the chief explained. “Things turned ugly. Really ugly. But I’m glad that we had a happy ending. The land, however, is still a source of contention. A developer wants to build
a hotel there, and locals are fighting it.”

  “For a peaceful little island, a lot of trouble seems to head this way.” Bree frowned as she stared out the window.

  “You’ve got that right,” Chief Chambers muttered.

  A few minutes later, they pulled up to a piece of land right on the waters of the Pamlico Sound. A temporary fence had been put up around the property. The space was mainly empty, but Bree could see where, at one time, there had been hookups for campers. A scorched building sat in the middle of it all. This seemed like a stark reminder of the vastness of evil when it got into a person’s heart.

  “Emerson said he left it on a tree stump.” Chief Chambers glanced at Bree in the backseat. “Bree, stay close. I think this area is clear, but we have to be careful.”

  Bree didn’t argue. They climbed from the police car and met another officer who waited in the distance.

  “There was nothing here when I arrived,” Officer Dillinger said. “Whoever blackmailed Emerson for the money must’ve been waiting for him to drop it off and not wanting to take any chances.”

  “I need to ask around and see if anyone in the area saw anything,” Cassidy said.

  “I can do that. There was one thing I found that I thought was strange.” He pulled out a plastic bag with a tube of Chapstick inside. “This was only about a foot away from the site. It looks new. Do you think the person who picked up the money could have dropped it?”

  Chief Chambers took the bag from him. “I think it’s something worth looking into. Maybe we can run it for DNA as well as for prints.”

  Bree sighed and glanced around, trying to get into the mind of the person who was making these threats. So much still didn’t make sense. “Why did the person who demanded money from Emerson insist that he come here of all places?”

  “That’s a good question,” Dez said. “Maybe it’s because it’s secluded out here.”

  “That’s a possibility,” the chief said. “But there are other secluded places here on the island.”