Stranger's Game

by Colleen Coble

  “Still sleeping, thank goodness. I took the day off. My boss wasn’t happy, but he understood after I explained what had happened on Saturday.”

  “Was she upset last night? We didn’t really talk after Lisbeth’s service.”

  “She prattled nonstop about the twins after she got home from Danielle’s, which was good. I don’t want her to be afraid and develop some kind of problem because of it.”

  “Maybe she should talk to a counselor, just to be sure she’s okay after all this.”

  “I’ll make an appointment with hers today. She hasn’t seen her in a while, not once she accepted what had happened to her mother, but she’s got a good one.”

  Torie took another sip of her coffee. “That’s good.” She set her mug on the counter. “I wanted a chance to clear the air between us. We didn’t have time to talk about who I am. What are you thinking?”

  “You should have told me the truth, Torie, right from the start.”

  She gave an exasperated huff. “Listen to yourself, Joe. Would you have gone into an investigation not knowing if the person you were talking to was involved? You found Lisbeth! Of course I suspected you. I didn’t know you at all. Even criminals have cute kids, so Hailey’s presence didn’t clear you.”

  Her eyes were as stormy as the Intracoastal Waterway in a hurricane, and he bristled. “One thing you should know about me is that I detest liars. Fabrication and evasion of truth have caused more heartache than just about anything in our world. I try to make sure I speak truth to the people I care about, and to find out everyone else on the island knew who you were before I did stings. More than stings. It is downright painful.”

  Her eyes filled with tears and she stared down at her feet. “I’m sorry for that. It all spiraled down so fast. It was late when my aunt found out, and there was no time to talk to you. I meant to do it Saturday, but we nearly died and I was dealing with all of that. I couldn’t face one more traumatic event. I hope you can forgive me. I was wrong.”

  Her humble apology extinguished the heat of his anger. And he was a sucker for tears. Julie hadn’t cried often, but when she did, it was buckshot to his gut. Torie didn’t seem the type to resort to tears to get out of trouble either.

  Right after that kiss on the boat would have been the perfect time to tell him the truth. If she trusted him enough to kiss him, she should have been able to tell him the truth.

  Sometimes he thought he’d never understand women—and he had a small one to raise, so it was going to be a tough road ahead.

  He sighed. “I forgive you.”

  She swiped at her tears. “Thank you. I hate tears. Too many women use them to manipulate the men they care about. I’m not like that, and I’m sorry I couldn’t control myself. I care about you and Hailey. To know I hurt you tears me up inside. I didn’t mean to. I’m doing the best I can in a situation that’s spinning in crazy ways that make me feel out of control. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I like things to be neat and tidy in life. And this situation is anything but.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  She stared across the breakfast bar at him. “Can we put this behind us? Or have I ruined everything?”

  The tremulous smile she lifted his way tore at his heart. “Even though I forgive you, it’s hard to get past the differences in our social status, Torie. You’re a Bergstrom, and I’m just a marine researcher. I probably couldn’t afford your shoes.”

  “I can buy my own shoes. A relationship is a partnership, isn’t it?”

  “Well, yes. But a man likes to feel he’s needed.”

  “You have something way more important than money that I need.”

  His pulse jumped at the tenderness in her eyes. “And what’s that?”

  “Courage. Stability. Honor. Steadfast support. You’re a lot of things, Joe, but the bedrock in your character holds me up.”

  He swallowed hard. “I’m not sure I can live up to that pedestal you have me on.”

  “You climbed there all by yourself.”

  She took a step closer, and he opened his arms. Her cheek nestled on his chest, and she fit as if she’d been made for him. Maybe she had.

  * * *

  Joe seemed to have put her duplicity behind him and had pulled out a skillet to fix breakfast. She wanted him to know the real her. The Torie few people saw.

  She took another sip of coffee. “People have always wanted something from me because I’m a Bergstrom. Very few people have gotten past the walls I’ve had to erect. Lisbeth was one of those. But since meeting you and Hailey, I have realized it’s really lonely inside this thorny prison.”

  He stopped stirring the eggs for a moment, and their gazes met. He looked good this morning with his brown hair still wet from his shower. His broad chest and arms strained his T-shirt, and his tan made his eyes look all the greener.

  He gave another brisk stir with the spatula. “Not everyone wants something from other people.”

  “They seem to when you have more money than Midas. When you have the power to offer jobs and influence. Until someone has walked in my shoes, they don’t understand what that’s like. Some people take to using that power without a thought. I never did. I don’t want power over people. I thought if people didn’t see the real me, they couldn’t hurt me.”

  She fell silent, not sure how to make him understand when it was something as natural to her as breathing. That second skin she wore to present to the world was a shell that shielded her.

  He piled her plate with eggs, bacon, and toast, then slid it over to her. “Eat up.”

  She’d ordered an omelet from the restaurant this morning, but didn’t take one bite and she was suddenly ravenous. She forked some eggs and deposited them onto her tongue. “Delicious.”

  Could she change for Joe and Hailey? The reserve she’d donned all her life had made ruts through her soul, tracks she followed like a mule plodding a well-worn trail. It wasn’t a pretty thought to realize those patterns she’d allowed had shaped her when she should have been brave. She should have been forging her own path. Nothing said she had to be a traditional Bergstrom.

  What did a nontraditional Bergstrom look like?

  He refilled her coffee. “I think I kind of get it. Probably no one really can, but as a parent, I have certain expectations of Hailey’s behavior. Lately I’ve noticed she wants to go her own way. If I say I like red, she likes blue. If I want chocolate ice cream, she wants strawberry. I would never want her to become a carbon copy of me. She has to make her own way. And there’s a girl at school who picks on her, and it’s made her self-conscious about what clothes she wears. Trying to fit into a mold isn’t what God wants for her either. She’s unique.”

  His gaze held her in place, probing places inside her heart. She swallowed the suddenly tasteless bite of egg.

  “And you’re unique, Torie. I understand why you would feel the need to fight hard against being used for your name when someone doesn’t even get to know you. That would be a painful thing. It would make anyone wary.”

  At his affirming words, moisture burned her eyes and she sniffled, then took a sip of coffee to hide her emotion. Maybe she could be herself with him. She prayed so. It helped that he’d liked her before he knew her identity.

  She pulled out her red plastic file and withdrew the two pictures of the vehicle Bella had gotten into. “What kind of car is this, and do you recognize the driver?”

  Joe took the pictures and studied them one at a time. “Looks to be a Chevy Impala, maybe a 2018. I can’t tell the color, but it’s a common vehicle. The outline of the driver’s head seems vaguely familiar, but I can’t place who it reminds me of. Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman.” He handed them back to her.

  She put them back in her folder. “I couldn’t tell either. I was in my office at midnight, and Kyle came in. He’d heard who I was and was a little aggrieved. He told me he went out with Bella a few times, but she wasn’t his type. I’d guess she ditched him though. H
e made it sound like she dated one guy after another, even though she was engaged. I’d love to be able to talk to someone she went out with a few times. Her fiancé too. And I talked to another of Bella’s friends this morning. She claims Bella planted the bottle of pills because she was pressured to in order to save some kind of plan.” She told him everything Felicia had said.

  He frowned. “A plan. That sounds ominous. No idea what it could be?”

  She shook her head. “I need to talk to more of Bella’s friends.”

  “Talk to Amelia Rogers. She and Bella were friends. Bella worked for her part-time during busy times. She was learning all about glassblowing. I saw her there a few times. The two were working together on plans for the banking summit.”

  She glanced at the clock above the sink. “It’s seven thirty, and I have to be at work at eight. Do you know what time she opens?”

  “I think she’s there early working on her glass, but the shop doesn’t open until ten. But why would you continue to go to work in the IT department now that your cover is blown? You can look at the files all you want while you pursue any leads.”

  She nodded. “Good point. I hadn’t thought it through. Lack of sleep does a number on the brain synapses. I could run over there right now and knock on the back door where she has her furnace.”

  “That area is called a hot shop,” Joe said. “It’s an interesting process to watch. She might let you hang around if you don’t get in her way. Go on ahead, and once Hailey gets up, we’ll join you. We have an open invitation to watch her work anytime. The kid should be up any minute.”

  “Sounds good.” She rose and picked up her file. “I’m praying I find some kind of lead. I feel like I’m shooting at the moon and not hitting anything. This guy is so slick.”

  “But you’re smart. You’ll nail him.”

  A warmth radiated through her at the confidence in his words. Maybe she would.

  Chapter 26

  Torie slammed on her bike’s brakes, and the vehicle behind her blared the horn. The car in her pictures was there—right there.

  She sent an apologetic wave in the direction of the black SUV that zoomed around her, then stopped her bike and rolled it into a rack behind the hot shop next to the Chevy. The car had to belong to Amelia. So that meant the glass artisan had been with Bella just hours before her death. She might know something she didn’t realize was pertinent.

  Torie went to the back door. It stood ajar a couple of inches, and she saw a red glow from inside. She rapped her knuckles against the door and pushed it open a few more inches. Something inside smelled hot and dusty.

  Amelia was manipulating a long metal stick of some kind that had a glob of glowing glass on the end, which extended into the glory hole. It looked terrifying to Torie. One little fling of melted glass off the end could do serious damage to skin.

  She stood by the door and waited for the woman to notice her. It didn’t take long until Amelia saw her from the corner of her eye and turned with an irritated expression that vanished when recognition lit her eyes.

  She held up a finger to indicate Torie should wait a minute, then moved to the bigger furnace to knock the glass off the end of the stick and set down the tool.

  She wiped her hands on her jeans, peppered with burn holes. “Torie, isn’t it? How nice to see you again.”

  Had she heard talk of Torie’s true identity? Torie didn’t see any evidence of irritation in her face, other than that first glance before Amelia had recognized her. She might as well be honest now. It might get her further if she used her name and position.

  “Yes, it’s Torie, um, Torie Bergstrom.”

  “Bergstrom?”

  “Yes, Anton’s daughter. I’m sorry I wasn’t more up-front when we first met. I didn’t want people to treat me differently like they always do when they hear I’m a Bergstrom.”

  Amelia blinked, then gave a slow nod. “I’m honored you’re taking such an interest in the glass globes yourself.”

  “They’re beautiful, but I’m here for another reason. It’s about Bella Hansen.”

  Amelia winced. “I still can’t believe someone killed her.”

  “When did you see her last?”

  “The night she died. I picked her up, and we went to dinner together. She had just been promoted to events coordinator at the hotel, and we discussed the upcoming bank summit.”

  “What time did you take her back to the hotel?”

  “About eight, I think. We ate dinner, then came back here to take a look at the globes I had done.”

  “Did she seem on edge at all? Upset about anything?”

  Amelia pursed her lips. “She got a call from a guy. He was yelling at her, and I could hear how mad he was, though I couldn’t make out what he said. She cried and told him she was sorry, but when she hung up, she didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Any idea who it was?”

  “Not really. It sounded like a love affair gone wrong because she said something to him about being sorry and that he was overreacting.”

  “Did you ever see her with a man?”

  Amelia went to the fridge in a back corner and pulled out two cans of iced tea. She handed one to Torie and popped the top of the one she kept. “Sure, she was engaged. Jason Graham. He runs a nonprofit.”

  “Maybe her fiancé was the man who called and argued with her.”

  “I don’t think so. Jason hasn’t been around for about a month. He’s been in Washington, DC.”

  “So you suspect she was cheating on him?”

  “It would be my guess, though I’m making no assumptions or judgments. She was a bit of a flirt and even went out with Noah a few times. She hated being alone, and she liked male attention.”

  “You’re sure Jason hasn’t been around?”

  “Positive. He’s been on TV a few times as part of an investigation where he had to testify.”

  That seemed definitive. Maybe this mysterious man wanted Bella to break her engagement. Or maybe she was seeing more than one. Surface impressions could be misleading, but Torie hadn’t taken Bella for that kind of person.

  “I wish we could find out who called her that night.”

  “I told the police about it. I’m sure they checked her phone to see who it was. A victim usually knows their killer.” Amelia smiled. “At least that’s what all the TV shows say.”

  “That’s what I hear.”

  A knock came at the back door, and Torie turned to see Joe and Hailey standing there.

  Joe pushed the door all the way open. “We hoped you were blowing today, Amelia. We wanted to watch if we won’t annoy you.”

  Hailey gave an excited wave in Torie’s direction, and the little girl’s obvious joy at seeing her gave Torie a boost.

  “I’d love to see it too,” Torie said. “I know nothing about it, but it looks so interesting.”

  “Sure.” Amelia gestured with her hand toward the exterior wall to her left. “Pull up a chair and stay back. I’ll explain what I’m doing as I do it.”

  Joe grabbed three chairs, and Hailey sat between Torie and him.

  Amelia took up that strange stick thing again. “This is my blowpipe. Inside the furnace is a crucible, which is another name for a pot that holds the batch, which is what the melted glass ingredient is called. I get a glob of batch on my blowpipe and bring it to this table, which is known as the marvel. It’s thick metal so I can roll and shape the hot glass.”

  Torie watched as Amelia rolled the blob on the table, then grabbed what looked like newspaper out of a bowl of water. She rotated the hot glass against the wet newspaper. The next tool was a metal set of something similar to tongs that the artisan called jacks.

  Torie was struck by how hot glass could be formed and molded by so many outside forces.

  Joe leaned over to Hailey. “Look at how beautiful that glass is in spite of being manipulated and worked on by so many outside forces. God uses all the bad things in our lives to make us more beautiful too. Nothing is
wasted—it all serves a purpose.”

  “Even Mommy dying?” Hailey asked.

  “Even losing Mommy can make you a better person.”

  Torie saw the parallel to her own losses and heartaches. Maybe God was working her character in the same way with the stressors he’d brought her way. Would she be as beautiful inside someday because of it?

  * * *

  The globe Amelia had finished glowed with vibrant color on its metal stand, and Joe touched it with a finger. It was still warm from the fire.

  He turned back to where Amelia stood putting away her tools. Torie rose and joined them while Hailey played a game on his phone.

  “You have time to answer a few questions?” he asked Amelia.

  It wasn’t ideal to have Hailey here, but he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight. He still felt traumatized by nearly losing her Saturday. Julie’s death had nearly destroyed him, and his daughter was everything to him.

  “If you make it fast. I have to open the shop in fifteen minutes.” She glanced at Torie. “Ms. Bergstrom already asked me questions about when I last saw Bella, and I told her we had a business dinner a few hours before she died.”

  Her stiff “Ms. Bergstrom” told him she hadn’t taken kindly to Torie’s deception, and he suspected Torie hadn’t told Amelia why she was really here. They would have to start asking pointed questions if they hoped to get to the bottom of Lisbeth’s death.

  “How about we go into the shop? We can ask our questions there while you open things up,” Torie suggested.

  Amelia nodded and opened the middle door that led into her shop. Sunlight poured into the space and revealed the glorious colors of the various glass pieces. She lit the candle on the counter, and the scent of vanilla grew stronger.

  Still looking at the game playing on Joe’s phone, Hailey followed them into the shop and settled on a chair in the corner where Joe could keep an eye on her.

  “Did Bella ever talk about Lisbeth?” Joe asked.

  Amelia wrinkled her nose and opened the register to load the trays with change and one-dollar bills. “I’d rather not talk about Lisbeth.”