Running Scared

by Shirlee McCoy

  “Why?”

  “Because Eli will want to know if you leave town and because I’ll want to know that you’ve come up with a plan that will keep you safe.”

  “I’ll let you know. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s late.”

  “Right. Be safe, Maggie,” he said, offering a quick wave as he turned away.

  Maggie closed the door and walked up the stairs to her apartment, Kane’s words ringing through her head.

  Be safe.

  If only she knew the best way to do that. Stay. Go. Neither seemed like the perfect plan.

  She sighed, dropping onto the sofa and rubbing at the tension in her neck. The house creaked and groaned as the wind buffeted the windows and sprayed ice against the glass. Maggie wanted to pray, wanted to turn her heart and mind to God, but each sound sent her pulse racing, and she could do nothing but sit and listen as the storm raged.

  Frustrated, she flipped on the TV, grabbed the afghan from the back of the sofa and wrapped herself in it. The sound of a late-night talk show masked the creaking groan of the house, but it couldn’t mask her chaotic thoughts. They were a backdrop to the television and the storm, their iron hold never easing even as Maggie drifted to sleep.

  SIX

  Thanksgiving.

  A day of celebration and thanks.

  This one more so than any in the past five years.

  Kane knew he should be enjoying it. His parents had arrived with gifts for Eli. A local restaurant had prepared and delivered a Thanksgiving feast, and the hotel had set up a table and chairs in the suite. Now the family was sitting around with plates full of food, eating and talking. All except for Eli. He sat next to Kane, pushing a glob of potatoes around on his plate, silent and frowning.

  “Something wrong with the food, buddy?” Kane asked, hoping to elicit some sort of response.

  Eli shrugged and scooped the potatoes into his mouth.

  “If you don’t like the meal, we can get something else. I bet there’s a burger place open somewhere around here.” Kane’s mother, Lila, spoke lightly, but he could hear the concern in her voice.

  Kane had tried to warn his parents that Eli had changed. Not that he’d needed to. They understood the trauma their grandson had been through, but knowing it and seeing the product of it were two different things.

  “It’s okay, Grandma. This is fine.” Eli looked up from his plate of food, offered one of his few smiles, and Kane saw his mother melt.

  “You’re sure?” she asked, and Eli nodded, looking down again.

  “Because I can—”

  “He’s all right, Mom,” Kane cut in, weary from the strain of holding back the emotions that had been pouring through him since he’d heard Eli was alive, weary from two sleepless nights and weary from hours spent trying to find information on Maggie Tennyson. She said she had a past that might be catching up to her.

  If someone from that past was trying to harm her, Kane planned to find out who, and he planned to stop him.

  Unfortunately, an early-morning Internet search had turned nothing up.

  “I don’t know about everyone else, but I can’t eat another bite. Unless, of course, it’s some of that pumpkin pie the hotel sent up.” Jenna’s voice was overly bright as she carried her plate to the room service cart that stood against the wall. She looked thin. Too thin, and Kane’s stomach knotted with concern.

  “You should eat a little more, sis.”

  “And not have room for pie? I don’t think so.” She shot him a warning look, and he knew exactly what she wanted to say—Don’t you dare give Mom and Dad something else to worry about.

  She was right, of course. The day was emotional enough without adding more to it.

  “I’m finished. May I be excused?” Eli spoke into the pause, and Kane was tempted to say that he needed to sit at the table until everyone was finished eating. He didn’t. What would be the point? A silent and morose kid at the table wasn’t the most joyful way to spend Thanksgiving.

  “Sure.”

  “Can I turn on the television?”

  Kane tensed, wishing he could say yes.

  Unfortunately, the news about their reunion had been running on every network and cable news program, and he didn’t want Eli to watch the coverage unsupervised. “Sorry, buddy. Not right now.”

  “Then I guess I’ll go study my multiplication facts.”

  “Study on Thanksgiving weekend? I think we can do something more exciting than that,” Kane’s father, Richard, said, pushing away from the table and stretching.

  “Like what?”

  “You ever play chess?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’ll teach you.”

  “You will?”

  “Of course I will. You’re my grandson, and I’ve taught every one of my kids and grandkids to play chess. Guess what the best part of that is?”

  “What?”

  “First game you win against me, I give you twenty bucks.”

  “Twenty dollars! Really?” Eli’s eyes were huge, his pale face pink with excitement.

  “Really. Now, you go clear a spot in the bedroom, and I’ll go fetch my chess set from my room.”

  “All right.” Eli rushed away, and Richard smiled.

  “Works every time.”

  “What?”

  “Chess. Sitting across the board from each other really gets communication flowing.”

  “Yeah, and offering twenty dollars is good incentive to get a kid playing,” Jenna said with a laugh.

  “Whatever works. I’m going to get that board. Save me some pie.” Richard stepped out of the room, and Jenna shook her head in amusement.

  “Leave it to Dad to go simple.”

  “Simple but effective. I do remember him breaking out that chess game a lot when I was a teenager.”

  “Yeah, and he brought it to the hospital when I was going through chemo.”

  “Fortunately for him, he hasn’t used it with me.” Lila removed the last of the dishes from the table and wiped it down.

  “Have I told you how much I appreciate you and Dad coming?” Kane asked, pulling his mother into a bear hug.

  “About as many times as I’ve told you we wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  “You were planning to have a big family meal with the rest of the gang.”

  “And the rest of the gang would have given anything to be here instead. Your sisters and their kids all understood, and they’re looking forward to seeing Eli again when he’s ready.”

  “If he’s ever ready,” Kane murmured, glancing at the open bedroom door.

  “He will be. Just—”

  “Give it time. I know. I’m going to check on him.”

  He knocked on the bedroom door before he crossed the threshold and was surprised to see Eli slam the phone back onto its receiver. “I thought you were getting a spot ready for your chess game with Grandpa.”

  “I did.” He gestured to the smoothed bed comforter.

  “And then you were going to call a friend?” Or had he been dialing his home number, maybe hoping to speak to the woman who’d been calling herself his mother for five years? Susannah Peyton was a liar and a kidnapper, but she was the only mom Eli remembered.

  “I wasn’t calling a friend.”

  “But you were calling someone. Want to tell me who?” Kane crossed the room and put a hand on Eli’s shoulder, refusing to pull away when Eli stiffened. They had a lot of work to do together, a lot of rebuilding. He had to keep that in mind when he was dealing with his son, but that didn’t mean not ever reaching out to make the connection he longed for.

  “No.”

  And as simply as that the line was drawn in the sand.

  Should Kane back off? Insist?

  He wasn’t sure, and that irritated him. “How about I guess, then?”

  Eli didn’t respond, just continued to stare down at the hotel carpet.

  “Were you calling…” Kane couldn’t say “your mother.” That would give Susannah more credenc
e than she deserved. “Susannah?”

  Eli stiffened at the name but shook his head.

  “Are you sure? Because if you were, it’s okay. I understand if you miss her.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Eli—”

  “I. Don’t,” Eli repeated with more emotion than he’d shown since the reunion.

  “So you weren’t calling her?”

  “No.”

  “Look, son—”

  “I was calling information. I wanted Ms. Tennyson’s phone number.”

  “You were calling Maggie?”

  “I was trying to, but her number isn’t listed.”

  “Even if her number was listed, it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to call her. She’s your teacher, Eli. You can’t call her at home any time you want.”

  “It wasn’t going to be any time. It was just going to be this time. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

  “I told you she was.”

  “And Mo…Susannah told me you were dead, but you’re not,” Eli said matter-of-factly, and Kane had no response to that.

  He could tell Eli that he’d never lie to him, but Kane doubted his son would believe it. He could say that Susannah was sick and that her sickness had caused her to do an awful thing, but he didn’t think that was something Eli was ready to hear.

  “I can’t give you any more than my word on this, Eli, but the fact is, Maggie really is okay.”

  “Do you think she’ll be at school Monday when I go back?”

  “I’m not sure.” He wasn’t even sure he wanted his son to go back to school. Home school sounded good. A private tutor. Bars on the windows and bolts on the doors.

  “I need to find out. She’s supposed to help me with my math assignment.”

  “I can help you.”

  “I have to do it at school. We do a math assignment every day, and Ms. Tennyson always helps me.”

  “Eli…” Kane looked into his son’s eyes, saw the confusion and anger and hurt there and reached for the phone. “I’ll call her for you.”

  “You have her number?”

  He did and had almost dialed it several times already.

  Had she done what he suspected she would—packed up and left? If she had, would he be able to track her down and offer her the protection and support she needed but seemed intent on refusing?

  “Yes, and I’ll call to see if she’s all right. Then you’re going to play chess with Grandpa and you’re going to stop worrying about Maggie.” Kane pulled out a piece of paper the sheriff had given him the previous day and dialed the number written on it. One ring. Two. Kane didn’t really expect Maggie to answer and was preparing to hang up when the line clicked.

  “Hello?”

  “Maggie? It’s Kane Dougherty.”

  “Kane? What’s up?” She sounded groggy and half asleep, and he imagined her lying on a couch, her honey-blond hair spilling around her shoulders, her eyes still shadowed with dreams.

  “I thought I’d call and see how you were doing.”

  “Give me a minute to wake up, and I’ll let you know,” she responded on a yawn, and Kane smiled.

  “Sorry. I should have realized you’d be sleeping.”

  “Why? It’s three o’clock on Thanksgiving Day. Most people are feasting with family, not sleeping.”

  “Most people weren’t shot last night.”

  “Barely shot,” she responded, and Kane laughed.

  “I guess you decided to stick around town for a while longer.”

  “I haven’t been awake long enough to decide anything, but last night I was thinking that sticking around and facing my problems might be better than running from them.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “Don’t be too glad—I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

  “Is she okay?” Eli asked, hovering near Kane’s elbow and nearly vibrating with anxiety.

  “Tell Eli I’m fine,” Maggie responded. “As a matter of fact, I’ll tell him myself if you want to put him on the phone.”

  “Thanks.” Kane handed Eli the phone and tapped his fingers against the wall as Eli began chatting enthusiastically. About school. About math. About the turkey he’d barely touched and the pie he wasn’t sure he wanted to eat. About the chess game he planned to win once his grandfather taught him how to play. Chatting about everything and anything, as if he’d bottled up his words during the past few days and desperately needed to pour them out.

  Finally, he took a breath and tilted his head to the side, listening intently. “So will you be at school this week?”

  He was silent as he listened to her response, and Kane could see the disappointment in his face. “All right. I hope you can come, but I understand if you need to get a little better first. Maybe me and Dad could bring you something to eat in a little while. That will help you feel better. We can, can’t we, Dad?”

  “You’re supposed to play chess with Grandpa.”

  “The game can wait a couple of hours if the boy has something else he’s got to do.” Richard walked into the room and set a chess set on the bed.

  “Thank you, Grandpa,” Eli said, offering the same sweet smile he’d offered Lila. “You want us to come, right, Ms. Tennyson? Okay. I’ll tell him. Bye.”

  Eli hung up the phone without giving Kane a chance to speak with Maggie again.

  “Ms. Tennyson said it’s up to you whether we bring her some Thanksgiving food, but you want to, don’t you?”

  “Well…” Kane looked into his son’s eyes and didn’t have the heart to say no. Besides, visiting Maggie might give Kane a chance to get more information about her life before Deer Park. Once he had that, he’d be able to stop the guy who was trying to kill her. “Sure.”

  “Thanks! She said that turkey sounds good and pie sounds even better.”

  “Everything okay in here?” Jenna peeked into the room, her face pale, her eyes deeply shadowed.

  “Ms. Tennyson doesn’t have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with,” Eli offered before Kane could respond.

  “Ms. Tennyson?”

  “Maggie.” Kane responded, then frowned when Jenna smiled.

  “The blonde with beautiful blue eyes? The one you went to visit at the hospital last night? The one you talked about incessantly until four this morning.”

  “I wouldn’t use the word incessantly, but that’s the one.”

  “Well, why don’t we have her over for a second Thanksgiving meal?”

  “Because she’s recovering from a gunshot wound, and I don’t think she wants to leave the house.”

  “We’re going to bring her something instead, and then I’m coming back to beat Grandpa at chess.” Eli nearly bounced out of the room, and Kane followed, feeling lighter than he had in years. Over the past few minutes, he’d seen a glimmer of the old Eli, had gotten a peek at the little boy he’d been afraid had been lost to him forever.

  That gave him hope, and hope, Kane knew, was a valuable commodity.

  It took a few minutes to find a container to carry the food in and a few minutes longer to convince his parents that being thanked by two more members of the family wasn’t something that Maggie was up to. His mother still insisted on writing a thank-you note on a piece of Eli’s notebook paper and tucking it into Eli’s back pocket.

  The hotel lobby was empty as Kane and Eli made their way toward the entrance. A few cars dotted the parking lot, and the street in front of the hotel was silent. Small-town life was different than the fast-paced New York scene. Quieter. Slower. Kane wasn’t sure if he liked it, but for Eli’s sake, he’d stick it out for a few months. Maybe even longer. Whatever it took to help his son heal, that was Kane’s new motto. If that meant moving his P.I. firm to Deer Park, Washington, that’s exactly what he planned to do.

  “In you go, buddy.” He opened the car door and waited as Eli climbed in. Then he closed the door and rounded the car.

  A shadow moved in his periphery, a subtle shifting that made him tense. He turned quickly, trying to c
atch sight of whatever had caught his attention. There was nothing, but Kane couldn’t shake the feeling that something or someone had been there.

  It crawled up his spine, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he got in the SUV. Maybe he should search, see if there really was someone watching, but that would mean leaving Eli alone in the car, and that was something he wasn’t willing to do.

  He pulled onto the road, glancing in his rearview mirror to make sure he wasn’t being followed. The road was still empty—whatever he’d seen in the parking lot was gone.

  Which made perfect sense.

  Kane and Eli were a curiosity to the people of Deer Park, and anyone could have been staring at them as they made their way across the parking lot. More than one person probably had been.

  So why had it felt different than the other times when Kane had caught people looking and pointing as he and Eli walked by?

  Why had the shadowy movement felt sinister?

  Why was Kane still glancing into his rearview mirror, making sure the road remained empty?

  And why did he have a feeling that whatever he’d seen was a harbinger of worse to come? A warning that Eli was as vulnerable as he’d been five years ago and just as easily lost?

  Kane frowned, flipping on the radio and trying to force the unpleasant thoughts from his mind. Eli was safe. There was no reason to believe otherwise.

  No reason, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that danger lurked nearby. That one minute of inattention, one moment of carelessness, and the dream could turn into a nightmare again.

  His hands tightened around the steering wheel, and he forced himself to relax. To let go of the uneasiness that had settled in the pit of his stomach. God was in control. He’d brought Eli home, and He wouldn’t take him away again. Kane believed that. He had to or he’d lock himself and his son in a house somewhere and never come out.

  Or he’d run like Maggie once had.

  Like she might do again.

  Who was after her? Why?

  They were questions he’d been asking since he’d given her a ride home from the hospital, and they were questions he planned to find answers to.

  Hopefully soon, because Kane had a feeling that the danger stalking Maggie was going to strike again, and when it did, she might end up with more than a bullet in the shoulder. She might end up dead.