When the Smoke Clears (Deadly Reunions)

by Lynette Eason

  Desperate for a change of subject, Alexia asked, “What’s up with my mother and Michael Stewart?”

  A faint smile curved Serena’s lips. “I think they have a mutual attraction for each other.”

  Alexia didn’t know why the words carried such a punch. She’d suspected as much. “My mother? Interested in a man? A man interested in my mother?” She snorted. “Now that’s just weird. After the number my father did on her, I would have figured she’d run screaming if another man even looked at her.”

  A light hand settled on Alexia’s shoulder. “Your mom’s had a lot of counseling over the last few years. She graduated from school with an administrative assistant degree. She’s going to church. I’m serious. I’ve been in a few Bible studies with her and gotten to know the new Hannah Allen. She’s not the same woman you’re picturing from ten years ago. Give her a chance.”

  Pausing, Alexia studied her friend. Then blew out a sigh. “All I can do is promise I’ll try to see what you see in her. Okay?”

  “It’s a start.”

  Alexia’s head ached from her run-in with her attacker in the parking garage, but she felt the need to return to the house. Plus, the grass needed cutting. Her mother loved a neat yard. Why Alexia felt compelled to give her one she couldn’t say. She just remembered her mother’s comments on the rare occasion her father cut the grass. “I love the yard, Greg, it’s beautiful.”

  Most of the time, the job fell to the teenaged Alexia. And she loved it. It got her out of the house and gave her time to think.

  Pulling into the driveway, she parked her car and noticed the crime scene tape. Should she go in? Were they finished processing the house? Unsure, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hunter’s number.

  He picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Hunter, it’s Alexia.”

  His voice warmed. “Hi there. How are you this morning?”

  “I’m doing all right, thanks. I’m at my mom’s house. Is it all right if I go in? Has it been cleared?”

  “Hold on a sec. Let me check.” Shuffling in the background came over the line. A minute later, he said, “Yeah, it’s cleared. They finished up late last night.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Sure. You need any help with anything?”

  Did she? “No, not right now. I’m . . . not going in the house or down to the basement or anything. I just want to cut the grass for her.”

  Silence on the other end. Then he said, “All right. I’ll let you know if there are any new developments in the case.”

  “Sounds good.” She was stalling. Sounded like he was too. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’ve gotta go. Talk to you later.”

  “Right. Later.”

  She hung up and stared at the house. The back of her neck tingled and she shivered at the sensation. When she turned, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  A door slammed and she whirled back in the other direction to see Lori Tabor walking down the front steps of her brother’s house, following two small children. The kids laughed as they ran to the swing set at the edge of the yard. Lori saw her and waved.

  Alexia waved back, hopped out of the car, and headed for the carport.

  The lawn mower sat in the corner. Alexia grabbed it and wheeled it to the edge of the lawn, feeling like she was once again a fourteen-year-old desperate to escape her life for the next hour, losing herself in the roar of the engine and the precision of neatly cut rows of grass.

  Leaning over, she grasped the starter and pulled. The engine sputtered and died. She tried again with the same result.

  “I bet you need some gas.”

  Alexia looked up to find Lori standing at the edge of the yard. She smiled. “You think?”

  Lori shrugged. “Sounds like it. If you don’t have some, I’m sure Avery has a can in the garage.”

  Alexia nodded. “Thanks.” She went back into the carport and hunted around. Opening the storage room, she checked.

  A gas can huddled in the corner. She hefted it, deciding it probably held about half a gallon. Surely that would be enough.

  Walking back to the lawn mower, she noticed Lori had returned to her charges. Alexia filled up the gas tank. Before she had a chance to start the mower, an older man who looked to be in his late sixties walked up the drive. Placing his hands on his hips, he said, “Glad to see someone’s taking care of this place while Mrs. Allen’s in the hospital.”

  Alexia straightened. “I’m her daughter, Alexia.”

  His eyes cooled. “Ah. So you’re the one. Heard you all had some excitement around here.”

  “Yes sir. And you are?”

  “Harold Yarborough.”

  “Did you know Devin Wickham, Mr. Yarborough?”

  “Not very well.” He clicked his tongue. “A real shame, though. He sure did help your mom out quite a bit.”

  “So I understand.”

  He might as well have shouted, “Unlike Hannah Allen’s irresponsible daughter.” She refused to allow this man to see how guilty she felt.

  “When’s your mother expected to come home?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Have you even been to see her?”

  Alexia gaped, then caught herself. “Yes sir, I have. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get on with cutting the grass.”

  He didn’t take the hint. “My wife, Annie, and your mother are good friends. Annie’s been up to the hospital every day since she was admitted.” He nodded in Lori’s direction. “Her too.”

  “I’m sure Mom appreciates that, Mr. Yarborough.” Would the man never leave? His hostility was beginning to grate.

  “She does. Talks about you all the time, though. Your brother, Dominic, too.”

  “Really?” Now that did interest her.

  “Annie says Hannah talks about how bad she wants to see her kids again, to have them in her life.”

  Was he for real? Why did he feel so comfortable chastising her? “Well, we’ll have to see what happens, won’t we?”

  Mr. Yarborough grunted and narrowed his eyes. “If you’re going to hurt that woman again, you might as well get on back to where you came from.”

  The urge to tell the man exactly what he could do with his unwanted advice had her opening her mouth. Then she shut it. He and his wife were friends with her mother. Of course they’d want to look out for her. Alexia calmed. “I’m going to do my best to make sure that I don’t do anything to hurt her.”

  Her words seemed to surprise him. And mollify him. Giving her a small smile and a crisp salute, he nodded. “Good then. Be seeing you around.” He walked off and Alexia watched him enter the house next door.

  She shook her head and muttered, “See you.” She bent back over the lawn mower just as something slammed into the garage post behind her.

  13

  Tuesday, 9:12 a.m.

  Spinning, she saw . . . a dart? After the incident in the parking garage, she didn’t think twice about falling to the cement drive. Another dart whizzed over her left shoulder.

  In disbelief, fear thudding through her, she scrambled to her knees and dove for cover behind the large white freezer. Shaking, her fingers fumbled for the cell phone she had shoved in the back of her shorts pocket. She punched in 9-1-1.

  Huddled behind the freezer, she was trapped. If the person shooting the darts came looking for her, she had nowhere to go.

  “What’s your emergency?”

  “I . . . someone’s shooting darts at me. I need help!”

  Once again, Alexia found herself in terror mode but managed to relay the information the man needed. Fighting fires had taught her how to fight panic and win.

  “Help is on the way, ma’am. I’ve dispatched a unit that’s only a minute or so away.”

  All remained quiet. No more darts came flying in her direction.

  Sirens sounded in the distance.

  Alexia stayed put.

  Hunter heard the call over the radio. Someone was shoo
ting darts at Alexia? He’d been on his way to check on Chad but decided his brother could wait. Adrenaline spiking, he made a left turn, then a right. Soon, he was racing toward the Allen house, punching the speed dial number he’d assigned to Alexia’s phone as he slowed to make his way through an intersection.

  It rang. Then went to voice mail.

  He grabbed the radio, patched through to the dispatcher, and requested an update.

  “Officers are on the scene now,” she said.

  “Any report of injury? A request for an ambulance?”

  “Not at this time.”

  Hunter felt his pulse slow slightly. If the officers were there, and no one had called for an ambulance, then Alexia was probably all right.

  Two minutes later, he pulled in front of the house. The area looked much like it had last night. CSU would arrive soon, Hunter would make sure of it. This was no coincidence.

  Alexia finding Devin dead in her mother’s house, then being mugged in a parking garage? Yeah, okay, that could be coincidence.

  Add this incident into the equation and no.

  He saw her sitting sideways in the back of a police cruiser. The door was open, her feet on the ground. She looked both vulnerable and mad, with a tight jaw and narrowed eyes. One officer hovered over her. The other examined the area around the carport.

  Hunter approached and flashed his badge. Alexia saw him and gave him a tremulous smile.

  Touching her shoulder, he asked, “Having a hard time staying out of trouble, aren’t you?”

  She sighed. “At least I’m not bored.”

  A king cab truck pulled in beside the cruiser and Hunter blinked. “Chad?”

  “What’s he doing here?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Let me go find out.”

  Hunter left her watching his back as he rounded the front of the cruiser and approached his brother. Chad pushed the sunglasses to the top of his head.

  Hunter eyed him. “What are you up to, Chad?”

  “Heard the excitement and the address on the scanner. Thought I’d come by and see what it’s all about.”

  “You off today?”

  “Yep.”

  Seemed Chad was off more than he was on these days. “Then why don’t you go enjoy your day and let me worry about what’s going on around here.”

  A hard glint turned Chad’s blue eyes as cold as ice. “I guess I can come by if I want.”

  Not in the mood for his brother’s antics, Hunter decided to let it go. “Right. Sure. Why not.”

  Chad jerked his chin in Alexia’s direction. “She all right?”

  “Scared, but not hurt.”

  “Tell her I’ll call her, check on her later.”

  Did his brother think Alexia really wanted him to do that? Instead of asking, Hunter simply nodded. “Sure.”

  Chad’s eyes thawed a few degrees. “I’m heading over to see Dad. He wanted me to help him plant some bush or something.”

  “Okay. Catch you later.” Their father loved to work in the yard. Hunter shuddered. Give him a murder to investigate any day.

  “You coming to dinner tonight?” Chad asked.

  “If I can.”

  Chad smirked. “Why don’t I go over and invite Alexia?”

  Hunter resisted rolling his eyes. Barely. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

  “Yeah, probably not. See ya.” With that, his brother stepped on the gas and sped off.

  Hunter gathered his thoughts and turned back to finish working the investigation.

  Alexia watched the exchange between the brothers. Chad seemed angry, hostile toward Hunter. Hunter looked frustrated. But he quickly wiped the expression from his face as he walked back over to her just as the CSU van pulled up.

  Hunter looked at Alexia. “As soon as they get one of the darts bagged, I’m going to take it to the lab myself. I’ve got a friend who might have time to run it while I’m there.”

  “Do you mind if I go with you?”

  Before he could answer, an officer approached from across the street. “I’ve knocked on a lot of doors. Almost no one’s home. Guess they’re at work. The lady across the street and a few doors down said she saw a dark-headed guy with a backpack walking his dog.” The officer shrugged. “Could be a cover. Why would somebody carry a backpack on their morning walk?”

  Hunter nodded and looked at Alexia. “You remember anyone like that?”

  “No. I talked to Lori Tabor and another neighbor, Harold Yarborough.”

  “Yeah, I talked to him too,” the officer said. “He didn’t have anything interesting to add other than he wished you’d leave and take all your trouble with you.”

  Alexia flinched. “That’s pretty much what he said when I talked to him a little while ago.”

  Hunter frowned. “He has something against you?”

  “He and his wife are friends with my mother. He thinks he’s protecting her.”

  Hunter raised a brow at that. She refused to explain. He nodded at the officer. “Let me know if you find anything else.” To Alexia, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

  She watched him walk over to one of the CSU team members. Climbing out of the car, she decided to follow him and got close enough to hear him ask, “Hey Shelly, do you mind if I take one of those darts to Rick?”

  “Now?”

  “Yep.”

  Shelly shrugged. “Sure, you know what to do.” She handed him the computer. “Sign there.” Then she handed him a clipboard. “And there.”

  Hunter complied and Shelly handed him the bag.

  “Thanks.”

  “Gonna hit Rick up to process your stuff first, huh?”

  He grinned. “I’m taking the fifth.”

  Shelly rolled her eyes and went back to work.

  Hunter turned and spotted Alexia hovering behind him. She said, “So? Do you mind if I go with you?”

  “That should be all right. I’ll have to call ahead and let them know I’m bringing you. There’s a lot of security and restricted places in the lab. You can wait in the waiting room or maybe Rick’s office. All right?”

  “Fine. I just want to be involved. I’ll go crazy if I have to sit around doing nothing.”

  “I understand. Plus,” his lips tightened, “you might just be safer with me than anywhere else right at this moment.”

  She grimaced at the truth of his statement and didn’t bother trying to deny it.

  Hunter pulled into the parking lot of the state crime lab. One of the perks of working in the capital of South Carolina. Another plus was the fact that his tennis buddy Rick Shelton was head of the lab. Hunter tried not to take advantage of the relationship but had to admit when he needed something fast, he didn’t hesitate to ask. And Rick came through for him when he could.

  “Come on, follow me.”

  He got her through the security checkpoint, obtained a visitor’s pass, and together they walked as far as Rick Shelton’s office. The lab would be off limits.

  He found his buddy munching a ham sandwich and rummaging in his desk. “You got anything yet?”

  Rick looked up. “What makes you think I’m working on your case?”

  “Because you want to date my sister and you need a good word from me?”

  Unfazed by the comment, Rick simply lifted a brow. “The last thing I need is a good word from you. Christine and I can handle our own relationship, thanks.”

  “Aha! So, you admit there is one. A relationship, that is.”

  “I admit nothing.” He went back to his desk. “Bingo. I knew I had a package of pepper in here somewhere.” He opened it and looked back at Hunter. “This your friend you called about?”

  “Alexia, Rick Shelton.”

  Alexia nodded and smiled. Rick held out a hand and she shook it.

  Hunter dropped the bag with the dart in it on Rick’s desk. “How fast can you find out if there’s anything on the tip of that dart and if there are any fingerprints to run?”

  Rick simply star
ed at him over his black-framed glasses.

  Hunter couldn’t read the man’s face. A fact that frustrated him often.

  Taking pity on his friend, Rick finally sighed and said, “Can you give me thirty or forty minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  “I assume this has something to do with her?” He gestured toward Alexia.

  Alexia said, “Someone tried to plant one of those in me this morning. I’d like to know what would have happened if I hadn’t moved fast enough.”

  Rick frowned. “Well, that’s just plain mean.”

  “I kind of thought so,” Alexia murmured.

  “Come back in thirty to forty minutes.”

  Hunter took her arm and led her from Rick’s office. “Let’s go down to the little café and grab an early lunch. The food here’s actually pretty good.”

  “I take it you come here often?”

  Hunter smiled. “Rick and I went through high school together. I bug him often enough. Are you telling me you don’t remember him?”

  She frowned. “Nope, can’t say I do.”

  “Not surprising. Rick was always in the biology or chemistry lab. A major nerd.”

  “And you, the captain of the football team, hung out with him?”

  “Yep. I liked him.”

  The look in her eye changed from teasing to admiring. “So you weren’t just a shallow jock back then?”

  He felt a flush start at the base of his neck and cleared his throat. “Nope. Not all the time.” And if she’d given him half a glance, he would have been glad to prove it to her.

  But she hadn’t. And now that he had an idea why, he supposed he couldn’t hold that against her. They entered the café and ordered their food.

  Tucked away in a corner booth, Hunter watched Alexia pick at her tuna sandwich. “Can you think of anyone who’d want to shoot at you?”

  “I have no idea.”

  They ate in silence for the next few minutes, then Alexia said, “Back in Washington, I was on a call at a fire and I ran out of air. Someone messed with my fire gear. Punched itty-bitty holes in my hose. I didn’t know it and went in to save a kid. My captain ordered me out when my alarm went off indicating my air was low. I ignored him and saved the kid. I ended up running out of air and passing out. All ended well, but the reprimand was pretty harsh and I’m on leave until I can appeal the decision.”