“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Leo?”
“Yeah?”
The entire room could hear the smile in Eva’s voice as she said, “Take care of my daughter. I trust you.”
Chapter Eighteen
As he left the station and drove toward home, Joe saw a light in Leo’s apartment and frowned. Why lights? Grabbing his phone, he called Chad. “Hey, did anyone say anything about keeping lights on at Leo’s place?”
“Not that I know of, why?”
“Well, obviously there’s one on or I wouldn’t be asking. You need more sleep.”
“Yeah, well that doesn’t always work out like you’d think. Want me to take a swing by?”
“I’ll wait for you. Considering the threat, no one should go in alone.”
“You don’t think Leo—”
Fear or one of its close cousins gripped his gut. “Get here now. I just saw a shadow in there.”
Rarely had the officers of Fairbury been called into a situation that had such a strong probability for serious danger. So focused were they on their task that neither of them thought to announce themselves. Joe tried the door and found it unlocked. Flinging it open, he swept the room with his gun while Chad stepped in and then dove for cover. “Suspect in northeast corner!”
Shots fired as the intruder fled the room, aiming straight for Joe who dove for his feet. The man fell, rolling down the stairs with thuds that should have meant at least a broken bone or two. The door at the bottom opened and slammed shut.
“Check the apartment!” Joe yelled as he scrambled to his feet and nearly dove down the stairs.
The alley was empty; not even a stray cat shifted in the darkness. He raced between the buildings onto Elm and froze as the distinctive roar of a motorcycle rumbled away. Grabbing his phone, he called Judith and Brad. “Get here now! We just chased a biker from Leo’s apartment. I’m in pursuit.”
Disconnected, he listened again, hoping for some idea of which direction the man went. Just as he was sure, another motorcycle rumbled from the opposite direction and toward the highway to Brunswick—right past the police station. He dialed again. “Brad, you head out on the highway toward Brunswick. I heard one that way.”
His Jeep peeled away from the curb and to the road that led toward Rockland. They’d be splitting up that way. Punching his phone once more, he called Chad. “What’d you find?”
“Place is trashed. They destroyed everything.” The sound of a window opening preceded an ominous pause. “Um, Joe?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a guy across the street just standing there.”
Fingers flew over the phone as the man sent a text message to JENk. “Apartment empty. Local cops in pursuit. Alarm on other side of town. Off to check other target.”
Then he stepped off the curb and opened his car door. The engine purred as he pulled out onto the residential street and into a neighborhood of early twentieth century homes. He looped around for a minute or two and then drove out of there without a second thought. The cruiser was gone.
At the crossroads, he flipped his blinker, turning left toward Ferndale. A pass by the fire station told him all he needed to know. Mission accomplished.
“Look, I think she’s more comfortable with you. You should go. Karen shouldn’t be long in Oaxaca and then she can come here if we’re still holed up.”
“I guess,” Keith agreed. He seemed reluctant, but Allison couldn’t quite understand why. Where was he going?
“Her parents seem to understand the situation. They won’t give me any trouble.”
That was all Allison needed to hear. She stepped around the wall and confronted the men. “You’re going to see my parents?”
“Yeah. The gal with them has to do something important for a few days.”
“Something in Oaxaca?”
“We’re getting lazy. Yeah. I could pretend it’s not there but we both know it is so why bother?”
Something about the way he agreed to it made Allison skeptical. “Except that Oaxaca is probably code for some other place so that people who overhear can’t accidentally or purposely give away important information. It helps you be able to talk freely without worry.”
“Oh, she’d be a good spy novelist. Complicate life to the extreme and voila. Done.”
“Look, I want to know one thing. Are one of you going to see my parents?”
“Yes, but you can’t come.”
Allison ignored Brian and concentrated on Keith. “Please go.”
“Oh, she doesn’t like the fellow religious nut. That’s a new twist.”
“Stuff it.” Keith met her gaze, trying to read her reason for the request, and nodded. “Your parents aren’t Christians, right?”
“Right.”
“I’ll go.”
“Oh, no,” Brian objected. “Don’t put those people through sermons while they’re already worried about their daughter. It’s cruel.”
“Can I write them a note?”
Both men shook their heads and said in unison, “No.”
“Unsafe for some reason that you can’t explain or don’t want to?”
“Exactly.”
She stared at the floor, her toe picking at a rip in the carpet. “Look, my mom won’t even listen. No matter how much she likes it or agrees with it, she won’t unless Dad already believes. She won’t risk driving a wedge between them. Dad isn’t quite as emotionally driven in his decisions.”
A moan from the other room brought Allison back to her errand. “I need clove oil. It’s not an option. The Vicodin isn’t even touching that pain. He’s got a dry socket.”
Keith sent a message to someone and then said, “You can’t write a note, but you can give me a message. I’ve got a pretty good memory. Write it and I’ll do my best to memorize it.”
“Really?”
“Sure.” Keith smiled and added, “Oh, and the phone switch thing? Have to do that for security purposes. It’s nothing to worry about.”
The alarm at Fairbury Automotive alerted the police station to a potential problem. Judith called Chad to investigate. “Probably a glitch, but—”
“Still in pursuit of the guy in Leo’s apartment, Judith. Can’t you check it out?”
“If you haven’t found him by now…”
“Just go!”
She ground her teeth before saying, “I’m going, but we’ll have words about this.”
She flipped the software onto forwarding to the chief’s house and called him. “Joe and Chad are chasing guys who were in and near Leo’s apartment, and now Adric’s alarm is going off. I’m forwarding stuff to you until I get back.”
“I’ll go on down. Did they call in Brad?” Chief Varney grabbed his shoes.
“Yeah. Gotta go.”
She jumped into her own car and sped toward Adric’s shop. As Judith pulled into the parking lot, she pulled out her phone and called the Chief. “Have Darla manage the phones and come here. He’s had a break in. I can’t imagine it isn’t related to Leo.”
“Hold on. Almost there.”
Frank Varney hadn’t had to provide back up in a decade—not like this. Judith glanced behind her and nodded to the right. They entered, one after the other, sweeping the outer office before she stepped around the counter, prepared to find someone hiding there, but it was empty.
The door to the bays taunted them. Someone had been in there. Just as she was ready to push open the door, the front door opened, and a man stepped into the office. “Adric!” Judith hissed, lowering her gun from the startled man. “Get out of here! I’ll call you when it’s clear. Go!”
Adric turned and then glanced over his shoulder. “How was I supposed to know you are here? There are no cop cars out there!”
“Go!” the Chief and Judith called in unison.
Once more, they prepared to enter the bays. Judith kicked the door open and was astounded to find it slam shut in her face again. She and Chief Varney exchanged confused expressions. �
�Ask or try again?”
“Ask.”
Judith whipped out her phone and dialed the cell number listed on Adric’s sign. “Adric. We kicked open the door to the bays and it slammed shut. Auto spring or are we facing the giant?” She gave the chief a thumbs-up and signed off. “Thanks. Bye.”
“Spring shut—no hydraulic hinge.”
“Great.”
“I know, right?” Judith stared at the door again. “Think there’s a window?”
“Won’t do us any good. I’m going to go in and hold it. You sweep.”
“Makes you a sitting target!” Her whisper was more of a strangled cry.
“I’ll hang low, now go!”
The chief shoved open the door and dropped as he swung it out of the way. Judith went in, throat dry and waiting for a spray of bullets. Why didn’t I wear a vest? That thought produced a smirk—even if only internally. Vest—when had she ever needed one in Fairbury?
“Clear, Chief.”
“Depends on how you define it.”
They stared at the destruction before them. Mangled beyond anything they’d ever seen in a crash, the Allens’ Crown Victoria—oh the irony—was totaled. “We get to process a crime scene—an honest-to-goodness crime scene.”
“Remember how?”
“Very funny.” Judith grinned at the chief. “I feel guilty for it, but I’m almost excited. Think Adric has good insurance?”
“For the Allens’ sake, I sure as shootin’ hope so.”
“Chief?” She waited for him to look at her, his eyes questioning before she added, “You are such an Andy Griffith.”
As she left to retrieve the crime kit, the faint sound of whistling reached her—the Andy Griffith Theme Song.
Chapter Nineteen
He’d had enough. The situation was utterly ridiculous and driving him crazy. Brian walked over to Leo and pulled him from the house. “We need to talk.”
“Wha—”
“Everything’s fine, Allison. I just need to have a man-to-man with him. Guy stuff.”
Outside, he led Leo away from the house where Allison couldn’t approach unheard. “What the h—what is wrong with you!?!”
“What?”
Of course, he’d be oblivious. How convenient. “That is one impressive woman in there.”
“You’re tellin’ me.”
“Yeah. I am. I am telling you. Just in case you hadn’t noticed, she was ripped from her life with you. Her parents were taken for their protection as well. Everything she knows has been turned upside down. and what are you doing? You’re acting like you’re waiting for a death sentence.”
“I am.”
“Well knock it off. If it makes you feel better to be convinced that we’re going to murder you or something, then fine. Be convinced. But get in there and show her some support. She’s doing it all.”
“What?” Leo shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Listen to me and listen very carefully,” Brian began with the slow monotone used to emphasize someone’s stupidity, “she needs comfort and reassurance. She’s totally crazy about you!”
“And look what being with me did! I’m walking danger for her.”
He tore at hair that was too short to grab. “That’s her choice, but right now it doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that she gets the emotional support she needs. She’s carrying this for both of you now, and I’ve seen it before. She’s going to crash, hard—soon. She’s too calm.”
“That’s Allison. She’s always too calm.”
“Well she shouldn’t be—not now. Right now she should be seeking support.”
“Support how?”
“Are you really that dumb?”
“Fine. Whatever.”
A call came in while Leo stood staring at the ground, frustration evident on his face. “Get inside.”
“Is something—”
“Just go!”
Leo went. As he jogged back to the house, his mind mulled over Brian’s words. The idea of Allison being unsettled by something she kept trying to convince him to support made no sense. She didn’t get flustered—well, except for his scars. The memory hit him hard and just as he reached the door. The CMA. She’d absolutely freaked over their arrival. No, she hadn’t put on an air of calmness or strength; she really believed what their captors said. Brian had it all wrong; Allison was just fine.
He entered quietly, ready to tell her that something seemed off with the phone call. In just a brief flash, he saw what Brian meant. With him gone, her guard had dropped and that split-second exposure of her spirit told him more than anything Brian could have said.
“Hey…”
She smiled—how did it look so genuine? “Everything ok?”
“I think something’s up out there. He got a call and ordered me inside.”
“They really do want—”
“—to protect us,” Leo finished with a grimace. “I know. Well, I know it’s what you think. You have no idea how much I hope you’re right.”
Leo moved next to her at the window and put an arm around her shoulder; it felt awkward, but he did it. Her eyes rose questioning. “There is something wrong, isn’t there.” The look of concern that slowly shrouded her features unsettled him.
Ok, strong. He knew how to do strong. He didn’t know much more than she did, but how to survive situations like this—there his past helped. “I don’t know,” he answered, pulling her into his arms and resting his head on her hair. “I do know something seems a little less sinister about it all, so it’s kind of crazy.”
“Leo, you’re scaring me.” She pulled away from him. “What’s wrong? Brian freaked you out somehow.”
Full truth or half-truth? That was the question. He opted for complete honesty. “He told me I was being a jerk.” Leo’s arms tightened. “He was right.”
“You’re being cautious, Leo. That’s understandable. I don’t know what business it is—”
“No, he’s right. You were kidnapped. That’s what this is, Allison. Kidnapped.”
“I was ‘extracted,’ as those action movies like to call it.”
“No, extractions happen when you go to the dentist or when you call for help when things go wrong on a mission in an action movie. Big difference.”
“I don’t see it that way.”
“That’s part of the problem. You should. You shouldn’t trust people who force you from a friend’s home at gunpoint. It isn’t normal.” Feeling the resistance in her, he added. “They took your parents too! They took them!”
“And Mom sounds like she’s having the time of her life.”
“Now I know where you get your faulty wiring from then.” The attempt at a joke fizzled as she pushed away from him again.
“I was wrong.”
“Da—rn right you were.”
“You are being a jerk.” At whatever expression she saw in his eyes, she stepped close and hugged him. “It’s a good thing I like you anyway.”
His throat constricted in perfect tandem with his heart. “I’m sorry.”
“I know. You’ll be more sorry later—or is it sorrier?”
“How should I know? You’re the teacher!”
Nothing could have relaxed him more, comforted him more, and made him feel more like a heel than the way she fitted herself into his arms and made herself comfortable. “I’m a bit out of practice this week.”
Holding her equaled amazing. As each second passed, another fine layer of stress peeled from her and fluttered to the ground. He felt her relaxation before he could even see it. With her eyes closed and her body growing heavy, Leo wondered if she was falling asleep.
It wouldn’t be easy—not as out of shape as he’d gotten in the past few months—but he had to try. Leo shifted to lift her when the backdoor opened. His eyes met Brian’s and Allison’s fluttered open. “What happened?”
“Um, you’d better sit down.”
“Why? What?” Leo demanded.
“Le
o…”
“Just sit down, please.” Exhaustion exuded from Brian’s already perspiring pores.
They sat, hands clasped together. When Leo saw it, the picture irritated him further. Great. He looked like an accountant waiting for news of his son’s surgery or something—well, sans the snake slithering up his arms with each stroke of his thumb on Allison’s hand. Sans. He’d been around her for much too long. And that was a good thing. A very good thing.
Brian’s next words kicked him in the gut. “I’ve got some bad news and then we have to go.”
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. Mark hasn’t said. Helicopter will meet us at Globe, so we have to move quickly.”
“And the news?”
Leo felt it before Brian spoke. The bad news would be for Allison. It only made sense. Brian’s words confirmed it. “They got to your house in Ferndale.”
“They who?”
“The Kasimirs, Leo. Who else?”
Brian nodded. “We got your parents out in plenty of time, but your house is gone.”
“Gone?” Allison’s eyes grew wide. “As in burned or what?”
“Mark is kicking himself. He focused on getting them out and safe and didn’t think about and wasn’t warned of an explosion.”
“Warned?”
“Explosion?”
Leo and Allison stared at one another and then pelted Brian with questions. Who is responsible? Was anyone hurt? Where—
Brian waved his hands. “Whoa. One at a time. We don’t know the exact cause, but the pattern of explosion appears to be basic pipe bombs set throughout the house.” He leaned forward as if his proximity would comfort her. “There’s nothing left. Nothing. The fire department tried, but…”
Leo stiffened and then wrapped his arms around her. “Allison. I am so sorry. This is my—”
“Don’t you dare say it’s your fault!”
“But—”
“She’s right. Look, we’ve got to go. We’ll talk on the way—well, once we get to Globe.”
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