Death by Intermission

by Alexis Morgan

  Now the question was, had she still been holding them when she entered Gage’s office? No, she didn’t think so, which meant she must have set them down in the police department shortly before she’d met with Gage. Maybe when she’d stopped to open the cookie container.

  “Sorry, Zeke, but we’ve got to go back inside.”

  The door on the near side of the building required the use of a passcode to get in, which meant they would have to ask the sergeant at the front desk to let them back into the bullpen area. Luckily, Sergeant Jones liked Zeke and offered to keep an eye on him while he buzzed her in. Abby hustled down the hall to where she’d left the treats for Gage’s deputies. Sure enough, her keys were there, hidden behind the cookies and a stack of napkins.

  After sticking them in her pocket for safekeeping, she was about to head back toward the lobby when she heard a familiar voice coming from Gage’s office. He wasn’t the one currently speaking, although he was definitely part of the conversation. She strained to listen closely, trying to decide if it really was Owen Quinn in there. Luckily, the bullpen was currently empty. There was no telling how long that would last, and she couldn’t risk getting caught eavesdropping.

  Trying to look as if she had a reason to be there, she helped herself to a cup of coffee in a disposable cup. While she stirred in cream and sugar, she struggled to make sense of the conversation between the two men, but their frustration and anger definitely came through loud and clear.

  At the moment, Owen was the one talking. “. . . and I didn’t lie, Gage. When you asked at the scene if anyone recognized him, I told you the man’s name. I admit I didn’t say I’d known him under a different identity. I had no way of knowing if that information might impact your investigation. For the record, his former identity, just like mine, remains classified. I can’t talk about them, especially in front of civilians. You know that.”

  Gage snarled right back. “Yeah, I get why you didn’t say anything at the park, but you could’ve at least told me that much when we talked here at the station. I’ve kept my mouth shut about your past, haven’t I? I get that you don’t know my people and that you most likely haven’t even told Phoebe McCree about your past exploits. That’s fine, but you knew full well you could trust me. I was part of that life, too, even if I never got as deep into the woods as you did. Regardless, I’ve got a murder investigation on my hands, one I can’t solve if jerks like you hide vital information from me. You know, like there was some kind of connection between you, the victim, and the man whose job he’d taken over. Not to mention a burglary that may or may not be part of the whole package.”

  It sounded as if Gage had thrown something down on the desk. “Imagine how I felt when Abby brought in Jada’s scrapbook this morning, and the first thing I see is a picture of you and Mitch Anders standing right behind Jada’s father. I knew you’d served more than one tour in Afghanistan besides the one where we crossed paths in 2005, but not that you’d known both Anders and Davidson. Was this taken before or after that?”

  There was a brief lull before Owen answered. “It was a few years later. I didn’t actually know Davidson, but Anders was in and out of that area several times from what I heard.”

  Gage didn’t sound much happier. “I’m pretty sure Abby didn’t recognize you, but then she’s never seen you with dark hair and sporting that stupid beard you were so proud of. I don’t think for one minute you killed Anders, but only because you aren’t stupid enough to paint a target on your own back. But get this through your thick skull—I can’t protect you if you insist on keeping me in the dark. I’m getting major pushback from the prosecuting attorney’s office because I haven’t charged you with the murder. In case you’ve forgotten, you have no alibi and it was your knife.”

  Abby shivered. If Gage ever talked to her with that much cold fury in his voice, she would duck for cover. Owen was made of sterner stuff. “Yes, you’ve protected my secrets, and I thank you for that. And I swear, if there’s any indication Anders’s death is due to something from his time in the service, I will do everything I can to get you the information you need.”

  “You’d better, or I’ll throw you right back in that cell until you rot. Understand?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gage’s chair creaked like it did when he leaned back. “I talked to Reilly Molitor earlier, and he promised to hunt down the JPEG for this picture for me. When that happens, I’m going to want you back in here to see if there’s anything more you can tell me about it.”

  “Just give me a call.”

  When she heard the scrape of a chair, she realized Owen was about to leave. Time to disappear before the two men figured out that they’d had an audience. There wasn’t much Owen could do about her newfound knowledge, but it might give Gage an excuse to make good on his continuing threat to let her experience life in one of his cells firsthand.

  It was tempting to run for the exit, but that would look really suspicious if she crossed paths with one of Gage’s deputies. On the way, she stopped to use the restroom to buy herself a little time to calm down before she reclaimed Zeke. Sergeant Jones was a nice man, but he was very much a cop. If she returned breathing hard and looking guilty, it would be sure to trigger his spidey senses. While waiting for her pulse to slow down to something close to normal, she dumped the unwanted coffee down the sink and tossed the cup in the trash.

  She peeked out the restroom door to make sure she wasn’t going to walk right into Owen on his way out. The coast was clear, and she made it to the lobby without incident. After retrieving Zeke, they hustled out the door and around the corner to the parking lot.

  Naturally her luck didn’t hold out. While she and Zeke had to go the long way around, Owen had taken the shorter route to the parking lot through the back door. He was already out of the building and heading for his car as she and Zeke rounded the corner. Maybe if they remained right where they were he wouldn’t notice them. She hauled back on Zeke’s leash to slow him down. Sadly, Owen possessed the same uncanny sense of his surroundings as Tripp and Gage, no doubt honed by that mysterious past that Gage had alluded to.

  He’d had his back to her, but he paused midstride to turn back around. His first reaction was to smile, but that quickly morphed into a frown when she kept her distance. “Abby, what’s wrong?”

  The parking lot probably wasn’t the best place for this confrontation, but it was time she got some answers of her own. She didn’t bother faking a smile as she marched toward the man. Like Gage, she wasn’t particularly happy with Owen Quinn right now. The chief of police might have a murder case to solve, but Abby had her mother to protect.

  When she got close enough, she finally answered his question. “Yes, Owen Quinn, or whatever your real name is, something is wrong. You’ve been lying to all of us, including my mother, about who you are.”

  Another two steps put her within arm’s reach of her target. She poked him in the chest with her forefinger to show him she meant business. “I don’t much care why you moved to Snowberry Creek. That’s your business—or it was right up until you decided to involve my mother in whatever games you’re playing.”

  At that point, Zeke shoved himself between the two of them to join the conversation with a low growl. That’s when she realized that Owen no longer looked all that friendly. There was a sharp edge to his expression she’d never seen before, giving her a glimpse of the dangerous man underneath the friendly veneer he routinely showed the world.

  She backpedaled a step and let her hand drop back down to her side. Maybe it was time to ramp down the anger. “I accidentally overheard you and Gage talking. I get that it was all meant to be hush-hush, but I don’t intend to go blabbing it all over town. I even believe you had nothing to do with Mitch Anders’s death. I just don’t want to see my mom hurt.”

  For a long few seconds he stared at her as he weighed his options. Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out, his tension quickly dissipating. Even Zeke slowly wagged his tail to acknowledg
e the dangerous moment had passed. Owen petted the dog and offered Abby a rueful smile. “I knew both Tripp and Gage worry about your ability to attract trouble, but I didn’t understand until now what they were talking about. You have a definite knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Her cheeks flushed hot, but she wasn’t sure if it was because his observation was infuriating or embarrassing. It didn’t really matter, and now wasn’t the time to pour gas on the situation. She’d already told the man what she wanted to know, so she crossed her arms over her chest and waited him out.

  Finally, he let out one more slow breath as he glanced around the parking lot. “Fine, Abby, I’ll explain what I can, but I’m counting on your promise that this conversation goes no further. If you have any questions about me or my past, you come to me or even Gage. He won’t be able to give you much in the way of details, but then neither can I. Agreed?”

  She nodded. After all, what choice did she have?

  “I was in the military when I was recruited to work for another agency. Understandably, most of what I did was classified. I almost died on my last assignment, and that’s when I walked away from that life. I changed my identity and chose a new career where I figured the worst thing that could happen would be a flat tire on my food truck.”

  He allowed himself a small smile. “As to why I picked Snowberry Creek, it’s close to all kinds of fishing, and there wasn’t a decent barbecue restaurant within forty miles.”

  Despite the lack of specific details in his explanation, she found herself believing him. Her mother would probably have a hissy fit if she found out Abby had had the audacity to ask Owen what his intentions were, but that didn’t stop her. “And how does my mom fit into this new life of yours?”

  “That’s up to Phoebe. She’s waiting for me at my house, and I already planned to tell her the same things that I just told you.” He ran his fingers through his hair, looking frustrated. “Look, I swear that if I thought for one minute the things I did in the past would put your mom in danger, I would break things off with her immediately. Having said that, she means a lot to me, Abby. She’s an amazing woman, and I treasure the time we spend together. I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove that I’ll treat her right.”

  What could she say to that? She didn’t know him well enough to know how trustworthy he was, but Gage seemed to think a lot of the man. All things considered, she gave him the only answer she could. “Fine, but just know I’ll be watching you like a hawk. Hurt her, and I’ll be coming after you with everything I’ve got.”

  Rather take offense at her threat, Owen grinned and stuck out his hand. “It’s a deal.”

  After they shook, she started toward her car when Owen spoke one more time. “You can tell Tripp, too, if you want. Gage says he knows how to keep his mouth shut. Besides, the man shouldn’t be kept in the dark, especially since he seems pretty determined to stand guard over both you and Jada.”

  As peace offerings went, that was a dandy. “Thanks, Owen. I know Tripp will appreciate your faith in him. So do I. Good luck with Mom, by the way. You may need it.”

  He just laughed as he walked away.

  * * *

  Four hours later, Abby glanced at the clock and grumbled, “What’s keeping Mom, Zeke?”

  It wasn’t that she expected the dog to answer, but she needed to talk to somebody as she paced the length of the hall and back again. She’d had the house all to herself when they’d gotten home, and it had been tempting to fix a huge mug of Darjeeling tea and lose herself in a good book. Instead, she’d taken advantage of the opportunity to catch up on few chores.

  With the vacuuming and laundry done, she’d tried to work on her quilting but gave up after a short time. She’d been too restless to focus, and now found herself dithering about nothing. The problem was that she hadn’t heard from her mother since long before her confrontation with Owen in the parking lot. The logical part of her brain insisted the woman was an adult and could take care of herself. They often went a week or more without speaking, so it wasn’t as if she always knew how her mom spent every minute of her time. She only hoped Owen had made good on his promise to fill her mother in on his background.

  Abby would’ve given anything to listen in while he explained his mysterious past. Considering how few details he could actually share, the talk shouldn’t have taken all that long, and she’d expected her mom to check in afterward. At least Abby’s mind instantly threw up roadblocks whenever she started thinking too hard about how else her mom and Owen Quinn could’ve spent the afternoon besides just talking.

  No way she wanted to go there. Nope, not at all.

  On the other hand, the emotional side of her mind couldn’t help but worry. The longer her mother’s absence continued, the crazier the possibilities became. Her latest was that Owen and her mother were now on the run, out of fear that he’d be charged with murder and end up back in jail. The hamster wheel of worries spinning in her head made Abby furious. If she ever stayed missing in action like this, she’d never hear the end of it.

  As she made the turn at the end of the hall to head back to the kitchen, someone pulled into the driveway, hopefully her mother. Instead, she watched Tripp park his truck and then waited to see if he went straight to his place or if he would head her way. Once again the man sensed her watching him. He paused on his porch long enough to wave before disappearing into his house. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t disappointed, but no doubt he had homework and chores of his own to take care of.

  She was about to return to her pacing when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Yay! Tripp was headed her way, beer in hand. She opened the back door and let Zeke brush past her to charge across the yard to greet his best friend. Deciding a cold drink sounded good, she grabbed a can of pop from the fridge and followed Zeke outside. After tossing a stick a few times for Zeke, Tripp joined her on the porch, sighing as he sank down onto one of the Adirondack chairs.

  As he stretched his legs out, he said, “Boy, this feels good. It’s been a long one.”

  “Yeah, it has.” She studied her companion, noticing the fine lines around his eyes looked deeper than usual. “Tough day at school?”

  He held the cold beer against his forehead as if fighting a headache. “No more than usual. Sometimes just being around all the youthful enthusiasm of my fellow students makes me tired.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, you’re such an old man.”

  He looked even more grim. “By their standards, I am. I’ve got a solid twenty years on some of them. Seen things, done things they can’t even imagine. The difference that makes in our world views is mind-boggling at times.”

  He stared off into the trees. “It’s like we’re not even speaking the same language.”

  Not for the first time she wondered what he was seeing in his mind when he got that distant expression in his eyes. Before she could ask, he shook his head and then glanced at her. “How did your day go?”

  Where to begin?

  “For starters, Will Swahn, Jada’s godfather, showed up at the door uninvited, and I’m guessing mostly unwelcome. He claimed to have found out where she was staying from one of Jada’s neighbors.” She frowned. “I’m not sure why, but I have serious doubts that’s what happened.”

  “Are you going to let Gage know about him showing up like that?”

  “I already did.”

  She paused to take a drink before launching right back into her diatribe. “Mom left before I got up, and I haven’t seen her all day. She hasn’t called, either.”

  Tripp shot her sideways glance. “You do know phones work in both directions. If you’re that worried, you could call her or even send a text if you don’t actually want to talk to her.”

  Although he didn’t exactly smile, she had a sneaking suspicion he was laughing at her. “Yeah, I thought about that, but it felt too much like flashing a porch light. You know, because she’s with Owen.”

  Then she gave hi
m a narrow-eyed look. “Speaking of which, thanks for sharing that little tidbit about the porch light with Gage. He thought it was hilarious.”

  The man wisely looked apologetic. “Sorry, it sort of slipped out. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  She conceded the point. “No, that was my mom’s intent, not yours.”

  Tripp steered their conversation back to safer territory. “So what did this Swahn guy want?”

  “Allegedly to check on Jada and make sure she was okay. She hadn’t heard from him since her dad’s funeral, but then he tracked her down here to bug her about some book her father had borrowed. Maybe he waited this long out of consideration, but I don’t buy it.

  “When Jada said she needed to leave for class, he acted pretty weird and asked me to step away so they could discuss something in private. She clearly wasn’t too keen on that idea, so Zeke and I saw him out. I have a feeling he’ll be back at some point, though. Either that or he’ll wait until Jada returns home and corner her there. I could be misreading the situation, but I don’t think so.”

  She gave Tripp a frustrated look. “But who knows? It’s not like he knows me at all. Maybe he wasn’t sure how much he should say in front of a relative stranger.”

  “Could be, but your instincts when it comes to reading people are usually right on target.” Tripp propped his feet up on the porch railing as if settling in for the duration. “To switch topics, what’s for dinner tonight? Sorry to say, I’m fresh out of tuna casserole.”

  She stuck her tongue out him. “Don’t be a jerk. Actually, Jada plans to order in when she gets back from class, her treat. I’m guessing she feels like she needs to contribute something toward meals while she’s living here.”