Dead End Road

by Lori Whitwam

  “You think he chased whoever it was away?”

  “I think he blew their cover, so they didn’t stick around.” She had to believe the prowler had been in full retreat by the time she opened the door. Otherwise, she might never sleep again.

  They completed their circuit of the house, careful not to disturb any footprints they found. It appeared they emerged from the woods on the far side of the garage, passed along the kitchen windows to the deck, concluding with the near fall in Dilbert’s den. Only one print seemed to lead away from there, and it pointed back toward the woods.

  “That’s it. I’m calling the police.” Abby retrieved her phone from where she’d left it on the deck rail. She got through to dispatch right away, and they put her on hold while they transferred her directly to Chief LeFevre. She put her hand over the receiver and spoke to Seth. “They said Bob told them to put me through to him if we had any more problems.” Seth nodded in approval.

  Chief LeFevre came on the line, and Abby explained what they’d discovered. “Would your officer have gotten out of the cruiser and walked around the house?”

  “Shouldn’t have. I’ll call Decker on the way out to your place and ask. He was on duty last night, but he knows not to leave the vehicle unless he has cause. Plus, it was raining, and I don’t see him getting his feet wet if he could avoid it.”

  After determining the chief would arrive in about fifteen minutes, Abby called her neighbors. “Trudy, it’s Abby.”

  “Honey, how are you? Is everything okay over there?” As always, Trudy’s voice was about twenty percent louder than it needed to be. This came from years of living with a husband with a hearing impairment and a stubborn refusal to get a hearing aid.

  “I think so, except we just found some fresh footprints in the mud around the house.”

  “Oh, for goodness sake! Walt, they found footprints around the house. Footprints!” The last word jumped several dozen decibels, and Abby held the phone away from her ear until she was sure her neighbor was finished relaying information to Walt.

  “Trudy, when did Dilbert leave there last night? Do you know?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. He made a racket scratching at the door on the screen porch. I got up to go see what had him stirred up, and he popped the latch just before I got to him. It was about ten till three this morning.”

  It made sense. It was a few minutes after three when Dilbert’s barking woke her. “Did you hear anything else?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Something woke me up, and I heard Dilbert scratching, so I imagine that’s what it was. Did he come over there?”

  “Yes. He showed up right after three. We let him in.”

  “Oh, good. I didn’t like to think of him outside in the rain.”

  “He spent the rest of the night on a big cushy pillow by the bed.”

  “I knew you’d let him in if he came over there.” Abby held the phone out again as Trudy relayed the rest of the conversation to her husband. “Now, we want to meet that new man of yours. You’ll bring him by, won’t you?”

  Abby agreed she would, ended the call, and returned to Seth. He was sitting in a deck chair, and Abby plopped down beside him, placing the phone on the table in between. “Trudy said Dilbert woke her up scratching at the door. I might be nuts, but I believe he heard something.”

  “You’re probably right. And I’m getting pissed all over again.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes it is!” He stood and paced along the rail. “None of this would have happened if it weren’t for me. You wouldn’t have sheets stapled up over holes in your walls, you wouldn’t have some psycho sneaking around your house in the middle of the night, none of it!”

  “Stop it.” She stepped in front of him to halt his furious pacing. “If you hadn’t been here, it would have been you blown up instead of a stupid wall.” She grabbed his arms above the elbows and made him look at her. “Am I freaked out somebody was walking around here last night while we were asleep? Oh, yeah. But they didn’t get any farther than one foot on the first step, and they were scared off by a forty-five-pound dog. Maybe we’ll stay somewhere else tonight or Bob can park somebody out at the fork to the lake.”

  Seth’s entire body was tense with agitation. “What if Dilbert hadn’t gotten off the porch? Whoever sent the text all but came right out and said they were going to punish me by hurting you. They could have killed us in bed or burned the house down around us. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do, but maybe it would be best if I left till all this is over.”

  Abby let go of him and smacked him sharply on the chest. “You did not just say that! Don’t you dare even think it!” She turned her back on him and folded her arms, a sick feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. He’d told her he loved her just this morning. And she’d taken the dizzying leap of acknowledging her feelings too. If those things were true, how could the idea of leaving—for any reason—even cross his mind?

  “How can I not think it?” His voice was sad, as if the choice had already been made. “If anything happened to you…darlin’, I couldn’t stand it. Without me here, you might be safe.”

  She turned toward him, but kept her gaze directed downward. “Might be. Are you sure if you take off I’ll be any less of a target? Don’t you think we’re both safer if we stick together?” She felt really worked up now. He might talk about distancing himself to protect her, but leaving was the same as abandoning, in her mind. Maybe those were her old issues rearing their ugly heads again, but she’d be damned if she’d stand for it. Still, she wouldn’t beg him, either, which was why she wasn’t meeting his eyes. If he’d even consider walking away now, when he said he didn’t want to, when it wasn’t his fault and they had a whole town full of people working to solve the mystery and keep them safe, what would happen if someday he did want to? Even a little bit, just for a minute? Would she wake up in a hotel room, not sure which town it was, and find him gone?

  He put his hands on her shoulders, and after a moment she raised her head. He looked as confused as she felt. “You know I don’t want to leave, but I’ve brought this whole mess to someplace that’s always been safe for you. I’ve taken your sense of security from you, even if I didn’t mean to.” Dropping his hands, he turned away, now not meeting her eyes. His shoulders hitched, and when he spoke, his voice was only a few notches above a whisper. “I have to wonder, and you should too, if I’m any good for you. Sometimes, no matter how you feel about someone, you have to back away to protect them. Or yourself.”

  Abby wasn’t sure if what she felt was fury or panic. She stepped in front of him and made him look at her. “Somebody was after you before you arrived in Emporia. You were in danger either way. This way, though, we have each other, and we’ll get through it.” She was absolutely determined this would prove true. If he left her now, for whatever reason, he would just have to stay gone.

  He enfolded her in his arms, and her turmoil subsided a fraction. “All right, darlin’.” He sighed, and she felt the trembling of his hands on her back. “We’ll get through it. I’ll make sure of it.” Abby relaxed further, but couldn’t completely forget what he’d been contemplating.

  Their embrace was cut short by the sound of a car approaching and turning into the driveway. Chief LeFevre stepped out of the cruiser, and Abby dug deep for some composure. Seth took her hand, and they went to meet him.

  The chief was slightly less disheveled than he was the previous morning, but he looked twice as troubled. “If this keeps up I’m going to put a satellite precinct in your garage.”

  “Ha ha, Bob. I guess if we can find out who’s behind this, we’ll all be spared a lot of headaches.” Abby kept her tone light, but his comment annoyed her.

  They showed him the footprints, and he concurred with their interpretation. Personally, she felt the only comforting part of the whole situation was there were no prints anywhere near her bedroom window.

  “I’ll call in an extra man for to
night,” the chief said, “and put him right before the fork in your road. Unless somebody wants to cover a lot of rough, wooded territory, there’s no other way for them to get close. And if this all started before you even got to town, Seth, we’re probably not talking about a local.”

  It made sense to Abby, and she was about to say so, but Bob had another bit of information.

  “There’s a place by the road, about forty yards down the other side of the fork, where it looks like somebody pulled a car off into the weeds,” he said, pointing in the general direction. “It was muddy, so they sunk in real good, and tore some pretty deep ruts getting out. I’m going to go look around, see if I can tell anything. I’m pretty sure your prowler parked there.”

  Chief LeFevre left to continue his investigation, and Abby turned to Seth.

  “This is good, though, right?” She was struggling to find the positive aspects wherever possible. “The more evidence we find, the easier it’ll be to stop this.”

  “I hope so, darlin’.”

  “Now what?” Her vote was for more alone time, but she suspected it wasn’t going to happen for a while.

  “As much as I’d like to go back inside and lock the doors, I think we have to go to town again.”

  “Damn. I knew you were going to say that.” It would be so nice to be able to indulge in a healthy sulk right now.

  “Dash was sure Kevin would show up to work today, and we need to talk to him.” He sat on the top step and scratched Dilbert behind one ear. “Anything he can tell the investigators could go a long way to helping solve this.”

  Abby sat beside him and put her head on his shoulder. “I know. You’re right, especially if Kevin saw anything in the parking lot Friday night. But I really, really don’t want to go.”

  He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, then stood and leaned on the railing. “Me, either. But I’m going to keep asking questions till something makes some fucking sense.”

  She hated he had to continue dealing with the unanswered questions and looming threats. Then it occurred to her she had something that might make another suspicion-filled drive into town a little less depressing. She joined him by the railing. “Of course we’ll go. And I thought maybe we’d take my motorcycle.”

  “A bike? I didn’t know you had a bike.” Yep, she guessed right. Her old Honda was a good distraction.

  “It’s nothing fancy. I had my cousin get it ready for the summer a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t had a chance to take it out yet, and it needs a good run.”

  “You’re going to let me drive this time, right?” His teasing tone was a good sign. If he could crack even a small joke, the bike was already doing its job.

  “Sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t get to sit in back with my arms around you.”

  He smiled, and this time it actually reached his eyes. “This keeps getting better and better.”

  Seth went to the garage, and Abby went inside. She tucked her hair in a quick single braid, and added a gray sweatshirt in preparation for a breezy ride. She transferred the contents of her purse to a small backpack, and went to check Seth’s progress. He had the bike out, and was already heading back to the house.

  He ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. “Do you have a hat? Otherwise visibility could be a problem.”

  Abby went to the laundry room and pulled a plain black cap from the top of a cabinet.

  “Perfect,” he replied, and put it backward on his head, effectively pushing his hair back from his face.

  As soon as Seth familiarized himself with the bike, he climbed on and started it up. Abby settled behind him. As she wrapped her arms around his lean waist, she couldn’t resist giving him an extra squeeze. She felt his hand stroke her thigh for a moment, and they were off, racing toward town and more potentially disturbing questions.

  She hoped they could live with the answers.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Seth

  Seth loved the freedom of flying down the road on a motorcycle. He wasn’t surprised to discover the sensation of Abby behind him, her breasts warm against his back, her thighs on either side of his, and her arms around his waist made him love it even more. He knew she offered the bike to distract him from the lingering suspicion surrounding his friends, but it touched him to know it mattered so much to her. And it did help. A little.

  He wished they could keep riding until they were far away from all the turmoil, but he knew it would be nothing more than an illusion. This trouble would keep finding him until it was resolved, one way or another.

  When they pulled into the parking lot behind Dash’s—again—he decided he was getting seriously sick of the place. There were more cars in the lot than he’d expected, and he hoped one of them belonged to Kevin Merinar. In addition to Dash’s huge black pickup truck, he saw a surprising number of official vehicles. He’d thought the investigation at the club had already been wrapped up. A group of people milled about, all wearing Dash’s blue-and-gold softball uniforms and organizing coolers and equipment. Must be game day. They went in through the back door, and Abby greeted several of the softball players by name. Seth tucked his sunglasses in his pocket. “Well, where first?”

  Abby slid her sunglasses up on top of her head and pulled her braid from the back of her sweatshirt. He decided he preferred her hair down, but the braid was nice too. The sweatshirt, however, had to go.

  As if reading his mind, Abby swept the sweatshirt off and stuffed it in her backpack, once again revealing the brief purple shirt and partially bare midriff. He was still trying to get his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth when she replied to his all-but-forgotten question. “I guess Dash’s office would be the logical place to start.”

  They passed several Emporia police officers on the way to the office, which they found unoccupied. It didn’t take long to discover the hub of activity was the small banquet room hosting a retirement party in a few hours. Seth saw Dash and Special Agent Kincaid conversing near the room’s tiny kitchenette while several staff members bustled about setting up tables and hanging streamers. Seth thought the room could be any one of countless VFW or Kiwanis Club halls he and the band had played back in Montana. It had the same hallmarks—fake pine paneling, fluorescent lights in a dropped ceiling, and industrial-quality carpet with a number of stains that probably had interesting stories behind them. The whole space exuded a faint scent reminiscent of burned cookies.

  “Hey, Dash,” Seth said as they approached the men. “Any sign of Kevin this morning?” He nodded at Kincaid.

  Dash looked toward the door as if expecting to see someone and shook his head. “No, and I’m worried, that’s for sure. It’s not like Kevin to miss a shift. If he’s gonna be late, he always calls.”

  “No sign he’s been back to his apartment since Friday night, either,” Kincaid said. “At this point, I’d say he’s hiding because he’s involved somehow or he’s in trouble.”

  “Well, he ain’t too late yet. Could be he got the time wrong, and he’ll show up here shortly,” Dash said. Seth could tell he was truly concerned. Twenty seconds and not one rude remark or barnyard laugh. Definitely out of character.

  “I’m worried too, Dash,” Abby said, turning to Kincaid. “What’s with all the officers? I thought you were pretty much done here.”

  Kincaid’s mouth tightened in a grim line. “In the debriefing last night, we found out some of the guys didn’t exactly follow the correct search procedures.”

  Seth thought the small-town force probably didn’t have a lot of experience with searches of this magnitude. “What do you mean?”

  “A few of them cut corners, missed some places.” Kincaid shook his head. “I guess they figured any bomb evidence would be in the bus or at the house, but with Kevin Merinar still unaccounted for, I ordered a new search this morning.”

  Seth understood Kincaid’s frustration. There were so many places to hide things—or hide out—in the old nightclub, and he hoped something helpful would finally b
e found. “If it’s okay with you, we’re going to hang around a while, see if he shows up. We had someone sneaking around Abby’s place last night, and we’d like to talk to Kevin when you’re done. He might’ve seen something Friday that could shake something loose in my head.”

  Dash said for them to stay as long as they liked, then Seth heard Trent’s booming voice. “Hey, guys! Everybody’s in here.” Seth looked toward the door and saw his road manager, as well as Mouse and Marshall.

  Dash put a meaty paw on Seth’s arm. “If you want to sit in the restaurant, I’ll have them set you up with some coffee, rolls, maybe a sandwich or a beer if it ain’t too early.”

  “Thanks. When Kevin shows up, let us know, okay?” He placed his hand on the tempting bare strip low on Abby’s back, and they headed toward the door.

  “So, what’s the word, man?” Trent asked.

  “No word. We’ll hang in the restaurant for now, see if Kevin shows up.” Seth glanced past the assembled group and noticed Roberto hurrying down the hall to join them.

  They were soon ensconced in a large booth in the restaurant. Trent remained standing, explaining he had to hit the road in the next few minutes if he wanted to make his flight. He had a long drive to the airport.

  “I needed to find out if Kevin showed up, though,” Trent said. “I might’ve been the last one of us to talk to him, when he said he had to go see somebody.”

  “Yeah, he poofed,” said Roberto. “I was looking for him right before we wrapped so he could help get the equipment ready to load, but nobody knew where he was.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking. I have a hunch what his ‘meeting’ might’ve been about.” Trent shifted uneasily on his feet. “When we were booking the gig, Dash said there was something he should tell us before we agreed to the crew he was assigning. Seems last year Kevin was into some trouble.”

  Marshall’s eyes narrowed, but he withheld comment while one of the club employees brought over a pot of coffee and some sweet rolls. When she went back to the kitchen, Marshall spoke. “Okay, Trent, out with it. What kind of trouble?”