The River Girls

by Melinda Woodhall

  Eden had just broken Nathan’s heart, and she knew she should feel terrible about keeping him in limbo for so long. Would it be wise to begin another relationship so soon?

  And of course, Leo had played a key role in securing Preston’s bond so that he had been free to kill Mercy. Although Eden sympathized with Leo’s past, and understood his commitment to defending his clients against wrongful conviction, could she really fully forgive the man who had represented her sister’s killer? She wasn’t sure.

  There’s no denying Leo Steele is a very attractive man.

  She felt a flush of something she hadn’t felt for a long time. The sensation was too close to desire for her comfort.

  Perhaps he’s a bit too attractive.

  When the light turned green, Eden impulsively turned onto Baymont Court and drew her car up to the curb in front of Clear Horizons. She tried to reassure herself that it was daylight, and that she was perfectly safe. She checked her rearview mirror. See, Eden, no one is following you. You’ll be fine. You’re just going to ask them if the name Stacey Moore rings a bell.

  Duke followed Eden to the same door she’d entered the last time she’d been there. She knocked softly, tempted to forget the whole thing and scurry back to the car before the stern-faced manager could open the door. But it was too late. The door was pulled open and Denise Bane glared out at Eden, her expression accusatory.

  “I’ve just told the police everything I know about Jessica Carmichael,” the woman said, her brow furrowing into a deep scowl. “And I’m not about to waste more time talking to you.”

  “Sorry to bother you, Ms. Bane,” Eden said, ignoring her urge to tell the hateful woman what she really thought. She forced herself to keep her tone polite and even. “I was just wondering if the name Stacey Moore means anything to you or Trevor?”

  “If it did, I wouldn’t tell you,” the woman sneered, forcing the leathery skin around her mouth to fall into deep wrinkles. “Now, leave us alone.”

  A flash of long, blonde hair passed behind Denise in the dim office. Eden looked over the woman’s shoulder and saw several girls sitting on folding chairs as if they were having a meeting.

  “Again, I’m sorry to interrupt, but perhaps some of your residents may have met Stacey Moore. Could I speak to them and ask?”

  Eden raised her voice, hoping to catch the attention of the girls beyond. “Or can I talk to Trevor?”

  “Trevor isn’t here. And as I told you before, I don’t give out information about our residents. Now leave before I call the police back here and tell them you’ve been harassing me.”

  Eden caught a look of fear in Denise Bane’s icy blue eyes just before the door was slammed shut in her face.

  Why is she afraid to speak to me? What is she hiding?

  She looked down at Duke and shrugged. “At least we tried, boy. I guess that’s all we can do for now. You want to take a walk over to the park and stretch your legs?”

  Duke looked up at Eden as if in agreement, and they walked toward the small park around the corner. The sidewalk in front of the gate was empty and she couldn’t hear the sounds of children playing on the rusty equipment. She began to hope they’d have the dilapidated park all to themselves.

  But as they got closer, she saw Charles Wyatt sitting on one of the concrete benches inside the fence. He looked up just as they walked through the gate.

  “Can’t stay away, huh,” Charles said, leaning back against the bench and stretching his long legs in front of him. “You here to make up some more stories?”

  “I’m sorry about yesterday, Charles. We shouldn’t have waited to tell you about Jess. It wasn’t fair.” She took the leash off Duke’s collar, so he could explore the park. “I came back to Clear Horizons to talk to Denise and Trevor Bane.”

  “So, how’d that go?” The big man cocked his head, his expression telling her he knew it hadn’t gone very well.

  “Denise wouldn’t even let me come in. She slammed the door in my face,” Eden admitted. “And Trevor wasn’t there.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. He’s gone a lot. If he does show his face it’ll be later in the afternoon.”

  Eden considered the words as she watched Duke roam around the overgrown stretch of grass beyond the swings. “Doesn’t sound like you’re Trevor’s biggest fan.”

  “You’re right, I’m not a fan at all. You catch on fast.”

  “So why not? What’s wrong with him?” Eden kept her eyes on Duke, but she could see Charles clenching his fists as he sat up straight in response to her question.

  The man had a temper, as she’d seen the day before. She needed to be ready to call Duke back and get out of the park quickly if he started to lose it.

  “Trevor’s got a pretty big ego, and a cocky attitude to match. Thinks he’s some big stud.”

  He leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. “I wouldn’t care if he didn’t mess with those little girl’s heads so much.”

  “You mean the girls that stay at Clear Horizons?” Eden asked. “Trevor messes with the female residents?”

  “Yeah, he likes the young ones from what I can tell. Gets them to think he’s their boyfriend and shit. Then just dumps them when the next one comes along. It’s like a game to him.”

  “Charles, do you think he might have been involved with Jess when she hung around here? That he might have been the one…that…” Eden’s voice faded as she realized what she was asking.

  She couldn’t go around asking people if they thought their neighbors could be murderers. She might end up making the wrong person angry, and she was here on her own.

  “I warned Jess about Trevor,” Charles said, clenching his jaw. “I told her that guy was bad news. But you never know. The girls all seem to like him. He seems like a little weasel to me, but they fall all over the guy.”

  “Do you know if a girl named Stacy Moore was staying at Clear Horizons? She used the name Star sometimes.”

  “Yeah, I knew Stacy,’ Charles said, nodding slowly. “She was cool, just a little messed up. Got hooked on something, so her mother wanted her out of the house until she got clean. Arranged for her to live at Clear Horizons. I think there was a little brother or sister at home and she didn’t want them seeing Stacey high and shit.”

  “I can understand that.” Eden felt a flicker of hope. She wanted to keep Charles talking. “When did Stacey leave Clear Horizons?”

  “She stayed there up until a few weeks ago. I’m not sure where she was headed, but she seemed happy enough the last time I saw her.” Charles cocked his head. “And you know, she was one of Trevor’s favorites. At least that’s what Brandi told me before she disappeared.”

  “What do you mean disappeared?” Eden asked.

  “I mean one day Brandi was just gone. She was older than most, maybe eighteen or nineteen, so I guess she was free to leave whenever she wanted. No obligation to let me know. But she’d been really friendly. We hung out a few times and she’d even come back to my place to chill.”

  Charles wouldn’t meet Eden’s eyes, and she wondered what chilling consisted of.

  “She’d been in rehab up in Tallahassee,” he continued. “When she got out her parents told her she had to live at a sober house for a few months before going home. She thought they just wanted her out of the house, but she didn’t really blame them. Said she’d put them through hell.”

  “So, she was friends with Stacey?” Eden asked. “Is there a way you can help me get in touch with Brandi?’

  “I wish...but, like I said, she’s gone. Seemed pretty depressed for a while and then one day she was just gone. Never said good-bye or anything.” Charles leaned back against the bench again and scratched his head. “Kind of hurt my feelings, you know? I thought we’d gotten close.”

  Eden’s heart dropped. It seemed that both Star and this other girl were missing. Could Brandi be one of the other girls Star had mentioned that lived with her and Hollywood?

  She needed to get Nessa the infor
mation she’d discovered right away. Just then thunder rumbled, prompting Duke to trot back over and sit at her feet. He didn’t like storms. A flash of lightening lit up the sky in the distance.

  “Looks like it's going to be a bad one today,” Charles said, nodding toward the angry clouds that were swiftly moving overhead.

  He stood and stretched his arms before walking toward the gate. Eden watched him, feeling as if she’d missed something. Perhaps had let some vital information slip by her.

  Charles stopped and turned toward her. “You know that girl that went missing a few years back…Tiffany Clarke?"

  Eden nodded, surprised by the sudden question. Her heart beat faster. Had she been right to wonder if Tiffany Clarke’s disappearance was connected to had been happening to the girls in Willow Bay?

  “She went to school with me and Trevor. She was younger than us, just a freshman when I was a Junior and Trevor was a senior.” Charles looked thoughtful, perhaps picturing a long-ago day.

  “She was beautiful, popular.” He shook his head as if to clear an unwanted image. “Of course, she hung out with a different group than me and Trevor. But back in high school, all the girls liked Trevor. I doubt Tiffany was an exception.”

  Eden tried to make sense of what he was telling her about Tiffany and Trevor. What was he suggesting?

  “You know, I thought I saw them together once, right before she went missing. I never said anything, but I always wondered. Once her body was found, I thought about going to the police. Thought about telling them I’d seen her with Trevor, but I figured they’d probably try to pin it on me. A young black guy steps out of nowhere saying he may know what happened to a murdered white chick? Nah, that’d been suicide around here.”

  Eden frowned. “What do you mean by around here?”

  “Everyone knows WBPD has some crooked cops on the payroll. And the ones that aren’t crooked are probably looking for a fall guy to pin Tiffany’s murder on.”

  “I doubt that’s the case,” Eden said, but her voice sounded unsure.

  “Well, she’s been missing for years, and they haven’t found the killer even though it’s been six months since they found her body.” Charles smiled, but his eyes looked angry. “Someone’s bound to be getting their ass chewed out on a daily basis over that.”

  “So, you’re just going to stay quiet?” Eden asked, still reeling over the implications of what Charles had suggested.

  “You don’t need to pull a guilt trip on me; I feel bad enough already.” Charles raised a big hand and balled it into a fist. He pointed a long finger to the sky. “I’ve got to look out for number one. You know what I mean?”

  Eden stared at him in dismay. When she didn’t answer, he turned and walked away without looking back. Eden didn’t try to stop him. She attached Duke’s leash and hurried down the sidewalk. She was frantic to get back to her car.

  Now that Charles had raised questions about Trevor Bane, she felt her anxiety rising. She didn’t dare look over at the sober house as she approached the car. As she got nearer, she saw that her right front tire was flat. Her mind raced.

  Could I just have run over a nail? Or is this a threat? Or worse, is someone trying to keep me here?

  She climbed into her car and locked the doors, then got Duke settled into the back. She’d have to call for road-side assistance. No way was she going to stand in front of Trevor Bane’s house trying to fix a flat tire. But she needed to get the air on, the car was baking.

  She stuck her key into the ignition and started the car just as someone rapped loudly on the driver’s side window. Letting out a high-pitched scream, she turned with wide eyes to see Leo Steele.

  Rolling down the window, her breath coming in gasps, she said, “God, you scared me, Leo! What are you doing here?”

  “I came to speak to Denise Bane again. Wanted to try to talk some sense into her,” he said, his warm voice instantly calming Eden’s nerves. “What are you doing here?”

  Eden hesitated, not sure how to explain all that had happened. She decided to keep it short. “I think I might know who killed Jessica.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Leo covered Eden’s tightly clenched fist with a big, warm hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. She stiffened, and he pulled back, knowing they hadn’t quite reached the holding hands stage of their tentative new friendship. Wrapping both hands around the steering wheel, the unsettling urge to comfort her grew. He wanted to make her feel safe. He just wished he knew how.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said, although his mind was full of questions and doubts.

  Is she really being followed by a mystery man who broke into her office and flattened her tire? If so, why? And is Trevor Bane a killer? Or could Eden’s anxiety disorder cause paranoia?

  He struggled to keep his eyes on the road, even as they were drawn to the fear clearly evident in Eden’s stricken face. He had to think logically. Needed time to review everything she’d told him.

  But Eden had insisted they drive straight to the police department, and so they’d left her Expedition sitting at the curb with a flat tire, settled Duke into the back of the BMW, and headed toward downtown. Leo wondered what the police would think when they reported the strange series of events.

  “I hope Nessa is on duty,” Eden said, her head turned toward the window. “She might listen. The other detectives will think I’m overreacting and dismiss me as a hysterical woman.

  “I’m sure when you explain the situation, they’ll take you seriously.” Leo knew he wasn’t being honest with her.

  He actually had little hope that the cynical Willow Bay detectives would investigate her claims once they found out she suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. In his experience, only Pete Barker could be trusted, and he was now out of commission. The other men on the force weren’t prone to hunting down clues and untangling sophisticated plots. They usually jumped on the easiest and most convenient suspect.

  “Well, Charles seems to think the WBPD will try to pin the murders on him if he comes forward and tells them what he saw.” Eden sounded defeated.

  “Based on what happened to my father, I’d have to say he may just have a point,” Leo said. “Unless, of course, Charles is trying to point the investigation away from himself.”

  Eden looked startled. “You mean, maybe Charles is the killer and he’s trying to make it look like Trevor did it?”

  “Well, Charles is the only one that admits having known all the girls missing…or dead.”

  Leo thought about Charles, trying to recall the big man’s face.

  Could Charles be the killer? Could he be trying to manipulate Eden into accusing Trevor?

  Leo wasn’t sure. He had believed the surprise and grief Charles expressed when he’d found out Jessica had been killed.

  Eden’s purse buzzed in her lap. She reached in and pulled out her phone, swiping to answer as soon as she saw the number calling.

  She held the phone to her ear. “Hi, Sage.”

  Leo heard a gasp and saw the phone drop from Eden’s hand. She immediately scrambled to find the phone on the car’s floor, shouting, “Oh my god, no…no!”

  Leo saw a gas station on his right and instinctively pulled in and stopped the car. He reached down and found the phone and handed it to Eden, who pressed the speaker icon.

  “Sage, what happened? Where’s Hope?” Eden cried out, her voice raw.

  “They took her,” Sage said through tears. “Two men burst in. They had a gun, and they…they took Hope.”

  Leo gently took the phone from Eden’s shaking grasp.

  “Sage, I’m a friend of Eden’s, have you called 911? Did the police say they were on their way?”

  “Yes, I…I called them as…as soon as the men left,” Sage stammered. “They said they’d be here right away but aren’t here yet.”

  “And Devon, what about Devon?” Eden cried. “Where’s Devon?”

  “He’s here with me,” Sage said. “He was upstairs when they b
urst in. He’s okay, I think. Just upset about Hope.”

  Police sirens sounded in the background. “The police are here,” Sage said in a wobbly voice.

  Leo looked over at Eden, but her eyes were unfocused and glassy. Was she in shock? He spoke into the phone, straining to maintain a calm tone.

  “Sage, go let the police in. We’ll be there within minutes. Stay with Devon and make sure he knows we’re on our way.”

  The call disconnected, and Leo lay the phone in Eden’s lap.

  “What’s the quickest route to your house?” he asked. When she didn’t answer he shook her shoulder. “Eden, come on!”

  He was scared for her but knew the only thing that could help her now was to find her niece. “Tell me your address. We need to get to your house. Hope needs you to stay focused!”

  Eden blinked and croaked out, “8156 Briar Rose Lane.”

  Leo entered the address in his satnav and pulled back out into traffic. Eden picked up the phone and pressed redial. She activated the speaker and waited. Nessa answered on the third ring.

  Nessa’s voice was tired. “Hello, Eden. Sorry I missed your call earlier. It’s been a hell of a day.”

  “My niece has…been…taken,” Eden’s voice cracked on the words. She tried again. “Two men with a gun broke in and…and, they kidnapped my niece. Hope is gone.”

  “What? When did this happen?” Nessa asked, all traces of fatigue in her voice gone. “Did you call 911? Are they on the way?”

  “My nanny called 911, and the police just got to the house. I’m on my way…” Eden’s voice broke off as she looked over at Leo. “We’re on our way. Leo Steele is with me.”

  “We’ll be there in seven minutes according to the satnav,” Leo said, his eyes scanning the traffic ahead for an opening.

  “I’ll head over there right now,” Nessa said, and Leo could hear the rustle of paper. “What’s the address?”