Dark Water (New York State Trooper Series Book 2)

by Jen Talty

  “Nope. Can’t take the car.” He opened the passenger side. “If you want to come back before I’m done with work, my folks will drive you.”

  “I’m not getting in that thing.”

  “It’s just a car, Lacy, now get in if you want to hear what happened,” he said quite smugly.

  “Fine.” She swallowed as she slipped into the passenger seat. Being in a cop car, even the front seat, was never high on her priority list. “Start talking.” She wrinkled her nose. The car smelled like Frank.

  “Andy’s lying.”

  “About what?”

  “Everything.”

  “Don’t talk in circles. Just spill it.” She kept her focus on the passing trees. Her stomach turned over.

  “He says he woke up on one of the lounge chairs on the back patio, but my mom says she was having trouble sleeping and watched a truck roll to stop in the front of the house.”

  “Did she see Andy? Did she see Taylor?”

  “No.” He took her hand in his, but she yanked it away.

  “Keep talking.”

  “My mom went to go get my father, so she didn’t see anything. When they both came down the stairs, the truck was gone and Andy was pounding on the back door.”

  “What kind of truck? Taylor drives a truck.”

  “We don’t know.”

  “What does Andy say?” When she’d moved to Vegas, she felt like she’d finally gained control of her own life. Ever since she moved back, she had felt like everyone else held her fate in their hands. She hated the feeling. Hated the world for putting Andy in this predicament. Life was so unfair. All she wanted was a decent job, a safe place to live, and Andy.

  She just wanted to give Andy a fair shake.

  “Says he doesn’t remember anything. Just woke up there and freaked out. Is he a sound sleeper?”

  “Not really.” Truth was, she didn’t know. As a baby, he slept through anything, but that was a long time ago. Since she’d been home, his sleep habits had been unpredictable. He suffered from nightmares, but he’d never discuss them with her. Then there were the nights he wouldn’t sleep and he’d watch television for hours. For the most part, the only thing she could count on was that he’d sleep till noon if she let him. “Does he seem okay?”

  “He’s not hurt in any way that I can tell, but when I started to drill him, he wouldn’t look me in the eye.”

  “Did he get mad at you?” That was Andy’s auto-response to everything uncomfortable.

  “No. He just seems distant, and some of the things he said sounded as if he was trying to tell me something, without telling me.”

  “What exactly did he say?” She turned and stared at Frank’s strong profile.

  “He said he woke up in a car, but thought he was having a weird dream, so he just closed his eyes and went back to sleep.”

  “A car? Or a truck?”

  “A car,” Frank said glancing at her. “He looked me in the eye and said he thought he dreamt he was in a car. Then he looked down at the floor and said he couldn’t remember anything and was totally wigged out when he woke up on my parents’ lawn.”

  “Why do you think he’s lying about the car?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. The headache was moving through her entire body.

  “That’s just it. I think at one point he was in a car. I think when he stopped looking me in the eye was when he started lying.”

  Well, that made sense, maybe. She glanced out the window and realized they were minutes from the Harmon family home. “What are we going to do?”

  “I’m going to talk to that kid Billy, the one who owns the jet ski and track down Ricky. Jared and Reese are going to talk with Taylor again.”

  “Again?”

  Frank reached in front of her, opened up the glove box, and pulled out a large box of antacids. “Becky is his fiancée. She asked for the EMT to call him when she got hit.”

  “Oh, God. He’s going to make this look like I did something wrong. Like I was neglectful and Andy ran away or was kidnapped by some bad person I brought into his life. Of course, there is always the possibility that my own fiancé is going to have to arrest me.”

  “Not if I can help it,” Frank glanced at her with concern etched into his face. “But between your damaged car, the witness, some of the so-called evidence, and Andy showing up here…well, things don’t look great.”

  “Wonderful. Just what I wanted to hear.”

  “Would you rather I lie to you?” The car jerked to a stop in front his parents’ house. He slammed the gearshift into park and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

  “No,” she said. She didn’t want to be lied to, but she didn’t want to lose Andy either. “You really think I might be arrested?”

  “Not today. Our wedding plans just moved to tomorrow or the next day. It will have to be at the town hall, and I’ll get Reese and Patty to stand up for us.”

  “Not talking about that now.” She rubbed her temples. “Anything else I should know about Andy?” When she touched Frank’s forearm, she was shocked by how tense he was.

  “We need to get him to talk…today,” he demanded. “Jared will handle Taylor. I’ve got to go talk to those kids. I need you to get Andy to tell you the truth. I need to know exactly what happened so I know what my next move is.”

  “Does social services know Andy went missing?” The sun hit her face, practically blinding her as she stepped from the patrol car. “What am I going to do if they take Andy away?”

  Frank marched over to her holding a large bottle of antacids in his hands. “Ms. Lazzery has been informed of the situation. Jared will be filing a report by the end of the day.” Frank tossed a few colored chewable tablets into his mouth.

  “They could take him, couldn’t they?”

  Frank looked directly ahead at the white house with his hands on his hips. His profile strong, but tense. He nodded. “If there is even the slightest evidence that you could have hit Becky, social services would probably put Andy back in foster care or…”

  “With his father,” she finished for him. “This sucks.”

  “I know.” He laced his fingers in hers and she held on for dear life.

  At this point, Frank was all she had. Trust or no trust, Frank was it. He was the only one who seemed to give a damn, and she had put her life, and Andy’s, in his strong capable hands.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He didn’t respond, just squeezed her hand as they made their way toward the front door.

  The next few moments went by in a haze. Most of Frank’s family was there. They greeted her with hugs and warm wishes. Some promised to make right all the wrongs. Others offered their support. Tears welled in her eyes. This was one of the darkest times in her life, and yet, she had people around her that seemed to care.

  When did that happen?

  She had no idea how to respond. As a kid, she had only her sister, and most of her childhood her dad had been in a drunken stupor. She hadn’t seen her mom in years. It wouldn’t surprise her if she couldn’t even recognize her own mother. When her sister died, a part of her died, too. She felt like she had let Hannah down, and Hannah had always been the one true constant in her life.

  Then Andy came along and she was letting him down.

  “Hi, Andy,” she said when her nephew appeared in front of her.

  He looked sad and shaken. His eyes were dull. It was almost as if he wasn’t even in there. He had dark circles under his eyes. He looked like someone had broken his spirit. “Come here.” She knelt and held her arms wide.

  He stared at her for a brief moment and then slowly walked to her and gave her a pathetic hug. This wasn’t the Andy she knew. He reacted in only two ways. With anger or by shutting down, and right now, he was doing neither. It didn’t make sense.

  “You okay? Are you hurt?”

  Taking a step back, he shook his head. “It’s just weird. Like some bad alien abduction movie or something.”

  “Let’s t
ake this upstairs,” Frank said. “I need to talk with both of you in private before I go back to work.”

  Lacy didn’t like his tone. It was too serious. Too…cop like. He’s all you’ve got.

  Frank led them up the stairs and into a large bedroom. “Take a seat, both of you.” He closed the door behind him and tossed his hat across the room.

  The blood in her veins raced wildly. It took every ounce of control she had to keep her breathing normal. She might not know Frank all that well, but this was a side of him she’d never seen.

  She looped her arm around Andy. “Come on.” She tugged a trembling Andy over to the larger bed by the window. He snuggled down between her legs as she wrapped her arms around his body and rested her head on his shoulder. He was getting so big, yet he was still a boy. A child.

  I’m going to make sure that rat bastard pays.

  Frank stood at the window with his hands on his hips. She focused in on all the stuff on his belt. A gun. A club. A pager and cell phone. Handcuffs. Everything she needed to put Taylor out of his miserable existence.

  She blinked a few times. Not good thoughts. She was better than that, as long as that asshole stayed away from her. From Andy.

  “I don’t mean to scare you,” Frank finally said.

  “I think we’re beyond scared here.” She held Andy tighter. He didn’t protest and he didn’t relax.

  “Here’s the deal so far.” Frank craned his neck, but didn’t look at them. “It would appear someone broke into the trailer and took Andy while you both were sleeping. There is enough evidence to suggest that. However…” he finally turned and looked her dead on with narrowed eyes, “…a good investigator would argue that it could have been done by you.”

  “Me?” She should have seen that one coming. Hell, someone took Andy. That same someone took her car and probably hit Becky with it. “Andy, why don’t you go find Jake.”

  “He needs to hear this.” Frank took small steps toward them. “I want you to understand how important the truth is here, okay?”

  Andy didn’t move a muscle, and she couldn’t tell if he acknowledged Frank at all.

  “You don’t have to tell me now, but I want you to tell your aunt after I leave. Understand?”

  Andy nodded this time.

  “Good.” Frank let out a sigh and then settled himself down on the bed. “I know things look pretty bad right now, but I’m going to make sure we get to stay together, okay? Trust me.”

  “Yes,” Lacy whispered, resting her head on his strong shoulder. It felt good to accept Frank’s care. He might not love her, and she may never understand why he was doing all this for her, but she trusted his motives were pure.

  She trusted he cared about her.

  And Andy.

  Maybe they’d all come out on top.

  “Andy? Do you trust me?” Frank questioned. “It’s important to me that you do. I’m only here because I love your aunt and I love you, too.”

  Don’t overdo it!

  Love? What was he thinking tossing all of that at Andy? Andy didn’t react one way or another; he just sat there. His body between her legs and he slumped against her. He didn’t tense. He didn’t move.

  “I trust Lacy,” Andy said with a strong conviction to his tone.

  “That’s a start.” Frank patted Andy’s leg. “Can I have a minute alone with Lacy?”

  “Sure,” Andy pulled away and slowly walked toward the door before turning and facing them with a long face. “You’re not asking me anything right now because you’re on duty, right?”

  “Something like that.”

  “If you did, and I lied, I’d be in trouble, right?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “What about Lacy?”

  Lacy wanted to take him into her arms and cradle him. He shouldn’t have to deal with all of this. His father should be rotting in jail right now. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “You don’t understand.” Andy clenched his fists.

  “But I do.” Frank moved toward the boy. He was slow and methodical in his actions. Something very contradicting to his uniform. “Tell her everything. When I get home tonight, we’ll figure out what to do.”

  “When you get home, you’ll still be a cop.”

  Oh, God. What happened? What are you hiding? And why? Lacy wanted to scream and yell. Part of her wanted to shake Andy and force him to talk.

  But she trusted Frank. Trusted that he had a plan.

  “That will probably never change, which is why I want you to talk with your aunt and then let us take care of it from there. You have to be honest about everything, or my ideas won’t work. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Andy repeated.

  She watched him stand up a little taller and square his shoulders. Just like Frank would do when addressing Jared. A warm tingle filtered up her spine and down her legs. Feelings she’d never felt before ached in her heart.

  It can’t be love. It’s too soon. I don’t want it.

  Shaking the thoughts from her head, she brought her attention back to the man causing the crazy reactions. “What now?”

  “You stay here with my family while I go to work.”

  “You want me to just sit here while you and some pompous jerk find ways to arrest me?”

  “Cut the crap.”

  “It’s not crap. I’m sure you mean well, but what the hell do I know about Jared? For all I know, he’s the idiot who shot my dad.”

  “Doubt he’s old enough.” Frank cocked his brow. “Jared is one of the best men I know, and he knows a little bit about what we are going through.”

  “Really.” She turned her back to him and walked to the window. The view of the crystal clear lake was breathtaking, but she couldn’t appreciate it. She felt like shit. Why was she pushing away the one man who believed her?

  Because she cared. Maybe she was even falling in love.

  No. Not possible.

  “To make a long story short, a few years ago, his wife, Ryan, was being stalked by a serial rapist.” Frank stepped behind her and circled his arms around her middle.

  She closed her eyes and forced herself not to resist the comfort he offered. “That’s horrible.”

  “It was pretty bad. The difference was he had no idea who was stalking her and almost lost her.” Frank brushed his lips against her ear. It wasn’t sexual, but it felt perfect. “He’s got two kids now, and really feels for Andy’s situation. He’s a good man and I trust him with my life.”

  She turned, clasping her fingers behind his neck. “I never thought I’d say this, but I trust you. Just tell me what to do to end this nightmare.” Right then and there, she decided no more pushing him away. No more fighting his plan.

  “That’s my girl.” He drew her closer, bringing his lips to hers. Her fate sealed with a kiss.

  Chapter Twelve

  “THIS IS SUCH A BLATANT SET-UP,” Frank said, pacing in Jared’s office. He stared down at his feet, watching the heel-toe motion and listening to the way his foot hit the floor. There was a pattern to the way he walked. There was a pattern to everyone’s movement, and there was a pattern to this case. He just hadn’t found it yet.

  Reese sat in the chair in front of the desk and Jared sat behind the desk, neither one saying anything. Frank could feel them watching him, waiting for him to come up with something. This wasn’t anything new. They’d all been working together a long time and this is what they did. The only difference was that Frank was about to be taken off the case, so in a day or two, it would be Reese or Jared doing the pacing. “It’s so ridiculous that I can’t believe we’re even considering Lacy as a possible suspect to either incident.” But they were. It was called being a good cop. Right now he wanted to be a bad cop.

  “Not considering, but trying to rule out.” Jared’s correction didn’t make Frank feel any better. If they couldn’t rule her out, what were they left with? “The rental agent can’t say for sure it was Lacy. That whole thing is so vague I could probabl
y get her to pin my wife.”

  Frank stopped pacing for a moment to give Jared the evil eye. Placating him wasn’t going to help. When he couldn’t get Jared to react, he continued with his stomping. “Chad swears it was Lacy who ran him off the road. Becky identified Lacy’s car,” Frank said, changing up his pattern and adding scuffmarks to the already beat-up white tile floor. The facts were screaming to Frank that Lacy was guilty. If he hadn’t been screwing her, he’d go and find probable cause to arrest her right now. Time for a different approach to the same problem.

  “Chad’s story is inconsistent. The DA has already said he makes a shitty witness,” Reese interjected.

  “But Becky hasn’t changed her story once,” Frank said. “However, the damage to Lacy’s car is consistent with Becky’s story, and according to Taylor, there is a history between the two women.”

  “What history?” Jared questioned.

  “I’ll take this one,” Reese said. “Taylor says Lacy has had it in for Becky since she came back from Vegas. This morning he told me Lacy had tried to get together with him, but he turned her down and now she’s out for blood.”

  “Becky’s blood,” Frank said, feeling the acid bubble up his throat. Could a man die taking an overdose of antacids? “This is bullshit, but Becky basically said the same thing. According to her, Lacy has been harassing her, but she didn’t report it because of Andy and what it might do to him.”

  “Seems Taylor and Becky have an answer for everything,” Jared said with a furrowed brow.

  “Which means they could have set this all up,” Frank said with real bite to his words. It all came back to a set-up.

  “Let’s take this all a step backward.” Jared rose and went to a white board he had hanging on the wall behind his desk. “What was the first incident?”

  “Hannah was murdered,” Frank said. He stopped pacing and glanced at Jared.

  “Technically, she died accidentally.” Jared held his hand up the moment Frank opened his mouth. “But, for the sake of argument, let’s run with the idea she was murdered. This means that something had to happen before Hannah’s death. That is the first incident and the unknown.”