“Of course.”
Relief flushed through me. If anyone could connect with him, I had a feeling it was Josh. “Thank you. I just don’t want to see him ruin his life.”
“He’s blessed to have someone like you, Holly.”
“When he finds out how I’ve been snooping around, he may not feel that way. I’m usually not this nosy. I promise I’m not. But one thing has just led to another . . .”
“You don’t have to explain.” He offered an affable smile. “Your secret is safe with me. But I do want to urge you to be careful. I don’t know what’s going on with the van that’s been following you or the dead body, but it doesn’t sound good.”
“Thank you for your time, Josh. I really do appreciate it.”
He flashed a sincere smile. “Anytime, Holly. I meant what I said earlier: any friend of Chase’s is a friend of mine. If you need anything, let me know.”
* * *
When I got back to Magnolia’s, Jamie ushered me to the kitchen table, where she’d prepared a garden salad with grilled chicken and homemade ranch dressing. While we ate, I recounted everything I’d learned.
“So Josh was hot?” Jamie wiped her mouth and looked at me with wide eyes from across the table.
I scowled and stabbed a piece of lettuce. “I just told you all that, and you’re walking away with the fact that Josh is hot?”
She shrugged and resumed eating, unaffected by my conversational expectations. “I’m a single lady. I just like to know what options are out here.”
“Let’s focus, Jamie.”
“Right. Focus. Well, I discovered something today. I actually called Golden Equestrian, and now I have a job interview there tomorrow.”
My eyes widened this time. “Really? I’m not sure it’s safe. At least not if our suspicions are right.”
“It’s a huge place, and it’s a job interview. If two people associated with the place are killed within a week of each other, the police will be all over it.”
I hesitantly nodded, still unsettled. “I know I can’t talk you out of it.”
“There’s one other thing. I went ahead and put the stables into my GPS so I could figure out how long it would take to get there. Get this? It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
I shook my head. “I’m not following.”
“Just like Chase was in the middle of nowhere the other day.”
My jaw went slack. “Really? That’s where Chase was the other day?”
Jamie smiled and ate the last bite of her salad. “Bingo.”
“This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.” I stabbed another piece of lettuce, taking my frustrations out on my poor salad. “Where does this leave us?”
“That’s a good question. I’m still not sure how all this is connected—or if it even is. Maybe we’re making it more complicated than it actually is. Maybe Chase really has reverted to his old ways. Maybe he did get in too deep, and now someone’s trying to get money back Chase owes him. That would explain the van that followed us. They could use you as bait and put more pressure on him to pay up.”
I frowned. “I don’t want to think that’s true. Besides, shouldn’t they snatch Peyton to put pressure on him?”
“It’s better to face reality, though. I feel like we’re skirting around the real issues here because we don’t want to be hurt or disappointed in someone we’ve put a lot of faith in.”
I put my fork down, most of my salad eaten, and slowly wiped my mouth. “I don’t think a guy is the answer to all my problems, Jamie.”
“I know that.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back, feeling gloomy. “I don’t expect Chase to ride into my life and make everything right. I don’t think falling in love is the pinnacle of my life. But I do think that finding someone you want to spend your life with—someone who you respect and who respects you—can be a beautiful thing.”
“I know you’re grounded, Holly. You don’t have to tell me that.” Jamie squeezed my hand. “I just hate to see you hurt.”
“I guess I’m telling you because I did let myself dream. Maybe this is a reality check. Maybe my emotions and all the fairy tales I ever listened to in my life did begin to play with my psyche.”
“Let’s keep looking for answers, okay? I don’t have another article due until Monday, so we’ve got some time. We’ll keep checking out Alexander and maybe even Peyton.”
“I think I can help.”
I jerked my head up. Magnolia stood in the doorway. I hadn’t realized she was home, but she appeared to have just woken up from a nap, based on her lopsided hair and droopy eyes.
“What are you thinking?” Jamie asked.
“My old college roommate works for the racing commission.”
“What?” The question shot from my mouth like . . . well, like a horse hearing the firing pistol at the start of a race.
Magnolia nodded. “It’s true. I talked to her, and she’s willing to meet with you tomorrow.”
“Yes! I’d love to.”
“Here’s the thing: she could get into a lot of trouble, so the meeting has to be hush-hush. She wants to meet you at a park, and you can’t ever mention her name to anyone.”
“I can agree to that. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to help. Besides, I’m always up for a good story.”
I mentally took a step back, realizing Magnolia could have some ulterior motives. “I don’t exactly want this to be front-page news.”
She waved her hand as if to dismiss me. “I didn’t say it would be. That would be rude. But I want first dibs if this turns out to be something.”
Unease churned in my gut as I imagined the possible outcomes of this. It was one thing to have my personal life as a disaster for friends and family to see. It was another thing to broadcast my mistakes and Chase’s mistakes to the world. “I don’t want you to make Chase look bad.”
“Even if he is bad?” Magnolia said.
My unease churned even harder. “He’s not bad. You don’t know him like I do.”
“All this positive thinking on your part might not mean anything when your boyfriend realizes you’ve been spying on him.” Magnolia’s words seemed to make even the air go silent. There were no barking dogs or honking cars or loud neighbors. Everything was quiet.
I opened my mouth, wanting to argue. But I couldn’t. I knew I’d gotten myself in a pickle.
“My dad always said that a person of character does what’s right, even if it means taking a personal loss,” I finally said. “Regardless of the consequences.”
“There aren’t many people of character around.” Magnolia shrugged. “You know what I say? Bless their hearts. All of them. Every blessed one, because they need all the blessing they can get.”
I wasn’t sure if she was insulting me or not, but my defenses were going up. The fruit of the Spirit began repeating in my mind. Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.
Not anger. Not self-righteousness. Not snappy comebacks.
“I’ll meet with your friend,” I finally said. “But I’m not promising any paybacks. Call me rude. Call me ungrateful. Call me un-Christian. But I’m putting my foot down.”
* * *
After Magnolia left to do an interview, Jamie and I stared at each other for a moment. I’d cleaned up our mess, even scrubbing her toaster—it had crumbs in it. Take that, Martha Stewart! I wanted to leave the kitchen better than I’d found it, lest she say I had bad manners again.
She’d even had the nerve to remind us to lock up when we left. Sure, she’d also said something about a string of burglaries in the area. But she didn’t have to treat us like adolescents.
“What now?” I asked.
“See where Chase is,” Jamie suggested.
With a touch of hesitation, I pulled the app up on my phone. I hit Chase’s name, and several seconds later, a little dot appeared on a map. I blinked in confusion.
“What?” Jamie asked, peering over my shoulder.
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“He appears to be in the suburbs.”
“Do you have a street name?”
“St. Helens.”
Jamie pointed to a button on the app. “Go to satellite view.”
“You really know your way around a digital map.” I glanced over my shoulder long enough to show her I was impressed.
“One of my many talents.”
I hit the button, and the map changed to digital satellite. I zoomed in on the area. It was slightly blurry yet amazingly clear at the same time.
“It’s a neighborhood,” Jamie said. “A nice neighborhood.”
“I wonder why he’s there.” Researching horses to bet on? Spending time with Peyton? Avoiding questions the police might have about Aidan Jennings?
“We could find out . . .”
I glanced at Jamie, surprised by her idea. “Really?”
“We’ll be subtle. Smooth. Invisible.” She spread her hands out, as if gliding across the ice, and got a far-off, dramatic look in her eyes.
“That sounds good in theory, but in reality . . .” I could see so many things going wrong.
Jamie snapped from her thespian moment and frowned. “Yeah, I know. We have a bad track record. I say we give it a shot anyway. If Chase is with Peyton again, then it won’t matter if he thinks you’re psycho.”
“Unless he issues a restraining order against me.” Wouldn’t the media love to get ahold of information like that?
Jamie snorted. When she saw my face, she covered her mouth and tried to look apologetic. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just that . . . the idea of you having a violent bone in your body is just funny. Absurd, really. I mean, you’re my peace-loving friend.”
“Who always seems to get in the middle of conflict and messes,” I reminded her.
“It’s almost like that’s where God wants you. In fact, it’s almost like these messes find you instead of the opposite. Maybe that’s your purpose in life, Holly. You are supposed to clean up messes in people’s lives.”
“I need to figure out how to clean up the messes in my own life.”
“Don’t we all? Don’t we all?” Jamie stood and stuck her plate in the dishwasher. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. “Like you said, what do I have to lose?”
Chapter Fifteen
We sat in my mom’s Lexus in a very, very affluent neighborhood. Sure enough, Chase’s Jeep was in a driveway of a very, very nice house. And this whole scenario felt very, very creepy.
Jamie cut the engine and we slouched in the seats. We’d parked a street over from Chase’s location, at a place where we could still see the massive house. It was white, wide, and tall, and had black shutters and neat landscaping.
“Who do you think owns it?” Jamie asked. She took a sip of some tea we’d gotten at a drive-through on our way here. I’d opted for some coffee to keep myself alert. I usually added lots of cream and sugar, but I’d kept it black and now I regretted it.
Black coffee was disgusting.
“A jockey?” I offered.
“Maybe.” She took another sip of her tea and sighed, almost sounding content. “Our first stakeout. I feel like a real private eye.”
“Yeah, PIs. Not stalker chicks,” I added.
“Exactly.”
The next five minutes felt like an hour. Just sitting with my thoughts was a challenge because they kept going places I didn’t want them to go. Mainly replaying Chase and Peyton last night.
“One thing they never mention on those stakeouts on TV is just how boring stakeouts are,” I mumbled.
“Your brother suspicious of your time off?” Jamie asked.
I looked at my chipped pink nails and shook my head. “I don’t think so. I told him that you and I were having some girl time in Louisville. I haven’t taken any vacation time since I started working for him, so he seemed okay with it.”
“I didn’t have any stories lined up. I told my mom the twins were driving me crazy and I needed some NASCAR and horse racing.”
“I’m sure she believed that.” Mama Val was no fool.
“Nah, but she trusts me.”
I straightened as a Mercedes started down the road. I held my breath, waiting to see if it would go to the house where Chase was.
The driver continued past, without so much as a look our way.
I released the air from my lungs. I wanted a lead, yet I almost feared knowing the truth.
“What if he stays here all day?” I asked, drumming my fingers on the top of my coffee.
“It would be torture. We’ve only been here fifteen minutes.”
I nearly slapped her arm with surprise. “Take it back! It has to have been at least an hour.”
She shook her head and glanced at her watch again. “You’re wrong. Fifteen minutes. My tea is still hot.”
“I’d make a terrible PI. I don’t have the patience.” I grabbed her arm the moment I spotted a new clue driving our way. “Jamie, look! It’s the van.”
“Oh, girlfriend. We’re in trouble if they see us. They shouldn’t recognize the car, though.”
Thankfully the Creeper Van was approaching from the other side of the neighborhood. If it didn’t turn down this street, they probably wouldn’t see us. Had they followed us?
My gaze swerved to the very, very nice house where Chase was parked. My eyes widened when I saw Chase step outside . . . with Peyton.
What . . . ?
Almost as if in slow motion, the van pulled into the driveway—apparently Peyton’s driveway.
A man stepped out of the driver’s seat. I couldn’t tell much about him. He wore black, all the way up to his stocking hat. He met Chase and Peyton . . . even shook Chase’s hand.
My mouth gaped open. What was going on?
Nothing was making sense.
“Please tell me I’m seeing things,” I whispered.
“You’re not seeing things,” Jamie said. “But this is like living out a Lifetime movie.” She shook her head, as if realizing what she said. “Except much more horrible. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially not my best friend.”
The three of them talked for just a minute. Then the man went back to the van, pulled out of the driveway, and left.
Chase put his arm around Peyton, and they walked inside the very, very nice house.
And my heart broke in two.
* * *
Jamie and I got caught in rush-hour traffic. Halfway through the battle, at 5:30, we decided to stop and eat dinner at Chick-fil-A. Neither Jamie nor I said very much during the meal. Jamie tried to theorize several times, but I wasn’t really in the mood.
I wanted answers, but I needed time to process everything.
We should have followed the van, I realized in retrospect. I’d been in too much shock to think of it at the moment, though. Now it was too late.
We got back to Magnolia’s at seven, and I was wiped out and ready to be by myself for the rest of the evening. I said good night and escaped to my bedroom. After changing into my pajamas, I sat in bed and pulled the covers up around me in the dark.
It might sound pitiful, but I had so much on my mind. All the conclusions I was drawing only added to the burden I felt like I was carrying. I’d put my faith in a person, and now I was suffering the consequences.
A knock sounded at the door. It was Magnolia.
“Come in,” I muttered. What else was I supposed to say? It was her house.
She stepped inside. “I just wanted to confirm that my friend can meet with you in the morning. Are you still good?”
“I am. Thank you.” My gaze went to the ten-gallon aquarium in the corner with five tropical, colorful fish inside. I was no expert at fish, so I didn’t know what kind they were, other than relatively flat and about an inch long not including their tails.
But a bright yellow fish swam at the top of the aquarium. I thought he was dead when I’d first glanced into the tank yesterday. But when I tapped on the glass, the fish would begin wiggling again
. He’d swim around, lopsided at that, but eventually he’d end up floating on the surface again.
“He’s been like that for two weeks,” Magnolia said, following my gaze.
I raised my eyebrows. “Two weeks? Wow. That little guy is determined to hang on, isn’t he?”
She frowned and nodded. “Yep. I kind of want to put him out of his misery, but I can’t bring myself to do it. To keep him alive seems cruel, yet so does killing him.”
“I see.”
“I’ll let you rest. Talk to you more in the morning.”
As she closed the door, my eyes were riveted on the little yellow fish.
Suffering.
That was the word that came to mind. That little fish was suffering. In a way, I could relate. I felt like I’d been going through a season of suffering as well. I’d lost my father after a long battle with cancer.
Just over a year later, the doctor had told me I only had a year to live. Thankfully, he’d been wrong and my condition was treatable.
Then a maniac had pulled me into a deadly game that had messed with my relationships and caused me to hurt the people I loved. I’d thought maybe my trials were over for a while, but apparently they weren’t.
That’s where that word came back into play. Suffering. Alive, yet feeling like living was so painful.
Initially, I’d dealt with everything okay. But, as time went on, the realities sank in even more. While I was incredibly thankful to be alive and to be in good health, I was living life a little shell-shocked for everything I’d been through.
Like rushing water over a rock, I was beginning to feel worn down. I closed my eyes.
Dear Lord, help me. Please.
Because I was tired of just barely surviving. Of trials. Of suffering.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, I pulled into a scenic park not far from downtown Louisville. It boasted lovely stone bridges, cheerful flower beds, and the start of changing fall foliage.
This was where I was supposed to meet Crystal Hanson from the Horse Racing Commission.
I felt a bit like a CIA agent who was meeting with an informant as I pulled the car to a stop at the far end of the parking lot and waited. I’d dropped off Jamie on my way for her job interview at Golden Equestrian. I was antsy about her being there, but I hadn’t been able to talk her out of it.
Random Acts of Malice (Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries Book 3) Page 10
