Elias hadn’t quite thought about it that way. He’d assumed the slashed tires were a warning: Stay out of my way. Impersonal. He frowned, but still had to believe this was about Hannah, not him. He was incidental, that’s all.
Half an hour later, he wrote a sizeable check to pay for his four brand new tires, promised to stop by soon to have the alignment checked, and followed the truck down the driveway. All he could think about was getting to Hannah.
*****
Officer Abbot Grissom climbed out of his patrol car behind the police station and stretched. Daniel let the heavy back door from the station close behind him and crossed the small lot. Damn, he wished he hadn’t put off talking to Grissom, who had then taken a three-day weekend off from the job.
A short, wiry man with equally wiry, iron gray hair, Grissom hadn’t impressed Daniel at first meeting. Easy to label him. An old-timer, not smart or ambitious enough to try for a detective position with the county or apply for the job as police chief one of the many times it had come open during Grissom’s lengthy employment with the city.
In the two years since, Daniel had come to value his one experienced, reliable officer. He understood that Abbot liked his job and did it well. He didn’t want to hunt murderers or rapists. Community policing suited him.
He knew damn near everyone in town. He could watch surveillance video and recognize a local teenager seen in a fleeting glimpse from behind. All he had to do was hear a voice to know who was talking. When shit happened, his presence comforted folks who’d known him, his wife and kids for years. And damned if he didn’t rival Ellie Fitzgerald with his memory.
Now he said, “Hope you didn’t need anything urgent. When you weren’t here this morning, I figured I should get out on patrol.”
“I assumed you would. Something came up.” Daniel leaned against the back fender and told him about the secret admirer, this morning’s events, and what Ellie had told him about the Dressler woman’s sad saga.
Abbot nodded at that. “I remember her. Husband was a nice fellow. She was torn up bad after he dropped dead that way. Those presents started coming when she was still shaky.”
Fragile, Daniel thought. Easy to shatter.
“Ellie know about the other one?” Abbot asked.
“She didn’t say anything about another woman.”
A patrol car turned into the small lot, enclosed by a chainlink fence, and both men watched as another member of the department parked. Tony Diaz was one of Daniel’s youngest officers, but to his mild surprise was acquiring some seasoning. Tony greeted them, hesitated as if he’d like to be included in their discussion, but got the message and went into the station to sign out.
“Trying to remember her name.” Grissom frowned, pondering. Then his face cleared. “Stanford. It made me think of the college. Beth Stanford. Worked in the front office of a pest control company. Sticks in my mind because I remember thinking there’s more than one kind of pest.”
Daniel had thought of Hannah’s secret admirer as a pest, too, until this morning. He wasn’t looking forward to finding out what happened to Beth Stanford.
“This wasn’t like with Lori. I think at first Beth was kind of flattered.” Abbot gazed toward the red brick police station, but his expression suggested he was seeing something else. “Didn’t contact us until the guy started to get pissed. It was strange, because he never identified himself. She was supposed to know who he was by some kind of osmosis. Seemed like she’d failed her test.”
“How did she know he was mad?” Daniel heard the growl in his voice. Any woman could have been targeted, including Sophie.
“He left her a bouquet that was pretty enough, but a friend of hers was a gardener and recognized the monkshood. There was this lacy white flower, too, and some fern. The friend researched and said it was bracken fern and she thought the pretty white flower was water hemlock.”
“I seem to remember that bracken fern kills cattle and…horses, maybe.”
Abbot nodded. “This friend said the water hemlock is the most poisonous plant of all.”
“Pretty clear message,” Daniel said thoughtfully.
“Yeah. Scared her to death.” He flushed. “Bad choice of words.”
“I don’t know. I’d say Lori Dressler was scared to death.” Unless she’d been murdered, of course.
Abbot grimaced. “Guess that’s true. Anyway, Ms. Stanford had a fire not long after. It was spotted quick and the damage to her house limited, but no question it was arson. She’d had enough. She packed and left town within a day or two. If she told anyone in the department where she was going, I didn’t hear.”
“Smart woman.”
“That’s what I thought. ’Course, there’s no saying he didn’t track her down. We’d have never heard.”
The cold truth of that all too realistic possibility felt like a vise tightening on Daniel’s skull. “Hannah Moss’s secret admirer is getting pissed.”
Abbot’s eyes met his. “She hasn’t passed his test.”
“She’s done something even worse. Anybody watching her just might think she’s getting involved with another man.”
“Is she?”
“Can’t be sure.” Daniel pushed away from the squad car. “Hard to read Burton. But, yeah, there’s something there.”
Looking troubled, Abbot walked with him the short distance to the back door. “Beth was a redhead, too.”
One more piece to confirm that she’d been stalked by the same man who was now angry at Hannah.
Before going in, Abbot stopped. “Elias Burton…not sure that’s smart. Hannah’s too nice a lady for him.”
For once, he refused to elaborate. Daniel didn’t love adding another layer of disquiet atop the foundation he was already building. Following his officer in, he debated the wisdom of asking around about Burton, the town’s most famous son. He felt enough distaste at the idea, he rejected it. Until he had reason to distrust Elias, he’d let the guy keep his secrets.
*****
The café table was too small. She’d never noticed before, but having Elias sitting across from her made the difference. His knees brushed hers; their feet bumped. Dark gold stubble glinted on his strong jaw even though he’d likely shaved only hours earlier. Somehow it accentuated the hollows beneath his cheekbones. And the intensity in his pale eyes made it impossible to look away.
“So the bastard had to have a key.” Elias wasn’t trying to hide his simmering temper, and Hannah couldn’t blame him for being mad. He wouldn’t have been targeted at all if not for her. As soon as he had showed up, she had offered to pay for the tires, which had earned her an icy stare and a curt, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Yes,” she said in answer to his question now. “I can’t imagine how, but… A locksmith is coming this afternoon. The camera is being installed in back today, too.”
Elias shook his head. “He’ll hit you at home next, or someplace else you go regularly.”
And where would that be? The daycare center? Or what if something happened to Edna, just because she was Hannah’s friend?
“Food is coming,” Elias said quietly.
If he hadn’t pressed her, Hannah would have skipped lunch. To hide her perturbation, she pretended delight at the smell of the spicy lentil soup the waitress set in front of her. Chances were, Anita saw right through her.
With the Sea Watch Café being less than a block from Sweet Ideas, Hannah ate here often enough to have gotten to know Anita Barnes, whose husband was her insurance agent. The food was wonderful, even though Naomi Kendrick, the amazing chef who had opened the café, was still in California, living under protection as she waited to testify in two major trials. Apparently, she’d been unlucky enough to hear when a U.S. congressman hired a hitman to kill his opponent for office.
Elias’s gaze had, if possible, sharpened. “What are you thinking about?”
He had showed up about lunchtime, too late to inspect the book, carried away by Daniel in an evidence bag. He had
obviously seen how scared she was beneath the façade she’d assumed for the benefit of Alice and her customers. He’d hustled her out the door before she could marshal any arguments.
“I wish Naomi was still here.” Hannah knew she shouldn’t keep laying herself open to this man, but how could she resist when he offered himself up? So she let herself finish. “She knows what it’s like to always be looking over your shoulder.”
His jaw muscles spasmed. To her shock, he reached across the small table and took her hand in a warm, secure grip. He had to know the other diners in the small café were already watching them. She hadn’t heard of any other woman linked to him since she’d moved to Cape Trouble, and heaven knows she didn’t date. Just appearing together in a restaurant was enough to spark gossip. Holding hands in public? That gossip would go viral. Of course, Elias so rarely appeared in town, he might not care whether people talked about him or not.
Except…his appearances hadn’t been all that rare recently. She could ask herself why a million times and not believe the obvious answer.
“We’ll figure out who this bastard is,” he said in a low growl. “He’s not a ghost.”
“He’s doing a good imitation of one.” She hated to say this, but had to. “He must have seen us together in the alley. That’s the only explanation I can think of.”
“There wasn’t anything to see. I was protecting you, that’s all.”
It wasn’t all. There’d been that one moment, after he kissed her cheek, when he bent his head again. When his warmth wrapped around her and she thought… But she might have imagined it.
“Elias.” Taking her hand from his required enormous fortitude, but she found it. She held his gaze. “I appreciate this. I mean, you coming when I called, and lunch, and…” Holding my hand. “But I think you should stay away for now. You’re…” She hesitated.
“Making matters worse?”
His suddenly distant tone stung. “I was going to say, you’re annoying him.”
“So you plan to tell him you’re sorry and won’t do it again?” His voice sliced her raw emotions.
“No!” Hannah glared at him. “It’s just common sense!”
His cool gaze goaded her.
“He went after you. It’s not fair. We’re not even…you know.” She had to look away, knowing her cheeks probably glowed. “You’re a customer, and you’re stuck trying to take care of me. You shouldn’t have to—”
His eyes darkened, she’d swear they did. “Is that all I am, Hannah?” he asked. “Did you really think I needed chocolate and coffee five days a week?”
Stunned, she stared at that too-beautiful face, all angles and shadows. He hadn’t just said what she thought she’d heard. It wasn’t possible. Her mouth opened, closed.
He hadn’t moved a muscle, but somehow still vibrated with tension waiting for her answer. As if it mattered?
“I…didn’t know.” She wasn’t quite whispering, but close. “I mean, sometimes I thought, but…you didn’t say anything.”
“I was—” Elias gave his head a quick, hard shake, repudiating whatever he’d been about to say. “Feeling my way,” he said finally, and she knew that wasn’t what he’d first thought.
“So…you’re not here just out of a sense of obligation.” Like he’d admit that.
“No.”
What was she supposed to say now? She looked down at her untouched soup. Was he implying that this was a date?
“Okay,” she mumbled.
One of his eyebrows tilted a little higher than the other. “Will you have dinner with me, Hannah? If not tonight, tomorrow?”
She stared at him in amazement. Elias Burton had just asked her out. Carrot-haired, freckled Hannah Moss. More bizarrely yet, he sounded uncertain of her answer. Where she would have expected arrogance, she was finding lowered guards. He was giving her a chance to hurt him. This wasn’t like the occasional, casual invitation from one of her male customers, easily turned down with a joke. Maybe Elias had become so accustomed to being alone, he didn’t often reach out.
Her knees, heart and more turned to goo. “Yes.” It came out as a squeak. Fire lit her cheeks again. “Yes, I’d like that.”
His relaxation was so subtle, she wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t already suspected his stillness meant tension. “Good.” His voice was huskier than usual. “When?”
“Um…what about tomorrow night? I need to make some arrangement for Ian.”
“Deal.” He flicked a glance toward the other diners, most probably straining to hear for all they were worth. “I suggest we go somewhere besides Cape Trouble.”
“Please.”
Her burst of fervency obviously amused him, but he nodded toward her lunch. “You need to eat.”
The soup was probably cold, but her appetite had leaped back to life. No surprise there, she thought ruefully – it rarely took a break.
She picked up her spoon.
Elias Burton asked me out. She remembered something her mother always said that fit to a T. Would wonders never cease.
CHAPTER FOUR
Mid-morning the next day, Elias drove into town to meet his mother for an appointment to sign papers giving him equal access to her new money market account. Since her ‘health scare’ – her words for breast cancer – she’d taken steps to ensure he would be able to take immediate control of her finances if she became disabled or died. Not something he wanted to think about, but for her peace of mind he had been acceding to her wishes. He comforted himself every time he saw her with how remarkably healthy she looked.
They were unmistakably mother and son. His father had had brown hair and blue eyes. Elias’s unusually light gray eyes had come from his mother, as had the blond hair. Hers had never darkened, although the lack of gray strands made him suspect the color was getting a boost these days.
Tall and willowy, she stood beside him in the parking lot after they had emerged from the bank. Both ignored passing traffic on the street. “Thank you for coming. I’d ask you to join me for lunch, but I have plans.”
“Plans?”
She gave him a reproving look. “Not that kind, for heaven’s sake.”
“Why not?” he asked. “Are the men in this town all stupid?”
“The good ones are taken.” In the way of mothers, she turned the tables on him. “You’re not so young yourself, you know. Most of the good women your age are taken, too.”
He laughed, a picture of Hannah’s face appearing unbidden. He kissed his mother’s cheek and murmured in her ear, “Who says I want a good one?”
She huffed, but then, to his surprise, hugged him fiercely. He’d never doubted her love, but she wasn’t physically demonstrative. When she let him go, she said, “I worry about you.”
Elias didn’t ask her why; he knew. She was his only family. Once she was gone, he’d be entirely alone. He’d never meant to end up this way, but he didn’t seem to have what it took to make a woman believe in him. To make her happy. Which begged the question – why was he being stupid enough to take one more chance?
His mother studied him with narrowed eyes. “What’s that expression mean?”
He hesitated, but knew gossip would find its way to her. “I have a date tonight.”
Her eyebrows rose. “With?”
“Hannah Moss. She owns—”
“I know who Hannah is,” she interrupted. “I like her a great deal. I admit to being surprised, though. She isn’t your usual type.”
“Am I that predictable?” Yeah, he was, and knew it, which was why this attraction to Hannah had blindsided him. But once he’d started imagining her naked, his hands all over her lavish body, the women who once would have attracted him seemed to be leaving him cold.
“Yes, but I think this is a good thing.” Obviously pleased, his mother kissed his cheek again and got into her car. “Call me,” she said, and backed out.
He should go home and get some work done…but the urge for a cup of coffee and one of Hannah’s smiles w
as too powerful.
*****
She gave him the smile accompanied by a blush, but they barely exchanged a couple of words before she turned her smile to the next person in line, Arthur Escott. Hannah wasn’t alone – her usual assistant, Alice Roberts, a perky young woman with spiky hair currently dyed blue, was behind the counter as well. But the two were having to hustle to keep up with a major jump in business. Mostly locals, he noticed, likely drawn by all the talk.
Elias had the surprised thought that, while he vaguely recognized which people were locals, he didn’t know many of them well. Having grown up in Cape Trouble, there’d been a time he would have. But while he hadn’t been paying attention, families had moved away and newcomers arrived. Out of this crowd, he spotted only a couple people he’d gone to school with: Caitlin Murrin nee Bryson, once a homecoming princess, and John Donnelson, an offensive lineman who had protected Elias as quarterback the last two years of high school. The two of them still played touch football in a casual, muddy fall tradition. Even that group, it occurred to him, while still including a number of his teammates, had over the years incorporated newcomers.
Elias shook his head in faint amusement as he greeted Donnelson. Man, back in the time they’d thought they were something, even though the size of the school mean they competed in the 4A bracket, not exactly the top of the heap. A couple of the guys had been so damn sure scouts were in the stands, when there’d never been a chance.
He might have taken a minute to talk to Donnelson, except the guy had two kids hanging on him. The little girl was chanting, “Please, please, please,” like a metronome, her eyes fixed on her daddy’s. The boy, maybe four or five, had his eyes fixed on the fudge. Elias could see the poor sucker going down for the count.
Something bumped his back and, startled, he turned his head.
“Sorry,” Ron Campbell said. “These tables are squeezed too close together.” He pulled out a chair at a neighboring table and sank down with his coffee and a small plate holding fudge. “Don’t know why she bothers with the books, when this is where her business is,” he grumbled.
Whisper of Revenge (A Cape Trouble Novel Book 4) Page 5
