by Vakey, Jenn
It wasn’t until he mentioned it that she realized he was still wearing the same shirt she had seen him in days before. She couldn’t even begin to think of something to say, so she just dropped her head down on his shoulder. She thought for a brief moment when his head rested against hers that he might pass out for utter exhaustion.
“How’s Katy doing?”
He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “She’s trying to hide it, but I know she’s not happy with me right now. We were supposed to have out ultrasound appointment a few days ago, but I had it rescheduled. We missed the last one, so not only was this going to be the first, we were supposed to find out the sex.”
Rilynne felt a twinge of guilt as she thought back to the flash she had seen. “Just make sure you don’t get overly excited and grab the monitor,” she said as casually as she could. “They really don’t like that.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he chuckled.
She looked out into the office and asked, “We didn’t get you in any trouble, did we?”
“Oh, I’m sure Wilcome knew I was doing everything I could to help you, but without proof he couldn’t have done anything,” he stated. “I guess since he didn’t have anything, he didn’t think it necessary to talk to me about it. I know they were watching me, though. Even though he knew you were innocent, which he did, he still had to.”
“Is that why there was a dog out on your property?”
He nodded and sat up. “I don’t know how you managed to evade them,” he stated, rubbing his hands over his face. “It wasn’t just a search and rescue dog. The district attorney insisted that we call in Ranger.”
Her head shot up. Ranger was the best search dog she had ever worked with. She had never seen him lose someone’s trail, even when other scents were introduced to the area. She suddenly knew just how lucky they had really been.
“Albert reported in that he found a trail of blood,” he continued. “I honestly didn’t know what to think.”
“You know me,” she smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I fell and cut my leg open. I’m sure it didn’t look good when my trail was picked up on your property.”
He shrugged. “Everyone here knows how stubborn you are. No one believed for a second that you actually left town. It did keep the district attorney at bay for a couple days, though. When the trail was picked up, no one was really surprised. It’s a big piece of property, and one of the few places where you knew you weren’t likely to be found. At least that’s how I heard Wilcome explaining it to Greene.”
“I don’t know whether I should be looking forward to or dreading the next time I see her,” she chuckled.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m very much looking forward to it,” he stated. “She was convinced you were responsible. I’m hoping it will be a salaciously awkward encounter.”
Rilynne laughed as she slid off of the table. She landed hard on her feet, sending a quick surge of pain through her. “You think I would be used to hurting with how often I get injured,” she said as her hand reflexively moved to her thigh. “I’ll let Ben tell you the story about me stitching it up.” She winked and walked out, leaving him with a stupefied expression across his face.
Rilynne walked through the office, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone, and found Wilcome standing in the observation room. When she walked in, she glanced through the two-way mirror and saw her captor sitting alone in the room.
“She’s not talking,” he said. He was leaning against the back wall, arms folded in front of him. Like Matthews, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. For the first time in almost a year, he resembled the worn down man she met when she first arrived in town.
“We ran her prints and they gave us a name different to the one your father gave us. Meet Tori Harris. She was picked up on a shoplifting charge just after her eighteenth birthday. Surprisingly, the local officials saved all of their records and logged them in when the national database was set up.”
“She doesn’t really look like a professional killer to me,” she admitted. “Especially not one who’s apparently as good as she is.”
He pushed off of the wall and stepped toward the window. “The thing that really strikes me is how at ease she seems. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was just having a casual conversation with someone. She doesn’t seem to be worried at all. She didn’t even flinch when I reminded her that, here in Texas, we aren’t shy about the death penalty.”
Rilynne studied Tori’s face. She did seem unsettlingly relaxed given the fact that she had been caught red handed not only trying to murder two members of the police department, but using the same gun she had used to kill two others. Rilynne shook off the chill that quickly moved up her back and turned to Wilcome.
“Well, I’ve had an incredibly long day. Between being kidnapped by an assassin, finding out my father is alive, and learning that I was the subject of a man hunt while on my relaxing camping trip, I could really use a nice night at home,” she said. Wilcome shot her a sideways glance, but didn’t say anything. “Call me if you need anything.”
She turned and was just about to step out the door when he stopped her.
“Evans,” he said. She turned around to face him. “I thought you might want these back.” He reached his hand out toward her. In it was her badge and gun. “I’m sure you understand that we will be holding on to the PPK for a while longer.”
Rilynne nodded and took the items from him. “Of course,” she said. She reached down and fastened her badge on her hip as she stepped out of the room.
As she walked back into the office, she couldn’t believe how good it felt to have it back. Having spent just a few days on the other side of the law, she knew it was something she never wanted to have to do again.
Rilynne’s heart sank when she looked around the office and saw that her father was gone. “Hey Matthews,” she called out. “Did you-?”
“He left a little while ago,” he finished, sitting down on the corner of his desk. “I told him you wouldn’t be too much longer, but he said he had something he needed to do. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged and reached for her bag. “I’m going to head home. Call me if you need anything.”
He nodded as she turned and started out the door.
“Are you ready?” Ben asked. He was half asleep, sitting on a bench just outside the door.
“More than you can imagine,” she replied. She took him by the hand and tugged him to his feet. “After sleeping on the ground for days, not to mention being tied up, it will be so nice to get to sleep in a bed again.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he stated.
As they climbed into the elevator, she glanced up at him. “I didn’t know you were so good at lying,” she said. “I don’t know exactly how I feel about that.”
He grinned, but didn’t face her. “Today, you can be happy about it,” he stated. When the doors opened to the lobby, he stepped out, leaving her staring at him curiously. “Coming?”
With one last curious look at him, she resigned and followed him toward the front doors. “So does that officially count as camping?” she asked when they climbed into the awaiting car.
“No,” he chortled. “Being on the run absolutely does not count as going camping.”
Rilynne was still grinning when they pulled onto her street five minutes later. When she realized it, she felt almost shocked. With everything that had happened over the last week, she still didn’t know how she should be feeling.
Her shock only increased when they pulled into Rilynne’s driveway. Sitting on the front step was her father.
“Are you all right?” Ben asked. He turned off the car and reached for her hand.
She hesitated for a moment, unsure about how to answer the question. There were so many emotions flooding through her, she couldn’t tell how she was feeling. “I just want answers,” she replied. “I don’t care what they are, I just want some.”
“Well, here�
��s your chance,” he replied. He gently squeezed her hand before letting go and reaching for the door. Rilynne was still in her seat when he walked around and pulled her door open. “Come on.”
Her head was spinning faster with every step she took toward the door. Douglas looked almost as nervous as she felt. He stood up as they approached, his hands jittering in front of him. “I can come back later,” he said. “I know you’ve been through quite an ordeal. I imagine you want to relax for a bit before getting into anything else.”
“No,” she replied quickly. “It’s all right. Come in.”
Rilynne unlocked the door and stepped back to allow her father to enter.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Ben said, his eyes firmly on Douglas.
Rilynne quickly reached out and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “No, stay,” she insisted. “I’m sure you have questions of your own.”
If he wanted to try to talk her out of her decision, he chose not to. He slid his arm behind her and held the door as she stepped in.
The room was tense when they walked through and sat down in the living room. Rilynne had to force herself not to stare at her father. She had pictured this moment since her mother first sat her down and told her all about him, but it was never quite like this.
“So, where do I start?” he asked, sitting down in the chair across from the couch.
“You’ve been watching me all these years, haven’t you?” she asked. “The money…”
“I never wanted to leave you or your mom,” he stated. “I did what I thought was best to keep you safe, but that wasn’t going to stop me from making sure you were taken care of. I know it wasn’t much, but I sent everything I could.”
“How did you always know where she lived?” Ben asked. “She wasn’t here more than a couple weeks when the first one arrived.”
Douglas seemed surprised by the fact that Ben knew about the envelopes at all, let alone had details about them. “I keep track on both you and your mother. I knew that if Tori Harris ever suspected I was getting close to her, she might try to go after the two of you again,” he explained. “I usually would check in every time your lease was up, but I came to town as soon as I received word you had been abducted by the Pirate Killer. I heard you mention you would be moving out early, so hung around until you did.”
“So you stalked her?” said Ben. Rilynne glanced over to him, but couldn’t decipher the expression on his face.
“I did what I needed to do to keep her safe from a professional killer,” Douglas replied. “I’m sure it’s not more that you would do yourself to keep her safe.”
Ben didn’t seem to be able to argue with him.
“You were here after we were taken?” she asked.
“As soon as the report went out, I jumped on a plane. You were already in the hospital by the time I arrived,” Douglas stated. “I had to make sure you were all right.”
Again, Rilynne wasn’t sure how she should be feeling. Not wanting to process it, she quickly changed the subject. “You’ve been watching Harris,” she stated. “How did she get my prints on the wallet?”
“She pretended to drop it in front of you two weeks ago,” he replied. “You picked it up and handed it back to her. After that, all she would have needed to do was transfer Teich’s stuff into the wallet and add his prints to it.”
As despicable as is was, Rilynne couldn’t help up be impressed. It was inventive.
“How’d she even know to go after him?” Ben asked.
“That wasn’t hard at all,” Douglas said. He folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “Your little outburst apparently spread through the station quickly and you know how much people like to talk about drama when they’ve been drinking. There were three separate groups of people talking about it in the bar that night. She couldn’t have set up a more perfect target herself.”
“If you knew she was going to do this, why didn’t you warn me?” Rilynne asked. “I could have stopped it, or at least prevented the majority of this week's events.”
He let out a deep sigh. For the first time, Rilynne could see just how hard the years had been on him. Though he was only fifty, he had the face of someone who was at least ten years older. His hair, which had been a soft brown when he disappeared, was not almost completely gray.
“I tried,” he said. “When I knew she had gone after him, I came here. I didn’t know how to stop her, but I thought I could at least make sure you were somewhere else when it happened.”
“It was you,” she stated, recalling the knock from that night. “You knocked on the door at eleven that night.”
“It was the only thing I could think of, but you didn’t answer.”
“Why didn’t you just call the police?” Ben asked.
“And tell them what?” he chuckled. “I’ve been tailing an assassin for twenty-five years and I think she’s going to kill a man tonight. I don’t know his name or where it’ll take place, but I had to let you know. Do you really think anyone would have taken me seriously? Would you have?”
Rilynne thought about it and shook her head. “It would have at least provided them with an alternate place to start looking, though.”
“If Tori thought for a second that they weren’t buying the set up, she would have killed you,” he stated. There didn’t seem to a doubt in his mind that he was right. Rilynne agreed with him.
They sat in silence for several moments as everyone seemed to absorb what was going on. Douglas finally seemed to relax, as did Ben. Rilynne on the other hand still felt as though she was spinning like an out of control top.
“Wait,” she said after a few moments. “Wouldn’t it have been a major risk if she knew you were tailing her? She’s a professional. How on earth were you able to get close enough to her in the bar that night without her seeing you? It’s not a big place.”
The relaxation that had settled on his face quickly vanished. His reaction left her with an even more unsettled feeling. For a brief moment, she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer. Ben must have sensed it, because he grabbed her hand and held it tight.
“I’m not proud of it,” he stated. The look on his face reflected fear more than anything else. “You have to understand that I never wanted anything like this to happen. I loved your mother more than anything and I still do. It had been three years since I left and I’d completely lost Tori’s trail. I was working as a cook in some little dive.” He was struggling to push the words out. “One night I had too much to drink and ended up making a very poor decision. It was the first time it had ever happened and the last. It may seem strange, but I still consider myself married to your mother. My plan has always been to go home to her as soon as I stopped Tori and I knew the two of you were safe.”
“What are you trying to say?” Rilynne asked, afraid to venture a guess herself.
“There was a woman who had been working as a waitress in the diner across the street. After that night, I didn’t see her again. I didn’t even know what had happened until eight months later when I got a call from the hospital.” He paused as if to gather his strength. “She had a brain aneurysm and it ruptured during labor.”
Rilynne left like she had been punched in the stomach. Her chest tightened as she struggled to draw a breath. “You mean,” she started, forcing the words out. “I have a-”
“Sister,” he finished. A tear rolled down his cheek; his eyes were fixed on his hands on his lap. He didn’t seem to be able to look up at her. “Her name is Elise. With her mother dead, it’s just been the two of us. As soon as she was old enough, I told her the truth of our lives. I’ve been able to keep her away from it all, but as soon as she heard Tori was going after you, she insisted on being involved. She’s incredibly stubborn.”
“Well, that’s one thing the two of you have in common,” Ben blurted out. Rilynne gave him a sideways glance and found his familiar impish grin. She rolled her eyes and turned back toward her father.
“So she’s here?” she asked
. Rilynne had always wanted a sibling. She was left almost numb by the prospect that she actually had one. “She’s in Addison Valley?”
He nodded. The expression on his face softened just slightly. The fear in his eyes seemed to have been replaced by relief. Rilynne apparently hadn’t taken the news nearly as hard as he had expected. “She’s back at the hotel now,” he stated. “I went back there after I left the station to check on her and fill her in.”
Rilynne leaned back, her jaw hanging open. “So…” she started several minutes later.
“Yes,” he interrupted. “She would really like the opportunity to get to know you. She understands that you might need some time to adjust to the idea, so we’ll leave it up to you. Whenever you’re ready, you let us know and we’ll set it up.”
“I want to meet her,” she announced without hesitation. Douglas lit up at her enthusiasm. Before she could say anything else, Ben’s phone chimed.
He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced down. “They need me back at the station,” he groaned. “Some crisis with one of the pieces of equipment. I swear I can’t take any time off without the entire place falling apart.”
When Ben stood, so did Douglas. “Thank you,” he said, extending his hand. “I know what you do and how much you risked when you chose to run with my daughter. I also know this isn’t the first time you put yourself in harm's way to keep her safe. I can’t thank you enough.”
Ben peered at Rilynne as he took his hand. He didn’t seem to know how to react. He just nodded to Douglas before kissing Rilynne on the forehead and walking toward the door.
“Don’t forget to call your mom,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m sure she’s frantic right about now.” Rilynne nodded and watched him walk out. So much had happened, she hadn’t even thought about the fact that her mother had more than likely heard at least some of what had been going on.
When Rilynne heard the door click, she turned back toward her father and eyed him carefully.
“How did Tori know?” she asked him, several moments later. “She told me to ‘see what I could see’. I could see in her eyes that she knows, just like I can in yours right now.”
