Living in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  Jeff Fielding lifted the sketch he was holding. “Do you think this is him?”

  Hardy and the other three men had discussed that very possibility during their phone conversation. “I don’t know. This guy is smaller than the agency always assumed the Janitor was, but he can’t be ruled out.”

  Of course, that meant it may have been the Janitor who tried to kill H.B. Davis, a fact Hardy would have to process later.

  “How come this janitor guy isn’t in the system?” one of the state police officers asked.

  “He has never been caught,” Hardy replied. “There is no description of him in the system because he’s never left anybody who could identify him alive. He is suspected in paid hits all over the country, too. Over the course of the last thirty-five years, he’s killed, disappeared, and then shown up somewhere else. An FSA agent just told me it has been so long without any known activity from him, they thought he’d either died or retired.”

  A seasoned state trooper leaned forward in his chair. “Then how are we supposed to be on the lookout for him? I mean, if it’s this guy,” He held up the sketch, “at least we have some kind of picture, but you’re telling us he could be any stranger we see.”

  “He may have left the area.” Even as Hardy said it he knew the likelihood was small. “But the only suggestion I have is to look for a stranger—somebody new to town or passing through. He’s been doing this for three decades, so we know he’s not a young man.”

  “We have reason to believe the Janitor has been hired to hurt Hardy.” Mitch spoke firmly. “And we believe he may intend to do that by harming his girlfriend, Haley Johnson. You all know her; she’s my chief dispatcher. We plan to provide her with around the clock protection. She’ll be fine when she’s here on duty, but she’s going to need one of us with her the rest of the time.”

  The older trooper who had spoken before cleared his throat. “I can speak for all of us. We’ll pitch in and give Haley protection, even if we do it on our own time, won’t we, men?”

  When the men unreservedly agreed, Hardy was once more moved by how much people in this community cared about Haley. She really did have a family of sorts in these folks.

  “I know you’ve been given part of this information, but I want to make sure we’re all on the same page here,” Mitch told the men.

  Hardy took a few steps back and let the sheriff have the floor.

  Mitch kept his gaze steady as he looked around the room. “We believe there is an individual intent on harming Beau Harding. I can’t tell you why, so don’t ask. You’ll just have to trust me.” He waited for a few minutes, as if giving the men a chance to voice their objections to being kept partially out of the loop. None came, so he went on. “William Baxter, Roscoe Callen, and an as yet unidentified man were hired by this individual to vandalize businesses here in Shadow. The goal was to capture Hardy’s attention. Something happened, and one of them shot and killed Callen.” Mitch looked at Hardy. “Will you explain what we and your friends at the agency have come up with?”

  Hardy once more stepped forward. “Callen’s murder wasn’t planned and probably angered the person who hired them. He then sent out the Janitor to take care of them.”

  “But where does Wyatt Millan come into this?” Wayne asked.

  “We feel certain Millan was hired by the same man who hired the first three men. They may have even worked together. But he had a more precise assignment, and once it was believed to be accomplished, the Janitor was sent after him, as well.”

  “Millan was hired by the bank using extremely well-produced fraudulent credentials,” Mitch spoke up. “Wyatt Millan didn’t exist until approximately three months ago. His prints didn’t show up in the system, so we don’t have an ID either. We believe he’s been using different aliases for a long time.”

  Hardy told them what Stephens had shared. “They think the individual behind this whole scheme most likely helped Millan relocate. He probably helped him set up his new identity and paid for the forged documents he needed.”

  “What makes you so sure this Janitor won’t come straight after you, Harding?” one of the state troopers asked.

  “I hope he does.” Hardy didn’t blink. “I’d much rather be the target than think Haley or anybody else is in danger because of me.”

  “You’ll have to be careful, too,” Jeff warned him.

  “I can take care of myself.” Hardy wanted their focus to remain on keeping Haley safe, not worrying about him. “Let’s just figure out how to make sure he can’t get to Haley.”

  After nearly an hour, they had come up with a solid schedule insuring Haley would never be unprotected. When Hardy suggested nobody else would be needed when he was with her, he was met with vehement objections. The general consensus was it would be too tempting for the Janitor to take Haley out right in front of Hardy and then finish him off, too. Hardy hated to admit they had a point.

  “A lot of people care about Haley,” Hardy quietly observed after all of the men besides him and Mitch had left. “But then she’s easy to care about.”

  The sheriff leveled his gaze at him. “You’re really serious about her, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life.” Hardy was happy to tell the truth.

  “I owe you an apology.” Mitch spoke solemnly. “I wasn’t sure you’d stick with Haley. I figured you’d run off and leave her, first chance you got. I’m glad I was wrong about you.”

  “I could never leave her now.” And he knew he couldn’t. “She means too much to me.”

  “Good.” The sheriff nodded. “Good.”

  And Hardy found himself in complete agreement.

  Chapter 48

  He sank to his chair, full of disbelief. Both the missing men and James were dead. A pure and blinding rage took hold of him as he dialed the phone.

  “Yes.” Weiss’s curt greeting angered him even more.

  “You’d better tell me why Samuels has killed my men.” He was past caring whether he upset Weiss or not. “We had a deal.”

  “Samuels hasn’t killed anybody.” Weiss sounded genuinely confused. “He’s still embarrassed about the old lady getting the best of him.”

  “I know he was in Shadow.”

  “Okay.” The man sounded sure of himself. “I sent him to town just to check on your men. With the lowlifes you had to hire and that loon of a son you have, you can’t blame me for wanting to have the situation checked for myself. I have as much as you do riding on this plan.”

  The man was about as trustworthy as a rattlesnake, but he didn’t think Weiss was lying now. “Then, who do you think killed Harv and Brockman? And now James?”

  “Samuels said Harv and Brockman were nowhere to be found when he was in town, but he saw Jim skulking about at the campsite. I don’t know anything about them being killed.” Weiss cleared his throat. “But I’m sorry. I know it must be hard for—”

  “The only thing hard about it is how it affects our plan! I’ll have to rely on my son now, and we both know his limitations.”

  A low whistle came out of the phone. “Do you want me to send Samuels to town to help out?”

  He considered the idea for a few moments. “No. I think we’re close enough to the end my son will be able to handle what he has to. If not, I’ll go there myself. Just be sure the records stay lost. And keep your ear to the ground. We need to find out who’s killing our men.”

  “You’re the boss.” Weiss’s skepticism was apparent.

  Without another word, he disconnected the call. Perhaps he should feel something for the men who had died, but he didn’t. Not even for James. All he felt was concern that whoever was ridding the world of his men might damage his plan. He would do whatever he had to in order to keep that from happening.

  Chapter 49

  “I’m so happy to be free, I don’t even care that I’m stuck in this horrible wig again!” Haley declared, leaning against Beau.

  You do realize you’re sitting in the backse
at of an FSA vehicle with two agents in the front seat and a police officer beside you. Are you sure you’re free?” Beau’s eyes were sparkling with laughter as he looked at her.

  “We’ve all been in this car for almost two hours. Charlie and Fred are our friends now, aren’t you?” She addressed the other two men, who were studiously looking straight ahead.

  Fred Warburton finally turned in the passenger seat to look at Haley. “I feel like we’re practically family.”

  Haley laughed. “You made a joke! Did you hear that, Beau? Fred made a joke!”

  All three men chuckled before Fred spoke again. “Actually, it kind of feels like we’re free, too. As much as we like H.B. and Sharon, it was nice to let Dickens and Scott take over for a couple of days.”

  “I wish H.B. were well enough to be with us this weekend.” Haley felt her smile falter as she spoke to Beau. “It’s going to be great to spend the weekend with your sister and her family, but it would be even more special to have your entire family there.”

  “Soon,” Beau assured her. “We’ll all be together soon.”

  Haley felt content with his answer as she turned to look at the passing scenery. After nearly three solid weeks of constant police protection, she was suffering from some convoluted sort of cabin fever. When Mitch let both Beau and her off for the entire weekend, and Elliott offered to arrange their transport to his house, Haley jumped at the chance. She hadn’t even protested her awful getup, especially when she was told they wouldn’t have to leave until eight o’clock in the morning.

  “I could get used to you in that wig,” Beau’s voice was for her ears alone. “You may have to take it along on our honeymoon.”

  “Our honey—?” She turned to him incredulously. “Beau Davis!”

  He shrugged. “I just thought you should get used to the idea.”

  Okay. He hadn’t actually proposed. It was more like he announced that he was going to at some point in the future. Her heart took wing and soared. “I think I could get used to that pretty quickly.”

  The teasing light was back in his eyes. “We’d better hope Dohner gets put away soon. Haley Davis still sounds much better than Haley Harding.”

  Now he sounded like his mom. “I don’t care what your name is,” she told him. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” he calmly said. “Now, do you think what I bought for the kids is okay?”

  They spent the remainder of the trip talking about his sister and her family. Haley felt like she already knew the woman before she had even met her.

  “You told me your brother-in-law was rich.” Haley’s voice was full of awe as she looked at the house they pulled up to. “But you didn’t tell me they live in a mansion!”

  Beau’s brow went up. “You didn’t get suspicious when we had to stop at the gate back there? It might look open and inviting back here, but Elliott has top of the line security in place. That’s why we don’t have to keep anybody with us this weekend.”

  Haley hadn’t known what to think when they pulled into a driveway and stopped at a fancy iron filigree gate. One of the two men in uniform had come out and spoken to Charlie, but Haley hadn’t been able to understand what they’d said. Then she’d been too awestruck by the landscaping to ask Beau.

  But now this house . . . “I can’t stay in a house like this,” she told him. “I won’t know how to act.”

  Beau laughed. “My sister was raised by the same two people I was, Haley. Don’t let this fool you. Callie and Elliott are just ordinary people. You’ll feel so welcome you won’t have time to worry about how to act.”

  Her knees started shaking as she waited for Beau to retrieve their overnight cases from the trunk of the car.

  “We’ll see you Sunday night,” Beau told Charlie and Fred before the car continued around the circle drive and back down the long lane.

  Haley wanted to hold Beau’s hand, but he had a suitcase in each one. She settled for walking as closely to him as she could.

  The door opened before they had quite reached it, and a very lovely brunette woman with porcelain-like skin and deep brown eyes stood there with a smile on her face.

  “Beau. You really came.” A mixture of surprise and pleasure was in her voice.

  “Hi, Callie.” Beau sat the bags down on the porch and hugged his sister. They embraced like two people making up for lost time. There were tears in Callie’s eyes when Beau released her.

  “Callie, this is Haley.” Beau put his hand on Haley’s back.

  “I’m so glad you came,” Callie welcomed her. “Come on in, and let’s get you settled. The kids have been up since six, waiting on Uncle Beau to get here, so you'd better watch out when they see you.”

  Before Haley quite realized what was happening, she found herself and her suitcase left in a beautiful, comfortably furnished bedroom. She set a personal speed record getting out of her disguise. Unsure of what to do next, she looked the room over. The shades of blue it was decorated in gave her a sense of peace. And while the room surpassed any she'd stayed in before, it wasn’t so fancy she felt out of place in it. Maybe Beau had been right, and she’d feel comfortable here after all.

  “You okay?” Beau spoke from the open doorway, a sack in his hand.

  She looked at him and nodded. “Let’s go meet your niece and nephew.”

  He took her hand as they walked back into what Callie had called the family room, where two children were bouncing on their feet.

  “Are you our Uncle Beau?” The little brown-eyed boy that could have been a miniature Beau Davis addressed his uncle.

  Beau dropped Haley’s hand and knelt in front of the child. “I’m your Uncle Beau, but you’re too big to be Blake. He’s just a little boy.”

  Blake puffed his chest out and stood to his full height. “I’m six years old.”

  “I’m four.” The little blonde angel standing next to him carefully raised four fingers on her right hand.

  “You’re big, too, Tabitha,” Beau told her. He pulled the sack around in front of him. “Are you too big for this?” He pulled out a brightly colored doll with a pink dress and long yellow pigtails.

  “Thank you.” The little girl accepted the doll and grinned at her uncle, her top two middle teeth missing. Haley wanted to scoop her up and hug her, she was so precious.

  “And how about this, buddy?” Beau asked Blake, offering him the box of plastic logs he’d brought. “I hear you like to build things.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Beau!” Blake grabbed the toy and held it up for his mom to see. “Look, Mom! Now I’ll have enough for my whole farm!”

  “You sure will.” Callie smiled warmly at her son.

  “Hey, Blake.” Beau waited until his nephew was looking back at him. “This is Haley. Will you tell her hi?”

  Blake giggled. “Is she your girlfriend?”

  Beau looked at Haley and winked. “She sure is.”

  “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Blake solemnly informed Haley. “Dad says I’m not old enough.”

  “I’m his girlfriend!” his little sister declared.

  Blake rolled his eyes and confided in Haley. “She’s just my sister, but she’s little. She doesn’t know any better.”

  “Well, I’m happy to meet both of you.” Haley didn’t think she’d ever seen kids as cute as the two she was looking at. Beau would never have a son who favored him any more than his nephew did. And Tabitha . . .

  “She looks like her dad.” Callie’s smile told Haley she knew what Haley was wondering. “Elliott should be home any moment.”

  “He’s home right now.” The man who was speaking stood inside the door while two little children left their uncle to run over to him.

  “Daddy!” Tabitha raised her arms to be picked up, her new doll’s dress tightly clenched in her fist.

  Elliott leaned over and scooped the toddler into his arms. “What do you have there, Tabby?”

  “Look, Dad!” Blake wanted his dad’s attention. “Uncle Beau gave me some n
ew logs. Now we can build a whole farm.”

  “Uncle Beau gave me a doll,” Tabitha informed her dad, nearly hitting him in the eye with her new toy.

  “That was nice of Uncle Beau.” Elliott obviously loved his children. Still carrying his daughter and with Blake right beside him, he walked on into the room.

  “You must be Haley.” His smile reached his eyes.

  Haley was immediately aware of two things. The man she was looking at could be Brad Pitt’s twin brother, and both the other adults in the room were watching her closely for her reaction.

  She decided not to disappoint them.

  “You look exactly like Brad Pitt.” She grinned at the surprised expressions on all three adults’ faces. “But you’re still not as handsome as Beau.”

  Astonishment shone in Elliott’s eyes for a brief instant before he burst into laughter. “I like you.” He turned to his brother-in-law. “You’d better keep her, Beau.”

  Beau walked over and curved his arm around Haley’s shoulders. “I plan to, Elliott.”

  “Come on, you two,” Callie instructed her children. “Let’s go see what the new puppies are doing so Daddy can talk to Uncle Beau and Haley.”

  “Oscar had puppies,” Blake informed them. “I told Tabby he was a girl, but she didn’t believe me, and now we have four puppies out there.”

  Haley bit her lip to keep from smiling. She was certain there was a story to be told concerning a female dog named Oscar. Beau was right. She liked this family.

  “So, any news?” Beau asked his brother-in-law as soon as Callie and the kids were out of the room.

  Elliott smiled grimly. “Don’t get your hopes up, but I may have good news about at least one of our problems.”