Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends)

by Christi Snow

  Colton scanned the bookshelves looking for the book, becoming more and more convinced he was right.

  Chris yelled a triumphant, “Found it!” and held the book up in the air in victory. Colton quickly snatched it and started reading the cover copy, comparing it to the notes in the notebook.

  “I’ll be damned. It’s her.” He stared at the notebook blankly, trying to process what this could mean.

  “What’s her?”

  He glanced at Chris distractedly. He’d forgotten he was here. He looked back down at the book in his hands and then looked back up at Chris. “I’m pretty positive Penelope wrote this book.” He strode back over to the bookcase and started snagging the other Celeste DeMarco books off the shelves. “Which means she wrote this one, and this one, and this one.” He looked down at the pile of books in his arms. “She wrote all of these.” He stared, stunned.

  Chris snagged one of the books and read the story description. He looked back up at Colton with a hint of admiration in his eye. “Have I mentioned that you’re a lucky bastard?”

  Colton glanced back down at the books in his hands and at the piles of ruined books on the floor. Besides the TV’s, they were the worst destruction in the apartment. There had to be a reason for that fact. He felt a sinking in his gut.

  He shook his head at Chris. “I’m not, if these are the reason this is happening to her. What if someone has figured out who she is and fixated on her? What if this guy is a stalker trying to cover his tracks?”

  Worry flashed through Chris’s eyes. They both knew how dangerous a stalker could become since Chris, Jake, and Cassie had all almost died at the hands of a stalker just three months prior.

  “Come on. We need to get to the bookstore and talk to Penelope.”

  Chapter 29

  The interview with the newspaper seemed like it went really well. Penelope could only hope that would translate into good attendance numbers for the actual signing.

  There was still no sign of Hannah and every day she was gone, the outlook seemed more bleak. She didn’t have time to dwell on that today though.

  She needed to get the blog updated about the signing. Luckily, she’d already managed to get the newsletter out and Jon and Alix were handling the store okay. Penelope probably should look into hiring someone else soon though. She pulled out her to-do list and added hiring to it. She sighed deeply. Every day it seemed like that list became more and more unmanageable. Looking at her list reminded her of something.

  She picked up the phone and dialed the phone number from the information sheet.

  “Yo!” A very happy voice answered.

  She smiled. This was probably just what she needed today. “Hi. This is Penelope Pruitt from Raider Readers in Lubbock. I was wondering if I could speak to Tony from Abilene Authors.”

  “Whoa, this is Tony. No shit? You’re from a bookstore?”

  “Yeah, I am and I’ve been reading your group’s book. I’m very impressed and more than a little curious about how you all do it, writing and releasing a book as a group? I wondered if I could ask you a few questions about the group.”

  “Dude! That would be awesome. You like the book?”

  She laughed at the pure happiness coming from the guy. He sounded young. She would guess college age or maybe even high school, which made her even more curious about their group if this was their chosen spokesperson. “So how does it work?”

  “Man, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s awesome. We’ve had our group for a while, but before it was just a normal writers’ group. But that was before Dev Masters.”

  “Who’s Dev Masters?”

  “He’s some loaded dude who’s our beneficiary. He organized us and got us to writing and releasing the books. He fronts all the investment money. We provide the writing, editing, and graphic design for the covers. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

  “Really? That’s astounding. I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”

  “I know, right? The dude is revolutionary and we love it. We’re getting to do what we love….write, and he makes sure that we can. For his help, we just have to work within the parameters he gives us for the books.”

  “Parameters?”

  “Yeah, he comes up with the character names and settings, but then leaves everything else up to our creativity. It’s so cool. It’s like the ultimate in writing prompts and we write as a group so it gets done really quickly with that many brains working at it. It’s awesome.”

  “You said graphic design, too. Does the group design your own covers? The cover for The Gift of Serendipity is really amazing.”

  “Thanks, the title was mine, but Melinda did the design. She’s dope with a computer.”

  Penelope laughed. “Yes, she is. So, I was thinking. Sometime, I’d love to host your group for a signing. Do you think that’s something you all would like to do?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’d love that. Just wait until I tell everyone. When could we do it?”

  “Well, we’re having another signing here next weekend, but let me look at the schedule. You talk to the group and we’ll work something out. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Thanks so much, Penelope. Dev and everyone are going to shit a brick.”

  “I’m happy to hear it. It was nice talking to you Tony.”

  She hung up still smiling. She loved enthusiastic authors.

  Suddenly her cell phone rang. She didn’t even bother to look at who was calling before answering it.

  “Hello,” she answered as she wrote another note onto her list.

  “You didn’t do what you were told to do.” The voice was deep and menacing and a sudden chill raced down her spine, as she dropped her pen.

  “Wha…” she wasn’t given time to question him before he interrupted her.

  “Now one of your friends will pay. You shouldn’t have called the police and you should have returned the gift.” A loud shot echoed through the phone and the blood left all her extremities. Immediately the voice came back on. “This is not a game.” His voice was harsh and cruel. The line went dead.

  Suddenly Penelope was shivering. Oh my God. Who had he shot? She immediately fumbled with her cell phone trying to get her fingers to work. Colton had to be okay. As she scrambled trying to hit his number on her phone, she rushed out of her office and down the stairs. No, no, no. He wasn’t answering. She left a frantic message. “Colton, where are you? Call me as soon as you get this. You have to be okay. You have to. Call me.”

  She hit the disconnect button and called the loft. Again, there was no answer. Where could he be? Her breath was coming in gasps by the time she reached the first floor. She looked around frantically. He had to be okay. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be.

  Alix spotted her rushing toward her. “Penelope, what’s wro…”

  The front door of the bookstore opened and Colton walked through it. Penelope sobbed as she launched herself into his surprised arms. “Thank God, you’re okay. You’re okay, right?”

  She wrapped around him as tight as she could get and she felt all along his chest and neck and head to make sure he was all in one piece. She threaded her hands around behind his head and sobbed into his neck. “I thought you were dead. He shot someone and you didn’t answer your phone and I was sure you were dead.” Her breath hitched again as the sobs rolled out of her. She could have lost him today.

  “Penelope, what the hell is going on?” He rubbed up and down her back as she tried to get her crying under control. He was here and he was fine, but someone else wasn’t. She started to hyperventilate in panic.

  Colton quickly strode behind the counter with her still clinging to him. He gingerly sat her on the stool by the register and yanked a bag out from under the counter which he shoved against her mouth. “Breathe, sweetheart. You’re hyperventilating. Just breathe and try to calm down.” He looked at her with worried eyes.

  She looked into his eyes and pressed her palm to the
side of his face. Thank God, he was okay. The tears continued to roll, but she was getting herself back under control.

  “Better?”

  She nodded and pulled the bag away from her face. “We have to call the police. Call Brian. He shot someone. The envelope from the party with all the targets. He called me and shot someone while I was on the phone with him. I heard it happen. I thought it was you. You didn’t answer your phone. Why didn’t you answer your phone?” She was rambling, but she was beyond caring.

  Colton searched his pockets. “I must have left it at the loft.” He turned toward Chris, who she hadn’t even realized was standing there, watching her breakdown. “Call Cassie and make sure she’s okay. I’ll use Penelope’s phone to call the police and Brian.” He pried it out of her frozen fingers. She hadn’t even realized she was still clutching it.

  As the guys talked into the phones, she thought about all the photos in the envelope that night. Which one of her friends had she just condemned to die?

  “Cassie’s okay.” Chris told them and then turned back to his phone, punching in another phone number.

  Colton hung up his phone and returned to crouch in front of her. “Brian’s on his way. Are you okay?”

  She nodded numbly. “One of our friends has just been shot.” She looked at him bleakly.

  Chris was on the other side of the counter and he looked grim as he hung up his phone. “Julie’s okay, but there’s been a shooting in the hospital parking lot so they’re in lock-down.”

  “Oh no…Aaron?” she whispered.

  Chris’s jaw was clenched. “Maybe, but there were a lot of medical personnel at the party that night. It could be any one of them, or it could be something totally unrelated. But I don’t want to leave Julie alone just in case. I’m going to head over there.”

  Colton nodded. “Watch your back. The shooter could still be around. Call me as soon as you know something.”

  * * *

  Brian showed up at the bookstore shortly after that to take her statement. By that time, they had closed the store and moved into the reading nook. Jon left, but Alix continued to hover as Colton worked to calm Penelope down.

  Colton shoved a cup of hot tea into her hands before drawing her down into his lap. Her panic was subsiding, but she was chilled to the bone. She couldn’t get warm and her body continued to shiver. Colton wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Closing her eyes, she again thanked God he was okay. She didn’t know what she would do if she’d lost him.

  She asked Brian, “Do you know who was shot at the hospital yet?”

  He looked at her, surprised. “How did you know about that situation?”

  “One of our friends, Julie, works there. When we called to make sure she was okay, she told us what was happening.”

  He nodded. “The SWAT team is securing the scene right now. In fact, I’m headed over there after I finish here. Do you think that’s related to your phone call?”

  She nodded mutely and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “The photos from the party. That’s the guy who did the shooting. That party was for Julie, our friend who works there so there were lots of hospital personnel at the party.” Tears welled in her eyes again.

  “Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Did he call you on your cell phone or the store phone?”

  “My cell.” Colton handed her cell phone to Brian so he could go through the call log. “I was working on something so I didn’t even look to see if there was a number listed or not.”

  “Do you mind if I take this? Our IT guys may be able to trace him.”

  “Sure, that’s fine. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Thanks. Tell me exactly what he said, or at least what you remember him saying.”

  Penelope took a deep breath and tried to recall his exact wording. “He said I didn’t do what I’d been told to do and now someone had to pay. He said I should have given him the gift and not called the police. Then I heard the gun go off.” Her breathing hitched, but she continued. “He said this wasn’t a game. That was it. Then he disconnected the call.” She could hear his voice in her head like a nightmarish audio recording. She shivered harder.

  “Could you hear anything in the background? Was there anything notable about his voice or the way he spoke?”

  Penelope shook her head. “I don’t think so, at least not that I remember.”

  “Okay, thanks, Penelope. I’ll be in touch. I need to head over to check out the situation at the hospital. I really hope the victim there isn’t one of your friends. Hopefully, this is just someone messing with your head as some kind of sick joke.”

  They walked with him to the front door. Just as he was about to leave, Colton had a thought. “Brian, on the off-chance this is one of our friends, Chris went to the hospital. Can you try to make sure that he can get in to be with our friend, Julie? If this is someone we know, she’s going to be devastated and will need his support.”

  “Sure, I’ll keep an eye out for both of them.”

  “Thanks, Brian.”

  After Brian left, Penelope turned bleak eyes to Colton. “What do we do now?”

  “Let’s head over to Cassie’s. We can wait for word there.”

  * * *

  When they arrived at Cassie’s house, she met them at the door with worry-filled eyes. Colton immediately pulled her into his arms, although he continued to hold onto Penelope’s hand the whole time, too. His voice sounded gruff when he said, “Thank God you’re okay. Have you heard anything yet?”

  She pulled them into the house shaking her head. “Nothing yet. They’re reporting the shooting on the television stations, but they haven’t revealed anything about the victim yet, except for the fact it’s someone from the hospital. They haven’t said anything about whether or not they caught the shooter.” She looked back out the door. “Wait a minute, where’s Chris? I thought he was with you.”

  “When he heard about the shooting at the hospital, he went up to see if he could be there to support Julie, just in case it’s Aaron. Brian said he would do his best to get him inside the hospital to her.”

  Cassie’s voice was quiet when she asked, “What happened today to make you think the victim is Aaron?”

  The never-ending chills took hold of Penelope’s body again. Colton must have felt her shiver because he pulled her within his arms once again and cradled her against his chest.

  She was the one who answered though. “We don’t know that it’s Aaron, but we’re pretty sure that it’s someone from Julie’s party. The guy who left the note on the Bus called me. I heard the gun go off over the phone. Whoever’s been shot, they were shot because of me. This is my fault.” The tears started falling down her cheeks and Colton stiffened underneath her.

  His voice was low and angry. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything to provoke this attack. You’ve done everything possible to keep anything bad from happening. There’s no way you’re to blame for this. The guilty party is the guy who was holding that gun.”

  She placed her palm against his chest. “I know there’s truth to that, but I still can’t help but feel responsible. Somehow this all ties back to me. We have to figure out how if we’re going to stop it.”

  Colton agreed. “We absolutely have to figure out what this guy’s after and I had a couple of thoughts about that while cleaning the apartment. First, I didn’t see the golden flower from Damon. Don’t you usually keep that on your nightstand?”

  She nodded.

  “That’s what I thought. I didn’t see it when I was in there today, but the room isn’t completely cleaned yet, so it may still be under a pile somewhere. But for now, it’s missing and that might be a clue.”

  Penelope winced at the thought of the loft mess, but then thought better of it. What did it really matter when someone had been shot? Which brought up a point. “If they’d found what they’d wanted at the apartment, why would they have gone through with the shooting?”

  “To prove a poin
t maybe? I don’t know, but you’re right, that doesn’t really fit. We need to find that flower and figure out if there’s something more going on with Damon’s project.”

  “I agree. I’m pretty sure he’s coming back into town this weekend. I’ll call my mom and find out his flight information.”

  Colton nodded then looked at Penelope speculatively. “There’s one other possibility that occurred to me today.”

  “What’s that?” He had a strange look in his eye that made Penelope nervous.

  He watched her closely as he said, “Is it possible this could have something to do with Celeste DeMarco?”

  The blood drained from her face and her eyes widened in shock. She searched his face, but couldn’t get a read on him. She’d kept this secret hidden from everyone in her life for years, but within a few short weeks, Colton figured it out. “How did you find out?”

  “I found some of your notes and pieced it all together. So it’s true.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she haltingly nodded anyway.

  “Wait a minute,” Cassie blurted out. “What are you both talking about? What does any of this have to do with an erotica author?”

  Colton gave a strangled moan as his gaze swung to Cassie and he choked out, “You know who that author is?” He grimaced.

  “What?” Cassie looked at them both in confusion.

  Penelope was on the verge of a nervous breakdown but couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped her, despite the terror and adrenaline flying through her system after all the events from the day. “I think you just broke Colton’s Life Rule #1.”

  “Life Rule #1?”

  “Yes, in his eyes, you’re virginal and chaste.” Penelope giggled again as Cassie rolled her eyes. “Life Rule #1 states we’re not allowed to talk about anything that might burst his delusional bubble. I’m not sure, but I think you reading erotica falls into that category.”

  “Seriously? I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to that.” She turned her confounded gaze toward her big brother. “I think mainly, I’m a little disturbed that you two have discussed my sex life to the point where there’s actually a rule about the discussion of it. I think we’re headed into psychotherapy area.” She gave Colton a look of chastisement. He had the good grace to flush in embarrassment at that.