Strangers in the Night

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “Yes. Around one o’clock if that’s all right with you.”

  “Sure.” Jake nodded and helped himself to the eggs.

  Abbie allowed herself to relax and began to help Emma with a pancake. For someone who’d already eaten she was making a good-sized dent in her breakfast. Jake was here and later would be taking Douglas Perkins to look at property. She still wondered why the man had chosen to stay at the B&B when Cold Creek was no longer available to him.

  When Perkins had finished his meal, he excused himself and went to his room.

  He’d no sooner gone than the phone rang. Dawn answered it. “Sure, Jeff. Hold on a second. I’ll get her.”

  Jeff? “Maybe he has some news about Skye.” She hurried to the phone.

  “Hello, Abbie.” The tone in his voice gave Abbie the impression that the news wasn’t going to be good.

  “Did you find her?”

  “They found your car. Unfortunately, Skye wasn’t in it. She apparently abandoned it, out of gas, in downtown Portland. Tim is on his way right now, so I expect he’ll bring the car back with him.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would she leave it? She had money. She could have bought gas.”

  Jeff hesitated before putting into words something she already suspected. “Do you really think she’d spend the money on gas?”

  Anger flared and died as quickly as a match. As much as she wanted to deny Jeff’s suspicions, she couldn’t. “You’re probably right. I’d like to believe otherwise, but I need to face facts. She’s an addict. Denial on my part isn’t going to change that.”

  “I’m sorry, Abbie. As soon as we hear anything more, I’ll let you know.”

  Abbie thanked him and hung up. She turned to find Jake standing beside her. She gave him the condensed version of Jeff’s report. Jake seemed to understand and moved forward to draw her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  Abbie melted against him, soaking up the comfort he offered. Jake kissed her forehead and stepped back, his hands resting on her shoulders. “We can still pray and hope she turns around.”

  “Thank you, Jake.” Part of her wanted to stay right there beside him. But she’d promised herself that she wouldn’t allow herself to rely on him. Needing to keep her distance, Abbie went back to the dining room where Emma was drinking the last of her milk.

  After excusing herself, Abbie took Emma to her room where she could wash the syrup off her hands and face. She gave Emma her dolls and settled her in the living room. Jake was still there.

  “What are your plans for the day?” he asked.

  “I’ll wait for Tim. If he gets here with my car early enough, I thought I’d run into Oceanside to pick up the rest of our clothes. Brent will be here after lunch to go through the buildings with me.”

  “Looks like I’ll have a full day as well.” He frowned. “I need to get back to the office. Truth is, I drove out this morning as soon as I realized that Perkins was out here. Wish I’d realized last night it was his car.”

  “No harm done. I don’t think he’s a threat to me, Jake. He seems to be okay with my buying Cold Creek, though I don’t know why he’d stay here.”

  “Maybe he likes the setting. Just be careful. I’ll talk to Brent about him. In the meantime I need to get to the office—see what other calls I’ve missed.”

  “Jake, I feel like a broken record by asking so often, but is there any news about Barbara?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. Jeff says they may have lost their window of opportunity. The first few days of an investigation are the most important. They have no crime scene and no evidence connecting anyone to the murder.”

  Abbie thought about the old newspaper article she’d seen in Travis’s kitchen drawer. Should she say something about it? Truth is, she should have shown it to Jeff or the sheriff right away, but she’d been afraid to call attention to herself for fear they’d discover her crime. She still couldn’t believe that Leah hadn’t called the police. Maybe she had and then not followed through by pressing charges.

  “Jake.” She reached out to him as he turned to go. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  After explaining what she’d found, Jake stared out at the lake water. “I don’t know what to say, Abbie.”

  “I know he’s your friend, but Travis told us he didn’t know about her connection to the robbery. At the time, I thought he was telling the truth.”

  “I’m sure he was.”

  “Then how do you explain the article being there?”

  “The real killer could have planted it. Travis would have no reason to hide something like that. I don’t think he knew it was there.” His eyes clouded with questions and disbelief. “Do me a favor and don’t say anything to the authorities yet. I’d like a chance to talk to him. If it’s still there, I’ll tell him to take it to Jeff.”

  “You mean confront him? Are you sure that’s wise?”

  Jake nodded. “He’s my friend, and regardless of how it looks, I trust him.”

  Jake left, saying he intended to visit with Travis. Abbie gathered her wits and took Emma for a walk to the library, where Sam showed them the children’s books.

  Travis welcomed Jake and within a few minutes the two old friends were sitting on the deck overlooking the lake. The article Abbie had told Jake about lay in a plastic bag on the table between them. Travis had opened the drawer and begun to lift it out when Jake stopped him. If his friend hadn’t known about it, his prints wouldn’t be on it, but someone else’s might.

  “You need to show it to Jeff,” Jake said.

  Travis frowned and ran a hand through his unruly hair. “I know you’re right, but what do I say? It’s already looking bad for me. The less they find evidence-wise to implicate someone else, the more the sheriff points toward me. Jeff’s the only reason I’m not sitting behind bars already. If I show this to Jeff now, he’ll have to show it to the sheriff. Jeff’ll probably think I’m guilty too.”

  “Not Jeff. He’ll believe you, but I see your point. He’ll be forced to show it to the sheriff.” Jake stroked his stubbly chin. He’d forgotten to shave. “And remember, your prints aren’t on it.”

  “Maybe not, but that’s not going to make a difference.” Travis fingered the corner of the bag. “Too bad Abbie found it. I could have tossed the thing in the fire.”

  Jake shook his head. “You don’t want to do that. I’m thinking that whoever planted it is looking to blame you. Since you dated Barbara, you’re an easy target. He might find another way to point the finger at you, and it might be a lot worse than an article.”

  “An article that apparently catches me in a lie.”

  “You know what you need to do, Trav. It’ll go easier for you if you talk to Jeff. Tell him you had no idea it was in the drawer until Abbie mentioned it to me. Even if the sheriff doesn’t believe you, the evidence is circumstantial at best. We’ll get a lawyer if we need to.”

  Travis sighed and shook his head. “I still can’t believe Barbara is gone. I wish now I had been a little more aggressive in trying to find out what she was doing and who she might have been with.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. I could say the same thing. According to Jeff and Detective Meyers, she may have been looking for that bank robber. This article might hold the key to her death. Maybe she found the guy.”

  Travis stared out at the lake. “Guess I don’t really have another option. I’ll run this into Jeff this morning.”

  “Or have him come out here,” Jake said. “Maybe he can lift some prints from the counter or the drawer.”

  Travis shook his head. “If there were prints, they aren’t there now. I’d have wiped everything clean.”

  Jake left after a few minutes and, in his rearview mirror, noticed Travis backing his motorcycle out of the carport. Seconds later, Travis sped by. The road from Cold Creek to the lake stopped at Travis’s place. Jake wondered if Abbie would extend it. He hoped not. He liked the wilderness. The forest here connected with the coastal rang
e that ran on into California.

  He caught sight of Travis several times as they maneuvered the curvy road into Oceanside. He hoped he had given Travis the right advice regarding the article. He worried about the outcome. Even without the article, Sheriff Moore had been ready to blame Travis. Maybe he should have advised his friend to burn the article after all. When he drove past the B&B he noticed that Abbie’s car hadn’t been returned—either that or Tim had brought it and she’d gone into town. Perkins’ dark blue sedan was gone as well.

  CHAPTER 27

  Abbie reached her parents’ place just as her mother was coming out to work in her garden. Dressed in jeans and a loose cotton-print top, she greeted them with a wave. “Hi, you two. You’re just in time to help me pull weeds and pick some vegetables for lunch.” After hugging them both, she proceeded into the small shed attached to the garage.

  “I know how to pull weeds. Margie showed me.” Emma took her grandmother’s hand.

  “That sounds like fun, but I just came by to get the rest of our clothes. We’ll be staying at the B&B after all.” Abbie had hoped to spend more time there, but with Brent coming after lunch, she needed to step up her plans.

  “I figured as much.” Her mother plucked a straw hat from a peg on the wall and disappeared inside for a moment. When she emerged, she had a basket of gardening tools. Abbie could tell the news disappointed her but also knew she wouldn’t show that disappointment. Show business did that to people. Not that she wanted her mother to object.

  “Can I help, Nana?” This from Emma, who’d poked her head into the shed to watch.

  “Only if Mommy says you can.”

  Emma bounced and grinned. “Goodie. Mommy, say yes. Please.”

  Abbie sighed as expectant gazes locked with hers. She’d wanted the trip to be short but felt herself waver, then realized that having Emma stay with her mother would work out quite well. “Tell you what. If Nana doesn’t mind, I’ll let you stay here and help her while I go back to Cold Creek to meet with Brent. Then I’ll come back and get you.”

  “And you’ll stay for dinner?” Carlene asked.

  Abbie grinned. “Perfect.”

  As Abbie pulled out of the driveway, she noticed a rusted red pickup parked a few houses away. As she drove past, the driver ducked out of sight. All she could see was the green plaid of a shirt or jacket. At first she wondered if someone had been following her, but as she made her way toward Cold Creek, Abbie tossed the idea aside.

  More than likely, the driver was reaching for something on the floor or in the glove box. She wished she could stop being so paranoid. Still, as Jake had told her, she needed to be on her guard.

  For the next two weeks life settled into a routine of sorts for Abbie. Still, she continued to feel unsettled. They had heard nothing from Skye, and Douglas Perkins was still using the B&B as his temporary home. His being there had unnerved Abbie at first, but she had almost become accustomed to having him around. Most afternoons he looked at property with Jake. There was certainly nothing illegal about his being there, but his methods seemed odd to Abbie. He apparently wanted something in the area and hadn’t found it as yet.

  And Barbara. The police hadn’t been able to crack the case. According to Jake, Travis had turned the newspaper clipping over to the authorities. There’d been some flurry over it, with the sheriff wanting to make an immediate arrest. Fortunately, Travis’s prints hadn’t been on it and the article wasn’t enough to make a case against him, so the matter hung there, suspended over them all like some dark and mysterious cloud.

  She didn’t want to think about Barbara. Yet she couldn’t help it. She had gone to the library to get online and learn more about the bank robbery Barbara had been so obsessed about. The gunman had been masked, but in the struggle to take one of the women hostage, his mask had come off. With the bank employees’ help, a police sketch artist had put together a likeness. Abbie studied the photo. Had Barbara seen someone in the Cold Creek area who resembled this man? If so, why not go to the police?

  Perhaps she thought they wouldn’t listen. Had Barbara called them so often with false leads that they no longer considered her information viable? If that were the case, she might have wanted to give the police proof.

  Travis had told them that she’d cancelled their date—that she’d had a meeting. Had that meeting been with the bank robber?

  Frustrated, she’d made a few notes and gone back to the B&B. There were too many questions—too many missing pieces. Now, as she contemplated Barbara’s death again, she wondered if she might be able to find more information. Tim could dig into the case for police details that hadn’t appeared in the papers. But would he? Probably not. And she wouldn’t ask that of him. Maybe she could talk to Jeff again. On the other hand, why not talk to Barbara’s family in Portland? Maybe they could fill in some of the missing pieces. True, the police had talked with them, but they may have missed something.

  Dawn had vacated the kitchen by the time Abbie decided to give Jake a call. Judging by the sound of the vacuum cleaner upstairs, Dawn was busy. Abbie would call her mother to see if she’d take Emma for the day. Then she’d let Jake know of her plans and hope he could join her. They hadn’t spent much time together and she missed him.

  Abbie didn’t know why she felt so determined to look into Barbara’s murder. Perhaps the driving force came from the fact that she had found Barbara’s scarf, which led to finding her body. Or, perhaps she feared that Barbara’s death was somehow connected to the note she’d received before purchasing Cold Creek.

  None of that mattered really. All she knew was that she felt obligated to Barbara in some strange way. Abbie made her phone calls, took Emma to her mother’s, and stopped at Jake’s office. Though he’d initially tried to talk her out of going to see Barbara’s parents, he relented. And Abbie didn’t think it was only to accompany her. They’d talked often of his colleague’s death and Abbie knew the going-nowhere investigation played on his mind as much or even more than it did hers.

  When she arrived at the office, Jeff was sitting in the chair in front of Jake’s desk with his feet propped on the top. He lowered his legs when Abbie came in. “Hi, Abbie.”

  Her greeting came with a smile, but at the same time, she gave Jake a questioning look.

  Jake cleared his throat. “I called Jeff to get Barbara’s parents’ phone number.”

  Jeff sighed. “I have it, but I’m not sure I should give it to you.”

  “We could get it easily enough. There aren’t that many Nichols in the phone book.”

  Jeff nodded. “That’s true. What do you hope to learn by going there? We’ve already questioned them, and they weren’t able to give us any new information.”

  She sighed and shrugged. “I can’t stop thinking about her. There are so many unanswered questions, like what did she do after the robbery? Why after five years would an article end up in Travis’s kitchen drawer? What happened to the woman who was taken hostage? Why did Barbara come here to Cold Creek?”

  “That’s what we keep asking ourselves, Abbie, and we’re coming up empty. I can’t stop you guys from going to see her folks, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

  “I understand your concern, but I feel such a strong connection with Barbara. It can’t hurt to talk to them. Since I’m now the owner of Cold Creek, and I found her scarf, I’m involved. Maybe I can learn something.” She licked her lips. “I don’t know, really. The idea of talking to them came to me, and I feel I need to follow through.”

  Jeff rose. “Like I said, I can’t keep you from going. If you do learn anything that might be helpful to the case, I’d appreciate you letting me know.”

  “Of course.” Abbie breathed a little easier. She was stepping into the unknown, but it felt like the right thing to do.

  Jeff handed Jake a piece of paper. “Here’s the number.” Turning to Abbie he said, “I imagine you also plan to check on your sister.”

  She nodded, feeling like she was being cross-ex
amined and warned at the same time.

  “I’m giving you the name of the officer I talked to on the narcotics squad. He has orders to bring her in if he locates her.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Talk to him. And don’t go looking for her on your own.”

  Jake had agreed to go with Abbie for one reason only—okay, make that two. He wanted to protect her and didn’t want her carrying out her harebrained schemes alone. He had no doubt that she’d ignore Jeff’s warnings and try to locate Skye on her own.

  Plus, he wanted to be with her as much as possible. Of course, he’d been elated to be able to cancel his plans to meet with Perkins. Jake suspected the man had no intention of buying anything, but still hadn’t been able to figure out why he kept looking. While he hadn’t been exhibiting any threats, Jake felt certain he was up to something.

  “Thanks for coming with me.” Abbie shifted in her seat, turning to face him.

  Jake met her eyes for a moment and thought about stopping the car and kissing every concern and thought from her mind except for him. He reached over to take her hand. “My pleasure.” He cleared his throat and added, “I’m still not sure why we’re doing this. It’s been five years since the robbery. We don’t know for certain if it has anything to do with Barbara’s death. What do you think we’ll find that the police haven’t?”

  Abbie bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. I want to know what happened to her and maybe her parents can help.”

  Jake had called from his office to set up an appointment with Barbara’s parents. He’d met them when he’d gone into Portland for the funeral and they were open to seeing him and Abbie. Jeff hadn’t been too happy with the plan but, as he said, it was a free country. “So—how is the renovation coming?” he asked.

  “Good. Those three guys are perfect.” She grinned. “A little slower than I expected, but thorough. Both the saloon and the house are shored up. They had to replace some rotting beams in the basement of both places. Brent said he was surprised at what good shape the buildings were in. Keith has been cleaning and tearing out wallpaper and preparing to paint. Travis is repairing and refinishing the woodwork.” She chuckled. “All that to say I’m thrilled with the way things are coming together.”