“Are you saying I can take her home?”
“If she’s able to take fluids. I’m ordering a liquid diet for now. I think she should spend the night, and if all goes well, I’ll release her tomorrow.” She hesitated. “As for you taking her home, that will depend on the police.”
“They wouldn’t arrest her now, would they?” Abbie tried to wrap her mind around the impossible.
“The good news is that her lab work shows no sign of drug use.”
Relief flooded Abbie. “Thank you.” When the doctor left, Abbie called Tim to let him know what had happened, but he already knew and was on his way. Between Tim, Abbie, Jake, and the detective, they managed to get Skye released from police custody. Skye had not broken any laws in Portland that the police were aware of. The warrant for her arrest had come out of Lincoln County, and Tim would be able to transport her there as soon as she was released.
Abbie, of course, dropped the charges, and the rest of the paperwork could be taken care of once they reached Oceanside.
By morning, Skye was able to take fluids well enough to discontinue the IV. And she could speak. Her first words came as an apology.
“Abbie, I’m sorry I took your car and the money. I needed a fix so bad. I couldn’t think straight.”
“I wish you had come to me.”
“I do too, now. When I got to Portland I hooked up with a couple of friends, but when I saw them I couldn’t believe how pathetic they were. I used to be just like them and here I was, planning to go back. I don’t want to live like that, Abs.” She reached for her water and took a sip.
Abbie held the glass for her. “Oh, Skye, I’m so proud of you. But I don’t understand. If you walked away, how did you end up like this?”
“Jamal must have overheard us talking. I started to go and he blocked my way.”
She cringed and Abbie took hold of her hand. “It’s all right now, Skye, he can’t hurt you.”
“Can you give us a last name?” the detective asked.
“No. The only thing anyone called him was Jamal or Cobra.”
“How about a description?”
“He’s a big guy. Shaves his head. He has a tattoo of a Cobra on his—his right arm. It’s scary. He told me I’d better stay put or he’d kill me.”
“Thank goodness someone found you,” Abbie said.
“I know the guy you’re talking about,” the detective said. “We’ll get him. A couple of our narc guys have been working undercover. In fact, you have one of them to thank for getting you here.”
“Tell him I said thank you.”
The detective nodded. “I’ll do that.” He glanced down at his notes. “One more question. I understand you took your sister’s handgun—”
“What?” Skye shook her head. “No. I didn’t.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached for Abbie’s hand. “I took the money—but no gun. I didn’t even know you had one.”
The detective looked to Abbie for confirmation.
“I–it’s still missing.”
“I didn’t.” Panic edged Skye’s voice.
“Shh. I believe you.” Abbie held her close. If Skye hadn’t taken the gun, someone else had. But who and why? Hauling in a deep breath, Abbie set the worry aside. Right now she needed to focus on her sister.
The doctor discharged Skye after lunch. Abbie tucked Skye into the backseat and the two of them rode with Jake, while Tim took his car. They drove in tandem back to the coast.
They had no sooner settled Skye into her room at the Grant house than Jeff showed up with bad news.
“It’s Brent,” Jeff said. “Someone ran him off the road as he was heading home from Cold Creek last night.”
CHAPTER 30
“Is he all right?” Abbie and Jake asked together.
“He’s alive. We only found him a little over an hour ago,” Jeff said. “Peggy called us last night around midnight. Brent worked into the night sometimes, but never that late. We started looking for him. Finally found his truck in the river. He’d managed to climb out through the window and make it to shore.”
Abbie could hardly take it in. She immediately thought about Perkins and the scare he’d given her and Jake on their drive into Portland. “Do you know who did it?”
“Brent said it was someone driving a rusty red pickup. We found it alongside the road about a mile from Cold Creek.”
“Sounds like Floyd Hunter’s old rig,” Jake said.
Abbie’s thoughts jumped back to that day a couple of weeks earlier when she’d left Emma with her parents and driven to Cold Creek to talk with Brent. The pickup had been sitting off to the side of the road.
“It is Floyd’s,” Jeff said. “I talked to him this morning. He told me he hadn’t driven it for a while and seemed surprised when he opened the shed and it was gone. I think he’s telling the truth. Seems strange, though, that someone would go to the trouble of taking Floyd’s old truck.”
“Maybe he’s lying,” Abbie said. “I don’t know if it means anything, but when I first came to Cold Creek, his wife made it clear that they didn’t want the town sold. I got the feeling they’d stop me from buying it if they could.” Abbie also told the men about the pickup being parked near her parents’ home.
Jeff made a notation in his black book. “I’ll keep that in mind, Abbie, but I really doubt that Fred and Elsie would do much more than complain.”
Abbie wasn’t so certain of their innocence, but she let it go.
“This is crazy.” Jake ran a hand through his hair. “Who’d want to hurt Brent?”
“Perkins?” Abbie heard herself say. The two men looked at her, apparently expecting her to go on. “Everything points to him. He was dealing with Barbara before she went missing. He’s staying in Cold Creek, even though it’s no longer on the market. He still wants the property, and maybe he thinks he can muscle his way in.”
“Abbie’s right. Perkins is up to something.” Jake told Jeff about the incident they’d had coming into town. “It’s like he’s putting on the pressure and hoping Abbie will give up.”
“That would be hard to prove, and I can’t make an arrest because you suspect someone.”
“You could question him,” Abbie said.
“And I will.”
Jeff and Jake left together. Jake promised to come back that evening. “We need to talk,” he whispered in her ear as his lips brushed her cheek.
She didn’t have much time to think about his comment or about all the bizarre happenings in Cold Creek. Emma, having awakened from her nap, had climbed into Abbie’s lap to snuggle. The blanket she held was a favorite that Leah had made when Emma was born. The fraying worsened with every wash, but Abbie didn’t have the heart to throw it away.
While she held and rocked her little one, Abbie let her mind wander back to Iowa and the farm and Nate, Daniel, Leah, and Murray. Though Nate’s death and Leah’s hostile takeover had spurred her to leave, there were good memories as well. No one could have been a more loving and doting grandmother than Leah. Having Emma was the one thing Abbie had done right.
Abbie was different now. She had come through the pain of losing Nate and Ashley. And Leah hadn’t pressed charges. There had been no warrant for Abbie’s arrest. She had taken good care of Emma and shown herself to be a worthy mother. Abbie considered calling Leah. The least she could do was to let her know that she and Emma were safe.
Abbie erased the thought. She couldn’t take the chance. On paper, Leah still had custody. Abbie couldn’t bear the thought of losing her baby—not even for a moment. Maybe once her attorney was able to reverse the guardianship issue, maybe then. They all deserved an apology—especially Daniel.
Once Emma had fully awakened, Abbie gathered their things and bid her siblings and parents good-bye, promising to come back the following day. “My offer still stands,” she told Skye. “When you feel up to it, come out to the B&B and help me take care of Emma.”
“I’ll think about it.” Skye apologized again.
Abbie kissed her forehead. “You’re forgiven. Just don’t go back there again.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
After hugs, Abbie headed back to the B&B via Oceanside Hospital, where she picked up a floral arrangement and card to take to Brent. Peggy greeted her as she stepped into the room. “Abbie— I’m glad you came by.”
“I brought flowers. I feel terrible. If Brent hadn’t been working on my project, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Brent frowned. “You have nothing to feel bad about, Abbie. I’ve suspected things weren’t right for a while now, but never thought anything like this would happen.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I thought maybe some kids were just fooling around in the hotel at night. Or maybe a transient needed a place to sleep. Things were out of place, but nothing was taken or damaged that I could see. I locked up every night, but whoever it is must have a key or found another way in.”
“How odd.” Abbie settled into a chair, Emma on her lap. “You’re sure nothing’s been taken?”
“Not that I could see.” Brent winced as he shifted in bed. His casted leg rested on a stack of pillows. “I mentioned it to Jeff and the sheriff. They didn’t think the incidents were connected to being run off the road. I tend to agree. The sheriff thinks old Floyd had a few too many and didn’t even know what happened.”
Abbie didn’t know what to think. She visited with her new friends for a few minutes more and then said her good-byes and drove out to Cold Creek. So many things had happened, and Abbie felt they were all tied together somehow. With Emma tucked into the seat next to her, she mentally ran through the recent series of events, beginning with Barbara’s death. Perkins had claimed to be the first to put down earnest money, but Jake insisted her parents’ offer had come in first. Then, there was the note telling her to leave while she still could.
She’d gone ahead with the purchase and Perkins decided to stay at the B&B. Why? Then, on the way to Portland, Perkins acted as though he meant to force them off the road. Had he wanted to frighten them? Of course, it was possible that he was just a careless driver. She couldn’t forget the article in Travis’s kitchen drawer or the possible connection with the bank robbery. And now, Brent, her contractor, had been run off the road and injured. Add to all of these events Brent’s report about someone doing something in the saloon at night, and she came up with nothing.
What did it all mean? And what could she do about it?
Abbie sighed and turned her attention to Emma, who was chatting with her baby doll. The events were disconcerting at best, but at least she and Emma were still safe.
An older model Desoto was parked in the space Perkins had used. Had another guest checked in?
“Here you go, sweetheart.” She helped Emma out of the car and handed her the doll. “Go on inside. I’ll be right there.”
Abbie grabbed their jackets and the doll suitcase before heading inside. As she pushed open the entry door she heard her daughter speaking to someone. She heard another voice as well. One she hadn’t heard in two years but recognized immediately. She dropped everything and stared, openmouthed, at the man hunkered down in front of Emma.
“Daniel.”
He straightened and held out his arms. Abbie, tears already sliding down her cheeks, ran into them. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I’m so sorry I used you. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Shh. It’s all right.” His arms tightened around her. In the next moment, he lowered his head and kissed her.
CHAPTER 31
Abbie pushed away from him. “What—what was that?”
Daniel dropped his gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
She apparently hadn’t been thinking either. What confused Abbie was not that he had kissed her, but that for one heartfelt moment she had kissed him back.
Any joy she might have felt at seeing him shattered when her senses returned. “How did you… Why are you here?”
He looked down again, reminding Abbie of how quiet and shy he’d always been. She didn’t need an answer. Somehow he’d found her and if he was here, Leah couldn’t be far behind.
“You know why I’m here, Abbie. I came to take Emma back home.”
He spoke so softly Abbie had to strain to hear him. “I can’t let you do that, Daniel.”
He sighed, a pained expression on his face. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. I have a court order.” He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a letter.
She glanced at the legal document, stomach roiling. It had been signed by the same judge who’d given custody to Leah.
“I was supposed to bring a police officer with me.” Daniel folded the letter and placed it back in his pocket. “But I couldn’t do that. I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Talk to me?” She drew Emma to her side and the child wrapped her arms around Abbie’s leg as if she knew and felt Abbie’s alarm. “About what?”
“I don’t want you and Emma to be separated.” Daniel folded his muscular arms across his chest. He reminded her so much of Nate. He had the same build—sinewy and all muscle. His brown eyes seemed to plead with her.
“It’s not going to happen. I have an attorney.”
“I know. That’s how we learned you’d come here. Your attorney was asking questions about the case. A friend of Mom’s at the courthouse got wind of it and—”
“I can’t believe this.” Abbie ran a hand through her hair. So much for discreetness and confidentiality.
“Look, Abbie, if it’s any consolation, I don’t want…” He glanced down at Emma. “Please hear me out. What I have to say could be best for all of us.”
Daniel had been more than a brother-in-law during her years on the farm. He’d so often acted as her confidant, easing away her frustrations and anger with Leah and even at times with Nate. Even though he was Nate’s younger brother, he’d always seemed wiser.
She needed to listen to what he had to say. He deserved that after the way she’d used him.
“This isn’t a good time.” Abbie lifted Emma into her arms. Suddenly shy, Emma buried her face in her mother’s neck.
“No hurry. I’m spending the night here. We can talk later.”
She nodded.
“You look good.”
“So do you.” He hadn’t changed much except for a few crinkles around his eyes.
“Emma sure has grown up.” He smiled and the tension between them seemed to melt away. “Don’t suppose she remembers me.”
Abbie sighed. “She was only two.” Remorse wove itself into her heart. She’d taken Emma from this kind, gentle uncle who had adored her. “Emma, this is your uncle Daniel.”
Emma raised her head.
“Can you say hi?”
She shook her head and hid her face again, but this time she was smiling. Abbie tickled her. “You silly goose.”
Before long, Daniel and Emma had become buddies and Abbie couldn’t help but wonder if, on some deep level, Emma remembered him. Abbie had relaxed some too, and at dinner that night she marveled at how this soft-spoken Iowa farmer had refit himself into their lives. He seemed to harbor no ill feelings toward her, and for that, she was grateful. Everyone at the table—Dawn, Keith, and Cassie—seemed to like Daniel. They talked about his trip and about how long he planned to stay.
“If you want a job,” Keith said, “we could use a hand with the remodeling Abbie has us doing.” He began telling Daniel about Brent’s unfortunate incident. “I’m taking over the house, but I’m sure Travis could use some help over at the hotel.”
It was the most Keith had spoken since Abbie had met him. In fact, she hadn’t seen him that much, with the family taking most of their meals in their private quarters. As he spoke, a strange sense of déjà vu came over her. Her mind went back to the newspaper articles and bits and pieces of information she’d pored over at Barbara’s parents’ home and to the sketch of the bank robber.
Keith caught her lo
oking at him and winked, dispelling her thoughts. “Oops. I’m overstepping my bounds here. Abbie’s the boss.”
Abbie pushed aside her suspicions. Keith resembled the bank robber but then, so did hundreds of other men. “No problem, Keith. Daniel could work with you and Travis if he wants, but he’s probably not going to be here for long.”
“I appreciate the offer. Might take you up on it.” He glanced at Abbie. “There’s nothing I hate worse than having nothing to do.”
Keith nodded. “I’ll show you around tomorrow.”
Keith and Cassie went into their private quarters shortly after dinner so Cassie could finish her homework. Abbie helped Dawn with the dishes, after which she assisted Emma with her bath and tucked her into bed. As she did so, Abbie found herself looking forward to visiting with her brother-in-law. After Nate’s death, he’d been her rock and her best friend.
She remembered all too clearly those days after the funerals.
Leah blamed her for losing the baby, and Abbie had willingly absorbed the guilt. If she’d taken better care of herself, eaten better, maybe she wouldn’t have miscarried. But Nate’s death had left such an enormous hole in her heart she nearly ceased to exist. The doctor had told her that she was not in any way to blame. Her baby girl had had a heart defect and even if Abbie had carried her to term, little Ashley would have died soon after her birth.
Daniel had told her time and again not to take his mother’s words to heart. “It’s her way of grieving,” he’d say. “She’ll get past it.”
But she didn’t. Leah’s disapproval grew more evident each day, and Abbie found herself spending more and more time thinking about going home to her parents. “I’d like to settle down there. Buy a house,” she’d told Leah one day.
“Leave the farm? What about Emma? She needs us.” Leah rolled her eyes and shook her head. “That is by far the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard. You and Emma belong here.”
Strangers in the Night Page 18
