Christmas Haven

by Hope White

  “Spill it,” Morgan said.

  “I don’t want to get you involved in this. I probably shouldn’t have come back. I realize that now.”

  “But you did.

  Why?”

  “I don’t know, I guess…I was scared. I felt threatened so I came home where it’s—”

  “Boring?” he interrupted.

  “Safe.”

  Morgan sipped his coffee. Studied her. It surprised him that she still felt a connection to Port Whisper. He figured she’d put this quaint little town behind her when she’d moved to the city.

  “Judging from your behavior, I’m assuming someone’s after you?” Morgan asked.

  “I think so. After I reported the abduction I noticed someone following me on the way home from work. I’ve also been getting threatening calls. I got one this morning.”

  “Where’s your cell? Maybe we can trace the call.”

  “I threw it in the Sound in case they could trace the GPS signal.”

  “Smart girl.” Thinking defensively would go a long way to keeping her safe.

  “Then there was the break-in at work,” she said.

  “What did they take when they broke into your office?”

  “Files, mostly.”

  “Your files?”

  “Some, but I keep others at home, as well.”

  “Continue.”

  “I felt like I was being followed yesterday, so after a dinner meeting I hopped the ferry. Then I got a text—I see you. A guy I’d given directions to on the street was looking at his phone, then he looked at me and smiled.” She closed her eyes and shuddered.

  Morgan wanted to slide into the booth next to her and put his arm around her. He took another swig of coffee.

  “You were running away from him on the ferry. That’s when you tripped and fell?” Morgan said.

  “Yes.” She glanced at him. “And you were there.” A content smile played at the corner of her lips.

  He ignored it. “Do you think he’s a part of this?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Neither did Morgan, but as a precaution he’d kept a close watch on his rearview mirror last night to make sure no one had followed them from the ferry. “Supposing someone is after you, what do they want?” Morgan asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Jules,” he said, in a warning tone.

  “I really don’t, Morgan. I don’t even know who these people are. I can only guess it’s related to the boys.”

  “Tell me a little about them.”

  “I can’t. It’s a confidentiality thing.”

  “Tough. You need to confide in me so I can save your life.”

  There, he said it. He knew the endgame in these types of situations was often murder. One of her clients was missing, perhaps dead, and another had been kidnapped right in front of her. What did she think was going to happen if the mysterious “they” found her?

  “I really need to catch that bus,” she said.

  “For where?”

  “Port Angeles.”

  “What happens when you get to Port Angeles?”

  “I’ll get a job, I guess.”

  “What about your counseling job?”

  “I left town without telling anyone, so I’m sure I’ll be out of a job by the time I get back. If I ever get back.”

  “You can’t run from your problems, Jules. They always find you.”

  She stirred cream into her coffee, circling the edges of the cup with her spoon. Morgan opened three packets of sugar and poured them into her mug.

  She cracked a smile. “You remembered.”

  “I remember a lot of things.” Like her hurtful words when she’d tried to break it off with him. He’d thought he’d talked her out of it. He hadn’t.

  “What do you remember about the night you witnessed the abduction?” he asked.

  “I really don’t want to—”

  “Look, you’ll never outrun these guys and they won’t stop until they get what they want. We need to figure out what that is.”

  “I think they want me dead.”

  Sure, he’d thought the same thing, but hearing her say it made it more real. He leaned back in the booth, fighting the panic knotting his gut. “Why do you say that?”

  “I filed the missing-persons report for Andy. I witnessed Dane being abducted.”

  “But the police hit a dead end. They’ve closed that file. No, there’s something more going on here. What is it?”

  “I don’t know, okay!” She closed her eyes.

  Anna poked her head around the corner. “Need a refill on those coffees?”

  “We’re good, thanks,” Morgan said.

  “I’m sorry,” Julie whispered.

  A part of him wished she were apologizing for abandoning him instead of the outburst.

  “Look, if I’m going to keep you safe, you need to be completely honest,” he said.

  She glanced at him with fear in her eyes. Why? What else was she hiding?

  “Do you have any files with you now?” he asked.

  “Yes, in my backpack.”

  “Good, we’ll start there.”

  “Start what?”

  “Trying to piece this together.”

  “I don’t want to involve you in this.”

  “Why, because you care about me?” He wanted to snap the words back the minute they left his lips. He wasn’t cruel by nature, but he was frustrated that he might not be able to protect her because she was fighting him every step of the way.

  Silence stretched between them. He clenched his jaw and stared out the diner window.

  “Morgan?” she said.

  He glanced at her. “I am sorry,” she said.

  He knew she wasn’t referring to the current threat. Tough. He couldn’t deal with that right now. “Let’s focus on the present situation. Forget the past. Ready to go?” He slid out of the booth and waited.

  “Sure.”

  He dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table and started for the door. As he opened it for her, she hesitated and looked at him with those enchanting golden eyes. “If you figure out how to forget the past let me know, because I never have.”

  She strolled past him onto the sidewalk.

  As he watched her step to the curb and glance across town, he realized he needed to solve this case fast so he could put her on a ferry and send her to Seattle before he lost touch with reality and started dreaming again.

  Dreaming of a charmed life with his high-school sweetheart.

  Julie had wondered if leaving him would cause Morgan’s bad-boy tendencies to surface. When Mom told her Morgan had joined the service, earned his college degree and returned to become police chief, Julie figured he’d moved on and conquered the darkness.

  Sitting across from his desk, she realized something else had changed: Morgan had become a master at closing himself off. It was as if he flipped a switch from charismatic chief to hardened detective. He was hyper-focused on solving the case the Seattle P.D. had been unable to get traction on. Not because Morgan was worried about Julie, but, she guessed, because he wanted to solve it so he could keep his citizens safe, and get Julie out of his life.

  He hated her that much.

  “Andy Trotter was a dealer? Of what?” he asked, leafing through a file.

  She felt guilty showing him the boys’ personal files but she knew he was right: the more information he had, the better chance he had of piecing together some answers.

  He glanced up, waiting for a response. His eyes grew dark blue and intense. Cold.

  “Crack cocaine, mostly. Some heroin,” she said.

  “Which means he worked for some pretty bad people. But the kid was homeless? Didn’t dealing give him enough money to live?”

  “The kids get addicted themselves and end up spending their money on their habit.”

  He fingered a sheet of paper. “I realize dealing drugs can be deadly, but why abduct a kid?”

  “I didn’t see Andy being
abducted. He just disappeared.”

  “Tell me about Dane’s abduction.” He leaned back in his chair and tapped a pencil on his desk.

  He was in cop mode, questioning her like any other witness.

  “I was going to one of the flophouses Dane frequented. When I turned the corner, I spotted two men shoving him into the back of a van. I called out—”

  “You what?” He leaned forward.

  “Instinct, okay?”

  “Did they see you?”

  “I’m not sure. Anyway, I dialed 9-1-1 and watched the van tear off. I’ll never forget the sound of Dane’s voice screaming to let him go.”

  “Did it sound like he knew them? Did he call them by name?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Think, Jules. Close your eyes and replay the scene in your head.”

  With a sigh, she did as he asked. It had been a cool, blustery day in Seattle, and when she’d turned the corner she was fastening the top button on her coat.

  Dane cried out, snapping her attention to the alley. She froze at the sight of two men practically ripping off Dane’s jacket to subdue him as he kicked and screamed.

  Damn it, let me go! I didn’t do it, Henson. I didn’t do it!

  Julie snapped her eyes open. “Henson, he called one of the guys Henson.”

  “Good. It’s a start.” He picked up the phone.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Detective Beck. You remember Ethan? He’s a Seattle cop.”

  “Oh, right.”

  She wished she would have known that before. She always liked Ethan, one of the Three Musketeers, as they’d called themselves growing up. Ethan and his friend Jake would vacation in Port Whisper every summer, and Morgan always looked forward to seeing them. As teenagers Morgan and Julie saw less of the guys from the other side of the water. She was glad Morgan had kept in touch with Ethan.

  “I’ve got a name,” Morgan said into the phone. “Henson. Yeah…no…” He glanced at Julie. “I doubt it. Sure, thanks.” He hung up and eyed Julie. “He’s going to look into it. In the meantime we need to figure out a way to keep you safe.”

  “What about my mom?”

  “Need to keep her safe, too.”

  “She’ll want to lock me up and not let me go back to Seattle.”

  “Is that so bad?”

  “Look, I know you love it here, but—”

  “All I’m saying is, a few weeks off or even a month away from your work could be a good thing. I can see it’s sucking the energy out of you.”

  “I was fine until Andy disappeared and Dane was abducted.”

  Morgan quirked a brow.

  “What?” she said.

  “How long have you been at this?”

  “Six years.”

  “When was the last time you took a vacation?”

  “Last spring.”

  “Really? Where’d you go?”

  She hesitated and he smirked.

  “Omaha,” she snapped.

  “For a vacation?”

  “Okay, fine. I went for a conference.”

  “I rest my case.”

  “I wish you’d get off my case.” Probably because he was right. Her job was sucking the life from her and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  “Let’s talk about your safety,” Morgan said. “We should get you out of your mom’s house.”

  “What? No.”

  “It’s temporary. You can stay at Dad’s place. I’ve been working on it.”

  “No, I couldn’t—”

  “Sure you could.” He scribbled something on a piece of paper.

  “Mom won’t agree.”

  “She will when we explain the situation.”

  Julie sighed. “I hate involving her in this.”

  “Too late, you already have.”

  Anger rose in her chest. “Stop doing that.”

  “What?”

  “Making me feel guilty for coming back and bringing my work baggage with me. I thought I’d covered my tracks.”

  “That’s not what I’m trying to do.”

  “No? You want me to feel bad about coming back, you’re punishing me for—”

  “I’m stating the truth—you landed in trouble. You got scared and came back to the one place where you feel safe. That’s okay, Jules, but you have to forgive yourself for coming home.”

  She was speechless, didn’t know how to respond to that one. “You’re right, I guess.”

  Their eyes locked and she couldn’t bring herself to break the connection. He wasn’t trying to make her feel worse than she already did. He was trying to stop her from beating herself up.

  As only Morgan could do.

  His desk phone rang and he grabbed it, breaking the connection between them. She took a deep breath, realizing she’d been holding it.

  “Chief Wright,” he said in a deep, clipped voice. “That was fast. What?” Morgan leaned back in his chair and ran his hand slowly down his face.

  She knew that expression, one of utter frustration.

  “Thanks for letting me know.” He dropped the receiver onto the cradle.

  “What?” she pushed.

  “The boy you reported missing, Andy Trotter?”

  “Yeah.”

  “They think they found his body in an alley.”

  FOUR

  Julie sucked in a quick breath and gripped the edge of Morgan’s desk. She couldn’t quite process what he’d just said. Andy was dead?

  “Jules, breathe.” Morgan came around to her side of the desk and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Look at me.”

  She glanced up through teary eyes.

  “It’s not your fault,” he said.

  He knew her too well, knew she was going to that place where she felt responsible, felt as if somehow she could have saved the teenager.

  As if she should have saved Suzy.

  “I knew he was struggling,” she said. “But I didn’t think he’d end up…dead.”

  “Come on, we need to get you home and talk to your mom.” They started for the door. “Ethan asked if you could ID the body.”

  She absently nodded and must have looked upset, because Morgan squeezed her hand. She glanced into his eyes.

  “I’ll be right beside you,” he said.

  “Thanks. I just… Thanks, I guess.”

  They went outside and got into his truck. Her heart swelled with grief as she gradually accepted Andy’s death. It was her job to save these kids, stop them from being sucked into the vortex of the drug world. Sure, she’d acknowledged the fact she wouldn’t be able to save all of them, but Andy was special. She fingered the butterfly locket around her neck, a gift from Andy for her birthday. Even though it had been on the wrong day, the wrong month, he said he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss it, and presented her with the silver locket. He’d even shown her a receipt to prove he didn’t steal it, that he’d legitimately bought it at a flea market.

  Julie didn’t make a habit of accepting gifts from her clients, but made an exception in Andy’s case. He really wanted to get clean and live a healthy life, find a job and have a family. It seemed important to him that she accept his gift. She swallowed back the ball rising in her throat.

  “Jules?”

  “Hmm?” she answered, gazing out the window.

  “That’s a nice locket. Who gave it to you? A boyfriend?”

  “I don’t have time to date. Andy gave it to me.”

  “It really isn’t your fault. You have to believe that.”

  She glanced at Morgan. He offered a sympathetic smile.

  “I know that, intellectually, but emotionally…” She shook her head and glanced back out the window. It was bad enough that she’d been unable to save Andy, but worse, Morgan witnessed her failure, making it that much more painful.

  She’d abandoned Morgan to save teenagers and for what? Andy’s body was on a slab somewhere, his dreams and hopes dead with him.

  Morgan reached over and placed hi
s hand on top of hers. The compassionate gesture irritated her. She didn’t want his compassion; she didn’t deserve it.

  “You give these kids hope, Jules, a way out, but it’s up to them to follow the light.”

  She wanted the resentful Morgan back, the one who’d remind her what a failure she was. A flurry of anger welled in her chest. She wanted to hit something or scream.

  “He’s at peace, with our Lord in heaven,” Morgan consoled.

  “You sure about that?” she challenged, ripping her hand from his. “I mean, if God didn’t see fit to care about him in life, what makes you think He’ll welcome him into heaven, huh?”

  Morgan didn’t answer, probably a good thing, since anything he said would only infuriate her more.

  “Looks like your mom’s got company,” he said, pulling up the driveway.

  Julie glanced out the front window and recognized her sister’s VW Bug. Not good. Julie didn’t want to go into the house like this, an emotional wreck. She’d always been the good-natured child, grounded and ambitious, while Lana struggled with moodiness and disorganization. If Mom and Lana saw her like this, her emotions a tangled mess, it would freak them out.

  She shot a glance at Morgan, who pulled up and parked in front of the house. Why wasn’t he freaked by her outburst?

  “Lana will be happy to see you,” Morgan said.

  Julie got out of the car, but headed in the opposite direction of the house.

  “Jules,” he said, following her. “I thought we agreed, you aren’t running away.”

  “I need a minute—can I just have a minute alone to get my head together before I go in there?” She kept marching, but he didn’t fall back. She stopped and planted her hands on her hips. “Alone means alone.”

  “Not happening, not until this thing is resolved.”

  “This isn’t high school, Morgan. I’m not your responsibility.” She almost choked on the words as they left her lips. The pained expression on his face made her turn her back to him. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

  He touched her shoulder again, only this time the contact dissolved her angst slightly. Every time he touched her she simultaneously felt joy and pain, the two warring for victory.

  “You’re upset about Andy,” he said.

  She jerked around to face him. “Which doesn’t justify lashing out at you in such a mean-spirited way.”