Christmas Haven

by Hope White

  “What about her purse? Keys?”

  Ashley’s eyes popped open. “Her backpack was on the floor. She doesn’t carry a purse, but she doesn’t go anywhere without her pack. Oh, do you think someone—”

  “Let’s focus on finding her.”

  “I feel bad, like it’s my fault, like I did something wrong.”

  “You didn’t. You did great. You got help.”

  She nodded and the door whipped open. Sketch ran to Ashley and hugged her.

  “Sorry,” he said to Morgan, “I couldn’t wait.”

  “No problem. Make sure she gets home.”

  Morgan went back inside and motioned to Julie. She joined him outside and they got into his truck.

  “I’ll take you home,” he said.

  “No. I’m coming with you.”

  Pulling out of the lot, he said, “This is unwise.”

  “It’s my sister, Morgan. I’m not running anymore.”

  Morgan’s cell rang and he hit the speakerphone. “Chief Wright.”

  “It’s Scott. The place is trashed, all right, but I can’t tell if anything’s missing.”

  “And the boat?”

  “Haven’t checked yet. I’m still in the office.”

  “Julie and I will be there in a minute.”

  Morgan ended the call and eyed Julie. “Don’t worry, your sister’s a black belt. They’re probably going to be sorry they messed with her in the first place. That’s to say, if anyone has messed with her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She could have just taken off, forgotten something and had to run out or—”

  “Her office was trashed, Morgan, but thanks for trying.”

  They found a parking spot in front of Stone Soup. Julie raced into the office, while Morgan marched toward the water. The dock was empty, which meant someone had stolen her boat and taken her with them or she’d decided on a night tour for her own personal enjoyment. Wishful thinking.

  The most likely scenario was that someone had taken both Lana and the boat. Which meant a ransom call should be expected.

  Scott and Julie came outside.

  “The boat’s gone,” Morgan said.

  Suddenly Julie’s phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Julie, it’s Lana.”

  “Where are you? We’ve been worried—”

  “My cell signal is weak…had to…idiot…failure…and…someone’s here.”

  “Where, here?”

  “On…island…”

  The line went dead. “Lana!”

  Turning to Morgan she said, “I think she’s on Sahalish Island. She was breaking up. But she said ‘someone’s here.’ We gotta get over there.”

  “Maybe we can get a Coast Guard cruiser to help us out,” Scott suggested.

  “It’ll take too long,” Morgan said.

  “Chief!” Scooner said rushing up to the dock out of breath. “What’s the status?”

  “We think Lana’s stuck on Sahalish Island.”

  “Let’s go.” Scooner motioned them toward his slip.

  “I don’t like involving civilians,” Morgan said.

  “I was a Navy SEAL. Don’t think of myself as a civilian. Come on.”

  Morgan wanted to order Julie to stay back, but he knew she’d refuse. Besides, if she stayed back, who would protect her?

  They climbed aboard Scooner’s boat and Julie squeezed Morgan’s hand, her eyes filling with anguish.

  “It’ll be okay, honey,” he said, and hugged her.

  Scooner took off for the island and Morgan wrapped his arm around Julie’s shoulder, holding her close. What was only a fifteen-minute ride seemed to take hours. The closer they got, the more tension he felt drifting off Julie’s body.

  She was leaning into him and it felt right, more right than any connection he’d felt to another woman.

  He refused to believe it was transference. This connection was a lot more than a woman being vulnerable and depending emotionally on her protector.

  Morgan played out in his head what would happen once they got there: he’d leave Julie with Scooner on the boat while he and Scott searched for Lana. Julie wouldn’t be happy with that decision, but he couldn’t worry about what would make her happy.

  He was committed to what would keep her safe.

  Being former military, Scooner was no stranger to firearms. If he didn’t have one on the boat, Morgan would loan him his second piece, currently tucked away in his ankle holster. Some would think the second firearm was overkill for a small town, but old habits died hard, and it was habit from working in a bigger law-enforcement agency.

  They pulled up on the other side of the dock from Lana’s boat.

  “Scooner, you packin’?” Morgan asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Scott and Morgan hopped off, then tied up the boat. “Julie, you stay back with Scooner.”

  “But—”

  “No arguments,” Morgan interrupted her, then looked at Scooner. “I’m depending on you to protect her.”

  “Will do, Chief.”

  “Let’s go,” Morgan said to Scott. “Morgan, wait.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. She looked at him with pleading eyes. He got the message: be careful.

  “We’ll be right back,” Morgan said.

  They headed up the trail, scanning the surrounding woods. Morgan pulled out his flashlight to illuminate the path in front of them.

  “Think we should call out her name?” Scott asked.

  “No. She may not be alone.”

  They climbed up the trail to an overlook, giving them a complete view of the island. Although it was night, the full moon lit the surrounding area, giving Morgan and Scott a clear view of the west side of the island.

  “Well, we know she’s here,” Scott said.

  The sound of a motor echoed from the east side of the island.

  “Let’s go,” Morgan said.

  Pulling out his gun, he and Scott raced down the trail through a heavily wooded area to the other side. Just as they hit a clearing, Morgan spotted a boat speeding off.

  “Think they’ve got her?” Scott said.

  “Help!” a female voice echoed from behind them.

  Morgan and Scott spun around.

  “Lana!” Morgan called out.

  “Where’s it coming from?” Scott said.

  “Somebody, help me!”

  “Back this way,” Morgan said.

  They rushed back into the woods. “Lana, keep calling out so we can find you!” Scott yelled.

  “By the Quinault rock!”

  Morgan knew that landmark and its history. “Come on,” he directed Scott and raced to the rock, heart racing, brain spinning.

  They burst out of the woods and Morgan could see the Quinault rock a hundred feet away. But no Lana.

  “Lana!” he called.

  “Down here!”

  “Other side of the rock,” Scott said.

  They sprinted and Morgan grabbed Scott just before he fell into an opening in the ground.

  “What the…?” Scott said.

  They peered over the edge into a five-foot hole. Morgan aimed his flashlight down below and spotted Lana, face smudged, knees hugged to her chest.

  “I fell in a hole. I’m an idiot.”

  Morgan holstered his gun and handed the flashlight to Scott. Kneeling, Morgan reached down for Lana. “Give me your hand.”

  “All right, give me a sec to stand up. I think I sprained my ankle.”

  “Take your time,” Morgan said. Relief surged through his body. So, this wasn’t related to Julie’s situation. Yet who was the guy in the motorboat? He’d deal with that later.

  “Ow, ow, ow,” Lana said, wobbling on one foot while babying the other. “Okay, ready.”

  Morgan reached down, gripped her hand and pulled. Scott kneeled beside him and grabbed Lana by the belt and together they hoisted her to safety.

  She collapsed on her back. “Man, am I glad to see you guys.”
<
br />   “What happened?” Morgan asked, as Scott helped her stand.

  “I couldn’t find Edgar, my phone, and I needed it for tomorrow. I remembered the last place I saw it was on the island, so I came back to find it.”

  “Your office was a mess.”

  Lana nibbled at her lower lip. “Ah, I’m so embarrassed. I had a tantrum.”

  Scott eyed her.

  “I was frustrated because I couldn’t find my phone and knew I was forgetting something,” she continued. “I know, immature.”

  With an arm behind her knees, Morgan picked her up and carried her down the trail.

  “Ooooh, Julie’s gonna be jealous.”

  “How did you fall into the hole?” Morgan redirected.

  “It’s stupid, really.”

  “Tell me anyway.”

  “I thought I heard something and got spooked. You’d think I’d be used to the sounds of wildlife by now. Anyway, I took off running and didn’t see the hole. I mean, what kind of animal digs a five-foot hole?”

  “Lana!” Julie cried out, running up the wooden dock. “What happened?”

  “I fell. I’m fine. I think I sprained my ankle.”

  Morgan set her safely into the tour boat. “I’ll drive Lana’s boat back to Port Whisper and take her to the emergency room.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Julie said, then turned to Scooner. “Thank you so much.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “I’ll ride with Scooner,” Scott said.

  Morgan untied Lana’s boat, got aboard and headed for Port Whisper.

  “What were you thinking coming out here in the dark?” Julie said.

  “Hey, it’s a full moon. It’s not that bad. And I needed my phone. It’s my brain.”

  As the sisters talked about the evening’s events—the Community Cares meeting and Lana’s mishap on the island— Morgan couldn’t get the sound of the motorboat out of his mind. He could rationalize someone coming out to fish, but a visit to the island at night? It didn’t make sense. Had someone followed Lana to the island in the hopes of taking her hostage to get at Julie?

  He’d add that to the list of things to investigate.

  “I was so freaked out,” Julie said. “I hated waiting on the boat with Scooner while Morgan and Scott went to find you. I felt so helpless and all I could do was…” Her voice trailed off.

  “What?” Lana rubbed Julie’s shoulder.

  “I found myself praying.”

  “Well, it worked.” Lana smiled and hugged her sister.

  Morgan focused the nighttime lights of Port Whisper as his heart flooded with hope. She prayed for her sister. Julie had come to Port Whisper a woman without faith. Morgan said a silent prayer of thanks, for opening her heart to God.

  Julie stayed close to her sister during the examination and diagnosis of her ankle. It was a bad sprain and she’d have to use crutches, but it could have been so much worse. They decided to take Lana back to Morgan’s dad’s house and have her sleep on the couch so Julie and Mom could take care of her.

  Morgan was unusually quiet, and the next morning she decided to ask what was bothering him. She wandered into the kitchen where Mom made breakfast.

  “Good morning.” Julie gave her mother a hug.

  “How’d you sleep, sweetie?”

  “Pretty good, considering.”

  “A lot of excitement last night.”

  “More than I’m used to. Where’s Lana?”

  “Up and gone already. Can you believe it? She was determined to open the snack shop.”

  “Her ankle must be hurting.”

  “She doesn’t show it.”

  Julie admired her sister for not missing a beat, for her determination not to let anything throw her off track. It inspired her to refocus on her own situation to discover who was threatening her and how to stop it.

  “Where’s Morgan?” Julie asked.

  “Went to check in at work. He’ll be back. Wouldn’t miss cinnamon French toast.”

  Mom and Julie sat down to breakfast. It amazed Julie how the taste of Mom’s cooking could make everything right. Home. Family. She realized how much she’d missed this feeling in the past ten years.

  A few minutes later Morgan came into the kitchen.

  “Ladies,” he greeted.

  “Morgan, let me fix you a plate.” Mom stood.

  “I’ll get it,” he said.

  “Nonsense. Sit down and talk to us.”

  Morgan sat down next to Julie and Mom slid a plate of French toast in front of him, along with a mug of hot coffee. “Busy morning already?”

  “Just wrapping some things up.”

  “Wrapping up?” Julie asked.

  “Work stuff, boring.”

  Julie sensed something was up.

  “Well, I’d better change into my work clothes,” Mom said. “Caroline’s coming over and we’re starting on the kitchen. I hope you trust us, Morgan.”

  “You’ve done great work on the living room so far.”

  “I’m glad you like it. And after the kitchen we’re going to decorate for Christmas, so either you tell us where the decorations are or we’ll all pitch in and use our own.”

  Morgan sighed. “You win. There are two boxes marked Christmas out in the garage by the workbench.”

  “Perfect.” Mom left them alone and Julie turned to Morgan.

  “What’s going on? You seemed, I don’t know, unusually quiet last night.”

  Morgan put down his fork. “A few things concern me about the events of last night. Mostly the motorboat Scott and I heard speeding away from the island. It’s unusual for someone to be out there at night.”

  “You think it’s related to my case?”

  “Not sure. Scott and I went back early this morning to check things out. The hole your sister fell into had been camouflaged, which is why she didn’t see it.”

  “Was there anything down there?”

  “No, which is even more puzzling. I’ve contacted the Feds. My gut tells me this could be related to smuggling something in from Canada, storing it on the island temporarily, then distributing it.” His phone rang and Morgan picked up. “Hey, Scott. Yep…try the bottom drawer of the file cabinet. Don’t worry about that now. You need to focus on administrative tasks. Yep, anytime.”

  “What was that about?” Julie said.

  Morgan sighed and leaned back in his chair. Julie didn’t like this expression. She sensed he was preparing to give her bad news.

  “Morgan?”

  “The way the grapevine works in this town, you’re going to find out soon enough.” He shot her a serious look. “I’m taking a temporary leave of absence and Scott’s taking over.”

  Julie leaned forward. “What? Why?”

  “The mayor’s been on my case, and he’s right—I’m distracted. It’s best that I hand the reins over to someone else for a little while.”

  “Morgan, you can’t—”

  “It’s done.”

  “Because of me. No, I won’t be responsible for you losing your job.” She stood and paced the kitchen.

  Morgan got up and went to her, but she continued her pace to keep a safe distance between them.

  “I’m not losing my job. I’m just stepping back for a few weeks. I’ve been considering a leave since Dad was hospitalized. It’s not a new concept for me.”

  She pulled away from him. “See, this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I’ve messed up your life, your dream. It’s not right.”

  “It’s what I need to do right now. You are my priority.”

  “I’m just going to hurt you again, ruin your career and abandon you.”

  Morgan took her hand and pulled her close. “Are you, Julie, really?”

  He leaned forward and kissed her. A gentle, sweet kiss that made her want to cry. It felt so right to be held like this, to be kissed with such tenderness. She wanted to break away, to tell him he was making a huge mistake, but something stopped her. She was enjoying the kiss a
little too much.

  Suddenly her phone rang. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. “You’d better answer that. Your sister might need you.”

  Gathering her thoughts, she went to her purse and pulled out the phone. “Hello?”

  “Miss Burns! They’re gonna kill me!”

  THIRTEEN

  “Who is this?”

  “Dane. I escaped but they got Andy and now they’re after me.”

  “How did you get this number?”

  “From Mr. Pratt.”

  She gripped the phone tighter. “Where are you?”

  “Seattle, north side.”

  “It’s Dane,” she told Morgan.

  “Have him call Ethan.”

  “Dane, call Detective Ethan Beck. I’ll give you his—”

  “No, no cops! They’ll kill Andy.”

  “But—”

  “Help me, you gotta help.”

  “Can you get to the Edmonds Ferry?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Take the ferry over to Kingston and we’ll pick you up.”

  Morgan waved her off, but she ignored him. Dane was calling for help. She wouldn’t turn him away.

  “I’m so scared,” he croaked.

  “Take a deep breath. Focus on catching a bus to the ferry terminal. You’ll get to Kingston before us, so just wait in the park.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you involved in this.”

  “In what? What is this about?”

  “I gotta go.”

  “Dane? Dane!”

  Silence echoed back at her. Julie sighed, beating back the worry in her chest.

  “I wish you hadn’t told him to take the ferry,” Morgan said.

  “You should have heard him. He was out of his mind, terrified. What was I supposed to do?”

  “It could be a setup. Whoever is after you could have enlisted the boy’s help to find you.”

  “Dane would never do that. He’s in trouble and has no one to turn to. It’s my responsibility to make sure he’s okay.”

  “What did he say, exactly?”

  “That he’d escaped, but he didn’t say from where.”

  “But he wouldn’t speak with Ethan?”