Max met Jordan’s stare head-on. “I’m doing what I can to help.”
Rachel entered the crowded office. “Detective Randall is here.”
Hope flared in Erica’s eyes. “Show her in, please.”
“What’s she doing here?” Brandon asked as Rachel went to get the detective. His color had paled just since entering the office. Erica must have noticed as she waved him into a chair. “Sit down before you fall down.”
Brandon didn’t argue.
Jordan took the other seat and left Max standing.
“Katie’s here because someone sent a letter with a rather cryptic message,” Erica explained. “I want her to take a look at it.”
“What kind of message?” Brandon asked.
Max’s phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. “It’s the guy from the construction company,” he told Erica. “I’ll take this outside.”
Jordan watched Max very closely as he left the room. Yup, the guy definitely had his own ideas about Erica.
Ideas that Max had to admit he didn’t like one bit.
*
Erica was torn. She wanted to hear the conversation between Max and the man on the phone, yet she knew her obligation was to Katie. She forced a smile. “Come on in.”
“Good to see you again, Erica.”
“You, too.” Erica stepped back into her office. Jordan and Brandon both rose and offered the detective a seat. Katie took one look at Brandon and chose Jordan’s. When her brother simply sat back down without protest, Erica knew he was in pain.
“What’s this about someone leaving you a nasty note?” asked the detective.
Erica filled the group in on the phone call and the note. Brandon’s jaw tightened as Jordan scowled. “Should have told us about this earlier.”
“I didn’t have time.” She looked at Katie. “I think this means that Molly could still be alive. Don’t you?” She could hear the desperation in her voice, but didn’t care.
Katie frowned. “But, Erica, you’ve been actively searching for Molly since she disappeared. What’s different about the search now?”
“I think this means I must be getting closer. Somebody must be feeling more threatened than they have in the past.”
“About what?” Katie asked.
“Lydia Powell, maybe? I think she may know something and someone doesn’t want me to find her. Maybe they’re warning me off trying to find Lydia.” She hated to say the words out loud, especially since Max thought his sister was completely innocent. And yet, what else was she supposed to think?
Max came back into the office and leaned against the wall. Erica picked up the note and handed it to Katie. “Will you see if you can get any prints off this?”
Katie pulled a glove from her back pocket and snapped it onto her hand. She slid the note from the envelope, read it, then returned it. “I’ll see what I can do. No promises, though.”
“I know.”
Katie paused, looked at Erica and said, “It’s okay to hope, but don’t pin your emotions on this, okay?”
Erica pursed her lips then nodded. She knew Katie was right. But still, it was hard to squash that little seedling of wild hope that wanted to sprout like a wildflower.
*
Katie left and Brandon said, “I think you need to cool it on the search for Molly. Let Jordan and me take over.”
Erica snorted. “Not likely.”
“Seriously, sis. This person may not be fooling around. What if you keep searching and Molly ends up dead?”
Erica bit her lip. It was that very question that had been tearing her up. “I think if the person wanted Molly dead, he would have killed her long before now.”
“Assuming the person we’re talking about is Molly,” Brandon said.
Erica sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Exactly.”
Max asked, “Are you up to visiting the construction site?”
“Yes, of course. When?”
He glanced at his watch. “Around two this afternoon.”
“I can do that.”
“We can grab a bite in the meantime.”
“I can’t. Unless you want to help me at the homeless shelter—I’m serving lunch today.”
He stared at her for a moment. “I’ll take a rain check.”
Sadness pressed in on her but she forced a smile. Maybe Max just wasn’t ready yet. “I understand.”
“I’ll sit outside and make sure you’re safe while you’re there.”
Jordan stepped forward and put a hand on Erica’s arm. “Let me go with Max to the construction site. No need to put yourself through the stress of it.”
“No.” She moved away from Jordan. “Molly’s my daughter. If you want to help find her, I welcome it, but I won’t stop searching myself. You know I’ve got to go to the site.” She softened her tone. “But thanks for the offer.”
Jordan’s nostrils flared, but he backed away. He studied her for a moment longer, compassion in his angry gaze.
At least she hoped it was compassion and not pity. As Erica walked from the office, she felt Max’s gentle hand on her lower back, ushering her down the hall. She also felt Jordan’s stare like two lasers boring into the back of her head.
Jordan didn’t like Max, and that concerned Erica a bit because she respected the man. But she had a feeling his dislike was more about Max’s proximity to Erica than about Max himself. And the bottom line was, Max was going to help her find Molly, and right now, that was all that mattered.
*
Max felt awful. He couldn’t get Erica’s disappointed look out of his mind.
He’d followed her to the shelter simply to ensure her safety, walking her inside to make sure everything looked normal, in her eyes at least. Now he stood against the wall and watched her interact with person after person, smiling encouragement with each dip of her serving ladle.
He could understand her wanting to help the shelter’s children, but the adults all looked shifty and lazy to his experienced eye. And yet he felt convicted for judging. He’d had a rough childhood, but he’d never been homeless. Was he wrong to judge them all against Tracy’s killer?
Yes.
He shifted, uncomfortable with the prodding of his heart, his spirit.
He kept his phone close and his weapon closer. And yet he felt compelled to pray. Lord, I may be wrong here. Help me change my heart.
The delicious aroma of the food couldn’t quite mask the odor of unwashed bodies. Max noticed it didn’t seem to bother Erica.
Max’s gaze landed on two men at a table in the far corner. They both leaned forward, their conversation quiet. Max’s cop instincts hummed. He was willing to let God change his heart, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be on the alert for trouble.
The one on the left sported a shaggy black beard and a long, dirty, tan overcoat. The one across from him looked a little better. At least he’d found a razor sometime in the past couple of days.
Together they watched Erica.
Max watched them.
When Erica walked over to their table, he straightened and moved closer to hear their conversation.
“Hello, Jed. Anything else I can get you gentlemen?”
They shook their heads and she moved on to the next table, treating the patrons like they were in a high-class restaurant. Her kindness floored him; her compassion for others stirred his heart in a way he couldn’t name.
Max looked back at the two men in the corner. They were tracking Erica with their eyes. Finally, the one on the left rose and sauntered from the building. Max watched him go, suspicion crawling all over him. If he’d still been a cop, he would have called for someone in the area to follow him just to allay his concerns.
The other man stood and also slipped out the door. Max relaxed a fraction, then tensed again.
Would they be waiting for her when she left the shelter?
What if she ended up just like Tracy?
He stepped outside and scanned the area. Nothing seemed out of p
lace. Nothing alarming. No men waiting to ambush Erica on her way to her car.
Nothing to worry about.
And yet he did.
He didn’t like the way the two men had paid such close attention to her.
He went back inside.
“Well? What do you think?” Erica asked him.
Max shrugged, unable to admit he might have been wrong, especially in light of what he’d just seen. “Everyone seems calm, friendly, glad to have a hot meal to put in their bellies.”
She smiled. “They are. For the most part. They may begrudge the fact they get that meal at the shelter, but they’re not going to turn it down.”
He paused, then asked, “Who were those two men sitting in the corner? The one with the beard and the one with the red ball cap?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure who the guy in the red cap was, but that was Jed Barnes with the beard. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just wondering.”
Erica nodded in the direction of a young family. “That’s Bill and Mary Lawson, and their daughter Claudette. He lost his job eight months ago. She never graduated high school, but was working on her GED when they were foreclosed on. They take turns taking care of Claudette while the other person hunts for a job. They come here to eat, to hear any news of possible job leads and to regroup.”
He had to admit the little family looked about as dangerous as Erica herself.
Erica nodded to her left. “And see those two women? They’re sisters who were evicted from their apartment when they couldn’t pay the bills anymore. They lost their husbands within days of each other. Neither woman has worked a day in their lives because they stayed home with their children. Children who won’t have anything to do with them now.”
She went on, pointing out different individuals and giving him background. Against his will, he felt himself softening. And he also felt his heart opening up to Erica in a way that felt out of his control.
Erica touched his arm. “Tessa is waving to me. Let me see what she wants and then I’ll be ready to leave.”
She started to turn and he grabbed her hand. She looked up at him, a question in her eye. “I know we’re on opposite sides of the fence as far as Lydia is concerned, but I want you to know that I think you’re a very special woman.”
A bright flush appeared on Erica’s cheeks. “Well…thank you.” He smiled at her flustered thanks and released her hand.
As he watched her walk away, he had to resist the urge to grab her back, wrap his arms around her and keep her from harm.
Erica twisted the tie on the last garbage bag and opened the back door of the shelter’s kitchen. She stepped outside to place the bag in the can, and the door slammed shut behind her.
She whirled and grabbed the knob. Locked. “Of course,” she muttered. She knocked and waited.
Most of the volunteers had already left, but she and Tessa and a couple of others had stayed to clean up the dining area and the kitchen. She pounded on the door this time. “Hey! Let me in, will you?”
Where was Max?
“Tess?” she called, her voice starting to sound panicked even to her own ears.
Gravel crunched behind her.
She spun and saw nothing but the back alley with the tall fence. The Dumpster loomed to her left.
Her stomach dipped. She was outside, alone. Normally that wouldn’t have fazed her. However, with all of the incidents that had happened over the past couple of days, she would have rather had someone with her.
“Is someone there?”
She sucked in a deep breath. She’d just have to walk around to the front of the building. Simple, right?
A figure stepped out from behind the Dumpster. Shoulders hunched, a black beard touching his chest, he shoved a hand into his coat pocket. Erica froze.
The door opened behind her. “Erica?”
She spun. “Max.” Relief filled her. She turned back to the man who still stood beside the Dumpster.
“What’s going on?” His tight voice was directed at the stranger.
Erica said, “I’m not sure.” She stepped forward, feeling safe now that she had Max at her back. “Jed, you scared me for a minute there.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Get your hands out of your pockets,” Max demanded, shoving Erica behind him.
“Max…”
“Now.”
The man complied. He held a small box in his left hand. “I just wanted to give this to Erica.”
Her fear beginning to dissipate, Erica stepped around Max. “What is it?”
“A…a gift.” He cleared his throat.
Uneasy again, she watched him. An alcoholic and a drug addict, he’d never been physically abusive to Melissa, but the emotional damage he’d done to the woman had been painful to see. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was going to leave, but wanted to catch you alone.”
Max kept his protective stance and said, “Erica, why don’t you go back on inside and let me take care of Mr. Barnes.”
She considered it for all of a split second. “It’s all right, Max.”
Jed didn’t smile. “You told my wife to leave me.”
Max stiffened. “Erica…”
“I didn’t tell her to leave you, Jed. I told her she needed a break from the stress of your abuse or she was going to have a nervous breakdown.” She would never tell someone to leave a spouse. But take a break? Yes.
“Well, she left me.”
Erica’s heart hurt. “I hate that it came to that.”
“I do, too, but…” His shoulders slumped.
“But?”
“It was the best thing she could have done. The only thing.”
Erica relaxed a fraction. Max’s defensive posture slackened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, it forced me to take a good hard look at myself, and I didn’t like what I saw so I got help. I’ve been clean for six months. Melissa said she’d go to counseling with me.”
Relief and gladness filled her. “Oh, Jed, I’m so glad.”
“Me, too.”
Max released a breath and she felt his tension ease. Jed held out the gift to Erica, setting the small box on her palm. “This was my grandmother’s. I want you to have it.”
“What? Oh, no, I can’t—”
“Please. I’ve been coming in here just about every day for the past three months. After I got out of rehab, I’d look for a job and come here to eat and sleep and work on getting my life in order.” He shuffled his feet and ducked his head. When he looked up, tears were in his eyes. “You encouraged me that I could change. That I could be the man that Melissa and my kids needed. I never had anyone do that for me before.” He nodded. “I started to believe you after a while. This is just a small way to say thanks. And maybe when you look at it you’ll remember that some of us do want help. We just don’t know where to get it until someone like you comes along.”
“Jed, I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t have to say anything.” He gave a half smile. “I’ll be seein’ you.” He turned and walked down the alley to disappear around the corner.
Erica shook her head and silently thanked God for the way He worked.
“What is it?” Max asked. He settled his hands on her shoulders and she breathed in his spicy scent. A scent that was becoming as familiar as her own. One she liked. A lot.
She lifted the top of the box to find a tiny cross pin nestled on the velvet fabric. “Oh, it’s beautiful.” She drew in another deep breath. “Goodness, I can’t keep this.”
“I think you have to.” She looked up to see him staring toward the end of the alley. “I think he needed to give that to you. It was like he was doing something his grandmother would approve of, and that was important to him.”
Erica closed the box and slipped the treasure into her pocket. “This is one of the reasons I do what I do, Max.”
“Yeah.” The cryptic look on his face didn’t tell her anythi
ng about what he was thinking. He stared at her for so long, she shifted under his hands. “What is it?”
His eyes grew tender. “Like I said before, you’re incredibly special, Erica.” He lifted a hand to her cheek.
Her heart thumped at his words, at the feel of his touch, at the look in his eyes.
“I—”
“What about Lydia?” she interrupted, turning away.
He sighed. “Lydia. Right.” He hadn’t forgotten about her, but he couldn’t deny that a part of him wanted to move forward with a relationship with Erica, regardless of their different opinions about Lydia. “I know it looks bad for her, and I don’t want to believe she’s guilty, but I’ve come to the conclusion that whatever she’s done, she’s done. And if she hasn’t done anything, that will come out, too. Whatever the result, I don’t want it to keep us apart.”
Erica’s eyes widened in shock. “But—”
Before she could finish, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. A sweet, gentle kiss that sparked a flame inside her. Her heart and her mind battled it out while she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
After what seemed like forever, he lifted his head, eyes glittering. “I care about you, Erica.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I care about you, too.”
“After we find Lydia—”
She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Don’t say anything. Don’t make promises. Let’s just find her.”
Disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he nodded. His jaw looked tight, as though he wanted to say something more, but he held the words back. Finally, instead of saying what was in his eyes, he said, “Come on, let’s go talk to Kenneth Harper and see what he knows about Lydia.”
ELEVEN
Max couldn’t help feeling relieved as the homeless shelter disappeared from view. He had mixed emotions. The people he’d met weren’t like the ones he’d arrested as a cop. At least not all of them. Most of the residents were, if not exactly peaceful, at least calm.
Granted, there’d been a few moments with Jed that had stressed him out, but once again, he was reminded not to judge a person by his appearance. He would pray for Jed and his wife, Melissa.
Max glanced at Erica. She had her phone pressed to her ear. “Denise, this is Erica. Peter told me you were back in town. Give me a call and let’s catch up. I’ll try to get to the hospital to see your father soon. Call me, hon.” She hung up with a frown. “I wish she would have called me when she got in town.”
Hide and Seek Page 10
