Nowhere to Run

by Jeanne Bannon

She threw him a puzzled look.

  “I’m staying in Higgstown until I can prove your innocence. I won’t rest until I find who killed your sister.”

  She nodded and smiled, though it was perfunctory. “All right, but if you change your mind—”

  “I won’t.”

  Her thoughts turned to her friends at the Evelyn Harrison Seniors Center, especially Mrs. G., and her heart shattered. She’d never see them again, and what would they think when they found out she’d been arrested?

  Through the din and clatter of the diner, she heard a cell phone ring. It was Aiden’s. He fished it from his jacket pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s Wilkins,” he said before answering.

  Her eyes grew wide and her heart beat triple time, but she said nothing.

  He hit talk and plugged his ear with a finger so he could hear over the commotion. “What do you want?” he said loudly.

  Lily barely heard Wilkins’s familiar voice through Aiden’s phone but couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  “Yeah, I’m still in town. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  Aiden nodded a few times, then smiled the biggest smile she’d ever seen.

  “I’ll let her know. She’s right in front of me.” He ended the call, returned the phone to his pocket, then got to his feet, pulling her with him. After planting a big kiss on her forehead, he said, “Turns out you’re not going to be arrested after all.”

  CHAPTER 22

  “We can’t make the arrest,” Deputy Deluca said.

  “What?” Natalie screamed into the phone. “Thanks to me, you got what you needed! What more do you imbeciles have to have in order to arrest that woman?”

  “The ballistics report was a match, but the prints on the gun weren’t Lily’s. The lab got a good set of fingerprints as well as a palm print. We’d already tested Lily Valier for powder residue when we brought her in for questioning and she’d come up clean. There’s no way she fired that gun.”

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Natalie mumbled as she paced her room, a hand entwined in her hair, pulling. She’d been careful not to get any prints on the gun when she planted it, and even wiped it down before hiding it under her bed. There was no way they’d gotten a print. He was lying, trying to frighten her, but why? Maybe they’d planted evidence. Could they have put her dad’s prints on the gun out of desperation just to close the case?

  “But you said the bullets matched the gun and the gun was Lily’s,” she whined, trying not to cry.

  “Doesn’t matter. We found prints, and like I said, they weren’t Lily’s.” Antonio’s voice rose this time, driving home the point.

  “Fix it! What do I pay you for?” Natalie yelled. Of course she couldn’t say what she wanted to, that she knew there couldn’t possibly be prints on the gun.

  “No matter how much money you throw at me, I can’t do a damn thing about this. Wilkins brought the gun to the lab himself and waited for the report.”

  “But I thought—”

  “What? That having me in your back pocket would keep your dad out of prison? That I could make all your family troubles go away?”

  “I could tell on you. What do you think would happen if I told Sheriff Wilkins I was paying you off?” Her voice held a lilt, a singsongy threat, like a taunting kid on the playground.

  Antonio laughed. “You can’t prove a damn thing. Go ahead and tell, Natalie. You want a surefire way to make your dad look guilty? ’Cause telling my boss you’re paying me to keep him out of jail will make it seem like you know something we don’t. Maybe you’re obstructing justice. You’ll go to prison too.”

  Her throat cinched. Antonio was right. She knew if Lily was in the clear, they’d have no choice but to come for her dad, and what if the prints were his? His alibi was flimsy. Had Deluca double-crossed her?

  Antonio heaved a sigh. She pictured him sitting slumped in his car, probably in some doughnut shop parking lot slurping coffee and stuffing his face with those honey-glazed doughnuts he loved, his wispy-thin moustache twitching in frustration. Worse still, she sensed he was about to tell her something else she wasn’t going to like.

  Her stomach knotted, and the bitter taste of bile rose in the back of her throat. “Just say it. I know there’s more.”

  Another sigh. More silence.

  “Goddamn it, Antonio. It’s my dad, right? You’re coming for him?” Anger seethed in her, threatening to erupt. How could he do this to her? Pretend he was on her side, take her money, make promises! She was backed into a corner and, like it or not, had to swallow her anger…for now.

  “Yup. But…”

  “But what?” she was almost screaming now. She thought of her dad and how haggard he looked. The stress was sneaking up on him again. The investigation combined with the pressures of his job scared her. What if he had a heart attack or a nervous breakdown? Then what would become of her?

  “Your parents have been asked to come down to the station. We need a set of prints from both of them.”

  Natalie puffed out a breath, then laughed so hard she nearly cried. Why on earth would they need her mother’s prints? But something broke in her at that thought. It meant they were after either of her parents, and apparently it didn’t matter which one. Lily was probably behind all of this. She’d gotten to Wilkins or Deluca and wriggled her way out of trouble yet again.

  * * *

  “What just happened?” Lily asked, stunned. They were still standing, and Aiden had just kissed her forehead.

  Then he told her what Wilkins said, that they couldn’t arrest her because, even though the ballistics report concluded the bullets came from her gun, the finger and palm prints weren’t hers. They were back to circumstantial evidence. Since it was now clear she didn’t fire the gun, there was even the possibility the weapon was planted.

  She was confused. “Why didn’t Wilkins tell me himself?”

  “He said he called the diner first, then your cell and got no answer. Must be all the commotion in here. Can’t hear a bloody thing! He figured I’d be with you, so he called me. Doesn’t matter anyway, does it? It’s good news no matter how it got to you.” He smoothed her hair, and she thought he was going to kiss her again.

  “Guess you’re right,” she said, and the relief that washed over her at the good news was too much to keep the smile from her lips.

  “What happens next?”

  He was still smiling. “You’re gonna love this. Zander and Gabrielle Lyons are on their way to the station.”

  “No way!”

  He nodded. “They need their prints.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Yeah. Guess Wilkins finally had enough sense to listen to me. I had a chat with him earlier today and suggested he have a closer look at not just Zander but his wife. She had just as much motive to want your sister dead as Zander, maybe even more.”

  “I understand she’d be angry about the affair, but you’d think she’d be used to her husband’s infidelities by now, and Sara had all kinds of money of her own. She didn’t need Zander’s to raise the baby.” She shook her head. “It’s hard for me to believe Gabrielle is capable of murder.”

  “You’re not looking at it the right way. It wouldn’t be because of money. It would be jealousy. Jealousy can make a person do all sorts of things. Don’t underestimate the power of that emotion. Zander Lyons is a notorious philanderer, and if he had a love child with another woman, think of how it would make Gabrielle not only feel but also look to the others in the community. At any rate, we’ll know more tomorrow. I’m gonna stop by to see Wilkins. Think I’ll collect that paycheck after all.”

  Lily’s eyes widened. “You weren’t going to take your pay?”

  He gave her a warm smile. “Not if they were going to arrest you.”

  So his job was just about done. As soon as they arrested Zander or Gabrielle, Aiden would no longer be needed. Should she ask what his plans were? What if he said he was going back to Chicago? She wasn’t sure how she felt about
that, but something very close to disappointment was creeping up on her.

  “Can we get out of here now?” Aiden asked.

  “To go where?”

  “The cabin. Say you’ll come.”

  She shook her head. “I want to go home. We can talk there if you like.”

  CHAPTER 23

  “Rex!” Lily exclaimed as she pulled her Corolla into the driveway. He shouldn’t be outside. When she’d left him that morning, she’d locked the house up tight and turned to catch the poor fellow looking forlornly at her through the front window.

  She threw the car into park and jumped out. “Come here, boy.” She bent to his level to coax him and he ran over, eager to greet his owner, wagging his tail and giving her a few sloppy kisses.

  Aiden pulled into the driveway behind Lily and was quickly by her side, bending to pet the dog. “Something wrong?”

  “I don’t know how he got out.” Lily stood and started toward the front door, holding Rex by the collar.

  “Wait,” Aiden called, stopping her with a hand on her wrist. “Take the dog and go sit in my truck.”

  He walked back with them and opened the door. Rex jumped in without hesitation, but Lily turned toward him, eyebrows arched. “Why?”

  “Let me check around first. I’ll be right back.” He put a hand under her elbow and helped her into the passenger’s seat, then popped open the glove compartment and took out his Magnum.

  “Why do you need that?” Her voice rose with alarm.

  He didn’t answer her question. Instead, he seemed to change right in front of her. His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightened, and his lips thinned. “Lock the doors.”

  Aiden turned and walked slowly toward the house. He made his way up the front steps to the front door. It was locked. He checked the first-floor windows—all secure. Nothing looked broken or out of the ordinary, but when he walked around to the back, a door was wide open. He knew Lily was careful, that she was the type to lock the doors. He held the gun up and stepped through the doorway into the kitchen.

  Every cupboard door had been thrown open, every drawer too, the contents pulled out or poured onto the floor.

  He moved farther into the house. The furnishings were sparse, but what Lily did own was either ruined or damaged. The bookcases in the living room were overturned, and books lay strewn all over the room. Whoever did this had even picked up some of the novels and thrown them at the wall, hitting framed family photos and knocking them to the floor where they lay smashed. The cozy-looking chair beside the bookcases had a kitchen knife stuck in the back of it.

  Aiden stood still for a moment, listening for movement. Hearing nothing, he made his way upstairs. There were three bedrooms. One was an office, another a guest room, and then there was the master suite, Lily’s bedroom. All had been vandalized. Once he’d checked every closet, room, and hiding place, he tucked his gun into the back of his waistband and fished out his cell phone.

  Aiden left the house a few minutes later through the front door and made his way to the truck. He opened the passenger-side door where Lily sat with Rex on her knee.

  “Someone did a job on your house. They broke in through the back. I guess so no one would be able to see what was happening from the road.”

  “Oh my God!” Lily moved Rex over to the driver’s side and jumped out. She started toward the house. “How bad is it?”

  Aiden jogged to her side. “Pretty bad. I called the sheriff’s department. Someone’s on the way. Probably shouldn’t go in. They’ll want to secure the scene.”

  “I just want to see.” She opened the front door and stepped inside. A gasp escaped her and her hands flew to her mouth. “Who would do this?” She moved farther in, but Aiden stopped her with a gentle hand on the shoulder. “I don’t understand.” She began to cry and he pulled her into his arms.

  “Shhh,” he soothed, stroking her hair.

  “What if I was home? I wouldn’t have had any way to protect myself. I don’t have my gun. What do you think they wanted? To hurt me?”

  “Don’t know.” He let her go so she could have a look around. “Can you see if anything’s missing from here? It may have been a robbery.” He said the words but knew they were hollow. This was no robbery.

  “I don’t have anything worth stealing, really. I don’t keep money in the house.” She took a cursory glance around. “I can’t tell.”

  She was flustered and had every right to be, but he needed her to come back to herself, to pay attention. “Your TV and laptop are still here. I saw them when I looked through the house. I don’t know about jewelry though.”

  Lily shook her head. “I don’t have any valuables.” She sighed. “You don’t think it was one of the Lyonses, or maybe they hired someone to do this?”

  Aiden shook his head. “I doubt it. Why would they?”

  They went back to the truck and waited for help. Minutes later, Deluca pulled into the long circular driveway and got out of his patrol car.

  “You reported a break-in?” he said, looking from Aiden to Lily.

  Aiden filled him in, and after taking statements, Deluca secured the scene, pulling shut the back door and wrapping yellow police tape around the porch. “Someone will be here shortly to dust for prints and collect any evidence, but you’re going to have to find somewhere else to stay for a while. Deluca’s gaze roamed up to Aiden’s.

  “Can she grab some stuff? You know, like personal items?” Aiden asked.

  Deluca shook his head. “Sorry. You’ll have to buy those things until we give you the all clear. Your insurance should pick up the tab. Just make sure to keep all your receipts.”

  “Can we go now?” Lily asked.

  “Yes. We’ll be in touch. I have your cell phone number.”

  “She’ll be staying with me, deputy,” Aiden said, and Lily didn’t protest. She slipped her hand into his as they headed back to the truck.

  As Aiden slid behind the wheel, he spied Deluca, cell phone in one hand and the other slamming the side of Lily’s house with such force, Aiden could almost feel the anger in the blows, or was it frustration? God, he wished he could creep over and find out what was happening, but he had to go before Lily spotted him.

  CHAPTER 24

  They made a quick shopping trip before heading to the cabin, buying things Lily would need for her stay at Aiden’s place—pajamas, toiletries, a couple of changes of clothes, dog food, and enough groceries so they wouldn’t have to venture out unless they felt like it. Aiden splurged on crystal wineglasses. No more plastic cups.

  “I’m glad you’re here, but I wish it were under better circumstances,” Aiden said while searching a drawer for a corkscrew. He’d placed a bottle of Cabernet on the counter in front of Lily along with the new glasses.

  “None for me, thanks.”

  He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, shoulders deflated. “Really? I know it’s kinda early, but I thought you could use a little something to help you relax.”

  She drew in a breath and held her thumb and pointer finger out an inch apart. “Very little.”

  Aiden carried their wine into the living room. Lily followed and took a seat on one of the couches. He sat beside her but gave her room.

  “By the way, thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d gone into the house myself and found it…that way,” Lily said.

  He took her hand and she let him. “I’m glad I was there too. But it might be a good idea to invest in an alarm system.”

  Lily looked down at Rex sleeping by her feet. “Or a real guard dog.” She laughed, sipped her wine, then leaned back into the softness of the couch. “I’m not going to let the break-in ruin things.”

  He tilted his head and looked at her. “Whadda ya mean?”

  She took a long breath, then blew it out slowly. “I’ve never been one of those people who saw value in stuff, you know. Never wanted a big fancy house, never drove a status-symbol car—expensive jewelry is wasted on me. All I value is family.” S
he barked a laugh. “Funny, isn’t it? I’ve got a ton of money and no one to share it with.” Then with a shrug of her shoulders, she continued, “But, like I said, I’m not going to be upset about what happened. It’s only stuff, material things. It can all be replaced. I’m going to change gears and focus on the good. Life has been hell for months now. My sister murdered, me investigated. Finally, I’m in the clear and I haven’t had time to let that sink in.”

  “You’re one of those silver lining kinds of people, and I’ve always been a glass-half-empty guy myself.”

  She thought about that for a second. They were opposites. She believed in things unseen, an afterlife, fate, karma. Aiden, on the other hand, was pragmatic and practical, logical and analytical. Despite all he’d done to her, she realized he’d done it without really knowing her, and it was nice, no, more than just nice. It had been comforting and a huge relief to have him with her just now at her house, taking care of everything.

  He inched over and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you forgive me?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again and sighed. She wanted to forgive him, but was it wise? Would he hurt her again? And there was something else, if she was honest. She wanted to punish him, wanted him to work a bit before she said the words “I forgive you.”

  He leaned forward as if to reveal a secret. “I’m willing to try anything to win back your trust…and your heart, that is, if you’d ever given it to me.” He pursed his lips and his brows knit together as he studied her.

  Lily turned her gaze to the floor, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes. She had given him her heart and, she knew, he still possessed it. “I opened up to you. Let myself be vulnerable and said things I’d never told anyone, and then I found out it was your job to pretend to like me. How do you think that makes me feel?” She wasn’t angry, not really, not anymore, but she needed to know he understood how he’d made her feel.

  He looked contrite. “From the moment we met, I saw something special in you. I had to keep reminding myself to stay professional, not fall for you. That’s never happened to me before. True, when I first took the job, I thought there was a good chance you were guilty, but that was because Wilkins and Deluca had me convinced. Once I got to know you for myself, I…well, I hoped you were innocent because of how I felt about you, but it didn’t take long before I knew you were.”