“Thought you had the whole place to yourself, huh?” He jumped from the top of a nearby rock to a closer one while looking down at her.
A wide grin spread across her face. “What in the world are you doing here?”
“Well, that’s kind of a long story. But it’s suffice to say, I heard you were staying in town for the weekend and thought maybe you could use some company.” He sat down, taking a place next to her on the large rock she’d been using as her chair.
“Really?” She turned to face him as he took in their surroundings. Though it was good to see him, she didn’t understand why he’d traveled all the way up here when she’d be back at the office on Monday.
He turned back to her with a sheepish expression. “I know. I probably should’ve called first. I’m sure the last thing you want is to be surprised.” He looked at her meaningfully. “After everything that’s been going on. But I was worried you’d tell me it was too much trouble. And believe it or not, after hearing Karen and Mike go on and on about the place the whole time you were gone, I thought it might be good for me to get away—take a break here as well. This whole thing was pretty stressful on everyone.” He held a hand up. “Not that we had to go through was anything close to what you have, but it’s been pretty tense on our end, too.”
Her chest tightened as she listened to his explanation. Though none of the recent events had been under her control, the threats to her life had certainly impacted the entire practice. Until hearing Derek now, she’d spent little time contemplating how her partners felt about the whole thing. If it had been one of them, it would’ve affected her considerably. “I’m sorry you all had to go through this too,” she said softly.
“Don’t be. It’s over now, and I’m glad it turned out the way it did,” he said in a decisive tone. “It looks like we’re out of sunlight. What had you planned on doing next?”
He was right. The water had taken on a metallic sheen, and the remnants of the colorful rays were dusting the clouds overhead.
“Well, I’d only meant to stay here for a little while and then go check out one of the lakes a local told me about. But—” she let out a chuckle, “—as you can see, I let time get away from me down here, so I’m not sure how much of the lake we’d be able to see now that it’s dark.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t let a little darkness stop you.” He grabbed her hand and hauled her up from the rock. “So, what’s the name of this lake you’d planned to visit?”
She looked at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Gator Lake.”
He frowned. “And I’m assuming they call it Gator Lake for its inhabitants?”
“You’ve got it. But it’s supposed to be safe to visit. As long as you don’t feed them.” She gave him a once-over. He was dressed in a pair of plaid shorts and a T-shirt. She looked around for anything else he might be carrying, but he was empty-handed. “And from the looks of it, that won’t be a problem, because you don’t have anything they’d find appetizing.”
“You can say that again. And I’m sure I wouldn’t taste so good to them. You, on the other hand, might be more appetizing.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
“Gross, Derek.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even joke like that. I meant you have no food with you. I guess sometimes tourists feed them, and it can become a problem if they get used to it.”
“Interesting.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “So, how did you find out all of this valuable information on the gators here?”
She began making her way across the rocks that led back to the shoreline. She’d seen a walkway from there that led further into the park. “Oh. I just asked around a little. People are pretty friendly here. You’ll see. Speaking of that, where are you staying?” She kept her fingers crossed that Karen and Mike hadn’t offered up the spare room in the condo. She didn’t mind having Derek around for the weekend, but she’d hoped to have some time to herself before returning back to her former routine.
“I rented a condo at the same resort as Karen and Mike’s. Thought that would give you some room, but it wouldn’t be hard to get together, either.”
“Okay.” She tried to keep the relief out of her voice. “I bet Karen and Mike were surprised to have us both up here after they’ve been trying for so long.”
His brow furrowed for a second but then his features returned to normal. If she weren’t so used to relying on behavioral observations, she might have missed it. She pondered what he’d been thinking that caused the reaction as they made their way up the boardwalk to the parking area.
“Yes. It was kind of last minute, so we didn’t spend too much time talking about it. They were right though. The place is gorgeous. When I first got here, I tried their condo, but you weren’t there. Thought I’d go for a walk and try you again later if I didn’t bump into you. But lucky for me, there aren’t many people out today, so it was easy to spot you down on the rocks.”
“I wondered how you managed to track me down. I accidentally left my cell in the condo, so I’m sure I’ve missed a few calls.” Her thoughts automatically went to Chase. He’d be home now and probably trying to get in touch with her. She didn’t want him to be concerned. “Would you mind if I used yours? Chase was going to call me when he got back, and I’d hate for him to worry.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then began to laugh. “Would you believe I left mine at the condo, too? I thought about bringing it, but I didn’t want it to end up wet or in the sand somewhere. I’m sure it’s fine though. Chase will probably call Mike and he’ll let him know I’m here with you.”
“That’s true,” she said, grateful that Chase wouldn’t be as worried if he knew she was with Derek.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Chase debated whether or not he should call Jordan before he heard back from Shelly. Though he was fairly certain Derek was involved in the threats to her life, he was relying on his gut instinct and the similarities in the vocabulary used in two messages she’d received. Not a lot to hang his hat on, but in years of policing, he’d learn to trust his instinct. He pulled her number up and pressed send.
The phone began to ring in his ear. “Come on, Jordan. Pick up.” He spoke as if sheer will alone could bring her voice on the line.
“Hello, you have reached the voicemail box of Dr. Clayton—”
“Damn it.” He didn’t hear the rest of her message as he tried to work out what to do next. The beep following her recording brought him back to the present. “Hey, Jordan, it’s me, Chase. Look, I need you to call me as soon as you get this message. It’s important.”
He hung up, feeling more anxious than he had before trying to get a hold of her. Why wouldn’t she be answering? He remembered how she’d joked with him about turning her ringer up so she could still hear him. Had she forgotten? He started doing the calculations in his head.
Derek had left around lunch, and it would be about a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Orlando to Panama City Beach. But Karen had said that he’d been driving fast. So…the timing sucked. If Derek wasn’t already there, he’d be close.
Chase grabbed the back of his neck, pressing his foot on the gas pedal. He still didn’t want to be slowed down by a traffic stop, but that was a chance he’d have to take now. There was no way in hell he wasn’t going to do anything he could to get to her as fast as possible.
Passing several cars, he hit the call back button, trying to reach her again.
“Hello, you have reached the voicemail box—”
This time, he hung up without leaving a message. She’d return his call as soon as she saw the missed call notices on her phone. But why wasn’t she seeing them now? His mind raced as he checked his mirrors, scanning the traffic around him. And why hadn’t his office called back with the information he’d requested?
As if reading his thoughts, his cell began ringing in his hand. He recognized the office ringtone right away. Wishing it’d been her but grateful for any leads at this point, he hurriedly answered the call.
“What’ve you got?”
“Nothing you’re gonna like,” Shelly began, sounding grim. “Your instincts were right on. The background on Derek was clean. Not even a traffic ticket. But after a little digging, it turns out the same isn’t true for his older brother. Guy was convicted of first-degree murder. Details were pretty heinous. The victim was tortured and held captive for several days before he ended her life. He was sentenced to death—jury only deliberated for an hour before reaching a unanimous decision. It was that bad.”
Chase’s jaw was clenched so tight that it ached. She was right; he didn’t like what he was hearing. And it sure as hell didn’t fit the account Derek had given them on his brother. But having a murderer for a brother didn’t mean Derek automatically shared the family trait. “So maybe the two apples didn’t fall far apart, but it doesn’t connect all the dots.”
“That’s because there’s more. The defense called several witnesses during the penalty phase, a little of everything, really—psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist, and a professor of neuroscience. They did everything they could to a paint a picture of the guy as mentally impaired, in hopes of getting a life sentence instead of the death penalty. But the state only called one expert.”
“Jordan.” Chase almost choked on her name. His throat was so dry.
“Yeah, and her testimony must’ve been pretty persuasive.”
“Did you find any mention of Derek in the press reports?”
“He was in his early twenties at the time. Brother was fifteen years older than he is. Defense tried to argue he’d been a caretaker for Derek with Mom having a long history of substance abuse, but it was given very little weight. The two hadn’t lived at the same residence for most of their lives.”
Chase exhaled. The more he heard, the worse it got. “No way this is a coincidence. He’s been planning his revenge for a long time.”
“Yeah, seems like it. But we’ve got him now. What’s next?”
Good question, considering Derek was probably in the same town as Jordan as they spoke, and because he’d been clueless, he was still hours behind him. “Leave it to me for now. If I need anything else, I’ll call.”
Chase could feel the anger building as he hung up. Derek had posed as her friend all this time while, in reality, plotting to do God knows what.
He tried calling her again, though he knew the attempt would be fruitless. Wherever she was, she either didn’t hear or couldn’t answer her phone. Even with the information he had now, the pieces didn’t all fall together. If Derek was intent on hurting her, why had he stopped Rigdon when he’d attempted to follow through on the hit? He was certain Derek had been racing out of town to find Jordan, but what was he planning on doing? Up until now, his threats had consisted of scare tactics that could’ve led to fatal consequences, but no outright attempts to directly harm her. He didn’t have all the information he would’ve liked, but he had enough to know that he had to do something else to intervene before it was too late.
He asked his phone to connect him to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. After going through dispatch, he was able to talk to one of the supervisors on duty. The officer was more than helpful when Chase explained the situation, and a squad car was dispatched to the condo to check on her. He was glad for the intervention, but he wanted to be there to check on her himself, to make sure she was safe and the creep wasn’t anywhere near her.
A short time later, he received a call back from the police department.
“Hello, sir. This is Jason from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. I wanted to follow up and let you know we did go to the address you provided, but there was no answer at the door. Didn’t hear anything from inside the condo, and no lights were on in the front room. Nothing suspicious. It appeared that no one was there. Waited a few minutes to see if anyone would show, but no one did. I’ve been dispatched to another call now, but I’ll be glad to swing by again later if you still have concerns.”
“Thanks, man. It’d be much appreciated.”
He wondered again where she was. It was getting dark soon. Would she still be on the beach this late? Was Derek there with her? For the thousandth time since he’d turned around, he wished his specialty BMW included an option to convert to air travel. Though he was making good time, Derek had a significant head start on him.
§
“Excuse me. How much farther is it to Gator Lake?” Jordan asked a couple of guys as they loaded their surfboards into the back of a pickup truck.
One with blond, shaggy hair answered her. “Follow the path down a ways and around the bend. It’s not that far. Park’s closing soon though, if you drove.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Luckily, that wouldn’t be a problem for them. She looked around for Derek, who was several feet behind her, bent over his shoelace.
“Hey, it’s already dark. We’d better move fast. I don’t know if the lake is lit or not.” She waved at the truck as the surfers left the parking lot.
Derek jogged to catch up with her. “Sorry. Must be getting used to the laidback pace of this town already.”
They traveled down the path until several signs let them know they’d arrived at Gator Lake. A lookout point at the edge of a wooden dock loomed in front of them, and they trekked over to it. There was a bench built in to the perimeter, but she didn’t take a seat. She could tell, even in the darkness, that the best vantage point would be standing. The moon was out in full now, and she strained to see any movement in the lake.
“It’s so nice out here.” She looked over at Derek. “I wish I’d gotten off that rock a little sooner so I could’ve seen the lake during the daylight.”
“Well, it seemed like you were enjoying lounging on the rocks. Besides, if you would’ve left sooner, I may not have found you out here.” His gaze never left the lake as he answered.
She smiled. “True. I still can’t believe how we ran into each other out here, of—” A splash near the water’s edge stopped her in midsentence. “Derek,” she whispered, “do you think that was a gator?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been anywhere where gators were likely to pop up.” He walked up behind her. “How deep do you think the water is? It’s hard to tell now.”
An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. Though it had cooled down some since the sun had set, she wasn’t cold. Maybe it was the potential proximity to gators she couldn’t quite make out in the darkness. “I don’t know. I didn’t read anything about that.” She crossed her arms in front of her and rubbed her arms.
“Wonder how many gators are in here?” he asked.
“Not sure on that one either. But I doubt we’ll get any answers tonight. It’s too hard to see them. And only being able to hear them is making me a little jittery.”
“Yeah.” He paused for a second. “After everything you’ve been through lately, you’re probably more—”
Headlights lit them up from behind. Then a park ranger approached them. “Hey, folks. Park’s closed for tonight. If you drove, gate’ll be locked soon.”
Jordan smiled at the ranger. “Thanks. We walked up from the beach. But it is getting pretty dark. I don’t think we’ll be seeing much now, so we’ll probably head back that way.”
“I’ll be glad to give you guys a lift back to the beach side.”
Jordan and Derek both spoke at the same time.
“That’d be great.”
“We’ll be all right.”
She looked back at him. “It’s still a bit of a walk back to the condo. It might be better if we catch a ride partway.”
Derek hesitated. “Fine by me. Just wanted to make sure you got to see everything you wanted to.”
“I think I’ve seen about all I can at this hour.” She directed her attention back to the ranger. “We’ll take you up on that ride.”
“It’s a nice night to walk. The temperature is perfect now,” Derek commented as they made their way back down the beach, leaving the grounds of the state park behind them.
“Yeah, it’s great without the humidity.” She could still feel the wind through her cover-up dress she’d worn over her swimsuit, but the chill from earlier at the dock had left her.
It was darker next to the ocean away from the lights of the beachside condos and businesses. She slipped her sandals back on. No sense stepping on a washed-up jellyfish or a piece of broken glass.
“Actually, it’s great with the humidity too.” She smiled. “I mean, the trade-off is worth getting sticky and hot. When we first came here, it wasn’t much of a choice, with everything going on. But surprisingly, coming here ended up being much more than an escape from the situation. It helped me to regroup…relax again.” She stopped herself before getting into details about her time with Chase. It was still so new that she hadn’t even told Karen yet.
“So you weren’t worried at all while you were here? That he would find you?”
She contemplated his question for a moment. It was hard to answer without revealing more than she was ready to. In truth, she’d been on edge. Though, looking back, it had more to do with the events that had led up to their trip here. She wasn’t sure how much time it would take to recover from the attack and everything that had followed, but putting her anxieties from what had happened aside, she’d felt safe once they’d gotten here. “Not really. You guys were the only ones who knew we were here, and Chase was careful to make sure we weren’t followed.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s lucky he stepped in when he did.” His tone was tinged with sarcasm.
Though his words were appreciative, his nonverbal communication suggested anything but. For the second time that evening, she wondered what he was thinking. She reflected back to his comments on how much this had affected everyone. Maybe he was still processing like she was.
“True. I owe Mike one for sure.”
Coming up to a narrow passage between two condos, Derek pointed out a public beach access sign. “On the way in, I saw a little bar not too far from here. Let’s stop and have a drink before we get back.”
Expert Witness: A Romantic Suspense Novel Page 20
