Manhunt

by Lisa Phillips

  Deirdre looked at them, her eyes deadpan. “Do I get my deal?”

  Parker strode in. “The US Attorney does not like to be woken up in the middle of the night, especially when he’s due at the golf course at six in the morning. So I’m surprised, but he says yes.”

  Hailey folded her arms. “What do you say, Deirdre?”

  TWENTY-ONE

  This was the part of their job he didn’t like, the fact that criminals who deserved to be in jail so often got a free pass for the sake of shared information. He much preferred when they were given a new identity and still had to serve out some of their sentence. Guys like Farrell, who preyed on innocent people, didn’t deserve to go free.

  Deirdre set her handcuffed hands on the table and folded her fingers together. “Fine. Get me a phone, and I’ll tell Farrell whatever you want. But if it doesn’t work, it’s not my fault.”

  Hailey leaned in. “If it doesn’t work, any deal we offer gets accidentally shredded. So you do everything, and I mean everything to sell this, because if my child gets hurt because of you I will hunt you to the ends of the earth.”

  Eric believed her. Hailey wasn’t going to risk Kerry being hurt. But it did feel like she might be taking her role as a mom too far. Not that he knew enough to be an expert on parenting. Who did? But if she trusted God to keep Kerry safe, wouldn’t that be better? Bad things happened to everyone, but God was constant and faithful.

  But for some reason, Eric doubted Hailey would welcome him telling her that. And saying it also meant Eric would have to take his own advice.

  When was the last time he’d let God take control of his life?

  Eric had made his own way through WITSEC and when it had fallen apart, he’d blamed God. In his selfishness, he hadn’t wanted to let go of what he thought was his right—the career he loved. In reality, all he had a right to was whatever God chose to give him. And maybe, all this time, God had been leading him here.

  To Hailey.

  While Hailey talked with Deirdre about the details and Parker made notes, Eric bowed his head and prayed. When he opened his eyes, Hailey was looking at him curiously. He gave her a small smile.

  She nodded. “I’m not letting Farrell get away with this.”

  “Deirdre will get us what we need, won’t you?” Eric studied the woman, not entirely convinced this wouldn’t end in a bigger mess than they were in already.

  Deirdre made a convincing case, but Eric wasn’t sure Farrell bought it. It would have to do, though. They were running out of options fast. Farrell might hold back from hurting Hailey’s family, but he was still in the wind…or the rain, as the case was.

  They left Parker to transport Deirdre out of town, and Hailey walked with Eric to the stairs. “You look exhausted.”

  Hailey laughed. “Thanks. You look like wet laundry yourself.”

  Eric wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Hailey looked up at him, eyes wide at the comforting touch. But Eric didn’t much care this was a work situation. He studied her face. “Why so surprised?”

  “I’m just not used to it, I guess. Do you… I mean…”

  “Am I interested in you?” Eric figured at this point he could very well be halfway in love with her, but she didn’t need to know his feelings ran that deep. Not yet, at least. Especially given he’d so far only entertained the thought enough to quickly pray about it.

  Hailey bit her lip and nodded.

  “Yes. For the record, I am interested in you.”

  Hailey relaxed against him. “Me, too.”

  Eric turned her toward him, slid his arm around her waist and tilted her face toward his. He leaned in, put his cheek against her temple. He held her there with his lips against her damp hair while he rubbed his hand up and down her back.

  “I could fall asleep like this.”

  Eric shook with laughter. “I might be offended if I didn’t feel the same way.” He pulled away and squeezed the back of his neck. “So where to now?”

  Hailey pulled out her phone and studied it. “You know what’s been bothering me for a while about this whole thing?”

  Eric shook his head. “What?”

  “Charles.”

  “You think he’s involved?”

  “I think he’s the one who knows where the jewels are.”

  *

  When they got to Charles’s home they discovered the whole first floor was under water. Night was falling, bringing with it a chill that froze Hailey to her core. If she didn’t get dry soon, she was going to get sick. Although, she was still plenty warm from Eric hugging her.

  Eric piloted the boat to the nearest window. Hailey pulled out her phone and saw a missed call from her dad. Why hadn’t he told her he was sick? Surely it wasn’t as bad as Deirdre had made it out to be. If there really was something seriously wrong with him, she would know. Right?

  The land line at her house rang and rang, and finally someone picked up. “Yeah?” It wasn’t her dad. This guy sounded young and obtuse.

  “Put Alan Shelder on the phone.”

  “Don’t know where he is.”

  “Well, go find him.”

  “He ain’t here.”

  Hailey sighed. “I appreciate this has probably been a trying day for you, but I am looking for my possibly extremely sick father—”

  “Possibly?”

  “Don’t interrupt me. I need you to locate my father and have him call me.”

  “You ain’t gonna come check on him yourself?”

  Hailey helped steady the boat against the side of the house. The whole place was dark. Charles probably wasn’t even here.

  “I’m a little busy catching a wanted criminal, thank you very much.” She didn’t need a stranger to remind her that she neglected her father. She was well aware of that fact already. And if her dad hadn’t volunteered the farmhouse as a safe spot for residents, she would have been there instead of dragging Kerry to the warehouse.

  But that was how their relationship had always gone. Coexisting, but never really connecting. “Just have him call me.”

  Hailey hung up and stowed the phone in her inside jacket pocket. If it came into contact with much more water the thing was going to stop working altogether. It would be a fitting end to this weekend if she had a broken phone on top of everything else that had been damaged.

  She looked out over the town. Gray clouds streaked the night, blocking the determined rays of sun trying their best to light the sky. Too bad it was a losing battle. Kind of like Hailey’s life. The water was rising. Would they all be swept away like debris?

  Eric used his flashlight to break a pane of the window and punched out as many of the jagged edges around the frame as he could. He crawled in and Hailey followed.

  She stopped and looked at what was her daughter’s bedroom in her ex-husband’s house. She’d been in here before, picking up Kerry to bring her home. It was still weird that her daughter had a bedroom in someone else’s house. It had to be hard on her to have two homes, two parents who lived separate lives. It wasn’t anywhere near ideal, but it was how Kerry’s life had turned out.

  She could feel Eric’s warmth beside her, but she didn’t turn around. The rush of emotion she felt for him was more than she could deal with. Hailey pulled out her phone again, needing to connect with her daughter.

  Jonah picked up straight away.

  “How is she?”

  There was a pause, and Hailey heard movement, then Jonah said, “Talking with her friends still.” He barked out a low laugh. “Who knew there was so much to say? Whatever it is, it’s apparently deathly important.”

  Hailey chuckled. “When you’re that age, everything is. Has she eaten?”

  “I gave her a sandwich. She didn’t seem impressed, but she ate it.”

  “Thanks, Jonah.”

  “No problem. We’ll be moving out shortly. I’ll keep her with me.”

  Hailey thought of Eric’s brother. “If you run into an Aaron Hanning, he’s Eric’s bro
ther, and he’s going to keep an eye out for Kerry if you need it.”

  “Got it. I’m still not going to let her out of my sight.”

  Hailey figured there was something underneath the surface that drove Jonah to be so protective of Kerry. It was like he’d seen the worst of what could happen when an innocent was left alone and defenseless. Hailey knew. She’d gone through it herself.

  “Thanks, Jonah.” It didn’t quite convey the gratitude she felt, but if she got mushy he’d just brush it off. “I’m trusting you with everything I have.”

  “I know that, Hailey. She’ll be fine.”

  Hailey hung up

  If she got married, it wouldn’t necessarily make things better for Kerry. It might even bring a whole new set of problems to their lives, even if she didn’t think Eric would be like that. He seemed pretty straightforward, but how was Hailey supposed to know? And why on earth was she considering marriage to him anyway? What was that about?

  Eric’s brow twitched. “What?”

  Hailey shook her head. “Let’s go find Charles and get some answers.”

  The hall was empty. Water would be halfway up the stairs by now, but Hailey checked anyway. Charles lay half in and half out of the water, which was tinged with red. He’d been beaten. Badly.

  Hailey rushed to his side, and Eric helped her haul him out of the water to the landing at the top of the stairs. They laid him on the carpet and he moaned.

  “Charles, can you hear me?”

  “Hailey?” His eyes flickered open. “I thought I was going to die.”

  “Who did this?”

  Charles winced. “Farrell.”

  Eric looked at his watch. “How long ago was he here?”

  “Hours, maybe.” Charles breathed. “I don’t know.”

  “Where’s Beth-Ann?”

  “Gone.”

  Right. Hailey might not get on with Charles most of the time, but she didn’t like that his wife had left him alone to deal with everything by himself.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be evacuating like everyone else?”

  Charles grunted and tried to sit up. Hailey didn’t figure it was a good idea, but she helped him anyway, knowing he’d deal with the pain for the sake of not looking weak.

  Charles leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I was checking on one last thing and got caught here. The water swept my car away, so I figured I’d go upstairs when it got too high. Then Farrell came. I barely made it up the stairs, or I’d have drowned.”

  Eric crouched beside Charles. “What did he want?”

  His eyes moved to Hailey instead. “Looking for the jewels. Looking for you.”

  Hailey fought down the rising anger. Getting mad at him always made him shut down even more. She tried to keep her voice as even as possible when she said, “Charles, why do Farrell and Deirdre think I know where the jewels are?”

  TWENTY-TWO

  Hailey could feel Eric’s eyes on her, but she needed to know the truth so badly she didn’t break the eye contact between her and Charles.

  “Hail—”

  “You sold me out.”

  Charles sucked in a choppy breath. But she knew better than to think it was due to regret and not to bruised ribs. Hailey wanted to fly off the handle. Put her fist through the drywall. Kick something.

  “Why.” It wasn’t a question. He was going to tell her.

  His eyes darkened with what might have been actual regret. “I know you won’t ever be able to forgive me and I don’t blame you.”

  Had he ever cared about her at all?

  She couldn’t say it was okay, because there was no way it would ever be. But could she forgive him? The betrayal cut deep. She’d trusted Charles with the life of her daughter and he’d brought a criminal into their world.

  Hailey drew in a deep breath. “I am going to try, but only because if I’m chewed up with hatred for you, Kerry will know. And no kid needs that between their parents.”

  A tear fell from the corner of Charles’s eye, down his cheek. “You’re a better person than I am. You always have been.”

  Hailey didn’t know about that. “Did you give my father money?”

  Charles nodded. “He didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Know what?”

  “About the cancer.”

  Hailey’s gut twisted. “So it’s true?”

  “It’s not terminal. He has a good chance of beating it, but it’s taking its toll and his insurance won’t cover everything.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  Charles grabbed her hand and squeezed. “He didn’t want you to worry.”

  Hailey wanted to laugh, but she was too frustrated.

  “Yeah.” Charles’s lips lifted in what could have been a smile. “I told him that sounded like someone else I know.”

  She shook her head. “So whose jewels are they? Who did you and Farrell and Deirdre steal them from?”

  *

  Charles looked away, but Eric didn’t much care if the man felt guilty. His actions had caused Hailey supreme heartache, and changed the course of their family’s life. If only people could see what the consequences of their actions would be. Too bad it didn’t work like that.

  Hailey’s grace astounded him. Eric wanted to pummel the man, to hurt him even more than Farrell already had for putting Hailey and Kerry in danger just to save himself. The strength of his anger surprised him, but then Hailey brought out that intense need to make sure nobody hurt her. Ever.

  She’d been through enough, and was ready to promise he’d never let anything else happen to her. But how could he guarantee that? Sarah had been paralyzed. As much as he wanted to tell Hailey their future together would be fine, he couldn’t assure her of that.

  Hailey shook Charles’s shoulder. “Who did you steal from?”

  Charles’s voice was low when he spoke. “Old Lady Mansion.”

  Hailey gasped. “You didn’t.”

  “She was dying! It wasn’t like she needed all those jewels. No one ever missed them. No one was going to come looking for their inheritance.”

  “So you conned an old lady out of her precious gems and you don’t even care?”

  Charles’s face was red. “I didn’t know they were going to kill her! I thought we’d sneak in and grab them while she wasn’t looking. But Farrell went into her room. It was horrible. He—” Charles’s voice broke and he hung his head, sobbing.

  Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Teenage kids were just as capable of violence as adults. But he hadn’t expected Hailey’s ex-husband to be wrapped up with Farrell and Deirdre, the theft of jewels and the murder of an old woman.

  Hailey’s voice was flat. “And you used the money to buy yourself this life?”

  Eric saw the vein in her neck pulse. He hauled her to her feet, pulling her back from Charles. “Take it easy, okay? He isn’t in any condition to do this now. He needs medical attention.”

  “He should have thought of that before he robbed Old Lady Mansion. He’s an accessory to murder.”

  Charles yelled, “I wasn’t in the room. I was taking the jewels. I had nothing to do with killing her, that was all Farrell.”

  “Which makes you an accessory.”

  Eric touched her shoulder. “Hailey—”

  “No.” She brushed off his hand. “He doesn’t even get it. He just confessed. He could go to jail.”

  “I know.” Eric tugged her back. “We need to get him medical help.”

  “What’s the point?” Charles cried. “You should leave me here to die.”

  “Seriously?” Hailey flung her arms up, nearly hitting Eric in the face. “You’re just going to give up now? Kerry needs her father, and all you can worry about is yourself.”

  Charles’s face twisted with pain. “You think I want to leave her? She’s the best thing I ever did. But if what you say is true, she shouldn’t have to live with her father being in jail for murder.”

  “Let’s j
ust call Farrell, then.” Hailey slammed her hands on her hips. “He can come back and finish you off. After all, what reason is there to live?”

  Okay, this was getting out of hand. Eric strode over to Charles and hauled the man up. “Let’s go.”

  He walked Charles past Hailey, who was grinning now she’d won the fight. Eric didn’t mind helping her, but not when that meant he was the referee between them. Especially considering the fact they clearly had a lot they needed to talk about.

  Eric glanced between them. “Have you guys thought about counseling?”

  Hailey’s smile dropped from her face, leaving a grimace. “We’re not a couple anymore.”

  “I know that. But it doesn’t mean you don’t have stuff that needs to be said.”

  Charles let out a huff, which if he wasn’t injured might have been laughter. Eric continued through Kerry’s room to the open window.

  “Charles?” At Hailey’s question, Eric turned them both back. “Where are the jewels now?”

  Eric waited for him to answer.

  “Where did you put them?”

  Charles looked at the floor, then up at Hailey again. “They’re long gone.”

  Hailey looked like she could spit fire. Eric thought that if he stared enough, he’d be able to see the flames in her eyes. “How much was there?”

  “Two-point-two million.”

  “How could you?” Hailey’s voice was hollow.

  “You didn’t seem to mind too much when it was keeping you in a life of luxury.”

  “You really think I cared about that?”

  “It’s not like you ever went anywhere. I thought you were basking in it. Living the life.”

  Hailey grimaced. “I couldn’t go anywhere, because I couldn’t stand to hear what everyone was saying about me.”

  Eric glanced between them, wondering how a couple could be married and still have so much that had gone unsaid. He prayed it wouldn’t have been like that with him and Sarah, but it easily could’ve been. Hailey had been trying to protect herself and her new baby, and Charles had been trying to assuage his guilt over the theft and pretend he hadn’t done something awful.

  Eric turned to him. “Why didn’t Farrell and Deirdre realize you had taken the jewels?”

  Charles kept his eyes down. “There were so many and we agreed to hide them all until everyone forgot about what had happened. At first I didn’t think they’d care about a few here or there. Then Farrell went down for assault the first time. I thought he’d be out of my hair forever. He wouldn’t have had any way of knowing the jewels were gone, so I started paying off my mortgage a little at a time.”