Sudden Second Chance

by Carol Ericson

  “Can you take the disappointment?”

  “Of course.” She dug into her oatmeal to hide her confusion. She’d been so convinced she was Heather, she hadn’t allowed any doubt in her worldview—until now.

  “When do you start your interviews? I can probably get Deputy Unger to talk to you. Maybe if his mom’s still in town, she can talk to you about Heather’s family.”

  Beth took a sip of tea to melt the lump in her throat. Only yesterday after she’d sprayed Duke in the face with pepper spray and he’d stalked off had she figured she’d get nothing more from him, and yet here he was, offering to save her again.

  Despite his hard shell, he had a soft heart. That was why he thought he could save all the kids of the world.

  “I thought...well, I figured you were done helping me with cold cases.”

  “I don’t see this as a Cold Case Chronicles’ investigation. I see this as a Beth St. Regis investigation.”

  “I figured you’d be done with that, too.”

  “Maybe I should be.” He bit off the end of a piece of bacon.

  “Duke, it was never just about the evidence.” She hunched forward. “I don’t know how you could’ve believed that after what we had.”

  “You used me, Beth—straight-up.”

  “I took the case files from your room when I spent the night with you, but I didn’t spend the night with you to get the case files. How could you think that?”

  “Easy. We had sex and then you snuck out in the early morning hours, taking my files with you.”

  She sighed. If he’d let her prove to him that she wanted him regardless of what he could do to help her, she could convince him in one night.

  She dropped her spoon into her bowl as the truth punched her in the gut. She did still want Duke Harper, had never stopped wanting him. She just had one more truth to tell him and she didn’t know if he’d ever get over that one.

  He turned the file toward her. “Do you want to see this or is it just more fun skulking around in my room?”

  “I’ll take a look.”

  While Duke polished off the rest of his breakfast, Beth sifted through the pile of papers in the folder. Apparently, Timberline had suffered from a flourishing meth trade as the town’s economy tanked. A lot of money exchanged hands and there had been a spike in crime. Could the drug dealers have branched into trafficking? It happened all over the world. Why would a small town in Washington be immune?

  She closed the file. “That’s some scary stuff.”

  “You can see it’s not a stretch to imagine that druggie bunch might’ve been into some other serious crimes.”

  The waitress tucked the bill between the salt and pepper shaker and Beth grabbed it. “I’ll use my expense account in exchange for the information. You see? Everything on the up-and-up.”

  “Sounds fair.” Duke stood up and stretched. “I’m going to have a few meetings today with local law enforcement. Are you going to start making calls and setting up interviews with tomorrow’s budding TV stars?”

  “I suppose I have to start somewhere.” She handed her credit card to the waitress. “Who knows? Maybe someone will recognize me as Heather Brice.”

  She signed the receipt and joined Duke outside. “I hope the rental company replaced my car already.”

  “I’ll drop you off at the hotel.” He placed a hand at the small of her back, propelling her toward the car. “Stay alert. Don’t leave stuff in your car and make sure nobody’s following you.”

  “Following me?” She hugged herself. “That’s creepy. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Just watch it. I’ll even replace your pepper spray for you.”

  He started the car and wheeled out of the gravel parking lot of the restaurant.

  They’d traveled just a half mile when traffic slowed down and the revolving lights of some emergency vehicles lit up the gray sky.

  “Traffic accident?”

  Duke craned his neck out the window. “I don’t see any cars except the ones on the road.”

  Beth powered down her own window and stuck her head out. “It’s a bike at the side of the road—a twisted bike.”

  Then she saw it—a gurney with a sheet covering a body...and a green baseball cap on the ground.

  Beth’s stomach churned and her nails dug into the seat of the car. “Oh, my God. It’s Gary Binder and I...I think he’s dead.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What?” Duke slammed on the brakes and the car lurched forward and back. “How can you tell?”

  “That’s his bike up ahead and there’s a body on a gurney with a sheet covering the head.”

  “How do you know it’s Binder? Maybe his bike’s there because he stopped to help.”

  “It’s the hat—the green baseball cap. It’s on the ground next to the stretcher.” Beth covered her mouth. “We were just talking to him. Literally, he could’ve been hit right after he left the parking lot of the hotel.”

  “We don’t even know if he’s been hit. I still don’t see any cars stopped except for the emergency vehicles and all of us on the road.” He swung the SUV onto the shoulder of the road.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m still an officer of the law, and I’m going to find out what happened.”

  His tires churned up gravel as he hugged the shoulder, rumbling past the cars stuck on the road.

  A deputy stepped up to block his progress, so Duke threw the car into Park and grabbed the door handle. Turning to Beth, he said, “Stay here.”

  When he slammed his car door, he heard an echo from the other side and saw Beth heading toward the crash scene. Did he expect anything different from her?

  He caught her arm and whispered, “Let me do the talking.”

  “Folks, you need to get back in your car and keep moving.”

  Duke flashed his badge. “Special Agent Harper. I’m here on FBI business, Deputy, and I think the victim here is—was one of my witnesses.”

  As the deputy squinted at his badge, he said, “Gary Binder. Is that your man?”

  Beth stiffened beside him.

  Duke said, “That’s him. What happened?”

  “Hit and run.”

  Beth grabbed his arm and squeezed hard. “Any witnesses?”

  “Not yet. Follow me.” The deputy jerked his thumb toward the ambulance. “Damn shame since the guy was finally getting his life together.”

  Beth kept a grip on Duke as they walked toward the gurney, draped with a white sheet, the outlines of a body beneath it, a bloodstain near the head.

  Duke didn’t need to see Binder and Beth really didn’t need to see him. “Who called the police?”

  “Someone on a cell phone in a car. She noticed the bike first, and when she slowed down, she saw Binder’s body just off the road.”

  “Any evidence? Tire tracks? Brake skid marks?”

  “Nothing yet, but we’re going to let the accident investigators do their thing.” The deputy shook his head. “Timberline seems to be losing its civility ever since Evergreen Software went in—too many city folks bringing the hustle and bustle with ’em.”

  Duke swallowed hard. Was that what you called a hit and run out here? A lack of civility? “Maybe someone will step forward or the driver will have an attack of conscience.”

  “Do you need anything else from me, Agent Harper? We can forward the accident report to you once it’s complete.”

  “That would be helpful, thanks.” He started heading back to the SUV with Beth attached to his arm. Halfway to the car, he turned. “Deputy? What was Binder doing out here on his bike?”

  “Not sure. He’d been working as a handyman, doing odd jobs, but as far as I know, most of his work was in town. He always rode that damned bike. Someon
e had even given him a truck recently, but he stuck with the bike.”

  “To the very end.”

  Duke climbed into the car and glanced at Beth, whose wide eyes took up half her face. “Are you okay?”

  “That’s so...creepy. We were just talking to him.” She knotted her fingers in her lap. “What was he doing at the Timberline Hotel?”

  “Riding on his way to work or wherever he was going.” He drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel. “Maybe he was doing work at the hotel and that’s what brought him out this way.”

  “If he was at the hotel...”

  “You’re thinking he was the one who broke into your room and left the frog head?”

  She nodded. “But why would he do that?”

  “He’d do it if he was the one warning you.”

  “He doesn’t have any real estate to worry about. Why would he want to scare me off this story?”

  “Maybe he was involved in the Timberline Trio disappearance more than he let on in his interview.” He cranked on the engine. “I’m throwing that out there, but I have a hard time believing Gary Binder would be sending anonymous emails to the FBI.”

  “Do you think his death—a hit and run—is just coincidental to all this other stuff?”

  “Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn’t have to be related to his involvement in the kidnappings or to the threats against you. Binder’s the one who gave the FBI information about the drug trade at the time of the kidnappings.”

  Beth clasped her fidgeting hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. “You think someone was trying to shut him up?”

  “Could be, even though it’s a little late. He already spilled, unless...”

  “Unless he had more to spill.” Her knees began to bounce.

  “Maybe that’s why he was at the hotel. He knew you were staying there and wanted to talk to you. He didn’t want to open up in front of me, so he pretended to be looking at the broken window. I’m going to have to review his previous interview carefully.” He pulled into the line of traffic, crawling past the accident site. “But if he had more information, I don’t know why he didn’t give it up the first time.”

  “I don’t know, Duke, but there seem to be some real forces of evil at work in Timberline.”

  As they passed the last emergency vehicle, Duke looked in his rearview mirror just as the ambulance doors closed on Gary Binder’s body. A chill touched his spine.

  Whatever evil held sway over Timberline, he’d do whatever it took to keep it far away from Beth...even as she ran toward it.

  * * *

  WHEN THEY GOT back to the hotel, the rental-car company had dropped off her replacement car. Duke walked around the car, examining it. He ran his hand along the roof. “Don’t leave anything out on your seat this time.”

  “C’mon, Duke. We both know the vandal would’ve broken into my car with or without that bag on the seat. He was sending me a message.”

  “Thanks for the reminder. I’m going to get you a fresh container of pepper spray. At least you proved you know how to use it.”

  “Are you going to take off for your meetings?”

  “After I ask the front desk about Binder. You coming?” Maybe he was stalling, but he didn’t want to leave Beth alone. Funny how he’d done a complete one-eighty from yesterday—a few threats could do that.

  “Sure, I’ll come with you. My interviews can wait.”

  They walked into the lobby together, and Tammy, the receptionist at the check-in counter, looked up from her computer screen and waved. “Hello. Can I get you anything? I heard about your room, Ms. St. Regis, and we want to make your stay here hassle-free from here on out. The maid staff is being extra careful now.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Duke rested his arms on the counter. “Tammy, do you know a local guy, Gary Binder?”

  Her mouth formed an O. “I just heard. He’s dead—hit-and-run accident. Who could do that? I never liked Gary much, but you don’t leave a dog to die in the street without stopping. Am I right?”

  News did travel quickly in Timberline. “Absolutely. I hope they catch the bastard and string him up.”

  Her eyes popped. “Wh...what did you want to know about Gary?”

  “Did the hotel ever hire him to do any work around here?”

  “Gary? No way. Management knew his reputation, even though Kendall Rush had given him a chance when she was here.”

  Beth cleared her throat. “Isn’t Kendall Rush the sister of one of the Timberline Trio?”

  “Twin.” The clerk pulled the corners of her mouth down with two fingers. “She was out here to sell her aunt’s house and got caught up with all the craziness with Wyatt Carson. But while she was here, she hired Gary to do some work at the house. I guess he did okay, but management here would still never hire him.”

  “Do you know why he’d have any reason to be at this hotel? In the parking lot?” Duke tipped his head in that direction. “We saw him out there, probably just before he got hit.”

  “Really?” Tammy’s eyes got even bigger. “I don’t know why he’d be here, just passing by, I guess.” She licked her lips. “Do you think the sheriff’s department is going to want to look at our security tapes of the parking lot?”

  “Probably. In fact—” Duke slid his badge across the counter “—I wouldn’t mind having a look myself.”

  “Okay. I know you’re FBI and all, but can I call my manager first?”

  “Sure.” He glanced at Beth. “You can take off if you want, set up those interviews.”

  “I think I’d rather watch this video.” She leaned in close, putting her lips next to his ear, and said in a low voice, “Why do you think Kendall Rush hired him?”

  “Don’t know. Maybe she felt sorry for him.”

  Tammy got off the phone. “My manager says it’s okay.”

  She invited them behind the counter and into a small room. She hunched over a set of computer monitors and clicked through several files, launching a video. “This is from earlier today. How long ago did you see him?”

  “Over two hours ago.”

  She cued up the tape, and after several minutes, Gary Binder with his green ball cap came into the frame, walking his bike.

  Beth jabbed her finger at the display. “Is he talking to someone out of the picture?”

  Binder kept looking over his shoulder, but Duke couldn’t see his mouth moving.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just watching for cars as he comes into the parking lot, but he seems to have a purpose for coming into the lot.”

  “Yeah, he’s looking at my rental.”

  After checking behind him once more, Binder wheeled up to Beth’s rental car and poked his head inside the broken window. A minute later Duke and Beth appeared in the frame.

  They watched a bit longer, but Binder never returned to the parking lot after they took off.

  Tammy scrunched up her face. “Looks like he just wanted a closer look at your car.”

  “Why did he keep glancing over his shoulder? There’s not that much traffic on the road.” Beth stepped back from the monitors and folded her arms. “Because if there had been, someone would’ve seen the car that hit him.”

  “Maybe someone did.” Duke backed out of the claustrophobic room. “Thanks, Tammy. I’ll tell the sheriff’s department about seeing Binder in the parking lot here, and they’ll probably want to review that tape, too.”

  Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she closed down the recordings. “I just wish there was something on there. I suppose they told Gary’s mom already. She’s a tough, old lady, but Gary was her only kid.”

  “Sounds like the guy couldn’t catch a break.” He turned to Beth. “Are you taking off now? I’ll be at the sheriff’s station if you need me.” />
  “And I’ll be setting up shop somewhere to do some interviews.”

  “You could do them here in your hotel room, or maybe the hotel lobby.”

  “If I’ve learned anything from the show, it’s that people feel more comfortable talking in their homes.”

  “Just don’t go to Bill Raney’s home to interview him.” He pushed open the hotel door and they stepped outside.

  “I’m not going to be interviewing people who don’t want to talk to me.”

  “How do you know if they’re being honest?” He aimed the key fob at his car and the horn blipped. “They could pretend and then change their story when they get you alone.”

  “I’m only going to talk to the ones I gave cards to last night—Chloe the waitress and a few senior citizens. You don’t think I have anything to fear from them, do you?”

  “Be careful, Beth. If the same person who’s warning you is the same person who hit Binder, he’s just added murder to his résumé.”

  She rubbed her arms. “If someone did kill Gary, it’s because he knew something. I know nothing.”

  “Not yet and maybe you should keep it that way.”

  “I’ll be careful, Duke.” She got behind the wheel of her new rental and pressed her palm against the glass.

  He waved back. He had no choice but to leave her.

  When he drove past the accident scene, the ambulance had already left with its sad cargo and one cop car remained, directing traffic.

  Was Binder’s death really connected to his willingness to speak up about the Timberline drug trade twenty-five years ago? Deputy Unger had mentioned tweakers being responsible for the vandalism of Beth’s car. Did that mean the drug culture was alive and well in Timberline today?

  He hoped all Beth got today was half-baked stories of Wyatt Carson. She didn’t need to be involved in this case any more than she already was.

  He’d almost been relieved to hear about her ulterior motive for being in Timberline. Maybe once she found out she wasn’t Heather Brice, she’d give up on this story.

  And if she was Heather Brice? What could be the danger in that? She’d leave Timberline, reconnect with her long-lost family who now resided in Connecticut and live happily ever after...or not.