Unwelcomed Greeting: A Riverton Crossing Novel

by Savannah Maris

  “Baby, we need to get you out so Evan and I can ride back to check on the car. Can you walk?”

  “I don’t know. My legs feel like Jell-O.”

  “Come on. I’ll help you.”

  When she finally stepped out of the car, her legs didn’t hold her very well. He pulled her to him. “Do you want me to carry you?”

  “No, ‘cause you’re shaking, too. That’ll make us both fall.”

  Mitchell left her in the living room with Ginger. He met Evan outside, and they rode in the direction of the car. They could hear the sirens in the distance getting louder as the horses ran flat out. Mitchell’s heart was still pounding and the adrenaline hadn’t quite worn off. Letting the horses run like this did very little to slow his heart rate, but as the fence grew closer they slowed the horses. That was the first time he looked at Evan. His face had concern on it, but Mitchell couldn’t tell if he was worried that his friend was hurt or both men were dead, which translated to this not being over. As they tied the horses to the fence, Mitchell said, “I thought they were going to increase the pressure, not send it all in one day.”

  “There must be a deadline approachin’,” he responded.

  As they walked toward the car, they saw a Deputy Sheriff’s car already there. It was the Deputy that found the drugs in Harley’s car. Mitchell never got his name. They watched firetrucks, ambulances, and more police cars fall into place while the people who were in the oncoming car stood on the other side of the road. Evan tried to stay in the shadows and wore a baseball cap to help hide his features so no one recognized him.

  Mitchell spoke with the Deputy about what he knew. “The people are alive, but we need to get the car open to get them out. The air bags in the driver’s door deployed and that’s probably what saved his life.”

  “Do you know what happened?”

  “Those people over there,” he nodded to the people across the road, “say there were two cars racing and this one was in their lane. He lost control when he tried to change lanes.”

  “Damn. Are they okay?”

  “Yeah, just a little shook up.”

  Mitchell walked back toward the shadows as the police arrived. Riverton Crossing police were the first on the scene, with Curtis being the first out of his car. Was he going to claim jurisdiction? This time when he was on the phone, he wasn’t laughing. In fact, he looked as if he was about the blow chunks. Ambulances arrived and the EMTs were out quickly. Mitchell heard them talking to the people in the car. They were responding so that was good. The scene became organized chaos. Firemen brought a jack to stabilize the car. Part of it sat on the ground and part leaned against the undercarriage of the car. Mitchell watched as a fireman used a crow bar to pry the shattered windshield away from the car. Another asked the passenger if he could cover his face. He must’ve gotten an affirmative because he put a ladder against the car and busted the side window.

  In the distance, Mitchell heard someone yell, “I smell gas! Let’s get a move on people!” A couple firefighters moved toward the car with pieces of equipment. They sat a generator-type box close by and attached a hose from it to another piece of equipment. One tested the stability of the car then proceeded toward it. The ladder was left for him. The equipment looked like giant electric scissors that proceeded to make cuts in the car. They peeled the roof as if it were a can of tuna. They started removing Carlos first, but he seemed to have his legs caught by the side of the car. Some EMTs were nearby waiting on him. Mitchell wanted to see him pulled out, wanted to see his face – the face that had wreaked havoc on his town for the last month. A new set of firemen came over with the hydraulic rescue tool again. They started cutting from the bottom of the windshield to the tire well. Again, they peeled back as much of the car as possible, as well as some of the dashboard. In the distance someone yelled, “His leg is broken!” The firefighters and EMT crews worked to get his legs out as easily as possible, but it must’ve still hurt. Screams of agony came from the car. Slowly, they pulled him out and placed him on the gurney. His neck was stabilized and so were his broken legs and left shoulder.

  Mitchell noticed Curtis was still on the phone, but his face was so white he looked green. He turned back to watch the firefighters work to release Nathan from the car. The second group of EMTs had taken the place of the first. A couple of firefighters were on their knees with outstretched arms while more were on the high side of the car. Straps of some sort were positioned under Nathan at his hips and shoulders. Someone released the seatbelt, and the guys on top eased him into the hands of the guys below. People got into positon to help remove him from the car. The EMTs stabilized his neck, but he was able to move all of his extremities. Mitchell saw blood on the side of his head, so maybe he’d just gotten a concussion. As soon as everyone was clear, the firemen swarmed the car.

  Mitchell saw Jimmy on the other side of the firetrucks just before he turned toward Evan. They walked toward the fence where the horses were tied. Even though they rode slow enough to talk, neither of them said much. The barn came into view as Mitchell asked, “Are you going to call your Captain?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure he’ll be notified where they take Nathan. His cover team will follow ‘im and call it in.”

  They took the horses into the barn, brushed them, and left them. Mitchell would have Andy care for them better in the morning.

  By the time he crawled into bed, there were only a few hours of darkness left. Thankfully, Kayla was already there so he snuggled up to her and drifted off to sleep within seconds.

  26

  When Kayla woke, she felt as though she’d lived a lifetime in one day. Yesterday. She was mentally drained from everything that happened and her muscles were sore from tensing them. It felt as if she’d worked out for hours. Mitchell came to bed later than she had, so she let him sleep. They were going to her parents’ place this morning to check the damage, but they needed a minute to catch their breath. The kitchen was empty, so she made the coffee. As soon as she could sneak a cup, she grabbed it and went to the back porch. She missed the sunrise, but it hadn’t been up long. She curled up on the love seat with her hands wrapped around her mug. Was something else going to happen today? Regardless, she was determined to stick to their plan of filing a complaint about what happened last night. Apparently, it was what Masterson Investments was waiting on. She was anxious about the car last night. She hoped no one was killed, just maybe sidelined for a little while. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt strong lips on the top of her head. Mitchell.

  “Good morning, baby. You’re up early,” he said with his scratchy morning voice.

  “Hi. I couldn’t sleep anymore, but I’m still tired,” she said as he sat beside her. She shifted her position to get closer to him.

  “I don’t know how much I have left in the tank either. I crawled in the bed somewhere between three and four.” He took a sip of his coffee, let his head loll back, and closed his eyes. He looked as if the coffee sliding down his throat was bringing him pleasure.

  With a smile on her face she whispered, “I should be the only thing that puts that look on your face.”

  He rolled his head toward her, still smiling, opened his eyes, and pulled her in for a kiss. “This look is nothing compared to the look you put on my face.”

  “Are you awake enough to tell me what happened at the car last night?”

  He took another sip then explained everything he and Evan witnessed. He didn’t think she’d appreciate the gory details, especially this early in the morning. He did let her know that Carlos was the worse of the two and that Nathan didn’t seem too bad. He told her Evan was trying to find any information he could. Finally, he asked, “Did you hear from Thomas while I was gone?”

  “Yeah, Mom didn’t have a heart attack. Thomas thinks it was just stress-related. With all that’s been going on, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now. He’s bringing her home soon and staying with them a while, so we need to get over there this morning. That way h
e and Daddy can look at the damage with us.”

  “That’s great about your mom. What time do you want to go?”

  “After breakfast?”

  “Let’s go cook.”

  A couple of hours later, they drove into her parents’ driveway. They walked in the front field where the charred marks were. Luckily, all that burned was a field and some trees. Nothing that wouldn’t grow back. If her dad had any crops planted, they were probably ruined. Mitchell walked close to the front fence line. He wore his construction boots just in case there were hot spots in the area. Since she didn’t have any, he told her to stay on the edge.

  “There are big pieces of glass over here,” he yelled to her.

  “Do you think they’ll send out a crime scene investigation team?”

  “To my knowledge, Riverton Crossing doesn’t have one.”

  “A detective then?”

  “Should, but who the hell knows anymore?”

  They heard a car slowing and looked to see Thomas’ car pulling into the driveway so Kayla went to meet them. Mitchell would catch up when he finished what he was doing. By the time she reached the car, everyone was getting out. She blew Thomas and her dad a kiss as she walked straight for her mom. “How are you feeling?” She greeted her with a hug.

  “Tired. I didn’t get any sleep,” her mom answered.

  “Do you want me to take you to the house?”

  She leaned against Thomas’ car. “No, we can wait on the boys.”

  They watched as her dad and brother walked toward Mitchell. Her dad had on boots, but Thomas didn’t. So, just as he had done with her, Mitchell suggested Thomas not come any closer. Kayla heard Mitchell explain his theory to her dad as he pointed to the glass and the way the explosion had a center then fanned out. They walked more of the area. Apparently, there was a breeze last night since the fire seemed to have blown to one side. On their way back, she heard Mitchell say, “Yessir, I’m taking Kayla to the police station to see what they’re going to do. They didn’t ask us to file a report last night. They may want that from you and Mrs. Gregory.”

  “We’ll meet y’all down at the house,” Thomas said.

  When they got out at her parents’ house, they heard yelling and some sort of a commotion at Dick’s. They couldn’t make out the words, just the raised voices. Then it sounded as if something was kicked over. Someone was pissed. Mitchell and Kayla cracked a small smile as they walked into the house. They told her family everything that had happened recently.

  “Damn. Y’all’ve had a busy twenty-four hours,” her dad said.

  “I heard some nurses talking about a couple of car crash victims that came in last night. I’m on tonight so I’ll see what I can find out,” Thomas said.

  “If y’all don’t mind, I think I’m going to bed,” her mom said softly.

  “Sure, Mom. Mitchell is taking me to the police station. We’ll let y’all know if anything comes of it.”

  As they walked back to the car hand in hand, they heard Dick yell Sam’s name. She guessed it was just the two of them until Carlos got out of the hospital. “Do you think with Carlos in the hospital it’ll slow things down?”

  “I don’t know. It may speed things up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ll have to ask Evan, but I’d think that if a date for a buy is set, it’ll go down regardless of who’s in play.”

  When they drove into the parking lot at the police station, Mitchell said, “Baby, we’re short on sleep and long on stress. Please try not to get arrested. If Curtis is in there, he’ll be itching to put cuffs on one of us. And just to be clear, if anyone is putting cuffs on you, it’s me.” He gave her his mischievous grin even though she knew he was dead on his feet.

  “I’ll try to be good. Do you have cuffs?”

  “No. Do you?”

  She gave him a mischievous smile of her own and got out of the car. When she looked back, his mouth was open. “We’re definitely finishing that conversation later,” he said as he caught up to her. She just wiggled her brows.

  He opened the door for her to enter. As they approached the front desk, Kayla saw Mr. Dribble talking with someone around the corner in the hallway. Before the officer could greet them, she pushed Mitchell back toward the front door. The look of surprise on his face was priceless.

  “What the hell are you doing, Mak?” Mitchell whispered.

  “Um, I need to tell you something before we go in there,” she said.

  “Why are you nervous?”

  “Do you see the man through the glass on the right? The guy in the suit?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s Mr. Dribble.”

  “Okay. The guy from the Zoning Department?”

  “Yeah, well. The thing is…” She needed a minute because Mitchell was going to hit the roof. “The thing is the day I met with him. You know, the first morning I was here.” Mitchell looked at her with his brows furrowed and nodded. “Yeah, that day when I met with him, I dressed a little unprofessional and didn’t act much better.”

  “Just how unprofessional?”

  She pursed her lips together and blew her cheeks out. She held her hand out and used her fingers to show the infractions. “I unfastened an extra button on my blouse, I was wearing a tight pencil skirt so when I bent over he got a good look at my backside, and I acted a little dipsy.” She waited for the explosion. “Oh, and I may have innocently flirted to get information. But that’s it,” she stage whispered.

  Mitchell grabbed the back of her upper arm and walked to the front desk again. “Let’s get finished here so we can finish that conversation, too.”

  The same female officer that was there the first time was there again. Kayla was glad Officer Nichols was wearing a name tag. “Mr. Riverton, Ms. Gregory, how may I help you this morning?” she asked.

  “Good morning, we’re just following up on the investigation into the fire at my parents’ house last night,” Kayla said.

  “I don’t think there is an investigation. The Chief said it was just kids playing with matches.”

  “Well, being as there are remnants of a Molotov cocktail on the property, I beg to differ,” Kayla said with a tilt of her head and a cock to a brow.

  Officer Nichols looked at Mitchell and he affirmed what Kayla said. “Let me see who’s in.” She walked down the hall to where Mr. Dibble was speaking to someone. He stopped talking and looked at them. When he recognized Kayla, his face turned red and he cleared his throat before he walked in the opposite direction.

  “You must have made quite the impression,” Mitchell whispered.

  “Mitch, we were still dancing around our feelings. Seriously, I was just using my assets on a man who needed to get laid,” she whispered back.

  “Your assets are for my eyes only.”

  “Now.”

  “Always have been.”

  Kayla started to comment further when Officer Nichols told them the chief would be with them shortly, so they sat in the lobby area. Mitchell was still so mad his knee was bouncing. He looked at Kayla with hurt in his eyes. “Did you touch him?”

  “What? God, no!” she tried to whisper, but it came out a little loud. Her temper was getting the best of her. “I got the Masterson Investments connection, didn’t I? And I didn’t have to sleep with someone else to do it.” He narrowed his eyes at her when Curtis appeared in front of them.

  He looked as though he hadn’t been home at all. Good. “Chief,” Kayla acknowledged.

  “It’s been a long night. What can I do for you?”

  “We’ll be happy to speak with someone else if you’d like,” she said.

  “No, you have me.”

  “We want to know what the Riverton Crossing Police Department is doing to investigate the fire last night.”

  “From what I saw and where the fire chief said it started, I believe it was just some kids who threw out a lit match or cigarette or something.”

  “How could you make that det
ermination in the dark?” Mitchell asked.

  Curtis didn’t seem too thrilled that Mitchell asked the question. “What do you want, Mr. Riverton?”

  “An investigation. There are signs of a Molotov cocktail as we explained to Officer Nichols.”

  “Plus, there’s an eyewitness,” Kayla added.

  “What eyewitness? No one has said anything to me about an eyewitness, Ms. Gregory,” Curtis said with a little panic in his voice.

  “Maybe they’re waiting to see what the investigation comes back with, maybe they’re getting an attorney,” she continued.

  “If they’re just an eyewitness, why would they need an attorney?”

  “Maybe because they don’t trust you, Chief,” she said, with as much emphasis on Chief as she could muster.

  “What could they have possibly seen last night in the dark?”

  “I think that was my question to you about the evidence, but maybe a Challenger that resembles the one pulled out of the ditch by my house last night,” Mitchell added.

  Kayla didn’t think Curtis could’ve looked any worse, but apparently she was wrong. He looked as if he could pass out. She used her sweet as honey voice, “Do you need to have a seat, Chief? You don’t look so good.”

  Mitchell asked Officer Nichols to bring the Chief some water. As the Chief sat down, Kayla pushed a little more. “We’ll go now, Chief. Please make sure your detective gets in touch with us today. Who are you assigning to this case?”

  “Williams. Detective Harold Williams.”

  “Good. You should have my number if you need to speak with Ms. Gregory. Otherwise, I’m sure you can find her brother and parents’ numbers. Thank you for your time,” Mitchell said as he escorted her through the door.