From the Shadows

by Rebecca York

“This is Alex Shane,” he said when he’d been put through to the chief’s office. “It looks like I’m in trouble again.”

  She was standing close enough to hear the chief’s response.

  “In what capacity?” he asked.

  “Sara Delaney called me to say two men in a pickup were following her and trying to run her off the road. I advised her to turn into Muncaster Park. They smashed her window with a gun butt, but I persuaded them to leave her alone. While they were wading in the river, Sara slashed their tires. Then I got her out of there.”

  Instead of straining to hear the chief’s responses, she walked to the window and turned to face Alex as he said, “A couple of hours ago.”

  Then, “Well, she was upset. We’ve been talking. You might send a man down to the river side of the park to see the vehicles. And you might want to meet with me and Sara. No, not at the police station. How about at the White Swan,” he suggested, naming the upscale restaurant that was located in a nearby country club.

  Alex hung up and looked at her. “He’ll meet us there in twenty minutes.” He paused, then said, “I’m, uh, not going to tell him how I got hooked up with you.”

  “What are you planning to say?”

  “He knows I was hired to investigate Tillman’s associates. Your name came up as his accountant.”

  “Okay,” she said tightly.

  “You’d prefer some other scenario?”

  “No. That’s fine.”

  “But you’re unhappy about it,” he pressed.

  “I don’t like duplicity,” she said tightly.

  “Is that why you forgot to mention that you remembered our previous meeting at the park?”

  “You forgot to mention it, too,” she reminded him softly.

  He nodded.

  “So was I just another one of your conquests back then?” she heard herself asking.

  He laughed. “If that’s all you’d been, we would have gotten a little further into it, don’t you think?”

  “So what did it mean to you?” she asked, when what she really wanted to know was how he felt about their lovemaking a few minutes ago.

  “We can’t talk about it now. We have to meet Hempstead. Do you want him to look at us and think that there’s more going on than we’re saying?”

  “No.”

  “Then focus on the fact that two guys attacked you.”

  “All right,” she agreed, thinking that she’d dug herself into a hole and she wasn’t sure how she was going to climb back out.

  After they had gotten back into the car, she watched Alex stash his gun in the glove compartment. Five minutes later, they pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

  Again he paused and turned to her.

  “What?”

  “There’s something else you should know. When I called your father, he accused me of helping you look for your birth parents.”

  “I’m sorry he got off on that track.”

  “He was also sounding off about Lee Tillman.”

  “Another one of his favorite themes,” she conceded, wondering where this was leading.

  “He said Lee loaned you the money to buy your house.”

  “He loaned me the down payment. We have a regular repayment schedule.”

  “Why would he loan you that kind of money?” Alex asked, his voice mild but his eyes narrowed.

  “I guess he liked me, and he was giving me a helping hand.”

  “That’s all?”

  “What are you implying?”

  “Nothing.”

  Still, she felt as if he’d slapped her in the face. “If you’re asking do I have a sexual relationship with him, the answer is no!”

  “Your father thinks it’s true.”

  “My father’s always been a little paranoid. It’s gotten worse lately.”

  “Paranoid enough to get rid of Tillman?”

  “No!”

  He kept the questions coming. “You’re sure about that?”

  She took her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

  “Do you know where he was the morning Lee disappeared?”

  “At home, as far as I know.”

  “But you’re not certain.”

  She shook her head.

  “I’ve got to check him out.”

  “Uh-huh.” She opened her door and stepped out of the SUV, turning quickly away from Alex. She was angry with him—and hurt. He’d made love to her a little while ago, and now he was saying her father was a suspect. Worse, he was asking her if she’d been sleeping with Lee.

  The part about her father she could understand, especially since she could imagine the morning’s conversation. The part about Lee made her realize how far she was from winning Alex’s trust.

  If she’d had her own car, she would have climbed into it and sped away. But that wasn’t an option. And besides, she knew that she had to talk to the police chief.

  Still, she was struggling to hold back tears as she marched up the path toward the restaurant.

  Alex caught up with her and guided her around a corner and into a small garden area.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t handle that very well.”

  She kept her face averted.

  “I know you aren’t sleeping with Lee,” he said. “I shouldn’t have made it sound like I believed the accusation.”

  Still unable to raise her face, she asked, “How do you know?”

  “I know from the way you made love with me.”

  “You mean unpolished?”

  “No. I mean warm. Generous and a little nervous. Vulnerable.” As he spoke he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. She kept her body stiff, still unable to trust him or herself.

  “I don’t think you’re quite Lee’s cup of tea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Let’s say I know more about him than you do.”

  When she simply stood there, he muttered, “Please accept my apology.”

  “Okay,” she answered, for the sake of making peace before they faced the police chief together.

  ONCE INSIDE the restaurant, Alex told the hostess they were expecting another guest and asked for a table out of the main traffic pattern. She led them past the large windows overlooking the golf course to a table near the back.

  Almost as soon as they’d taken their seats, Hempstead strode up to their square wooden table.

  He and the chief had talked at the courthouse and then again on the phone, but the man seemed slightly uncomfortable as he slipped into his chair.

  Alex wanted to put him at ease. “I appreciate your meeting us here.”

  The chief nodded before switching his attention to Sara. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I guess I have to go back a couple of weeks. I’ve, uh, been seeing guys following me around.”

  “What guys?”

  Sara repeated the description she’d given Alex.

  “The militiamen,” Hempstead muttered.

  Alex’s head jerked toward him. “You mean that nutcase group who’ve taken over the Fairmont Estate?”

  “Yeah.”

  “My brother was one of the men she’s talking about. You’re telling me he’s joined the People’s Militia?”

  “Yeah,” the chief answered again.

  “Why didn’t we get to that before?”

  “It didn’t come up. But I’ve seen him in town with them.”

  Alex’s mind was racing. The group was occupying the old Fairmont Estate, which was actually the next property over from The Refuge.

  “Lee had wanted to buy the estate, but old man Fairmont died before they could clinch the deal.”

  “Why?”

  “More land, maybe more prestige?” Alex opened his hands. “Hell, I can’t figure out Lee’s motivation. In fact, the more I dig into his disappearance, the less I can read the man. At any rate, it looked like old man Fairmont had been willing to sell. But after he died, the son invited his buddies to join him
instead. Billy was apparently one of those buddies. Lee had some friction with those guys. I’d gone out on a boat on the river looking at them. They didn’t look like rednecks. They wore black uniforms.”

  “At home, yeah,” the chief said. “And sometimes they wear their soldier gear in town when they want to make a certain impression. But in town I’ve seen guys I recognize from the compound dressed like they just got off the hay wagon from Way Cross, Georgia. Maybe they thought it would make them fit in with the local yokels.”

  “Smooth move,” Alex muttered, then went on quickly. “If they were watching Lee’s place, they would have seen Sara going in and out because she’s his accountant. And maybe they started following her to get information on him.”

  “So you think they’re responsible for Lee’s disappearance?” Hempstead asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. Has anybody heard from Lee since I got myself out of the loop?”

  The chief looked regretful. “No.”

  “He left an answering machine message for me the same evening I got the call from Bandy asking me to come down to his office. At least I thought it was Lee at the time. The call was several hours before Bandy’s.”

  “Bandy and Tillman had some kind of real estate deal going, didn’t they?” Hempstead asked.

  Alex considered how to answer. If Lee Tillman was still alive, he’d want Alex to keep his personal business private. But if Lee was dead, then the chief needed as much information as he could give him.

  He compromised with, “They’d worked together, yes. But recently it was more a case of Bandy borrowing money from Lee. Then the deal fell through, and Lee wanted his money back.”

  “So could Lee have threatened him?” Hempstead asked. “What if he was strapped for cash and thought he could scare some out of Bandy?”

  “When Bandy called, it sounded that way. Now I’m not so sure anything I was fed in that phone call was true. Like, for example, it wasn’t Bandy calling me. It was his killer imitating his voice.”

  The waitress came to take their orders. Alex opted for more food he hadn’t been able to get in prison—a burger with blue cheese and tomatoes, coleslaw, french fries and a side order of onion rings.

  While they waited for lunch and then after their order arrived, Hempstead talked Sara through the events of the morning.

  As Alex listened to her account, he felt his appetite fading. If she hadn’t had a phone with her, if she hadn’t gotten through to him, then he didn’t know what would have happened to her.

  She got up to visit the ladies’ room, which gave Alex the perfect opportunity to bring up another matter. “I need to ask you about Reid Delaney,” he said. “Sara mentioned he’d gotten into some trouble lately.”

  “Yeah. D and D.”

  “When I phoned looking for Sara, he started mouthing off about Lee.”

  “He’s an angry man.”

  “Angry enough to kill?”

  “I haven’t seen any evidence of that,” the chief said. “And from what you’ve told me, if Lee is dead, the murderer covered it up pretty good. Delaney would have made a mess of it.”

  Alex felt relieved at crossing Sara’s father off his suspect list. By the time Sara returned to the table, he and the chief were discussing the militiamen again.

  “Are you going to press charges?” Hempstead asked Sara.

  “Should I? Will it stop them from coming after me again?”

  The chief considered her question. “I can’t advise you on that.”

  Alex gave him a direct look. “You and I both know that if you arrest them, Billy and the other guy will be out on bail almost instantly. I think for the moment it’s better to let them think they got away with something. Meanwhile, we look for a good reason to shut them down.”

  “Like what?” Sara asked.

  “Like maybe they murdered Lee Tillman. Like maybe they’re breaking some other laws out on their estate. Probably weapons violations,” Alex answered.

  “In the meantime, Ms. Delaney’s in danger,” Hempstead pointed out. “So are you, for that matter.”

  “She’s in danger whether she presses charges or not,” Alex said. “If she makes a stink about it, that might make things worse. They may decide to eliminate the witness against them.”

  “So what do you suggest?” Hempstead asked.

  “She needs a place to stay where they won’t find her. And a bodyguard.”

  SARA SAT THERE looking from one man to the other, listening to them discuss her.

  Finally she shoved her way into the conversation. “The bodyguard thing didn’t work so well last time.”

  Alex glared at her. “Yeah, well, next time I won’t walk into a trap.”

  Hempstead shifted in his seat. “Maybe you two should work out the details later.”

  Alex nodded, picked up an onion ring and took a bite. They had been hot and crisp at the beginning of the meal. Now they were cold and congealed. He pushed his plate away, then asked the waitress to wrap it up.

  When they were back in the car, Sara pleated the hem of her shirt. “I don’t mean to be ungrateful. But you can’t just expect me to go along with your plans.”

  “You don’t have to go along with my plans. You can go visit out-of-state friends until it’s safe to come back.”

  “I have my work! Clients are depending on me. I can’t just take off.”

  “Then we’ll go back to plan A. It’s not like you have to go to the office. You can work from wherever we’re staying, because nothing’s changed. Your house isn’t safe. And neither is mine now.”

  She looked down at her lap. She knew she couldn’t just go back to her own house, not after what had happened this morning. Next time they might kill her. But the idea of staying with Alex carried its own threat. She wanted to grab his arm, turn him toward her and ask him where the two of them stood.

  First he’d made exquisite love to her. Then he’d accused her of sleeping with Lee Tillman. Then he’d apologized.

  She’d like some insight into his real feelings. But at least she knew that he wanted to keep her safe. Perhaps she should focus on that. Perhaps it meant something more than its face value.

  Without looking at him, she murmured, “Okay.”

  “Okay what?”

  “You’re right. As long as those guys are out there, I need a bodyguard.”

  She took in his look of surprise. Probably he’d been expecting an argument, but she wasn’t going to give him any.

  “Then we’ll stop at my house so I can pack some stuff. Then we’ll go to yours and do the same.”

  Once more she agreed.

  “My friends Erin and Travis Stone have a vacation retreat down here. I’m pretty sure we can go there.”

  “What’s wrong with Wendy’s condo?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t want to establish a pattern somebody can follow.” He continued outlining his plans. “After I get you settled, I’ll call a towing service and meet them out at the park. I know your car was running the last time we looked. But I want to make sure it still is.”

  She expected him to start the engine and pull out of the parking space, but he stayed where he was, looking at her, then said, “I want to ask you a favor.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve still got the key to Lee Tillman’s house?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if we stopped there and looked around for evidence?”

  She thought that over. “Would that be illegal? I don’t want you to get into trouble again.”

  “Lee hired me to find out who was harassing him. You have his key. We have a good argument for going in there.”

  “Then let’s get it over with,” she murmured, wondering what would happen if they got caught, by Lee or somebody else. And wondering if Alex had made the suggestion because he didn’t want to go back into a situation where they’d be alone together with time on their hands.

  But she didn’t voice that thought.

  She expected him to pul
l into the driveway of The Refuge. Instead, he drove down the road several hundred feet and took an overgrown lane into the woods.

  “This is where I parked the day you came in for the files. I figure it’s still a good idea,” he explained as he pulled up under a low-hanging maple.

  She could see the wisdom of that, although it seemed weird when he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out two pairs of latex gloves.

  “What are those for?” she asked, hearing her voice rise. “I mean, my fingerprints are already in the house.”

  “Mine too. But I don’t want them everywhere if the police conduct an official investigation.”

  She nodded tightly, slipping one pair into her purse as they headed toward the rock-strewn shoreline. When she lost her footing as she climbed over a boulder, Alex turned and grabbed her hand.

  She held tight to him, keeping her fingers knit with his as they rounded a curve and saw the mansion.

  She’d always felt comfortable unlocking the door and coming in to get papers—until the incident four days ago. Now it felt strange to fumble in her purse for the key. Strange to unlock the door and step into the unlit entryway. Without thinking, she reached for Alex’s hand again and was reassured by the contact with his warm flesh.

  “Now what?” she whispered.

  “Now we see if we can find anything that will give us a clue about what happened to Lee.”

  “Too bad it’s such a big house.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe we should start with the obvious place—the office.”

  As they stepped through the door, her eyes went to the closet. “You were in there when I came in?” she asked, gesturing.

  “Yeah. And that’s where I’m going now. Why don’t you take the file cabinets?”

  She did as he asked, feeling as if she was invading Lee’s privacy when she opened a drawer and began to go through folders.

  Lee was a meticulous man, and she found everything from directions for operating the microwave, to the extended warranty he’d taken out on the heating system, to five years’ worth of bank statements. But there was nothing that gave any indication why he’d disappeared.

  When Alex came out of the closet, his expression told her he hadn’t had any better luck.