The Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series Box Set 2

by Willow Rose

  “I wanted to; I really did, but…well, the meeting took longer than planned and…”

  Matt exhaled. “I’m here at the house. Your house, or rather our house. I moved most of our stuff today, and you weren’t even there when we got here. Your mom and Olivia had to help us carry the stuff inside. I thought you’d be here, and we could celebrate that we are officially moved in together? I bought champagne?”

  I closed my eyes. I had completely forgotten. I was supposed to drive home this afternoon and be there when he and Elijah arrived.

  “I…I’m so sorry, Matt.”

  “You forgot, didn’t you?” he asked, sounding more than disappointed.

  “I…I…”

  What could I say? There was no excuse. Yes, I had forgotten it completely. I had been so immersed in getting to Liam Berkeley to warn him, and for what? It didn’t make any difference. He wouldn’t even hear me out. And now Matt was mad at me?

  I felt embarrassed.

  “I’m coming home tomorrow,” I said. “I promise.”

  “Okay. But you better keep that promise. It’s kind of lonely here without you.”

  “Did my family at least treat you well?” I asked. “Did the kids behave?”

  Matt sighed. “They did. Your mom made cauliflower steaks with Chimichurri sauce. It was quite good.”

  “How’s Elijah coping?” I asked.

  “Well, he didn’t eat any of the food tonight. He normally likes a burger or hot dog, but I’m sure he’ll come around.”

  Matt, the eternal optimist. He refused to give up on the boy even though he had barely said five words to his father since his mother died. He didn’t even look at him when he spoke to him. Still, Matt believed he’d come around. Eventually, he would.

  I could only be impressed with his will to constantly remain optimistic.

  “How’s he doing with my kids?” I asked.

  “Well, so far, they haven’t really spoken or had any interaction. Elijah stayed in his room all afternoon and evening. I don’t think he and Alex are talking yet, though.”

  Alex had been thrilled by the idea of sharing a bedroom with Elijah since he thought the boy was so cool. I wasn’t sure Elijah shared the enthusiasm to have to share a bedroom with a seven-year-old boy when he was nine. But it would have to do for now, at least while my mom was still living with us. I had asked her about it cautiously, suggesting that she at least sell the old house, but she wouldn’t hear talk of it. Every time I as much as mentioned it, she’d just turn her back on me and walk away. I guess I just had to give her the time she needed, and I didn’t want her to feel like I wanted her out of the house, so I had stopped bringing it up.

  “So, when are you going to tell me what you’re up to?” Matt asked. “Why you had to leave so suddenly?”

  I sighed and stared at the TV screen in front of me, my stomach in knots when thinking about Liam Berkeley and his son.

  “You wouldn’t believe me.”

  “Try me,” he said.

  “It’s something I’ve been working on for a few months now. I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”

  Chapter 8

  “How was your day?”

  Liam stood on the threshold of Tim’s room. The boy was sitting at his screen—as usual—playing Fortnite or Call of Duty. Liam never knew the difference, and he didn’t care either.

  They had drifted apart when Anna got sick six years ago and died a year later. Tim was still angry with Liam for not being there…for traveling and taking care of his career.

  And he was right. The boy had been absolutely right. Liam had beat himself up for not prioritizing Anna more back then. But his career had just taken off, and if he was brutally honest, Anna’s sickness was unbearable. He couldn’t stand watching her wither and die. It broke his heart. So, he threw himself into work and said yes to any assignment that came his way, hoping it could take his mind off the many worries and the sadness that engulfed him.

  Losing her had almost crushed him. He had barely been able to pull himself up from the dark hole he had ended up in. But working had helped. When he filmed his TV show, he wasn’t Liam, the sad father who had lost his wife. He wasn’t lonely. It was a part he played like an actor in a play, a mask he put on. While doing the show, he could get as angry as he wanted. He could yell at the contestants and act as crazy as he needed to. It became his outlet for his many frustrations…for his helplessness when seeing the woman he loved die while he stood by and could do nothing.

  Tim couldn’t forgive Liam for not being there in the weeks that followed when he needed him the most. But Liam had been such a mess. He didn’t think he could have been there for anyone.

  “What’s it to you?” Tim answered without turning around.

  “Just asking. Out of curiosity and genuine interest in your life,” Liam said.

  Tim didn’t say anything; he kept playing. The boy was fifteen now. Five years had passed since then, and it wasn’t getting better between them.

  Liam stood for a few minutes, staring at his back. He was wearing the old gray hoodie that his mom had bought for him when he was nine, but had been a couple of sizes too big back then. Now it was tight in the shoulders and the sleeves were a little short. Still, he refused to wear anything else. He would only take it off when Juanita, their housekeeper, scolded him and said that it was a dirty rag that needed to be washed.

  Poor kid.

  Liam thought about the meeting with the crazy lady earlier in the day. Thinking about her made him angry again. Where did she get off telling him something like that? Was it just to taunt him? Did she just want him in pain; was that it?

  I believe someone wants to kill your son.

  Why would she say something like that? Had everyone in this world gone completely mad?

  Liam chuckled, then walked down the hallway and checked the alarm. His house was among the best-secured homes in the area. Even if she was right and someone tried, there was no way they could get in.

  Chapter 9

  I stared at my watch, heart pounding harder and harder in my chest. I still had the TV on when it struck eight-thirty. I was just staring at the screen, at the twenty-four-hour news channel, not really listening to what was being said. From what I could make out, the news anchor talked about a story of a teen being charged after driving around with his sister on the hood of the car. After that followed the story of how a university doctor from a local university allegedly had inappropriate relationships with his students and is now being investigated.

  All were ordinary stories on an ordinary Wednesday night.

  I exhaled and rubbed the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes and trying to calm myself.

  Just for this one time, Lord, let me be wrong. Let me have misinterpreted the messages; let me just be crazy enough to read things into what I see that aren’t really there. Just for this once.

  I looked at my watch again. Eight-forty-one. We were getting closer. I tried to think about something else and went to the window to look out at the city in front of me. I had taken a small bottle of white wine from the minibar and poured it into one of the glasses in the room. It didn’t taste very good. It was kind of bitter, and I grimaced after every sip, but I still drank it.

  The city with its sea of lights seemed so peaceful. I couldn’t even hear sirens or anyone yelling.

  Calm before the storm.

  I had chosen one of the cheap hotels where a night’s stay cost only eighty-five bucks. It was called Red Roof Inn and was pretty nice for the price. I couldn’t complain. I wasn’t exactly rich like my sister, the Hollywood actress, so it was what I could afford for the time being.

  Eight-forty-eight.

  I bit my lip, trying to think about something pleasant instead. I pictured my children back at the house, hanging out with Matt and my mother, eating dinner. Gosh, I suddenly missed them. Things hadn’t been easy for them since their dad died two months ago. Both of the girls had struggled with getting back to daily life after the
funeral. Chad had been their everything when growing up, especially since I hadn’t been around much, and he had taken care of them while I climbed the career ladder within the FBI. And now, he was gone. I was a single mom of three children. Luckily, I had Matt in my life. We had known each other since early childhood. We were dating before Chad was shot and killed. But right before it happened, Chad had asked me to get back together again, and I had almost accepted. Matt didn’t know this, and I wasn’t going to tell him. But the fact was, I had thought we’d be a family again. Just for a few seconds, I had believed we could.

  And then it was taken away once more. With the snap of a finger. Just like that. My children would never have a real family again.

  I cursed myself for not having been there when Matt and Elijah moved in today. I could have been if I hadn’t been so preoccupied with saving Liam Berkeley’s son. The kids all loved Matt, but still. I should have been there. Now, it was too late. The damage was done, and I still hadn’t managed to save Tim Berkeley.

  I turned my head to look at the screen just as the numbers showed eight-fifty-six on the clock beneath it.

  Chapter 10

  He had just fallen into a deep sleep, dreaming about Anna and the life they used to have when he heard the ruckus, and it woke him up. Liam opened his eyes with a gasp and felt his heart begin to race in his chest. He shot up and looked at the clock.

  It was only a little past nine.

  He had only been in bed a few minutes as he always went to bed at nine because he had to get up at four-thirty. Had he been dreaming? Was it because of her that he had woken up? Or was it something else?

  What’s that noise?

  Liam hurried to the window and pulled the curtain aside. He glanced down into the driveway but could hardly believe what he was seeing. There were about a dozen police cars parked outside, their red and blue lights blinking and lighting up the trees in his front yard.

  Liam mumbled under his breath, “What the heck is going on?”

  Confused and with his heart pounding, he stared down at the police activity when he saw officers in protective clothing, body armor, helmets, and who were heavily armed run up toward the house. A chopper circled the house from the sky, lighting up the ground below.

  “Tim!”

  Liam ran for the door and into the hallway just as the front door was kicked in. Heart racing in his chest, Liam rushed toward his son’s room when there were rapid footsteps on the stairs, and seconds later, he was surrounded by black boots, guns pointed at him. The officers were yelling commands at him loudly while pushing him down and blocking his way so that he couldn’t get to his son.

  “Hands where we can see them. Raise your hands NOW!”

  Liam fell to his knees; arms lifted high above his head. His body was shaking when he felt the guns pointed at him.

  “Please,” he said. “This is my house. I live here.”

  “Keep your hands where we can see them!” one of them yelled. “Don’t make a single move, or we’ll shoot!”

  Liam could hear the anxiousness and deep fear in the officer’s voice. He didn’t dare to do anything but what he was being told. Meanwhile, boots were moving across the floors, and he heard someone yell Clear before more boots tramped around and then stopped. A door was opened, and Liam realized it was the one leading to Tim’s room.

  “Please, my son’s in there!” he yelled, but no one listened. There was so much yelling that he couldn’t be heard. Shaking in fear, Liam began to cry and scream Tim’s name, just as he heard Tim’s voice say something that he couldn’t make out, but he sounded scared and desperate.

  “Please,” Liam tried. “Please.”

  And that was when someone yelled the word that no one wants to hear, especially not coming from an officer’s mouth:

  “Gun! He’s got a gun!”

  The shot that followed might as well have hit Liam straight in the heart. It hurt just as much as if he was the one who had been shot. Liam felt himself frozen in a scream as he fell to the ground, face first, while his hands were being cuffed behind his back.

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  Chapter 11

  Matt looked into one of his boxes, then pulled out an old snow globe that he had gotten from his dad before he died. He turned to look at Eva Rae, who was hunched over her computer in the living room.

  “Where can I put this?” he asked.

  She didn’t look up. He exhaled, then placed it on the shelf above the fireplace. He grabbed a wooden sculpture that he had bought on one of his surfing trips to Bali when he was younger.

  “How about this one?”

  It was Saturday, and they both finally had some time off. During the week, Matt was busy with his detective work, and Eva Rae was writing her next book on profiling, which she had a contract for. He wasn’t so sure that she was actually working on it and not on this new obsession of hers, though. She still hadn’t told him much about what she was doing or why she had been in Philadelphia two weeks ago. She hadn’t told him where he could put his stuff either, so now he had begun simply placing it where he could find room.

  “Eva Rae?”

  She finally looked up from her screen. “I’m sorry?”

  He smiled. “Where can I put this? It can’t fit on a shelf. It’s too big and should stand on the floor. It would look good over here; don’t you think?”

  He placed it in the corner by the recliner. Eva Rae didn’t look like she agreed. She just smiled like she had no idea what he was talking about.

  “You don’t think it looks good over here?” he asked. “Maybe it’ll be better by the fireplace?”

  “It’s probably fine,” she said.

  “I don’t want it to be probably fine,” Matt said. “I want us to agree on these things. If you don’t like it there, then I’ll find somewhere else for it.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  His shoulders slumped as her eyes returned to the screen. Could she not spend just a few minutes on him?

  “No,” he said. “Something is wrong. What is it?”

  She looked up again. “It’s just…well. We don’t really have much room in the house for all this extra stuff. Do we really need to have an old wooden…thingy…in the middle of the living room?”

  Matt looked at the sculpture in his hand, then nodded. “I see what’s going on. You don’t want any of my stuff in your house.”

  “That’s not what I said,” Eva Rae said. “You’re twisting my words. I’m just asking how important this thing is to you. We are a lot of people living in this small house, and frankly, it’s getting a little cramped.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be if your children would pick up some of their toys,” Matt said as he put the sculpture back in the box.

  “Excuse me?” Eva Rae said. “Isn’t Alex allowed to play with his toys anymore?”

  “Well, you don’t’ see Elijah leaving his toys everywhere.”

  “Because your kid only sits in his room, playing on his iPad. My kid likes to play with real toys,” Eva Rae said.

  Matt glared at her. “And it’s your house, right? So, your son is more entitled to make a mess than Elijah and I are. I get it.”

  Matt grabbed the box and lifted it, then carried it out in the garage, where he found a shelf for it. He closed it up with tape, wondering how long it would be before he’d be using his boxes again. Living with Eva Rae hadn’t exactly been the treat he had thought it would be. She barely gave him the time of day, always so busy on her computer, and he wasn’t getting any closer to having Elijah opening up to him. He was always in his room, playing on his iPad or Xbox, never saying a word to anyone.

  Two weeks, Matt. It’s been two weeks. Give them time to get used to the new arrangements. It’ll get better. Eventually, it will.

  Matt felt the tension building inside of him and decided he’d take a walk. It wasn’t like Eva Rae or Elijah would miss him anyway.

  Chapter 12

  THEN:

  DeVilSQuaD666: Did you see m
e clear out that high school?

  FanTAUstic345: You did that?

  DeVilSQuaD666: Yeah. It was on the news and all. Pretty sweet. They searched for those bombs for hours, giving the kids the entire day off.

  FanTAUstic345: Police are looking for the guy who called in the bomb threat. You might get in trouble.

  DeVilSQuaD666: No way. They’ll never know it was me. I’m too good.

  FanTAUstic345: You done this before?

  DeVilSQuaD666: About 10 now.

  FanTAUstic345: You do anything else?

  DeVilSQuaD666: Sure. Did local TV station in CA twice. It was all over the news too. They had to evacuate during live broadcast Bahahaha.

  FanTAUstic345: Cool. You do anything else?

  DeVilSQuaD666: I am about to.

  FanTAUstic345: Like what?

  DeVilSQuaD666: Watch me clear out that comic conference next weekend. Look out for the news.

  FanTAUstic345: Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago?

  DeVilSQuaD666: That’s the one.

  FanTAUstic345: You wouldn’t dare.

  DeVilSQuaD666: Watch me.

  FanTAUstic345: I sure will. I’ll be watching every second of it.

  Chapter 13

  I glared at the door to the garage where Matt had disappeared. I wondered if I should go out there and talk to him. I couldn’t stand seeing that look in his eyes. I didn’t mean to hurt him; I really didn’t, but it just happened.

  The thing was, I was frustrated. Not with Matt, but with the case. I had watched every news clip I could find about the police raiding Liam Berkeley’s house and shooting his son, and it got to me every time. I knew this could have been avoided if only the guy would have given me a chance to explain.

  Or maybe if you hadn’t given up so easily…if you had run after him as he left the restaurant.