Shadow of Doubt

by Abbie Zanders

  It had a full rack of spotters across the top.

  The hairs on the back of her neck lifted, just as they had that night on the mountain road.

  “Do you know who that is?” Chris asked, ushering her over to the passenger side.

  “No.”

  “Then, let’s find out.”

  Chris helped her in and then moved quickly to the driver’s side. A minute later, they were on their way down Main Street, looking for the silver pickup.

  “What happened in there?” Chris asked, his eyes scanning up and down every side street they passed.

  “My father mansplained that, sometimes, we have to make hard choices but that I couldn’t understand because I’ve never had to make any.”

  “Mansplained?”

  “You know, when a man explains something to a woman in oversimplified terms so she can understand while being condescending at the same time. Oh, he also called me naive and insinuated that Luther cares more about the family than I do.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told him he was right and then gave him the key to my grandparents’ place and walked away.” She summoned a watery smile. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for a while.”

  He lifted her casted arm, brushing a kiss across the tips of her fingers. “Good.”

  They cruised the town several times but didn’t catch a glimpse of the truck.

  “We could go back and ask Luther who it was,” she suggested, hating the idea even as she said it.

  “No need,” Chris said, surprisingly calm. “I got the license plate number.”

  He tapped a button on the dash, and Cage’s voice came through the speakers. “Yo.”

  “Run a plate for me, will you?” Chris rattled off the numbers.

  The answer came within seconds. “Joseph Eisenheiser, 162 Church Street, Sumneyville.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Are you going to tell me why I just hacked the DMV?”

  “Later.” Chris stabbed the button again to close the connection.

  “Joe Eisenheiser is a local cop,” Kate said into the ensuing silence. “He and Lenny Petraski work for Chief Freed.”

  “I know who he is,” Chris said tightly.

  Kate thought of the rumors she’d heard not too long after the work on Sanctuary really got underway, though she wasn’t sure they could be called rumors since they had come directly from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

  Joe hung around the fire hall a lot. Once he got a few beers in him, he was one of the more outspoken critics of Sanctuary, insisting that he had “inside info” that the guys involved were “bad news,” though he never backed that up with actual, verifiable proof.

  Mona Delvecchio had said that she heard from Madge Kohler in confidence that her husband, Bill, had found both Joe and Lenny cuffed to a fence post on the lower section of their dairy farm one night after someone stole their police car. That had never been substantiated one way or the other, but after getting to know the Sanctuary guys—and knowing Joe and Lenny her whole life—she could totally see it.

  There was just one problem with Cage’s information.

  “Last I knew, Joe drove a beat-up, old Chevy. I’m not sure where he’d get the kind of money to buy a truck like that. Police work doesn’t pay that well.”

  Chris said nothing, but he didn’t have to. Her mind was already coming to the same conclusion.

  “He’s part of the preppers.”

  Chris nodded. “And one of Luther’s clients.”

  “Do we have time to swing by the fire hall?” she asked suddenly, wanting to see if Joe’s truck was there, parked in the back where it couldn’t be easily seen from the street. “The ladies should be in there, cooking, and I want to talk to them about delivering Meals on Wheels again.”

  “Sure,” he readily agreed and headed back that way.

  “Want to come in?”

  “No. I think I’m going to stretch my legs, have a look out back.”

  Clearly, he’d had the same thought she had.

  “Okay. I won’t be long.” Kate undid her seat belt, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss.

  She called out a, “Hello,” as she entered the large, cheery kitchen, assaulted by the scents of seasoned ground meat, cabbage, and tomato sauce.

  Edith and Lydia Schaeffer were trimming the spines of cooked cabbage leaves while Agnes added the filling and rolled the halupkies into perfect cylinders. Mona, as usual, sat in the corner but didn’t actually appear to be doing anything besides dishing the latest gossip.

  Their conversation ceased the moment she entered, suggesting their current gossip was about her.

  “Kate, dear, we weren’t expecting you,” Edith said, the hint of color in her pale cheeks confirming Kate’s theory. “We heard about what happened.”

  “Oh? What exactly have you heard?”

  “That you and your family had a falling-out and that you were shacking up with that John Cena boy now,” Lydia said, earning a sharp nudge from Edith.

  Well, I asked.

  “Is it true?” Mona asked, leaning forward on the edge of her seat, her eyes bright.

  “Yes, it’s true.”

  “I told you,” Mona said, her face gleaming with smug triumph.

  Everyone else averted their gazes. Even Agnes’s wrinkly features were etched with disappointment.

  The room suddenly seemed much smaller than it had been only seconds earlier.

  “Yes, well, I just wanted to stop and tell you I’ll be able to resume deliveries again.”

  Instead of the smiles she’d expected, there was an awkward pause before Martha cleared her throat and said, “That won’t be necessary, Kate.”

  “It won’t?”

  The ladies exchanged uncomfortable glances.

  “Well, we figured you’d be out of commission with your arm in a cast and all,” Edith said apologetically. “And then Mona said you were with them now, and we needed to get someone else ...” She let the rest of her sentence hang.

  “I see,” she said.

  “You understand, don’t you, dear?” said Martha. “The people of this community depend on us, and we can’t afford to get on Chief Petraski’s bad side.”

  “Yes, of course.” Kate summoned a weak smile. She did understand, and it broke a piece of her heart. “I should be going. Take care, ladies.”

  She met Chris as he came around the back of the building. “Anything?”

  “No.” Chris opened the passenger door and helped her into the SUV. “Where to?” he asked.

  “Take me home.”

  His brow furrowed. “Your place?”

  “No. Sanctuary.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Mad Dog

  Kate was quiet on the ride home. Mad Dog knew more had gone down than she’d let on, but he wasn’t about to press her. She’d tell him when she was ready.

  As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait long. Kate spilled a tearful play-by-play later that night after they made love and before she fell asleep.

  He was appalled. Not just by the things her father had said, but by the way she’d been treated by the Ladies Auxiliary as well. What the hell was wrong with these people? Kate did so much for others, yet when she tried to do something for herself, they ostracized her for it.

  She deserved better.

  After she fell into an exhausted sleep, he slipped out of bed and texted Smoke. Within the hour, they were headed down the empty road into Sumneyville.

  “You think Eisenheiser’s the guy?” Smoke asked quietly as they sat, parked across the street from the local cop’s place.

  Blue light flickered from within the front room, like that from a television.

  “He checks all the boxes. He’s got the truck, he’s one of Freed’s sycophants, and he’s a fucking idiot.”

  Smoke’s lips quirked. “No argument there.”

  “I just want to
have a look at his truck.”

  “Fair enough.”

  They kept to the shadows. Getting into the garage was child’s play, and soon, Mad Dog was shining a flashlight around the front end.

  “Big truck, small dick,” Smoke commented.

  “Speak for yourself,” Mad Dog answered, earning a chuckle.

  “Seriously, man, how does a small-town cop afford something like this?” Smoke asked, checking out the vehicle. “These things aren’t cheap, especially not with the dress-up package.”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” Mad Dog muttered softly. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Find something?”

  “Yeah, check this out.” Mad Dog shone his flashlight on an area that looked as if it had been recently touched up.

  “What is that, nail polish?” Smoke scoffed.

  Mad Dog scratched at the blemish, and it flaked off easily, revealing a streak of blue—the exact same shade of blue as Kate’s Jeep.

  “Fuck.”

  Mad Dog snapped a few pictures and then slid the phone back into his pocket.

  “Eisenheiser’s a dick, but something still doesn’t feel right,” Smoke muttered.

  Mad Dog had the same feeling. Eisenheiser was a dick, no doubt about that. His badge gave him an inflated sense of self-importance, and he liked to flash it around and shoot his mouth off. When it came right down to it though, he didn’t have the balls to back up that big mouth of his even if the evidence suggested otherwise.

  And if Eisenheiser had suddenly grown a pair, why would he go after Kate? If the cop had a beef with anyone, it was with Smoke. From what Sam and Sandy had told them, Eisenheiser and Petraski had both taken a lot of shit because Smoke had easily bested them when Sam was in trouble.

  “Son of a fucking bitch,” Mad Dog said, meeting Smoke’s eyes in the darkness. “Eisenheiser wasn’t trying to intimidate Kate. The stupid fuck thought he was tailing you.”

  It was the only thing that made sense. Smoke had a Jeep, too, and the incident had occurred on the road to Sanctuary. Humiliation was a powerful motivator.

  “Fuck,” Smoke muttered. “What do you want to do?”

  “Give Eisenheiser a lesson in proper intimidation technique.”

  “Church might have a problem with that.”

  “He’ll get over it.”

  “Good point.”

  “Grab those rifles out of the back and give me a hand, will you?”

  ~ * ~

  When Mad Dog slipped back into bed with Kate two hours later, he felt marginally better. Smoke had been the voice of reason, talking him out of doing what he really wanted to do—namely, throwing a hood over Joe Eisenheiser’s head, taking him up to the area where he’d pushed Kate’s Jeep off the road, and tossing him over the side.

  Instead, he’d made do with Eisenheiser’s truck. Judging by the sounds it’d made as it tumbled over the edge, it hadn’t fared nearly as well as Kate’s Jeep.

  “You’re in a particularly good mood,” Kate said on a satisfied sigh as he worked his way back up her body the next morning.

  “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re here.”

  “Hmm,” she hummed. “I could get used to waking up like this.”

  “That’s the plan.” He kissed her soundly.

  Tangling her hands in his hair, she smirked and said, “Well, it’s working. Is this how it’s going to be every time you sneak out in the middle of the night?”

  Busted.

  “Where did you go?”

  He wasn’t about to lie to her, but at the same time, he didn’t know how she would feel about what he’d done either.

  So, he answered her honestly, “I’m not sure you want to know.”

  Kate stared into his eyes, processing that before she said softly, “You weren’t kidding about the mad dog analogy, were you?”

  He slowly shook his head.

  “You went to Joe’s last night, didn’t you?” Kate asked the question without the fear he would have expected, the pads of her fingers making soothing circles on his scalp.

  He closed his eyes and relished her touch. “Yes,” he admitted.

  “And?”

  “And it was definitely his truck that hit you,” he confirmed.

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

  “I don’t think he realized it was you.” At her look of confusion, he added, “Smoke has a Jeep, too.”

  Her eyes widened. “Then, the rumor’s true? Smoke really tied Joe and Lenny to a fence post on Kohlers’ farm and took their police car?”

  “He’d tried to be reasonable. They didn’t give him a choice. Sam was in trouble,” he said simply.

  “And after you confirmed it was Joe’s truck that hit me, what did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t touch him,” Mad Dog told her. “However, suffice it to say, you won’t be seeing his truck around anytime soon.”

  He held his breath, hoping and praying she didn’t hate him.

  Then, her lips curled into a ghost of a smile. “I think I can live with that.”

  Epilogue

  Kate

  Three Months Later

  Kate breathed in the scent of damp earth as she patted the soil around the last of the tiny tomato plants. It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the air was warm.

  The doors were open, as were some of the hinged ceiling panels, allowing a fresh breeze to move about the space. Chris had done an amazing job in designing a cutting-edge, functional, year-round greenhouse.

  The two-thousand-square-foot hexagonal structure was a work in progress. The outer shell had been recently completed as well as the initial piping for an advanced hydroponic system that would eventually collect rainwater and distribute it as needed. For now, however, Kate was happy to tip her watering can and manually take care of things.

  The guys had built several raised beds, so it was easy to tend to the hardy plants they’d picked up the previous weekend at an Amish farmers market. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, and a bunch of other organic items would soon be a daily part of the menu. She was already making great use of the herb garden they’d started just a few weeks earlier.

  “Hey, baby,” Chris greeted, coming up behind her and kissing her neck. His body was warm and smelled of clean male sweat.

  “Is that a hammer in your tool belt, or are you just happy to see me?” she teased, pushing back against him.

  He growled softly and nipped her ear. “Both. How’s it going?”

  “I just finished planting the last of them.”

  “Good. Then, you can take a break.”

  “What do you have in mind?” she asked, sensing she knew the answer. Hoping she did.

  “I want to show you something.”

  “Hmm. Something big? Thick? Long? Hard? Yeah, I’ve seen it.”

  He lightly smacked her backside and laughed. “Something else.”

  She turned in his arms and pushed her lips into a pout. “Bummer. I kinda wanted to see it again.”

  His eyes heated, and he pulled her closer. “Later.”

  “Okay,” she said on a sigh, but inwardly, she felt an inexplicable sense of excitement. “Let me wash up a bit.”

  “No need. I like you dirty.”

  He laced his fingers with hers and tugged her out of the greenhouse, away from the main building, and in the opposite direction of his—their—trailer.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Further attempts to glean additional information were unsuccessful. They entered the edge of the woods, and her spirits rose. He was leading her to her favorite spot on the property—the idyllic clearing they’d first discovered on snowmobiles months earlier. They’d been so busy once the weather broke that they hadn’t had a chance to get back there. It was the perfect place to have a picnic and make love on a beautiful late spring day.

  “Okay, close your eyes,” he said, halting before they reach the clearing,
and she was certain she’d guessed correctly.

  With a smile on her face, she dutifully closed her eyes and allowed him to tie a blindfold on her. Memories of the last time he’d tied a blindfold on her had her nipples pebbling in anticipation.

  “Mmm, kinky,” she said.

  Without warning, she found herself lifted off her feet and being carried the rest of the way. She gave herself over to it, soaking up the feel of the sun on her face, drawing in the scents of pine, wild grass, and blooming honeysuckle.

  After gently setting her down, he commanded her to keep her eyes closed and removed the blindfold. “Okay, open.”

  She did, blinking against the sudden brightness until she could see properly. They were definitely in the idyllic clearing, but it wasn’t clear any longer. A gorgeous wood-and-glass A-frame cabin now occupied the far end.

  “What is this?”

  “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

  He tugged her forward. Inside, the smell of fresh-cut lumber filled her nostrils. The first floor was a large, open space with a fireplace on one side and a small kitchen on the other. A set of stairs led up to a loft where there was a king-size bed.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  “It’s not finished yet,” he continued. “The well’s dug, but we still need to hook up electricity to run the pump. There will be a big deck down here and a smaller one off the bedroom. And we’ll need to get some furniture and appliances and stuff, but I figured you’d want to pick those out yourself.”

  “This is ours?”

  He nodded.

  “But when? How? You couldn’t possibly have had time to build this.”

  “I didn’t. Not alone anyway. Our friends in Pine Ridge know a guy who builds them. I gave them my designs, and they took care of the rest.”

  “Oh, Chris, I don’t know what to say.”

  Her emotions were running high, so, naturally, her eyes filled up with tears. Thankfully, Chris was used to it by now and no longer worried quite as much when it happened.

  “Are those happy tears?” he asked softly.

  She nodded. “Very happy.”