Once You're Mine

by Barbara Freethy

  "Yes."

  "So who was in the parking lot last night?"

  "I don't know. It could have been the same man, but it was dark, and I didn't get a good look at him."

  "You're downplaying it again. Let's say it was him. Why would he be there?"

  "All I can think of is that he still wants to talk to me."

  "How would he know where you were?"

  "I don't know, Mom. That's the truth. He could be following me. Or he could have seen on social media that my brother was getting married. It wouldn't have been difficult to find out where the reception was being held. Or the man in the parking lot could have just wanted a cigarette."

  Her mother's mouth tightened. "Is that it? All of it?"

  "Not quite all of it. Someone left me a note on my car the day after the fire, suggesting I stop asking questions."

  "I don't like this at all, Tori. We need to call the police."

  "I've already spoken to the police. Dylan's cousin Emma is married to a detective. They're looking into everything. They're completely up to speed."

  "Even on the man you saw last night?"

  "Yes. Dylan spoke to Emma this morning." She paused. "I've run into this kind of thing before. As a journalist, I sometimes make people nervous."

  "I understand. Your father got death threats once."

  "I didn't know that," she said with surprise.

  "He downplayed it, too. Luckily, the police found the person before they could carry out their threat. I really wish you weren't following in your father's footsteps. I know he'd be proud of you, but I worried about him, and I worry about you. You both like to shake things up."

  "It's part of the job. I am careful, if that makes you feel any better. And Dylan has been watching out for me."

  "Good. I'm glad you confided in him and that he has his family involved."

  "Just don't mention anything to anyone else, especially his mother, okay?"

  "I can keep a secret. I've kept many over the years."

  "Oh, yeah?" she asked curiously. "Like what?"

  "They wouldn't be secrets if I told you," her mother said with a small smile.

  "Great answer," she said dryly. "So, getting back to the wedding? Any good gossip?"

  "My sister said she saw one of the bridesmaids making out with one of the ushers. I think it was Ava and Paul."

  "That would be my guess."

  "So besides Dylan watching out for you, I thought the two of you looked good dancing together."

  She held up a warning hand. "Don't go there, Mom."

  "Why not?"

  "Because it's not going to happen. Dylan sees me as Scott's little sister, and he would never jeopardize his friendship with Scott."

  "Why would he have to lose Scott's friendship?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't understand men."

  "Well, I'm with you on that one. I've been married twice, and I'm still not an expert."

  She pulled out her phone as it began to vibrate. "Speak of the devil."

  "Is that Dylan?"

  She nodded. "He says Emma called back and wants to talk to us."

  "Have they found the man from the parking lot?"

  "I don't know." She texted him back to come by the house. "I might leave my car here until later if that's okay. I'll ride with Dylan to Emma's house."

  "Of course. It's not in the way, and we have plenty of street parking. You'll keep me posted?"

  "Yes."

  "And you promise to stay safe? I can't lose you, Tori. I just can't."

  She saw the fear in her mom's eyes and almost regretted her earlier candor, but they'd always been honest with each other, even when it hurt. "You're not going to lose me."

  Her mother let out another heavy breath. "Your father used to tell me that, too."

  * * *

  Dylan picked her up in front of her Mom's house. He'd switched back to his Mustang.

  "Not worried your mom will see us together?" he asked, as she fastened her seat belt.

  "No, I told her everything," she replied.

  "Everything?" he said with surprise.

  "Well, not about us kissing, but everything else: Neil Hawkins, the fire, the threatening note."

  "That's a lot. What made you confess?"

  "She heard too much last night when we were in the parking lot. She wanted the truth, and she reminded me that she'd been around during all of my father's dangerous investigations, so she wasn't going to break if I was honest with her. So I got honest."

  "What was her response?"

  "She'd like me to drop it, but she knows I won't, so she didn't press too much. What did Emma say?"

  "Nothing. She just asked if we could come over. She said she had some new information, but she didn't want to get into it on the phone."

  "That sounds promising," she said, hopeful they were going to get some sort of a break.

  As they neared Emma's house, tension tightened her chest and quickened her breath. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what Emma and Max might have discovered. She really wanted some answers and if they'd found Neil Hawkins, that would be even better.

  "Breathe," Dylan said, interrupting her thoughts.

  She didn't know when he'd gotten so good at reading her mind. He'd always seemed pretty clueless when they were teenagers. But she did take a breath as instructed. "I'm just anxious about what we're going to learn. You have to be curious, too."

  "I am, but I'm trying not to get too far ahead."

  "You're much better at putting on the brakes than I am," she said, realizing a split second too late that he might think she was referring to the night before. But even if he did, it was the truth. He was better at going with logic than emotion. She'd always had to battle her heart over her head.

  Dylan didn't seem inclined to comment, so they drove the rest of the way in silence.

  Emma let them into her house with a friendly smile and waved them toward the couch, where Shannon was coloring in a sketch book on the coffee table.

  "That's so pretty," Tori told the little girl, looking at her picture of a house and trees.

  "It's a picture of my house in Ireland," Shannon said. "Where I used to live."

  "I'd love to go there sometime."

  "We're going to go after the baby is born," Shannon said, giving Emma a questioning look. "Right, Mommy?"

  "We are," Emma agreed. "Why don't you take your coloring into your bedroom? We have to have some grown-up talk."

  "Okay." Shannon obediently gathered her crayons and paper and went into her room.

  "She's just adorable," Tori told Emma.

  "She's almost too well-behaved," Emma said, as they settled onto the couch. "I think there's a part of her that worries we'll send her away if she's not good. I keep telling her that she's our little girl now, but I'm not sure it has completely set in."

  "It will. Give it time," Dylan said.

  "I'm trying. I'm not the most patient person. It's a blessing for me to have Shannon and now to be pregnant as well, but I do worry that Shannon won't feel like she's getting enough attention once the baby is here."

  "Every kid with a sibling feels that way," Dylan interjected. "I had to watch five more kids get born after me, and you had at least a couple after you. We both survived."

  "That's true," Emma said with a laugh. "And it was fun growing up with siblings. My sisters were my best friends. I'm glad Shannon will have that same experience."

  "Let's not forget all the cousins she has now, too," Dylan added. "Your siblings are procreating at a rapid pace."

  "I know. It's fun. A lot of the cousins will be close in age and hopefully great friends as they grow up. Anyway, I know you didn't come over to chat. Max is on his way home." She paused as the door opened. "Looks like he's here now."

  "Sorry I'm late," Max said. "We're wrapping up another case I've been working on for the past several months. I didn't think we had any surveillance video from the neighborhood around Brady's, but one of the shop o
wners came up with an unexpected shot. Take a look at this."

  Max handed her his phone. Max moved in closer to her, watching the screen over her shoulder.

  The black-and-white grainy image wasn't great, but once she realized what she was looking at, she got excited. "That's the front of my car."

  "Keep watching," Max said.

  A few seconds passed, and then a man came into the frame. She couldn't see much of him as he was wearing a heavy coat and a baseball cap on his head. He pulled up the windshield wiper and slipped a piece of paper under it. Then he turned toward the camera, and as he checked the street before crossing, she caught a glimpse of his face. Shock ran through her.

  "Do you recognize him?" Max asked. "Is that the man you were following?"

  "I have to play it again." She pushed the button to repeat the video, stopping on the frame. "Oh, no," she whispered. Her heart thudded against her chest, and she felt a knot grow in her throat. She turned to Dylan. "You know who that is, don't you?"

  He nodded grimly. "I think so. Why don't you say it?"

  "Mitch Hedden—one of my father's best friends."

  "That's what I thought," Dylan muttered.

  She looked at Max and Emma. "This man is a longtime friend of my family. I can't imagine why he would leave this note on my car. I just saw him yesterday at my brother's wedding. He didn't act odd in any way. He certainly didn't try to warn me about anything. I don't understand." She stared back down at the picture, trying to make sense of it.

  "What does Mr. Hedden do for a living?" Max asked.

  "He's a financial guy. He works in venture capital. I think he's given my parents a lot of investment advice. He's been married forever, has two children, some grandchildren. His wife was a stay-at-home mom, active in the PTA. They're a super normal family." She realized she was rambling and Max and Emma were letting her have her reaction, but obviously they both had questions. "What else can I tell you?"

  "Did he know you were going to Brady's?" Max asked.

  She was about to say no, then realized that wasn't true. "Yes," she said with a nod. "I stopped at my mom's house before I went to meet Dylan at Brady's. She was having the Heddens and another friend over for dinner. They got there right before I left, and I said I couldn't stay because I was meeting Dylan at Brady's. But I didn't say anything about the fire or Neil Hawkins or what I was working on for the Examiner. It was literally a five-minute conversation."

  "What about something personal?" Emma asked. "You said he's a family friend. Has he had any issues with your mom? Did she perhaps invest in something that didn't do well? Have you ever asked questions about any of his advice?"

  "I don't think so—certainly not recently. I just don't understand. I really thought the man who'd left me the note was the mysterious Neil Hawkins."

  "What about Neil Hawkins?" Dylan interrupted. "What have you found out about him?"

  "Nothing," Max said. "The ID was a forgery. None of the information was valid."

  "But the picture was real," she put in. "That's what he looked like."

  "We ran the image through facial recognition, but we didn't get any hits," Max replied. "He's not in the system."

  She let out a breath. "So he could be anyone, and he could be anywhere, including at the yacht club where my brother's reception was held."

  Max nodded. "Emma told me about that. I was going to stop by the yacht club later and show the ID around, see if any of the employees saw him."

  She had a feeling that wasn't going to yield any better results. "Another one of my father's friends—Jim Beacham—spoke to the man. Jim said he'd be happy to talk to you. He told me he didn't recognize him, and the man just asked for a cigarette. But I know he was there for another reason, and it's tied to me." She wasn't sure of much, but she was certain about that. "I have to talk to Mitch. I need to confront him about what he did."

  "Can you arrest him for this?" Dylan asked Max.

  "No, but I can definitely talk to him. Right now, all we have him for is leaving a note, and one that isn't all that threatening." Max answered. "What we really want to know is why he did it and what else is going on. Getting his cooperation would be helpful."

  "I can make that happen," she said. "I've known Mitch my entire life. I want him to look me in the eye and tell me why he left me a threatening note."

  "That could be dangerous," Dylan put in. "We should let Max handle it."

  "I'll get more out of him. He won't be able to clam up with me staring him down," she argued. "But I'm happy for you guys to go with me. I'm not averse to backup."

  Max smiled and glanced at Emma. "She sounds like you."

  Emma laughed. "Then you should know better than to argue. Why don't all three of you go?"

  "Can we do it now?" she asked, getting to her feet. "I know it's Sunday, but I just don't want to wait."

  "Then let's do it now," Max said. "But let's take two cars. I need to go down to the station afterwards."

  "We really appreciate this, Max," Dylan said. "No one but you would have taken the time to track down that video."

  "Not a problem," Max said with a brief smile. "And I had some help from a rookie police officer, who wanted to win some points from me."

  "Whatever it takes," Dylan said.

  "Exactly. But aside from that, you're a Callaway, Dylan. Emma takes family seriously, and so do I."

  "I want you all to be careful," Emma said, as she walked them to the door. "Especially you, Tori. Even if this man is a longtime family friend, you don't know why he did what he did, and until you do, don't underestimate him."

  * * *

  Joanie Hedden opened the door, surprise moving through her eyes. "Tori, hello. And Dylan, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Her gaze moved to Max and there must have been something about his official-looking suit that made her nervous. "It's not your mother, or Scott, is it?"

  "No, nothing is wrong," Tori said quickly, seeing that Joanie's imagination was leaping ahead. "We just need to talk to Mitch about something. Is he here?"

  "No, I'm sorry, but he and Jim left early this morning for a deep-sea fishing trip. They'll be gone until Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how the fish are biting."

  Disappointment flooded through her at Joanie's words. She'd really wanted to get some answers.

  "They didn't mention they were going fishing last night," Dylan put in. "Was the trip planned?"

  "For a couple of days now," Joanie said, her gaze growing concerned. "What's this about? And who is your friend?"

  "I'm sorry. This is Max Harrison," she said. "Dylan's cousin's husband."

  "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Hedden," Max said. "Tori tells me you're a long-time family friend."

  "I've known her since she was born." Joanie cocked her head to the right as she gave them a speculative look. "What is this about? Is there something I can help you with?"

  "We'll need to speak to your husband," Max said, sending Tori a pointed look.

  He didn't want her to tell Joanie what was happening. She didn't know exactly why, but maybe he was afraid Joanie would warn her husband to stay away.

  "Yes, I'm afraid this is a Mitch question," she said, going along with him. She gave Joanie what she hoped was an easygoing smile. "It's about my dad and their fishing trips. It can wait until he gets back."

  "You're thinking about your dad a lot lately, aren't you? Jim said you thought you saw a man who looked like him outside the reception last night." Joanie's eyes filled with sadness. "It's understandable that you'd miss him at such a big event."

  "I did miss him," she admitted.

  "Well, I can tell Mitch to call you when I hear from him. I'm sure he'll text me or check in at some point, although he enjoys being out of touch for days at a time. That's what he likes about fishing. He doesn't have to talk to anyone but fishermen and I'm pretty sure all they talk about is fish."

  "That's fine. If he could get in touch when he gets back, that would be great."

  "He
definitely will."

  "We'll let you get back to your day," she said.

  "I was just cleaning, so nothing exciting. When Mitch goes fishing, I like to take some of his old clothes to charity. It's the only way his closet ever gets cleaned out."

  "That doesn't sound too fun."

  "I actually enjoy getting organized. You all take care."

  As the front door closed, they walked back to their cars.

  "That was a waste of time," she said with a sigh. "Do you think she told us the truth?"

  "She seemed sincere," Max said. "I think you played it the right way."

  "I just wish Mitch wasn't gone. I don't want to wait three or four days to get answers."

  "I wonder if he is really gone," Dylan put in. "It seems very convenient that both he and Jim would disappear together."

  "They go fishing all the time," she reminded him.

  "Do they have their own boat?" Max asked.

  She thought for a minute. "I'm not sure. Should I go back and ask Joanie?"

  Max shook his head. "No. I can find out if he owns a boat and has it anchored anywhere around here. Let's not make Joanie any more suspicious. Right now, Mitch doesn't know he was caught on camera. I'd prefer to keep it that way."

  "Okay, that makes sense," she said.

  "I'm going to take off," Max said. "Call me if anything else comes up. Otherwise, I'll be in touch."

  "Thanks again, Max."

  As Max left, she got into Dylan's car. He started the engine, then paused.

  "Where to?" he asked.

  Her mind spun in a dozen different directions. "I don't know." As she glanced back at the house, she saw the curtain in the front room move. "I think Joanie is watching us." Her stomach churned at the thought that Joanie might be involved or know about the note. "I can't believe these people I've known my whole life might want to hurt me in some way."

  "She's probably just curious about why we showed up to talk to Mitch and why Max was with us."

  "I suppose."

  "And maybe they're not trying to hurt you. Perhaps they're trying to protect you by scaring you away from something that could hurt you. Let's go somewhere to discuss it before Joanie comes out here with more questions."

  "I still need to get my car, so let's go back to my mom's house."