Walk Through the Valley

by Debbie Viguié

  He nodded and left. A woman a couple of years older than Cindy came in and sat down across from her. She had short brown hair and matching brown eyes. She was wearing a navy pantsuit and she looked like the type of person who didn’t pull their punches. As soon as the door had shut behind the other officer she leaned forward, eyes squinting intently.

  “So, are you crazy or an attention junkie?” she asked.

  “Excuse me?” Cindy said. “I’m neither, but something is very wrong around here.”

  “You know what happened to the boy who cried wolf? He got eaten.”

  “I’m not making this up!” Cindy shouted, fury welling up within her. “I have far better things to do and more important places to be.”

  The woman nodded and sat up straight. “I believe you. Now have a seat.”

  Reluctantly Cindy sat back down.

  “I am Detective Sanders.”

  “Cindy Preston.”

  “Now, tell me everything that happened last night from the beginning.”

  Cindy recounted the events with as much detail as she could manage. The detective listened intently, asking the occasional question. When Cindy had finished the woman nodded.

  “That’s quite a story. Maybe we can sit you down with a sketch artist and work up some drawings of the guys involved.”

  “Okay. I can do that. But first it’s your turn to answer some of my questions.”

  “Like what?” the detective asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “If everyone thinks I’m crazy and there’s no record of a purse snatching at my hotel last night, why is a detective talking with me? Don’t you save this kind of attention for things like murder?”

  “Or attempted murder, yes.”

  “That’s what I thought. So, why are you talking to me? Nobody tried to kill me last night. A guy just stole my purse. I even got it back.”

  “Because I’m curious as to how your situation might link up with one of my investigations.”

  “I don’t understand,” Cindy said.

  “Of course you don’t. That’s because you don’t have the pertinent information.”

  “And that would be what?” Cindy asked.

  “Your brother’s accident.”

  “What about it?”

  “It was no accident.”

  10

  “Why are people always trying to kill Kyle?” Cindy burst out. She felt sick to her stomach at the revelation.

  The detective looked at her sharply. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing,” Cindy said, suddenly flustered.

  “If you have information you’re withholding that could help us get to the bottom of this that’s not only illegal it’s also a really bad idea.”

  “I’m not withholding anything related to this. A few months ago this crazy woman went after him during the filming of his new show. She thought if something happened to him then her boyfriend would get to host instead. Anyway, we caught her, and she’s going to be in prison a very long time.”

  “Who’s ‘we’?”

  “My friend Jeremiah, a detective from back home, and me.”

  “I think you better tell me about this,” the detective said.

  “It’s in the past. It’s not relevant.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  Cindy took a deep breath and then summed up the events of the cattle drive for the other woman.

  At the end of the story the detective shook her head. “Trouble does seem to have a way of finding him. I’ll make a couple of phone calls and make sure that there haven’t been any developments in that case that could shed light on this one, but I’m inclined to agree with you that they are unconnected. It’s my understanding that this is not your brother’s first trip to Vegas?”

  “He’s been here at least a couple of times filming.”

  “Can you be more specific?”

  Cindy shook her head. “You’d have to ask my mother that one. She keeps much more up on his career than I do.”

  “From what I’ve heard, I’m not sure your mother is up to talking at the moment.”

  “That’s true. She’s pretty out of it. My dad or Lisa might be able to help with the same information.”

  “Alright, I’ll follow up on that.”

  It was Cindy’s turn to get some answers. “How do you know that it wasn’t an accident?”

  “A security camera on a building close to the intersection. We were able to see on the footage that the black sedan that hit your brother’s car had been sitting about a hundred feet back from the intersection with its hazards on for two minutes, forcing other cars to go around. Then, the moment your brother started to enter the intersection, the guy hit the gas, and aimed straight at him. The car kept going after the impact, no hesitation or disoriented driving. That driver knew he was going to hit the other car and was prepared for it. Moreover, he was waiting for the opportunity to do so.”

  Cindy’s mouth felt dry. “Could it have been a random act of violence or a case of mistaken identity?”

  “I doubt it. So, what would be helpful is if you could tell me who might want to hurt your brother.”

  Cindy shook her head. “Lisa would probably know the answer to that better than I would. Kyle and I aren’t exactly close.”

  “And yet you dropped everything to be here.”

  “Just because we don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things doesn’t mean I don’t love him,” Cindy said, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. “And none of this explains why you think what happened to me last night is connected.”

  “I don’t know if it is yet. It’s just very suspicious. Someone nearly kills your brother and the very next night after you visited him in the hospital someone tries to steal your purse in what was clearly not a simple act of theft.”

  “How do you know that it wasn’t?”

  “Because whoever orchestrated that little theft had fake cops come to arrest the man who did it called by a fake hotel security guard.”

  “Fake?” Cindy asked, feeling a little light-headed.

  “As fake as ninety-percent of this town is. There are four guards that work at that hotel and none of them look like the man you described. None of our officers on call last night reported anything like what you’re talking about either, so I’m guessing even if I showed you pictures of every man on the force, you wouldn’t find those two who took your thief away. The question is, what do you have that they want?”

  “Nothing! I have nothing,” Cindy said, her anxiety level increasing sharply.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s also possible that they wanted you. Didn’t you say they asked you to come with them last night?”

  “Yes,” Cindy said, growing still. That couldn’t be the answer, could it? It wouldn’t be the first time she was kidnapped. But to what end? She didn’t have anything and she didn’t know anything that could connect to the attack on Kyle.

  “Is there anyone who would want to harm you?”

  “No,” Cindy said, taken aback by the question. “I’m just a church secretary.”

  And someone spent the last week trying to harm me so they could get at my friend who is former Mossad, she thought to herself. She hunched her shoulders slightly. What had happened last night couldn’t have anything to do with that, could it? It was crazy to think like that, wasn’t it?

  Suddenly her black and white world seemed to be getting fuzzier around the edges. Maybe there were people out there who wanted to hurt her, and not because of anything that actually had to do with her. She was sure Jeremiah must have made enemies. Then what about Kyle? Was it possible that whoever had tried to kill him had gone after her because of him?

  She pressed her fingers to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Things were just so complicated and confusing and they were getting more so by the moment.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m just...it’s a lot to deal with, you know?” Cindy said.

  Detective Sanders nodded. “I know it’s
a lot to process. It’s not every day you find out someone might wish you harm.”

  Cindy barely managed to control a crazed laugh that threatened to escape her. Sometimes it seemed like the last couple of years her life had been filled with people who wished her harm. All those people should be dead or in prison, though.

  She took a deep breath. “What do we do now?”

  “I’m going to keep investigating. If you or any of your family can think of any detail that might be useful, please inform me immediately. Sometimes even the smallest, most trivial seeming thing can be the key to solving a case.”

  “Okay, what else do you want me to do?”

  “Just be safe, and keep a lookout for anything or anyone suspicious.”

  “If you think this was deliberate, what are you doing to protect Kyle while he’s in the hospital?” Cindy asked.

  “We have a plain clothes officer keeping tabs at all times.”

  “Why plain clothes?”

  “So that if we’re right and whoever attacked him tries again they won’t instantly spot the officer which gives us a shot at catching the scum. Also, if we’re wrong, we haven’t needlessly upset and worried everyone involved.”

  “What does the plain clothes officer look like?”

  The detective shook her head. “It’s best for everyone if you don’t know that. I’m not even comfortable with the fact that you know there is an officer present.”

  Mark would have told her, but then again, they had a relationship of trust forged on too many shared bad experiences. This lady didn’t know her from anyone. To her Cindy was just the sister of a potential victim.

  “I’d also recommend that you stay with people, given what happened to you yesterday. Use the buddy system until we get this sorted out and figure out if what happened to you is connected to your brother or not.”

  “Okay,” Cindy said. That was going to be a little bit difficult given the circumstances, but she would certainly be careful and on the lookout for any future attacks. “Do you still want me to give the descriptions of the men I saw to your sketch artist?”

  “Yes, you never know what detail might be important.”

  Cindy spent the next hour trying to help the artist get the closest images he could of the fake security guard and cops. She’d never actually seen the face of the thief, and because of the hoodie he’d been wearing she wasn’t even sure what hair color he had.

  When at last they were finished she left the station with Detective Sanders’ card in her wallet. She grabbed a taxi to take her to the hospital. The entire ride, though, she felt nervous and on edge and she kept looking around as though she would somehow see the black sedan that had hit her brother heading for her. It was a nerve-wracking ride, and when it was finally over she half-ran into the comparative safety of the hospital lobby.

  Once inside she paused to gather herself. She didn’t want to meet back up with her parents until she was at least marginally calmer. The last thing they needed was more stress than they were already dealing with. She didn’t think they knew that the police thought that the accident had been an intentional attack. Part of her felt like they deserved the truth, but the other part of her didn’t want them worrying more over something they couldn’t control.

  When she had finally gotten herself together she headed upstairs. Her parents were in the observation room, looking exactly like they had the day before. As she looked through the window she realized that Kyle looked exactly the same, too. It was like some weird case of déjà vu.

  “Has there been any change?” she asked.

  Her father shook his head.

  She sat down in one of the chairs and found herself watching her parents just as much as she was watching her brother. She felt so helpless just sitting and watching. If they could have at least been in the same room as Kyle that would be different. She could hold his hand and talk to him even if he couldn’t hear her or talk back. At least that would be better than this interminable silence.

  Her mind was still whirling thinking about everything the detective had told her. She still had no idea what the thief and his accomplices wanted with her purse the night before. It was too elaborate to have been a random crime. She had to have been targeted.

  Having the fake security guard and fake cops was the really odd part. It implied that the thief either expected to be caught or wanted to be caught. What was it they could possibly want with her to make that much effort worth it? Anyone who knew anything about her brother would know that they weren’t close. Certainly not close enough for him to have given her anything important.

  There was a flaw in their plan, though, if the thief had wanted to be caught. He would have gotten away if it hadn’t been for Martin coming in the door at that exact instant.

  Martin.

  Was he in on it? His appearance at the exact right moment seemed like too much of a coincidence, especially given the fact that the thief had known he’d likely be caught. But if Martin was in on it, why go to such elaborate lengths? He’d been alone with her on multiple occasions. If he’d wanted to steal her purse or do something to her he’d had ample opportunity before that moment.

  Sitting there in the silence with her thoughts tumbling together she felt like she was going crazy. She needed answers and there were none to be found in this tiny room. Even if she could get her mom to say more than two words she doubted the other woman was capable of thinking clearly enough to give her any useful information.

  Lisa. She should talk to Lisa.

  She forced herself to sit another fifteen minutes. After all, that’s what it seemed like everyone expected her to do. Finally she stood up. “I’m going to go check in on Lisa and sit with her for a while,” she said.

  “Good idea,” her dad answered.

  She walked down the hall and entered Lisa’s room. She stopped, staring around in surprise. “Did someone open a florist shop in your room?” she asked.

  The room was absolutely filled with bouquets of flowers.

  Lisa smiled wanly from the bed. “They all started showing up this morning. I don’t know who most of them are from, though.”

  “It’s impressive. Clearly you have some admirers and well-wishers.”

  Lisa shrugged. “My parents live here. I’ve spent time here. I guess that equals lots of flowers.”

  “Clearly it does. Do you want me to read you the cards?”

  “Yes, that would be nice,” Lisa said. “Thank you.”

  Cindy moved to the nearest arrangement, a massive spray of lavender flowers. “It says, ‘Lisa, all our love and wishes for a speedy recovery Pat and Leslie.’”

  “My cousins. They know that purple is my favorite color,” Lisa said wistfully. “I was going to have the bridesmaids wear that color.”

  Cindy didn’t like Lisa’s use of the word ‘was’ because it implied that the wedding wasn’t going to happen because Kyle wouldn’t pull through. She forced a cheerful smile on her face. “They will look lovely in this color,” she said.

  She moved to the next bouquet. It and the next two were from relatives. Cindy reached a bunch of sunflowers next which were already looking a little droopy. “Okay, ‘Lisa, even the most lovely of flowers fade and die. Cherish every moment you have.’ There’s no name. And, that’s kinda morbid,” Cindy said turning to look at Lisa.

  The woman’s eyes were wide and if Cindy wasn’t mistaken she saw fear in them.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Lisa nodded slowly. “It’s...it’s like you said, morbid.”

  “Any idea who sent these?”

  “Not a clue,” Lisa said, dropping her eyes.

  She’s lying.

  Cindy stood, uncertain what to do. She felt in her gut that Lisa wasn’t being truthful and that she knew who had sent the flowers.

  “That’s enough for now. Thank you for reading the cards,” Lisa said.

  “Um, sure,” Cindy said, glancing at the remaining arrangements. She was suddenly very curious what othe
r macabre sentiments might be written on some of the other cards. Lisa didn’t want to hear any more, though, and she couldn’t think of a way to keep reading them to herself without being rude and obvious that she was suspicious about something.

  “Is Kyle...How’s Kyle?”

  “The same as yesterday,” Cindy said, moving to sit next to the bed.

  Lisa bit her lip and refused to look up.

  “He’s going to pull through, you’ll see. You know Kyle, he’s stubborn that way,” Cindy said, trying to cheer her up.

  “He is stubborn,” Lisa admitted. “He asked me out four times before I said yes.”

  “Really? What made you finally say yes?”

  “I hadn’t wanted to date a celebrity. Kyle was cute, though, and funny, and romantic and the fact that he just wouldn’t accept the no and leave me alone was actually quite charming.”

  “Nice to hear the word ‘charming’ as opposed to ‘stalker’,” Cindy said with a grin.

  “No, he’s too sweet for that,” Lisa said with a sigh. “Before I knew it I had fallen for him. Hard.”

  “The feeling seems to be mutual.”

  Lisa touched her engagement ring. “Yeah, it does,” she said softly.

  Cindy cleared her throat. “Lisa, I know this is going to sound a bit odd, but is there anyone in town who doesn’t like Kyle? I know he’s filmed here before and he does have this amazing talent for annoying people.”

  Lisa looked up sharply. “You think someone would want to hurt Kyle?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Cindy said, gingerly trying to backpedal. “I was just...thinking...you know.”

  Lisa shook her head. “No one that I can think of would want to hurt Kyle. He’s a sweet guy. Arrogant sometimes, and totally obnoxious at times, but just a really good guy. He told me what happened on the cattle drive you were all on. You don’t think another of his coworkers is crazy like that, do you?”

  “I doubt it. I’m just a bit paranoid,” Cindy said. “So, there’s no one you can think of that has an issue with him?”

  Lisa shook her head. “I mean, my mother wasn’t as fond of him as I would like. She thinks I should marry someone more like my dad. She doesn’t get that I’m different than she is. She’d never hurt him, though.”