Innocent Target

by Elisabeth Rees

  “It’s all in the past, Dad,” Kitty said. “Let’s forget it.”

  “Regret is a terrible thing to live with,” he said. “I sometimes lie awake at night thinking what if...”

  “What’s done is done,” Ryan said, wondering which regrets Harry was referring to. Was murder on that list? “The only way to combat regret is to be truthful about your mistakes and try to atone for them.”

  Harry nodded in agreement. “You’re absolutely right. This time in prison has been the best and worst experience of my life. It’s forced me off the booze and given me the opportunity to take a long, hard look at my life.”

  “And what do you see?” Ryan asked.

  “I see a coward and a quitter. I see someone who was selfish and weak, too absorbed in his own sorrow to properly care for his daughter. I see someone that I don’t much like—but also someone who’s ready to change.” He put his hands on the table and laced his fingers together. “I know this might sound crazy, but I feel like a vase that’s been broken and glued back together in a way that makes it much stronger.”

  That didn’t sound crazy to Ryan at all. It sounded sensible and humble, and much to his surprise, he found himself asking the question he’d intended to save for much later in the visit.

  “Did you kill Molly Thomas?”

  He saw Kitty flinch, and Harry closed his eyes slowly as if a pain had shot through him.

  “I would never hurt Molly,” he said. “She was beautiful both inside and out.” Harry looked Ryan square in the eye. “I didn’t kill her, but I understand that it’s hard to trust a man with a criminal history like mine.”

  Ryan was glad that Harry brought this up. “You robbed a post office, right?”

  Harry took his time in answering. “I did, yes. My parents didn’t do a great job in raising me. They cared more about using drugs than about me, and my dad used to knock me around. I was put into my first foster family at the age of ten and everything went downhill from there. I was angry all the time and felt worthless, so I started stealing cars and hanging out with the wrong crowd. I’m ashamed of what I did to those people in the post office and I’d do anything to turn back the clock. After I served my time and met Kitty’s mom, she put me on the straight and narrow. She introduced me to God.” He smiled. “And she made me see that I wasn’t worthless, because I had a Father who loved me. I just wish I hadn’t lost sight of Him when she died. I was weak.”

  “We’re all weak sometimes,” Ryan said. “We’re only human.” Harry’s words seemed as sincere as they could possibly be, but Ryan needed to hear more from him, more about the night of the murder.

  “Tell me what happened when you picked up Molly from the highway,” he said.

  “It was a Saturday evening and I was driving to the Starlight Bar. It was rainy and I saw Molly sitting at the side of the road, so I stopped and got out of my truck. She said she was walking to a party at the Sutton farm and she’d fallen over a rock. Her knees were all cut up, so I found some tissues and helped her as best I could. Then I gave her a ride to the party and dropped her at the end of the lane that leads to the Sutton place.”

  “You didn’t take her all the way to the door?”

  “She asked me not to.” He bowed his head. “She didn’t want to say it, but she was embarrassed. She didn’t want everyone at the party to see her arriving with me. I understood why—who’d want to be seen getting out of the town drunk’s car? And it was only a short walk up the lane.” He wrung his hands. “If only I’d insisted on taking her right up to the house, she’d have been safe. I failed her and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

  Kitty leaned across and put her hand on top of her father’s, and he gave her a weak smile.

  “Afterward I went on to the bar and stayed there drinking until late, and then I drove home again.” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I know it was wrong to drive under the influence, and I deserve to be punished for it, but drunk driving is the worst thing I did that night. The first I knew about Molly’s death was when the sheriff arrived at my house the next day with a warrant to take my truck for forensic tests. He said something about probable cause and circumstantial evidence, but I was in total shock. A few days after my vehicle was taken, I got arrested and charged.”

  Harry’s natural answers, his constant eye contact and his straight-talking manner all supported his credibility. Ryan could see why Kitty believed in him so fervently.

  “When Molly got out of your car, did you see anybody else around?” he asked. “Or notice anything that might be considered suspicious?”

  “No.”

  “And did you stop anywhere or talk to anybody before going into the Starlight Bar?”

  “No.”

  “And do you know of any reason why Harvey Flynn would refuse to corroborate your alibi?”

  “No.”

  “What about the woman buried beneath the floor of Harvey’s bar—do you know anything about that?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve seen the news about the woman on TV but I have no idea who that dead person is. I’m not much help, am I?”

  Ryan rubbed his neck. Harry was apparently clueless, holding no information that would assist his investigation.

  “Who else was at the party that night?” he asked. “Surely the police must have interviewed all of them?”

  “From what I heard, almost every teenager from Bethesda was there,” Kitty interjected. “They all got questioned, but none of them saw or heard anything.”

  “Was Buzz there?”

  “Probably,” she replied.

  “And did he drive there by himself or did he get dropped off?”

  “I don’t know.” Kitty narrowed her eyes. “Why? What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that this might’ve been an opportunistic killing, by somebody who snatched Molly on the spur of the moment. I don’t think it was planned out in advance. How could the killer have known exactly when Molly would arrive? No, I think he acted on impulse. That explains why the body wasn’t well hidden. There was no time for him to prepare.”

  “And you think it might’ve been Buzz Price?” Harry asked in a low voice.

  “I don’t think Buzz is our guy,” Ryan replied. “But I’m pretty sure he knows more than he lets on.”

  Harry’s expression was suddenly eager. “Does this mean you believe that I didn’t do it?”

  Ryan turned to Kitty. “Could you get us some coffee from the machine? I’d like to have a one-to-one with your father.”

  Kitty looked at her dad, who nodded in agreement, and she rose from her seat to leave them alone.

  “I believe you, Mr. Linklater,” Ryan said. “And I’m sorry for what’s happened. Your daughter never stopped trusting in you and I didn’t support her at first. I hurt her feelings and I made her sad by insisting you were guilty, and I’m sorry for that, too. But I promise that I’ll work with her to try and figure all this out, because you and Kitty deserve to be taken seriously.”

  Harry appeared shocked, as if he wasn’t expecting such a heartfelt confession.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’ve been so worried about Kitty taking on too much responsibility, and I’ve been praying that she’d find someone to help her share the load. I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally meet the answer to that prayer.”

  Ryan watched Kitty feed change into the machine, occasionally glancing in their direction, her expression betraying her anxiety about why Ryan wanted to be alone with her father. But Ryan needed to say something personal, something that he didn’t want Kitty to hear.

  “I like your daughter very much, Mr. Linklater.”

  “I guessed as much.”

  “And I wanted to let you know that I’m taking care of her, doing everything in my power to keep her safe.”

  “Safe?” Harry questioned. “Safe from what?” />
  He remembered his agreement with Kitty. “It’s just a figure of expression. What I mean to say is that she means much more to me than a landlady.”

  Harry smiled. “You’ve fallen in love with her.”

  Ryan’s eyes flicked to Kitty.

  “I think I have,” he said. “And you can be assured that she’s in good hands with me.”

  “I see that. But Kitty is a strong woman and she knows her own mind, so it’s not me that you need to persuade. If you love her then go ahead and tell her.”

  Ryan watched her weave her way among the tables, carrying two plastic cups of steaming coffee, which she set down with a smile.

  “So, what have you two boys been talking about?”

  “Just the facts of the case,” Ryan replied. “I want to get things straight in my head.”

  The truth of the matter was that he did want to get things straight in his head. He wanted to be sure he could give Kitty the love and support she required before making any declaration of affection.

  After everything he had done to hurt her, could he now be the man she deserved?

  * * *

  Kitty sat next to Ryan on the sofa in her living room. Shane was in the kitchen, supervising the repair of the broken window and carefully extracting bullets from the wall for forensic analysis. He’d been there since lunchtime at Ryan’s request, and another deputy had been drafted from Lawton to cover the Bethesda station for the afternoon.

  Ryan had told Kitty he’d wanted to delay discussing their visit to the prison until they arrived home. He had apparently wanted some time to consider what he was going to say, and she respected his decision. It meant he was taking great care to ensure he took the matter seriously and chose the right words. She appreciated that.

  With the sound of a hammer in the background, Ryan took a deep breath.

  “I believe that your father is innocent.”

  Kitty’s hands flew to her mouth as a high-pitched squeal pushed its way past her lips. This was the news she had been hoping and praying for.

  “I’m so pleased, Ryan,” she said. “I just knew you’d change your mind if you met him. He’s honest and kind and admits he’s done wrong in his life, but you can see he’s not a killer.” She realized she was rambling, so she forced herself to slow down. “Thank you for giving him a chance.”

  “I owe you an apology, Kitty,” he said. “I allowed my personal situation to cloud my judgment, but if you’ll let me make up for it, I’ll be the biggest supporter you ever had.”

  She beamed. This was music to her ears.

  “What’s in the past doesn’t matter anymore,” she said, shifting on the sofa to be closer to him. “We’re on the same page now and everything looks different.”

  “I’m glad you said that.” He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “Because I really care about you, Kitty. You know that, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hey, boss!” Shane called from the kitchen. “I need a second pair of eyes on something. You got a minute?”

  Ryan jumped up from the sofa. “I’ll be right back.”

  He vanished through the door and Kitty leaned back on the sofa, her legs kicking in the air like a baby on a mat. Despite her continued dangerous personal situation, this day was ranking as perhaps the best in her life so far.

  A buzzing sound came from the coffee table and Ryan’s cell phone vibrated across the surface.

  “Can you get that for me, Kitty?” Ryan called out.

  “Chief Deputy Lawrence’s cell,” she said professionally, after hitting the answer button. “How may I help you?”

  “Who’s that?”

  “My name is Kitty Linklater. Who is this, please?”

  “This is Sheriff Wilkins calling from Lawton. What are you doing answering Ryan’s cell phone?” The sheriff’s voice was gruff.

  “Ryan is dealing with something important right now,” she said. “Can I take a message?”

  “You can tell him to get down to the Bethesda station immediately. Both he and Shane have gone AWOL this afternoon and drafted one of my boys from Lawton to cover. This is unacceptable and I assume you are the reason why.”

  “No, no, it’s not like that.” She panicked about landing Ryan in trouble. “It’s part of an investigation.”

  “Spare me the excuses, Miss Linklater. I’m fully aware that you and Ryan have got some kind of relationship going on and I’ve already warned him about the consequences. But if he wants to throw away his chances of becoming sheriff then that’s his lookout.”

  She was confused. “What do you mean?”

  The sheriff fell silent for a moment. “I’m guessing he didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “I told Ryan that I would withdraw my endorsement unless he moved out of your house. He decided not to comply with my wishes so I’ve chosen another candidate to support.”

  “You can’t do that.” She reeled at the unfairness of it all. “Ryan is only trying to do the right thing.”

  “The right thing would be to focus on the whole community of Bethesda instead of concentrating his resources on the daughter of a convicted murderer. I have a lot of sympathy for you, Miss Linklater, I really do, but you’ve dragged Ryan into a situation that is tarnishing the reputation of the entire sheriff’s department. I hope you realize what you’re costing him.”

  “I—I...” She didn’t know what to say or how to defend herself.

  “I’d appreciate you letting Ryan know that I called,” the sheriff said. “I’ll expect to see him at the station in an hour. I’m already on my way.”

  The line went dead and Kitty stared at the cell for what seemed like an eternity. Ryan had given her no indication of the sheriff’s ultimatum. Why hadn’t he told her? Was he trying to protect her from the guilt? It didn’t really matter, because she refused to be responsible for sabotaging Ryan’s career, or keeping him from reaching his lifelong dream.

  “All done,” Ryan said, reentering the room, wiping dusty hands on his pants. “Who was that on the phone?”

  She stood up. “It was Sheriff Wilkins. He wants to see you at the station in an hour.”

  Ryan checked his watch. “I guess he’s a little sore about me stealing one of his deputies this afternoon to man the station. I’ll smooth things out with him.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Ryan?”

  “Tell you what?”

  “That the sheriff was no longer endorsing you for the election.”

  Ryan groaned. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”

  “He says it’s because of me.”

  “Don’t listen to what the sheriff says,” Ryan said, coming to stand in front of her. He slid an arm around her waist and rested his forehead against hers. “It’s not important.”

  She stepped back. “But it is important. You’ve dreamed of being the county sheriff ever since Gina died. You can’t just throw it all away because of me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I won’t let you.”

  “I’ve made my choice, Kitty, and I stand by it. What’s the point in becoming sheriff if I have to sacrifice my relationship with you in order to get the job? I’d be miserable.”

  “But we don’t have a relationship.”

  “Not yet,” he said. “But that could all change.” He smiled. “If you want it to.”

  She wanted to cry with frustration, but she forced herself to remain calm and composed.

  “I want the same thing as you,” she said. “But if we become a couple I’d always wonder whether you resented me for costing you the sheriff’s job.”

  “I could never resent you.”

  “You don’t know that. You have no idea how you’ll feel in the future.”

  “Yes, I do,” he said quietly. “I love you.”


  She pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets so firmly that she saw stars. She needed those few seconds to gather her thoughts and come up with a plan.

  “Okay,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “This is what you’re going to do—in one hour, you’re going to meet with the sheriff at the Bethesda station and you’ll tell him that you’ll be moving out of this house in the morning. You’ll also tell him that you and I are not, and never will be, romantically involved. Then you will ask him to reinstate his endorsement of your candidacy for county sheriff. Got that?”

  “No.”

  “Please, Ryan, don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  “There is no way I’m leaving you in this house all alone. It’s madness.”

  “I have the panic room,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Ryan turned around in circles, as if looking for an imaginary path to follow, one that would lead him back to her.

  “Won’t you at least take some time to think about it?” he asked. “Don’t make a rash decision.”

  “It’s not a rash decision,” she replied. “It’s the right decision. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are in your career and you will be sheriff. I’ll expect you to have your bags packed in the morning and I’ll try to help you find alternative accommodation.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do,” she said with force. “Things will be different when we prove my father’s innocence, but until then, we have to stay apart.”

  “But, Kitty,” he protested. “That investigation could take months or years to conclude. I don’t want to wait that long.”

  “I’m sorry, Ryan,” she said, forcing herself to be matter-of-fact. “This is what I want.”

  In truth, it wasn’t what she wanted, not by a long shot, but what choice did she have? Ryan was being ruled by his heart rather than his head and she was obliged to be his voice of reason. She cared for him too much to allow him to throw away this chance of success.