Run, River, Run

by C. F. Francis

  “Can I convince you to go inside?” he asked, scanning the area. He was surprised to see her hand was stretched across the table, palm up. He stared at it for a second, then mirrored her action, clasping his fingers with hers.

  “Will you leave, if I do? I don’t want you hurt.” Her glacier blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

  “Do you hear yourself? You’re admitting you’re a target.” He didn’t realize he was holding her hand so tightly until she grimaced. He relaxed his fingers.

  “If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” she said. “It won’t matter where I sit or where I go, if someone wants to get to me, they’ll manage to do it.”

  “Do you have a death wish?” he asked, scanning the area again.

  “I have an acceptance,” she started, then stopped as a young woman appeared with menus.

  Kevin was annoyed by the interruption. She was opening up. He quickly ordered the first item under sandwiches on the menu then held his tongue while River studied it. She seemed to relish taking her time, eventually requesting her earlier stated wish for a grouper sandwich.

  As soon as the server left, Kevin jumped on her last remark. “What the hell do you mean by you have ‘an acceptance’?”

  “Let’s drop the subject. I’d like a few minutes to forget everything and enjoy this beautiful weather.”

  The weather was perfect. So was the woman sitting across from him. He should have pressed but he didn’t. A break from constant stress was what she needed.

  “When do you head back to your base?” she asked, removing the paper straw from its wrapper.

  “I’ve got a couple of weeks. Then a few months at Fort Bragg before we’re deployed.”

  “You mean I only have to put up with you for a few weeks, at most?” Her smile was broad, and her eyes sparkled.

  “Does that mean you’re accepting our assistance?” Again, he glanced at the area surrounding them—the boats, the nearby condos and water. He didn’t like it here, but she appeared content and he was hard pressed to argue with her when she was obviously relaxed.

  How often did she allow herself to unwind? He had his share of stress during deployments, but relaxation was a key to mental and physical health. One of the reasons he came to Sanibel was to hang out and kick back with his friends. He’d do the same if he was home with his family in Arizona. He had a network of friends and family who could draw him out of soldier mode. River had none from what he could see. A maiden aunt and a retired law officer were the only people she held close.

  Kevin took a large bite of the fish sandwich. “Something’s changed with you,” he commented, talking around a mouthful of damn good fish. “What happened to the woman who was spitting fire yesterday?”

  “And throwing insults?” she asked, pulling her attention away from the water. Her eyes were no longer sparkling. Instead, there was a seriousness—and a sadness in her eyes.

  “Unless I pulled out my gun, insults were all I had to chase you all away. It didn’t work very well, apparently, so I’m trying a new tactic Honesty.” She paused. “I don’t want to see your friends again.”

  “Why? They want to help. My friends,” he said, “are the best people I know.”

  “And that’s why.” Her lips trembled. “They are good people and helping me could get them killed. I’d like you to leave, too. I can’t watch someone I care about die again. What can I say to make you go away?”

  At that minute, Kevin felt his heart tumble. He didn’t have time to dwell on the unexpected emotion. His phone was ringing. Annoyed, he pulled it from his back pocket.

  “Hey, Rick. What’s up?” Kevin paused, then smiled at River. “We’re at a place called Grandma Dot’s having lunch. Why?” He listened as his friend relayed the gut-wrenching information, hoping his expression didn’t give away the context of the one-sided conversation. A public restaurant wasn’t the place to break this kind of news. River had put down her sandwich. Her eyes were pinched as she watched him intently. “Anything else?” Kevin asked.

  Kevin didn’t catch Rick’s answer because River’s phone began chirping frantically. The alarm system they’d set up at her condo had gone off. His phone vibrated simultaneously. She didn’t know he’d had Troy connect the alarm to his cell. She’d be pissed, but that was a battle for another day. He reached for River’s arm as she rushed by him, but she dodged it, sprinting for her car.

  “Someone’s at River’s condo. We’re headed back.” Kevin disconnected the call and threw some money on the table.

  “Ride with me,” he shouted as she climbed into her vehicle. “We’ll come back for your car.” She ignored him, slamming the car door. She pulled out onto the busy road, barely missing another vehicle as she stepped on the gas. The woman was dead set on getting herself killed. Did she really not care one way or the other if she lived? How would she react when he broke the news that her friend, Dan, had been murdered?

  Common sense told her to wait for Kevin. Going up against an intruder alone—who was no doubt armed—wasn’t the smartest move. The whole point of this break-in may be to draw her out. So be it. She was tired of being on the defensive end of things.

  As soon as she turned onto her street, she pulled her gun from her purse. Today she was running toward the battle instead of away from it. It was about damn time.

  She tuned out the squeal of tires in the lot below as she raced up the stairs. If the son-of-a-bitch was still here, she damn well was going to make sure he didn’t get away. As she rounded the corner from the stairwell, she spotted the door to her unit ajar. Ignoring the flicker of nerves, she slipped to the other side of the doorway, her gun drawn. She prayed she had the guts to use it. With her free hand, she flung the door open the rest of the way. Before it could hit the wall, Kevin appeared, stopping its momentum and any noise that would make.

  The man must have moved like a bolt of lightning to catch up with her. River wasn’t surprised when he motioned for her to get behind him, but this was her place—her problem. No one else was going to die because of her.

  Quickly scanning the room, she started to enter when Kevin ducked in front of her. Half tempted to push her foot into the back of his knee, she thought better of it. The sound of a man his size hitting the floor would alert the intruder. She quickly followed him into the workroom.

  The slider was open. The drafting table, which would normally block access to the sliding glass door, had been tossed on its side. There was no beating Kevin to the deck. He was bigger, faster, and blocked her way with his muscular arm. She wasn’t strong enough or dumb enough to challenge him, but if he saw the bastard and didn’t shoot, she would and damn the consequences.

  The decision didn’t have to be made. The deck was empty, the ground and landscape beyond were desolate. The trellis reflected the escape route. Several vines from the bougainvillea had torn away and lay on the ground below. Their visitor would have cuts and scratches from the thorny vine. If the structure had been your typical wooden trellis, it would have never supported a grown man, but the designers had made the support of metal and had anchored it well.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” She was still leaning over the railing looking for anyone or anything to tear into when Kevin verbally started lashing out.

  “I was thinking the bastard wasn’t getting away this time. I’m tired of this shit. I want it ended.” He was already towering over her, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to get in his face.

  “It might have ended with your life,” he growled.

  “Either way, it would have ended.” She started around him.

  “Were you on a damn suicide mission?” His voice snapped out like a whip.

  She stopped. His words piercing deeper than any of her previous thoughts or words—or misplaced wishes.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. She glanced at the balcony then back at Kevin. “I don’t know.”

  Kevin gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. Anxious,
she fought the stillness.

  “Just give yourself a minute. Give me a minute,” he said.

  “He’s getting away,” she mumbled into his shirt, but she stopped struggling to break free.

  “He’s already gone,” he assured her. His tone left no room for doubt.

  “I wanted to stop him. I wanted this to stop.” A tear tickled her nose. She brushed it away. “Why won’t it stop?”

  As his lips touched her hair, they both stilled. Not surprisingly, Kevin heard the footsteps approaching through the living area. He positioned River closer to the open slider. “Get ready to follow his escape route,” he ordered. “Just in case.”

  Yeah, right. She wasn’t leaving him, and if it was one of her tormentors, she wanted a piece of the bastard. Taking a step back and to the side, she raised her weapon. Kevin muttered something, but she ignored him. She was totally focused on the doorway. They’d left the front door wide open as they’d rushed in. Anyone could have walked in—friend or foe. They were both erring on the side of foe.

  “Stay here,” he said softly as he moved toward the entrance—his gun pointing low and gripped with both hands.

  Kevin barely stepped into the hallway before he turned back toward her. “It’s Rick.”

  The detective, dressed in khakis and a police department issued polo shirt, entered the room. “Are you both okay?”

  “No one’s hurt,” Kevin told him.

  “Have you cleared the place?” he asked Kevin.

  “Haven’t had time.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  River waited in her office. They didn’t need her, and she’d just be in the way. Instead, she studied her surrounding space. The discarded drafting table appeared to be intact, despite its lopsided angle.

  Her stomach lurched the second she spotted the box on the floor which held the jeweled mask. Carefully, she sat it on her workbench. Air slowly escaped her lungs as she lifted the object from the container. Thank God. It was undamaged.

  The room was a mess, but a quick glance told her nothing of value was missing. What the hell did he want?

  “Did either of you see him?” Rick asked, returning to the room with Kevin.

  “I didn’t,” River answered, placing the mask back in the box.

  “The man must move like a cheetah,” Kevin added. “He was on the ground and out of sight before either of us got to the balcony. He’s long gone by now. Still, shouldn’t we be searching for him?”

  Rick inspected the trellis then pivoted to River. “Pull up the security video while I call the station. Steve will be here any second,” he told them.

  River pulled her chair over to her computer. Kevin and Rick hovered closely over her shoulder while she brought up the security video from the two cameras they’d installed out front. She took a deep breath and clicked on the videos.

  The larger of the two images was clear, but she couldn’t see where it would be of much help to the authorities. Whoever broke into her place had either spotted or knew the whereabouts of the cameras. He wore a windbreaker with a hood that covered almost his entire face. What wasn’t covered, he diverted from the camera as he worked the lock.

  “This guy knows what he’s doing,” Rick commented. “It didn’t take him any time to get past the new locks Troy installed.”

  “The alarm is silent. What caused him to bolt?”

  “We made some noise coming in,” Kevin admitted.

  River remembered the sound of Kevin’s tires squealing as he tore into the parking lot. She’d probably been making just as much noise. The screaming tires hadn’t registered at the time because she’d been focused on her goal.

  “I’m headed back,” a warning was shouted from the living room.

  River recognized Steve’s voice. She’d reluctantly agreed to allow them to hook the security system into Steve’s business, but she’d refused any other links, including the police. She had enough trouble dealing with these few men. If she needed the police, she’d call them. She’d wound up with Rick, anyway.

  “What’s the status?” Steve asked as he entered the room.

  “He was in and out like a shot. Other than the open slider and the drafting table he knocked to the floor nothing appears to be disturbed.

  “Did you check the other rooms?”

  “Yep. They’re clear. Besides, there wouldn’t have been time to go through this place and still disappear before we got here.”

  “Any idea what he wanted?” Steve addressed the two men.

  “Excuse me, but I’m right here,” River said. It annoyed the hell out of her when people talked around her as if she wasn’t there.

  “Are you okay?” Steve paused. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “My friend?” An icy cold suddenly enveloped her.

  Steve quickly turned his attention to Kevin. “She doesn’t know?”

  “I was still talking to Rick when the security alarm sounded. I haven’t had the chance to tell her.”

  “Tell me what?”

  Kevin ran his hand over his face. The room became so quiet, or her senses so heightened, she swore she heard the rasp of his beard against his palm. This couldn’t be good.

  “What is it?” Her pulse began to gallop. “What the hell is it?”

  20

  God. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her. This was going to rip her apart but drawing it out wasn’t going to help—it would only add to her stress.

  Squatting in front of her, he took her fisted hand from her chest. He clasped it along with her other hand.

  “I’m sorry, River. Dan was found dead this morning.”

  “No! No. It can’t be. Not Dan.” He felt her fingers clench. “He’s fine. It’s got to be some sort of mistake. I’ll call him now. I’ll prove it.”

  Kevin rose to his feet, bringing her with him. He pulled her close, stroking her hair as he spoke. “It’s no mistake, honey. I’m so, so sorry.”

  The sobs racked her body. Sobs too big for such a small person. He felt the pain rip through her with each gasp for breath. He gathered her closer, wanting to absorb the hurt, knowing it was impossible. She pressed her face into his chest, mumbling words of heartache and loss. Her grief was palpable. Kevin closed his eyes at the sound of her anguish. Laying his cheek against her crown, he whispered soothing words—words she couldn’t hear above her own cries.

  Steve tapped him on the shoulder and passed him a wad of tissues. Prying her fingers away from his shirt, Kevin stuffed them into her hand. She sniffled loudly as he led her out of the room so Rick could process it for anything left by the intruder.

  When they reached the living room sofa, River collapsed onto it. Her brow furrowed as silent tears continued to escape and trickle down her cheeks. She didn’t bother to wipe them away. He took the tissue from her and padded her cheeks. The pain in her glacier-blue eyes killed him.

  “How?” she asked. “He’s never been sick.”

  Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry,” he found himself repeating. “Dan didn’t die of natural causes. He was murdered.”

  She stilled. Like one of those street artists who pose as a statute, she sat frozen. Her eyes were fixed and unblinking. If not for the rapid rise and fall of her chest, she could have passed as one.

  “Steve. Get me a cold cloth and a cola, if you can find one,” Kevin directed his friend who had followed him out of the workroom. “If not, start some coffee.” Once she recovered her senses, River would want answers. Right now, she needed something for the shock. He pressed the cool dish towel to her cheek and forehead. She jerked back, her eyes blinking.

  “Here,” he said, taking the cola from Steve. “Sip this.”

  She clutched the can with both hands and took the instructed sip. He recognized the internal battle she was fighting to hold it together.

  “How?” she asked, locking eyes with Kevin. Her backbone incrementally reassembled itself until she was ramrod straight. “When did it happen?”

 
“It was a blow to the back of the head. The time of death hasn’t been pinpointed.”

  “I spoke with him the day I met you. It was the last time we talked.” Her voice hitched.

  “Does he have family close by? Somebody who would have missed him for a couple of days?” Steve took a seat across from her.

  “He has a son, Jacob, but he lives out of state. I know they were close, but I don’t know if they were in touch daily.” River knuckled a tear from her cheek. “Why would anyone want to kill him?”

  “I don’t know,” Kevin answered, but it was too much of a coincidence not to be connected with the shit that had been going on.

  “I need to be there. I need to pack.” She sprang to her feet, almost knocking him back.

  “It’s not safe for you to be there and you’re in no condition to drive.”

  Anger leapfrogged her grief. She twisted away from him, heading toward her bedroom.

  “River, please. You can’t go home.” Kevin took a few steps toward her but kept his distance. He didn’t want her to feel crowded or bullied.

  “Why the hell not?” She swung on him. “It’s my home.”

  “At the moment, it’s a crime scene,” Steve announced.

  For the second time in a few short minutes, Kevin watched her color pale. “Damn it, Steve.”

  “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Josie and I didn’t get much sleep last night, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry, River.”

  “Dan was killed in my cabin?” Her eyes flew from one man to the other. “He’s dead because of me?”

  “No. Not because of you,” Kevin argued, stepping to her side. “You have nothing to do with his death.”

  “The hell I don’t. I’m the one who’s been stalked. I’m the one who called him about the assault on the beach. Knowing Dan, he would have gone out to the cabin to check on it after my call.”

  “Kevin’s right,” Rick said emerging from the hall, carrying the shipping box containing the mask. “It appears the attempts to terrorize you at your cabin don’t have anything to do with the break-ins or attacks here. Let’s have a seat,” he added.