by Cindy Bell
After Charlotte sent the text, she put the van in reverse and started to pull out of the parking lot. Just as she did, a motorcycle bolted past her, so close that the sound threatened to deafen her. It was going far beyond the speed limit. Right behind the motorcycle was a car, that was going just as fast. Her heart lurched as she recalled the blurred figure that blazed past her. It couldn’t have been Ally. And yet, she couldn’t shake the idea that it was. She picked up her phone and dialed Ally’s number. After several rings it went to voicemail. Anxious, Charlotte started to pull out of the parking lot again, only to have a police car rush past her. It was followed by several more police cars. As her mind tried to keep up with what was unfolding before her, she became aware that a high-speed chase was occurring. She could only hope that Ally wasn’t in the middle of it. She tried to call her again. When her phone went to voicemail again, she decided that she had to follow the police cars.
On the off chance that it was Ally on the motorcycle, she needed to know what was happening. She started to pull out of the parking lot yet again, and almost ran into a car she recognized as it sped past her. Luke’s car. Her stomach twisted. If Luke was involved in the chase, that upped the possibility that Ally was involved as well. Could it really be Ally on that motorcycle?
With her heart pounding she chased after Luke. Luckily, the traffic was minimal, and the screaming sirens warned pedestrians and drivers alike to get out of the way. Charlotte saw them headed down one street, and knew of a shortcut to get to the other side quicker. She cut down the alley behind a shop and managed to bump her way back out on to the main road. She ended up in front of the motorcycle. As she looked in her rear-view mirror she realized that she was right, it was Ally, and she wasn’t even wearing a helmet. She knew that if Ally was on the run, it was because she thought she was in danger. Which meant the car chasing her had to belong to someone who posed a threat.
Charlotte pulled to the side long enough to let the motorcycle pass. She slammed the side of her van into the car that chased the motorcycle. In the squeal of tires and crunching metal she realized that the van might flip from the impact. She closed her eyes and turned the wheel to counteract the tipping. As the van skidded to a stop, she heard the sirens all around her. Though the airbag had deployed, she didn’t sense any damage to her body. But the only thing she was focused on was Ally. Had she made it through the crash okay? She could hear the motorcycle, then suddenly it stopped.
“Ally?” She fought against the airbag and managed to push the door open and get out of the car. “Ally?” As her voice grew louder than the siren she heard quick footsteps approach the car.
“Charlotte?” Luke ran up to her. “Are you hurt?” He looked her up and down.
“No. Where’s Ally?” She blinked, still a little dazed from the crash.
“What were you thinking? Just what were you thinking, Charlotte?” She could see the fear and concern on his face.
“Luke, is Ally okay?” Charlotte looked into his eyes unsure where to go.
“You need to be checked out!”
“Luke, why aren’t you answering me?” She grabbed for his collar, as paramedics rushed towards her. “Where is Ally?”
Charlotte scanned the assortment of police, medical personnel, and onlookers, but she didn’t see any sign of Ally. As her gaze shifted to the car she’d run into, she could see that she had done some damage. She was trying to protect her granddaughter, but what if she had been wrong? What if the driver of the car was an innocent person?
Chapter 9
Ally’s entire body was drenched in sweat. As she pushed the motorcycle to go faster she was well aware that her lack of skill would likely lead to a disaster. But more frightening than the thought of colliding with something at eighty miles an hour, was the unknown figure that chased after her in his car. What would he do to her if he caught her? He’d already tried to run her off the road. If he was that reckless and that determined she guessed he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if he had the chance.
When she first heard the sirens, she realized that the police had joined in on the chase. Then she considered pulling off to the side of the road and telling them everything. But what could she tell them? Would they believe her that she was being chased by a complete stranger? Would they think she was the one who had instigated the problem by breaking into the cabin and withholding the keys? Her stomach churned at the thought. Still, she knew it was the right thing to do. She had started to slow down to pull off to the side of the road. But the moment she did, the driver behind her gunned the engine. He came so close to the rear wheel of the motorcycle that she was sure he’d bump into it. She pulled away as fast as she could. She was stuck. If she slowed down even a little bit the car behind her would ram her. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up the chase forever.
It wasn’t until Ally heard the collision behind her that she realized that someone had come to her rescue. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the car behind her being hit. She only caught a brief glimpse of the vehicle that had collided with it. It looked like a van. Still frightened, she’d continued on for a short while longer, before she eased the motorcycle to a stop. Ally’s entire body continued to vibrate, filled with adrenaline and from the movement of the motorcycle. It was as if she was still riding the bike. She could see the police cars surround the first car, the one that had been following her. Then her eyes settled on the van that had crashed into it, and shock caused her mouth to hang wide open. She recognized it as the van from the shop. The van her grandmother had been driving.
“Mee-Maw! No! Mee-Maw!” She rushed forward in an attempt to get to the van, but before she could get far, strong arms grabbed hers and held her back. She fought at first, uncertain of who it was that restrained her.
“Calm down or I will cuff you.” The authoritative voice barked beside her ear. She closed her eyes as hot tears slipped down her cheeks. It was one of the local officers, and there was no question that he was not going to let her go.
“Please, I need to see if my grandmother is okay.” As fresh tears slid down her cheeks, she could barely take a breath.
“Ally!” His voice cut through the noise and made her head stop spinning long enough to spot him in the crowd of people.
“Luke.” She felt relief as he rushed towards her. “Have you seen Mee-Maw? Is she okay? They won’t let me go to the van. Tell this buffoon to let me go!” She strained against his grasp again.
“Calm down.” He put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “Are you okay, are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not hurt. But I need to know about Mee-Maw, please.” The moment the officer released her, she reached for Luke. He wrapped his arms around her.
“She’s with the paramedics now. They’re looking her over.” He straightened up and pulled back from her. “Ally, what is going on here?” Luke gazed into her eyes so fiercely that she took a slight step back.
“Luke, let me explain…”
“How about you explain to me first?” A man in a suit walked over to them. “I’m Detective Harrow from Mainbry PD, and I’d like to know exactly what led to this high-speed chase through a residential area.”
“Didn’t you get him?” She gasped for breath as she peered at the damaged car. “Didn’t you catch the man that chased me?”
“If you mean the driver of that car, no. He was gone by the time an officer looked inside. Which is why it’s so important that you tell me who he is, and why he was chasing you.” He patted the badge attached to his belt. “Honest, fast, answers please.”
“I can’t believe he got away.” Ally shook her head. She knew that her grandmother had risked everything to protect her, and the fact that he got away made it even worse. “I don’t know, I have no idea who he was.”
“Wait, you were running from someone, with no idea who that person was?” Detective Harrow chuckled. “Now, we may need a drug test, too.”
“Hang on there.” Luke glared at him and stepped in
front of Ally. “You don’t need to talk to her like that. She’s just been through a traumatic event. If she says that she was being chased, then she was.”
“Cool it, cowboy!” Detective Harrow fixed him with a steady stare. “I’m just trying to work out what happened here. If that’s not something that you can help me with then you need to step aside.”
“It’s okay. Luke, it’s okay.” She grabbed his hand before his temper could fray any further. “I’ll tell you everything I know, Detective, but first, I need to make sure that my grandmother is okay.”
“I’m okay, Ally.” Charlotte walked the few feet from the ambulance to her side. “I’ve been cleared. I’m okay, I promise.”
“Oh, Mee-Maw!” She hugged her, then took a deep breath. “Thank you so much. You never should have done that, but thank you so much.”
“Sweetheart, I would do anything to protect you.” She kissed her cheek.
“All right, you’ve had your reunion, now tell me what you know.” Detective Harrow crossed his arms.
“I found out that Austin, the man who was recently killed, had been staying in a cabin. I had the key to it.” Ally reached into her pocket and pulled out the set of keys. “Austin gave these to me just before he jumped off the plane.”
“And you’re just telling the police about them now?” He held out his hand for the keys.
“It’s a long story.” She dropped the keys into his palm. “I’m giving them to you now.”
“Wait, why didn’t I know about this?” Luke stared into her eyes.
“You can ask questions when I’m done.” The detective looked sternly at Ally.
“I went into the cabin. I was careful not to touch anything. I just wanted to see if he might have left something behind, or if there was some clue as to who he was, as my grandmother and I haven’t been able to find out anything about him.”
“It’s true, it’s like he’s a ghost.” Charlotte squeezed her hand.
“Continue.” A flicker of agreement crossed Detective Harrow’s features, but he didn’t comment on it.
“There was nothing there. Not a suitcase, not a piece of clothing. But I noticed something sticking out of the drawer of the bedside table. A photograph. I didn’t touch it, I didn’t want to contaminate it. But I did take a picture.” She reached into her pocket and drew out her phone. Her hand shook as she displayed the photograph for everyone to see.
“That’s Gregory Marris.” Charlotte gasped. She took the phone before the detective could get his hands on it. “What would Austin be doing with a picture of Gregory Marris?”
“Excuse me, I’d like to see it.” Detective Harrow pursed his lips.
Charlotte reluctantly handed him the phone.
“You say this is still in the cabin?” He handed the phone back to Ally. “Which cabin was it?”
“Number five. It’s deep in the woods.”
He pulled out his cell phone and requested a search of the cabin. As he hung up the phone he looked back at Ally.
“None of that explains the chase. Are you ready to tell me about that?”
She gazed into his dark brown eyes and nodded slowly.
It was still hard for Ally to believe that it had happened. As she’d gunned the engine on the motorcycle she was certain she wouldn’t survive. Not only was she driving at dangerous speeds, but the man in the car behind her seemed to be able to keep up, and he was determined to run her off the road.
“I heard someone at the door. I knew it couldn’t be Austin, for obvious reasons. I had no idea who else it might be. I thought maybe it was Austin’s killer. So, I ran out the side door, and the man chased me through the cabin. I could hear him shouting. He certainly wasn’t friendly. Then he said he had a gun. I didn’t want to risk running around the front of the cabin to my car. I had the key to Austin’s motorcycle and it was right there. I just jumped on it. I didn’t really think it through.” She blinked back a rush of tears. “I really thought if that man caught me, I would be dead.”
“What made you think that? Did he threaten you? Did you see his face?” Detective Harrow moved closer to her. He ignored looks of warning from both Charlotte and Luke. “Who was the man, Ally?”
“I don’t know. He said he had a gun. He tried to run me off the road.” She shook her head. “If I knew I would tell you. Maybe you can find out something from his car? I never saw his face. I was too scared to look back. When I heard the engine of his car roaring behind me I realized that I wasn’t going to get away from him. He really wanted me dead.” She pressed a hand to her chest as she recalled the fear she experienced.
“How do you know that? Maybe he just wanted to find out who had broken into Austin’s cabin? Maybe he wanted to make sure you didn’t steal anything?” Detective Harrow’s cell phone began to ring, but he ignored it.
“No.” Ally shook her head as memories of the chase flipped through her mind. “He was trying to kill me.”
“Ally.” Luke tightened his grasp on her hand. “Are you sure?”
“There was one curve, where I slowed down. I thought I would have to stop, because I wasn’t sure if I could navigate the motorcycle through the curvy road. And when I slowed down, he pulled up right behind me, and tried to ram into the back of the motorcycle. I sped up and managed to switch lanes just before he would have struck me and sent me off the road. At the speed I was going, with no helmet on, I would have been killed. So please Detective Harrow, don’t doubt me when I tell you that he wanted me dead. I think, he thought I found something, something that would reveal who he was or incriminate him, and he wanted to eliminate me.”
“Well, that’s a big tale.” He frowned. “You don’t have any proof of it.”
“Oh? Then where is the driver now?” Luke snapped out his words. “He took off, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. Probably to avoid charges for reckless driving. That doesn’t make him a killer.” His cell phone rang again. He sighed as he pulled it out of his pocket. “Yes, what is it? Did you find the photograph?” He paused, and a look of shock spread across his face. “Say again?”
Ally’s heart skipped a beat. She could read in his expression that something had gone wrong.
“Detective?” She met his eyes.
“You get that fire out as soon as possible. I want to know what was in that cabin.” He hung up the phone and looked back at her. “Well, it seems that cabin five was engulfed in flames when my men arrived. Whoever chased you must have set it on fire before he took off after you.”
“How is that possible?” Luke shook his head. “He wouldn’t have had time.”
“Unless he was there to burn it down in the first place.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “Unless he already prepared the place. He could have started the fire as he chased after Ally if he’d already spent some time soaking the place in an accelerant.”
“I did smell something when I was in there. It smelt like some sort of chemical.”
“And you didn’t do anything?” Detective Harrow looked at her.
“I thought it was nothing, but I was going to mention it to Charlie anyway.” She looked down at her hands.
“Ally, you could have been in there.” Luke grimaced and pulled her closer to him. “Enough. I think you have plenty to look into now, Detective. I’m taking her home.” He looked into Detective Harrow’s eyes, as if waiting for the man to challenge him.
“Mee-Maw?” Ally reached for her hand just as her grandmother began to collapse. Luke lunged forward and caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.
“Medic! We need some help over here!” He yelled towards the ambulance.
“Mee-Maw, can you hear me?” Ally clasped Charlotte’s hand and rubbed the back of it.
“She’s got a steady heart rate,” the medic announced. “We’re going to take her to the hospital just to be cautious.”
“Ally?” Charlotte’s eyes fluttered open, then met Ally’s. “I’m okay, really. I just got dizzy.”
“You’re not okay. You passed out. Let them take you to the hospital. I will ride with you.” She turned to look at Detective Harrow. “Unless you intend to arrest me?”
“Not at this time.” He rested one hand on his belt as he studied her. “But please be available for further questions.”
“I’ll make sure she is.” Luke’s hand was heavy on her shoulder as Charlotte was wheeled away towards the ambulance.
“Luke, I want to stay with her.” She slipped out from under his hand.
“Go ahead, and let me know how she is. But Ally, we need to talk about all of this. Okay?”
“Yes.” She grimaced as she guessed that it wouldn’t be a good conversation.
“Hey.” He pulled her close and held her gaze. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Before she could answer, he kissed her. It was a quick but passionate kiss, that ended as he turned away to join the other officers. She stared after him for a moment. Was that his way of promising that everything would be okay? She hoped so.
As Ally climbed into the ambulance with her grandmother, her body still buzzed from the adrenaline. She found it hard to sit still as the ambulance lurched forward. She reached for her grandmother’s hand and held it.
“I love you, Mee-Maw.”