Witness in Hiding

by Lisa Phillips

  “Jude?”

  He glanced up at her. “Yeah, Mom?”

  “Did you hear me?”

  He said, “Zoe and Tyler are good.”

  She studied him a second longer than was probably necessary. That “Mom Look” they used to see everything, know everything. He’d never been able to keep secrets from her.

  Thankfully, his dad entered right then, so he didn’t have to explain everything to her, the way he would have in another moment if left alone with her Look. He didn’t want to tell the story twice anyway, and he’d made excuses last night. They’d been able to clean up and go to bed instead of having a long conversation. From Zoe’s flush of gratitude he’d figured it was the right call—even if she also seemed like she had more to say to his dad.

  “Haven’t seen you in a few Sundays.” Andrew Brauer clapped him on the shoulder.

  Jude knew what that meant. “Darren is doing a great job taking care of the teens, right? He doesn’t need my help.” In fact, since Darren’s arrival as the new youth pastor Jude had been floundering, trying to figure out where he fit in his dad’s ministry.

  His dad poured a cup of coffee, kissed his wife on the cheek and sat across from Jude at the battered table where they’d shared countless meals through the years. “So work has been busy?”

  Jude nodded, unsure if he should feel guilty or not that cases often caught a new lead on the weekend, sometimes interfering with church attendance. There was nothing he could do about that. Working as a federal agent wasn’t like a lot of other Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-fives. Jude called often enough, and they had dinner every few weeks.

  “Huh.” His dad took another sip.

  Jude did the same. He wasn’t straying in his faith; he just found it hard to get to church sometimes. And he honestly didn’t know if the ministry his father had him in was what he actually wanted to do. Youth ministry brought him into contact with kids he wouldn’t normally have been able to reach otherwise, and he enjoyed spending time with them. But he was still mostly all about work. Because work had to come first, and sometimes that meant his attention to the ministry suffered.

  “I’ll try to be there this Sunday, okay?”

  His dad nodded but said nothing, which was fine with Jude. When his mom glanced back at him he understood enough. They weren’t happy with all of his choices, but they got it.

  And why wasn’t that okay for him? Jude only wanted them to be proud, but they really wouldn’t be unless he was with them in the ministry 24/7, right? That was the only thing he could figure would make them completely happy. If he “ploughed the field” alongside them, as his father put it.

  Jude would rather find his own field instead of them always pushing him to do more, to be more. To give more of his time to what they thought was best for him. In the end he’d wound up pushing himself at work and in ministry. Deferring what he wanted until he was “ready” instead of having what he wanted right now. Until he was satisfied he was doing the right thing, he was pushing off the life—the family—he actually wanted. He’d pulled away in ministry, but the family thing was a whole different ball game.

  Tyler wandered into the room. Jude pushed out a chair with his foot and the kid sat beside him. “Doing okay?”

  Tyler nodded. Jude’s mom put a glass of milk in front of him and he sucked it down. His mom chuckled. “Seems familiar.”

  Jude shared a smile with her and then looked Tyler over. Physically he seemed fine, but who knew about his mental state? “I called the hospital. Your aunt Ember is still sleeping. They’re going to let me know when she wakes up. They also said it isn’t necessarily bad that she hasn’t woken up.”

  Tyler said, “’Kay.” Then asked, “Did you catch that man last night?”

  “No, buddy. I’m sorry.” The detective had left a voice mail on Jude’s phone with the news.

  “I don’t want him coming here.” Tyler shivered.

  Jude shifted his chair closer, just a fraction. “That’s why I brought you here. To be safe.” He motioned to his dad. “This is Mr. Andrew, and that’s Mrs. Leanne. They’re my mom and dad, and they’re going to help me keep you and your mom safe.”

  Tyler didn’t look all the way convinced, but Jude didn’t know what else to say.

  His mom took two steps over from the griddle she had heating up on the counter. “Do you like blueberry pancakes, Tyler?”

  The boy nodded to her and then glanced back at Jude. “Someone set fire to the house, and we couldn’t get out. They locked the doors, and we couldn’t get them open.”

  His mom stiffened, but didn’t make a noise. His dad stared. Jude ignored them both and held Tyler’s attention. He’d been right. They’d been deliberately trapped.

  “The police are going to find him, and I’m going to help you and your mom be safe.” He figured there wasn’t much that would convince the kid after last night, but he wanted Tyler to know he was on the job.

  The boy fingered his glass.

  “You should show him your tree house.”

  Jude started at his mom’s suggestion. “The tree house?”

  “I’m sure Tyler would love to see your tree house.”

  The boy had perked up. Jude nearly smiled. “What do you say—after breakfast do you want to go check out the tree house?”

  Tyler nodded.

  “It might need some repairs, but I’m sure we can manage something.”

  Jude had to go to work at some point, but he’d already checked in this morning. Spending time with Zoe and Tyler would help him with his case if he could learn more about Moose and his operation. If it was time spent that was also enjoyable, and kept them safe, what did it matter? It wasn’t as if he was neglecting his work.

  Zoe’s face filled his mind, her wide eyes both filled with fear and gratitude. She was beautiful, but his reaction to her could simply be because she was here and she needed his help. That wasn’t a good basis for anything serious, or he’d have settled for “Ms. Right Now” a long time ago. The fact that Zoe was a possible witness in his case as well just made the whole thing a lot stickier.

  Jude didn’t want to get his heart broken, or break the heart of a woman who only felt close to him because she needed his help. He should keep things professional, and forget about the fact that he was attracted to Zoe. While he figured he could trust her, the reality was that he didn’t know much about who she was. Or what she had done.

  And none of his reasons for postponing a relationship until later had changed.

  She appeared then, freshly showered with her wet hair hanging straight around her face. It was adorable, and tested his resolve to keep things businesslike between them.

  “Good—” He cleared his throat. “Good morning, Zoe.”

  Jude didn’t miss the look his mom gave him.

  * * *

  An hour later they walked across the grassy area behind the church. Zoe set her hand on her very full—but still flat—stomach. She was as devout about doing crunches as she was about drinking coffee. “That was a lot of pancakes.”

  Jude grinned. “Feeling like you got shot with a bear tranquilizer is the best part of a carb-loaded breakfast.”

  She had to laugh. He was kind of charming in the morning light, and he’d kept her son entertained all through breakfast with stories of his childhood antics. Getting lost in the attic of the church, toilet papering the elders’ cars with his sister and playing pranks on his youth leader at camp.

  His parents had added details, and though they’d seemed mortified by their son’s antics, they smiled as they spoke of them. It was clear they loved Jude very much. Just as they loved his elder sister, who Jude explained was “the good one.” Zoe had learned that she was married to the associate pastor of a church in Idaho, and had three kids.

  “Why do you look sad?”


  She stopped beside him, unsure how much to explain.

  Tyler said, “I see it!”

  “Okay, go for it.” She walked over to her son and fluffed his hair. “Just be careful.”

  Jude said, “Watch for wobbly boards and try to steer clear of them, okay?”

  Tyler yelled, “Okay!” as he ran to the big oak with a monster tree house perched up high. A little boy’s dream.

  She watched him for a minute, until Jude touched her elbow. “You were saying?”

  “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t,” she said. “But since you asked so nicely...” She couldn’t help the wry smile.

  Jude even returned it. “You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious.”

  She knew he wanted her to trust him. The only problem was life had taught her that people weren’t trustworthy. “I looked sad because you have a lovely family. And it sounds like you had a very loving childhood.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  Zoe glanced at her son, and not just to check on him. She waited until she saw his head peek out the tree house window. Certain he was out of hearing range, she said, “Mine makes me sad. In comparison.” Why get into the gory details of shouting matches, all those slamming doors and recriminations?

  His gaze softened. “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head. “It’s done now. Over. My stepdad is who-knows-where, and my mom...” Zoe swallowed. “She passed away before Tyler was born. Only days before, to be precise. Ember came to live with us, and I practically raised her.”

  They’d shared so much joy over his impending birth, and even with their strained history she and her mom had been trying to salvage a relationship. Tyler would have brought them closer together as mother and daughter. But that was never meant to be.

  Ember had been the best part of her life before Tyler. Helping her mom by taking care of her little sister had prepared her more than anything for motherhood.

  Jude touched her shoulder. Zoe rubbed her hands down her tired face, then said, “It was a long time ago.”

  “Can I ask about...Tyler’s father?”

  “Nathan and I were married for four years.” They’d only gotten married when she found out she was pregnant, a move she wasn’t entirely proud of. Like a lot of things in her life. “He took off just after Tyler’s third birthday, and he got remarried—to his secretary—as soon as the ink on our divorce papers was dry.”

  Jude blew out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not the innocent party, but thank you. He didn’t do right by us, but neither was I the perfect wife. And I’m certainly not the perfect mom. There are a lot of things in my life I’d like to have done differently, but I can’t go back and change them. I can only try to make better choices from now on.”

  “That’s admirable.”

  Zoe shrugged. “I figure mostly it’s just trying not to mess up Tyler’s life. He should have a better start than I did, and all this danger—gunmen and houses burning down—isn’t helping. Now he’s scared for Ember, as well. She’s all the extended family he has.”

  Jude pulled out his phone. Which was kind of rude. Then he showed her a photo on the screen.

  She shook her head. “You got his driver’s license?”

  “When I chased him last night I got his jacket, and the wallet was inside. The police have it.”

  She peered closer at the picture, then shuddered. “That is him. Tucker Wilson. Is that his name?”

  “I’m going to run it through the system when I go to work. I’m pretty sure it’s fake, maybe even one of Moose’s, but this should give me enough to start figuring out who he is and why he’s targeting you.”

  She nodded. What would Jude say when he found out she’d seen a dead woman, and then just run away? She’d tried to call the cops.

  “If Moose did make the drivers’ license, then maybe he sold me out to Tucker Wilson for some reason.”

  Jude just waited.

  “I want to trust you, Jude. You haven’t given me any reason not to.”

  “Maybe we can meet up with the police today. The ones investigating Moose’s murder. You’re an eyewitness, and it would save them time having to figure out what happened if you can explain it to them.”

  Did he think her last statement meant she was prepared to tell everything now?

  She didn’t like the idea of wasting the cops’ time when she could give them the answers they were looking for. The idea of trusting them not to dismiss her statement wouldn’t dissipate. Or the fact that they could get hurt.

  She said, “I’ve been trying to do the right thing since Nathan left. Getting a job. Ember helped out watching Tyler after school when her dad let her—she’s a freshman in college now. We moved into an apartment, and I was paying bills. Catching up on the taxes Nathan never paid for us while we were married.” Zoe bit her lip as tears stung her eyes. “Now this? All because I stayed late at work for the overtime.”

  “What happened, Zoe? What happened that it has a murderer and arsonist after you?”

  “I was headed for my car. The lot under the office where I worked is underground. It was mostly empty that late at night. I heard something behind me. Arguing. The man hit the woman, and she fell. I don’t know if she hit her head, or something else but...she didn’t get back up.”

  Zoe shut her eyes at the memory of the man, standing over the woman. She’d been so still. “He saw me there, and I tried to call for help, but there’s no signal down there. I ran, and when I looked back he was loading her into the backseat. He glared at me like I was next.”

  She shuddered. “I called the police after I pulled onto the street and told them what I saw. I gave them all my contact information, but no one ever followed up with me. I called the police station the next day and no one knew what I was talking about. The man asked me if I was drunk and then hung up on me. What cop does that?”

  Jude frowned. “It does seem strange.”

  “A week later I made contact with a detective because I was being followed. Harassed. You know what happened then.” She bit her lip, remembering back to the parking lot. “I saw blood under her head. Even if the body had been moved before the police arrived, there has to have been something there, some evidence for the police to find. So why didn’t they investigate?”

  “The man,” Jude said. “Who was he?”

  She waited, then said, “My boss.”

  “Zoe—”

  “Mom!” Tyler ran back to her. “Mom, that tree house is epic.”

  She smiled and hugged her son to her. “Awesome.” She shouldn’t be grateful for the interruption, but Jude had most likely been about to ask her exactly who her boss was. She wasn’t ready to share that. Jude would most likely be familiar with a man as powerful as the one she had worked for. The company was well-known in Salt Lake.

  “I’m gonna go back up there!”

  “Okay.” She gave her son a squeeze, and he ran off again.

  “You can trust me, Zoe.”

  She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t, or he would know how scared she was. “My boss sent Tucker Wilson to look for me. He could show up at any moment. I won’t see him coming. How am I supposed to protect Tyler from that kind of threat?”

  “You let me help you. I’m going into work, and I’ll find out who Tucker Wilson really is. The police are running down the leads, as well. We’ll put him away. All you have to do is stay here where it’s safe.”

  She nodded.

  “And tell me who your boss is.”

  Zoe swallowed. Wind whipped through the trees. Jude glanced around. “You should probably get Tyler inside, just to be safe.”

  She called her son over.

  “I have to debrief with the task force for the case I’m working on, but by the time it’s done
I’ll hopefully know who our guy is. Okay?”

  She couldn’t nod, or answer. The police could find Tucker, but how would it stop her boss from sending someone else? Someone who would pull the trigger.

  Tyler reached them, and glanced between her and Jude. “What, Mom?”

  “Let’s go inside now.” She didn’t wait, just led her son back to the church building and the attached home Jude’s parents lived in. Jude, who wanted to help figure this out for her. Who wanted her to trust him.

  She really needed to tell him.

  Jude held the door, and Tyler trailed inside. Zoe stopped beside him. “I worked for BioWell Pharmaceuticals.”

  Jude gaped. “You saw Alan Reskin murder someone?”

  SIX

  Jude spent the drive to work going over and over it. She’d been employed by the same company he was investigating. In what department? She could know more than he’d realized. She could know everything he needed to crack this case wide-open. He’d wanted to haul her to the office, but the concern on Tyler’s face had stalled him.

  She’d seen her boss, Alan Reskin, one of the most powerful men in Salt Lake City, murder a woman. Another man had been sent by Reskin to hurt her family. It was enough to make him want to give her no choice but to accept protective custody.

  Jude had to get permission first, though. He pulled into his favorite parking space behind the building and headed up the elevator. He swiped his key card and checked in.

  Once he reached his desk, the first thing he did was get on his computer, upload the photo of the driver’s license from his phone and start the search. A couple of people said, “Hi,” and he returned the greeting. The other agents he worked with were great, though he wouldn’t call them close friends. Jude enjoyed working alone too much for that.

  He grabbed a coffee and the task force morning meeting started. They weren’t happy when he explained what had happened to Moose. His boss shot him a look Jude didn’t like. Then he told them about BioWell.

  The room erupted.

  Agent Milsner, one of Jude’s colleagues, said, “You think she’s involved in the money laundering?”