by L. T. Ryan
“I don’t think so. I mean, there was no damage. It looked perfect. Could they have fixed it that fast?”
Bear thought of his own truck, which would be in the shop for the next couple of days. “I doubt it. What about the guy? What do you remember about him?”
“Tall and skinny. Brown hair, cut short. He was white. Had a tan. A missing tooth. Here.” She pointed to her own mouth. “And he had a neck tattoo. Blue and red. I couldn’t see what it was, though.”
“Do you think you’d recognize him if you saw him again?”
Mandy steeled her gaze. “Definitely. I scratched his face. There’ll be a mark.”
He patted her on the head. “That’s my girl.”
She grinned up at him, all the fear drained from her face.
“Now do you understand why I don’t want you walking alone?”
Mandy looked away. “I know, I know.” She sobered. “Bear?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s going on?”
Bear took a deep breath and held it, then blew it out through his mouth, flapping his lips. Sounded like an eighteen-wheeler with a flat tire. “Honestly? I’m not sure.” He stood and parted the blinds again. Clear. He paced the living room. “But someone doesn’t want us poking around.”
“Did you figure out who tried to hit us yesterday? Do you think it was the same guy?”
“Not sure. The van belongs to a shipping company outside town. Or at least we thought it did. They have an entire fleet. But they were all in perfect condition. All accounted for. Except a few on the road today.” Bear took out his phone and sent a quick description of the man who attacked Mandy to the sheriff. “Maybe Sheriff McKinnon can match the driver to the company’s employee list.”
“What about the records?” Mandy asked. “People being poisoned?”
“We’re working on it, kid.” When her face fell, his heart stuttered. “Do you remember anything on the papers? Any names of chemicals in their system?”
Mandy looked down at her feet. “No. I could barely pronounce any of them.”
Bear didn’t know whether to reassure her or continue to keep her as far away from this as possible. Before he could decide, there was a deafening banging on the front door. Mandy leapt up and sprinted across the room, hovering in the doorway to the kitchen, ready to run if Bear told her to.
Bear grabbed the knife a second time and parted the blinds. The front yard remained still. He wrenched open the door, but no one was there. It took him a few seconds to notice the envelope on the ground. He scooped it up, checked his surroundings one more time, then slammed the door shut behind him.
“What’s that?” Mandy asked.
Bear didn’t relinquish his grip on the knife as he opened the letter and took it all in. It was printed on blank paper and typed in capital letters. His eyes skimmed the words once, twice, three times before he made sense of it.
STOP. YOU’RE MAKING IT WORSE.
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO.
THEY’LL NEVER STOP CHASING YOU. LEAVE NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
20
Bear’s mind was working overtime as he made his way around his room and started pulling clothes from his dresser and weapons from his various hiding spots. Mandy was talking, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. The blood pumping from his racing heart drowned everything else out.
After receiving the letter, Bear had catapulted himself through the front door and back out to the street. He looked up and down the sidewalk, but there was nobody near his house. He figured it’d been a full minute between the knock and him going back outside.
Had someone sped off in a car or a van? Possibly. He’d never know. He went into the backyard and spent at least ten minutes peering into the woods. Was someone out there watching them? Had they thrown themselves behind a tree, hoping Bear would give up the search so they could vanish?
He wasn’t sure what he’d do to the person who left the letter, but he knew he’d demand some answers. It had been more of a warning than a threat, but the message was clear: You’re in over your head. Bear would’ve probably ignored the sentiment. Perhaps it was some good Samaritan who didn’t know what Bear was capable of.
But it happened moments after someone had gone after Mandy. Had it been by chance that they’d found her walking back from Marcus’ house? Or had they been watching her? Stalking her? Were they waiting to see if she’d leave, or had they planned to attack the house and steal Mandy no matter what?
Bear’s vision turned red. Soon, fear mixed with the anger. If it had been just him, he would’ve gone on a rampage. Tracked down the guy who had run him off the road. Find whoever had left the letter and demand some answers. Go all the way to the top until he figured out what the hell was going on. Then dismantle it all piece by piece.
But it wasn’t just him. He had Mandy, and smart and strong as she was, she wasn’t a match for what they were up against. She’d been lucky today. Mandy needed to learn what it was like to be a normal girl in a normal town leading a normal life. Not dealing with this mess.
Instead, her best friend was in the hospital, she was fighting off assailants on her own, and a boy who liked her was hacking into hospital databases so they could conduct their own investigation. It was all too much, and Bear knew there was only one solution.
Run.
It was never his first choice, but sometimes you had to swallow your pride to protect the ones you loved. Clive had gone above and beyond by erasing their records and setting up this house for Bear. The universe had a sick sense of humor. It had placed them in the middle of a conspiracy. Bear was uninterested in solving the mystery. He was done with that life.
After seeing no one in the woods, Bear pushed his way through the door and launched himself toward his room. He heard Mandy shouting behind him, but he ignored her. Nothing she could say would change his mind. They were leaving. He’d find a car and get them out of there. Then he’d find a new town. A new house. A new life. Things would be normal. So normal, they’d be boring. He could do with a little boring.
“Bear!” Mandy’s voice finally cut through his thoughts as she tugged on his arm. “What’s going on?”
He turned to find fear and anger and anxiety shining in her eyes. He softened, but he didn’t stop packing his duffle bag. Hers would be next. “We have to go. Now.”
“Why?”
He tossed her the letter. “Can’t afford to be on someone’s radar. It’s not good. For either of us.”
“So, what? We’re just going to abandon everyone?” Mandy’s voice wavered. “We’re just running away?”
He took her by the shoulders and made her look into his eyes. “Sometimes you have to run. No shame in it. It’s saved my life more than once. We’re not here to be heroes, Mandy.”
“But they need our help.” She waved the letter in front of him. “We’re only making things worse because we’re close to figuring out what’s going on around here.”
“The sheriff can take care of herself.” Bear snatched the letter out of her hand and folded it into his pocket. “We don’t owe anyone anything.”
“Laura Lynn can’t take care of herself.”
“She’s got parents. She’s not my responsibility.”
“Her parents are useless.” Mandy threw her hands in the air and grunted in frustration. “Her mom has no idea what’s happening, and her dad only cares about himself.”
“Not my problem.”
“Well, it’s my problem!” Mandy’s voice had ratcheted up higher. She tugged on his arm so hard that it spun him around to face her. “And I’m your problem. She’s my best friend, Bear. My only friend. I can’t leave her.”
Bear shook his head. “What about the other kid? Marcus. Laura Lynn isn’t your only friend.”
Mandy jabbed a finger at him. “Use your brain. If they saw me coming from Marcus’ house, they could find him next.” Her eyes widened, like she just realized the implication of what she’d just said. She pu
lled out her phone and sent a text message. “We can’t leave them to defend themselves.”
“They’ve got the sheriff.” Bear zipped the duffle and made for Mandy’s room. “She knows what she’s getting into. She can handle it.”
“What if she can’t?” Mandy ran ahead of Bear and threw her arm across the entrance to her room, barring his entry. He could’ve easily picked her up and moved her out of the way, but the look on her face told him it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. “What if we leave and they all die?”
“She can handle it,” Bear said again, his voice a little less gruff.
“What if she can’t?” Mandy dropped her arm and looked up at him with tears sparkling in her eyes. “Bear, what if more kids get sick?”
He looked away from her pleading eyes.
Mandy waited a beat while the tears spilled over her eyelids and down her cheeks. “What would Sasha say if she saw you running again?”
An invisible hand wrapped around his heart. He could’ve convinced himself that McKinnon could do this herself because her dogged determination would lead her to answers. But the kids? They didn’t deserve this. And if what McKinnon thought was true, they weren’t just getting sick. They were dying.
And Mandy was right. Sasha wouldn’t respect him if she could see him now.
Bear searched for the words to convince himself it was worth leaving, but he came up blank. He’d be protecting himself and Mandy, but people would suffer. That seemed to be a theme with him. He got people hurt. Like Sasha.
He’d made a lot of mistakes in his life. Had a lot of regrets. But one thing Bear prided himself on was giving more good to the world than he took from it. If heaven was real, he wasn’t sure he’d earn a spot, but he didn’t think hell was a destination he was headed for either. He’d helped a lot of people along the way. Why was this town any different?
It's not. He scratched at his beard. But I am.
It was fear, plain and simple. He couldn’t give a crap about his life and where he ended up. He probably deserved whatever he had coming to him. But he cared about Mandy. What she’d gone through until now was tragic, but it could be fixed. See a shrink. Get it off your chest. Do better.
Easy.
But what she learned now, as a teenager, when she had more control over her life than she ever had before—that would stick with her. The lessons Bear gave her were for her own survival, but he owed it to her to make sure she turned out a good person. The stuff she’d seen was enough to corrupt anyone. But Mandy was good. Selfless. Heroic. That was the fire he wanted to stoke in her.
And what kind of example would he be setting if he dowsed the flames? That people weren’t worth saving? He didn’t want her to grow up in the world believing that, even if he sometimes thought it.
Before Bear could find an excuse, his phone chirped. He pulled it out and looked at its screen. McKinnon had texted him. No word on the driver yet, but found the van, she said. In a body shop outside town. You coming?
It was a simple question. In or out?
But the answer could lead him to consequences he wasn’t willing to pay.
21
Bear sat in the front seat of McKinnon’s police cruiser, questioning whether he’d made the right decision. Mandy’s eyes had lit up when he suggested she go to the hospital with Marcus and his family to visit Laura Lynn. He hadn’t made any promises that they’d stick around for longer than the day. This way, he could investigate the body shop with the sheriff, and Mandy and her friends would be safe.
McKinnon held the letter open in front of her. She’d been staring at it for a good sixty seconds. “And you have no idea who dropped this off?”
“If I did, they’d be in the backseat of your car.”
“It’s a warning,” she said, “but it sounds like they’re trying to help. That’s hopeful.”
“They want us out of town. They want us to stop looking into this. That’s not hope. They don’t want to hurt us, but they’re still part of the problem if they’re not willing to help.”
“Oh, so there is an us now?” The look on McKinnon’s face was difficult to read. “Interesting.”
Bear crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, I want to figure out who the van driver is. Plain and simple. The rest of it is TBD.”
“Sure it is.” McKinnon grinned. “Something tells me if you really wanted to go, you would have gone by now.”
“Any luck finding the guy who attacked Mandy?” The change in subject wasn’t subtle.
McKinnon sobered. “No. Went back to where it happened. Zero evidence. Mandy’s backpack and medical papers were gone.”
Bear nodded. He stifled a growl from overtaking his words. “We’ll find him. Only a matter of time.”
“I’m gonna pretend that didn’t sound ominous and move on.” She handed the paper back to him. “Ready to go in there?”
Bear looked at the body shop across the street. It was a mid-sized building with three bays. Two of them were full. One of the vehicles matched the description of the van. “What’re we up against?”
“Just a small-town business. Handful of employees. None of them have any records, and the shop hasn’t been in any trouble in the past. For all intents and purposes—”
“Looks good on paper.” He shrugged. “Heard that before.”
“Let’s see what they have to say.” McKinnon hooked her fingers around the doorhandle and pushed. “Then we can jump to conclusions.”
“Yay for clichés.” Bear followed her across the street and to the open bay with the van. Two guys were taking a coffee break. They stared at the sheriff when they saw her uniform.
“Morning, fellas.” Just like at Bowser Freight, McKinnon kept her voice upbeat and even. “How you guys doin’ today?”
“Not bad, Sheriff. What’s going on?”
Bear eyed the guy who spoke first. He was tall and well-built, but still a size or so smaller than him. His skin was pale, and he was blonde with blue eyes. No tattoos. The man standing next to him looked like he could be his brother. He had a couple tattoos, all black and white. None on his neck. A bust for the guy who had attacked Mandy.
McKinnon pointed to the van. “I was wondering if you could tell me what’s going on with this vehicle.”
The first guy set his coffee down. Bear caught a nametag on his uniform. Ralph. “Any particular reason?”
“We think it could’ve been involved in a hit-and-run last night.”
The other guy grinned. “Did the deer file a complaint?” He and his buddy laughed.
Bear and McKinnon exchanged a look of confusion. Ralph waved them around to the front. Bear inspected every detail of the vehicle on his way over. There should’ve been damage to the door and the front fender. Even the side mirror. He saw none. Everything looked perfect, like it had never even winked at a guardrail wrong.
Bear joined McKinnon at the grill. Sure enough, there was blood and fur sticking out of the grate. It was fresh, too. A clump of fur had fallen on the floor. Bear picked it up. It was coarse and damp. Real. He tossed it back down.
“When did the van come in?” McKinnon asked.
“This morning. Figure the deer hit was last night.” Ralph looked at the other guy, who nodded.
“You get a lot of vans in like this?” Bear asked. His questions sounded more aggressive than McKinnon’s. He didn’t bother reining it in. It’d worked the better part of two-and-a-half decades. Why stop now?
“Panel vans?” Ralph shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. They’re not uncommon. We got a couple shipping companies around these parts that use them. A few cleaning companies, as well.”
“Do you do business with Bowser Freight?”
Ralph didn’t skip a beat. “Yeah, sometimes.”
“Ever find anything strange about their vans?”
“Other than Howie Bowser is a neat freak?” Ralph laughed, and the other guy joined in. “If I’m being honest, man, I don’t really like working for them. We do a good job here, but that gu
y is nuts. Everything’s gotta be perfect. Dude’s got OCD or something.”
“Do the vans come in with a lot of damage?” Bear asked, ignoring the anecdote. “Do the drivers seem aggressive or out of place?”
“Not really.” Ralph frowned. “Is Howie in some kind of trouble?” His eyes widened and he looked fearful, as though he had implicated Howie. “Look, I was just joking. He’s a good guy. Just finnicky is all.”
“We’re not implying otherwise.” McKinnon’s voice was soothing. “Just looking to figure out where the van came from and who was driving it, is all.”
“Well, this one’s not one of Howie’s,” the other guy said. “It was some Mexican guy. I think he’s a handyman. He’s got a whole bunch of tools in the back.”
“Mind if we take a look?” Bear asked.
The two exchanged a look. Ralph was the one brave enough to speak. “Look, man. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. This isn’t our property, so we can’t do that.”
“We understand.” McKinnon’s smile was bright. She handed him a card. “If you see a van like this come in with some damage to the passenger side, give me a call, all right? I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure thing, ma’am.” Ralph took the card and put it in his breast pocket. “Will do.”
Bear and McKinnon retreated to her car. They stood on opposite sides of the hood, staring back at the body shop. Bear gathered the hair off his collar and let the cool afternoon breeze dry the sweat that had formed on the back of his neck.
“Another dead end.” Bear didn’t keep the bitterness out of his mouth.
“You know that quote about Thomas Edison?”
“We’re not trying to invent the light bulb.”
“No, but we are failing closer to success. Every dead end narrows the playing field.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re annoyingly optimistic?”
McKinnon grinned. “I tell myself that every day.”
“Plates were different,” Bear said. “Definitely hit a deer. That’s hard to fake in such a short amount of time. Driver description was different from the guy who tried to hurt Mandy.” His fist curled just thinking about it. “Don’t you think it’s weird that every answer is perfect?”