The View from Rainshadow Bay

by Colleen Coble

  The earthquake threw Zach down, and every time he tried to get up, he hit the floor again. When the earth steadied, dust and debris littered the space. The café’s ceiling was mostly gone. He scrambled up and headed the direction where he’d last seen Shauna.

  Screams and cries blasted him from everywhere, but he had to reach Shauna. He climbed over the debris to where she crouched with Felicia under a table. Shauna’s eyes were clamped shut, and she rocked back and forth as she continued to cry out. She didn’t appear injured. At least, there was no blood.

  Broken glass bit into his knees as he got close enough to pull her into his arms. “It’s okay, Flygirl. You’re safe. It was a small one.” He guessed the earthquake had been under seven but more than five since it had caused the ceiling to fall and glass to break. “I’ve got you. Look at me.”

  She cracked open one eye, and the wailing stopped. “Cowboy?” Her voice trembled.

  The old nickname meant more to him than he’d ever let on. He pulled her close. “It’s over. There might be an aftershock, but we’re okay.”

  Both green eyes popped open. “Alex!”

  “He’s at school, and it’s a concrete building. I’m sure he’s fine. I’ll call now and check.” He pulled out his phone but got an out-of-service message. “The cell tower must be down. We’re only four blocks away. We can go right over and check on him.” He moved out from under the table and held her hand to help her up. “Careful of the glass.”

  People were crying around them as they picked themselves up from the floor, but he didn’t see anything more than a few cuts and scratches.

  Felicia looked a little dazed too. She had a cut on her hand oozing a little blood. “Wow, that was intense. I’d better go find Everett and see if he needs any help.” She stood and brushed debris from her jeans. “You okay, Shauna?”

  Shauna’s face was as pale as the fallen plaster. “I’m terrified of earthquakes, but I’ll be okay. I have to make sure Alex isn’t hurt. I’ll call you later.” She clung to Zach’s hand and pulled him toward the door.

  He went willingly, but turned her away from her truck. “The traffic is already bad, and the lights are out. It will be faster if we walk.”

  She nodded and took off to the north at a run. Praying for the safety of the children as he ran, he jogged beside her as they jogged around debris on the sidewalk. It was only a few minutes before he saw the school. “Looks intact.” He pointed. “Look, the kids are all outside in the soccer field.”

  “There’s Alex!” She waved and called her son’s name.

  Alex turned and ran to meet them. “Mommy, did you feel the earthquake? It was so cool!” He leaped into her arms.

  She hugged him to her, and her gaze locked with Zach’s over Alex’s shoulder. The naked fear on her face made him step forward and encircle them both with his arms.

  “We’re all okay. Let’s make sure everyone is all right, and we’ll go home and check on things.”

  She nodded and stepped back, then took Alex’s hand. “Was anyone hurt at school?”

  “No, we were outside for recess. The teachers wouldn’t let us go back inside.” He sounded disappointed. “I wanted to see if any ceilings came down.” He stared up at his mother. “You’ve got white stuff in your hair.”

  She brushed at her long, dark hair. “The ceiling came down at The Yellow Submarine.”

  Alex frowned. “Did you get hurt?”

  “No, no, I’m fine.”

  She waved to the teacher and mouthed that she was taking her son. The teacher nodded.

  Zach wanted to see if he was needed in town, and Alex was never going to keep up. Zach stopped and held out his arms. “How about a piggyback ride?”

  “Yay!”

  Zach lifted him and set the boy on his shoulders. “Hang on to my hair, kiddo. We need to move along.”

  Alex’s small fingers were quickly entangled in his hair, and Zach set off at a faster pace.

  Shauna jogged alongside them. A bit of color was coming back to her face. After what she’d gone through as a kid, he didn’t blame her for that meltdown. Her concern for Alex had quickly gripped her enough to push away her fear. As they neared the town center, he saw Felicia tending to small cuts in a triage line with a couple of nurses. Everett and his deputies scurried from building to building making sure everyone was out and accounted for.

  Zach lifted Alex from his shoulders. “Stay here with your mom a minute.”

  Everett saw him coming. “Shauna doing okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine. The kids at the school were all out for recess so no injuries there. The school looked in good shape.”

  “Good, good.” Everett looked past Zach’s shoulder. “No fires as far as I can see. You might be on the lookout as you take them home. I’m telling everyone to go to their homes and check for gas and water leaks. I think we’re okay, though. It could have been worse.”

  “I thought for a minute the big one they’ve been talking about might have started.”

  “Yeah, well, today is not that day, thank the good Lord.” Everett clapped him on the shoulder and turned away.

  Zach rejoined Alex and Shauna. “The sheriff wants everyone to go home and check for damage. Let’s take your truck. Mine is blocked in by emergency vehicles.”

  She nodded and fished her keys from her pocket. “I’ll let you drive.”

  He opened the back door and she climbed in the back with Alex. She wasn’t going to let him be far from her. It took half an hour to navigate through vehicles parked in the streets, and he found his gaze straying to her in the backseat as she kept up a happy chatter with Alex. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, though, and Zach knew the trauma of the day would hit her hard after Alex settled in for the night.

  Zach planned to be there for her, no matter what she needed.

  Chapter 27

  With the dogs on the floor beside her, Shauna sat on the back deck in red pajamas with her legs curled under her. Stars spread across the sky in a twinkling canopy that reassured her all was right with the world. If God kept the stars spinning, he could keep this round ball spinning in space no matter how much the earth shook.

  Every nerve ending Shauna possessed vibrated with stress. Even the hot apple cider Zach brought her failed to settle the jitters.

  Zach shut the back door behind him and came out with some huckleberry tarts she’d made the day before. He grabbed a throw from the back of the chair and tossed it over her. “You might stop shaking if we get you warm enough. If you’d come inside, I’ll start a fire. I got Jack’s files and his computer. We can take a look at them.”

  She caught the scent of cinnamon in his hair as he moved past her. “I wanted to be outside to see the stars.” Admitting she was afraid felt like weakness. “I’ll come inside in a minute.”

  He settled into the chair beside her and stretched out his legs with a contented sigh. “I checked on Alex to see if he wanted to come out with us, but he was asleep.”

  With us. The phrase sounded so comforting and homey. Would there be an us when this was all over? Shauna could admit to herself that she hoped so.

  “Thanks for checking. I looked in on him before I came out too.” She took a sip of her cider to avoid looking at him. With the way she was feeling right now, she knew her emotions would be all over her face.

  She rubbed her forehead. “It’s all such a jumble. Maybe I’m wrong and the murders are not related. Marilyn thinks I’m not thinking clearly about it. Do you think I’m wrong?”

  “No. I think it’s all connected somehow. I was remembering something that might be important. I saw Darla talking to Jack outside the coffee shop the day before she died. She looked upset, and he was trying to calm her. At the time I didn’t think much about it and assumed she had man trouble and was pouring her heart out to him. Jack had a sympathetic way about him. You always felt your secrets were safe with him. And I talked to Harry. He said Jack mentioned Darla had come to him with a problem, and he was trying to
help.”

  “So others saw it too, not just Alyssa.” His compassion was one of the things she missed most about her husband. “He always thought of Darla as a little sister.” She watched a small plane, its lights blinking, move overhead among the stars. “What if he told her about the danger he was in?” But if so, why hadn’t he told his own wife?

  Zach craned his neck to look at the airplane too. “Or she came to him with the danger she was in. That might be why she died first, then the murderer went after Jack, knowing he knew too much.”

  She tried to think through the possibilities, but there were so many directions to go that she felt like someone in a rudderless boat bobbing in the waves with no idea how to get to shore. “Did Harry have any idea about the Jupiter reference?”

  He told her about the rest of the call, and her pulse sped up at the mention of the Mount Jupiter Quadrangle. “Maybe that’s what Jack meant!”

  “But what could Jack mean when he said things aren’t what they seem at Jupiter? At first I was excited to have a lead, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered how a wilderness area could be what he was talking about.”

  “We have to at least take a look.”

  Zach exhaled and raked his hand through his hair. “But where? I’ve got a map, and the area is big. We don’t even know what we’re looking for.”

  Her initial rush of enthusiasm collapsed in a rush of disappointment. “Maybe you’re right, but can’t we at least fly out there and see if anything looks out of place?”

  “Sure. I found some clearings where you can probably land your chopper. Want to go tomorrow?”

  “I have a charter that will be done by one. We can go after that if you’re free.”

  “Sounds good.”

  His intent gaze didn’t leave her face. What was he thinking? “Have you heard if anyone was hurt in the earthquake?”

  “A few minor cuts and scratches were reported, but nothing major.”

  “We all know a tsunami is possible after an earthquake. That’s why the school was built of concrete in the first place. What if a big wave had swept up and caught them off guard?”

  He took her hand and squeezed it. “But it didn’t. This one wasn’t the big one we’re expecting.”

  “How could they know that, though?” The thought of a massive wave sweeping away her child, her life, made tears pool in her eyes.

  “You can’t let fear rule your life, Flygirl.”

  “When you’ve suffered one traumatic loss, you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s hard not to be watching for it.”

  “None of us knows what the future brings. We only know we are safe in the Lord’s arms. This life isn’t the end, though it often feels like it. You know Jack is more alive now than he’s ever been. And when any of us pass on, we will be experiencing more life than we can even imagine now.”

  Her head knew he was right, but her heart quailed at ever experiencing more loss. It was just too hard.

  She realized her hand was still in his, and he was tracing circles on her palm with his thumb. The tingle shooting up her arm surprised her, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand away.

  All she would have to do was lean over and press her lips against his. She saw the longing in his eyes and knew he was thinking the same thing. Pressure to do just that built in her chest until she knew she’d either have to kiss him or flee from the temptation.

  She bolted to her feet. “I’d better get to bed. Good night, Cowboy.”

  He didn’t call after her, but for a fleeting moment she wished he would. The nickname had started when Jack first introduced them. He was a bit of a hotdogger when flying, and she’d dubbed him with the name when he landed after a particularly hair-raising flight.

  The stars were bright overhead as he got into the long limo the Chinese men had sent for him and settled back on the plush leather seats. In just a few days he’d have more money than he’d ever imagined. Dreams of a different life had floated through his head all afternoon since the earthquake hit.

  Vindication. Even he had doubted this would come about, but it was especially sweet when he knew he’d have her by his side the rest of his life.

  It was all in his grasp.

  The limo stopped at a lookout over Rainshadow Bay. Another limo, a white one, idled by the guardrail. He couldn’t see through the dark windows, but he knew his buyers were ready and willing to cough up the money. The driver got out and opened the door for him. The back door of the white limo opened, and the older Chinese guy beckoned for him to join them.

  He stepped across the gravel and slid into the seat facing the two men. The limo smelled of new leather and expensive male cologne. “What did you think of my little show?”

  The older man sipped a finger of whiskey. “Impressive. When can you deliver the deed and the drawings?”

  “I want half the money wired to my bank in Switzerland. Once I have that, I’ll meet you with the deed, the drawing, and the keys. You’ll wire the rest of it while I wait, and as soon as I verify the transfer, you’ll have it all.”

  The younger man, slim and sleek as a snake, leaned forward with a menacing twist to his lips. “You sound as though you do not trust us. We do not do business that way.”

  “Then I’ll sell it to the Russians. They’re willing to do it my way.” He stared him down until the man blinked and leaned back against the seat with a shrug to his associate.

  The older man stared at him, then nodded. “Very well. But we know how to deal with someone who double-crosses us. There is nowhere you can hide to escape us, and I will personally make sure your death is not an easy one.”

  He kept his smile pinned in place and gave no indication of the chill running down his back. “Threats aren’t necessary. I have no intention of going back on my word.”

  “The money will be in your account in two days.”

  “Two days? How about tomorrow?”

  “Two days.”

  The man’s implacable tone told him it was all about a show of power. Fine, let the guy throw his weight around a little. “Very well. Once I verify the money is there, I’ll call you and arrange where and when to meet.”

  The younger man nodded to the driver, who got out and opened the rear door.

  Back in his car, his smile faded. Everything hinged on getting his property back. The two men would demand the drawings of the construction before they paid the money. Where had Shauna hidden the necklace? He had to get inside Bannister’s house, but everything he’d tried had failed.

  Maybe it was time to snatch the kid. She’d trade everything she had for him.

  Debris blocked much of the sidewalks in town and even lay tumbled along the sides of the street. Zach managed to find a parking place in front of the sheriff’s office.

  Burchell stood in front of the window looking at the chaos. He turned to greet Zach. “It’s a mess. We have volunteers coming at nine to begin the cleanup.”

  “I came in to help, but I wanted to check and see if you have an update on the murders.” Would the sheriff even tell him since he didn’t trust Zach?

  Burchell swiped at his hair, which had too much product to move. “I found a witness who saw a man enter Lucy’s apartment the night of her death. He’s doing a police sketch as we speak. A top-notch forensic artist, Gwen Marcey, is in town doing training. So far, the guy doesn’t match your description.”

  “What about Clarence’s killer?”

  Burchell’s brows drew together. “A bunch of C-4 was stolen from a crew constructing a road through the mountains. I suspect it was used to kill Clarence, but I have no way of confirming that. The company had a camera set up, and they turned the films over to me. I have a deputy going through them, but it will be a miracle if we uncover anything. The camera snapped pictures every fifteen minutes.”

  Four pictures per hour wasn’t great odds. “That’s all you’ve got to follow on Clarence’s murder? What about the box of stuff he sent with Shauna?”
>
  “That’s a dead end. We’ve checked out the Edenshaw woman, and she didn’t know Clarence. We found no evidence that she’s even been in the area.” He beckoned for Zach to follow him to his office, then shut the door behind him and went around to the other side of his desk. “I’ve gone through everything in the box. The key seems to be to a safety deposit box, but it doesn’t open anything here in town. The pictures don’t seem important either.”

  Zach hadn’t had a chance to look at the pictures much, but he was going to study them all tonight. And he’d made a copy of that key. Maybe he could figure out what it opened. No one knew Clarence better than Shauna. “I have a couple of things to tell you.” He launched into what he’d found out from Harry Richards. “So I think Darla went to Jack about something dangerous, and he was going to help her. Whatever she knew got her killed. Then the killer went after Jack.”

  The sheriff’s dark brows drew together as he listened. “You might be on to something, Zach. I’ve had no clues to Darla’s murderer, but this could change that.”

  “When did you decide I’m not really a suspect?”

  Burchell’s grin held no humor. “Call it intuition. I think the murders are tied together, and you wouldn’t have told us your suspicions about Jack’s murder if you were involved. And Jack told Shauna to turn to you for help. This is something bigger than one murder. I just don’t know what yet.”

  The speakerphone on the sheriff’s desk squawked. “Sheriff, Karl Prince is here to see you. He says it’s about Clarence’s murder.”

  The sheriff’s black brows rose. “Send him in.” He stood from behind his desk and stepped to the door to open it.

  What information could Karl have about the murder?

  Chapter 28

  Zach hung out drinking freshly roasted coffee at The Rainshadow Brewhouse and watched for Karl to exit the sheriff’s office across the street. Big drum roasters squatted in the west window, and the aroma of roasting coffee sent him to the counter for a refill. The cleanup crews were beginning to form in the streets, but he had enough time for one more cup.