Eyes of a Stanger

by Rachel Ann Nunes

  She hesitated. “He didn’t do it! I swear!”

  “You knew the woman in the drawing. I bet you both did.” Bret approached her car, slowly, but keeping it between them so she would feel safe enough to talk.

  “He doesn’t know anything about the explosives. Nothing! We just wanted to teach Hanks a lesson. We didn’t—” She broke off, her face marked with misery. “It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.”

  “Then let me help you! Don’t you see that Robert’s disappearing is just making him look guilty? The police are going to catch up with your friend eventually—you saw the drawing—and when they do, they’ll get to the bottom of what happened. People died, Noreen. A lot of people. If Robert’s not responsible, he has to come forward with what he knows before

  anything like this happens again.”

  “He didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.” Her voice was a plea.

  “I can help, Noreen. Where is he?”

  “He’s at a hotel. We didn’t know where else he could go.”

  “Take me to him. I don’t believe for a minute he meant to hurt anyone, but he needs to tell me what happened.”

  “Okay.”

  “I just need to get my car, all right?” Bret didn’t dare leave Noreen in fear that she’d make a run for it, but driving with her didn’t seem like such a good idea either. He still didn’t know how much he could trust her. “Come with me to get my car. Okay? I’m not too far from here, and then I’ll drive you back and follow you over.”

  “All right.”

  He took out his phone as they began walking, as far apart from each other as was possible on the sidewalk. “I’m going to call the friends I came with and tell them I’m leaving. That I’ll be back to pick them up. Is that okay?”

  When Noreen agreed, Brett dialed Tawnia’s number.

  “Hello?” the word could barely be heard over the music.

  “I’m with Noreen,” he said.

  “Good, because we found Sheree again. She came back inside after you left. She’s sitting at a table now. Looking around a bit but apparently not too concerned.”

  That was surprising. “Okay, you keep an eye on her, but don’t do anything that might be dangerous. We still don’t know how she’s connected to all this.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m going to see Robert. Noreen said she’ll take me to the hotel where he’s staying.”

  “Are you sure you should go? That doesn’t sound safe.”

  “I’ve worked with the guy all week. He might have a grudge against Hanks, but I’d lay bets he isn’t a murderer.” Bret glanced at Noreen and saw she was listening. He hoped he was right, but there was always the possibility that he was horribly wrong. Noreen had turned out to be a pretty good liar after all.

  “He could be working with someone,” Tawnia said. “Besides his sister, I mean.”

  “That’s what I’m going to find out.”

  “If I don’t hear from you in an hour, I’m calling the police.”

  Bret smiled. “So you do care.”

  And, probably to show him just how much she did, Tawnia promptly hung up.

  Chapter 22

  Tawnia looked at her phone for a minute before tucking it in the pocket of her culottes. Now Bret was chasing after bad guys. What had happened to the conservative engineer she’d known in Nevada? He was acting more like Christian than himself.

  “He find her?” Autumn asked.

  Tawnia nodded. “He’s going to talk to Robert. What if that’s a stupid thing to do?”

  “Noreen doesn’t seem like a criminal to me.”

  “What about Robert?”

  “Well, I only met him once, and I didn’t like him. But I had a broken arm at the time, and I was really hungry.”

  “Maybe they’ve been sucked into a terrorist organization.”

  Autumn laughed. “You’ve really been watching too much TV.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  Autumn lifted her chin. “Looks like our bird is getting a call.” They watched Sheree chat on her phone. Every time the girl glanced in their direction, they carefully averted their gazes.

  “Doesn’t seem too stressed,” Tawnia commented.

  “She’s shifty-eyed.”

  “No law against that. It’s called bad genes. A lot of women would kill for all that hair.”

  Autumn shrugged. “So what’s the plan? Hey, those guys are going to her table. Think she’ll dance? No, she’s shaking her head.”

  “Looks like she’s arguing with her friend.” They watched the friend walk with one of the men in the direction of the dance floor. Sheree glanced at her phone and then toward the exit.

  A man in baggy pants and a silver necklace asked Autumn to dance. “Sure,” she said. In Tawnia’s ear she added, “Might as well have some fun while we wait. I’ll stay where I can see her.”

  Smiling, Tawnia watched her go, and only because she was beginning to know Autumn better did she see that she was struggling for normalcy, to forget Winter for a few moments. She’d probably rather tell the guy to get lost, but she would at least try to make it through the evening in one piece.

  Eyes drifting again toward Sheree’s table, Tawnia let her thoughts wander back to last night when she’d danced with Orion, comparing his grace and confidence to the time she’d danced with Bret. Bret had been awkward at first—she had been as well—but once he loosened up, they’d had a lot of fun. Dreams had seemed possible.

  “Would you like to dance?”

  She lifted her gaze to see a nice-looking man, with trim facial hair and a T-shirt that said, I lost my phone number—can I have yours? He looked young, but not too young, and if she hadn’t been playing detective, she would have enjoyed dancing with him.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m waiting for someone.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, but thanks for asking.”

  “That’s okay. The good ones are always taken.”

  She laughed. “That’s sweet.”

  “Have a good night. If you change your mind, I’ll be around.” He winked at her and was gone.

  Sheree was looking at her phone again, this time apparently reading a text message. Shutting the phone, she looked around her carefully before standing.

  She’s leaving. Tawnia waited five heartbeats and then followed her outside. She exited in time to see a squarish automobile pealing out of the parking lot. Since there was no roof on the vehicle, Tawnia could see that Sheree’s companion was male, but it was too dark to note any identifying characteristics. There wasn’t time to check the license plate.

  Autumn arrived behind her. “Where’d she go?”

  “Someone picked her up. I didn’t see who. They must have texted her when they pulled up.”

  Autumn sighed. “Did you get a good look at the car?”

  “Just that it didn’t have a top. Tires were big—looked like they’d be good in the mountains. Sorry, it was too dark, and they were too far away.”

  “Oh.” Autumn rubbed a hand over her brace. “Well, it seems we have some time to kill. What do you say we go dance? I need to apologize to that guy for running out.”

  Tawnia grinned. “Okay, but we still need to remember to call Bret in a while. He might have learned something.”

  • • •

  The hotel where Robert was hiding was a tiny rundown operation near the edge of town, whose only benefit seemed to be that it accepted cash, no questions asked. Noreen rapped on the door with a pattern, presumably to let her brother know it was her. Under the harsh glow of the overhead streetlight, the fine wrinkles on her face were more pronounced.

  Robert opened the door, eyes widening when he saw Bret. He tried to close the door, but Noreen blocked him. “It’s okay, Robert. He’s here as a friend.” She stared flatly at Bret, as though daring him to challenge the statement.

  “That’s right,” Bret said. “I’m here to help, but you have to tell me what’s going on.”

&nb
sp; Robert fell back and let them into the small room whose main focus was a queen-sized bed and a low dresser holding a blaring TV. A miniature round table and two chairs had been squeezed into a corner by the bed. Robert headed there, while Noreen took a seat on the bed itself.

  Robert’s red hair was oily, and he looked exhausted, as though he hadn’t slept in weeks. For all Bret could tell, he seemed to be wearing the clothes of the day before. “I didn’t kill anyone,” Robert blurted.

  “I’m not saying you did.” Bret sat by Robert, placing his hands apart on the table, trying to seem open and relaxed. He’d read somewhere that many people responded to body language better than verbal communication. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Noreen was fired from her job a year or so ago. They trumped up charges about being her being late and drinking, but they weren’t true.”

  “She was never late?”

  “Not often. And Noreen rarely drinks. On holidays, maybe.” He glanced at Noreen, who nodded. She had her hands folded and her arms crossed. Her lips were pinched shut.

  “And then they gave the job to Alec Hanks,” prompted Bret.

  “Exactly. That no-good son of our noble manager. The kid couldn’t even make it in college. He’s always been trouble, and that’s why his dad sent him away in the first place. Got some young girl in trouble, or at least that was the rumor at the time.”

  “Just a rumor?”

  “Well, I never heard anything more. Might be that Hanks was just worried that something might happen to destroy his son’s life. He was barely out of high school.”

  “So his dad sent him away and then brought him back.”

  “After two years. Didn’t even finish. Couldn’t finish, or he’d have been hired by management.”

  “Probably will still be promoted,” Noreen grumbled.

  Robert nodded. “They harp and harp at us about working hard, but we’re the ones who do everything.”

  “So you had a grudge.”

  Robert blinked. “Well, not a grudge exactly. Okay, a little one. So I thought we could teach him a lesson.”

  “Was that when you came up with the plan to have Sheree distract Alec?” Bret should have known that something was wrong when he’d first shown the drawing to Robert. He hadn’t even been curious about the girl. He’d understood immediately what the drawing was about.

  “I knew Alec couldn’t resist her. It was easy enough to make sure the feed from the surveillance cameras was interrupted so there wouldn’t be a valid record. Just a blip in service.”

  “That maybe Alec would be blamed for later,” guessed Bret. “But the boat wouldn’t have started under the lift unless it was going up. So you had someone sneak in?”

  “I did that.” Noreen unfolded her arms and clenched her hands together. “We knew a guy on board the boat. He didn’t know about our plan, but he told us when the boat was coming. It was easy enough to get in the control cabin—I know my way around, and I still have friends who work there. Anyway, I punched in the commands and got out of there as fast as I could so I wouldn’t get caught. After I left the cabin, I passed the Hanks boy as he ran to see what was happening. I was wearing a disguise, but he didn’t even notice me.”

  Robert leaned forward. “No one was supposed to get hurt. No one. I figured the boat would stop short of touching the lift, and there would only be a write-up on Alec. Or even if it hit the lift, I knew my bridge, and I knew it would hold.”

  “Only it didn’t.”

  “I didn’t plant the explosives!” Robert’s eyes were wild. “None at all. I swear to you. I wanted revenge, but I’m not a monster!”

  “Then who did it?”

  “I don’t know, but those fins you yacked about to the FBI—they’re mine. Just yesterday I noticed they were missing from my gear at the house. When the FBI searches my house, I’m as good as dead. They’ll think I was on that boat and planted the charges.”

  Robert had done a lot wrong, but Bret believed him. “I still don’t see how the charges could have been laid so quickly, but they probably will think that—unless you help them find the real person responsible. Think. Have you seen or heard anything that might tie anyone else to the explosives?”

  “No,” Robert agonized. “There’s no one! It must have been pure coincidence.”

  Bret rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I think someone found out about your plan and decided to make their plan coincide with yours.”

  “But only we knew about it.” Robert motioned to his sister. “We didn’t tell anyone else, even if we used them for information.”

  “Except Sheree.”

  Noreen shook her head violently. “She wouldn’t tell anyone!”

  “How do you know that?”

  “She stayed with me all through high school after her parents kicked her out. I practically raised her. She was furious when I lost my job. She volunteered to help us.”

  “But if what you two claim is true, and you didn’t tell anyone, then she had to tell someone. She’s young. She probably didn’t think telling a friend or two would make a difference. Look, the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this is if you turn yourselves in.”

  The background droning of the TV sounded suddenly loud in the silence that followed.

  Noreen stood and began pacing. “Sheree doesn’t have anyone to tell. She doesn’t talk to her family—we’re her family now. She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. Well, she was dating this guy for a while, but that was over weeks ago.”

  “Who else had a reason to hurt Multnomah County?” Bret asked.

  Robert looked at him blankly.

  “You wanted revenge. Maybe someone else acted for the same reason.”

  “Revenge against Hanks?” Robert snorted. “You wouldn’t have to go far to find people who dislike him. Half the crew wouldn’t attend his funeral if he died.”

  Bret digested the information. As much as he didn’t like Hanks, he couldn’t be sure he was the cause. “It could just as well have been someone with a grudge against the county or the city itself. Or even the state. Or against someone who commutes on the bridge each day. It could be almost anyone.”

  “You’re right.” Robert looked at Bret steadily. “I mean about telling the police about Sheree. It’s the only way.”

  Noreen’s face was wet with tears, but she nodded. “Just so they know it’s not her fault. We put her up to it.”

  “I have some friends who are watching Sheree now. We can call and have the police pick her up.” Bret drew out his phone and began dialing.

  “Hello?” It was Tawnia, sounding out of breath.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re dancing.”

  “What about Sheree?”

  “She left in a car. I’m sorry. We couldn’t stop her.”

  “That’s fine. Robert’s going to turn himself in. I need to call around and hook him up with the FBI, but I’ll be by to pick you up in a while.”

  “No need. Jake’s here.”

  “Who?”

  “The guy who works for Autumn. They’re dancing now, but he already offered us a ride home.” Laughter came through the phone. Sounded like the women were having fun without him.

  “Okay then. But be careful, okay?”

  “You’re who needs to be careful.”

  “I will. Bye.” Bret sighed as he hung up the phone. “Sheree already left, so I hope you know where she’s living.” At Noreen’s nod, he stood. “Come on, Robert, let’s go.”

  Robert followed him to his car, but Bret paused as he opened the door. “So I’m curious. What really happened to my tools? Did you take them?”

  Robert looked down at the blacktop. “I wanted you to use the county tools so I could calibrate the readings to make sure that we engineers weren’t blamed for the collapse. It couldn’t have been our fault, but I knew I’d get blamed. That was before I knew about the explosives.”

  “I always recalibrate every device before I use it, whether or not it’s
mine.” Bret held the door open for him. “I double-check every readout. Your maintenance was not the problem, Robert. I never thought it was.”

  Chapter 23

  Autumn watched as Tawnia went into the bathroom for the fourth time that morning. Shaking her head, Autumn followed. She found Tawnia holding a brush as she leaned forward, studying her eyes in the mirror.

  “You’re going to brush your hair right out of your head,” Autumn said from the doorway.

  Tawnia met her gaze in the mirror, a faint smile touching her lips. “You know, for the first time in my life, I’m seeing my eyes as exotic and not as a birth defect.”

  “Well, no wonder with parents who bought you a contact lens to hide it.”

  Tawnia shook her head. “For years I’ve thought they were responsible, but lately I think they did it because it bothered me. I remember being upset about my eyes. I thought no one would want to be my friend if I was different.”

  “Who buys their ten-year-old a contact? They should have taught you to love your eyes.”

  Tawnia sighed. “That’s just not who they are. They see a problem and fix it. I’m not saying they didn’t want a perfect child—they did. But looking back now, I think they wanted it for me every bit as much as for them.” She paused, thinking about everything else she’d blamed on her parents over the years. “How could my memories be so skewed?”

  “Maybe because most kids don’t think about their parents as real people trying to do their best.”

  “They’re ungrateful, you mean.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Autumn took the towel from the rack by the door and threw it at her. “I was grateful every day. Grateful not to have to eat my green beans, grateful I could wear my favorite holey jeans, and grateful I didn’t have to wear shoes.”

  Tawnia laughed and tossed back the towel. “Yeah, right.” Her face sobered. “The knots in my stomach are getting bigger every second. What time is it anyway?”

  “We still have an hour before we need to leave for BervaDee’s.”

  “What if she tells me my mother was a prostitute? Or in a hospital dying of AIDS?”

  “I don’t think she could tell you any of that. She probably signed a contract.”