by Leann Harris
Jon walked to the kitchen. Dave joined him.
“You want some coffee?” Dave asked.
Jon shook his head. “I hope you and Marta had a nice dinner.”
“We did, but that’s not why you’re staying.”
Jon rubbed the back of his neck. “Before dessert at Lilly’s house, the girls wanted to see some pictures of Penny and her dad. When they turned on this digital frame that had belonged to Peter Burkstrom, they saw more than pictures. Apparently, our victim had put pictures of some invoices on the frame’s flash drive.”
“What kind of invoices?” Dave asked.
“For concrete and rebar. My guess is that they have to do with some building project he’d worked on.” He reached into his pocket and brought out the flash drive. “I have the drive. I thought I’d drop it off with our tech people to see if they can provide some insight. If they come up with nothing, they can send the information to the state lab. Maybe they can pinpoint which construction project these materials were purchased for.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dave leaned back against the countertop and folded his arms over his chest. “How was your dinner?”
The tone Dave used set him on edge. “The girls insisted on Penny and Lilly joining us. They’ve found a friend in Penny. Penny feels the same way about them.”
Dave nodded. “Are the girls the only ones with feelings?”
Jon didn’t have to ask what his partner meant. He knew. “You know we don’t involve ourselves with family members of the victim.”
“Really?” Dave shook his head. “You could’ve fooled me.”
Jon glared at him.
“When have the rules stopped you, Jon?”
Who was he kidding? His partner knew him. The reason Dave and Jon worked so well together was that they thought alike. If it hadn’t been for Dave and Marta, he never would’ve recovered from the deaths of his wife and children. But they’d cared for him and prayed for him. They’d thrown out a lifeline and he’d grabbed it. “I’m not ready, Dave.”
Dave pushed away from the counter and rested his hand on Jon’s shoulder. “I think you are. There’s a spark in your eyes when you’re with Lilly and Penny. And Penny is taken by you. You don’t have to rush anything, friend. Just open your heart. Everything else will just happen.”
“What I need to do is find out why someone is after them, and the best way to protect them is to find out who killed Lilly’s ex.”
“That’s true.” Dave didn’t push, but in his eyes, Jon saw his encouragement.
“G’night.”
“Remember what I said,” Dave called out.
Jon walked through the living room and out the front door.
“What is he supposed to remember?” Marta asked, joining Dave in the kitchen.
“I think my partner’s heart has come back to life again. I told him to listen to it and give it a chance.”
“Amen.”
The instant Jon entered the police building, he walked down to the evidence lab. He’d called Johnny this morning and asked him to meet him at the police station. He knew his friend would come in on Sunday.
“Littledeer, you look like you’ve just come off a twenty-four-hour stakeout. What have you been doing?” Johnny Longrunner asked.
What he’d done all night was wrestle with the words his partner had spoken. Was what was in his heart so obvious?
Jon held up the flash drive. “I called you because I need your expertise. I didn’t want a comment on my appearance.”
“You look like something my cat would drag in.”
Jon tried to glare, but his head hurt too much. “I need for you to pull up the invoices on this drive and see if you can tell me exactly what they’re for.”
Johnny waved his hand. “Give it.”
Jon gave him the drive.
It only took seconds for the pictures to come up on the screen.
“A trip to a water park?” Johnny commented.
Jon didn’t bother with a reply.
The invoices came up. Johnny stopped the progress of the images. “Oh, looks like someone took pictures of these invoices and wanted to hide them.”
“I think so, too. This flash drive is from my murder victim. He obviously mixed these pictures of invoices in with pics of his daughter in order to hide them. But why? What are they for? Look at the next picture,” Jon commanded.
Johnny clicked the forward button.
The invoice for rebar came up.
“Well, this is for building something, such as a road. Or a swimming pool. We’d need to call the company and ask what the rebar was used for.”
“You want to give me a guess?” Jon asked, pressing. “Would a highway go with the companies who wrote these invoices?”
“Yes. The best thing to do is to call the companies tomorrow.”
Jon ran his fingers through his hair. “Give me back the flash drive.”
“Sorry I can’t be any more helpful than that. Tomorrow, call the companies and ask.” Johnny ejected the drive and gave it back to Jon. “What’s got you tied up in knots?”
“It’s this case. Something going on that’s below the surface. What it is—Well, I think those invoices might hold the key. It’s been that way from the moment I told the victim’s ex-wife.”
“Send your invoices to Sam Maxwell. He works wonders with evidence.”
“Thanks for coming in, Longrunner.”
Jon left the evidence lab, walked to his desk and put the flash drive in the middle drawer. He must look bad if Johnny was on his case. He’d struggled with a lot of things last night.
There was nothing like your partner telling you that you were eyeballing a woman with hunger in your eyes. He wanted to tell Dave he was nuts, but he couldn’t lie to Dave. Jon’s heart had suddenly started to beat again.
Lilly.
He rolled her name around his brain. Her beauty equaled that of the flower for which she’d been named. He found himself making up reasons why he needed to see her, talk to her. And Penny. No one would ever replace his girls, but Penny touched a part of his heart that could still love.
Precocious and smart. Of course, keeping up with girls was challenging, but Penny took it to an entirely new level. She certainly knew how to give directions. She’d told each of them how to harvest.
So what was he going to do?
And what was the meaning of the invoices?
He sat down, then logged into the police network. Removing his notebook from his sports-coat pocket, he typed in the names of the two men that had had a beef with Peter because he’d tossed them off a construction site. Jose Heinz and Ben Mentor. Ben Mentor was the name of the second man Peter had fired.
He got hits on both. Mentor had been convicted of selling false IDs and was now in the Colorado State Penitentiary at Cañyon City. Hernandez also had a record: he had spent time in a New Mexico state prison and had been released three months ago. Jon read through Hernandez’s physical description. He had a snake tattoo on his right forearm.
Jon printed out the booking photo of Hernandez. Was this the guy who’d been threatening Lilly?
Glancing at his watch, he realized it was nine-thirty. He needed to hurry—he had only fifteen minutes to make it to the church. If he was late, the twins would be all over his case.
Lilly joined the congregation with the last chorus of “Amazing Grace.” She glanced around the church and saw the faces of many of the volunteers who had harvested vegetables yesterday. There were several new faces in the crowd. Her gaze caught sight of Diego Ibarra, her first success story connected to the garden. He smiled and nodded at her. The instant the last note of the hymn died, Lilly made her way down the center aisle.
“What are you doing here?” Lilly asked, hugging Diego.
“I heard you had your big vegetable harvest yesterday. Mom called me and told me about what a success it was.” Diego had turned into a tall young man with brown eyes that sparkled. There was a young woman by his side.
/> “Who’s this?” Lilly asked.
“This is Tina Moore. She works with me at the state office.”
Lilly shook Tina’s hand. From the looks the two traded, Lilly didn’t doubt that Diego had brought her home to meet his mother.
“Where’s Penny?” he asked.
“She’s helping in the children’s church. I’ll get her. You stay here. I know she’ll be excited to see you.”
Lilly hurried down the hall to the room where the children’s service was held. Suddenly, a man stepped out of the side hall and ran into her. His hand caught her arm.
Lilly gasped. “I’m so—”
The man with the snake on his arm. He lowered his head and whispered, “I need what your ex stole. You have it. I’ll make arrangements with you about when to hand it over.”
The breath left Lilly’s body and she stood frozen in the hall.
“Don’t disappoint me, Ms. Burkstrom, because if you do, you won’t like it.”
Fear, like an evil snake, wrapped itself around her heart, squeezing it. When would this nightmare end? What was worth Peter’s and now her life?
Before she could open her mouth to response, he disappeared down the hall.
“Hey, Mom, you ready to leave?”
Lilly glanced down at her daughter.
“Is something wrong?”
Hearing the fright in her daughter’s voice, Lilly struggled to hide her fear.
“No. Nothing’s wrong. Let’s go.”
TEN
J on’s heart had nearly stopped when he got the call from Lilly. He’d been talking with Dave, Marta and their pastor when his phone rang. He’d told Dave where he was going before dashing out the door of the church like a madman.
Lilly sat in her office with Penny, Pastor Kent and his wife, Rachel, and Diego and his girlfriend. When Jon appeared in the doorway, Lilly noticed him first.
She rose. “Thanks for coming. I wanted you to meet my first success, Diego Ibarra.” She motioned toward the blond woman. “And this is Tina Moore. Both Diego and Tina work for the Department of Agriculture here in the state. I was telling them about our success yesterday. We’re discussing how to transplant our success to other parts of the state.”
Jon noticed Penny, who watched with keen interest. The plea in Lilly’s eyes told him not to question her about her phone call in front of her daughter.
Jon offered his hand to Diego. “So you’re the guy who inspired this ministry.”
Diego smiled. “Who would’ve guessed a hostile, would-be gang member could’ve inspired this?”
“God knew,” Pastor Kent offered. “God sees the entire picture. We see only the immediate. That’s why we should trust Him. He will not lead us astray.”
The pastor’s words rang true in Jon’s heart. He wished he could see more and understand what was going on. The only thing he knew was that they needed to find this guy after Lilly.
“What are you doing here?” Penny asked. “You coming to lunch with us?”
Jon knew an opening when he saw one. “I am. We had so much fun yesterday that I wanted to do it again today.”
Penny glowed. “All right.”
Lilly’s shoulders sagged.
The group moved to a small Mexican restaurant a half a block from the church. Jon sat next to Lilly.
“Thank you,” she whispered after everyone had ordered lunch.
“What happened?” Jon asked.
While everyone at the table engaged in lively conversation, Lilly explained what happened when she was on her way to the children’s church service. “He wants me to give something over to him. I wanted to ask him what, but it was a one-way conversation.”
Jon pulled the booking photo he’d printed earlier from the inside pocket of his sports coat. “Is this the guy, Lilly?”
She studied the photo and shook her head no. “That’s not him.”
Jon put the photo back into his pocket, disappointed that this wasn’t their guy. “He might be after those invoices.” He glanced around the table. Penny happily chatted with Diego. “The guy said he would contact you?”
She nodded.
“Okay. When he does, you ask him what he wants. Make him be as specific as you can. You want to have him name what he wants. That will help.”
The waiter placed a plate of enchiladas in front of Jon. He moved on to Lilly, setting a chile relleno before her.
“When will it end?” she asked. She stared at her plate.
“Lilly, remember what your pastor just said. You see only the now. You can’t see how this will work out. I never thought I’d have a life after my family died. But since that terrible time I’ve found myself in situations where I’ve been able to comfort others who’d lost loved ones. I even had the doctor who treated my daughters ask me if I would work with a family whose son had been diagnosed with the disease that killed my girls.
“I told him no, but God wouldn’t let me stick my head in the sand. After reading the part in Second Corinthians where Paul told the Corinthians to comfort those with the comfort they’d received, I knew I couldn’t walk away. It wasn’t easy to face them, but I felt their pain. I told the father that I’d tried to drink away the pain, but it hadn’t worked. God was the only source. He gives the comfort.” Jon shook his head. “I always thought I was better at putting away the bad guys, but I think that dad was grateful to me for talking about the pain. When he cried, I told him it was okay.”
Lilly lips trembled as she gave him a smile. “That dad was right.”
Jon pulled back. “What?”
“If a strong man like you needs to lean on God, what makes the rest of us weaklings think we can do everything ourselves? You’re a good example.”
Lilly had touched his heart in a way no one else ever had.
“Do you think that’s a good plan, Lilly?” Diego asked.
Lilly looked down the table. “What?”
“Your writing a proposal about using church land to plant gardens to help the surrounding community?” replied Diego.
“Uh, that sounds like a great idea,” said Lilly.
Diego gave Pastor Kent a smile. Jon knew his and Lilly’s conversation hadn’t gone unnoticed. When he looked around the table, Penny grinned. He could protest about what they were thinking, but that would only exacerbate matters.
Jon’s cell phone vibrated. He pulled it from his shirt pocket and looked at the number. Dave.
“Hey, partner. What can I do for you?” Jon asked.
“I got a call from one of the guys on Peter’s team at the armored car business. He wants to talk to us.”
“Give me the address and I’ll meet you there.”
Dave gave him an address in the northern part of the city.
Hanging up, Jon said, “I’ve got to go.” He turned to Lilly and whispered, “Check with your neighbor before you go inside your house. She’ll know if anyone’s stopped by.”
Lilly nodded.
A thousand thoughts raced through Jon’s brain as he drove to the address Dave had given him. Whoever had killed Peter Burkstrom was getting desperate. He’d gone from searching different places to letting Lilly see him to threatening her. She needed to come to the police station today and see if she could ID the man who’d threatened her.
In addition to that, tomorrow he’d call the companies whose invoices had appeared on Penny’s digital picture frame. They’d be able to tell him what the materials were used for and if there was anything unusual about the invoices or changes from the original invoice.
Jon saw Dave’s car and pulled up behind it. The older neighborhood housed working families. The yards were carefully tended and each house was kept in good repair. Jon walked to the front door of the house Dave had told him about and knocked on the door. Al Zeller, one of the men from Peter’s armored car team, answered the door and led Jon to the living room.
“Al, why don’t you tell my partner what you just told me?” Dave urged.
Al sighed. “On Friday w
e were finishing our run. I had just left the money in the store when I saw the guy who’d been hounding Peter at the armored car lot. He asked me if I would meet him after my shift and have a drink. He claimed he was a good friend of Pete’s and needed some information. I told him that I couldn’t. The next day he shows up at my daughter’s soccer game. He wasn’t so friendly the next day.”
“What did he want?” Jon asked.
“He demanded to know if Pete had ever talked about his old job and if he’d ever mentioned something he took from that job. I told the guy that Pete had said nothing, and that if he showed up again, I was going to call the cops. The guy didn’t like my reaction, but I don’t want anyone messing around with my kids.”
“You said this happened Friday?” Dave asked.
Al nodded. “Yeah, it did. I talked myself out of calling the cops, but then the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. I decided to call you since I had your card.”
Their suspect must be desperate. He’d broadened his circle of people he harassed. “Was there anything unusual about the man?” asked Jon.
“He had hard eyes. Must’ve had a bad case of acne when he was a kid, because only a mother could love that face. And he had a tattoo on his right forearm.”
“What was it of?” Jon asked.
“Some sort of snake,” said Al.
Jon pulled the booking photo from his pocket. “Is this the guy?”
Al shook his head. “No.”
Jon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “If you see the guy anywhere, call 911. We want to get this guy.”
Al nodded. “Okay.”
Jon and Dave walked out to their cars.
“What happened with Lilly this morning?” Dave asked.
“Our guy ambushed her at church. He demanded that she give him what Pete took.”
“The invoices?” Dave asked.
“I don’t know. I’m going to find out tomorrow what those items on the invoices were for, but today I want to take Lilly down to the station and see if she can ID the guy. Could we leave Penny with you and Marta?”