LURING

by Blake Pierce

  “Who is it?” she called out tiredly.

  “It’s Crivaro,” came the reply. “Open up.”

  Riley scrambled out of bed and opened the door and saw Crivaro standing there.

  “We’ve got to leave right now,” he said. “I just got a phone call from Chief Tallhamer over in Hyland. He thinks we’ve got a break in the case.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  As he pulled out of the motel parking lot, Jake Crivaro began filling Riley in on the news he’d just gotten. He was glad to see that she seemed excited and alert, despite just having been rousted out of bed.

  Jake reminded her, “You’ve heard me talk about Philip Cardin, the guy who was arrested and held for Alice Gibson’s murder, right?”

  “I remember,” Riley said. “You had to let Phil go because he was in jail when Hope Nelson was murdered. But his brother, Harvey, had recently left Hyland under suspicious circumstances.”

  “Which left a couple of interesting possibilities once you consider the prospect of both brothers being killers,” Jake said. “Nobody knew Harvey’s whereabouts after his disappearance. He could have been near Dighton during that time. Harvey might have killed Hope Nelson. For that matter, he might have killed both Hope and Alice. Or he and his brother might have partnered up for the murders, taking turns with them. Phil might have killed Alice, and then Harvey might have killed Hope while Phil was still in jail.”

  Jake could see Riley shake her head.

  She said, “That’s a lot of stuff to consider.”

  “I know,” Jake said. “But as long as Harvey was missing, there wasn’t much we could do to follow up on those possibilities. I’d put a tech team in Quantico to work trying to hunt Harvey down, and they turned up nothing. Meanwhile, Chief Tallhamer kept a close eye on Phil Cardin, made sure he didn’t do anything suspicious or try to leave town.”

  Riley said, “So what happened? Did Harvey come back to Hyland?”

  Jake said, “Yeah, Chief Tallhamer’s cops picked him up last night. In fact, they took Phil back into custody as well. According to the chief, both brothers were behaving pretty suspiciously. Tallhamer will fill us in on details as soon as we get there.”

  “Wow,” Riley said quietly. “So maybe the case has been solved without us having to do much of anything.”

  Jake heard a note of disappointment in her voice. He thought he understood why. Between getting kicked out of the Academy and whatever issues she was having with her fiancé …

  The poor kid needs a win right now.

  Riley needed to accomplish something, and the bigger the accomplishment the better. He was tempted to tell her that he wasn’t at all sure this was really a break in the case. If the Cardin brothers turned out to be innocent after all, he and Riley still had their work cut out for them. And he’d need Riley’s special gifts more than ever.

  But it was best not to say so right now …

  Don’t want to get her hopes up.

  Besides, Jake really did hope this case was solved and over with. He and Riley had to be in Lanton tomorrow to testify at the trial of Brant Hayman, the college professor who had killed two of Riley’s friends and had almost killed Riley herself.

  Jake had testified at plenty of murder trials himself, but he knew this would be a new experience for Riley, and possibly a traumatic one. It wouldn’t be easy for her to recount her friends’ deaths and her own ordeal at Hayman’s murderous hands. Jake figured it would be best if Riley didn’t have their current case hanging over her when she had to do all that.

  As they drove on in silence, a worry started nagging at Jake. There was something he hadn’t yet told Riley, and he knew he probably ought to tell her. But how would she take it? Would she feel angry, confused, betrayed, or … ?

  Jake swallowed down his concerns …

  I’d better just come out with it.

  He cleared his throat and said …

  “Riley, I’ve got something I need to tell you, and I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

  Riley turned and looked at him expectantly.

  Jake said, “After I dropped you off in Quantico the night before last, and when I was driving back to West Virginia, I …”

  Jake swallowed hard.

  “I drove up to your father’s cabin and paid him a visit,” he said.

  Riley gasped and said …

  “You what?”

  Jake shook his head and said, “I know it sounds crazy …”

  “Yeah, it kind of does,” Riley said. The expression on her face revealed more shock than her words did.

  Jake stifled a discouraged groan. He was starting to wish he’d kept his mouth shut. But there was no taking back his words now, and she would likely find out sooner or later anyhow.

  Riley asked, “How did you even find the place?”

  Jake said, “I asked for directions in a bar in Milladore.”

  “And you went up on that mountain in the middle of the night?” Riley asked.

  Jake nodded.

  Riley said, “And he didn’t blow your head off with his Browning Citori stacked-barrel shotgun?”

  Jake chuckled, feeling oddly relieved by the question.

  “Oh, he emptied one barrel, but he fired in the air. I managed to talk him out of killing me.”

  “You’re lucky,” Riley said.

  As Jake remembered scrambling behind the car for safety and drawing his own weapon, he thought …

  Yeah, I guess I was lucky.

  “Why did you do that?” Riley asked.

  Jake shrugged a little and said, “I was curious, that’s all.”

  “Curious about what?” Riley asked.

  Jake didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure what to say.

  Riley asked, “Curious about me?”

  Jake smiled a little and said, “You’re an enigma, Riley Sweeney. I’m just trying to make sense of you.”

  Jake glanced sideways and saw that Riley’s mouth was hanging open.

  After a moment, Riley said, “So how did your visit go?”

  “OK,” Jake said. “Your dad makes some tasty hard cider.”

  “Did you find out what you want to know?” Riley asked.

  Jake paused and remembered …

  Yes, I learned a lot.

  He’d gotten some insights into how Riley had been shaped by her father’s expectations. He remembered Sweeney’s words …

  “She’s a hunter. Like me. I raised her that way.”

  Jake had also come away from the encounter feeling more impressed by Riley than he’d ever been.

  But he didn’t want to go into any details about that strange encounter. And he hoped Riley wasn’t going to ask a lot of questions.

  Riley finally said with a sigh, “Well, I guess it only makes sense that you’d meet sooner or later. You’re a lot alike, the two of you.”

  Jake winced inside.

  He wasn’t sure he liked being compared to that wild man in the hills.

  Besides, Jake remembered again how Sweeney had told him …

  “I never trust a man whose children don’t hate him.”

  Considering Jake’s troubled relationship with his son, those words had cut way too close to home.

  Did he and Oliver Sweeney have too much in common for Jake’s liking?

  Then Riley said in a near whisper …

  “Agent Crivaro … thanks.”

  Jake glanced at her with surprise.

  “Thanks for what?” he said.

  Riley laughed a little and said, “I don’t know exactly. Just … thanks.”

  They both fell silent. As Jake continued to drive, he kept puzzling over just why Riley had thanked him. Little by little, something began to dawn on him. Perhaps Riley was grateful that he’d simply gone out of his way to learn more about her, to understand her better.

  After all, in a way he was acting like a father. He realized that even as weak as his own parenting skills might be, he was still the kind of father she’d never had.

/>   Jake felt his throat tighten with emotion.

  He hadn’t given it much thought before, but he was definitely feeling paternal toward this young recruit. Maybe if he became a good guiding influence on her, he might feel less guilty about how things had turned out with his son.

  But he quickly told himself …

  Be careful.

  Mentoring and parenting were two different things, after all. They might not make a good mix. He’d already had to be tough on Riley, more like a boss than a father, even to the point where they’d both thought their relationship was over.

  Besides, what kind of relationship was still in the cards for them? Riley had gotten herself kicked out of the Academy, and Jake couldn’t very well keep on partnering with an uncertified civilian kid. Sooner rather than later, she was going to have to start finding her own path through life …

  Still, maybe I can be part of it.

  He found himself remembering that moment when he was leaving the cabin and Sweeney had called out to him …

  “Crivaro—I know something about you. Something you may not know yourself.”

  When Jake had turned to look at him, Sweeney had said …

  “You’re a good man.”

  Jake half-smiled to himself and thought …

  Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true?

  *

  During the rest of the drive to Hyland, Riley found herself thinking about what Crivaro had just told her. The idea that he had ventured up into the hills near Milladore by night just to visit her father boggled her mind.

  Still, when she’d thanked him, she’d really meant it.

  Right now, when so many things were going wrong in her life, it felt good to know that someone was not only looking out for her, but was genuinely curious about what made her tick.

  How long had it been since anyone had treated her that way? Ryan certainly hadn’t shown her much consideration or concern lately. It seemed an odd thing that she felt closer to this cantankerous FBI agent than she did to her own fiancé …

  But that’s how things are.

  She was glad to have Crivaro in her life right now, and it made her sad to realize they’d probably have to part ways before very long.

  At least they’d still be together tomorrow, when they both had to testify in Brant Hayman’s murder trial. The closer the time came for Riley face her one-time teacher and would-be killer in court, the more frightened she was by the prospect. She knew she would need Crivaro’s emotional support to get through it.

  When they reached Hyland, Riley was startled to see how small the town was—much smaller even than Dighton, with maybe just a couple of hundred people …

  The kind of town where nothing ever happens.

  But Riley knew that something had definitely happened near here—a hideous murder that she guessed would haunt the residents of Hyland for a long time.

  Crivaro parked in front of the little storefront police station, and they got out of the car. There was only a handful of pedestrians in sight. Riley could hear Crivaro breathe a sigh of relief.

  “No reporters—at least not yet,” he said. “I guess they haven’t gotten wind of these new arrests, thank God.”

  A man stepped out of the police station as Riley and Crivaro approached—a startlingly unattractive man with a pockmarked face. He was wearing a white medical jacket.

  The man walked toward them with a smirk on his face.

  He said, “Well, if it isn’t our FBI man again. And you’ve brought along a little helper. I guess it’s no surprise that you got here just in time to be of no use at all. The chief’s got the murderers in custody. It’s like I said all along—the Cardin brothers were guilty as hell. I don’t yet know which of those two bastards killed my poor Alice, but it won’t be long now before I do know—no thanks to you.”

  Without another word, the man brushed past Riley and Crivaro and continued on his way.

  “Who was that?” Riley asked Crivaro as they stood staring after him.

  Crivaro said, “That was Dr. Earl Gibson—the husband of the first murder victim. When I met him before, he was sure the Cardin brothers were the killers, and he was furious when Phil Cardin was released from jail. I guess he could have been right after all.”

  Riley and Crivaro walked into the police station, where two uniformed men stood talking. The larger of the two was chewing a wad of tobacco—Chief Tallhamer, Riley guessed. She was surprised when she recognized the shorter, stockier man. It was Graham Messenger, the chief of police over in Dighton.

  Crivaro introduced Riley to the two men—once again as “an agent in training.” Then he asked them to fill him in on what had happened.

  Nodding toward Tallhamer, Messenger said, “I’m afraid my colleague Dave here called you on a needless errand. Dave called me too, and I showed up here just a little while ago myself.”

  Tallhamer pointed to a doorway in back of the station and added, “I took Dave back there to see the brothers in their jail cells, and we all had a serious talk. The Cardin boys are our killers, all right. I wasn’t sure when I called you, but I am sure now.”

  Then Messenger crossed his arms and said, “So we won’t be needing the FBI’s help anymore. You can head on back to Quantico.”

  Riley saw Crivaro’s mouth drop open at this remark. She knew, of course, that Crivaro and his forensics team were here solely at Messenger’s request. It was entirely up to Messenger whether they stayed or left. But Crivaro obviously hadn’t expected such an abrupt dismissal.

  Crivaro asked Tallhamer, “How did you apprehend them?”

  Tallhamer explained, “Harvey Cardin pulled into town late last night and went straight to his brother’s apartment. When my men busted in on them, they were packing up to leave town together once and for all. I guess they knew they’d get caught for sure if they hung around too long.”

  Messenger chuckled a little and said, “Of course, the way the brothers tell it, it was all perfectly innocent.”

  Riley heard another voice bark out …

  “It was innocent. And you can’t prove otherwise.”

  Riley turned and saw a bleary-eyed man walking unsteadily toward them. Crivaro whispered to her …

  “That’s Ozzie Hines, Phil Cardin’s lawyer.”

  Riley’s eyes widened with surprise …

  His lawyer?

  She could smell alcohol on the man’s breath even from several feet away.

  Hines wagged his finger at the two police chiefs and said …

  “You heard what Harvey said just now. He left town in the first place because he was sick to death of Hyland and how he and he and his brother both get treated here. The only reason he came back was to talk Phil into going away with him, this time for good. That’s why they were packing up to go. Neither one of them ever killed anybody.”

  Tallhamer and Messenger smiled condescendingly at Hines.

  “Come on, Ozzie,” Tallhamer said. “That doesn’t hold water and you know it.”

  Messenger added, “When we asked Harvey where he’d been and what he’d been doing during the last week or so, his answers were all muddled. He can’t even make up his mind about his own alibis.”

  Ozzie Hines was red-faced with anger now.

  He said, “Tallhamer, Messenger—the two of you interrogated my client before I could get over here. You know that isn’t kosher. You violated his Fifth Amendment rights. The same with his brother, and I’m representing him now too. Nothing they said will be admissible in court.”

  Tallhamer and Messenger laughed raucously.

  “Now isn’t that a load of crap!” Tallhamer said.

  “Phil and Harvey knew their rights when they talked to us,” Messenger added. “They just got tired of waiting around until you could sober up enough to find your way here.”

  Riley saw that Crivaro’s eyes were darting back and forth between the two police chiefs.

  He said, “I think Sweeney and I should talk to the suspects ourselves.” />
  Ozzie Hines let a growl of defiance.

  “Well, you can’t talk to them, Mr. FBI man. Nobody else is talking to them, and they’re not talking to anybody—not until I say otherwise, which will probably be never.”

  Hines turned and strode shakily but brashly back through the door into the jail.

  Tallhamer and Messenger nudged each other, chuckling heartily.

  “Poor Ozzie Hines,” Tallhamer said. “That poor drunk’s out of his depth for sure. He knows right well he doesn’t have the stuff to handle a real live murder case—especially one where both of his clients are obviously guilty as hell.”

  Messenger added, “Yeah, he was talking tough just now, but it was all just bluster. He’s probably back there right this minute trying to persuade the Cardin boys that they’re going to have to make some kind of a deal, starting with a guilty plea.”

  Crivaro’s eyes narrowed as he said, “I think Sweeney and my forensics team and I should stay on the case for a while longer.”

  Messenger shrugged and said, “Why? It’s like we told you, we’ve got the Cardins dead to rights.”

  Tallhamer let out a mocking laugh and said to Messenger …

  “I guess Agent Crivaro’s feeling a little put out, what with us hillbillies solving the case before he and his smart Fed team could make any headway with it. It’s got to be a little rough on his pride.”

  “It must be at that,” Messenger said. “I’m truly sorry, Agent Crivaro. But really, it’s time for you and your good people to head on back to Quantico.”

  Riley could see Crivaro’s body tense up all over as he tried to think of something else to say. But he knew that nothing he could say would change the two men’s minds.

  Instead, Crivaro said to Messenger …

  “All right, then. But that’s your car I’ve got out there. Sweeney and I have got some separate business over in Lanton tomorrow, nothing to do with this case. Would it be OK if we borrowed it for another day?”

  “As long as you bring it back in one piece,” Messenger said.

  Crivaro turned to Riley and said, “Come on, let’s go.”

  As Riley and Crivaro headed out of the police station and got back in the car, Riley asked …