Reunited by Danger

by Carol J. Post

  “We’ve got guys tailing Logan. We’re keeping a pretty close eye on Danielle, too. But I don’t think you should be staying alone.”

  “That’s what Hunter says. He’s pressuring me to move in with him and Meagan.”

  “I think you should listen.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Have Liv or Raymond gotten any threats?”

  “Liv hasn’t for sure. I talked to her thirty minutes ago. If she’d gotten a note, she’d have been even more freaked out than usual.” She crossed her arms and lowered her voice. “I think the killer is singling me out because I’m the one who sent the texts. If it weren’t for that, Landon would have stayed home and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.”

  The words were heavy with regret, sending a pang of sadness straight to his heart. He squeezed her shoulder. “Amber, Landon’s death wasn’t your fault.”

  “Someone would beg to differ.”

  She was right. Someone wasn’t letting her off the hook. Unfortunately she wasn’t, either. “No rational person would blame you for what happened. You shouldn’t try to carry a burden that’s not yours.”

  “Yeah.” The word held no conviction. She lifted her shoulders and let them fall, as if shrugging off the malaise hanging over her. “Let’s get this done.”

  She led him toward the couch. All three cats jumped down before he even rounded the end of the coffee table, joining the black one to watch him from across the room. Tippy didn’t relinquish her spot.

  After sitting, he pulled some sheets from the file folder. “I have a list of everyone who attended the reunion.”

  “And I have yearbooks.” She sank onto the couch next to him and took one from the small stack on the coffee table. “My senior year.”

  She laid the book in her lap. Her shoulder and arm rested against his. So did her uniform-clad leg. Warmth radiated from her. It had been a long time since he’d sat this close to a beautiful woman. Four years, to be precise. And the experience left him with an odd mix of contentment and longing.

  He tamped down both. This was strictly business. She’d sat close so he could see the pictures with her. And the fact that his thoughts were heading in other directions proved how much the loneliness was getting to him.

  Amber opened the cover of the yearbook. Inscriptions filled the space. The outline of a red heart occupied most of the adjacent page and he scanned the words scrawled inside. “High school’s been a blast. Adulthood’s going to be even funner. Don’t let the party end!” It was signed “Liv.”

  Amber turned to the next page. She’d agreed to look through the yearbooks with him. That didn’t mean she wanted him reading personal messages from her friends.

  She flipped to the beginning of the senior class and pointed to a picture of a smiling brunette. “Becky Adams. She dated Landon for a while.”

  Yeah, he remembered her. She was one of the cheerleaders. He’d also had a geometry class with her.

  Amber tapped the picture. “I don’t know who dumped who, but I don’t think it lasted long. You probably knew her better than I did, since you went to the games, being in band and all.”

  He nodded. “If I remember right, she didn’t seem too broken up over it.” He opened the file folder. Becky Adams’s name was on the list, except she was now Becky Adams Sharpe. He removed a pen from his pocket and put a plus next to her name.

  “What’s that for?”

  “Dated Landon but not high on the suspect list. I’ll star the ones to talk to first.”

  She nodded and pointed to another picture. “Lucy Beckman. According to Liv, she and Landon were an item for a while.”

  “I didn’t know her well.”

  “We called her Loosie Lucy. She got around.”

  That was what he’d heard. The girls joked about her reputation and the guys took advantage of it. “Probably not someone who’d have been brokenhearted over their split.”

  When he turned the page, Olivia Chamberlain stared up at them from the right-hand side. In that picture, she was a platinum-blonde and wearing enough makeup to beautify the entire cheerleading squad.

  The Cleary brothers’ photos were in the row below. Though the resemblance was strong, they weren’t identical twins. Landon’s hair was much darker than his brother’s and the somewhat square Cleary jaw on Landon was smoothed out on Logan.

  Those weren’t the only differences. Logan’s eyes projected a seriousness and quiet intelligence. He’d always been contemplative, the type to think things through. And apparently not one to forget a wrong.

  Landon had been the opposite. Even in a ten-year-old photo, that air of carefree popularity was obvious, the look of someone who had the world by the tail. Someone who had everything to live for.

  As they worked their way through the photos, they identified several more girls who’d carried a torch for Landon. Amber had colorful stories about most of them, and he continued to add pluses and stars to his list.

  “Danielle Harcourt.” She pointed at the page. “She should get a double star.”

  “You said she was pretty upset when Landon dumped her.”

  “Shortly after they broke up, Liv said she found Danielle in the bathroom crying.”

  She turned the page and he tilted his head.

  “That’s a good picture of you.” In that shot, her makeup was understated and her hair fell in silken waves about her shoulders. She apparently hadn’t done anything beyond her normal beauty routine. As long as he’d known her, she’d never gone to extremes to stand out, a trait he found appealing.

  But as pretty as she was, the rebellious streak that wove through her came out in the picture—the lift of her chin, the one-sided smile. He could even see it in her eyes, a silent show of defiance. Now it was all gone, replaced with determination underscored by sadness.

  Several pages later, her index finger settled beneath one of the photos. “Kindall Osborne. You guys dated all the way through high school. Everyone thought for sure you were going to end up married.”

  “We did.”

  At his whispered words, she pivoted her head to look at him.

  The first time she’d broached the subject they’d been in a crowded restaurant. Now they were alone and he still had no desire to tell the story. His relationship with Amber was strictly professional. She didn’t need the details of his love life.

  “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” She dropped her gaze to the yearbook.

  By the time they’d pointed out everyone who’d dated Landon, they’d hit almost every letter of the alphabet, some more than once. Not all of the girls had come to the reunion, but many had. The ones that hadn’t, he added to the bottom of the list. He wouldn’t rule them out yet.

  Amber indicated his folder. “You’ve got a good list, but we should probably go through this exercise with Liv. She was the Chiefland High gossip queen. She knew everything about everybody. And didn’t mind sharing it.”

  Yes, he’d do that. He’d already questioned both Liv and Raymond about the rape and the guys’ threats. Judging by the long pause on the other end of the line, his question had caught Raymond off guard. When he recovered, his answer had echoed Amber’s. They’d been drunk and just talking tough. He’d even had an explanation for his parents saying he was in before one in the morning when the police report showed him out with his brother almost an hour later. He’d claimed the two of them had sneaked back out.

  Liv’s response had been more emotional. Whether she’d been upset over the rape itself or the fact that Amber had spilled her secret, he wasn’t sure. She’d insisted she didn’t want to talk about it. She finally reiterated what Amber had said, that she didn’t think the others had been planning to follow through with their threats. But after both conversations, he still hadn’t been able to shake the feeling they were h
iding something.

  The two gray cats hopped up next to Amber. Over the past several minutes they’d crept gradually closer, keeping cautious eyes on him. Apparently their need for affection had overcome their fear of a strange man in their domain.

  When Amber lifted her hand to pet them, the final pages fell to the left, leaving the inside cover exposed. Landon had scrawled a message in the top right corner then signed his name in fancy script, the bottom of the L curling around to wrap the rest of the letters. To the right of his name was a small treble clef.

  Caleb grinned. “‘To the sexiest lab partner I ever had’?”

  She returned his smile. “We had biology together my senior year. You remember how we had to switch lab partners every six weeks? The last six-week period, I was with Landon. I did all the drawings and reports and let him do the dissecting.”

  “Sounds like a fair trade.”

  “Worked out great for me, anyway. Just the smell of the formaldehyde about finished me off. I was happy to let someone else do the cutting.”

  “Did you have any other classes with him?”

  “Not my senior year. Liv did, though. Algebra. She talked about it a lot. She struggled with it and since Landon got straight As, she’d regularly ask him for help. A bunch of times he stayed late to work with her on an assignment.”

  She closed the book and set it on the table. “That year we really got to know Landon. At least, we thought we did.” She shook her head. “Finding out he raped Liv floored me. He seemed like such a nice guy.”

  The news had shocked him, too. Besides having taken several classes with Landon, they’d been in band together all through high school. Caleb had always liked the guy.

  So had everyone else. He was the all-American teenager, full of school spirit—class president, homecoming king, first chair trumpet and member of several clubs. His murder had shaken not only his classmates but the entire community. Someone had made a sign in his memory and placed it along 341, near where his body had been found. For months mounds of flowers had adorned its base. Other signs kept popping up at random places, with messages like We Remember Landon Cleary and Bring Landon’s Killer to Justice.

  Caleb closed the folder and laid it on top of the yearbook. “How well did you know Logan?”

  “Not as well as Landon. Logan took a lot of the advanced placement classes.” She gave him a wry smile. “You probably remember, I avoided those. I think Logan and I only shared one class, an English class our sophomore year. I don’t remember communicating with him much or getting to know him. He seemed pretty serious, intent on learning.” She paused, thinking. “I remember during the poetry section, he...” Her eyes grew wide.

  “What?”

  “Logan writes poetry.”

  His pulse picked up. “He does?”

  “He did then. For about a month of that class we studied poetry. We had to write several ourselves and Logan wrote some really good ones. When the teacher would ask people to read what they’d written, he’d always volunteer.”

  “All the killer’s notes have been in poetry form.” That in itself wasn’t a very strong connection, but when considered with everything else, it justified further investigation.

  Over the years, Logan had made it clear that he blamed each of them for his brother’s death. The killings had begun within weeks of his arriving home after being discharged from the military. The last poem echoed his words to Amber in the Walmart parking lot. No one could corroborate his alibi for the weekend Ramona was killed except Danielle, who could be lying to protect him. Or maybe he was in cahoots with someone else. If so, he may have left a trail in his phone or email records.

  Did they have enough for a judge to grant them a search warrant? Maybe, maybe not. He’d pass along this latest bit of info and it would go up the chain of command.

  “Thanks for going through these with me.”

  “No problem. Sometimes it’s fun to reminisce. I haven’t thought about some of these people in years.”

  A ringtone sounded from the kitchen and she excused herself. Four cats followed her. If they were anything like his monsters, they probably thought anytime someone walked into the kitchen, it was time to eat.

  He picked up the second yearbook. There was no reason to go through the others, even though Amber had gotten them out. Anyone not included their senior year likely didn’t have any valuable information.

  As he let the book fall open to the center, Amber’s soft hello drifted to him. He turned the page and looked at the group picture of the band. He was in the center row to the left. Landon was two rows behind, to the right.

  The volume of Amber’s voice rose. “Liv, calm down. I can’t understand you.”

  He set the book aside as Amber continued. “Have you called the police?”

  Caleb stood. When he reached the kitchen, Amber was pacing. “Good. Until he gets back, keep your doors locked and stay away from the windows. Where are you now?” She paused. “The bathroom is good. Wait there for the deputy. Is there someone you can stay with tonight?”

  Liv spoke again and Amber nodded. “All right. Call me as soon as he’s done.”

  Amber lowered the phone. “Someone tried to get into Liv’s house. When she wouldn’t answer the knock on the back door, he fired shots through one of the rear windows. All this with a deputy sitting in the vacant lot across the street.”

  “Where’s the deputy now?”

  “He came running when he heard the shots. After making sure Liv was okay, he went in pursuit. When he returned, she ended the call.”

  Amber started to pace again. “I feel I should go over there. Liv is totally freaked out.”

  He stepped in front of her and placed both hands on her shoulders. “You need to stay here. The same person who’s after her is after you. Let Levy County handle it.”

  Amber nodded. “She’s staying with a neighbor tonight.”

  “Good.” He hoped she wasn’t putting an innocent bystander at risk. But she shouldn’t stay alone until the killer was caught. Amber shouldn’t, either. He’d suggest they stay together, except Liv would probably drive Amber crazy.

  When the same ringtone sounded, Amber swiped the screen and put the phone to her ear. Judging from her side of the conversation, the deputy hadn’t found anyone. The killer seemed to have a knack for disappearing into thin air.

  Caleb watched Amber as she spoke. Her brows drew together.

  “That’s probably not a good idea. Maybe you can come over here and hang out. I’m off. We can stay inside.” She paused before continuing. “I understand. But until this guy is caught, we can’t be traipsing around like tourists.” Her eyes widened. “Unless...let me talk to Caleb and I’ll call you back.”

  Caleb’s stomach drew into a knot. “I don’t know what you have in mind, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like it.”

  “Liv wants to get away, hang out at the beach, maybe even rent one of those two-man kayaks.”

  His stomach twisted into a knot. “No way.”

  “This creep is going to strike again. We just don’t know when or where. This way, we’d be calling the shots. If he thinks Liv and I are vulnerable, he might make a move. We’ll have a chance of catching him before anyone else gets killed.”

  What she said made sense, but he still didn’t like it. “You’d be bait.”

  “We’re bait anyway.” She leaned against the counter and spread her arms, palms against the laminate surface. “You and Hunter can come along. We’ve already got law enforcement watching us all the time, anyway. With a little coordination, we could set a trap.”

  He heaved a sigh of resignation. “This isn’t my decision to make. I’ll see what everyone thinks.”

  After bidding her farewell, he walked to his truck, his gait stiff. What Amber had in mind was risky. But so was
waiting and doing nothing. He and Hunter would be armed and alert. Amber would be, too. They’d have undercover people around the beach and on the water. Everything would be open, so there’d be no opportunity for the killer to hide and take potshots from the woods.

  As he drove away from Cedar Key, the tightness gradually released its grip on his chest. Maybe this was what it would take to solve the case. Besides, spending the day with Amber had a lot of appeal, even though he’d be sharing the experience with Hunter and Liv. And a half dozen other law enforcement personnel.

  Or maybe it was because he was sharing the experience with the others. There’d be no expectations, no misunderstandings—no way it could be mistaken for a date.

  He stifled a snort. Who was he kidding? There wouldn’t be any misunderstandings on Amber’s part. She had her job, her animals and her volunteer activities. She didn’t have time for a relationship. She’d already told him that.

  No, it was his thoughts that kept drifting in that direction. The self-imposed loneliness was starting to get old.

  It had been four years. Maybe it was time. Maybe he should tell God that if He had a woman picked out for him, he might be open to the idea.

  It would take some getting used to. He’d move slowly. And God’s direction would have to be clear.

  Just please don’t let her be a cop.

  * * *

  The bell chimed and Amber crossed the room to swing open the door. Liv stood on her porch. The tank and cutoff jean shorts she wore made Amber’s shorts and T-shirt seem like granny clothes in comparison. But whatever message Liv’s clothing choices relayed, creases of worry lined her face. She’d likely gotten little sleep last night.

  Amber closed the door and led Liv into the living room where Hunter and Caleb waited. The cats had already disappeared. Three people occupying their space were two too many.

  Amber took a seat next to Caleb and Liv positioned herself near Hunter. Both guys were wearing their tourist label well with their khaki shorts and polo shirts. Caleb’s was an aqua blue that deepened the already amazing color of his eyes. His sandy-blond hair was casually tossed but not messy, further adding to his appeal.