Reunited by Danger

by Carol J. Post

  Liv wrinkled her nose and lifted her upper lip as if she’d smelled something pungent. “I went back to her house later and asked her to go for a ride with me. When we got to a wooded area, I made her get out of the car. I had my gun, but I decided that was too quick and painless for her and used the baseball bat instead.”

  An involuntary shudder shook Amber’s shoulders. “Why?”

  “She let the guys use her scarf to tie Landon’s hands. Because of that he couldn’t defend himself.”

  Liv leaned against the dresser. “With Mona gone, I still needed to take care of Vince and locate you, Alex and Ray.

  “So you posed as Mona on Facebook and sent each of us messages to come to the reunion.”

  “It was perfect timing, a way to observe you all at once. And I saw you had completely moved past what you’d done. Not one of you was mourning his passing.”

  “I guarantee you, it has haunted every one of us. We just hid it well.”

  “None of you mourned him like you should have. That’s why I had to step in, to get justice for Landon.”

  Amber shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Liv was behind everything—the Facebook messages, the poems, the deaths. The fire...

  Amber’s eyes widened. “You set the fire, didn’t you?”

  “You were supposed to stay asleep.”

  Amber dredged up the details of that night, the trouble she’d had waking up, the fogginess she’d blamed on chemicals she’d inhaled. Realization slammed into her. Liv had poured them each a glass of orange juice before bed.

  “You drugged my juice.”

  Liv didn’t respond. A heavy silence settled over the room, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of the wind-up alarm clock on the nightstand. Caleb was due to arrive around six for dinner. What was it now? Five fifteen? Five thirty?

  She didn’t dare turn to check. Liv knew as well as she did that when Caleb arrived he’d come looking for them. Any reminder might encourage Liv to speed up what she felt she needed to do. Meanwhile, she’d try to keep Liv talking. “How did you get away without anyone seeing you when we had law enforcement guarding us twenty-four-seven?”

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t that difficult. I have my brother’s old pickup. Shortly after starting all this, I made up a temporary tag and moved it into the woods on the vacant lot behind my house. All I had to do was wait until the cop outside walked around the side of the house. Then I slipped out the back door and hid behind the hedge. Once I got to the corner, it was a short jog to the trees. The truck has worked great for transporting my kayak, too.”

  Liv had a kayak? That explained how she was able to get off the island and hide out while Amber had investigated the two suspicious calls. With all the little islands surrounded by mangroves, disappearing had been easy.

  “The Fourth of July—you were out at my uncle’s place, weren’t you?”

  Instead of responding, Liv shifted her gaze to the nightstand. “I saw you looking at my journal. What do you think of my poetry?”

  “It’s good. I didn’t know you wrote poetry.”

  “It’s a more recent hobby. One of my therapists recommended that I start journaling, writing down my feelings. This is much more creative.”

  Amber nodded slowly. The whole scene seemed surreal. It was like a casual conversation between friends. Except for the gun.

  Liv’s gaze drifted past her and Amber eyed the door six feet away. If she inched closer, Liv may not notice. But she’d never be able to swing it open unless something distracted Liv.

  “I was in love with him, you know.” Liv’s words cut into her thoughts. “I’d had a crush on him since seventh grade. But I lost my heart to him our senior year. We had algebra together. We spent hours staying after school, working on assignments.”

  Amber swallowed hard. “I had no idea you had feelings for him. I thought he was just tutoring you.”

  Liv’s gaze snapped to Amber’s face and her lips pulled back in a sneer. “Do you really think I needed all that help? I’m not stupid, you know. It was an excuse to be able to spend time with him.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “Three weeks before graduation, I finally got up the nerve to tell him how I felt. You know what he did?”

  Liv’s voice was raised, but with the door closed and the room being at the far end of the hall, it wouldn’t carry all the way down to the deputy.

  “He snubbed me. And I know why.” Both her tone and her eyes were filled with accusation. “It was because he had his eye on you. You ruined everything.”

  Amber’s jaw dropped. “He raped you.”

  Liv continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “We could’ve had something special if you hadn’t gotten in the way.”

  “How can you say that? Are you forgetting he raped you?”

  “No.”

  The single word was soft but somehow heavy with meaning. A seed of doubt sprouted in Amber’s chest, the sense that Liv had kept something important from her.

  “No, what?” That she hadn’t forgotten? Or was no the answer to an entirely different question, one she didn’t know to ask?

  “Landon never raped me.”

  Amber stepped backward, the air whooshing out of her lungs. She’d just taken a steel-toed boot to the gut. A rape that had never taken place had caused an innocent young man’s death. Her jaw dropped open but no sound came out.

  Liv’s eyes dipped to the hardwood floor. “I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing you two together. So I made up the story about the rape, knowing you wouldn’t go out with him if you believed he’d raped me.”

  Amber leaned against the nightstand, her legs feeling as if the bones had dissolved. “I wouldn’t have gone out with him if you’d told me you had feelings for him.”

  “I didn’t think it through. That was my spur-of-the-moment response. I had no idea the guys would react the way they did. I tried to stop them.”

  When Liv’s eyes again met Amber’s, tears had gathered on her lower lashes. “The guys and Mona have paid for their sins. Now it’s just you and me.”

  Liv raised her left arm to take a two-handed grip.

  Amber’s pulse shot to double time and panic pounded up her spine. “You think I haven’t grieved over what happened to Landon, but I have. As much as you have. For the last ten years I’ve run like a crazy person, trying to stay a step ahead of the guilt and regret always dogging me. I finally found relief this afternoon. You can, too.”

  Amber held out a hand and moved slowly forward. Somewhere in the distance, a step creaked. Was the deputy coming up the stairs? Had something tipped him off? Or was she hearing the old house settle?

  Another creak sounded. Someone was definitely approaching. And trying to be stealthy. She had to distract Liv.

  She took another step forward, arm extended. “Lower the gun. We’ll get you some help. It doesn’t have to be like this.” She took another step.

  “Stop!” The word was like the crack of a whip.

  Amber froze and Liv continued. “You’ve been so nice to me. I don’t want you to suffer.”

  “Then don’t do this.”

  “It was your text that got Landon out there, so you need to pay. But I’ll make it sure and quick, a bullet straight through the heart.”

  “If you shoot me, the cop downstairs will be in here in about ten seconds flat.”

  “And he’ll find us both dead. After I kill you, the next bullet is for me.”

  There was another footfall in the hall and another, both almost soundless. Whoever was there would be close enough now to hear their conversation. God, please let them get here in time.

  “I’m sorry, Amber. Thank you for all you’ve tried to do.”

  As Liv took aim, the door crashed inward. Liv swung the weapon around and fired at the same
time that Amber flung herself onto the bed and rolled. A second later she landed on the floor with a thud. Pain shot through her shoulder. A pillow lay on the floor beside her, apparently tossed aside by Liv during the night.

  She looked under the bed. With nothing stored there, she had a clear view of the entire room, at least the lower few inches. Six feet away, Liv stood facing the door, weapon probably trained on the splintered opening. The only feet visible were hers. The deputy had apparently stayed in the hall.

  “I have to do this.” Conviction weighted the words. “I won’t let you stop me. We both have to pay.”

  Liv fired off another shot. Amber watched her sidestep closer. Another shot rang out and she took a few more steps. She now stood less than three feet away, toenails painted in a playful design that didn’t belong on the feet of a killer.

  Another step brought Liv even closer. At any moment she’d move around the end of the bed and have a clear shot.

  Amber looked frantically around for something with which to defend herself. The lamp on the nightstand was too far away and was likely plugged in. There was nothing under or beside the bed except the pillow.

  Liv took another sideways step. Judging from the position of her feet, her attention was still on the door. It was now or never.

  Amber snatched the pillow from the floor and sprang to her feet. In one smooth motion, she brought the pillow over her head and down on Liv’s arm as Liv swung the weapon around.

  The shot reverberated in the room. Caleb charged though the doorway and slammed into Liv, knocking her to the floor. The pistol skidded to a stop against the wall.

  Amber grabbed it and looked around the room. Tiny feathers drifted downward to settle on the rumpled comforter, a hole blown through the fabric. Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. Then three deputies burst into the room. One unclipped a set of handcuffs from his belt and dropped to one knee beside Caleb, who had restrained Liv.

  Liv twisted her head to the side and lifted her face from the floor, her eyes locking with Amber’s. Tears streaked her cheeks. “Two more and the debt would have been paid. I was so close.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head. “I’m sorry, Landon.”

  The deputy clicked the cuffs around Liv’s wrists and helped her to her feet. Amber leaned against the windowsill, her legs suddenly ready to give out.

  Caleb rose. He reached her in two large strides, wrapped her in his arms and held her as if he’d never let go. And she didn’t want him to. She lifted her arms to embrace him and rested her face against his muscular chest.

  Behind Caleb, one of the deputies was reading Liv her Miranda rights. Liv was surprisingly quiet.

  Amber listened as footsteps retreated, through the doorway, down the hall and down the steps. And still Caleb held her.

  Her eyes stung and she squeezed them shut. She was not going to cry. But the harder she tried to stop them, the more the tears came. Through everything, she’d held not only herself together but Liv, too. Now that it was no longer necessary, her innate inner strength had deserted her. Silent sobs shook her shoulders.

  Caleb’s grip tightened and he twisted her side to side in a soothing rocking motion. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now.” One hand came up to stroke her hair.

  But the sobs wouldn’t stop. She cried for Liv, whose miserable life had been doomed almost from birth. She cried for their friends, whose bad choices had sealed their deaths. And she cried for Landon, who hadn’t done anything wrong and had lost his life to a lie.

  Finally the sobs subsided, but Caleb didn’t break the hug, so she didn’t pull away, either. This was likely her last evening with him, so she was going to relish every moment.

  It was over. In the morning, or maybe even tonight, she’d go back to Cedar Key. She’d return to her old life and Caleb would, too. Caleb wasn’t interested in a relationship, with her or anyone. After tonight, their paths would likely never cross again.

  The thought sent a pang into her heart as sharp as broken glass.

  And every bit as painful.

  TWELVE

  Caleb tied off a plastic Walmart bag. Two others sat next to it, all three holding Olivia’s possessions. Except the journal. The deputies had taken that into evidence.

  When offered the choice between leaving or staying another night, Amber had been anxious to go home. At least to her temporary home with Hunter. Her own house wouldn’t be livable for some time. If ever.

  After sharing some pizza, they’d set about packing. The salad fixings he’d brought were sitting in the refrigerator, still in the bags.

  Amber bent to pick up the pillow lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. “I’m afraid the comforter will need to be replaced. The mattress probably will, too.” She tossed the pillow she held toward the headboard. “I think this pillow might have saved my life.”

  Caleb grinned. “I can’t believe you defended yourself with a pillow.”

  “It gave me enough extended reach to deflect her shot until you could get inside and take her down.” She shrugged, a grin quivering at the corner of her mouth. “Besides, I’m quite experienced with pillows as weapons. While you guys were doing campouts, us girls were having slumber parties, all of which included the obligatory pillow fight.”

  Caleb picked up the three bags sitting on the bed with one hand and Liv’s purse with the other. “We’ll locate Liv’s family and try to get her stuff to them.”

  Amber nodded. “Her mother is pretty worthless, but I’m hoping her brother will step up. According to Liv, they’ve roomed together off and on. Some of the stuff at her house might even belong to him. I know the truck does.”

  After the deputies left, Amber had filled him in on everything. When she’d told him about the truck, the last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. Liv had been slipping in and out of her house right under the noses of the deputies. Telling them she had the flu and was going to bed guaranteed they wouldn’t question seeing no signs of movement inside the house.

  Caleb headed toward the stairs, Amber walking ahead of him. Halfway there, she snagged some bags from the doorway of the other bedroom, those filled with her own items.

  She stopped at the top of the stairs. “If her brother doesn’t want her stuff, I suppose it’ll be thrown away. No one else cares about her.” She cast him a glance over her shoulder. “I plan to stay in touch.”

  Admiration swelled inside him, mixed with a hefty dose of amazement. Liv had just tried to kill her, but even that couldn’t curb Amber’s sympathetic nature. “You still want to help her, don’t you?”

  Amber started down the stairs. “Liv never had a chance. She was stuck with a mother who didn’t want her and a series of stepfathers who considered her nothing but a big inconvenience. She spent her whole life looking for love and acceptance but never found it.”

  He followed, shaking his head. Amber was always thinking of those less fortunate. It was something they had in common. And something he loved about her.

  She reached the foyer then watched him descend the final few steps. “In a desperate attempt to hold on to a shot at something special with Landon, she’d blurted out a lie that ended up getting him killed. The secret has eaten at her for the past ten years. When she reconnected with each of us and thought we’d all moved on with no regrets while she’d been racked with guilt, it pushed her over the edge.”

  Amber opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. “I hope she finds the help she needs.”

  After they’d loaded the items into Amber’s SUV, they walked back toward the house. “I never did ask you how you knew something was up. I’d been racking my brain for a way to alert someone without getting shot, but couldn’t come up with anything. When I heard someone sneaking up the stairs, I couldn’t believe it.”

  Caleb led her inside. “On the way over here, I was mulling everyth
ing over in my mind, trying to think of something we’d overlooked. We were sure the killer was someone you all knew. He or she had to be an extremely good shot, too, to have killed the deputy in a moving vehicle. I remembered you saying Liv had competed in marksmanship and won tournaments. She’s always seemed a little off, but lately it had gotten much worse.”

  He followed Amber into the family room where she began to put books into a bag. “Then I thought about her tattoo, the fact that she had a treble clef circling her initials even though she’s never been involved in music. I remembered the treble clef Landon had drawn after his signature. One thought led to another and I questioned the LC she had tattooed on her back. I don’t think it stood for Liv Chamberlain.”

  Amber straightened to look at him, her brows drawn together. “What else would—” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Landon Cleary.”

  He nodded. “It makes complete sense now that she’s admitted to being in love with him.”

  Amber walked toward him with the bag of books. She’d kept one out. “I got two of these read and I’m half done with this one.” She held up the single book. “I’d like to finish it, if you don’t mind. I can return it to you when I’m through.” Her gaze dipped to the floor. “Or, if you’d rather, I can take it directly to the library.”

  He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Over the past hour they’d talked about all their hypotheses of the case, everything they’d pieced together and how good it felt for it to finally be over. The one thing they hadn’t discussed was What next?

  Frankly, he had no answer.

  Amber handed him the bag, then brushed past him to cross the foyer. After laying the book on the living room coffee table, she picked up a stack of DVDs and stuffed them into another plastic bag. When she’d put away all the movies, she held up the sermon CD he’d loaned her. She was smiling.

  He raised his brows. “Did you listen to it?”