“I had hoped that most people had, but no doubt this will bring it all back up again. After this gets out, I’m going to be labeled as Sheila’s boyfriend once more. I haven’t been that in a lot of years.”
“Coral has been rattling cages for a long time now, so I’m not surprised this has happened. I think she’s managed to get the media involved as well.”
Eli thought back on all the true crime shows he’d watched over the years. If they or the news media showed up and wanted to do an episode on Sheila’s disappearance, he would be thrust into the middle of it. Refusing to cooperate would no doubt make him look guilty. Just one more thing to think about.
“Anyway, go on back. Kieran’s in his office.”
“Thanks,” Eli said then made his way through the building to find Kieran.
Poking his head through the man’s open door, Eli spotted him sitting at his desk, perusing a thick file open in front of him. Eli rapped on the door frame and waited for Kieran to look up.
“Hey, Eli. Come on in.” Kieran got to his feet and waved him in. He held out his hand as Eli approached, giving it a firm shake. “Have a seat.”
Eli sank down in the same chair he’d used when he’d been there with Anna. “So what’s going on?”
“I just wanted to talk to you a bit about how things are probably going to unfold with us re-opening the investigation into Sheila’s disappearance.”
“Are you going to be the one running it?” Eli asked. The person who had led the investigation previously had been Kieran’s uncle, but he’d passed away several years earlier.
“In conjunction with the office in Everett.” Kieran closed the file in front of him and set it aside. “I’ll be present, but someone from Everett will be doing the actual interviews. Coral seems to feel that I am too close to people here to be objective and ask the tough questions.”
“I understand why you need to interview me again, but I’m wondering if you could limit the number of times I’m referred to as Sheila’s boyfriend. To be honest, even if Sheila hadn’t gone missing, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have still been her boyfriend.”
Kieran’s eyebrows rose at that. “Okay. Just hold that thought. We’ll dive into questions about that when we do our interview. I’m just now going through and rereading all the stuff in the file from back then.”
Eli didn’t want to have to go back in time, not when the present was so much more appealing, but it seemed inevitable. Over the years, he’d thought about that time around Sheila’s disappearance, often wondering if he’d missed something. If there had been something he should have mentioned to the cops that hadn’t seemed significant at the time. Nothing had ever come to mind, but perhaps someone asking a different set of questions might jog his memory.
“So did Anna get her car taken care of?” Kieran asked, obviously ready to move on from that subject for the time being.
“Yep. We dropped it off a bit ago, and she picked up a rental, so she has some wheels while she’s here. Hopefully whoever is behind this attack on her doesn’t decide to scratch up that car too.”
“Nothing else showed up overnight?”
“Nope. I did a check of the cars before we left this morning and didn’t find anything new. We’re all staying at the lodge, for the time being, just to be safe.” Eli paused. “No news on your end either?”
“Nope. Nothing.” A frustrated look settled on Kieran’s face. “I’m still waiting to hear back from my contact in LA, but after it became clear Cecelia wasn’t involved, there really wasn’t anyone else to question locally.”
Resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, Eli leaned forward slightly. “Do you think it’s over?”
“I would love to say yes, but clearly there was an escalation, moving from notes to the vandalism on the car. It would seem unlikely—if they don’t get what they want—that they’d just stop.”
“Unfortunately, that makes sense.” Eli slumped back in his chair.
Kieran stared at him for a moment before saying, “Is it possible that this is more about you than Anna?”
“What do you mean?”
“If her ex is in the clear, then you have to wonder what would motivate someone to want Anna gone. From what Cecelia said, she and others have noticed you’re spending more time with Anna than you’ve spent with any other woman.”
“She’s a guest at the lodge.”
“You’ve had many guests at the lodge, some that I’m sure would have loved to spend time with you,” Kieran said with a small smirk.
“It’s different since she’s the only one there at the moment, and she’s been helping us out with the cabins. She’s been spending time with my mom and Sarah too.”
Kieran considered him for a moment. “Well, if that’s the way you want to play it, let’s just say that no matter how you view it, there are others who might view it differently. Is there anyone here in town who has been interested in you, that you’ve rebuffed? Someone who might view Anna as a threat to them eventually having you?”
Eli frowned as he tried to think of any women who he had, over the years, noticed expressing some sort of interest in him. Any who had, to his knowledge, were now in relationships they appeared happy in or had left New Hope. None had seemed to be that put-out that he hadn’t returned their interest. The only one who had persisted in recent years was Cecilia. If it wasn’t her, Eli was at a loss.
“I don’t want to consider that someone with their sights set on me is targeting Anna with this type of threat or violence.” He rubbed a hand against his chest, feeling a tightening there. “I’m not worth that sort of obsession.”
“Obsession is never logical,” Kieran pointed out, then gave him a small smile. “Not saying you aren’t worth being obsessed over, just that usually the only one the obsession makes complete sense to is the person who is obsessed.”
“That makes this situation even scarier,” Eli said with a frown. “Because that means the person sees Anna as a real threat. Someone they need to get rid of, and if she doesn’t decide to leave on her own, they may hurt her.”
Kieran sat forward, resting his arms on his desk. “It’s a definite possibility, and one we may need to talk to her about if her ex comes back in the clear.”
Eli hated that they were caught in this situation. First, with the threats to Anna, telling her to go home, and now the re-opening of the investigation into Sheila’s disappearance. It felt like things were conspiring to drive them apart—not that they were together—but for the first time in years, he wanted to be together with someone.
Maybe, no matter how much he wanted this to be the time and Anna to be the person, it wasn’t going to work out. His heart thumped against his ribcage at the thought, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do all he could to keep her safe for as long as she chose to remain at the lodge.
Eli dragged his hand down his face. “I’ll try to keep a close eye on her and head off any more attempts to threaten her, if I can.”
“Don’t do anything that will put you in danger. Call if as you suspect something might be happening or if you find anything more like the notes or the vandalism.”
“I will. Thanks for your help with this,” Eli said.
“I’d say it’s my job, but you know it’s more than that.”
Eli did. They hadn’t been friends in their younger years, mainly because back then, the seven years difference in their ages had seemed immense. Now, with them both as adults, the age difference didn’t seem as significant. Their paths had begun to cross more often when Kieran had returned to New Hope to work in the sheriff’s office.
“I need to get going,” Eli said. “I told Anna I’d meet her at Norma’s for lunch, and I still want to stop in and see Pastor Evans.”
Kieran nodded as he got to his feet. “I’ll keep you posted about, well, everything. Hopefully we’ll be able to get you interviewed first so you can put that behind you.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” If it was a given he was
going to be interviewed, he’d rather have it done and out of the way sooner rather than later.
As he left the police station, Eli looked up at the sky to see that gray clouds had rolled in while he’d been talking with Kieran. He felt the spit of a few drops as he jogged to his truck. Once behind the wheel, he sent a text to the pastor to find out if he was at the church. His response came quickly, so when Eli backed out of the parking spot, he turned in the direction of the church.
A few minutes later, he walked through the back door of the church and headed straight for the pastor’s office. Though he couldn’t stay long, he wanted to touch base with the man.
“Hey there, Eli,” Pastor Evans said when he spotted him. He got up and came around his desk to give Eli a quick hug. “How are you doing?”
Eli slumped down onto the sofa that lined one wall of the pastor’s office. The older man sat down in the armchair across from him, a concerned look on his face. It didn’t take Eli long to recount everything that had gone on with Anna and the news of the upcoming interview with the detectives.
“I guess I’m not too surprised that the investigation has been re-opened. I just wish it was because new information had come to light. It seems a bit of a waste of time if there’s been no new evidence or sightings of her.”
“Yeah, but I guess Coral has been persuasive.”
“Coral has always been stubborn.”
“She sent Josie to see me the other day to try to convince me to reconsider my decision to not be part of the memorial this year.”
“And are you going to?” the pastor asked. “Or has Anna being here changed that?”
Eli nodded. “I find that for the first time, I’m wanting to look forward to the future. For too long, I was mired in the past, and then I was just content to take things day by day. Now, however, I want to maybe plan for a future. The only thing is, I’m just not sure it will work out for us since she lives in LA, and I live here.”
“Is she a Christian?” Pastor Evans asked. “You didn’t say.”
“I think so, yes, from things she’s said. It does seem like maybe she hasn’t been very active in a church though.”
“Maybe you need to find out if she’s interested as well, then both of you need to commit to praying that if it’s God’s will, things will work out according to His plan.”
Eli hadn’t allowed himself to dwell too much on the logistics of a relationship because when it came right down to it, Anna would have to be the one to move. There was no way he could leave his mom and the twins. But could Anna leave her home and business in LA? She seemed to be doing okay working remotely, but that might not work in the long-term.
Was it even worth trying to figure out?
The answer came to Eli as he walked into his aunt’s restaurant a short time later. Yes. He knew he came with baggage, old and new, but then she did too. The question was, would their combined baggage make a relationship impossible? Would her career be able to handle the whiff of another scandal if someone should dig up his connection to a missing person’s case? Could he handle the attention that might end up being shone down on him if it all came out and her audience got wind of it?
Anna smiled at him as he approached the booth where she waited for him. “There was only one seat available at the counter, so your aunt told me to sit here. I hope that’s okay.”
He returned her smile, surprised at how easily it came, and settled onto the seat across from her. “That’s perfectly fine. Did you order?”
“Just drinks.” She waved at the glass that sat on the table in front of him. “I’m pretty sure that’s what you usually get.”
Spotting the familiar wedge of lemon on the top of the glass of iced tea, Eli nodded. Even if she had ordered the wrong thing, Missy would have brought him his usual, but he appreciated that Anna had paid enough attention to make the right choice.
He picked it up and took a sip. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
She beamed at him, her eyes sparkling. “I drew the line at ordering for you. Although maybe Missy already knows what you eat for lunch on this day of the week.”
Her laughter after that comment made his smile grow. Even though she was dealing with stress in her life, she was still happy and able to laugh. Eli wanted to capture that laughter and joy and hold it close. Forever.
If only the reality surrounding them would just give them a chance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Eli’s breath caught as his heart skipped a beat with the realization that he wanted nothing more than to have Anna in his life way beyond just a couple of weeks. He wanted lunches where she knew exactly what to order for him. He wanted to be able to help her with any problems that might arise. He wanted to see her smile and her joy-filled face every single day. He wanted to smile in a way only she could make him. He wanted all of that and more.
“Missy definitely does know what I want on any given day,” Eli said with a chuckle. “I’m nothing if not predictable when it comes to my food here.”
“I can understand why. I haven’t eaten here that often and already I have my favorites.”
Which she proved when Missy returned to their table to ask what they wanted, and she ordered chicken strips and fries. Missy checked that he wanted the cheeseburger and fries, winking at Anna as she did.
“I guess you didn’t get too lost,” Eli observed once Missy had finished taking their orders and left them alone.
“Not even once,” she assured him. “I got what I needed done and was on my way back when the drizzle turned into full-on rain.”
“Welcome to the Pacific Northwest.”
“I can’t say I hate it,” Anna said. “I mean, I like the sun, but the rain is a nice change. Do you get a lot of it?”
“I suppose compared to LA, we do. I don’t even notice it that much since it’s what I’ve known my whole life. Fall is definitely wetter than summer though, and we’re heading into our wettest time of year.”
“How does that affect the Fall Festival? What if it rains?”
“People dress for it, and we set up booths in such a way that people can take cover if it gets too bad. In the event of an all-out rainstorm, we move what we can into the community center.”
“How often has that happened?”
“I think it’s been more than ten years since we had to go to those lengths.”
“Well, here’s hoping it’s not a rainy day because I want the full experience.”
The idea of Anna still being there in a couple of weeks filled him with warmth. He found he was looking forward to walking around the festival with her, and he hoped that she was still around for the Christmas Market too.
When Missy returned with their food, Eli said a prayer of thanks for it, then they dug in, eating in silence for a few minutes. Eli glanced around the restaurant to see who was sitting closest to them. Thankfully, the nearest tables were filled with high school students who weren’t paying them any attention.
“I stopped in to talk with Kieran when I got back.”
Anna’s expression sobered as she picked up a fry. “Is there a development with the notes?”
He shook his head. “He’s still waiting to hear back from LA, but when we talked, he expressed concern that even though they didn’t do anything last night, it’s unlikely that whoever it is would just drop their vendetta. They’ve already escalated from the notes to vandalism, so they probably won’t stop until they get what they want.”
“I suppose that makes some sort of sense, but it’s not terribly pleasant to think about.”
Eli looked at her, taking in the small pinch between her brows and wishing he could say the words that would clear away her anxiety. Unfortunately, if he wanted to be honest with her about the investigation, he had to add to it. “Also, he mentioned that if your ex is cleared, that maybe it’s because of me you’re being targeted.”
Anna’s brows drew together even further. “What do you mean?”
“He said it was possible th
at your presence in my life has made someone feel possessive of me.”
“Like a woman who wants you and thinks because I’m here, she can’t have you?”
“Yeah. Basically. I don’t know who it could be, but Kieran seems to think it’s a valid idea.”
“You don’t have any ex-girlfriends? Or women who are interested in you?”
“Just one ex-girlfriend. Any of the women who were interested in me have all moved on to other guys or don’t live here anymore.”
“So why hasn’t this person targeted any of the other women you’ve spent time with?” Anna asked. “What makes me so special?”
Eli stared down at his burger, heat rising in his cheeks as his pulse began to race. “I haven’t spent time with a woman in a long time. Usually, I’m just with female family members. But with you…well, people have seen us in here and around town together, not to mention the gossip of you being out at the lodge helping us.”
Anna didn’t say anything right away, so Eli looked up. She was regarding him with a curious expression. “So you’re making an exception for me because I’m from out of town and by myself?”
He thought about taking the out she was giving him, but he found he didn’t want to. “No. I’m making an exception for you because I want to spend time with you. I enjoy spending time with you.”
“I enjoy spending time with you too.” A smile bloomed on her face. “A lot.”
Part of Eli balked at revealing even that little bit about how he felt about her. With so much still unsaid between them, it didn’t seem exactly wise to be talking about feelings like that. He might not have said I feel this way about you yet, but just admitting that he hadn’t spent time with many ladies and that he liked spending time with her, said a lot.
“Between what you’ve told me of your life in LA and how you were raised, I’m curious how you became a Christian,” Eli asked, feeling the need to know more about her now that it seemed they were moving in a new, more personal, direction. “I mean, I hope I didn’t make a wrong assumption from things you’ve said.”
A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1) Page 20