Stormy felt a cold shiver go up her spine. She rubbed her arms, and the motion drew Max's attention. "What's wrong, hon?" she asked, turning to look over the seat at her.
"Just a chill." Max narrowed her eyes, and Stormy hurried on. "That would be a likely place for a stranger in town to stop, don't you think?"
The visitor center was behind them now, but Max looked back at it. "Good point. We should check it out"
Stormy nodded, glad that Max was now distracted from worrying over her. She watched as Max rummaged in her shoulder bag for a notepad and jotted something on it. Probably a reminder to snoop around that visitor center.
They drove on through the town, which seemed to be little more than a few houses, leading up to a strip that apparently comprised the "business district." They drove by a gas station/convenience store, a doughnut shop, a hardware store, a small grocery, a pharmacy and a post office. Lots of brick buildings—nearly all of them were brick, in fact. It made for a neat, orderly facade, even if there were weeds and grass sprouting between the sections of sidewalk. One of those brick buildings seemed to house several offices, including the one that had Endover Police Department painted on the pebbled glass in the door.
There was little traffic, only one light. A handful of people walked along the sidewalks in groups of two or three.
The short strip of businesses came to an abrupt end, with a handful of homes, the elementary school and a long, winding strip of nothing. Trees lined the road, and now and then she caught glimpses of the ocean beyond them.
She glanced down at her driving directions. "That motel should be coming up in a couple of miles. I'll call Jay and tell him we're nearly there."
"No you won't,” Max said. She held up her cell phone, to show her the screen. "No reception. Hasn't been since we got into town."
"Makes you wonder,” Lou said, “how Jason's sister managed to call him from here."
Max tipped her head to one side. "There could be spotty reception somewhere. Or maybe she has a different company or a more powerful phone than any of ours."
"Or maybe she was never here."
Max was already a little irritated with him, and by the way her face darkened, Stormy knew she'd just shifted that up a notch. He should have stuck to his policy of keeping quiet.
"What are you saying, Lou?" Max asked. "That Jason made it up?"
At her tone, Lou shot her a sideways look. "I'm not calling him a liar. He might just be mistaken."
"Not likely. He's got an IQ that falls somewhere between genius and freak. And he wouldn't lie to me, Lou. He's one of my dearest friends"
"Was one of your dearest friends. You haven't seen or heard from him in, what? Five years now?" He sighed. "People change, Maxie."
"Not Jason."
He pursed his lips, sent her a lingering look. "Maybe not. I hope not. I just want you to be careful."
That was better, Stormy thought. If Max thought he was only being protective of her, she would let just about anything slide.
Then the idiot added, “Don’t go charging in half-cocked the way you usually do."
Max's jaw went tight, and she faced front, not saying a word.
Damn, Stormy thought. He blew it.
They parked the car in the lot of the North Star Motor Lodge. The L-shaped building that housed the guest rooms was tan with brown trim and seemed well kept. A concrete sidewalk unrolled in front of it, and each door had a gold number on the front. The motel office was a small square structure that stood apart from the rest. A freshly mown lawn spread out around the blacktop and held a handful of picnic tables. Behind the motel, she glimpsed a shaggy meadow backed by woods. But when she got out of the car, she could smell the ocean and knew it must be close.
The three of them strode up to room number two and knocked on the door.
Jason opened it, and Stormy sucked in a breath and then pressed a hand to her mouth. He sported a deep purple half moon under one swollen eye. His lower lip was split. A bruise on his cheekbone stood out darker than the rest of his skin.
"What the hell happened to you?" Maxie blurted. "You look like you went ten rounds with a bear."
He lifted his brows, opened his arms. "Not even a hello before you start with the questions, Mad Maxie?"
Max hugged him briefly. Then she stepped back, and he turned to Stormy. "Long time, huh?"
"Too long,” she said. He embraced her—more tentatively than he had embraced Max, though. But suddenly white light blasted the center of Stormy's brain—blinding and hot. She jerked her arms tightly around Jason in reaction and slammed her eyes closed against the flash, but the images came anyway. Fists pounded her face. She felt the blows, and the sharp toe of a booted foot in her rib cage. And then it was gone.
She released Jason, only to find him staring at her oddly. Sure he was—he couldn't know why she'd hugged him as if trying to break him in two just now. She stepped awkwardly out of his arms. Lou extended a hand.
"Beck."
"Hello, Lou. It's good to see you."
"I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances,” Lou said.
"So what happened to you?" Max asked.
Jason ran a hand over his nape. "Idiocy, that's all. I was out in the woods, looking for Delia,” he said. "Not a real bright idea in the dark. I took a bad fall."
Lou frowned, shooting a quick look at Max, his lips thin. Stormy didn't think he believed Jason had gotten those bruises from a fall, and she knew damn well she didn't. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she was pretty sure that flash she'd just experienced had been a look at what had really happened to him.
"Why were you looking for her in the woods?" Lou asked.
"It seemed like as good a place to look as any." He opened the door wider, stepping aside. "Come on in. Now that you're here, maybe you'll come up with a better idea."
"Does that mean you want us on the case, Jay?" Max asked.
"That's why I called you, Maxie. And I don't expect a free ride, either. I'll pay whatever you charge."
"I'd do it for free."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that. I couldn't, Max."
"Then we'll give you our special rate—for old friends and former members," Max said with a wink. "Don't worry, Jason. We're here now, and we'll find Delia. Doesn't matter that we're new to this—'cause we aren't. Not really. Just new to doing it on an official level. And it doesn't matter that a missing teenager isn’t our area of expertise. We'll find her, because we care more than anyone else would. And that's gonna make all the difference."
Jason met Maxie's eyes, but he couldn't seem to hold her gaze for more than a beat or two. He quickly lowered his, then stepped aside so they could troop into his motel room. It was tiny, with a queen-size bed, TV stand and bathroom. Not a hell of a lot more. Jason had a map laid out on the bed, hand-drawn on a large sheet of white paper that might once have been a take-out food bag.
As they gathered around it, Jason leaned down and pointed. "This is the road into town. There's an information center right here."
Stormy nodded. "We saw it on the way here."
Lou said, “Jason, what makes you think your sister is here, in Endover?"
He frowned as he looked up at Lou. "I…it's where she was when she called."
"Are you sure? We haven't been able to pick up any reception for a couple of miles now."
Jason nodded firmly. "I'm sure."
"Why? What makes you so sure?"
Max sent Lou a quelling look. "If he says he's sure, he's sure, Lou."
"He said her message was broken up, full of static"
"Still—"
"It's okay, Max," Jason put a hand on her shoulder. "I did hear her pretty clearly when she said `Endover, New Hampshire , ' Lou. And the bad reception here is probably why the call was so choppy, and why we got cut off. If anything, it makes me even more certain I heard her correctly." He shrugged. "Since she hasn't called again, I'm assuming she's still someplace where she can't call out. Still her
e, in Endover."
"How could she call again? Your cell phone isn't working here, is it?" Lou asked.
Jason's gaze shifted from the bed, to the dresser, to the window. "I…no. It's not. But she hasn't called home, either. I've been checking the machine."
"Have you asked anyone around town about her?"
"I, uh—I talked with the police chief."
Lou frowned. "When was that?"
"Right after I arrived here."
Nodding slowly, Lou said, “Before you called us?"
"Right."
"Then why did you say you didn't want the police involved?"
"Lou, that's enough." Max barked the words at him. He sent her a look of impatience, but he stopped grilling Jason.
Jason lowered his head, pushed his hands through his hair. "Look, I barely know if I'm coming or going here. I went to the Endover police because it seemed like the thing to do. It was a waste of time, though. There's only one cop in town and he was no help at all. I figured I'd have to do this on my own." He looked from one face to the next, as if trying to read them.
Stormy thought Lou was suspicious as hell of Jason. And she wasn't entirely sure she didn't agree with him. Max, on the other hand, seemed to believe him—clearly she wanted to. She kept touching his arm, his shoulder, as if to comfort him.
Stormy turned to the other two. "Where do you want to start?"
"I'd like to see that visitor center,” Max said. "I think you were right, Storm. She could have stopped there for directions or something."
"The visitor center is closed,” Jay said. "I stopped there on the way into town. The place is abandoned." "Then we can case the town, check for any other place where she might have stopped. Diners, gas stations, that sort of thing."
Lou nodded. "I'd like to talk to the local police chief myself, see what he has to offer. Helpful or not, it's a good idea to let him know we're here and we're looking for her, put him on alert to keep an eye out and contact us if anything turns up."
"There's no point, Lou,” Jason said. "The local cop doesn't even believe she was ever here."
"It won't hurt anything to talk to him," Lou said. "What was she driving?"
"Little red Neon,” Jason said. "Only two years old." He swallowed hard. "She works part-time waiting tables to make her payments."
"You have the plate number?" Lou asked.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"So we can have the local cop keep an eye out for the car, too. Like I said, it can't hurt."
Max stroked Jason's upper arm. "Lou's right, hon. We should use every resource we can, even if it does seem unlikely to pan out." She glanced at Stormy. "I think we should run a check on this town. See if anything like this has happened before."
"I'll get the laptop out of the car," Stormy replied.
Lou put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her even as she turned to go. "Let's book ourselves some rooms first, huh? Set the computer up in one of them?"
Stormy heard it in his voice, loud and clear. He didn't trust Jason. He wanted a place where they could talk without him hearing every word. "All right."
"I'll take care of the rooms," Max said.
Lou shot her a look and seemed about to say something, then bit it back. Maxie rolled her eyes at him. "A double for me and Stormy, and a single for you," she told him. "That suit you, Lou?"
"Fine." He pulled out a wallet, reached for a credit card.
Max put a hand over his. "This is going on the company card,” she said. "It's our first official case." She headed off to book the rooms.
Lou sighed, turned and went after her. Stormy didn't blame him. She was liable to have him sharing a bed with her if he didn't keep an eye on things. And he'd pissed her off all morning without even meaning to.
Once they had gone and she found herself alone in the room with Jason, she cleared her throat. He walked to the bed, folded up his map.
"Is it going to be hard, working with me?" she asked.
He looked up at her, sent her a sad smile. "If I have trouble working with every girl who ever turned me down, Stormy, I'm in for a pretty tough existence. No. It'll be fine."
She thinned her lips.
"I heard you'd been in the hospital," he said. "Nothing serious, I hope."
She shrugged. "Bullet to the head, a few days in a coma, no big deal."
He swung around to face her, his features expressionless. "Tell me you're kidding."
"'Fraid not," she said. "But it's okay, really. I'm fine now." She wasn't. Far from it, in fact, but that wasn't anything he needed to know.
"Someone shot you?"
She nodded.
"Who, for God's sake?"
"The bad guy." She rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, who did you think?"
"Jesus, Storm, how can you joke about something like this?"
"Because it doesn't matter, that's how. It's over. History. Gone." God, she wished that were true.
Jason came closer to her, reached up a hand to brush it lightly through her hair. She lifted one of her own to cover it, guided it to the spot where he could feel the misshapen bump, the scar. When he did, his eyes fell closed. "I'd have come if I'd known."
"Max was there. Until she had to go after the jerk who did it, at least."
"Did she get him?"
"Not entirely. She fucked up his plans, saved some people he'd intended to hurt as much as he hurt me, set him back a whole lot, but in the end, he got away." She shrugged. "Someone will put him in the ground sooner or later."
Jason let his hand remain in her hair a moment longer than he needed to, but then he lowered it slowly. "It means a lot to me, your coming down here like this," he said.
"We couldn't not come."
"I know." He lowered his head, paced away from her. "I knew that when I called you. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, I want you to know that."
"That's an odd thing to say. No one here has any reason to want to hurt me. Do they, Jason?"
"No. Of course not, it's just well, hell, you got hurt on your last case, didn't you?"
She frowned, searching his face, wondering why the stupid flashes that came at the most inopportune times weren't coming now, when she would have liked them to. If they turned out to be some sort of…of psychism, she would have liked a clue about whatever it was Jason wasn't saying.
But then Max and Lou were back. "Lou's in four and we're in three,” Max called, holding up a diamond-shape plastic key ring with a worn-out numeral on its face and a copper-colored key dangling from the end. "Got you an extra key, Storm, but the pimply-faced adolescent in the office says we're dead meat if we lose it."
"That would be Gary ,” Jason said.
"I didn't like him," Max informed him.
"I guessed that already." Jason smiled at her. "You haven't changed a bit, Max. God, it's good to see you."
"You, too," she replied with a smile. Then she hugged him, more firmly than she had before. "It's gonna be okay, Jay."
Lou cleared his throat. "Let's go visit with the local police chief. Best to coordinate with him from the get-go. Even if he isn't any help."
Jason seemed to want to argue, but he changed his mind.
Max nodded. "Maybe we can get some lunch while we're at it? My belly button is touching my backbone."
"There's a diner across the road, just a little ways up. And another near the police station in town,” Jason said. "I'll give the chief a call and let him know we're coming."
"If it's okay with you guys, I'm gonna stay here,” Stormy said. "I can get settled into our room and maybe catch a nap"
Max frowned at her. Stormy told her with a swift glance not to start in with the "Are you okay?" refrain, and Max, reading that look, kept quiet. "I'll bring you back a sandwich,” she said instead.
"Thanks."
Chief Fieldner had red, scraped knuckles. Maxie noticed it right off the bat. She also noticed his pale skin, gaunt face, beady eyes and the mustache that cried out to be trimmed. It hung, white and gray
, like a walrus's whiskers, drooping to his chin on either side of his mouth. She didn't like him. And she told Lou so the first time the man left their presence, ostensibly to go look through some files or something.
"I don't like him,” she whispered. Short and to the point.
She was sitting in one of two chairs in front of Fieldner's spotless, tiger-maple desk. Jason sat beside Max, and Lou stood, his eyes working the room like hawks at a pigeon farm. Though there wasn't a hell of a lot to see. Couple of phones, a bulletin board with six layers of posters and memos pinned to it. A wall's worth of filing cabinets and a coffeepot.
His busy eyes slid to hers then. "What's not to like? He's no prime hunk of youth,” he said with a pointed look toward Jason, “but—"
"Jesus, Lou, look at him." Max pretended not to notice the look he sent Jason. If he was a little jealous, fine. Better than fine. But she seriously doubted it was anything like that. He didn't like Jason. Hadn't from the moment he'd heard his voice on the phone, and his dislike and distrust seemed to be growing with every minute he spent in Jason's presence. She couldn't do anything about that right now, so she kept her focus on the matter at hand. The only cop in Endover. "If it wasn't daylight outside, I'd peg him for a vamp, no question. And I don't mean the good kind. Lily-white skin just hanging off his bones like sheets on a clothesline. Nothing underneath. No fat or muscle or… soul. And those eyes."
"Vamp?" Jason stared at her, his eyes widening.
"As in vampire," Max whispered.
Lou glanced toward the door through which the cop had gone. The only thing visible back there were file boxes stacked high.
"You don't suppose he's found some way to over-come the natural aversion to daylight, do you?" Maxie whispered.
"Jesus, Max, you don't actually believe in that sort of thing. Do you?" Jason asked.
Maxie and Lou both looked at him. Max said, “You’ve missed a lot since you've been gone, pal."
"I hope you're planning to fill me in."
Lou jumped in before Max could answer, steering her back to their conversation. "You're jumping to conclusions, Max. You've got no evidence that Fieldner's a vamp. You're just wrought up about Stormy begging off the way she did."
Wings of the Night 08 Blue Twilight Page 7