I nodded. “A lot. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me.”
“Anyone else?” I bit my lip and looked down at my hands. “You mean Deja?” I nodded. “Deja didn’t get hurt because of you, Charlie. Someone killed her before they put her in your car. She was already dead.”
I looked up, surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Doc says there was no smoke in her lungs. Her throat was crushed.”
“She was strangled?”
“Looks like it. But you didn’t hear this from me, you understand?” He looked at his watch. “I have to get to the station. The guys know about the restraining order, so they’re going to be keeping an eye on your place to make sure he doesn’t violate it. We can’t be here all the time, though.”
“I know. Please tell them I said thank you.”
“How are you physically?”
“Hurts like hell. Dr. Lance said the best thing I can do is just rest.”
“Then do it. Looks like you are in good hands,” Braden said, standing up. “Do you like him?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“He’s a good man. I like him.”
“What about you and Sydney? Do you like her?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
I laughed. “Ask her out already.”
“Yes ma’am!” he said, giving me a mock salute. “Just be careful, Charlie. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Would you ask them to come back in on your way out?”
My conversation with my brother did not make me feel better. Anyone know where I can buy a one-way ticket to Kalamazoo?
Chapter 16
His description of Cash’s reaction worried me. I’d seen him act that way before, that quiet fury before he exploded. I had never told anyone about it, but it was the reason why I had finally broken up with him.
“Charlie?” I looked up to see Keaton standing in front of me with a worried expression on his face. “Everything ok?”
“I guess. Oh good, you brought pie.”
He handed me a plate. “I thought you might like some. What did Braden have to say?”
“Nothing, really. I just asked his advice about something.”
“I see. And what did he say?
“You don’t even know what I asked him.”
Taking a bite of his pie, Keaton said, “Knowing you, it was about what he would do if he were in your position. And he told you that knowing you the way he does, that you aren’t the type of person to let someone else fight your battles for you.”
“He told you.”
“In a way. He asked me to take good care of you and to do what I can to help you.”
“Where’s Sydney?”
“She got a call from Isabella and had to leave. Something about Aspen and Nikki. I didn’t catch it all.”
We finished the pie in silence, and he took my plate back to the kitchen. I tried to push myself up, but I just couldn’t do it. Keaton saw me struggling when he came back in and helped me get in a more comfortable position. “Why do you hate asking people for help?” he asked me, sitting down in the chair.
I sighed. “When I broke up with Cash, I had to depend on myself for the first time in a long time. I learned to become independent again, and I liked it. Being able to do things for myself without having to depend on someone else was a very liberating feeling. I decided I wasn’t going to put myself in a position again where I would be dependent on someone else for what I needed.”
“But Charlie, there are times when it is okay to ask for help, to depend on someone. In a relationship, people shouldn’t be dependent on each other; they should learn to work together. It isn’t about doing what makes one person happy. It is finding that happy medium.”
“I just haven’t had a relationship like that, Keaton. I wouldn’t know how to even be in a relationship like that.”
“You just have to have faith, in yourself and in the other person. You have to be willing to take that first step, and that is usually the hardest part. One day you’ll find someone that makes you want to take that first step.”
“Have you found someone like that?”
“I think so, but I’m just waiting on her to be ready.”
I swallowed hard. “I hope it happens for you soon.”
He smiled. “I think it will. She is starting to come out of her shell.” His cell phone rang. “Excuse me a moment.”
I know he was talking about me. I do like him. He’s funny, smart, sweet, kind, considerate, thoughtful and not pushy. Sounds too perfect, doesn’t he?
He came back. “That was Braden. Someone broke into my construction office and trashed it. I’ve got to go down there for a little while. Will you be ok?”
“I think so.”
“I’ll try not to be gone too long. Braden said a patrol should be coming by in fifteen minutes, and I’ll turn on the alarm when I leave. My number is programmed into your phone. You call me if you need anything, even if it is just to say hello because you’re nervous or scared.” He brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. “We’ll start that Python marathon when I get back.”
“Sounds like a plan. Be careful.”
“I will.”
I heard him close the door, lock it and I heard the alarm beep, meaning he had set it. Grabbing the remote, I turned to ESPN for the Thursday night college game.
Five minutes later, I heard the alarm beep and the front door open. Wow, that was fast. I heard footsteps down the hall and looked up to find Cash standing in the doorway. My eyes widened in fear.
“Hello, Charlie. Didn’t expect to see me, did you?”
“Not so soon.”
“I decided to stop by, pay you a little visit. See how you were doing since the explosion. You remember the explosion, don’t you? The one where you killed my girlfriend.”
“I didn’t kill her, Cash.”
“It was your car, wasn’t it?” he said, moving toward the bed. “She was in your car. That makes it your fault.”
“Why would I blow up my own car?” I said, sliding my hand slowly toward the cell phone. “I loved that car. You know that.”
“I haven’t figured that one out yet,” he admitted. “I heard you got hurt. All I see are some cuts on your face.”
“The doctor said there were a few more injuries than just the cuts.” I hoped the menu was still showing Keaton’s number. I pushed the call button and hid it under the sheet.
Unfortunately, Cash noticed what I was doing and grabbed my wrist, pulling it away from the sheet. “What is this? A phone? Shame on you, Charlie,” he said, twisting my wrist as he took the phone from me. “And who are you calling? Keaton? I’ll be gone before he gets here. I’m here, you’re not, Keaton. What a shame.” He hung up the phone and tossed it on the floor. He dropped my arm and I rubbed my sore wrist. “I wish I could stay longer, but I don’t’ plan to go to jail for violating your little restraining order.” He laughed. “Did you really think it would keep me away, Charlie? You silly woman.”
“I knew it wouldn’t.”
“Then you are getting some bad advice, probably from Keaton, no doubt.” He bent over until he was right in my face. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Keep this in mind, Charlie. No restraining order will stop me. That puny alarm you have won’t stop me. That dumb dog of yours won’t stop me, and that boyfriend of yours won’t keep me away. I will be back, and I will get even with you for taking Deja away from me.” He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me roughly. “See ya, Charlie.” And he was gone.
Chapter 17
I wiped my mouth on the edge of my robe sleeve, and realized I was shaking uncontrollably. I got out of bed, picked the phone up from the floor and walked into the living room. Scrolling through the menu, I found Braden’s number and was about to push send when he and Keaton came through the front door. Crying out, I dropped the phone as Keaton took me in his arms.
“Where is he, Charlie?” Braden said.
“I…I don�
��t know,” I sobbed. “I didn’t see which way he went when he left. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said. “I’ll put out an APB for him and have a look around outside. We’ll find him.”
“But you can’t hold him, can you, Braden? You can’t keep him from coming back here.”
“I’ll do what I can, Charlie. It’s all I can promise.” He went outside.
Keaton held me while I cried, stroking my hair. Leading me to the couch, he sat me down and covered me with a quilt. He went into the other room for a minute and came back with a pain pill and some water. “Take this,” he said, holding it out to me.
I reached out for it and when I did, the sleeve of my robe slid down, exposing my bruised wrist. “Did he do that?”
I nodded. “When he found the phone. It’s ok, it doesn’t hurt much.”
He got a hard look on his face, went into the kitchen, returning with an ice pack. He placed it gently on my wrist and sat down beside me. “I would bet money that Cash ransacked my office to get me out of here so he could talk to you.”
“How did he get past the alarm?”
“That I don’t know, but I sure as heck am going to find out. I can reprogram it tonight, beef it up. Braden is going to ask Bernie for permission to park in front of the house.”
“No.”
Keaton at looked at me. “What do you mean no?”
“Would you ask Braden to come in here a minute?”
“Um, sure.” He went to the front door, opened it and called Braden’s name.
“Sit down a minute,” I said when he came in. “Braden, if Sydney was in my position, what would you do?”
“I would tell her to get out of here for a few days,” he replied without hesitation.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Are you sure, Charlie?” Keaton said. “I thought you weren’t going to let anyone chase you out of your home?”
“Staying here doesn’t just put me in danger; it puts you two in danger as well. You didn’t hear him, Keaton, and you didn’t see his face. He blames me for Deja’s death, and he wants revenge. Bernie doesn’t have the resources to give me twenty-four hour protection. Cash has proven he can bypass the alarm. And he said ‘my boyfriend, Keaton’ wouldn’t be able to protect me, either.”
“We’ll go to my condo then,” Keaton replied.
“No, that won’t work. It’s too obvious. That’s probably the first place he would look. We need to find some place that he doesn’t know about, somewhere he won’t think to look for me.”
“My parents left me a place in the country about two hours from here. No one from here knows about it; it was their retreat from the pressures of the world. Besides me, only you two know.”
“And we need to keep it that way,” Braden said. “We’ll need a car. Leave your Mustang here, Keaton. We need to keep up the illusion that everything is normal. Cash will think you’re here taking care of Charlie if he sees it out front.”
“Get Sydney to come over in the mornings, like she’s been doing,” I added. “Tell her what’s going on, but swear her to secrecy. She can’t tell anyone in her family.”
“Wow, keeping a secret from Isabella,” Braden whistled. “Sydney will love it.”
“When should we leave?” Keaton asked.
“Now,” I said. “Cash won’t do anything else tonight. He believes he’s made his point and he’ll spend the rest of the night drinking.”
“I’ve already got clothes and necessities here,” Keaton noted. “Anything else we need, we can get along the way.”
“We’ll need money. No credit cards.”
“Do you think he’ll try to trace you once he finds out you’re gone?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t put it past him to try to find someone to do it for him, especially if he is serious about getting revenge, which I am sure he is.”
“Leave your credit cards here,” Braden said. “Maybe Sydney could use it a few times in places you would normally go, like for gas and groceries.”
“Wait, we need prepaid cell phones,” Keaton said. “We shouldn’t use our own. If she’s going to hide, then she really needs to hide.”
“What do I tell Mom and Dad?”
“Say I had a previously scheduled writing assignment out of town that I couldn’t reschedule. Don’t mention Keaton being gone. He’s swamped at work, going around to various sites. He’s using a company truck because he left me the Mustang in case I needed it.”
“I think I know where I can get you a car,” Braden said. “I’ll be right back.” He got up and went outside.
I motioned for Keaton and he helped me up. I leaned against him as he helped me down the hall to my bedroom. “There’s a bag just inside the closet on the top shelf. I keep it there in case I have to go out of town in a hurry.” While he got it down, I pulled some t-shirts, underwear and socks out of my dresser and put them on the bed. “There are some sweats folded up on the standing shelving unit, right in the middle. Grab five of them, would you?”
“Sure. Anything else out of here?”
“My tennis shoes and my boots.”
He came out of the closet and put the bag on the bed. “Are you sure about this, Charlie?”
I unzipped the bag and started putting things in. “Yes. Cash is still in his quiet fury stage. It might take him a day or two to get through it. He’ll plan his revenge during that time. Once he’s done planning, he’ll put his plan into action.”
“How do you know this?”
“I’ve seen him in action. If I’m out of the line of fire, he might cool down and give up the revenge idea. It might give Bernie time to find out who killed Deja.” I left a pair of sweats and a t-shirt out so I could change clothes. “Why don’t you grab the groceries that you bought and put them in the living room? We can take those with us. Oh, and Rachel’s pie, too!” I said as he left.
Changing clothes took a bit of time. The sweats were easier to get on than the t-shirt. I put on some socks and slipped on my tennis shoes. I grabbed some pajama bottoms and stuffed them into the bag, got my things from the bathroom and packed them. I managed to get my hair pulled into a ponytail and put on my Texas A&M hat.
Keaton took my bag and put it by the front door as Braden came back. “One of the guys has a Ford Edge that you can borrow,” he said as I dropped my pillows next to the bags. “Keaton and I can load it up while you grab some movies and your laptop.”
I showed Braden where my laptop was, found my backpack and started putting some movies in it. I heard a noise behind me and turned to find Mr. Crubbs standing there. “What’s going on here, young lady?” he said. “Hell of a lot of noise coming from your place for a weeknight.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Crubbs. I have an assignment out of town and I completely forgot about it with everything that has happened the last couple of days. I’m packing up to leave for a few days.”
He glared at me. “You want to stick with that story or you want to tell me the truth? Like how you are really getting out of Dodge to avoid that crazy ex-boyfriend of yours?”
“How did you know?”
He grunted, looking pleased that he had figured it out. “I saw his truck over here earlier. Plus, three cop cars in front of your house is a dead giveaway that something is going on. I was in the Army, Charlie. I know evasive maneuvers when I see them.”
I walked over to him and placed my hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Mr. Crubbs. I didn’t want to tell you because the less you know, the better off you are. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Take a hell of a lot more than that idiot to hurt old Franklin Crubbs,” he said, standing up straighter and sticking his chest out. He patted my hand. “Don’t you worry about me, Charlie. You just take care of yourself. I’ll look after your place while you are gone.”
I gave him a hug. “You just stay out of trouble with those boys,” I said. “And you leave Cash alone. The police will hand
le him.”
“I have to have a little fun in my life, girl, and those boys definitely make it fun,” he said, a twinkle in his eye as he left. I laughed and shook my head. He was incorrigible.
Keaton and Braden came in. “What did Mr. Crubbs want?” Braden asked.
“He asked me what was going on. I told him the story about the out-of-town assignment, but he didn’t believe me. He knows what’s going on, but he won’t say a word.”
What happened next was something I could have never imagined. Never a dull moment in my life! Aren’t you glad you’re along for the ride?
Chapter 18
A lot of yelling came from the front yard, followed by a revving engine and the sound of squealing tires. We all turned to see headlights beaming through the windows and coming closer. Keaton grabbed me, pulling me to the left as Braden started moving toward the kitchen. The windows shattered and the wall collapsed as a truck drove through the outside wall, into the living room, through the interior living room wall, finally stopping in the middle of the kitchen.
Keaton pulled me to the floor, covering me with his body as bricks, glass, wood and my living room furniture flew everywhere. Material piled on top of us as everything that had gone flying came raining down. I heard footsteps coming into the house, people yelling “Police! Hands up, HANDS UP!”, a door being wrenched open and a body hitting the floor as the driver was yanked out of the truck.
“Are you ok?” Keaton asked me as he pushed things off us and sat up. My answer to that one would have been no, if I could talk. I had the wind knocked out of me and couldn’t breathe. He moved everything off the back of my legs, rolled me over and helped me sit up. I got a good look at my house, and who had caused the damage.
It was Cash.
One of the cops had him in cuffs, standing against the bed of his truck. There was blood streaming down the side of his face from a cut on his head, and you could tell just by looking at him that he was totally tanked. He had a stupid grin that I really wanted to knock off his face.
It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to breathe. The pain pill I had taken an hour ago kept my ribs from hurting too much as Keaton helped me to my feet. “Are you ok?” I asked, looking him over.
Good Night Sleep Tight Don't Let the Stalkers Bite (Charlie Bannerman Mysteries) Page 7