Expired Cache

by Lisa Phillips

  “It’s worth thinking on, though. Right? Whether or not you might want a change?”

  “That’s what I was supposed to be doing while I worked on my book, truth be told. A chance to get away and reassess. There hasn’t been much opportunity to do that since I got here.”

  He got the message and decided he’d pushed too hard. If she decided to stay here, that was one thing. But he didn’t want to always wonder if she’d only stuck around because of him.

  Right now she was in danger. He had to wonder if she might be better off—safer—staying somewhere other than Last Chance.

  Dean’s phone chimed. At the same time, Ellie’s cell lit up and vibrated across the surface of the desk. She lifted it to see the screen. “The officer outside says the…” She swallowed, looking nervous. “Doctor Gilane is here to see you.”

  “Guess that’s my cue to leave you to it.”

  She got up, instead. “I’ll go with you. To make sure everything is all right.”

  Dean stared at her while he tried to figure out if she was scared in general, or just scared for him. “Thanks.”

  She closed the laptop lid and brought it with her, not once meeting his gaze as she gathered her things.

  “I’m sorry if I put more on you than you’re ready for or more than you can handle right now.”

  She held the laptop against her with one arm and lifted her coffee mug with the other. On the way past him she leaned up and touched her lips to his cheek. “Thank you for bringing me breakfast.”

  “El—”

  She swept past him. “Come on. The doctor is waiting.”

  Twenty-Three

  The doctor entered the house looking about the same as she remembered. He shook Dean’s hand, then saw her standing across the entryway still clutching her laptop. “Eleanor.”

  “Doctor Gilane.” She held her hand out. “It’s good to see you again.”

  He didn’t let go of her hand. He set his other on top, the two-handed hold that was supposed to communicate a greater level of care for the person. “It’s good to see you also. You look…well.”

  She tugged her hand from his, and he let her do it.

  Dean said, “You guys know each other?”

  “Sure do.” She tried to smile. “I grew up here, remember?” She swallowed past the lump in her throat, no longer interested in hiding the fact she was keeping something from Dean. She wasn’t about to tell all over what happened. But he already knew there had been an incident. She might as well work toward trusting him.

  After all, he’d all but asked her to think about staying in town longer. Not even knowing she’d thought the very same thing—before the cabin burned down.

  Ellie said, “Actually, I went through something terrible in junior year.” She had to take a breath to say, “The doctor helped me afterward.”

  Compared with that last time they’d had significant interaction, the idea of telling Dean was only slightly less painful.

  Ellie pushed the memories aside. The smells. The aching discomfort. She’d seen the doctor since, briefly across the crowd at the funeral. He’d steered clear of her, and she’d been grateful. But now the source of her nightmares was dead.

  So what was she still afraid of?

  “Let’s go into the kitchen.” Dean motioned for the doctor to go first.

  She could tell from his frown that he knew something was wrong, tied to her need for the doctor’s help. But there were more important things happening in the here and now. If she wasn’t thinking about the history she taught back at the university, then she was going to only think about the present. Where she stood right now. Much better than allowing her personal history to bleed into this moment.

  Her past needed to stay gone, where it belonged.

  She offered the doctor a cup of coffee and had to avert her eyes when Dean removed his shirt again. It had been seriously distracting when she’d come upon him changing earlier. This time it was a test of whether the previous glance had simply been about surprise—followed by the realization of how his wound looked around the bandage.

  Who knew a man’s chest and stomach could look like that?

  Ellie hadn’t had much opportunity to think about it. She spent summers in the library or traveling. And certainly not to hot beaches where she’d have the occasion to see a former Navy SEAL showing off his maintained physique.

  Dean’s lips curled up. Then the doctor touched his shoulder with gloved fingers and he winced.

  “You need another X-ray, but likely that’ll just confirm that you injured it further.” The doctor said, “Remember when I recommended the prescription for painkillers?”

  “I didn’t get the chance to have it filled.”

  Ellie frowned. She leaned on the edge of the counter reminded of how he’d suffered because of her. Because he’d been determined to keep her safe, to get to her as quickly as possible.

  The doctor gathered steam for a lecture. One she’d heard before when she told him she didn’t want him calling the police. In the end, she’d acquiesced to him phoning her grandfather—even though she knew he’d have done it anyway without her approval. Even though she’d been seventeen, which was plenty old enough to make her own decisions.

  Then she’d had to persuade her grandfather to leave it all alone. Let her heal and not start a one-man war going after the guy who’d hurt her.

  She’d left town a few months later with her mom and Jess. Her sister had followed her a few years later, and they’d even been roommates for a while as Jess went to school to get her criminal justice degree. Their mom drifted in and out of their lives—as reliable then as she’d ever been.

  She was getting money from her father, what did she care about her two grown daughters who were doing fine without her help?

  “I appreciate your knowledge of medicine and how it gives you some insight into the situation you’re in.” The doctor took a breath.

  Ellie jumped in. “Doctor Gilane, you were one of the founders of Last Chance, weren’t you?”

  The doctor’s inhale got stuck in his throat. He choked and then began coughing, still touching Dean’s wound. Her former SEAL protector looked like he wanted to throw up that breakfast casserole.

  Shame, since that would be a waste of bacon.

  She got the doctor a glass of water and ignored Dean’s expression. She knew exactly what she was doing, thank you very much.

  Ellie smiled, trying to make it look completely innocent. “I’m sorry, I startled you. It’s just that I’ve been looking into Last Chance history, thinking about my grandfather and his life, you know? Since I’m here for a few more days. After that, I won’t have as ready access to his things.”

  She said, “I came across a newspaper series that delved into the town’s history. It mentioned a doctor who was part of that original group. I just assumed that was you since I remember you being the only Last Chance doctor when I was little.”

  He leaned back and smiled that bleached smile, but she couldn’t help thinking it looked strained. “I was the only doctor when you were growing up. We’ve come a long way over the years. The town has grown considerably, but I wasn’t the doctor who was here when the town first started. That was before my time, I’m afraid.”

  Ellie wasn’t a human lie detector, so she didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not. Hopefully Jess and her police department people would figure out fast enough who in town should be next on their list of suspects, and whether it should be the doctor, or not. They needed to get the ball rolling so they could prevent whatever might happen next.

  “Do you know who it might’ve been?” She asked him. “It would help us figure something out.”

  “You’re an investigator now?” The doctor chuckled a humorless laugh.

  “No. I’m a history professor. I bring to light the ugly truth people would rather bury.” She didn’t usually look into things that resonated into her present. It was easier to keep her feelings out of it if she didn’t know any
one involved.

  “I’ve always thought of humans as inherently good.”

  While Dean studied her—whatever that was about—and got poked, Ellie said, “No. The Bible has that right, at least. People are inherently selfish liars who do ugly things to each other for sometimes no reason at all.”

  The doctor peeled off his surgical gloves. “Isn’t that why the town was founded? So like-minded people could experience a haven from life? A place to recover from what they’d seen and the things they’d been forced to do, and live in peace.”

  “I don’t know,” Ellie said. “Was it?”

  She wondered if he was lying. There was no way to tell without a background check to find out how long he’d been here. Ted was ID-ing the men in that photo. But what if the doctor was one of them, right here under their noses, lying to them about how long he’d been here.

  That was easy enough to verify.

  “Thanks for coming, Doc.” Dean shook the older man’s hand.

  Considering he was tanned and looked like he might’ve even had some plastic surgery done, there was no way to discern his age from just looking at him. Surely Conroy knew—or could work it out.

  Ellie wasn’t ready to let him go, though. When the doctor turned away, she mouthed, “Stall him,” to Dean, and sent her sister a text to run Gilane’s background. Not that she carelessly assumed he was lying, but she didn’t believe in coincidences. This was a small town. Had there been a doctor before Gilane?

  Her cohort frowned, not liking being dragged into a scheme with someone he respected. “I’m still waiting on Holmford’s paralegal to get back to me.”

  The doctor said, “Right. Peter is in a bad way, I’m afraid. She’s probably holding down the fort at the office. No doubt she’s swamped covering everything.”

  “That’s understandable.” Dean said, “I inherited Chief Ridgeman’s land, the area around the cabin.” He glanced at Ellie, almost apologetic looking.

  She gave him a tiny shrug and for the doctor’s benefit said, “We’re all pretty surprised by my grandfather’s will. But having gotten to know Dean over the last few days, and hearing all about this therapy center he wants to set up...well, from the good work he does around town, I can see why my grandfather wanted to support the work.”

  “As do we all.” The doctor smiled. Not the genuine one he’d given her upon realizing she was here. This was different, and it set her on edge.

  “Besides,” she said. “I don’t live in Last Chance. So what do I want with property in the hills above town?”

  He looked brittle. As though the façade was about to crack.

  The doctor said, “If the town was founded to give people a place to deal with their pasts in peace, then why not a therapy center that treats PTSD and other traumas? Dean is carrying on the legacy of Last Chance. You of all people can understand how important it is to talk through painful experiences and work toward healing, I’m sure. It’s noble to want to serve others, and that’s the kind of person Dean Cartwright is.”

  “I’m learning that.” She glanced at Dean and saw he wasn’t comfortable with the way this conversation was going.

  He said, “Doctor, I’ve been wondering. Have you heard from my father recently?”

  “Huh.” Gilane scratched at his jaw with a manicured thumbnail. “Can’t say as I have. But I get a lot of those robo-calls that I don’t answer. He could have left a message, though. You know how it is. They’re always asking about a car warranty you don’t have.”

  Ellie joined in his chuckle even though all of it sounded fake—his and hers. Dean just looked concerned. She had to wonder about the relationship between Dean’s father and the doctor. Evidently they knew each other.

  “Well, I should get back to the hospital.” Gilane pulled the front door open and Dean ushered Ellie out onto the front porch with him. Why, she had no idea.

  “Thank you for coming, Doctor.”

  “I’ll get your prescription called in to the pharmacy. Be sure to pick it up this time, yes?”

  “Will do. Thanks.” Dean laid his arm across her shoulders and tugged her close to his side. She couldn’t tell if his intention was to shield her, or if he was mad and wanted her to stay with him so he could vent after the doctor left.

  Ellie wasn’t going to let that dampen her mood. Today marked the day she faced down a significant memory brought on by seeing the doctor. One memory in the whole painful catalog that had shadowed her entire life. And it hadn’t brought her down. She’d held her chin high through it. Faced him. Thought about it, and then moved on.

  There was a ways to go, and maybe there always would be. But one thing was true.

  She was healing.

  He shifted, and she felt his breath on the shell of her ear. “Are you going to explain to me what that was?”

  Ellie glanced up. “You really don’t look well. You should probably lie down again.”

  A muscle flexed in his jaw. “I won’t be managed, Ellie. If you—” He frowned, his nostrils shifting. “Do you smell that?”

  “What?”

  He stepped inside but held one arm out. “No. Stay there.” He paused for half a second, in which time she realized what he’d smelled.

  “Smoke.”

  “Call Jess. No, Bill. Use the emergency number—get help here.” He crowded so close to her front she thought he was going to hug her. He yelled over her shoulder, down the front walk to where the officer on duty stood.

  “Hey! The house is on fire!”

  Twenty-Four

  Fire.

  Ellie blinked and the officer who’d been at the curb raced over.

  “I already called it in.”

  Ellie nodded, holding her phone in one hand. The house was on fire. She couldn’t believe it. If they’d been inside…

  And now more of her grandfather’s legacy was being destroyed. Unless they could stop it. She spun to Dean. “Fire extinguisher.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Hall closet.” Her grandfather had been adamant about having one, even getting it checked regularly so the tag was up to date. They hadn’t been able to stop the cabin from exploding. A man had almost died. Don’t let anyone die here. There had been enough pain and hurt so far, that was the last thing she wanted to see. No more.

  Ellie didn’t know who she was talking to. That childhood God she’d sang and talked to had never done anything for her. Why call on Him now?

  Doctor Gilane held his hand out. “Let’s move away from the house, Ellie. We shouldn’t be close by.”

  He seemed genuine. He’d helped her years ago, and he’d come to help Dean today. They seemed to respect each other. Still. She didn’t want to go with him.

  Dean whirled around, one foot in the entryway. “No.” To her he said, “You come with me, or you stay with the cops.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  He hesitated.

  She moved around him. “I’ll get the fire extinguisher.” She could get to it quicker than him, considering how well she knew this house.

  The house was on fire. Her things. Her grandfather’s things. Her sister’s things. Memories. Valuables. All of it could go up in flames while they stood around here. Waiting for the firefighters. Or allowing shock to overtake her.

  No. No way.

  Ellie didn’t want to fight the blaze. She wasn’t a firefighter, just a professional bookworm. She hauled the fire extinguisher from the highest shelf in the linen closet. It was so heavy it tipped toward her face, and she launched it toward Dean on a reflex.

  He caught it with a grunt. “Stay in the hall.” But he didn’t enter the study.

  Ellie whimpered. No, she didn’t want to let this overwhelm her. So the fire was concentrated in the study. The quicker they moved, the more they might be able to save.

  “Don’t come in here.” He readied the extinguisher, his stance and the width of his shoulders displaying such strength that even in the midst of a fire she felt safe with him. “This is a s
erious blaze. I won’t be able to do much before the firefighters get here.”

  “Please try and save it.”

  He sprayed the flames from the doorway. He was right. Half the room was lit up. Across the room, the window had shattered. Heat blew at her like a summer storm. It ruffled his T-shirt.

  Ellie coughed. It wasn’t just smoke, though. She could smell a tang. Like some kind of chemical laced the air. She lifted her shirt and breathed through it, but it didn’t do much.

  She ran to the hall closet and grabbed two hand towels which she soaked in the powder room. She tied one around the lower half of her face, then ran to Dean.

  Sweat rolled down his temples. This couldn’t be good for the infection he’d gotten from his shoulder wound.

  She tugged on his arm, and he backed up to the door. Ellie held the towel up, setting the ends on his shoulders. It wasn’t going to hold, but it would get them out of there.

  Tears burned her eyes as much as the heat from the flames. The study. It was being destroyed. Targeted as the cabin had been. Now it was rubble. She’d nearly been killed twice. Dean had been hurt.

  This had to stop.

  “Ellie!”

  She spun to find her sister. Behind her, firefighters streamed into the house. Ellie got out of their way. Her sister tugged her out of the house. She heard Dean and the firefighters speaking, low and loud. But she couldn’t make out the words. Her ears were ringing.

  “Why did you go in there? You could’ve been hurt.”

  Ellie pulled the towel down. “Dean told me to stay with him.” That was all she could get out before she bent double, coughing. There was nothing else she could have or would have done but remain.

  Her sister shook her head. Ellie moved closer to her. She touched her sister’s elbows and moved her face close. Hopefully she could get out what she had to say before she started coughing again. “I’m so sorry.”

  She’d lost the cabin. Now her sister was losing the house. Both of them, their inheritance from their grandfather being torn out of their hands. She hadn’t even wanted the cabin. But having it gifted to her had meant so much.