The Runaway Bride

by Adrianne Lee

  “Wait a few days…until I can come with you.”

  “The risk is too great. Even Kim may be in danger.”

  “All the more reason I should come with you.”

  “But you can’t. Not now.”

  She was right. He couldn’t leave Ruthanne at Sunshine Vista Estates and he couldn’t take her with them. He had to get her settled somewhere safe. “There must be something I can do.”

  “If you think of anything, I’ll be at the airport. I’m going in to call a cab.”

  Jake had never felt so torn in his life. There had to be something he could do to help both the women he loved. For the life of him, he couldn’t think what He cupped Laura’s head in his hands and kissed her long and hard. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  “I don’t want to leave. But I have to.”

  Jake realized it would do no good to insist she come home with him. She wouldn’t. She’d always been as stubborn as Handley’s mule when her mind was set. He pulled her against him. Sometime in this last year she’d learned self-reliance. He’d thought he’d miss the needy girl he’d grown up loving. He realized this new, mature version of Laura had more to offer. Which meant they both had all the more to lose.

  Grimly, he opened his arms and stepped back. He took three one-hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and pressed them into her palm. For your ticket and whatever.”

  “I’ll pay you back.”

  He nodded. “Have you got your stun gun?”

  She patted her purse and gave him a wry smile. “Right here.”

  “They won’t let you on the plane with it unless you’ve stowed it inside your luggage in a hard case. You’ll have to sign for it, too.”

  “Okay. I should be able to pick up a small suitcase and a gun case in a pawnshop on the way to the airport.” She touched his face once again, a look of abject regret in her smoky eyes, then she pivoted and hurried into the senior center.

  Feeling as desolate as he had the day she’d left him at the church in Riverdell, Jake climbed into the Cherokee, telling himself this was not the same thing. They would work this out; they would get together again. No matter how many times he repeated it, he didn’t believe it.

  Ruthanne said, “Why isn’t Laura coming with us?”

  Jake pulled into traffic. “She has something to do.”

  His mother tsked. “Did you two have a lovers’ spat?”

  “No, Mom.” But he felt as though they had. The cell phone rang, jolting his unsteady pulse as though he’d touched an exposed wire. He grasped it. “Jake Wilder.”

  “Been trying to reach you for a while, son.”

  It was Dr. Mel Van Sheets, he realized, hitting the brake as the light turned red. “Ran into a complication here.” That was all the explanation Jake offered him. The light changed and Jake drove on, aware that every mile took him farther from Laura. “What can I do for you, Doc?”

  Ruthanne glanced around at that. “Is that Mel?”

  Jake winced at his slip. “Yes, Mom. Mom says hi.”

  “Then you’re not alone?” Mel said.

  “No.” Jake’s patience thinned. “What’s up?”

  “Got the results you inquired about.” Mel’s voice was reedy, angry.

  Jake’s breath tangled in his throat. Ruthanne was staring at him as if she had heard and understood both sides of the conversation. As impossible as he knew that was, it rattled him nonetheless. “And?”

  “Sad to report you were right about Cullen Crocker.”

  “How right?”

  “He was the John Doe with the smashed skull.”

  “Damn, damn, damn.” In his heart he’d known Cullen was dead, but having it confirmed spread a layer of ice through his gut…and quadrupled his fear for Laura. Why the hell had he let her out of his sight? He pulled an illegal U-turn and headed back to Sunshine Vista Estates.

  “I think we’d better bring Chief Russell on board with this, Jake.” Doc intruded on his dark worry. “You gonna do the honors or should I?”

  Jake cut in front of a slow-moving car and received a blast of the other driver’s horn. “I’d appreciate it if you’d take care of that. Ralph will want to talk to me and I have to handle another matter first. By the time he catches up with me, I should be free to answer all his questions.” No matter what Jake’s suspicions about Ralph might be, the lawman could no longer be left out of the case.

  Doc said, “I’ll be calling him soon as I hang up, then.”

  Jake rang off and immediately dialed another number. He had a lot to do and a short time in which to do it.

  This conversation was briefer than the last and had Ruthanne staring at him in disbelief. He dropped the phone on the seat between them and careered into the parking lot of the senior center on two wheels. He parked in the loading zone and raced into the building. But he was too late.

  Laura had gone.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jake unhooked his seat belt and stood, vacating his seat in the tail section of the 727. Aiming for a casualness he didn’t feel and couldn’t effect with his bulk and his scarred countenance, he strode the length of the plane, searching for Laura. But he reached the pilot door without spotting a single woman with sable hair.

  Panic nipped him. He quickly cruised the aisle all the way to the tail of the plane again, drawing unwanted glances, but no sign of Laura. Distress spread another layer of ice across his gelid heart She had to be on this flight. It was the only one to Spokane since he’d left her at the senior center. Striving to curb his worry, he checked the rest room signs. All read Vacant. He retraced the aisle, slower this time, studying each individual. Something caught his eye. A flash of color. He pulled up short, wondering why. Then it hit him. The woman in the window seat two rows ahead had on a coat the same color as the one he’d bought Laura.

  Staring at the gray-haired, bespeckled matron bent over a magazine, he moved forward. She wore not only Laura’s coat—he saw—but her jeans and shoes, as well. The tightness in his chest eased.

  “Excuse me.” He tapped the shoulder of the swarthyskinned businessman sitting next to her.

  The guy looked up from the open briefcase on the empty seat between himself and Laura. Annoyance pinched his mouth, but as he caught sight of Jake towering over him, he flinched.

  Jake held no illusions about his own expression. He scowled, purposefully puckering his scar. He wasn’t above using his unpleasant resemblance to a stereotypical movie mobster if and when it suited his ends. He kept his voice even, his tone polite but firm. “Look, pal, could you be convinced to trade seats with me?”

  “Well, I, er, ah…”

  Red tinged the guy’s complexion. He seemed to struggle with his pride, as though he wanted to tell Jake to go to hell, but couldn’t decide if it would be a life-threatening mistake.

  “The plane is hardly full. Why do you want my seat?”

  The woman’s hands tensed on her magazine, and she peered sideways up at him. Her eyes were a startling blue. But they were Laura’s eyes nonetheless. Jake winked at her.

  Then he addressed the distressed businessman and gestured toward Laura. “My mother has Alzheimer’s and sometimes she gets angry for no good reason and starts spitting.”

  “Ye, Gods!” The man gawked at Laura in disgust Grabbing the excuse to save his ego, he gathered his briefcase and jacket and scrambled up and out into the aisle. “Thanks for the warning.”

  Jake directed the man to the seat he’d been assigned at the rear of the plane, then eased himself into the one beside Laura. She continued staring at the magazine.

  Jake studied her. The wig hugged her head like a knit cap of ashen curls and the rhinestone-encrusted eyeglasses kept sliding to the tip of her nose. She wore no makeup and the colored contact lenses were the turquoise of a California swimming pool. “I think I liked you better as a blonde.”

  “Keep your voice down.” She ground out the words through clenched teeth, her gaze riveted to the magazine. “What are you doing here
? You’re going to blow my disguise.”

  “And a fine disguise it is, too,” he said on a laugh, but he lowered his voice to match the tone she’d used. “What made you think of it?”

  She turned a page in the magazine. “What better way to exit a senior center than dressed as one of its denizens?”

  “Ah…clever.”

  “Thanks. But your being here makes it worthless. If whoever’s after me is watching you to find me, you’ve just given me away.”

  Chagrined, Jake glanced around quickly. He probably should have used more caution, but he’d been so damned anxious to find her. So damned glad to find her. No one seemed to be paying them the least attention. He shifted back to her. She was frowning so hard it had to hurt

  He shoved his hand through his hair. He’d imagined their reunion in quite different terms. A little hug. A little kiss. A little hand-holding. Never had he thought she’d be annoyed. Not after their emotionally charged farewell. Maybe she needed reminding. He leaned closer to her, tracing his fingertip across the back of her hand. He was rewarded with her sharply drawn breath.

  He whispered, “Are you saying you’re sorry to see me?”

  She bit the corners of her cheeks in an obvious effort to suppress a grin. She said, “Where is Ruthanne?”

  “She’s with a friend.” He shifted in his seat again, realizing there wasn’t enough room for legs as long as his. “She’ll be fine until I get back.”

  “You haven’t told me what you’re doing on this flight.”

  “I’ll explain in a minute.” He leaned away from her. The flight attendants were approaching with the drink cart Jake asked Laura, “Want something?”

  They ordered Cokes, his in a can, hers in a plastic cup with ice, and accepted packets of peanuts. Jake opened the pull tab on the pop can and downed the nuts, keeping silent until the cart had moved on and he wouldn’t be overheard. “I called Doc Van Sheets today.”

  “About Ruthanne?” Laura took a sip of her Coke.

  “Yes, but also about Cullen.”

  She angled toward him, frowning. “Cullen?”

  Jake felt as though he were conversing with Granny Clampett. As serious as the situation was, he couldn’t stifle a smirk. Laura’s disguise roused an old memory of a Halloween party they’d attended their junior year of high school.

  They’d double-dated, the four of them dressing like The Beverly Hillbillies. Don and Susan had gone as Jethro and Elly May. Laura and he had gone as Jed and Granny. His mother made their costumes. They’d been certain they’d win the first place prize, but they’d been bested by none other than Cullen Crocker. He’d dressed up as Elvis, the resemblance striking, uncanny—and now he was just as dead as The King.

  The sobering thought wiped all amusement from Jake. He reiterated his conversation with Mel and his request that the doctor, in his role as coroner, check Cullen’s dental records against those of the three John Does found in the county during the past year. “Doc called me back right after I left you at Sunshine Vista Estates. One of the bodies was Cullen. He died of a smashed skull.”

  Laura drew a sharp breath. Since learning no one in the Crocker family had heard from Cullen for a whole year, she’d lived with the likelihood that he’d been murdered. Still, it was a shock. Guilt fell heavily across her heart. “He was a friend. He died because he helped me.”

  She reached for her drink, and washed down the sick feeling with a swallow of cold liquid. The poor Crocker family. This would be devastating for them. At length, she asked, “How did Travis and Izzy take the news?”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. “When I went by their motel to tell them, they weren’t there. They checked out last night.”

  “What? But they said—” She broke off. What did it matter that they’d sworn they’d be back to see Jake for answers? Obviously they’d had their answers all along. “My God, Jake, they must have broken into your mother’s after they left your house last night.”

  “Unless, whoever broke in did it yesterday while the craft bazaar was in full swing.” He grimaced, hating his altered perspective on his partners. “I’m not sure the perpetrators weren’t Susan and Don.”

  “Don and Susan?” She gaped at him over the top of the glittery glasses, her eyes brimming with surprise. “But they’re in Las Vegas.”

  Jake shook his head. “Maybe not. Doc swore he saw them last night at Chief Russell’s house.”

  Laura’s complexion turned the color of her wig. “Your mother’s house? God, Jake, what if the remaining sample jars are there?”

  “More than likely they’re at Kimmie’s.” If any remained, he thought grimly. At least there were apparently more than had been in Laura’s possession. He drank his soda. “She’s the one who’s been mailing them to Mom.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Laura chewed the honeyed nuts provided by the airlines. “I suppose we can eliminate Kim from our list of suspects, too. She wouldn’t have any reason to kill me if she’s had the cream in her possession all this time. Did she ever return your call?”

  “No. And I left another message before I caught the plane.”

  Laura swirled her Coke, the ice cubes clunking the side of the plastic cup. “Seems no one is where they’re supposed to be.”

  Jake contemplated the remaining names on their suspect list Izzy, Travis, Don, Susan, Ralph Russell, Payton Dell. “Wonder if Payton actually went to New York like Izzy claimed. Maybe he came to Mesa with his sister and Travis.”

  Laura sat straighter. “They could all have been at the senior complex yesterday. That might explain your mom’s confusion about the man she saw from Riverdell.”

  Jake had to agree the idea had merit. But maybe they were giving his mother too much credit She might just have been confused. They couldn’t know.

  “And Payton collects cars,” Laura said. “He can take apart about any model ever made and put it back together again. Cutting a brake line would be nothing to him.”

  “And he was a demolitions expert in the army,” Jake added thoughtfully, then scowled. “But, so was Don. And he and Susan were at my house the night before the brakes failed.”

  He looked like he’d swallowed something bitter.

  Laura sighed. “But neither of them went near the garage.”

  “Not that we saw. And a locked door presents only a minor challenge to people with our backgrounds.” Jake realized Laura had, in fact, no reason to trust him. He knew enough about the mechanics of a car to fiddle with the brakes, he could pick a lock with the best of them and New Again had not only saved his bacon, it had plopped him right into Ms. Luxury’s lap.

  As though she’d been thinking the same thing, she pushed the eyeglasses up the bridge of her nose and said, “Given those criteria, I ought to reconsider my suspicions of you.”

  Jake swallowed hard. “Maybe you should.”

  Laura drank some of her Coke. “What about Ralph Russell? You said he was one of the original investors in New Again. He spent a lot of time at our house. He had to know about Uncle Murphy’s Venus Masque.”

  “It’s possible.”

  Laura nodded. “I recall he started his career with the bomb squad in one of the major cities. He’d know how to blow up a house and make it look accidental. And as chief of police, he’d have access to the case file.”

  “And,” Jake finished for her, “could edit the findings to suit any outcome he wanted.”

  “Yes.”

  Jake didn’t like it. He didn’t want to suspect his former boss, the most honest cop he’d ever known, of being corrupt. But could he trust his instincts about people? Susan’s and Don’s behavior had shaken his belief in his own judgments. “Travis’s background could have provided him with the skills exhibited by your pursuer. He worked in a fireworks factory for a while and he was a mechanic in the navy, keeping the officers’ jeeps running.”

  “Travis?” She cringed inside. “I can’t fathom him hurting his brother, let alone smashing his skull.”

 
“Don’t go soft in the head on me, Granny,” Jake teased.

  She made a face at his black humor. “Really, Jake, what motive would he have?”

  “One of the oldest—jealousy. Travis wanted Izzy and now he has her.”

  “You think?” She considered. Izzy had loved Cullen for as far back as she could recall. Everyone knew that—even Travis. But who had Travis dated? She dredged up memories of him at school dances. A handsome young man—better looking than most all the others, except Cullen—standing on the sidelines or in groups with other boys who’d arrived stag, staring at the girls, laughing, stealing out to their cars to guzzle beer.

  But had he stared at Izzy more than the others?

  Laura realized that if she’d wondered about Travis coming to dances alone, she’d probably put it down to an inability to dance. Or shyness. But had it been something more heartbreaking? Had Travis been in love with someone who couldn’t see him for love of his brother? Had that jealousy festered over the years until he’d built such rage he’d killed his own brother?

  That scenario went against everything she knew of Travis and Cullen. If anything, Travis had always protected his younger brother, fighting his fights, lying to cover his sins. Cullen returned the favor, taking the blame for crashing the family car when all the kids in town knew Travis had been at the wheel.

  She couldn’t see any woman coming between those two. Even so…there was no denying that Izzy and Travis were close now.

  She shoved at the glasses. “If Travis killed Cullen because of Izzy, how does that have anything to do with the murders of my aunt and uncle? Or with the face cream?”

  Jake rubbed his jaw. “Or with my mother’s room being torn up?”

  “That seemed more like an act of rage,” Laura muttered, anxious that her patient pursuer was getting desperate. She shivered. “Was Travis one of the initial investors in New Again?”

  Jake shrugged. “We need to find out.”

  They fell silent a moment Then Laura said, “Well, my money is on Payton. He’s profited more than anyone from the theft of Uncle Murphy’s cream. And he has the most to lose if he can’t silence me.”