by Laura Scott
“What’s your theory?”
He took another deep drink of his coffee, grateful for the surge of caffeine blowing the fuzziness from his mind. “I’m fairly certain Janice didn’t die in the warehouse. There wasn’t nearly enough blood. My theory is that she and Simon had a fight of some sort, and he killed her. Then he panicked and decided the best way to avoid being caught was to frame someone else for her murder. So he put her in the trunk of his car.” He paused, thinking back to last night. “No, his truck. I think he drives a red pickup truck. At the warehouse, he staged the body, then somehow got access to my boss’s office phone and called to arrange a meeting with me there. He hid, waiting for me to show, and once I did, hit me with a two-by-four and then called the police.”
Dana cupped her mug, her expression sober. He wished he knew what she was thinking, then chided himself for caring.
“When that didn’t work, he tried again, finding me in the ER. Only this time, Dana was there to help me escape.”
“It’s a reasonable theory, except for the guy showing up at Dana’s place and chasing after you with a tranquilizer gun.”
He frowned. “Yeah, that’s where I get stuck, too.”
“Tranquilizer gun?” Dana carefully set her mug down. “You mean that guy wasn’t shooting bullets?”
“No.” He pulled the dart from his back pocket to show it to her. “It’s a good thing you had your purse over your shoulder, I pulled this out of your handbag.”
Her eyes widened. “What does it mean?”
He shrugged. “The only thing that makes sense is that he didn’t want to outright kill us, but wanted to take us alive.”
Dana shivered, and he suspected it was all this talk about danger and death that was getting to her. He wanted to reach out to take her hand, but reminded himself that she was off-limits.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“There is another possibility,” Mike said. “For using the tranq gun, that is.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“A tranq gun is quieter than a rifle. You think they wanted to take you alive, but that might have been a temporary measure. I mean, think about it, Janice’s death was staged, why not stage your deaths, too? A tranq gun would slow you down. With drugs on board, they could easily stage the scene however they wanted, like say a murder/suicide or something along those lines. Dana lives alone. They could set it up so that you wouldn’t be found for hours, days even.”
Dana swallowed hard. “Boy, you sure know how to ruin a girl’s appetite.”
“I’m sorry, Dana.” Mitch shot a narrow stare at his brother. “We don’t need to talk about this now.”
“Yeah, we kind of do,” Mike argued. “We need a plan, Mitch, the sooner the better.”
“Okay you’re right, but there’s no reason to get so—descriptive.”
“I’m a nurse. I’ve seen a lot of bad injuries,” Dana said. “That’s not the problem. It’s just, up until now, I was never the one in danger.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, hating the surge of helplessness.
“Please stop apologizing,” Dana said. “You’re as much of a victim in all of this as I am.”
Before he could say anything further, the server approached carrying a large tray laden with plates of food. His stomach growled mercilessly, and he was embarrassed by Dana’s amusement.
Once their food had been placed in front of them, Mike folded his hands and raised an eyebrow. Mitch knew his brother was waiting for him to say grace.
He bowed his head. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping us safe in Your care and we hope You continue to provide guidance and wisdom as we walk Your chosen path. Amen.”
“Amen,” Mike echoed.
Dana’s voice was the barest hint of a whispered “Amen.”
“Dig in,” Mitch said, striving to lighten things up. He glanced at Dana, trying to gauge her reaction. He didn’t really know much about her, didn’t know whether or not she was raised to attend church on a regular basis the way the Callahans had been.
Not that simply attending church was enough. Janice had gone with him on a regular basis, but that hadn’t stopped her from cheating on him.
He did his best not to dive into the meal as if he were starving. His brothers constantly teased him about how fast he ate and that was even when he wasn’t as hungry as he was right now. But he needn’t have worried—Dana proved to be a fast eater, too, and he couldn’t help but grin when he noticed that they finished at the exact same time.
“The nurse’s motto—eat when you can, because you’ll never know when you’ll get another chance,” Dana said wryly.
“Funny, that’s exactly how firefighters think.” Mitch was grateful when the server came over to refill their cups.
“Investigators, too.” Mike’s phone chirped and he pulled it from his pocket and frowned at the screen. “Miles,” he said before pushing the button and holding the device to his ear. “Yeah? What’s up?”
Mitch couldn’t hear Miles’s side of the conversation, but the grim expression on Mike’s face gave him a hint that the news wasn’t good.
“Yeah, I’ll let him know. Talk to you later.” Mike pressed the End button on the screen and dropped the phone back in his pocket.
“What?” Mitch demanded.
“Miles has been booted off the Janice Valencia homicide case,” Mike said with his usual bluntness. “Your blood was found at the scene of the crime, so you are officially their one and only suspect.”
“And?” Mitch knew there had to be more.
“Miles has been ordered to find you and arrest you.”
The news wasn’t entirely unexpected, but left a heavy ache in the center of his chest just the same. “Okay, then. I need you to give me your keys. Dana and I will leave, and you can claim that I stole your car. Just give us a good hour before you call it in.”
Mike stared at him. “What are you talking about? I’m not turning you in.”
“Listen, Mike, you know as well as I do that this will put a serious dent in Miles’s career, and with two kids and a wife to care for, he can’t afford to lose his job.”
“Miles will be fine once we uncover the truth.” Mike looked at their server and made a check-signing motion in the air. “We need to leave and get to work clearing your name.”
Mitch didn’t want his brothers to get in trouble because of him. But with Dana to protect, he knew he couldn’t do this on his own, either.
He could only hope and pray that he wouldn’t be the one to drag the Callahan name into the mud, ruining their reputation beyond repair.
FIVE
Watching Mitch and Mike argue about turning Mitch into the police gave Dana a funny feeling in her chest. Going to the authorities made sense, and logically she should be all over it.
But she wasn’t. For some unknown reason, she felt safer with Mitch and his brother than with strangers.
Okay, mostly with Mitch.
Another way she was betraying Kent’s memory. She told herself that she considered Mitch only a friend, and that she wasn’t in the market for anything else, but it was difficult to ignore the strange awareness that accompanied his woodsy scent.
“Are you ready to go?”
Mitch’s low husky voice drew her attention from her wayward thoughts. She nodded, drained what was left of her coffee and rose to her feet. “Of course.”
Mitch let Mike take the lead. When they were outside, he glanced at his brother. “Last chance. Give me the keys and then call Miles for a ride.”
“Knock it off. You know very well that Callahans stick together no matter what.” Mike slid behind the wheel, leaving her and Mitch to resume their positions in the back.
“You better add a new vehicle to the list,” Mitch said. “Since
Miles was told to bring me in, all Callahan-owned vehicles have the potential to be pulled over by cops who are likely to slap cuffs on before asking any questions. A lot of guys, those who weren’t fans of our dad, would salivate at the idea of arresting a Callahan.”
“I know. When I called Hawk, I asked if we could swap rides. He’s game. Oh, yeah, he said the cabin is yours for as long as you need it.”
She caught Mitch’s gaze on hers and wondered what he was thinking. Probably that he didn’t want to be stuck with her for too long.
“Thanks. Appreciate it. But we’re both going to need vehicles. Do you have access to something else if I use Hawk’s ride?”
“I can rent something without a problem.” Mike didn’t sound too concerned. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I’m going to drop you guys off at the cabin so I can pick up all your supplies before meeting up with Hawk to swap cars.”
“I have some money,” she offered.
“Keep your money. We have it covered,” Mitch said with a frown. “None of this is your fault, Dana. Bad enough that I’m causing disruption to your life.” He paused, then asked, “When are you scheduled to work?”
So much had happened in the past twelve hours, she needed to think back. “Today’s Thursday, right? I’m off until Saturday evening. I generally work the three to eleven thirty shift.”
Mitch’s expression held concern. “I don’t know if we’ll have this wrapped up by then. Are you going to get in trouble if you call off work?”
“No, but I hate to miss my shift at the food pantry.” Mitch looked confused, so she added, “I usually volunteer there on my days off. They’re going to wonder where I am if I don’t show two days in a row.”
“Which pantry?” Mitch asked.
“Home and Harvest in Brookland.” It was the one sponsored by the fire station where Kent had worked, and she could tell Mitch easily made the connection.
“Once we get our disposable phones, I need you to call Louise and let her know you’re not going to be available for a while.”
She should have realized that Mitch would know Louise Becker, the woman who ran the Home and Harvest pantry. She kept forgetting that he’d once worked in the same fire station as Kent and Simon.
“Okay, but she’s going to ask questions about where I’m going or what I’m doing.”
“Tell her you’re taking a few days off to visit some friends,” Mitch suggested. “It’s not a lie. Mike and I can officially be considered your friends.”
“Yes, but...” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t want to explain how her taking time off would be viewed by Louise as a monumental step forward. How often had she heard Louise and others suggest it was time to move on with her life? They’d assume she had met someone. A man.
And she had, but not in the way they would think.
“But what?” Mitch asked.
She forced a smile. “Nothing. I’m sure it will be fine.” She made a mental note not to mention Mitch’s name when she called Louise and tried not to think about how her absence might impact the people who depended on the provisions they stocked each day to feed their families.
“Hey, when we’re safely out of danger, we’ll make it up to the pantry, okay?”
Mitch’s ability to read her thoughts knocked her off balance. She’d loved Kent, but had he ever been as in tune to her thoughts and feelings?
Guilt instantly washed over her for comparing her dead husband to Mitch Callahan. That was hardly fair. Maybe she and Kent had been young when they’d married, but that hadn’t lessened her feelings for him. He’d been a good man who would have made a great father.
The way she’d lost Kent and their baby in a few short days had been life-altering. No one would ever truly understand what she’d gone through.
Least of all, Mitch Callahan.
Not that she planned to tell him. The loss of her baby was a painful secret she’d kept deep in her heart for three long, lonely years.
* * *
Mitch hated the shadows in Dana’s eyes and wished there was something he could do to help.
“Cop alert,” Mike said in a clipped tone. “State trooper sitting in the median a mile up ahead. Keep your heads down.”
Mitch glanced at Dana, her eyes wide with alarm. He tried to send her a reassuring smile. “We’ll be okay.”
She unclasped her seat belt and slid down so that she was kneeling across from him on the floor of Mike’s SUV. She was so close, he could see the dark pupils in her green eyes and smell the lilac-scented shampoo she’d used on her hair.
“We need a blanket to cover us up,” she whispered.
“I don’t have one, sorry,” Mike responded. “But a guy driving alone shouldn’t raise any alarms, so hang tight back there.”
Dana curled herself into a small ball, and it took every ounce of willpower Mitch had not to reach out to take her hands in his.
Instead, he offered up a quick prayer, asking for God to keep them safe.
Silence reigned as Mike drove well within the speed limit past the trooper. Five minutes passed, then ten, but Mitch still didn’t move. Living with cops had taught him to respect their cunning ability to sneak up on a suspect. Mike was obviously thinking along the same lines, because he didn’t say anything for another long ten minutes.
Mitch was aware of the soreness in his knees from his prolonged position, not to mention the throbbing in his neck, and he knew Dana had to be just as uncomfortable. He really hated the thought that she had to go through all of this because she happened to be in his room when the assailant attempted to silence him, permanently.
Mike put on his blinker and headed off the interstate. Mitch froze, wondering if his brother was being pulled over after all.
“You can relax now,” Mike finally said. “I got off the interstate, it’s probably best if we take side roads the rest of the way to Hawk’s cabin.”
Mitch blew out his breath in a heavy sigh. “Sounds good.”
Dana raised her head. “The cop is gone?”
“For now.” Mitch wasn’t about to lie. “Even if we had been pulled over, I would have made sure that the police knew that you and Mike were innocent. I’d take the blame for forcing you to go along with me.”
Mike snorted. “No cop is going to believe I’m acting against my will. But you’re right, we need to figure out a way to protect Dana from being arrested for harboring a fugitive.”
“I can protect myself,” Dana said, uncurling from her spot on the floor. She pushed herself up and resumed her seat, clicking her seat belt into place and then slouching in the corner again. Her silky dark hair made her skin look impossibly pale. “The cops would let me go once I explained how you helped protect me from the guy chasing us with a tranquilizer gun.”
Mitch had the dart as proof, but little else. He hated to point out that if they returned to Dana’s house right now, there would likely be no evidence of a crime there, other than the scrambled egg mess on the floor, which could just as easily be blamed on him.
He shifted his position in a feeble attempt to alleviate the pressure on his kneecaps. The drive seemed to go on forever before the SUV slowed.
“We’re here,” Mike announced.
Mitch thankfully returned to his seat, rubbing his palms against his knees. There wasn’t anything to be done about the throbbing of his incision. Glancing through the passenger-side window, he saw only trees and more trees. Branches scraped the top of Mike’s SUV as he navigated what looked more like a walking path than a driveway.
Then he saw the structure, a green building with gold trim, the colors blending in perfectly with the foliage around them. Mike stopped the SUV in a small clearing.
Mitch pushed open his door and then held out a hand to Dana. She hesitated, then slid across the seat and placed her hand in his, accepting his assistance.
“Is there indoor plumbing?” Dana asked, eyeing the place with skepticism.
Mike laughed. “As if I’d dare to bring a woman here if there wasn’t. Yes, there is indoor plumbing, running well water and basic appliances.”
Mitch watched as Mike found the key hidden in the corner under the eaves. The interior of the cabin was flooded with light—there weren’t any curtains over the windows—and it was a little dusty. Overall, it was nicer than he’d anticipated and he was relieved for Dana’s sake.
“Two bedrooms with a bathroom in between.” Mike gave them a quick tour. “Hawk said you can help yourself to whatever food is left here, but I can stop for groceries, too.”
“Just bring the phones, spare cash and car. We’ll get the rest.” Mitch spied a computer router in the corner of the living room. “Do you mind leaving your laptop here? I’d like to see what I can find out about Simon.”
“Sure.” Mike left, then returned with the laptop. He checked his watch. “Give me two hours and I’ll be back with the rest of your stuff.”
“Okay.” Mitch clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate this.”
Mike nodded, then headed back outside. Mitch watched for a moment as his brother navigated his way back down the driveway, disappearing from view.
He knew he was blessed to have such a great family, brothers and a sister who wouldn’t let him down. But he also knew he couldn’t depend on their generosity forever.
Unfortunately, the only idea he could come up with was to confront Simon Wylan about Janice’s death.
While hoping and praying the guy would somehow implicate himself in her murder.
* * *
Mitch’s single-minded focus on Simon Wylan bothered Dana a lot. Murder? Really? She understood why Mitch might hold a grudge against the guy, especially when he pulled up Simon’s social media site—she couldn’t deny there were several photos of him and a pretty blonde tagged as Janice Valencia.
She was strikingly beautiful in a TV-model kind of way. Beautiful long blond hair, flawless skin, white teeth, perfect figure.