“It means that she wants to see you happily married. Like she is.” Owen smirked, his eyes flashing with humor.
“She wants to see all of us happily married, but I’m not in the mood for more of her matchmaking. Not with everything else that’s going on.” Besides, he was pretty sure he’d found his match.
“I hear you, bro. Our quiet town isn’t all that quiet anymore, is it?”
“No, and I don’t think that what happened today is the end of things.”
Not if they couldn’t find Olivia’s killer.
Not if they couldn’t stop whoever was stalking Merry.
“Do you think today’s perp is also our murderer?” Owen asked.
“I don’t know.” It seemed likely, but until they had more facts, it was impossible to say.
“Does Merry have any idea why someone would shoot out the window of her house?”
“If she does, she’s not saying.”
“That seems odd, doesn’t it? You’d think that someone in danger would be eager to provide as much information as possible in order to stay safe.”
“Yeah, you’d think so,” Douglas replied, glancing at the window again. Someone moved behind the curtain, and he was sure it was Merry. Was she peeking out, hoping they’d leave quickly so she could go?
“Have you run a background check on her?”
“I took her fingerprints today. We’re checking to see if she’s in the system. I don’t think she will be.”
“But?”
“I think she’s running from something, and I think there’s a lot she hasn’t told me.”
“Do you think she’s a killer?” Owen asked, and Douglas met his eyes, saw the intensity and focus that made him such a good police officer.
“No.”
“She has an alibi for the night of Olivia’s murder?”
“Her neighbors insist she was home all night. I have various witnesses who saw her car in the driveway during the time the murder took place.”
“They could be wrong.”
“Merry doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, Owen. Even if she didn’t have an alibi, I wouldn’t believe she was a murderer.”
“Too bad. I was hoping we had a suspect.”
“Like I said, Merry isn’t a murderer,” he said forcefully, and Owen raised an eyebrow.
“You’re awfully protective when it comes to Merry.”
“I’m just making sure we don’t pin a crime on an innocent person.”
“Merry isn’t the only innocent person who might be implicated in this,” Owen pointed out.
“I know, but I’m not going to toss Merry to the wolves to throw them off Charles’s scent.”
“You know that’s the last thing I’d want to have happen. But I also don’t want to bypass a person of interest because she has a pretty face and a sweet smile.”
“I think you know that I would never let a pretty face or a sweet smile sway me,” Douglas responded without heat. Owen sounded as weary as Douglas felt, and for good reason. The law might dictate that a person was innocent until proven guilty, but in the minds of some of Fitzgerald Bay’s citizens, Charles was guilty until proven innocent. Without evidence to show that someone else had committed the crime, the whispers would continue and the gossip would spread.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I know the kind of police officer you are. I know the kind of man you are. I just want to make sure we’re not overlooking anything.”
“You and me both.”
“Let me know if anything comes up when you run Merry’s fingerprints, okay?”
“Will do.”
“I’d better go. Granddad’s expecting me. See you tomorrow.” Owen got in his car, and Douglas watched as he drove away.
Dusk had already fallen, draping the landscape in purple-blue light. Another day passed with no name or face to put to Olivia’s murderer, and Douglas felt the weight of that as he walked back to Merry’s house.
He didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and stepped into the tiny foyer, his gaze jumping to movement at the top of the stairs.
Merry froze as their eyes met, her fists tightening around the boxes she clutched. Crackers. Cookies. What looked like a package of cheese.
“Didn’t your mother teach you to knock?” she asked, her voice breathless and filled with anxiety.
“Didn’t yours teach you not to bring food into your bedroom?”
She looked down at the food, frowned as if she weren’t quite sure how it had gotten in her hands. “It’s cold downstairs, and Tyler was hungry. I’m bringing him a snack.”
“He must be really hungry if you’re planning to feed him an entire box of crackers and a box of cookies.”
“I’m hungry, too.” She set the boxes and cheese on a small table that stood against the wall and walked down the stairs. “I thought you were gone.”
“Obviously.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her eyes were wide with fear, but she seemed determined to pretend that she really had been bringing Tyler a snack.
“I don’t think you’d have started packing to leave if you knew I was still outside.”
“I’m not—”
“You are, but if you want to stay safe, you’d better follow a few simple rules. First, keep your cell phone on you at all times. Do you have it?”
She frowned but pulled it from her purse.
Before she could shove it into her pocket, he snagged it.
“What are you doing?” She made a grab for it, but she was a head shorter with arms to match, and he held it out of her reach.
“Adding my phone number to your contact list.”
“There’s no need—”
“There’s every need. I live a few blocks away. If something happens and you need help quickly, call 9-1-1 and then call me. I can be here in minutes.”
“Douglas—”
“Second rule. Keep your doors and windows locked and your alarm on.”
“I always do that.”
Douglas’s backward glance at the front door he had just walked through discounted that statement. “Third and final rule. Don’t leave town.”
She froze, her entire body going rigid. “Why would I leave town?”
“Good question. Maybe you can answer it for both of us.”
“I need to get back to Tyler. What happened today scared him, and he doesn’t want me far from his side.” She headed up the stairs, but he grabbed the belt loop of her jeans.
“What you need is someone you can trust.”
“And that’s you?”
“Yeah. It is.”
“Douglas—”
“When you’re ready to talk, give me a call. And, remember what I said, don’t leave town.” He walked out into bitter cold, letting the air sweep over him, fill his lungs, clear his head.
Life in Fitzgerald Bay had a predictable rhythm and an easy flow that he’d always loved. While his high-school peers had talked about heading to big cities after graduation, he’d dreamed of staying exactly where he was, working for the police force, raising a family in the sleepy little fishing town where he’d grown up.
Things had turned out the way he’d wanted.
Except in one area of his life.
There’d been no wedding, no kids, nothing but a series of girlfriends who had been nice enough.
Nice enough wasn’t good enough.
Douglas knew enough about love to know that.
He’d rather be single than settle for anything less than the kind of relationship his parents had had. That’s why he’d backed out of the dating scene, tried to avoid the matchmaking efforts of his friends and fam
ily. He’d decided he’d be content with what he had and not keep asking God for something more.
Merry had changed all that. He’d seen her, and he’d known he couldn’t resist her smile, couldn’t deny himself the opportunity to get to know her. Two dates, and he’d wanted so much more. He’d wanted to memorize her smile and her laughter, wanted to know every part of who she was, but she’d turned him away. Despite the way he’d felt, he’d let her, because pushing for something she didn’t want wasn’t his style. No more lunches. No dinners. No more going into the Reading Nook to see if Merry was there.
He’d done what she’d wanted and left her alone.
Now he was going to do what he wanted.
He was going to stick close, keep an eye on Merry and Tyler, keep them safe. And, when it was over and they were out of danger, he was going to do what he should have done from the very beginning. Learn every part of who Merry was.
Including every one of her secrets.
ELEVEN
Stay.
Go.
Merry wasn’t sure what was right anymore.
What you need is someone you can trust.
That’s what Douglas had said, and he was right.
She did need someone to trust, but trusting would mean putting Tyler’s life in someone else’s hands, and she couldn’t do that.
She shoved toys into an oversize duffle, tucked the crackers, cookies and cheese on top of them and zipped the bag.
That was it.
They were ready to go.
She carried the duffle to the front door, set it next to the overnight case, her heart heavy with what she was about to do.
An image of Douglas flashed through her mind. Deep black hair and vivid blue eyes. Compassion and strength and something indefinable, but so compelling, she’d almost told him what he wanted to know.
More than once.
And that scared her.
Even if she could make herself believe that staying in Fitzgerald Bay was safe, she knew that staying around Douglas wasn’t.
The wind howled, carrying in another storm. She needed to get out of town before it hit. The station wagon didn’t do well in snow, and if she didn’t leave soon, she wouldn’t be able to leave until the storm blew over.
That wasn’t an option.
No matter how heavyhearted she felt, no matter how much she’d rather stay, leaving was the only choice.
She hurried into her room, pulled the bankbook, the journal and the cash from their hiding place.
Tyler’s inheritance. All of it. One day, she’d have to tell him the truth about his beginnings. She’d have to tell him about Nicole. When she did, she’d pull out the journal and the bankbook. Until then, she kept them hidden safely away. Hidden like so many other things.
Like the truth.
Merry traced the numbers and letters carved into the front of the journal’s cover. Nicole’s doing, but Merry had never figured out what they meant. Maybe they were a secret message for Tyler. If so, she hoped he would have an easier time deciphering them than she had.
She sighed, dropping the journal and bankbook into her purse, then pulling out cash from the stack of bills and shoving the remainder in her bag. Her emergency fund taken from the money she’d received after her parents’ house had gone to escrow. She kept it close rather than in a bank. Cautious. Careful. Prepared.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to leave.
Hot tears clogged her throat as she scribbled a note on a piece of paper, hurried down to the kitchen to leave it and the cash on the table. A few months’ rent for Ida to make up for leaving unexpectedly.
But they’d been friends, and she was leaving without saying goodbye. Leaving forever with no intention of ever contacting Ida again.
Leaving Fitzgerald Bay was almost more difficult than leaving Boston had been. Almost more difficult than leaving her childhood home, her siblings, the person she used to be. Because, after years of running, she’d finally felt at home, finally felt as if she was safe. That had been a heady feeling.
While it lasted.
But she wasn’t safe anymore.
She walked into Tyler’s room, her pulse racing as she touched his shoulder. “Buddy? Time to get up. We have to go.”
He rolled onto his belly, buried his head deep into the pillow.
“Come on, Ty. Up you go.” She tugged off the covers, tickled his feet.
“Don’t want to.” He whined but sat up, wrapping his arms around Merry’s waist and pressing his head against her stomach.
“It’s going to be fun.” She kept her voice cheerful and bright, hoping to convince herself and him.
“Staying here is fun. Going to Mark’s party is fun.”
“You’ll make new friends.”
“I want my old friends.” He scowled, his dark hair falling down into his eyes.
“You can have new friends and old friends.”
“We’re not coming back, though. I want to come back.”
“Maybe we will.” It’s what she’d said every time they left.
“Okay.” His sigh was like an old man’s, and guilt piled upon guilt as she helped him dress, grabbed a few more items of clothing from his dresser and led him down the stairs.
She buttoned his coat, pulled a knit hat over his soft black hair, kissed his cheek. “You’re the best four-year-old boy I know. You know that, Tyler William O’Leary?”
“You’re the best mommy I know. You know that, Mommy?” He threw himself into her arms, and she blinked back tears. This wasn’t what she wanted for her son, leaving a home they both loved in the middle of the night.
It wasn’t what she wanted for herself.
What you need is someone you can trust.
Douglas’s words seemed to hang in the air as she disarmed the alarm and unlocked the door. She’d been asking God for help since she’d fled Boston, begging Him to give her a way out that wouldn’t cost her Tyler. Maybe Douglas was that way. Maybe he was the help she’d been praying for.
Or, maybe he was the beginning of the end.
As soon as he realized she’d fled, he’d try to track her down. She’d have to move quickly to keep a step ahead. Change her name again. Get a new car, new identification. New life.
And, she’d have to change Tyler’s name.
This would be the first time she’d have to tell him that.
How would she explain that to a four-year-old?
Merry stooped to help Tyler with his mittens, pulling them up under his sleeve, her thumb brushing the raised mark, the catalyst that had sent her world into a tailspin. A brand seared into the flesh of a newborn baby.
Please, take him. I’ll follow as soon as I can. If I can’t…you have to keep him safe. Promise me you will.
Nicole had spoken the words through swollen, bleeding lips, her face puffy from tears and swollen from the beating she’d received from Tyrone Rodriguez. Her boyfriend. Tyler’s father.
Merry shoved away the memory. If she dwelled in the past, she couldn’t live in the moment, and living in the moment was the only way to survive.
“Okay, buddy. We’re out of here.”
“Yep. Out of here!” Tyler’s cheerful good humor had returned and he skipped out the door, completely oblivious to the danger that had been hunting him his entire life.
Merry unlocked the station wagon, urged Tyler to hurry into his car seat, her pulse pounding frantically in her ears, the howling wind and frigid air shivering through her.
“Hurry, sweetie.”
She was sure she felt eyes tracking her movements as she tossed the suitcase and duffle into the backseat, hurried around the car and into the driver’s seat.
Her hands
shook as she shoved the keys into the ignition, praying desperately that the car would start. Old and fickle, it protested the cold weather, sputtering to life in a series of short, sharp sounds that were sure to bring neighbors to their windows.
Just go!
She stepped on the gas, pulling out of the driveway and onto the street, her hands sweaty on the cold steering wheel, her body humming with nerves.
She had to get out of town, get on the interstate highway, drive and drive until she couldn’t drive anymore. Eventually, she’d find a place to settle again. Eventually, another town would feel like home.
“Where we goin’ this time, Mommy?”
“Somewhere warm?” she suggested, her mouth so dry, her throat so tight the words sounded raspy and harsh.
“Cold. Like this place.”
“Okay. Somewhere cold.” She glanced in her rearview mirror. One last look at the house they’d spent a year living in. One last look, only the house wasn’t the only thing she saw.
A man stood in the middle of the road. Tall. Blond. Very, very thin. Something in his hands. A gun!
A loud pop startled a shriek out of her, and she barely managed to keep the car on the road as it pulled to the left, bumping along the pavement.
A blown tire.
Pop!
Bump.
Pull.
The car shimmied and jerked, and she slammed on the brakes, saw him in her rearview mirror. Loping toward the car, long legs eating up the ground, face hidden in shadows, the gun aimed at the back of the station wagon.
No!
Please, God, protect Tyler.
She stepped on the gas pedal with all her strength, the car shooting forward as a third pop dragged it to the right and into a tangle of bushes that lined Old Man Silverman’s yard.
Please, God. Please!
The car stalled there, the old vehicle absolutely refusing to start again.
Please!
She grabbed her cell phone, dialed 9-1-1, Douglas’s words ringing in her ears as she shouted her situation and location, begged the dispatcher to send help quickly.
Don’t leave town.
Stay in the house.
Call if you need me.
The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 10