Living in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  “You can stay here as long as you need,” Luke replied without hesitation. “If somebody knows who you are, they most likely already know where you live. Nobody’s going to come down my long lane without drawing attention.”

  The entire quarter-mile rocked road was in view; Hardy had liked this job even more when he saw that.

  “I believe this is the safest place for you right now, and I’m not going to worry about Holly and me. I know she’ll say the same thing.”

  Hardy was moved by the kindness and friendship of the man in front of him. “Thank you. I might relocate before long, though, but you’ll be the first to know if I do.” He actually had the germ of an idea he was giving serious thought to.

  “So, you and Haley.” Luke was changing the subject. “You’ve taken her out every night this week, haven’t you?”

  “Yes.” Hardy couldn’t read the expression on the other man’s face. “Is there a problem with that?”

  “Not as long as you plan to stick around and not break her heart.” The farmer was serious. “She’s been through a lot, and deserves a man who appreciates her.”

  “I know what she’s been through.” It felt good to be able to say that. “And believe me, I appreciate her more than you know.”

  Luke seemed to consider Hardy’s words before slowly nodding. “Good.”

  Hardy glanced at his watch. “Speaking of Haley, she’s expecting me for dinner. If I don’t get going, I’ll be late.”

  After Luke told him goodnight and walked away with Clarence, Hardy wasted no time in getting out of there. It was the first time Haley had invited him to her apartment for a meal, and he didn’t want to keep her waiting.

  As Luke observed, Hardy and Haley had spent every evening this week together. They were going to church again on Sunday, which still gave Hardy a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he’d told her he would, and he wasn’t going to start off their relationship with lies. He had more than enough of those in his life the way it was.

  Tonight was a culmination of a complete week of dates. He’d taken her bowling on Monday and to what had to be the sappiest love story ever put on film Tuesday. Just last night, they’d gone to a surprisingly enjoyable Bible study. It pleased him when she suggested they stay in tonight. It seemed Haley liked to cook. Since Hardy liked to eat, he figured that was one more thing that made them ideal for each other. She laughed at him when he shared that sentiment.

  He quickly discovered Haley had an excellent sense of humor and was loyal to a fault. He’d never met a person more determined to see the good in people. Something was going on with one of the other dispatchers, and Haley expressed dismay that Mitch might have to fire the other woman.

  The most amazing thing was after only one week, he knew in his heart he’d found the right woman. Haley Johnson was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Hardy had never given much stock to love at first—or if he were technical, third—sight, but he was pretty sure she’d stolen his heart when he first saw her standing there caressing the leaves of poison oak.

  The ringing of his cell phone rudely pulled him from his thoughts. He pulled onto the shoulder before looking at caller ID. It was the sheriff’s personal number.

  “Harding here,” he answered.

  “Hardy, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need you to take care of something for me,” Mitch was brusque.

  “I have a date with Haley.” Besides, he’d already put in his eight hours that day.

  “You can call her and let her know you’ll be running late.” Evidently, Hardy’s new boss wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  Hardy sighed. “What do you need?”

  “There’s a situation at the station I need you to take care of.” Mitch sounded more like himself now. “Crystal just called to let me know somebody’s there to see me. A young man named Sammy Lewis. You’ve probably never heard of him, but he just got out of jail a short while back.”

  Hardy immediately remembered Wilma Ebhart explaining what the boy had done. “I actually do know about him. Do you know what he wants to see you about?”

  “Crystal says he’ll only talk to me.” Mitch cleared his throat. “Hank and Jeff are on duty right now, but I don’t think Sammy will respond to either one of them, and I’m over in Pattinton, up to my eyeballs in china patterns and place settings. Tess will kill me if I try to leave right now.”

  “If he won’t speak to Hank or Jeff, what makes you think he’ll talk to me?” Hardy was confused.

  A deep sigh emanated from Hardy’s phone. “Hank is too easy going, and Jeff will scare the kid half to death. You’ve dealt with people like him before, haven’t you? You know how to talk to a person his age?”

  Hardy thought of the kids he’d managed to persuade not to join Dohners. “I guess.” He couldn’t help but be skeptical. “But, what are we going to do if he just clams up or leaves?”

  “We won’t be any worse off.” Mitch’s statement was blunt. “Just say you’ll try. That’s all I’m asking.”

  It appeared Hardy had no choice. “I’ll give it a shot, but I’m not making any promises.”

  After Mitch had assured Hardy he’d understand if Sammy Lewis walked, and they said their goodbyes, Hardy quickly dialed Haley’s number.

  Even though she said she understood, Hardy could still hear the disappointment in her voice when he told her he’d be late. After she promised to keep dinner warm for them, he reluctantly ended the call. The sooner he got to the station, the sooner he’d be at Haley’s.

  A buxom brunette was standing behind the counter when Hardy walked into the station. So, he was finally seeing the Crystal Stanley he’d heard so much about—none of it good. Mitch made no secret of the fact he wanted to fire her, and would do so if he had the slightest bit of proof to back his suspicions. Hardy looked around but didn’t see anybody else.

  “Well, you must be Beau Harding.” Even the woman’s simpering voice was annoying. “I’ve been looking forward to officially welcoming our newest officer.”

  He didn’t like the way she was looking at him, nor that she appeared to be walking toward him. Beau had dealt with women like this before, or at least, Joe Ryman had. Sharp and to the point worked best.

  “I think you better back off. I'm in a committed relationship." Just saying it made his heart beat faster.

  She tilted her head and posed in a style she probably thought was attractive. In reality, she reminded him of the women so hungry for love, they took all the verbal and even physical abuse. The only pleasant aspect was she stopped walking. Unfortunately, it seemed her mouth was still running. “I’ll share."

  Hardy tasted bile. “It’s not going to happen." She was one of the most desperate women he'd ever met—and he'd met plenty. “Where is Sammy Lewis?”

  His words brought Crystal up short. She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I sent him back to the break room. He was giving me the creeps, just sitting out here looking around.”

  That was brilliant. Just leave a teenager alone in a room full of police equipment. Without another word, Hardy walked past her toward the back room.

  When Hardy walked into the room, a young man with shoulder-length blonde hair sat at the table. A huge frown filled his face when he saw Hardy.

  “Sammy Lewis?” Hardy kept his tone of voice friendly.

  “Who are you?” The boy’s eyes were full of suspicion. “I told that woman I’d only talk to the sheriff.”

  Okay. Hardy had to be careful how he handled this. “My name is Beau Harding. Sheriff Landon is out of town, but he asked me to come and see you. Can I get you a soda? I need one.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Hardy walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. “Looks like we have a few bottles of root beer if you like that better, or we can get into Deputy Daniels’ lemonade.” He stayed bent over, looking into the appliance.

  “I like cola.” Sammy sounded slightly less hostile.

  “Me, too.” Hardy grabbed two bottle
s and turned around, letting the refrigerator door close behind him. “Here you go.” He handed the boy a bottle.

  Sammy accepted the drink and looked uncertainly at Hardy. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” Hardy casually pulled out a chair at the end of the table instead of across from the boy. He leaned back and took a long drink of soda before returning his attention to the teenager. “So, Sammy, I hear you’re a football player. I met Roger Weiss once."

  The boy’s eyes practically bugged before he remembered to play it cool.

  "Have you heard of him?”

  Sammy was fighting a losing battle trying to act unimpressed. “He’s the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears." The teenager put his elbows on the table and leaned toward Hardy. “How did you meet him? Do you play?”

  “No, I was never any good at football.” He couldn’t very well tell Sammy he’d met Roger Weiss during a dinner party Joe Ryman escorted Audrey Dohner to. “I just ran into him at a party once.”

  “Did you get his autograph?”

  Hardy shook his head. It wasn’t that kind of party. “I didn’t have anything for him to sign.”

  Sammy’s interest was replaced by an expression filled with despair. “I was going to be like him. I was going to play pro ball.”

  “Maybe I can help you out.” For some reason, Hardy felt like he needed to do something for this kid. “The coach at Illinois Continental College is a friend of mine. It’s not a big school, but players are scouted there anyway.”

  “They won’t want me.” The teenager’s blonde hair fell across his eyes as he shook his head. “I only have a GED. No college will take me, let alone let me play ball.”

  “Illinois Continental will accept students with GEDs, and like I said, I’m friends with the coach. He owes me a favor, so I’ll ask him to give you a chance. You get yourself into school next year, and I’ll arrange for the opportunity to try out for them.” Hardy was all but sure from what he’d heard, the kid would easily get a scholarship. “You’ll have to be good enough, though. My friend isn’t going to let just anybody play.”

  “That's something I do right—football.” Sammy’s face lit up, his earlier trepidation all but gone. “I’ll apply for next year. You’ll really talk to your friend for me?”

  “I don’t say something unless I mean it.” Buck Swanson claimed he owed Hardy a big favor after Hardy kept Buck’s son out of the Dohner organization. Buck would give this kid a fair shake. “Now, how about you? You wanted to tell Sheriff Landon something. Will you tell me?”

  Sammy’s excitement faded but was soon replaced by a look of determination. “I don’t want to get in trouble again. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I know something. Maybe something important.”

  “If you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s nothing for you to worry about,” Hardy assured him.

  “You know that van? The one the paper says the police are looking for?” He seemed uncertain. “I know where it is.”

  “Where is it?” If they found the van, they might find the perpetrators.

  Sammy stared at the table, no longer meeting Hardy’s eyes. “It’s at the bottom of the reservoir.”

  The three boys who worked for Luke had mentioned the extremely unsavory hangout for teens and young adults. If Sammy had been there…Had Hardy been too quick in agreeing to help him? “How do you know it’s there?”

  “I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” The teenager seemed eager to convince Hardy. “It was in the afternoon, and none of the other people who hang out there were even around. I was alone.”

  “Sammy.” Hardy waited until the young man was looking into his eyes. “Just tell me what happened.”

  Resolve appeared on the boy's features. “I was having a bad day, so I went out there to think. I was just sitting by the water, thinking things over, minding my own business. Then I heard a car coming. I thought it must be the police or somebody like that since nobody parties out there during the day, so I hid.” His gaze didn’t waver. “It was a van—a dark blue panel van like the one in the paper—the one the police are looking for. It headed right for the water, and for a minute I thought it was going to go straight in. But it stopped at the edge.”

  If Sammy were telling the truth, he had witnessed something important. “Go ahead, Sammy,” Hardy prompted.

  “A man got out of the van, and when he leaned back in, he must have done something to the accelerator. For a minute, it looked like the door hit him, and he was stuck. He got out, though before the motor revved, and the van just went right off the shore into the water. The guy stood there until it sunk. It’s really deep, you know. Then he turned around and left."

  "Hiding was a good choice.”

  "I waited a long time before I came out of the woods and walked home. I didn’t know why he had done that, but I figured it wasn’t for anything good.”

  “How did he leave? Was there a second car, Sammy?” Hardy once more thanked God for his excellent memory; he didn’t want to interrupt the boy's train of thought while he ran to fetch paper and pen.

  “He walked, but I think somebody might have been waiting for him out on the road.” The boy frowned. “I heard a loud motor start just a few minutes after he left.”

  “And the man? Can you describe the man?”

  “Not very good.” Uncertainty was once more on the young man’s face. “I was pretty far away from him. Maybe I should have snuck closer to get a better look at him, but . . . I . . .I was scared.”

  “That's okay.” Hardy didn’t blame him for staying hidden; it had most likely saved his life. “We all get fearful from time to time, and sometimes that's the best feeling to have. It's saved my life a time or two."

  Hardy sat quietly while Sammy processed his words. He decided to go ahead and ask. “Just tell me what you can about him.”

  “Okay.” Sammy studied the empty bottle in his hands for a moment before returning his gaze to Hardy. “He was white and pretty tall, maybe a few inches taller than me.” Hardy estimated Sammy’s height at just shy of six feet, but it was hard to tell with the boy sitting down. “He was wearing a baseball cap, so I couldn’t really tell what color his hair was. And he had on really dark glasses. Those expensive ones you can see your reflection in.”

  “What kind of clothes did he have on?” If the man had been wearing a uniform, it would fit with the eyewitness’s account of what she’d seen at the animal clinic.

  “He had on old jeans and a black leather jacket. At least it looked like leather.” Sammy’s brows went down as he frowned. “It might have been that cheap stuff that looks like leather. I wasn’t close enough to tell.”

  Hardy was starting to get a picture.

  “Did he have on tennis shoes?”

  “I don’t think so.” The boy seemed to be picturing them. “I’m pretty sure his shoes were brown. They might have been work boots. I was too far away to tell for sure.”

  “Okay.” Hardy smiled at the teenager. “You’ve done a good job describing him, Sammy. I know you weren’t very close to him, but do you think you would know the man if you saw him again? Like in a picture?”

  Sammy looked dejected as he slowly shook his head. “Maybe if I saw him out walking around or something I’d recognize him, but I just didn’t see enough of his face with the cap and those glasses on.”

  “That’s okay,” Hardy rushed to assure him. “You’ve given me some very helpful information. Just one more question. When did you see this?”

  The boy’s color heightened as he stared fixedly at the bottle again. “About a week ago. I don’t remember for sure.” He seemed near tears. “I know I shoulda come in and told sooner, but I was scared.”

  “I can understand that.” This wasn’t some big-city street kid sitting next to Hardy; right now he was a frightened teenager. “Why did you decide to tell the sheriff now?”

  Sammy’s eyes slowly rose until he was looking into Hardy’s. “I don’t want to let Mr. and Mrs. Walker down. They tol
d the judge I was a good person, even after what I did to them. I knew they’d want me to tell. I wanted to talk to the sheriff because he’s friends with them. I wanted them to know I did the right thing.”

  “I’ll make sure they know.” Hardy smiled at Sammy and stood up. “Come on. I’ll give you a lift home.”

  “Thanks.”

  A little while later, after Hardy dropped Sammy off at a rundown house in a crowded neighborhood, he pulled into the parking lot of a closed shoe store. As much as he wanted to see Haley, he needed to let Mitch know about Sammy Lewis’s news.

  “That’s just what we need! A van at the bottom of the reservoir. That thing is over one-hundred and twenty feet deep in places.” Mitch grouched to Hardy. “Are you sure Sammy doesn’t know who this man is? He’s not holding out on us?”

  “You asked me to talk to this boy because of my past experience with kids like him,” Hardy reminded the sheriff. “I believe the boy is telling us everything. He wants the Walkers to be proud of him for doing the right thing, Mitch. That’s what gave him the courage to come in.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll be calling in the state boys again.” Hardy could hear the sheriff speak to somebody he was with. “If Tessa doesn’t murder me before we get there, I’ll be back in town within the next thirty minutes. We’ll have to set up lights, and get divers and a wench truck. This is going to be fun.”

  “Don’t shoot the messenger, sheriff.” Hardy felt sorry for the other man.

  “I don’t suppose you’d want to visit a reservoir with me tonight?”

  Hardy thought of the evening he and Haley had planned. But if this van was the one involved with the break-ins, he should be there when they pulled it out of the water.

  “You’ll have to tell me how to get there.”

  Chapter 40

  “That looks great on you.” Missy Landon’s eyes met Haley’s in the three-sided dressing room mirror.