Accidental Eyewitness

by Michelle Karl

  It sounded pretty good, in fact, but Ellen did feel a little weird about not telling Jamie. “What about my brother? He’ll panic if he doesn’t know where I am.”

  Clyne grunted. “I understand. I have a younger sister. We can call him right now, if you want.” He began punching buttons on the dashboard. “It needs to stay between the four of us, though.”

  “Yeah. Yes, please. But...if you call him on the radio, what if he’s still in the car with the suspect? Or if someone else overhears on the radio?” Another wave of fear rushed through her. With how involved Jamie had become in this case, was he now in danger, too?

  Clyne hesitated, then nodded. “Smart. Once I drop you off, I’ll head directly back to the station and tell him in person.”

  “That seems like the wisest course of action at this point,” Leo said. He squeezed her hand. “Though if you’re not okay with this, we’ll find another option.”

  Was she okay with it? Not entirely. She shut her eyes, trying to consider the situation without the distractions of everything and everyone around her. Jamie had work to do. He had a new suspect to question, and if that man talked, maybe Old Hogan would open up, too. He had a new crime scene to investigate—two of them, in fact—and having her around at the station might actually be a distraction to him. Knowing that she was safe and secure in a secret location, far from any possible prying eyes or danger, could help Jamie to focus and come to a resolution sooner.

  In her mind, that settled it. “All right. Let’s do it.”

  With her confirmation, the staff sergeant turned the car around to head the opposite direction. Leo kept his hand connected with hers, which was both a comfort and a frustration, but she didn’t pull away.

  They drove the rest of the way in silence, though the staff sergeant turned up his radio to hear the updates from his team. The crackling sound of the traffic reports, case updates and general banter helped to calm her nerves and bring her breathing back down to a steady, calm rhythm, and with her adrenaline firing at normal levels, her arms finally felt the delayed-onset muscle soreness of rappelling down the side of a building. She was quite fit from all the cleaning work she did, but the climbing exercise had forced her to engage different muscles and use every ounce of physical strength she possessed.

  The patrol car pulled off the highway and into a parking lot for the White Dogwood Motel. The faded blue siding with white window framing and off-white doors for each unit were reminiscent of decades past, but coloring aside, the exterior looked well kept and neat. The motel was one long building with the room units all in a row, with the check-in office located at the far end. The parking spaces lined the lot right in front of the rooms, facing the road. Clyne climbed out of the car and leaned over to speak to them.

  “I’ll go check you in. Won’t be a minute. Two rooms, side by side?”

  Leo nodded once, and the staff sergeant tapped the top of the car, then closed his door and headed inside.

  “I’m ready for this to be over,” Leo said. She looked over at him, fully aware that their hands remained connected. His thumb slid across the surface of her skin, sending sparks up her arm. “Which I realize is a massive understatement, but I’m even more ready now than I was a few hours ago. My shoulders and biceps are on fire.”

  He smiled wryly as he spoke, and she couldn’t help laughing. “Mine, too. My hands don’t look as bad as yours do, though. Those cloth burns still look painful. Maybe we should have asked the staff sergeant to stop for some salve.”

  Leo shrugged. “I’ll be fine. There’s usually a cheap moisturizer inside motel rooms, right? That’ll do for tonight. I’m not too worried about it. I can endure a little extra pain if it means giving the officers the time and space they need to get a handle on what’s been going on with this case.”

  “I really hope Old Hogan talks.” She sighed. “I’m sure that whatever he’s gotten himself messed up in, it wasn’t intentional. He probably knows exactly who he gave that cigarette to and is afraid to say it.”

  “That gives even greater weight to someone on the inside being behind this, though. If he knows who it is and it’s someone at the station, I’m not surprised he’s keeping his mouth shut. I might, too, in his situation. But let’s not discount Trucco’s findings, also. She may be a little rough around the edges, but there’s a reason she’s traveling around as a visiting instructor. It means she does good work and she’s well respected. She could be the one to break open this case.”

  Ellen rubbed her forehead. A spark of pain shot up the back of her neck and into her skull. “I think I need to lie down. The events of the day are catching up to me.”

  Leo chuckled, but it was a gentle, understanding sound. “It’s about time, Ellen. You’re not superhuman.” His hand slipped underneath hers, interlacing their fingers, and she found herself caught in his gaze. “Though, if I do say so, you’re a pretty super human.”

  She couldn’t help it. It was so cheesy that she laughed.

  His shoulders sagged and he pulled his hand away, groaning. “Okay, okay. I deserved that.” He smiled. “But I mean it, Ellen. I know we haven’t seen each other all that much for the past number of years.”

  She blinked, and his face was closer to hers than she remembered it being moments before. She felt very aware of the dryness inside her mouth and the fact that she hadn’t brushed her teeth since early that morning. Her arms felt like lead weights, and yet the muscles in her back propelled her forward, closer to Leo, closer to his parted lips and his heavily lidded eyes that had somehow, inexplicably and yet hopefully, landed on her mouth—

  The car door swung open.

  “All taken care of—oops, sorry. Am I interrupting?” Clyne poked his head in as he spoke, a knowing grin spreading across his face as she and Leo leaped away from each other like teenagers caught by their parents. “The rooms are at the far end. They’re separate units but connected by a door that can be locked or unlocked from either side, ‘family-style,’ I think it’s called. I’ll drive us down so there’s less risk of you being spotted. Here are the room keys.”

  He passed the keys back, one for each room, and chauffeured them to the far end of the motel.

  “This is where I leave you,” he said. “But I’ll send a little something over for you both, all right? I’ll tell the delivery guy to knock and leave it outside. And when we’ve got a lead or when I think it’s safe to come back to town, I’ll either call the front desk and have them get a cab back for you, or myself or one of the others will come for you. I’ll speak to Jamie as soon as I’m back at the station. Don’t risk calling in. We have no clue who might pick up, and this place is only safe as long as no one knows you’re here. All right?”

  “Thank you, sir.” Leo’s words were stiff and formal, and he didn’t turn his head toward her at all. Ellen’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Had she imagined what had happened between them before Clyne returned to the car? Was Leo upset with her?

  “Yes, thank you,” she squeaked. She opened the car door and reached her room in two strides, taking the end unit. She unlocked it and was about to step inside when Leo called her name.

  “What?”

  The easy smile he’d had minutes before was gone, replaced by a stern, professional demeanor. “I’ll be right here if you need anything or if you want to talk. But I suggest we both get as much rest as possible.”

  She agreed. As much rest as possible.

  And hopefully, resting would not only heal her bruised and aching body, but her sore and confused heart, as well.

  * * *

  Leo shut the door behind him, then leaned against it. He banged the back of his head against the door once, but immediately regretted the action. Just like he regretted what had almost happened in the patrol car. After everything they’d been through, after all the promises he’d made to himself less than an hour earlier, he’d gone ahead and nearly kis
sed her, anyway. What had he been thinking?

  He hadn’t been thinking. And that was the problem. Without a clear head and a direct sense of his responsibilities, how could he be the protector Ellen needed right now? She didn’t need a guy making moves on her. It wasn’t fair to her; she had enough on her plate.

  And it wasn’t fair to her brother to go behind his back after making a promise.

  He slid over to the window, nudging aside the gauzy white curtain to check outside the room. The sun had descended considerably in the past few hours, sending its golden and orange rays overtop the tree line to craft a beautiful, picturesque view of the forest across the road. When he was younger, he’d taken the lush surroundings of northern British Columbia for granted, not truly appreciating its majesty until after he’d left the area for several years to attend college in Saskatchewan for his police foundations diploma. Graduation was followed by his RCMP training in other parts of the country. Each province had its own remarkable views and natural beauty, but his heart was partial to the place in which he was born and raised.

  The parking lot outside the motel was empty, save for one little gray Civic that he suspected belonged to the owner. The near-complete vacancy wasn’t a surprise; tourist season didn’t begin for another few weeks. Most folks who moved through the area in need of lodging at this time of year were contractors and long-range truckers.

  Still, he didn’t feel right about falling asleep while the thieves remained at large and were still angry at Ellen and looking for a way to permanently silence her. Especially now that the RCMP had one of the thieves in custody. And if the police were able to round up a few more suspects, both she and now he would have a solid shot at identifying the rest of the thieves by voice if necessary. That was, if the suspect Clyne and Jamie had arrested didn’t roll on the rest of his team first. But if there was any truth to the idea that there was a dirty cop in the detachment, that might not happen, either. The suspect might be just as freaked out as Hogan.

  Leo pulled the second set of blinds closed about three quarters of the way, then took the padded metal chair from the motel room’s desk and positioned it at the end of the window ledge. The way the blinds draped, if he sat at the edge of the window, he could see through the space between the glass and the fabric, but it’d be difficult for anyone outside to see him. From this angle, he could keep an eye on the front door of Ellen’s room to see when the food arrived.

  Or trouble. But he hoped the former would be their only visitor that night.

  He sat there for what felt like hours. Night fully descended, until the only illumination outside came from the stars and moon overhead, and the dim, flickering bulb inside the motel sign. The stars sparkling in the sky offered a surreal contrast to the madness of the past day and a half.

  Leo didn’t hear a peep from Ellen’s room, though more than once he got up to put his ear against the interior door that connected the two units.

  Has it really only been a day and a half, Lord? Leo ran his hands down his face, stopping halfway to rub his eyes. How can I feel this strongly for her after such a short time?

  But he knew very well how. He’d known her for a lot longer than a day and a half, and his heart had never truly given up its affections—rather, he’d shoved all those emotions aside for the sake of his friendship and for Ellen.

  But the tragedy that had befallen Ellen’s mother and had possibly traumatized her had happened a long time ago, though. They were older now. Wiser and better equipped to tackle what life threw at them, and if the past day and a half had taught him anything, it was that the meek, adorable Ellen he’d grown up knowing had blossomed into a courageous, breathtaking version of herself.

  His eyelids began to droop and his stomach gnawed on itself. Where is that pizza?

  He had decided to get up and grab some water to help keep awake when a knock came on the door between the rooms.

  When he unlocked it, Ellen stood on the other side, bleary-eyed and crestfallen.

  “I can’t sleep,” she said. She glanced up at him and sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I came in here. I’ll leave you alone.” She turned to leave.

  “No, Ellen!” He reached for her and lightly brushed her wrist. She paused, gazing back at him with sorrowful—no, teary—eyes. “Oh, Ellie.”

  She broke. She plowed headfirst into his chest, rivers of tears flooding her cheeks and soaking his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could and held her there. Her shoulders shook with the force of emotion, and he searched for the right words to help her feel better—but at the same time, he knew that words would never be enough to relieve the grief, the agony and the trauma that had begun the moment those thieves walked into the house where she worked.

  In fact, it relieved him a little to see her release everything she’d been holding back. He’d started to worry whether it might all catch up with her at the wrong time or when she least expected it. Here in his arms, she could be vulnerable. He saw the strength in her weakness and felt honored that she trusted him enough to show this side of herself to him.

  When her sobs began to abate, he took her by the shoulders and led her to the edge of the bed. He sat her down, retrieved the box of Kleenex from the bathroom and then took a seat in the metal chair across from her.

  “Take as long as you need,” he said, though what he really wanted to do was hold her again. His arms felt empty and cold without her in them.

  After several minutes, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and blinked up at him. “Leo, why is this happening? Haven’t I suffered enough?”

  He wanted to tell her why, but he didn’t have an answer. And he wanted to offer reassurance for her pain, but she didn’t want to hear it—she’d made that quite clear.

  “Did you get any rest?” he asked instead, since it seemed like the safer thing to say and because he genuinely cared whether she’d had a chance to recover. “There hasn’t been any food delivered yet, but I’m sure it’s for a good reason. Something might have come up that has kept Clyne from making a call. Or he just plumb forgot. Either way, there’s still motel tea and coffee. And we can always drink those little creamer cups or eat the sugar packets if need be.”

  Her nose wrinkled. “That sounds awful.”

  “Worse than having a sour stomach all night?”

  “Too late.” She sighed and tucked her knees up to her chin. “But to answer your question, no. I didn’t get any rest. I can’t sleep. I keep seeing... Never mind.” She turned away from him, resting her cheek on her knees and curling her arm around her face.

  “Ellen.” He slipped from the metal chair into the space next to her. “It’s all right. We’ve known each other a long time, and you have to know that I’ll help you however I can.”

  “It’s stupid,” she mumbled into her arm. “I’m a grown woman.”

  “It’s not stupid. And it doesn’t matter how old or how young you are. The things that happen in life, especially difficult or traumatic things, can affect you in various ways at any point. You went through the loss of both of your parents at a young age, so that’s bound to shape the way you see and relate to the world.”

  She took a shaky breath and raised her head, switching to the other cheek so he could see her. “Did Jamie ever tell you that I was in the house when my mom died? In the next room? She was making me a snack. I should have made it myself, but she wanted to do it, even though she’d already taken all those pills. Not that I knew she’d taken them. It was like...like she wanted to do one last thing for me to say goodbye. At the time I thought she’d maybe gotten better because she was in such a good mood and I hadn’t seen her like that for months. Since Dad died, really. How stupid was I to think that?”

  His heart broke for her and he searched for the right words. “You were a teenager. How could you have known? And if she’d taken the pills already, there wasn’t an
ything you could have done. By the time an ambulance arrived—”

  “You think I don’t know that?” She sat upright, knees dropping. Color blazed across her skin. “I’ve replayed that day over and over a thousand times. It comes to me when I least expect it. I’ll hear a sound, or see a color, or smell a particular scent... Look, if I’d been in the kitchen with her, she might not have fallen. The doctors said the head injury from the fall, combined with what was already in her system, was what killed her. Her body wasn’t able to fight or recover.” She took a shaky inhale. “And then seeing Rod fall...hearing him hit the ground...”

  Leo understood now. It was like she’d pulled back a curtain that he hadn’t even known had been there all this time, but that clarified all of Jamie’s comments and concerns about Ellen’s mental health and well-being. He gently took her hand and she didn’t pull away. “Ellen, I’m going to ask you a question and I don’t want you to think I’m being patronizing, because I really don’t know if anyone has suggested this to you. Sometimes these types of things get overlooked or shoved aside, or we don’t have anyone in our lives with the experience to identify what might be wrong. But...has anyone talked to you about post-traumatic stress disorder?”

  THIRTEEN

  She looked taken aback, and pulled her hand away as if his touch burned her. “I don’t have PTSD, Leo. I think I’d know.”