Gone Before Goodbye (Love &Mystery in the--6-oh-3 Book 1)

by Nora LeDuc

  She called the hospital and was connected to Lucy’s nurse, who told her that the doctor would allow visitors, even though, Lucy remained unconscious. The rain poured down the rest of the day while she worked on the Remember Lisa Page and expanded her list of stores to contact about putting up Lisa’s flyer.

  By evening, humid air trapped the smog that rolled across the yard. Teagan hoped Noah wasn’t driving around tonight. Thank goodness for the two fans she’d found in the attic. They kept the bedroom livable.

  She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was almost midnight, and she hadn’t heard a word from Noah since the afternoon. At least the news reported the fire was out at the park.

  She picked up her aunt’s phone lying next to the book she’d been attempting to read. The quiet in the house yanked on her nerves. Her thumb hovered over Noah’s number plugged into the contact list.

  Jogger sprang off the spread and sat near the bed meowing at Teagan.

  “You can’t be hungry, can you?” Her stomach felt like she’d consumed rust remover. Just the thought of a trip to the kitchen made her queasy. If only she could sleep, maybe she’d wake fit and hungry.

  She opened the door, and Jogger raced from the room. The empty house lay beyond. Closing the door, she stared at Noah’s number, and debated calling him again. She just wanted to hear his voice.

  A piercing screech broke the hush. Teagan spun around, dropping her phone. Was that horrible noise Jogger? Unable to move, she waited, straining to hear another sound. The shriek had come from downstairs.

  But nobody was there to hurt her cat. Her stomach cramped. Do something.

  She scooped up her phone and pocketed it. On unsteady legs, she crossed to the bureau and picked up her .38 Special. Gripping the unloaded weapon, she peeked into the hall.

  The nightlights burned in the empty corridor. She wet her lips and in a loud whisper called her pet. Leaning forward, she listened for the pad of the cat’s paws or a meow. The silence in the house roared in her ears.

  She crept to the stairs. No sign of Jogger in the hall. Maybe she smacked into furniture in the dark. No. Cats can see in the night. Maybe she had a heart attack and was lying on the floor dying. The idea pushed Teagan forward. She stole down the steps, her mouth went dry. Halfway, she paused again. The grandfather clock chimed the hour.

  The familiar musical ding reassured her. She was overreacting. Lowering her gun, she walked into the living room and snapped on the light. The space looked the same as usual except no Jogger on the footrest. The cat must be in the kitchen.

  She whirled around and scanned the furniture and bookcase. She could have sworn the cat’s cry came from the living room. Where was Jogger? Teagan’s head throbbed with worry and alarm. She’d become a paranoid flake cake.

  Massaging her forehead, she entered the kitchen and froze. Someone was in Lisa’s chair. No, couldn’t be.

  Sweat popped out on Teagan’s forehead.

  As she inched forward, the small functioning part of her brain warned the almost human figure was too small to be Lisa. What or who was at the table? Teagan halted. An oblong, faceless head rested on a midsection. Stumps protruded from where arms would go. Legs without feet jutted from the lower portion of the trunk. The entire form was encased in a dark brown shell. A rancid odor of something burnt permeated the room. As Teagan struggled to make sense of the scene, a worm wriggled out of a hole, a hole where an eye should be. The pieces whirled in her mind and fell together. A burnt human corpse sat in Lisa’s chair.

  She gasped. Nausea rushed up her throat. She darted to the sink and vomited. No. No.

  Reeling with shock, she wiped her mouth with a shaking hand and stumbled into the living room.

  Noah. He’d come. She fished out her phone and blubbered her fears the minute he answered.

  “Slow down, Teagan,” he said. “Try again. What happened?”

  She swallowed, and forced a string of words out of her tight throat and answered his questions with yes or no. Finally, he spoke the magic phrase. “I’m on my way. I’ll alert my men. In the meantime, I’ll contact dispatch for the patrol. I bet they’re closer than I am. Stay on the line with me.”

  She couldn’t stop the tears that flooded down her cheeks while she waited. In five minutes, the patrol officers identified themselves to her, and she let them inside. Six minutes later, Noah and Detective Hines arrived followed by a team of men. They invaded her home with the sense of urgency in their footsteps. At the sight of Noah, she wiped away the tears and retold her story in a more coherent voice until she reached the part about the worm.

  He captured her hands, which were in constant motion, in his large ones and guided her to the sofa. “Sit. We’ll find who did this. Don’t worry.”

  He gave her time to regain her composure, and then he and Detective Hines took her statement. When she finished, he reassured her that he and Hines would take care of everything.

  “Where’s Jogger?”

  “She’s safe under your couch. I guess she won’t be supervising. Stay here. I’ll keep you up to date.

  While the techies snapped pictures, wrote measurements, and videoed her nightmare, the big question kept running in her mind. Was it Lisa?

  The techies and uniformed men and women threw her glances on their way through to search her house. She couldn’t focus or think of anything else. It felt like two eternities before Noah sat next to her and said something about the unidentified burned body in her kitchen.

  How could this happen? She sagged against the cushion and tried but failed to imagine Lisa coming in the front door.

  Hours later, people drifted out the door. The police were leaving. Was it morning? Was Noah going?

  “Stay,” she whispered when he approached and before he announced he was leaving.

  He sat beside her and covered her hand with his. They sat in the silence. She was too exhausted to speak, but all she needed was Noah next to her. For the first time in hours, she closed her eyes.

  She fell into a restless slumber haunted by giant worms and Lisa screaming she was on fire. Teagan stirred and touched a body. She jumped up with a gasp to find a startled Noah drawing his weapon.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted while her mind fast-forwarded through memories of her night. “I fell asleep and had a nightmare. What time is it?” She glanced at the window and rubbed her eyes.

  “Still night.” He holstered his gun and then tugged her down next to him.

  She burrowed closer to his large form and asked the important question. “Do you need to leave?”

  “I sent in a quick update to the chief when we finished. We can rest a little longer.”

  She closed her eyes. Maybe she would just sit here. At the touch against her shoulder, she tilted her head up to Noah standing in front of her. Had she fallen asleep again? She rubbed her eyes and asked, “What time is it?”

  “It’s nearly six.” He ran a hand over his shadowed jaw. “I should go home, shower, and change before my meeting. Did you sleep?”

  She worked her fingers through her uncombed hair. “I’d call it passing out. I wonder where Jogger’s hiding.”

  “After everyone left, Jogger claimed your bed. I’d bet she’s still enjoying a catnap upstairs.”

  “I’m glad someone can catch a few winks.” She pointed toward the kitchen, and her throat tightened. “Is the—”

  “Gone. Someone broke the lock on your back door. The locksmith will be here this afternoon to take care of it. I’ve hooked up a temporary bolt for now that will keep you safe until he arrives.”

  “Thanks.” The numbness that protected her when she woke was fading. She walked to the window and peeked outside. Streaks of light lit the sky above the rooftops. A beautiful bright day was ahead, but her life was filled with revulsion and darkness.

  Noah’s car sat alone in the driveway, unlike the previous evening when it was packed with cruisers and the Major Crime Van. “The neighbors must be wondering what happened to the neig
hborhood.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered over the memory of the brown encrusted human. She had to stop thinking, remembering or she’d be ill again.

  At least Noah had stayed with her. The idea sent a quiver of pleasure through her until she recalled the smoke that had filled the air yesterday.

  “Noah, I didn’t comprehend much last night. What happened at Pretty Park? Is the fire out?”

  “You were in shock. Sit, first.”

  Oh, oh, this sounded ominous. She sat next to him.

  “Lots went on yesterday. A portion of the park’s woods burned before the blaze was extinguished, but the firefighters stopped the fire from spreading up the mountains. We found Jake’s car hidden on a wooded trail near the main jogging path.”

  “Jake must be glad to have his car back. Did you find out who stole it?”

  “Not yet, and we’re working on informing him. We’ll process the vehicle first for blood, hair, fibers.”

  She nodded and locked her fingers together in her lap to keep her hands still.

  “I don’t like leaving you by yourself.” His eyes reflected worry and concern.

  She fought the urge to lean against him and pour out the horror from her night again, but the man had enough going on in his life without absorbing her problems over and over. “I know what happened to your family.”

  “What?” He shook his head and frowned.

  Why had she blurted out that information? “I’m sorry.” Her face heated. “Stacey told me about the boat accident before the vigil. I had to tell you. It’s been on my mind.” She rose and paced in front of him. “I keep hearing Aunt Sophia’s voice telling me to stop being a gossip.”

  “I doubt you heard your aunt saying that.”

  Now she’d have to explain talking to her aunt, a dead person.

  “If she did speak,” he continued, “she would have told you everyone in Hawick Falls already discussed the accident a year ago. It’s old news, except for people with long memories.”

  “How awful.” Everyone gossiped about him? If Noah had threatened the man who killed his family, it was likely to have hit the city’s popular rumor mills. Maybe Stacey’s story had been the truth and not an exaggerated tale. “I won’t bring it up again, unless you want to discuss it.”

  “We’ll gossip about my family when we have more time. Believe me. It could take days.” Noah gestured toward the window. “I believe your company has arrived and I can go.”

  Outside, a blue cruiser parked at the curb in front of her house.

  “I talked with the chief,” Noah said. “He agreed you shouldn’t be left in your house alone. If you need anything, the officer will take care of it. Paul is on duty today.” Noah rose. “No more surprise guests at the dinner table.”

  “Does Paul do windows, too?” she asked, hoping to lighten the dark expression on his face.

  “He might.” Noah kissed the top of her head. “I’ll come by later. Call if you need me.”

  She followed him to the door. “What happened to the…body?”

  “Gone for postmortem exam. We already have Lisa’s DNA to determine if there’s a match. I talked to the chief, and he’s pushing the lab to fast track the results. We should have the outcome in a couple of days.”

  The charred figure from her nightmare could be Lisa, but who put her there?

  “Take care, Teagan.” He touched her shoulder in a quick yet intimate gesture.

  She wanted to lean into him and kiss like they had in the church to bring back a moment when she wasn’t filled with sadness or revulsion.

  As though reading her mind, he dropped a feather light kiss on her lips. Well, he didn’t quite read her thoughts. Maybe their private moments were just distractions to keep him sane while on a tough case. Wasn’t she doing the same?

  “Remember, Paul is outside. Why don’t you consider moving out of you house for a while?” he asked.

  The memory hurtled into her mind. Mom plunked her on their sleeping bag and pointed a finger at her, “Don’t let anyone take our spot. It’s our home tonight. Scream if anyone tells you to move. Got it, baby? I’ll be right back.”

  “Teagan?”

  She looked at Noah who stood with his brows raised, waiting for my answer.

  “No one scares me into leaving my home.”

  “Call if you change your mind and let me know.” He turned on his heel to exit, but whirled back around to give her a toe-curling kiss that left her nerves jumping and her brain racing. “I’ve wanted to do that since I arrived last night.”

  He left before she regained her senses.

  She managed a wave as he drove away.

  Closing the door, she allowed her worries to seep back into her thoughts. God, keep Noah safe and don’t let the DNA be a match.

  Chapter 23

  The rest of the day passed without word from Noah. Well, he had a job to do, and it wasn’t taking care of her. Teagan spent the morning composing and posting her daily blog about Lisa and writing thank you notes to friends and volunteers. She avoided the kitchen after one glance at the empty room.

  Before supper, Bennie from Village Hardware arrived. While he installed her new lock, he listened to her condensed story about her break-in with comments about the old days when no one locked their doors. He assured Teagan that the new security device was rated number one in defeating burglars. After he left, she’d debated calling Noah, but decided to believe that no news meant another day of Lisa being alive. She clicked on the TV to blot out the thoughts running rampant in her mind and created little purple bows to hang on the bushes outside.

  The next morning, her phone rang at nine a.m. She answered on the first ring. Noah’s voice was tense as he explained he wanted to come over and update her. Was he saving the worst to deliver in person? Maybe she was imagining things. She could win a blue ribbon for creating ghastly case scenarios in her head.

  The clock ticked down the minutes until Noah arrived. On the footrest, Jogger yawned and fell back asleep. The park’s blaze had made the front-page headlines for the last couple of days. Teagan reread the newspaper article about the fire and listened to the drone of the fan she’d placed by the chair.

  A paragraph in the local news section reported the police had located a missing vehicle at the park. Nothing else was mentioned about Jake’s car or the charred body in her kitchen.

  Vic Taylor’s piece was absent from the daily edition. Had he been too involved in the hunt for his niece to write? Teagan strode back and forth past the window until she recognized Noah’s car headed toward her driveway. A cruiser tailed him and pulled up in front of the patrolman on duty. The shifts were changing. She’d brought the last officer snacks and drinks, which he’d accepted with polite thanks and a smile. The guy must be super bored and probably speculating on what he’d done to deserve the job of staring at her house.

  Now she flew to the hall. Jogger scampered into the entryway and sat by her feet. She threw open the door and ate up the sight of Noah. Shadows under his eyes suggested he was functioning on little rest; although, his white shirt and navy pants carried the fresh scent of laundry soap and were wrinkle free.

  “Morning, Jogger,” he said when the cat meowed. He scanned Teagan. “You look better.”

  She ran a hand over her black skirt. “Thought I’d dress up a bit. It helps lift my mood.” She’d managed a few hours of sleep between dreams of bodies burning and worms crawling in her cabinets. “Come in.” She turned and walked into the living room with him at her heels. “Would you like coffee?”

  “Thanks, I already drank my hourly quota of two cups. We should sit.”

  She perched on the edge of the sofa cushion and locked her cold, clammy hands together.

  He sat beside her and left a sliver of space between their knees. “I brought pictures of the items from Jake Clark’s trunk. Are you up to looking at them today?”

  Not really, she wanted to say, but she’d fake it. “Ready.”


  He pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolled downward, and then held out the image.

  The picture was of a white T-shirt. “It’s similar to Lisa’s. I can’t be one hundred percent certain it’s hers.”

  With a few clicks, he produced a picture of denim cut-shorts. The mended slit on the left leg left her with no doubt. “They’re Lisa’s. I sewed the rip.” She pointed to the spot. Teagan sank against the back of the sofa and blinked away the tears. Something bad had happened to Lisa. Please, God, let her be alive.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you up to one more?”

  Nodding, she wiped her eyes and leaned forward. A picture of a bra and a pair of panties popped onto the screen. “I’m not positive they’re Lisa’s.”

  He clicked off his cell and a large dose of stress flowed away. She cleared her throat and asked the big question. “Have you heard the results on the DNA from the remains in my kitchen?”

  “Not yet. First, we’re trying to determine if the remains were male or female.”

  Hope rolled upward and her chest expanded, until the image of Lisa’s shorts popped into her head. Worries spiraled through her mind and drowned out Noah’s voice. She caught the terms forensics and genetic code.

  When he finished, she searched for a response and used the most obvious. “So it might be tough to ID the remains.”

  “If a fragment of the victim’s dental work exists, it’s easy. For now, we have a few questions for Jake about the clothing in his trunk. We’ll be talking with him today. The chief and the mayor are pushing for a break and his car might be our lead.”

  “Do you think Lisa hid in the woods, found the stolen car and ditched her shorts and shirt in it? Wait, Lisa took Jake’s car. She knows where he parks. Then she was trapped in the fire and lost her things?” But how to explain what she was wearing now and how she started Jake’s vehicle.