Love Inspired Suspense January 2014

by Shirlee McCoy

  Caroline threw her arms around herself. “Just for the record, Ms. Eldon is a head case. If you want to shrink someone, pick on her.”

  “Your biology teacher? Is she hard to talk to when you need help in class? I met her at parent-teacher conferences. She seemed cool and aloof, but very knowledgeable.”

  “Just your type, then.” Caroline waved a dismissive hand. “I’m sure you two hit it off.”

  If her daughter had spewed curses at her, the pain would have been more bearable. Is that how Caroline saw her mother? Detached? Distant? Laurel worked hard at being reasonable…approachable, especially with her daughter.

  Laurel swallowed and raised her chin. “Ms. Eldon’s personality isn’t the issue here. Your grades are important, young lady. You don’t have to like your teacher in order to do your schoolwork. This getaway to the mountains—away from distractions—should provide time for you to buckle down and study.”

  “Only if we get there ali—” A scream rent Caroline’s words.

  Laurel echoed her daughter as something large and dark darted out of the ditch and paused in front of them. She hit the brakes and the shuddering car skidded into a doughnut on the snow-glazed roadway. Laurel’s stomach leaped into her lungs, and her pulse jackhammered.

  Help, God!

  The car abruptly crunch-slid to a halt on the gravel verge facing the wrong way on the wrong side of the road. A few thuds from the trunk told of their luggage shifting. Laurel sat, staring straight ahead, arms rigid, fingers melded to the steering wheel. The creature that had been on the road in front of them was gone.

  Caroline whimpered. “What was that thing?”

  “Probably a deer.” Laurel inhaled long and hard, sucking her stomach back into her abdomen. “We can thank God we’re not stuck in the ditch.”

  “Or smashed at the bottom of a cliff.”

  “That, too.”

  “Or wrapped around a tree.” The girl’s tone edged toward hysteria. “I don’t think we can make it to Estes Park.”

  “We’re going to be fine, baby girl.” Laurel made herself speak firmly, confidently, like she addressed the audiences for her speaking engagements. God, help me keep that promise.

  Had Laurel dragged Caroline on this trip only to kill her—kill them both? The bass roar of the ceaseless wind taunted her question, rumbling like an endless sinister chuckle.

  Stop it! She shoved dark thoughts away. “God’s grace has seen us this far. He’s not about to abandon us. Check your phone to see if we have cell service yet. It would help if we could let someone know where we are.”

  Laurel resisted the shove of the wind as she guided the car back onto the tarmac and into their proper lane. Rudolph himself would have been grounded in this weather. A snicker rose to Laurel’s lips, but she suppressed the sound. Caroline would think her mother was succumbing to blizzard madness.

  “No service,” Caroline said, tone dull.

  “All right, then. If Estes Park is too far, we need to find other shelter. Be on the lookout for a residential driveway. A few hardy folks live out here.”

  “K.” The single syllable sounded more upbeat.

  Psychologically, in a tense situation, it helped to have a concrete goal toward a solution. Laurel schooled her breathing to remain deep and even.

  “There, Mom! On my side of the road. Looks like a driveway.”

  Laurel took her foot off the gas and coasted the vehicle, gaze searching the swirls of white. Sure enough, a patch of gray-black widened to their right, and a small sign listing a property address number winked between snow gusts. Did she dare hope they’d found a haven? Her heart rate fluttered. But what if this was someone’s vacation getaway, and no one was home? No matter. Her jaw firmed. They’d break in if necessary. This situation was life-or-death.

  “Good girl.” Laurel cramped the wheel to the right.

  The rear tires fishtailed, but the nose of the car plowed faithfully into the turnoff. At least the driveway—which stretched on farther than she could see—was paved. The owner must be quite well off to afford the luxury.

  Walls of darkness sprang up on either side of the vehicle, and the wind roar abruptly muted. Rows of sturdy pines blocked the wind’s buffet, and visibility improved marginally. Still, it was hard to feel safe. The drive was too narrow, the trees loomed too close. There wasn’t room to turn around in this bottleneck. They were committed to proceed until the driveway reached its destination. Long seconds passed, then minutes. Whoever owned this place must treasure seclusion in order to build so far back into the wilderness.

  Finally, they emerged into a clearing, where the dense snowfall shrouded their view of a dark mass shaped like a large cabin. During split-second lulls in driving snow, a light winked at them from a window. Thank You, God! The sight meant warmth and shelter. Maybe even a roaring fire in the hearth?

  As she stopped the vehicle, a muted cheer from Caroline drew a grin on Laurel’s face. “Someone’s home, sweetheart. I hope they don’t mind company dropping in.”

  Caroline answered with a shaky chuckle.

  “Are you ready to make a dash for it?” Laurel asked.

  “Race you to the porch!” The teenager leaped from the vehicle.

  “Whoa, there!” Laurel pressed her door open against the thrust of the wind. “Let me find out what sort of people live here.” But her words were gobbled in the roaring gale.

  Icy flakes stung her cheeks, and snow drifts swallowed her legs to the calf as she struggled around the side of the car, clutching her coat hood tight beneath her chin and her purse under one arm. She battled her way up a pair of wooden steps to find Caroline knocking on the door. So much for having an opportunity to check out their potential hosts first. As if they could afford to be choosy.

  The inner door swung open, and the backlit figure of a man gazed at them from behind the screen.

  “Who in thunder would be out in weather like this?”

  Not the friendliest greeting she’d ever encountered. She stepped closer, edging her daughter to one side, and gazed up into the man’s scowl. What was familiar about him?

  Their prospective host looked to be in his mid-thirties—not much her senior. He was of medium height and built sinewy like a marathon runner. Not classically handsome, but arresting with that square chin, rugged cheekbones and coal-black hair curling around his ears. Piercing eyes the color of fog on the ocean scanned her up and down, then flicked toward Caroline. Icicles jabbed into Laurel’s marrow as recognition dawned.

  David Greene—Texas oil millionaire, and accused murderer.

  The money explained the paved driveway stretching at least a mile into the woods, but it didn’t explain what this unconvicted killer was doing in the Rocky Mountain wilderness.

  Three years ago, he’d been the chief suspect in the strangling death of his girlfriend. The man had been found, passed out from booze and drugs, beside the dead woman, but his lawyer’s machinations had gotten everything incriminating removed from evidence until a grand jury concluded there wasn’t enough justification to go to trial.

  What does it take these days to get a conviction? said some of the friends who worked with her in their nonprofit foundation. A sign around the louse’s neck saying, I Did It? Laurel understood the sentiment. Working daily with single parents, many of them abandoned or abused, tended to expose them to examples of wealth tipping the scales of justice until the guilty walked free and the innocent suffered. Was the Greene case another one of those?

  “You’d better come in before we all freeze.” The man opened the screen door.

  Caroline darted forward, but Laurel grabbed her daughter’s jacket sleeve. The girl shot her a wide-eyed look. Caroline probably didn’t recognize their host, or she’d be tempted like her mother to run back out into the storm. Laurel glanced over her shoulder, and a wind gust shot a geyser of snow swirling from the steps onto the backs of her legs. She shivered.

  On an inner groan, she released her daughter’s jacket. What cho
ice did they have? They could freeze to death or take their chances under the roof of a possible killer.

  *

  Why today, Lord?

  David assessed his unexpected guests, certain that the woman had grasped his identity in two seconds flat. She and the girl had stepped inside barely far enough for him to shut the door. The woman’s wary brown gaze hadn’t left him—as if she thought he might leap on them at any instant with evil intent. That’s what came of his brand of notoriety, and the reaction had grown old a long time ago.

  The girl seemed oblivious, gazing around the rustic luxury of the cabin with hardly a second glance for her reluctant host. In fact, her gaze seemed riveted on the baby grand piano. Was he in for an afternoon of “Chopsticks” on the ivories?

  Why today of all days for drop-ins, Lord?

  The repeated mental question held more than a hint of a whine. Not a worthy or wise approach toward the Almighty.

  David took a deep breath. Better start over, both with God and with his guests. He could hardly send the shivering pair back into the storm, however much he wanted to be alone today—the anniversary of Alicia’s death.

  “Hi—uh—I’m David Greene.” As if the woman didn’t know. “Leave your wet shoes on the mat by the door. May I take your coats? There’s a fire.” He motioned toward the cozy blaze snapping in the fireplace. Now he was babbling like an imbecile. Why could he never get used to the waves of suspicion wafting from people? He cleared his throat. “You can warm your feet.”

  A big grin bloomed on the girl’s delicate features, an immature copy of her companion’s more defined face. The girl’s mother or her older sister?

  “Great! I’m Caroline,” the teenager said as she scraped her snow-laden shoes off her feet. She tipped her hood down, revealing a thick blond ponytail, and then shrugged out of the jacket. Underneath she wore the standard teenage garb of jeans and layered shirts.

  The woman responded more slowly, shedding her soggy shoes and long coat, reluctance etched in drawn brows. She wore a green print blouse and a pair of tan slacks. The outfit complimented her fair complexion and slender figure. In her stocking feet, the top of her tawny head barely reached David’s chin. She clutched her coat tight to her chest, even as the girl relinquished hers to his care.

  “I’m Laurel Adams, and this is my daughter, Caroline,” the woman said.

  A soft flush of color crept across high cheekbones as she no doubt realized that the girl had already introduced herself. At least now the relationship between the pair was clarified.

  Rubbing her hands together, Caroline took off for a spot near the hearth. The girl sank into an easy chair and extended her toes toward the fire.

  “Way cool that you’re out here in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “I pictured Mom and me as popsicles in a ditch or pancakes over the edge of a cliff.” She darted David a half smile.

  He grinned back, and the tension under his breastbone eased. He could like this kid. Of course, she might not be so friendly with him when her mother informed her who he was.

  A stiff smile tipped the corners of Laurel’s lips. “Thank you for taking us in, Mr. Greene.”

  Like he had an option? But then, since she assumed him a killer, she probably thought he was fully capable of slamming the door in their faces.

  Suppressing an inner sigh, David took hold of Laurel’s jacket, his direct stare challenging her to release the garment. She let it go and backed away, gaze darting between her daughter and him. He headed for the coat closet next to the entrance to the kitchen. Receding footfalls said that his lovely, frightened guest had scurried for the hearth.

  He hung their coats, then swiveled to find Laurel seated in a chair beside her daughter. Her focus was on him. Questions shouted from her expression. He could imagine what they might be. “Did you kill your girlfriend?” probably topped the list. Most folks couldn’t bring themselves to be so blunt as to ask the question directly, but then, most people weren’t snowed in with him.

  “Our cell phones don’t have service here,” she said. “Would you have a landline so we can let people know where we are?”

  An innocuous question, if a person ignored the subtext of fear.

  He shook his head. “No landline. When I come to the mountains, I’m not big on communicating with the outside world.”

  Her lips flattened, then she attempted another smile that only succeeded in becoming an anxious grimace. “How about internet service? We could instant message or email or—”

  He shook his head. “I have a CB radio. I can give a holler to the authorities in Estes Park as to your whereabouts, and they can communicate with your husband or anyone you’d like.”

  “It’s just Mom and me.” Caroline waved a breezy hand. “Has been for a long ti—”

  The pointed clearing of her mother’s throat cut the girl’s words short, but David got the picture. Or at least a hint. The specific reason for the absent dad/husband remained a mystery.

  “You won’t be going anywhere soon anyway,” he said. “This storm is anticipated to last through the night, and it’ll be longer than that before the roads are cleared. Why don’t we take the chill off over a cup of coffee? Or cocoa or tea, if you prefer.”

  “Tea would be awesome.” Caroline threw a grin over her shoulder. “Do you have anything fruity and spicy? Sniffing the steam jazzes my sinuses.”

  A chuckle spurted from David even as the girl’s mother darted her daughter one of those Mom looks.

  “Caroline, we can’t expect our host to wait on us.”

  The girl’s expression flattened. “But—”

  “I offered, Ms. Adams,” David said.

  “Yeah, he offered.” Caroline’s infectious grin sparkled forth.

  David tendered a slight smile in return. “Tea it is, then. If you’re looking for something to do, help yourself to a book or a board game.” He waved toward the floor-to-ceiling set of shelves built into the opposite wall.

  “Thanks, Mr. Greene.” The girl bounced to her feet. “I know my mom’s bummed about missing her speaking gig, but we might as well make the best of being snowed in. Right?”

  “You’re a public speaker, Ms. Adams?”

  His question jerked Laurel’s focus away from her daughter, and her gaze met his. A spark lit the brown depths. “I travel quite a bit, speaking to groups about grief, loss and single parenthood.”

  “Yeah, and she’s even got a reputation for being funny. Can you figure that?” Caroline giggled as she drifted toward the laden bookshelf.

  “Really?” David raised his eyebrows.

  Color rose in Laurel’s face.

  He swallowed a smile. Whether or not her speeches were funny, the subject matter was still serious. Raising a kid alone was no laughing matter. Not that he’d know about it firsthand, but the mere thought gave him the willies.

  Laurel’s chin lifted, and she rose in a fluid motion that dripped elegant dignity. David caught his breath. His mother was the only other woman he’d known to command a room so completely with a simple action. An ache throbbed deep in his chest. After all these years, he still missed Mom. Always would. This woman had his mother’s air of confident grace, though an unfortunate pinch of pride stiffened her spine.

  Laurel wandered toward the bookshelf in Caroline’s wake. “Several years back, a few partners and I started a nonprofit organization called Single Parents Coalition. Have you heard of it?”

  “Can’t say that I have, but it sounds like a needed service.”

  “Oh, it is!” Her whole face softened and lit, and David’s heart went kabump for reasons he couldn’t entirely explain. Perhaps he was just responding to her passion for her vocation.

  “I’ll get the tea.” He faded into the small but complete kitchen, and got busy at the single-cup brewer.

  He shouldn’t let himself be too interested in his uninvited guests. There was no point in getting friendly with these people. The cloud of suspicion over his head nullified any prospect of warm
th or ease between them.

  Too bad even he didn’t know for sure what happened three years ago. He had no recollection beyond a night of partying that ended with him passing out—normal in those days.

  What wasn’t usual? Waking up to the cold snap of handcuffs around his wrists, the reading of rights snarled from an icy-faced detective and the chilling sight of his girlfriend—a woman he’d planned to make his fiancée—lying lifeless by his side, strangled to death with her own scarf.

  Sometime during his blackout had he attacked Alicia? That was the question he’d hoped to answer during this annual time of seclusion and crying out to God to release his memories. Maybe he’d get a breakthrough this time. Even if he discovered the worst about himself, at least he would know. The truth would bring a form of peace. It would be a relief to own up and take his punishment.

  Now he was stuck with these people invading his space and his chance for self-reflection was lost. In its place, he got the judgment of strangers. Couldn’t they at least offer him the benefit of the doubt? But why should they? He didn’t even know if he should offer himself that much grace. Yet what no one seemed to understand was that as long as suspicion of murder hung over his head, rejection and isolation ensured he was serving a life sentence in Solitary.

  The tune of “Chopsticks” from the baby grand dragged David from his mulligrubs. He flashed a wry smile toward the fresh lemon he was slicing into wedges. Caroline, no doubt. He added the dish of lemon to the tea tray and headed with it toward his guests.

  “Honey, you haven’t asked permission to touch our host’s piano.”

  The soft-voiced rebuke from Laurel met his ears as he entered the living room.

  “It’s all right,” he said, taming his grin.

  Caroline whirled from the piano, ponytail flipping and color in her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Mr. Greene.”

  “No problem.” He set the tray on the small dining table in front of Laurel. “Feel free to do the honors.” He motioned toward the steaming teapot and the empty cups.

  If he didn’t know better, he might think a smile had flickered across Laurel’s face. She poured the tea with quiet dignity.