On the Hunt

by SUE FINEMAN

  Mia walked past her and glanced back to see tears glistening in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Mrs. Snyder,” Mia said gently. Had talking about her daughter caused her to shut down like that?

  As Mia walked down the porch steps, she heard Mrs. Snyder say, “Please come and visit again.”

  Mia said goodbye and walked out to the car, where Dave stood waiting. The strange conversation had left her with an uneasy feeling.

  Why would the old lady invite her to come back?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Dave drove Mia’s car back to the hotel and parked it behind the building. They sat in the car and talked for several minutes about Mia’s discussion with Mrs. Snyder. Dave listened, but his thoughts were on Mia, on her long mane of black hair and expressive eyes. He wanted to taste her lips again.

  “It was so strange,” said Mia. “Pictures of her daughter hung on every wall in the living room. She looked a little familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

  “Mrs. Snyder’s daughter?”

  “Yes. I don’t even know her name, but she was really pretty, with long blond hair and blue eyes. Mrs. Snyder is a little bitty thing, old and shriveled. She has to be at least eighty, and she looked so sad, Dave. She asked me to come and visit her again. I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t spoken to the woman more than two or three times in my whole life, and she invited me back.”

  He took Mia’s hand and brought it to his lips to brush a kiss on the back. “She’s probably lonesome.”

  “Yes, I imagine she is. I remember the first time I went over there. I must have been three or four. It was before we got Bo and Greg. Chance and I played ball in the front yard and our ball went over there, so I ran over to get it. She watched me through the window. I waved and she waved back, but she had tear streaks on her face and I knew she’d been crying.”

  “Maybe you reminded her of her daughter.”

  “Or maybe that’s when her daughter died. I don’t know. I told Mom about Mrs. Snyder crying and Mom said she was a sad lady. I knew what made me feel better when I felt sad, so while Mom changed beds, I wrapped two cookies in a napkin and took them over to Mrs. Snyder.” Mia smiled. “One had a bite out of it before I got there.”

  Dave laughed softly. “Did she take them?”

  “She didn’t answer the door, so I ate them myself. Mom makes the best cookies.”

  “What happened when you got home?”

  “Chance told on me and Mom said to leave Mrs. Snyder alone, so I didn’t go over again until I was about seven or so. Greg had done something he shouldn’t have and Mrs. Snyder came outside to scold him. He threw a rock at her and I ran over to grab him so he wouldn’t throw any more. I said, ‘He’s sorry. He didn’t mean to,’ and she stood there staring at me. At me, not Greg.”

  “What happened to her daughter?”

  “I have no idea.” Mia shivered and put her cold hand on his face. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”

  “Did you make your phone calls?”

  “No. Remind me to call Mom tomorrow, after we look at the fire scene again. I told Bo, but she’ll want to hear it from me. She and Aunt Leona grew up in that little house.”

  “Did they know Mrs. Snyder’s daughter?”

  Mia nodded. “She was Aunt Leona’s best friend.”

  “Hmmm.” Dave stroked his beard. “The plot thickens.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’ve always wanted to say it.”

  They walked inside and up the stairs. Dave didn’t want to say goodnight, so he leaned against the wall with one hand on either side of her head. Without touching her anywhere else, he lowered his head for a gentle kiss. She kissed him back, her lips warm and soft and so sweet he wanted to taste her all over. “I don’t suppose you’d like to—”

  She slowly shook her head and he put his hand on his chest. “Shot down again. This never happens to me.”

  Her eyes sparkled and then the light went out so quickly it was as if she’d flipped a switch. “Don’t confuse me with him, Mia. I’d never treat a lady the way he treated you.”

  It took her a few seconds to respond. “I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight, Dave.”

  She walked into her room, leaving him fully aroused and longing for more than a kiss.

  <>

  Mia dreamed of the girl in the picture in Mrs. Snyder’s living room and woke knowing where she’d seen that girl’s picture before. She sat up, turned the light on, and dug through her wallet to find the picture Mom had given her years ago of a beautiful blonde with blue eyes.

  Dave pushed the connecting doors wide open. He squinted against the light. “Mia? What’s wrong?”

  “I know who she was.”

  “Who who was?”

  “Mrs. Snyder’s daughter. Here it is.” She pulled a picture from her wallet and stared at it. “It’s her. Ohmygod.” She looked up at Dave. “Do you know what this means? Snoopy Snyder is my grandmother.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Mia’s eyes drifted down Dave’s body, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Standing there barefoot, without a shirt, his jeans zipped, but not snapped at the waist, his hair ruffled from sleep, Dave Montgomery looked like a teddy bear. A big, sexy, huggable teddy bear. His arms and shoulders were muscular, as if he worked out often, and the triangular patch of dark, curly hair on his chest matched his beard. It tapered down and disappeared under his jeans. She wondered if he wore anything under those jeans and then quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. He wasn’t hers, although... No, don’t even think about it. This man was off limits.

  Definitely off limits.

  “Go back to bed, Dave. This will keep a few more hours.”

  He plowed both hands through his hair and squinted against the light. “What’ll keep?”

  “The pictures in Mrs. Snyder’s living room match this one my mother gave me years ago.” She handed him the picture from her wallet. “This is my natural mother, Mrs. Snyder’s daughter. She died years ago.”

  “Mia, that woman called the cops on you.”

  “She probably didn’t know it was me. I don’t think she can see that far.”

  Dave rubbed his eyes and froze. He grabbed the notepad and pencil beside the phone and wrote Bugs???

  Mia slapped her hand over her forehead. She’d forgotten them, too. He wrote We’ll move her tomorrow, and Mia nodded. “Go back to bed, David.”

  “It’s cold in there. Would you like to—”

  “Not a chance, hotshot.”

  He winked and groaned. “Shot down again.”

  Dave walked back to his room and Mia glanced at her watch on the nightstand. Four-thirty in the morning, too early to get up, but she’d never get back to sleep now.

  The restaurant kitchen wasn’t open yet, and the sun had just peeked over the mountains when they drove down to Aunt Leona’s house. Mia walked around the site of the fire. The lot sloped down from the street, and since the town had been carved out of the forest, there were trees in the back. Scorched trees. Amazing that the whole town didn’t burn down. She followed her nose to the back of the cabin and saw the remains of two old tires still smoldering under the house.

  Dave called, “Find anything?”

  “Burning tires under the house. The insurance investigator should find some answers, if he gets here before someone tampers with the scene.”

  The light came on in the kitchen window at Mrs. Snyder’s house next door. Mia pointed and Dave nodded. “Let’s give her a few minutes.”

  But the person they saw in the kitchen window was a tall man with short hair and a square jaw. They both took off running, Dave to the front door and Mia to the back. Before she could get her gun out of her fanny pack, the man burst through the door and slammed the door into her forehead. She fell back, cracking the back of her head on the concrete steps. The man jumped over her and disappeared into the woods behind the house.
r />   Dave yelled, “Mia?”

  She pushed herself to her knees and groaned, momentarily stunned. Dave opened the back door, already on his cell phone. “Get an ambulance or rescue squad to... Mia, what’s the address here?” He spoke with urgency, and she knew that man had hurt Mrs. Snyder.

  Mia told him the address and pushed herself to her feet. Dave went back inside, still talking on the phone, while Mia rushed to the figure on the bedroom floor. The frail old woman had been beaten about the face and head, and her pulse wasn’t strong. “Hold on, Mrs. Snyder. It’s Mia. I’m right here, and I’m not going to let you die. Do you hear me? We have things to talk about, so don’t die on me. I need you.”

  Mrs. Snyder moaned. “Help is on the way,” Mia said again. “There’s an ambulance coming, and you’re going to be all right. I’ll stay with you, and we’ll get through this together. Just hang on.”

  The paramedics rushed in and Mia reluctantly backed away. The cop who’d pointed his gun at her walked in behind the paramedics. “What’s going on here?”

  “A man attacked Mrs. Snyder,” said Dave. “We saw him through the kitchen window and ran over to help.”

  “He’s the spitting image of Arnold Schwarzenegger,” said Mia.

  The cop pointed to her face. “Did he hit you?”

  Mia put her hand on her forehead and felt the lump. Still a little dazed, she said, “He slammed the door into my head. I’ll be all right. I suffered worse in police training.”

  “You’re a cop? Where?”

  “Tacoma, and only until the end of next month.”

  The paramedics wheeled Mrs. Snyder out to the ambulance. Mia turned to Dave. “I’m going with her.”

  “Okay.” Dave took her shoulders. “Are you all right, Mia? You look shaky.”

  “I’ll be okay.” She couldn’t focus her eyes and the room wouldn’t hold still, but she’d be all right. Mrs. Snyder could die from the brutal attack.

  “Call when you get there, and I’ll come and get you.”

  If only she hadn’t said anything when she remembered the picture. Someone had bugged the room, and she’d completely forgotten. “If only—”

  “Mia, this is not your fault.”

  If only she could believe that.

  Dave gave Mia a gentle hug and watched her climb into the ambulance.

  The young cop didn’t look over twenty, and he obviously had no idea how to conduct an investigation or work a crime scene. Dave reached for his wallet and then remembered he’d left his real ID hidden in the spare tire in the SUV.

  “From Mia’s description, I’m fairly certain I saw the same man last night at the Four Leaf Clover. He was with your police chief and a guy who looks a lot like Al Pacino.”

  The cop, whose nametag read Officer Ross Jefferson, said, “I know who you mean.”

  “I’m going to ask you to keep it to yourself for now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because whatever is going on in this town involves Knight. Are you in on it, too, or is it just him?”

  The unmistakable flicker of fear in the cop’s eyes said he not only wasn’t in on it, he was afraid of his boss. “That’s what I thought,” said Dave. “Have you ever worked a crime scene?”

  “No.”

  “Had any training at all?”

  “Not much, but it sounds like you have.”

  “Yes, I have, and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself for now. There are two men coming today who will need your help.”

  “FBI?”

  Dave nodded. “If you’ll work with them, I’ll see if I can get you into a decent training program when this is over. You have the makings of a good cop.”

  Ross grinned. “Do you think so?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” Dave clapped him on the shoulder and prayed he could trust the kid with his identity. “Call me David, and whatever you do, don’t blow my cover.”

  The police chief appeared, and Dave shared a meaningful glance with Ross. Knight narrowed his eyes, and Dave knew the chief would blame him for the attack.

  Kowalski and Stipes had better get here soon.

  <>

  Mrs. Snyder’s eyes opened and she gazed at Mia through milky blue eyes. Cataracts clouded her vision. No wonder she thought Mia was an intruder. She couldn’t see well enough to recognize anyone unless they were right under her nose.

  The man in the back of the ambulance told Mrs. Snyder she’d hit her head and was on her way to the hospital. Mia wondered if she was still asleep when the man hit her. Would she remember anything about the attack? Maybe it would be better if she didn’t.

  If Mia and Dave hadn’t been there at the right time, they wouldn’t have known what happened, and this woman would have died. Holding her grandmother’s hand, Mia said, “It’s all right. You’ll be just fine. I’ll stay with you.” She wanted to tell her grandmother she knew who she was, but it might be best to speak with Mom about it first, just to make sure. Poor woman was already unstable without springing a surprise like that on her. But she knew, didn’t she? She had to know. That was why she watched a little girl at play in the yard next door, why she had tears in her eyes after her husband yelled nasty things at them. Because she knew.

  They arrived at the hospital several mountain communities shared, and the ambulance driver and attendant rolled Mrs. Snyder into the emergency room. Mia stood nearby, her head pounding. When the nurse tried to chase her out of the way, Mia presented her police credentials and stayed in the room.

  After Mia explained what happened, the doctor asked, “Do you know what medicine she takes?”

  “No, but I’ll find out.” Mia stepped outside to call Dave, only he didn’t answer. She tried again, thinking she had the wrong number the first time, but he still didn’t answer, so she called the police station in Clover Hills.

  “The emergency room doctor needs a list of the medications in Mrs. Snyder’s home,” she told the woman who answered. “I tried to call David Daniels, who was there with me this morning, but I can’t reach him.”

  “He’s in jail,” the woman said. “I’ll send Ross over to see what he can find at the house.”

  “Thank you.” Mia gave the woman her cell phone number. “David didn’t assault Mrs. Snyder, if that’s what they’re thinking. I saw the man, and I can identify him.” The police knew that, so why did they lock Dave in jail? He did nothing wrong.

  “I’ll tell Chief Knight what you said, Miss Gregory.”

  “You just do that,” she said through clenched teeth. Chief Knight probably sent Arnie to hurt the frail old woman. What she wouldn’t give for Greg to show up in Clover Hills right about now. Greg wouldn’t take this kind of shit from anyone. He’d storm into the police station and bully the police into releasing Dave.

  “Miss Gregory,” called the nurse.

  Mia rushed inside, where Mrs. Snyder lay talking to the doctor. “We have the name of her physician, and we’ll contact him as soon as his office opens,” said the doctor. “Her vital signs look good, considering what she’s been through.”

  While the doctors and nurses worked on her grandmother, Mia walked back outside to call her mother in Texas. After the usual pleasantries, they talked about the fire. Mom sounded disappointed, but not crushed by the news.

  Mia said, “I know this isn’t the best time to discuss it, but I need to know about Mrs. Snyder. Am I related to her?”

  “Mia, honey, I don’t want to have this conversation over the phone.”

  “It can’t wait, Mom. Someone attacked her this morning. She’s in the hospital.”

  “Oh, no. Is she going to be all right?”

  “I hope so. Is she my grandmother?”

  Mom didn’t answer, so Mia pushed ahead. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We planned to tell you on your sixteenth birthday, but Dad died and I had other things on my mind. And you were already so upset—”

  “I know,” Mia said gently. “It was a hard time for all of us. Tell me a
bout my natural mother.”

  “Darlene was a sweet girl and a good friend to everyone who knew her. She went to work in Tacoma, supposedly because she couldn’t find a job in Clover Hills, but I think she wanted to get away from her father. He was such a bully. Darlene brought her new boyfriend home for Thanksgiving one year, a polite, handsome young man who was part Japanese and part African American. I’d never seen her so happy, but her father threw a fit.”

  “Because Darlene’s boyfriend had the wrong color skin?”

  “As if that should matter. Darlene loved this man, so she and her boyfriend left, and she didn’t come home again. Poor Mrs. Snyder was beside herself, but her husband wouldn’t back down and neither would Darlene. Months later, Darlene called me. Her boyfriend died in a traffic accident, and her father wouldn’t let her come home because she was pregnant. She said she’d talked with her mother about it, and they’d decided to give her baby to your father and me, if we wanted you. I said of course we wanted you. Darlene moved in with us the next day.”

  Mia paced outside the emergency room, the phone at her ear, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. “Why didn’t she want to keep me?”

  “She couldn’t take care of you, honey. A childhood illness left her with a weak heart, and the pregnancy put more strain on it. It’s a wonder she carried you as long as she did. You were six weeks early, and she died giving birth. Darlene named you, and we kept the name out of respect for her and the precious gift she gave us.”

  “Mrs. Snyder knew I was her granddaughter. All those years she watched me, she knew.”

  “Yes, she did. We promised her we’d tell you when you were old enough to understand, but how do you explain racial discrimination to a little girl? How could we tell you that your grandfather didn’t want you because of the color of your skin? We’ve always thought you were perfect.”

  Wiping her eyes with a shaky hand, Mia said, “I never had a problem with my race or skin color until last year. Bo was right about the guy I was dating. His family took one look at me and it was all over.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”