“Once,” Adam reminds him. “A minor wound, and he didn’t give her much of a choice.”
“He came at me, and if it wasn’t so damned cold out here, I’d show you the scar he gave me.”
He looks like I’ve struck him between the eyes. “He hurt you? He told me he never hurt you.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t think branding me was painful.”
Jeremy lets out an explosive breath. “Damn.” He rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. When he looks up, I can tell he’s shaken. Discovering the truth can do that to a person. “So you think Hein knows something about the person trying to kill you?”
“Someone paid him, and the only person in this town who had that kind of money was Ike Metzger. His lawyer wouldn’t let us look at his personal accounts, but he gave us some information.”
“What about the box?” Jeremy points to it. “That might have something. Ike kept that on his desk, and no one got anywhere near it. How do you have it?”
“Hein said Ike left it to her in his will.” Adam adjusts his grip on the box, a clear announcement that Jeremy wasn’t getting a peek inside.
His mouth hanging open, Jeremy stares at the box. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That thing was top secret even to Mark.” He switches his attention to Adam. “Listen, man. I’m sorry about how I came across today and at the funeral. Mark was the only friend I had in this town.”
“Maybe it’s time you find a different town.” Adam’s suggestion is met with a furrowed brow.
“I’ve been thinking that myself.” He takes several steps backward. “You take care of yourself, Emily.”
“I will. You do the same.” I haven’t taken my gaze off the box now that I know how precious it was to Ike. Why in the hell would he gift it to me in his will? Was this another one of his sick games?
Once Adam and I were back in his truck, he sat the box on the seat between us. “You want to open it?”
I did, but only out of morbid curiosity. Not for one moment did I think Ike Metzger had left me anything worth having. Adam’s still waiting for my response so I give him a jerky nod then reach for the lid.
It’s painted black with a porcelain swan cemented in the middle. Heavier than it looks, I lift it and place it on my knee. Then my throat goes tight. “Adam.” I whisper his name because my full voice won’t work. “Is that what I think it is?”
Adam reaches his hand inside and picks up the first roll of bills. There’s a $100 bill on the outside of the roll. I peel off the rubber band and count to $5,000 while my heart is thudding so loudly I can hear it in my ears.
“What…I don’t understand.” There are several more $5,000 rolls and beneath them is a thick envelope. My hands shake when I remove it from its snug-fitting position. I can’t take my eyes off my name scrawled across the front in Ike’s handwriting. It solidifies Mr. Hein’s assurance that this box was meant for me.
The envelope contains a letter from Ike that I quickly pass to Adam. “Please read it.”
Adam takes the paper from my hand and gives me a questioning look. When I nod, he starts to read aloud.
Dear Emily,
Enclosed in this letter is a copy of a life insurance policy to which your parents made you the beneficiary. It’s probably not surprising that I intercepted the funds when they became payable. I knew you would use the money to leave my son. That was not acceptable to me or him. Nevertheless, the money rightfully belongs to you. I only cashed the check so it would not expire. I never spent a dime. I’m sure you’ll find some use for the cash wherever you are at this stage of your life, though I’m hoping you will have found happiness with my son by now.
Also enclosed are detailed instructions on accessing a safety deposit box in your name at Broomtown’s Bank and Trust. The information contained there is much too private to be secured in my home. When you read it, you’ll wonder how I have access to it.
My family is one of means, and the day Mark asked you out on a date, I hired a private investigator. Protecting my family has always been paramount to me. Needless to say, the PI uncovered details I never wanted you to know.
You’re probably also wondering why I’m giving you both the money and the contents of the safety deposit box. It’s quite simple, really. If you’re reading this, I’m already gone, and as much as I want to withhold this information from you, even I have a conscience or maybe I’m still trying to work my way into heaven, if that’s even possible. I’m not altogether sure God hasn’t forgotten about me.
Mark doesn’t know about the money or the contents of safety deposit box. It’s probably better if the secret remains with you since I’m sure you’ll be using it to leave the dust of Broomtown behind you. For as much as I hope you would build a life with Mark, I know, as I write this, you will never be satisfied with living in Broomtown. It’s obvious to everyone but my son that you feel you deserve more. Whatever the case, I don’t want my son to know I had a hand in hastening your departure from his life.
I won’t wish you well because the hypocrisy would be laughable. I will say, for a while, you made my son happy. Somewhere along the line you forgot how to do that or you stopped loving him. So perhaps it is best for you to leave him. At least then, he would have a chance at a better life, the opportunity to find someone who is as devoted to him as he is to you.
Ike Metzger
I cover my mouth with both hands, for a moment, unable to speak. Questions whirl around inside my head that are quickly consumed by an inferno of fury. With this money, I could have left Mark a long time ago. I wouldn’t have shot him, and he wouldn’t be dead today. None of this had to happen.
“Emily?” Adam reaches over to touch my hand.
His voice cools my anger and reminds me that he’s here. That steals away some of my anger. Though Ike toyed with my life, he also did me a favor. Without the insurance proceeds, I met Adam, and I’d rather have him than any amount of money. He’s still waiting for my response so I nod.
He squeezes my hand. “So the bank then?”
“Adam, there must be over $75,000 here.” It was my best estimate.
“Try $100,000. Some of the money was flattened out underneath the letter.”
That brings my gaze down to the box where the rolls are squished together like mice in a cage. “I don’t for one second believe Ike saved this money because of his conscience. And as for heaven, if he gets in, the rest of us are going to sail past the gates.”
“It doesn’t matter why he kept the money. It’s yours now. Buckle your seatbelt.”
“The bank is right across the street.” I point for added direction.
“Put your seatbelt on anyway. It’s the law.” He winks and starts the engine.
My fingers run across the top of the money rolls as the truck moves out onto the quiet street. $100,000. I’ve never seen this much money in my entire life. But with it, I could do anything. Pay my college tuition. Buy a new car. Buy a house. Anything.
“You’re thinking about what to do with the money.” Adam steers into the parking lot of the bank and finds a spot close to the front entrance.
“Who wouldn’t?” I put the box to one side and take hold of the door handle. “One thing’s for sure, if Ike Metzger could keep a secret this big, there’s no telling what’s inside this safety deposit box.” Sweat slides down the back of my neck even though the temperature hasn’t made it above forty outside.
Adam silences the engine and removes the key from the ignition. “There’s only one way to find out, but first, how about we put this box some place a little safer.” He pops open the glove box and puts the box in. “Now we’re set.”
I open the door with a quick nod and slide to the ground, fidgeting while Adam walks around to join me. Hands joined, we walk into the bank that has two tellers, a dingy office for the customer service representative, and a row of fake trees obscuring the plate glass windows.
Unable to speak, I hand the representative the envelope Ike left me. She doesn’t lo
ok up once before retrieving a key from the top drawer of her desk. “Follow me, Ms. Jacobs.” Several steps later, she stops and directs her gaze at Adam. “I’m sorry, sir, but only account holders or their heirs are allowed in the vault.”
“I intend to remove the contents anyway.” My information brings a frown to her face, probably because Ike has spent a lot of money keeping this secret hidden. Now that it’s being revealed, the bank won’t be able to depend upon that large sum of cash.
“There’s no need to be in a rush, Ms. Jacobs. It’s simply bank policy.”
“I understand, but I’m returning home this evening and will be taking the contents of the box with me.” I stress my decision, and though her lips pucker, she resumes walking.
I release Adam’s hand and follow her.
Back in the truck, I clutch the paperwork in my hands and sit there without buckling my seatbelt. “I don’t want to look at this.” I say the words more for my benefit than Adam’s.
What other dark secret had Ike Metzger kept hidden from me, and how had he discovered something about my life that I hadn’t? Had my parents discussed me with him? I couldn’t fathom that considering my father thought Ike was a bully and a criminal who hid his misdeeds behind good works for the public.
“You don’t have to open it now.” Adam starts the engine. It idles and purrs while the heaters shoots out a blast of hot air that warms my icy hands. “In fact, why don’t you just put it aside right now and give yourself time to digest the life insurance stuff?”
“How could Ike have intercepted life insurance policy proceeds?” Then I quickly answered my own question. “Of course he knew someone at the company. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the salesman who sold the policy to my parents. And he wasn’t above waiving his money around to secure his will.” Disgust curls my lip. “I feel like that bastard will never be out of my life. We don’t even know who killed him. It could be the same guy after me.” That gives me pause. “What if the guy knows about this money?”
Adam backs the truck out of the parking space. “It’s a possibility. $100,000 is a lot of reason to kill someone. Maybe he was trying to eliminate everyone close to the money.”
“Or maybe that was supposed to be his payout. He could have found out Ike intended to give it to me instead.”
“This is all supposition right now.” He strokes the back of my hand. “Just put the envelope aside, and we’ll take a look at it when we get home.”
It’s a good plan, but I don’t know if I can wait over an hour to find out what was so secretive that it had to be hidden in a safe deposit box.
Adam reads my thoughts easily enough. “If you change your mind and want to take a look, do it. It’s all up to you, Emily.”
The decision’s mine. Right. For the first time in my life, decisions were getting thrown at me, and I don’t feel altogether ready for any of them. The world around me is spinning too fast.
I grip the orange packing envelope close to me, not yet ready to relinquish it. I don’t know why, but instincts tell me that whatever is inside is going to change my life more than leaving Mark.
I’m surprised when Adam doesn’t direct his truck out of town. Instead, he’s following the same path back to the attorney’s office.
“What are you doing?”
“Just have a few more questions for Mr. Hein.” His jaw set, he’s obviously not going to change his mind. Not that I would ask. He has me a more than a little curious.
“You think he knows something about what’s inside the box? Why wouldn’t he tell me that?”
“That’s one of the questions I have.”
The receptionist isn’t any more eager to see us than we are to see her. Adam asks to see Mr. Hein again, and she buzzes him without delay. When he doesn’t answer, she frowns. “He was in here just a few minutes ago when I stepped out for lunch. I’ll go knock.”
“Don’t bother.” Adam flashes his badge which means nothing in Broomtown, but the receptionist doesn’t know that.
I follow him down the narrow hallway to Hein’s office. The door is slightly ajar, and Adam immediately pulls out his service weapon and barks at me to stay back. He kicks the door open wider, and I gasp.
The receptionist lets out a squeal and stumbles backwards. I hadn’t even known she’d followed me.
“You tend to her.” That’s Adam’s way of telling me he doesn’t want me in the office, but I go in anyway. When he gives me that look, I ignore him and creep closer to Garrett Hein’s battered body.
It’s clear he’s dead, and the door to his safe is open, revealing an empty black hole. “Someone wanted something desperately.”
We hear sirens just outside the window. “Doesn’t take long for this new police department to respond.” Adam stands up straighter and walks to the door. “Don’t touch anything. They’ll want to talk to us.”
“Why? We don’t know anything.”
“We saw him alive and well, Emily. Trust me. They’ll want to talk to us.”
I turn my attention back to Hein’s blood-spattered shirt. “Whoever did this got in and out pretty quickly.”
“Or he was already here waiting for us to leave.”
Boots scuffle outside the door, and Adam leaves to greet the arriving officers. I hear low mumbles of conversation, but my focus is on the attorney. What information did he have to share? And did he share it before his killer slit his throat?
I just pray this has nothing to do with me or the box I just carried out of here. But I’m thinking that’s wishful thinking. It’s far too much of a coincidence.
Garrett Hein knew more than he told us, and that knowledge got him killed. It had become abundantly clear that whoever was after me would go to any lengths to tie up loose ends. And it terrifies me because I don’t know who he considers to be a loose end.
Chapter Twelve
“You hungry?” Adam’s already exiting off the main road and taking a side street without waiting for my response.
“I could eat.” Even though my mouth tastes like it’s full of sawdust, and my stomach rolls with each hill the truck climbs. I still see the image of Hein’s pummeled body even though I’ve been trying to shake it for miles.
If he realizes it’s a lie, Adam doesn’t push me on it. Instead, he pulls into a space at a retro diner decked out in fifties décor. “Should be good for a burger.” He’s out of the truck and around to my door before I can unbuckle my seatbelt.
As my feet touch the gravel, the seat behind me explodes in a blast of leather and padding. Adam yanks me down, covering my head with his hands. Screams sound from behind us as the diners panic. Adam shouts at them to stay inside and call 911.
I can’t speak, but it’s not out of fear. This time, I’m angry. If Hein’s killer is the sniper, he’s known where we were all along. He could have taken another shot at any point on the road. “This has to be the same guy from Broomtown. No one from Juniper Springs even knows we left town already.”
“Keep low.” Adam uses the truck as a shield to protect me, but there’s still an open distance between the front fender and the relative safety of the diner. He puts his back to me and tells me to run ahead, but I reach back for his hand. “I’m right behind you.”
I grab hold of his fingers and tug him, not quite trusting him not to stay behind and attempt to pick off the shooter.
A man who’s lying on the floor holds the door open and gruffly tells us to hurry. Patrons are out of their seats and on the floor as well. Women are crying while men vainly attempt to comfort them.
Adam flashes his badge. “Listen up. I’m the Sheriff of Juniper Springs. If everyone stays calm, we’ll get out of this just fine. Has anyone called 911?”
“I did.” A waitress wearing a pink uniform holds her hand up from behind one of the red and chrome stools. She points to the phone for emphasis.
“Good. Everyone just stay put.”
The cries continue, though muffled. A burly man in camouflage duckwalks to Ada
m’s side. “Sheriff, I’m Sergeant Frank Henley, USMC Scout Sniper. I have my weapon in my truck that’s parked out back. Maybe I can scope this guy out.”
Adam considers it for a moment then nods. “Be careful, Sgt.”
“Will do.”
I lean my back against an empty booth and privately curse the bastard outside waiting to pick me off like I’m a tin can on a fence. His motivation has to be the money. Maybe he hasn’t gotten paid, and that’s the reason he keeps killing. With both Mark and Ike gone, that $100,000 is his payment.
The sergeant is back, creeping forward as though he’s in the jungle hiding out from enemy fire. It’s not too far from the truth. Across the aisle, I see the waitress crying. She’s got her arms wrapped around her body, and she’s rocking in an effort to calm herself. Knowing Adam would disapprove, I leave my position to go to her, to offer what comfort I can. It wasn’t too long ago that she was me.
“It’s going to be okay. We’ve got a sniper here, and Sheriff Madison isn’t too bad of a shot himself. I’m Emily, by the way.”
She sniffs. “Laura. Nothing like this has ever happened here before. We’re just a little hole in the wall place where nothing ever happens. I mean nothing ever happens.” She stops rocking long enough to look at me. “We ain’t bad people here. Why are people shooting at us?” The rocking resumes.
“Look, it’s just someone who wants some attention. He can’t come any closer because we’ve got two guys who can take him out. So you’re safe. Besides, shooters like that, they like to keep their distance. They don’t want anyone to recognize them.”
Her shoulders relax a fraction, and she grows still. “How do you know all this?”
“I’m dating a cop.” I point to Adam who’s still crouched down next to the glass front door.
Lips still trembling, she smiles. “He’s real cute.”
“Yeah, he is.” I watch him making hand signals to the Marine. Both of them seem in sync even though they’ve never met before. They’re responding to one another flawlessly, and I have one more answer to my questions about Adam’s past. He was a Marine.
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