Yeah right. If they’d had competent workers, a girl would still be alive. The thought came so automatically after all these years. He had to alter it. Who had really crushed the flower he’d known as Danielle? “Huh. Not in this town. You should try Durango. I’ll be back.”
Germ stepped up into his pale green, rust-speckled truck. He hadn’t expected to see Amanda following him back from Denver. Maybe all those men shadowing her had gotten oppressive. After Germ had left the threat and disconnected the battery cable, that security guy had spotted him in his truck. When he’d started to approach, Germ drove off.
Following Amanda, his newest, most important person of interest back to her apartment, he’d witnessed quite the spectacle. A loud discussion between Ryan and her with that other woman, the same woman who’d walked into Phil’s shop with Amanda this morning.
This could be the opportunity he was after. With Ryan out of town, supposedly still in Denver, maybe he could finally convince Amanda to come clean about her involvement in Danielle’s death. The little that Germ had overheard outside Ryan’s shop when Ryan had called Jim had been enough for Germ to seek answers straight from the source.
Then from that night of raucous conversation, Germ had heard Amanda scream how she’d never forgotten. Now, he’d find out exactly what she remembered.
~ ~ ~
He watched the stretch of highway through suspicious eyes. As he took to the highway, Amanda’s Jeep pulled off onto the town’s main business stretch. He’d put it ten-to-one, no, one hundred-to-one they were headed for Ryan’s place.
He could be paranoid. He had every reason to be. Five years ago, it had kept him out of jail.
After a pass by Ryan’s shop, he spotted the Jeep. They’d parked it at the left front corner along the blank cement wall.
He turned around in the trailer house community and drove past the Jeep again, parked on the street a block from the parts store. Turning his truck off, he stepped out into a green, Bayfield morning.
How he hated it. Winter had left too soon. Business would get slower without the white gold slicking the roads and causing crashes. Hands in his pockets, he strolled down the street.
He nodded at a passing car before he tucked back behind the shop. Moving to the rear of the building, he crouched under the cracked back window, waited, and listened.
“How you doing?” The quiet girl spoke. Had to be. It sure wasn’t Amanda’s loud voice.
“About the same as before,” Amanda crowed.
“Well, things haven’t changed in here at all. I remember that stereo box. It was ancient back then, too.” A button clicked and Dire Straits banished the silence in the shop.
Germ dropped his head back against the wall. Because the sun hadn’t made it to his side of the building yet, the wall retained the icy temperatures from the night before and fingered it through his hair, seeping into his skull. He dropped his head from the wall, stared down at the crumbled asphalt and stabs of scraggly grass near his feet. How much has Amanda told her accomplice?
“Man, I’m starving,” the loud voice called again. “We should’ve picked up breakfast back at the gas station. Any chance you could—”
“So,” A masculine voice broke in. “Is that why you ran off? To trade in your eight-foot bed for a Rock Crawler? Way to be original, Rye.”
Germ cursed. Get out of there, Josh. Germ had better things to do than listen to the man’s flirting. He imagined a stupid grin plastered on Josh’s face. His hand rolled into a fist as he thought of the easiest way to get rid of it.
“Oh, uh, sorry.” The voice went sheepish.
Germ couldn’t miss this. It sounded like Josh was making an ass of himself. His eyes inched above the glass frame.
Josh had recovered, his mouth spread out in a sleazy smile. Brown hair mopped his forehead. Dense blue color flooded his employee shirt. “Hey there. I guess you two ladies aren’t Ryan.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”
“Can I help you find anything?”
“No, thanks.” Amanda added, “I know my way around.”
Josh considered the face and his eyes widened, an animated sparkle in those muck-colored eyes. “Hey! You’re Jim’s girl! Um, Amanda! You were in the news this week. Some guy kidnapped you?”
Someone had kidnapped her? Germ smirked. You don’t say?
“Right.” She offered a cheap smile. “Now, we’ve all got a good idea of who I am.”
“Then we better move on to the next beauty in the shop.” Josh turned to the quiet one with the soft, gray eyes.
She’d moved to a stool by the side wall near Germ’s window. Her fingers rested on a National Geographic, eyes stared off into nothingness. They dropped to the ground.
Josh ambled over to her and made certain his blinding white shoes entered her line of sight. “Hello, miss. My name’s Josh. I operate the store that keeps this place in business.”
Germ’s blood boiled in his veins. He wanted to spit.
She offered a polite show of amusement. “And I am Rebecca, Amanda’s cousin.”
“I’m very glad to meet you.”
“So,” Amanda said. “You were looking for Ryan?”
Josh let go of Rebecca’s hand. “Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry. I’m easily distracted when in the presence of such feminine grace.”
What a pansy-ass. How had Germ put up with him all these years? Probably because Josh wasn’t interested in him that way.
Rebecca offered a half-smile. “Ryan’s running a little behind. We expect him here in a few hours.”
That didn’t give Germ much time to get his answers. He’d planted evidence back in Denver and caused that girl to wreck so he could have leverage to gain information from Amanda Hudson. He’d better figure out quickly how to get her alone to apply the pressure.
“Let’s hope he takes his time. What brings your lovely selves to our small mountain town?”
Amanda grinned. “We came here to visit an old friend, Danielle Caster.”
Josh finally lost the smile. And Germ managed to find one.
“We learned she’s in a new place now,” continued Amanda.
“Yes.” Josh nodded absently. “Such a loss.”
“What do you know about it?” asked Rebecca.
“You know, I ordered the power steering pump. She picked it up herself and talked me into giving her a discount. Of course, I didn’t make it hard for her. I couldn’t say no to a beautiful lady.”
“You mean, Danielle herself actually came into your store and bought the part?” asked Amanda.
Germ knocked a fist against the cement. Shut your damn mouth, Josh.
Josh nodded. “Yeah, but that’s as far as it got. ’Course you could tell Germ took the guilt hardest when he returned the pump a few days later. I tried to reassure him it could’ve been a number of things. The pump was only making a little noise, nothing serious from what I heard.”
“Are you sure?” asked Amanda.
He shrugged. “It’s what I’ve heard.”
Josh had been talking to the wrong people. He never could get the facts straight.
Germ soured as Josh lifted his head and displayed shining eyes for the women, along with a cheesy smile. “But we shouldn’t let it ruin this opportunity to remember the good things in life . . . to move forward, maybe build new relationships.”
Amanda groaned and clomped out into daylight.
Germ’s impatience burned hot. He slid along the wall until he could peek around the corner and see Amanda over by her Jeep. She rummaged in a pack she’d drug up from the back and dropped on the driver’s seat.
Satisfied with her present preoccupation, Germ returned to the window. The two inside the shop were staring at the open garage door where Amanda had exited. Jo
sh turned back to Rebecca.
She offered a weak smile. “We’ve had a long trip and need some time to recover.”
He nodded. “You bet. But if you need anything, you know where to find me.” He bowed before finally exiting.
Good. Maybe, the two women would get in some intimate, secret-revealing conversation.
A car door slammed and Amanda re-entered, her pack over her shoulder. She glanced back toward where Josh had jogged across the street. Shaking her head, she dumped the pack on the bench.
The garage door rolled shut. She released a sigh. Her fingers clasped the bridge of her nose. “This is pointless.” Her arm dropped. She sighed. “What a joke. We should’ve stayed in Denver.”
“We’ve only talked to a few people.”
“The rest will say the same thing.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, they certainly aren’t going to say, ‘Hey, Amanda! Glad you’re back! We’ve got great news. You didn’t kill Danielle. It was absolutely certain you didn’t.’” She sighed. “Rebecca, nothing will prove in black-and-white I didn’t kill her.”
His eyebrows crowded inward, eyes searched out the blank air. What Ryan obviously believed about Amanda being involved in the crash had just been confirmed. What more did he need? It was enough for Germ’s ears. This woman would reap what she had sown, pain and destruction, and then suffer for each day since that she had let Germ think he’d been the one who’d crushed his precious flower. Death, as he had met him before in the shape of a car, would no longer torment him. He would use it like a tool to settle a debt of guilt. Then Danielle could live in peace within him. Always with him. Time to pay up, Amanda.
“I mean, Rebbie, I was the last one to touch Danielle’s car. What’re the odds the day right after I messed with her air conditioning, her power steering would give out, on its own? The power steering probably had nothing to do with it. It probably was just me all along.”
Germ’s body shook. His fists clenched into steel balls. She killed Danielle. She killed Danielle. Amanda was the murderer. She’d proven he had justifiable reason to hunt her.
He wrenched away from the window, supported by the wall but pushed off that, boiling with rage, and started pacing. How often had Germ played scenes in his mind of Danielle, her moment of terror because she was out of control, the tree speeding into view? His pacing rounded the corner of the shop and his darting eyes caught sight of Amanda’s Jeep. Death. It was time Amanda knew what he’d suffered and become acquainted with seizing panic.
He pulled his Leatherman from the holster on his belt and rolled under the Jeep, images still playing in his head of wreckage, delicate, violet eyes open in naked fear. The hot exhaust felt like a tree that breathed down his neck, the way one had done over Danielle’s limp form. He snipped two wire cables then worked his way out from underneath. On his knees, his hands resting on the plastic fender flare, he considered the building.
Two women were in there sharing feelings, probably conspiring on their next evil act. He’d have time to disassemble the engine, but it wasn’t necessary. He crouched and circled around the Jeep’s front to flip down the hood hooks. Back by the driver-side fender, he lifted the hood enough to reach his arm in and puncture a plastic reservoir. After re-latching the hood, he folded his Leatherman into his fist.
He re-took his listening position. Years spent thinking terrible things, because of his screw-up, because he’d done the repair, under the table, for the beautiful Danielle he’d cherished.
“Rebbie, I need some time to think. Do you think you could pick us up some breakfast? I wonder if that gas station still has those killer breakfast burritos.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, cuz.”
High heels clicked away from the window. No, the quiet one couldn’t leave, not without the criminal. The clicks sounded duller as she walked outside.
His heart pounded, muscles went rigid. He collapsed against the wall when he heard the Jeep start. Peering around the corner, he watched the Wrangler leave the lot. No. He shook his head, breaths coming short as another attack engulfed him. That wasn’t meant for her.
~ ~ ~
Her cousin hadn’t gotten in the way as much as Amanda had expected. In fact, Rebecca had willingly given Amanda time alone. Maybe she’d deserved a note.
But instead, Amanda had rushed out of the office and asked Josh for a ride. It was for the best.
Amanda smiled, but it dropped immediately. It’d been a wild idea to search the junkyards, but it’d paid off, had been there on the computer screen.
“So,” Josh began, disrupting Amanda’s mental calculations and bringing her back to the present. “You’ve been gone for years, and one of your first stops is a junkyard out of town?” He raised a brow as he watched the road.
“Right.” She nodded once.
“You know, there’s a parts store back in Bayfield, and I’m fairly certain the counter guy there would be plenty happy to find you whatever you’re looking for. He’d probably give you a great deal, too.” He grinned, the glint in his blue and green eyes playful.
She smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. But it is a little more specific than that.”
His brow went up. “Yeah? What?”
She shrugged against the cracked leather seat cover. The car’s interior smelled a lot like Uncle Jay’s Land Rover, a cocktail of cleaning chemicals. “I don’t know how to describe it.”
“Well, how about if—”
“It’s easier for me just to find it on the car,” Amanda cut him off.
He nodded, looking a little sulky. “All right.”
She turned back to the passenger window and looked beyond the door mirror with its reflection of a rusted, green truck to the evergreen collection that rooted among the crumbling rocks. The sun dribbled rays where it could.
“So how’s the big city?” asked Josh.
She rolled her eyes at the window. “Growing.” She fingered the peeling chrome plating on the door handle.
“Well, you haven’t missed out on much here. They’re building in Durango and Pagosa Springs, but that’s about it. What do you do for recreation up there? Must be plenty of options, after the traffic jams.”
“Oh, uh, I’ve been lubing cars for yuppies, convincing them that the engine is supposed to make noise.” Are we there yet?
Josh laughed. “And how’s ol’ Jim doing?”
She shrugged. “He stays out of Denver mostly. He runs a shop in Morrison. It’s just southwest of the city.”
“So did they catch the jerk that attacked you?”
“Not yet.”
“That’s why Rye left town, yeah? To check on you?”
“That’s what he told me.”
He looked sideways at her then. “So did he also tell you about the Gaudy Clip he had in his shop, early on in the week?”
She regarded him carefully as she focused on her breathing. Take a deep one. On the exhale, she sighed and said, “He mentioned something about it. It needed a part?”
He nodded. “The power steering pump was making noise. It probably had the same problem as Danielle’s. Needless to say, Rye was a bit shocked when I told him I had the part. I wonder what would’ve happened to those other people, if they’d driven off without getting it replaced, like our beloved Danielle had.”
Amanda nodded absentmindedly as Josh continued. She had stopped listening. Beloved by whom? The thought flittered briefly through her brain as she thought how Ryan had had a very good reason to call her dad. Her eyelids silenced her anxious eye movements. It wasn’t just Ryan she’d let down.
Was he on his way down now? Rebecca had thought so. He shouldn’t bother. She’d figure this one out on her own. Ryan had done more than he ever should have.
It was quiet in the
car. Josh was watching her.
“Huh?” she asked.
“I was asking if—”
A traffic sign caught her eye. She pointed at the turn-off. “I think that’s it.” Even as a full-time tech, she’d never been happier to see so many broken down cars.
Josh cranked the wheel, and Amanda braced against the door for the hard turn. They pulled into a gravel parking lot hidden off the main highway by a collection of spruce.
Josh shifted into Park. “You sure this place has the car you’re after?”
She beamed. “Not a doubt about it.”
“Well, if it’s missing the part you need, I’ll be happy to drive you up North. There’s nearly an acre of cars. You’re bound to find what you’re after there.”
“That’s okay.” She met his attentive green-blue eyes and smiled. “Thanks though.”
As she stepped out, Josh continued, “I wouldn’t mind sticking around to—”
“Shoot! Rebecca.”
“Rebecca?” he asked.
She nodded. “At the shop, I didn’t leave a note for her, about where I was going, and I forgot my phone. When she gets back . . . Josh, will you head back and let her know where I’m at?”
His eyes looked past her as he nodded toward the small building. “They should have a phone in the office here.”
“I’ll try calling, but what if she doesn’t answer?”
He sighed and nodded. “All right.”
Amanda went for a sparkling, wide smile. “Thanks. I owe you one.”
“How about lunch later?”
She opened her mouth but then held back her reflexive rejection. “That could work.” Clearly, this man didn’t know her, and it was a somewhat refreshing change. How could she darken any more people’s paths?
“Cool. So I’ll catch you at the shop later. Bye.”
“Later, Josh.” She closed the door and hurried away from Josh’s car.
A Running Heart Page 15