“Please, Charity,” Andrea said, her hand moving in faster circles.
Even from where Charity stood, she could see the desperation that began in her friend’s eyes. She’d always had expressive eyes that easily conveyed her thoughts.
This was Andrea. Charity felt certain of it. The DNA on that hat had proved it, right?
Before Charity could ponder her choices, a car rumbled down the road. It was Joshua. He stopped beside her and climbed out. “I’m so sorry I’m late. The chief had a press conference and—”
Charity glanced toward the woods again. Andrea was gone. She frowned.
“What’s wrong, Charity?” Joshua asked.
She pointed in the distance and shook her head, perplexed by the way Andrea came and went. “Andrea . . .”
“She was here?” Joshua asked.
“Just until you pulled up. Now she’s gone again.”
“I’ve got to see if I can catch her. Stay here. In the car.” He burst into a run toward the woods.
Charity closed her eyes and lifted up a prayer.
Would he catch her? If he did, maybe Charity would finally have some answers.
Was that too much for a girl to ask?
***
Joshua reached the edge of the woods and paused to scan his surroundings.
He saw no one.
But Charity had said Andrea was just here. She couldn’t have gotten but so far away. He needed some answers; this craziness had gone on for too long.
He slowly stepped into the forest, listening for the sound of anyone moving. All he heard was the tappity-tap-tap of rain hitting the leaves. Everything else seemed eerily still.
He glanced at the ground.
Footsteps led away from the area. Size elevens? He wasn’t sure. But someone had been here.
He followed the impressions until they ended at a puddle of water. He searched the ground on the other side, looking for where the footsteps picked back up.
He saw nothing.
Strange. The person couldn’t have just disappeared. So why weren’t there any footsteps?
He continued to search the area, looking for something—anything—that would give him a clue. But all signs that the woman had been here disappeared. Finally, he turned around.
By the time he got back to Charity, his uniform was soaked and his shoes were muddy. Neither of those things compared to the disappointment he felt at losing the trail.
Charity climbed out of the car when she spotted him and met him halfway in the field. The rain made her hair cling to her face and neck, made her cotton dress hug her skin. His thoughts went where they shouldn’t, and he had to look away.
“Well?” Charity asked. Her eyes were full of hope.
His gut twisted. He’d been so close. So close. “I didn’t find her. But I did find footprints. They disappeared where the ground got swampy.”
She closed her eyes, disappointment evident in her slumped shoulders and downturned mouth.
“She puddle jumped,” Charity muttered.
“What?”
“We read a book about it as kids. We thought the idea was brilliant as a way for someone to cover their tracks. The protagonist in the story jumped from puddle to puddle, knowing it would be almost impossible for someone to track her if her footprints were hidden by the water.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Charity stared toward the woods again and shook her head. “I just want some answers, Joshua. I feel like this woman is playing games with me, and I don’t understand why.”
He pulled her into a hug. He didn’t care about the rain; he didn’t care about anything else. He only cared about the woman in his arms.
When Charity stepped away, he took her hand and tugged her forward. “Let’s go inside a moment and get out of this rain.”
He led her into his house, drawing on every ounce of his self-control not to pull her into a long kiss. He sensed she needed emotional support right now more than she needed romance. Besides, he had to remember that he was on the job.
“Help yourself to some coffee. There are single-serve cups beside the maker. I’ve got to go get something,” he said.
When he returned with a map, she had two cups of coffee on the dining room table. He handed her a sweatshirt. With the AC blasting in his house, Charity would be shivering soon. “I thought you might need this.”
“Thank you.” She slipped it on and pulled her hair back.
His throat was dry as he tried to focus on the case. Being around Charity right now made it very difficult. He put a map on the table and cleared his throat.
“What’s this?” Charity asked.
“When I saw those footprints disappear, it made me think. What if Andrea was put on a boat after she was abducted?”
“It’s a possibility. We weren’t far from the river.”
“Exactly. There would be little evidence left if she was.” He pointed to where the Perquimans met the Albemarle Sound and then led to the ocean. “If she was taken this way, she could be anywhere. But I have a different idea.”
“What’s that?”
“What if she was taken the opposite direction? The Perquimans ends up north, but several smaller streams spawn from it. This one, Goodwin Creek, leads all the way into Chowan County. If someone had taken her that way, she could have been held somewhere in this area.” He circled the north end of the river with a red marker.
She nodded. “It’s a possibility.”
“Roberta Whitaker was in a car accident on her way to check out a lead in the case. Her accident occurred right here.” He marked the place on the map.
“That would fit with your theory about the river. It’s close to the same area.”
He nodded. “Plus, think about it. You’ve seen Andrea here at your house, but we also saw her in Edenton. The area where I’ve marked is right in between the two counties.”
“I think you could be onto something, Joshua. But isn’t that where Buddy Griffin lives? Does this just prove that he’s guilty?”
Joshua shook his head. “He claims he’s not. Plus, his property is far from the river and much closer to Hertford.”
“Are there any suspects who live in the vicinity?”
“That’s what I need to find out. I have almost a dozen boxes of case files that Ron Whitaker thought were his own personal property. I’m in the process of weeding through everything.”
“There’s one more thing. This might not mean anything, but Sarah Reynolds told me that she overheard her father—a former police officer—saying something about an argument between Ron Whitaker and Austin Johansson ten years ago.”
“I’ll look into it.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I wish I could stay here with you longer, but the case is too hot right now.”
“I understand. I appreciate everything you’re doing, Joshua.”
Hearing the gratitude in her voice was enough motivation to keep him going for a long time.
CHAPTER 36
Back at the station, Joshua extended his hand as he stood from his desk. “Thank you again for coming in, Principal Watkins. I appreciate your time.”
“Maybe we’ll finally have some answers in this investigation,” Principal Watkins said. “It’s been too long coming.”
“You can say that again,” Joshua said.
He walked the principal to the door. Joshua knew the man from church. Unfortunately, he hadn’t learned any new information through speaking with him.
Joshua had also talked to three other people this afternoon, and he had two more people lined up to come in. Everyone seemed overly willing to help out. Maybe they wanted to be a part of this story or get a sense of what was going on with the investigation. Either way, he didn’t complain.
Before he got back to his office, he heard the door open behind him. He turned and saw a man with hair to his shoulders standing there.
“You must be Larry Davis,” Joshua said. Larry was Joshua’s 5:30 appointment.
>
The fifty-something man nodded stiffly. “I am.”
“Come on back to my office.” They settled there before Joshua started. “As you’ve heard, we’re questioning people about the abduction of Andrea Whitaker. I appreciate you coming in.”
“Happy to help, but I thought it was odd. Didn’t you make an arrest?”
Joshua nodded, noting that the man smelled like grass and dirt. He seemed like the outdoorsy type. “We’re just trying to eliminate the possibility that Buddy was working with someone.”
“I see. Well, what can I do?”
“You worked on the facilities team for the school system, correct? And you were at the school on the day Andrea disappeared?”
The man nodded again. “Correct, and correct. I worked for the school system for about six years. Mostly worked outside. But I was at the high school that day. I’ll never forget it.”
“The report I read said you actually saw Andrea and Charity walking away from the school.”
He nodded again, his stoic personality not showing much emotion. “I did. It was unusual to see them walking home. The school is a bit off the beaten path, so most kids catch the bus.”
“And you also said you saw a car pull away not long after they did. A 1998 Toyota Camry?”
The man shifted, seeming like the type who preferred working alone rather than being social. “Yes. Nothing ever came of that lead, however. I assumed it hadn’t checked out.”
Joshua glanced at the file. “Apparently no one at the school had a vehicle that matched that description. Do you remember seeing anyone strange at the school that day?”
The man shifted again. “Anyone strange? Can’t say I did. Just the normal after-school folks—the principal, the football team, the custodian. And Mr. Johansson, of course.”
Interesting that the man had called out the teacher specifically. “Did you know Mr. Johansson very well?”
“Can’t say I did. He didn’t give much attention to someone like me. I wasn’t pretty enough.”
The statement stopped Joshua’s thoughts. “Are you saying he gave attention to girls in the school?”
He nodded. “Especially Andrea and Charity. They seemed to be his favorites. It was really surprising considering the man had a girlfriend.”
“I wasn’t aware of that. Do you remember her name?” This could be his most revealing meeting yet.
Larry shook his head. “I don’t. All I remember is that for such a small woman, she had big feet.”
Joshua straightened. “Tell me more.”
“I don’t know how much more there is to say. She stopped by school sometimes. I can’t remember her name. But she was tiny and blonde. And she always looked at her boyfriend like she didn’t quite trust him.”
His description sounded an awful lot like Austin’s current wife. “Can you elaborate on that any?”
“I walked into the auditorium once to fix a lightbulb. Andrea and Mr. Johansson were talking about something—whispering, actually. As I was leaving, I ran into Mr. Johansson’s girlfriend. She looked like she was crying. She’d just come from another exit from the auditorium. I think she saw the two of them talking also.”
“Does the name Heidi ring a bell?”
The man’s eyes brightened. “As a matter of fact, yes. That’s her.”
***
If Buddy was behind all of this, who might his accomplice be?
That was the question swarming in Charity’s head as she hung out at Daleigh’s place. Though she was, in theory, helping Daleigh put together some packets for the car show this weekend, Charity’s mind was far from the task at hand.
As hard as she thought about it, no one came to mind—except Andrea. And she couldn’t bear to face the possibility that Andrea was somehow involved in trying to harm Charity.
Charity shook her head, knowing she’d go crazy if she dwelled on this much longer. But she was practically a prisoner in the house right now. The media were still outside, so she didn’t want to go anywhere else for fear of being hounded. Daleigh was on the couch, working on some new songs. When Charity’s phone rang, she saw it was Lucy and answered.
“I’m just checking in,” her friend said. “I saw the news this morning. They mentioned your friend Andrea Whitaker.”
“Everything here has kind of exploded,” Charity said, moving the curtain and staring at the news crew outside.
“I thought you’d want to know that Bradley actually stopped by the office today looking for you.”
“Oh, did he?”
“I told him you weren’t in town. I think he wanted to talk to you about the case. You were right—that man is married to his career. In fact, I heard he was seeing someone else. She’s a crime victim, also. His obsession is kind of creepy.”
“Maybe he just has a superhero complex.” Her thoughts went to Joshua. Thank goodness he didn’t have that same vice. His reason for helping wasn’t superficial and didn’t revolve around advancing his own career. He genuinely cared about people.
“Anyway, I can’t wait to see you on Monday,” Lucy said.
“Monday?” Charity repeated, dropping the curtain.
“That’s when you have to be back at work. You didn’t forget, did you?”
Charity’s heart sank. She actually had forgotten. She’d known she had to go back, but she hadn’t realized how soon her stay here would be ending. “I guess I just lost track of time.”
“You are coming back here, aren’t you?”
“Tennessee is where my job is. My apartment. And you, of course.” Charity couldn’t stay here forever. She had no money or career to support herself. She had no place to live, and she couldn’t expect to stay with Daleigh indefinitely. To think otherwise, she’d be fooling herself.
But the thought of leaving Joshua in three days twisted her insides.
“Hope you’re able to wrap things up there, Charity, and truly move on.”
Her throat felt dry and achy. “Yeah, me too,” she managed to croak. “Thanks for calling.”
Just as Charity hung up, her phone rang again. Without even looking at the caller ID, she answered. “Yes, Lucy?”
Silence stretched for a moment. And then someone whispered, “Run.”
CHAPTER 37
After another long day of working nonstop, Joshua knocked at Daleigh’s door that evening. Daleigh and Ryan scampered outside as soon as he stepped into the living room.
“We have a few things to do for the car show. We’ll be back at a reasonable hour. We promise.” Daleigh flashed him a mischievous smile.
Joshua watched them leave and shook his head. They’d been in a hurry to get away. Or, knowing Daleigh, she just wanted to give him and Charity some time together.
Charity offered a shy smile and patted the space on the sofa beside her. He’d run home to change into jeans and a T-shirt before coming over. He was going to sleep on the couch here tonight and give Ryan a break. Until he was certain Buddy was truly guilty, he couldn’t take a chance that someone might invade the house again.
It felt good to see Charity, though. To see her smile. To smell the scent of fresh strawberries that always seemed to accompany her. To look into her luminous blue eyes.
He stole a quick kiss before taking her hand into his. “I have some updates.”
Her eyes flickered with curiosity. “Okay.”
“I did some research, and it turns out that Austin Johansson, when he worked in Hertford as a teacher, rented some property between here and Edenton.”
Charity’s eyes widened. “No . . .”
“There’s more. The property backed up to the water, though a person would have to cut through some woods to get there. Add to that the fact that ten years ago your teacher was dating the woman who is now Heidi Johansson.”
“What does she have to do with any of this? I mean, sure, I thought they didn’t get married until a few years ago, but I’m not connecting the dots.”
“There are implications that Heidi may have be
en jealous of Austin’s relationship with Andrea. Even when we were at their house last week, I saw Heidi giving you strange looks. I didn’t question it too much at the time. But one of the landscaping crew said he saw a Toyota Camry pulling away from the school around the time both of you left. It just so happens that Heidi owned a Toyota Camry ten years ago.”
Charity shivered. “Wow. That’s . . . both creepy and disturbing.”
“She also apparently has large feet. We’re not sure if they’re a size eleven or not, but it’s a possibility worth exploring.”
“You think she’s involved? That she worked with someone?” Charity said.
Joshua shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. But it’s a distinct possibility.”
“That would mean that Buddy is the wrong man. Were Heidi and Mr. Johansson working together?”
“That would make sense, but we’re still tracking down clues.”
“You just never know who you can trust, do you?” Charity leaned her head back against the couch and stared into the distance.
Joshua couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but Charity seemed especially burdened at the moment. He caught her gaze before asking, “What are you thinking?”
She rubbed her lips together a moment. “I got a phone call today, Joshua. The person only said one thing. Run.”
He furrowed his brows together. “Run?”
She nodded. “It was a woman. She whispered it, so I couldn’t identify the voice.”
“How did someone get your cell number?”
“I had my old one transferred. The number is the same one that I got the text message from. The one that said, ‘Do you want to walk through the woods?’”
This investigation just kept getting stranger and stranger. “You think Andrea is trying to warn you?”
“I have no idea what’s going on, Joshua. No idea.”
He pulled her into his arms and didn’t let go.
She can’t stay here forever, Joshua reminded himself. But, at the moment, he didn’t care. All he wanted was to somehow help take away Charity’s pain, despite the impact her departure would have on his heart.
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