Hidden Falls

by Newport, Olivia

  No matter how many times Nicole told herself to stop looking at the clock, she glanced at it again. A string of messages to people in St. Louis were still unanswered, which only aggravated her restlessness. Nicole liked excitement. She liked puzzles. Without those two traits, she wouldn’t be as good as she was in her work as an investigative reporter. But the upheaval of the last ten days had punched the air out of her, and impatience flooded the crevices of her mind. Was there a neatly typed letter awaiting her return to St. Louis—the sort of communication an employer would not trust to e-mail? Where was Quinn? Was Ethan going to repair his relationship with his parents, or was his visit with them on Sunday all there was to it?

  Nicole wanted answers.

  Ethan hadn’t said what time he would come by, but Nicole hoped that when he got there he would be ready to tell her whatever it was he had avoided last night. He probably thought he’d done well at controlling the conversation, of keeping her on the topic of what he’d learned about his own heritage in the space of twenty-four hours. But Nicole knew he was holding back—something about his parents or his job or she didn’t know what. But something. While she rolled in Lauren’s small desk chair, carrying a second cup of coffee, Nicole reminded herself that Ethan didn’t owe her an explanation of every detail of his life. Circumstances had thrown them together, and Nicole believed Ethan did feel something for her, but they hadn’t had a conversation that entitled her to more.

  Still, Nicole’s antennae were up.

  Finally, his knock came on the door, and Nicole rolled over to turn the locks. When he bent to greet her with a kiss, Nicole offered her lips without reluctance.

  “How’s Lauren?” Nicole asked.

  “Downright perky, I’d have to say.” Ethan set his laptop on the dining table.

  “Can she come home?”

  “I think we’ll wait another day before we consider that question. And I want to get one last scan.”

  “Was Sylvia there? Or Cooper?”

  “No.” Ethan opened his computer. “And I’m glad. They don’t need to hover over her at this point. They’ll do themselves good to do something normal.”

  Nicole chuckled. “That arrest yesterday wasn’t exactly a normal day in the life of a Hidden Falls deputy.”

  Ethan didn’t respond, instead absorbed in arranging his computer.

  Nicole rolled up to the table. “What’s going on?”

  “Something happened last night that I didn’t tell you about.”

  No kidding. Nicole waited.

  “Take a look at this picture and tell me what you see.” Ethan nudged the laptop toward her.

  Nicole leaned in to study the screen. Less than two seconds passed before she gasped. “When did you take this?”

  “Yesterday, just before sunset.”

  “That’s Quinn.”

  “I know.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We covered a lot of ground last night.”

  “Not about this, we didn’t.” Nicole pushed back from the table so she could give Ethan a full-on glare.

  “It was an accident,” Ethan said. “I didn’t see them in the frame when I snapped it, and I had the telephoto lens on. They weren’t even in shouting distance. By the time I realized I had it and went looking for him, they were long gone.”

  Nicole’s brain sorted possibilities.

  “I scoured the trails before I came here.” Ethan pulled out a chair and sat. “And when I left, I went to Quinn’s house and sat in my car for half the night. He didn’t come home.”

  “Maybe you dozed off.”

  “No. He didn’t come home.”

  “But—”

  “I went back this morning in the daylight. Nothing has changed since the night we were there.”

  With her good foot, Nicole rolled the desk chair forward and backward, forward and backward. “And your theory about the other guy?”

  Ethan shook his head. “I saw Dani this morning. She says it’s not the man who comes to visit Quinn every year.”

  “Did she recognize who it was?”

  Ethan didn’t answer. He only ran his tongue over his lips.

  “Ethan?”

  “I don’t think I asked that specific question.”

  “Dani isn’t going to volunteer information.”

  “I know.”

  Nicole bit back her frustration. Ethan’s face told her he felt bad enough as it was. Obviously Quinn had a secret.

  “What if Quinn broke the rules?” Nicole asked.

  “Rules?” Ethan echoed.

  “Of the witness protection program. They keep people safe as long as they follow the rules. But what if he broke the rules, and you caught the consequence on camera?”

  “You think Quinn is in the witness protection program?”

  “He could be. Maybe this other guy is keeping him from going home.”

  Ethan looked doubtful but had the kindness to keep his thoughts to himself.

  “Quinn came home to Hidden Falls,” Nicole said. “I don’t know why he didn’t go to his own house, but if he was out walking in a place where someone could take his picture—even accidentally—that means someone else could have seen him, too.”

  “I’m going to get a few prints made and start asking some questions,” Ethan said.

  “I’m coming with you.” Nicole started to roll into the hall. Her shoe was in the bedroom.

  “No, you’re not.” Ethan caught the seat of her chair and impeded progress.

  “Ethan.” Nicole pushed against his grasp, but he held firm.

  “You have a broken ankle, Nicole. Even in a wheelchair, the trails wouldn’t be accessible. I’d be crazy to take you out there on crutches.”

  “I’ll sit in the car.”

  “You’ll sit here.”

  “You’re not the boss of me.” She protested, but with reduced vigor.

  “I promise I’ll stay in touch at every move.” Ethan squatted in front of her chair and held her gaze.

  “Cooper,” Nicole said. “And Sylvia. We have to tell them.”

  “I know. And I will.”

  “But you’re not going to depend on them.”

  “Would you?”

  Ethan had her there. As an investigative reporter working on criminal stories, Nicole had been told on several occasions to step back and let professional law enforcement do what they knew how to do, but she always found a way to steer clear of official channels while also digging up her own information. The important thing was to find Quinn. They’d lost a whole night already since Ethan’s photo, and Cooper’s plate was full. What could it hurt for Ethan to show the photo around?

  “Then that’s what we’ll do,” Nicole said. “You see what you can dig up, but be careful. And call me—often.”

  As much as Nicole hated to admit it, it would be easier for Ethan to move quickly through his inquiries and to be smart about any oddball responses he received if he didn’t also have to worry about Nicole’s inability to run if necessary. Quinn wouldn’t have been on the trails if he was trying to hide. Nothing about his posture in the photo alarmed Nicole. His head was up, his shoulders relaxed, his distance from the other man comfortable. All four of their hands were visible. Nothing looked sinister in the least.

  “Do you need anything before I go?” Ethan stood and closed his laptop.

  “Thanks, no.” Nicole didn’t want to hold up Ethan a minute longer than necessary. “My phone will be within reach every minute.”

  “I’ll call.”

  “Do you want me to talk to Sylvia and Cooper?”

  “Give me a head start,” Ethan said. “I don’t want them to tell me not to do this.”

  Nicole grinned. That was exactly the right answer.

  He took his laptop and left. Nicole transferred herself into the recliner in the living room and used the remote control to turn on the television for some diversion, though she didn’t understand how anyone lived with the limitation of broadcast channels
only. With a game show in the background, Nicole looked out the front window. Other than the annual Founders’ Day or the peak of summer weekend river tourism, Main Street was never crowded, especially at midmorning. Nicole saw a young woman with two small children come out of the park across the street, and she realized it was Raisa Gallagher. A week ago Nicole had avoided falling over the toddler only by stepping off a curb and breaking her ankle. Raisa was running after Kimmie now.

  “That child must be a handful,” Nicole muttered to herself.

  She looked down the street and saw a squad car parked. Two deputies got out and sauntered up the block as if they were on a casual morning patrol. One of them stopped in front of the department store, though, while the other continued farther down before pausing, lifting his chin, and nodding. A second squad car turned into view and pulled across three open parking spaces outside the department store. A third officer emerged.

  Nicole shut off the game show. Events on the street below were far more interesting.

  Three officers—but not Cooper. Where was he? At the hospital?

  Nicole sighed, reached for her crutches, and pulled herself to her feet.

  She would just go downstairs and see what it was all about.

  11:11 a.m.

  If nothing else, Liam would be well organized when he resumed working regular hours. He wadded up the paper towel he’d used to wipe dust from his shelves, dropped it in the trash can, and took a fresh pad of lined paper from a drawer. Would it seem more or less incriminating if someone from the corporate office of Midwest Answers entered the office and found supplies and files looking as if Liam was expecting not to work again?

  He’d done nothing wrong. He would work again. He still had appointments on the books for next week, and since he wouldn’t be spending so many evenings with Jessica, he would have plenty of time to go through leads, as thin as they might be. For now, Liam wanted the productive sensation that would come from a list of action steps that implied he expected his life and career to move forward. He had several mailboxes around the county. This was as good a day as any to make the rounds and collect the response cards that might have accumulated since last week’s roundup, and he had a folder of unread materials from the corporate headquarters about new products consultants could offer to their clients. Out of habit, Liam turned to where his computer normally sat to check for new e-mails, but the space was empty. Cooper had taken Liam’s computer for the technology team at the sheriff’s office in Birch Bend to inspect and see if they could turn up any trails to explain the missing seventy-three thousand dollars. Liam had exposed himself, he knew. His eagerness to cooperate might be mistaken as a cover-up effort, but he hoped not. It had taken him so long to see that something was amiss with the accounts that he didn’t feel smart enough to have masterminded the thievery.

  Liam made a list of tasks in small straight script, and to the left of each entry he drew a neat square that he would X out when the task was complete.

  The office door was propped wide open. Liam wasn’t hiding anymore. When he heard footsteps in the hall, he cocked his head and held his pen still.

  That was Cooper’s walk. Liam blew out a controlled long breath and waited for his brother to appear in the doorframe.

  “Hey, Coop.”

  “Hey, Liam.”

  Liam waited. Whatever it was Cooper came to say would take form soon enough. Liam briefly glanced over Cooper’s shoulder to make sure there were no other officers, as there had been yesterday when Cooper arrested Bobby Doerr in the restaurant. Still, Liam couldn’t seem to fill his lungs.

  Cooper repositioned a chair opposite Liam, sat down, and laid one ankle on the opposite knee.

  Liam cleared his throat. “How’s Lauren today?” His brother’s face sported fewer Band-Aids than it had the last couple of days. Gratitude for Cooper’s safety flushed through Liam in a fresh wave, as it did several times a day since Saturday’s storm.

  “I spoke to her,” Cooper said. “She sounded well. I hope to see her later this afternoon.”

  “Good.” Liam had never noticed before how intimidating his brother’s uniform made him look. Cooper even had a gun hanging from his hip.

  “Something is happening this morning,” Cooper said.

  “That’s what we wanted, right?”

  “I just want to make sure you’re ready.”

  Liam’s breath caught again, but he gestured around the office. “It won’t be hard for anyone to find what they need.”

  “No one’s coming here, Liam.” Cooper put both feet on the floor and leaned forward on his knees.

  “What’s going on, Cooper?”

  “I’m glad you’re here and not grabbing an early lunch.”

  Liam wished Cooper would just say whatever it was.

  “There are three officers on Main Street,” Cooper said. “In a few minutes, two of them will go into the department store.”

  Liam’s stomach lurched. “Jessica.”

  Cooper nodded. “I suppose she thought she was pretty clever.”

  “She fooled me on my own computer, after all,” Liam said.

  “I didn’t mean that.”

  “I know.” Liam laid his pen down on the pad on the desk. “What did you mean?”

  “It only took the white-collar crime guys one day.”

  “And they’re sure?”

  “They think they are. There are some irregularities about the way she navigated your company’s system that apparently are quite distinct from the way you normally do things.”

  “But they’re sure it was Jessica?”

  “Yes. The money is all in an account in Springfield.”

  “She went to a training conference there a few months ago.” At least that’s what Jessica had told Liam.

  “And the note?”

  “We haven’t tied that to her. It might not be what you thought it was.”

  “You saw it.” Liam pushed his chair back from the desk. What else could it be if it wasn’t a blackmail note?

  “I can’t manufacture evidence, Liam.”

  Liam spun his chair around and looked out the window at a day like any other. People on the sidewalks. Cars parked in the street. A canopy of blue sky. Did no one else feel the seismic shift under his feet?

  “Liam?” Cooper said.

  “If you’re ready to arrest her, what are you doing here?”

  “I’ve been assigned to a different detail.”

  “But you’re the senior deputy in Hidden Falls.”

  “And I’m your brother.”

  Liam twirled the chair to face Cooper again. “They can’t think you have a conflict—that you would compromise the case.”

  “No,” Cooper said. “They’re worried about you.”

  “Me?”

  “The problem with living in the small town where you grew up,” Cooper said, “is that people remember what you were like when you were little.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s just a precaution.”

  Liam understood now. Cooper was there to make sure Liam didn’t do something impulsive to interfere with the arrest. And maybe it had been smart to send Cooper. Despite everything, Liam’s impulse was still to protect the woman to whom he had given a diamond ring. They were supposed to have a future.

  “What about the ring?” Liam asked softly.

  “You were right. It’s been tampered with. The stone that’s in the setting now is worth a fraction of what you paid for the original diamond.”

  Of all the times in Liam’s life to be right.

  Cooper rubbed a knuckle against his chin. “I hate to ask, but have you checked the balance on the account you shared with Jessica recently?”

  “The wedding account?”

  Cooper didn’t speak.

  “No,” Liam said. It hadn’t occurred to him. He’d been so frenzied at the thought of facing criminal charges himself, and then with the agony of his own suspicions about Jessica, that he hadn’t d
one the one simple thing that was most obvious.

  “We’ll need you to look,” Cooper said.

  It was a joint account. Either one of them could have emptied it at any time. “I don’t want that money anyway.”

  “It goes to her motivation.”

  Liam stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and jiggled a knee. “If I promise to behave, will you let me go see what’s going on?”

  “That’s a bad idea, Liam.”

  “Maybe from your view. Not from mine.”

  Cooper moved his head back and forth slowly several times. “See, now this is why they thought it was a good idea to send me over here.”

  “I want to see for myself.” Everybody in town would assume Liam knew more than he did about the events that were about to transpire. How many of them would see the officers going into the store and up to the third floor? Probably they already had. Cell phones would come out of pockets and purses to spread the news. Store employees, shoppers, curious gawkers—it didn’t seem fair to Liam that they would witness a scene he was barred from. He was the wounded party, in more ways than one. Liam stared at his brother, unblinking.

  “You need to let go,” Cooper said.

  “You don’t know what I need,” Liam snapped around the desk. “I need to see what’s happening to Jessica.”

  Cooper stood quickly. “All right, but if you interfere in any way with the actions of the officers making the arrest, I cannot be responsible for what it might mean for charges you’ll face.”

  “I’m not going to do anything. I just want to see.”

  They left the office. Liam flipped the lights off and pulled the door closed behind him. Their feet found a simultaneous rhythm on the stairs, around the corner, and down one block to Main Street.

  “Stop here.” Cooper grabbed Liam’s arm.

  Liam complied. He was just in time. Two officers flanked Jessica. Her wrists were cuffed behind her back, but she held her head high. Even now she had no shame.