The Soldier's Promise

by Patricia Potter

  People were beginning to listen to Al and Sam. Others—those who had met Josh—were defending him. If she were Josh, a man who had spent seventeen years defending his country, she would probably be angry, as well. She certainly would question a town jumping to conclusions. That thought hurt. Covenant Falls was a good town, a caring town.

  Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, she called Tom, told him about the curt conversation.

  “I wonder what prompted the call,” he said.

  “I don’t know. It was short. Have you heard anything else?”

  “No. I’ve notified the county and state police and Julia’s contacting area pawnshops. We’re going to cover the state. I’ve also contacted Ryan Keller, the sheriff’s deputy I told you about. He’ll be here soon, and I’m going to pair him with Sam.”

  “Good.”

  “I’ll go out and talk to Manning first thing in the morning. Maybe something prompted him to call you other than curiosity.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  JOSH STAYED AWAKE all night. After midnight, he put on garden gloves and found a roll of oilcloth. He went to the Harley, wrapped the rifle in the oilcloth and took it to the back of the property and the path that led upward. Using a pinpoint flashlight, he went off trail and buried it under a mound of pine needles.

  Then he returned to the cabin. He placed a folding chair where he had a view of the Harley. Amos stayed at his side as if he knew he was supposed to be alert.

  It reminded him of all the other sleepless nights he’d spent looking for the enemy. He wasn’t used to this kind of enemy. A homegrown one who, for some reason, was intent on framing him.

  Wasn’t going to happen.

  Sometime during the night he had decided that no one was going to run him off before he himself was good and ready to get out of town.

  It had nothing to do with Eve. Nothing at all. He just wasn’t good at running.

  Dawn seeped in the windows, and he left his perch and made breakfast. He’d already had enough coffee to sink a battleship. He took a cold shower before he remembered that Nate would be here to help replace the flooring in the living room.

  He called Nate at seven and asked whether he could come at noon instead of eight. Something had come up. Nate readily agreed.

  A messenger arrived at eight-thirty. Josh tipped him well, then took the package inside and opened it. There were five small state-of-the-art portable cameras, plus a small listening device. He took a ladder outside, attached cameras to two spots on the roof. Then he attached one to the back of the roof and finally two more in the front yard—one in a tree, again with a view of the Harley, and another with a view of cabin. His cell phone could display what the cameras were seeing. Technology was amazing.

  He was finished by ten, just in time to see the police chief pull into his yard. He tucked the bug in his pocket and went to meet him.

  “Can I come inside?” MacGuire said.

  Josh led the way. Amos had seen the chief before and didn’t bound for safety. But he kept his distance.

  “There was a burglary on the street,” MacGuire said.

  “So I heard. When?”

  “In the past four days. Owner was out of town. You walk your dog,” he said. “I hoped you might have seen something. I’m questioning all the neighbors. Shep’s a good guy. This just about broke his heart. If it had just been money, he wouldn’t mind so much. But it was his championship buckles and prize rifles.”

  Josh heard the regret in the chief’s voice.

  Maybe it was time to trust someone. He had little choice. But he also had backup. He intended to keep the cameras and bug a secret for now.

  “I have one of his rifles,” he said flatly.

  The police chief waited for him to continue.

  “It appeared on the seat of my Harley yesterday. I went to Pueblo earlier in the day. Amos was agitated when I got home and when I let him out, he went straight to the Harley. I called Eve and she told me about the burglary and that the stolen items meant a lot to the owner.”

  “She’s right.”

  “I did consider the fact, though, that someone obviously wanted it found on my property. Just like someone saw my Jeep in a place I didn’t even know existed. So I moved it.”

  “Did it occur to you to call me?”

  “It did. There was a question of trust.”

  “And?”

  “Eve said I could trust you, and I trust her. And...I have a little backup.”

  “I don’t suppose you want to tell me about that.”

  “Then it wouldn’t be backup.” He took out his cell phone and showed the photo of the rifle on the Harley. “I decided it wasn’t wise to leave it there. I’ll take you to it.” He led the way back to where he had left the rifle, and brushed off the pine straw.

  The chief took gloves from his pocket, pulled them on and lifted the cover. “It’s Shep’s, all right, and he’ll be mighty glad to get it back. Didn’t see any belt buckles, did you?”

  Josh shook his head. “I’ll keep my eyes open.” He paused. “How do you think that rifle got there?”

  “I have some ideas.”

  “Care to share them?”

  “I appreciate your telling me about this.” The chief avoided Josh’s gaze as he also avoided the question.

  Josh got a sick feeling in his stomach.

  “Eve said I could trust you,” he repeated.

  The police chief looked uncomfortable. “One of my officers might come by looking around. Just let him look. Don’t tell him I have it. All right?”

  “You going to tell me why?”

  “I think you’re smart enough to guess,” the sheriff said.

  “I remember an unpleasant officer singling me out at Maude’s.”

  “I think he might see you as an opportunity for promotion.”

  “And he’s still an officer with your force?”

  “I can’t prove anything. On paper, he looks good, and his uncle is on the city council.”

  “But...”

  “He’s been doing a lot of mouthing off about you, and I don’t believe that a professional burglar would pick the businesses that were robbed, and they were professional. No fingerprints. No clues. Picked places with easy locks. Not a great deal of money involved, and for a pro they just aren’t worth the risk. The recent burglaries started just after you came, just as he was pushing for my job.”

  Josh didn’t like where this was leading. “If you are saying what I think you’re saying—that your officer stole and planted the rifle so he could find it later and charge what he knew was an innocent person—you have a very big problem in your department.”

  “More than you know. I’ve had several heart attacks. My wife wants me to retire. Sam’s uncle is president of the city council and he has the votes to name him police chief if I retire before Eve finds a better-qualified candidate. They won’t go against her as long as I hold the office. I have more friends than they do.”

  “You want to catch this officer with his hand in the cookie jar?”

  “Something like that. I have a new officer coming in to keep an eye on him, but I think Sam is getting anxious. This burglary was just a few doors away from you.”

  “So you know, or think you know, and all you can do is make me bait.’’

  The chief’s pained expression told him he was right.

  “It may have been more professional to consult me first,” Josh said sharply.

  The chief’s face went red. “You’re right. But after I saw your military record I knew Sam was outclassed. He was too lazy to check it, and I saw no need to share it with him. Since Sam never listens, I don’t think he’s aware that opinion is mostly on your side since the rattler bit Nick. He didn’t consider the fact that you would make frie
nds so quickly. I thought I would let him hang himself.”

  Josh raised an eyebrow. “Me? Friends?”

  “You have pretty fervent admirers in the Douglas clan. The pharmacist is an influential person in a small town, and his wife, Abby, is in every women’s club in town. Mrs. Byars, who is an institution in town, has been telling everyone what a nice and hardworking young man you are, and that you’re a hero like her son. Word like that gets around.

  “I really didn’t think Sam would go this far, this fast,” the police chief continued. “Try to find something against you, yes, maybe even plant evidence, but I had planned to have someone watching him, and other officers making frequent checks on businesses. I never considered the fact he—or anyone—would take Shep’s trophies. I guess Sam thought everyone would be so outraged that the council would name him police chief when he solved the crime.”

  “That’s if he’s guilty,” Josh said quietly. “Seems to be a lot of jumping to conclusions in this town.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about framing or enticing anyone. This is a guess only. Until now I thought our burglar could be a hunter. But if it was Sam, we want to be there if he walks through the door.” He paused, then added, “Sam is a would-be rodeo rider. Never made any money, and his uncle cut off supporting it. Maybe Sam thought he would take trophies another way and blame it on you.”

  “Uncle? What about father or mother?”

  “His mother, Councilman Monroe’s sister, died in an accident that also killed Sam’s father. Both of them had been drinking. Al Monroe didn’t have any kids of his own and raised Sam.”

  Josh processed that information. “But why hide the rifle in the Harley?”

  “My guess? It wasn’t his first choice. If it was Sam, he’s afraid of dogs. And I noticed you closed in the crawl space under the porch. Couldn’t hide it there. You said a police car’s been out here a lot. Sam probably noticed the Harley is always in the same place and assumed you didn’t ride it often.”

  “Mayor Douglas know about all this?” Josh asked. He sensed he wouldn’t like the answer. He didn’t like being used.

  The police chief hesitated. “She knows about Sam’s ambition. I told her I was bringing in someone on a short-term basis to keep an eye on Sam.”

  The reply didn’t exactly answer his question, which was an answer in itself. “You have the rifle now,” Josh said. “Maybe there’s prints on it.”

  “Could be, and we’ll sure check it. But Sam isn’t dumb. No prints in the other three crimes. But when he searches here, and I expect he will, and finds the rifle gone, he might well do something foolish.”

  “Like come after me?” Josh said quietly. He didn’t like being a target. There was a saying in the army about plans going awry, but soldiers used much more vivid language that he’d tried to forget once he left the service. He wanted to use every one of those words now.

  He felt like someone just stabbed him in the back. Or the gut. Eve had seemed to be forthright and honest. He had liked her directness. And now he wondered if she was any of those things.

  “Is this ethical for you?” he asked.

  The chief gave him a long, searching look. “Have you ever done something you had doubts about but couldn’t figure another way of accomplishing the objective? That’s where we are—Eve has done so much for this town. She doesn’t do it for the money, which is a pittance of what it should be, or the power. She runs an honest administration. She does it because she loves Covenant Falls. We’re a small town and don’t always use the same rules as big departments do. Sometimes you have to go with what you have. I suspect you know something about that. Sam handed us an opportunity with that rifle. It may be the only one we have. Otherwise he’ll keep abusing power, and God help this town if he becomes chief.”

  Josh shrugged off that defense. “You might think about looking in the mirror. I’m not going to stop you, but I’m not happy about it. I’ve already fought in a number of battlegrounds. I don’t need one here in the States. I’ll be out of here as soon as I finish and sell the place.”

  The chief sighed. “Can’t say I don’t understand, but I hope you reconsider. We need people like you, and Covenant Falls is a fine community with mostly good-hearted people.” He hesitated, then added, “Don’t blame Eve. This wasn’t planned. Sam just dropped it in on my lap.”

  Josh gave him a long, steady stare. “I don’t like crooked lawmen, and I didn’t like your officer, so I’ll go along with you up to a point. But you will keep me informed about how you plan to prove he’s the thief.”

  The older man nodded.

  “I also want a dated letter about the rifle. I want it to say that I found it and reported it, and you asked me to say nothing.”

  Chief MacGuire’s face flushed. Then he nodded. “You’ll have it in the morning.”

  “I would prefer right now,” Josh said. “I have a pen and paper.”

  He watched as the police chief wrote a few sentences on the paper Josh handed him and returned it. “I’ll also want a more official version in the morning with the city crest, along with the mayor’s signature.”

  The chief gave him a wry smile. “I don’t think that will be a problem.” He paused. “I do admire the way you think.”

  Josh watched as the older man went out the door, holding the rifle in gloved hands. He carried it to his car and put it in the trunk. Then Josh closed the door.

  He looked at his watch. Nate was due soon. He sighed.

  Why in the hell had Dave left this place to him? Was it his last joke?

  * * *

  NATE ROWLAND APPEARED at noon, an hour after the police chief left.

  In four hours they had pulled up all the old boards and in another two had installed the subfloor. Then came the jigsaw puzzle of joining each board, using a nail gun to secure them and cutting pieces to fit the odd places.

  They worked through lunch, taking out only a few moments for a sandwich and glass of milk. They finished around six, then swept and cleaned the floor. The old sofa had been shoved into the second bedroom, where it would remain for the next day.

  Josh offered Nate a beer. They were both hot and tired.

  Nate accepted immediately and he and Josh took the new folding chairs outside by the barbecue pit. “Pretty place,” Nate said. “Gonna be real nice when you finish. You have a feel for this kind of work.” He paused. “You could be real useful Saturday.”

  Saturday? Then Josh remembered. Nate was going to help put a new roof on a house for a widow. What the hell. He wouldn’t be finished with the cabin yet, and maybe he would find out more about this town and Clark. “What time?” he asked.

  Nate grinned. “Daybreak or thereabouts. But roofers come and go throughout the day. Whenever you can get there.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “The house is easy to find. Three blocks down Mine Street from Stephanie’s clinic. You won’t miss it. There will be trucks and several big bins and lots of cars.” Nate clinked his bottle to Josh’s. “Welcome to Covenant Falls.”

  After he left, Josh took Amos for a walk. He no longer felt he had to wait until dark. Amos was adjusting to the little traffic on Lake Road and didn’t protest. Instead, he’d started looking alert at the word walk.

  A slight breeze ruffled the pine needles and a hawk circled above. The sun had just dropped behind a mountain and its last rays turned the sky into a mad painter’s canvas of pink, gold and crimson shades. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at a sky with pleasure instead of worrying whether moonlight would give away his position, or that a lack of moonlight would cover the movements of an enemy.

  Did he really want to participate in another war?

  Could he run away from one?

  Since his arrival here, he’d wondered why Dave had never talked about Covenant Falls
. He’d figured that if Dave hadn’t wanted him to know, then it was none of Josh’s business. But now, suddenly, it was. He would contact the attorney in Pueblo to see if he knew anything.

  He passed Mrs. Byars’s home and saw her sitting on the porch with what looked like a cup of tea. He gave her a brief salute, and her smile warmed him as he moved on.

  He smiled when Amos stopped and sniffed a plant, then another. Maybe Amos was feeling more at home.

  Or was it a mirage? An illusion covering any number of dangers?

  * * *

  “WANTED TO WARN you, Eve, Josh Manning is not a happy man.” Tom paced Eve’s living room. Nick had gone to bed.

  “You told him about Sam?”

  “Yes.”

  “He didn’t understand?”

  “He understands.”

  Eve felt the floor wavering beneath her. It had been obvious from the beginning that Josh didn’t trust easily. “You explained...?”

  “I tried.” He sat down, looking years older than he had yesterday. “Tell you the truth, I would be mad as hell, too. I might well have put him in danger. I don’t know how far Sam will go, but at least Manning is aware now.”

  “Maybe I should go and talk to him tomorrow,” Eve said.

  “He’s a quiet man, Eve. I know the type. He keeps feelings buried deep inside, but they’re potent. He’s angry now. I think he needs time to cool off.”

  Eve felt herself go cold. He would feel betrayed, just as she would in his place.

  “Eve...”

  “You had better get someone up there to watch Josh’s cabin,” she said tonelessly.

  “Sam’s off tonight and he can’t ask for a search warrant from the county judge until he speaks to me first, and he knows he needs one to make a search stick. All the judges know I have to sign any request. I called Ryan and asked if he could be here in the morning. He said he could. I’ll pair him with Sam tomorrow.”