by Terri Reed
This was the same young man who, when he was just a boy, had cried when he’d skinned his knee on the playground and clung to Ellie’s waist. Ellie was like a big sister to a lot of these kids. Something in her heart shifted. Anyone—anyone—could take a step off the right path and land in a world of hurt. If she had learned anything today, it was that stark reality.
“We want to help your son, Mrs. Parker, before something happens that can’t be reversed.” Ellie placed her hand on the woman’s crossed forearm. Mrs. Parker looked as though she wanted to run like her son, but instead, she slowly sat in the chair next to Collin’s. Her chair wobbled on the uneven earth as she leaned to clutch his hand. “What did you do?”
“I took the BB gun Dad gave me and shot out a window on Main Street.”
Ellie’s stomach hollowed out. A million thoughts shifted through her brain, none of them making sense. Collin Parker had shot at her.
“I didn’t know you’d be there. I thought the store was closed…” His voice shook. “All the other stores were closed. And it was dark.” He scrubbed his hand across his face and his whole body shuddered as if he had tasted something sour. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
Ellie was only vaguely aware of Johnny making a phone call over the sounds of Collin’s sobs and Mrs. Parker’s quiet questions. “Why would you do that? What were you possibly thinking?”
Collin stood and his mother rose along with him. He grabbed his mother’s wrists and flung her away from him. She stumbled back and turned her ankle. Johnny steadied her. “Easy, Collin.” Then to Mrs. Parker, “Are you okay?”
She nodded; a confused look in her eyes. She seemed to have aged beyond her years. The cigarette lines around her eyes and mouth didn’t help. “Collin needs his father. He ran off with that—” Her face crumpled in distaste as she struggled to get the right word out. “He hasn’t been the same since his dad left. We had to move here.” She held up her hand to the trailer. “He’s hanging around the wrong people.” She looked at Johnny, imploring him with her eyes. “You can’t hold him responsible.”
“How old is your son?” Johnny asked.
“Seventeen.”
“I’ve called the police. They’ll be here soon to take Collin in and question him,” Johnny said.
Panic lit Collin’s features and he bounced on the balls of his feet. “I can’t go to jail.” In an explosion of energy, Collin bolted. This time Johnny was faster. He stepped in front of the boy and blocked him with a shot to the chest with his shoulder.
“You have to stop doing that.” Johnny gritted his teeth and spun Collin around, yanking his arms behind him. “I didn’t want to do this.”
Ellie winced as Johnny snapped handcuffs onto Collin’s wrists.
Mrs. Parker paced the small space. The spotlight highlighted a face filled with regret. “It’s all my fault.”
Ellie reached out, but Mrs. Parker jerked away.
Johnny shoved Collin down on the picnic bench. “Hang tight. Officer Bailey’s on his way.”
Ellie brushed past Mrs. Parker, who stood with her arms wrapped around her middle as she rocked back and forth. “Collin—” Ellie envisioned the little boy who couldn’t sit still during Bible study “—why did you shoot the front of my shop?”
Collin lifted his shoulders and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Some guy paid us. I needed the money.”
“What are you talking about?” Mrs. Parker pushed Ellie out of the way so she could get in Collin’s face.
“I needed the money. Okay? I needed it!” Collin’s words exploded, spittle flying from his mouth. “It’s not like you’re going to give me any money. You’re always complaining you don’t have any.” He scrunched up his nose as he threw a disgusted look at the trailer he called home. Then, as if contrition had slammed into him, he bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m really sorry.” He shifted awkwardly and pleaded to Johnny, “I can’t go to prison. I can’t. I’ll die there.”
Ellie took a chance, wrapped her arm around Mrs. Parker’s shoulders and guided her away from her raging son.
Mrs. Parker wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “I should have done a better job. I let my son down.”
Ellie made shushing sounds, her heart racing in her ears. Her mouth had gone dry.
Johnny placed his hand on Collin’s shoulder. “Who paid you to shoot out the front of Ellie’s shop?”
Collin hung his head. “The guy paid Kerry. He said he had to make it look like he was going after Ellie.” The words rushed out. “Kerry wasn’t feeling good, so he talked me into it. Gave me fifty bucks. I thought it was no big deal. A broken window. Nothing more. I was so pumped up on adrenaline I couldn’t think straight even when I noticed someone standing near the door. You weren’t supposed to be there.”
His last sentence pointed the blame at Ellie and she bit back her anger.
“Kerry…?” Kerry who had overdosed. Pinpricks washed over Ellie and she started to tremble.
Collin shook his head, a pitiful look on his young face.
“What’s the guy’s name? The one who paid Kerry?” Johnny asked.
Collin shook his head. “Kerry never told me.”
Ellie’s heart sunk. Now Kerry was in a coma. Clinging to life.
They might never find out who had paid Kerry to shoot her window out.
EIGHT
“You can’t stay alone in the garage apartment. You’re not safe there.” Outside the police station, Johnny closed Ellie’s passenger door and watched as she collapsed into the seat and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. He had encouraged her to leave the apartment before, but this time he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
He walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. She turned in her seat while she snapped her seat belt into place. “You’re not suggesting I get a roommate.”
He tapped on the steering wheel. “Maybe you should move into the main house with your mom.”
Ellie held up her hands in a hold-on-a-minute gesture. “I’ve been working hard to be on my own.” She frowned. “Not that living in a garage apartment next to my childhood home is some huge leap, but it’s a start.” She shook her head, the fight seeming to drain from her.
“I don’t want you to be alone.” Johnny shifted the car into Drive and waited for a squad car to pass in the police station parking lot.
“I still can’t believe Collin shot out the windows of my shop.” Her voice shook, partly from fear, partly from betrayal. Until Kerry woke up—if Kerry woke up—they might not know who’d paid him to do it.
“How much danger do you really think I’m in?” Her face turned ashen. “Collin said Kerry gave him strict instructions to vandalize my shop when no one was around. Maybe I’m okay…” Her voice trailed off.
“Collin isn’t a reliable witness. He’s a kid with a drug problem and desperate for money. I don’t think he’s going to confess to anything more than he did. Nor is he going to rat out his best friend.” He covered her hand with his. Hers was freezing. “Someone paid Kerry to scare you. Even if Kerry’s in a coma and Collin’s in jail, the person we really need to worry about is still out there. He’ll find another impressionable kid to hire to scare you.” Or worse.
Ellie let out a loud huff. “If I’m in danger, I can’t move into my mom’s house. I don’t want to bring danger to her doorstep.” Ellie’s voice grew quiet. “She’s been through enough over the years.”
Johnny squeezed her hand. “Then move in with me.”
Ellie coughed out her surprise. “Excuse me.”
“Move into my grandfather’s house. This way I can protect you.”
Ellie leaned back into her car seat. “Really? Oh, man,” she said, as if now just realizing something. “I’m the victim, yet I’m the prisoner. I have to leave my apartment. I have to close my shop.”
“It may feel that way, but it’s only temporary.”
Ellie glanced down at her hands. “What if you can’t fi
nd whoever is behind this?”
“I will.”
She met his gaze.
“You realize I can’t make you do anything. I can’t make you leave your apartment.”
“But you’d like me to…” She stated the obvious, the sound of defeat in her voice.
Johnny ran a hand over his whiskered jaw, considering something. “Maybe we’re going about this all wrong. Last solid lead we had was a package shipped to Gifts and More’s address.”
Ellie jerked her head back, following his train of thought. “So now you want me to stay open?”
“I could help you unpack the rest of the boxes. Do odd jobs around the store during business hours. Be there to protect you.”
A thin line creased Ellie’s forehead. “You want to work for me?”
“Not exactly.” He laughed. “I’ll help. Free of charge.”
“Won’t whoever had the drugs shipped to my store’s address get suspicious? That an FBI agent is now working in the store?”
“Maybe, but perhaps things are already in play. Things they won’t be able to stop. Like additional shipments. Or threats to you. I don’t want you in there by yourself.”
Ellie’s heavy sigh filled the quiet space. “What about your grandfather? Doesn’t he need your help getting the house on Treehaven ready to sell?”
“He won’t mind the delay.”
Ellie ran her hands up and down the thighs of her jeans. “When you started this investigation, did you really think I had something to do with the drugs?”
Johnny searched her eyes, hoping she’d understand. “In the beginning, I had to consider all angles.”
“And you already knew what my brother was capable of.” Her voice grew quiet. “You’ve also been investigating my brother…” She watched his face and he did his best to not show emotion. “Greg’s been helping me some in the shop. Do you think…?” He detected fear in her question.
“Like I told you before, I have no leads indicating your brother is involved.”
Ellie bit her bottom lip. “This is all so unbelievable.”
Johnny decided he needed to be honest with Ellie if he hoped to gain her trust. “I’ve also been tracking Roger Petersen. I don’t have anything on him. Yet.” Roger rubbed him the wrong way. Johnny thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Our best hope is to find out who paid Kerry and Collin to shoot out the shop windows. Go from there.”
“Yeah.” Ellie didn’t sound optimistic.
Johnny flipped the directional to turn down her street. “Let’s grab a few things from your apartment and then I’m taking you to my grandfather’s house.”
“This will go over like a lead balloon with my mother.”
*
“Wait here.” The bottom step creaked as Ellie spun around. For appearances’ sake, she didn’t want to make a habit of inviting him up to her apartment. Johnny hesitated, his hand on the railing. A look she couldn’t quite discern washed across his face. “Is there a back entrance to your place?”
Ellie’s stomach dropped. “No, only this one staircase.” She tapped her palm on the wooden railing, mustering a confidence she didn’t feel.
“I’ll be fine.” She was starting to wonder if that was her brain or her exhaustion talking. “Wait right here. I’ll leave the door ajar. I’ll talk to you the whole time.” She angled her head and gave him her best this-is-how-it’s-going-to-be-whether-you-like-it-or-not look. The one she had seen her mother use a million times to great effect.
She spun on her heel, not waiting around for him to argue. She reached the top landing and hollered over her shoulder, “I’ll hurry.”
Mentally figuring out what she had to pack and wondering for how long—surely he’d let her come back to her apartment for more things—she fumbled in her purse for the keys. Finally she found them at the bottom next to six pens and a wadded-up grocery list. She really needed to clean out her purse.
She lifted the key to the bright pink door, her statement piece on her boring apartment, and her stomach dropped to her shoes. With a shaky hand, she pushed the door. It swung open.
Swallowing around a hard lump, she flattened herself against the dusty outside wall. At the bottom of the steps with his back to her, Johnny scanned the yard. She glanced back at the door. It yawned open about a foot. It hadn’t been locked.
“Johnny…” Her shaky voice trailed off.
He slowly turned around. The look on her face must have said everything she couldn’t. He took the stairs two at a time. When he reached her side, he silently placed a hand on her arm. “Stay here,” he mouthed. Gun drawn, Johnny entered the apartment.
Her heart beat wildly in her ears, drowning out the crickets and any sound of Johnny…or an intruder. She wondered if she should run for his car and lock herself in, but she didn’t have his keys.
The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled to life. She felt exposed, vulnerable, afraid. A soft touch to her arm made her jump. She spun around. Johnny’s curious expression locked on her. He cocked his head toward the door. “It’s all clear.”
Knees trembling, Ellie leaned back on the rough siding on the exterior of the garage. A sharp corner of siding dug into her back. She pushed away and turned to go into her apartment. She stepped through the door. Everything she owned was scattered around her apartment. Confusion swirled in her head.
“I never thought…”
“They’d come to your home?” Johnny finished her thought.
“Yes. I considered this my sanctuary.”
Her face must have showed every emotion in her heart because Johnny gently touched her arm and guided her to the couch. “Whoever was here is gone.” He pushed aside a pile of books on her coffee table and sat in front of her. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”
Ellie scanned her small apartment. The one closet was open and everything had been thrown out. All the drawers in her dresser and china cabinet were either half-open or had been pulled out all together. “What’s going on?”
“Whoever is dealing drugs thinks you stole the shipment. They couldn’t find it in your shop, so—”
“They decided to search my home.”
Ellie bowed her head and rested her forehead in the palm of her hand. A sick feeling made her dinner roil in her stomach. She doubted she’d ever be able to eat a chicken panini again. She groaned, not knowing what to say.
“We need to notify the police and get you to safety.”
Ellie nodded and stood, her legs weak underneath her.
“Don’t touch anything. Grab the basics. We’ll wait and talk to the police and let them investigate the scene.”
She looked up at Johnny, who seemed to be blocking her view of something. “Come on, let’s wait outside.” His rush to get her outside agitated her.
What was he hiding?
She cut him a sideways glance then moved toward the wall. She started to hyperventilate and the world narrowed to a dark-walled tunnel. Next to an oil painting of the skyline of Buffalo—one she had painted on a glorious fall day from the marina—was a photo of her with Greg and Johnny from Johnny’s so-called high school days.
Ellie remembered the exact day. Her mother had found out it was Johnny’s birthday and had insisted on baking him a cake. The three of them were gathered around the cake, a genuine smile on Johnny’s face.
Ellie blinked away the memory and struggled to focus.
Smack-dab in the middle of her face in the photo was a knife.
Ellie slowly turned around, terror pulsing through her veins.
Johnny’s gaze grew intense. “We need to go outside. Now.”
*
“Wait. Wait.” Ellie grabbed at Johnny’s arm as they hustled to his car in the driveway. Adrenaline flooded her system not allowing her to think straight. “I can’t leave my mother.”
Johnny grabbed her small overnight bag and tossed it into the backseat of his car and slammed the door. “We have to wait for the police.” He jammed his fingers throu
gh his mussed hair. “Let’s get your mom while we wait. Do you think she’ll go with us?”
Ellie laughed; a brittle sound considering the circumstances. “Maybe we can talk her into going to Greg’s house for a little while.” She strode to the front door and turned the handle. And, as always, the door swung open.
“Doesn’t your mom lock the house?”
“Only at night when she sleeps.”
Johnny frowned.
“We live in a small town.”
He opened his mouth about to say something when Ellie interrupted, “Yes, I locked the door to my apartment.”
His mouth slanted into a half grin. “Already reading my mind?”
Ellie rolled her eyes and stepped into the small entryway and called out to her mother so as not to startle her. The only reply was the sound of laugh tracks and the familiar blue flicker of the television in the darkened living room.
She strode into the living room and found her mother, head tipped back, her feet propped up on the extended recliner. “Mom,” she called in a loud whisper.
Nancy Winters’s mouth snapped shut and she abruptly sat forward. Her displeasure was immediately evident on the strained set of her mouth.
“What? What is it?”
“Someone broke into my apartment.”
“What? When?” Her mother grabbed the handle on the recliner and snapped the footrest closed. “How can that be? I’ve been home all night.”
“Did you see anyone?” Johnny asked. “Hear anything?”
“Of course I didn’t see anyone. If I’d seen someone, I would have called the police.” Nancy pushed to her feet and wrung her hands. “Why is it that there’s always trouble when you’re around?” She glared at Johnny, her nerves getting the best of her.
“Mom.” Ellie put her hand on her mother’s forearm. For the first time she understood how wrong her family had been for blaming Johnny for Greg’s mistakes.
But that was Greg’s story to tell.
“We need to stay somewhere else until Johnny catches the guy who’s harassing me.”
Her mother lowered herself onto the arm of the recliner. “I’m not going anywhere.”