Ryan flashed a charming smile and looked at the woman’s name badge. “Celia,” he said. “So nice to see you. You look great.”
Celia beamed at his compliment. She rifled through the few names left on her table and grabbed Ryan’s. “You didn’t plus-one on your RSVP. I’m afraid I don’t have a name badge for your friend.”
“This is Lily Mason.” He leaned in close to Celia. “You don’t mind me bringing her in, do you? She’s practically like my sister. You know how it is with family.”
Once Ryan took me out of the she’s-not-my-girlfriend equation, the woman giggled and gave us the go-ahead. Ryan offered me his arm. He looked handsome, stylish, and smelled really good. I looked disheveled, ready for a slumber party, and I smelled like dog. It was no wonder half the gym stared at us.
I finally saw Parker standing by Mark Stephens, Adam Davis, Nadine, Buzz, and a couple of other people I didn’t recognize. Where the heck had Jeff Callahan gone?
“Parker!” I yelled. I was dressed in jeans and a black sweater. My tennis shoes gripped the gym’s highly polished floor as I ran toward him. Ryan, who had no idea why I’d shown up, ran with me. He really was a good friend.
Parker’s expression changed from surprised to pleased to pissed. Nadine saw me and just looked pleased. Good ol’ Nadine. Parker needed to get over the whole Ryan thing. The only person who couldn’t see that Ryan and I weren’t interested in each other was Parker.
“Did you see Jeff?” I asked.
“No, why?” Parker said.
“He was arrested today for Merl’s murder,” Ryan supplied, stealing my thunder. “He was released and he just ran past us in here looking really freaked out.”
“I told Parker about Jeff already,” Nadine said, giving both Ryan and me a sour look. “And that we had to let him go. He had a solid alibi.”
“I have some new information.” I grabbed my phone from my purse and pulled up the picture. I showed it to Parker. Ryan moved around so he could see as well.
“I’ve seen that. It was in James Wright’s hand when he died,” Nadine said. “We don’t know what it means yet.”
The expression on both Parker’s and Ryan’s faces showed they both had a good idea what it was. “Who all had the 400 weightlifter medal on their jacket, Parker?”
His eyes were wide, his face incredulous. “There was only one guy who managed that kind of weight.” He looked around. “Where’s Adam?”
I searched the small crowd. The large man had been here moments before, but now, he was nowhere to be seen.
Nadine grabbed my arm. “Are you saying that pin belongs to Adam Davis?”
I looked at Parker.
Parker shook his head. “I can’t know for sure, but Adam held the record in our weightlifting club. No one else got close to four hundred.”
Nick Newton came over. “What’s going on?”
“Have you seen Adam?” Parker asked him.
“He just went out the back door. I saw him go after Jeff.” Nick gestured to the far side of the gym. “Something going on?”
“Jayzus,” Nadine said. “If he killed Merl and tried to set up Jeff…I have to call for backup.”
I showed her my phone. “No bars. I’ve been trying to call you both since I found out what the medal was.”
“I’ll go and check on them,” Nick said. He walked away before Nadine could stop him.
“I’m going, too,” Parker said. “If Adam framed Jeff, there could be trouble.”
Nadine stepped in front of him. “You’re not a cop, Parker. Let me handle this.”
“I can handle myself.” He pushed past her. I gave Nadine an apologetic look and took off after him.
Ryan started to follow, but Mark grabbed him by the arm as he glared at me. “What are you telling people, Petry?” Was this over the “Markles Sparkles”? Now that I knew Ryan was gay, it made me wonder if Mark and he had been more than friends in high school.”
“Let go of me,” Ryan said to him. “I never talk about you to anyone.” He leaned in close to Mark. “I never even think of you.”
That remark mostly confirmed my suspicion. Mark blinked, his face stricken. I waited as Ryan caught up to me.
“I’m sorry, Ryan.”
“I am too,” he said. “We better catch up if we’re doing this.”
I scanned the room and saw Parker heading out the back door. “There.” Ryan and I took off in a sprint to the door Parker had exited.
* * * *
The doorway led out to a concrete slab with a basketball hoop. On the other side, a green lawn and an equipment house. I saw Parker running toward the football field. He was shouting.
“Adam! Stop. You don’t want to do this, man!”
Ryan and I picked up speed. There was a figure on the ground near the south-end goalpost.
Parker was there before us, of course, but it didn’t take long for Ryan and I to get there. Parker had his hands pressed on Callahan’s stomach. Blood oozed past his fingers as he tried to stem the flow.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Adam,” Parker said. “He stabbed Jeff. I don’t get it. Nick went after him, but I didn’t want to leave Jeff. He’s losing a lot of blood.”
“Yes,” Ryan said. I looked up. He was on his phone. “We have a stabbing victim at the Moonrise High School varsity football field. South goalpost.” He paused as they asked the victim’s name. “It’s Jeff Callahan. I’m Ryan Petry. Yes, we know who assaulted him. No, he is no longer here or an immediate threat.”
While Ryan finished with the 9-1-1 call, I checked Jeff’s breathing and pulse. “Hang in there. Help is on the way.”
“You’re in danger.” Jeff blinked up at me. His words were slurred.
“Don’t speak,” I told him. His lips were going ashen, and his eyes kept shutting. Ryan had stripped off his jacket and button-down shirt, then taken off his T-shirt and handed it Parker to help hold pressure and stop the bleeding.
Dang, he was in lean shape. He put his shirt and jacket back on while I turned my attention back to Callahan. “Why did he try to frame you for Merl?”
Jeff didn’t answer.
I shook him. He blinked. “Why did he want you to go down for Merl’s death?”
“Money,” Jeff hissed. “Wants the money.”
“What money?” Parker asked.
“Adam wants the money?” I asked.
“No,” Jeff said. “Not…” His eyes fluttered and his respirations became labored.
“Tell me, Jeff. If not Adam, who?”
Jeff passed out from blood loss as sirens and lights flooded the end field. The emergency vehicles parked on the track nearest the end zone.
Nick came running back about that same time. He looked pale, and his breathing was labored.
Nadine ran to us, leading the charge. “Where’s Adam?”
I shook my head.
Nick coughed, then took a deep breath. “He got away.”
Chapter 18
Parker drove me home after we’d dropped off Greer’s car at the shelter, he’d cleaned up and changed clothes, and we’d picked up Smooshie and Elvis. Elvis and Smooshie filled the backseat of his truck to capacity. Smooshie scratched at the window, hoping to ride with the wind in her face, but Elvis, the gray pittie-Great Dane mix, kept poking his head up into the front and setting his chin on Parker’s shoulder.
There’d been so much blood. Parker looked numb and exhausted. His eyes reflected the night’s horror. Nadine called and told us that Jeff was in critical condition, but the doctors were hopeful he’d make it. They still hadn’t caught Adam. Jeff’s words haunted me.
You’re in danger, he’d said. But why? What was there left to hide?
“The money has to be the bank robbery money, right?”
Parker nodded, but said, “I don’t know.”
“What did you see when you saw Adam with Jeff?”
“Jeff was leaning against the goalpost. Nick was there, talking to them, but Adam w
as standing over Jeff, waving a knife at Nick. When I yelled, Adam took off.” Parker flexed his grip on the steering wheel. “I still don’t understand. Any of it,” he clarified. “Adam and Jeff were best friends. He wouldn’t hurt Jeff. Not the Adam I knew.”
“He isn’t the same man anymore.”
Parker flipped on his brights when we exited onto BB road. “I can’t believe he’s changed so much.”
“Haven’t you?”
He gave me a quick unfriendly look then sighed. “I suppose I have. But he was still a teenager when that bank robber was killed. Why would Adam do that? And why kill Merl now?”
“Because Merl knew Adam put the body in the wall.”
How could he?”
“You told me that Merl gave you your first job. Building decks, roofing, small home improvements, that kind of thing. I think Merl did the same with Adam.” It was dark when we got to the trailer. I’d forgotten to turn on a light when I’d left. I looked at Parker. “Merl had called me when the body was discovered. He was angry when he hung up. We know he called Jeff, and Jeff probably called Adam.”
“And he killed Merl to keep his secret.”
“Exactly.” I wondered if Adam was still a threat. The money had probably been found a long time ago by Jeff. I hadn’t noticed any fresh dig spots on the property other than what Smooshie managed. If the guy had any sense at all he’d have escaped to Illinois or Kentucky by now. “I don’t need you to stay, Parker.”
Parker sat still, his fingers still gripping the wheel. He turned to me with hard eyes. “You heard Jeff. He said you were in danger.”
“He’d lost a lot of blood. He was the one in danger, not me. Besides, Adam has no reason to come after me. The police are after him. His main focus will be his freedom.” Besides, if Adam came around for me, I’d make sure he never tried to hurt me again. Meow. I couldn’t do that if Parker was with me.
“I’m not leaving you, Lily. Not tonight.”
In the distance, I heard gravel crunch beneath tires. “Someone’s coming.”
“I don’t hear anything.”
Crap. “I thought I heard something.”
Parker turned off the truck engine and we got out. I gazed out into the darkness toward where I’d heard the vehicle.
“Do you see anything?” Parker stood behind me now. This close, I could feel the warmth of him. I stopped myself from purring.
“Goddess,” I whispered, calling on her for strength. The full moon would be coming in the next week, and my control was a little shaky around lunar cycles.
Headlights flashed then went out.
“There it is,” I said.
“That car had to be a good mile away, Lily. How did you hear it?”
“Must be the adrenaline,” I lied.
A small white sedan pulled in. Parker stepped around me, placing himself between me and potential danger. But I could see in the car, and it wasn’t Adam.
“Naomi,” I said. Why was she here? It was eleven o’clock at night. “I don’t have the energy to fend off her questions.”
“I’ll get rid of her,” Parker said.
Too late though, Naomi was already out of the car and walking toward us.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I…” Her normally shrewd expression faltered. She was still wearing a tight black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. “I just want to ask a few questions.”
“About what?” Parker growled.
I grimaced and sighed. “Naomi works for the Dispatch. She’s a reporter.”
“I know.”
I looked at Naomi. “You’ve been trying to get me to talk about Bridgette Jones since you arrived. You’re doing a story on the trial, aren’t you?”
“Is that why you asked all those questions about Lily?” Parker’s tone was livid. He clenched his fists.
“Yes,” Naomi admitted. “My editor won’t give me my own byline unless I can bring him something juicy. I thought the Tom Jones trial could be my big break. But there are nastier things going on in Moonrise right now, and I want this story. I need this story.”
Naomi had tried to play at “hometown girl finds success in the city,” but she was really a cog, trying to advance herself in a cutthroat world. I could smell the bitter scent of her desperation.
“You need to leave,” Parker said. His voice was low and scary. “Now.”
“Please. Just give me something.”
How about a punch to the throat? My head began to pound as I worked to control my seething anger. I didn’t care that she’d been trying to get a story from me. I did care that she’d used Parker. “Get off my property.”
Her face pinched, and with crystal clarity, I could see a look of mortified interest. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Stupid! I’d been careless. My eyes must have shifted, and the moon’s light revealed the same glow other predatory animals had.
Parker turned to me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on keeping them human. “Go,” he told Naomi.
She held up her phone, the light flashing bright as she snapped a picture of us.
I reacted. Badly. I closed the distance between Naomi and me with a single leap and swatted the phone from her hand. “Don’t make me tell you again. Get off my property.”
Naomi grabbed the phone from where it landed a few feet away and scrambled back to her car. I knelt down and took in deep breaths to calm my raging beast. So close. I’d come so close to exposing myself to both Parker and a persistent reporter.
Parker’s hand was warm on my back. “She’s not going to give up so easily,” he said.
I hoped he was talking about her getting the scoop on the crimes, and not about trying to figure out why my eyes had looked so alien. “I agree. This isn’t the last we’ve seen of her.”
Parker went to the truck and let Smooshie and Elvis out. After, we went inside the trailer.
Even though I could see in the dark better than any human, I had a profound sense of relief to be indoors with the lights on. I sat on the couch. The two dogs sandwiched me on either side. Parker brought me a cold washcloth.
“I’m okay,” I said. “You really don’t have to stay. I’m sure Elvis would prefer his own bed.”
“I told you I’m not going anywhere tonight.” This time his tone was gentle, not angry and irritated like he’d been with me earlier.
The dogs jumped down from the couch and started barking. Parker went to the window. “There’s a car pulling in, no lights.”
I heard a quiet engine shut off. I’d been so focused on Naomi leaving, I hadn’t heard the new car pull in.
Parker turned out all the lights in the trailer and locked the front door. “Stay down, Lily. We know Adam’s dangerous.”
“It might not be him.”
“Then why turn the lights off and coast in?” He looked at me. “A noncombatant wouldn’t have a reason to come in quiet.”
“Adam’s not a combatant.”
The large man stepped out of his car. “I need that money, Lily. Don’t make me come in there and take it from you,” he shouted.
Why did he think I had the money?
Answering my unasked question, Adam said, “I know you’ve been digging around here. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.” A loud blast followed by glass plates shattering in my cupboard where the bullet pierced the side of the trailer had Parker and me dropping to the floor.
“I can’t get my life back without the money!” Adam sounded crazy and desperate. Not a good combination.
I stared at Parker, fear making my heart race and breath quicken. “I take it back,” I whispered. “He’s totally a combatant.”
“Shhh.” Parker crawled to the couch. He moved Smooshie and Elvis to the bedroom and slid the door shut. “Do you have a gun?”
“No,” I hissed. I had other weapons, but none I could display in front of Parker.
Parker made his way toward the door.
“What are you
doing?”
He put his hand on the door handle.
“No!” I whispered harshly. “Are you crazy? Don’t go out there.” The scent of my anxiety, like rotten citrus fruit, overwhelmed my senses. But Parker didn’t stink of fear or trepidation. He had a calm about him I’d never seen.
It’s combat, I thought. The storm comes after. I didn’t know if it was reassuring or frightening that he seemed in his element.
He looked at me, his eyes shining with purpose. “Call the police.”
I groaned. My fear had turned me into an idiot. I grabbed my phone and dialed.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” a woman asked.
Before I could answer, Parker opened the door. “No,” I said. “Parker, don’t.”
“Hello,” the operator said. “This is 9-1-1, do you have an emergency?”
The door closed. Goddess help me, I prayed. Why was Parker putting himself in danger? “There’s a man with a gun outside.”
“Are you in a safe place where you can talk, ma’am?”
I didn’t feel safe, but I said, “As safe as I can get for now.” Smooshie tried to crawl underneath me, smashing as much of her body against mine as possible. Crap. She was frightened. We both were. I really needed a Thunder Buddy vest, maybe two of them.
“Ma’am,” the woman said again.
I went to the window and peeked outside. “I can’t see them,” I told her.
“Who?” the woman asked. “Tell me what’s happening. Give me your location. I’ll get the police dispatched to you right away.”
“1031 northwest 400.”
“Can you give me more information? Can you tell me your name?”
“This is Lily Mason.” I went to the back window. Parker walked out from the shadows. My stomach gripped with fear for him.
“I’ll take you to the money,” he said to Adam.
“What the hell is he thinking?” I hissed.
“Who?” the operator asked.
Adam kept his gun trained on Parker. I let my eyes go cougar, and I could see his large hands were shaking. Please don’t shoot him, I pleaded silently. My fangs dropped down and cut into my tongue as I pushed past the dogs in the bedroom and looked out the back toward the woods where Parker was leading Adam away. Away from me.
The Money Pit Page 15