Mountain Peril

by Sandra Robbins

  It only took a few seconds to find his assigned post behind a tree outside the library. Once he was settled, he pulled the radio to his mouth. “It’s showtime.”

  He could imagine the officers stationed in the darkness as they came to attention and waited for what was about to happen. As if on cue, Ann walked out of the library and began her journey into the night.

  Her face wasn’t visible, and he breathed a sigh of relief. A gust of wind blew down from the surrounding mountain, and her coat fluttered about her legs. She clutched the books closer and bent her head toward them. He watched as she passed his point and proceeded in the direction of the dorms.

  “Anything yet?” he heard her say.

  “Negative,” someone responded.

  She passed the stakeout positions of two more officers and received the same response. Jack fought the urge to leave his spot and trail her. He leaned against the tree and willed himself to stay put.

  “I hear footsteps. Someone’s behind me.”

  Jack jerked erect at the sound of Ann’s voice. “Slow down,” Jack whispered. “See if he’ll approach you.”

  “There’s a parking lot to the side of the dorm. It looks dark because some of the lights aren’t burning. I think I’ll head there.”

  “Be careful, Ann. We don’t know what this guy might do.”

  “I will. I’m stepping into the parking lot now. On my way toward the back.” She paused, then spoke in an excited voice. “Here he comes.”

  The sound of a collision echoed in Jack’s ear, and a groan as if the air had been knocked from someone’s body followed. Jack bolted from his hiding place. “All units to the dorm parking lot.”

  As he ran, officers and university security personnel converged from their positions across the campus. Jack sprinted forward, his chest heaving. Just before he reached the parking lot, Will appeared beside him.

  They jumped the curb and bolted between the parked cars to the back of the lot. They stopped in surprise at the sight before them. Landon Morse lay facedown on the ground, his hands cuffed behind him. Ann Riley stood over him, her gun drawn and aimed at the man’s back.

  “One false move, and it’ll be your last.”

  Will stopped beside Ann. “Are you all right?”

  She grinned. “Yeah. I’ll probably be a little sore in the morning from this guy jumping on my back. Too bad nobody told him I’m the judo instructor for all the policemen in this area.”

  “Yeah, too bad,” Jack said, and grabbed the man’s shoulders. “Okay, on your feet, Morse.”

  Landon wobbled as Jack propelled him upward. Once on his feet, he straightened to his full height and glared at Jack. “What’s the meaning of this? I was on the way to my car when this crazy woman attacked me.”

  “Save it for the judge, Morse. You’re under arrest for stalking a female and attacking a police officer,” Jack said. He turned back to Ann. “Do you want to read him his rights? I need to get back to the library and tell them what’s happened. I’ll bring April and Danielle to the station.”

  Ann nodded. “It’ll be my pleasure, Detective Denton.” She faced Landon. “You have the right…”

  Her words faded as Jack jogged back to the library. He wanted April to know that her stalker had been caught, but most of all he wanted to see Danielle. He hoped before morning came he would have the answers to questions that had plagued her for years.

  April pushed up from her chair and walked to the door of the conference room. “How much longer do you think it’ll take?”

  Danielle smiled at the girl who’d asked the same question every five minutes since Ann left. She rose and went to stand beside her. Taking April by the hand, she guided her back to her chair. “I don’t know. Jack will let us know as soon as he can. In the meantime we have to be patient.”

  April sat back down and massaged her temples with her fingers. “I know, but this waiting is awful.”

  Danielle slumped into her chair and looked at her watch. Jack had been gone about twenty minutes. Surely it hadn’t taken that long for Ann to make her way to the dorm. Uneasiness probed at her mind. She’d had enough time unless something had happened. Danielle wanted to know what was going on as much as April, but she had to keep the girl calm until word arrived.

  “Like I said, we just have to be—”

  The door opened, interrupting her. Jack strode into the room. A big smile covered his face. “Good news. Ann was attacked on her way to the dorm, and we’ve arrested the stalker.”

  Danielle sprang from her chair. She clutched at her throat. “Is Ann all right?”

  Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Too bad I can’t say the same thing for the poor guy. He didn’t realize he was tangling with a judo instructor.”

  April, her face pale, rose slowly from her chair. “So you caught the person who’s been sending me the notes and following me?”

  Jack nodded. “It looks like we have. He’s on his way to headquarters right now. How would you like to go down there?”

  April glanced at Danielle. “Will you go with me, Dr. Tyler?”

  Danielle put her arm around April’s shoulder. “I’d be happy to go.” She turned back to Jack. “Who is it? Do we know him?”

  A slow smile spread across Jack’s face as he glanced from one to the other. “You do. It was Landon Morse.”

  April’s eyes grew wide, and her body tensed. “Dr. M-Morse?” April sputtered. “I’m in his music appreciation course. Why would he stalk me?”

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. Have you had any problems? Have you been to his office for help?”

  April thought for a moment, her eyes narrowed. “Yes, I went early in the semester. We were studying the Baroque period, and I was having some problems identifying the music of some of the composers. I went once or twice during his office hours for some extra help. I remember looking up once, and he had a strange expression on his face. But then, most of the kids think he’s weird.”

  In all the years she’d known Landon, Danielle had thought him strange, but she really didn’t believe him to be capable of violence. Could she have been so wrong? “Do you think he’s the one who’s been sending me the roses?”

  Jack’s eyes bored into her. “I wish I could set your mind at ease, Danielle, but at the moment I don’t know. I hope to find that out.”

  “And Jennifer and Tricia?”

  “I’d only be speculating at this point.” He pointed toward the door. “But let’s not waste time talking. I need to get to the station.” He pulled off the jacket he was wearing and handed it to April. “Wear this. It’s cold out there, and we’ll have to hold your coat as evidence.”

  April frowned. “Why?”

  “Ann came out of the confrontation okay, but Landon didn’t fare as well. There’s some of his blood on the coat. We’ll need to do a DNA test to prove he was the one who attacked Ann.”

  April shuddered. “Then you can keep it. I don’t want it back if it has a speck of his blood on it.” She pulled on Jack’s coat and walked toward the door.

  Jack looked at Danielle, and she tried to determine what he was feeling. Was he wondering as she was if Landon had committed the two murders, or was he simply glad to put an end to April’s fear? How she wished he could end hers.

  He pulled her coat from the back of a chair and held it open. “Ready to go?”

  She turned her back and slipped her arms inside. He slid the coat over her shoulders. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but he seemed to linger a moment before he released his grasp. Her heart leaped, and she turned to stare up into his face.

  His gaze raked her face, but there was nothing personal in his scrutiny. She saw only the remote Jack she’d encountered when they first met, and despair settled over her. She had to quit trying to see feelings that weren’t there. The sooner she faced that, the better off she’d be.

  Danielle swallowed the last of the cold coffee in the cup and tossed it in the waste can. She turned and looked at April, who sat hunche
d in a chair beside Jack’s desk. They had been in his office for what seemed like an eternity. A glance at her watch confirmed that in reality two hours had passed since Jack had ushered them inside and disappeared to question Landon.

  April shifted in her chair and sighed. “When are they going to let us know anything?”

  Danielle bit back the retort that April had asked the same question every ten minutes. Settling into the chair behind Jack’s desk, she crossed her arms on its top and leaned forward. “I don’t know. I’m sure they’ll let us know as soon as they can.”

  April stood and walked to the one window in the room. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she stared out into the night. “I still can’t believe it was Professor Morse.”

  The memory returned of how she used to spot Landon wherever she went, and Danielle shivered. How could she have been so naive that she didn’t realize he was following her, too? Would Jennifer still be alive if she’d been more observant then?

  Danielle leaned back in Jack’s chair, placed her hands on the chair’s arms and caressed the wood. It felt warm to her touch, and she could imagine his fingers having rubbed the same area. With a grunt she slumped back into the chair. She had to quit thinking like that.

  The door opened, and she sat upright. Jack, his face lined with fatigue, entered the room. April hurried from where she stood by the window and stopped next to him. “What did you find out?”

  Jack glanced from Danielle to April and let out a long breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re going to book Morse on the charges of stalking and assault with intent to do bodily harm.”

  April collapsed into the chair where she’d sat moments before and began to sob. Danielle rushed around the desk and knelt next to her. “It’s okay, April. It’s all over now.” She hugged the girl before she pushed to her feet and faced Jack. “That’s wonderful news. But what about Tricia? Did he confess to her murder?”

  Jack shook his head. “He’s confessed to stalking April and attacking Ann, but he won’t budge on the killings. He vows he had nothing to do with Tricia’s and Jennifer’s murders. In fact he keeps asking us to do a polygraph to prove him innocent.”

  “Are you going to do it?”

  “I don’t know. It might not be admissible in court. So we’ll see. But for now, he’s behind bars and isn’t going anywhere.”

  Another thought struck Danielle. “What about Jeff and Nathan? Do they know about this yet?”

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. Since you’re with the university, I’ll let you take care of that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back. You two might as well leave.” He glanced down at April, who still wiped at her tears. “You’re not going to be needed now.”

  She stood and held out her hand. “Thank you, Detective Denton, for all you’ve done for me. Please thank Deputy Riley also. She put her life on the line for me tonight, and I’ll never forget her for that.”

  The half smile Danielle knew so well pulled at Jack’s lips. “We were all just doing our jobs. I’m glad it turned out okay for you.”

  He turned to leave, but Danielle grabbed his arm. “But what should I tell Nathan and Jeff about how long Landon will be in jail?”

  Jack focused on her hand for a moment, and she released her hold. His shoulders drooped as he looked up at her. “Morse is facing some steep charges. If he’s convicted, he could spend up to twenty years in jail. He probably won’t be back at Webster anytime soon. And, unless there are some new leads in the murders, I doubt if I will be, either.”

  His words were spoken in an ominous tone, but it was the grim line of his mouth that told Danielle this might be one of the last times she would be with Jack. She forced a smile to her lips. “I’ll tell them. And thank you, Jack…” She hesitated for a moment. “For everything.”

  His gaze raked her face. “And you, too.”

  He whirled and strode from the office. She stared after him for a moment before she turned back to April. “Come on. Let’s go. There’s nothing else for us to do here.”

  April nodded and started for the door. She stopped and pulled off Jack’s coat, which she still wore. “I forgot to give Detective Denton his jacket.”

  Danielle grasped the back and held it while April shrugged it from her shoulders. “I’ll hang it on his chair,” she said to April, who was already stepping into the hallway.

  Danielle pressed the jacket to her chest as she stopped behind Jack’s chair. Slowly she raised the coat to her nose and inhaled. The smell of his aftershave drifted up, and her heart thudded like a bass drum. She tucked the scent away in a corner of her mind for a memory, hung the jacket on the back of the chair and straightened her shoulders.

  Jack was one more loss she would mourn, but there wasn’t time for that now. She had to inform Jeff and Nathan about Landon’s arrest and see what the school’s response to this scandal would be.

  SEVENTEEN

  Jack stumbled into the kitchen and groaned when he saw the remains of yesterday’s coffee still in the pot. Muttering under his breath about how he had to do better with his housekeeping chores, he washed the pot, spooned fresh coffee into the filter and poured water into the tank.

  He dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and glanced at the clock on the wall above the sink—8:00 a.m. He’d been at the station all night and had just come home to shower and have a cup of coffee before returning for another full day of duty. He hooked his foot in the chair next to him and pulled it away from the table far enough to prop his feet on the seat.

  The steady rhythm of the dripping coffee relaxed him, and his eyes drooped. In his mind he could see Danielle as she looked last night when she thanked him. He’d wanted to grasp her shoulders and pull her to him, but he’d known better. He wondered what she’d meant when she added “for everything” as if it were an afterthought.

  He nodded and drifted on the edge of sleep. His cell phone rang, and he jerked upright, almost turning over backward in his chair. He grabbed for the edge of the table with one hand and steadied himself while pulling the phone from his pocket with the other.

  “Hello.”

  “Jack, this is Danielle. How are you this morning?”

  Her voice drifted into his ear like the sweetest music he’d ever heard. “I’m fine.”

  “Did you get to go home last night?”

  “No, I just got here a few minutes ago. I’m going to shower, then it’s back to work.”

  “I’m sorry, but I suppose that’s the life of a policeman.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “I’m already at school and getting ready to meet with Jeff and Nathan.”

  “I see.”

  His fingers tightened on the phone. Why was she calling him? He waited for her to continue.

  She cleared her throat. “Uh, I suppose you wonder why I’m calling, especially after the way we parted on Saturday night.”

  He closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’m sorry about the way I acted, Danielle. I said some harsh things, but I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I know, Jack. When I was getting ready for work this morning, I was thinking about how you helped April last night. And I came to a conclusion.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I don’t want that night to be how I remember you. I’ve lost too much in my life, and I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

  He flinched as a knifelike pain pierced his chest and he bit down on his lip. “I don’t want that, either.”

  “So…”

  He waited before he spoke. “What?”

  “You know next week is Thanksgiving. I’m not going to see my parents, since I’ll be moving there in a few weeks. I wondered if you would like to celebrate the holiday with me.”

  His heart fluttered, and he wished he could see her face. He knew it had taken a lot of courage for her to call knowing she risked the possibility he might reject her offer. He took a deep breath. “I can’t.”

  There was a rustle of movement on the ot
her end of the line. “Oh, I see. Well, if you don’t want to I understand. I’m sorry, I…”

  He sat up straighter. “No, wait. It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t, because that’s my only day off, and I need to go to Asheville to see my mother.”

  “Oh, then I understand. Being with your mother is very important. I hope she’ll know you’re there.”

  He gritted his teeth and warned himself about speaking the words that lodged in his throat. It was no use. He had to be with her again before she left. “Would you come with me to Asheville?”

  She gasped. “Do you really want me to?”

  “Yes, I’d like for you to meet my mother. I have to warn you, though, it won’t be a happy visit. She won’t understand who I am and why we’re there. If you’d rather not go, it’s okay.”

  “No, I want to go. What time will you pick me up?”

  “I’ll be there about nine o’clock. We’ll drive over to Asheville and get there in time to visit before lunch.”

  She laughed, and the sound flowed over him like a warm breath of air. “I’ll see you then, Jack. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye, Danielle.”

  He sat staring at his phone after he’d disconnected the call. His mind told him he should never have invited her, but his heart knew differently. Even if his mother didn’t recognize him, he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with someone he cared about. With his mother hidden in the shell of the woman who sat in the nursing home, Danielle was the only other person he could share that with.

  Danielle placed the telephone on the handset and buried her face in her hands. What had she done? She’d practically thrown herself at Jack. Never in her life had she been so brazen. When she’d gotten home last night, she realized she couldn’t leave Webster Falls without making an attempt to heal the rift between them.

  She leaned back in her chair and smiled. He didn’t seem upset, so maybe he had been waiting for her to make the first step. Now that she had, all she could was pray that their trip to Asheville would turn out all right.