Chapter Twenty-One
Alyssa stopped the sheriff before he headed out to try to save the day. Caleb kept to her side. She doubted she’d be able to shake him again until Dupree and Norman were caught. Not that she was particularly excited to do that.
“I thought you were working a case out of town?”
She remembered what Cassie had told her in the hospital and couldn’t help asking the man about it. She felt obligated to check in with him, considering he’d saved her and Caleb’s backsides earlier. “Did you finish it up already?”
A shadow of emotion crossed the sheriff’s face. It made her wish she hadn’t asked at all. He shook his head.
“My chief deputy and lead detective are still working it,” he said. “It’s an old case, but we’re hoping to wrap it up sooner rather than later.”
Caleb perked up at that. “I thought you were done with it and that’s why you came back to town.”
Sheriff Reed smiled. It was a sad look. “No matter where I am or what I’m doing, you just don’t get away with attacking my home. It’s as simple as that. After I heard what had happened, nothing could have kept me from coming back. Plus, I had a hunch you wouldn’t listen to Jones’s telling you to go home and rest. I figured backup was just the thing you might need. As long as you’re a part of my team, that’s the very least I can offer you.”
Alyssa felt a genuine smile spring to her lips. An infusion of pride blossomed inside her chest at the conviction behind his words.
“Now, I need you two to keep a low profile until we get a break in this case.”
Caleb opened his mouth to, she assumed, protest, but the sheriff cut him off. “Before you say anything, I want you to know I’m not benching you because of protocol. I’m just asking you to keep her out of the sights of two unstable men while we work the case. Okay? That’s not the same thing. She’s a part of this wild web, an important part that we can’t afford to let go.”
Caleb shut his mouth. He gave a curt nod.
“Let me know if you need anything,” the sheriff said, turning to her. “And I’m sorry this is all happening. I know from experience it’s not fun to be this close to a case like this. We’ll catch them and make sure they pay for everything they’ve done. Sheriff’s honor.”
“Thank you,” Alyssa said, sincere.
The sheriff gave a parting nod and walked deeper into the department. The badge on his belt shone as the light caught it when he turned. Alyssa followed Caleb out into the lobby, still smiling.
“You know, I voted for him,” she whispered at his shoulder, the feeling of pride for the sheriff carrying into her words. “He’s a good man.”
Caleb made a show of looking back to the hallway. He shrugged.
“I guess he’s okay. You know, if you’re into that tall, dark and rugged thing,” Caleb deadpanned. It made Alyssa laugh.
“Is that jealousy I hear?” she teased, walking out the door he was holding open. She caught his grin.
“What do I have to be jealous about? I mean, have you seen these guns?” He made an exaggerated show of flexing his arms. Alyssa had to admit she liked seeing a more playful side of him. It was a nice break from the somberness that came from being in constant danger.
“Of course I’ve seen them. I’m betting on those things to keep me safe,” she joked. It made the deputy’s grin widen. Another welcome sight.
“You’re about to see them drive us right back on to my place, where they’ll then shovel some kind of food into my mouth.” He grasped his stomach in exaggerated pain. She laughed.
“You were the one who threw out our breakfast when I had the Norman epiphany,” she pointed out.
He shrugged.
“I got excited,” he defended. His smile dropped. “Well, you know what I mean. Not excited.”
“I knew what you meant,” she assured him. Still, she felt slightly guilty for his hungry gut. Before she walked around to the passenger side of the car, she paused at his side. “How about I make us something when we get back? I don’t want to brag, but while I’m sure your eggs and bacon were great, I can make a mean breakfast casserole. As long as you have some biscuits, that is.”
His grin broke out into a full-on smile. It made an already attractive man that much more delicious. On reflex she began to lean in closer to him. She smelled his cologne. Had he always worn it? Or was it something new? Either way she had to actively try to keep her eyelids from closing as she savored the crisp scent.
“I guess it’s lucky for me that I do.”
Alyssa knew they were talking about breakfast and food, but suddenly the air between them felt charged. She imagined the body of the man in front of her sans clothes. The way he had touched her, held her. The memory alone started to heat her up.
Maybe she wasn’t the only one.
Caleb’s eyes moved to her lips.
And they looked just as hungry.
Just like that, a switch seemed to flip beneath Caleb’s exterior. She didn’t have time to be concerned about it before he bent down and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was enough to make her desire for him burn bright. “But first, I need to tell you something. Something about my past I should have told you already.”
Guilt.
Alyssa read that emotion as if a sky writer had flown it across the sky.
It sounded an alarm bell in her mind so loudly that she took a small step back.
Which gave her the perfect vantage point to see Norman walking up behind the deputy.
And he was smiling.
It only took a second for Caleb to know Norman was behind him. Alyssa’s face became a mirror, showing him a look of surprise that wasn’t at all a happy one. Fear was there too, but not nearly as much as if Dupree had been the culprit. Caleb reached for his gun and whirled around, careful to keep Alyssa behind him.
The bastard was showing teeth.
“Shoot and they die,” he greeted the end of Caleb’s gun. The man didn’t even flinch at its presence. Alyssa did, judging by the small intake of breath Caleb heard. He guessed it was more for the vague threat than the tool that could end Norman’s attempts to take her.
“Who dies?” she asked.
Norman tilted his head to the side to see Alyssa better. Caleb’s finger itched. Only a few feet separated him and Norman. How easy it would be to end the man wasn’t lost on him.
“Do you know that bombers usually only stick to one method when it comes to setting off their handiwork? Using pressure-plated bombs, for instance, has an entirely different pathology behind it than using a bomb with, say, a detonator.” Norman shook his right hand at his side. There was an old flip phone open in it. “Usually a bomber will stick with only one method versus switching between the two.” He shook his hand again. “But since I’m new to this I decided to try my hand at both.”
He let that sink in a moment.
Caleb used that lapse to hope that whoever manned their security cameras for the department would see what was happening. They were in the side parking lot, away from the sight line to the main street and on the opposite side from the courthouse next door.
“Who dies?” Alyssa repeated. Her voice was cold but steady. Caleb wished he knew what she was thinking.
“The witnesses, of course.”
Caleb’s blood went cold. Surely the man was bluffing. Still, Caleb had to test him.
“You’re lying,” he said, gun arm not wavering. “They’re all safe.”
Norman bit out a chuckle.
“Why?” he asked, amused. “Because the fine Riker County law enforcement officers got them to do exactly like I wanted to do by leaving town?” Norman’s laugh wasn’t clipped this time. “It’s easy to finish the puzzle when you can finally get to all the pieces.” He shook the pho
ne again. “But if you don’t believe me I guess I could prove myself and my intentions. Who should go first, Alyssa? Missy Grayson in South Carolina with her husband? Or should I use the Rickmans’ cabin in Tennessee as an example? I believe it’s technically owned by their son Robert, but really, he’s a Rickman too, so I suppose it’s all the same.”
“Why are you doing this?” Alyssa yelled. “Why continue to hurt all of us if your partner is already out of custody? What’s the point?”
Norman was nonplussed by the emotion leaking into Alyssa’s words.
“Because you care about them, Alyssa,” he said simply. “And that’s how I’m going to get you to come with me.”
Caleb tightened the hold on his gun. “I don’t think so, buddy. The lady stays with me.”
Norman’s humor vanished.
“She isn’t meant for you,” he said, voice pitching low. Threatening.
“And if she was meant for you, you wouldn’t have to threaten her into leaving with you,” Caleb countered. It clearly angered the man. Caleb realized he should probably tread lightly. It was hard if not downright impossible to read an unstable man. He couldn’t tell if Norman was telling the truth or not. “Listen, why don’t you disarm your bombs and then we’ll talk with Alyssa about leaving with you? I’ll even lower my gun.”
Norman scrunched up his nose. He made a noise of disgust.
“I’m not falling for any of your tricks,” he said. “I know what kind of man you are, Deputy Foster, and I don’t trust you.” Norman’s gaze shifted to Alyssa. “He’s a bad man, Alyssa. He’s done bad things. You’re safer with me.”
Caleb clenched his teeth together. Hard. He’d been about to tell Alyssa everything a minute before, and now Norman was there ready to spill the beans. How had everything gotten so off track? And where was a deputy or staff member on a smoke break when you needed one?
“If you disarm your bombs, or at the very least let me warn them, I’ll come with you.”
Caleb kept his hands around the gun but chanced a look at Alyssa.
“I don’t think—” he started, but the woman put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed to silence him. She kept her gaze on Norman.
“Do we have a deal?”
The man adjusted his glasses with his free hand, as if he was thinking. He shook his head.
“You come with me and Mr. Foster here can warn whoever he sees fit to warn once we’re gone. I won’t detonate any of the bombs, but I won’t disarm them either. That’s not my job,” he said. “That’s my only offer.”
To show he meant it he lifted the phone. His thumb hovered above its keys.
“And where is Dupree?” Alyssa said, no doubt hedging her answer. Though in hindsight Caleb would realize later that, at that moment, she’d already decided. “I don’t trust him.”
“Don’t worry about him. He has his orders.” Norman returned his gaze to Caleb, but not before checking the watch he was wearing. “Part of those being that he’ll use a second detonator if he doesn’t hear from me in the next two minutes. So, even if you decided to be a fool and shoot me, the damage would already be done.”
“I’ll go,” Alyssa rushed. “I’ll go!”
Caleb was trying his best to figure out a different solution and coming up blank. Or, rather, ending with a boom. He’d seen firsthand the destruction left in the wake of Norman’s handiwork at Ted’s house. So had Alyssa. She wouldn’t want that for Robbie and Eleanor.
And neither would Caleb.
But to let Alyssa go with Norman?
“He won’t hurt me,” Alyssa whispered at his side. “Please, let me go.” He was sure Norman heard it, but the man didn’t comment. Caleb didn’t lower his gun. He looked at Alyssa.
“I don’t want to,” he said, honestly. He wanted to point out that just because Norman was obsessed with her didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt her.
Her blue eyes were an ocean of feeling when she responded.
“We have to protect them. They’d do the same for us.” Alyssa gave him the smallest of smiles.
He didn’t return it.
“I’ll find you,” he said instead. Then said to Norman, “And I’ll make you pay.”
Norman laughed before taking Alyssa’s hand. Caleb felt like his heart was burning through his chest as he watched them walk behind the building to the back parking lot. The moment they were out of eyesight, Caleb grabbed his phone and readied to follow them while warning Missy and the Rickmans.
But then he heard a truly chilling sound.
It was Alyssa. And she was screaming. What, he couldn’t understand.
Every part of Caleb’s body propelled him forward, following the intangible connection between him and Alyssa that had formed over the last few days.
But he didn’t make it two steps.
The parking lot exploded around him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
There were no clouds in the sky. Just an endless sea of blue. It reminded him of something, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. So he just kept looking up, waiting to remember.
But it never came.
Instead something blocked his view.
It was a man and he was yelling something.
That was when he noticed the ringing in his ears.
And the pain. And the heat. And that the man looking down at him was the sheriff.
And then everything else filtered back in.
“Where’s Alyssa?” Caleb yelled, his words a warbling sound. He struggled to get up off the asphalt. Sheriff Reed helped by putting himself under his arm. Caleb let out a howl of pain he didn’t have to hear to know. The sheriff in turn quickly switched sides.
“Alyssa?” he repeated as they began to walk.
It was harder than it should have been.
The sheriff’s mouth moved, but Caleb couldn’t make out any sound that made sense. There was too much ringing and something else.
Caleb turned to look over his shoulder. The side parking lot was engulfed in a blanket of smoke, metal and fire. His car was among them but still recognizable. The car two down, however, was a twist of metal and paint. As far as he could tell, two others in the lot were the same.
Norman hadn’t blown up the entire parking lot, just some of the cars.
And it would have been enough to take him out too, if Alyssa had not screamed. But she had, and that was all he’d needed to start running to her.
Even when she was being kidnapped, she’d managed to save him.
The ringing in his head worsened and his vision started to spin. Throbbing pain lit up his shoulder. Maybe he wasn’t as good as he had hoped. The world tilted and swayed, but the sheriff guided him inside through the back of the department before his legs gave way.
The sheriff yelled something that sounded like an order. Seconds later a deputy named Brant appeared. He helped walk Caleb to the break room two doors down. It was already filled with people, all sporting varying looks of concern and fear. Cassie was among them. She made her way through the group and pointed toward the couch. The sheriff and Brant dropped him as best they could onto it.
The ringing in Caleb’s ears lessened enough to finally make out what the sheriff was trying to ask.
“Where does it hurt?”
Caleb couldn’t have thought of a more idiotic question, but in the back of his mind, he knew the man was only trying to help. Still, he had better things to worry about.
“Everywhere,” he said, assuming it was more of a yell than anything. “Where’s Alyssa?”
The ringing could have been turned on loud and Caleb still wouldn’t be distracted from the face the sheriff was making.
“You don’t know,” Caleb answered himself.
Sheriff Reed shook his head.
“But we’ll fi
nd her,” he promised with a raised voice. “But first—”
He pointed to Caleb’s shoulder. Cassie’s face pinched. Brant’s did too.
“It’s dislocated,” Caleb guessed. The pain he was feeling was a familiar one, he realized. He’d dislocated it before.
The sheriff nodded. He picked up Caleb’s wrist and arm.
“Brace yourself,” he yelled. “This is going to hurt.”
* * *
THE HOUSE WAS MASSIVE, but it was also a shell.
Alyssa felt empty too.
“Stop your whining and pick up the pace,” Dupree said at her elbow. “This detour to grab you already wasted enough of my time.”
After the explosions, Alyssa had turned into a violent, violent woman. She’d lashed out at her captor as Norman tried his best to push her into the back seat of a car. Dupree had been there, ready. He’d put his hand around her throat and held her until he could slip a pair of handcuffs on her.
Then, when she’d tried to fight again, he’d told her in no uncertain terms that while the bombs with the witnesses had been a bluff, that didn’t mean he personally couldn’t go out and kill every single one of them.
It was a threat that pierced through her grief and made her quiet. Still, the drive out to the country had become a blank space in her memory. All she could think about was Caleb.
And how she should never have left him.
Dupree pushed her through the main floor, up a set of grand stairs, and stopped at a room with only two chairs inside.
“Where are we?” she had to ask. Her throat hurt, but she’d managed to stop crying. If only for the sheer bizarre situation she was currently in.
“Your house,” he said, pushing her farther into the room. He pointed to one of the chairs. It was facing a large, unobstructed window. Green grass and trees stretched out as far as she could see while an enormous deck pushed out from the first floor. It looked over a good-sized swimming pool, covered with a pool tarp.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “It doesn’t look like anyone lives here.”
The Deputy's Witness Page 17