by Cindy Bell
“You don't know whose it is?”
“I'm assuming it's Ally's if it's in her closet, and I will be speaking to her about proper storage and gun safety.” Luke shook his head. “Are you aware of how many accidental deaths there are…”
“Wait.” Charlotte's eyes widened. “Why would Ally say that Peaches was missing if she knew that she had closed her up in her room?”
“I'm not sure.” Luke frowned. “She was a little uh, intoxicated.”
“Intoxicated?” Charlotte shook her head. “That's impossible. Ally doesn't get drunk, even if she did, she couldn't have. She's only been out of the house for about an hour.”
“Well, she didn't want you to know.” A faint blush arose in Luke's cheeks. “She seemed embarrassed.”
“Who was she with?” Charlotte's tone shifted from confused to concerned.
“Don't worry, she was with Julian. She asked him not to bring her home. So maybe they went to a friend’s.” He shrugged. “At least the cat is safe. But this gun…”
“No, no, no!” Charlotte gasped. “This is all wrong. Ally never would have said that Peaches was missing if she wasn't.”
“She begged me to come here and tell you.” Luke frowned.
“She must have been trying to tell me something!” Charlotte wrung her hands. “Oh no, she must be in trouble.”
“I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, Charlotte. She was with Julian, I'm sure she's fine.” He narrowed his eyes. “They were probably reuniting.”
“No,” Charlotte spoke firmly. “Luke, are you sure you don't know anything about that gun?”
“What am I supposed to know?” Luke asked.
“Ally found it at the old factory.” Charlotte braced herself for his reaction. If Luke was the criminal they had both suspected, then she had just given away that they were on to him.
“The old factory?” Luke took a step closer to her. “What was she doing out there? Why didn't she turn the gun in?”
Charlotte swallowed thickly. She still couldn't be sure that Luke was trustworthy. “She wasn't sure who to trust with it.”
Luke searched Charlotte's eyes. “Are you implying that she doesn't trust me?”
“I'm not implying anything.” Charlotte shook her head. “But I know if Ally went to so much trouble to get you here to tell me to look for Peaches, who wasn't missing at all, then something is very wrong. We need to find her before she's hurt, or worse.”
“Why would Julian hurt her?” Luke's eyes widened. “You know, don't you?” Charlotte felt the heat drain from her face. She looked at him wordlessly. Luke stepped closer to her. Charlotte backed into the wall in an attempt to escape him. “What do you know, Charlotte?”
Luke still held the gun in one hand. The gun she believed had killed Connor. Charlotte's heart pounded as she stared into his eyes.
“You should go,” Charlotte stammered out. She edged towards the door. Luke shook his head. He pushed the door to Ally's bedroom closed.
“We're not going anywhere until you tell me why Ally hid this gun, and everything that the two of you think you know.”
Chapter Seventeen
The car jolted to a stop. Ally was quite aware that the factory was isolated and empty. She knew that even if she screamed, no one would hear her or come for her. There were no neighbors for miles, and even if there were, they would likely mind their own business. Her only option was to flee. But she didn't think that she could outrun Julian. He was in incredible shape and he had played every sport in high school. Ally was slender, but not exactly fit. She preferred reading to running and had no idea how long her stamina would last. Julian turned the car off and looked over at her with a mild smile. The way he seemed to be enjoying their encounter made her even more concerned.
“So, do you know where we are?”
Ally remained quiet. Now that she was sure that Julian had murdered Connor, she assumed that he was involved in the illegal cigarette smuggling. Julian didn't wait for an answer. He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. Ally waited until he had unlocked the door from the outside. Then she slammed all of her weight against the door. The door swung hard into Julian's stomach and chest. He gasped at the unexpected strike, but he did not fall back as Ally had hoped. When she saw that he didn't budge, Ally lunged for the driver's side door. She just managed to get the door open, when Julian stepped up in front of her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her out of the car and onto the floor.
“Stop being so difficult!” His voice roared above her head. The fact that he wasn't worried about being heard just reminded her that there was no hope of being rescued.
“Please Julian. I'm not going to tell anyone. Just let me go.” Ally looked up at him with wide eyes. “We practically grew up together! How can you do this to me?”
“We grew up together?” Julian laughed. “No, Ally. You were nothing when you were a kid, and you're nothing now. Just the scrawny, quiet girl that mooned over me every time she saw me.”
Ally stared at him with disbelief.
“Oh, did you think I didn't know about your ridiculous crush? You still have it don't you, Ally?” He laughed and shook his head. “Pathetic. Did you really think something was going to happen between us?” He laughed cruelly. “You really are as crazy as your grandmother. But it doesn't matter now. You're going to pay for being as nosy as you are. All you had to do was let it go. If you had minded your own business, none of this would have happened.”
Ally swallowed back a scream. There was no question that Julian had no interest in letting her go. Julian pulled her into the factory and closed the door behind him. Ally strained against his grasp and twisted, but Julian barely noticed. Julian carefully looked over the interior of the factory. She guessed that he was making sure that no one else was there. Then he led her over to the lockers. For a moment Ally was worried that he would force her inside the locker again. Then she remembered that he had no idea that she had ever even been there. He hadn't been one of the two men in the factory earlier that day.
“So, all of this for some illegal cigarettes?” Ally spat out her words with disgust. “You're going to murder two people over some tobacco? How much can you possibly get out of that?”
Her words grabbed Julian's attention. He looked sharply back at her. “What do you know about that?”
“I know that those lockers are full of illegal cigarettes. I know that you've been allowing the smuggling of cigarettes. How much do you get for selling out your neighbors, Julian?” Ally could see the fury that she was stirring up inside of him. She didn't care. If she wasn't going to make it out of the factory alive, she wanted to make sure that Julian knew what she thought of him. “That's pretty low, Julian. You have the nerve to pretend that you're protecting your community when all you're actually doing is corrupting it.”
“Shut your mouth!” Julian snarled. “It's what had to be done.”
“Oh? Murdering Connor, someone you went to school with, your neighbor's son, had to be done?” She scowled at him. “Did you do it, or were you too much of a coward? Did Luke have to do it for you?”
Julian stared at her with an emptiness in his eyes. “It doesn't matter now, does it?”
“Then to make it worse you tried to frame Brent for it?” Ally shook her head.
“It was Brent or your grandmother.” Julian smirked. “But Brent was easier.” Ally's heart raced as she recalled that Peaches had escaped from the cottage through a back door that had been left open. Had Julian sneaked into the cottage in an attempt to plant evidence? She shivered at the thought.
“Brent had nothing to do with any of it, did he?”
“Of course not.” Julian smirked. “Brent wouldn’t be clever enough to be involved in something that would set him up financially for the rest of his life.”
“Julian, you're disgusting.”
“You're going to judge me?” Julian laughed. “What a joke! Blue River isn't anything to protect. It's a bunch
of going nowhere people in a dying town. I wasn't about to let myself get stuck here. All I have to do is keep the route open for a few years and I'll have enough money to move away from this place and live a life of luxury. Just like you did, Ally. Just like most of the kids we grew up with did. Nobody wants to get stuck here.”
“But don't you even think about the people you grew up with? The neighbors that looked after you? You're bringing danger into their backyards!” Ally shook her head. “No one deserves that.”
“I don't care what anyone deserves. Neighbors who looked after me? The only person who cares about me, is me, Ally. I learned that a long time ago, and I'm not about to let anyone stop me from getting what I want. Nothing will prevent me from getting the life I want. Connor tried, and now you are, too. I don't feel bad about it, not one bit. So, you can give up on trying to convince me. All it does is give me a good chuckle.” He grinned.
Ally stared at him with disbelief. Never would she have imagined that Julian could be so cruel.
“You had me fooled.” She closed her eyes. A deep sense of regret welled up within her. “Just get it over with.”
She felt Julian's fingertips brush across her forehead. “It's a shame really. If you hadn't found what you did, we could have played a game for a while. We could have had something. Instead, you had to go where you weren't invited.”
“Just leave my grandmother out of this please. She doesn't know anything about any of this.” Ally opened her eyes and looked directly into his. “At least promise me that you won't harm her.”
“Aw, that's so kind of you, Ally. Such a good granddaughter you are.” He smiled with a sweet flutter of his eyes. “Too bad I don't care about you or your grandmother! I don't owe you anything. If your grandmother gets in my way, she will get the same thing Connor did. But first, it's your turn.” He reached out and wrapped his hands around her throat. Ally grabbed at his wrists. She scratched as hard as she could. Julian didn't even seem to notice. He only tightened his grip on her throat. In her desperation she thought she saw the door swing open. Light filled the entrance of the factory. She mistook it for the spiritual light that so many people claimed to have seen at the point of death. As beautiful as it was, she still had the urge to fight, if only to protect her grandmother.
“Julian, what are you doing?” The voice boomed throughout the factory. It came from all directions as if it surrounded Ally. Julian's grasp on her throat relaxed just enough for her to steal a breath. Her sight cleared with the return of oxygen. She watched as Luke stepped further into the factory. He glared in their direction.
“Help!” Ally squeaked out, despite how raw her throat was from struggling to breathe. She didn't hold out much hope that Luke would help her. In fact he didn't even look directly at her. He kept his eyes on Julian. Was he angry about Julian hurting her, or was he angry that he hadn't already taken care of the job?
“Luke, this is not your concern! Just a little lover's spat!” Julian insisted. His hands fell back to his sides. “You know how girls get when they're drunk.” He shrugged.
“She's coming with me.” Luke gestured to Ally to walk towards him. Ally didn't dare to move a muscle. She was starting to believe that Luke might be there to help her, but she didn't want to risk angering Julian.
“You don't want to go with him, do you, Ally?” Julian's voice dripped with sweetness. “You want to stay here with me, and finish what we started. You wouldn't want your grandmother to find out the truth, to know what really happens to those who get into other people's business.”
Ally felt tears biting at the back of her eyes. She knew that Julian was threatening her grandmother again. Luke moved a little closer to the two. He held his hand out to Ally.
“Come to me, Ally, I'll take you home.”
Ally searched his face for any hint of what his intentions were. She had thought she could trust Julian, but she had been wrong. Now she had no idea what to think of Luke. Before she could make a choice, Julian wrapped his arm around Ally's throat. He began to squeeze hard. Ally felt her breath leave her again.
“Luke, you should have stayed out of this.” Julian jerked Ally's body closer to his and increased the pressure on her throat. “If you take a step closer she's dead.”
Luke immediately backed off a few steps. He reached towards his pocket.
“No phones!” Julian barked. “Do you think I'm that stupid?”
“Julian, what are you doing here?” Luke stared hard at him. “You're throwing away your career, your freedom, for what?”
“I'm not throwing away anything.” Julian increased the pressure on Ally's throat. “I'm doing what has to be done.”
“Julian, you're going to kill her! Let her go!” Luke spoke sharply.
“Julian, you're going to kill her,” Julian's voice was mocking. “I'll never understand how guys like you get to be detectives. In my book you've got to have the ability to do whatever it takes to earn a badge.”
“Julian, stop!” Luke demanded as he stepped forward.
“Don't do it!” Julian warned.
“Get your hands off her!” Luke growled with fury. He lunged at Julian. Julian snarled and thrust Ally to the ground. Ally watched as the two men began wrestling on the floor as she struggled to get to her feet. She could see the open door of the factory. Her only goal was to get out the door before Julian overcame Luke. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that Luke had come to her rescue.
“Don't make me do it, Julian.” She heard Luke shout with venom. Something about it made her freeze in the doorway. She turned to see that Luke had his gun pressed against Julian's chest. Julian looked up at Luke and laughed. He laughed so long and hard that Ally felt dizzy from the sound. It was not a normal laugh, nothing she had ever heard before. Luke easily flipped Julian over and pinned him down with his knee in the small of the man's back.
Ally watched as he began putting handcuffs on Julian. The metallic snap of the cuffs drew her out of her dazed state. She turned and ran again. All she could think of was getting back to her grandmother to make sure that she was safe. It didn't occur to her that she had no car, and that the distance was too far for her to run. She was in no state to run. Every breath she took made her throat feel as if it was on fire. Still, the compulsion to run pounded through her mind.
“Ally stop!” Luke's voice chased after her. Ally stumbled down the driveway towards the road. “Ally, I'm trying to help you!”
Keep going Ally, it was all she could think. But as she set one foot out onto the road her entire body grew weak. Her legs could no longer hold her. She began to fall. Ally's eyes fluttered as she felt strong arms seize her around the waist. Luke drew her close against his chest before she could hit the ground. Ally gazed up into his beautiful eyes, framed by the creases of worry lines. The last thing she saw was just how handsome he was.
Chapter Eighteen
In the distance Ally could hear sirens. They seemed very far away. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't.
“Help,” she mumbled.
“It's all right now. Rest now.” She felt hands on her body, maneuvering her chin and shoulders. Somehow there was bumping as if the whole world was shaking. Finally she was able to open her eyes. Only then did she realize that she was in an ambulance. The sirens that still sounded so distant were actually all around her. She stared at the person beside her for a moment. When she saw that it was a paramedic and not Luke she closed her eyes. Was she safe? It seemed much too daring to think that she was. She was alive and that was enough for now.
Ally felt the subtle rock of the ambulance rolling over the road. Her mind began to ease, or maybe it was the painkillers. Either way she felt calmer than she had in a long time. She attempted to sort through everything that had happened. It was all too confusing. Her mind kept shifting back to the one pressing question that she had. Was her grandmother safe? At some point during the trip she slipped back into unconsciousness.
In the hospital Ally began to su
rface more. She blinked her eyes in an attempt to gain focus. Everything appeared blurry and not quite as she remembered. She became aware of where she was because of the scent and the bright lighting. She had made it to the hospital. She was still alive. She was starting to think that she just might be safe. She sensed that someone was close to her, but she couldn't quite get her head to turn to look.
“Ally!” The familiar warmth of her grandmother's lips against her forehead didn't feel different at all. It felt the same as it had her entire life. She sighed with relief at the comfort of her grandmother's presence.
“Mee-Maw, I'm okay.” Ally tried to push herself up. Pain shot through her body in response to the attempt.
“No you don't,” the nurse that walked into the room spoke in a commanding voice. “You need to stay still until you're completely checked out.”
Ally could finally relax as her grandmother's hand slid into hers. “Julian?” She turned her head towards her grandmother.
“Luke is taking care of him.” Charlotte smiled at her granddaughter.
“I'm sorry, Mee-Maw.”
“Oh, my sweet girl, there is absolutely nothing for you to apologize for. You were brave and you fought for justice. I'm proud of you, Ally, and so very grateful that you are okay. Sending Luke to tell me about Peaches was pure genius.”
Charlotte gazed at her as if she had never seen anything more valuable. Ally was warmed to the core by her grandmother's love. She suddenly knew that was what had been missing from her life. She wanted to be near her family again, near the one person in the world who knew her inside and out.
“What about Luke?” Ally frowned. “I know he saved me, I know he did.”
“Well, you know how much I hate to admit it when I'm wrong, but this time I have to. I was wrong. Luke was never involved in any of the smuggling. He became suspicious of Julian because when rumors came up about illegal cigarettes being funneled through Blue River, Julian would insist on investigating them by himself, but he said he never found anything. Luke started following Julian to see what he was up to. That was when he started looking into the old factory.”