“I was thinking, though, that even if we move you, we make it seem like you’re still here. The culprit clearly knows when you come and go through the front door, but two can play at that game. I’ve got a plan—my mom can bring over a large tote bag or large purse, something inconspicuous, and load anything you need into it. A change of clothes, that type of thing. I’ll have my parents drive their car around to the rear doors of the station to load you and leave, so you can slip out the back and hunker down in the back seat. My parents’ home also has a garage entrance. I doubt our criminal friends are going to be watching the back door of the police station, since they’d have to be on our property to do so, and we have security for that. And there’s no way they can see inside a closed garage.”
“Really? If your parents are willing, that would be very generous of them.” She felt a twinge of relief at the thought of sleeping in a proper bed tonight, and her stomach had calmed slightly thanks to the ginger. She’d almost started to feel normal again. Almost. “Do your parents know what’s going on? I don’t want to put them at risk.”
“To a degree, yes, I’ve let them in on what’s happening. Don’t worry about them. They have a pull-out couch in the basement and an air mattress, and my dad is a former RCMP officer. He’s got heavy home security because that’s just the way he operates—including a well-trained but super sweet German shepherd named Starbuck—and in a pinch he can still take a bad guy down. He might hurt his back while doing it, but he’ll do it.” Aaron smiled, and Cally was surprised to find that the sight made her smile, too.
The moment stretched between them, the pressure of his hand on her back a strong and welcome comfort. Was she mistaken, or had his hand lingered overlong? Cally couldn’t help but think that something very important was happening—and she didn’t want the moment to end.
A knock came on the front doors, and Cally yelped in surprise.
“Who...? Are you expecting someone?”
Aaron reached up and squeezed her shoulder. “No, but it could be anyone. I’ll go check. I locked the doors for safety, but technically this is still a working police station. If a citizen needs help, all they have to do is knock or ring the doorbell. Hold tight.”
Cally released the breath that had caught in her chest. Of course. For one brief moment, she’d forgotten that Aaron was an on-duty RCMP officer. He fit so well into the quiet spaces, into conversation, that it was easy to forget he was working and not simply spending time with her while she visited.
Cally tried not to eavesdrop, but sound carried in the small building. She heard the doors open, and an unmistakably feminine voice drifted toward the break room. The woman sounded young and eager, not at all like a frightened or upset resident searching for police help. Aaron’s tone didn’t match, but the woman’s volume rose...and moments later, footsteps clacked down the hall toward the break room.
“No!” Aaron shouted. “No, you can’t go back there—”
Cally tensed with alarm. Should she hide? Find something to defend herself with? She popped out of her chair and picked it up, flipping it around as she sidestepped toward the doorway—and then a familiar blonde entered the room, wearing a puffy white winter coat and holding a large cellophane-wrapped gift basket in her arms.
“Tricia?” Cally stared at the spa owner and then searched for Aaron, who hurried down toward the break room with obvious frustration. She lowered the chair, feeling foolish for her overreaction.
“Tricia has something for you,” Aaron said. His words were flat and clipped. “The roads from the spa are apparently more or less safe to drive on, so she came down. However, that also means I need to call the other guys and make a plan to get the patrol car back here. You’ll be all right for a few minutes?”
“Of course we will, silly,” Tricia said. She plunked the gift basket on the table and patted Aaron’s arm, letting her hand linger on his biceps. Aaron cleared his throat and took a step backward. Tricia’s smile wavered as she glanced from Aaron to Cally and back again. Then, her smile a little wider but too taut to be genuine, she slid into a seat at the table and rolled her eyes at Cally. “He worries about the oddest things, doesn’t he?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s odd to be concerned after several attempts have been made on Cally’s life,” Aaron replied. Cally locked eyes with him and offered a shallow nod. She’d be fine with Tricia for a few minutes. The woman was harmless, if a little lovestruck.
As Aaron hurried away, Tricia turned her attention on Cally. Her smile was still bright and friendly, but something about it seemed...off. The expression didn’t quite reach her eyes, tautness shifting into an almost forced desperation. Cally felt bad for her—Tricia seemed otherwise nice, and Cally admired the woman’s business acumen that had allowed her to develop a successful, prestigious local business.
“Tricia, you didn’t have to come here and bring...this.” Cally waved at the massive wicker basket the spa owner had placed in the middle of the table. It was filled with an assortment of soaps, lotions and chocolates.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tricia said. “Bringing by a personal apology is the least I can do. Mind you, I assumed I’d simply drop it off here and have the boys deliver it for me, but here you are! I can’t apologize enough for what happened yesterday. I’m still shaken, so I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling.”
“I appreciate your concern. I’m feeling better today, thank you. Aaron—uh, Officer Thrace has done an excellent job of making me feel comfortable and easing my anxiety about the situation. I’m not going to pretend I’m not afraid, but he’s helping.”
Tricia raised an eyebrow and her smile tightened further. “Is he, now? That’s very kind of him. He’s a good man. Very handsome, too.”
Cally didn’t disagree, but she couldn’t help sensing that she was being baited. “Very kind” was all she decided to respond with.
Tricia pursed her lips, then pulled her fingers through her hair. “You know, he and I used to be quite the item around town. Some years ago.”
It was bait, then. What did Tricia want? Some kind of validation? Cally was beginning to get the sense that Aaron had understated the degree to which Tricia was still emotionally attached to him. The way her eyes narrowed as she spoke suggested that Tricia felt she continued to hold a claim on him.
The best response Cally could muster was a polite smile, after which she turned her attentions on the gift basket. “Lavender Epsom salts, how lovely! This is such a generous gift. I really appreciate it, and I’ll be sure to share it with Ellen and let her know you went out of your way to bring this over. She spoke so highly of your spa that I have no doubt she’ll want to reschedule, so you won’t lose the business.”
Tricia looked over her shoulder, back down the hall where Aaron had vanished. They could hear him on the phone, voice low and no-nonsense. When Tricia turned back to face Cally, she leaned in as if they were good friends about to have a casual chat. “You’re so sweet, you and Ellen. Ellen is marrying Aaron’s brother—I assume you knew that already. All of the Thrace brothers are quite the catch, but this latest wedding must be making Aaron eager to get hitched himself, now that he’ll be the last Thrace standing, so to speak. Being the eldest and unmarried, I wonder if he feels any pressure... One must be careful, I imagine, in case his desperation causes him to throw himself at any old woman in his path. Even if she’s not the right one for him, you know?”
Yes, Tricia was definitely baiting her and trying to dig for information. “He’s not a teenager,” Cally said. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “And I’m not into gossip. If you’re concerned, I’d recommend that you speak to him personally.”
Tricia tapped the table with her long nails. “You know what? I will, when he has a moment. Speaking of, how long will you be in town?”
“Until after the wedding,” Cally said, though Tricia would know she’d be around at least that long
.
“Flying home for Christmas Day?”
“No, after. It’s too expensive to charter a plane a few days before Christmas.” Among other reasons, but that was another conversation entirely, and not one she knew Tricia well enough to engage in.
“I also hear you’re not at the cabin on the west side of town anymore, so where are you staying?” She leaned in farther, her smile still pasted on and a little unnerving. “If you’d like, I can come there and finish some of your treatments like the pedicure—”
How was she supposed to respond to that? “I...”
“I’m sure Cally will be happy to return to the spa as soon as your security cameras are up and running properly, and I give the all clear,” Aaron said as he walked into the room. Tricia’s face lit up with genuine excitement as he approached her, but fell in confusion as he tossed the USB key she’d given him onto the table. “Though that may be longer than anticipated. There was nothing on the footage. By which I mean the footage was blank. My trust in your ability to handle security of any kind has been greatly diminished.”
Tricia’s lips parted but she said nothing. Cally wasn’t sure if this news came as a surprise, or if the woman was trying to come up with an explanation.
Aaron didn’t wait for either. “But you knew that already, didn’t you.”
“Aaron—” Tricia began.
“Tricia, you can’t do this. You can’t hand an RCMP officer a fake security clip and then barge into the situation to apologize—you realize how that makes you look, right? I could arrest you for potential obstruction by giving me this nonexistent footage just to make yourself look good and your business look compliant, not to mention your act of trespassing by running down here to the staff room after being directly told not to by a federal officer.”
Tricia frowned and stood. “I didn’t know it was blank. I promise. I moved over the digital files from backup, dated with yesterday’s date and time stamp of when the incident occurred. Maybe the flickering power messed up the cameras, or—”
“Or you wanted a reason to come down here.” Aaron crossed his arms and sighed. “Did you bring a second flash drive with the real footage?”
Cally’s stomach churned again as Tricia shook her head. Despite Aaron’s words, Tricia moved closer to his side, as if drawn to him by compulsion. Cally felt sorry for her; she clearly had unresolved feelings for Aaron, but was expressing them in a very unhealthy way. Not to mention that her questions about Cally’s whereabouts had been a little too pointed. Like she was trying to gather information.
Like she came here to dig for intel and brought the gift basket in an effort to gain my trust to get it.
And although the person who’d attacked Cally at the spa had definitely been a man, Aaron had mentioned his suspicion that the attacker from the rental cabin hadn’t been acting alone.
That made almost anyone a suspect. Especially the bright-eyed woman standing across from her...who was also wearing a white winter coat. Like one of the attackers.
Tricia must have felt Cally’s eyes on her, because her head slowly turned to meet Cally’s stare. Her expression darkened.
And then her hand moved to the side of her waistband, as if deliberately reaching for something holstered inside.
ELEVEN
“Hey! Freeze!” Aaron’s voice boomed through the staff room. “Hands where I can see them.” He whipped around to stand between Tricia and Cally, facing the woman who’d come to visit. Tricia gasped and, seeing his hands on his Taser, backed away.
“What did I do?” She lifted her hands up. “I’m trying to take a card out of my pocket.”
He wasn’t about to relax until he was certain she was telling the truth. “Slowly. Make sure I can see your hands at all times.”
Tricia reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, laminated card. She held it up, fingers shaking, expression growing more furious by the second. “I was going to hand this to Cally. It has my personal cell phone number on it. I only give these to my clients who pay a premium for home visits. If she and Ellen want to get their pre-wedding treatments done, I’m willing to come to them at the same discounted rate I was going to offer for coming to the spa.”
He took the card and handed it back to Tricia. “Why were you asking about her accommodations?”
“So I could figure out the timing between clients at the spa and traveling to wherever she’s staying.”
“Nice coat. Had it long?”
“It is nice, thank you. It’s none of your business, but I bought it on clearance last week in Fort St. Jacob. What’s your problem, Thrace? You weren’t this trigger-happy when we were together.”
Aaron resisted the urge to growl at Tricia in frustration. “That was a long time ago. The past is the past, and right now I’m doing my job. The same way you’re evidently trying to do yours. If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you left now. I’ll be sending Hatch by your workplace soon to check into the security footage. I hope he discovers that you’re telling the truth and that there truly hasn’t been any sort of tampering. Or that you lied to a federal officer about having security cameras operating in the first place.”
Tricia instantly looked crestfallen, but Aaron wasn’t about to be fooled. He saw the hard calculation in her eyes, and while he didn’t think she’d lied intentionally—that wasn’t like her—he also couldn’t dismiss her actions. Regardless of Tricia’s claims of innocence, Cally’s life was on the line, and he wasn’t going to let anyone get away with foolish behavior that might compromise the integrity of an RCMP investigation.
She took a step toward him, hand reaching for his arm, but he stepped back before she made contact. Another idea sprang to mind, but he had a suspicion she wasn’t going to like it. “Tricia, will you submit to questioning regarding your whereabouts these past few days?”
Tricia blinked up at him—fierce and defiant—but then her gaze flicked behind him to where Cally stood, and she nodded instead. “Of course. You’re just doing your job. Happy to cooperate.”
“Great,” Aaron said. “If you have a few minutes right now, I’ll show you to an interview room. Officer Hatch will be over shortly to take your statement, then he can follow you back to the spa to check on that security situation.”
Tricia’s jaw dropped as she tried to protest, but Aaron wasn’t having any of it. He led her to a room and closed the door, then called Hatch to ask him to come and do the interview. He’d get nowhere trying to speak to her himself—the woman clearly had ulterior motives in mind when she’d come to the police station. Aaron waited for Hatch to arrive, briefed his fellow officer, then returned to the break room.
Cally lay on the staff room futon, curled into herself. Her body was tense, shoulders hunched as one arm cradled her head. Her other arm was pulled in tight to her chest. He stood in the doorway for a moment, not wanting to disturb her in case she’d fallen asleep. He’d been awake most of the night again, taking turns on shift with Hatch and Leo, and he’d heard her tossing and turning on the small cot they’d set up for her. After all she’d been through, she deserved some peace—but he had a feeling it’d be a while before she got it.
The very fact that she hadn’t yelled at him or tried to run off and solve things on her own, however, made him want to try that much harder to make things right. She obviously didn’t see herself as a patient person, but he was impressed by how she continued to take the hits in stride—she allowed herself to be upset, and then moved on. Practical. Focused.
Experienced in dealing with trauma.
The thought pained his heart. If he’d lost someone he loved as suddenly as she had, and if his family then started pestering him the way hers was doing, he didn’t think he’d be handling it with the same grace.
He’d never been all that patient or gracious, though his professional life didn’t necessarily show it. It had taken years of schooling and tra
ining before he’d become a full-fledged RCMP officer, and having the honor of performing in the Mounted Ride in Ottawa had been an incredible experience, and worth all the time and effort. But outside of his career, patience wasn’t a virtue he held on to very well. When he was younger, he and his youngest brother, Sam, had fought more than they’d gotten along, usually due to Sam’s obstinate behavior and Aaron’s lack of patience for his antics. They’d gotten into many physical altercations, and Aaron had once even broken his brother’s nose.
Out of the three Thrace brothers, Aaron had been the only one who’d known pretty much since birth what he’d wanted to do with his life: follow in his father’s footsteps and join the RCMP. It had been a blessing that his brother Leo had decided to do the same, but Sam had only joined after a life-changing experience, finally changing his laissez-faire ways when the love of his life had broken his heart. Ever since Sam’s transformation, he and Aaron had gotten along much better, but Aaron still had to work hard at being patient with others and not allowing his perfectionist tendencies to get the better of him. As the oldest child, it was hard not to feel like he knew better all the time.
Even his parents’ questions—though infrequent—about his love life raised his hackles, because he was just as impatient as they were. On the other hand, he hardly had time to attend to all of his duties in Fort Mason, let alone consider adding in a wife and maybe a future family of his own. And if the RCMP moved him to another province or another detachment within British Columbia, well, he’d have plenty more to deal with.
Why am I even thinking about a wife and family, Lord? He hadn’t allowed himself that indulgence for a very long time. But spending the past few days with Cally had forced him to admit that a capable, personality-compatible partner in life and in love really was the absolute, exact thing he’d always wanted.
In fact, someone like her was the exact thing he’d always wanted.
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