Cold Pursuit

by Susan Sleeman

  “Right. Right. Well, okay, then. Nothing else odd. And believe you me, Martha has been keeping an eye on things for us.” He chuckled.

  “Do you mind if I take your picture for my records? It helps us keep track of the people we’ve spoken to.”

  “Fire away.” Herb circled his arm around Martha and leaned close to her. They smiled, but it was forced and tight.

  Alex handed his card to Martha. “If you think of anything else, my cell number’s on the card. Or if there’s no service, Tomio can always find me.”

  They stood, and Herb offered his hand. “Lucky for all of us that you and your teammate were vacationing up here.”

  “Glad to be of help.” Alex shook hands and walked them into the hallway. He bid them goodbye and locked the meeting room door to take his mid-morning break and check in with Whitney.

  He pretended to look at his phone but really his mind was all over the information gleaned on McCray. It sounded like he’d met with the guy he’d planned to do business with up here and odds were good that this man could be their victim. But it was equally possible that this man could still be at the resort and a danger to them all, too.

  When the Normans disappeared from view, Alex turned and took a circuitous route toward his suite. He really was liking McCray for this murder and was still holding out hope that Percy wasn’t at the resort. But he couldn’t let his guard down and allow himself to be followed. If he did, he could be leading a killer to Whitney’s door.

  He approached Officer Everett whose hand went to his gun. He was either proactive or jumpy.

  “Something happen while I was gone?” Alex asked.

  “It’s probably nothing, but a rowdy group of guys insisted their buddy was staying in this suite. I told them they were wrong and to take a hike, but they could’ve been on a scouting mission.”

  “Did you get their names?”

  “One of them, yeah. And the name of the guy they were looking for.”

  Alex didn’t like the sound of that. Maybe he should move Whitney now. But he didn’t want to alarm Everett. “Text them to me, and I’ll follow up with Tomio.”

  “You think I’m overreacting.”

  “Could be, but I’d rather that than failing to act when we should.” Alex didn’t think he could ever overreact when it came to keeping the trio inside safe. “Send me that text now. And FYI, we were planning to move Whitney and the kids to another location tonight, but after this I’m going to head down to finalize it now.”

  “Okay.” Everett got out his phone. “Texting the names now.”

  Alex heard his phone ding in his pocket but he didn’t stop to look at it. He headed straight to the lobby and found Tomio in his office behind the check-in desk.

  “Alex,” he said, his accent messing with the enunciation of Alex’s name.

  “I need you to tell me what you know about these guests.” He got out his phone and displayed the two names.

  “Oh, them.” Tomio rolled his eyes. “They’ve been a problem since the day they arrived. Drinking and carousing around the lodge at all hours. I almost asked them to leave. But honestly, they’re big spenders, and a wing we’re remodeling fell behind schedule so we need the business. I’ve been doing my best to rein them in.”

  “Are their room numbers similar to my suite?”

  He clicked his computer keys. “Yeah. The one guy’s in 212.”

  “And I have 312. So if they were drinking, they could’ve made a mistake and gone to the wrong room.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Still, I’m not taking a chance and want to move Whitney and the kids. What do you have to offer?”

  He tapped his chin. “Another suite is the only thing I’ve got other than single rooms.”

  “What about something away from other guests where guys like this won’t happen to wander up. Do you have a place like that?”

  “I could…” He snapped forward eagerly, then frowned. “Nah, probably not.”

  “Could what?”

  “The wing I mentioned. The one that’s under renovation. It’s closed to guests. Chained off actually. You can only access it from outside. Several of the suites are ready.”

  “That’s it. Sounds perfect.”

  “Yeah, except I don’t have an occupancy permit for it while under renovation.”

  “It’s not like you have to worry about an inspector showing up.”

  “True.”

  “Is the area safe to occupy?”

  He nodded vigorously.

  “Then let’s do it.”

  “Okay.”

  Alex glanced at his watch. “I need to get back to the interviews but we could move them during my lunch break. Can you have the rooms ready by then?”

  “Sure.”

  “Hey, thanks, man.” Alex held out his hand to shake. “You and Yuki have been very helpful. I won’t ever forget it.”

  “So maybe if I need a favor someday, you repay me.”

  “You got it.” Alex took out his phone. “I’ll call Whitney and tell her to pack up and then come see you when I break for lunch.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Alex spun and left the office. He would have to make sure no one saw them move, but with the PPB officers’ help they could block off hallways and visible areas to keep others out or see what they were doing. At least Alex hoped they could make this move without anyone taking notice.

  Whitney wasn’t used to sitting around, but once she unpacked in the new suite and settled down in the living area with the kids who were playing a game of Candy Land, she had nothing to do. She’d always been active in her personal and professional life. Nurses never had downtime. Especially not an ED nurse. And she was a problem solver, too. Observe, assess, and act. That was her motto. It always worked to give her patients the most professional and compassionate care. It allowed her to discover their greatest need right off the bat, and she could begin to address it right away and give them relief from their suffering. Pending the doctor’s order, of course.

  But with Percy, she’d been in panic mode from the moment she’d discovered Vanessa. Flight mode—avoidance—and she was feeling helpless. Totally helpless. She hoped by now that Eryn would have found Percy, but Eryn said she needed more time to gather additional files. She was still optimistic that Percy wasn’t at the resort, but as Alex said, Whitney couldn’t count on that and let her guard down. So her nerves were strung taut and vibrating.

  She jumped up and went to the small kitchen to rinse out mugs used for a hot chocolate snack. It was something to do. To keep busy while Isaiah and Zoey played together, much as they did in the old home routine, which was something Whitney was trying to foster. Zoey was just learning the game rules and simply enjoyed moving her little plastic person around the colorful board with Isaiah’s guidance. Whitney almost stepped in but then realized it was good for Isaiah to help his little sister. This eliminated his habit of sitting around and brooding about his loss. With nothing to do, Whitney could brood, however. She had plenty of time for that even if she knew it was detrimental to her.

  She glanced back at the pair, their heads bent over the board. Isaiah’s hair had been pale blond as a baby but continued to darken over the years, and his longer chin and big eyes resembled his father’s features. Zoey was a spitting image of her mother. Vanessa was fair and blond like their mother. Vanessa was also eight years older than Whitney, who’d gotten her dark coloring from her father, and people rarely thought they were sisters.

  God handpicked the characteristics for each child so interestingly. At the moment, she was very thankful for Zoey’s appearance as Whitney could simply look at her and feel close to her sister.

  But then that brought pain. Deep agonizing pain. All because of Percy. How on earth was Isaiah going to survive this betrayal by his father? How was she, for that matter? She’d once blindly given her trust to others. At least to her family. Now her whole foundation was rocked to the core.

  And yet, it seemed as if she
hadn’t learned a thing. Here she was trusting Alex and Sam—the entire team—to keep them safe. Maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe she should be trying to help herself, too. Help find Percy.

  But how? She couldn’t leave this room.

  She finished rinsing the mugs and turned back to the space. Her laptop sat on the table. If the Internet was still up, she could access the world that way. Maybe figure something out. She hurried across the room and turned it on. She’d read many stories about Percy’s escape, but hadn’t checked them lately. She opened a browser window and sighed when it connected. Tomio’s investment in technology was really paying off.

  She entered Percy’s name in a search engine. It returned a long list of links, and she started with the first one, even though she’d seen it. She grabbed a resort notepad and pen from by the telephone to jot down any information that would help her track his movements.

  By the time she was done with the links on the first page, she’d created a list of sightings in locations all over Oregon and even as far away as California, one person even reporting they’d seen him crossing the border into Mexico. The authorities had ruled them all out.

  She heard voices from the hallway, and then the click of the lock. It was likely Alex, but she couldn’t be sure, and her heart pounded. If only he’d returned her gun, she could protect herself and the kids. But he said Sam had to keep it until they recovered the slug that killed John Doe and could prove she hadn’t shot him.

  The door opened, and Alex stepped in. His concerned gaze raced around the room, lighting on her then the kids before his shoulders visibly relaxed.

  “Candy Land?” he called out. “You played Candy Land without me?”

  He charged across the room and knelt by the coffee table. “Oh no…looks like you’re almost done. Can I get a quick game in before heading back downstairs?”

  “Yay.” Zoey jumped up and down and clapped.

  “She doesn’t really know how to play,” Isaiah said, his old-man, serious demeanor in place. “I’m helping her. Cut her some slack, okay?”

  Alex gave a serious nod. “Gotta help your little sister. Mine is seven years younger than me, and I did the same thing.”

  Isaiah issued a nod of approval and looked at Zoey. “Want to quit this game, Zo-Zo, and start another with Alex right now?”

  “Yes!” Her eyes sparkled with delight, and she threw her arms around Alex’s neck to hug him hard.

  Whitney had been on the receiving end of Zoey’s fierce hugs many times and knew it could feel like a stranglehold. But still, there was nothing more priceless than the warmth of that little sweetie snuggled up close. Vanessa’s baby. So precious.

  Oh, Sis. I’m so sorry. So, so, sorry.

  Vanessa would never know her little girl’s warm hugs again. See her children grow up. Be there for big days like sports or band concerts, prom, graduation, and weddings. Isaiah in a sharp tux. Zoey in a flowing white gown. Grandchildren.

  Oh…oh.

  Vanessa’s precious babies. Without their mother or father. The safe and secure life they’d known. Gone. In the blink of an eye. Just gone.

  Tears flooded Whitney’s eyes, and her vision swam. She hadn’t thought beyond the present when she needed to focus on their safety. With Alex and his team on the job, she’d relaxed a bit and been very distracted. But now the full weight of her responsibilities hit her hard. She had two tiny humans counting on her for everything…protection, provision, emotional support, and solid guidance so they would grow into healthy, godly adults.

  Could she do it? Really do it well?

  Maybe, but as well as Vanessa would have done?

  Oh, Sis. I want to. I do.

  Tears flowed in earnest.

  God, please help me.

  “Be right back,” she got out over a throat closing with grief and worry and ran to the bedroom. She closed the door, went into the bathroom, and closed that door, too. Even then, she grabbed a towel and held it over her face before unleashing her anguish.

  The first sob drew her deeper into the soft white towel, her moans sounding like a wounded animal as the muffled sounds echoed from the tiled walls. She’d decided the very first day the children came to live with her that she would never let them see her cry. Sure, she let them know she was sad and missed their mother. She had to. She couldn’t hide it all the time. Plus, she wanted them to see it was okay to be sad, too. But they didn’t need to see her extreme pain. See this mess. The ache was so deep it felt like a knife plunged into her flesh.

  She rested the towel and her face on the counter. Clutched her arms around her body and sobbed. Her chest burned with the pain, her stomach convulsing. Minutes passed. Maybe ten. More and more, but she couldn’t stop. All her pent-up agony, fear, stress, worry, and pain exploded through her in raging waves.

  Panic took over. She couldn’t breathe.

  She’d never cried this hard before. Never given in to it. And she didn’t know if she could find her way out.

  Help me! Please help me.

  A knock sounded on the door. She jerked her head up and swallowed, her chest rising and falling in deep chest-convulsing hiccups.

  “Whitney,” Alex asked from the other side of the door. “You’ve been gone for a while. Is everything okay?

  “Fine,” she got out on a choke.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.” Another croak.

  “Okay, I wanted to talk to you, so I’ll wait with the kids.”

  She heard his footsteps fading and looked up at the large mirror. She was a mess. Tear-streaked face with big red blotches. Red-rimmed eyes. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, then repaired her appearance as best she could by applying dabs of concealer and putting eye drops in. Alex would know she’d been crying, but hopefully Isaiah would miss the signs.

  She pulled in enough oxygen to empty the little room and blew it out. In and out. In and out. After a few more times, she stepped out and ran a hand over her hair as she walked.

  Put on a smile. Relax your tense body. Fake it until you feel it.

  She found Alex sitting on the sofa, Zoey on his lap. Isaiah next to him. A Mario Kart video game was playing on the large television. The guys each had a steering wheel in hand and were racing a vehicle on the screen. Zoey’s pudgy little hand rested on Alex’s long fingers, surely slowing him down as he drove Princess Peach through the track in a pink car—obviously chosen by Zoey—and Isaiah raced Yoshi on a motorcycle.

  Isaiah was winning hands down, and he was smiling. A wide beaming smile that Whitney hadn’t seen since Vanessa died. Whitney had tried to get him to play video games with her, but he’d refused. She wondered how Alex had managed it.

  But, oh, what a sight! A wonderful sight. Isaiah could still smile. The sun would come out again for him. For her, too.

  Thank you for showing me the possibilities still ahead.

  She took a seat at the table and simply watched the trio. Maybe watched Alex a bit more. His profile was rugged and chiseled, his jaw covered in whiskers trimmed at a precise length. His nose was a bit hooked and seemed to add to the strength he conveyed.

  And yet, here he was playing with children and grinning like a kid himself. What a contrast.

  “Yes!” Isaiah pumped his fist and fired a superior grin at Alex. “Take that.”

  Alex laughed, and Isaiah joined in, his sweet boy laughter ringing to the ceiling and bouncing around the room while it mixed with Alex’s deep rumble.

  She joined them. “Well done, bud. You skunked him.”

  “I know, right?” He started to laugh again, and then an iron curtain dropped over his face.

  “I…” He glanced around the room as if he’d come out of a trance and didn’t know where he was. “I shouldn’t…I’m sorry…oh, I…” He dropped the steering wheel and raced for the bedroom. The door slammed.

  She feared he headed there for the same reasons she had, and she felt tears rising up.

  Alex gave Zoey the steering wheel and restarted the
game. She couldn’t actually play this either, but she was having fun turning the wheel.

  Alex shifted to look up at Whitney and grasped her hand but didn’t get up. “It’ll get better for all of you. I promise.”

  She clung to him and reveled in the feel of his rough skin…in the comfort of his gentleness and empathy.

  How in the world had this guy remained single all these years? What was wrong with him? It had to be big, and maybe her trust in him was misplaced. And even if it wasn’t, she had no business letting herself be drawn closer to him. Not when she had more than enough to deal with without adding the terrifying risk of getting into a relationship.

  She slipped her hand free. “Would you mind sitting with Zoey while I go talk to Isaiah?”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Can I suggest that you let him be again this time? Let him figure this out on his own?”

  “But he…” She shook her head and bit her lip. “I just want to hug him.”

  “He might be open to that, but having been in his position, I know this could be another one of those times he needs to figure things out alone. In addition to hurting, he’s embarrassed, maybe mad that he let himself be happy. Remember how sometimes you wake up in the morning eager and joyful for the day, and then suddenly you remember Vanessa and everything crashes down on you.”

  Boy, did she. She nodded.

  “That’s what hit Isaiah. He had a happy moment, then bam. He remembered his loss, and he feels bad about laughing. Let him process.”

  She looked at the closed door and sighed. “I’m not sure I’m up to that.”

  He set Zoey on the sofa and came to stand toe-to-toe with her. He locked gazes, and she was entranced by how being this close she spotted a tiny scar hidden in his facial hair just above his mouth. She wanted to know about that scar. Know about his emotional scars, too, and learn from them so she could help Isaiah.

  He lightly rested his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, probing, searching…for what, she had no idea.

  “I haven’t known you for long, but I can already see how strong you are,” he said softly, yet with conviction. “And I know you can do whatever Isaiah needs. Even if it means leaving him alone with his heartache.”