Burning Proof

by Janice Cantore

  “What manner would that be?”

  “Abby, I think all this can wait until you get home. Woody didn’t want to ruin your trip and neither do I.”

  Abby felt anger rise. “I’m not fragile. What is going on down there?”

  “I know you’re not fragile. We just wanted to give you time to heal.”

  “Tell me please,” she said firmly.

  She heard Luke blow out a breath. “The guy who broke into your house was Alonzo Ruiz.”

  “Ruiz?” Abby frowned as the name and the memory of that name and what he’d done came roaring back to her mind. “The man who shot at you on the flood control trail?”

  “The same. He paid me a visit as well. That was where we stopped him.”

  Questions exploded in Abby’s mind. “You stopped him? He’s in custody? Who is he working for?”

  “We can’t ask. He’s dead. He had a gun and Woody had to shoot him. And before you ask, Woody is fine.”

  Words wouldn’t form, and Abby felt like all the air had whooshed out of her lungs. She had to sit down to digest this news.

  “Tell me everything,” she was finally able to say.

  Luke told her what had transpired at his house.

  She took deep breaths as the fear for Woody subsided, along with an overwhelming wave of protectiveness that extended to Luke Murphy as well.

  “So he’d tried to remove all your notes on the Triple Seven?”

  “Yeah, that’s what he chucked at me on the front lawn. And just when we thought that was all settled. We know Ruiz was the same man Jessica confronted at your house because his nose was broken. Bill took pictures to Jessica and she was able to positively identify him. He also had a ton of state-of-the-art surveillance equipment in his car, and he bypassed my alarm system like it was nothing.”

  “What kind of car was Ruiz driving?”

  “A black Ford Crown Vic. Why?”

  Abby told him about the dark car she’d thought had shadowed her to Oregon.

  “Could have been him. He’d have had plenty of time to get back down here, break into your house. He knew you were gone if he followed you all the way to Oregon. But why is anyone following you? Look, bottom line, it’s okay here. Woody is good. We’re sidelined for a bit while the shooting is officially investigated, but I’m sorry if I’ve ruined your vacation.”

  “You didn’t ruin anything. I was already thinking that it was time to come home. I settled a lot in my own mind about the shooting. It’s time for me to get back to work.”

  “I’m glad I came along, glad I could be a part of this.” Abby put her arm over Dede’s shoulder as the two took in the sight of the newly constructed sanctuary. Ethan was going over some last-minute arrangements with Pastor Cliff, so he’d said he would miss this final group prayer. They’d talked earlier.

  “So you’re going home, back to work?” he asked.

  “I’m going home, and then I have to talk to the psychologist. I’m assuming he’ll let me go back to work. How long will you be tying up the loose ends of this project?”

  He shrugged. “A week maybe.”

  “Then you leave for Malawi.”

  Nodding, he took her hand. “Yeah, and I’ll be gone for a month. But I’ll be back in LB for a few days before that.” He held her gaze and the sadness in his eyes broke Abby’s heart.

  “And I’m sure that we’ll talk on the phone before that.”

  He nodded. “Call me when you get home so I’ll know that you got there safe, and promise me something as you go back to work.”

  “Anything.”

  “Be careful.”

  Now it was late Friday afternoon and almost everyone who’d taken part in the build was gathered at the new church to pray and dedicate the building. The sun dipped low by the time workers and volunteers finished, joined hands for prayer, and then packed up their belongings to leave.

  “I’m glad too,” Dede said. “It was wonderful reconnecting. Are you sure you’re ready to go back into the lion’s den? It’s only been a week.”

  “On one level, not really,” Abby said honestly. She bent down and picked Bandit up, wanting to hug the warm, furry body. A part of her still found the idea of hiding from the realities waiting for her in Long Beach appealing, especially if she was going back to again face the brick wall that was her parents’ murder investigation. “But I was already thinking it was time, and now, hearing about Woody’s shooting . . . Well, I want to know what’s happening.”

  “I understand. Keep me up to date, and let me know if you visit Simon.”

  “I will.” She hugged her aunt and together they drove home. Abby packed and prepared to leave first thing in the morning.

  CHAPTER

  -34-

  FOR A MOMENT when Abby pulled into her driveway, she thought she was at the wrong house. Even in the fading evening light, she could see the color exploding across the front of her house. All kinds of flowers in various colors blended together to make the porch and walkway look like something from a gardening magazine.

  “Wow, Bandit, Jessica has been busy.”

  As if on cue, Jessica stepped out the front door, a huge grin on her face.

  Abby turned off the car and got out. “You outdid yourself.”

  “What do you think? The house has real curb appeal, huh?”

  “It’s gorgeous. You must have spent a fortune.” Hands on hips, she shook her head. “You have to let me pay you.”

  Jessica frowned and waved her hands back and forth. “No way. I had fun doing it, and you have done more for me than I can ever repay. The only thing I ask is that you water or have someone install a drip system.”

  “Of course, of course.” Abby gave Jessica a hug. “Thank you. What a wonderful sight to come home to.” She stepped back, her tone changing. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Jessica looked bewildered for a minute. “Oh, that.” She laughed.

  “I’m glad you find it amusing. Confronting a burglar isn’t really a laughing matter.”

  “Sorry; I can’t help it. I spent so much time training to protect myself, learning so much I wish I’d known when I was married to that wife beater Rory, that finally having the opportunity to put it to practical use, and being successful, makes me smile.” She shrugged. “You get to do heroic cop stuff all the time; this was a first for me and it felt great.”

  She pointed to Abby’s car. “Can I help you unload?”

  “Sure,” Abby said as she opened the car door to let Bandit out. Between her and Jessica they had the car unloaded in two trips. Abby fed Bandit and then Jessica took her into the office to see what she’d caught the burglar doing.

  “He had your file cabinet open.” Jessica pointed. “I had my bat. He tried to take it away from me but I got him with my elbow, right in the nose, heard it crunch. He gave up after that and ran.” Jessica smiled.

  Abby couldn’t help but chuckle. She stepped to the cabinet and looked carefully around the room to see if anything was missing. “I can’t imagine what he wanted. Even if he was after my Triple Seven file, which I had with me—” she held it up and put it back in its place on the bookshelf—“it has no new information in it.”

  “He tried to steal Luke’s notes as well. Maybe he just wanted to be certain everything was finished, you know? Tie up loose ends?”

  Abby cocked her head, thoughtful. “Too bad we can’t ask him. But I am glad that he’s no longer a threat to me or to Luke Murphy.”

  “Me too,” Jessica agreed. “And I’ll house-sit for you whenever you need me. It’s so quiet here, much better than the apartments where I live. Even after being burglarized, I actually got good sleep here.”

  “I’ll take you up on that. I may need you in the near future. But I might have to leave Bandit as well. Would you be okay with that?”

  “Of course!” Jessica said. “Are you planning another road trip?”

  “I am, and I can’t take the dog.” She told Jessica about her uncle Simon. “When I go
to visit him, I think I’m going to spend the night in Tehachapi. It’s not that I can’t do the drive in a day; it’s just that traffic is unpredictable. I don’t want to get stuck on the 14 freeway for hours and miss visiting time.”

  “That makes sense. When are you going?”

  “Not sure. I only mailed back the visiting form last week. According to my aunt, Simon will call me when I’m cleared. It may be a few weeks; it may be a few months.”

  “Can’t you just go as a cop?”

  “I don’t want to. I just want to go as his niece.”

  Jessica shrugged. “I guess I can see that. And don’t worry about the house or Bandit. I love staying here. I wish I could afford a house in this neighborhood, so I’ll house-sit anytime. But I’m glad you’re home. We missed you at volleyball.”

  Abby yawned, the long drive hitting her all of a sudden. “I missed playing. Can’t help but feel completely out of shape.”

  After Jessica left, Abby settled on the couch with Bandit, bowl of popcorn in hand. In the DVD player was The Maltese Falcon. She felt the need to veg in black-and-white. She was about to hit Play when the phone rang.

  It was Ethan.

  She’d forgotten to call and tell him that she arrived home okay.

  “Hi, Ethan. Sorry; I forgot to call you.” She explained about Jessica and the new landscaping. But she left out the break-in. After all, nothing was taken. Did Ethan really need to know about a “no harm, no foul” situation?

  “That’s great; just glad all is well down there.”

  “Yeah. The drive was fine, and I am glad to be home.”

  They chatted for about twenty minutes. It was a good conversation, but there was a sad undercurrent to Ethan’s tone that Abby couldn’t ignore.

  The week had gone well—her trip, working with him, being away. She’d come home feeling like her old self.

  But the vast chasm between their visions for the future was becoming clearer to Abby the steadier she became. After Ethan hung up, for the first time, she wondered if he was seeing that as well. He’d be back in Long Beach in a week for three days before he left for Malawi. Abby prayed he’d have a safe, productive trip and that the next time they talked face-to-face, the future would be clearer to both of them.

  Bandit yawned on her lap and Abby laughed. Together they padded into the bedroom, and Abby fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. No dreams.

  CHAPTER

  -35-

  BY THE TIME ABBY ARRIVED back in Long Beach, neither Carney and O’Reilly nor Fred Wright had uncovered any more information about Alonzo Ruiz. They hadn’t discovered where he was staying or, most important, whom he was working for. She planned on meeting with Carney and O’Reilly as soon as they had time for her.

  While Abby was glad Woody had been cleared, she was ecstatic that neither he nor Luke Murphy had been injured. But on Sunday, the day after she returned, she was at her friend and mentor’s house for a solemn reason. The older of his two dogs, Ralph, had suffered a stroke and had to be put down.

  “I feel like a sissy asking you to come with me,” Woody said as Abby entered his house.

  She gave him a hug. “You’re not a sissy. Ralph has been a good dog for a long time. I know you’ll miss him.”

  Her heart broke when Woody wiped his eyes. “True that. He’s a great dog.” Tenderly Woody picked the big dog up. Ed, his other Lab, whimpered and looked up at them, tail between his legs.

  Gently Abby pushed Ed into the house. “We’ll be back, sweetie. I promise.” The dog whimpered but stayed inside, and Abby closed the door, throat thick as they walked to her car.

  She opened the door for Woody to sit with Ralph on his lap. She drove to the vet, sniffling as Woody held the ailing dog and talked to him, telling him what a great dog he was. A vet tech was waiting for them when they arrived and led them to an exam room. There was a blanket and pillows on the floor, and Woody laid Ralph down and sat next to him. Abby took a seat on the other side of the dog.

  “The doctor will be in in a minute,” the vet tech said before she left them in the room.

  Woody cradled Ralph’s head, gently caressing him. Abby scratched the dog’s ears, noting the gray muzzle and remembering a younger dog following Woody everywhere with love and devotion.

  “Do dogs go to heaven?” Woody asked, voice thick.

  The question took Abby by surprise. She’d prayed for Woody for years. Once when she’d tried to talk to him about salvation, he’d made the request that she leave the subject alone until he asked. This was the closest he’d come to asking since then.

  What do I say, Lord? Abby prayed quickly before answering.

  “I believe they do,” she said, swallowing a lump. “I believe heaven is a place where we’ll be perfectly happy, and I’ve learned, after having Bandit for only a few months, dogs make us happy. I imagine we’ll see them again.”

  Woody nodded. After a couple minutes, the vet came in. He offered his condolences and shortly after that, Ralph peacefully took his last breath. Abby cried many tears at the loss of the dog and the pain in her friend’s eyes.

  Abby convinced Woody he needed a condolence lunch. River’s End was crowded, but the day was beautiful. Sunny, seventy degrees, with a gentle ocean breeze tickling the skin. Abby and Woody sat on an outside bench to wait for a table. They had picked up Ed on the way, deciding that he needed to share in the consolation.

  “That was as painless as possible, I guess,” Woody said.

  “Yes, it was. It’s good he’s not suffering.”

  Just then his phone rang. From Woody’s side of the conversation, Abby guessed that the caller was Luke.

  The thought of Luke mixed up her emotions like a blender. She wanted to talk to him about the burglary at her house and his own confrontation with Ruiz. As much as they both tried to put the Triple Seven behind them, Abby had a sinking feeling that that would be impossible.

  She wondered if Woody would invite him to lunch. As if reading her mind, the next thing Woody said was “Why don’t you join us at River’s End?”

  Abby felt her face blush, and she turned toward the ocean, hoping Woody didn’t notice.

  “Yeah, we’re here, waiting for an outside table. Come on down.” After signing off, he disconnected.

  “Is he coming?” Abby asked.

  Woody nodded. “He’s close. Probably be here before we get seated. He’s still working a missing case, was actually in Sunset Beach checking an address.”

  A short time later, she looked toward the parking lot as Woody’s name was called. Their table was ready, and there was Luke Murphy striding toward them.

  He was amazingly good-looking, had a movie-star quality with his strong jaw and his alert, expressive gold-flecked hazel-brown eyes.

  Abby’s breath caught in her throat as she stood, wondering what in the world she was going to do about these feelings that were getting harder and harder to ignore.

  CHAPTER

  -36-

  “SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT RALPH,” Luke said to Woody as they were all led to an outdoor table. He leaned down to scratch Ed’s head as he took the seat next to Abby and tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach. He’d faced down a crazy pimp with less anxiety than sitting next to this pretty cop. And he realized it had to stop. Abby was engaged, off-limits, involved with another man.

  “He lived a good, long life,” Woody said as he too gave Ed a pat.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Luke?” Abby asked. “Burglary and shots fired at your house has to mess with your head.”

  “I’m fine. Glad my partner is proficient with firearms. And grateful no one else was home at the time.”

  “He didn’t take anything but your Triple Seven notes?”

  “Nope. He tossed my office, but that was all that he removed.”

  “Lots of guys are looking into both crimes,” Woody said. “They’ll shake something loose.”

  Sandy came to take their order. She asked where Woody’s other dog was.<
br />
  “I prefer to believe that he’s in heaven,” Woody said.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry,” Sandy said as she frowned and gave Woody a hug.

  “All dogs go to heaven,” Luke said, winking at Abby and smiling at Woody.

  “Hear, hear,” Woody said, raising his water glass. They all toasted Ralph.

  “How goes your case, the girl in the high desert?” Abby asked.

  “We’ve been sidelined because of the shooting. Hopefully, first thing tomorrow, we’ll be back at it,” Luke said, leaning forward and catching Woody’s eye before turning to Abby. “We’re set to drive to Tehachapi to meet her on Wednesday. We’ll be there a couple of days.” He almost said they’d also be making a trip to Bakersfield to talk to a Lucy Harper but thought better of it. Nothing was certain; nothing was concrete. I’m not going to give Abby false hope.

  “Luke’s got a line on a possible witness.”

  “Really?” Abby asked. “For a ten-year-old case?”

  “It’s a maybe.” Luke told her about Brenda Harris, the tipster who was certain that the rapist was an old neighbor. “We’re meeting Tuesday. I’m praying it’s a great lead.”

  “I’ll join that prayer,” Abby said.

  Luke looked into her beautiful green eyes, saw the sparkle, and felt like he could drown there.

  Woody brought him back to earth. “Will that blogger, Faye Fallon, meet us in Tehachapi?” he asked.

  Luke nodded. “She’s heading up there tomorrow. She’s spending a couple of days with Molly because she’s not entirely sure Molly will talk to us.” For a moment Luke struggled with the fact that the attraction he felt for Faye made him feel disloyal to Abby. Abby would be happy for him if something came of his relationship with Faye, he was certain.

  “You’re going up there without being certain your victim will talk to you?” Abby asked, bringing Luke’s focus back to the victim, where it should be.

  “I’m hoping she feels up to speaking with us. We have a lot to do before we meet with her anyway.” Luke shared with Abby the work they’d done so far and where they planned on starting. For a couple of minutes the back-and-forth reminded him of when they were furiously working on the Triple Seven investigation. They clicked, they jibed when they talked about stuff like this, and it made him want more.