by Sara Gauldin
The sound of somebody’s horn out front announcing a locked car shook me out of my memory.
A moment later, Gina Meadors appeared at the front door. She didn’t bother to knock; she already had a key. She flounced into the room effortlessly on heels that would make most women shuffle. Her platinum-blonde hair stayed in perfect formation as she rushed toward me and hugged me before I could dodge her.
“Oh, Avery, I’m so sorry to see you leaving Allenspark. I thought you planned to set up shop here!”
I cringed. I had canceled the lease on the office space I’d rented that once belonged to my therapist… The one who’d been on the take from the George family, and the same one who’d tried to kill me. “You know what, the police chief here in town seemed to think there wasn’t enough crime there to keep me in business.” I smiled, thinking of how I’d been investigating Gina.
Gina tilted her head like a perky dog as she processed what I told her. After a moment, she smiled, exposing her perfect white teeth. “Well, that’s a good problem to have.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Did you let the contractor know you weren’t going ahead with the renovations?”
I tried to gauge if she was baiting me. The contractor she introduced me to was in jail and went by an alias. “He got the message.”
“Oh, that’s good. It’s a shame. That little office has such nice potential.”
“I’m sure if anyone can find just the right tenant for the office, you will do it.”
“And as for your cabin, I think you have a real opportunity.”
“Do you really think people would want to rent it for vacations?” I asked.
“Oh yes. The unplugged vacation is all the rage now. People love the idea of living off the grid.”
“It’s hardly off the grid. There’s electricity and satellite TV.”
Gina laughed. “Well, I didn’t say people wanted to rough it.”
“No, I guess not.”
“I think if we get it listed with the right sites, you could have a nice source of income,”
I remembered I was down five million dollars after Ryan Kain’s disappearance. I told myself that Tori Kain likely needed the money to clean up her trail, but part of me still hoped my former partner had survived our last case.
“I plan to do some traveling. It would be great if we can get the process going while I’m traveling, so I can get everything signed when I come back.”
“I’ll do that. I think you can turn this into a destination spot. Just leave it to me.” She smiled again, as though she was expecting to be photographed.
“Well, I think I have the last bit of my equipment all packed up.” I patted my pockets and produced the keys to the office. “Here you go.” I handed the keys to Gina. “I had the broken window repaired. You need to look into installing a security system before you rent it again.” I picked up the boxes. “I was surprised when we had those intruders.”
Gina showed no flicker of emotion. “That was so strange. I talked to the police about it. They told me both men were from out of state.”
Gina knew more than she should, but I already knew she was nosey. “I guess they were like those tourists you were talking about.”
Gina blanched, but her painted-on smile didn’t fade. “Let’s hope those aren’t the type of people that want a little privacy.”
***
Milly looked at the window, her tail wagging a mile a minute as I parked the car. My dad’s brick-box house looked different from the way I remembered it. There was a wreath made of burlap and ribbon hanging on the door, and the holidays were long gone. There was a new settee on the porch with blue patterned cushions.
“Hmm...” I climbed out of the rental car and headed up the walkway, dragging my bag behind me. Milly pulled at the leash in anticipation of the visit. I listened as I approached, expecting the bark of Dad’s new chocolate lab. I guessed she was no guard dog because there was no barking. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. What if something was wrong? I glanced at the house down the street, the one where Ryan Kain had hidden not too many months ago to snipe the man trying to kill me. Had someone been here?
I scanned the front of the house, searching for any sign that something was wrong as I approached. The windows sparkled in the sun like they were just cleaned, but there was no sign of a break-in or a struggle.
I rang the bell and waited. Inside, only silence met my ears.
“You made it,” my dad’s voice caught me off guard. I inspected the doorbell. Dad had upgraded to a video doorbell.
“Yeah, I did.”
“You look good, kid. It looks like you’re doing well.”
“I kind of thought we would catch up face to face.” Why wasn’t he coming to the door?
“I wanted that, too. Something came up, an old client. I’ll be out of town for a couple of days. Let yourself in. You still have a key, right?”
I dug around in my purse and pulled out my key chain. “Yes, I still have it.”
“That’s my girl. Just make yourself at home. I have to run. I’m a little busy with meetings. I should be back home by Thursday.”
“Okay, Dad.”
There was no response. He had already closed whatever video feed he was using to speak to me. It wasn’t fair that he could see everything about me standing on his doorstep, but I couldn’t see where he was or if he was okay. Did he even say where he was? I thought back through the call and decided I was sure he hadn’t mentioned it.
I unlocked the door and dragged my bag through the doorway. The house was silent and felt empty. It was strange, coming home to someone else’s house when they weren’t there. I had pictured a joyful reunion and some semblance of normal, but I was once again on my own.
I paced behind my dad’s couch, wondering what was going on. Make myself at home? What happened to the kind man who had been so excited to spend Christmas with his only daughter? Now, he was AWOL, and I was camping at his bachelor pad alone while he was who knows where.
I looked around the great room area, trying to block out the memories the room brought back. Whatever my dad was up to, there would be some sign of it here. I just had to observe what was different in the room.
A newspaper lay open on the counter next to a half-full cup of coffee that looked like it had been there at least a day. I looked at the paper. Dad had filled out about a quarter of the crossword puzzle. I flipped to the front page. It was Sunday’s paper. Dad had been home when I called him Saturday, and he was still home yesterday morning... Why had dad left in such a hurry? He knew I was coming to town.
I dug my phone out of my bag to text Jesse to let him know I was back in town, but the screen was full of missed calls.
“What in the world?” I expected to see calls from my dad, but most of the calls were from Bethesda. I thought about it. Who would call me from there? My first inclination was a telemarketer had gone rogue. I didn’t have to wait long to test my theory. The phone vibrated to life in my hand with the same number listed as the caller.
“Hello?”
“Avery? This is Genevieve Richards. Glad to see you found your phone.” Genevieve was an FBI agent I had worked with before. We met during the Smithville case where she had been undercover as the police commander, investigating the same inside job I stumbled into.
“I just got off a plane in California about an hour ago. I’m visiting my dad.”
“I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
I chewed my lip as I took a moment to appreciate the irony. “No, it’s quiet here.”
“Great. I’m calling about a case. There’s a team ready to head to Sandusky, Ohio in the morning. Did you hear about the woman they found murdered there? It made the national news.”
“Dana Myers. I knew her. We were friends in high school.”
“Exactly. Now, you see why I thought you may have an inside vantage point with this case. Hometown advantage, if you will.”
A raw pi
ece of emotion I hadn’t realized I was carrying brought a knot to my throat. I swallowed hard to clear it. “Oh.”
“Things are getting complicated. The second victim was enough to make the local PD request FBI backup.”
“You said there was another body?” My voice cracked despite my efforts.
“The other victim was a young man. They are still identifying him. It was… extreme. Look, I can’t share the details over the phone. If you agree to come on board as a consultant, I’ll be able to fill you in when you get to Sandusky.”
My head spun. She wanted me to hop on a plane and go back to the hometown I left behind. That was before all of this next level mess with the George family’s corruption took my promising police career on a rollercoaster ride with no seat belts. “I just got to town. Let me see if I can book a flight in the morning.” What the heck was I saying? I planned to take a job here. I would reclaim normal.
The memory of my friend, Dana’s, face on the news made me shiver. It was bad, whatever happened to her. So bad that Genevieve would only tell me in person. Dana had been the one who held me together when my mother was in a car accident. It was she who’d listened to me while I cried and peeled me off the couch when I hit rock bottom. I owed her something. I owed her justice if that was something that could happen.
“Great, I’ll have someone pick you up at the airport. Just send me your flight number.”
“Sure.” I nodded, even though I knew Genevieve couldn’t see me.
The call disconnected with none of the pleasantries most people required. That was Genevieve. She was tough, but she earned her keep and ran her unit like a finely tuned machine.
I looked at the suitcases I just dragged up the walkway and wondered if I should have just brought the carry-on in instead. I didn’t have to wonder long. The doorbell ringing interrupted my train of thought.
I went to the door, peeking out from the window before I answered. It was Jesse. It took a moment for me to unlock the extra locks and deadbolts Dad had added since my last visit.
“You made it!” Jesse grinned, showing off that dimple. He handed me a small bouquet of roses as he came through the door. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to his warmth for a long moment. It was selfish, maybe, to want comfort while he was there to give me affection. Did it matter? Jesse didn’t seem to mind. I moved my lips to his while we stood there for who knows how long.
When our kiss ended, I let myself relax my feet, so I wasn’t on my toes anymore. “Hi,” I said. I knew I was blushing.
“Well, that was a friendly hello.”
I smiled and led him into the kitchen, so I could hunt for a vase.
“This is nice, having you back in town. Chief Morris wants you to come by the station as soon as you get settled to talk about a job.”
I chewed my lip. “I hope it’s all right, but it may take me a little longer to get settled than I planned. I got a call a little while ago about a case back in Sandusky.”
“The local PD wants to interview you?” Jesse asked. Both of us went to the police academy in Ohio.
“Not exactly. The FBI wants me to consult on a case.”
The smile faded from Jesse’s face. He pulled out a barstool and sat down at the counter with a straight face. “A case. Avery, you aren’t stirring things up with the George family again, are you?”
“No, I swear I’m not. Do you remember my old friend who was murdered? She was there for me when I lost my mother. I wanted to help find her killer, and now I have the chance. Genevieve called me and told me that there was another body.”
Jesse sighed. “I guess I understand why you would want to help on that one.”
I slipped my arm through his and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be back here before you know it.”
He grinned. “Hey, where’s your dad, anyway?”
“It turns out he’s out of town.”
“Oh, so you’re home alone.” He winked.
“Not really, you’re here.”
He pulled me into his arms for another kiss.
Chapter 4
“Avery, I wish you’d stay longer. You just got here.” Jesse was driving me to the airport before he had to be back on patrol. I felt like I was torturing him.
“Hopefully, I can solve this case and be back here before you know it. Thanks again for letting Milly stay with you.”
“It’s no trouble. Amelia has become attached to your dog.”
I laughed. “Well, she’s charming.”
“My daughter or your dog?” Jesse smirked.
“Both.” I smiled back.
Jesse drove for a few minutes in quiet, as we both avoided the elephant in the room. If I didn’t move to California, our relationship would return to a standstill. He cleared his throat to speak, and I braced for impact. “I heard back about the financials on Gina this morning.”
“Oh yeah, anything of interest?”
“No, in fact, it was too clean. She has a steady salary and a savings account, but there is not enough to tell about her.”
I nodded. It was hard to know if I should be disappointed or relieved, something still seemed off with Gina, but the only way I could find out more was to get even closer. “I guess if there is no way to link her to the George family, then she is probably on the level.”
“Avery, that one still seems sketchy to me. I think you should keep your distance.”
“I’ll be two thousand miles away in a few hours, no worries.”
Jesse glanced at me with the same expression I remembered when he sat with me at the hospital. “Avery, I worry. I’m not letting this one go. Something is fishy about that woman.”
I nodded. “If you want to do some searching, you have my blessing, but do it from a safe distance.”
“Thank you for your blessing; let’s see if I can do a little detective work on the side.”
I laughed. “I guess there may be some competition for the detective position in your department.”
“No, I think that job offer is still saved for you.”
We pulled up to the airport, and Jesse parked the car in short-term parking so I could unload.
“You just got here. I can’t believe you want to leave again already.” Jesse gave me a puppy-dog look.
“I know it’s sudden, but this is important to me.”
“I understand. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to convince you to stay?” Jesse pulled me to his chest, blocking out some cool morning breeze that flowed across the airport parking lot.
“I’ll be back before you know it.” I leaned back to look Jesse in the eye. I could see the sorrow etched on his face, but there was something else that I couldn’t interpret. Whatever it was, it bothered me.
“You know none of this feels right,” Jesse spoke through my hair, so only I could hear him.
“What do you mean?”
“Leaving you at an airport.”
The memory of the time I almost died from an allergic reaction at an airport was on my mind, but I had been trying to push the idea away. “I’ll be fine,” I lied to myself.
“You better be,” Jesse said with an edge in his voice I couldn’t quite interpret.
I forced a smile. “I will be. I’ll be working with the FBI. No trouble. Besides, you were all worried about me being around Gina, and this puts me almost two thousand miles away from her.”
“Let’s hope that’s enough.” Jesse smiled and helped me unload my luggage from the car. It seemed like with him I was always saying goodbye.
***
The plane touched down in Sandusky and I was home. My father had sold my actual childhood home and likely another family was living there now. But as I moved through the airport where I had picked up my mother after business trips hundreds of times, it felt like home. I check out a rental car and headed to the parking lot. I found the sedan and loaded my suitcase into the trunk. My gun would come later; I had it shipped to the hotel where I would be staying downtown near the pr
ecinct.
It didn’t take me long to make my way to the hotel. My room was a retrofitted warehouse. The exposed brick was a nice touch, but it reminded me too much of my former partner and love interest Ryan Kain’s Alexandria apartment. I changed out of my traveling clothes and put on a suit. I stood in the mirror, as I checked over my look. My mother had always pushed me to look my best, and I always frustrated her with my lack of enthusiasm for the process. Being back here where she had raised me somehow made refining my image feel more important than it had when she was around to tell me about it. After fussing with my long, dark hair for a few minutes, I gave up and put it in a bun.
There was one stop I had to make before I met up with Genevieve. I needed to pay my respects to my mother.
I texted Genevieve. I'm here I have one stop to make, headed to the PD in an hour and a half.
I’ll meet you there.
***
I pulled up at the Oakland Cemetery. When I was a child, I visited the place often with my mother when she would tend her grandparents and later her parents' graves. My mother was buried here. Or at least a casket was buried here with her name inscribed on the tombstone. I walked across the pathways and then the withered yellow winter grass. My feet knew the way, but the joyful steps of my childhood visits were now replaced with dread. I hadn’t been back to this place since my mother’s funeral. This ground held my tears, but now it also held questions.
If this was my mother’s grave, how had she shown up and saved me that night in Alexandria? If that woman wasn’t my mother, how did she favor her so closely?
I reached my family’s small collection of tombstones; they were as I remembered them, only dingy and lacking the careful upkeep they once received. To one side, a new headstone now stood, cleaner and newer than the others. I had seen it in a picture before, but I had never seen it in person.