SAY YOU LOVE ME (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 4)

by Willow Rose

  “And the easy one,” I said and threw my coffee cup into a trash bin.

  David exhaled deeply.

  “They’re taking him in tomorrow,” he said. “I just got word about it. They’re transferring him to the infirmary at the prison. He’s well enough to go, the doctor says.”

  My heart dropped when I heard this.

  “You can’t be serious?”

  David lifted his eyebrows. “I’m afraid so.”

  “I can’t believe it. We just got to see him. He just woke up. They can’t take him away already, can they?”

  “That’s what they intend to.”

  “But … we have to do something.”

  David shrugged, tearing up. “What can we possibly do?”

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Matt drove the car into Publix parking lot and stopped the engine. All the buildings in the strip mall had boarded up their windows. Matt had been busy securing his mother’s house all day, putting the shutters up, and starting up the generator to make sure it worked. He was planning on riding out the storm from there with his mom and Elijah. Damian was supposed to have made landfall down south this morning, but had made a sudden turn northward and was now headed up the coast instead, gaining strength across the Atlantic Ocean. It was forecasted to go up along the coast, and it was believed it would stay in the ocean, so they’d probably be fine where they were. He’d gone through worse than this one in his life. He sighed, then looked at the list his mother had given him when she asked him to go pick up a few things for her.

  My mom is still cooking for me. My mom is still telling me what groceries to buy. This is embarrassing.

  It wasn’t like he had lived with her always. He used to live in his own condo across from the beach. But then a hurricane passed through and destroyed his condo, and his mom said he could move in with her until the roof was fixed. It was just supposed to be for a short period of time. But then he learned about Elijah, and as soon as the boy’s mother died and he found himself alone with him, there was no way he could go back to his old life again. He had always thought it was temporary, but as he stared at the grocery list, he suddenly felt like he was suffocating. He couldn’t stop thinking that maybe it wasn’t temporary. Maybe this was till Elijah grew up and moved away. Maybe even then he wouldn’t be able to leave his old mother because she’d need him around because by then she might be too old to take care of herself.

  I am never getting out of that house, am I?

  Matt hurried out of the car, grabbed a cart, and rolled it through the store, grabbing all the groceries on the list, knowing it almost by heart because it was pretty much the same stuff he bought for her every week. With a few exceptions, of course, since they were getting ready to hunker down while the storm passed them out in the ocean. People around him were hoarding batteries and water like there was no tomorrow.

  He almost made it through without running into anyone he knew when he walked down the nearly empty cereal aisle and saw Chad standing in the middle of it, looking at a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

  Just turn around and walk the other way, Matt. Just turn now, and he won’t see you.

  Matt turned the cart, but it was too late.

  “Hi there, buddy. Didn’t see you over there.”

  Matt froze at the sound of Chad’s voice, then turned and faced him with a smile.

  “Yeah, well …”

  “Stocking up for the hurricane?” he asked. “They say it might go up the coast now instead of hitting down south. They’ve already run out of bottled water. I got the last one, and there’s no bread left. Forget about batteries; they’re all out of those too.”

  “Yeah, well, the storm is still a day or so out, so I’m just grabbing some Special K for my mom.”

  “We’ll go inland tonight,” Chad said. “I promised Eva Rae that I would get off the island before everyone else if it looked like Damian would come our way. So, I guess I better do so, right? It’s my first hurricane, so to be honest, I don’t know anything about it. Guess it’s a piece of cake for you who grew up around here, huh? I find it terrifying, yet people say they’re only leaving if it’s a direct hit or if it’s more than a Cat3. Most people say they’ll ride it out even if it is a four or a category five. Can you believe it? I would never dare to stay for a storm like that.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be too bad,” Matt said. “Looks like it’ll stay off the coast.”

  “I think I’ll take the kids away no matter what. I heard someone say that it is moving faster than they expected it to today and that it might make landfall here on the East Coast by tomorrow night. I don’t want to be here if it does. It is a beast of a storm right now. A Cat 4, they said this morning.”

  “Yeah, well, I feel pretty sure it’ll stay out to sea. All the models say so. Only a few take it in over land.”

  Matt reached over and grabbed a box of Special K. He was about to leave when Chad chuckled.

  “Can you believe the amount of sugar in this stuff? Eva Rae doesn’t like me buying this for the kids, but hey, if she isn’t here, she won’t see it, am I right? And I guess you won’t tell either.”

  Because I’m not with her anymore; is that what you want to say? Is that what you want to rub into my face, huh … buddy?

  Chad gave Matt a look of triumph that made everything explode inside of him. Chad then pushed his cart further down the aisle and disappeared, while Matt stood back, nostrils flaring.

  Are you really gonna let that guy get to you this way? Are you going to let him win just like that?

  Matt was about to yell something after him when he stopped himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, realizing he was way off.

  This wasn’t about Chad or any other guy for that matter. This was about himself and the fact that he had — once again — let go of the love of his life.

  “This is not going to work,” he mumbled to himself as he pushed the cart down the aisle. “It’s about time I fight for her and for us.”

  Chapter Eighty-Six

  David had gone to the hospital early, so I was eating breakfast with my sister and grandmother when they knocked on the door the next day. I braced myself, then walked to open it.

  “Detective Foster? To what do I owe the honor?”

  “Save it, Thomas,” he said.

  He nodded to the two deputies behind him, and they stepped forward. One of them grabbed me and turned me around while the other deputy cuffed me and Mirandized me. He hurt my wrists, but I refrained from complaining. I knew better than anyone how important it was to let them take you away without resisting. Protesting or resisting physically would only serve to make things worse for you.

  “What’s going on?” Sydney said as she came out to the door. She glanced at the detective, then at me and my cuffed hands with a concerned look in her eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “They’re taking me in,” I said, trying to sound calm.

  “Why?” Sydney asked. “Why are they taking you in? For what? H-how? I don’t understand.”

  “You’re under arrest for obstructing an ongoing investigation,” Detective Foster said to me first, then addressed his deputies. “Go ahead and book her.”

  “But … wait,” Sydney said. “Why? What has she done exactly?”

  Detective Foster stopped and turned to look at Sydney. “Among many other things, she warned a suspect so he could get away.”

  “Who?”

  “Adam Clarke. He wasn’t in his hospital room when we came for him this morning,” he said.

  Sydney looked terrified. “Adam wasn’t in his room, but …? Didn’t you have a deputy supervising him?”

  I sent her a smile to ensure her it was okay, but she didn’t seem to understand. Instead, she kept protesting.

  “You can’t just come here and …”

  “As a matter of fact, yes, they can,” I said.

  Sydney seemed like she wasn’t sure she bought that entirely. “But … How do … what can I …?”<
br />
  “Just get me a lawyer,” I said. “That’s all you can do to help me right now. That would actually be a great help.”

  She stood like she was frozen and stared at us.

  “O-okay.”

  I tried to smile again, to assure her that I was going to be okay, but the deputies dragged me toward the car. They pressed my head down as they put me in the back of their cruiser. The last thing I saw as I was taken away was Sydney standing on the porch looking helpless, while Eileen came up behind her.

  I just prayed Sydney would get me a good lawyer, and fast.

  Chapter Eighty-Seven

  “How did you know that the candy was poisoned?”

  I smiled as patiently as I could. We had been at it for four hours inside the interrogation room at the sheriff’s office. I had told them everything that I knew over and over again. I was getting tired and just wanted to go home.

  “I told you. I saw it on the live-feed.”

  “In some message board that is encrypted, yes; you told us that. We just wanted to see if you were ready to change your statement,” Detective Foster said, “to something a little more believable.”

  Someone came to the door, and he got up to speak to them, then returned. He rubbed his forehead anxiously.

  “They found cyanide in the candy,” he said. “Just like in the champagne at the Ritz-Carlton.” He pointed at me. “You knew this. You told Detective McMillen that the champagne was poisoned just like you knew the candy was. I don’t understand how you could have known that? How did you know about the bomb in the theater?”

  “That one was a coincidence,” I said. “I happened to be there. But I do believe it was the work of the same guy.”

  “So, you say. What I really want to know is, where is Adam Clarke?” he asked with an exhale. “We need to know. He’s to be taken into custody, and you obstructed that. Obstructing a police investigation. That is a serious offense, Miss Thomas. You could go to federal prison for that. You notified a suspect that we were coming, and we believe you helped him escape. You visited him last night, and this morning, he was gone. This is serious, and you know it very well. When those that are sworn to protect the public violate their oath, they will be prosecuted for their misconduct. You violated the trust of the community you’re supposed to serve, undermining our investigation, and put law enforcement officers in imminent danger, not to mention the public now that a murderer is back on the loose.”

  “You don’t know that he is a murderer,” I said, annoyed. I hated that they talked about my brother that way. “He’s not convicted yet. And I’m telling you, he’s innocent. You’re looking for the wrong guy. Think about it; if all these events are connected, how can Adam be guilty? You said so yourself; there’s a connection between the murders at the hotel and the children at the school. They both used cyanide. Have you checked McMillen’s nails yet? I am certain several of them, if not all, are pulled out. It’s his thing, you see? He can’t help himself; he needs to brand his victims. It’s his tell. But also his weakness. Think about it. Allyson’s nails were pulled out too. So were Jeff Facer’s. They were all his victims. You want to find who killed Detective McMillen? I’m telling you; it’s the same guy.”

  Foster stared at me, then cleared his throat.

  “All right. A suspected murderer, then,” the detective said, completely ignoring most everything I had just told him. Still, I sensed I had gotten through to him somehow. He wasn’t completely dismissing my theory, which was progress.

  Just not enough. The Leech was still out there planning his next move, one that would have to top the previous one, if I knew him right.

  One that attracted more viewers than ever.

  “We need to know where Adam Clarke is,” David said. “If you don’t cooperate and help us find him, we’ll have to charge you with obstructing our investigation. I see no other way.”

  “Go ahead,” I said with a shrug. “Charge me.”

  Foster rose to his feet and gathered his papers, then looked down at me. “You’ll go to prison, Miss Thomas. You won’t get to see your children for a very long time. We’re talking birthdays and Christmases, lots of them that you’ll miss. Your oldest might be in college by the time you get out. Think about that and let me know when you’re ready to tell me where he’s hiding.”

  I stared at the door as it slammed shut behind him, my heart pounding in my chest. He had hit me where it hurt the most by talking about my children. Was it worth saving Adam if it meant my own children would lose their mother?

  I sure hoped so.

  Chapter Eighty-Eight

  I wasn’t let out until the next morning when Sydney came to the sheriff’s office with her lawyer and posted my bail. The lawyer was taking my case now, he said, and he’d be in touch. Those were his last words to me right before he drove away in his big black Cadillac. I just prayed that he knew what he was doing.

  David was waiting in the car, the engine running, as I got in. He was biting his nails and looked concerned.

  The radio was on, and they were talking about Damian, the hurricane that had cheated all the forecasters and spaghetti models and not made landfall in south Florida as expected. Now, it was roaring up the coast, staying over the ocean but threatening to make landfall somewhere along the beaches.

  As we drove across the bridge and back onto the island, I noticed all the houses were boarded up, and people were packing their cars, ready to get away. The host on the radio told us no one knew what path Damian would take, so it was time to make preparations and get inland just in case. The storm was growing in speed and strength, and there was no telling how much damage it could invoke if it made landfall.

  “And even if it does stay out in the ocean, we can still expect hurricane-force winds and storm surge here in our county, and especially in low-lying areas like Amelia Island,” he said.

  Sydney turned it off. She looked at me in the back seat. “Now, will someone finally tell me what is going on? Where is Adam?”

  I exhaled tiredly. I had barely slept at all in my cell. I had made one phone call to Chad and the kids the night before, and they had told me they left the island and Cocoa Beach and were staying at a hotel in Orlando, so I didn’t have to worry about them. Christine had cried and said she missed me and that she was terrified that she was going to die in the storm. I told her she would be fine and that it was going to stay out in the ocean. Alex had thought it was the coolest thing ever and said that it was already blowing like crazy and that he wanted to play outside, but Dad wouldn’t let him. Olivia had been quiet, and I knew that meant she was terrified too, but not able to tell me because she had to be the big sister. I missed them terribly and felt awful for being so far away during something as terrifying as this.

  “It’s okay, Syd,” I said. “Didn’t David tell you? We made sure Adam was taken away early in the morning while his guard was asleep. I don’t know where to because then I would be lying in the interrogation room when they asked. So he didn’t tell me. Where did you take him, David?”

  David stopped biting his nails and looked at me in the rearview mirror. “That’s the thing. I didn’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I didn’t take him away. Adam wasn’t there when I went for him. He was already gone.”

  I could feel the blood drain from my face.

  “He was what?”

  “Gone. He wasn’t in his bed. Deputy Corel was sound asleep, and I couldn’t very well wake him up and ask him where he was. I just left instead.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. “This can’t be happening!”

  “So … no one knows where Adam is right now?” Sydney asked, her voice getting shrill.

  “That about sums it up,” I said and glared out the window where a family was putting their dog in the back seat of the car.

  Ready to evacuate.

  “We haven’t the faintest idea,” I said, feeling the panic rise when thinking about my brother an
d where he could be. “Meanwhile, a hurricane is approaching, which means we need to find him. And fast.”

  Chapter Eighty-Nine

  He was watching the house and saw the car drive up as she finally returned home. E.T. couldn’t help feeling cheerful at the thought of Eva Rae Thomas spending the night in the slammer. Nothing could make him happier right now.

  Except the thought of what he had in store for her.

  You ain’t seen nothing yet.

  E.T. watched as Eva Rae Thomas’s dad parked the car in the driveway, and Eva Rae got out. Her grandmother came out of the front door and greeted her with a hug on the porch. They had already boarded up their house with plywood, just like all their neighbors had. People were ready for the storm that was approaching.

  At least they thought they were.

  The winds had picked up, and the palm trees were wavering as gusts hit them with great force. Soon, it began to rain violently, making Eva Rae and her family rush inside the house and close the door.

  E.T. could no longer see them and took off. From the trunk of his car, he could hear the boy groaning loudly behind the gag as he tried to scream for help and knock on the lid.

  “Knock and holler all you want to,” E.T. said and accelerated down the empty roads, rushing through the puddles that were already shaping in the low-lying areas. “No one can hear you over the raging winds and pounding rain. A hurricane is coming, a storm fiercer than anything this island has ever experienced. It’s a beast of a storm. A beast, I tell ya.”

  Chapter Ninety

  THEN:

  “You have twenty minutes. I’ll be in the room, supervising the visit. You’re not allowed to be alone with him.”

  Marlene nodded in agreement to the woman from DCF. The woman gave her a stern look like she wanted to make sure that Marlene knew she was watching her.