Crime Scene Connection

by Deena Alexander

  With a quick glance around to be sure no one else had pulled in—not out of any great sense of vanity, but because the condition she was in would certainly draw attention—she opened the door and got out. Every muscle protested as she arched her back in a futile attempt to ease the stiffness. The thought of a very long, very hot shower brought her to the verge of tears.

  Jace and Phoenix had walked to the far end of the small rest stop. Jace bent and picked up a stick, then tossed it across the patch of grass that made up the picnic area.

  Phoenix charged after it.

  The events of the night before—which had thankfully stopped battering her for a couple minutes while she’d composed herself and surveyed the damage inflicted on her—came back in a flurry of confusion, bombarding her with questions. Most important, who was Jace? Why was he here? And what involvement did he have with Connor and Ma—

  Oh, no. Maris! Lord, watch over her, please. Panic held her frozen. They had to get to her sister before the killer did. And they had to find a way to identify who his next targets might be and warn them, protect them. Then they had to find the killer and stop him. Somehow. She shut the door and hurried toward Jace.

  He turned in her direction, hesitated for a moment, then whistled for Phoenix.

  She tried to relax. If the killer followed the story line, they had plenty of time—plenty of victims—before Maris would be in danger. But was the killer already watching her? Already searching for the perfect backdrop to imitate the scene Addison had created? And what of the women who’d come before Maris? How could she save them?

  Jace started toward her with Phoenix at his side, not jogging, but moving at a brisk enough pace. Something tugged at her. There was something familiar about him, about the way he moved, the way he carried himself. She’d seen him before, at least from a distance.

  Recognition slammed through her with the force of a sledgehammer, knocking the breath from her lungs. Jason Montana. She staggered backward. Why would he help her...or Maris? He wouldn’t.

  She turned and fled.

  Phoenix barked once.

  No way could she outrun the big dog. She bolted for the car. Had he left the keys in the ignition? If not, she’d keep running toward the road. Maybe someone would stop and help. On this deserted stretch of highway? Yeah, right. Unable to slow her forward momentum, she slammed into the closed passenger door, then fumbled for the handle.

  Jace’s harsh breaths on the back of her neck warned her she’d been too slow. “Wait.”

  She whirled to face him.

  He bent forward a little, favoring his side, and sucked in a couple of deep breaths. “Just wait. Please.”

  “I know who you are.”

  Shaking his head, he stood straighter, catching her gaze and holding it. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it matters.” She despised the tremor in her voice but couldn’t control it. “You’re a cop.”

  “No.” He clenched his teeth, working his jaw from side to side for a moment. “I was a cop.”

  “Whatever.” It made no difference. Either way, he’d been investigated with her ex, thanks to Maris. Of course, Brandon and his buddies had all been found innocent of any wrongdoing, even though they’d all been guilty of numerous crimes. The whole pack of them was crooked and corrupt, abusing their power for financial gain and sometimes just because they could. And Addison’s life had become a living nightmare. A nightmare she had no intention of reliving.

  “I’m outta here.” She tried to move away, but he grabbed her wrist. She glanced pointedly at his hand, then returned her gaze to his, careful to maintain eye contact. No way she’d turn away first.

  “Please...” He held her gaze, his eyes steady on her. “Listen to me.”

  Sweat slid down her back, despite the chill in the morning air. If he wouldn’t release her, she had no choice but to listen, but she refused to give him the respect of acknowledging his demands.

  “Look at you. You can’t go traipsing down the road in half-shredded pajamas with scratches and cuts covering your face and arms and...” He frowned and reached up with his free hand to pull something out of her hair. He held a mangled leaf in front of her face. “Really? How far do you think you’ll get before you’re picked up by a stranger or, even worse, a cop?”

  She couldn’t argue with his logic, but she didn’t have to like it. “Fine. I’ll go as far as the cabin with you, if you can explain why you’d do anything to help me or Maris.”

  The crunch of tires on gravel saved him from having to answer. She and Jace both looked toward the sound, him without releasing the loose hold he still had on one of her wrists.

  An old, rusted pickup truck slowed as it passed by them on its way into the rest area. A big black dog in the bed barked.

  Phoenix, who’d been patiently waiting beside Jace, growled.

  “Get in the car.” Jace gently guided her out of the way and opened the passenger door.

  Addison stared at him.

  Jace couldn’t have much use for her, probably couldn’t care less if she lived or died, but he had to detest Maris. Why would Connor have called him? Nothing made sense. A dull throb began at the base of her neck.

  A tall man in a cowboy hat emerged from the front of the pickup, not bothering to hide his interest as he stared openly at Jace and Addison. He whistled, and his dog jumped to the ground at his side.

  “Please, Addison. Get in the car and we’ll talk. I’ll explain everything I know, and we’ll try to figure out what’s happening.”

  The last thing Addison needed was someone recognizing her, even if it was highly doubtful anyone would, especially given her current condition. The memory of how she looked prodded her to slip into the car. She was definitely drawing too much attention. And Jace wasn’t in much better shape. Cuts, scratches and welts marred his face and hands. His hair looked as if he’d shoved his fingers through it a hundred times, which he probably had, and there were still flecks of dried blood on his arm, even though he’d washed most of it off in the men’s room at the gas station.

  After slamming the car door shut, Jace rounded the car, lifted the seat to let Phoenix scramble into the back, then got in. Holding the newcomer’s gaze, he started the car.

  Addison held her breath, terrified the stranger would try to stop them, perhaps more terrified he wouldn’t.

  Jace waved on his way by, and the stranger returned the gesture, then stared after them as he led his dog across the small lot to the picnic area, pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

  Addison pulled her gaze from the side-view mirror and studied Jace. He had come to her rescue in the middle of the night, so the least she could do was hear him out. And as yet, he hadn’t given her any reason not to trust him. “Okay. Explain, then. Tell me why I should trust you.”

  “Connor Bynes was my best friend, like a brother to me since we were kids.” Jace reentered the highway and continued to head west. He sighed and shifted in his seat. “I lost my parents when I was sixteen, and his family took me in. I lived with them until I joined the police force. We stayed close until...well...the situation with Brandon...”

  He shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Addison was used to reading people. The pain etched in the lines of his face told a different story.

  He didn’t have to finish.

  Addison had suspected Jace was guilty of some sort of corruption, even if he had gotten away with it, just because he’d once been Brandon’s partner, and that wasn’t fair. She didn’t know him, and she was judging him based on the sins of another. She squirmed in her seat. Of course, that didn’t mean he was innocent, either.

  Maybe Connor had thought he was guilty, as well. “Have you spoken to him?”

  “Not in the past four or five years.”

  The same amount of time that had passed since the investigation, and the same amount
of time Connor had been with Maris. No surprise they hadn’t spoken since.

  “Then, a few hours ago, he called out of nowhere. He was...stressed. More stressed than I’ve ever heard him. He begged me to keep an eye on your house and protect you until he could get to us. Said he had to take care of something on another case first, but he’d reach me as soon as possible.”

  “Take the next exit and make a left.” She gestured toward the upcoming exit ramp. He was finally talking, but now she had more questions than answers. One of which outweighed everything else. Though she and Maris hadn’t spoken in the same number of years, the thought of the fate awaiting Maris roiled in Addison’s gut. “Did he say if Maris is okay?”

  “No. I’m sorry. He didn’t mention her.” He glanced in the rearview mirror, and his fists tightened on the wheel, whitening his knuckles. He sat up straighter and glanced at her seat belt. “Hold on.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  He accelerated and flew past the exit ramp, then signaled and pulled into the left lane.

  “Where are you going? You passed the exit.”

  “Don’t turn around. Look in your side mirror and tell me if you recognize the car coming up in the right lane.”

  Addison glanced in the mirror. A silver sedan barreled toward them.

  Jace increased his speed, keeping ahead of the oncoming car.

  Where had he come from? Moments ago they’d been alone on the highway. “It doesn’t look familiar. Is he following us?”

  Jace frowned, keeping his gaze split between the highway ahead of them and the rearview mirror. “I’m pretty sure the same car was behind us before I pulled into the rest area.”

  “How is that possible? No one else pulled into the rest area with us except for the guy in the pickup truck.” Addison clutched the sides of the seat as the speedometer crept past eighty.

  “Which means, if it is the same car, he waited outside the rest stop when we pulled in. Maybe hoping to go unnoticed.”

  “Then why speed up and draw attention to himself now?”

  Jace shrugged. “Who knows? This stretch of road is fairly deserted, and I had already signaled to exit the highway when he sped up. Maybe he was hoping to get to us before we entered a more populated area.”

  Get to them? Meaning what? Kill them? Addison stared in the side mirror at the car keeping pace in the right lane and slightly behind them. “Maybe he’s just staying behind you, figuring if there’s a police officer up ahead, he’ll pull you over first.”

  “Only one way to find out,” Jace mumbled and lifted his foot off the gas.

  “What are you doing? Why are we slowing down?”

  “Quick, turn around and clip the seat belt through Phoenix’s harness.”

  She flung her seat belt off, turned and scrambled to her knees. With her gaze glued to the oncoming car, she secured the belt through the harness and clicked it shut.

  The silver car accelerated and shot across into their lane.

  She dropped back into her seat and secured her belt. “Go.”

  “Hold on.” Jace hit the gas.

  The car bumped them from behind.

  Their back end swerved. Jace recovered easily and hit the gas. They shot ahead of their pursuer.

  Addison squeezed her eyes shut and prayed.

  “One mile to the next exit.”

  She chanced a quick look over her shoulder. “He’s right on your tail.”

  “Brace yourself.”

  She braced her feet against the floor and held on.

  The instant he passed the exit ramp, Jace jerked the car to the right and slammed on the brakes. As he hit the right lane, he swung the wheel around.

  The world spun, and her stomach pitched.

  Their back end spun a hundred eighty degrees until they were facing the wrong way on the highway.

  The silver car rocketed past them and then skidded to a stop, unable to make the turn as quickly as Jace had.

  Jace floored the gas and headed back toward the exit ramp. He flung the car around into another U-turn, hitting the exit ramp way too fast.

  Addison gripped the armrest, certain the car had tipped onto two wheels.

  He whipped the steering wheel the other way, hurtled them onto a narrow, thankfully deserted, road, spun around and hung a quick left.

  Her stomach heaved as she watched the road behind them in her side mirror.

  Jace made a series of seemingly random turns before finally slowing down. “I’m pretty sure I lost him.”

  “Now what?” Was it still safe to go to the cabin? Did the killer know where they were headed? How could he? “Do you think he followed us from the house?”

  “I don’t know.” He pulled into a hotel parking lot and parked between a mobile home and a tractor trailer. “Are you okay?”

  Was she? A little queasy but otherwise unhurt. “I think so.”

  He reached between the seats and petted Phoenix. “Are you okay, boy? Sorry about that.”

  “Do you want to unclip him and take him out?” She would definitely not complain if she could get out of the car for a minute or two. Maybe the fresh air would ease the nausea.

  He looked around. “Not yet. Let’s get to the cabin, then we can decide where to go from there. It shouldn’t be too far.”

  “Do you think it’s still safe to go there?”

  “I have no idea, but I don’t have any better ideas. Let’s hope he followed us from the house and doesn’t know where we’re headed.” With one last pat for Phoenix, he turned back around, studied their surroundings, then shifted into gear and eased from their hiding spot. “In any case, we won’t be staying there long. Just long enough to get cleaned up and rest a little while, hopefully meet up with Connor.”

  “There are supplies at the cabin, but we’ll probably need a few more things before we leave.” She’d have to go into town at some point, but she couldn’t go anywhere looking like this. Even though only a few of the residents knew her, in a town the size of Shady Creek, gossip was a popular pastime. In her current disheveled state, she’d be the topic of conversation for some time.

  He pressed a hand against his left side. “We can worry about that later.”

  “You should probably try Connor again before we get any farther. We’ll lose any kind of decent cell service soon.” And then they’d be stranded on the side of a mountain with no way to get help.

  * * *

  Jace and Phoenix stood on the log cabin’s wraparound porch. The subsiding adrenaline rush, while making him jittery, was doing little to stave off the exhaustion beating at him. He ignored it. At least he’d slept a couple of hours before Connor’s frantic call to protect Addison.

  And thankfully, he’d gotten ahold of Connor before they headed up the mountain road to let him know exactly where to find them, and he’d confirmed Connor would be there to relieve him by nightfall. He blinked a few times to soothe the scratchiness in his eyes and admired the view. Addison hadn’t been exaggerating when she said it was secluded. One of only a handful of homes dotting the narrow road as it wound its way up the mountain. “You’re sure no one knows about this place?”

  Addison fished a key out from beneath a flowerpot beside the door.

  Jace lifted a brow but refrained from any comment about her lack of security. He was already on her bad side just from his association with her ex, and...well...it was possible the handcuff incident hadn’t earned him any favor, either, though she seemed to have forgiven him for that.

  Hadn’t he judged her the same way? He’d assumed she’d had some involvement with her ex’s crimes. She had been married to Brandon, after all, so how could she not know what he was? But he’d been the man’s partner for years, and he hadn’t known. Brandon Carlisle was a master at hiding the monster he was from the world.

  From what Jace had seen of Addiso
n so far, despite the fear for her own life that had to be consuming her, her deepest concerns seemed to be for others—her sister, the other women who had been or would become targets of a killer she felt guilty for creating, though it clearly wasn’t her fault. It seemed he’d possibly misjudged her as badly as she’d misjudged him.

  He’d also assumed Maris had found out what Brandon was doing from Addison, and used the information to write the scathing article that had sent Internal Affairs chasing after Brandon, and she wouldn’t have been wrong, if that was the case. If she had information that could take him down, she most certainly should have come forward. Brandon Carlisle needed to be punished. Problem was, he hadn’t been. He’d gotten away with everything, as usual.

  Instead, Jace’s entire world had crumbled, because Maris had named him in her article, as well. Brandon Carlisle’s partner, guilty by association. But when the time came, and he found out the accusations she’d hurled against Brandon were true, he hadn’t stood with Brandon.

  That wasn’t Addison’s fault. Or Maris’s. And if he had to do it again, he still would not have stood by a man who abused his power for his own gain, extorted money and favors from those who’d initially trusted him, bribed anyone who wouldn’t go along with what he wanted, blackmailed those he couldn’t bribe. And so, Jace had fallen into a well of self-pity, and Brandon Carlisle had moved up the ranks to become chief.

  Jace unclenched hands that had fisted at the thought.

  It was what came after that he’d have handled differently. He rubbed his eyes, not from exhaustion this time, but to fight back the tears that threatened each time he thought of Jennifer.

  “I’m pretty sure no one but my agent knows about the cabin. I was adamant when my agent purchased it for me that no one else was to know I had any connection to it.” She unlocked the front door and turned back toward the flowerpot.