He could check on Brett Sanderson from the Thailand junkets, make sure he was still among the living. He placed the call and it went to voice mail.
A quick call to Savannah. That’s what he needed. To see how Addy was doing. If she had talked to police. Maybe she could help him get into Dustin’s apartment.
Wait.
She’d given him no indication she wanted anything more to do with him. Savannah was an amazing woman, but she wasn’t his. He allowed himself just a minute to think about what it would be like to go from his solitary existence to one with a spirited, intelligent woman at his side.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The edge of panic in Addy’s voice had Savannah shooting to her feet and heading to her office for her purse and keys.
“Slow down, Addy. I can’t understand you and I want to help.”
“Aunt Savannah, the police are here to arrest Mom, and they’re ready to call Child Protective Services. Please don’t let them.” There was a ragged edge and then a hiccup. “I can’t go with them.”
“Is your mom there?”
“No.”
“Okay. I’m on my way. Can they wait for me to get there?” She glanced at her watch and groaned. It was four thirty, which meant rush hour would be well under way. It could take forty-five minutes for her to reach Stasi’s apartment.
“I don’t know. Hurry.” Addy hung up before Savannah could ask her to put one of the officers on the phone.
She rushed from her office, stopping at Hayden’s door long enough to fill her in. “Can you let Bella know I’m out the rest of the day?”
“Absolutely. Do you need anything?”
“Other than this month to stop?” She blew out a lungful of air. “Prayer would be great.”
“You have it. Always.” And the crazy thing was Savannah knew that was true.
“Thank you.”
“Now go get your niece.” Hayden’s eyes were filled with concern. “Don’t worry about anything here.” As Savannah stood rooted in place, Hayden came around her desk and eased Savannah toward the door. “Really, we have it covered.”
“You do.” Savannah nodded and snapped back into motion. “Thanks, Hayden. I’m glad you’re here.” She clutched her bag closer and then moved toward the back door. She had to keep moving or she’d crumble. This was the final pebble that had filled her jar to overflowing.
She climbed into her car and reversed out of the parking lot. As she drove, one question tormented her. What was she supposed to do when she arrived at Stasi’s?
Addy shouldn’t be a ward of the state, but how had things gotten so bad that was even an option?
Had she failed her niece and sister that much?
Savannah felt the pressure crushing her until she had to remind herself to breathe. Her lungs had forgotten how to do the function on their own. At a red light she leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Where had the nascent peace she’d felt gone?
Even in the absence of peace, she had a choice. Trust God or take control.
Her instinct was to take it herself, but she couldn’t, not anymore. You can handle whatever situation you’re walking into, Savannah, because God is already there. Please, God, be there with Addy.
A horn startled her, and she moved the car forward through the green light.
The rest of the drive passed in a blur of stop-and-go traffic as she traveled to Bailey’s Crossroads and then turned along Carlin Springs Road to the apartment complex. When she’d found this place for Addy and Stasi, it had seemed perfect, right down to the pool where Addy could relax. It also wasn’t too far from the shopping all around Bailey’s, making it easier for Addy to navigate on her own if she needed.
That was probably why the officers were threatening to remove Addy from the home. She’d been left on her own one too many times. That had to be it, right?
The drive into the neighborhood was quiet. A couple of mothers with small children bundled in coats and mittens chatted at the pocket-sized playground. She followed the curve and neared the cluster of three buildings where the apartment was located.
Two Falls Church Police squad cars and an unmarked car sat near Stasi’s building.
Savannah’s lone hope that Addy had misunderstood disappeared like a mist. This was a real threat, one she had to address now. She pulled her car into a visitor slot and took a moment to pray before climbing out. It felt like a hundred-pound weight had settled across her shoulders, and she had to force herself forward. One cruiser held an officer, but the other two were empty as she walked past.
She used her key to enter the building and then climbed the stairs to the third-floor apartment Stasi had insisted on for safety. No garden apartment for her sister. Anyone could break in, Stasi had said.
Rather than let herself into the apartment, she rapped briskly on the door. A moment later she heard heavy footsteps followed by the door opening. A young officer who couldn’t have been more than twenty-five stood there, hand on his gun as he gave her a quick visual inspection. “You are?”
“Savannah Daniels, Addy’s aunt. She called and asked me to come.”
“I’ll need some ID.” He held out his hand as she dug through her purse.
“I should have had it ready. Sorry about that.” She kept her motions slow and hopefully nonthreatening. After she found her wallet and pulled it free, she showed him her license. “Her mother, Stasi, is my sister.”
The man took her wallet and began talking into his shoulder radio. Then he waved her in while he continued to talk. Savannah scanned the living area with its couch, coffee table, and TV. Where was Addy? Her thoughts began to spin as her niece was noticeably absent. “Addy?”
The officer came back over. “Here’s your wallet.”
“What happened?”
The man considered her. “The minor’s mother went to the girl’s school and got in an altercation with the staff.”
“What?”
“Her mother made a visit to her school today and threatened the principal. He’s pressing charges, so your sister is coming down for booking.”
“For a threat?” Savannah wanted to argue it couldn’t be true, but unfortunately it was the kind of thing Stasi would do while out of her mind.
The man’s attention didn’t flicker. “The black eye the man is sporting indicates it was more than a threat.”
“Can’t she be released on her own recognizance?” Savannah rubbed her throat trying to dislodge the lump that was growing.
“If bail is low enough, but that doesn’t fix the problem of a fourteen-year-old being alone.”
“She won’t be. I’m here to take her home with me if you’ll explain why she can’t stay here.” Savannah tucked her wallet away and scanned the small kitchenette. Still no Addy. “Where is my niece?”
“Packing a bag.” This officer wasn’t a man of many words.
A door opened and Addy dashed to Savannah’s side. “Please don’t let me go.” She held on so tight, Savannah couldn’t see her face.
“Of course.” She rubbed her niece’s back. “Are you okay?”
“Mom’s done it this time,” Addy whispered. “She was drunk. Maybe more.”
“Why was she at your school?”
Addy shrugged. “Can we please leave? I’ve seen too many police officers lately.”
The officer’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”
“She found her father’s body. It may be a suicide, but the investigation is ongoing.” She sounded like an attorney, even in the middle of a family crisis. What was wrong with her? She put an arm around Addy and pulled her back in. “It’s all right if we leave?”
“Yes.” He turned to Addy. “You shouldn’t be left on your own.” As Addy started to protest, he held up his hands. “I can tell you’re mature, but you still have a right to have someone take care of you. Let your aunt do that when your mom can’t.” He focused his attention on Savannah. “Your sister could be out tomorrow. We took her in as much to help
her get off whatever high she was on.”
Addy leaned more tightly into Savannah’s side, and Savannah studied her. “Why was your mom at the school?”
“I have no idea, but I wish she’d stayed drunk on the couch.” She huffed. “I used to think that was bad enough. I was wrong. There’s a whole other level of bad.”
“All right.” Savannah would deal with Addy’s emotions later, because she couldn’t do it with a police officer watching every move and listening to each word. “We’ll figure this out as soon as we get to my place.” She turned to the officer and handed him her business card. “Please call if you need anything further. Thank you for staying with my niece until I could arrive.”
“Ma’am.”
A woman walked out of Addy’s room and eyed Savannah cautiously. “I’m starting a child-in-need-of-services investigation. You might warn your sister this kind of behavior catches our attention.” She handed Savannah a card, then joined the officer and they walked out.
As soon as the front door closed, Savannah urged Addy back to her room. “Get as much as you’ll need for school for the rest of the week.”
Addy nodded, the fight in her evaporating.
Chapter Twenty-Four
thursday, december 17
Savannah woke up with thoughts racing about all that had to happen. Preparing for the subpoena. Planning a memorial service. Figuring out what else needed to happen related to Dustin. His parents had died several years ago, so she’d see about getting into his apartment to look for a will. If he was as prepared as Stasi claimed, he’d have a will and life insurance filed there. And while she was looking for that, she’d look for the proof of innocence he’d claimed to have.
Then, depending on what the proof was, she’d contact Jett Glover. See what he wanted to do with it.
Would their lives intersect today? They might not, but a woman could hope. Before leaving, she woke Addy and prayed for her. Then she called the school to let the administration know Addy would be out another day.
The morning sun was warming the sky as Savannah climbed into her car. Ready or not, it was time to tackle the challenges of this day.
Chilled from the short walk to her car, she turned on the seat warmer. There was something comforting about the heat slowly soaking into her back. She wanted the hope of a new morning and fresh day to rise inside her like the heat.
Instead she felt the weight of her emotional exhaustion, which was beginning to affect her physically and spiritually. There was so much tension bubbling around her and all she wanted was peace. She might be a litigator, but her heart’s cry was reconciliation and unity.
This was a day she could own from beginning to end. All she had to do was turn the key in the ignition and get into the office. This early in the day traffic wouldn’t detain her, and she’d have a quiet hour before the others reached the office. She needed the time. A few client files had been neglected as she worked on the mediation and then been derailed by the plane crash and Addy’s needs. She’d take a minute to make sure she hadn’t missed a deadline, and then get back to the file prep.
It was only when she realized she needed to turn down the heat that she pulled the car from its parking slot.
At a stoplight, she took a sip of the latte she’d made at home. The splurge on a nice coffee machine had been a great investment. She liked to tell herself she saved all kinds of money each week not stopping at various coffee shops, though the expense of specially roasted coffee beans and organic creamers might counterbalance the savings.
The light turned green, but as she started forward on King Street, she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a vehicle barreling toward her. She tried not to brace, but before she could do anything, the SUV rammed into the back of her crossover.
The coffee mug flew from her hand as she was thrust forward.
Hot coffee splashed across her clothes and the windshield.
Her SUV rolled forward.
The seat belt cut across her chest, and her neck and head continued forward.
A scream echoed through the interior, and it took her a moment to register it was hers.
Her car slipped into the intersection, and she tried to think which pedal was the brake.
Then the car shuddered as it was rammed again.
What?
What was happening?
Her gaze darted from the rearview mirror to the side mirror and then into the intersection. She hammered her foot along the floorboard, desperate to find the gas. Maybe she could get through the intersection and pull into the T. C. Williams High School parking lot. There she could get help. Find her phone. Call the police. Anything to get the car behind her to stop hitting her.
There! She’d found the right pedal.
Adrenaline coursed through her, scrambling her thoughts in a jagged rush.
She rammed on the gas, and the car lurched forward.
She wanted out of the car.
She charged into the high school’s parking lot, grateful few cars were there as hers surged up the short incline. When she looked back in the rearview mirror, the SUV took off down the street.
License plate.
She needed to be able to tell the police something. All she could make out was its dark color and SUV form.
That wouldn’t help anyone ID the vehicle. She felt sobs trying to escape but she couldn’t inhale enough to release them. She had to get out, go somewhere safe, but all her muscles could do was tremble. She hit the button on the steering wheel to activate her phone. Told the system to call the last number. Couldn’t remember what the number was, but it was all she could think to do.
* * *
Jett needed the information Savannah told him Dustin had. What if Dustin had been Jett’s mystery caller? It was a bit of a stretch, but one way to find out was to get into the man’s apartment. Easy-peasy. He just had to find out if the police had released it and then get one of Dustin’s close relatives to let him in.
He picked up his phone and placed a quick call to his old friend Detective Lorenze.
“Hey, Ethan. Quick question. Wondered when you planned to release Dustin Tate’s apartment?”
“It’s ready. Just need to get ahold of his daughter’s mom.”
“She not taking calls?”
“She is. Just not responding.”
“Interesting. Thanks for the info.”
“You’re going to owe me after this.”
“Yeah. Next Wizards game at B Dubs.”
“If I’m not working, sounds great.”
Once the call ended, Jett weighed his options. Call the mom and get stonewalled or call the aunt. He cocked his chin and grinned. That was easy. Call the aunt. Only she didn’t pick up. He glanced at his watch and grimaced. Guess he hadn’t realized it was before eight in the morning. Way before eight. He felt surprised Lorenze had taken his call.
All right. He’d turn back to the tweets while he waited to call Savannah at a more reasonable hour. The tweets he’d been monitoring were spreading rapidly, but he couldn’t figure out why. Bots likely triggered the retweets, but who was behind them? He might not know, but he knew a guy. Jake Thorns had some serious private investigator skills.
His phone rang, and he closed the laptop before grabbing it. “Glover.”
“Jett?” The word trembled, a quiet vibration.
“Who is this?”
There was a silence, long enough he almost hung up, but hesitated in case it was his mystery caller.
“I need help.”
He straightened as he recognized the voice. “Savannah? Where are you?”
She paused again. “I’m in a parking lot. Let me check which one.”
He frowned as it registered how disoriented she was. “Do you need medical help?”
“I don’t think so.”
He stood and shoved his laptop and other items into his backpack. “I’m headed to my car now. Tell me where to come.”
“I was driving to work and a car hit me.” The
sound went in and out a bit like it did when coming through a car’s audio system.
His skin flushed and he picked up his pace as he pushed through the coffee shop’s door. “Is the vehicle still there?”
“No. It kept going after I pulled into the lot. I didn’t get any information that will help the police.”
He exhaled. “You called the police.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Is anyone there? Anyone nearby?” Maybe he could get her to give the phone to someone who could tell him where to drive. He unlocked his Bronco and tossed the backpack into the back seat.
“Someone’s coming toward the car.” Her voice rose in pitch and he could hear her panic. “What do I do?”
“Roll down your window enough to talk. Ask them to call me with your location.”
He could hear a muted conversation and prayed he’d given her good advice. What if that was whoever had rammed her? He thrust the thought from his mind. There was nothing he could do about that.
What he could do was start driving the moment he knew which direction to head.
There was a beeping, and he looked at his phone. Thank God it was a number he didn’t recognize. “I think he’s calling. I’m going to put you on hold while I talk to him.” He clicked over to take the other call before she could reply. A moment later a man’s voice came on. “She needs help. Looks dazed and her SUV is banged up good.”
“Tell me where you are. I’m in my car ready to drive.”
The man rattled off an Alexandria high school. “She’s in the parking lot on the side as you approach from the west.”
“Thanks. I’m on my way.”
“Want me to stay with her?”
“Yeah. If you can.”
“I’ll try.” The Good Samaritan hung up, and Jett put his car in reverse.
Flight Risk Page 16