Let's Fake a Deal

by Sherry Harris

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Shock stopped me. Flames swarmed toward the backseat. I could see the airbags had deployed in the front. Kate staggered out from the passenger seat and looked around like she didn’t know where she was. The heat from the flames came at me in waves. I ran forward. Someone was yelling for me to stop. Kate turned back to the car, stared in toward the driver. She started to crawl back in.

  A man grabbed my arm. “Get back. Get back. It’s going to blow.”

  I tried to jerk away, but someone else grabbed my other arm and they dragged me back.

  “The driver’s in the car,” I yelled. I started forward. Someone wrapped their arms around my waist and lifted me away.

  “You can’t. Fire department’s on the way.”

  Another man darted toward Kate. He grabbed her by the arm and wrestled her away from the car. I tried to squirm free, but the arms were clamped tight around me. The flames brightened. Then the trunk of Kate’s car exploded, lifting the back end up off the ground. A second explosion was far worse than the first.

  * * *

  Three hours later, I still couldn’t stop shivering. I sat wrapped in several blankets on my couch. Pellner had pulled my grandmother’s rocking chair up close and watched me. I kept seeing the blast over and over. Kate’s screams echoed in my head.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Pellner said for the tenth or twentieth time.

  He could say it a hundred times and I wouldn’t believe him. “I shouldn’t have chased her. I should have let you handle it.”

  Pellner looked down at his hands clasped in his lap. He knew I was right. “You couldn’t have known that their trunk was full of gas cans. They were stupid. Thought they could run and would be far enough away using the gas in the trunk before they’d finally have to stop at a station to buy gas and risk being tracked on security footage.”

  “If I hadn’t chased her . . .” My words hung there. Pellner had nothing to add that he hadn’t already said. “Why was she even there?” I asked.

  “Trying to get a last bit of money before they ran for Mexico.”

  “Mexico is a long way from Massachusetts.”

  “Exactly. Like I said, they were stupid.”

  “Still my fault.” I didn’t think I’d ever recover from seeing what I’d seen today. Kate’s husband hadn’t made it.

  “They wouldn’t have made it over the border. She would have been AWOL. They would have been watching for her.”

  “Absent without leave.” My voice sounded flat. Broken. Maybe I was this time. I’d thought I’d been broken when CJ and I split up the first time. But that was just a life blip compared to this. Dead inside. Empty. Maybe I’d died in the explosion and Pellner wasn’t really here. This was hell. My punishment for killing that man. Wow, I didn’t even know his real name.

  Pellner gripped my knee. Dug his fingers in. It hurt. I guess I wasn’t dead after all.

  “The man you knew as Alex Green had a long criminal record.”

  “He did?” I pulled a blanket tighter around me. “What were their real names?”

  “Ashley and Jeb Evans.”

  “How did Jeb having a criminal record work with his wife being in the military?” I asked.

  Pellner shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Or so everyone thought. I guess they’ve been running this operation at every base they’ve been on. And when Ashley was on leave, too.”

  I pulled my knees up to my chest. There must be some way to get warm. If Stella was home, I’d be asking her for the scotch she loved so much.

  “You’ll warm up once the shock wears off.”

  “I’m not sure it ever will.” I fought back tears. If I cried Pellner would never leave, and I wanted to be alone. I’d called Seth right after the accident so he’d hear about it from me and not someone else. He was at a political event in Boston and said he’d leave. I’d told him no. That I would take a nap once I was done with the police. In the moment, when I was still so shocked from seeing the car explode, my voice had been calm and reasonable. I was thankful I’d convinced him to stay. He wouldn’t believe me if we talked now.

  “He worked as an auto mechanic. They both took one of those ‘fun’ lock-picking courses.” Pellner had been getting constant updates since he’d brought me back here. “I think they were planning bigger and better things. You stopped them from whatever that was.”

  “Nice try.” I shook my head. “I appreciate your effort. I’m done. I’m never going to sleuth again.”

  Pellner nodded. Looked relieved.

  I felt a little twinge when I thought of Michelle. She’d be fine. Bristow was smart. Pellner was smart. Vincenzo was smart. I was the idiot. They’d figure it out. Faster than me. I shoved the blankets off me and stood. What I wanted to do was crawl under them and hide. Like I was in one of the blanket forts Luke and I made as kids. We’d been safe then. But if I was going to get Pellner out of here, I had to act normal.

  “I’m going to make some tea. Do you want some?” I asked. Making tea sounded normal enough.

  Pellner eyed me suspiciously. “No thanks.”

  He followed me into the kitchen. It took all my concentration to keep my hands, my whole body for that matter, from shaking while I made the tea. After I heated the water in the microwave, I added some honey and sipped it. Forcing it down. See, everything is a-okay here.

  “Thanks for coming over, Scott.” Oh dear. I never called Pellner by his first name. But he didn’t seem to notice. “I’ll be fine.”

  “If you’re sure?” he asked.

  “I need to take a nap.”

  “That’ll be the adrenaline leaving your body. A nap will be good for you.”

  I walked him to the door.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone for you?” Pellner asked.

  “Stella’s at practice. Carol has a class.”

  “What about Seth or the DiNapolis?”

  I was surprised he mentioned Seth although there was probably plenty of talk about us around town. “They’re all working. Besides, no one needs to be here while I sleep.” I patted his arm and opened the door. “Thanks again.”

  I shut the door behind him and almost fell to the ground. I dragged myself down the hall to my bedroom. The shivering was back. It hurt. I climbed in bed, gathered the comforter around me, and curled into the fetal position to try to stop the cold.

  * * *

  I woke up when I heard Seth calling my name. Stella had a key, so she must have let him in. It was dark. But I didn’t know if it had been dark for an hour or eight hours. When I’d come to bed I didn’t think I’d sleep, but thankfully I had.

  “Sarah?”

  Seth was in my room. By the bed. I ignored him. Tried to keep my breathing even so he would go away. He deserved a better person than me. Instead of leaving, I heard him move around a bit. The comforter lifted and he curled himself around me, lending me his solid warm body for comfort. He didn’t say anything. He just held me until he fell asleep. I hadn’t felt so safe or loved in a very long time.

  * * *

  The next time I woke up a beam of sun was shining through a crack in my curtains. It seemed wrong to be in a warm, lighted place. Seth was gone, at least not in bed. I could hear someone moving around. Smelled coffee. I looked at my alarm clock. Eight a.m. My stomach had the nerve to rumble. Reminding me I was alive. I slipped out of bed and into the shower. I stood there letting the water beat down on me, trying to feel something other than numb. When the water turned icy I got out, dressed, and went out into my living room.

  Seth sat on my couch, legs up on the trunk, working on a laptop. He shut it as soon as he saw me. We looked at each other, but he stayed seated waiting for me. I appreciated, no loved, his patience.

  “There’s coffee in the kitchen,” he said.

  I worked on a smile. “Sounds good.”

  I poured myself a cup. Drank right away. Scalded my tongue. Almost like I wanted to punish myself if no one else would. I took t
he coffee out into the living room and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Seth. He watched me.

  “Pellner already explained to me what happened. Why the car exploded,” I said. “Told me I didn’t need to blame myself.”

  “So I heard.”

  “I know you need to get to work. Your trial starts next week. I’m fine.”

  Seth made a scoffing sound in his throat. “I don’t think you are. If it’s okay with you, I’ll work from here today.”

  Tears. Damn tears flowed down my cheeks. “Thank you. I probably don’t deserve it. But I’ll take it. One of the only bright spots in all of this is that your opponent can’t use me against you anymore.”

  “In my book he never could.” Seth set his laptop on the trunk and pulled me to him. I nestled against his broad chest. His heart beat strong against my ear. When I woke up again an hour later, Seth held me firmly against him with one hand and texted someone with his other. I stirred and pushed away. Sleep had helped. I felt scarred inside but wasn’t in the dark place I’d been yesterday. I’d made a foolish mistake. A man had died, but if the gas cans hadn’t been in the back of his car he’d probably still be alive.

  Seth put his phone down. “Hungry?”

  “Yes. But there isn’t much here.”

  Seth stood up. “I brought some supplies with me. I’ll make us breakfast.”

  “I can help,” I said.

  Seth narrowed his eyes at me. So cooking wasn’t my forte. At least all of my friends, including Seth, knew it.

  “How are you at peeling potatoes?” he asked.

  “I aced it in school.”

  Seth laughed. “Then you can help.”

  My kitchen was small so there was a lot of bumping into each other as we cooked. Maybe some of it was deliberate. Seth had brought eggs, potatoes, a loaf of French bread, and sausages. After I peeled the potatoes, he nudged me over to the small kitchen table. He rolled up his sleeves. I admired his strong forearms.

  “Watch and learn,” he said.

  “I’ll watch but am not so sure about the learning part.” I put a fresh vintage tablecloth on the kitchen table. It was decorated with little hedgehogs. Seth chattered away about what he was doing, but I spent more time admiring his broad thick shoulders and his nice rear end instead of paying attention to what he was saying. I should get my phone. I’d sent Luke a quick text yesterday afternoon since I knew he’d hear what happened, and I didn’t want him to worry.

  Soon Seth set two plates heaped with scrambled eggs, French toast, sausage, and hash browns on the table. The scrambled eggs were so creamy. I ate like it had been a week since I had. It felt like that.

  “How did you learn to cook?” I asked. He’d grown up in luxury. I couldn’t imagine a scenario where he was in the kitchen helping the cook.

  “I went off to college. Dorm food was awful. And yes. I was spoiled by our cook growing up.” Seth added more maple syrup to his French toast. “I’ve lived alone for a long, long time.” He looked at me intently before forking in some French toast. “I found out I enjoyed cooking. It relaxes me.”

  I’d always found cooking was stressful. I expected something to go wrong and it usually did. Maybe it was just a self-fulfilling prophecy. “That’s how I feel about cleaning up after someone else cooks.” Maybe that wasn’t entirely true, but there was something comforting about putting a kitchen back to rights.

  When my stomach was rounded like I had a food baby, I set my fork down. I reached across and took Seth’s hand, interlocking our fingers. “Thank you. For this. For everything.”

  “Always.”

  My heart almost couldn’t take the love in his voice and the way he looked at me. I pushed my chair back. “Now, I’ll clean up while you go work.”

  “If you’re sure?” Seth had looked past me toward the living room more than once during our breakfast. He was a busy man with a lot on his plate with his job as district attorney and running for the position so he could continue his work.

  I pulled him up and pushed him out of the kitchen. “I’m sure.” I didn’t want to tell him I needed a little space. It had been almost two years since I moved here. I’d come to enjoy being on my own, to setting my own pace for the day. If Seth had a flaw, it was probably that he was more ready for us than I was. That wasn’t exactly a flaw. More like a bit of a problem. A timing problem. He was a patient man, but for how long?

  When I finished cleaning, I grabbed my computer and settled in my grandmother’s rocker. “Seth, you don’t have to stay. I have work to do. On my virtual garage sale and for a couple of clients with upcoming events.”

  Seth closed his computer. “I want to be here.”

  “You can come back for dinner.”

  “If you’re sure?” he asked again.

  “I am. I’d tell you I’m fine. But that isn’t quite true.” I set my computer on the floor and stood. “I appreciate that you haven’t pushed me or tried to brush off what happened yesterday as nothing.”

  Seth nodded and gathered his things. He put on his suit jacket. Wow, he was handsome. And here I was with no makeup on, puffy eyes, and hair that had been washed but not blown dry or styled. A far cry from the model types he’d dated before me.

  “Call me if you need anything. Or even if you don’t.” He hugged me fiercely and left.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  I drifted to my bedroom and found my phone. I called Luke first.

  “Have you heard how Kate Green, I mean Ashley Evans, is?”

  “She’s in the hospital for burns and a concussion. From what I’ve heard she’s lucky it’s only that.”

  My breath caught and I felt woozy. I wasn’t as fine as I’d led Seth to believe. Maybe that was my flaw, putting up a good front. Not really letting people see me.

  “How are you?” Luke asked.

  I had to prepare myself for being asked that a lot over the next few days. “Recovering,” I said.

  “You might want to think about talking to a professional about what happened.”

  Luke had his share of demons. He knew what he was talking about. “I’ll think about it,” I said. “Did you ever have any luck with the footage of the runner I sent you?”

  “The guy didn’t have any luck. I’m sorry.” He paused.

  “How’s Michelle?” I asked. I hadn’t talked to her for a couple of days.

  “She’s okay. Doing the best she can,” Luke said.

  I might be off the hook with the police, but she certainly wasn’t. I would call her after I finished working.

  “I keep hoping something will come through to save her,” Luke said.

  “Yeah, me too,” I said.

  “I need to get back to it. Love you,” Luke said.

  “Love you, too,” I said as he disconnected.

  I made quick calls to Carol, Stella, and the DiNapolis, assuring them I was okay. James sent me a text asking how I was doing. I sent a short response saying I’d be fine. Eventually. Some day. Right?

  * * *

  I went to Kitty’s house and worked for several hours so everything would be ready for tomorrow. It helped keep my mind off the horror of yesterday. After I got everything as ready as I could, I went back home and ate a late lunch. I made some cute signs to put up for the sale tomorrow and checked my listings for it on social media sites. My phone rang at two. Michelle.

  “Can you come pick me up?” Michelle asked. Her voice was a little out of breath.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  That worried me. “Sure. Where are you?”

  “At the Visitors Center for the Minuteman Park. The one in Lexington.”

  The Minuteman National Park had two visitors centers, one in Lexington and one in Concord. Basically on either end of the Minuteman National Trail. “I can be there in about twenty minutes.”

  “Great.” Michelle hung up before I could ask her any other questions.

  I hoped everything was okay, but I got the feeling
it wasn’t. I did a quick brush of my hair and swiped on some mascara before I drove over. The park ran along the approximate path that the British troops marched on in 1775 looking for weapons they believe were stored in Concord. I loved walking the wooded lanes.

  I found Michelle huddled on a bench outside the building. A Patriots ball cap was pulled low on her brow. She was wearing her running clothes and shoes.

  “What is going on?” I asked.

  “Let’s walk,” she said. We headed west toward the Paul Revere capture site. There were lots of people on the path. Some were riding bikes, others walking dogs, and some like us were strolling. Although Michelle was moving quickly enough that I was almost jogging. Michelle kept glancing around and back over her shoulder.

  “Michelle, slow down. What the heck is going on?”

  “About forty-five minutes ago I heard two cars pull up outside my house and peeked out my curtains.”

  “And,” I said when she paused. I spotted a bench just off the path and pulled her over to it. Once we sat down, I motioned for her to continue.

  “I saw Special Agent Bristow, one of the cops from Ellington, and my commander in the first car. The second one was a security police car with two police in it.”

  “What did they say?” It must have freaked her out if she came out for a run. Part of the trail was right behind the fence that encircled the base.

  “I left. I was all ready to go for a run anyway. I climbed out a back window and ran for the woods. Then I climbed the chain-link fence. Cut myself on the razor wire.” She held out her right arm to show me the cut.

  I put my head in my hands for a couple of moments. The fence was a good ten feet tall and topped with coiled razor wire. Michelle could have been seriously hurt. “You ran?” I asked when I lifted my head.

  “I’m sure they were there to arrest me. I didn’t kill the major.”

  “So what? You plan to go on the run?” It made me think of the Greens, and the gas, and the explosion. I guess I could give her some advice on what not to do.

  “No. Of course not. I just panicked.”

  Michelle wasn’t normally one to panic. She’d fought in wars, led troops, so the death of Major Blade must have had her more on edge than I’d realized. “They’ll be waiting for you at your house. Maybe they just came by to talk.” I didn’t believe that, and I don’t think I sounded too convincing.