Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Lianna attempted to keep herself busy after dropping the kids at school. She always took vacation days this time of year, as it was busy at home and slow at work. Now she regretted that. Since Annie’s birthday and Halloween were over, there wasn’t nearly enough to distract her wayward thoughts.
That’s what led her to the hot yoga class she had just finished. The other moms raved about it. The goal was to relax and rejuvenate. Awkward and exhausting better described Lianna’s experience. Thanks to the heat, she could also add sweaty and stinky to that description.
Smelling like a ripe peach, she walked on sluggish legs through the parking lot. Approaching her vehicle from behind, she didn’t see what was shoved under her windshield wipers until she was already halfway inside. Backing out, she banged her head on the door frame, before reaching forward and grabbing the object. Instantly she identified Annie’s favorite hair accessory. It was an oversized, blue bow dotted with unicorns and set on a clip.
How did that get on the car ? Lianna looked around, but the parking lot was busy with yogis coming and going. No one paid attention to her. Maybe it had fallen out of the car when she went into the studio. She had been running late and rushed into the building. It was the simplest and likeliest explanation. Then why did Lianna have such an uneasy feeling in her stomach?
Placing the bow into the cup holder, she climbed back into the vehicle. She sighed, sinking into the comfort of her electric vehicle’s rich leather seats. The scratches on the passenger side had been fixed and it was her first time driving it since the repairs. It was pure luxury compared to her minivan. Connecting her phone to the Bluetooth, she dialed Isabela. It had been a few days since they spoke, and she needed to hear a familiar voice.
“Hey, I only have a few minutes before a meeting with new clients.”
“I can let you go. It’s nothing important.”
“It’s fine, I have a few minutes, and this is just a consult. I don’t have anything to prepare.”
“Oh, yeah? Anything interesting?”
“It’s actually a criminal trial.”
“Really?”
“A cop who is going to be charged with manslaughter.”
“Oh, my God, the sheriff that shot and killed the cuffed guy in Seattle last month? I was waiting for them to charge him.”
“They haven’t yet but it’s looking likely. The union is lawyering up just in case. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“No offense, as you are, in my opinion, the best lawyer qualified for all situations, but why would they bring in a civil rights litigator?”
“I’ll tell you as soon as I figure it out.”
“Wow, your life is way more interesting than mine. I was just calling to warn you against hot yoga and tell you I found Annie’s favorite bow. Never felt lamer.”
“If you think for a second that I’d take a hot yoga class, then you don’t really know me at all.”
“Izzy, I have a bad feeling.”
“Of course, you do! You just spent an hour in a sweat box breathing in strangers’ body odor.”
“No, I mean, I just have a bad feeling about… I don’t even know what about. About whoever is bothering me.”
“Did they leave another note, or something?”
“No, and that’s just it. What was the point of all the notes and dead things and trying to break in my window?”
“I know you don’t want to believe this, but maybe it was your neighbor after all.”
“Maybe, but…”
“Hey, Marcus, I’m all set.” Isabela’s voice was distant, like she was holding the phone away from her face. “Sorry, Li, I have to run. I’ll call you on my drive home.”
“Okay, good luck.”
“Love ya, bye.”
Lianna sighed, alone again. She made the decision to drive to the farther but nicer grocery store. Tonight, she was making Harris’s favorite, lasagna. It was merely a coincidence that it was also Gabe’s favorite, because he was absolutely not on her mind. She cared zero percent whether he was back in town yet or if he had reconnected with Jacob’s mom.
Lianna thought about what Isabela said, that Tim was probably behind the last few weeks of misery. It explained why everything stopped when he was arrested. However, apart from the confrontation with him down by the ocean, nothing else seemed to fit. It didn’t match what she knew of her neighbor. He had access to her anytime he wanted. Why waste time with spiders and hang up calls?
The pranks had taken a disturbing twist, but nothing had threatened her actual safety. The confrontation with Tim was the lone time she felt in real danger. And he swore he was just trying to tell her something that would keep her safe. Her stomach knotted. There was a piece of the puzzle lingering just out of reach.
Backing out of her spot, Lianna exited the parking lot. As she pulled into traffic, her car shuddered. She braced both hands on the wheel, but the vehicle drove smooth again. Growing rather desperate to distract herself, Lianna started to call Nicki, but a chime in her car began beeping obnoxiously. The dashboard warning came on with a large exclamation point highlighted in yellow, “VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN.”
The car sputtered again and Lianna frantically looked over her shoulder. She reacted on instinct, pulling her car across a lane of traffic to reach the shoulder. The car behind her slammed on their brakes to avoid a collision, which earned her several honks, but she was too frazzled to care. Her vehicle shook again and turned off. The back bumper was still partially in the traffic lane, which earned her several more annoyed honks. She pushed down on the brake and attempted to restart the ignition, but it was dead.
“Shit!”
This was exactly what she didn’t need. Lianna knew nothing about cars, except that hers wasn’t working. She hadn’t charged her vehicle last night, but she also hardly drove it the day before. The car displayed battery life and while she couldn’t remember looking at it, she was confident she would have noticed the low charge warning.
Lianna fumbled through the glove compartment for the roadside assistance number. There was an app for this that she now regretted never bothering to download. Waiting for several minutes, she finally got through to someone. Relaying the issue, they asked her to try a few maneuvers to get the car going again. On the third try, the engine did start again, so Lianna moved it fully onto the shoulder. She was too unnerved to attempt driving it again.
After assurance that a tow truck was on the way, she sat back in her seat, hands shaking. She wanted to call someone but there was no one to call. Unloading this drama on her in-laws or friends would only stress them out. Instead, she cracked her door for air and took steadying breaths.
After forty minutes, a tow truck arrived. The driver was a friendly middle-aged man, his demeanor putting her at ease immediately.
“Let’s have a look,” the man said, popping the hood.
Lianna understood enough to know the man was going to be looking under the storage space where her electric car battery and other critical components were stored. After a few minutes, he closed the hood and wiped his hands on his jeans.
“When we get it to the dealership, I’ll tell them to check out the connection between the battery and the rest of the electrical system. Sometimes loose connections can cause the whole system to shut down. How long have you had this vehicle?”
“About a year.”
“Have it serviced or anyone messing around under the hood recently?”
“No. Why?”
“I don’t want to worry you, miss, but it certainly looks like something is going on with the wiring. I’d rather be safe than sorry. After you,” he said, gesturing towards the passenger side of his truck. Lianna followed, but his advice was too late. Something about his tone and line of questioning already had her very worried.
****
Lianna arrived home just as a headache was starting to form behind her right eye. It wasn’t even lunch time yet, and she was exhausted. She had received no other explanation about why her car suddenly shut down without warning. The dealership offered her a loaner, but she declined. The minivan would suit her fine until she got her vehicle back.
Lianna wandered through the kitchen, realizing she hadn’t cleaned up from the kids’ breakfast yet. Sighing, she set out to tidy the kitchen when her cell phone rang. Seeing it was the kids’ school, she hastily picked up.
“Lianna speaking.”
“Hi there, this is Marcy from the office. We just wanted to double check with you that Annie was supposed to go home with her aunt today.”
“Annie? No.”
“Let me check what I have written down here.”
While the cheerful woman checked her notes Lianna’s pulse began to pound.
“Yes, I have here that a woman came in and said she was Annie’s aunt. She mentioned she was supposed to bring her home today.”
“No, that’s not right,” Lianna choked out as her head started spinning.
“Well, that’s odd.”
Then Lianna had a thought. “Was it Nicki Bennett?”
The lady spoke to someone in the background. “Hey, Cath, was Nicki Bennett who came in?” The distant voice responded, “I’m not sure, I was in the library at the time. Heather was covering the desk. But everyone knows Nicki, so I’m not sure why she wouldn’t have written her name down if it was her.”
Lianna was panicking now, her kids only had one aunt, Nicki, and if it wasn’t her…
“Is there another Annie in the class? This must be a misunderstanding.” Lianna found herself leaning against the counter to steady herself.
“There is not, she asked for Annie Bennett.”
“Is Annie still in class? Is the woman still there?” Lianna begged, not bothering to hide the worry in her voice.
“Not now. Heather told her we would call Annie’s mom to confirm. The note here says she would be back after lunch. Please don’t worry, Annie is just fine. They should be starting lunch now. I’ll walk down myself just to confirm.”
But for the second time today, Lianna was worried. That uneasy feeling in her gut churned at full force now.
“Please do, thank you. But I’m only around the corner. I’ll feel better coming to get Annie while this is all sorted.”
“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the woman said soothingly.
“It’s okay, I’ll just feel better seeing her with my own eyes. And thank you, for calling first.”
“Of course, and we always will. We would never allow someone to sign your child out of school without confirming it with you first.”
Lianna rushed to grab her shoes and purse. Based on everything that had been going on recently she did not want to take chances, especially with her children. Then a horrifying thought stopped her. What if her harasser hadn’t moved on, only changed strategy? Were they so determined on getting to her, that they had stopped the scare tactics and resorted to trying to hurt her children?
Lianna was dialing Gabe before she had time to talk herself out of it. He said she should err on the side of caution and that was what she was doing.
“Damn it,” she said aloud when his voicemail picked up.
Lianna left a message, telling him about her near miss in the car and what happened with Annie. Then she admitted that she was scared. Next, she called Nicki to see if there was some kind of mixed message, if she mistakenly thought she was taking Annie home. Of course, there was also no answer. Then she ran for the van.
****
The first thing Gabe did as he left the conference room and started towards the men’s room was check his cell phone. The briefing was anything but, lasting entirely too long, and wasting virtually everyone’s morning. They had several suspects now for the murdered gang member found at the US Consulate. They wanted everyone on board before the press conference this afternoon. Politics, he thought, shaking his head as he pulled up the missed call log. There was one from Lianna.
Gabe couldn’t wait to see her. They were due for a major conversation, but he knew she needed some space first. He wasn’t alone in feeling more than just a physical connection. She wanted more from him, and he was finally ready to start giving her what she wanted.
In fact, it had taken every ounce of discipline not to drive directly to her after he stepped off the plane this morning. But work was particularly crazy and taking two days off this week left him playing catch up. They were days well spent, though, and well worth the extra work.
The meeting with his family lifted a weight so heavy off his chest he literally breathed better. Gabe was ready to see where things went with Lianna, to start a new chapter with her and the kids. But it wasn’t fair to rush her into finding her own feelings. Just because he was ready, didn’t mean she would forgive the lies and half-truths he had told her. But he’d be dammed if he wasn’t going to try.
Finishing his business, Gabe strolled back to his office and closed the door. He wanted privacy while he listened to Lianna’s sexy voice hopefully calling to say she missed him. Pushing play, he sat for only seconds, before he was up and hustling out the door again.
****
Lianna arrived at the school to see her daughter eagerly listening to her teacher read a story. Sagging, she leaned against the door jamb as her blood pressure returned to normal levels. This had to be a mistake. It was entirely too disconcerting to imagine someone trying to take her baby. And for what? Lianna had never done anything willfully malicious to anyone in her life. She didn’t even have an enemy, well, except for her brother-in-law. Okay, and now her neighbor.
Despite confirming that her daughter was unharmed, Lianna couldn’t make herself leave the school without Annie. Promising she could have circle time at home with her stuffed animals, she brought the girl with her. Harris was on a fieldtrip with his class and Charles was chaperoning. Her son was in good hands.
As they wound their way down the serpentine road that connected school and home, Lianna’s gaze narrowed in on the tall wrought iron gates that lie open ahead. Nicki and Darren’s massive stone house rested on a small rise at the end of a circular driveway. The ocean crashed into the cliffs directly below the residence.
Annie was happily humming along to the song on the radio, when Lianna made a split decision to turn into the driveway. She still had that nagging feeling. Pulling to the end of the drive, she parked then turned to her daughter.
“Mommy is just going to run up and check on Auntie Nicki, I’ll be right back.”
Rolling the windows down, Lianna jumped out of the car and bound up the grand stairs. She rang the bell and the door quickly opened.
Instead of her sister-in-law, Darren stood there. His eyes were red rimmed like the night of their awful confrontation. Those eyes widened when he saw it was Lianna, then looked over her shoulder.
“I thought you were … never mind.”
Darren’s eyes were glistened with moisture, as if he had been crying, not drinking. There was no scent of alcohol, nor did he seem the least bit intoxicated. The long, damp streaks lining his cheeks indicated it was in fact tears, not booze, making his eyes swollen and irritated.
Lianna wasn’t sure what to say. “Is Nicki here? Is everything okay?”
“No, she’s downtown all day. I had a meeting at the house that just ended. I thought you were someone else, which is why I answered.”
Lianna ignored the dig, tilting her head slightly as she took in his unusually disheveled appearance.
“Do you need something?” he asked, his tone indicating he wasn’t interested in small talk.
“I had a scare at the school, just wanted to talk to Nicki about it.”
“Are the kids okay?” Darren’s features sharpened with his concern.
“Yes, but a stranger tried to sign Annie out of class. They don’t think it was Nicki, and I wanted her to know. I guess I just wanted someone to tell.”
Darren grabbed the back of his neck. “Jesus, I will tell her. How is Annie? Is there anything I can do?” Sincerity rang through his words.
“Annie doesn’t even know what happened, she’s fine.” Lianna looked back at the car to verify that. “I’m just a little shaken.”
“Does this have to do with your neighbor? I think you need to get out of that house.” He paused. “You can stay here until they figure out what’s going on. It’s safest for the children.”
Lianna was taken back by his generosity and concern. “Thanks, but your parents have been staying with me at night. The principal is calling it into the police out of an abundance of concern. I really don’t know what’s going on or when this will stop…”
Damn it. She was getting choked up. This was a bizarre conversation and the fact that Darren was offering support threw her off balance. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any weirder, he whispered, “It’s okay to ask for help.”
Lianna’s gaze darted up to his face wondering if she had just imagined his words.
“If there’s nothing else you need from me, I should be getting back to work.” Darren started to turn away but then quickly faced Lianna again. He cleared his throat, “The two-year mark is coming up.”
“I know,” Lianna dreaded the anniversary of Scott’s death and the memories of that awful night with every fiber of her being.
“I was with him.”
She watched as he took a shallow breath, before breathing out longer than he should have needed to.
“When Scott died, I was in the car,” he said.
Lianna’s blood froze as Darren struggled forward.
“I was with him when he, he…”
“But… I thought he was alone, they said he was alone,” she was able to stammer out.
“His blood alcohol content wasn’t the only thing they covered up that night.” He looked down at his polished shoes, unable to make himself look at her.
Barb and Charles Bennett were pillars of the community. Instead of living downtown like most of the uber wealthy, they remained in their little beach town. Charles was childhood buddies with the mayor and chief of police. In fact, if there was someone influential in town, they were a friend of the family.
So, Lianna understood that when the Bennetts’ oldest son was killed in a single car accident, it seemed harmless enough to forgo the post-mortem toxicology tests. It made things easier on everyone. The company received only good press, the family received only sympathy, and Lianna received the pity she had been struggling with for the past several years. That and a fat, uncontested insurance payout.
The blood test was never conducted, so there was no chance of it coming back to haunt them. But Lianna knew, Darren knew, Barb and Charles knew. It sat on their conscience like an elephant. Lianna suspected that her in-laws grappled with their guilt still. She also knew that was part of why Darren disliked her so much, because she was willing to harbor this secret to her own benefit.
As if Darren could read her thoughts, he twisted the knife that had so eloquently been lodged in her heart.
“It’s easier to hate you for giving him a reason to drink, than to hate myself for letting him drive.”
She opened her mouth but couldn’t get her throat to issue a sound.
“Every time I see you, I think of him. Of that night. God, he was such a mess. I wish I didn’t have the constant reminder, but I would never want to see you hurt.”
As Lianna watched the pools of water slowly seep from the corner of her brother-in-law’s eyes, she felt her own tears stream down her face. But they weren’t for her, instead her sorrow was for the man in front of her.
“Darren…”
“I’m trying here, Lianna.” The look on his face told her he was desperate for her to believe that. “I started seeing a therapist this morning. Nicki suggested … demanded it. I thought that was her coming back for something just now.”
Lianna stood there, watching helplessly as Darren fought off drowning in his grief.
“I understand your pain. I am so sorry.”
It wasn’t even a remotely sufficient response to what he had just told her, but it was all she could muster. His mouth gaped slightly as if he was shocked to hear those words come from her.
Quickly composing himself he said, “Me, too. And I would appreciate you not mentioning what I just told you. Only my parents know the full truth and it would ruin the company.”
The emotionless shell around Darren had regained control.
“Of course, I would never,” Lianna reassured him.
“I really should get back to work. I’ll have Nicki call you right away.”
“Thank you.”
Lianna was being dismissed, but she had so much more to say, to ask.
“Don’t be foolish. Be careful and ask for help if you need it.” He made eye contact with her briefly before starting to close the door.
“I will.”
Lianna turned and tried to compose herself as she drifted aimlessly towards her vehicle. Darren opening up felt monumental. She finally understood the reasoning behind his wrath towards her. It may be displaced, but she understood, nonetheless. While she never truly believed Gabe’s theory that Darren could be the source of her threats, a tiny part of her checked him off the suspect list.