Chapter 26
J oel stood at the end of the hospital hallway, cell to his ear.
He was careful not to look directly at the closed door of Teagan Kimm’s room.
But he didn’t have to look at it to know exactly what was going on.
To know that the deputy out front wasn’t even scanning the hall.
His gaze was down on his phone. Had been down for the last hour.
Three days had passed since they’d found Teagan, and Ward still wouldn’t share any information.
Ferris and Ryan had even gone into the station together, and Ward had given them some bullshit response about still being in the process of gathering information and it wasn’t ready to share with the public yet.
He and his team weren’t the fucking public. They’d found her. They were doing more of Ward’s job than he was.
Asshole .
But they knew she was awake. And they were going to talk to her, whether Ward wanted them to or not.
And if there was anything he’d learned about Ward and his deputies since getting to Deep River, it was that they didn’t work hard.
This guy hadn’t taken a break for a while.
He was almost due. Someone should replace him for that break.
But again, that would require more work on the sheriff’s part, so it likely wouldn’t happen.
“Any change?” Ryan asked from over the line.
“Not yet. But he keeps looking down the hall like he’s about to leave. Makes me think he’s got somewhere to be.”
As if the deputy had heard his words, he glanced up before walking away from the door.
He just left her, unprotected, not caring about needing a fucking replacement.
Joel’s jaw clenched. “He’s gone.”
“Be there in under a minute.”
Ryan had been waiting in the cafeteria. Less than thirty seconds later, he stood beside Joel and they both quickly crossed to the door.
Teagan Kimm turned her attention from the window to them as they stepped in, then she frowned. “You’re the guys who work on the new SAR team.”
Ryan nodded. “That’s correct. We also found you.”
“They told me that.” Her frown deepened. “I planned to say thank you when I get out, but that doesn’t seem like enough.”
“We were just doing our jobs,” Joel said.
“But we’d really like to know what happened to you,” Ryan added.
“I told Ward and his deputy.” She pushed up slightly on the bed.
“We’d love to hear it too,” Joel said gently.
She nodded. “Okay. I, um, left a Bible study class in Gardiner. I was ten minutes from home when I passed this car sitting at a crossroad, but I didn’t pay it any attention.
All I remember is that it was white. As soon as I passed it, though, it pulled onto the road behind me and flicked on its high beams.”
High beams…just like with Polly. “What happened next, Teagan?”
“I tried really hard not to panic, but I was so scared I wasn’t thinking properly, so I just pulled over, naively hoping they’d pass me.” She closed her eyes. “It was stupid.”
“No,” Ryan corrected. “You were trying to save yourself from a car crash.”
“I was. I remembered that girl who got run off the road recently, and I didn’t want that to happen to me. He parked behind me, and when I tried to start the engine it stalled, then I couldn’t start it again.”
“He tampered with your fuel line, probably while you were in class,” Ryan said between gritted teeth.
They’d contacted the local mechanic, who’d examined the car for the police. He’d told them more than he should have. That when the fuel line had been tampered with, the engine had started fine, but the second she’d stopped, the fuel system hadn’t been able to maintain enough pressure to restart.
She frowned. “Yeah. My boyfriend told me. I tried to lock my doors, but I wasn’t fast enough. He opened my door and dragged me out. He grabbed me out of my car. I fought him but he hit me and I blacked out for a while.”
Joel remained still, trying to shield the woman from his anger.
She swallowed. “I don’t know how much time passed, but when I woke up, we were near the river.
He didn’t realize I was awake. I opened my eyes and just saw the back of him over the water.
While he was distracted, I ran. Everything after that’s a blur,” she whispered, almost looking like she wanted to cry.
“I ran as far into the woods as I could. I think I was running for hours before I finally took a break. By then I’d run so deep that I couldn’t find my way out. I couldn’t even find the water.”
“Did you recognize him when you saw him by the water?” Joel asked.
She shook her head. “It was dark and he was wearing a mask over his head.”
Joel frowned. Because he was scared she’d recognize him?
“But,” she continued, “when I kicked him, before he hit me, when I tried to fight, he said something. I don’t know what because it was muffled and I was in shock. Maybe he cursed me or something, but his voice was familiar. I knew it from somewhere.”
Joel’s muscles tensed. Her attacker was someone she’d recognized. It wasn’t looking good for Jonah.
“Can you describe his build?” Joel asked. “Tall? Short? Thin? Muscular?”
“Tall, maybe six foot. Not muscular, but not skinny or big, just…average build.”
Even though the description was vague, it still fit Jonah.
“Did people from your church know about your Bible session?” Joel asked.
“Everyone does. Everyone’s always invited.”
Shit .
“You think it was someone from my church?” she gasped.
“It sounds like it was someone who knew where you’d be,” Ryan finished. “Thank you for talking to us. Let us know if you need anything from our team.”
She nodded.
They were about to step out when she spoke again.
“Will…will you guys be helping Ward with the case?”
Joel turned to see her fiddling with the blanket. Because she was nervous it would just be in Ward’s hands?
Ryan dipped his head. “We’ll be doing everything we can to help.”
She sighed, the relief so thick he could almost feel it from across the room. “Good. That’s good. Thank you.”
In the hall, they waited down at the end for the deputy to return. The asshole took twenty minutes and returned with a coffee and pastry.
Joel and Ryan headed toward the exit as a call came through from Ethan.
“Hey,” Joel said into the phone.
“You and Ryan get a chance to talk to Teagan Kimm?” Ethan asked.
“We did. I need you to look into something for me. Are you at the firehouse?”
“Sitting at the computer now. What do you need?”
“The day Polly and I followed Jonah Goodwill home, he was driving a black sedan. I need to know if he has any other vehicles. In particular, a white one.”
“Give me a few minutes. I’ll call you back.”
Joel hung up. “He’s looking now.”
Ryan nodded.
A text came through on his phone, but it wasn’t Ethan.
Polly: Please tell me you’re going to be home soon because I’m leaving Bloom in a second and need to share a big bottle of wine after the conversation I just had with Jonah.
Jonah had been with Polly?
Ethan’s call came through.
“You got it for me?” Joel asked when he answered.
“It’s white. A white Toyota Highlander.”
Joel hung up and called Polly back. The phone rang, then it rang some more.
But she didn’t answer.
“So you haven’t spoken to your mom?” Maggie asked gently, as she popped a piece of croissant into her mouth.
Polly wrapped her palms around her mug of coffee.
Bloom was quiet and empty around them with five minutes until closing.
“She’s called a couple of times and she’s texted every day.
I just need some space. I know why she lied.
She didn’t want to lose me or Jonah. At the same time, I hope she understands why I can’t keep bailing her out when things go wrong for her. ”
“I’m so proud of you.”
Polly’s brows flew up. “You are?”
“Absolutely. Your entire life, you’ve been cleaning up her messes. Holding her together after every breakup. And every breakup has cost you a little bit of your sanity. Her mistakes have had such a huge effect on your life. Heck, you barely dated because of it.”
It was true. If it wasn’t for Joel, she wasn’t sure she’d ever have gotten to the point of actually having a functioning relationship with a man. “I still don’t think I’ll ever be the marriage type, but you’re right. This is progress.”
“It really is.” Maggie leaned forward and touched her hand. “You’re finally putting yourself first. And it is so good to see you happy.”
“I am happy. I feel safe with Joel. Something I haven’t felt with a man…ever. I don’t know how he did it, but he broke through every bit of armor I was wearing.”
Maggie’s eyes grew watery. “Good. You deserve to be in a loving relationship. And you make him happy.”
“You think he’s happy?”
Maggie laughed. “According to Ethan, Joel is a changed man. Still obsessed with snacks and still finding his feet in this cat-dad role, but apparently he’s more authentically happy than the team’s ever seen him.”
Polly’s heart thumped. “Good.”
“It’s okay to still worry about your mom though,” Maggie added. “God knows I still did that with my aunt for a while.”
“How’s that going?”
Maggie had the aunt from hell. Things were better in the sense that her best friend could walk through town without getting open insults thrown her way, but they’d never be good. And Polly would never forget what the woman had put Maggie through.
Maggie lifted a shoulder. “I run into her every so often. We don’t talk, but sometimes she offers a tight smile. Honestly, I barely think about her anymore. I mostly think of my mom and wish we could find her killer and get her justice.”
A shudder skittered through Polly. “I hate that there’s someone out there who’s been hurting women for decades.”
“This new killer might not be the same person.”
“That’s almost worse. Then there are two of them.”
“Do you really think it might be Jonah?”
“I don’t know what to think.” She really didn’t. There was one piece of evidence, and it couldn’t be a coincidence. “Until we know for sure, I don’t like the idea of him being around my mom.”
“Of course.”