CHAPTER SIX
Holly was still in shock from the events of the last twenty-four hours. After the paramedics checked her out, wrapped her ankle, and gave her some juice and crackers, the detectives drove her to the police station. There, she wrote out her statement and quickly picked Edwardo Cruz out of a photo lineup. Once they had all they needed, two policemen brought her back to the hotel, where they found her room ransacked.
Luckily, she’d seen some advice on a travel vlog suggesting that to safeguard against theft, one should travel with two of everything—ID, credit cards, extra cash—but never carry it all in the same place. That advice proved to be lifesaving.
Her driver’s license and a credit card were gone, but her passport and another card were in the hotel safe. And thank goodness. Otherwise, how would she fly home? The one thing she couldn’t duplicate was her phone. And that hurt more than anything. It was like missing a limb. She found herself reaching for it constantly.
A detective arranged for her to change hotels, but she was still shaken from the note left in her last one. You saw what happens to snitches .
The police helped her move her things to the new hotel and brought her food, which she devoured instantly. Now, two uniformed officers stood outside her room while she tried to nap. She’d gotten exactly no sleep in the tree last night. Her ankle hurt. And she was already getting hungry again.
There was a knock at the door. It was the detectives from the park.
“Hello,” she said. “Come in. Did you need something else from me?”
“No, actually,” Detective Flanigan said. “We want to do something for you. Obviously, Cruz knows who you are and where you live. What you can testify to will put him away for life, and we’re very worried about your safety.”
Holly sat down hard on the bed. She knew all this of course, but hearing him say it out loud still stung. “What should I do?”
“Well, we were hoping you could stay in New York, where we can protect you until we catch Cruz.”
“I really can’t. I’ve gotta get back to work.”
“What if we call your boss and explain the situation? I’m sure he or she would be reasonable.”
She huffed out a nervous laugh. “I’m not on the best terms with my boss right now. I’m a park ranger, and summer is our busy season. Plus, I don’t have the funds to stay indefinitely. I mean, you don’t know when—or if—you’ll catch him, right?”
The detective hummed. “That’s true. We’re doing everything we can, but he’s in the wind.”
“I have to go home, but I’ll be super careful. I can stay with a friend instead of at my house. Do you really think he’d go all the way to New Hampshire?”
“His freedom is at stake, so we’re not ruling anything out. We do have a plan B.”
“Which is?”
“We send a police officer with you.”
“You mean like a bodyguard?”
“Just until we arrest Cruz.”
Holly frowned. What had she gotten herself into? How would that look? She goes away on her honeymoon solo and comes back with some guy in tow? The town would have a field day with that. And what would Rick think? “I’d rather not—”
Another knock interrupted her, and Detective Espinoza went to open it. Officer Robinson sulked in, looking like someone killed his puppy.
“You remember Officer Robinson?”
“Hard to forget,” Holly said dryly.
“His first name’s Cole. He’s got some time off and volunteered to watch over you.”
Cole coughed over the word volun told .
“Do I have a choice?” Holly asked, feeling like it was a rhetorical question.
“Well, yes. But we’d feel much better knowing you were safe. Cruz is a cold-blooded killer and not to be taken lightly. Please let us do this.”
She couldn’t argue about the cold-blooded part. Having a surly cop follow her around sounded miserable, but not half as bad as eating bullets.
“Fine,” Holly said. “But I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon on my scheduled flight. Plane departs at two-thirty.”
“All right. Cole? Pick her up at noon?”
Cole nodded briskly.
“Until then, if you go out, one of the officers guarding the door will accompany you.”
“All right.” Holly sighed. “Thank you.”
The landline was old school, but she puzzled out how to dial a long-distance call from the hotel room’s phone. Alex managed a bunch of cabins by the lake, and Holly figured that was as good a place as any to start looking for somewhere to stay.
“If this is a telemarketer, lose my number.”
“Alex, it’s me. I’m calling from a new hotel.”
“Holly! We got your text and have been worried sick. What the hell’s going on down there?”
Holly had used Officer Robinson’s phone to let her friends know she was phoneless, but hadn’t had time for any details. She gave Alex a quick rundown on everything that had happened since they’d talked yesterday. Then filled her in on the plan to send someone to Green Valley Falls to babysit her.
“I only have a second—who knows how much long-distance fees cost. But we need a place to stay. Any cabins open?”
“Holls, it’s Fourth of July week. We’re totally booked up. The whole town is. I don’t know of anything that’s vacant. You could stay with me, but it would be crowded. Especially if you’re bringing some beefy cop along.”
“I figured. Just thought I’d check in case there were any last-minute cancellations. I’ll call Max and see if he can spare a couple of rooms.”
“Why don’t you let me call around and find something,” Alex said. “It’ll save you fees. Plus, without your phone, you probably don’t have any numbers.”
“That’s true. You’re the best, Al. I appreciate it.”
Her next call was to the cell company, where she arranged to have a new phone overnighted to Alex’s house. She just had to get through a brutal, phone-free twenty-four hours.
The waning adrenaline left her drained and exhausted. When she finally laid down, she crashed hard. And didn’t wake until the following morning.
She got up, showered, packed, called Alex, and ordered room service. By the time Cole knocked, she was rarin’ to go home.
“You ready?” he asked. He had a whole I’m-a-hostage-here-against-my-will vibe goin’ on. She could relate.
“Oh, yeah.” She grabbed the handle of her suitcase. “New York was nothing like what I thought it would be. Let’s get out of here.”
“Your ankle better?”
“I can put weight on it, and my limp is barely noticeable. Almost good as new.”
On the ride to the airport, she explained the lodging situation. “After the Fourth, things will die down, and I’m sure we can get a cabin at my friend’s place. But until then, I sort of hit rock bottom finding us a place to crash.”
“Define ‘rock bottom,’” he said.
“My neighbor, Farmer Jen, was kind enough to offer us some space at her place.”
“ Farmer Jen?”
Holly raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to be all snooty, are you?”
“’Course not,” he said. “But if she’s your neighbor, how does that get you far enough away to be out of danger?”
“Neighbor doesn’t mean the same to you as it does to me. I live on ten acres, and Jen lives on twenty. Her driveway is off a different road than mine. And quite frankly, it’s all we could find. Also, by ‘some space,’ I mean, I get a room. You can sleep on the couch or in the barn.”
He took a deep breath, as if summoning patience. “We’ll make it work.”
“Speaking of work,” Holly said. “I go back to my job tomorrow. Do you plan to follow me everywhere?”
“Ten-four.”
She moaned. “This is gonna be awkward. I leave as a jilted bride and come home with you in tow? The town’ll have a field day.”
“I’ll be invisible. You won’t even know I’m there.”
Holly rolled her eyes. Fat chance of that. Cole would stick out in Green Vally Falls like hunter’s orange in the woods. He didn’t understand the reason for her hesitancy, but she’d deal with that later.
They arrived at the airport, sailed through security after Cole flashed his badge, and boarded the plane. Once they were seated and buckled in, Holly closed her eyes. Her skin prickled, sensing his eyes on her. She cracked open an eyelid and confirmed he was staring at her.
“What?” she said.
“It’s just…you don’t seem too torn up.”
“I don’t particularly like it. Having you all up in my business twenty-four-seven will be a major pain. But I also don’t want a killer to get away. Nor do I want to get killed.” She shrugged. “It is what it is.”
He shook his head. “I meant about your broken engagement.”
“Oh. That.” She paused. “I’m still figuring out how I feel about that. By the way, I’m having dinner with my friends tonight. Can you watch me from across the room or something?”
“We’ll see.”
Ninety minutes later, they arrived in Portsmouth and collected their luggage. She led him to her truck and threw her suitcase into the bed.
“This is you?” He stared blankly.
“Yeah. This is Dina. Chuck your stuff in the back, and let’s go.”
“I’ve never driven a pickup. Never mind one that’s fifty years old.”
“Good thing you’re not driving then.” She jingled the keys in his face to taunt him.
“Oh, I’m driving,” he said, snatching the keys from her hand. “That’s not negotiable.”
“Hey!”
He ignored her protest and got into the driver’s seat. Rolling her eyes, she relented and climbed into the passenger’s seat. “We’re running late. We’ll have to go straight to the restaurant.”
“Put the address in my GPS,” he said, handing over his phone.
“Just for the record,” she said. “I’m only letting you drive ’cause my ankle still hurts a little. Sometimes the clutch gets sticky, and you gotta put your back into it.”
“Good to know,” he muttered. He fired up the engine, which roared to life with a cough of exhaust. “Is this thing gonna get us where we want to go?”
“Dina?” Holly patted the dash. “She hasn’t failed me yet. Be gentle with her though.”
He swore under his breath but gently coaxed the truck into reverse.
“We don’t need GPS.” She held up his phone. “I’ll tell you how to get there.”
“Ah, yes. My favorite way to get directions.”
She ignored his surly, sarcastic comment. “Do you mind if I use your phone to send a few texts? You didn’t delete my convos, did you?”
“When are you getting a new one?” he asked.
“It should have arrived at Alex’s today. Man, I can’t wait. Unplugging is hard.”
He grumbled something that she took to mean, “Sure, use my phone.” She texted her friends. First, to tell them she was on her way, but also to ensure they would be on their best behavior around Cole. She chose her words carefully, since Mr. Nosy would probably read them later.
Cole turned onto the freeway and fiddled with the radio.
“She only gets am stations. George Strait’s in the cassette player. Feel free to pop that classic in.”
He used a hand to rub his face. “What have I gotten myself into?” he mumbled.