Chapter 36
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Blaze drove by Arden’s, saw the lights on in the living room, but it was still bright out. The sun was setting soon.
The picture of Gracie riding her new bike outside warmed his heart considerably. He hadn’t known Arden was planning on doing that after work and was glad it happened.
Maybe he needed some brightness in the dark of what he was carrying.
The thought that something he did brought this on her.
He pulled into his driveway, got out and went to the front door. Up to his room, he showered and changed.
Back down in fifteen minutes, he knew Gracie wouldn’t be in bed for another twenty, so he couldn’t go to Arden’s place now anyway.
Well, he could, but then Gracie wouldn’t want to sleep and he wanted to talk with Arden.
Needed to know how it went. If Gracie understood he was more than a friend to her mother, and if so, was she upset by it?
The text from Clay popped up. Call when you get a minute.
Didn’t sound urgent. Otherwise Clay would have said so.
“What’s going on?” he asked the minute Clay answered.
“Are you telling me this is all the people you work with?”
“God no,” he said. “Maddy gave me that list to start. It’s nurses and PAs during her Monday through Friday shifts. She doesn’t rotate like others. It’s a start with the ones I could think of I work with the most. Those that are the closest or talk to me.”
He’d spent enough time watching every move someone made. He couldn’t do his job effectively or efficiently if his mind was on so many others, but he couldn’t stop himself today either.
“I’ll see what I can find,” Clay said. “Anyone to start with?”
“No. I obviously didn’t even think this could be me. I’m still not completely convinced.”
“Why?”
“Because nothing is standing out. Wouldn’t I have caught someone targeting me by now?”
“Not always,” Clay said. “Not if there has been a plan in place that you’re not even aware of.”
He sighed. “Maddy suggested we put it right out there for everyone to see we are together. Almost act like nothing is going on.”
“Did you?”
“We did. I know it’s not in Arden’s nature to be so public.”
“Nor you.”
“Exactly. But we were as normal as could be. At least in my mind. I didn’t notice anything. Maddy said she didn’t either, but everyone was working. It’s not as if all staff on duty saw us together. It’s just not possible.”
“It’s not. I still think you should bring her here.”
“She won’t do it. Maybe if she were alone it’d be different.”
“If she were alone she’d be staying with you,” Clay said.
“True. I’ve got to cover my night rotation at the end of the month. I’m not going to feel comfortable with that so I hope we get some answers before then.”
“Or you’ve got time to convince her to not stay there.”
He sighed. “I’ll work on it. I’d rather this be over before then.”
“Wouldn’t we all. I don’t like getting kids involved.”
“You and me both. That’s a line that shouldn’t have been looked at let alone crossed or touched.”
“We’ll figure it out, Blaze. Have you talked to Ford?”
“My next call.”
“Place it then.”
Clay hung up on him like he normally did when his older brother was done talking.
He was positive that Ford would have let him know, if not Arden, if there was anything to find out.
“Hey,” he said when Ford picked up. His voice was rough from lack of sleep. “Any updates?”
“No,” Ford said. “We checked for prints on the bike. Plenty of small ones. Gracie’s, most likely.
We lifted what we could from the handlebars and the seat, but I focused on the spots where someone would grab or lift it.
Tate came down earlier, took one tire to the lab.
He called back an hour ago and the knife marks are a match to the one on Arden’s tire. ”
He cursed under his breath. “We figured that.”
“Just connecting the dots,” Ford said quietly.
“Then get them to connect to the person,” he snapped. “I don’t like this, Ford. Not at all.”
“No one does,” his brother said, his tone softening.
The silence that followed was heavy. He knew Ford was holding something back, something he didn’t want to voice.
“Just say it,” he muttered.
“You love her, don’t you?” Ford asked.
His chest tightened. He leaned against the counter, staring out the kitchen window into the woods in the back. It felt too open to him. Too vast for someone to sneak up. “Yeah,” he admitted finally. “I didn’t plan it. Didn’t expect it. But yeah, I do.”
Ford exhaled. “None of us did. And look how that turned out for all of us.”
He let out a tired laugh that didn’t sound like him. “It feels like a curse sometimes.”
“Welcome to my world,” Ford said with a half-smile in his voice. “How are you holding up?”
The doctor in him wanted to say fine. The man in him couldn’t lie. Not to his brother.
“Not as well as I want people to see,” he said quietly.
That took more out of him than he had expected. Vulnerability was never his thing. Especially not now. But if he couldn’t be honest with his family, then maybe he really was in deeper trouble than he thought.
“And it’s painful to think of someone you know doing this. A stranger’s face brings more relief than someone you trust. Someone you let in. I know that.”
“That’s it exactly. I don’t want to believe it’s someone at the hospital. Someone whose job it is to help and heal that is inflicting this kind of mental distress on someone else.”
“Evil had no bounds. Race, color, gender, friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, strangers. Those things are invisible. You just need to remind yourself of that.”
“You’ve had more experience doing it than me.”
“We’re here for you. I’m sure Clay is putting the pressure on you to go to the farm. Both of you,” Ford said.
“He is. I can take care of myself. Doesn’t seem as if I’m the one in danger though. Maybe that is what I don’t like about this and your theory.”
“It’s only a theory.”
“We tested it today and I don’t think it made a difference.”
“Tell me,” Ford said.
He explained to Ford the same as Clay. “No one noticed anything.”
“Which means nothing. Whoever this is, if they are there, they’ve been flying under the radar. You don’t really think they are going to show themselves now, do you?”
He didn’t think of it that way. “Now I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t. You can’t hit the target if you’re not throwing darts at it.”
His phone buzzed in his hand, and he pulled it away from his ear to look. “Arden put Gracie to bed. I’m heading there now for the night.”
“Talk soon,” Ford said and hung up.
He locked up the house and left out the back. For the first time in months, his one neighbor right next to him was outside. “Blaze.”
“Hey, Stormy. How are you doing? How are the grandkids?”
“They are great. Thought it was you passing by a few times at night.”
No reason to keep quiet about things. “I’m dating the woman two down. She’s got the little girl.”
“I’ve seen her out playing on the weekends. I had no idea,” Stormy said. “Good for you.”
“Thanks. Hey, she’s had some trouble lately. Someone stole her daughter’s bike. Just thought I’d let you know if you want to keep an eye out, but not to alert anyone either.”
Stormy waved her hand. “We aren’t here much, but I’ll let you know if I see anything. I know you look out for our place enough.”
“Thanks.”
He moved through, waved to the other neighbors through the kitchen window when their dog barked. It happened a few times, and rather than continue to Arden’s, he went to their glass door.
“Hi, Blaze. What can I do for you?”
“Your new neighbor, Arden. Her daughter’s bike was stolen a few days ago. Don’t suppose the dog might have alerted you to anything?”
“Do you know when it happened?” Mike asked.
“We noticed yesterday around six thirty. The last time Gracie rode it was Thursday.”
“I’m assuming you’re friends?” Mike asked with a wide grin. “I’ve seen you two going back and forth.”
“We’re dating now. Sorry about crossing the lawn.”
“No worries. It’s not mine past the fences, so anyone can really come and go.”
He knew that, which was why he thought little of it and his neighbors didn’t either. Everyone was laid back and friendly.
“True enough, but I can go around front if it’s a big deal.”
“Nope,” Mike said. “Never is. And as for the bike, we haven’t seen or heard anything, but we’ve been on vacation and got home this afternoon.”
He never paid much attention to those things.
“If you see anything, can you just let one of us know?”
“You betcha.”
He went past the fence to Arden’s, the glass door opening and her stepping out. “Were you talking to someone?” she asked.
“Both neighbors. Mine and yours.”
“You told them about us?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure what to make of the stunned expression on her face.
The twist in his gut had to be shoved in a closet.
“The more people who can keep an eye out the better. Mike and Cassidy were on vacation, which is why they didn’t answer yesterday. They got home today.”
“We know my neighbors on the other side saw nothing.”
“I talked to Stormy next to me. I told you they aren’t around much, but they said they’d keep an eye out too. How did it go with Gracie?”
Arden pulled a chair out and sat, he did the same. It was warm, but not so bad that he was sweating.
“Better than I thought. I didn’t go into it too deeply.”
“She won’t understand it.”
“No. She asked if it’s the same as Tina.”
His eyebrows rose. “Billy brought up Tina to her?”
“Yep. I hadn’t known that. He told her not to tell me.”
Arden clenched and unclenched her fists. He wasn’t so sure he was happy with that either. Him more with the fact that Billy asked his daughter to keep a secret.
“What did you say?”
“I couldn’t lie and I told her she didn’t have to keep this a secret. I wanted so badly to call and give him shit, but I told myself to dial it back. I’ve laid a lot on him lately.”
“With reason,” he argued. “And it’s not as if he’s offering much help or even sounding as if he cares.”