14. Falling Behind
Chapter 14
Falling Behind
M arcus woke with Elina wrapped in his arms and a smile on his face. They might not have managed a lot of sleep but he knew the adrenaline high would get him easily through the day.
He couldn’t see the time from where he was, but from the light, he suspected the alarm would ring soon. He had a few online meetings today and needed to be in the office and in uniform for them. On time.
He’d have to talk Elina into coming with him or staying here locked in the house. Or with one of his buddies. He doubted she was going to like that conversation.
“What’s got you thinking so hard this morning?”
He chuckled and kissed her hair, where she rested on his chest. “Thinking how to avoid telling you that I don’t want you to be on your own at all until we figure this out.”
She sighed. “Yeah, that’s not going to be a fun conversation.”
He squeezed her. “I want you safe.”
She nodded and scrambled up until she lay on him with her hands stacked on his chest. She studied him with serious eyes. “I want you safe, too. The only thing that actually happened was to those poor animals. We all had the feeling of being watched, but the animals make me think you’re the target, not me.”
“I’m not convinced one way or the other. We both need to be careful.”
She nodded. “You said you had to be in the office today.”
He agreed. “I have some meetings I can’t avoid. How do you feel about coming with me?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t want to be in the way. Is anyone working on the new station today? Could I help out there? Or I could stay here and work on my comics.”
He rubbed his hands over her butt, and she squirmed against him, nearly making his eyes cross. “Those are all good choices. What do you want to do?”
She squirmed again and grinned. “Why don’t we do something else for a while and give me some time to decide?”
She squealed when he rolled them over and pulled her hands above her head. “Any ideas what we should do?”
Her laugh filled him up. “You seem to have a very good idea. Why don’t we go with that?”
A few hours later, he closed off his last meeting and put the computer to sleep. As it taken had all morning, his gaze drifted to where Elina sat on the couch in the corner. She’d put in earbuds to give him privacy and was listening to music as she worked on her tablet. She’d alternated between it, the laptop, and a notebook.
Her face scrunched up again, and he’d bet his new funding she was drawing a character who had that same expression. Her expressions had changed often throughout the morning. After a few minutes of holding each one, she’d smile, then tap the tablet with her stylus.
Marcus had no idea what creating comics entailed, but he couldn’t wait to find out. She put her heart into what she was working on. That heart translated to her characters and drew people in.
He didn’t remember reading too many comics as a kid, but she had him hooked on Paxi. He’d been digging through archives of her work. She was an incredibly talented artist, but his favorite part was the messages she conveyed with her work.
Peace. Cooperation. Kindness. Generosity. Compassion. Fun. Because even with the serious underlying tone of her work, it was always fun. Entertaining for kids and adults alike.
As if she’d felt him watching her, her gaze shot to him, and she grinned. She yanked out the earbuds. “Taking a break?”
He loved that she hadn’t once complained about being stuck in his office with him for hours while he worked. She’d sunk in and worked as well. He wondered if she even had a clue how much time had passed. “All done.”
Her eyebrows shot up, then she looked at her tablet, probably checking the time. “Really? I didn’t realize what time it was. How about I take you to lunch at the No Fail Diner, and then we can put in a few hours on your station?”
“I have an idea how we can spend some hours.”
Her joy-filled laughter filled the space. And his heart. Damn, he was all in with this woman.
“I bet I’ll like those ideas, and I have a few of my own. But we can save those for a reward when we’ve done some work in your space.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Let’s have lunch first, and we’ll find out who’s available to give us a hand.”
She held up her phone. “Piper said she’s able to help, and she’s got a group chat set up. All we have to do is let them know the time.”
Man, he loved his town.
Elina packed up and put everything in the large shoulder bag she seemed to carry everywhere. Nice to have an office in her bag.
He crossed to her, and when she stood up, he pulled her in for a kiss. Of course, it went nuclear in seconds, and he had to rein himself in. He’d never put her privacy in danger or do anything to embarrass her. His office was open to the public, and several people had keys to the space. He rested his forehead on hers. “That should hold me over until it’s reward time.”
Her eyes remained closed as she smiled. “Hmm. Maybe. You sure know how to kiss, Deputy Ramirez.”
“Right back atcha, Ms. Vasquez.”
A short knock preceded Troy opening the door. He grinned when he spotted how close they were standing, but he didn’t comment on it. “Piper says we’re helping out at the station after lunch. You heading to the diner with us?”
Marcus slung his arm over Elina’s shoulders. “Sounds like a plan. Did you hear anything this morning that might help us?” He didn’t want to mention butchered animals as they were heading to lunch, but it wasn’t far from anyone’s mind, anyway.
Troy shook his head as they locked up and headed to the sidewalk. “Nothing. With the leaves starting to turn, I saw a few more tourists this morning. All families or couples. No single people. No one who smelled like smoke or gave off a creepy vibe.”
Because it couldn’t be that simple.
He kept his gaze moving as they walked the short distance to the diner. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. No feeling of being watched. No strangers paying them any attention. Or locals. With Elina’s safety threatened, he wouldn’t take much for granted, but he could eliminate almost everyone in town. Although, it had been a long-time local who’d snapped and attacked Heath’s Addison. He wouldn’t relax his guard.
Piper was already in the diner, chatting with Ginny. The four of them ordered and ate. By the time they’d finished, they had five offers of help for the afternoon.
He loved this town. He just hoped he could keep it safe. And then convince Elina to stay permanently.
E lina mulled over the similarities between Phail, Suraih, and other villages where she’d lived. People supported each other and were always ready to help with a smile.
This wasn’t a place where people kept track of favors owed each other but a system where everyone knew they were able to get help when they needed it. And they were ready to offer assistance as well.
She wondered if the people knew how incredibly lucky they were. They’d created a positive space in a town named Phail. It would be a great name for a new comic strip, and she wondered how they’d feel about starring in it. Or if she should keep her strips with the everywhere vibe. Probably. But she knew these people would be showing up in her work again and again.
Once the group reached the police station, she stopped to get a good look at the exterior. She wasn’t sure if the project she’d been working on would remain secret forever or if she’d share it with Marcus to see what he thought. Depended on a lot of factors she didn’t control but she’d make sure she was ready to go if it worked.
Rachel and Owen, the first people she’d met in town, walked up. The puppy Flups bounced as he approached, and she bent down to scratch his head. “Hi everyone.”
“Mom says we might be able to help, but I’m not big enough to use the power tools yet.”
Elina grinned. That image would make a great cartoon. “I don’t have much experience with power tools myself, but I bet we can find another way to help.”
“That’s what Mom said. If we can’t help with anything outside, we might have to take Flups home. Do you have any ideas about what we can do?”
Elina shared a smile with Rachel. “I’m not sure. I actually don’t know much about renovations. But I think Marcus might be able to give us some ideas.”
Marcus hadn’t moved from her side. He’d directed a few people on what to do inside and then had waited for her.
Now, he approached with a twinkle in his eyes but his expression serious. “Are you good at keeping secrets?”
Owen nodded eagerly. “I am. I never told anyone Tristan likes Preesha. He asked me to keep it a secret, and I did.”
Elina rolled her lips together to keep in the smile. Owen didn’t realize he’d just blown his buddy’s cover.
Marcus nodded. “Good to know. I’m going to have a room upstairs that holds all the evidence.”
Owen’s eyes lit up. “Like all the secret stuff that keeps the bad guys in jail?”
“Exactly like that. I need to clear out the room and then clean it up. We can’t put any evidence in there until it’s ready.”
“We can do it, Deputy Ramirez. My mom and Elina can help. And we’ve got some toys to keep Flups busy. Can Flups come too?”
Marcus ruffled the boy’s hair. “Let’s see if he can handle it.”
Owen carried his puppy up the stairs so his paws didn’t get hurt in the construction zone. Elina hadn’t been in the back room yet but found it hadn’t been touched much. It held a couple of old dressers and a bed that was about the size of a cot.
Once Marcus closed the door, Owen looked around. “Do you think it’s safe to put Flups down??
Marcus nodded. “Yes. We don’t need to change out walls in here, so there hasn’t been any demolition. We’re going to add shelving and another closet along that wall. Before we can do that, we need to clean out everything. Find out if there’s anything that can be used or given to someone who needs it, or see if everything is trash.”
“We’ll do a great job.”
“Counting on it. I’ll be back in a bit.”
He grinned at Elina and Rachel, then headed out, closing the door behind him.
Flups squirmed until Owen put him down and then sniffed out all the corners of the room. When the puppy disappeared under the bed, the boy declared he’d start looking under there for anything that needed to go.
She and Rachel moved to the dressers, tall enough to reach halfway up the windows. The soft brown wood showed lots of scars. It had been well-loved. “These are beautiful. I wonder how many people have used them over the years.”
Rachel nodded as she ran her fingers over the surface. “The workmanship is gorgeous. Look at the flowers carved into these drawer fronts. Someone was an incredible artisan.”
Elina agreed. The flowers were delicate and detailed. The artist had been talented. She opened the top drawer to see if the inside had any further details, then slammed it shut with a gasp. “Stop.” Her harsh whisper had Rachel looking at her and holding up her hands. “Take Owen and Flups downstairs. Send Marcus up.”
Rachel nodded. With wide eyes, she raised her voice. “Hey, Owen, we should take Flups outside in case he needs to pee. Don’t want him messing up the new station.”
“Okay. See you later, Elina.”
Part of her wanted to open the other drawers, but she knew Marcus wouldn’t want that. Instead, she backed up and didn’t touch anything else. Her gaze roved the space, and she searched for any clues. The creep had been here.
Her hands shook, and she fisted them to control the tremors. The jerk was after Marcus. There was no way for him to know who would be in this room and open this drawer. But this building belonged to Marcus, and that was probably obvious to an outside observer. All he’d have to do was ask a question of any local to find out.
She heard Marcus climbing the stairs two at a time, and his long stride brought him into the room quickly. “Are you okay? What happened?”
He crossed to her and ran his hands down her arms until he gripped her hands. His eyes checked out her body, but she wasn’t injured, just scared. Seeming to realize that, he pulled her in for a hug. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and steadied herself. “I’m okay. I just found something. He was here. In this room. It has to be you he’s after.”
“How do you know? What did you find?”
She pointed at the top drawer with a shaky finger. “I opened that and found a mouse, or what’s left of the poor thing. It has to be the same guy. There’s no way there’s two people who would do something like that.”
Marcus growled and squeezed her again. “I’m sorry you found that.” His voice was granite.
He pulled on gloves and then took some pictures of the room on his phone. He looked behind the dresser and cursed. “This window is broken. The dresser is so tall, I didn’t see it earlier. This is how he got in. How many drawers did you and Rachel open? Did you go through anything else?”
“This is the first one we opened. Owen went under the bed to grab Flups. He didn’t say anything, so I think it’s clear there. What if Owen had opened the drawer? I could have exposed him to that.”
Marcus shook his head. “Not your fault. We’re going to get this asshole.”
But would it be before he hurt someone?