11. Elijah
There aren’t many moments in my life where I’ve felt helpless.
Losing my parents was a big one, but I’d been a child then. Young enough that I didn’t have any understanding of what it meant to not have Mom caring for me or Dad ready to play ball in the backyard.
When my grandmother died, it had been a shock, but she’d been struggling with her health for years, so it was an expected loss even if it did rip my heart out.
The day I nearly died alongside Michael and Lance was the first time I remember feeling absolutely and completely helpless. Bleeding to death as the men around me writhed in pain, the shrapnel burrowing deeper into my body with every single movement. The endless ringing in my ears. I’d been helpless and terrified.
Much like I am now. Only, this time, it’s a different type of fear. And it’s mixed with a whole lot of anger.
I’m unable to tear my gaze from the scene before me. A picture of Andie wearing a dark green, off-the-shoulder dress that probably cost more than my car has been daggered to the trunk of a tree in Edna’s backyard.
The dagger is at the top of the photo, though whoever left it there ensured we knew exactly what the message meant. Because directly beneath it is another letter. One that details just what will happen if this psycho gets his hands on Andie.
He plans to do to her what he did to her mother.
What he will do to everyone she cares about because—according to him—old debts need to be paid.
My first thought was George’s brother. Who better to carry out an act of revenge than the man who assaulted Andie in the diner? The way he’d grabbed her… I stifle a growl as I turn away from the image.
“You can bag it,” I say to the deputy then nod to the sheriff. “I’m going to get Andie back to the office,” I tell Lance, keeping my voice low just in case someone might be lurking somewhere they can hear me.
“Michael is there. Send him over. We need to move the camera, and I want to get another one somewhere a bit less obvious.”
“You think whoever did this is going to come back?”
“I’m counting on it,” he replies then glances over his shoulder.
Andie is standing on the back porch, arms wrapped around herself, emerald eyes wide and full of emotion. When we first met, I recall how stone-faced she’d been. How completely and utterly emotionless and almost robotic she’d seemed. However, right now, she looks every bit a terrified woman.
And it burns me up from the inside that I can’t help her. That she’s suffered yet another loss on the heels of losing her gran. Even if she and Rebecca hadn’t been close, the woman was her mother.
“Find out who might have anything against her.”
“You don’t think it’s someone Rebecca was involved with?”
“It’s more likely,” Lance replies. “But we need to cover all of our bases.”
“Understood.”
With one final nod, I leave Lance and cross toward Andie. He’s right. We need to investigate anyone in Andie’s background who might have motive and means, but the idea of pressuring her further makes me sick to my stomach.
“We need to get going. Is there anything you want to grab before we go?”
She shakes her head, so I guide her through the damaged house and out onto the street. It’s still early, so the sun hasn’t begun to rise just yet. As we move through the dark, I keep watch, one hand at my lower back, ready to draw my weapon at the first sign of trouble.
Thankfully, there is none, and we make it into the truck without incident.
The drive back to the lighthouse is silent, and by the time we’re pulling into the drive, Michael is already standing on the porch, the door behind him cracked open. Aggie is in his arms, the fluffy cat enjoying scratches from the former Army Ranger.
“I’m sorry, Andie,” he says as we approach.
“Thanks.” She scoops Aggie from his arms and heads inside, taking the stairs slowly.
“She looks messed up.”
“Rebecca was her mom. Regardless of how she felt, the woman gave birth to her.”
“Fair enough. You two need anything?”
“No. Any issues with the systems?”
“Nope. I ran the footage of the guy outside Edna’s house through the database, and nothing popped. His face was covered, so I wasn’t sure it would, but I wanted to give it a try anyway.”
“Thanks, man. Lance wants you on-scene.”
“Sounds good. I’ll head out now. Sure you’re good?”
“Yeah. I need to see what info I can get from Andie.”
A door above me opens, and I look up as Andie slips out onto the porch. She closes her eyes and tips her face up to the sky, the image of her stealing my breath.
“Yeah, you go see what’s up with Andie,” Michael quips, keeping his voice low. “I’ll be back in a few to take over so you can get some sleep.”
As he leaves, I continue standing exactly where I am, staring up at a woman who leaves me completely and utterly breathless in every possible way.
* * *
After makingtwo cups of chamomile tea, my go-to for the end of a long day—or, in this case, night—I head upstairs. The bedroom door is open, so I don’t knock, just peek inside. Andie is seated on the balcony in one of the two small patio chairs that fit out there.
“I brought you some tea.” I offer her a mug, handle first. She takes it, so I sit down in the chair beside her. “I know you don’t really want to talk, but I need to know?—”
“If anyone I know is capable of something like this?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“I’ve seen plenty of crime shows, Mr. Breeth. I know how this goes.” The way she says it tells me her shields are back in place. That cool fa?ade she’d had when we first met has returned, and even as I feel pity for what she’s going through, it irritates me.
“Great. Then I need a list of anyone who would have something to gain from hurting you like this.”
“Already made it.” She offers me her phone, and I scan the list she’s typed out in her notes app.
“You made that quickly.”
“I don’t have many enemies, but when I make them, they stick.” She stares out at the lightening sky. Rays of gold sneak out from behind the ocean, casting the world in a colorful glow.
“George isn’t on here.” She looks up at me, possibly annoyed that I brought him up. “Neither is his brother.”
“Why would they be on there?” she asks.
“Because they have every motive to hurt you.”
“George stands to gain nothing from hurting me. And neither does his brother.”
“Andie—”
“No,” she replies. “George left me. Years ago. He’s getting remarried and has absolutely no reason to want to cause me any pain. And as for his brother—Stanley is a jerk. Always has been. But he won’t gain anything from it either, and I doubt he’d risk his family just to get back at me.”
“We still need to look into them.”
She closes her eyes and leans her head back against the chair. “If you start digging into my past, you’re going to uncover far more than I want to face.” Exhaustion weighs down her tone.
“I’m sorry, Andie. I really am. But this isn’t even just a matter of someone trashing your gran’s house anymore. Someone—” I stop talking, sensing that a reminder is not something she needs.
“Was murdered. I get it. You can say it.” She takes a sip of her tea. “Fine. Feel free to dig into whatever you want. I’ve given you a list of anyone who has ever made a threat against me, and when my assistant gets here, she can get you the letters I’ve been sent over the years. Though I’m not sure what good that will do since no one knew I was coming to Hope Springs.”
“Edna’s death is public record if anyone looks hard enough. The obituary might only have been printed in this county, but you were named. It’s entirely possible someone is using her death to get to you now that they’re here. Whoever killed Rebecca could have been waiting at the house for you and caught her trying to get in.”
Andie’s face pales. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“It’s my job to consider all possibilities. So I am adding George and his brother to this list, and I will be digging until I find something to bring to the surface.”
As I stand, Andie clears her throat.
“Then there’s something you need to know, Elijah.”
Slowly, I retake my seat, settling back and taking a sip from my tea. I wait because I sense that whatever she’s trying to say is a battle to get out.
“My gran took me in when my father left, and my mom abandoned me.” She looks down at her mug then back up. “I was young, and while I never had a great relationship with either of my parents, losing them hurt—bad. Having my mother blame me for all of her pain left a mark. I’d wanted nothing more than to make her proud, so when she came back and told my gran she was ready for me to come live with her again, I’d been beside myself excited.”
“I didn’t realize you went to live with her again.”
She smiles, but it’s hollow. “It wasn’t for long. A month, maybe. And it’s not a time my gran or I ever talked about because, anytime she brought it up, I shut the conversation down.”
I fall silent again, anger churning in my gut for the pain present on Andie’s beautiful face. “Anyway, neither Gran nor I knew my mother had gotten remarried in the time she’d been away, so when I showed up at the trailer she was living in and a man was there, I’d first thought he was my dad. His back was turned, and I remember being so excited, thinking they’d gotten back together again and that his leaving might not have been my fault. Without thinking, I ran to him and wrapped both arms around his waist. The man wasn’t my father, and he turned, ripped me off of him, and threw me off to the side. My mom had been furious with me because he was angry that I’d had the disrespect to touch him.”
Because I’m genuinely worried I’ll shatter my mug, I set it to the side and clench my hands into fists in my lap.
“When he saw how scared I was, he laughed. And after that day, he made it his mission—every single day for that month—to terrify me to the point I’d wet myself.”
“Andie—”
“I don’t want your pity, Elijah.” She holds up her hand. “I moved on. It’s in the past. And the only reason I’m telling you this is because his scaring preference of choice was jumping out at me while wearing a skull mask nearly identical to the one that man had on.”
I pull out my own phone and open the note app. “What is his name?”
“Troy Hanover. But it’s not him.”
“How do you know? It could?—”
“I know it’s not him,” she says, leveling her gaze on me, “because I killed him.”