Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The cruiser barreled down the road while the shooter continued firing on them. Ryan hit the mic on his radio. The static that answered confirmed there would be no help coming.
The shots sounded farther away as the cruiser’s tires squealed on the snow-covered pavement.
Charlie inched back into her seat while another fearful thought emerged. “What if he follows us?”
Ryan’s eyes shot to her. “Let’s just hope we make it into town before that happens.” He tried the cell phone with the same results.
Charlie glanced behind them. “I don’t see anything yet.”
Ryan kept his attention straight ahead. “If he comes after us, he won’t use his headlights.”
The thought was chilling. If they’d stayed at the house would the killer have ambushed them while they slept?
In the distance, the lights of Pine Haven had never been more welcoming.
Ryan tried his mic again this time the transmission went through. The sheriff himself responded.
“What’s going on, Ryan? I’ve been trying to reach you.”
Ryan explained about their harrowing flight from danger.
“I’m on my way. I’m rolling Will to back me up.”
“Thanks, Boone. Be careful, it appears this guy is becoming more unhinged.”
“Get to the station and lock the doors. We’ll radio what we find.”
Ryan ended the transmission. As they entered the city limits two sets of flashing lights came up quickly.
“There’s Boone and Will.” Ryan flashed his lights as his people passed.
Charlie clutched her hands tight in her lap to keep them from shaking. When they reached the station, Ryan pulled around behind the building and got out. He rushed Charlie inside and locked the door.
“Are you both okay?” Sarah Ames, the dispatcher, hurried over to where they stood.
“We’re fine,” Ryan assured her. He hurried to lock the front entrance.
“Come and sit,” Sarah pulled out a chair near the heater for Charlie.
She shook her head. “I’m too keyed up to sit.” The attack had come out of nowhere. While Abby’s fate remained unknown, her uncle had been silenced by drugs that mimicked a heart attack. Now, she and Ryan were targets. He was collateral damage. The killer wanted Charlie taken out.
“Why don’t we reach out to Abby’s parents?” Ryan stopped beside her. “I know it's late, but we need answers, and it’ll take our minds off what happened.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea.” She needed something to occupy her thoughts.
“Sarah, we’ll be in the conference room. Find me if anything comes up. Don’t let anyone in except the sheriff and Will.”
“Copy that.” Sarah returned to her post.
“It’s down here.” Ryan led the way down the hallway past a couple of offices until they were standing in a large conference room.
He pulled out a chair for Charlie and waited until she was seated before claiming the seat next to hers.
Charlie watched him scroll through numbers until he found Deborah’s again before hitting call.
Three rings followed before Deborah answered. “Ryan, is everything okay?”
Abby’s mom would understand Ryan wasn’t calling so late without needing something.
“I’m here with Charlie who remembered something Abby told her before Abby went missing.”
“What is it?” Jim Tucker’s voice came through sounding strained.
Ryan looked to Charlie to tell the story.
She began by telling them what Abby said. “She seemed to hint that she might be seeing someone. Do you have any idea who that might have been?”
The silence that followed stretched tight.
“She never mentioned anyone to us,” Deborah told them. “I have her diaries. I’ve looked through them many times searching for answers. There’s no mention of her seeing a boy. . .”
Charlie sat up straighter. Deborah remembered something. Please let it be useful. “What is it?”
Deborah blew out a breath. “There was something that showed up in the last diary she kept. Hang on, I think I have it here.”
Charlie reached for Ryan’s hand in a move she couldn’t explain except that it had been a horrific two days, and she was scared. Having Ryan close made her feel less so.
“Here it is. It’s a single paragraph entry. ‘I met EHJ today. I can’t wait.’” She stopped reading.
“That’s it?” Charlie tried to rein in her disappointment.
“That’s it. And there isn’t any mention of an EHJ anywhere else in the diaries. I’m sorry. I know it’s not much.”
Charlie did her best to reassure her it was important. “If you think of anything else or remember something that might be useful, please let us know.”
“We will,” Deborah assured her. “Jim remembered the blue container you mentioned earlier but it was empty when we removed the items from the attic. Of course, by that time, Jim and I had been living at our present location for a while so anyone could have gone in and gotten its contents.” An awkward moment passed.
“How are you, Charlie? We heard that Pete died. I know how close you two were. Jim and I are both so sorry.”
Charlie swallowed back the lump in her throat. She and Pete had been close. He deserved better from her. “I’m okay. It’s hard.”
Deborah of all people would understand. “We’re praying for you. Abby loved you so much.”
Tears threatened to take away her vision. She somehow managed to get words out. “Thank you, Deborah. When this is over, I hope we can get together and talk about Abby.”
“We’d like that. Please be careful.” The call ended.
Any idea who EHJ is?” Ryan asked as soon as the conversation was over.
Charlie had no idea. “It could be someone’s initials, or it could be some type of code Abby created to keep anyone from finding out their identity.”
“So, in other words, we’re back to square one.” Ryan rose and paced the room. “I sure hope Boone and Will find something useful.”
She absently went over the initials in her head a moment. Then she sat up straighter and snapped her fingers. “I think I know who it is.”
Ryan whirled toward her in anticipation.
“You remember Eddie Hawthorne Junior?” The mayor’s grandson had been raised by Eddie and his wife. He’d gone by Junior a lot during school. “His initials are EHJ.”
Ryan dropped to his deserted chair. “You’re right. Wasn’t he older than us?”
“He was. But I think he was held back in school. Do you remember why he came to live with his grandparents?”
Ryan shook his head. “I don’t. But he still lives here in Pine Haven. He’s part of the city council. Eddie’s been grooming him to run for mayor at some point.”
Sarah appeared in the doorway with coffee for both. “I wasn’t intending to eavesdrop, but I heard you mention the mayor. You should ask Lila about the fight that happened between Eddie and your uncle recently at the café.”
Nothing prepared Charlie for this. “Who did you hear this from?”
Sarah crossed her arms. “My aunt mentioned it. She works at the café. She didn’t hear what it was about, but she said that Lila had to break it up before it came to blows.”
Charlie struggled to imagine her uncle being so angry with his friend that it might lead to a fist fight . . .unless this wasn’t about Eddie and Pete but something Pete had discovered about Junior. “We need to speak with Lila.”
Ryan hesitated. “It’s not safe for us to leave.” He illuminated his phone. “The café should be closing soon. Maybe we can get her to drop by here.”
“I’ll call her.” Charlie remembered she didn’t have a phone.
Ryan handed her his. “Here you can use mine. I’m going to get an update from Boone.”
He stepped from the conference room with Sarah. Charlie punched in Lila’s number.
“What’s going on, Ryan? Is everything okay?”
Charlie smiled despite the urgency. Lila had a fascination with police procedure. Charlie had often wondered if she missed her calling to become a police officer.
“It’s me, Lila.”
“Charlie? Why are you using Ryan’s phone?”
Charlie gave her the abridged version of what happened. “Someone shot at us.”
“You think it’s the same person who killed Pete?”
Charlie didn’t see it being anything but. “It’s possible.”
“Are you two okay?”
Charlie told her they were unhurt physically. “The reason I’m calling is I’m wondering if you could stop by the station to talk about the incident between Pete and Eddie Hawthorne.”
“You heard about that? I’m not sure how much help I will be.”
“Whatever you can tell us might help figure out what’s going on.”
“Sure. I’ll be there soon.” The call ended.
Charlie stared at the phone and tried to understand what might be responsible for the rift between those two lifelong friends.
Ryan returned to the room. The look on his face confirmed what she believed. There would be no help coming from the crime scene.
“Looks like whoever shot at us was long gone by the time they arrived. There were tracks that seemed to follow ours into town. Boone said they lost them due to the numerous tracks around the city.” He sighed deeply.
“There weren’t any shell casings left behind.
They did find the place where the shooter stood.
Doug’s going to see if he can get any evidence. ”
But Ryan didn’t sound hopeful.
“I spoke to Lila. She’ll be here soon.” She told him what Lila had said about not being much help. “That doesn’t sound promising.”
Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “We sure could use a break.”
Charlie’s heart went out to him. She rose and went over to him, placing her hand on his shoulders. “We’ll figure it out.”
Ryan’s gaze held hers. “I hope so. This is becoming more dangerous than ever before, Charlie. I’m worried.”
He was fighting so hard for her. Had fought to bring justice to her parents and she’d repaid him by breaking his heart.
Those gray eyes darkened. He stepped closer and tugged her into his arms. She didn’t stop the kiss because she needed to feel his touch to reassure her there were good things still in this world.
The moment his lips touched hers the years vanished, and it was back to the time when she thought the world revolved around Ryan.
The kiss lengthened and all she wanted to do was remain here in his arms in his kiss and not face what lay ahead.
Someone cleared their throat. Charlie jerked back, her eyes holding Ryan’s. Lingering emotion between them sparked like an electrical current.
Charlie untangled herself from Ryan’s arms and turned toward the door where Lila stood with a knowing grin. Sarah stood behind her with a curious expression on her face.
Heat crept into Charlie’s cheeks.
“Thanks for coming, Lila,” Ryan said with a catch in his voice.
“No problem. I’m glad I did.”
Charlie got her emotions under control. She noticed Lila was carrying a bag with her.
“I brought some pastries.” She held up the bag. “Homemade cinnamon rolls.”
Charlie forced a smile. “Thanks. Want some coffee?” She glanced past Lila to Sarah.
“Right. I’ll get that.” Sarah disappeared.
Lila dropped the bag on the table.
“Have a seat.” Ryan pulled out a chair. Lila thanked him and sat while Charlie returned to hers.
Ryan took the coffee Sarah brought in and thanked Sarah who seemed to take this as her cue to leave.
“What do you remember about the argument between my uncle and Eddie?” Charlie asked once Ryan was seated.
“Only that it was strange. Those two always got along. At first, I thought they were playing around. You know, pretending to be mad. Then Pete grabbed hold of Eddie’s collar, and I thought they were going to come to blows.”
Charlie glanced at Ryan and tried not to think about their kiss. “Did you overhear what the argument was about?”
Lila shook her head. “Not really. The café was busy, so it was loud. But as I ran to break them up, I overheard Pete tell Eddie that he knew what Junior did and he was going to confront him about it.”
The words chilled Charlie to the bone. “You have any idea what he meant by that?”
Lila thought about it for a moment. “Not really. But do you remember back when Pete was sheriff there was some money that went missing from the county’s bank account? Everyone was questioned if I remember correctly but no one ever confessed, and the money was never found.”
Charlie remembered Pete talking about that. He’d been preoccupied at the time though he didn’t say much about it. “I wonder if it's possible Junior was the one who took it. Maybe while investigating Abby’s case, he discovered the truth about the missing funds.”
Lila shrugged. “I’d say it’s likely.” She glanced between Ryan and Charlie. “Eddie’s been wanting to speak to you. Maybe you could bring it up.”
Charlie remembered Boone was going to speak with Lila about when she and Jason had gotten together. She asked her friend about it.
Lila glanced between them. “You don’t really think he’s behind what’s happening do you?”
“We just need to confirm his alibi,” Ryan told her.
Lila seemed to accept his answer. “It was the day before you arrived. He stopped by to tell me his family was in town and wanted to get together for dinner soon.”
“If that’s true, then Jason and Grant didn’t kill Pete themselves.” Still, it didn’t rule out they’d hired someone.
Charlie sat back in her seat. Having to wait until daybreak to speak to Eddie was nearly impossible.
It felt as if the clock was ticking on the next attack.
As much as she didn’t want to have this conversation with Eddie about Junior, she wanted the truth about what happened.
She just prayed it didn’t convict the man Pete considered his best friend.