27. Shadows of Doubt
Chapter 27
Shadows of Doubt
Reece started up the engine and nosed his truck along his parents’ circular driveway, wheels crunching the gravel. Beside him in the passenger seat, Neve tried to ignore her aching head. She rested it against the door and stared out the window at nothing in the yawning darkness.
Puffing out a breath, he reached over and stroked her arm. His touch felt good; it felt right. Slowly, she turned her head toward him.
“The people who should know finally do know,” he murmured, putting his hand back on the steering wheel, leaving her skin cold in its absence. “And we survived it.”
She nodded and pulled her navy beanie lower over her ears. “We did, but I nearly died when your dad gave us that look, the moment he figured out we couldn’t technically go through with an annulment anymore.” And talk about killing all the feels from the tree-cutting. They’d had such a good time too. Tromping into the woods, the laughter as they argued over which tree—Reece had challenged them to a rock, paper, scissors duel they didn’t take him up on—the decorating later beside a cozy blaze in the fireplace. The warm memories had been iced the instant Hugh Hunnicutt had asked her to join them in his office.
“Yeah, I knew it was going to be uncomfortable the minute he closed the office door,” he lamented. “I do appreciate the speech you gave, though.” He tapped her thigh. “How are you holding up after the visit to my dad’s office?”
“I’m fine. I think most of what he said was motivated by concern for both of us.” She rested her head against the window once more, not looking his way. “Your dad was wrong, though.”
“About what?”
Now she did look toward him, and her voice grew brittle with emotion. “He accused you of being egocentric and shirking your responsibilities. I love your father, but those were pretty harsh words, and he was dead wrong. You’re the farthest from either of those character flaws of anyone I know.”
His mouth twitched with a small smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but he was right. Vegas … what I dragged you into— us into—that was irresponsible. I only wish they had heard about the wedding straight from you or me. They also should have learned the part about moving to Vermont from me , and not from some anonymous source. I still don’t know who spilled my secret, but that’s not what matters here. I should have let them know about all of it earlier.”
“You didn’t drag me into anything, Reece. I was a willing participant.” She heaved a sigh. “We both have lots of woulda, coulda, shouldas, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. For what it’s worth, I think they’ll support you, whatever you end up doing.”
“Maybe. Mom’s not too happy about the move.”
Neither am I. “Can’t blame her. She likes having her boys close by.”
“Except she and Dad aren’t close by. They’re busy seeing the world, not that I begrudge them that. They’ve earned it. It’s just that it feels a little insincere when she talks about wanting us all here and she’s not.”
“I think what she means is that she likes the notion of coming home to Fall River, knowing her boys are here, and she can see all of them at the same time. You can get together and celebrate as a family for holidays and birthdays, occasions like today. Those are special times for your mom.”
“I guess.”
Movement in the dark woods beyond her window caught her attention and jarred the
memory of when she thought she’d detected someone in the shadows at the rec center.
“Reece, would you mind if we swing by the clinic on our way home?”
“No problem. Forget something?”
“No. I just have this … feeling, and I want to check the place out to be sure everything’s secure.”
Nodding his understanding, he settled his grip on the steering wheel as he guided the truck along the highway toward town.
He sent her a sidelong glance. “What do you want to do about the attorney?”
She’d been giving it some thought. “Your parents made a good point about hiring someone who’s a known quantity. If our little problem isn’t in your family attorney’s wheelhouse, she’ll probably have connections to experts who can help us work this out. I mean, if we are married, is there trouble with community property?”
His jaw went slack. “Are you saying you’re going to petition for—”
“Absolutely not! But we might have to put that in writing, or there might be other steps we have to go through to protect your assets … and mine, not that I have any.”
“You have some very fine assets, Doc. And I’ll gladly protect them myself.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’m talking about things like that bank account of yours that keeps siphoning off money and depositing it into the clinic’s.” She watched him closely for any sign that she’d struck pay dirt, but his gaze remained glued to the windshield, hands resting casually on the steering wheel.
“That’s a great fantasy you’ve got going there, Doc. Makes me sound like a big shot.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Kinda like Leo Cantrell.”
She decided not to swallow his bait but instead put some of her own on a hook. “You know, I’m coming to the conclusion that I’ve been barking up the wrong tree. I bet you it really is Leo dumping all those funds into my account. I mean, with all his bucks, he wouldn’t miss a piddly amount like he’s been sending my way.”
Reece’s jaw firmed. Beyond that, though, he didn’t waver. “Why would he be interested in putting money into your clinic?”
“Because he’s a good guy. I really should give him another chance.”
“Are you forgetting you’re a married woman?”
“Not at all. But our plan is for me to become an unmarried woman, isn’t it?” She aimed a pointed look at his profile. The muscle in his jaw jumped.
Undeterred, she struck his soft underbelly in a different spot. “I thought your mom asked a fair question about how working in Vermont was going to benefit your hometown.”
He pushed out an irritated breath and took his hand off the wheel long enough to shove fingers through his hair. “Like I tried to tell her, I need to do something. I’m itching all over. I need to get out there and feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”
“You’re an adrenaline junkie.”
One corner of his mouth twitched. “Thought I was a mountain goat.”
“Who loves adrenaline.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s who I am. You know that. I’m gonna go nuts if I sit around all the time. Noah’s got his bar, Hailey’s got her bookstore, Charlie’s got his restoration company, and Joy continues to slay the mighty financial dragons. And you’ve got your clinic. You’re all living your dreams. The lifeline to mine got hacked, and it’s adrift, floating around somewhere, and I need to chase it down and reel it back in. I save people. That’s what I do, and I can’t do that here anymore.”
The desperation in his words made her heart hurt for him. If not for Chelsea Selkirk, his life would be back on track in the town he loved. Neve’s brain zipped through a list of scenarios where she caused Chelsea to leave town, leave her position at San Juan Search and Rescue. Some of those scenarios were more violent than others. In the end, it was a futile exercise. Neve wasn’t about to threaten the woman, much less cause her bodily harm.
They pulled into the darkened town, and Reece inched the truck along Bowen Street a few more blocks until they reached the clinic. An out-of-place beam of light shone at the back of the building, where Neve normally parked .
Panic welled inside her. “Reece! Do you see that?”
“Sure do. Did you ask anyone to check on the clinic tonight?”
“No!”
He swiveled his head side to side. “I don’t see the sheriff’s car or Shane’s.” As he nonchalantly rolled past the clinic, the beam winked out.
“Reece, someone’s got a flashlight. They might be trying to get inside!”
Wordlessly, he punched the accelerator and made a sharp turn at the next corner onto the unpaved side street, squaring off the block as he roared toward the back of the building. A slight figure in all black streaked through the truck’s headlights across the parking lot and hopped the back fence.
“Hang on!” Hand gripping the back of Neve’s seat, Reece reversed out of the parking lot, gaining purchase on the dirt surface as he cranked the wheel. The truck fishtailed. He straightened it and surged the vehicle forward, but the figure was nowhere to be seen.
“Call Shane,” he ordered.
“Reece, look!” Neve stabbed her finger toward a pair of racing taillights that flashed red before going dark. The shadowy outline of a vehicle veered toward the far end of Bowen Street before accelerating onto the highway. “They’re driving away without any lights!”
“Can you catch their plates?” he growled.
“Too far.” Neve held up her phone and zoomed the camera’s lens as high as it would go, but between the truck’s jostling, the distance, and the obstructions, she couldn’t make out anything. Blindly, she snapped a series of pictures anyway.
Reece sped down Bowen Street, and Neve hit Shane’s number. He answered with a groggy, “Yeah?”
“Shane, we think someone either broke in or was trying to break into the clinic. They sped out of here like a bat out of hell without their lights on.”
His voice sharpened. “Where are you?”
“Reece is chasing them out of town. I’m riding shotgun.”
“Tell him to cut the chase. Now . Too dangerous. Go back to the clinic and see if anything’s been damaged or is missing. I’ll meet you there in ten.”
“But—” Her protest was met with silence. He’d hung up. She relayed the message to Reece, who had already slowed the truck .
“Yeah, I heard him,” he grumbled. He pulled off on the shoulder and stared at the steering wheel, seeming to ponder, before flipping a U-turn and driving back toward town.
They pulled up to the back door, but Reece held her back. “Let me go check it out first.” He hefted a fourteen-inch Maglite from under his seat and exited the cab.
As she watched the light splash over the back of the building, Neve rubbed her arms to quiet the chills zipping along them. Nothing looked out of place. Reece tried the doorknob before loping back to the truck. “It’s locked. Doesn’t look like anyone’s messed with it. Wanna grab your keys, and we’ll go inside and check things out?”
They did, and Shane joined them shortly after. “So nothing’s been touched that you can tell?” He jotted in a small notepad.
Neve shook her head. “No. Do you think we scared off the person who’s been targeting my clinic?”
“Impossible to know. From your description, it could have been a kid doing kid things.”
Reece gave him a steely-eyed stare. “What kind of kid things?”
“Snooping around. Doing something on a dare.”
“Trying to break in and steal my drugs,” Neve huffed. “I took pictures, but I’m not sure they’re going to help.”
“Text them to me. Meanwhile, why don’t you two go home, and I’ll take a look-see up the road and around town?”
Neve considered protesting, demanding they stay until Shane completed his investigation, but she was exhausted, the adrenaline spike having long faded. After Reece extracted a promise from Shane to meet him back at the clinic in the morning, she readily went with Reece, and soon they were back at her house.
After he cut the engine, she placed a hand on his arm. “Reece, wait. The porch lights are off. I know I left them on.”
He peered through the windshield before hoisting himself out of the cab. “Give me the keys. I’ll check. You stay put.”
Moments later, the porch lights flicked on, and he was back inside the truck. “Everything looks normal. The light switch was off. So was the switch for the back door. ”
“I guess I’m a little jumpy.” As she exited the truck, she filled him in on what she’d seen at the rec center earlier. “Do you think I’m being paranoid?”
“No, I think whoever has been targeting the clinic has you spooked, and that’s completely natural. You should be on alert. You should be hyperaware of anything that’s out of the norm. And if Pearl barks her pittie head off, take her seriously.”
Neve smiled to herself. “That’s going to take a bomb going off.” Pearl was the mellowest pit bull Neve had ever met.
“Even more reason to pay attention if she raises an alarm.” Reece’s voice took on a determined edge. “Another thing: Tomorrow I’m putting up cameras at the clinic and here.” When she began to protest, he placed his fingers against her lips and shook his head. “No argument.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into his hard planes as they trundled up to the front door, their gaits mismatched, so they swayed together like a pair of drunken Miners Tavern patrons. Before she stepped inside, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing over both shoulders, expectation high that she’d spy something moving in the shadows. She saw nothing. The air shimmered with an icy calm.
But she couldn’t shake a feeling of dread, like frosty fingers feathering over her neck, yanking up each fine hair to stand at attention.