Chapter 17
S eth took a slow breath and sat in the armchair across from the couch, where Loretta sat curled into herself, eyes fixed on the floor.
She hadn't moved much since Allison had let him in. Not even when Gomer had nosed her hand and whined softly, sensing something broken in her. He’d brought Gomer with him for that exact reason, but the woman didn’t reach out to the dog, which was unusual.
Not unheard of but unusual. Allison’s mom was watching Chester while he whittled with Delbert, without his knowledge, of course.
Seth now had time to develop a sense of safety for the young woman.
With Gomer lying on the rug, still and watchful, he talked to Allison as she got him a cup of coffee .
Outside the apartment window, Hollister moved through the rhythm of a quiet afternoon. The wind rustled across the eaves, an occasional engine from Main Street sounded, and distant laughter from kids leaving school drifted through the open windows. Safe. Ordinary. Hollister at its finest.
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Loretta,” She flinched at the word.
“Lottie,” she supplied. “Please. I don’t like Loretta.”
“Lottie. Are you from around here? The reason I ask is that we want to help you. We won’t let anyone hurt you. We just need to know what’s going on. Help us help you, okay?”
She didn’t answer at first. Her fingers worked at the edge of the fabric on her knee, eyes locked on a patch of carpet near Gomer. “Spearfish.” She barely breathed the word.
Seth leaned in, and Gomer’s head popped up, his tongue lolling sideways out of his mouth. “I want to make sure I heard you. You said you're from Spearfish?”
She nodded, her hair falling forward, hiding half her face.
“How'd you end up here? ”
She hesitated. Long enough he almost thought she wouldn’t answer.
“I waited until he went to work,” she said finally. “Took what I could carry. Got to the highway and just … kept going.”
The words were quiet. Measured. But her knuckles were white where she clutched the hem of Allison’s hand-me-down hoodie.
“He?”
She nodded, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Who is he?”
She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me.”
Okay, he’d come at it from another direction. “That’s fair. Can you tell me, did he cause the bruises? Was he hurting you?” Seth asked gently.
Her breath caught, and for a heartbeat, she didn’t move. Then she gave a tiny nod, as if any more than that might shatter her.
Seth waited. Silence was a void that most people couldn’t let sit. She didn’t look at him as she said softly, “He, he … I made him lose his temper.”
Seth said nothing. Just let her fill the silence.
“I thought I could make it right. Thought if I was better, quieter … he wouldn’t …” Her voice cracked. “But it got worse. ”
She looked up, her eyes red, brimming but determined. “I didn’t think he’d stop that night. He finally got tired and went to bed. I waited till morning and left before he got home from work.”
Seth’s jaw clenched. He’d seen bruises on soldiers, civilians, and kids in war zones. But this? This was worse. The damage ran deep, past the skin, past the fear. Into her spirit.
She kept going, barely above a whisper. “I hitched rides. A couple of decent folks. Then a couple who … weren’t.
They gave me the creeps. Kept asking weird questions.
I told them I needed to use the bathroom, and I ran when we stopped here in Hollister.
Hid behind the dumpsters at the gas station until they left. My bag was still in their back seat.”
“All your stuff?” Seth asked.
“A little money. My phone. My ID.” Her fingers twisted in the fabric at her knees. “Everything.”
Seth swore silently. Outside, he was controlled and quiet. This woman didn’t need to see any anger. She’d seen enough from the bastard who’d beat her.
“I thought I saw his truck on the highway,” she added. “Far behind us once. It didn’t turn into Hollister, but … it felt like he was close. Watching. It still does. ”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She didn’t brush it away as she continued, “I was going to ask if someone had day work, maybe wash dishes, sweep floors, anything. But I saw his truck come back and turn into town. He was here . He went into the diner and the gas station. I scurried under the boardwalk and hid. He stood over me.” Tears flowed down her face.
“He tried to get into both of the shops. He was so mad. I could hear him.”
“You ended up sleeping under the boardwalk instead.”
Her head dipped. “Yeah.”
Seth ran a hand down his jaw. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You know that, right?” She shrugged. He leaned forward but not too much because she was still terrified. He kept his voice steady. “You survived. You got out. That takes guts, Lottie.”
She met his eyes but only for a second. Her voice was raw when she said, “I’m scared he’ll hurt someone else just to punish me. I was trying to get to my aunt in North Dakota. She’s the only one who ever helped me. She’d take me in, but if he thinks I went to her …”
“My question is, how did he know you were here?” Seth said out loud. “But that isn’t an issue anymore. You’re safe here. That’s a promise.”
She looked at him then, really looked. There was so much fear in her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
“They won’t. You’re not alone in this anymore.” He stood, letting the weight of his words settle between them.
“I’m going to talk to Ken. He’s the county sheriff. We need to get this on record. We’ll figure it out.”
“The police won’t help.”
Seth stopped. “Why do you say that?”
“Because they didn’t believe the neighbors.
They called it in when they heard him hitting me.
He made me tell them I’d fallen, that I was okay, that nothing was wrong.
When they left, he threatened the lady next door.
He told her he’d beat me to death if she called again.
” She sniffed and wiped at her nose. “They never came back.”
“We can’t be intimidated, Lottie,” Allison said from where she stood. “If anyone tried that here, they’d find out what small town justice looked like and fast.”
Seth nodded. “If he shows up, he’ll have to get through us and every citizen of this town.”
Loretta glanced from Allison to him slowly, her face pale but a little less hollow. Maybe, just maybe, she'd started to believe them.
“What’s your aunt’s name? We can make sure she’s okay.”
“You’d do that?” Lottie’s eyes held a glimmer of hope.
“Yes,” Seth said. Even if he had to drive to North Dakota to make sure it happened.
She gave him the information. Seth vowed he’d do everything in his power to make sure her past never touched her future again.
He stood up and noticed how Lottie involuntarily flinched as he did.
He put his hand on Allison’s shoulder and said, “I’m going to step out and call Ken. ”
Allison smiled and covered his hand with hers for a moment. That connection was just what he needed. She was his grounding point, and that was a revelation.
Seth stepped out onto the back stairs of the building, letting the screen door thud shut behind him. The cold crept under his collar, but he welcomed it. Needed it. The air was sharp with dust and pine, the faint scent of cows drifting from the stockyard just out of town.
He hit Ken’s number, which was now on speed dial, and pressed the phone to his ear. The sheriff answered on the third ring.
“Zorn.”
“It’s Seth.”
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got a situation.”
A pause. “Chester?”
“No. Remember that girl Allison called you about?”
“Yeah. No one ever saw her, though.”
Seth glanced back through the glass. He could just see Loretta through the kitchen window, hunched on a stool, holding a mug between both hands like it was the only warm thing in the world.
“She’s sitting in Allison’s kitchen. Early twenties. Showed up dirty, scared, and half-starved. Allison called the doctor to check her out yesterday. The girl was terrified and refused to talk and demanded no police. I talked to her today and got some answers.”
“Name?”
“Loretta. Goes by Lottie. Says she’s from Spearfish. She’s running from someone who beat her so bad she should’ve been in a hospital. Didn’t file a report, didn’t go to the ER. Just waited until he went to work, grabbed what she could, and left.”
Ken blew out a breath. “Goddamn. ”
“She’s scared he’ll go after her aunt in North Dakota. She doesn’t want to contact anyone in case he’s tracking her.”
“Is he?”
Seth rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, he is. Question is how. She said she thought he was following her and the couple that had picked her up hitchhiking, but the truck passed Hollister. He came back soon after. She dove under the boardwalk and watched him. She said he went to the diner, the gas station, and then tried to get into the bakery and the clothes shop next door. Both were closed then, so it had to be after two.”
Another long pause. “Yeah, Kayla was gone for a couple of weeks. That makes sense. She tell you his name?” Ken asked.
“No,” Seth said. “Not yet. I’m not pushing her right now. She’s on the edge. Thought she was going to bolt when I asked her where she’s from.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Ken was quiet again. When he spoke, his voice had settled into that low, steady tone Seth recognized.
“You trust her?”
“I trust the bruises under her sleeves and how she watches every door. I trust that she’s got more fear than guile.”
“All right. I’ll run what I can from this end quietly. I’ll cross-reference missing persons and domestic disturbances in the area. If he’s got a history, I’ll find it.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You armed?” Ken asked.
Seth’s mouth twitched. “Rifle in the truck, dog at my side. No one is going to fuck with us.”
“You think he’ll come here?”
“I think if he’s got half a brain, he won’t. But if he’s the kind of man who puts his fists on a woman and still thinks he owns her, then yeah. He might show up again. That’s why Lottie kept hidden and ate out of garbage cans.”
“I’ll have the deputy run some extra passes past the bakery. Night and morning.”
“Keep it subtle. She’s skittish, and if even a fraction of what she’s saying is true, he’s not stupid.” Seth paused. “I have the aunt’s name.” He provided it to Ken.
“You call if anything changes,” Ken said. “See if you can get a description of the truck or this asshole’s name.”
“Will do. ”
Seth ended the call and lowered the phone, staring out over the alley and rooftops. The town looked peaceful.
It always did.
He turned back toward the door, already making a mental list of the questions he would ask.
He glanced at the window and saw Lottie talking to Allison.
He’d let them talk for a couple of minutes before going back in.
That young woman had run through hell and landed in Hollister.
He wasn’t about to let the devil find her.
Speaking of which, he walked down the stairs and around the building.
Sure enough, there was a divot in the dirt.
He stretched under the boardwalk and pulled the clothes she was using as bedding out of the dirt.