Chapter 9 #2
She watched slowly as a tall guy hopped out of the truck’s cab.
Slamming the door closed behind him, he walked around to unhook her car.
The sports car had also parked, and as the door opened, Olivia saw a pair of long, slim legs, followed by a tall, willowy body encased in a well-fitted, no-nonsense business suit in deep blue.
The woman turned toward Olivia and offered a small wave.
She flipped her deep red hair as the early evening breeze caught it and whipped it back over her shoulder.
The woman wobbled slightly as she crossed the gravel on four-inch heels.
Finally, she climbed the steps to the porch, holding out her hand in greeting.
“Olivia West?”
Olivia had no option but to clasp the offered hand. “I’m Erica Kelly. I’m an attorney. Jake called and said you might need some assistance.”
“Miss Kelly.” Olivia shook the offered hand. “Why exactly would I need an attorney?” She asked suspiciously.
“Well, to get your car back, for one.” She raised a sculpted brow. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Jake sent you?”
“He did.” Erica clarified. “I’ll wait if you want to call him.”
Before she could answer, the guy from the tow truck jogged up the stairs, interrupting them.
“Miss West.” He held out his hand. “The name’s Brody Walker, and I own the auto shop in town. Sorry about the delay getting your car back to you. Hope it hasn’t been too much of an inconvenience.”
He dropped her keys into her outstretched hand.
“I gave it a quick once-over. It seems to be running just fine, and there is absolutely no damage to the front end, so I don’t want you to worry about that. I told Chief Walcott straight out there was no way you hit that guy with your car.”
“Thank you, Mr. Walker,” Olivia replied.
He seemed like a nice guy. The sneakers he wore were dirty with one of the laces split and knotted in several places and his jeans were torn at the knees and covered in grease.
A warm tan colored jacket swamped his lean frame and his dark blond hair hung to his collar and a slight stubble graced his face, giving him the appearance of a laid-back surfer rather than a mechanic.
“Brody.” He grinned. “We don’t stand on ceremony here. Anyway, if the car gives you any trouble at all, give me a call.”
“I appreciate it, Brody.” She offered a tentative smile. “How much do I owe you?”
“No charge.” He shook his head. “It’s on the house. Welcome back to Mercy, and I hope your luck changes soon.”
“You and me both,” Olivia murmured.
“Erica.” He nodded, acknowledging the woman standing next to her.
“Brody. How’s Cassie?”
“Good. She’s just opened her own veterinary office on Bleaker Street.”
“So I hear. Well, give her my best, won’t you?”
“Will do.” He shot them a friendly salute and trotted back to his truck, firing it up and pulling out of the driveway.
“Do you have that five minutes now?” Erica asked.
“I suppose so.” Olivia sighed, then opened her front door and allowed Erica to step inside. “Would you like coffee?”
“Ah, you said the magic word,” Erica breathed in pleasure. “I’d love some. It’s been a long afternoon. Dealing with the chief always makes my teeth ache.”
“He’s not an easy man, is he?”
“That’s an understatement,” Erica muttered as they stepped into the cheery kitchen.
Olivia indicated for Erica to take a seat at the island in the center. Pulling down two thick mugs, she turned back to the other woman.
“I’m afraid I only have instant coffee. I don’t usually drink a lot of it.”
“Instant is fine. Black with one sugar, if you don’t mind.”
“Ms. Kelly,” Olivia began as she set the two steaming mugs down on the counter.
“Erica.”
“Erica,” she amended. “I’m still not sure why you’re here. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Well, like I said, Jake called, and I owed him a favor. He seemed to think the chief was taking an unhealthy interest in you. I have to say, after talking to Chief Walcott myself, I agree with Jake. There’s something not quite right going on here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, for starters, he had no grounds to have your car towed to the police impound. After it was clear that it hadn’t been involved in an accident, it should have been returned to you, but when I arrived, they were searching the interior of the car and taking samples.
Based on what Jake’s told me, my guess is he’s trying to find some evidence to link you to Adam Miller’s murder. ”
“Yeah.” Olivia sighed. “I figured he might.”
“You don’t seem too concerned?”
Olivia shrugged. “I didn’t kill Adam. I spoke to him once for about ten minutes in the pub. He wasn’t anywhere near my car. The chief can search the car as much as he likes. He isn’t going to find anything.”
Erica nodded in approval. “I pointed out to the chief that without probable cause or the correct warrant, anything he did find would be inadmissible in court.”
“I bet he didn’t like that.” Olivia’s mouth curved.
“No, he didn’t, but at that point, he didn’t have any reason not to hand over your car, and he knew it. It should have been relatively straightforward, but they’ve had me jumping through hoops all afternoon to try and get it back.”
“They were stalling?”
“Yes. I hate to admit it, but Jake may be right. Chief Walcott is ignoring all other evidence in favor of going after you. I’ve taken a look at some of the evidence and really, apart from the fact you saw Adam in the pub the night he disappeared, along with a dozen other people I might add, all they have is that the body was discovered in your woods.
There is nothing to tie you to the Miller murder at all. ”
“I’ve been trying to tell them that.”
Erica gave a puzzled frown. “The thing is, I’ve known the chief ever since I opened my own practice here in town. The man’s a pain in the ass, there’s no doubt, but he’s a straight-down-the-line, by-the-book kind of guy. He never cuts corners.”
“So?”
“So,” Erica continued, “what is it about you that made him throw the book away? He’s mishandled this investigation from the moment the body was discovered.
Their case against you has so many loopholes it would get laughed straight out of court, but for some reason he’s fixated on you being the murderer. It’s like he has tunnel vision.”
“Great. That’s just what I need while I’m trying to get the people of Mercy to accept me and forget the fact that my father is a murderer—the chief of police with some kind of vendetta against me.”
“I think this goes deeper than just the fact that your father was convicted of murder. It almost seems personal.”
“But I don’t understand why.” Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know him. I haven’t set foot in Mercy in twenty years, and I hadn’t even met the chief before the morning Adam’s body was discovered.”
“I don’t have the answers.” Erica shook her head. “Jake will get to the bottom of this, I have no doubt, but in the meantime, you need to be careful.”
“Shit,” Olivia muttered sourly. “I just want a peaceful life.”
“Here.” Erica reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card. “If you need anything, call me.” She finished her coffee and stood. “I should be getting back.”
“Erica,” Olivia called as the other woman prepared to leave. “It’s getting late, and I haven’t eaten yet. Would you like to join me? I mean, if you’re going to be my attorney, then we might as well get to know each other.”
Erica pursed her lips as she stared thoughtfully at Olivia. “I’d like that,” she replied after a moment.
Olivia grinned. “You can fill me in on you and Jake.”
“I didn’t say there was a me and Jake,” Erica replied.
“Honey,” Olivia laughed, “you didn’t have to.”
* * *
Brody coasted along the dark road, singing along loudly to the radio.
Dropping off the West car was his last job of the day, and he was more than ready to go home to Cassie.
His stomach growled, and as he tried to ignore the hunger pangs, his headlights illuminated a dark-colored car parked at the side of the road with the hood propped open.
Sighing at the thought of being late for dinner, he swung in front of the car and hit the brakes. It was cold and dark, and he couldn’t, in good conscience, leave someone stranded.
Hopping down from the cab, he grabbed a flashlight and headed back along the road, but as he reached the vehicle, he realized it was empty.
He shone the flashlight around the car but he still couldn’t see anyone.
Looking away from the car, he directed the light toward the canopy of trees that led into the woods, but it was too dense to see anything.
He called out a few times, but there was no answer.
An uneasiness unfurled deep in his gut, and he reached into his pocket to grab his phone, only to realize he’d left it in the cab.
Turning, he made his way back along the road, having every intention of calling his brother at the police station.
After what had happened to Adam, it paid to be cautious.
But even if nothing untoward had happened and the driver had simply wandered off in search of help, he knew it was easy to get lost in these woods. In the dark and with the temperature rapidly falling, whoever it was could be in real trouble.
He reached out toward the handle of the door. The push, when it came, was so sudden and with so much force that his head smashed against the window of his door, leaving a spider web of cracked glass with a large bloodstain at its center.
Dazed, Brody fell back against the ground, his flashlight tumbling from limp fingers. He fought down a wave of nausea rising in his throat and tried to stand but was pushed roughly to the ground. His vision wavered, and the buzzing sound in his ears roared.
He felt his wrists being bound together tightly with cable ties, the thin plastic biting cruelly into the soft flesh of his wrists.
He blinked, struggling to see through the blood dripping into his eyes, even as the panic began to churn sickly in his belly, but in the darkness all he could make out was a dark figure.
He opened his mouth to yell in alarm as a booted foot descended toward his face, and his last thought was of Cassie before the darkness consumed him.