Chapter 3
Under normal circumstances, David preferred driving.
His partner drove like a ninety-nine-year-old grandmother.
But after last night’s incident and subsequent stitches and fainting episode, Brandon refused to trust him behind the wheel.
David had pointed out that he’d made it home without incident earlier, but Brandon only shook his head and told him to stop complaining. He was currently at the man’s mercy.
David’s mind raced as fast as the trees whizzing by. Only this morning, he’d handed Zoey his number, and the young girl had already called. “I wonder what happened over the past several hours?”
“I have no idea, but at least we know she listened.”
“That’s true. I guess we’ll find out in a few minutes.”
His partner grunted his response.
David exhaled and stared at the passing scenery.
His mind drifted to the nurse who’d witnessed his embarrassing fainting spell last night.
Her reaction when he tried to help her made his skin crawl.
He’d witnessed too much violence in his career not to notice the aftereffects of abuse when he saw it.
He debated whether to do some digging on her behalf or let it be.
Right. He wasn’t the let it be type of guy.
“This is it.” Brandon’s comment pulled him from his thoughts.
His partner parked at the curb in front of a bright yellow bungalow with cedar steps leading to a white porch. Planter boxes hung from the rail, red and pink geraniums spilling over the edge. A matching white picket fence enclosed the property.
“Looks like a quaint little cottage.” David swung open the passenger door and stepped onto the sidewalk.
“If I recall, this is Emily Hanover’s place.” Brandon joined him.
He glanced at his partner. “I thought she lived in town.” Pinewood Shores was a small enough town that he knew most folks on sight but big enough he could still keep a few secrets. He didn’t want his failure known all over town.
“She does. She inherited the property years ago and turned it into a rental sometime in the past six or so years.”
No wonder he hadn’t known. He’d only recently moved to Pinewood Shores and hadn’t learned all the details of the town’s residents—yet.
David strode up the steps and knocked on the door.
The wooden door swung open, and Zoey’s face pressed against the screen.
“Detective. You came.” The girl’s face flashed with relief. She called over her shoulder. “Momma, the detectives are here.” The outer door flung open.
He and Brandon entered the comfortable looking cottage.
A beautiful blonde waltzed in, hair in a messy bun, wiping her hands on a towel. “Sorry. I’m in the middle of….” She froze. Her eyes widened. “Detective Whitman?”
Great. Just what he needed. Jennie Nielson, the nurse who’d witnessed his embarrassing emergency room blackout. “Ma’am.”
“What are you doing here?”
“This young lady called.” He gestured to Zoey. “Said she needed help. I’m assuming she’s your daughter.”
Jennie sighed. “Right.” Her gaze landed on his partner. “Sorry for my lack of manners. I don’t think we were formally introduced yesterday at the hospital. I’m Jennie Nielson, and this is my daughter, Zoey.”
“Brandon Pierce. Nice to meet you, ladies.” Brandon shook their hands.
Zoey’s gaze darted between her mom and David. “You two know each other?”
He started to answer, but Jennie piped in before he could respond. “I met Detective Whitman at the hospital last night.” She rested her hands on Zoey’s shoulders. “Why don’t you gentlemen come on in and have a seat. Since my daughter contacted you, I’ll let her explain.”
The young girl straightened, and David could have sworn she glowed with pride.
He and Brandon sat on either end of the tan couch while Jennie took the navy-blue easy chair off to the side. Removing the floral pillow from behind her, Jennie hugged it to her chest.
Zoey propped herself on the armrest next to her mom and filled them in on the text message gone wrong. “So, you see. I thought I was talking with Aunt Tina. But it wasn’t her. Mom says I got two numbers mixed up.”
Tapping his pencil on the notebook he’d used to record the information, David set his jaw. The girl’s story made sense. One simple transposition of numbers. An unfortunate mistake that had dire consequences.
“Thanks, Zoey.” He lifted his gaze to Jennie. Tension snaked across her features, causing him to pause. Her response last night spoke of a brutal past. Had today’s incident been fallout from that? Or had he read her reaction wrong?
He hated to ask the woman, but he had to cover all the possibilities. “Is there anyone who’d want to scare or hurt you or your daughter?”
Zoey jerked. Her wide blue eyes focused on her mother.
A protective hand rested on the girl’s back. Jennie cleared her throat. “Detective, with all due respect, this was purely a misdial. Nothing more.”
The evasion of his question hadn’t gone unnoticed. The woman hid something. “Please understand that I have to do my job and ask the hard questions.”
She nodded.
“I’m curious why Zoey didn’t have her aunt’s number programmed into her phone.”
Jennie’s shoulders relaxed. “Tina’s not technically her aunt, and I purchased the phone a week ago. It only has my number, her great aunt’s number, and a couple of approved friends. I bought it so she could get a hold of me if needed. I’m a single parent. I don’t have backup.”
Brandon leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “May I ask where her father is?”
Relieved his partner took that question, David settled back against the couch.
“Her father died before she was born.” Jennie gritted her teeth. “Drunk driving accident.”
Brandon’s voice softened. “Sorry to hear that, ma’am. Was the driver convicted?”
The woman threaded her fingers through her daughter’s hair and sighed. “My late husband was the drunk.”
David glanced at Brandon and returned his attention to the two ladies in front of him.
Time to rescue his partner. David cleared his throat. “How about social media? Anyone bothering you online, Zoey?”
The young girl shook her head. “I don’t have any accounts, and neither does my mom.”
No social media? Law enforcement officers tended to stay away from those sites but to have nothing… “Really? That’s unusual for today’s world.”
“We like our privacy, detective. Is there anything else? I need to feed Zoey and get her ready for bed. Tomorrow’s a school day.”
David had struck a nerve with his question, which increased his curiosity. What had happened to this woman? He slapped his knees and stood. His partner followed his lead. “I have nothing more for now, but I’d like to take Zoey’s phone to figure out who this guy is.”
Jennie nodded at her daughter, and Zoey headed to the kitchen. When she returned, she held out the device to David.
He lowered himself to eye level with the fifth grader. “I’ll get this back to you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.” Zoey smiled.
The lack of protest from the girl puzzled him. Most preteens would have thrown a fit about losing their phones.
“I appreciate you coming by.” Jennie led them to the front door.
He hadn’t noticed the three heavy-duty locks when they’d arrived. His mind spun, attempting to put the clues about this woman together.
Halting his thoughts to examine later, he stepped onto the front porch. “Not a problem. That’s what we’re here for. I’ll let you know if we find anything and get the phone back to Zoey as soon as possible.”
“She might not have many contacts on it, but she doesn’t like to be without it.” Jennie chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t like her to be without it.”
He nodded his understanding. What young person didn’t want their phone with them at all times? That took him back to his lack of protest observation from earlier. “Goodnight, ma’am.”
“Goodnight, detectives.”
The door clicked shut behind him. He took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. The dusk of evening on their arrival had turned into the black of night.
He meandered down the dimly lit pathway, trailing Brandon to the car. Once buckled in, he turned to his partner. “Well?”
“I think it’s just like it sounds, and we’re fortunate that at least one of my sister’s students listened.” Brandon hesitated.
“But?”
His partner shrugged.
“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not clamming up on me. You think Jennie and Zoey are hiding from someone, don’t you?”
Brandon flipped on the headlights and pulled from the curb. “Affirmative. We’re on the same page, partner.”
David scratched the back of his neck and scanned the street out of habit. “I don’t want to pry into their personal lives, but what if this isn’t random?”
“I’m hearing you loud and clear.” Brandon stopped at the intersection and turned left. “Before we do a full background check, why don’t we talk to Emily Hanover? Maybe she can give us some insight into her tenant.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
David’s gut twisted. In his line of work, he saw terrible things happen to people all the time. He had a bad feeling and was unsure he wanted to know what horrible thing had happened to Jennie.
***
Palm on the door, Jennie had held her breath until she heard the detectives’ car drive away.
She couldn’t afford to have the police pry into her life.
Not that they would discover anything criminal, at least not for her.
The possibility that the detectives’ digging would bring evil to her door—a chance she couldn’t afford.
Then again, only one person from her old life knew her location, and Tina would die before she told anyone.
“Momma? Did I mess up by calling Detective Whitman?”
Jennie cupped Zoey’s face in her hands. “No, baby. I’m glad you called. You did the right thing.”
Zoey chewed her bottom lip. “But what if they—”
“No.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “We’ve been safe for six years. Maybe it’s time to quit hiding and start living.”
Zoey grinned. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“Neither can I.” She chuckled. “You’ve never complained, and I admire you for that. But I think it’s time you have a normal childhood. No ten-year-old should be forced to be anonymous.”
Small arms wrapped around Jennie’s waist. “I love you, Momma.”
“Please be cautious. Even normal kids can’t be careless.”
“I know. I’m not stupid.” Zoey rolled her eyes.
Jennie shook her head. The teenage years zoomed at her like a racecar. “Go eat and get ready for bed.” She spun her daughter to face the kitchen and gave her a pat on the backside.
Zoey skipped away, her brown hair bouncing with each step.
She massaged her temples. Protecting her daughter had consumed her life for the past six years, and in a single moment, the security net she’d had in place since she moved to Pinewood Shores disintegrated with a simple reversal of a couple of numbers.
Had the safe haven of Aunt Emily’s cottage disappeared?
She took in the personal touches she’d added to her home.
The picture above the small fireplace she and Zoey had picked out their first year in town.
The couch and easy chair she’d bought with her first paycheck as a nurse.
Tears welled as the truth hit her. A mistaken text and a creep after her daughter had violated her sanctuary.
She flopped onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands.
Would the detectives pry into her life and discover her mistakes?
She’d worked hard to overcome those lapses in judgment. All that effort only to have her past unravel before her eyes. So much for the positive reputation that she’d built in this lakeside community. If anyone found out…Tears pricked and threatened to fall.
Her hand touched her bruised cheekbone. The same one Kenny had shattered and the doctors had reconstructed.
Zoey deserved more than a life of fear—and so did Jennie.