Читать книгу The Sheriff's Secret - Julie Lindsey Anne - Страница 12

Chapter Four

“Hi, Carl.” Tina spoke carefully as she climbed onto the wooden platform outside the trailer. Water dripped from the ragged awning stretched overhead, remnant drops from the recent storm. “I missed you at group today.”

Carl’s eyes darted between her, the headlights and the brooding sheriff at his side. “I—I’m a little surprised you felt the offense required an intervention by l-law enf-f-forcement.” His expression softened with the joke.

Tina smiled, thankful to see Carl at ease. She flicked West a meaningful look. “Maybe we can cut the spotlight.”

West leveled Carl with a no-nonsense expression before finally stepping away.

Carl moved closer to Tina the instant West abandoned his position as watchdog. “This isn’t really about me. Is it?”

“Not at all.” Tina shook her head, hoping to look less on edge than she felt.

“Are you okay?” Carl asked. “Did something happen to you? To Lily? Is there anything I can do? If you need a place to stay, I—I have plenty of room.”

“No. Nothing like that, exactly. Something happened after group today, and we wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay.”

His mouth curved into a small smile. “You were worried about m-me?”

“Yeah.” Memories of the moments outside her office flashed back to mind, stinging her eyes and drying her mouth.

The blinding headlights extinguished, and Tina blinked several times to readjust her vision. “There was a shooting.”

West returned to them slowly, watching with careful cop eyes, one hand resting on the butt of his gun. Tina doubted that he missed much as town sheriff. He’d missed very little as a teen. She could only imagine his power of perception had grown keener with training and maturity.

Carl’s gaze traveled quizzically over Tina. “You weren’t hurt.”

“No. Not me.”

West shifted his weight, drawing Carl’s attention. “Another member of your group was murdered today. Steven Masters. How well did you know him?”

Tina narrowed her eyes on West. He could’ve been a little tactful about announcing a person’s death.

Something in his expression said he’d been intentionally harsh. Too much tightness in his jaw and rigidity in his stance. West didn’t trust Carl. Why?

Carl pointedly ignored him. “I only kn-kn-knew Steven from gr-gr-group.”

“You don’t seem too choked up,” West said.

“I guess I’m stun-stun-stunned.”

Cold wind whipped through the trees and rattled the tattered awning over their heads. West was right. Carl didn’t seem to care at all. She fell back a half step. Did it truly not matter to him that a man he knew was murdered, or hadn’t the shock registered yet?

Carl stepped closer, erasing the bit of distance she’d created. “Are you cold? Do you need a c-coat?”

“No. I’m fine. We’re here to check on you.”

“Yeah, but this must b-be awful for you.” He angled his back to West. “You and Steven were getting p-p-pretty close.”

“How so?” West asked, moving into the space at Tina’s side and blatantly hovering over her patient.

Carl stiffened. “They spent extra time together before and after sessions. She does that with new members.” He touched Tina’s sleeve gently. “If you n-need someone to talk to...”

Tina wrapped shaky arms around her center and attempted to stifle her recoil. How well did she know the members of her group? Could one of them truly be a killer? Could Carl? “Thank you. I’m sure this is something we’ll be talking about for months to come at our sessions.”

His eyebrows tented and he shoved both hands deep into his pockets. A flicker of something dark flashed in his eyes, and Carl’s suddenly heated expression fell on West. “I’m still not sure why you’re here. I wasn’t at group today, s-so I can’t give a statement.”

“Carl,” Tina started softly, “can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt Steven? The shooter only took one shot. I’ve seen the two of you talking before. Did he tell you about anyone who was upset or holding a grudge against him?”

“No.”

West sucked his teeth and continued to eyeball Carl. “Can anyone verify your whereabouts between seven and nine this morning?”

“No.” Carl grinned. “I’ve been here all day.” He opened his arms, as if to showcase the trees and silence around them.

“Is that right?” West asked. “My deputies tried calling. You didn’t answer.”

“I had a m-migraine. The ringer was off.”

Tina’s phone buzzed with Mary’s signature tone. She peeked at the incoming message. A photo of Lily wearing a fancy hat with feathers and the caption Playing dress up.

Her eyes teared at the sight of her daughter’s bright, toothless smile. The day had been too dark. She needed to cuddle Lily against her chest, inhale her sweet scent and feel her strong little heart beating against her own. Tina had told West that she wanted to visit both Carl and Tucker, but now she just wanted to be with her baby girl.

West pulled a buzzing phone from his pocket and barked a few monosyllables into the receiver, startling her from her thoughts.

“Carl—” Tina shot him a pleading look “—can you think of anything that might help us find the person who did this?”

“No.”

“Okay.” She nodded her acceptance. “I’ll arrange a new location for next week’s meeting while we all work through this loss. We’ll talk more then.”

West stretched his hand out to Carl, a business card stuck between his fingertips, cell phone put away. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Morgan.” He caught Tina’s hand in his. “If you think of anything that might be useful, give me a call.”

Carl fixed his attention on West’s hand over Tina’s. “Will d-do.”

Tina turned for the cruiser, thankful for the escape. She wasn’t cut out for questioning people as if they were criminals. And Carl’s response to her news wasn’t at all what she’d expected. It left her feeling confused and uneasy. She could only hope his apparent indifference was a result of shock and not something far more gruesome.

* * *

WEST KEPT HIS eyes on Carl as he closed the passenger door for Tina, shutting her safely inside. The fragile and uncertain man she’d described wasn’t the one who stood outside the trailer. His smooth transition between hostility toward West and concern for Tina set off all West’s internal alarms. Not to mention how precisely his behavior had mimicked the day’s crimes. A cold-blooded murder outside the medical complex, and a thoughtfully planned meal at Tina’s home.

West folded himself behind the wheel and radioed their position to Dispatch.

He reversed down the gravel drive and pulled onto the country road, making plans to run a thorough background check on Mr. Morgan.

“Was that phone call back at the trailer more bad news?” Tina asked. “Did something else happen?”

“No. That was one of my deputies. Mary and Lily are doing fine. He’s patrolling the neighborhood until you can get there, making a circuit and keeping watch on the streets around her home. If you don’t see him when you arrive to pick Lily up, wait for him. He’ll be back on his next loop, then he can follow you to your place and wait while you get Ducky.”

Tina nodded slowly. “Will the deputy stay with me until I decide where to go? How much time do I have to decide?”

“I asked him to process your home while he’s there, so you can take a minute to breathe, but limit the number of things you touch. I’m hoping he can get a good print from that dinner setup in the kitchen. My other men are finishing up at the medical complex, then following leads on the shooter and faded red pickup seen leaving the scene. Tucker Bixby wasn’t home when Cole got there, so Cole’s looking into his whereabouts. I imagine you’d like to get to your daughter now.”

Tina blew out a long, labored breath. “Yes. Very much.”

“I’ll take you back to your car now,” West said. He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and passed it her way.

She accepted the offering and pressed it to the corner of each eye. She twisted the thin white fabric in her hands. “I can’t believe you still carry this.”

“Grandpa’s handkerchief? We all do. I’m a little surprised you remember it.”

Tina rolled wide eyes in his direction. “I remember that funeral like it was my own grandfather’s. I remember each of your brothers with these hankies in their jacket pockets. Four brokenhearted pallbearers.” She balled the fabric in one hand. “Hundreds of people came that day and filled every moment with love and kindness.” She swiped a tear off her cheek. “It was beautiful. He would’ve been so proud.”

“I’m sure he was.” West turned his face to the road. “Grandpa told us regularly how important it was to build relationships. He touched a lot of lives.” Next to his father, West’s grandfather was the best man he’d ever known. His brothers and uncles came in a tight cluster for third. Love, pride and honor were always on tap at the Garrett house. “You okay?”

“I will be.”

He tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel. “I hate to push this, but I still need a formal statement. You promised to write it while we were en route, and we’re nearly back to your car.”

Tina pulled the notepad and pen from her purse and began to write. Tears fell in fat drops onto the page as she worked.

West kept his mouth shut as long as possible, but he hated seeing her cry. “How did you feel that interview with Carl went?” he asked. “Is he always so...” What was the word? She surely wouldn’t approve of creepy.

She wiped the wet paper with his hanky. “I don’t know.”

“Based on your description before we got there, I’d expected a television-grade nerd or a little harmless guy afraid to make eye contact.” Not the lean and borderline hostile man who’d answered the door.

“Whose fault is that?”

He ignored the question. West had heard it from her before, and the answer was always West’s. Making assumptions might not have been his best attribute, but as a sheriff the practice had proven indispensable more times than he could count. “Do you think he had a problem with you spending extra time with Steven?”

“No. That’s standard practice. Carl’s been with the group long enough to know that.”

“Do all the members have the same problems?”

Tina shot him a knowing look. She’d already made it clear she wouldn’t divulge her patients’ personal information. “They’re all dealing with PTSD and severe emotional trauma for various reasons. Some members are former military. Some are abuse survivors.”

“How did you spend the extra time you had with Steven?”

Tina sighed. “Occasionally I’d use the time to educate and encourage. Other times, he’d tell me things he wasn’t ready to share with the group. It was all very up-and-up.”

West repositioned his grip on the wheel, relaxing his hands and leaning back against the seat. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”

“You didn’t. I just want it stated for the record.”

He cocked a brow. “This isn’t going on a record. We’re just two old friends talking.”

She turned her face to his, a sad smile on her full pink lips. “Is that what we are, West?”

“I’m not sure what we are now,” he admitted, “but I was engaged once to a girl who looked a lot like you.”

She dropped her gaze to the handkerchief briefly before pinning him with a powerful stare. “I’m not that girl anymore.”

“No,” he agreed. “Clearly, that girl has been upgraded by time and experience.” He reached across the seat to give her knee a playful push. “I think the girl I knew would be proud.”

A smile bloomed on her lips. “Thank you for saying that.”

“I meant it.”

She caught his fingers in hers and squeezed. “I know.”

West released her to pull his cruiser into the lot outside her office.

The crime scene was roped off now, and two members of his team worked their way through a rain-soaked lot, careful not to miss anything that might lead them to the shooter’s identity. Plastic yellow teepees with bold black numbers anchored the shattered glass and polka-dotted the surrounding area.

Tina shuddered beside him.

“I’ll be by to check on you and Lily as soon as I can, but I’m going to pay the hospital pharmacist a visit now.” The one who’d asked her out multiple times during her pregnancy. “What did you say his name was?”

“Chris.”

West itched to tighten his fingers around hers once more, but he wasn’t sure how many times he could force himself to let go.

Tina rolled her head against the back of the seat, turning sharp blue eyes on him. “Tell me this wasn’t because someone thought I was spending too much extra time with Steven.” Her body tipped slightly toward his. The change was small, nearly imperceptible. So much so, Tina probably didn’t even realize. But West did.

He felt the too-familiar pull at his core, an urge to meet her in the middle.

No amount of time would change that about them. He and Tina were human magnets in need of connection. Being near her without being hers was a new and ugly sensation. He didn’t like it.

West cleared his throat. “We’ll know more soon.” His thoughts drifted back to Carl Morgan. The timing of Carl’s absence with the shooting today was highly suspicious, and West didn’t like the way Carl had looked at Tina. Definitely not the way a patient should look at his therapist, and it had taken all of West’s self-control not to smack Carl’s grubby hand away when he’d reached for her arm. The look in Carl’s eyes when she recoiled was satisfying, but delivering the weirdo a solid right hook would’ve been even better. “We’ll see what my team turns up and what Tucker and Chris have to say once we find them. We’ve got to follow the facts.” Lucky for Carl, being creepy wasn’t against the law, and West’s gut instinct wasn’t grounds to hold him.

Tina rolled her eyes, instantly looking a decade younger. She nudged his arm with a grin. “You still do that, huh? Answer my questions with random truths when you don’t want to lie or upset me with the one I’m asking for.”

Her hand lingered on his arm, warming him to the core.

West fought a budding smile. “Would you prefer I lie?”

“As if you could.” She cracked the door open and swung her legs into the brisk autumn wind.

He circled the car and met her halfway to hers, toting the bags she’d packed at home earlier. “Slow down.” He caught her wrist in his fingers, cursing himself instantly for the thrill it gave him. “Hey. Take a minute before you drive. You’ve had one hell of a day. You’re worried about your baby, your safety, your group.”

She stopped to face him. Her shoulders drooped. “I’m okay to drive.”

“Okay, then tell me you have a plan before you shoot out of here. If you’re planning to get a hotel room, you’d better change cars and register in cash under a different name. I’m going to need your contact information regardless, in case we have reason to believe you’re in danger.”

Her face went slack. “Maybe I could take Lily to Disneyland for a week. Or the beach. We can go somewhere far away for a while.”

“Maybe.” He’d like to think he’d have the son of a gun behind bars before dawn, but the odds certainly weren’t in his favor, and he couldn’t promise he’d have him caught in a week, either. “How long can you afford something like that?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice ratcheted an octave as fear changed her expression to something panicked and feral. “I’ve never been stalked, or hunted, or anything like this before, if that’s even what this is. You’re the expert. What are we supposed to do?”

West couldn’t give her an answer. He didn’t have one.

He ached to fold her into his arms and kiss her head like he used to. He wanted to fix this. All of this. He’d never wanted anything more than to keep her safe and make her smile. And ten years apart hadn’t changed a damn thing.

Tina groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I need coffee. I need to fix my face, paste on a smile and make sure Lily doesn’t pick up on any of the horrific things rolling through my head.”

She pried her keys from her handbag and beeped her car doors unlocked. “I’ll get Lily and Ducky, then I’ll figure out where we’re going before your deputy leaves my place. I’ll call you as soon as I know.”

He shifted his weight. “I’ll head over to your house as soon as I can.” He passed her the bags, and she tossed them onto her passenger seat.

Tina slid her hand down the length of West’s arm, catching his fingers in hers. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Always,” he said, returning the gentle squeeze.

They stood in palpable silence for a long moment, evaluating one another, it seemed. There was obviously something more Tina wanted to say.

She didn’t.

Instead, she dropped behind the wheel of her car and motored away.

They were beginning to make a bad habit of this.

Her leaving, and him watching helplessly from behind.