Читать книгу Christmas Under Fire - Michelle Karl - Страница 15

About an hour later, Cally climbed out of the second patrol car she’d ridden in that afternoon. In front of her was a cozy-looking cabin—more of a small house, really—which Ellen had promised would be “modern enough to have central heating, but rural enough to leave the doors unlocked at night.” Cally imagined it’d look even better in daylight.

“Let me take a look around for you first,” Aaron said, jogging past her and up the front steps. He opened the door—which was unlocked, as Ellen had predicted—and disappeared inside. Leo, Aaron’s brother and fellow RCMP officer, grinned as he rounded the car to stand alongside her.

“If you need anything at any time, call him, okay? He’s very good at his job, and he’ll be upset if he hears you hesitated to ask.” Leo scratched the back of his neck. “Plus, he’s like...one of two officers on duty this week. I’m going down to Fort St. Jacob for my final tux fitting, and our youngest brother is teaching a training course with his wife in Vancouver until the end of the semester. They’ll be back next week in time for the wedding.”

“Congratulations,” Cally said, and despite her own heartbreak, she meant it. “I wish we’d had our first meeting under better circumstances, but I have no doubt now that Ellen has found a good man who can keep up with her. But how is it that there are so few officers on duty? Doesn’t the town need you?”

Leo shook his head. “Not particularly. We have a lot of seasonal residents during the spring and summer, so the population of Fort Mason and other small places up north tends to drop during the darkest and coldest winter months—December through February, usually—so the need isn’t as great. Even then, few folks venture outside their homes. With only six hours of daylight right now and temperatures averaging negative twenty degrees Celsius for the next few months, the only time you’ll see a lot of people at once is during the annual tree lighting ceremony in the middle of town on Saturday. We bring in extra officers, have a giant snowball fight, make maple taffy in the snow. There’s a skating rink, too... It’s great, you’ll love it. People from all over the area come here to attend, sometimes driving hours just to see it. Ah, he’s back.”

Aaron sauntered down the steps toward them, house key in his outstretched hand. “All clear. Listen, I’m going to be at the station for the rest of the day, but is there anything we can get for you first? The fridge inside is stocked with some basics, but I’m happy to have food, supplies, toiletries or whatever you need brought over. We don’t have a lot at this time of year, but we’ll make it work.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Do you normally leave houses unlocked around here?”

Aaron shrugged. “It’s a small town. No one really locks their doors.”

“But what about the thefts you mentioned?”

“Fort St. Jacob’s problem, not Fort Mason’s,” Leo interrupted. “Not to brag about our small town being better than that one—”

“—which we grew up in—” Aaron raised an eyebrow at his brother.

“—but especially at this time of year, anyone comes into town who’s a stranger, we’ll know about it. Everyone here is your neighbor. We all have to band together and be there for each other in a place as far north as this during the winter. It’s not unusual for folks to lend each other blankets or food or even a warm bed if a furnace conks out, for example. This town is full of good people.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Cally looked sideways at Aaron as his brother walked away to return to the patrol car. “Thanks again for being there for me today. I’m still feeling a little rattled, but I’m sure it’s nothing a good night’s sleep can’t take care of. Not that it’s nighttime yet.”

Aaron smiled. “Did I overhear Leo explaining how we only have six hours of daylight right now? It tricks the brain into thinking you’re tired early and can be hard to get used to. On the other hand, there’s a good possibility you might get to see the northern lights while you’re visiting, especially if we get a night with clear skies. Anyway, like I said, you need anything, call. There’s a list of emergency contacts by the landline inside, including the direct line to my personal cell. Call any time of the day or night.”

He climbed into the patrol car with his brother and waved as they pulled away. Cally waved back, feeling a pang of loneliness at being left by herself. She needed to get over that. She’d actually come up to the remote wilderness a few days early, before her scheduled girls’ day with Ellen at a nearby spa—a place that Ellen insisted was the only reason tourists visited this part of the province during the winter months. She’d told herself she needed to gather her bearings and spend some time in quiet contemplation without a million voices in her ears.

But now that she had nothing but the silence she’d craved, the world seemed strange and empty.

And, despite herself, she really hadn’t minded when Aaron was a part of it.

She willed herself to enter the house and explore the place she’d be living in for the next few weeks. Aaron hadn’t been kidding when he’d said the fridge was stocked. She made herself a quick dinner, trying to enjoy the peace and quiet that she’d wanted so badly. But rather than sink into the moment, she felt uneasy—not relaxed at all.

With a sigh of frustration, she dumped her dishes in the sink and headed to the front door to search her purse for an aspirin. Maybe treating her headache would help her to settle into the place and feel less anxious about being alone after what had happened in the airport. However, her purse wasn’t by the door. Nor was it with her suitcase, or hung up with her winter coat.

Did I leave it in the patrol car? She tried to visualize the ride to the cabin. She was quite sure she’d taken her purse with her when she’d switched patrol cars...but she couldn’t remember grabbing it when she’d arrived.

And as much as she didn’t want to burden Aaron after everything he’d already done for her, the plain fact was that her purse held her passport and travel documents, which she couldn’t afford to lose.

She picked up the landline receiver to call him, trying to infuse her voice with an apologetic timbre when he answered. “Hi, Officer Thrace? It’s Cally. I’m so sorry to bother you again, but I think I might have left my purse in the patrol car that brought me to the house. My passport and wallet are inside, so—”

“No need to apologize—I understand the importance,” he said. “I’ll go out and look for it. Hang tight. If it’s out there, I’ll bring it back to you right away.”

She hung up and sank into the couch cushions, feeling grateful and a mite bewildered at his kindness.

I’m not quite ready to talk to You again, God, but...if this is Your doing, thank You.

Her eyelids began to flutter, exhaustion from the day beginning to creep in. It was still early evening, but she thought that once she had her purse back, she might grab a cozy mystery novel from the living room shelf and head to bed early.

Several minutes passed—or maybe more, it was hard to tell due to the perpetual darkness outside—before Cally heard footsteps heading up the driveway. That was quick, she thought, pleased and surprised.

She pushed up off the couch and headed to the front door as the doorknob began to turn. It was strange that Aaron hadn’t knocked first, but maybe he didn’t want to disturb her in case she’d fallen asleep again, like she had in the back of his car while they waited for the tow truck.

She hurried the final few meters to reach the door. “Did you find it? That was—” But the words died in her throat as the edge of a white hoodie appeared through the crack of the open door.

Aaron hadn’t been wearing a hoodie; he’d been dressed in his dark-colored RCMP uniform, and had told her he’d be on shift until late that night.

The person who’d opened the door wasn’t Aaron.

She threw her weight forward, slamming her shoulder into the door. It caught the intruder off guard and sent him flying back with a shout. She didn’t recognize the voice. The instant the door closed, she twisted the lock into place.

Then she bolted for the back door.

She heard what sounded like heavy footsteps approaching the back door from the outside, but she turned the lock first, then took off to find the windows.

She shivered, her body growing cold with a mixture of fear and anger, despite the heavy sweater and several layers of T-shirts she wore underneath it to stay warm. She checked all the window latches in the front hall, then proceeded to the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom. That left only one other area to check. She had no idea if the person was still outside, or if they’d taken off once they’d discovered the house was no longer an easy target—or a place to squat, which she supposed might also be the reason they’d come through the front door. But after the events of earlier that day at the airport, she refused to take any chances.

She crouched, moving toward the front living room with as much stealth as she could muster. Her heart beat a loud rhythm in her ears, making it difficult to listen for footfalls outside. Finally, she managed to find the courage to check each window lock. None of them appeared to have been compromised. She tried to take mental stock of the house—she’d checked all the other windows and exits. Hadn’t she? She didn’t know the rental property at all. It was entirely possible that in her haste to lock the front and back doors and the main windows, she’d—

A door creaked. It sounded as though it came from a far hallway, on the other side of the kitchen.

Yes, she thought, her entire body trembling. I definitely missed one.

Aaron climbed out of the unmarked patrol car he’d signed out for the evening and sauntered up the driveway toward Cally’s cottage. He’d found her purse as soon as he’d opened the door of Leo’s car. It had been wedged between the front seat and the center console, easily missed after all that had happened and in the excitement of finally reaching the cabin.

He tried hard not to imagine Cally’s smile when he presented her purse—nor the way her entrancing brown eyes would light up with relief and happiness. It wasn’t his place to think of her like that, or to think of her at all outside the boundaries of his obligations. She was his assignment, nothing else.

But still...

Movement flashed at the edge of his vision. He paused, listening. Was he seeing things? It might have been a skunk or a low-flying bat.

And then he heard a shout from inside the house, and he didn’t waste another moment.

He bolted toward the noise, past the front door and around to the side patio. The patio door stood wide open, and sounds of a struggle came from inside. Aaron plunged into the house, following the clamor. Only a few lights were on, but there was no missing the figure cloaked in white outside one of the bedroom doors. The ski-masked intruder was slamming his shoulder against the door in an effort to get inside, while Cally shouted at him from within the room.

Aaron dove at the man, tackling him at the waist. They fell against the hardwood floor, the impact jarring Aaron’s knees and lower back. He tried to grab for the man’s arms, intending to pin them back, but the angle at which they’d both fallen left the intruder’s legs and feet too close to Aaron’s face.

The goon slammed his heel into Aaron’s jaw. Pain ratcheted through Aaron’s entire head, momentarily blinding him. A second hit clipped the side of his forehead, and he felt the man slip from his grasp. He tried to regain focus as the assailant scrambled across the floor, shoved past him and Cally—who’d exited the bedroom and was trying to take a swing at the intruder with a side table lamp—and rushed back out into the cover of night.

Aaron rose, took two steps and stumbled.

“Aaron!” Cally bounded over and caught him by the shoulders before he toppled over. “Should I call an ambulance?”

“No, no.” He tried to wave her off. The sparks in his vision were starting to clear, but he needed to call Leo right away and tell his brother which direction he planned to search for the home invader. “I need...I need to call...”

“You’re not calling anyone. I’ll do it.”

Aaron pressed his back against the wall and slid to the floor. “Thirty seconds and I’ll be on my feet again. That guy’s kick packed a wallop. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Cally exhaled sharply. “I wasn’t expecting someone to break into the house after all those promises everyone made to me about how safe this area is. I’d like to say there’s a first time for everything, but I’ve had quite enough of that today, thank you.”

How was everything going so wrong, so fast? He took several deep breaths, then pushed into the wall to stand again. His head still spun but he felt well enough to go out to the patrol car and call for backup. “Wait right here while I call this in. Lock the door when I step outside, and don’t open it again until I knock. I’ll go to the front door so you can look outside and see that I’m there.”

He heard the click of the patio door’s lock behind him as he left the house. It took only a few moments to call in the incident, and Aaron was still shaking his head in disbelief as Cally let him back indoors.

“I don’t know what to say. Usually this area is incredibly safe. Our biggest issue for the past decade has been drug use and illegal weapons, save one incident earlier this year that had nothing to do with our town. It was an outside company’s interference, and—you know what, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re a guest in Fort Mason and we’ve done nothing but let you down at every turn, and you haven’t even been here a full day. Are you all right? Did the intruder harm you in any way?”

His cheeks warmed at the look she gave him, a mixture of gratitude and skepticism. And here he thought he was too old to be embarrassed, but the events of the day so far made him, the town and by extension the entire province, look bad.

That potential transfer just keeps getting more and more unlikely... If she complained and the reasoning was found valid, he was certain there’d be an investigation into his ability to run the detachment, not to mention a possible demotion. It also didn’t help that he felt a certain personal responsibility to ensure that she not only had a good stay, but an excellent one. It would make him happy to see her happy.

Because it was his job. No other reason.

She was attractive, yes, but she was also a perfect stranger.

Still, his heart hitched a little when a crooked half smile appeared on her face. Why was she looking at him like that?

“Your shoulder,” she said, pointing to his arm. “You’ve got something hooked over your shoulder.”

It took longer than it should have for her words to register, thanks to the hit to his head—no other reason, he continued to rationalize—but when he patted his shoulder, he remembered.

“Yes! That’s why I was on my way over here so quickly.” He pulled the strap of her purse over his head. “It was in my brother’s car, between the front seats. Good thing I found it easily, or else I wouldn’t have arrived as quickly as I did.”

She took the purse and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. Aaron checked and double-checked all the locks while he waited for her return. When she rejoined him, he couldn’t help but note the weariness in her expression.

“Thank you,” she said. “I guess it was silly of me to think I could escape drama, regardless of where I go. I feel like it’s following me. Not that being attacked in an airport and a home invasion are the same thing, but here we are and it’s kind of feeling that way. Everything back home is so harried, everyone has things to say even when they should probably keep their mouths shut—” She paused with her mouth open, then flicked her gaze up to meet Aaron’s with a look of mild horror. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to unload—”

“It’s quite all right. I’ve checked all your locks and they’re in good order. I wish I could explain why someone felt comfortable enough to waltz into this place unannounced, but I’m coming up short. My first thought was the person might be a squatter, but if that were the case, why not say something? And surely I’d have noticed some trash or disturbed blankets during my walk-through when we first arrived. I even checked the basement and didn’t notice anything unusual.

“It’s possible he was a standard home invader, but there aren’t a lot of people in this town right now. We’re going to notice anyone new, and if it was a local, well...my team should have this solved in due course. Rest assured that either myself or another officer will be going door-to-door first thing tomorrow morning and asking if residents have observed anything out of the norm or seen any newcomers lately. Leo is planning to delay his trip to Fort St. Jacob by a few days until it’s dealt with.”

She sighed and sank into the couch, resting her hands between her knees. “Thank you, but he doesn’t need to do that. I appreciate the attentiveness, though. I keep trying to think of a reason why someone would want to harm me, but I simply can’t imagine one. And like I said before, very few people know about my trip here.”

Aaron pressed his lips together to think for a moment. “Would any of those people who do know be under the impression that they could get to the Amaran royal family through you? Either via abduction or otherwise?”

She laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “They’d have to be well versed in Amar’s historical lineage, or have taken a close look at my passport. I mean, I suppose I’m in all the family tree information online, but someone would have to go looking for it. And to be quite honest, the connection is distant enough that I haven’t spoken to those relatives for years.” She paused, her voice growing soft as her gaze dropped to the floor. “Actually, that’s not quite true. The whole extended family came to Esai’s funeral, but it wasn’t exactly the grand catching-up affair that would prompt someone to think there’s enough of a relationship to matter. It was more a courtesy than anything. They’re not bad people—please don’t take it that way. The family is just very large, and that means the more distantly related, the more like strangers they are than family. Does that make sense?”

It did. “Apparently I have a whole host of third cousins living in Manitoba whom I’ve never met. And my mother’s great-aunt has lived in south Florida for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never met her, either. So I understand. And I guess anyone who stopped to think about it logically would make that connection, too, but if I know one thing, it’s that you can never assume logic when it comes to criminals.”

Cally groaned and flopped back against the couch cushions, covering her face with her hands. “What am I going to do? I’ll be honest, I’m wary about staying here at all. What if that person comes back and tries to get inside again? What if he gets desperate and breaks a window? Or for all you know, he could be out terrorizing another family right now, looking for things to sell for drug money or guns or—”

“Hey.” Aaron joined her on the couch and tapped her elbow. When she pulled her hands away from her face, several tears rolled down her cheek, leaving small streaks in her light pink blush. Her eyes, however, blazed with ferocity. “I have an officer out on patrol right now, keeping an eye on the town. Tonight, I’ll be right outside your door. No one’s getting into this house tonight, not even me.” She began to protest, but he held up his hand to stop her. “I realize it’s freezing out there, but we do have protocol for this type of thing. I have a portable, battery-operated heater in the car, someone is bringing coffee over and there’s special gear I can wear to conserve heat. Tonight, you can sleep soundly knowing you’re being watched over. What happens tomorrow, well, we should probably talk now about how that’s going to go. What were your plans?”

She grabbed one of the pillows beside her and clutched it to her chest as she drew her knees up to sit cross-legged. “I was supposed to spend a few days here getting settled, and then Ellen was to come and take us up to the Rocky Mountain Spa for a pre-wedding pampering retreat. I was sort of hoping to put up a little Christmas tree in the house and try stringing lights like you do here. We have different traditions back home—we do streamers and use other types of plants for decorations—so I thought it would be nice to experience something new.”

Aaron had experienced quite enough new things today, compared to the typically calm and quiet Decembers of Fort Mason and the surrounding area. And as much as he wanted to give Cally the chance to take part in North American Christmas traditions right away, he felt uneasy about leaving her to her own devices, particularly after the home invasion.

“Here’s an idea. Would you be willing to head up to the spa a few days early? I’ll take care of the arrangements, and I’m sure Ellen wouldn’t mind accommodating. I know she’s busy with wedding prep, but maybe you can work on it together at the spa. It’s a huge facility, really nice.”

Cally’s eyes brightened as she sniffled away the tears of moments ago. “You’ve been there?”

“I worked a few functions there, and have policed some community events. It’s basically an all-inclusive winter resort.” Not to mention he used to date the spa’s owner, many years ago. Tricia had been a lovely woman, but they weren’t right for each other. The breakup had been messy and difficult, and these days he often went out of his way to avoid policing spa functions or interacting with Tricia at all. The woman was a master at tracking him down, however. Maybe he could just drop Cally off without going inside.

Cally raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Then it’s good for me and Ellen that she knows the owner, because I’ve seen the price we’re paying and I’m quite certain it’s far less than what a resort would charge. Yes, I’ll go up early if it’s in our best interest, for safety’s sake.”

He stood and adjusted his coat, mentally taking stock of the supplies in the patrol car he’d borrowed. He planned to double-check when he got outside, but as long as another officer brought him a thermos of piping hot coffee, he’d be all right until morning.

Cally gently brushed his sleeve before he could walk away. “Aaron, I do appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far, but if you get cold or tired, please come inside and use the couch. I’ll give you the house key so that you can come and go if you want, all right?”

“That’s quite thoughtful, but I won’t need it.”

She frowned and grabbed his hand, pushing the key into his palm. His skin felt warm and electric where she’d touched him, and he pulled away quickly. She blinked in surprise.

“Sorry,” he said. “Tickles.”

Her smile was gentle but sincere as she pointed at the door. “Go if you must, but if I find out in the morning that you needed to come inside and didn’t, I’m going to be very cross. Don’t even try to fool me.”

He laughed gently at the sternness in her voice. “Okay, okay. I promise to take you up on your offer if it’s needed. In the meantime, get some rest—I have a feeling you need it.”

As he closed the door behind him, his smile slid from his face. He had no qualms about spending the night on watch outside the house—he was happy to do it, if it meant keeping someone safe. He’d do it for any of the townsfolk in a heartbeat.

What worried him more was the seemingly deliberate actions of the home invader.

The intruder hadn’t been there to rob the house, or to retrieve items after squatting there while the place was unoccupied. No, the way he’d slammed his shoulder into the bedroom door had looked intentional. As if he was there to specifically harm Cally.

And combined with what had happened at the airport earlier that day, Aaron had a very bad feeling about the entire situation. The question to which he needed a fast answer, however, was whether he could find the attacker and take him down before he struck again.