A Promise to Protect (Logan Point Book #2): A Novel (3 page)

H
is heart pounded against his ribs. That was close. If he hadn’t heard the truck pull up, the sheriff and the doctor would have caught him red-handed. As it was, he’d barely gotten out the back door before they came in the front. He peeled off the latex gloves, stuffing them in his pocket as he crept through the woods behind the Jackson house to the side road where he’d left his car.

Defeat tasted sour in his mouth. He’d been so sure Tony had hidden the flash drive at his house, and with a little more time he might have found it. But it was such a tiny thing, and so easy to overlook.

Maybe if the sister found it, she wouldn’t know what it was . . . He licked his dry lips. No, Tony told the sheriff he was bringing it, so Logan would be looking for it. Probably had already questioned the sister about it.
Maybe she has it
. He dismissed that option—if that were the case, Logan would be looking for
him
instead of bringing the doctor home.

He clenched his jaw against the nausea that roiled in his stomach. The look on Tony’s face when he fired . . . why couldn’t he just go along, instead of forcing his hand? He hadn’t wanted to kill Tony, had even liked him, but he wasn’t going to jail.

Once he reached the pavement, he slipped Tony’s cell phone from his pocket. Loading the software that enabled him to listen
to Tony’s phone conversations had proven invaluable, but if Logan found the phone, that same software could be traced to him. He dropped the phone to the road and ground it with his foot. On his way home, he’d dispose of it. And the gun . . . He knew exactly where it was going as well. But that still left the problem of the flash drive. If he were Tony, where would he hide it? And how was he going to find it?

Leigh stared at the war zone that was her living room—cushions ripped from their coverings and strewn about, books dumped on the floor along with the contents of a few boxes she hadn’t unpacked yet. Even photographs had been separated from their frames. She pressed her hands to the side of her face and barely noticed when Ben pushed past her, his gun drawn.

“What the—” He disappeared down the hallway.

“No . . . not Bear!” Leigh stumbled forward and scooped up TJ’s stuffed animal. Her fingers shook as she tried to poke the white filling back through the gash in its stomach. TJ would be crushed.

What had she brought her son into?

A minute later, Ben knelt beside her. “They’re gone.”

“Why?” She pulled the plush material together, overlapping it. If she could find a needle and thread, she could stitch TJ’s stuffed bear up good as new. The band circling her chest tightened. She
had
to make Bear whole again. “Why did they do this?”

“They were looking for something,” he said. “Probably the flash drive I told you about. Are you sure Tony never mentioned it?”

She shook her head. “With my shift at the hospital, we were barely ever in the same room, and when we were, we didn’t spend our time talking about work.” Lately her brother had spent most of their time together talking about the little church he and TJ attended.

Car lights flashed across the window, and Leigh froze.

Ben stood and eased to the window. “Wade Hatcher with your car.”

Her car? Her breath hitched. She’d forgotten Wade was bringing it. Her hands gripped the stuffed animal as Tony’s death slammed her heart again. She was all TJ had now.

“Try not to touch anything,” Ben said as he lifted her up and helped her to the one chair that still had a cushion. “We have to process your house as a crime scene.”

Leigh swallowed. Crime scene. A lightbulb flashed in her head. Ben was not going away. Looking around the room, she realized she should be glad and welcome his presence, maybe even apologize for being so rude all night. The words stuck in her throat.

What she should do was pack her bags and get out of Logan Point. Tonight. And she would do exactly that if she didn’t have a contract with the hospital. She’d just have to stay under his radar, keep TJ away from him until she could finish the contract and escape to Baltimore.

The next few hours passed in a blur as more deputies arrived and scoured her house, dusting for prints, looking for clues. But at least most of the things she’d brought from Jackson were still in storage. Leigh could imagine the mess if all those boxes had been dumped. She helped where she could, checking each room for missing items. Bear was the only casualty, with everything else scattered but intact. Even the sofa cushions had only been stripped. Whoever it was had definitely been looking for something specific.

As the deputies finished a room, Leigh put it back in order. At two in the morning, she finished up the kitchen and put on another pot of coffee. Only the living room remained. And Bear. He lay on the counter, awaiting her needle. As the rich aroma of coffee filled the room, she remembered times spent with her grandmother in the white kitchen with its brick-red countertops. Tony was with Gram now, in heaven. Maybe that was the sole purpose for her to return to Logan Point—for Tony to take TJ to church and get saved. She bit her lip. Her brother couldn’t be gone.

Leigh grabbed the brown thread she’d found, her fingers shaking as she tried to thread the needle. She closed one eye and stabbed at the eye of the needle again. Finally. With quick motions, she sutured the bear’s stomach, leaving a puckered seam that wouldn’t smooth out no matter how hard she rubbed. Leigh jabbed the needle back in the pincushion. How was she ever going to explain to TJ what happened tonight when she couldn’t understand it herself?

“Good job,” Ben said.

Leigh jerked her head up. She hadn’t heard him come into the kitchen. She pointed to the stuffed animal’s eyes that didn’t match. “Not the first time I’ve operated on Bear. Would you and your men like a fresh cup of coffee?”

“Sure.”

She put the toy aside and poured his coffee, trying to ignore the way his presence filled the room.
Apologize
.
She pressed her lips together, chewing on the inside corner of her mouth. “Uh, thanks for . . .” Her voice broke.

Ben took the coffee from her shaking hand. “It’s going to get better.”

Such simple words to bring a fresh round of tears. Leigh fanned her face as she stared at the ceiling and blinked wetness away. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s normal to cry in times like this.”

“No, I mean, I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted. I appreciate all you’ve done tonight.”

“Oh.” He stood straighter. “Just doin’ my job, ma’am.”

His mischievous smile clamped a band around her heart. How many times had she seen that same smile on TJ’s face? She forced herself to breathe. “The house—are your men finished?”

“Almost.” He picked up the coffee and took a sip. “Have you thought about where you’ll go?”

“Go? I have nowhere to go. This is my home. Has been since Daddy died.”

He held out his hand. “You could stay with my folks. They’ve always opened their house to those who need a place to stay, even since my dad’s stroke.”

The Logans? That was the last place she wanted to stay. “I don’t want to intrude. I’ll change the locks, get a security system. Besides, your dad doesn’t even like me.”

“New locks take time. And where did you get the idea my dad doesn’t like you?”

Tom Logan’s words from ten years ago burned in her memory.
“Break
up with my son, and I’ll drop the marijuana
charge against Tony. If you care anything at all about
Ben, you’ll stay away from him. You’ll only
drag him down.”
But it hadn’t been all Tom. If Ben had really loved her, he would not have given up so easily, and he would not have gotten engaged to someone else three months later.

Leigh lifted her chin. She would rather face whoever broke into the house than depend on the Logan family. “I’m staying here. No one is running me out of my home.”

“Leigh, that ‘no one’ killed your brother tonight. Whoever it was came here looking for a flash drive that Tony had.”

“And it wasn’t here. This is probably the safest place I can be.”

“What if we interrupted him? What if he comes back?”

She rubbed her brow. This was not happening. “There has to be another place I can go.”

“Leigh, I don’t have time to find a safe house tonight.”

“Well, how safe would I be at your dad’s? You said it yourself—he’s had a stroke.”

“My house is in their yard. Don’t be so—”

From the doorway, Wade cleared his throat.

They turned in unison to stare at the deputy.

Wade looked around, then down at his Hawaiian shirt. “What? This shirt ain’t that bad.”

Tension dissipated from Leigh’s body. She gave him a tired smile. “I don’t know about that. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

The deputy hitched his khaki shorts and eased his bulky frame into the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am.”

She poured dark brew into a cup and handed it to him. It was hard not to compare the tense and brooding sheriff to his easygoing chief deputy. Ben was by far the more handsome, his body lean and fit, his dark hair in need of a trim, and a five o’clock shadow that’d grown into a day-old beard. Wade, on the other hand, projected a good-ole-boy image, one Leigh suspected he worked on. He carried an extra fifty pounds well on his tall frame. He was yin to Ben’s yang.

Wade set a folder and notepad on the counter. “Do I need to take Leigh’s statement, or did you already get it?”

“We haven’t gotten around to it.” Ben gave her a sour look. “Been trying to talk her out of staying here.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Wade looked puzzled. “Whoever did this took their time, and either they found what they were looking for or gave up. Don’t think they’ll be back.”

“Don’t tell her—”

“My thoughts exactly,” Leigh said. She hadn’t expected an ally in Wade and shot Ben an I-told-you-so look. In answer, Ben folded his arms across his chest, his mouth clamped tight.

“I would put new locks on since there’s no sign they broke in.” Wade eyed her. “Unless you left the door unlocked.”

“I didn’t, and I don’t see Tony leaving it open.”

“She’s not staying without protection.” Ben scowled at her.

“I don’t need a bodyguard, and that statement you mentioned—can it wait until tomorrow?” She glanced at the clock over the sink. “I mean, later this morning. I have to straighten the living room before I pick up my son in five hours, and I could use a little sleep.”

“Tell you what,” Ben said. “Why don’t you let Wade and the other two deputies straighten up in there while you give me your statement.”

“Whatever.” Anything that would get him out of her house and out of her life.

As soon as Wade left the kitchen, Ben flipped over to a new page in the notebook. “You’re not staying here by yourself.” Before she could comment, he continued, “Did Tony ever say anything about a flash drive?”

“For the tenth time, no.” She cocked her head. “What is this flash drive you keep mentioning?”

“When Tony called this afternoon, he said he was bringing one to our meeting, but I didn’t find it in his pockets. Didn’t find his cell phone either.” He scratched his head. “You’ve had a little time to think . . . do you have any idea why he wanted to meet with me?”

“Not a clue . . . unless it was about . . .”

“About what?”

“He’d been taking my son to church.” She pressed her lips together. “Said he’d found Jesus. I caught him a time or two talking to himself. When I questioned him, he just said he had some things to fix.”

Leigh picked up Bear from the counter and hugged the stuffed animal to her chest. “One night he had a nightmare, and he was yelling in his sleep . . . something about dogs. I figured it was just a silly dream.”

“A dog?” Ben’s head jerked up. “He talked about a blue dog before he died. I don’t know if it had to do with my dad or the flash drive. You’re sure he didn’t tell you anything else? Maybe something that didn’t sound relevant?”

“I don’t remember him mentioning the color of the dogs.” She rolled her neck. “I wish I could help you, but like I said, we haven’t had a lot of time to talk. I’ve been busy, settling in at the hospital, and Tony . . . well, he wasn’t home a lot. Talk to Ian Maxwell—he was more than Tony’s boss. They were pretty tight.”

Ben walked to the coffeemaker and poured himself another cup.
“Do you know if he was friends with anyone else at Maxwell Industries?”

“Ben, I’ve only been back a month.” She shrugged. “Other than Ian and Danny Maxwell, I don’t know anyone at the plant, and I certainly don’t know any of his gambling buddies. Tony never brought anyone around. He kept his work life separate from our family time.”

Ben glanced around the small kitchen. “Do you know why he’d live here instead of a fancier house? I mean, I’m sure Maxwell Industries paid him well, and from what I understand, he usually won at gambling. He had a roll of hundred dollar bills in his pocket.”

“He liked it here, and he didn’t have many needs. But he’d been talking about building a bigger house.” She stared into space. “I warned him that he had no business carrying that much money around.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Ben plied her with questions that she had no answers to. Finally she held up her hand. “Stop. I’m done. I can’t do this tonight.”