Alana Candler, Marked for Murder (27 page)

Brad spent most of the evening on the phone talking to his men and the dispatch office. Jaydn alternated between watching Alana scrutinize pictures and listening to Brad in the next room talking on the phone. Finally, Brad pulled Jaydn aside into the den with a nervous glance in Alana’s direction. “We had another victim yesterday,” he half-whispered.

Jaydn shook his head. His heart hurt for the victim. The flicker of hope he saw in Brad surprised him. He waited for more.

“We think we have a clue that might give us a lead. One of the investigators found a black hair hung in a ring the victim was wearing. Her hair was gray, she’s not married, and her only pet, a cat, is yellow. If this belongs to the murderer, we can possibly get a DNA match from the FBI data files.”

He actually looked happy.

“It’s our first real break. At least, we hope it is.”

“Don’t you want to tell her?” Jaydn nodded toward Alana, bent over the pictures.

“No. The murder would upset her. Plus, the strand of hair might get her hopes up and then turn out to be nothing. I have to go back first thing in the morning, but I’ll leave the pictures with you and Alana. See if you can find anything odd. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Later, Alana walked back into the room where Jaydn was talking to Brad as he ate a late-night dinner.

Alana shuddered and rubbed her head in frustration.

“I just don’t see anything out of the ordinary in all these pictures. Everyone on the investigative team saw everything I did, but no one else is being targeted.”

Brad pushed back his chair. “Lane, think a minute. Can you remember anything you might have seen that you didn’t photograph? Sometimes even the smallest detail seems unimportant, but it breaks the whole case.”

Alana shook her head. “Brad, I got everything in the room down in pictures. You know how I am. I take a sweeping shot of everything. There’s nothing in that room that wouldn’t have been in these photographs.”

Brad let out a defeated sigh. “I know. That’s why I asked for your help this time. We weren’t getting anywhere in the murder investigations. I was hoping your set of pictures might be more thorough—maybe pick up something the other photographers were missing.”

“Besides,” Jaydn interjected, “why would the pictures have been stolen if Alana saw something but didn’t photograph it?”

“Maybe the thief thought she got it down in pictures as well.”

Alana shook her head in confusion. “But, if that’s the case, then everyone on the team would be in danger.”

She blinked several times at the light overhead as she dropped her head back and rolled her neck around. Jaydn saw telltale signs of a headache coming on.

“I just can’t look at them anymore tonight.” She stood up and turned toward Brad.

“I have to go to bed, Brad. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She turned to Jaydn and spoke. Her voice sounded soft and rote. “Thanks again, Jaydn, for letting me stay. Goodnight.”

The blank expression on her face worried Jaydn. He exchanged a concerned look with Brad as they watched her retreating figure.

Brad leaned back in his seat and let out a tired sigh. “She’s taking this better than I expected, but she’s awfully strung out.”

Jaydn watched Alana trudge up the stairs and nodded.

Brad picked up the files containing the pictures and placed them on the sideboard. “Maybe you or Alana can find something in these. I’ll have to look through them later. I have another hour’s worth of work to do, then I’ll be ready for bed too. I’m beat, old man. I’ve been up for twenty hours straight.”

Jaydn grinned at him sheepishly. “The way I feel, I won’t be able to sleep tonight at all. I think I’ll dig Dad’s old Bible out of the cobwebs and read for a while. I bet I get something different out of it than he did.”

Brad grinned and nodded. “Good idea. Good night.”

FIFTY-FOUR

THE NEXT MORNING, ALANA WAS
the first one downstairs—her mind on a conversation she was planning to have with Brad. He would be firm and say no, she was sure, but she was determined not to back down.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee teased her and called her into the large family-style kitchen. Naomi was pulling a fresh batch of blueberry muffins out of the oven.

“Mmmm. Those smell great, Naomi. No wonder Jaydn takes you everywhere he goes. I would get spoiled on your cooking.”

Naomi beamed with pleasure. “Oh, go on with you now. Sit down here and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. I guess the boys will be here shortly. I heard Jaydn up early this morning, but I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of him yet. He’s probably having his morning run.”

Naomi pushed the basket of hot muffins toward Alana and hurried to pour her a cup of hot, steaming coffee.

“Does Jaydn run every morning?” Alana envied his freedom to run. Her morning runs had been neglected since the kidnapping. Running in open areas would be like inviting another attack on her life.

“Just about.”

Alana said no more but finished her muffin and leaned back to enjoy her coffee. She watched the gentle mountain breeze blow the treetops on the mountain outside the window. Such a peaceful scene.

Standing, she walked to the thick glass door to drink in the sunshine shimmering on the morning dewdrops. Her gaze fell on the cement bench she enjoyed the day before. Jaydn’s still form was seated there, huddled over what looked like a book. He wasn’t running now. He was reading—and quite absorbed in what he was reading, if his still, bent-over form meant anything.

As she watched him, he closed the book and walked up the stone walkway to the house. She groaned. He would be here to voice his own objections to the bombshell she was about to drop on Brad. Brad’s opposition was enough to tackle at one time. She sat back down and braced herself for a battle.

“Good morning!” Jaydn said as he walked through the sliding glass doors. Jaydn’s cheerful tone and glowing countenance made Alana steal a second glance.

What made him so cheerful this morning?

When she saw the Bible in his hand, she sat back in her chair abruptly. Jaydn? Reading the Bible? Was that for real? Or was he faking a desire to read the Bible for her sake?

There were times that she thought Jaydn was attracted to her—times when she wasn’t second-guessing herself. She could feel the chemistry between them, but she didn’t want him faking a relationship with God to get on her good side. She wanted. . .no, she
needed
him to have a faith in God because it was a personal, private experience, not because it might win him points with her.

She had to admit, though, when she looked at him, there was something different about him. There was a peace . . . a contentment . . . a deep understanding that wasn’t there before.

Suddenly, her heart felt lighter than it had been since coming to the cabin. Maybe the Lord was working through this horrible situation, after all.

Jaydn pulled a cup from the counter and poured himself some coffee. He laid the Bible down on the table next to his plate and sat down.

Alana glanced at the Bible and then at him. She was sure he could see the question marks in her eyes.

He looked at her for a minute and placed both hands flat on the table. “Alana, I’ve done something I need to tell you about.” He glanced at the black leather of the Bible beside him.

Alana held her breath—caution restrained the excitement building inside her.

“I was running around the property yesterday when I said a prayer about something. It’s not important what the prayer was about, but I realized what I’d done—I’d
prayed
to a God I had tried to convince myself didn’t exist.”

She waited patiently for him to continue.

“I told myself that if I said a prayer, then it meant I had to believe, somewhere deep in my heart, that there was a God in heaven who heard my prayer. After a lot of soul searching and remembering what I’d learned about God from my college friends, I gave my life to Him.”

The suspicions she had before were erased by the contentment shining in his eyes. She raised her head and smiled. It started as a grin then expanded to a full smile that transformed her whole face.

“Jaydn, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

She reached out to him and held his hands with hers. “I think you’ll find God a caring and loving Being who never leaves us, no matter what comes into our lives.”

He nodded. “I’m sure I will, Alana.”

“Morning.”

Alana jerked her hands from Jaydn’s and hid them in her lap.

Brad strolled into the room in his usual disheveled morning state. He was barefoot, and his shirttail hung out over his pants. Alana laughed at his half-closed eyes under his slightly ruffled hair.

“Good morning, Spot. Sleep well?”

“Fine. Wonderful bed. Good as home.”

Jaydn and Alana shared a smile over Brad’s sluggish speech and his closed eyelids. Naomi placed a cup of hot coffee in front of him and stood back watching, her fists on her hips.

When he smelled the strong liquid, his eyes opened a little wider. His heavy fingers reached for the coffee, and he took a sip from the white ceramic cup.

“Mmm, good coffee.”

Naomi nodded in satisfaction and went back to washing dishes.

Alana patiently waited for Brad to gradually rejuvenate as the stimulating liquid awakened his senses. She wanted him to finish breakfast before she brought up the subject she knew would make him hit the ceiling.

When he ate two muffins and was finishing his second cup of coffee, Alana glanced at Jaydn and pushed her chair back from the table. A sense of dread descended on her shoulders, but she plunged into the sensitive discussion.

“Brad, you know what Monday is, don’t you?”

Brad rubbed his chin with his fingers and closed one eye. “No, I can’t say that I do.”

“Brad, think! You know what Monday is.” Alana looked perturbed.

When the importance of Monday’s date penetrated his sleepy brain, his eyes opened wide.

“No way! I’m
not
letting you go. Leaving this protected location is out of the question.”

“You know I have to go. I missed last week because of the hotel thing, and I lost so many of the pictures when my computer was ruined. They’re already worried about losing their building and having to move. I can’t disappoint them again. You know what my going means to the kids.”

Brad shook his head. “No, Alana. I said no, and I mean it. It’s not safe.”

She sat up straight in her chair and turned her full gaze of resolve in his direction. “If God has taken care of me this far, He’s not going to stop now. He’ll take care of me there too. Jaydn reminded me of that this morning. Where’s your faith? No one even knows I’m going. I can’t see that there’s a risk.”

Alana and Brad were taught since childhood to have faith and trust God to protect them. Brad had to know she was right. She was hoping his admiration for her courage and faith would win the battle within him over his frustration at her stubbornness; then he would concede it was more important for them to trust in God. She was his little sister, and as much as he loved her and wanted to protect her, she was still hoping he would respect her wishes. He knew ultimately that her safety was in God’s hands.

“All right, Alana. I’ll consider letting you go,
if
I can plan ahead and
if
I can make it safe—not only for you, but for the kids as well. But, you have to wait until I can go with you.”

“I have to go Monday, Brad. That’s when the kids are expecting me.”

His sigh vibrated across the table. “All right, Alana. I’ll see if I can work it out. But, let me see if I can get off, okay?”

She nodded. “But, if you can’t come, I’m still going. I won’t disappoint them again.”

Brad stared at her. She injected as much persistence, determination, and stubbornness in the look she returned as she could muster until finally, his scowl gave away the fact he knew he was beaten.

“Maybe I can get Elliott to go along if I can’t go.”

Alana was a little embarrassed that Jaydn witnessed a private family squabble, but he sat quietly across from them, not saying a thing, until Brad consented—obviously against his better judgment. Then, it seemed his curiosity got the better of him. He looked first at one, then the other, and said, “What’s all this about?”

Brad looked at Alana to make sure it would be okay to reveal her secret. She nodded her approval.

“Alana’s been volunteering at the Bishop Orphanage every Monday, spending some time with the kids. She’s been taking specialized photographs of them, a few at a time, and she missed last week because of the hotel thing.”

Jaydn turned to look at her as if he thought she was crazy. His look confirmed her thoughts—he was shocked at her request. The threat of a negative reaction fanned a fire in her eyes, and she let him know silently she wouldn’t back down. His deep controlling breath was infused with patience.

“I know what you’re thinking, Jaydn, and it won’t do any good to argue. It should be safe if no one knows I’m going. Those kids don’t get much pleasure, and they need this little bit of fun in their lives.”