Backfire (9 page)

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t tie him up. But someone must have tied him up in the mine, just as you said—to lure me inside. Solomon obviously chewed his way out. Good thing it wasn’t a galvanized steel tie-out or he’d still be down there.” She ran her hand over the dog’s forehead and down his neck and back. “What would we have done if he hadn’t escaped?”

Cade pulled out a pocketknife and cut the remains of the rope from Solomon’s neck.

Tracy crouched to get in the dog’s face. “What would I do without you, Solomon?”

She tugged him close.

“Tell me,” Cade said.

David glanced around. “It’s not safe to stay. We need to hike out of here. There’s someone bent on harming Tracy.”

“We don’t have to hike far. My truck’s just over there.”

“You drove up here on these overgrown roads?”

“Yeah. I figured you’d done something stupid and I didn’t want to waste time.”

David wanted to glare at Cade. After all, David was his older brother and deserved some respect. He should be the one dishing out advice. Instead he tugged his brother to him. “Thanks, bro.”

“You’re welcome.”

Together they hiked along the overrun trail toward the truck.

“So who is this guy, Tracy?” Cade asked. “Any ideas?”

“Someone connected to my past. You could all be in danger now because of me.” Tracy sighed.

David eyed the woods. Tracy had caught a glimpse of someone just before the mine collapsed. Someone could be hiding in the trees. He put his hand on his weapon in his holster.

A twig snapped somewhere in the shadows of the forest.

Cade’s truck was only fifty yards away, but it wasn’t close enough. David shook off a wave of dizziness, retrieved his weapon from the holster and grabbed Tracy’s hand. He picked up his pace. Cade and Heidi followed his lead. The person after Tracy—a killer, an arsonist from her past—could be watching them now. He shuddered to think what a person like that could do to the small town of Mountain Cove.

He feared Jay wouldn’t be the last person attacked, that Veronica wouldn’t be the last person to die. He feared in the end, he would fail Tracy.

ELEVEN

“I
don’t know if I can do this to you, Jewel.” Tracy peeked between the curtains to see Cade and David talking to Terry, Cade’s police friend, who stood next to his cruiser. “You need this room for your income. Bad enough I was taking up space in your cottage.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for someone I care about.”

Tracy pulled her gaze from the three men and looked at Jewel, who leaned, arms folded, against the doorjamb. In her midforties, Jewel was beautiful, with a quiet and elegant grace about her. Her ash-blond hair, long and straight, hung down past her shoulders. Tracy pictured her as the kind of woman who would wear it the same way even into her sixties and seventies and look just as beautiful.

Moving to Mountain Cove, Tracy had tried at first to avoid any close friendships, but Jewel had refused to be pushed away. “Thanks. I care about you, too. That’s why I’m not sure this is a good idea. What if—?”

“You don’t need to worry.” Jewel closed the bedroom door and came all the way into the room. “The boys down there are going to switch out watching the house while the police track this guy down. We stick together here in Mountain Cove. Nobody is going to do this to one of our own.”

“But he already did. His fire at the grocery store killed Veronica.”

Jewel frowned and sat on the bed. It was covered with a gorgeous mariner quilt, and Jewel spread her hand over the design. “Veronica’s grandmother quilted this. The woman lives in Massachusetts. She sent it to me a few years back. This along with two more in the other guest rooms. She stayed here once years ago when she came to visit Veronica.”

How could Tracy ever make up for any of this? “It’s my fault. She’d still be alive if it wasn’t for me. And by letting me stay here, you’re putting yourself in danger. And what about your guests?” Tracy rubbed her arms and stared at the window again. The woods surrounding the B and B made for a beautiful natural setting, but a killer could hide there and make a plan to attack them, undetected. “I should contact Jennifer, Marshal Hanes, and go into WITSEC. I shouldn’t stay here for even one night.”

Jewel was at her side and hugged her. Then she held her at arm’s length. “Now, you listen to me. None of this is your fault. You didn’t kill anyone. This guy who’s after you is the guilty party. And he’s just a man, nothing more. He’s flesh and blood. My guess is that he’s out of his element in Alaska. We’ll get him before he takes someone else down.”

“You can’t promise that, Jewel.”

“No, I can’t. But there are no promises in life. People die every day, people who don’t have a killer after them.” Jewel released Tracy and adjusted the earth-colored drapes. “I lost my husband a few years back. He was a firefighter—he mentored David Warren, in fact. But he didn’t die fighting a fire. No. He had to get struck by lightning when he was out hiking in the mountains. A lightning strike killed my husband.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tracy said.

“Do you hear me? Lightning killed him. We never get lightning here. He put his life at risk all the time for his work, and the thing that killed him was literally a bolt out of the blue. There are no guarantees. We have to live each moment as if it was our last. Treasure the time we’re here. Cherish our loved ones. So if you don’t want to run and hide, if you want to stay here with your friends, we’ll stand with you in this.”

The depth of Jewel’s conviction touched a place equally as deep inside Tracy. How could she leave people who were that committed and loyal? And yet how could she stay?

“David thinks that if the guy could find you here, he could find you anywhere, even if you had a new identity,” Jewel added.

Tracy wasn’t as sure about that and wondered if David was only trying to justify a reason for Tracy to stay. That thought zinged through her—why would he care so much? She smiled inside. After the way he’d acted in the mine, she had no doubt as to the reasons. There was a strong pull between them, but Tracy knew better than to succumb to her attraction or any feeling she might have for him.

Plopping on the bed, she pressed her hands to her face. “I don’t know about this.”

Jewel lightly squeezed her shoulder. “You need to rest and then you’ll see things more clearly. This is one of the rooms with a private bath. If you don’t feel like joining us for dinner, I can bring up a tray.”

“No, Jewel. I should help you serve. It’s my job.”

“Piffle. I’d say you need a day or two off. I have more than enough friends in town that can help when I need it.”

The way Jewel eyed her, Tracy was reminded that she’d given Tracy a job because she’d felt sorry for her. She’d been her charity project—in the nicest possible way. Tracy hadn’t come to town begging, but somehow Jewel had known she’d needed a refuge. She smiled at the woman.

“Thank you.” The words creaked out. She could never fully express the debt of her gratitude.

Jewel gave her an easy, knowing smile then exited through the door, shutting it with a soft click. Tracy needed a shower or maybe a long, hot bath. They’d already brought most of her things up to the room—easy to do, since she didn’t have much.

Solomon had been sleeping in the corner on a mat. He lifted his head and whined, but he didn’t come to her for attention. Today’s experience had worn him out. Tracy stole one more glance out the window. The men were still there talking, the deep grays of dusk dwindling behind the mountain silhouettes.

She was about to let the curtains drop when David glanced up at the window. He caught her watching and his gaze lingered. Was that smile suddenly lifting his lips for her, or something one of the other two men had said? Her heart skipped all the same. She was grateful they didn’t seem to notice David’s attention on the window. She let the curtains drop and sucked in oxygen. She really couldn’t afford her reaction to that man.

David Warren.

Somehow this nightmare had given rise to him entangling himself with her, something that should never have happened. She would have been better off leaving town as soon as she’d heard Jay’s story. But she didn’t know where to go. Coming here in the first place, finding a place to stay and a job, had been a monumental task. She couldn’t imagine moving again, and if she did, would she find a group of people who cared enough about her to stand with her, as Jewel had said? Would she find another protector like David?

Bone-tired, she headed for the bathroom and started filling the tub with hot water. In the bathroom, she noticed a cross-stitch on the wall. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105.”

God, what do I do?

* * *

“You don’t get to order my officers around.” Chief Colin Winters worked his jaw back and forth.

David stood on the other side of the man’s desk. When they’d started this conversation this morning, they’d both been sitting, but as tensions had escalated, both men had gotten to their feet. “Terry wasn’t on duty last night. He chose to watch over the Jewel of the Mountain on his own time.”

“In police property!”

Winters had already had words with Terry, and that was why David was in his office to face off with the police chief. “To let the killer know we’re onto him. To scare him off.”

“First off, we don’t know there is a killer. Nobody’s been murdered, that we know of. And even so, scare him off? We want to catch him, Warren.”

“I thought we wanted to protect the town.”

Chief Winters crossed his arms and eyed David. “You want to run the police department, then you can get a job and work your way up. You’ll have to go through me every step of the way.”

David ground his molars. “Why are we arguing? We both want the same thing. To catch this guy and protect the town. There’s a killer out there, whether you know it yet or not. We know Tracy is in danger. Others, as well. Why are you being so stubborn? Let’s protect Tracy and catch this guy.”

Winters relaxed his jaw.

David saw that as his chance to press the man. “I want to know what you’ve found in your investigation. Why is it taking so long?”

Maybe he shouldn’t have made those demands or added that last part. He’d probably sent the man over the edge and would get kicked out of his office. But they’d known each other long enough that Winters respected David as much as David respected him, though tempers were too high to really demonstrate that respect right now.

To David’s surprise, Winters dropped his arms and took a seat. He blew out a breath, obviously regaining his composure. “Sit down.”

David did as he was asked and welcomed the chance at a civil conversation.

“I know what this is. I know what you’re trying to do.”

David stiffened, not liking where he suspected this was going.

“You’re turning this into a way for you to make up for the past.”

Was he that obvious to others? He hoped not. But his throat grew thick all the same. “What are you talking about?”

Tapping his fingers on his desk, Chief Winters studied him. “Never mind. Look, Warren, it
is
summer, and we’ve got lots of visitors coming through town with the cruises or to hunt and fish, using the cabins spread out in the woods and on the nearby islands. I’m in a precarious position here. I can’t incite panic and scare all the tourists off until I have solid evidence. That said, there’s only a couple of ways in and out of this town, and my department is on full alert. We’re all looking for this guy who fits Jay’s description. According to Tracy, this man might be after her, but she can’t give a description.”

“The tattoo. That’s description enough. And there is no ‘might’ about it. Someone tried to get at her from the alley at the grocery store.”

Winters arched a brow. David realized he might not have been informed of that incident. They hadn’t called the police then.

“Then it burned down the next day.” David knew they were still waiting to hear back from the fire marshal’s investigation to find out if it was arson. “And then she saw someone at the mine last night before it collapsed.”

Was Winters even listening?

“Again, circumstantial. Seeing someone there just before the collapse doesn’t mean they caused it. Though I’ll admit, it does look suspicious. We’re investigating how it collapsed, and then we can tell you if it was intentional. But it could just as easily have been an accident. The mine was clearly marked as dangerous.” He sent David an accusing look.

David had no response to that and shifted in his seat.

Winters deepened his frown. “By the way, how’s your head?”

“It hurts, but I’ll live.”

“I hope you’re not driving around town. You need to rest. That’ll give you clarity, too, so you can be sure you’re really thinking this through and not just reacting emotionally.”

Frustration boiled in David’s gut. “You know me better than that. And Tracy is not some paranoid woman.”

“But do you admit she has a reason to be distrustful? Maybe even fixated on the idea that someone is trying to kill her?”

Standing again, David pressed his knuckles into the desk and leaned forward. “You go too far, Winters.”

Winters held his palms up. “I don’t blame her. If I’d lived through her experience in California, I would probably be looking over my shoulder, too. But I can’t ask every person coming in and out of Mountain Cove to show their tattoos, and some of them have many.”

“Then what
can
you do?”

“We can look for this man like we’re doing, even though we don’t have much to go on.”

“And what about Tracy’s protection? And Jewel and her guests?”

“I only have twelve officers, which isn’t enough when the population explodes in the summer months. But...I’ll concede on that point. Jewel and her guests at the B and B need a police presence if Tracy is staying there.”

David wasn’t 100 percent sure he liked the way Winters had worded that, as though Tracy wasn’t his first concern. David had always trusted the man to do his job well before. But he couldn’t help but think he was conceding because he had a thing for Jewel. Everyone knew that except Winters and Jewel.

“The Warren brothers will help you keep watch, then, too.”

“No deadly use of force. Got it? Call the police if you see anything suspicious. And be careful. I understand how you think. You’d rather die trying to save someone than lose them, but the citizens of Mountain Cove don’t want to lose
you
.” Winters pinned him with his glare and David saw the truth in his eyes.

Satisfied that he was getting the police response he wanted, he said, “Then let’s get this guy.”

Winters stood and thrust out his hand. “You should have applied to the police force instead of becoming a fireman.”

David took Winters’s strong grip and shook, feeling better about their conversation by the minute. “You’re a good man, Colin.”

Winters offered him an amused smile. “You had your doubts?”

“I knew you’d come through with some prodding.”

David left the chief’s office and exited the building.

Mountain Cove was small enough that most of the locals knew each other. Add to that the residents were made up of rugged men and women who could live through a harsh winter environment and who mostly packed weapons. Knew how to handle themselves. The threat came when someone was off their guard because they didn’t know they were in danger. Someone like an innocent store clerk working at the grocery store.

But word had spread fast enough and people knew now to keep an eye out. He just hoped they didn’t blame Tracy for Veronica’s death. He hoped no one suggested she leave town. Most people he knew here would quickly come to her defense, but there was always one or two who stood apart.

What David had to do was figure out how to do his own job and keep Tracy safe at the same time. He had taken too much time off as it was.

David approached his truck, thinking back to the moment when it had arrived in Juneau. His shiny new truck had been meant to somehow fill that emptiness inside, and it had worked temporarily. Or at least he’d lied to himself that he was happy. Somehow when facing life and death, when trying to protect a woman he cared too deeply about, he wondered why he’d bothered spending the money on a new toy with all the bells and whistles, when there were plenty of other more important places to put his money. He already gave to plenty of charities and missionaries abroad. Local needs, as well. All more important and less selfish. But maybe he could give more and spend less on himself. He could have bought a used and older-model vehicle and it would have done the job. Still, as he climbed inside and ran his hand over the newness of the leather interior and started the ignition, he smiled. He was only human, after all, and though he hated his shallowness, he couldn’t help but take joy in this small pleasure.