Hidden in the Shadows (4 page)

“That’s hardly a fair assessment. What she’s been through is not a normal situation. You’re trying to compare it with what, everyday life? That’s apples to oranges. So what’s going on?”

She explained about the blind date. When she recounted how Wyatt had backed the young man down, she couldn’t prevent a chuckle. “You should have seen the look on Damon’s face. Of course, I’m certain I’ll hear all about how his dignity was offended, as well.”

Ethan whistled. “I’d have paid good money to see that.” As he pulled into the sheriff’s department parking lot at the courthouse, he sent her an unreadable look. “You know, when you came in earlier, I kind of hoped you’d been on a date with Wyatt.”

Thankful for the darkness that hid her flush, she gave a nervous laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”

He stopped in the process of reaching for the door handle. “No, I’m not. Why? Is the idea that ridiculous?”

“No. Yes! I mean, he’s my boss. That aside, I’m not his type. You know that. He likes thoroughbreds; I’m more of a draught horse.”

To her surprise, Ethan laughed. Hurt and somewhat offended, she got out of the car. Still chuckling, he followed her to the trunk.

Arms crossed, Maria confronted him. “Why is that so funny, Detective?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, really. It’s just that I had a very similar conversation once upon a time about my wife. You see exactly where that concern got me.” He pointed to the gold wedding band he wore.

She relaxed when she realized he truly hadn’t been laughing at her. “But Ethan, you and Beth have loved each other forever. You’re different.”

“We have. But there was also a strong attraction there, in addition to the affection. Are you seriously going to try to tell me that you’re not attracted to Wyatt? Because frankly, I won’t believe you if you do.”

She looked across the parking lot for a long minute. “What makes you say that?”

He shrugged, then unlocked the trunk and retrieved the computer. She followed as he started walking toward the building. “Something Beth said a couple months ago. It made me start watching you and Wyatt, the way you interact with each other. You hide it pretty well, but I think there’s something there. On both sides.”

Maria stopped in her tracks, utterly shocked.

He stopped, too, and turned to look at her. “I won’t keep ragging on you about this, but I want to say one more thing. I know what it’s like to feel something for someone and be afraid to act on it because you think you won’t fit into their life. I damned near lost Beth because of that kind of fear. I’m not suggesting you and Wyatt go get married, or even just hop in the sack for a few nights, but don’t you think you owe it to yourself to find out what’s there?”

With a quick shake of her head, Maria started walking again. Once they reached the building, she used her keycard to open the door and held it open for Ethan.

“Will you think about what I said?”

She gave a short nod. “I will.” She knew she would probably think about little else in the foreseeable future.

Chapter Four

Two hours after he’d talked to Ethan, Wyatt returned to the courthouse. Since he was in town, he figured he would pick up a couple files he’d left in his office before heading home. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten. Stopping by central dispatch, he greeted Carrie.

“Hey, Sheriff. How’s Robbie?”

“He’s okay. They released him a little while ago, and he’s on his way home. Everything finally quiet down?”

She made a so-so motion with her hand. “As quiet as it can be on a Friday night.”

“I guess that’s all a person can hope for, then. I’m going to grab a few things from my office and head home, myself. I’ll hopefully see you Monday and not before.”

Carrie laughed. “You and Maria. The two of you need some hobbies.”

Wyatt felt his heart jump. “What do you mean, Maria? Is she still here?”

“Yep. Came in with Ethan a couple of hours ago.”

“Well, that’s remedied easily enough.” With a wave, he headed upstairs to the newly renovated administrative offices. Sure enough, a warm light shone out into the darkened hall from inside Maria’s office. Careful to make noise as he walked so he wouldn’t startle her, he headed in that direction. When he stopped in her doorway, she looked up.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He adopted a stern look and crossed his arms. When she just sat back and mirrored his pose, eyebrow arched, he struggled to keep his mouth straight.

“Catching up on paperwork. What are
you
doing here?”

With a sigh, he moved to stand behind the guest chair across from her, and rested his hands on its back. “Picking up some files to take home, so I can catch up on paperwork. How are you planning on getting home?”

“That’s a good question.” She stood and pressed her hands to her lower back with a small wince. “Since you brought me to this party, do you think maybe you could convey me to my condo on your way home?”

Lips quirking, Wyatt sketched a half-bow. “Your carriage awaits, madam. Grab your stuff. Have you eaten?” When she locked the office door, the sudden darkness in the hall took on an intimacy he wasn’t quite prepared for. His heart rate picked up as he escorted her down the hall, guided by the penlight on her keychain.

“I had a candy bar a little while ago. You?”

“A few gallons of bad coffee, but no food. Tell you what. I owe you dinner, if you’re interested.”

Wyatt couldn’t read the look she sent him. “You don’t owe me dinner. And what about your paperwork?”

“It’ll wait, and yes, I do owe you dinner.”

Maria stopped on the stairs, her head tipped to the side as she studied him. “Hmmm, okay. In that case, I’d like lobster, caviar, and champagne.” When he stared at her in astonishment, her laughter rang out, echoing back up through the staircase. “I’m teasing. How about waffles and hash browns at the Breakfast Hut? They’re open twenty-four-seven.”

“This late, that’s probably the best I can do,” he replied sardonically. They had reached his SUV, and he hit the button on his key fob to unlock it. “I’ll have to give you a rain check on the other.” He expected her to make another joke, but to his surprise, she just smiled.

“Sheriff, I’m going to hold you to that.”

Chapter Five

Maria had just finished folding a load of clean laundry when her phone rang Monday evening. When she saw Ethan’s number on the screen, she frowned.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you at home. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?” she asked as she grabbed a soda from the fridge.

“I need a big favor. I wouldn’t ask if Beth weren’t involved. My parents were just over here, and well, I guess it’s better if I just show you. Are you in front of a computer?”

“I can be.” She hurried upstairs and into her home office. With a tap on the space bar, she woke her computer up. “Okay, I’m ready.”

He rattled off a website address. When the site came up, the startling image of Beth embracing another man filled the screen. The caption “Love is in the air,” scrolled below the image, and several people had made comments about the image in an area underneath it.

“Oh, wow. That’s Raven Lynch, right?” Maria asked.

“It is.”

Raven was a local businessman who owned Leroy’s upscale art gallery. He was also completely out-of-the-closet, openly gay.

“I don’t understand what someone’s trying to do here, Ethan. I mean, everyone knows Raven’s gay. This is almost funny.”

Ethan’s sigh echoed over the phone. “Yeah, that was our first reaction, too, but my parents were not amused. Beth’s been crying for two hours now.”

Maria’s heart sank. “Oh, no. Surely your folks didn’t think this was real?”

“I’m afraid so. I hate to ask this, but can you see what you can find out about it for me? Off the clock?”

“Absolutely.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve heard of the place that hosts this forum. It has a nasty reputation for being slow to respond in removing user-posted content. If you’d like, though, I can start the process to have this post pulled from the site.”

“That would be wonderful. I’ll owe you big time for that.”

“No, you won’t. We’ll consider it a fair exchange for that advice you gave me the other night. Besides, I can’t call myself your friend and just let this stay up there.”

After they hung up, Maria settled into her office chair and started digging through the forum. The audacity of the post infuriated her. It came too close to the attacks perpetrated against Beth last year that had led to her being shot and nearly killed. Maria knew the similarity had to be weighing on Beth and Ethan. They’d struggled so hard to get where they were now. If there was any way she could help with this slander, she’d do her damnedest to pull it off. It was the least she could do. 

Chapter Six

The first sign Wyatt had that something out of the ordinary was going on was when Tara Michaels-Lewis, a local business owner, called 911 early Tuesday morning. She reported that her ex-husband had shown up at her house drunk, gun in hand. Ethan was dispatched, along with Deputy Wes Mason, but since Wyatt was nearby, he responded as well. When he arrived at the scene, Tony West was sitting on Tara’s front porch. Tony had a whiskey bottle in one hand and a pistol lying on the floor beside him.

“Tony, what’s going on here?” Wyatt asked as he, Ethan, and Wes approached the man with caution, guns drawn.

Eyes bleary, the man raised his gaze to Wyatt. “She won’t have me. She lied and told me she’d take me back, but now she won’t have me.” He lifted the nearly empty bottle and drained it the rest of the way. “Stupid bitch. I never should have married her to begin with.”

“Why don’t we go somewhere to talk about this, Tony? Maybe we can figure out what’s going on.” Wyatt spoke gently, not wanting to provoke the man into reaching for his gun.

Tony tossed the bottle into the yard, narrowly missing Wes’s foot. “Sorry ‘bout that, Deputy. My aim’s not so great right now. I was trying to hit that ugly little troll.” He pointed to a garden gnome at the edge of a flowerbed. “Always hated that thing.”

Wyatt tried again, putting a little snap into his voice. “Tony. I need you to stand up and move toward me.”

With a weary sigh that sounded as if it came from the bottom of his soul, the inebriated man stood, leaving the gun behind on the porch. As soon as he was clear of the steps, Ethan and Wes rushed in.

“We’re going to put some handcuffs on you, Tony. Just until we get some things straightened out, okay?” As Ethan spoke, Wes applied the cuffs, then stepped up onto the porch and secured the gun. He wasn’t surprised to find it loaded. He went to the door, and Tara opened it. Her face was white, the freckles standing out against her pallor.

“Tara, are you okay? He didn’t get inside, did he?”

She shook her head. “No, Sheriff. But I thought he was going to break the door down for a few minutes there.”

When Tony started yelling behind them, Wyatt turned. A third deputy had arrived, and the men had the situation well in hand.

“Why don’t we go inside, and you can sit down and tell me what happened?” Wyatt suggested.

She led him inside and into the kitchen, where she sank down into a chair with a half-sob. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I don’t know what happened. He showed up here last night, flowers and champagne in hand. Seemed to think I was ready to reconcile with him.”

Wyatt handed her a tissue from the box on the table. “And you aren’t?”

She shuddered. “No! I’m remarried. Happily. I haven’t spoken to Tony in months. I can’t imagine why he would think I wanted to reconcile. It’s certainly not because I’ve encouraged him.”

“So what happened? I’m guessing you told him you weren’t interested.”

“Of course. He got angry, and we had an argument. I told him to go away, and he did. I thought that was the last of it. My husband isn’t home right now; he’s traveling for his job. When the doorbell rang a little while ago, I certainly wasn’t expecting to find Tony out there, drunk. Luckily, the screen door was locked, or he would have gotten in.”

Puzzled, Wyatt asked, “Did he give you any reason for why he thought you wanted to get back together?”

She shook her head. “None whatsoever. He just kept ranting about how I’d led him on. But like I said, I haven’t talked to him in months, not even via email or texting.”