Nightwatch (16 page)

“Do you think somebody was trying to tip you off?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He gave Mitch a lopsided smile. “Boyd's car's pretty shot up and the chief of police is planning to keep his people here for a while. This place is inside the city limits so it's his jurisdiction. Can I offer you two a ride back into town?”

Jill paused. “Are you positive there was no sign of any children here? Whoever reported hearing a baby crying must have heard something.”

“Not necessarily. It could have been a sore loser's way of gettin' even by callin' the cops.”

“Oh. I hadn't thought of that.”

The light pressure of Mitch's arm around her shoulders was so welcome it brought unshed tears. He might be mad as a wet hen at her, yet he was still looking after her, still offering the comfort she so desperately needed.

She would have liked to have been able to properly thank him but she knew if she tried to speak and saw any pity or similar emotion in his eyes, she'd start to cry again. She'd done far, far too much of that already. Weeping didn't solve a thing, nor did it express her true emotions. What she needed to do was thank the Lord
that no one had been hurt, in spite of her mistakes, and praise Him for the man who was willing to put aside his own feelings for the sake of others, including her.

Gratitude filled her. So did a sense of growing peace. Jill didn't care that that feeling made no earthly sense. It was enough to simply rest in it. For now.

 

By the time Mitch and Jill reached the sheriff's office the missing truck—and the thief—had been located and dealt with.

“Thanks,” Mitch said, eyeing his vehicle. “I guess we can chalk one up for the good guys.”

“More than one,” Harlan said. “We've known there was gambling going on for a long time but this is our first bust. I'm hopin' it'll lead to more.”

“What about Thad? Will he get to post bail?”

The portly shoulders shrugged. “Probably. Why?”

“Because, I heard he's been running Rob's business single-handedly since the fire. I'd hate to see it go under just because he's stuck in jail.”

Jill piped up, “He wasn't responsible for the gambling, was he? I mean, he was just betting. Right?”

“That's how it looked to us.”

“Okay,” Mitch said. “Let me know if Thad needs bail and I'll see what I can do.”

As they left the sheriff, Jill asked Mitch, “What are you planning?”

“I don't know yet. Thad had been coming to church with his brother fairly regularly. I thought I'd notify Logan Malloy and see if he wanted to make a pastoral visit while Thad's in jail.” He smiled. “Sometimes falling on hard times can wake a man up to what's missing in his life.”

“What about the factory? What will happen to it now that Thad's not working?”

“I don't know. I suppose I should ask him if he needs any help. Trouble is, I have no idea how to run the place and I don't know of anybody else who does either.”

Jill nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “I suppose contacting Natalie is out of the question?”

“Humph. It would probably be better to shut the place down completely and wait for Thad to get out of jail than it would be to let her get her hands on it.”

“I suppose you're right. I'm certainly not looking forward to running into her again.”

Mitch rested his arm lightly around Jill's shoulders, taking care to keep his touch as innocent and nonchalant as possible, while he walked her back to her Jeep. “Don't worry. I'll be sure I'm with you the next time you go to court. I wouldn't have missed the last time if the chief hadn't been delayed getting to the station.”

“I know. And thanks for everything.”

His heart gave a lurch when she gazed up at him with such evident affection and gratitude. “My pleasure,” Mitch said. Meaning to use humor to diminish the seriousness of the moment he added, “It was fun throwing you into a pile of leaves.”

Her blue eyes widened and reflected the bright spring sky. Turning sideways, Jill placed her hand flat on his chest as she gazed up at him and said, “We both know you risked your life to keep me from getting shot, Mitch.”

Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to confess his deep feelings for her, he convinced himself to wait. Too much was happening. Things were moving too fast.

He and Jill had developed a strong friendship over the course of the past two years. Taking that camaraderie to a new level and changing everything in a matter of days didn't make sense. At least not to him. He was a logical man who thought things through. It was Jill who jumped into trouble with both feet and then wondered how to get out of it. His responsibility was to keep his wits about him.

Touching the brim of his cap, smiling and nodding politely, he distanced himself from emotional involvement by saying, “Just doing my job, ma'am.”

Instead of the grin he'd expected in return, Jill looked surprised. Then, she abruptly turned away, climbed into her Jeep and slammed the door.

Standing there staring after her as she drove off, Mitch wondered if he looked half as befuddled as he felt. What in the world was wrong with her? She certainly hadn't been behaving normally lately. Then again, he supposed nobody who was involved with the Pearson family could remain unaffected by the ongoing tragedy.

Ideas forming rapidly, he waited until Jill was out of sight, then turned and entered the sheriff's office. He might not be an official part of the investigation into Megan's disappearance but he did have some rights. Anything pertaining to the original fire was his concern. So was whatever happened to the site in the future, as long as he allowed his imagination to stretch the truth some. Maybe he could convince Harlan to share a few more details or even allow him to speak with Thad now that Jill wasn't present.

Thinking of the parting look she'd given him, Mitch wondered if she'd been angry or confused or what?
He'd assumed she'd been sharing his lighthearted mood until she'd turned on her heel and stalked off. Women. There was no understanding them. After all he'd done for her, all the times he'd stepped up and volunteered, why was she acting as if she hated the sight of him?

Mitch's jaw muscles clenched. He had teased her about it but Jill had been right when she'd claimed he'd saved her life. That should have proved his devotion if nothing else did. So what was her problem?

A
s far as Jill was concerned the whole morning had been a disaster, ending with Mitch's offhanded comment about her welfare being nothing more than part of his job. She was too weary to rest, too angry to think straight and too upset to eat, although it was past lunch-time.

That didn't leave much else except going home and trying to lose herself in her farm chores until it was time to pick up the boys. She supposed she could do that. Or she could continue to drive aimlessly around town making useless wishes about locating Megan the way she had been for the past hour.

Nothing made sense, least of all the abduction of the child. The police had checked the alibis of every person involved in the case as well as running down nearby registered sex offenders. No leads had panned out. Not even the most distasteful ones.

Was it possible Megan was really safe and sound somewhere and being watched over by someone who cared about her? That was almost too much to hope for, yet Jill's mind insisted it was a possibility.

Of course it was. Anything was. But she was no fool.
She knew what the odds were. Every hour that passed meant a lessening chance that the toddler would survive. It was that simple. And there was absolutely nothing Jill could do about it. That was what hurt so much.

She had been traveling without meaningful direction, hardly noting what neighborhoods lay outside her Jeep. That's why when she saw that she'd subconsciously driven toward the airport, she was taken aback.

“Could this be a sign?” she asked herself. Chuckling in self-disgust, she answered, “Sure. Just like the gambling den was. Get real.”

Nevertheless, she pulled off the road and cruised around to the back of the Pearson Products warehouse where the employees parked. There were no other cars present, which was not all that surprising considering Thad's recent arrest. If he'd been operating the place by himself, as everyone assumed, there would be no reason for activity.

Still sitting behind the wheel, Jill turned the key, then clasped her hands and closed her eyes. “Okay, Lord, here I am. Now what?”

She felt silly praying that way but she didn't know what else to do, where else to go. Had random chance brought her here or was there an actual reason for it?

A better question might be, was it important? Somehow she sensed that it was, although details totally escaped her. She'd already exhausted her imagination. There was nothing left but to turn to God and trust Him.

Her forehead rested against her clasped hands on the steering wheel. She closed her eyes. Birds called. Insects began to buzz. The sun streaming through the
windows warmed her and made her drowsy as she prayed.

When her driver's side door was jerked open and a hand clamped over her face, she tried to scream.

 

Mitch kept his palm pressed over Jill's mouth until he was sure she'd realized it was him. “Hush.” He frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Keep your voice down,” he ordered.

“Why?”

“Because Natalie is inside. I was on my way here to do a favor for Thad when I saw her car out front, so I hid my truck and walked over. I figured I'd sneak up on her and see what she was up to.” His scowl deepened and he made no effort to look amiable. “Imagine my surprise when I found you lurking, too.”

“I wasn't lurking,” Jill insisted. “If you must know, I was praying.”

“Here? Now?”

“Yes.” Her brows arched. “Here and now. You aren't exactly the answer I was expecting though.”

“You're imagining things again,” Mitch said. He looked around, wondering if they'd been detected and coming to the conclusion he didn't dare send Jill away. Not if he hoped to accomplish what he'd come for.

“Look. There's no way you can fire up that noisy Jeep and drive it out of here without being heard. You might as well come with me.”

“Don't sound so thrilled.” Cynicism tinged her words. “I know! I can go in one way and you can go the other. That'll double our chances of sneaking up on her.”

“It'll also double the chances of being caught. Are you familiar with the layout of the building?”

“Of course not.” Jill pulled a face. “I suppose you are.”

“Yes. I used to visit Rob often.” Mitch stepped back to give her plenty of room. “Come on. And no talking.”

“Did anybody ever tell you you're bossy?”

“Yes. You. Now hush.”

The look of consternation on Jill's pretty face almost made him laugh out loud. If he hadn't been so determined to carry out his plans to secretly observe Natalie he might have given in to the urge to at least chuckle. Jill was not only as hardheaded as he was, she was every bit as courageous. Too bad she didn't have more common sense to temper her bravery.

They tiptoed up to the rear door with Mitch in the lead. He paused. “Okay. I got a key from Thad so we won't have to break in.”

“When did you see him?”

“In jail.” Mitch gave her the most intense stare he could manage. “Are you done talking?”

Jill nodded. Judging by the way her lips were pressed together and her face was flushed she was plenty mad. Good. As long as being peeved kept her quiet he was fine with it.

The key clicked in the lock. Mitch turned the knob slowly, deliberately, and eased the door open a fraction of an inch at a time. He felt Jill's hand on his back, almost pushing him, and wondered if she was going to be able to control the urge to rush headlong into trouble again.

Laying his finger across his lips he glanced at her
over his shoulder. His gaze met hers and sent a clear warning.

Once again, Jill nodded.

Satisfied, Mitch pushed the door far enough that he could see the darkened, windowless room that lay ahead. Off to one side, in the corner Thad had made into a temporary office, a beam of light blinked behind stacks of cardboard cartons. That had to be Natalie. She was apparently swinging a flashlight from side to side as she examined the makeshift records room.

Mitch pointed, waiting until he was certain Jill understood what he was going to do. Then he motioned at the cement floor where they stood.

She shook her head.

Mitch stiffened and gestured, insisting without speaking. He froze and waited for her to give him some sign that she was going to cooperate. Finally, she dropped her gaze, exhaled with a whoosh and nodded. Sort of.

That was all the go-ahead he needed. First he pulled the exterior door tight behind them, then gave his vision a few seconds to adjust to the lower light level. There were enough cracks where the metal walls abutted the roof that the enormous warehouse wasn't totally dark, even with the doors closed.

He was glad Natalie hadn't turned on the overhead lighting because the dimness facilitated his stealthy progress across the room, yet allowed him to zigzag past rows of packing and assembly tables without running into anything.

The closer he got to his goal, the easier it was to hear the woman muttering to herself. That was very disquieting. She sounded both frantic and adamant, with a
heavy sprinkling of the same colorful language he'd heard her use before.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Natalie said. “What did you think you were doing, huh? Why couldn't you stay out of it? You and that goody-goody husband of yours.”

Mitch thought for a moment that the overwrought woman wasn't alone. Then he realized she must think she was talking to her deceased sister, Ellen. He held his breath, listening.

“I told them you wouldn't be here. You never worked on weekends.” Her voice broke. She sniffled. “Why did you do it? Why? You had plenty for all of us. I told you I had to have more. Why couldn't you just give it to me? Why did you have to die?”

Was she talking about the bombing? It sure sounded like it. Suppose she fully incriminated herself? Would he be able to prove it in a court of law? Mitch doubted it. Even though he had a sterling reputation it would still be Natalie's word against his. If she got a good lawyer or claimed insanity she might walk away unpunished. Rob and Ellen—and their kids—deserved more than that. They deserved justice.

There was only one thing to do. Mitch had to go get Jill and bring her closer so she could hear Natalie's ravings for herself. That way there would be two witnesses.

He pivoted to start back for her and was so startled he almost yelled.

She was standing right behind him. Grinning.

 

Even in the near darkness Jill could see consternation replace surprise in Mitch's expression. That sight, coupled with her nervousness, nearly made her giggle.

Mitch lightly pressed the fingers of one hand across her lips and pantomimed “shush,” while pointing with the other hand.

Jill understood. She hadn't been standing there for very long but she'd already overheard plenty. Boy, had she.

Natalie's voice kept getting louder and louder, as if she were losing what little sanity she had left. The woman's grip on reality was clearly long gone.

“You promised to come to my house that night. Why didn't you?” Muttered curses followed. “It was Rob's fault. I know it was. I wouldn't have cared if he'd died but you shouldn't have gone with him. You were all I had.”

Jill leaned closer to Mitch and was thankful when he embraced her. Hearing all this was answering many questions, although it was painful to realize they were listening to a tale of murder. Natalie had obviously lost whatever sense of right and wrong she had once possessed. That made her dangerous. Deadly. And at this point it was clear she felt she had little left to lose.

Sniffling continued. The rambling ceased. Jill snuggled close to Mitch and wondered what they should do. If they confronted Natalie there was no telling what she might do, particularly given her current mental state.

“Ah-ha! Got it!” she shouted so abruptly, so loudly, it caused both Jill and Mitch to jump.

The maniacal laughter that followed made Jill cuddle closer to him and lay her palm on his chest. His heart was pounding. So was hers.

She looked up at him and whispered, “What now?”

Mitch shifted, signaled with a sideways nod of his head and began to draw her backward. They had circled
a long table and were about to duck behind it when a bright light blinded them.

Jill raised her hands to shade her eyes. Mitch sidled in front, between her and the work table. When she leaned to peek around him, she saw that Natalie held more than the flashlight. She also had a gun.

Raising his hands slightly, Mitch spoke in a composed manner that truly impressed Jill. How he could act so calm when a crazy woman was pointing a loaded weapon at them was beyond her.

“Thad asked me to stop by and make sure everything was locked up,” Mitch said. “He's stuck in town.”

Natalie cackled. “I know. I'm the one who got him arrested.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Although Natalie still sounded angry, she was also beginning to seem pleased with herself. When Mitch took advantage of that mood shift, Jill was so impressed she wanted to applaud.

“That was very smart of you,” Mitch said. “How did you arrange for him to be there during the raid?”

“Easy. He thought he was going to catch me red-handed. Stupid goody-goody. He figured he'd be able to prove how deep in debt I was by just talking to those people. I could have told him he was wasting his time.”

“So, you owe a lot of money?”

The light wavered. So did the gun. Jill could see the black hole in the middle of the barrel and she judged it to be a fairly large caliber. A .22 was dangerous enough. Heavier bullets would be even more deadly, especially at such short range.

“None of your business,” Natalie shouted.

“Hey, it's no skin off my nose,” Mitch said with a casual shrug. “After the estate is settled you should be able to sell this place and make a good profit, providing the kids don't inherit it all and cut you out.”

Natalie cursed. “Those kids are nothing but trouble. I wish I could have…”

Jill waited, still hunkered behind Mitch and praying they'd get out of this alive. She knew what he was doing. He was baiting Natalie, trying to get her to talk, to reveal her convoluted thinking and perhaps give the authorities more ways in which to prove her guilt. It was a fine plan—as long as it didn't backfire.

“Well, at least you only have the boys left to worry about, right?” Mitch said.

Jill held her breath. Was he thinking that Natalie knew something about Megan after all? She'd had a solid alibi for the time of the kidnapping. So had Thad, although right now it sounded as if he was merely a scapegoat.

Natalie chuckled. “You have no idea.”

“Sure, I do,” Mitch began. He let his sentence trail off as if he meant to continue.

“No, you don't. Nobody does. They'll never find her. In another couple of hours she'll be on a plane and they'll never track her down. Not in a million years.”

Megan's alive!
Jill's sharp intake of breath caused Mitch to shove her farther behind him and grab hold of her hand. She didn't mind. Anything that helped her keep quiet at such a crucial time was fine with her.

“Why send her away?” Mitch asked. “If you wanted to get rid of her, why not just have her eliminated the way you did her father?”

“Because she was worth more to me alive,” Natalie said, gloating. “I didn't sell her for as much as I'd hoped but it was enough to get me an extension on my loans.”

“Gambling,” Mitch said flatly. It wasn't a question.

“Of course. How do you think I knew about the game at the plating plant building?” She gestured with the gun. “Now, we're going to have another terrible accident and two prowlers are going to die. Get over there. Both of you.”

Jill felt Mitch's grip on her fingers tighten. He was pushing down, toward the floor. Was he trying to tell her something?