When the Smoke Clears (Deadly Reunions) (14 page)

Hunter.

Her stomach flipped. Once again, she was surprised by her desire to talk to the man, see him, be around him. After all, his father thought she was guilty of setting the fire.

Guilty of causing her sister to commit suicide.

Guilty, guilty, guilty . . .

“Hello?” His voice tickled her ear.

Flushing—and grateful he couldn’t see that she’d been standing there staring at the wall like an idiot—she said, “Hi.”

“Just wanted to let you know that I talked to your mom’s neighbor, Lori Tabor.”

“And?”

“She verified you never went in the house the day you went over to mow.”

Relief washed over her.
She
knew she hadn’t put the knife there, but thank goodness she had a witness.

“What are you doing for lunch?”

His question made her blink. “Um . . . eating?”

His chuckle came through loud and clear. “Alone or with someone?”

Alexia looked at the door to her mother’s room. Would she be eating with her mother?
Should
she eat with her mother? “I’m not sure yet. Do you mind if I call you back?”

Silence. Then, “That’s fine. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

“Give me about an hour.”

“Deal.”

“Hey, Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking about that box in my room. I think that could’ve been what the killer had in his hand. It’s the right size. He could’ve put the knife in there right after he killed Devin, then returned today to set me up by putting the evidence in my bedroom.”

He was quiet. She could picture him thinking. “It’s a good theory. I’ll give it some thought. Talk to you soon.”

And then he was gone. Taking a deep breath, she placed her knuckles on the door and rapped.

“Come in.”

The weak voice barely made it through the wood. Frowning, Alexia entered the room.

This time her mother was alone. And she still looked frail. Weak and washed out. What was
wrong
with her? “Hi, Mom.”

Her stomach churned. She still had to break the news about Devin.

“Alexia.” The woman’s eyes smiled even as her mouth trembled with the effort. “So glad you came back.”

Alexia pulled the chair up beside the bed and sat down. “Sorry it took me so long.” Should she tell her about Devin or not? “Mom, there’s something I need to—”

“Did you go to the house?”

“Yes.”

Her mother’s eyes shut, then reopened after about half a minute. “I forgot to tell you that Devin Wickham is living there.” She frowned. “He’s had a really rough time of it and I offered him a place to stay. He’s in the little room off the basement. Shouldn’t bother you at all.”

Just those few sentences seemed to exhaust her. She closed her eyes once more. At that moment, Alexia decided not to say anything about Devin. Her mother was just too weak right now.

A knock sounded and the door opened in a soft whoosh. Alexia turned to see the doctor. Without waiting for him to introduce himself, she stood and offered her hand. “I’m Alexia, her daughter. Have you figured out what’s wrong with her yet?”

“I’m Doctor Howard Bales. We’re waiting for the results of two more tests. So, until then, we’re just trying to keep her as comfortable as possible.”

Alexia frowned. “When will you have the results?”

“Sometime tomorrow, I hope.”

She turned back to her mother. The woman had fallen asleep. “So, it’s not her heart?”

“No, we’ve ruled that out. Along with some other things.”

“Surely you have your suspicions as to what it could be.”

He nodded. “I do, and I’ve discussed a few of them with your mother. But I don’t know for sure. I’m not going to throw out any more diseases that’ll scare both of you without those test results. We’ll know what we know tomorrow.”

Alexia looked at her mother. “Is she going to sleep the rest of the day?”

“Probably. We gave her something for pain.”

Alexia chewed her lip, indecision warring within her. “All right. I’ll be back later.”

The doctor nodded and left. Alexia pulled out her phone and studied it. Did she want to eat with Hunter?

Definitely.

Should
she eat with Hunter?

Probably not.

She dialed his number.

When Hunter saw Alexia’s name pop up, his heart tripped over itself.

Shaking his head at his unusual reaction, he answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Is the offer for lunch still on?”

“You bet.”

“Where can I meet you?”

Hunter suggested a local café and she promised to meet him there in fifteen minutes.

Fingering the page his buddy Rick had just printed out for him, he folded it and stuck it in his shirt pocket. It probably wouldn’t hurt to run it by Alexia. She might recognize some of the names.

Hunter arrived first and got a table in the corner. Through the window next to the booth, he could see the parking lot. The sun shone and the heat beat down, making the asphalt shimmer. Fall could arrive any time, as far as he was concerned.

He glanced at his watch, then back up. His toe tapped the leg of the table. And he realized what he was doing. He wanted to see her again, talk to her, reassure himself his instincts were right and she had nothing to do with Devin’s death.

He was 99 percent sure. And her reasoning about how the box got into her bedroom was sound. Even he wouldn’t argue that someone hadn’t been in the house. He knew it as well as he knew himself.

Unfortunately, another scenario had occurred to him as he’d walked out of the lab. What if Alexia had a partner? One who was afraid she’d squeal on him so he’d decided to plant the evidence in her house. Then if Alexia gave him up, he would simply say he’d taken the knife, then given it to Alexia to get rid of. How was he supposed to know she’d do something stupid like keep it?

Only, Hunter and Alexia had arrived at the house before the real killer could get out. Right?

Hunter snorted. It was a little far-fetched, but he’d come across stranger things. He definitely didn’t want to believe it. Besides, his gut said she was innocent. And his gut was rarely wrong.

The scenario he’d just concocted wouldn’t hold up anyway, because Alexia had either been with him or under surveillance since the murder.

Certainty filled him. She’d had nothing to do with Devin’s murder.

A car pulled into the parking lot and Hunter sat up. She was here. He watched as she parked and got out of the vehicle.

Another car pulled in beside hers and Hunter jerked with recognition. What was
he
doing here?

20

Wednesday, 12:06 p.m.

Alexia spotted Hunter sitting next to the window. A great spot that allowed him to keep his back to a wall and his eyes on the street. Typical cop seating.

She waved and started to cross the street that ran between the café and the parking lot.

The squeal of tires caught her attention and she looked left.

A blue van rounded the corner, striking the stop sign. Alexia froze, trying to determine which way the vehicle was going to go. She had a flash of the driver hunched over the steering wheel. Her mind shouted at her to move. Her feet refused to obey the command.

“Alexia!”

She heard the shout but still couldn’t respond.

Couldn’t move.

The van burned closer. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hunter bolt from his seat.

An arm clamped around her waist and yanked.

Tumbling to the side, she felt the blast of the van as it roared past. Heat rushed up at her as terror beat a new rhythm, magnifying the sounds around her.

“Alexia! Are you all right?”

Hunter’s shout made her wince. The arm around her middle tightened, and she squirmed, desperate to draw a breath.

“I got it on video,” a bystander offered.

Alexia pushed away from the arm that had saved her and sat up, grimacing at the new set of bruises she felt sure would show up.

Turning to thank her rescuer, she saw Chad Graham leaning in. His bloodshot eyes roamed her face. “Are you all right?”

Was she? “I think so.”

A hand reached down and she grasped it. As though she weighed less than a feather, she was hauled to her feet and up against a hard chest.

A heart beat fast against her ear. Looking up, she saw Hunter’s concern stamped on the lines of his handsome face. Swallowing, shaking, trying to control her harsh breathing, she stepped back and looked at Chad. “Thank you.”

What was wrong with her? Why had she frozen? She was used to reacting fast in a dangerous situation. But she’d felt paralyzed, unable to move.

“Sure.” Chad’s eyes narrowed as he took in the proximity of her and Hunter.

As she glanced back at Hunter, she saw his jaw tighten just before he asked, “What are doing here, Chad?”

“I saw your car in the parking lot. Thought I’d come in and join you.” His gaze slid to Alexia. “Didn’t realize you were expecting company.”

Hunter seemed to brush off his brother’s words as he turned and said to Alexia, “If you’re sure you’re okay, I’m going to call this in.”

Nodding, she did another mental inventory. “I’m okay. Shaken, bruised, but okay.” Her knee protested that statement, but she decided to ignore it. She could stand on it, so it wasn’t a big deal.

With another worried look at her, Hunter turned to someone in the crowd, a crowd that was growing bigger by the second, and said, “I need your phone. I want that video. I’ll make sure you get the phone back by tomorrow.” The man offered it reluctantly.

Alexia took a step and stifled an involuntary groan. A scraped knee. A sore hip. She supposed it was a small price to pay for being alive.

“The back door of the van was open. It was one of those sliding kinds.” Alexia looked to see who was talking. A young woman in her early twenties raked a hand through her straight brown hair.

Hunter scribbled in his notebook.

“And I tried to get a plate number, but it was covered up with something. Maybe mud or clay?”

More scribbling. Then Hunter slapped the phone to his ear and barked orders to whoever he had on the other end of the line. He was describing the van, hoping someone would spot it and report it.

Chad’s fingers reached out to grip hers. “Anything else I can do for you?”

She squeezed his hand. “No.”

“Come on, let’s get you home. I’ll drive you,” he offered.

Straightening her spine, she balked. “Absolutely not. I’m hungry. I came here to eat and I’m not letting a little accident keep me from it.”

But was it an accident? The driver had slowed, but the back door of the van had been open. She looked at the twenty-something woman. “Was there anyone in the back?”

“I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, but yes, there was definitely someone in the back next to the door.”

Her stomach churned. After everything else that had been going on, she felt quite sure someone had just tried to kidnap her.

“He was waiting for me,” she whispered to no one in particular. Then looked at Hunter, ignoring the fact that he was on the phone, and said, “Wasn’t he? He was waiting for me.”

A frown creased his brow as he pulled the cell phone from his ear. “I heard what she said. I’ve got the report in. It’ll be on the news, so maybe someone will call it in. You can get your food while I talk to her.”

Alexia shook her head as she headed for the restaurant. Chad fell in step beside her. She looked up at him. “Are you sure you’re all right? You cushioned most of my fall.”

He gave her a grin. “It was the highlight of my day.”

Alexia flushed and felt a niggling of worry. She hoped Chad wasn’t developing any romantic notions about her. Looking at Hunter, she saw he was on the phone again. She stopped and waited.

The conversation was short. He hung up and said, “The videotapes from the attack in the hospital parking garage are ready. As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to head over to the hospital to watch them.”

A police car pulled into the parking lot, followed by an ambulance.

Alexia ignored them and said, “I’ll go with you. I want to watch them. I may see something important.”

He hesitated and she narrowed her eyes and planted her hands on her hips. And winced. Her right hip throbbed, reminding her she’d just had a pretty rough landing.

Hunter shook his head. “All right, let’s get this problem taken care of and then we can move on to the next. I’ve put out an ATL on the van. Maybe we’ll be able to find it and get a clue about who was inside it.”

“ATL?” she asked.

“Attempt to Locate. It was probably stolen. We’ll check the reported stolen vehicles and see if one matches up to a description of the one that tried to run you down. From there, we’ll get a plate number and send that out to every police officer in the state.”

“Hey, what about lunch?” Chad’s plaintive voice made her blink. She’d practically forgotten he was there. More guilt. The man had just saved her life.

Placing a hand on his arm, she said, “How about another time? I really want to see those tapes.”

Chad quirked a smile at her. “That’s fine. I suppose I can’t argue with that.”