When the Smoke Clears (Deadly Reunions) (18 page)

Time to clear things up. She would find out what really happened the night of the fire so many years ago. She’d either prove her innocence or she’d own up to it and find a way to deal with it.

Then she’d go back to Washington and fight for her good name and get her job back.

Already, peace from making the right decision flowed through her. She saw Chad frown, say something, then shake his head. Hunter looked like he wanted to argue, but didn’t have a chance before Katie turned on her heel.

The detective marched up to Alexia and her peace evaporated. Hunter pushed past Chad to follow Katie, frowning, the lines between his brows furrowed deep.

Something in the woman’s eye made Alexia tense.

“Do you know something you’d like to share with us?” Katie spat. “First Devin’s murder, then that attack in the hospital garage that you could have set up. Now this. Come on, you have to know something.”

“That’s enough, Katie. You need to watch yourself.” Chad defended Alexia, his eyes narrowed.

Alexia stared at the woman. “What are you talking about?”

Hunter gaped at his partner. “Katie?”

Shame appeared briefly on the woman’s face. But then she shrugged and said, “She’s not the little innocent you think she is. Your own father said—”

“I get it.” Alexia interrupted her with a raised hand. Barely holding on to her temper, she glared at the two of them.

“Alexia . . .” Hunter’s protest bounced off her ears as she turned her back on both of them.

Then she realized she couldn’t storm off in a snit. She didn’t have a vehicle. She’d come with Hunter. A quick glance at Chad and she decided against asking him for a ride. No sense in encouraging him in that area.

With as much dignity as she could, she looked only at Hunter. “I’ll be in the car when you’re ready.”

She took two steps in the direction of the car when the explosion rocked her backward.

24

Wednesday, 7:32 p.m.

Hunter watched in disbelief as his car lit up the sky while Alexia hugged the ground. Bolting toward her, he snagged her arm and yanked her to her feet even as the fire chief barked an order to turn one of the hoses from the house to the car.

Pulling her with him to a safe distance, he felt her sag against him. Realizing her legs had given out, he let her sink to the curb. Shock twisted her features and he thought he saw tears standing in her eyes.

Fortunately, she’d been far enough away from the car when it had exploded that she wasn’t hurt, but it didn’t change the fact that if she’d started for the car less than a minute earlier, she would be dead.

His heart jolted at the thought as he wrapped his mind around the fact that someone had gotten close enough to his car to plant an explosive.

When? Who? How?

Katie stood apart from them, her eyes darting between her house and his car.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Alexia.

She simply nodded.

He went to Katie, watching her face twist with fury as hot as the flames that licked at her house. Leveling her gaze on him, she planted her hands on her hips. “She did this.”

“Who?”

“Her!” An accusing finger pointed in Alexia’s direction. “Somehow, she managed to do this.” She snapped her head toward Alexia. “Where were you between two this afternoon and seven tonight?”

Alexia shook her head in disbelief, pulled herself to her feet, and approached them, ignoring the chaos rocketing around them. Mimicking Katie’s stance with her hands on her hips, she demanded, “What do you have against me, Detective?” She flung a hand in the direction of the burning car. “I’d be dead if I’d been any closer! What makes you think I would do something like this?”

“Because Dominic told me all about you.” With that flat statement, Katie spun on her heel and stormed away, leaving Hunter gaping after his partner while Alexia recoiled, stumbling back.

“Katie!”

“Leave her alone.”

Alexia’s dull voice pulled him to her side. Cupping her shoulders, he asked, “What did she mean by that?”

“I have no idea.” Her eyes narrowed as shock fell away to be replaced by stiff-jawed determination. “But you can bet your badge I’m going to find out.”

Alexia slumped in the passenger seat of the car that had been delivered to Hunter. They were now pushing ten o’clock. “We’re not going to make it to the Wickhams’ tonight, are we?”

Hunter gripped the steering wheel, brow furrowed, jaw tight. “Probably not. I’ll call and ask them if we can make it tomorrow morning.”

She asked him, “Will you pick me up in the morning or should I meet you there?”

“I’ll give you a call and let you know what my schedule’s like and if I even get in touch with them.”

“Okay.”

Hunter dropped her off at home with orders to get some rest.

Right. As if.

First thing in the door, she set the alarm. Then she kicked off her shoes and scratched Yoda’s head. As she went through the routine of feeding the animals and watering the plants, Alexia thought about the day. She was exhausted.

She’d almost been in Hunter’s car tonight. She shivered as a wave of nausea coursed through her.

All right. Someone was after her. Who?

Grabbing a pen and a pad, she sat at the kitchen table and wrote at the top of the paper: People who might want to kill me.

My brother.

Person from Washington—whoever set me up to die in the fire. Paul Sanders?

Someone who thinks I know where Jillian and Serena are.

Katie?

Well, probably not Katie, but the woman sure acted like she couldn’t stand Alexia for personal reasons having to do with Dominic.

One more person came to mind.

As though her fingers didn’t want to write the words, they hesitated. Then she wrote:

My father.

She lay the pen down on the paper and stared at the last person on the list.

Was it possible?

The man had been severely burned in the fire. He’d spent most of her senior year at a burn unit in Georgia.

When he’d come home, shortly before her graduation, still weak and scarred, his eyes had followed her everywhere. Promising retribution. And she knew she was on borrowed time at home. Because she’d known as soon as he regained his strength . . .

Even now the memory made her shudder.

And so she’d left. With her mother’s harsh “encouragement” to do so.

Then two years later, her father had disappeared. Never to be heard from again.

Right?

Unless somehow he’d heard she was home and had decided now was his chance to get her. To get even.

For something she couldn’t even remember.

And where was Jillian?

She thought about the phone call. Someone wanted to know where Jillian was. Shivering, she made her way into the guest bedroom. Yoda followed her and Chewie disappeared in the vicinity of the kitchen.

In the bedroom, she flipped on the light and stared at the surroundings. King bed with a mint green comforter, the attached bathroom done in matching green and tan colors. All the comforts she would have loved as a child. For the majority of her years, she’d slept on a mattress with a sleeping bag.

A lump formed in her throat as she envisioned her mother handwashing that sleeping bag, then hanging it out to dry in the backyard. Where had that memory come from?

“The washing machine was broken,” she whispered. And Alexia had been sick with the flu. Tossed her cookies all over that sleeping bag.

And her mother had washed it. By hand.

Yoda lifted her head from her paws and cocked her ears toward her.

Alexia blinked and got ready for bed, but the image of her mother working to clean her bedding never left her. As she settled under the blankets, her eyes fell on the nightstand.

A Bible, with several pieces of paper stuck inside. She’d seen it last night, but tonight, she was curious. She placed it in her lap and let it fall open to the first piece of paper. A note from Serena.

“I was hoping I’d get to hang out with you some, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I know you’re having a hard time with everything and I want you to know I’m praying for you. You’re a great friend, Alexia, and a wonderful person. I’ve marked ten different passages that I think you’ll find comfort and meaning in. The first one is John 3:16. Know that you’re loved. That you’re worth being loved. And that you’re loved so much that someone died so that you could live.”

Alexia studied the notes and wondered how much time Serena had taken to do that. Time she should have spent getting ready to leave the country. First Hunter, now Serena. Both had said, “You’re worth the time and trouble.”

Her heart warmed and she read the verse aloud. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Shutting the Bible, she placed it back on the nightstand. And started to believe that maybe Hunter and Serena knew something she didn’t.

Senator Hoffman yanked on his tie and let it fall to the bedroom floor. Another late night of campaigning, smiling, pretending all was right with his world.

November would be here before he blinked and the people would make their way to the polls. He intended to be the majority’s choice. Right now, polls showed he had the lead.

His phone rang and he snatched it before Elizabeth woke up. “Hello?”

“We still have a problem.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How hard is it to grab a woman?”

“Harder than you may think. She’s become real buddy-buddy with Hunter Graham. All of the attempts to grab her have made her extra cautious. She’s almost never alone. And when she is, she’s barricaded in a house with an alarm system better than yours.” A pause. “Any more notes?”

“No. And it’s making my blood pressure go crazy wondering when the next one’s going to arrive. I’ve instructed Ian that if I’m not home to get the mail, he’s to make sure he gets it. I told some story about expecting a surprise for Elizabeth and not wanting her to see it.”

“And he won’t question that?”

“Ian?” The senator barked a laugh. “No. He’s as faithful as a lapdog. I gave him a job when no one else would after his stint in prison. Trust me, he’ll do whatever I need him to do.” He sighed. “All right, maybe we need to turn our focus elsewhere. Lay off Alexia for a while and let her get comfortable. But keep an eye on her.”

There was a slight pause from the voice. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea . . . but we’ll play it your way for now. I’ll inform my contact.”

“You do that.”

25

Thursday, 8:17 a.m.

Alexia awoke to Yoda’s nose in her ear. The dog was snoring. After pushing the dog off the bed three times last night, Alexia finally gave in and let her stay.

Rolling over, she groaned and punched the pillow. Yoda protested the sudden movement and hopped to the floor.

Her thoughts turned to what she needed to do today. Her mother was the first thing on her mind. Hunter, the second, and Devin and the Wickhams, the third.

She grabbed her cell phone and checked it. Two messages. One from her mother, who wanted to let her know she’d be speaking with the doctor in a short while but would call again later. A surge of guilt came over her. She really needed to make more time to be with her mother at the hospital. But her mother had Michael and didn’t really need Alexia. Right?

Still . . .

The second was from Hunter.

“I can’t get ahold of the Wickhams. I’ll keep trying and let you know what’s up. In the meantime, I’m going to be talking to Marcie Freeman. Talk to you soon.”

She frowned. Why couldn’t Hunter get in touch with the Wickhams? That didn’t make sense. Their son was dead. An idea formed. It was probably a really bad idea, but once it was there, Alexia couldn’t shove it away. The little voice in her head screamed she was crazy. The stubborn part of her said she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to live her life in fear. Alexia punched Hunter’s number in and let it ring.