Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2 (48 page)

Because I'm not your former wife! I might be a bit impulsive, I might have interviewed those construction workers instead of hiding in the house as instructed, but I don't consort with criminals!

The words crossed her mind, but she bit them back before they left her lips. He was obviously hurting. His life had been threatened. His truck and garage had exploded. It would be totally understandable if he was having trouble processing everything that had happened. The least she could do was take a turn being the calmer one.

“I'm sorry that you're upset,” she said. “I'm really sorry for my part in that. I'm not proud of how I've handled everything. But rather than suspecting my friend, isn't it a lot more likely that whoever killed Brian wants to hurt you and Sarah, too? Maybe someone he stole from is out for payback?”

“Yes, but hiring killers takes money. Nobody working construction is going to have the cash just lying around to hire a gang of thugs. A lot of them were living paycheck to paycheck as it was, even before Brian stopped paying them.”

Yes, but it's not as if a newspaper photographer is going to have that kind of money, either. And that's assuming he'd have any reason to attack us.

“It's not that I don't think several of them would have quite happily hurt Brian or even taken his life,” Daniel added. “But they'd just grab a baseball bat and take matters into their own hands. What I don't understand is how hiring thugs with weapons and explosives fit in, even if they're just low-level thugs. Because normal people don't hire gangs. They don't know how or even where to start. It's more likely their client himself has gang ties.”

Good point
. “I heard both Hawk and Rita have criminal records. Maybe they spent time in prison and made friends?”

“Yes, but it's not likely. We're talking the kind of drinking and assault charges where they pled guilty and got probation. It's not as though they served long stints in the kind of high-security prisons that would house murderers and lethal arsonists.”

“What about Trent? He carried himself like a man who was capable of doing serious damage if he wanted to, and nobody knew much about him.” She was slipping into reporter mode now, but at least they were talking.

“Maybe,” Daniel said. “He's definitely a dark horse that one.”

“Okay, and what about the police?”

“What about them?”

“Well, Ricky says the only reason he didn't come back sooner, besides getting lost, is some cop sent him on a crazy detour. Some cop also harassed me at the courthouse just before Brian died, and he covered his badge number so I couldn't report him. You've said all along that the cops haven't been straight with you and you felt they're treating you like a suspect. For that matter, my conversation with Constable Henry felt kind of off, too. So maybe we should consider there's something dirty going on with the cops?”

Something else was niggling at the back of her mind. Something involving cops. But she couldn't put a finger on it. She just wished she could talk to her sister. The insight of a detective would come in pretty handy right about now. Not to mention some sisterly support and understanding. While she hadn't taken Chloe's warnings seriously at first, maybe there'd been a good reason she'd told her to drop the story. But even her sister didn't know she was up here with Daniel.

The ground leveled off beneath their feet, thankfully on higher ground than before, because now the water was barely over the soles of her shoes. Daniel fell silent. They trudged on and finally passed the boarded-up entrance to the remains of the shabby fairgrounds and playground. Next came a very long wooded lot. Scattered trailers and tents lay half-hidden behind the trees, barely illuminated by a handful of dimly glowing lampposts. If anyone from the Leslie Construction crew had moved their party here, they'd either moved it inside or given up and gone to sleep. It couldn't be that many hours now until the morning. Finally, Olivia and Daniel crossed the tarmac. The shabby clown sign leered down at them.

The motel was a long brown building, two stories tall. Only a handful of the lights seemed to be working. A sagging balcony ran along the second floor. A man and a woman stood on it, leaning up against the warped and rusted railing. Their heads were bent together—they seemed to be staring down at where raindrops hit the yellow-green water of the algae-filled pool.

Olivia looked at the tops of their heads as she passed. The man had dark hair and a short-sleeved T-shirt stretched tight over his muscles. She tapped Daniel's arm. “Isn't that Trent?”

He grimaced. “I'm afraid so.”

So it looked as though at least one of the Leslie Construction team members whom Daniel had tossed off his property had made it here to the motel and RV park. Hopefully he wasn't about to start something. Olivia didn't know where she recognized the woman from though. She was tall, with long platinum blonde hair, jean shorts and cowboy boots. The blonde whispered something in Trent's ear.

“How about her?” Olivia's voice dropped. “She looks familiar, but I can't place her.”

“I don't know her,” Daniel said. “She's not on the crew, and I don't remember seeing her back at the house.” They stepped out of the rain and under the main office awning. “Now, I'm just going to run in and see about Sarah. You okay waiting for me for a second out here?”

Yeah, probably best they didn't greet Sarah together. She and Daniel were bound to need a few minutes alone. Whatever Daniel decided to say to Sarah about the fact she'd offered Olivia an interview in exchange for walking out of his life for good, she was sure it wouldn't be the easiest conversation.

There was a bench right by the front door. She sat. “No problem. I'll be right here if you need me.”

“Thank you.” He smiled. His eyes met hers, and for a second, she thought she caught a small echo of the same sweet tenderness that had filled his gaze back in the abandoned church. Then he rubbed his hand over his face and the look was gone. “Once I sort out Sarah, I'll see if we can each book rooms, even just to have a quick nap in. It doesn't look as though the cops have gotten here yet. Back in a second.”

She turned her back from the office and watched the rain for a moment. Her tired eyes closed.
Lord, I'm too exhausted and sore right now to even know what to pray, besides to say I'm sorry I haven't trusted You in the past and thank You that we made it this far.

The office door flew open so hard the screen crashed against the wall. She leaped to her feet. Daniel rushed out and started toward the pool.

“Hey!” She grabbed his arm. “Where's Sarah? Is she okay? Did she call the police?”

Anger burned in Daniel's eyes. “The good news is that according to the motel manager she made it here about an hour ago just fine. But she didn't manage to call 9-1-1 because their phones are dead. Most likely the phone lines went down in the storm. Their power's down, too, so they're on a backup generator. He offered her a room for the night. But she said she'd rather bunk in Rita's motor home.”

Okay, only Daniel's feet were still moving, dragging them both in the opposite direction of the campgrounds. Her hand tightened on his biceps. “At least we know she's okay, right?”

Rita might not be his favorite person, but if he was just annoyed then she'd have expected a loud sigh at the news. Instead, Daniel looked ready to blow.

“Manager said he would've walked her to the RV park, but some big dark-haired guy in a muscle shirt pulled her aside and they started arguing about something—”

Uh-oh.

“—and his tall platinum blonde girlfriend jumped in the fight.”

THIRTEEN

D
aniel glanced up. Trent and the platinum blonde were still standing on the concrete balcony just over the pool. He started for the stairs.

“How could the motel manager just let a teenager get bullied by strangers?” Olivia was at his side.

“He didn't know her age and he figured the platinum blonde was Rita.”

As much as he wanted to pelt up the stairs, taking them three at a time, he forced himself to walk. He didn't want to fight. But when they hit the top of the flight and turned toward the pair, the platinum blonde glanced their way, tossed one hand in what almost looked like a dismissive wave, then took off down the landing. Trent scowled and started toward them.

Daniel turned to Olivia. “Just go back to the bottom of the stairs, wait there and stay out of harm's way.”

“No. You talk to Trent. I'll follow the blonde.”

Olivia only managed four steps before Trent's arm shot out, blocking her path. “Where do you think you're going?”

Olivia pointed over his shoulder. “I'm going to talk to your friend there.”

Trent's jaw set firmly. “I don't know what kind of business you think you have with my lady, but no you're not.”

“How about the business that you were both seen fighting with Sarah?” In two strides Daniel had caught up to them. “Now, where is she?”

Trent shrugged. “I don't know. That kid's your business, not mine.”

Not good enough.
Trent might be new to the construction crew, but he'd definitely been there long enough to be owed money, especially if Olivia's research was correct and Trent had never worked on the books. The platinum blonde disappeared through a motel room door. That had better not be where Sarah was.

Olivia glanced back quickly at Daniel. “I really need to go talk to that woman. It's important.”

In other words, Olivia recognized her from somewhere and wanted to run off and interview her. Her hand brushed his arm. Her fingers tapped gently on his skin. He pulled away. No, she didn't get to try to use his own Morse code signal to chase down an interview.

“No,” he said firmly. “You don't. You need to trust me. You need to switch off your reporter brain and not run around trying to interview people when there are more important things going on. I don't have the energy for arguing with you and Trent at the same time.”

Especially now that he'd noticed the telltale bulge of a no doubt illegal handgun inside the cuff of Trent's jeans. Olivia had no idea how much danger she was potentially in right now, and she wouldn't stand still long enough for him to warn her.

“You don't understand.” Fierce determination flashed in her eyes. “Trust me. It is important. I know who she is—”

“I don't care!” Daniel's voice rose. He hated that he'd just cut her off, but didn't know how else to get through to her. Couldn't she tell he was trying to de-escalate the situation? All she was going to do was ramp it up. “I don't care who you think she is or how you think she's connected to the Leslie Construction guys colluding with Brian's theft, or the Faceless Crew or who did what at the courthouse. You need to stop trying to interview people. You need to stop trying to get the news story. You need to stop running into danger.”

The intensity in her eyes focused with the control of a laser. “And how much would you know about
any
of that if it hadn't been for my investigating?”

“Girl, listen to your man,” Trent said.

“He's not my man,” Olivia said, “and I'm done listening.”

“Well, then, listen to me,” Trent said firmly, “and leave well enough alone.” He grabbed Olivia's arm and pulled her back hard.

Daniel broke Trent's hold on Olivia and spun him around. “I really don't want to fight you. But if you ever touch Olivia again, I will take you out.”

Olivia slipped past them and dashed down the landing. Before either man could stop her, she reached the motel door that the tall blonde had disappeared through. She knocked three times on the door, then she cupped her hands to the window and looked inside.

“Can you see Sarah?” Daniel called. “Is she in there?”

The motel door flew open. In one swift motion, the blonde wrapped one arm around Olivia's throat. A gun flashed in the other hand, pointed toward Daniel as if in a threat not to follow. A moment later, she dragged Olivia backward into the motel room. The door slammed shut behind them.

The whole thing had happened in seconds.

Fire surged through Daniel's veins so quickly he actually saw red.

Suddenly, it was as if everything he knew about calming a volatile situation and de-escalation had evaporated from his mind.

Olivia was locked in a motel room with someone brandishing a weapon.

He had to save her. Nothing else mattered.

“Get out of my way, Trent, or I'll be forced to hit you.”

“Back off, Daniel. Take a walk. Olivia's going to be just fine. This isn't your fight.”

“Yeah, it is.” With one swift kick, Daniel sent Trent stumbling forward. He expected Trent to fall. But his opponent was stronger than he'd realized and managed to regain his footing.

Trent spun back. His hands raised in a grappling stance. “Look, I told Olivia to leave it alone. But she didn't listen. So now the women are just going to have to sit down together and have a nice, quiet talk.”

As if I believe that
. Daniel swung, aiming the punch right at his face.

Trent stepped to the side and blocked the shot. He grabbed the pressure point on Daniel's arm, sending blinding pain shooting through his limbs.

The pain woke him up hard and snapped his brain to attention. How was he suddenly being outmatched? He'd lost focus. He was fighting hot and forgetting everything he knew about staying in control in a fight.
I'm emotionally compromised and acting like a street punk. I need to be smarter than this.

Daniel relaxed his muscles.

Trent loosened his grip. “Look, man, back off. I promise I'm not going to rough her up. Just go find Sarah. She's probably with Hawk and Rita.”

“Sorry.” Daniel took three steps back. “But I'm not going anywhere without Olivia.”

He charged, caught Trent hard in the stomach and knocked him backward. Trent roared. He raised his hand to strike. But Daniel didn't give him a chance. He grabbed Trent's arm and spun him against the rusted metal railing.

The railing broke.

Trent fell backward off the balcony.

His hand grabbed Daniel's shirt. Daniel wrenched himself free.

But it was too late. Daniel lost his balance and fell after him.

Both men hit the pool.

Daniel landed on top of Trent, pushed away and swam hard for the poolside. Rain beat his body. The tiles were slick with algae but Daniel managed to hop onto the deck. Trent grabbed his ankle. He kicked back hard and caught Trent in the shoulder. Trent let go.

Daniel sprinted for the stairs.

“Olivia!” He pounded on the motel room door with both hands. “Are you okay? Whoever's in there, you'd better open this door. Let. Olivia. Out. Now.”

No answer. The curtains covering the sole window were closed. Beneath him, he could see Trent standing on the pool deck. He pulled a gun from his ankle holster. Daniel was done knocking.

“Get back from the door!” He leveled one swift kick at the center of the door. It flew open.

The blonde was standing alone in the living room area of a dingy motel suite. Behind her, the door leading to the adjoining room lay open. She aimed the handgun at his head. “Get out. Now.”

“I'll die before I let you kill Olivia.” He dived underneath the weapon, expecting her to shoot and hopefully miss. But the gun didn't go off. He forced her arms above her head and wrenched the weapon from her hands. “Look, I don't want to hurt you, but you need me to tell me where Olivia is.”

“Daniel! It's okay. I'm here.” Olivia stepped through from the next room. A huge black sweatshirt now fell over her tiny frame like a dress. “You can drop the gun.”

Daniel stepped back from the blonde. But he kept her weapon held tight in his grip. “Not until I know what's going on here.”

“Don't tell him.” The blonde's green eyes shot a warning across the room.

“Sorry, I won't lie to him. Daniel and I have been through way too much together.” She stepped toward them. “Daniel, that's my older sister, Chloe.”

Her sister? He stepped back. The hand holding the gun fell to his side. His gaze ran from one sister to the other. Chloe was a good foot taller than Olivia with strong shoulders and an athletic build. Yet the scowls on their pursed lips and the frustrated gazes they now fixed on each other were identical. “You told me she's a cop.”

“She is.” Olivia sat down. “I haven't seen her in months. I didn't know what the story was with her and Trent, and I didn't want to say anything in front of him, in case he didn't know she was a cop. When she recognized me, she signaled at me to follow her. That's why I was tapping on your arm, trying to get you to listen to me.”

“Detective Sergeant Chloe Brant. Ontario Provincial Police.” Chloe stretched out a hand toward Daniel. Her voice was exhausted but her handshake was still firm. “I'm not here officially. I'm just visiting someone. But I still didn't want Olivia letting anyone know I was a cop. Up until five minutes ago I didn't even know my little sister knew you personally, and my priority was to get her away from you. The gun was intended to dissuade you from following her and encourage you to take a walk. But Olivia tells me I was very badly misinformed about you.”

That was putting it mildly. How could anyone who knew him at all think that seeing Olivia yanked into a motel room by someone with a gun would result in anything but him moving heaven and earth to come after her? Something was very wrong here. “The motel manager said you were fighting with Sarah.”

“Sort of. Trent and I were trying to figure out why she'd just arrived here alone in the middle of the night. She wouldn't tell us. It got a bit heated. But she's here and she's safe. We followed her to Rita's trailer and watched her go inside. Last I heard, Rita was going to let her try to make a phone call on her cell, and then sleep there for a bit.”

Thank You, God, for that.
The digital clock wasn't working, but the round plastic one on the wall said it was almost five o'clock. Police would have almost definitely been dispatched, considering she was a minor reporting a violent crime in progress. Probably wasn't a bad idea to let her nap at Rita's for a tiny bit longer. Rita might be plenty rough around the edges, but she genuinely cared about Sarah. Sarah would have to wake up for the cops soon enough.

Chloe ran her fingers through her unnaturally blond hair. It was a wig. “Daniel, again, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it very much if you could leave my sister and me to have our talk. Please don't tell anyone that I was here. I'll take care of Olivia from here and make sure she gets home safely. Please respect our privacy and don't contact my sister again.”

“No.” Olivia stood up. “You don't get to tell Daniel to leave. I don't care what you've been told about Daniel or what you think you know. You're wrong about him.” She looked up at Daniel. “Chloe took desperate action to drag me away from you because she thought my life was in danger from you. Somebody, somewhere, thinks you're the bad guy. Turns out you're the prime suspect in Brian Leslie's murder.”

Chloe winced. “I wish you hadn't told him that.”

“I'm sorry, but treating Daniel like a suspect instead of somebody who could actually help in the investigation will just put more people in danger.” Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest. “The idea Daniel could be guilty of anything like that is so wrong it's laughable. I trust him with my life. We
saved
each other's lives just a few hours ago. The Faceless Crew held us both at gunpoint and torched his garage.”

Daniel felt the blood leave his face. He was the prime suspect in Brian's death?

But the shock he felt was nothing compared to how pale Chloe's face was. “The Faceless Crew targeted Daniel and tried to murder him? Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Olivia's voice dropped softly. She squeezed her sister's arm gently. “They've been after us both. The good news is that Daniel saw one of their faces. So please, Chlo, tell whoever decided Daniel's a killer that they're very wrong. They need to stop treating him like a suspect and start cooperating with him.”

“Down on the floor! Hands behind your head!” Trent burst through the doorway. He was soaking wet. One hand clenched a gun. The other held a badge. “I'm Constable Trent Henry of the RCMP. You're under arrest.”

* * *

Heat rose to the back of Daniel's neck. He should have realized Trent was a cop. All those years he'd spent watching people, learning to read people, and somehow he'd missed something this important. Worse yet, he'd lost his cool and launched into a fight with the man. He'd tossed a cop off a motel balcony and into a pool.

All because he'd thought Olivia had been in danger.

“I said, get down on the ground.” Trent dropped the badge, but the gun was still aimed right at them.

Daniel stepped in front of Olivia and felt her fingers brush his back.

“Put the gun down, Trent.” Chloe stood up. “That's my little sister you're pointing it at.”

“I'm not arresting her.” Trent kicked the door shut behind him. It was cracked and splintered around the lock, but still managed to close. He stepped into the room. “But I'm putting Daniel Ash under arrest for assault. He's finally slipped up and given me a reason to bring him in. He escalated things into a physical fight when all I was trying to do was restrain him.”