Annie's Neighborhood (Harlequin Heartwarming) (7 page)

Annie’s fervor, coupled with her knowledge of people stuck in poverty, niggled Sky. “Something I may be able to do is arrange for a direct hotline during daylight hours, one that circumvents our dispatcher and goes instantly to the cell phones of whichever cops are on duty. It might shorten response time. Usually, when the dispatcher manages to get hold of one of us, the perpetrators have done the crime and gone to ground before we even reach the scene.”

“That would be a start.” Annie smiled at him, and jotted in her notebook. “It’s something I can offer folks. Instead of another collective meeting, I’ll go from house to house and discuss cleanup. If I get people to agree, I’ll provide some incentives—like house paint. We can do one street at a time, ending up at the park. With their homes in shape, I bet everyone will be excited about helping replant the park.”

Sky drained his cup, crushed it and tossed it in a wastebasket. “This is a darned good cookie. Did you bake them?” he asked.

“Yes, it was one of Gran Ida’s favorite recipes. Everything I’m trying to accomplish here, I’m doing in her memory. So, I won’t be distracted by compliments about my cookies.” She tossed her empty cup in the basket from farther away.

Sky chuckled at that and picked up her box of leftovers. “I get the message, Annie. You’re stubborn. Turn out the light, will you? I’ll walk you out and stow this in your car. For the record, once I lay out a course, I follow through. Just sayin’ so you can expect to see my cruiser glued to your bumper until you pull into your garage.”

She didn’t argue this time. She merely turned off the lights and directed him to the big pickup she’d bought and now drove in place of the compact rental she’d had. Admittedly, her mind sometimes strayed away from the business at hand and she thought about Police Chief Cordova in ways that were personal...and very unwise.

“Whoa, this is some serious set of wheels.” Sky set the box in the cab after she’d unlocked the door. He walked around, admiring her shiny black Dodge Ram.

Annie shrugged. “I considered buying a car, but decided I needed something capable of hauling ladders, tarps, paint cans and rosebushes.”

He whistled through his teeth. “This baby oughta do that and more. Just don’t assume you can ditch me at a stoplight with all your horsepower, though. My cruiser may look old, but it has a souped-up engine.”

Annie laughed at that.

He assisted her into the driver’s seat even though it wasn’t necessary. Annie took a moment to reflect on his courtly manners as she saw his lights bob in her rearview mirror. She could no longer say she wasn’t warming up to him. He had turned out to be nicer than she’d given him credit for. Cute, too, especially when his blue eyes grew serious. But he could use a haircut. On the other hand, she couldn’t really dredge up any real objection to sun-tipped brown hair that curled appealingly over his collar. And a dimple. The chief had a deep one in his left cheek, which she’d bet he would deny was a dimple. No matter, she liked the way it softened his harshly masculine face.

Still considering his other attributes, such as trim hips and broad shoulders on a solid frame, she swung wide to make the turn into her driveway. She punched her remote garage door opener. As the door rose, her headlights and those of the cruiser behind her illuminated horrible black graffiti splashed across the disappearing door. Awful fat letters, along with skulls and wild arrows and curves, also left an ugly trail along the lovely blue siding she’d spent over a week sanding and painting.

Sky barreled out of his car, flashlight in one hand, his Glock in the other.

Numbed by shock, Annie was slower to descend from her vehicle.

Sky waved her back when she started to enter the garage. He uttered a low, angry growl as he flashed his light over the rest of the house. “Get in your pickup and lock the doors. Wait while I inspect the premises to make sure the guys who did this are gone, and that graffiti is the worst we’re dealing with.”

“What else could there be?”

“Oh, booby traps. Something set to explode the minute you open your house door. I hope to heaven you’ll reconsider sticking your neck out to pretty up the town. Even if this warning turns out just to be graffiti, next time could be worse.”

Chapter Four

H
IS
FLASHLIGHT
CAST
a
muted yellow
halo as Sky plunged straight into the varying degrees of darkness. His orders to Annie had been snapped out with a precision indicating he expected them to be obeyed. Like he’d said back at the library, he took his oath to protect and serve seriously. However, Annie had been in control of her life for a long time. This was
her
home and
her
ruined hard work, after all.

So, in spite of the fact that her legs didn’t feel steady after Sky had casually tossed out the mention of a possible booby trap, she retrieved her house keys, threw her purse back in the pickup, then locked it, and struck out to follow his bobbing light.

She caught up to Sky in a narrow strip of yard separating her house from the Gilroys’.

Sky wheeled on her. “What are you doing? I told you to stay in your truck!”

“My house, my problem,” she shot back in an exaggerated whisper. “If it blows up with you in it, I want to know where to point the fire marshal...and your replacement.”

“Thanks,” Sky drawled. “I actually doubt the place has been wired. This looks like the work of kids.” He panned his light over a section of graffiti. “The little hoodlums sprayed as high as they could reach, and they can’t spell worth a hoot.”

Annie followed the light to words under a skull that said, “Leve town or next time dye.” She put a hand over her mouth, but couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“I’m glad you find it humorous,” he chided. “Crudely written or not, the message is plain. Next time gang leaders might send someone capable of murder.”

“Must be nervous laughter. And you’re right, the message is clear—clear enough to make me spitting mad. I’m going over to the Gilroys’ to make sure they’re all okay. They haven’t come out, even though we’ve made no effort to keep quiet.”

“I’ll go,” he said. “You have a bad habit of forgetting which one of us wears the badge.”

“You said you were off duty. And Peggy Gilroy used to babysit me. I need to make sure no harm comes to good people through my attempt to fix things around here.”

“We’ll go together,” Sky said firmly as he shifted the Glock, gave her the flashlight and grasped her hand. “This time, do as I say. Stay behind me. I doubt your friends are dead, but in case I’m wrong about the group that did this, I’d prefer not to have to deal with you fainting.”

“Brother!” Annie shook her head. “On my job, I saw death far too many times, and never once did I faint.” She waved the light around, shining it directly in his eyes, which made him throw up his gun arm.

“Sorry.” She managed to sound meek as she swiftly dropped the beam.

He snarled something Annie couldn’t distinguish, which was undoubtedly just as well, since her companion used his fist to bang loudly on the Gilroys’ front door.

They heard the shuffle of feet inside, followed by the hushed voices. Profound relief poured through Annie at the confirmation that her friends were okay. “Peggy,” she called, putting her mouth near the door. “It’s Annie. Police Chief Cordova is with me. It’s safe to open your door.”

The door opened a crack, as far as the chain lock would allow. George pressed one milky blue eye to the opening. “Peggy, it
is
Annie. Give me room to open the door.” George accomplished the task, even though his wife, who must’ve been plastered against his back, eased out from around him to sweep Annie into a hug.

“We’ve been so frightened for you, dear. I called the library. Marta Jones said you were there and in your meeting.”

“Well, I was there. Not a single person showed up at my meeting,” Annie said. “Uh, except the chief.” She motioned to Sky.

He broke into their conversation. “Mr. and Mrs. Gilroy, did you see who tagged Annie’s house?”

“Tagged?” The couple exchanged puzzled glances.

“Spray painted,” Annie explained. “Tagging is a stylized type of graffiti.”

“Oh.” This time Annie’s neighbors reached for each other. Peggy’s lips trembled as tears filled her eyes, and George tightened his embrace. “It was dusk when they came,” George said. “We didn’t see their faces, did we, Peggy?”

Sky’s gaze flicked from one to the other. “I know it’s frightening to witness vandalism, but my staff and I can’t find and charge whoever did this unless someone gives us a tip to go on.”

“Maybe Mike and Missy got a better look,” George muttered, averting his eyes.

“We’ll go see them,” Sky said. “You folks have a good evening.” He took a deep breath as he hustled Annie out onto the porch. “They know something they’re not telling,” Sky said under his breath as he glanced back at the Gilroys, who were closing the door.

“Probably. I hope we get more out of Mike and Missy.”

But they were stonewalled there, as well, even though Sky did his best to persuade Annie’s younger neighbors to talk.

Mike thrust his wife behind him and said, “I didn’t get a clear look, mind you. I think it may have been a couple of teenagers out for end-of-school hijinks.”

Sky’s vexation was more evident when the Spurlocks went in, and he and Annie were forced to pick their way down the neighbors’ darkened walk. “I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts these tags are the handiwork of the Stingers, despite what Mike thinks—or claims to think. If those kids were just out for end-of-year hijinks, yours wouldn’t have been the only house they hit.”

“You must have some idea which local kids are in the gang,” Annie said.

“If I did they’d already be in juvie and I wouldn’t have a couple of unsolved drive-by shootings at two homes where nice, studious kids happen to live—plus an unsolved rape. Koot and I are sure the victim knew her assailant, even though she insisted it was a stranger. Her family walked away from a house they’d paid into for five years. I’m telling you this so you’ll understand that these no-name backers like the grip they have on Briar Run youth and won’t give it up without a fight.”

She pressed her lips together tightly. “I won’t be driven from my home.”

Sky geared up to say more, hoping to instill a healthy fear in Annie, but his cell phone rang, shattering the silence that had fallen around them. “Great,” he muttered after checking the phone’s readout. “Hello, Corrine. If you’re phoning to give me some half-baked excuse as to why I can’t see Zachary on Wednesday, prepare for my lawyer to file an objection with the family court. It’s my scheduled visitation.”

The night was still, without even the sound of cicadas. Annie clearly overheard an angry woman shouting at Sky. “I have no idea what dangerous case you’re working on now, Skylar Cordova. We live miles away from you in the countryside. Fifteen minutes ago, a car sped down our private lane. Some crazy person heaved two big rocks through our living room window. There was a message tied to one. It says if
you
don’t stop helping someone named Annie Emerson, our son will pay.”

Annie jerked at the sound of her name, and so did Sky, who immediately snapped out questions. “Did you get a license number? Can you describe the person who threw the rock? I assume no one in your home was hurt, or you would’ve said so.”

“Honestly,” the caller shrieked, causing Sky to angle the phone farther away from his ear. “Archibald said to tell you to cease and desist whatever you’re doing, or our attorney will petition the court to cut off all the visitation you now have with Zack. In fact, I think I’m going to request an interim hearing on the basis of this incident.”

Archibald
. Sky’s anger flared.
Her new husband didn’t have any say in anything involving Zack
. “You can’t do that, Corrine. I’m a cop. A police chief, in case it’s slipped your mind. A job I took so I could pay you the hefty child support the court set for Zachary. My payments are never late, and it’s because of this job.”

“I doubt that’ll matter when a judge sees our shattered window and this note, Skylar. If you want to continue seeing Zachary, you need to move to a less dangerous town, and get a less dangerous job.”

It was evident to Annie that the furious woman, Sky’s ex-wife, had ended the call. All she heard now was his angry breathing. “I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose,” she said. “But I heard every word. And I have to tell you, if I was a mother and that rock-throwing incident happened to me, I’d feel exactly the way she does.”

“Of course you would,” he said scathingly “But you don’t even know her. You have no idea what kind of hoops she makes me jump through.” His mouth tightened as he said this.

Annie gazed steadily at him in the glow of the flashlight. “No, but what I’m saying now is that you can opt out of helping me. If you’re still planning to arrange for a direct hotline, don’t include your phone. Residents can contact your staff. Oh, thank you for escorting me home and checking out my house. I’m going in now, so you can leave. I’ll deal with the graffiti tomorrow.”

Over Sky’s objections, Annie climbed into her pickup, drove into her garage and promptly hit the automatic door closer.

Sky held his breath until a light came on in her living room, followed by another one in her kitchen. He hadn’t looked indoors, darn it. But, after standing watch where he was for a few more minutes, he assumed that if anything was amiss in there, he would’ve heard a commotion. Annie would have used her martial arts skills to stomp on an intruder like she had him. All the same... He walked toward her house again.
Ah, there she was. He could see her moving around the kitchen
. Still, he was oddly reluctant to return to his cruiser. Once he did and turned the key, he was struck by a mind-boggling thought. Annie had willingly put his problems before her own. Sky couldn’t remember when he’d run across any woman that unselfish. She’d stood in front of her vandalized home, but after hearing Corrine rail at him, Annie’s uppermost concern had been for him—and his fight to spend time with his son. That rattled him.

Driving home, Sky recognized that despite their confrontations, Annie Emerson stirred a long-dormant yearning in him, a desire to have a home like the one he’d been raised in. A home with a loving family. He’d fought for people in war-torn lands who’d had nothing to cling to except family. Yet here, it seemed, too many of his peers were cavalier about splitting up a marriage, breaking up a family. So, yeah, he’d grown jaded.

There was something else that was different about Annie, he decided, pulling into his own garage. In voicing her unselfish opinion, she’d made him want to be the kind of cop he used to be. He’d let his life get derailed. Now he didn’t much like what he saw as he took a hard look inward.

He locked up, went into his bedroom and took off his uniform.

He knew that when he’d come home from his last tour, it had been easy to fall into blaming Corrine for making him feel like a failure as a husband—as a man. It’d been easier to blame her, because she’d remarried and taken Zack at a time Sky’s whole life was turned upside down. He’d been dug into the side of a godforsaken mountain, with the very real prospect of dying, when she’d had her lawyer send papers requesting a divorce. He’d been too weary, too numb, to fight her. Since then, nothing had kicked him in the butt and made him step up to seize his old life—
until tonight
.
Tonight, and Annie
.

As he stood under a hot shower, letting the day’s grime wash down the drain, reality elbowed its way in again. Not one single thing in the world meant as much to him as his son. However, if he let the Stingers or anyone else run roughshod over him, he wasn’t the man he wanted to be in Zack’s eyes. He needed to set an example.

Decision made, Sky wrapped a towel around his waist. He sat on the bed and phoned Koot. “I know you’re not on duty tonight,” Sky said after hearing his friend’s sleepy hello, “but I wanted to catch you up on some gang activity that went down a few hours ago.” Sky laid out the details in crisp cop fashion, and the older man listened. Sky finished, saying, “I’m more concerned for Zack’s welfare than I let on to Corrine or to Annie, who’s hot under the collar thinking punks did this and got away with it. I’m sure she’ll redouble her efforts to continue this mission of hers to save the neighborhood. She claims it was her grandmother’s last request. I’ve heard that Ida Vance did a lot for others and wasn’t one to ask favors. This particular favor is a huge one, if you ask me. But Annie has guts.”

“I knew Ida Vance, Sky. Her life wasn’t any bed of roses. Uh, Sadie’s standing here reminding me that Ida was a good neighbor to anyone and everyone in Briar Run. She was color blind, always ready to lend a helping hand. Sadie wants to know if there’s anything she can do to help Miss Ida’s granddaughter.”

“Well, Annie has a lot of ugly graffiti to scrub off her house or paint over. I’m going there tomorrow. I’ve also got Wednesday off, remember? I’m supposed to have Zack all day. Unless Corrine’s successful at getting her attorney to block my visit...”

“That’s just wrong, Sky. A judge shouldn’t hold your job against you.”

“Yeah, well, I agree. I’ll let Corrine calm down for a day, and take Zack to the zoo in Louisville. We can spend most of the day there. She objects if I bring him to my house. She calls it a dump and has other choice words to describe the town. I’m tired of fighting her, so I listed my house with a Realtor on a by-appointment-only basis. I haven’t had any lookers yet.”

“You haven’t talked much about your ex, but from what you
have
said, I’ve always thought she sounds like a piece of work. Not that it’s any of my business, Sky, but how did a nice guy like you fall for her in the first place?”

“She wasn’t always like this, Koot. I met her in Baltimore, where she was vacationing with her horsey crowd. I’d volunteered for some extra duty in the form of a weekend security detail at the Pimlico Race Course. Corrine was in town for two weeks taking in the festivities connected to the Preakness. She flirted with me. We hit it off. It was fast-track dating that ended in marriage.”

“Ah, those dates must have been hotter than jalapeno pepper seeds.”

“We’d both been in the dating game a while. We were two people looking to settle down at the same time, I guess. Then I went to war and she had buyer’s remorse.”