Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-Up\Force of Nature\Yuletide Jeopardy\Wilderness Peril (46 page)

She glanced up at the clock on the wall and gasped. Thinking about what the future held for her would have to wait. Right now she had the noon broadcast to do. She picked up a pen and wrote the coordinates on a piece of paper, stuck it in an envelope and along with the puzzle pieces dropped it in her desk drawer.

* * *

Alex consulted the GPS unit Grace had handed to him when he got into her car and then looked at the traffic in the lane beside them as they drove along East Parkway. “You need to change lanes. We're going to turn left onto the road that leads down to the Overton Park Pavilion up ahead.”

Grace nodded and glanced in her mirrors before she eased into the left lane and put on her turn signal. “Thanks.”

She hadn't said much since she'd picked him up. He wondered if it was because she was intent on finding the clue her caller said he'd left or if it was because he was with her. He shook the thought from his head and sat silent as she turned onto the road leading into the park and drove toward the parking lot at the pavilion.

When she pulled to a stop in the deserted parking lot, she glanced around. “Not many people out today.”

He let his gaze drift over the pavilion and nodded. “It's almost Christmas, Grace, and the temperature is in the thirties. Not a good day to be having a picnic in the park.”

Her face flushed, and she smiled. “Yeah, I guess I'm so excited about finding the cache that I wasn't thinking.” She took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. “I guess there's no use waiting. Let's go.”

They climbed from the car, and Alex waited until she had joined him. He held the GPS unit so that she could see it and pointed toward the line of trees at the back of the pavilion. “It looks like we need to go there. I hope your caller thought it was too cold to get very far away from the pavilion.”

She smiled and pulled her coat tighter. “You should have been born in the tropics. You never did like the Memphis winters.”

The memory of the two of them building a snowman in the yard of her home when they were about ten years old crossed his mind, and he smiled. “That's not true. I like some things about winter. Low temperatures don't happen to be one of them.”

“Then let's get this hike over with as quickly as we can.”

Together they set off toward the trees in the distance. They didn't speak as they entered the Old Forest State Natural Area of the park and ducked under some low-hanging bare tree branches. Within minutes they'd walked so far they could no longer see the pavilion. Alex plodded along, his feet growing colder by the moment, and kept his eyes on their coordinates.

Finally, he held up his hand. “This is it.”

Grace stopped, propped her hands on her hips and looked around. “It has to be around here somewhere. It could be at the base of one of the trees or partially hidden under a rock. It can't be underground but somewhere that can be easily found.”

Alex pointed to the right of where they stood. “I'll take the area over here, and you take the opposite side.”

She nodded and turned away from him. For the next few minutes they inched their way around the area as they inspected the trunks and bases of the trees. Alex turned rocks over and inspected each low-hanging branch to see if anything was perched there. He had just finished replacing a large rock he'd picked up when Grace called out. “I have something here.”

He jumped to his feet and arrived at her side just as she pulled a small box out of a hole that had rotted away at the base of a tree trunk. She stood and held up the small container. “Here it is.”

“It's not a very big box.”

She shrugged. “It's not always about the size. It's about what's inside.”

Grace loosened the string tied around the box, pulled the top off and found a small sealed envelope lying on top of a folded piece of paper. She slid her finger beneath the flap to unseal it and shook the contents into her hand. Her eyes grew wide, and she gasped at the sterling-silver ring that fell into her palm.

Alex leaned closer and frowned. “What is it?”

Grace swallowed and struggled to speak. She held it up for him to see. “It's a friendship ring.”

“Does this have some special meaning for you?”

She nodded. “Yes, Landon gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday.” She pointed to the top of the ring. “He picked it out because it was designed with the infinity symbol across the top with our two birthstones set in it. He said it would always make me think of him.”

Alex looked at the ring again, then back to her. “Then what's it doing here?”

“I don't know. When Landon and I quit dating, I gave him the ring back. He had changed so much I didn't want anything to remind me of him. He told me someday I would want to come back to him, and until then he was going to wear the ring on his pinkie finger. Every time I saw him in the hall at school he would have it on and would hold up his hand for me to see.”

Alex frowned. “Do you think he might have been wearing it when he died?”

“After his body washed ashore, I asked his father if he was wearing the ring. I wanted to keep it to remember him by, but his father said it wasn't on his body. Do you think the killer could have taken the ring off his finger and kept it all these years?”

Alex shrugged. “It's possible. Some killers like to keep some item from their victims. But why would he want you to know he had this ring?” He glanced at the box she still held. “What is that in the bottom of the box?”

She pulled the paper out and unfolded it. “It's a note.”

Alex eased closer. “What does it say?”

“‘Good afternoon, Miss Kincaid. Congratulations on solving the puzzle and finding the first clue in your quest to discover how Landon really died. I thought you might like to have the ring I've kept all these years. As you know, it meant a lot to Landon. Now you must decide if you want to find out how I got it. If you want to know, then you must solve the next clue in hopes it will bring you the answers you desire. Does your search end here, or are you tempted to continue? The next move is yours, but be prepared for whatever may come.'”

Alex pulled the note from her hand and scanned it before he looked at her. “Is there nothing else inside?”

She glanced back in the box and pulled out another folded sheet of paper. “Here's something.” She opened it and rolled her eyes in disgust. “It's a Sudoku puzzle.”

“What? Let me see that.” He glanced over the printed grid. “I see he's left the instructions for you at the bottom. Once you've solved the puzzle, you'll find the coordinates to the next clue in the sixth line across.” He scanned the page for a moment before he looked back at Grace. “He's giving you clues instead of telling you what you want to know. I don't like this. He's taunting you, Grace. You need to stop this right now.”

She shook her head. “But we have to keep looking into this, Alex. This guy knows something, or he wouldn't have this ring. He has to be the killer.”

Alex shook his head. “Not we, Grace. This is getting out of hand. First he gives you an anonymous call, then he sends you a puzzle to find his hidden message, and when you do, there's another clue that threatens you. This guy is setting you up for something bad, and I don't like it. This is a matter for the police.”

She glared at him. “No, I'm not giving up. I've been trained to follow a story wherever it goes. I'll keep working on this whether you help me or not.”

“Grace, you're not listening to me. This is for your own good. I don't want to see you get hurt.”

She snatched the note out of his hand and whirled. “I'm not going to get hurt. And I'm not giving up.” She glanced over her shoulder as she stormed back through the forest.

He watched her go and shook his head in dismay. Yesterday Grace had accused him of being stubborn, but when she set her mind to something, she wouldn't give up. He kicked at a clump of dirt on the ground and took a deep breath.

She was determined to follow through on this, and he knew he'd do what he'd done ever since they were children. He'd be right there with her looking out for her. How could she still have a hold on him after all these years and after all they'd gone through? But she did, and he couldn't deny it. Maybe if he helped her with this case he could finally close the chapter on Grace Kincaid and put her out of his life permanently.

He jogged back through the forest to tell her he'd help her. When he emerged from the forest, he caught sight of her already in the parking lot. She stood next to her car, her cell phone to her ear. His skin prickled. Something wasn't right. As he got closer, he realized what it was. All four tires of her car had been slashed.

“Yes, the pavilion in Overton Park. I'm standing beside the car.” She disconnected the call and turned as he came to a stop next to her. “I called the garage that I use. They'll take care of this and check to make sure no other damage was done before they deliver the car to my home later today.”

“Good.” He glanced around at the deserted parking lot. “I didn't see anybody when I came out of the forest. Did you?”

She nodded. “Just as I stepped out of the tree line, a car pulled out of the parking lot. At that distance I couldn't tell who was driving.”

A gust of wind blew across the parking lot, and Alex shivered. “It's getting colder. I'll call Brad to come pick us up. Why don't we get in the car and wait for him there?”

She nodded. “That sounds good to me.”

He walked over and opened the driver's door for her to step inside. Before she could move, the sharp crack of a gun split the quiet air, and a bullet slammed into the open car door. Alex lunged for Grace and knocked her to the ground as the second shot screamed over their heads.

“Get to the other side of the car,” he yelled as he pulled his phone from the clip on his belt with one hand and his gun with the other. The shots appeared to have come from the forest. He fired in that direction, but he had no idea where the shooter was.

Grace scooted on her stomach to the far side of the car as shots continued to hit the side of her car. Alex crawled behind, his phone pressed to his ear as he fired off two more shots. “Officer under fire,” he shouted into the phone. “Picnic pavilion at Overton Park. Need backup now!”

“Officers on their way.” The 911 operator's voice crackled over the phone.

He grit his teeth and hoped they weren't too late as another bullet shattered the car's headlight. Fragments from the shattered headlight rained down on them as they scrambled to the far side of the car.

Alex sat up with his back pressed against the fender of the car and tried to peer around the front, but another bullet plowed into the front bumper. The gunfire seemed to be coming from a different direction. Maybe the shooter was working his way around so he had a clear shot at them now huddled beside the car.

Grace started to push up from the ground, but Alex shoved her back down and fell on top of her to shield her body as another bullet ripped past their heads. He was about to urge Grace to crawl to the back of the car when three police cruisers roared into the parking lot.

Before he could sit up, the officers, one of them holding a dog, jumped out of the cars, fanned out across the parking lot and headed toward the trees at the edge of the forest. Alex sat up and pulled Grace into a sitting position.

The lieutenant in charge of the officers squatted down beside them. “What happened here?”

Alex stood up and pulled Grace to her feet. “Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said as he began to relate the events in the park to the officer.

After about fifteen minutes one of the officers emerged from the forest and jogged to where they waited. “We searched the woods, sir. The dog hit on several places where the shooter had stood when he fired, but he was gone. He must have had his escape route planned well.”

Alex nodded. “I could tell he was moving, trying to get a better shot.”

“We're glad neither of you were hurt,” the lieutenant said. His gaze traveled over the bullet-marked car and shook his head. “Too bad about the car. We're going to take another look in the woods before we go, but we'll be glad to give you a ride when we leave.”

Alex shook his head. “No need for that. I'll call my partner.” He pulled out his cell phone and punched in Brad's number.

Brad answered right away. “Hello.”

“Brad, it's Alex. Grace and I are at the Overton Park Pavilion, and we need a ride. Can you come pick us up?”

“Sure, I'll be there right away.”

“Thanks.”

He disconnected the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “Brad should be here shortly. He can take you back to the television station. Would you like for me to give you a ride home this evening?”

“I'd appreciate it. I'll be ready as soon as the six o'clock news is over.” A cold wind blew across the parking lot, and she drew her coat closer around her. She bit down on her lip and pointed to her car. “This doesn't change anything, Alex. I'm still going to pursue this story.”

He gritted his teeth. “What's the matter with you? Are you crazy? Somebody just tried to kill us, and you want to keep going with this investigation? This is something for the police to address, not you.”

“I don't understand why he waited until we got back to the car to shoot at us. He could have done that while we were in the forest.”

Alex nodded. “I was wondering the same thing.”

“What if he didn't intend to kill us? What if he only wanted to scare us?” She pulled the note from her pocket. “I think he wants us to find the next clue.”

“We could offer what-ifs all day long and not be any closer to the truth than we are now,” Alex said. “The facts are that someone lured you to a deserted place then shot at you. Whether or not he meant to kill you doesn't matter. Any one of those bullets could have found their mark. This is where your involvement with this investigation has to end.”