Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 (47 page)

Gretchen lifted her head. “Gone? As in someone took it? He told me he was leaving it to me. Maybe one of the islanders grabbed it before—”

“How dare you accuse us! It disappeared right after this crew arrived. If you came to town, you would know.”

“I didn't mean to sound accusing, but I also don't see how the crew would even know about it. Or want it. It only means something to Len. This has to be killing him.”

“He is quite...distraught.” Her mother dropped her gaze.

“How's his mind?”

Her mom shrugged. “I don't know. He doesn't seem right.”

“I noticed that, too, when he came to visit me. It concerned me.”

“If you cared about Len, you'd send this crew away and come home.”

“Coming home is not going to change anything. Besides, this is my home now. Len accepts this—why can't you?”

“I do not have to accept anything. Other than leaving Billy, inviting this TV show here is the worst decision you have ever made. It's put everyone at risk.”

Gretchen ignored her mother's jab about the breakup and said, “Nobody's been hurt.”

Colm brushed her ear. “Nobody but you,” he whispered. And him, but that he was keeping in his pocket for now.

Gretchen angled a quick, harsh look at him. He understood her warning to keep it all quiet.

“Does this jigsaw belong to someone in particular?” Deputy Baker approached the group holding out a familiar-looking tool.

“Where did you get that?” Colm stepped forward. “Did you go through my things without a warrant?”

“No need of a warrant. Found it lying in the grass by the ladder, right out in the open. But it's interesting how well you know the law. Learn the rules so you can get around them?”

“My jigsaw is in my bucket. That can't be mine.”

“It is your jigsaw,” Gretchen said, her voice heavy with contempt. “I brought it out to show you the proof.”

“Proof of what?”

“Do you always treat your equipment with such carelessness? Or did you not realize you bent the blade when you cut my floor?”

Colm jerked at her accusation. He studied her face for any sign of disbelief in what she was saying. Nothing. “Let me see the jigsaw,” he said to Deputy Baker.

“No can do.” Sheriff Matthews spoke up. “The tool could be evidence. We'll have to match the blade cuts in the floor to find out. Run some tests on wood particles, as well. Mr. McCrae, would you mind coming to the station to answer some questions? Away from so many eyes?”

“Wait, you're arresting him?” Gretchen's eyes showed remorse.

Colm breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't lost all hope in him yet.

“No, Gretchen, he can't arrest me. He doesn't have any evidence that shows a crime has occurred. And even if he does, he's not going to find anything that points to me. Even if that blade turns out to be the one used to cut your floorboards, that doesn't mean I did it.” Colm looked straight at the sheriff. “And he knows it. He just wants to talk. And that's okay because I have a few things I want to share with him, too.”

Colm reached for Gretchen's arm as he had wanted to when she stepped up beside him. Her hand came over his but thankfully, she didn't push him away. Instead he felt her grasp tighten, and he felt her fear.

“I'll be back in a few hours. Ethan!” Colm called without taking his eyes off her.

“I got it covered,” Ethan announced from the crowd of onlookers, exactly what Colm wanted to hear. No other directions needed. His painter would watch over her.

Colm released Gretchen. He leaned in and brushed his cheek against hers, his lips close to her ear. “Keep your eyes and ears open, Goldie. And call the sheriff for any reason. I mean it. No more bravado.”

At her single nod, he knew she finally understood the risks, and this wasn't a time to prove her independence.

“And let the EMT look you over. It doesn't make you weak.”

He stepped away and entered the backseat of the cruiser. Sheriff Matthews climbed in and put the car into Reverse. As the car backed out of the driveway, Colm watched Gretchen get smaller through the windshield. Before they met the road, Billy Baker stepped up beside her. She cringed and shrugged away, right into Troy. She shrank back as though she feared that man more than Billy.

Colm wondered if he'd missed something between the two of them. He straightened up in the seat, ready to tell Sheriff Matthews to stop the car. But Ethan appeared right behind Gretchen and Colm relaxed a bit. The painter would do as he said and watch out for her.

A twinge of jealousy swirled in Colm's gut at his once again not being the one by her side. But even if he hadn't been in the cruiser on his way to an interrogation, Gretchen didn't trust him any more than she trusted anyone else. Colm vowed to change that as soon as possible. For now she would be safe with Ethan.

Plus, he had an attack of his own to report to the sheriff. Not that he'd seen the face of his assailant, but he did see the color green.

Green...

Colm whipped his head to his right as Sheriff Matthews pulled the car down the street. He craned to see the men beside Gretchen.

Deputy Billy Baker wore a green deputy's uniform. Colm passed over Ethan's paint-splattered jersey and noticed Troy wore a dark green suit.

Colm looked at Ethan and willed him to protect her today, but on a closer look at the painter, Colm could make out the shirt color under the splatter of other paint colors.

Green.

SEVEN

“S
how's closed,” Deputy Billy Baker announced as though he had all the authority in the world. “The renovation is over. You're all going back to where you came from. Today.”

Gretchen watched in disbelief, but also in the same quiet position she always assumed when her ex took control. The same silent acceptance as when he'd said she
should
stay home and not go to college...as when he told her who her friends should be, even if that meant turning her back on her lifelong best friend when she needed Gretchen most. So much silence for so long. Even after she finally broke it off and endured his angry retaliation, she'd kept her mouth shut.

“No more.” The words spilled from her lips at first in a whisper, then louder. “No more. Do you hear me, Billy Baker?” Gretchen stepped forward to go after him as he turned the corner of the house and left the eyes of the crowd. “Everyone, do not pack up. We continue this renovation as scheduled. He can't stop us.” Gretchen sped past them. She caught up with Billy at his car and reached out to grab his arm. “I will not let you dictate how I live my life anymore. We are over, and I will not keep silent about who you really are anymore.”

Billy yanked his arm away, nearly sending her flying around him. He faced her head-on, leaning in with more menace than she had ever seen. “You will do what I say, or you will regret it.” He lifted the backside of his hand to her cheek. “Do I need to remind you how you made me lose my cool the last time?”

“Threaten me all you want. It's not going to stop me from telling everyone how you hurt me.”

Quick as lightning, Billy retracted his hand only to let it fly back into her face with a force that lifted her off the ground and sent her sailing.

Stunned as she lay in the gravel of her driveway, Gretchen held her stinging face. Half her brain said,
Get back up.
The other half said,
Don't move
.

She couldn't voice the words as she had said out back, but she still could hear them in her mind.

No more.

Gretchen got to her knees. She put her weight on one foot, then the other. Slowly, she pushed herself up as straight as she could. It wasn't perfect, but it felt so good. The last time, she had remained on the floor and shook with stunned fear. She wouldn't be lying down anymore.

“Coming back for more?” Billy lifted a curled fist, his college ring shiny and huge on his finger. She stared at it, knowing he would most likely plow it in her face next. Would she even be able to get back up again?

She had to. No matter what.

“Help me!” Gretchen tried to scream, but by Billy's laugh, she was pretty sure she only squeaked.

Billy reached for her with both hands.

“Cut,” a voice came from the side of the house loud and clear. Both of them twisted to see the huge camera being carried closer.

Nate had captured the whole scene on film?

Relief swept over Gretchen. “Oh, thank God,” she cried. “And thank you, Nate. Now everyone will know the truth. Now they'll believe me.”

Billy raced for Nate. “Give me that film,” he demanded.

“No can do. All footage belongs to the boss. And I'm sure the sheriff would like a look. Are you all right, Gretchen?” Nate asked with Billy blocking his view to her.

“Yes. Everything's going to be all right now. Thank you.”

“That's what you think.” Billy shot a lethal look her way. He turned back to Nate. “Hand over the film, or I will see to it that you are arrested.”

“For what? I haven't done anything.”

“For whatever I plant on you. You don't know who you're messing with.”

“You just said that in front of a witness. I'm really not afraid.”

“Dead witnesses don't talk.”

Gretchen's legs stiffened at Billy's implied words. Any doubts she had about his innocence in the accidents were erased. He meant for her to die?

She had to move. She had to get away from this madman. Gretchen ran to her front-porch steps and took them at high speed. She flung her front door wide and pushed through blindly, slamming into a man's chest.

“There you are. You disappeared on me. I came in to look for you. Where've you been?”

Gretchen backed away and saw Ethan with so much concern flooding his eyes she nearly wept.

“Colm asked me to watch out for you. Don't take off like that again. I really don't want to get on his bad side. He seems like the type to spike a bad temper if provoked.” Ethan smiled down at her. “Promise?”

Gretchen couldn't speak yet, but she could nod.

“Good. You really scared me with that asthma attack. You feel all right now?”

She touched her cheek and winced, her asthma the least of her concerns. “Been better,” she whispered. How was one supposed to feel when they just learned their ex wanted them dead?

“I'm sure, but not to worry.” Ethan took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You're safe with me. And I'm not going anywhere.”

* * *

“You have nothing to hold me here overnight with!” Colm yelled at the mirror on the wall of the sheriff's interrogation room. “And leaving me in here alone for hours isn't helping Gretchen.”

His hands tapped restlessly on the metal desk he sat at. It had been cold to the touch when he first arrived, but after the sun went down and his body temp escalated from frustration, the whole room heated up. Nothing Colm said to Sheriff Matthews seemed to make a difference. The man didn't believe him that his deputy was the danger around here. “Can you at least tell me where Deputy Baker is? Was he the one who struck me over the head in the basement? Have you asked him where he was at the time?”

No answer.

The tactic of isolation didn't seem like the sheriff's MO, so something else had to be keeping the lawman. Visions of Gretchen fighting for her life came to mind.

“Please, Sheriff, I need to know if she's well. That she's safe. That I didn't leave her in the care of someone who might hurt her.” Colm rested his head on the table, praying that Ethan was a good guy.

The door opened and Colm shot out of his chair. It fell back onto the floor with an echoing clatter. He barely heard it as he waited for Sheriff Matthews to speak.

“Sit back down, McCrae,” Sheriff Matthews instructed as he came around the other side of the table for his own chair.

“I can't. I've been sitting for hours. I've told you everything I can, and then some. You have to let me go. I've done nothing wrong.”

Sheriff Matthews wasn't going to agree. Colm could see it on his face.

“If anything happens to her, I'll—”

The sheriff halted his words with a raised hand. “Don't go threatening me. I'll be able to keep you a lot longer than twenty-four hours. We have laws here about assaulting an officer of the law.”

Colm frowned. “I see my old life precedes me. The repercussions of the poor choices I once made will follow me forever, I suppose. But, Sheriff, I wasn't going to threaten you. I was going to say, if anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself. End of story.”

Sheriff Matthews cringed. “I apologize. That was judgmental of me. Sometimes the weight of my job to protect this island almost singlehandedly clouds my vision. My wife will give me a talking-to, you can be sure.” He walked around the table and picked up the overturned chair. “Please, sit. We need to talk.”

Colm longed for the door, but any opposition would only prolong his getting back to Gretchen. “Can you just tell me if she's well? Then I'll sit.”

“I just spoke to her. She's fine. Getting ready to turn out the lights.” Sheriff Matthews looked at the chair with a nod of invitation.

Colm grabbed the back rung and took the seat.

“You seem to care about her.” Sheriff Matthews sat and leaned in.

“I shouldn't, but I do.”

“Why shouldn't you? Are you putting her in danger by caring for her?”

“She's already in danger.” Colm stopped, not wanting to speak for Gretchen or spill about her abuse at the hands of the sheriff's own deputy. It was her story to tell. But he also couldn't be vague if he meant to get out of here and back to her tonight. “You need to talk to Gretchen. And you need to listen to her. Trust her when she tells you things that you may not want to hear.”

“Like what?”

Colm pressed his lips tight.

“Does this have anything to do with Billy?”

Colm bit down hard on his lower lip. He thought of his mother and how she never wanted anyone to know—even though everyone did. They just pretended they didn't, because that was how she wanted it. She'd made it clear when she turned her own son away that night. There was nothing else to do but to leave and let her keep her secret.

“It's hard to watch atrocities in life when you can't do anything to stop them,” Colm said. “The fact is you can't help anyone with your hands tied.”

Sheriff Matthews's chest rose and fell. “You're not going to tell me, are you?”

Colm shook his head in answer. “Speak to Gretchen.”

“Give me something, McCrae. I've got an island in upheaval, and with you being the new guy with a sordid past, all fingers point to you. Give me something to put the light on someone else. Otherwise you're spending the night.”

Colm swallowed hard. Revealing Gretchen's secret wasn't his place. “What kind of man would I be, Sheriff, if I dishonored Gretchen's wishes and spoke for her? I'll take the night in jail if I have to.”

“You're okay with that?”

“It won't be the first time I took the jail cell over spilling someone's secrets. My own mother asked me to do the same thing to protect her abusing husband. I spent my teenage years trying to wrap my head around the reasons she would protect him, but the fact is that bond is powerful...”

“Are you saying Gretchen was abused and she's still protecting this person?”

“I didn't say anything about Gretchen. I said my mother.”

Sheriff Matthews nodded slowly. “I see. And your...mother, she protected someone who abused her?”

“Still is to this day.”

“Why not tell the world so it will stop?”

“Because then she would have to admit to her weaknesses and her choices. After all, she's allowed the abuse to continue. It's part of the bond, the guilt put on her as though she's to blame. She feels responsible and thinks she needs to pay for her involvement.”

Silence cloaked the room. Suddenly, Sheriff Matthews pushed his chair back and stood.

Colm followed his every move to the door. “Where are you off to?”

He opened the door wide. “I have a deputy to find. Sit tight until I confirm a few details.”

“Sheriff,” Colm said, standing, “let me return to Gretchen's side to protect her while you do.”

“What if, like your mother, Gretchen doesn't want your protection? Maybe your mother saw something in you that made her think it was best for you to go away.”

Colm's stomach clenched at the shot. He felt his legs give out and he sank back into the chair on a huff. “Maybe you're right.” A light bulb in his mind flashed bright. “I'd become an animal, and she knew I would fight him to the death. Either of ours.”

“That's why I think you should stay here.” Sheriff Matthews stepped through the door and closed it softly.

Colm stared at it while his past deeds went through his head. Then he said, “But I'm different now. I'm a new creation in Christ. My old self is dead.” Colm dropped his gaze to his hands, hating what he saw. They were fisted in his lap, looking ready for a fight. “My old self is dead...isn't it?”

* * *

Gretchen lay in her bed and studied the schedule in her planner. Three weeks until opening, the starred date reminded her, but all she could think about was Colm.

She shot a glance out her window to where sporadic trailer lights lit up her usually dark woods. Slowly, lights flickered off as each crew member settled in for the night—each crew member except for Colm.

Sheriff Matthews had called and said he would probably keep him for the night until Billy corroborated a few things Colm had told him.

At first words of injustice sprang to her lips, then panic choked them out and all she could ask was what kinds of things had Colm mentioned.

Owen wanted to know if Billy had struck Colm in self-defense out at the rock or if the deputy had used unwarranted force. The sheriff referred to Colm, but he also asked if Billy had used force on anyone else, as well.

The question lingered over the line before she answered.

Gretchen told him the truth...about Colm. She wanted to say more about Billy's “unwarranted force” against her, but the words wouldn't come. Not over the phone, she'd told herself; she settled for making sure Colm's character was protected this night instead.

She had to wonder if anyone ever considered that Colm had a character to protect. He'd told her he had changed, but people had a way of reminding you of your old character...or expecting you to be that same person when you never wanted to be again.

She understood this firsthand.

Gretchen placed her planner on the nightstand and faced the vast sky of stars through the window. “Lord, I think I know what Colm feels like. He wants to change, but people will always point out his past. I wanted the same thing, but the people in my life were also stuck in the past. It hurt me, but today I was no better. I accused Colm of cutting the floor. I jumped right at him without even asking him. Forgive me and help me to see the real Colm. The man he is today. The real man he wants to be.”

Gretchen watched the last trailer light flicker out. As she reached for the switch on her lamp, it powered out on its own, leaving her in complete darkness. She turned the switch anyway, but nothing happened. The lack of red numbers on her alarm clock told her the power was out.