Nowhere Safe (21 page)

September nodded. “Good.”

“Go home,” Auggie said to September again. He inclined his head in Maharis’s direction. “You got a replacement.”

“Yeah, one person.”

The truth was, though, that September was leaning toward Auggie’s suggestion. “Can you follow up on the dealer for Wes?” she asked him.

“Sure you don’t want me on the Ballonni case?”

“I’ve got it,” she assured him.

After getting all the information he needed to move on the Carter case, he gave September a guy hug, side by side with an arm around her shoulder, then he was gone. September felt slightly bereft afterward. She was close to her brother in that indefinable way twins were, but he had a different life now, one of his own choosing, and she was moving in another direction as well.

She pulled out the list to the Ballonni case and put a call in to the post office where Ballonni had worked, asked for Gloria del Courte and was told she no longer was employed by them. She searched out Gloria’s home number and left a message on her voice mail.

After that, she drove back to the house, expecting to find Jake, but he wasn’t around. Her sheets were in a pile on the table, so she peeked her head into the second bedroom where her bed was set up but unmade. Wondering where he was, she pulled out her cell and realized she’d missed a call from him while she was at the hospital with Verna and Auggie and Dr. Rajput. She clicked the
VOICE MAIL
button and listened, her smile growing as he finished with, “. . . the debt is still outstanding. I’m sure some other arrangement can be made to . . . fill the bill, and I hope you can offer recompense later this evening. I’ve put the invoice in the Johnson file. Please open it as soon as you return.”

“I wish,” she said, attempting to call him while she poured herself a glass of water. It also went to voice mail, and she just hung up, knowing he would see the missed call. She headed for the bedroom she shared with him, stripped off her clothes and pulled on some sweats and a T-shirt. She was shivering and thought,
Peachy,
just before she bolted for the bathroom and her own ignominious vomiting into the toilet.

 

 

It was dark by the time Jake, frustrated and ready to chuck in the whole damn thing, finally had an inkling of where Loni might have meant she would be. He’d already been to the real estate office where she worked and talked to several women there, one of whom recognized him. She’d printed a page off her printer with all of Loni’s listings and he’d driven by each one on the off chance she would be there. He’d also driven by all the restaurants that he could remember where they’d eaten, places they’d once deemed special, and he’d continually checked her cell phone, which went straight to voice mail over and over again.

He’d damn near called Nine’s cell a dozen times, but he kind of wanted her to pick up his message and phone him first. She would call him when she could. She’d told him that enough times for him to believe it. And she’d made it pretty clear this morning that she had a job that he wasn’t invited to help her with. He was lucky she’d allowed him to go with her to the hospital last night.

But he was losing steam and interest and he was about to break that rule and call September anyway. How long was she going to stay at work anyway? The sun, such as it was behind all those gray clouds, had set.

And then he knew where Loni would be. She’d told him when she’d mentioned the newlywed couple whom she’d sold a house to.

He drove to Sunset Valley High and immediately saw the vintage Chevy Malibu parked at the back of the senior parking lot behind the sprawling brick building. It was the car she’d had in high school, and it hadn’t been new then, either. Seeing it bothered Jake, because, though she hadn’t sold it, Loni hadn’t driven it in years. She was taking some dark trip down memory lane that didn’t speak well to her state of mind.

He pulled his Explorer up beside her, then went around to her driver’s door and tapped on the window.

She was slumped in the seat, staring straight ahead, and wouldn’t look at him.

“Loni,” he said loudly. For a moment he was scared, she was so still. But then he saw the rise and fall of her chest.

“Loni,” he called again.

She swiveled her head and looked at him, then leaned over and popped the lock on the passenger side door.

Jake hesitated. This didn’t bode well at all. He thought he heard his cell ringing inside the Explorer and he almost grabbed it out and answered it. It sounded like September’s ring-tone. But then he looked at Loni again, at the defeated way she sank into the seat, and instead he did as she apparently wanted, walking around the back of her car, opening the passenger side door, and ducking his head inside.

She was wearing a pair of gray slacks and a pink blouse with a string of fake pearls at her throat, a gift Jake had given her when they were still in high school. “What are you doing?” he asked her cautiously.

“Remembering.”

“It’s dark. Maybe we should get home. Your mom’s worried about you.”

“I can’t.” To his consternation her eyes welled with tears that rolled slowly down the hills of her cheeks. “Our best times were here.”

“I know, but . . . high school’s long over. We dated through college, too, and beyond,” he reminded her. “We have a lot of history.”

“But high school was before everything went to shit.”

“There were good times after high school, too.”

“Were there?” She finally turned to look at him just as the skies opened and rain began to fall in a deluge. “Get in,” she ordered.

He complied, slamming the door shut against suddenly pounding rain that ran over the windshield like honey, steamed the windows and was loud enough to damn near drown out his voice as he shouted, “We should call your mom.”

“Just give me a minute with you, okay?” she shouted back.

Jake sat silently, staring ahead, waiting for the rain to abate. It went on for several long minutes and he could sense Loni’s gaze on him, a heavy weight. It worried him, but not as much as when Loni’s hand stole over his.

As soon as the rain started to abate, he turned to her and said, “At the risk of being a real bastard, I need to say a few things.” She yanked her hand back as if she’d been burned. “I’m no psychologist, but I’m pretty sure it’s not me you want. You’re looking for something that isn’t there anymore.” He gestured toward the building in front of them. “You want the past, and it’s over for us.”

“Don’t you remember when we went to that playground at midnight and you pushed me in the swing?”

What Jake recalled was Loni insisting they go down the slides even though it had rained and he’d gotten his pants soaked. He’d only humored her on the trip to the nearby park because he’d really been thinking about breaking up, again, and was trying to feel his way through it. It was spring, senior year, and he’d had his one and only night with Nine amid the grapevines of her parent’s winery and all he could think about was the feeling he’d had making love to her.

“Loni, don’t do this,” he said.

“Jake, this is me you’re talking to. For God’s sake, I’m not going to break into a thousand pieces!” Then, “What’s Mom been telling you?”

“She just wants to be sure you’re safe.”

“I am safe!”

“Okay.”

“Fuck you, Jake.” She turned her face away from him and he could see her shoulders begin to shake with silent sobs.

“The last time I saw you, you were in the hospital,” he reminded her. “This isn’t good, you being here.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have somebody who
loves
me. I don’t have somebody who’s
moved in
with me. I don’t have somebody I’ve been screwing since high school when I was supposed to be
faithful!
”

“I wasn’t with Nine—”

“Who the fuck cares? You are now!”

“Jesus, Loni. You’ve got to let it go.”

She hauled off and slugged him in the arm. “I hate it when you’re so rational. I just
hate it
. And I’m sick of being placated.
I fucking hate it
.”

“I’m going.” He reached for the door handle.

She switched on the ignition and roared the engine.

Jake’s head jerked her way. “What?” he asked.

She suddenly smashed her foot onto the accelerator. The back wheels spun and they were shooting forward.

“Loni!” he yelled.

The brick wall rushed toward them and Jake braced himself, throwing up his arms to shield his face. “Stop!” he screamed, or at least he thought he screamed, but then they rammed into the wall at thirty miles an hour. One moment dark red bricks were rushing toward him, then
Blam!

The hood crumpled up like tinfoil.

Then blackness.

September was lying on the bathroom floor, feeling like hell, when her cell phone rang, skittering along the tile floor where she’d placed it after trying to call Jake again. He wasn’t picking up and she was mystified at where he could be but was too damn sick to do anything about it.

She caught the phone with one outstretched arm as it was heading toward the open door, squinted at the number and realized it was the department. Damn. “Rafferty,” she answered, clearing her throat when she heard how raspy her voice sounded.

“Detective, it’s Maharis. The vehicle registered to Stefan Harmak has been found. It was parked in the same neighborhood as Harmak’s residence.”

“Good. Good work.” She tried hard to infuse her voice with the enthusiasm she felt. “Is it being processed?”

“It’s on its way to the crime lab.”

“Maybe we’ll learn something.” She drew a careful breath and let it out slowly.

“Detective . . . ?” His tone was tentative.

“Call me Rafferty, or September, or Nine. Whatever works for you. Have you heard from my brother . . . or Wes, er, Weasel?”

“Umm . . . I have some information for you.”

“Well, spit it out, for God’s sake.” She didn’t have time to play nice.

“There’s been an automobile accident and one of the victims is someone you know, I believe. Jacob Westerly.”

September sat up so fast she nearly fell over from the wave of dizziness that slammed into her. “What? Where? Victims . . . ? Is he okay?”

“Both of them are on their way to Laurelton General.”

“Oh, God.”

“I knew . . . I heard you were dating someone with that name, so I—”

“Is he okay?” she screeched.

“I don’t know.”

It felt like her brain was on stall. “Who’s the other victim?” she asked. She rose to her feet on wobbly legs, but her heart was pounding, her body flooded with adrenaline.

“A woman . . . Loni Cheever. Her next of kin was called.”

“Jesus.”

The phone clattered to the floor, slipping out of her hand and smacking onto the tile. She bent to pick it up and nearly fell over, grabbing the towel bar to steady herself. She realized her eyes were leaking fluid, tears of fear.

“Maharis?”

But he wasn’t there. She’d been going to tell him to call Jake’s parents but someone probably already had.

Stripping off her T-shirt, she put her bra back on, then a new black shirt and jeans. Her stomach was jumping around and she stopped briefly, holding on to each side of the bedroom door jamb, heart pounding, trying to get her body under control.

Was she fit to drive? She did a quick check and decided, yes, she could do it. Laurelton General wasn’t that far. The accident must have taken place nearby.

As she was getting into her car, her cell rang again—Auggie. She wasn’t the only person Maharis had called.

“Nine,” he said in a heartfelt, worried tone.

That was all it took. A sob fought its way up her throat. “What happened?” she managed to get out.

“I’m on my way to Sunset Valley now. I’ll let you know.”

“Sunset Valley?”

“Didn’t Maharis tell you? That’s where she drove into the school.”

“Loni drove into the school?”

“Yeah.”

“With Jake in the car?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“On
purpose?
”

“Nine, I don’t know. I’m going to check it out.” He paused. “You going to the hospital?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound good.”

“I’m not,” she said. “Keep me informed.” And then she hung up because she couldn’t hear anything more right now. Not now. Not yet. Not until she saw Jake and made sure he was all right.

“Oh, Jake,” she whispered, so scared that her teeth started to chatter.

 

 

Laurelton General ER was bustling when September arrived, the waiting room filled to capacity. She looked around wildly for help and realized that people were lined up to check in with the nurse. Someone was coughing and she looked over to see a young man who looked pale and sweaty.

“Ma’am.” A nurse grabbed her arm and she realized she’d been teetering on her feet.

“I’m fine,” she said, but the nurse tried to steer her to the only empty chair.

She realized belatedly then, that she thought she was here as a patient. “I’m a detective,” she explained. “There was a car accident at Sunset Valley.”

“Why don’t you take a seat and someone will be right with you.”

As the nurse moved on, September headed toward the square button that operated the hydraulic doors that led to the inner sanctum.

“Ma’am, you can’t go through there,” another nurse told her sternly. “You don’t look well and you could jeopardize the health of others.”

That stopped her. And the fact that her stomach was sending her messages of imminent need. “Bathroom?” she asked.

With a pinch of her lips, the nurse managed to take pity on her and show her to the nearest restroom. September half ran inside and into a stall, heaving over the toilet, but there was nothing left to come up. She’d hardly eaten anything and it was currently to her advantage.

But she was sick with worry, desperate for help. Pulling out her cell, she phoned Auggie. He answered immediately and she confessed, “I’m sick. I made it to the hospital but I’ve got that goddamn bug and they won’t let me near him. I need help.”

“I’ll be right there.”

 

 

The next hour was a blur. Auggie found her curled into a chair in the waiting room. She was too sick to do more than feel angry and miserable, though she’d made a pest of herself and gotten some minimal information about Jake. “He’s unconscious. They’re running tests,” she told Auggie.

“You should be in bed, Nine.”

“I can’t leave. I just can’t. Tell me what happened at Sunset Valley.”

He squatted down beside her chair and gave her as much as he knew. “Jake was looking for Loni because her mother asked him to,” he told her. “Mrs. Cheever is in with Jake now. Lennon’s the uniform who caught the call and he said that Mrs. Cheever told him Loni left some kind of note for Jake and he went looking for her. He found her at the high school and got into her car. His Explorer’s at the school. Loni drove straight into the side of the building. The vehicle was old enough that there were no air bags.” He paused, watching September with concern as she absorbed the news.

“And Loni?” September asked. She’d been so worried about Jake she hadn’t asked.

“They brought her here, too. That’s all I know.”

“She did this to him.”

Auggie squeezed her arm. He knew Loni well, too. Though they’d all run in different circles, they’d been in the same grade at Sunset Valley. “I’ll go see what I can find out,” he said. “And then I’m going to take you home. You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit,” she muttered. But she couldn’t leave no matter what he said. Not until she knew Jake was going to be okay.

 

 

Lucky drove back to Mr. Blue’s. Her quarry was in for the night, she was pretty sure. He’d been thwarted from connecting with the girl at the restaurant and was back again with his middle-aged woman, possibly his wife.

His hunger was overtaking him and he was getting desperate, she’d decided. He was stopping into places and looking around for something to quench his need and then leaving in frustration.

She wondered how she could learn his name. She couldn’t go back to the school again. She couldn’t risk being seen by DeForest and Maryanne. Too much hanging around would be suspicious. Of course, there was the option of breaking into his car and checking his registration—the station wagon was parked right outside the house and she was pretty sure it was his—but if she were caught she would lose the power of secrecy.

Tomorrow was Sunday. And the next day was Monday and school would start again and he would likely be back at Twin Oaks.

As she drove home, she turned on the radio and had the satisfaction of learning that one Mr. Stefan Harmak had died of a gunshot wound from a home invader who was still at large.

 

 

Auggie took September to his house, and though she protested all the way, she was grateful to be able to burrow into the bed in their spare bedroom, though she didn’t touch the tea and toast Liv brought to her bedside table. She hadn’t wanted to leave Jake. She’d damn near wanted to flail and scream and make Auggie carry her to the car, but in the end she’d acquiesced. He’d assured her that they would get her SUV on Sunday, and so she’d allowed him to tuck her into bed and she’d drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night as if an alarm had rung, but she was really awakened by the worries scratching away inside her mind. Jake. And Loni.
Damn her for doing this.
Yes, she had mental issues.
Yes, yes, yes.
But she’d hurt Jake and that was unforgivable.

September’s stomach felt calmer, but then it was dead empty. She used the bathroom and then climbed back into bed. Auggie had not gone to his job with the Portland PD after all, at least while this crisis was on.

She lay awake in the dark for what felt like hours, thoughts of Jake circling her brain. She wanted to call the hospital in the middle of the night but knew it would do no good. The only way to get information was to get her strength back and go there tomorrow with her identification and determination.

Finally she fell into a deep sleep and didn’t awaken until there was a light tap on her bedroom door. She didn’t know what time it was. Someone had closed the shades and the room was dark. Outside, she could hear the incessant rain.

“Come in,” she invited, and there was Liv, fully dressed and carrying another tray of tea and toast.

“I didn’t touch the last one,” she admitted.

“Don’t worry about it.” Liv exchanged the new tray with the old, then asked, “How are you doing?”

“Better. Where’s Auggie? My car’s still at the hospital. What time is it?”

“Auggie went in to work and it’s ten.”

“Ten!” September fairly shrieked. She threw back the covers and scooped up her cell phone, which was dead. “I don’t have my charger. I’ve got to call work. And I need to get to the hospital.”

“I can drive you to the hospital, and you can use my cell, if you want.”

“Thanks.”

Liv went to get her phone and September placed a hand to her throbbing head, glancing at the tray of food. Carefully, she picked up a piece of toast and nibbled at it, then swallowed down some tea. So far so good. Encouraged, she gathered up her clothes from where she’d tossed them on the floor the night before and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, she was thrilled to see a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush, still in its packaging, laid out on the counter beside the sink. She unwrapped the toothbrush, squirted some toothpaste on the bristles and brushed her teeth long and hard. Then she looked at herself in the mirror. Good. God. Could she be more pale?

Dressing as fast as her aching head would allow, she returned to her bedroom to find Liv’s phone waiting for her on the nightstand. Silently blessing her brother’s girlfriend, she snatched it up and then was stumped. The only number she had memorized was the station’s main desk. She couldn’t recall anyone’s cell but her own and Auggie’s, and a fat lot of good that would do her.

Dialing the number, she said, “Hi. It’s Detective Rafferty. Can you put me through to Lieutenant D’Annibal?”

“He’s not in today, but Detective Pelligree is.”

Thank you, God.
“Good. Put me through to him.”

Wes answered the phone, “Detective Pelligree.”

“Wes, it’s September. Jake’s at Laurelton General, and I’ve got the damn bug, but I feel better and I’m going to the hospital. So glad you’re at work. What’s the story around there?”

“I came in to help. Still feel god-awful, but like you said, better. D’Annibal called. Wanted to talk to you. He’s still in the shits, if you know what I mean.”

“Only too well. What about George?”

“Don’t know. Maharis is here.”

“Good. I’ll be in after the hospital.”

“What happened to Jake?” he asked.

“Car accident. He’s . . . going to be all right.”

There was a moment of silence. She didn’t want Wes to say anything more about it in case she fell apart. He must have picked up on her feelings because he changed the subject and asked, “What are you thinking about Harmak’s murder?”

This was easier to talk about. “Stefan said a woman was behind the crime. I’ve got some work to do on the Ballonni part of the case. Some interviews. If you want to look at the file . . .”

“I’m on it.”

“Okay, thanks. I gave Auggie what I had on Carrie Lynne’s boyfriend. He’s going to see what he can find out. Try to trace the ketamine back to the dealer.”

He grunted. “Good.”

She clicked off and went in search of Liv, who was drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen and reading the paper. She looked up and asked, “Ready?”

“Yup. Anything in the news?”

“Stefan’s murder,” she said. “And a recap of how he was tied up early last week. The similarity between that attack and the attack on Christopher Ballonni.”

“Great,” she said without enthusiasm.

“And there’s a paragraph about Jake’s accident.”

Accident.
September set her jaw. No accident.

Liv’s gaze lingered on September’s face and September could read what she was thinking. “I feel better than I look.”

“If you say so.”

“You don’t pull any punches, do you?” September said, cracking a smile.

“I just don’t want you passing out on me or something and hearing about it from your brother later.” She added, “And I do hope you feel better.”