Web of Lies (14 page)

“Annie?”

“I’m here.”

A pause. I could feel it already, that sister connection — the vibration of invisible fiber optics that heralded unpleasant news. “What’s wrong?”

I turned away from the scene — Chelsea on her phone, the growing number of officers — and told her.

Stunned silence. I wandered two steps, looked back toward my car. A technician was pulling out his materials, preparing to dust the wipers and windshield for prints. Vaguely I wondered if they would try Chelsea’s tires as well. Could body oil show up on rubber? A memory stumbled through my head, something Chetterling once told me: around forty different ways existed to check for fingerprints. In the meantime Chelsea would need new tires. She wasn’t going home in that car anytime soon.

“Okay.” Jenna’s voice sounded stiff. “All right. We’ll . . . handle this. Just like before.”

“I don’t know if I’m going to get my car back right away.” It was the first of a dozen details that came to mind. “You might have to come get us.”

“That’s fine. No problem.”

Bradley Clark, chief of police, emerged from the station with his bearlike stride, beefy arms held away from his sides. He headed straight for Tim Blanche. Knowing Clark’s reputation for protecting his department, I read plenty from his creased forehead and working jaw. The pressure to find Orwin Neese had just multiplied tenfold. A man stupid enough to kill in broad daylight, whose face appeared on the front page of every newspaper in town, had trespassed onto their own turf to wreak havoc. How embarrassing. Somebody in the department would have to answer for this — and that somebody was Blanche.

“I’m heading over there now.” Jenna’s voice tugged at me. “You need to demand protection until this thing’s over.
Will
you do that? ’Cause if not, I’ll demand it for you.”

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll do it.” I dug fingers into my scalp. “Jenna, wait. Bring Kelly with you. We can’t leave the kids alone.”

“Is Stephen still at work?”

“I think so. I’ll call him next.”

“Look, this isn’t going to take too long. Catching Neese, I mean.” Jenna’s tone rounded into a soothe. “His picture’s everywhere and he’s obviously right in the area. Where’s he going to hide?”

“Yeah.” I licked my lips, needing water. “It can’t be soon enough for me.”

Time burned on. The technician dusted black powder onto my SUV’s windshield and wipers but found no prints. On the premises, all four tires were carefully removed from Chelsea’s car. Even pulling the Lexus onto a tow truck bed could have disturbed some of the evidence. In the lab they would try to raise fingerprints. Technicians would measure the slashes, determine the size of knife used. Blanche called a tire garage, catching someone just before they closed for the night. The business, out of stock for the size Chelsea needed, brought over four temporaries to place on the car. The man from the garage would change the tires, then drive the Lexus back to his business. He would find the needed tires on Monday. Sundays they were closed.

Meanwhile I talked to Stephen, making sure he was safe at work. He was supposed to get off at eight but insisted on leaving immediately.

“No,” I told him, “you don’t need to do that. I’m fine.”

“Mom, you are
not
fine! Somebody’s threatening to kill you again.”

“Stephen, I’m okay. I have policemen all around me right now. I’m more worried about you. Stay at work. Then come straight home.”

“I don’t care about me.”

“Well, I do!” I cut off my words, breathing heavily. Pain tightened my throat. “Just . . . look. Do what I say. Please. There’s a lot going on here already, and I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

Even then he wasn’t convinced, but he finally agreed to stay put. “Keep your cell phone on,” he demanded. “And let me know when you get home.”

I promised I would.

Two phone calls down, one to go. I brought a hand to my forehead, took a minute to pull myself together. Then phoned Dave. The news knocked the breath out of him. Like Stephen, he wanted to come right away, rescue me on a white horse. “No, it’s okay,” I told him. “Jenna’s coming and she’ll bring us home.”

Like hound dogs with noses to the ground, the media showed up. This time it was Luke Bremington, another crime reporter from the
Record Searchlight
. Bremington was around my age, with intense brown eyes in a square face. No doubt Adam Bendershil was busy writing about the first crime event of the day. Maybe he was still at Grove Landing, crowing over the bone-by-bone building of the skeleton.

God, what is going on?

Just imagining tomorrow morning’s paper tied my muscles in knots.

Bremington aimed straight for me, questions spilling from his thin lips. I turned away with my typical “No comment.”

“But just one thing, Ms. Kingston.” He leaned toward me. “First the finding of the skeleton in your neighborhood, now this threat on your life. Do you think the two are connected?”

Threat on your life.
The words made me shudder. How had he heard this so fast, anyway? My eyes wandered to the police station, suspicion coiling through me. Somewhere in that building, Bremington had an inside source. Rex Whitley or Charlie Tranks, one of the two officers who’d given Chelsea and me those curious stares? The thought misted me with fury. And what was this
connection
business? My mind played the scenes of Chetterling and the other men assembling old, dirt-caked bones . . . the recent shooting.

“I can’t imagine how they could have anything to do with each other.” I dismissed Bremington with a tight smile, then turned my back on him. A moment later I spotted him querying the technicians. Then he disappeared inside the station.

Jenna arrived with Kelly, who ran to me, eyes glistening. I clung to my daughter, assuring her that everything would be okay, this crazy man would be caught soon.

“Oh, he’ll be caught, all right.” Jenna hugged us both fiercely. “He just better hope it’s not by
me
.”

I didn’t bother talking to Blanche. I went straight to Chief Bradley Clark to request protection. Blanche might fume at my audacity in going over his head, but I would take no chances. My family had experienced too much in the past couple years. I’d been threatened, as had my children. No way could I doubt that Orwin Neese meant what he said. Our house sat outside of town, in the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction, but this case rested with the Police Department. I didn’t care who paid for it; I just wanted someone making his presence known outside my house.

Because of my history, Clark granted my request. Twenty-four hour surveillance, he promised me, three cars a day, in eight-hour shifts.

My family under guard. Again. I just wanted to gather them up and run.

Chapter 24

“
Y
ou can’t be thinking of staying there!” Paul’s voice fairly crackled in Chelsea’s ear. “We’ve got to get you home
now
.”

If only I could leave.
The thought of home plucked at Chelsea’s heart. Had she really only been gone since this morning? She wanted to sleep in her own bed tonight, safe, secure. Away from all this craziness. But . . .

She glanced toward Annie and her family. Jenna paced with indignation, and Kelly and Annie hung on to each other. Poor Kelly looked so frightened. “Paul, think about it. By the time you drive here to pick me up and we get back home again, it’ll be two o’clock in the morning. Then we’ll just have to leave early Monday to come back for my car. You’ll miss a full day’s work. Can you do that?”

“Oh, Monday.” Air seeped from his throat. “I’ve got a board meeting. Someone else will have to get you back there.”

“See?” Chelsea took a deep breath. Closed her eyes. Her husband wasn’t going to like this. “Paul, it’s not just the problem of getting back and forth. I just have this feeling I’m
supposed
to stay.”

“Oh no, don’t give me that. Look, you went all the way up there to meet with that woman; isn’t that enough? I don’t want you dragged into another bad situation.”

“Believe me, I don’t want that either. But look at everything that’s happened. While I’m here, that skull is found? Now this threat on Annie’s life? All this can’t be coincidence, Paul. Whether we like it or not, God’s got a reason for me to be here.”

“Yeah, and I’ve got a reason to bring you home. I can’t leave you in danger.”

“
I’m
not in danger. The threat was only toward Annie.”

“Then who slashed your tires?”

Chelsea had no response for that. “Paul, please listen. I just . . . I can’t walk away in the middle of this. God brought me up here. And even if I did go home, I’d have to turn around and come right back. You might as well let me stay.”

Paul would not cave easily. He’d always seen Chelsea’s visions as a threat. Yes, he’d witnessed all the good that resulted from them and came to believe they were sent from God. But he was Chelsea’s protector and sometimes God asked a little too much.

Lord, if I’m really supposed to stay, please convince my husband.

They argued for another ten minutes. In the end Chelsea wore him down with the logistics. What was the point of driving back and forth? She might as well stay in a hotel until Monday. She’d be safe there. Paul finally sighed. “But what about clothes and toiletries? You don’t have anything for overnight.”

A last-ditch effort, aimed at her womanhood.

“I’ll . . . manage. The hotel should have emergency packets. And I’ll buy a few things.”

By the time Chelsea hung up the phone and rejoined Annie’s little group, ambivalence roiled within her. Why had she been so adamant about staying? She
wanted
to go home and she missed Paul. Still, she sensed God telling her that Annie, even with family nearby, was going to need her help. And she couldn’t ignore that feeling.

Lord, like the Psalms say, You are my strength. My rock. Please protect Annie. And lead me in whatever I’m supposed to do.

Annie would not hear of her staying in a hotel.

“Maybe she doesn’t
want
to stay with us, Annie.” Jenna stood with arms folded, her cheeks flushed. She seemed more angry over her sister’s plight than terrified. “With all this going on, she probably wants to get as far away from us as possible.”

“But we’ve got police protection! At least with us she’ll be guarded. That’s better than sleeping alone in a hotel room.”

“Wait.” Chelsea held up a hand. “I don’t want to cause you any problems.”

“You’re not causing me problems.” Annie pressed her lips together. For a moment Chelsea thought she was going to cry. “Look, it’ll be far more of a problem for me if I don’t know where you are and that you’re safe.
Please
stay with us. We’ll get you back into town on Monday to pick up your car.”

Annie would not be swayed. They had two guest bedrooms, she said, and Chelsea would occupy one of them. She could just call her husband and tell him so. End of conversation.

“Okay, that’s it!” A call behind them cut off the discussion. Chelsea turned to see the last of the temporary tires in place on her car.

Jerry Flagen, a determined-looking officer who stood well over six feet, arrived to serve as Annie’s first shift of protection. He, Detective Blanche, and Chief Clark hustled the four of them into a small conference room in the station to go over plans. First point of agreement — Annie was not to go anywhere alone. Jenna, Kelly, and Stephen should also be careful. Although Neese probably knew little about her family, this was not the time to take chances.

Chelsea watched Kelly’s face. The girl listened with shoulders drawn in, eyes darting from one policeman to another as if seeking some kind of assurance. Annie sat close to her, their fingers entwined. The sight tightened Chelsea’s throat.
Lord, let me somehow be a help to them.

“Can I at least have my car back?” Annie asked. “Please? You didn’t find any evidence on it. And it was locked, so there can’t be anything inside.”

Tim Blanche nodded. “I’ll check with the techs. If there’s anything left to do, we won’t be able to release it.”

“All right, everybody on board here?” Chief Clark rose, signaling the end of the meeting. “Officer Flagen will follow you home, Annie.” He lowered his chin to look Kelly in the eye. “We’re going to protect your mom; I want you to know that. Nobody’s going to come anywhere near her.”

Kelly dropped her gaze and nodded. Chelsea could have hugged the man for his empathy.

Back in the parking lot, Annie received good news: her car could be released. Chelsea breathed a prayer of gratitude at the small victory. While the technicians completed their work, Jenna drove Chelsea to a drugstore to buy some toiletries. By the time they returned and Annie’s car was ready, it was eight thirty. Darkness had fallen. Annie climbed into the SUV with Kelly. Chelsea stayed with Jenna. Officer Flagen followed in his police car.

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Jenna breathed as she drove toward Grove Landing. “I could
kill
this scumbag.”

Chelsea tried to keep her hands from fidgeting in her lap. She needed calmness, but that’s the last thing she felt.
God, where are You right now?
“I’m so sorry for all of you. I know Annie’s terrified, but she’s trying to hold it together for Kelly.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry for
me
. But Kelly — she almost lost her mom three months ago. No wonder she’s petrified. After what this household has been through, we can’t do anything but assume the worst.” Jenna stopped at a red light. She turned to look at Chelsea. “I’m surprised you’re still with us. If I were you, I’d
walk
back to the Bay Area if I had to. Just get out of this madness.”

Chelsea managed a smile. “Don’t think I haven’t considered it. And my husband’s not exactly thrilled. But I . . . God brought me here, Jenna. I don’t understand why yet.” She sighed. “I wish I did.”

Jenna eyed Chelsea as if trying to figure her out. “Well, next time you talk to God, would you let Him know I’m downright ticked? My sister’s the best person on earth and she doesn’t deserve this. Seems to me He could take better care of her.” The light turned green. She drove through the intersection, her mouth firming. “Meanwhile I have my gun.”