Witness (7 page)

Petra tossed the rubber bone listlessly across the grass. Mason fetched it and bounced back to her, panting and begging with his eyes for a stroll to the park. She had curtailed their walking itinerary lately.

It wasn’t just that her long hours at work brought her home exhausted. The memory of Rex Harwood’s violence affected her more than she liked to admit. She startled easily now and hated walking in the open, where she felt exposed and vulnerable, even with her dog along. Mason would have to be satisfied with the romp he’d had with Wexel at Mrs. Burton’s last night and her evening playtimes with him in the backyard. Next weekend, when they went up to Waterville, she could take him on some long rambles. But first she had to get through this weekend, when she had to attend the seminar at the university on Saturday about breakthroughs in hematology. Just the thought of going onto the campus where Rex Harwood taught made her nervous, though she knew it was unlikely he’d be there on a Saturday after the spring semester had ended.

She wrestled with Mason for a few seconds, until he let her take the toy from his teeth. She tossed it again, to the far corner of the yard.

At the sound of a door sliding on its metal tracks, she stiffened and turned her back to the Harwoods’ property. She wouldn’t speak to either of the Harwoods or even look their way.

“Come on, boy!” She headed for her back deck.
It’s not right. I should be able to use my own yard without being intimidated.

Mason pranced to her side, eager for another tussle over the toy, but Petra’s heart wasn’t in it. What did the police expect her to do? Build a ten-foot fence so she couldn’t see into the Harwoods’ family room from the height of her deck?

“Hey!”

She couldn’t ignore his sharp call. With her foot on the bottom step, she turned. Harwood glared at her over the cedar fence. She considered going into the house without replying. But why should she? She had every right to be out here. Maybe she would tell him that and bring out a lawn chair and a book and park herself on the deck for an hour, until the daylight faded.

Maybe.

“Good evening.” She raised her chin just a tad. No matter what she decided to do next, she wouldn’t let him see that he’d scared her.

“You know I’ve done nothing to you.”

She scrunched up her eyes, thinking about that for a split second. “I see no reason to talk to you. Come on, Mason.” She mounted the steps, and Mason bounded up them and waited expectantly by the door.

“You’re ruining my life,” Harwood shouted.

Petra filled her lungs with air. Probably best not to answer that. But something in her, something that demanded truth, made her pivot and stare at him again.

“Look, you know what you did, and I know what I saw. Right now, the police accept your version. Until that changes, we have nothing to discuss.”

She took the final two steps to open the door. Her heart raced as though she had run a sprint.

After locking the door and pulling the drapes, she flopped onto the couch. Sweat beaded on her forehead and an awful, empty feeling clenched her stomach. Mason sidled up to her and licked her hand. She stroked his head absently. Was this what she had to look forward to? Isolation and condemnation?

“Dear God, please help me.” She sobbed and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired! The stressful environment at work since several nurses had left her department was getting to everyone, and she had to concentrate not to let her patients see that. Once more she considered changing jobs and moving to Waterville. Why not? There was nothing to keep her here.

And she’d be closer to Joe.

She lay back on the cushions. Did she want to think about this now? She felt her attraction to Joe growing. For the first time since Danny, she had serious thoughts of getting involved with a man. Falling in love was so risky. Was it worth it? She knew the pain that could follow if you fell for the man you thought you knew, and later discovered his true nature. But there were good, long-lasting marriages. She’d seen a few.

Something inside her whispered,
You may have grown up, but you’re still not ready.

Why not? she asked herself again.

Because you can’t share your life with someone unless you have the same goals and convictions. You have to start on the same page. But you don’t even know what you believe.

It was true. She’d left her innocent faith behind when Danny brought evil into her life and left it a smoking ruin. Everything had seemed so wonderful at first, and she’d overlooked the little things that bothered her. His odd assortment of friends, his erratic moods. After she’d accepted his engagement ring, things had taken a downturn. He lost his job, but seemed apathetic about looking for a new one. He came up with spurts of cash that he claimed came from occasional jobs as a construction site helper. Petra had suspicions, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Then she found the drugs in his truck.

The confrontation that followed shredded her heart. She’d hoped he would deny everything and have a reasonable explanation. Instead he’d lashed out at her. She’d kept the information she had to herself for several miserable days. Then she learned he was heading for a transaction that would put a huge amount of cocaine on the streets of Waterville. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t turn to her family with this horrible knowledge. Finally, she did what she felt was the only thing she could do. She called the police, and when they went after him, Danny led them on a desperate chase that ended in his death.

Her family had offered their loving sympathy, but they couldn’t know how deeply she’d been shaken. Then, as now, she kept her role in the tragedy a secret. She supposed they all thought she’d recovered over the years. She lived a normal life, held down a responsible job. But she’d never let another man get close to her.

She got up and went to the kitchen with Mason padding behind her. While she fixed a sandwich, she allowed herself the luxury of thinking about Joe Tarleton. He was the stable force in her life right now. She trusted him to help her prove that Rex Harwood had killed a woman before her eyes.

But what if Joe couldn’t do that?

Would he still want to get to know her if he couldn’t find the evidence she needed? Before she’d told him about Rex, Joe had definitely sent friendship signals, and she’d intercepted them happily, though she’d managed to keep her manner at its usual controlled level while butterflies held a sock hop in her stomach. Joe’s response was unmistakable. He hadn’t come to the gift shop’s opening for the coffee.

She wondered what Joe believed. Why had he chosen to be a detective? What drove him to help people in trouble? What things would he die for? Did he believe God was real?

She stared at the sandwich. Her appetite had fled. It didn’t matter what Joe believed about God or life or love. She needed to settle this herself. Lately her pricking conscience had told her she couldn’t go on ignoring God. She wished she had someone to talk to about it. Bethany or Keilah would discuss it, she was sure. But they would be hurt to know she’d felt so cold and empty for so long. She didn’t want pity, she wanted answers.

Slowly, she walked to her bedroom and to the bookcase. Her Bible was still there, in like-new condition; she hadn’t touched it in twelve years except when she moved and when she dusted.

It slipped easily into her hands, and she carried it to the bed. Mason came to the doorway and yawned. She remembered the sandwich.

“Come on, fella.” She returned to the kitchen and broke off a piece for him. “You can have half and I’ll have half.”

She sat at the table and opened the Bible. The faint smell of leather tickled her nose. It had been so long, she had no idea where to turn, but she knew the answers she sought were in this book. Turning the pages, she stopped at a place where her own handwriting was squeezed into the margin. Petra began to read.

An hour later, Mason came to her, his brown eyes large and trusting. Petra stretched.

“All right, boy. I hear you.”

She went to the living room and pulled back the drapes. Smoke rose from behind the fence. She opened the sliding door just a crack and caught a whiff of grilling meat. If Rex was barbecuing, he wouldn’t be roaming the neighborhood. She reached for the leash.

She walked swiftly at first, letting Mason pull her along. Somewhere in their first circuit of the park, she came to a decision. She would attend church on Sunday. It would be a start. Dealing with the past would be painful, she knew. Every time she remembered, it hurt. But she wanted more than anything to put things right with God. Maybe then she could address the other obstacles in her life—her job, her anxiety over Rex Harwood’s crime, and her growing feelings for Joe. In all the years since the crisis that had driven her away from church and God, she’d proclaimed herself a crusader for truth. It was time to go to the source for truth. She headed Mason for home at a slower pace, tired but finally at ease.

J
oe got into the unmarked car Nick was using and buckled his seat belt. Nick slid behind the wheel and started the engine.

“I’ll take you back to your car, Joe. Sorry we didn’t find anything that will help you much.”

“Well, we’ve established that Mrs. Harwood is really Mrs. Harwood.”

“Yes, I agree. Between my photo comparisons and what the neighbors who’ve known her longest say, I think we can rule out her being murdered two weeks ago.” Nick looked over at him as he hit the turn signal. “But that won’t help your client.”

“True.” Joe shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sorry she’s alive. I just wish you could have kept a lower profile making sure.” He watched the residential section morph into a business district. Portland hadn’t changed much since he’d lived and worked here. “I don’t like to think anything is wasted. We learned a few things by asking if anyone noticed anything unusual.”

“Oh, sure.” Nick laughed. “We learned that a woman saw Mr. Kendall, across from Harwood, raking his lawn on what might have been the fateful day. That’s supposed to be very unusual, since he’s known as a lazy man.”

“Yeah, but Kendall himself saw nothing odd. Of course, two people saw the squad car in Harwood’s yard that night. That was unusual.” Joe smiled and shrugged.

“Oh, don’t forget the squirrel on the power line and the Nova Scotia car parked down the block. And one of Miss Wilson’s neighbors saw the FedEx truck come down Acton Street twice in one morning.”

“Highly suspect,” Joe agreed. “Of course, Mrs. Reynolds’s statement that she heard Rex and his wife bickering once could be helpful.”

“It’s not much.” Nick glanced at his watch. “Why don’t you come have supper with us? I can call Robyn and let her know you’re coming.”

“Thanks, but I thought I’d stop off and see my client before I head home.”

Nick sobered. “I’ve gotta admit, I’m leaning toward thinking the patrol officers were right. You can’t make a body disappear into thin air. The guy is a professor, not a magician.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Joe stared out the window.

“I truly wish we’d found something, Joe. For your sake, for the client’s sake, and so I could tell my sergeant he was smart to let me do this.”

“I wish we had, too. But even more, I wish we could have gone to Harwood’s and had a look at his family room.”

“Don’t start, Joe. You know it ain’t gonna happen.”

Petra slid the strap of her purse over her arm and walked past the nurses’ station. Pulling out her key ring, she greeted the security guard near the emergency entrance.

“Heading home?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Want me to walk you to your car?”

“Thanks, Ed.”

The sun still hovered above the horizon, and in the full daylight she wasn’t frightened, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Glancing ahead toward her car, she stopped short. Joe Tarleton was leaning on the hood of her red Avalon. A rush of pleasure sent blood surging to her cheeks.

“There’s a friend waiting for me, Ed. Thanks a lot.”

“Okay. Have a good evening.”

She stepped forward eagerly. “Joe! What a nice surprise.” A dark thought hit her. “That is, I suppose it’s nice. Has anything happened?”

He smiled and took her hand for an instant. “I came down on business this afternoon, and I thought I’d hang around and update you instead of using the phone. More personal, you know?”

“Is this the kind of service you give all your clients?”

He grinned. “If I did, I wouldn’t get much work done.”

She grasped the implication—she was special. She liked that.

“So, what did you do in town?”

“I spent some time with my friend Nick.”

She eyed him carefully. He gave her a half shrug, and she knew he wasn’t going to tell her everything. “How is Nick?”

“He’s good. Say, can we get something to eat? I’ll bring you up to speed. I seem to remember a seafood place in the Old Port…”

“Sounds like fun. But I need to stop by my house and feed Mason and take him out for a few minutes.”

“Fine. Can I follow you there?”

She couldn’t keep her pulse even as she drove home. Every time she glanced in the rearview mirror she saw Joe’s ten-year-old black Chevy and she knew that in minutes he’d walk into her kitchen. As she hit the button on her garage door opener, it struck her that she’d never brought a man home to this house. Deliverymen and cops didn’t count. She’d lived here more than ten years, and in all that time she hadn’t had a deep relationship with a man. Of course, this wasn’t romantic. Joe was just going to wait while she walked the dog. He parked in the driveway, and she waited for him to enter the garage, then put the door down. Even for a few minutes, she wouldn’t leave it open. As a single woman living alone in the city, she’d learned to take extra precautions she would have thought foolish twenty years ago, growing up in a small town.

She led him into the kitchen and Mason danced joyfully around her, then stopped and leaned back on his paws, eyeing Joe with suspicion. He barked once, and Petra spoke.

“Take it easy. You’ve met Joe. He’s a friend.” She stroked the dog’s head and motioned to Joe to step closer.

Joe squatted and held a hand out. Mason sniffed it and moved toward him, instant friendship gleaming in his liquid brown eyes.

“Hey, fella.” Joe patted him firmly and scratched behind Mason’s ears. “You’re a good dog. Yeah!”

Petra smiled. “He’s not much of a watchdog, but I love him. I’ll just be a minute.” She pointed to the counter. “Do you want coffee? It would only take a minute for me to start it.”

“I can wait.” Joe sauntered toward the living room doorway. “Can I take a peek at the backyard?”

“Sure.” She hesitated, but decided Joe would do best left on his own for a minute. “Make yourself at home. I’m going to change my shoes.”

When she had left her nurses’ shoes in the closet and donned sneakers, she put Mason on his leash. Joe walked to the corner with them and they circled the park together. Joe asked her where the Wilson family lived in the “old days,” and they hashed over the changes Waterville had seen in the last twenty years.

“Why didn’t we know you in high school?” she asked, brushing back her hair. The wind had picked up, and she wished she’d braided it.

“I went to Winslow High, across the bridge.”

“Aha! There are some great old homes in Winslow.”

“Yeah, there are, none of which the Tarleton family owned. We had an apartment over my father’s furniture store.” His smile was more of a wince.

“Are your folks still alive?” she asked.

“They split when I was a sophomore, and my father died a few years ago. My mother remarried and moved to New Jersey. Can you beat that?”

Petra chuckled. “Who would leave Maine for New Jersey?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, our parents are both gone now,” she said. “I guess that’s why this invitation to move in with Bethany and Keilah has such a strong pull. I pretty much ignored my family for a while, and now I’m beginning to realize what I lost. I want to be part of it again. The camaraderie and…maybe it sounds silly, but I want to belong.”

“That’s not silly.” They walked in silence for a few minutes as they headed home. “So, you’re thinking of moving up there with them permanently?”

“Yeah, I’m seriously considering it.”

When they got back to her house, Joe offered to play catch with Mason in the backyard if Petra wanted to change out of her uniform.

After hurriedly changing into a dress, she glanced out the back window of her bedroom toward the fence. Joe was throwing a stick for Mason, and she saw no one in the Harwoods’ yard. Still, the heavy feeling refused to leave.

After she fed Mason, they went outside and Joe opened the door to his surprisingly clean car for her. He drove to the restaurant without hesitation. It was one she’d taken Bethany and Keilah to when they visited her in Portland the previous fall. Joe didn’t seem to mind the high prices, which she was certain were due in part to the restaurant’s excellent view of the harbor. He turned out to be a charming conversationalist, and she put aside thoughts of their professional relationship and relaxed, enjoying sitting across from a handsome, articulate man. Why had she shut herself off all those years? She’d thought it was because she hadn’t found a man who knew the meaning of honesty. Was it actually because she hadn’t met Joe Tarleton?

Over the deep-sea scallops, he got down to business and told her how he and his friend Nick had spent the afternoon.

“We didn’t learn anything that will support your claim. I’m sorry, Petra.”

She frowned slightly. “I’m glad his wife is all right, but I can’t help wishing you’d found something. I…keep thinking about what he did.” She shuddered.

“And I keep thinking about how he did it,” Joe said.

“What do you mean?”

“How he pulled it off. A woman’s body is not an easy thing to hide. But he seems to have managed.”

Petra stared down at her plate. “I’ve asked myself a thousand times where he put her, but nothing comes to mind. Did you get a good look at the back of his house?”

“Yeah. You’ve got a great view. What you saw must have been terrifying.” Joe smiled and reached over to squeeze her hand. “Hey, let’s let it go for now. It gave me an excuse to come down here to see you.”

Her heart skipped. “You needed an excuse?”

He laughed. “Well, I really did want to talk to some people in the neighborhood and see what they’d tell Nick about the Harwoods. But I wasn’t sure how you’d react if I just called you and told you the truth.”

“Which is?”

He looked into her eyes with such intensity that she forgot where they were and why. His voice came out low and husky. “I’ve been wondering for the past few days if your eyes were really as green as I remembered. So when Nick called to tell me he was going to follow up on the patrolmen’s report on your case, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to come check.”

Petra stared at him for a moment. She could feel a flush creeping up her neck. She wasn’t ready to dive into a relationship, was she? Not until she knew him better. The memory of Danny’s angry face flashed through her mind. Even so, her mouth refused to stay in a frown as she gazed at Joe. She struggled with it for a moment, but the smile won.

The deep gleam in Joe’s eyes went from hopeful to ecstatic, and she felt her color deepen even more.

She took a sip of ice water and set the glass down. “Have you settled the question yet?”

“Oh, yeah. Greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

His riveting gaze held her motionless for a good ten seconds. At last she forced herself to look away, a bit confused by her feelings. She studied her plate and began to eat her coleslaw, even though she considered it a miserable excuse for a vegetable.

When his last scallop and French fry had disappeared, Joe picked up his napkin and wiped his lips, leaving his dish of coleslaw untouched. “So.” He leaned back and watched her chase her last scallop around her plate with her fork. “We should do something next weekend.”

“Is that ethical?”

He blinked.

“To date a client, I mean.” Suddenly she wondered if she’d mistaken his intent. Maybe he meant they should do something about Rex Harwood. If this went on, Joe would think she had a perpetually scarlet complexion.

His smile widened. She half expected him to say something like, “Who’s talking about dating?” Instead he leaned toward her and dropped his voice. “I don’t know of any rule against it, but if the thought makes you uneasy…”

“Maybe just a little.”

“Nothing major, then. But we could get together when you’re at your sisters’ and talk some more. Maybe go out, if you’re comfortable with that.” He sat back looking a bit disappointed. His confidence seemed to have waned, and she hated that she’d done that to him. Just for a minute, she’d imagined what the future could be like with Joe. Why couldn’t she have just said yes, and sorted it out later?

On the drive home, he renewed his pitch to have her get away from Portland, at least for a short while.

“I’d like to know you’re safe until this thing is over. You don’t need to stay here, so close to it. Nick Wyatt is on the detective squad with the Portland P.D., and if anything comes up, he’ll tell me.”

“Does he believe my story about…the murder?”

“I can’t say for sure.”

“You told me that you and Nick were both satisfied Mrs. Harwood is alive.”

“Yes.”

“So…if Rex did kill a woman, it wasn’t his wife.”

“Looks that way,” Joe said.

“I wonder who she was.”

Raindrops splatted on the windshield, and Joe turned the wipers on. Petra felt her stomach knot as she stared out the side window. Would Nick’s interest do any good, or would it only infuriate Rex to learn the police weren’t done with him yet? Surely one of the neighbors would tell him about the questions that were asked today. Imagining his anger brought painful images to mind. Rex killing again…only Petra was the victim.