A Place to Hide, page 9
Had he and Detective Gibbons discussed the situation in greater detail? She hoped Gibbons was being entirely straight with them. If he was holding anything back, it could put Liam in danger. She really hoped he understood and cared about their safety.
She glanced at the clock. It was really late. She was exhausted. But obviously Rob wanted to talk, so she busied herself picking up Liam’s toys and tidying the room. The idea of getting up at five to bake the day’s sweets suddenly held no appeal.
Resentment tightened in her throat. How dare that monster come here and damage the carefully constructed life she and Liam had built. This was their home and they were happy here. It was the only place Liam remembered as home. She did not want anything to take that away from him. From her.
Another tap on the door and Rob was back.
She resisted the urge to sigh. She was so tired. “Can I get you anything, Rob? More coffee? A sandwich?” It wasn’t until then that she realized they hadn’t bothered with dinner. Diane had seen that the guests and Liam were taken care of, but Grace and Rob hadn’t stopped long enough to think about food, much less to eat. “I just realized you worked through dinner.”
“I’m fine. Thanks.” He closed the door behind him. “Let’s go over the situation with Gibbons without him around. That okay?”
“Sure. Although you might not want to hear my thoughts on the man.”
Rob smiled, the expression a little dim considering he had to be as exhausted as she was. “I’m certain you’ve given him every benefit of the doubt.”
Grace sat down on the sofa. She was too tired to keep standing. Rob had apparently been waiting for her cue, because he sat down in the chair facing her.
“Before,” she said, thinking back though she would rather walk over hot coals than do so, “I was naive. I’d never been involved with any sort of trouble and certainly not with a criminal.” Twenty-nine seemed so far away, although she was only thirty-two now. It felt like a lifetime ago. “I had no idea how to handle the situation. On top of that, I had pregnancy brain—it was focused on other things rather than what my husband was up to.”
“I can only imagine,” he offered, “how frightening the whole situation was.”
“It was surreal.” She thought about the word. “It didn’t feel real at the time. It was as if it were happening to someone else and I was only watching.”
“You don’t recall any friends or colleagues he had who might have been involved with what he was doing? No one he had the occasional beer with? Took a fishing trip with or whatever California guys do?”
She had to laugh at the last. “No. No one. But keep in mind that we started dating and less than a year later we were married and I was expecting a baby any second. We went straight from an accidental date to being parents.”
“Accidental date?”
“I was supposed to have dinner with my first ever dating-app guy, but he didn’t show. Adam’s client had gotten ill and had to leave the restaurant before their food even arrived. He’d noticed me and saw that I was leaving before placing an order and figured things out. He suggested I have dinner with him if I wasn’t opposed to salmon. We hit it off instantly. He was an executive at an advertising firm, and I did website work for clients. We shared a lot of the same interests and...” Her throat felt suddenly dry. “Then I made the mistake of my life.”
Except she shouldn’t say that since she wouldn’t have Liam if not for having met Adam Locke.
“But there was no one he ever mentioned as a friend?”
“Sorry. No. He spent all his time talking about us and the baby. Occasionally he’d mention his work. But nothing about family. He’d said they were all dead and he didn’t like talking about them.”
“I’m confident Gibbons looked into the possibility of family.”
“He did. He didn’t take my word for anything, and I suppose he shouldn’t have. My judgment was not what it should’ve been, obviously.”
The memory of forgetting where she’d left Liam...of frantically searching for him...poked through the exhaustion. She blinked the memory away. The breakdown wasn’t because something had been wrong with her. It was about her mind not being able to handle any more. Postpartum depression wasn’t rare. It happened. Pile on top of that learning her husband was a serial killer and the abrupt death of her father, and her breakdown hadn’t been surprising at all. Her mind had simply done what was necessary to preserve her sanity.
But this was an aspect of the past she would never share with anyone. Especially not with this man—a man she had started to think she might be able to develop feelings for. Who was she kidding? She already had. Frankly, she’d never expected to have those feelings for anyone again. This was a good thing. Really. It meant she was moving fully back toward normal.
Given her current circumstances, she wasn’t so sure it was the right move. Her life was too damaged. Her past too haunted.
“Are you okay with having Gibbons here? He doesn’t have to stay here. There are other places on the Mountain.”
“No, it’s okay. I suppose I should be grateful for his presence. I certainly am glad you and Deputy Reynolds are here.” She made a face. “I am really sorry for all the trouble, Rob. This is a nightmare for you and your deputies.”
“No trouble,” he assured her. “A lady over on Bluebird Trail discovered someone had been sleeping in her garage. Then, after finding the body in the Cashion garage, I thought maybe it might have been Locke. But I’m wondering now if that’s right considering he obviously had a vehicle of some sort. Why stay in some lady’s garage? Is that the kind of thing he would do based on what you know about him?”
Grace thought about the question for a moment. Adam had always had a plan. Had always been a smooth operator. “I can’t imagine him not having a plan—even a backup plan in place. He was very good at juggling things at work. He used to tell me how he kept management impressed. Since his employer and colleagues seemed as stunned by who he really was as anyone else, I suppose it was true. If you’re asking me if I can see him staying in a garage...” She shrugged. “Maybe. If he was desperate enough. Otherwise, no. But whoever came with him or followed him may have much lower standards.”
“Since he was released and could come and go as he pleased,” Rob said, “I’m not feeling the idea that he’d take up residence in a garage. The Cashion place maybe. They were out of town. He may have picked an empty house at random. Noticed the pile of mail in the box and decided they were away. The place is close enough to have easy access to the inn.”
A new thread of tension slid through her. “But if he was free to do as he pleased, why didn’t he confront me face-to-face? Just walk through the door during business hours and make his presence known?”
This was the first time she’d considered the idea.
“And why hasn’t Gibbons asked that question?” Rob added, considering the idea.
Grace felt the air escape her lungs. “Because he had a plan and no one was supposed to know.” Her gaze latched on to Rob’s. “Except he wanted me to know he was coming. That’s why he came to the window and left that photo in my mailbox. He wanted me to be afraid. Gibbons probably suspects as much. He’s well versed in the MO. There were always indications that the Sweetheart Killer selected his victims in advance. They were never random, although his selection pool was—mostly homeless people. Runaways. Women working the streets. Those who knew the victims would talk about gifts they had received just days before going missing. Chocolates. Flowers. The sort of things a man gives a woman when he’s trying to woo her.”
The doorbell rang and Grace jumped. At night, when she locked up, the only way to access the inn was to have a key or to ring the bell, which sounded only in her private quarters.
By the time she was on her feet, Rob was already across the room. “You expecting anyone?”
“No. Could it be Deputy Reynolds?” She followed him into the lobby.
“He’d call my cell.”
Her heart was pounding by the time they reached the front entrance. Rob checked the security viewfinder. He frowned and turned to Grace. “Did you order pizza?”
“No. Maybe one of the guests. There are flyers from the local restaurants that deliver in all the rooms and cabins.”
Rob opened the door. “Evening,” he said to the delivery guy. “You have a name on that order?”
The deliveryman looked from Rob to Grace and back. “Grace Myers.”
Grace shook her head. “I didn’t order pizza.”
The delivery guy dug out his cell phone. “Says here the call was made by Grace Myers.” He rattled off the phone number.
The number was hers, but she hadn’t called anyone.
“How much?” Rob asked.
“Twenty-eight fifty.”
Rob paid the man and took the pizza. He closed the door and locked it. Then to Grace he said, “Check your cell.”
She hurried back to her parlor, Rob right on her heels. She scanned the room for her phone. She couldn’t remember when she’d had it last. Then she spotted it on the counter.
Scrolling through her recent calls, she saw there was only one she didn’t recognize, and it wasn’t one of her contacts. She pressed the number and waited through two rings.
“All Night Pizza.”
“Sorry,” she said and disconnected the call. Her gaze lifted to Rob’s. “The call came from my phone.”
She couldn’t have made the call and forgotten. There had to be a mistake. Right? Or had she ordered pizza for Rob and Deputy Reynolds and forgotten?
“Maybe Diane or Cara placed the order and then forgot to tell you,” Rob suggested.
“Maybe.” In spite of everything, her appetite stirred with the scent of pizza filling the room. “Whatever the case, we shouldn’t let good pizza go to waste.” She produced a smile. “I could eat a slice.”
He nodded. “Same here. I’ll take some out to Reynolds too.
“I was thinking,” he said while she rounded up plates and napkins, “I might park myself on the sofa in the lobby. The one by the fireplace. I’ll have a direct view of the front entrance as well as your door.”
She nodded. “Sure. Do you plan to spend more than just tonight? I’m happy to give you a room.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. I’d like to, as long as you don’t have an issue with me being here.”
“Absolutely not.” She may have said that a little too quickly, but it was true. Particularly now that this unexplained delivery had arrived. “I’m glad you’re here.”
His smile made her heart feel just a little lighter. “Circumstances notwithstanding, I’m glad I’m here too.”
She felt the urge to tell him about the breakdown and how every time something like this pizza delivery happened, she felt terrified that she was losing her grip again...but she wouldn’t. It was bad enough he knew the deepest, darkest of her secrets. Having him know anything else negative was just too much. She really had expected to spend the rest of her life alone, except for her son. Since moving here and becoming so entrenched in the community, then becoming friends with Rob, she found herself thinking maybe she could let someone else in. Whenever the idea popped into her head, she dismissed it immediately because she was afraid to hope.
She would not feel that way now. No matter that her world had turned a little upside down in the past twenty-four hours, she refused to give up on a brighter future. She wanted a future with someone like Rob in it. No, not like Rob. With Rob himself, she amended.
Maybe that was wishful thinking, but there was no harm in wishing.
“Thank you, by the way,” she offered, “for covering for me with Gibbons.”
He shrugged. “It was true. Deputy Reynolds was concerned about the call, so he hung around until Diane arrived.”
Grace shook her head. “I had no idea, but I’m certainly grateful.”
“Just part of the job,” he insisted.
In Grace’s opinion, it was above and beyond.
“Tell me about your family, Rob.” She bit into a slice of pizza and her taste buds screamed in delight. She was starving and hadn’t realized it. “I know you have a brother in the military and a sister, but not much else.”
Listening to stories about someone else’s life would be a refreshing change.
“That’s right. My younger brother is in the army, stationed in Colorado. My sister lives in Nashville. Her husband is a sound engineer at one of the labels there, and she’s an interior designer to the celebrities. They’re talking about starting a family. My mom is überexcited since she has no grandchildren yet. My father died a few years ago, and I think she’s a little lonely. She lives in Chattanooga in the home where we grew up. She wants nothing more, she insists, than to have it filled with the laughter of grandchildren.”
“You’re the oldest?” Grace had gotten that idea somewhere.
“I am.” He tore off a bite of pizza and hummed his appreciation. “This is good. Whoever ordered it, I’m glad they did.”
Grace opted not to think about it. “Why aren’t you married and having grandchildren for your mother?”
There, she’d done it. Asked the most personal of questions. Something she never ever did for fear of having the same asked of her. Then again, he knew most of her personal information.
He laughed. Swallowed. Then laughed again. “Actually, about a year ago I thought I was on my way. But my fiancée changed her mind. She married someone else, and now they’re a few weeks away from having their first kid together.”
“Oh, wow. That...” She wasn’t sure what to say.
“Sucks?” he suggested.
“Yeah.” Grace glanced around. “I should get us something to drink.” She got up and went to the refrigerator. It was smaller than average, kitchenette size, but it worked. She opened the door and reached for a couple of bottles of water.
She stalled, her hand midreach. On the glass shelf was the big ring of the dozens of keys to the inn and its many locks. The metal keys were coated with moisture from sitting so long in the fridge.
Questions zoomed through her mind, and it literally hurt not to make a sound of surprise. Instead, she removed the keys and placed them on the counter, careful that Rob didn’t notice. Then she grabbed the bottles of water and elbowed the door closed.
Everything was fine. She was fine.
This had just been a crazy day. Liam may have put the keys in the fridge. Cara or Diane may have ordered the pizza and forgotten.
None of this meant she was losing her grip again.
She was fine. Everything was fine.
The man who’d destroyed her life and pushed her father into an early grave was dead.
How could it not be fine?
Chapter Eight
Tuesday, February 20, 6:00 a.m.
Grace washed her hands thoroughly. The baking hadn’t provided the mindless relaxation it usually did. There were a couple of reasons for that, she admitted as she reached for a towel.
One, she’d come into the kitchen at five to get started and her favorite rolling pin had been in the oven. It was a miracle she spotted it as she turned on the oven to preheat. She considered the possibility that Liam had tucked it into the oven as he had the keys in the fridge in their little kitchenette. But she couldn’t be sure he’d done either. She planned to ask him when he was up.
But did she really want to know?
Wasn’t it easier just to assume...to pretend?
The alternative was the very real possibility she was on her way to a new breakdown. She’d certainly been there before. Grace pressed her fingers to her lips to stop their trembling. Maybe she was just growing more absent-minded. Or perhaps all the fear and drama of the past twenty-four hours had triggered that anxiety she kept hidden so carefully. Anxiety could lead to other issues. No one knew better than her.
It would be so easy to pretend the anxiety and panic that too often crept its way in didn’t exist, which was what she generally did. The panic attacks and generalized anxiety had appeared after finding the woman in the basement and then having to run for her life, not to mention losing her father. The one doctor she had dared to discuss the situation with had explained that when the stress of life became too much, a person’s mind could simply shut down completely or do so intermittently. It was a way to reduce the level of anxiety. Panic attacks were not unusual in a situation such as the one she had survived. She was only human, after all.
The symptoms were easy to recognize once you had been down that path. Rapid heart rate. Constant lingering fear that something terrible was about to happen and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Forgetfulness. Confusion.
The crash had come suddenly and with extreme ferocity that first time. Typical, the doctor had explained. Her mind and body hadn’t known what to expect, so the reaction was magnified. Her father’s longtime house manager had taken Grace in. Valentina Hicks, an old hippie who lived mostly off the grid near the community where Grace had grown up, had known all the right things to do. She claimed to have helped many of her flower-child friends through their breakdowns in the seventies. Whatever she was or had done, Val had kept Grace and Liam safe for months. Long enough for Grace to figure out a plan.
She’d been wrong before when she said there was no other family. Val was family, even if Grace hadn’t seen her or spoken to her in more than two years. Val had insisted that Grace not look back when she left. No calls. No letters. Nothing that could leave a trail. During their stay with her, Val had taught her about taking care of herself when the burdens around her grew too large.
Sadly, with cops everywhere and a nearly three-year-old running around, not to mention an inn to manage, it wasn’t like she could slip away for a couple of hours of meditation or a nice long run. At this point she doubted even that would work.
