Don't Back Down, page 12
Leslie saw the panic in his eyes and knew he was lying. “Nobody hires people to take pictures of them on vacation. They use their own cell phones for that,” she said.
Kevin shifted his panic into defense. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Did you hear that word come out of my mouth? I just made an observation for which you seem to have no answers, and I’m sorry I bothered you!” Leslie snapped.
She turned to walk away and he grabbed her by the arm.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
She twisted out of his grasp. “You’re busy, remember?”
Kevin reached for her again, but she ducked beneath his arm and ran out of the trailer with him right behind her, yelling at her to stop.
And then all of a sudden Jack Barton was rolling up in his golf cart, and Kevin froze while Leslie kept going. She jumped in her car, made a U-turn at the campsite, and sped past Jack without looking back.
Kevin was pissed and Jack Barton was approaching. He had no option but to hear him out.
Chapter 8
Jack was embarrassed and apologetic as he approached the travel trailer.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m just making the rounds to notify all of the active campsites that we’ll be closing up for the winter by the end of the month. I can help you find a new location, though.”
Kevin shoved his hands in his pockets and made himself smile.
“No thanks. I’ll figure it out. I’m just sorting data anyway.”
Jack knew from the way Vanzant was shifting from one foot to the other that he was hiding something, and he didn’t like secrets, but Vanzant ended the conversation by returning to the trailer and firmly shutting the door.
Jack was already bothered by the fight he’d witnessed, but this odd comment didn’t set well with him, either. He jumped back in his golf cart and sped away.
***
Leslie was hurt and confused. She’d just seen a side of Kevin she didn’t know existed and it scared her. For a moment there, she’d felt threatened. Like he wasn’t going to let her leave. Jack Barton’s arrival had given her the opening she needed to get away.
She kept looking in her rearview mirror all the way back into town, afraid she’d see Kevin driving up behind her, but it didn’t happen. Her day off had taken a really nasty turn, and she didn’t quite know what to do with what she’d seen. Something about it didn’t feel right, although there really wasn’t anything to tell. It wasn’t illegal to take pictures of tourists in a town full of them. But instead of going home, she drove through Jubilee and headed up the mountain. She needed her mama’s arms around her, and Granny Cauley’s wisdom to settle her nerves.
By the time Leslie pulled up in her parents’ drive, she was feeling easier. She’d never been scared like that before. Her arms were still tingling from the grip he’d had on her, and she needed hugs to replace the fear.
Their old hound, Blue Boy, was lying on the front step, but when she got out of the car, he managed to raise his head and bugle once to let everyone know there was a visitor in the yard.
Her father came out on the porch as she was walking across the yard and then came down off the steps to greet her.
“Hey, sugar!” Wade said, and wrapped his arms around her. “Come in out of the chill. Your mom and Granny are cooking up a batch of pear preserves.”
“I can smell it from here,” Leslie said, and walked inside with her daddy’s arm around her shoulders.
“We’re in the kitchen!” her mother shouted.
Wade walked in with Leslie. “Look who’s here, Granny.”
Sheila Cauley looked up, pleased by her granddaughter’s unexpected visit.
“Hello, sweetheart,” she said.
“Hi, Granny. It smells good in here,” Leslie said.
Rita took one look at her daughter and frowned.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you at work?”
Leslie slid onto a stool at the kitchen island. “Dr. Sam got hurt last night so we closed up for the day.”
“Okay,” Rita said. “But why do you have that look in your eyes?”
Leslie sighed. “I guess because Kevin Vanzant just scared the crap out of me and I ran home like the big baby I am.”
Wade’s smile went south. “Are you talking about the college boy you’ve been seeing? The one who’s been staying out at Jack Barton’s campsite?”
Leslie nodded. “Since I had the day off, I drove out to see if he was working at the campsite today instead of traipsing through the woods as usual. He was there and acted all weird when he saw me. We had a discussion that turned sour, and as I was getting ready to leave, I saw his laptop was open and the screen was covered with photos of women and children. All close-ups of their faces. He lied about why he had them and I called him on it. When I started to leave, he grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. I jerked free and ran out of the trailer with him right behind me. Then Jack Barton drove up in his golf cart, and I kept running. But I had a weird feeling and kept looking behind me all the way into town. Did I overreact?”
Rita was horrified. “No, you didn’t overreact. No man should put his hands on a woman like that.”
Wade was furious. “I’m going to have a talk with him.”
Leslie shuddered. “No, Daddy. Just let it go. I don’t want anything to do with him again. Anyway, he’s leaving soon.”
Wade didn’t comment further, but he didn’t like the implications of those photos on the laptop, and after Leslie had gotten all of that off her chest and settled into helping with the canning, he left the house and headed for his workshop. He wanted to call the police and have them check the man out, but if he did, then that would involve Leslie, and she’d already made her feelings clear. And then he thought of PCG’s board of directors. They dealt with the business of Jubilee, and Cameron was the CEO, so he called him.
***
Cameron was reading through the files Agent Howard had sent, trying to catch up on what Rusty already knew. There were so many levels of concern within the pages, but nothing concrete or any one person to point to. The one certainty was the subterfuge and intensity to which people had gone to hide how many women, all tourists, had gone missing from Jubilee.
He was deep in thought when his phone rang and Wade Morgan’s name came up on caller ID.
“Hey, Wade.”
“Cameron, got a minute?” Wade asked.
“Yes, sure. What’s up?”
“Leslie just came home all upset and worried. She dumped a story on us that I don’t like, but she won’t let me go to the police with it. Said she doesn’t want anything more to do with the man, and stirring this up will just involve her again. I need someone else to know this besides me.”
“What happened, and who’s the man in question?” Cameron asked.
“A guy named Kevin Vanzant. He has a campsite out at Jack Barton’s campground, doing some kind of research.”
The hair stood up on Cameron’s neck. He’d just read that name as someone the feds wanted checked out.
“How is Leslie involved with him?” Cameron asked.
“They’ve been seeing each other off and on for a few weeks. Nothing serious. But it all blew up on her today and she left his campsite running.” Then he related everything Leslie had told them, including the fear that Kevin might follow her.
“She said the argument started over the photos?” Cameron asked.
“Yes.”
“And when she tried to leave, he wouldn’t let her?”
“Right, until Barton showed up. She left while they were still talking. Does this all sound as shifty to you as it did to me?”
“Something seems off, for sure,” Cameron said. “Leave this to me. I know some people. We’ll check him out and he’ll never know it, and Leslie will be in the clear.”
Wade sighed. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate this.”
“Just tell Leslie to stay away from the campground and him. I’ll be in touch.”
“Will do,” Wade said, and disconnected.
Cameron’s gut knotted. “And so it begins.”
***
After Wade’s phone call, Cameron needed to talk to Rusty, but calling her was risky in case she was with her family, so he sent a text.
Word from the mountain. Kevin Vanzant, the camper at Barton’s campground outside of Jubilee, has a laptop full of strangers’ photos. Close-ups of young women and children’s faces.
Once he’d delivered the message, it was up to Rusty as to how to act on this. He also had to find a way to caution Rachel about being vigilant without scaring her more than she already was. After calling her to make sure a visit was okay, he put two cookies and a dog biscuit into a baggie, then left the cabin with Ghost at his heels. They drove up the mountain to Rachel’s house. As he was getting out, Rachel opened the front door, holding Lili, and when the toddler saw Cam and Ghost, she started waving and chattering. “Unca Cam…Unca Cam.”
Cameron was smiling as he came up the steps. “The best welcoming committee ever,” he said as he leaned down to hug his sister, but when he did, Lili abandoned her mother and climbed into his arms.
Rachel laughed. “I guess I know where I stand.” Then she knelt, stroked Ghost’s head, and then hugged him. “You are our hero, too,” she said, and led the way indoors.
The moment they sat down, Lili turned in Cameron’s arms and patted his face.
“Cookie?”
Cameron glanced at Rachel before he answered, and when she nodded her approval, he put Lili down on the floor and pulled the bag out of his pocket.
“One for Lili,” he said, and handed it to her. “And one for Mama, ’cause we love her.”
Lili beamed, bounced over to where Rachel was sitting, and laid a cookie in her lap.
“Wuv her,” she said, and then went back to Cameron and climbed back up in his lap before taking a bite of her cookie.
“Do I get a bite?” Cameron asked.
“Get a bite,” Lili said, and shoved it under Cameron’s nose.
He took a little bite and then rolled his eyes in pretend ecstasy. “Mmmm, good,” he said.
“Mmmm, good,” Lili echoed, then eyed Ghost lying at Cameron’s feet and pointed. “Ghoss bite?”
Cameron pulled the dog biscuit out of his pocket. “Ghost eats this kind.”
“I do Ghoss,” Lili said as she bailed out of his lap again, took the treat, and held it under Ghost’s nose.
“Bite?”
Ghost gently took the treat from her baby fingers and then chewed and swallowed.
Lili laughed. “All gone.”
Cameron sat her back in his lap before she started feeding her cookie to Ghost, because sugar wasn’t on his menu. As soon as she settled and started eating her own cookie, he was finally able to talk to Rachel.
“Lili looks great. Is she all better?” he asked.
Rachel nodded. “Yes, and with no lingering aftereffects.”
“How about you?” Cameron asked.
Rachel touched the back of her head. “Staples will be out next week. Headaches are down to about one a day. We’re getting back to normal.”
Cameron hesitated briefly, then went in headfirst. “I have a gut feeling that your normal is just an illusion.”
Rachel frowned. “What do you mean? What do you know that I don’t?”
He shrugged. “Nothing specific, but I keep going over what you said about Biggers being shocked to see you when he broke into the house.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed, and Cameron knew she was thinking back to that moment.
“Yes, I know he was. He came in all wild and running, then saw my face and froze. He said, ‘You!’ like it was a question of disbelief, and then I rushed at him and the fight ensued. But what are you getting at?”
“If he didn’t know who lived here, it also means he didn’t know the kid he came after was yours, and he didn’t care if he left you dying to get her. It wasn’t just a random kidnapping. You’re too far off the beaten path for him to just ‘hope’ there’s a kid living here he can snatch. He broke out of prison, so someone had to scope you out first to send him here. And that begs the question, out of all the babies within a fifty-mile radius of Jubilee, why Lili?”
All the color faded from Rachel’s face.
“What are you saying?”
“Be careful. Don’t assume anything. Be wary of strangers.”
Rachel’s eyes welled. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry, honey. But I’d rather you were scared than dead. I’m going to do a little digging on my own, but for now, you and Louis keep this to yourself. If there’s something shady going on in Jubilee, as the CEO of the family corporation I take it as part of my duty to root it out.”
Rachel had a knot in her stomach, but her brother’s steady gaze and calm voice were enough to settle the panic. “I never thought of what happened in this way. It’s an eye-opener, for sure, and I won’t let down my guard again,” she said.
“You didn’t let down your guard to begin with,” Cameron said. “You were invaded. There’s a difference. And there’s a whole mountain full of people like you who won’t put up with that shit.”
Oblivious of the seriousness of the grown-ups’ conversation, Lili shoved the last bite of cookie in her mouth, wiped her hands on Cameron’s shirt, and slid out of his lap.
He grinned at the look of horror on his sister’s face, and the moment passed. He left a short while later, satisfied that he’d put Rachel on alert without giving anything away, and went home.
***
Kevin was antsy. He’d been here six months without having an issue, and in the space of ten minutes Leslie had walked in on him and seen stuff she shouldn’t have, then accused him of lying, which was the truth, and before he could stop her and explain, Jack Barton arrived and he lost the opportunity to smooth it all over.
However, Barton’s notice about the camp closing gave him the perfect opportunity to bring his little side job to an end. He just needed to call Boss and let him know. He’d never met the man and had only spoken to him a couple of times on the phone. He sat down on the sofa, made the call, and waited as it began to ring. Just as he thought it was going to go to voicemail, there was a gruff voice in his ear.
“What?”
“Uh, Boss, it’s—”
“I know who it is. I recognize the number. What do you want?”
Kevin was taken aback by what sounded like anger in the man’s voice, then began to explain. “The owner of the campsite was just here. He’s shutting down for the winter soon. And people here are getting a little nosy. I think it’s time to pack it in and head home.”
“You don’t quit me,” the man said.
Kevin froze. “Uh, sorry. You misunderstand. I have more than paid back the favor you did for me. My job isn’t secure here anymore. I have one more file to clean up and send to you. You can send my last paycheck to my bank account as usual.”
“Ah, I see,” the man said. “When do you plan to leave?”
“I’ll get your file to you tonight. Then I’ll spend tomorrow packing up camp and leave the following morning.”
“Yes. One must always tie up loose ends.”
“Yes, sir, and thank you again for the opportunity.”
Kevin went to the desk after the call ended and began cleaning up photos and making a new file. As soon as he finished, he hit Send. Then, as was his habit, he saved the same file to another laptop he kept hidden in the trunk of his car. He wasn’t convinced that sending anything to the cloud was completely protected, so this was his way of not losing valuable data in case one laptop got fried.
As he was planning his next move, he got a call and smiled when he saw caller ID. It was Emily. “Hey, sugar. How’s it going?”
“I’m on my way back to Jubilee. I’m so weary of this shit.”
“No worries. I just spoke to Boss and let him know Barton is shutting down the campsite for the winter. I sent him the last of the files and told him we were even. I still have to pack up, but when I leave, you’re going with me.”
“Oh my God! Thank you, baby, thank you. I haven’t had a drop to drink since all this happened, and I can promise on my life, I will never drink again.”
He heard her crying and winced. It had been a long haul to get past this. “It’s okay. You and I are good. I’ll talk to you soon. Drive safe.”
“Yes, I will. Later,” she said, and disconnected.
Kevin rocked back in the chair, relieved this was over, and then looked out the window, surprised it was already getting dark.
He began turning on lights inside, then sat down to a cold supper of saltine crackers and sardines, and washed it down with a lukewarm Mountain Dew. As soon as he’d finished, he gathered up the garbage and carried it down the short drive to a covered trash can and headed back to the trailer.
He was on the bottom step and opening the door when he heard a twig snap behind him and then someone call out his name.
“Kevin Vanzant.”
He turned around, looking out into the night.
“Who’s there?”
He heard the shot at the same time he felt the blow to his chest and fell backward onto the steps. Dead before he’d landed.
A dark figure emerged from the trees, walked up to the trailer, propped a rifle against the side of it, then went inside, sidestepping Kevin’s body. He dragged the body the rest of the way inside, took the laptop and the phone beside it, then turned out the lights and shut the door as he left.
***
Rusty was at peace with herself in a way she had never been before, and it had nothing to do with visiting family and everything to do with finding Cameron.
