4 Arch Enemy of Murder (17 page)

Lacy still didn’t have her sock or shoes on, but she hedged Tosh toward the door while Lucinda bit her lip in dismay, not sure whose side she should take. She needn’t have worried, though, because Riley laughed.

“Good one. I always heard poor people have a well-developed sense of humor,” she said. That made Tosh laugh because he was anything but poor. He didn’t get a chance to reply because Lacy rushed him outside.

“Why are you shoving me?” he asked.

“I’m tired and I want to get this over with so I can go home and sleep.”

“I suddenly feel all warm and cozy right here,” he said, tapping his heart.

Lacy stifled everything she wanted to say. Tosh reached out and clasped her arm. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I haven’t slept much lately, I’ve been working a lot, I’m nervous about the opening and the stupid party, and I think I forgot to eat supper for the first time ever.”

“We don’t have to do this. I shouldn’t have pressured you when you have so much going on,” he said. His tone oozed remorse, adding to her guilt and anxiety. She couldn’t not be there for Tosh just because her life was busy and stressful.

“It’s fine, really. Maybe it will distract me from everything else.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “We could go back in there, and I could try to be civil to Rosemary’s baby.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I’m sure. Let’s go.” As if to convince him of her readiness, she hopped into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt.

He slid behind the wheel and buckled his belt, but he kept shooting her sideways glances as if afraid she might have a breakdown at any moment. “You’ll have to tell me where it is,” he said as they headed out of town.

“If I can remember,” Lacy muttered. She pressed her face to the window and tried to concentrate. The woods were thick and all looked the same, especially at night. They drove over the same pass a few times until she called for him to stop.

“Did you remember where you found the car?” Tosh asked.

“No, but that grass is really trampled and I think there are tire marks. That must be where they parked the cruisers and pulled out the car.”

“Let’s go,” Tosh said. He pulled out an industrial-sized flashlight.

“I didn’t know you owned one of those,” Lacy said. He wasn’t handy in any way. She had bought him his first hammer to replace the shoe he had previously used to nail pictures to his walls.

“That hammer you gave me inspired me to start stockpiling tools and man things,” Tosh said.

“Like what?” Lacy asked.

“Saws, screws, screwdrivers, this flashlight, and an air compressor.”

“You bought an air compressor? What for?”

“I have no idea, but the guy at the tool store was adamant than I needed one. I didn’t want him to think I was the kind of guy who didn’t know how to use an air compressor.”

“But you
are
the type of guy who doesn’t know how to use an air compressor,” she pointed out.

“He doesn’t have to know that,” Tosh said. “As far as he’s concerned, I’m going to compress all the air in town until it’s nonexistent.”

“Tell me again how your family owns a gigantic construction firm and yet you know nothing about tools,” she said.

               
“Probably in the same way that we can trace our Catholic roots all the way back to the first pope, and yet I’m a protestant.”

“Rebel,” she accused.

“You know it,” he agreed. “I’m a pastor who doesn’t know the difference between a nail and screw; I’m practically James Dean.”

She laughed and a little of the tightness eased from her chest. Despite being exhausted and overwhelmed, she was glad she came. Maybe time with friends was the cure for her almost overwhelming stress level.

They followed the tracks that led deep into the woods. Lacy couldn’t see a thing, even with Tosh’s powerful flashlight. The night was cloudy and dark, the trees oppressive. “It’s times like these I’m glad we don’t live in bear country,” Lacy said.

“Stick close to me and I’ll protect you,” Tosh said.

“With what?” Lacy asked.

“Prayer? I don’t know, but I’ve always wanted to say that. I guess I could throw myself in front of danger while you try to run away, but I’ve seen you run, so…”

“So we’re both dead,” she agreed.

“At least we’ll die together.”

“How long are we going to stay out here when we can’t see anything?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Things with Pearl feel hopeless. I want to know that I did everything I could for her, that I gave it my best effort.”

Lacy reached out to pat his arm when he suddenly swung away from her. “What was that?” he asked.

“What?” she asked. With the beam of light now directed away from her, she couldn’t see anything.

“Something moved.”

“Tosh, don’t tease me when it’s this dark.”

“I’m not teasing, Lacy. Something moved.” He took a step forward, leaving Lacy swathed in total darkness. She took a step, and suddenly she was careening down a hill. She slid a few feet and frantically waved her arms as she tried to get her balance. It was the arm waving that did her in; she overbalanced, fell forward, and started to roll.

She rolled for what felt like a dozen feet down a steep incline. The hill leveled off, and she came to a gentle stop. Somewhere above, she heard Tosh calling her name.

“Lacy, Lacy where are you?” He sounded near to panic as the flashlight beam made frantic sweeps over the area above her.

She opened her mouth to tell him when movement caught her eye. Something slid behind her and she yelped.

“Lacy?” Tosh directed the beam toward her as he began making his way down the hill. The beam landed on her face and she squinted. “What happened?”

“I fell down the hill, and I saw something.”

“What did you see?” He reached her and set the flashlight on the ground as he bent to inspect her. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so. But, Tosh, you’re not going to believe this. I think I saw a lion.”

He tipped his head to the side as he studied her. “Did you hit your head?”

“No.”

“Then how could you have seen a lion? We don’t even have mountain lions here.”

“Maybe it migrated.”

“From Africa? What made you think it was a lion?”

“The way it moved,” she said.

“So you didn’t actually see it,” Tosh clarified.

“No, it’s too dark. But I saw something slink.” Nearby the grass rustled. Lacy moved closer and wrapped her arms around Tosh’s leg as he grabbed the light, stood, and began searching the brush for movement. A deer stepped into view and studied them before quickly bounding away.

They remained frozen, staring at the deer as it leapt delicately through the forest. “Let’s not tell anyone I mistook a deer for a lion, okay?”

“Agreed. Can you stand?”

“Yes,” Lacy said, but that was before she actually tried to do it. Once she put weight on her feet, her legs buckled, and she had to grab Tosh to keep from toppling over.

“Let me guess, you re-injured your feet.”

“I’m not sure they ever healed from last time.”

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“What choice do I have? Unless you think we could catch and saddle that deer, then I guess I’m going to have to hoof it myself.”

“Nice use of the word ‘hoof’ in that sentence about the deer,” Tosh said.

“I thought so,” Lacy said. She clutched his arm as he practically dragged her back up the hill. They made painstaking progress back toward the car. They were only a couple dozen feet away when the shooting started. One minute the forest was quiet, and the next it was filled with dozens of gunshots. Lacy felt like they were in the middle of a war zone.

“Duck,” she yelled as Tosh had the same idea and dragged her to the ground. At first they were on their hands and knees, and then they realized their bodies were still too high. They belly crawled the last dozen feet to the car.

“Do you think it’s safe to get in and drive?” Tosh asked.

“I think we should wait until the shooting stops,” Lacy said. There were so many bullets, and they were so close. She was afraid that if they raised themselves up, they would become unwitting targets.

The shooting went on for a long time. After a couple minutes of silence, Tosh thought they should make a run for it. “Lacy, are you ready?”

There was no answer. He crawled to where she was and found her sound asleep, her face using the gravel as a pillow.

Killing Jonah Merleputter had been a mistake, there was no disagreement about that. Just because a suspect had been providentially provided didn’t mean the blotter was clear. Lacy Steele and her pastor friend were still poking their noses into everything. She wouldn’t find the truth, no one was worried about that. But one could never be too careful. The plan to clean up the mess had already been put into motion. All that was needed was a slight tweak and the bases would be covered. As for Lacy Steele, she had better hope that she stumbled nowhere near the truth or it might be the last place she ever stumbled.

The next morning, Lacy stood on Jason’s porch, her stomach full of butterflies as she knocked and waited for him to answer. It was barely after six and he didn’t have to be at work until eight. Knowing him, she figured he rose early in order to get to work on time. She hoped so because if he opened the door looking like he usually looked when he just woke up, she wasn’t sure what she would do. Maybe dump the coffee she held and go for him instead.

“Lacy Steele,” he said when he opened the door—fully dressed. He rested his hand on top of the door frame and leaned with his other shoulder. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Coffee,” she said for lack of something better to say. He had said the next move was hers. This was her making a move. Did he not get that?

“Coffee, huh?” He reached for the proffered coffee and took a sip. “Mm, sweet, just the way I like it. Thank you.” He took another sip and regarded her in silence.

“You’re welcome.” She felt like an idiot. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but this wasn’t it.

“You’re up early,” he commented.

“Lots to do,” she said. She glanced longingly at the sidewalk. Why had she come? “I should go.” She backed a step toward the driveway, but her progress was halted when Jason reached out and looped his index finger over the button of her skirt.

“What’s your hurry?” he asked. He tugged her forward until she was pressed against him, her coffee held out to the side.

“You smell as good as chocolate tastes,” she whispered.

“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he said. “So why are you rushing to get away from me?”

“I wasn’t sure you wanted me,”

“I always want you,” he said. “I’m not sure how much clearer I can make that.”

“It’s starting to sink in,” she said.

“Yeah? Maybe we could have dinner tonight to drive the point home a little more.”

“Dinner?”

“It’s the meal after lunch. Or, for you, the one before dessert.”

“Is this going to be another dinner where we meet with your boss?”

“No, just you and me.”

Lacy was looking at another jam-packed day. She had no time for dates or dinners. “I wouldn’t miss it,” she said. He smiled but otherwise didn’t reply, and he hadn’t let go of her skirt. They were still nose to nose, but otherwise not touching. She wished they weren’t holding coffee so the clasp would be less awkward. “Seems like this would be the ideal time for a kiss.”