Person of Interest (18 page)

Looking out the window at the valley below, she raised her hand to her lips, trying to hold back the pain she felt. Everything had been going so well until the woman in Germany had died. Something had changed with Mason. Prior to the death investigation, he’d barely noticed her. Following the woman’s fall, Mason had taken a very definite interest in her, one that she had tried to ignore at first. His comments and interest escalated so Natalie did everything in her power to elude him and prevent them from ever being alone together.

She shook her head. What had changed? If he and the woman were having an affair and he killed her, why would he quickly turn his attentions to Natalie as if he had been slighted and was on the rebound? Nothing made sense then, and it still didn’t.

“Natalie?” Uncle Harry called to her.

She hurried to see if he was okay and smiled when she saw him trying to pull a scrapbook out of the hall closet.

“I wanted you to see pictures of my wife.”

Taking the book from his hands, she placed it on the dining room table.

Everett was still outside, the cell once again glued to his ear. No telling with whom he was talking now.

She shook off her own unease and settled into a straight-back chair next to the delightful man, who began to recount stories about pictures of his sweet Rosie, as he called her.

“Here’s Everett with my wife when he was a boy.”

Natalie leaned in closer to see a skinny kid with big eyes and a wide smile dressed in a child’s army costume.

“Looks like he always liked the military.”

Uncle Harry nodded. “Since he was a little guy. He wanted to be a policeman, too, so the CID was a nice fit.”

Pictures followed that showed Everett growing into a handsome teen. In one photo, he stood with his arm around a young girl in a sparkly dress. “When was this picture taken?”

“Everett’s senior prom. His mother sent photos. She said the girl was nice, but the kids were just friends.”

“Did Everett ever fall in love?” Natalie was surprised by the question that slipped out of her mouth without forethought.

Harry nodded. “Once. He was serious, bought a ring. She didn’t like the military and ran off with another man.”

Natalie felt for Everett. She hadn’t gone to prom. No one had asked her, but she didn’t have money for a fancy dress so the lack of an invitation was a blessing of sorts.

“I’ve never been in love,” she admitted.

“Really?” His eyes were warm when he stared down at her. “Maybe you were afraid to let yourself love. There’s nothing to fear and everything to gain.”

“You’re alone now. Don’t you get sad since your wife is gone?”

He nodded. “But the memories bring joy even when I feel lonely. I wouldn’t trade my years with Rosie for anything.”

He stared at a photo of Everett climbing on the rocks behind his house. “Everett said he’d never love again, but I know that’s just talk. He’s got such a big heart, and a need to protect and defend. I can’t see him being alone for the rest of his life.”

“I’m sure he’ll find a special woman.”

“Hopefully, he’ll realize how special she is when he finds her.”

Everett opened the door and stepped inside, bringing a stiff wind with him. “The storm is approaching. I’m glad we’re here instead of climbing the hills.”

Uncle Harry’s eyes narrowed. “
The Farmer’s Almanac
said we’re in for a stormy fall and cold winter. I need to check the toolshed out back and the lawn furniture on the deck.”

“I’ll help you,” Everett said. “Just tell me what to do.”

The two men disappeared, leaving Natalie alone to stare at the photos in the album.

Her heart was heavy, seeing Uncle Harry with his arm around his wife. Her full cheeks and glittering eyes touched Natalie. That was the type of love she’d want if she ever found anyone she could believe in.

Glancing over her shoulder and through the kitchen window, she saw Everett carrying a wrought-iron chair into the attached garage. Uncle Harry pointed to a small table and folding chair that needed to be taken into the shelter and then raised his gaze and stared at the blackening sky.

Natalie should help them, but she glanced again at the photos and couldn’t pull her eyes from a snapshot of a lovely family. Everett stood next to a tall man, who was probably his dad. Pride was evident on the older man’s face as he held his wife close and wrapped his other arm over his son’s shoulder. A pretty woman—no doubt, Everett’s sister—sat in front of the threesome, holding a small infant.

Natalie was overcome with sorrow for what she never had growing up. The way her life was going, it was doubtful she’d ever experience the love and acceptance so clearly evident in the photo.

Everett was a lucky man in so many ways.

If only she could tap into some of the affirmation he’d received growing up. He had his feet on the ground, which was where Natalie wanted hers to remain.

Once the storm passed, she’d make plans to strike out on her own. She didn’t need Everett. She didn’t need Uncle Harry. The only person she needed was herself.

Then, realizing her mistake, she closed the scrapbook and scooted away from the table.

She needed something in her life and someone. Someone like Everett. But he wasn’t interested in a woman on the run who was a person of interest.

He needed and wanted a stable home life, and a wife of whom he could be proud. Natalie was neither.

She was just passing through his life for a small fraction of time. Tomorrow she’d be gone, and Everett could go on with his life. He’d be wiser and better off without her. But what about Natalie?

Would she always have a hole in her heart?

Could Everett have filled that space?

Maybe once upon a time, but not now.

Hopefully, he’d find that special someone. Hopefully, she’d find that special person, as well.

EIGHTEEN

W
hat had seemed warm and wonderful this morning was quickly turning into something as dark as the clouds rolling over the valley.

Natalie wanted sunshine and blue skies, not storms and wind and a chilly breeze that whipped up from the side of the mountain.

“We need to drive back to Fort Rickman,” Everett said, his eyes cold and unreadable.

“What about Mason?”

“Frank plans to question him.”

“He needs to be held and interrogated, not asked a few questions that may or may not have relevance on this case.”

She shook her head and wrapped her hands around her waist. “You don’t realize what you’re doing. You’re leading me back to Mason. He’s manipulative. That’s what Janet confirmed. He’ll find a way to elude apprehension, and he’ll come after me.”

“I’ll protect you.”

“How?” A lump filled her throat, but she refused to give in to the tears that welled close to the surface. She wanted to lean on Everett and accept his help and support. She thought there was something growing between them, something other than the animosity she felt now.

“You can’t be with me 24/7. Where will I go? My apartment is a crime scene. I can’t stay there. Wanda is still holed up someplace with Sofia. She doesn’t need me in her life, especially if Mason remains on the loose. If I had anyone in Detroit, I’d go back there.”

Everett sighed with exasperation. “I’ll find a safe place for you to stay. We’ll have the military police guard you.”

“You don’t have enough personnel. Plus, where would you have me hide out? At the Lodge on post? That’s where Mason was staying unless his house has been made right and he can return to his quarters.” She shivered. “How could he go back into that house after killing his wife there and throwing her down the stairs?”

“There are hotels in town.”

“Fleabag hotels where Mason could con the night clerk out of the key to my room. I’ll need to get a gun and a watchdog. My car’s still at the fishing cabin.”

“We can stop there on the way to post.”

She turned away from Everett, unwilling to accept the change in him. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? He had seemed like the perfect gentleman. He opened doors for her and scooted in her chair at the table. He prayed before they ate and said he believed in God, but he didn’t believe in her. He was still a CID agent who listened to his supervisor even when the information he’d been given was wrong.

Natalie raced from the room. Everett tried to grab her arm, but she jerked out of his hold. She climbed the stairs to the bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Standing with her back to the wall, she let the tears fall. She cried for the dreams of her youth that never came true. Maybe her mother was right—she wasn’t good enough or smart enough to make something of her life.

Her mother said the inner city would follow her, that she had a stench about her from growing up poor, a stench that wouldn’t wash off no matter how hard she tried to come clean.

Her father hadn’t negated what her mother had said, so he must have believed it, too. The bottle was his answer, but Natalie didn’t want to escape life, she wanted to live it.

She’d had a glimpse of how good things could be. She’d seen the love in Uncle Harry’s eyes, and the way he smiled when he talked about his wife. That’s what she wanted. Someone to love her and honor her and say that she was his special treasure.

But she wasn’t special. She was soiled from the inner city. Her past would always follow her. She couldn’t escape.

Everett wanted to haul her back to post. He might even trick her into thinking that she was no longer a person of interest and then arrest her once they were on the military post.

She couldn’t trust him.

She couldn’t trust anyone.

“Oh, God,” she cried out. “Can I even trust You?”

* * *

Everett’s heart twisted in two as he watched Natalie run up the stairs and slam the door to the bedroom.

Uncle Harry stuck his nose in from the kitchen. “Everything okay?”

Everett sighed. “Nothing is right at this point.”

“You got heartache, son.”

“How’s that?”

“Your heart’s aching ’cause you like that lovely young woman. Appears to me that she feels the same about you.”

Everett shook his head. “This isn’t about hearts, it’s about heads and a murder investigation and bringing the guilty to justice.”

“Maybe your head is focused on that, but your heart is interested in another facet of this situation. Natalie’s a wonderful girl. I’ve seen the way she looks at you and the way you smile back at her. Take this morning when you were fixing breakfast. I stuck around just to watch cupid hit you over the head. Seems you’re both affected.”

“Cupid? What are you talking about?”

“When I met your Aunt Rose, I couldn’t think straight for three weeks. Kept walking around in circles until my dear dad told me to ask her out. I was afraid she’d want nothing to do with me. Turns out those three weeks she’d been crying at night wondering why I wasn’t interested.”

“Natalie might be crying, but it’s from anger. She refuses to return to Fort Rickman. She’s doesn’t trust me.”

“Have you earned her trust?”

“What’s that mean?”

“Did you tell her you’d take care of everything, and then do a one-eighty and change your mind? She’s scared and all alone. She needs you now more than you can ever imagine.”

“I’m being told to bring her back.”

“What’s your heart say?”

“My heart says I don’t know what to think. Everywhere I turn she seems to be involved in this case, yet I know she’s not. Maybe my problem is that I can’t believe my own instincts.”

“Give it time. Call post. Tell them to wait until this evening. Follow some of your own leads while I do what I can.”

“What’s that?”

He grabbed a Bible off his bookshelf. “I’m spending time with the Lord. He has a way of sorting through the problems and giving right judgment to those who ask His help. Have you turned to Him?”

Everett felt crestfallen. He hadn’t prayed in so long, other than to utter a blessing over food or to ask a quick prayer for help, always on his terms and for his own need. Maybe this was the time and place to seek the Lord’s counsel.

He reached for the Bible. “Mind if I use this for a while? I’ll be out back in that swing you made for Aunt Rose.”

Harry smiled as he glanced out the window. “Looks like we’ve got some time before the storm rolls this way. The temperature might be a little cool, but that should clear your head. Take all the time you need.”

Everett left the house and settled into the double swing. The creak of the wood and the gentle sway washed away his initial upset. He opened the Bible and then closed his eyes before he read any of the text, just letting his hand lie on the page.
Forgive me, Lord, and lead me.

The breeze blew his hair and a hawk circled overhead, as Everett poured out his heart.

Don’t let me make another mistake, dear God. Direct my steps according to Your holy will. Help me see clearly and know what’s best for Natalie and best for this investigation. Help me to do the right thing, above all else.

NINETEEN

N
atalie heard a tap at her door and for a moment hoped it was Everett. Instead, she found Uncle Harry with a steaming mug in hand.

“I thought a cup of tea might help and a little conversation.”

She smiled, accepted the mug. “You’re so thoughtful. Come in.”

He slipped past her and glanced out the window that faced the backyard. “Everett’s got a lot on his mind.”

She peered around Uncle Harry’s shoulder. “He’s reading?”

“The Word.”

“Maybe God will help him realize he needs to think for himself.”

“That’s something he’s struggling with.”

“The case is a tough one.”

“I don’t think the case is the main problem.” He turned and smiled down at her. “He’s a good man. Something happened when he first started with the CID. I don’t know all the details. He took two weeks leave and came here to spend time away.”

Uncle Harry pointed to the window. “He spent a lot of time doing just what he’s doing now. Praying, meditating, asking the Lord what he should do. He thought about getting out of the military and ending his career in law enforcement. A woman had died. Her death played heavily on his heart. He felt responsible when he had been ordered to end the case. He knew more could have been uncovered if he’d been given more time.”