The Christmas Bell Tolls (8 page)

“You aren’t supposed
to be here.” Sarah Newton met Eva at the door.

Eva pushed into
the lab and set her badge on her desk. “I’m not touching any of the evidence
tied to the case.”
Which,
wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Peter said you
weren’t going to be working in the lab while the case—”

She cut off the
obnoxious woman and sat at her desk. “I just have to finish up a few things.”
She quickly brought her computer to life and signed in. “What are you doing
here this time of night?” Setting the samples to run shouldn’t have taken more
than an hour. Then again, to be fair, not being familiar with the setup might
make it take longer.

“Obviously I’m
running tests on the samples brought in tonight.” Sarah crossed her arms over
her chest. “I’ll need to call Peter to make sure it’s okay for you to even be
here.”

“Do what you’ve
got to do.” Eva typed fast. As soon as Peter knew she was in the lab, all bets
were off. “Darren?”

He moved silently
to Eva’s desk and sat on the edge. They’d debated having him wait in the car,
but decided if there were any hits, he might see something that would trigger
something, anything, of a connection to Margaret Brewster. Besides, Eva hadn’t
realized Sarah would be working in the lab. If she had, she certainly wouldn’t
have brought Darren inside.

“Darren Timmons?”
Sarah moved into Eva’s work area.
“The father on the case?”

He looked at Eva.

Eva sighed. “Yes,
he’s the father of the abducted little girl, but he’s not here in that
capacity.”

“Then what
capacity?” Sarah asked Eva, but her eyes never left Darren. It was as if she
were drinking him in.

Eva ground her
teeth. “He’s here as my friend. I just needed to do something right quick.
We’ll be out of your hair in no time.” And maybe that would distract her enough
to not call Peter immediately.

“Oh, I don’t
mind.” Sarah moved closer to Darren. “I’m Sarah. Sarah Newton.” She took his
hand. “I’m so sorry about your little girl, but don’t you worry…I’m going to
run all the tests and get all the identifying information I can.”

Eva wanted to
vomit. She rolled her eyes at Darren,
then
opened the
search options. She typed in Margaret Brewster’s name, set it to search,
then
reduced the screen down so Sarah’s prying eyes couldn’t
see.

“Thank you.”
Darren’s voice announced his hesitation at Sarah’s forwardness.

The woman never
gave up. Eva shook her head. “Sarah, his focus is on finding his daughter, and
he doesn’t need your flirting right now.”

“I’m not flirting.
I’m just reassuring him that I’ll be doing all that I can to help find his
daughter.”

“Sure.”

“I need to call
Peter.” Sarah moved to step around Eva.

“I appreciate it.”
Darren shut up as Sarah stopped and turned back to him. “Everything you’re
doing. I thank you.”

Sarah smiled. “You
are most welcome.”

The computer
dinged—the search concluded.

Eva pulled up the
screen. She knew it’d been a longshot, but she’d hoped there would be something
with the name. No such luck, apparently.

“What are you
doing?” Sarah turned away from Darren and tried to look over Eva’s shoulder.

Closing the
program, Eva then shut down her station.
“Nothing.
Just finishing up something.”
She stood, grabbed her badge,
and looked at Darren. “Ready?”

He nodded as he
straightened.

Sarah laid a hand
on his arm. “Remember, I’m doing everything to find your little girl.”

“Thank you.”

Eva shuddered,
then
grabbed Darren’s hand. The woman was vile, plain and
simple.
Hitting on a man during a time of severe grief.
Typical Sarah.
“Come on, Darren. Let’s get out of
here.”

She waited until
they were in the car to tell him. “There were no matches to Margaret Brewster
in the system. I’m sorry.”

“It was worth a
shot. Thanks.”

“There’s always
the chance something more will come back with the DNA.” Eva couldn’t stand the
defeat sitting in the crevices of his face.
“Maybe an alias
or something.”

His cell phone
rang. He pulled it off his hip.
“Timmons.”

Eva started the
car, turning the defroster on high.

“I see. I
appreciate that.” Darren’s face grew as stiff as granite. “Thanks, Agent
Lacey.” He ended the call and let out a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wilson’s furious.
Very furious.
Has called the
Director to complain about my actions.”
He ran a hand over his face.

Eva gripped the
steering wheel.
“Seriously?
Your daughter is missing
and you went to follow a lead.”

“I broke
protocol.” Eva didn’t think she’d ever heard Darren sound so dejected.

“You’re doing what
you can do to find your daughter. This is ridiculous.” She slammed the car in
reverse, backed out of the parking space, then jammed it into drive and spun
out of the parking lot.

“What are you
doing?”

“This is unfair,
Darren. We’re going to Maddie’s.”

“Why?”

“Because
everyone is there.
Well, Remington had to head back to Eternal Springs,
Louisiana, but Rafe and Riley and Nick are all there, and you need to tell Nick
what’s going on.” She merged onto the main road.

“Oh, I’m sure
he’ll be told. Insubordination is taken very seriously in the bureau.”

“
Which is why you need to tell Nick your side.
And I’ll tell
him.”

Darren let out a
long breath. “It’s after eleven, Eva. We can’t bother them this late.”

“Yes, we can.
Trust me, they’re all up. I talked with Maddie earlier, and they’re worried for
you and Savannah. They’re being kept out of the loop, too. This way, we can at
least let them know what’s going on.”

“I guess.”

Eva drove a little
faster. She couldn’t stand the loss of hope in Darren’s voice.

“This wasn’t the
smartest thing you’ve ever done.” Nick straightened as he stared at Darren from
over Maddie’s kitchen table.

Darren knew. He
dropped his gaze to the floor. It was hard to hear, but it was the truth.

“But totally
understandable.”

He jerked his gaze
back to Nick’s face.

Nick smiled. “I
would do the same thing.”

“Thanks,
Boss.” 

“So,
Margaret Brewster.
You have no memory of her?” Maddie set a cup of
coffee in front of him.

Darren’s best
friend and Maddie’s brother, Rafe Baxter, was the last to join them at the
table. Remington and Riley held hot chocolates in their hands. Rafe clapped
Darren’s shoulder as he dropped into an empty chair.

Darren shook his
head and leaned back in the chair. “I’ve wracked my brain and still nothing.”

“Have you gone
through your case notes?” Maddie passed a cup of coffee to Eva sitting beside
him, then sat next to Nick.

“Everything.
The name means nothing to me.”

“There has to be
something.” Maddie glanced at Rafe. “I know that look. What?”

Rafe grabbed
Maddie’s cup of coffee and took a sip before he looked at Darren. “Didn’t you
go out with a girl whose last name was Brewster?”

“When?”
Darren cocked his head. Maybe Rafe had lost his mind because Darren couldn’t
remember dating anyone with the last name of Brewster.

“Back before you
met Georgia.” Rafe straightened in his chair. “Remember, she had that reddish
brown, long hair?”

Darren couldn’t
recall. He shook his head.

“I think somebody
set you up. But she didn’t go by Margaret.” Rafe closed his eyes and rubbed his
fingers together. “She had those blue eyes. She was pretty and
all,
but remember how she confronted you at that coffee
shop?”

And suddenly,
Darren remembered.
With clarity.

“Were you just not going to call me?”
Her eyes seemed to jump out from her red and splotchy face. “Just throw me away
like yesterday’s trash? After all we meant to each other?”

Darren stared, not sure whether to be
shocked or appalled. “I-I—”

“Save it. I saw you.
With her.”
Her blue eyes widened even more, if that was
possible. “What, am I not good enough for you?” She stood over his table, her
hands on her hips.

Everyone in the coffee shop seemed to
have fallen silent.

Darren cleared his throat. “Why don’t
you sit down and we can talk?”

“I don’t want to sit down and I don’t
want to talk. I just wanted you to know that I know. I know you, Darren
Timmons. I thought you were better than this.
More than a
use-and-dump type.
Guess I was wrong.”

“That’s not fair. It’s not like that.”
He shook his head, aware of the people around them staring. “We’ve only gone on
three dates, hardly a relationship. We weren’t a couple. Not by a long shot.
You’re freaking out over nothing.”

Her eyes seemed to glaze over.
“Freaking out? Freaking out over nothing?” Her voice
rose
several levels, drawing even more attention. “I’ll show you freaking out.” She
pushed his cup of coffee into his lap.

He shot to his feet, grabbing napkins
and dabbing at the java on his pants. At least the coffee wasn’t scalding.
 “Are you insane?”

She smiled—she actually smiled. “Did
that hurt? Good. I hope it did.
Because you hurt me.
Tossing me aside for another woman.
How do you think that
makes me feel?”

“You’re crazy.” He grabbed his book from
the table.

“Only because you’ve made me crazy.
You let me think we had a forever
future,
then
just ignored me.”

“We only went on three dates. I never
even mentioned the future.” He stayed on the opposite side of the table. This
woman had gone off the deep end. Even people around them seemed to inch away.

“But I knew we were on the path to
forever until
she
came along. Now you can’t even return my phone calls.”
She paused,
then
softened her tone. “We’re meant to be
together, Darren. Can’t you see that?”

“Stay away from me, Mags Brewster.
You’re certifiable.”

“Mags
Brewster.
That was her name.”

“Someone
that…psychotic, I’d think you’d remember their name.” Eva couldn’t believe Darren
hadn’t immediately remembered the woman’s name. She remembered every potential
stalker ex she’d ever dated. Maybe it was different for guys, though.

“I didn’t think
she was psychotic, exactly.” Darren shrugged and looked across the table at
Rafe. “I don’t think I saw or heard from her again.”

“She harassed
Georgia for a month or so.”

“What? I didn’t
know that.”

Rafe wore a
sheepish look. “Georgia didn’t want you to know. She said she could understand
Mags feeling desperate over losing you.”

“Mags never had me
to lose. What kind of harassment?”

“Mostly
just annoying stuff.
Hang ups in the middle of the night. Silly
you
don’t deserve him
type notes.
That kind of stuff.”

But even Eva
noticed Rafe’s discomfort.

“What else?”

Rafe stared at the
table.
“A couple of slit tires.
Blood
on her doorstep.”

“What?” Darren’s
eyes bugged and his face reddened. He straightened in his chair. “How could you
keep it from me? How could Georgia never tell me?”

“She made me
promise.” Rafe’s voice was thick. “The first tire, she didn’t think was
intentional. You were at the men’s revival, so she called me.”

“The first
tire…what about the rest of them? I was only gone for a weekend.”

Eva took a sip of
coffee. Everyone else at the table remained still and silent as the best friends
batted back and forth.

“She found the
first one the morning you left. I came over and changed it, told her it looked
sliced, and she waved me off. That night while she was at work, two more were
slit.”

Darren’s face went
slack. Eva wanted to grab his hand, but didn’t dare.

“I drove her home
and that’s when we found the blood on the doorstep. I made her file a police
report, even though she didn’t want to. That’s when I found out about the notes
and the hang ups. She didn’t want to give the police Mags’ name, but she had no
choice.”

“She never said a
word to me.” Darren sounded not only hurt, but offended.

Eva couldn’t even
imagine. She’d be freaking out and wouldn’t have been able to keep it from him.

Riley cleared her
throat. “Hate to interrupt, but Rafe, how did Georgia know Mags’ name? I mean,
I doubt she signed any notes.”

“And I certainly
never told Georgia anything about her.” Darren opened his mouth again,
then
clamped it shut.

“Neither of you
wanted to worry the other.” Rafe turned to face his sister. “Mags confronted
her.”

A collective
intake of breaths from most everyone at the table shocked the silence.

“What?” Again,
Darren’s voice didn’t conceal the surprise.

“She went into the
diner after you left.” Rafe turned away from Darren’s disapproving stare.
“Georgia worked at the little diner that served the most amazing scattered
hashbrowns.” He smiled, then frowned and looked back to his best friend. “She’d
gotten to work a little late because of the sliced tire, so she stayed the
extra hour until closing to make up for it. It was during that time that Mags
went into the diner.”

Darren just shook
his head.

“Georgia said Mags
had ordered a cup of coffee. When Georgia poured it, Mags started in on her.”

“Started in on
her?”

“Yeah.
Asking her things like
So
you think you’re
better than me, huh?
and
Bet he’s only seeing
you because you’re easy
and stuff like that. Georgia said it didn’t take
her long to figure out she was the one who sent her the notes and called and
hung up.”

“How did Georgia
respond?” Eva surprised herself by asking the question aloud. She knew how
she’d respond—she’d tell Mags to seek out professional help and to leave her
alone. Then again, Eva carried a gun and had training on how to use it.

“She told Mags
that she understood how hard it was to break up with someone and that she
certainly didn’t mean to cause her any pain.” Rafe grinned at Darren. “Then she
tried to pray for Mags.”

Despite
everything, Darren chuckled. “I bet she did.”

“Georgia prayed
over
every and
anybody,” Rafe explained. “No matter
what was going on with you, she was going to pray for you, with you, or over
you.”

“And it didn’t
matter if you were a believer or not, she was going to cover you in prayer, one
way or another.”

Rafe nodded.
“Apparently, it unnerved Mags Brewster. She spilled her coffee all over the
table, jumped up and ran out of the diner.”

As crazy as the
woman sounded, Eva figured that might have saved Georgia from something much
worse than a confrontation.

Rafe stopped
smiling. “The police figure she’d already sliced the other two tires before she
even came into the diner. They aren’t sure about the blood on the doorstep,
though.”

Darren sobered as
well. “Tell me about that.”

Rafe nodded. “When
I picked her up from work, I told her that she needed to call the police. She
couldn’t afford three tires, even the used ones we all bought back then. She
didn’t want to, though. She told me about Mags and I was sure that’s who’d slit
her tires, but Georgia wasn’t ready to get her into trouble. So, I drove her
home, arguing with her the entire way.”

Darren’s
intent focus blocked out everything else but Rafe’s story.
Eva couldn’t
help but empathize. He had to feel betrayed on so many levels.

“When we got back
to her place, I went to go check it out. As soon as we stepped onto that crappy
little concrete entry, we saw the blood. It was fresh, still wet. I didn’t give
Georgia a chance to argue against calling the police.”

“She never told
me.” Darren spoke so softly, Eva figured he probably didn’t even realize he’d
spoken aloud.

“The police filed
a report and said they’d follow up with Mags, although Georgia was quick to
tell them there was no proof of her involvement.” Rafe took a sip of coffee. “I
asked her if she’d heard anything back on it after you got home, and she said
she hadn’t. She’d not gotten any more notes or
hang
ups, so I figured the police followed up and scared Mags off.”

“I
can’t believe neither of you ever told me.”

Rafe stared at
Darren, tracing the lip of his cup with his forefinger. “I wanted to, as soon
as you got back, but Georgia held me to my promise. You had been saved and
baptized, and she didn’t want anything to dampen that moment for you.” He
shrugged. “Then you two were engaged, married, and moving. To be honest, I forgot
all about it until now.”

“It wouldn’t have
made any difference, I suppose. Just odd that I never knew, and now…now there’s
a chance she’s involved in my daughter’s abduction.”

“It
is
a
little freaky,” Riley said.

“I’m assuming
Wilson is running a background on her?” Nick asked.

Darren nodded.
“Agent Lacey said she’d given him the information.”

“So,
what?
We have to wait for him to decide to share what he learns?” Eva
finished off her coffee, and almost choked. It’d grown tepid as they’d talked
and now it was just gross.

“That’s all we can
do,” Nick said.

Maddie shook her
head. “I’m with Eva on this one. No offense, honey, but Wilson has already
proven he doesn’t have to keep us in the loop. Now that he’s upset with Darren,
there’s the chance he won’t tell him anything either.”

“I’m the father.”
Darren frowned.

“Do you always
tell the parents every detail and step of the investigation?” Riley asked.

Rafe cleared his
throat and stood. He grabbed the pot of coffee and brought it back to the
kitchen table. “We don’t. I haven’t met Wilson yet. Would he really lock you
out of the investigation?” He poured coffee into his own cup, then Darren’s.

“Maybe.
I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Agent Lacey will keep me in the loop.”

“If
Leo Wilson doesn’t lock her out.”
Eva held out her cup to Rafe. “If he
thinks she’s giving you information, Darren, he might lock her out of the
investigation just so she can’t talk to you.”

“She is only a
profiler,” Nick said. “He’s under no obligation to even keep her on the case if
she’s built the profile for him.”

“Oh, this is
ridiculous.” Riley stood and left the room.

Everyone stared
after her, but she returned a minute or so later, MacBook in hand.

“What are you
doing?” Darren asked.

“There’s no reason
I can’t research this woman myself.” She smiled over her laptop. “I am an
investigative journalist, you know.
Pretty good, too.”

Eva smiled. She
liked Riley even more now.

“Since we’re all
here and up,” Maddie stood, “why don’t I make us something to eat?”

Eva caught
Maddie’s nod toward Darren.
“Yeah.
Maybe some
sandwiches?” She stood. “I’ll help.”

Rafe moved to take
Eva’s seat. His head close to Darren’s,
then
he put
his arm around his best friend’s shoulders. Both men bent their heads, and Rafe
spoke. It only took Eva a moment realize they were praying together.

Something moved in
Eva’s chest. Sure, she believed in God and had even gone to church a time or
two with Maddie, but her faith wasn’t like that. Not like a woman who led two
men Eva respected to accept her religion and live it. To pray for someone who’d
confronted her and harassed her.

Eva’s faith wasn’t
like two grown men, FBI agents, huddling together and praying.

Was she missing
something?