When Darkness Falls (24 page)

“What else?” he muttered darkly.

“Darbie’s professor has been working with Detective Flores.”

Hank let out a humorless laugh. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

“Darbie tried to show the earrings to her professor, but she couldn’t find them. She searched the house, and they’re nowhere to be found.”

His eyes met hers. “Do you have them with you?”

She shuddered. “Goodness, no! I never wanted the things to begin with. The earrings were Garrett’s poor attempt to try and buy my affection.”

“Then where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

He shook his head. “I’m so sorry you got caught up in this sordid mess. I just can’t believe that Garrett was stupid enough to give you a pair of earrings from a heist. He must’ve been really desperate to win you over.”

She gave him a knowing look. “Yes, he was. He was smart enough to realize that I was falling for someone else.”

He gave her a faint smile.

“What’re we going to do about this?”

“I don’t know.”

She nestled into the curve of his shoulder, and he put an arm around her, pulling her close. They turned their attention to the ocean, letting their minds get lost in the commotion of the waves crashing aimlessly into the shore.

C
hloe gave
the cottage one last look. She was leaning against Hank’s SUV, and he was putting the last suitcase in the back. “This is such an amazing place. I’m sad to leave it too.”

“We’ll come back soon.”

They looked up to see an elderly man waving and walking toward them. He was tall and lanky with silver hair that was thinning on top.

“Bradford,” Hank said warmly. “How are you?”

“Well, considering my age, I guess I’m doing fairly well.” The man smiled at Chloe. “And who might this lovely young lady be?”

“This is Chloe. Chloe, this is Bradford Polk. He lives in the house next door.”

Bradford gave her a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you.” He looked at Hank. “How’s Glory doing? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

Hank smiled. “As feisty as ever. She had a little scare recently—a mini stroke.”

Bradford’s face fell. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“The doctors are expecting her to make a full recovery.”

“I’m so glad. It sure is good to see you. This is a record, I believe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Garrett was here last week, and now you’re here.”

Hank jerked like he’d been punched. Chloe was about to tell the man that Garrett was dead, but the warning look on Hank’s face stopped her.

“When did you see Garrett?” Hank asked carefully.

Bradford scratched his head. “Let’s see—it was the first of last week. No, it was the middle of the week. Wednesday, I believe. Yeah, it was Wednesday. I remember because I had a repairman to come out and take a look at my heating and air unit. Garrett arrived later that night.”

“Are you sure it was Wednesday?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Suspicion filled his eyes. “Why?”

“Did you talk to him?”

“No, I didn’t get a chance. He got here in the evening, just before dusk. I was out watering my plants when I saw him.”

Hank gave Bradford a firm look. “And you’re sure it was Garrett?”

“Yeah, of course it was Garrett.” He looked back and forth between Hank and Chloe. “What’s going on here?”

“How long did he stay?”

“A couple of days. Is there something going on that I should know about?”

Hank forced a smile. “No, I just didn’t realize that he’d come into town.”

Bradford looked unconvinced.

“It’s good to see you,” Hank said, curtly. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us and need to be getting on the road.”

“Okay … well … it was good to see you.” He gave them a parting wave before shuffling off.

W
hen they got
into the SUV, Hank turned to Chloe. “What do you make of that? Do you think Bradford was confused?”

She felt cold and hot at the same time. A shaking started in her knees and worked its way up to her hands. She clenched them into fists in her lap. Suddenly, it all made sense! “No, I don’t think Bradford was confused.”

“But how can you be so sure?”

Tears pooled in her eyes. “Because I saw Garrett too.”

He rocked back, stunned, and then he frowned. “What?”

“The night before we came here, I saw him at my window.”

Shock registered on his face, followed by anger. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Because I thought I’d dreamt the whole thing.”

He shook his head, speechless, so she continued. “I felt something touch my lips, and it woke me up. I sat up in bed and looked around, and I saw Beasty, sitting in the chair.”

“Beasty?” he said dubiously.

“My cat.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, Beasty was looking at something in the window. I followed his gaze and saw Garrett. I let out a scream, and Darbie came running. She and I both thought that I was having a nightmare.”

He rubbed his neck. “Do you often have such vivid nightmares that you have a hard time distinguishing between dreams and reality?”

She felt her throat close, and she swallowed hard. The familiar fear clutched her in a vice grip as she slowly nodded.

Compassion came into his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s because of Dan, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

He put a fist to his mouth. “But this was no dream. You said you felt something.”

Heat rose up her neck. “Yes, it felt like a kiss.”

Rage twisted over him. “He kissed you!”

“Yes, I believe he must have. That’s what woke me up.”

“Why was he in your room?”

The answer came to them at once as they blurted it out. “The earrings!”

Hank let out a disgusted smirk. “Of course, Garrett needs the money. He got in over his head with Sam and his goons, so he faked his death. He’ll sell the earrings for the cash—cash that he needs to disappear.”

“What do you mean? Was Garrett in trouble?”

“Garrett was—is—a compulsive gambler. He racked up a debt he couldn’t repay. Death was a convenient way out,” he finished bitterly.

The whole thing seemed surreal, like something out of a movie. Chloe didn’t know what to think.

“I need to see your room.”

“What?”

“Your room, I need to see it. Was there anything else that Garrett might’ve wanted?”

She thought for a minute. “I don’t think so.” Then it came to her like a bolt of lighting. “Yes, there was one other thing—a chair. Do you remember that hideous chair that Garrett made Glory keep in her house?”

He scowled. “I hate that chair.”

“Well, I have it.”

“You do?”

“Yes, Glory gave it to me. I’ve been storing it in my room until I can have it recovered. The night I saw Garrett, I’d left my laptop on the chair when I went to sleep. When I awoke, Beasty was on the chair, and the laptop was on the desk.” Her eyes grew large. “Do you think Garrett was hiding something in the chair?”

Hank’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I’d be willing to bet on it.”

“
D
arbie
, hello, we’re back.” Chloe dumped her purse and bags on the floor and motioned to Hank. “Come on in.”

He followed behind, her suitcase in hand. He placed it next to her bags.

“Darbie’s not here.”

Beasty sauntered into the room and froze mid tracks when he saw Hank. He gave him a cautious look.

“Hey, Beasty, come here,” Chloe cooed.

For a second, he looked like he might come to her side, but then he lifted his nose in the air and walked past her. He jumped onto the sofa and curled up, not taking his eyes off Hank.

“So, that’s Beasty, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s not the most affectionate cat on the planet.” She stuck out her tongue at Beasty, but he just kept sitting there, staring at Hank. She waved her arm. “This way.”

When they entered her room, Hank went directly to the chair. He felt along the curved back and in the crevice between the back and seat cushion. Then he turned it around, inspecting the back. A moment later, he’d found the hidden compartment. It was located on the side where the seams of the fabric came together. He sat down on Chloe’s bed, and she sat beside him.

She could tell from the hard look on his face that he was doing some deep thinking. “What now?”

He blew out a breath. “Garrett is still out there—somewhere. I’m assuming that he stashed jewels or money … maybe even fake IDs. Sam and his guys are determined to collect his debt. They believe Garrett is dead and are therefore coming after me.”

Fear seized her. “What? You never told me that.”

He rubbed his neck. “I didn’t want to burden you with it.” His voice sounded flat and devoid of emotion.

“Burden me?” Her voice rose. “Your life is in danger, and you didn’t want to burden me?”

“Calm down. Freaking out isn’t going to help.”

“You’ve got to go to the police.” She grabbed his arm. “Hank, you’ve got to! You’ve got to tell them about Garrett and Sam!” She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to Hank. “Please.” Her eyes misted as they locked with his. “Do it for me.”

“You’re right,” he finally said. “I’ve thought about this a hundred different ways and going to the police is the only answer. I’ll call Detective Flores on my way home.”

This made her feel a little better. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I know,” he said, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe her.

C
hloe was unpacking
her suitcase when she heard the doorbell. She paused, wondering if Hank had returned for some reason. She put down her clothes and went to answer it. She looked through the peephole and saw a pizza delivery guy standing outside. Had Darbie ordered a pizza? If so, why was she not here to get it? Half of the things Darbie did made no sense. Chloe let out a frustrated huff. She would have to pay for it and hope that Darbie reimbursed her. Who was she kidding? She would never see the money. Well, at least she would have something to eat for dinner. She opened the door. “Hey.”

“I have a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese,” the man said in a bored tone.

“Sure, what’s the total?”

“$14.75.”

“Okay, hold on. I’ll get my wallet.”

She took two steps toward her purse when she heard the door close. She whirled around. The burly man had dropped the pizza box to the floor and was coming toward her. His bland expression had become macabre, and a feverish light came into his eyes. Terror overtook her, and she had the sensation of not being able to move. She let out a scream when he grabbed her. Beasty jumped into action and clawed him on the arm. He let out a yelp and threw Beasty across the room.

Tears sprang to Chloe’s eyes as she fought like mad to get away. “Help! Help!” Arms of steel encircled her. She felt a cloth being pressed to her nose. Then came a rush of dizziness before everything went black.

H
ank sat
at the kitchen counter, turning Detective Flores’s card over and over in his hands. Once he made the call, there would be no going back. His emotions vacillated between a heady relief that Garrett was still alive and a searing anger that he’d put him through this. Finally, he picked up his phone and punched in the number.

“Hello … Jared Flores here.”

“Jared, this is Hank Singleton.”

There was a momentary hesitation. “Uh … yes … Hank. Logan McDonald said you might be calling. I take it you’ve heard about the earrings.” There was a hint of triumph in his voice.

Hank cut to the heart of the matter. “We need to talk.”

T
wenty minutes later
, Hank’s doorbell rang. His blood ran cold when he saw Sam standing there. All evening long he’d been thinking about what he would do if he got ahold of Sam and here he was. He stepped back from the door and went to retrieve the pistol he kept in a hidden safe in the bedroom. He tucked it into the back of his pants. The doorbell was ringing insistently when he returned. He opened the door.

A friendly smile spread over Sam’s face as he leaned against the doorframe, his thumbs in his pocket “Hey, Hank, it’s been a while.”

“Cut the crap, Sam. What do you want?”

His smile turned to a sneer as Sam stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Like, I said in the note, Garrett owes my boss a great deal of money.” He motioned. “May I sit down?”

He squared his jaw. “No.”

Sam chuckled and began absently stroking his goatee. “Always the big man on campus, huh Hank?” His eyes went hard. “Garrett left a debt, and now that debt has fallen to you.” He pulled his pants up higher on his waist. “Nothing personal, man, just business. You understand how this works.” He began grinding his fist into his hand. “Don’t make me do this the hard way.”

A hard amusement glittered in Hank’s eyes. Is this where he was supposed to throw up his hands and beg for mercy?
Wasn’t going to happen!
“How much does he owe?” A lifetime of memories flooded him as he stood there eyeing this snake of a man—there was the Sam from his youth—the man he’d naively trusted—the man that had started him on his life of crime—the man that had betrayed him with V while he was incarcerated—the man that drove Garrett to fake his death.

“$350K.”

Hank laughed out loud. “Right! Even Garrett’s not stupid enough to run up that high of a debt. How much is it really?”

Sam’s face fell a notch. “$350K. Honest.”

“And I’m just supposed to take your word for it?” He shook his head in disgust. “You’re a lousy liar.”

“We’re friends, man, remember the good old days?” His voice became as smooth as butter.

“Let’s get one thing straight. You and I might be a lot of things, but one thing we’re not is friends!”

“Okay, it’s like this—Garrett owes $200K. I swear it on my life, that’s the amount.”

“And why is this my problem?”

“He was your brother.”

“Yeah, well, my brother was an imbecile to ever get involved with you.” He clenched his fists. “Let me tell you how this is gonna go—you’re going to walk out that door and never come back, and if you’re lucky, I just might let you live to see the light of day.”

Sam shook his head, his eyes taking on the cold flat look of the predator he was. “I just don’t see that happening.”

Hank’s senses went on full alert, and he could tell the situation was approaching the critical point. Before Sam could make the first move, he pulled the pistol and pointed it at his chest. “What part of this do you not understand?”

Sam held up his hands. “Easy, man.”

“I said GET OUT!”

“All right. I’ll go, but first, there’s something you need to see.”

Warning bells went off in his head. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong. He was the one holding the gun. Then why was Sam looking so confident? When Sam reached into his pocket, he jerked back the slide on the top of the barrel to load a bullet into the chamber.

“Whoa, man. Easy! I’m just getting my phone out of my pocket. See.” His voice was deadly calm, sending chills running down Hank’s spine. He held up his phone. “I just want to show you a video.”

It took Hank a second to process what he was seeing, and then the breath left his lungs. He staggered. It was Chloe, and she was in a room—tied to a chair and gagged. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and the sheer look of terror on her face turned his stomach. “I’ll kill you for this!” His instincts took over, and he stepped forward in panther-like movements and pressed the gun to Sam’s temple. “Where is she?” he yelled, a hot rage blanketing him, clouding out all reason. He wanted to rip out Sam’s throat.

“If you kill me, she dies.”

Hank’s eyes went wild as he considered the options.

“Listen to me. There’s only one way out of this. You’ve got to do a job.”

“A job? Have you lost your mind? I’ve told you—that part of my life is over.”

“If you want the girl to live, you’ll do the job. If my guy Bill doesn’t hear from me in the next five minutes, then he’ll kill her.” Sam had a satisfied smirk on his face. “Your decision.”

A minute later, Hank lowered the gun. “What do you want me to do?”

The blow seemed to come out of nowhere as Sam punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor, sending the pistol flying out of his hand. “Don’t you ever point a gun at me again!” Before Hank could rise to his feet, Sam kicked him viciously in the stomach, knocking him back to the floor. “And in case you have any thoughts about starting things up again with V, this is your one and only warning—STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

D
arbie was chewing
on her fingernails and pacing back and forth across the living room floor, trying to decide what she should do about Chloe. She’d not had any contact with her since that phone call where they’d had a bad connection. Chloe was supposed to have gotten home the previous night, and Darbie had not heard a word from her. She’d called her repeatedly, but it kept going to voicemail. She glanced at Beasty, who was sitting on the sofa, watching her intently. It was crazy, but she kept getting the feeling that he was trying to tell her something. “What is it, boy?” He let out a loud meow. She frowned. “I miss her too.”

Her anxiety rose to new heights when she’d gotten the call from Naomi, Chloe’s mom. She’d not heard from Chloe either and was starting to get concerned.

“How well do you know her boss?” Naomi had asked.

The question burned through her like acid, and a part of her was tempted to blurt out all she knew. But it would only add to Naomi’s stress. There was nothing the poor woman could do at this point, seeing as how she was on the other side of the country.
Think, Darbie! Think!
Not knowing what else to do, she got down on her knees and said a prayer on Chloe’s behalf. She’d hoped that would help her feel better, but it did just the opposite. A cold feeling of dread came over her, and she had the strong feeling that Chloe was in danger. Her heart began to pound as she tried Chloe’s phone once more. When it went to voicemail, she knew what she needed to do. She punched in 911.

“Hello … I’d like to report a missing person …”

H
ank jabbed
the doorbell and waited. When no one answered, he pushed it again. Finally, after the fourth time, the door opened. A glower came over Lila’s face as she straightened to her full height and pulled her sweater tighter around her ample stomach. “What’re you doing here?”

“Hi, Lila. It’s been a long time.”

“Not long enough.” She lifted her chin.

“I need to talk to Pete.”

“You’re not welcome here.” Her eyes went hard. “You’ve done enough damage to my family to last a lifetime.” She tried to slam the door in his face, but he wedged his foot in. “If you don’t leave this instant, I’ll call the police!” she cried.

“It’s about Chloe. She’s in trouble.”

She reopened the door. “What have you done?”

“Sam Lowden has her.” His voice caught. “He’ll kill her if I don’t do a job for him.”

Lila’s face crumbled into itself like a cake too dense to hold its weight. Her lower lip began to quiver. “I warned her to stay away from you,” she said hoarsely. “I told her she was in danger.” A feral look settled into her eyes, and she seemed to have forgotten that Hank was standing there. “I saw it,” she gasped. “The cold fingers of death were gripping the life out of her.” She stared through him. “It was horrible.”

Dread pricked over him, but he pushed it aside. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in Lila’s madness. He had to stay focused. That was Chloe’s only hope. He touched her arm. “Lila! Please. There’s no time. I have to talk to Pete.”

This seemed to jerk her back to reality. Tears simmered in her eyes. “This is all because of you!”

“I know,” he said flatly. “You’re right. It is because of me, and now I have to fix it.”

“Like you fixed things with Guy?” She bit her lower lip. “You promised me that you would look after him. I trusted you. I told Pete that you were a good guy and that you would look after Guy. And now he’s dead!”

“I can’t change the past,” he said quietly. Would the hurt ever end? “All I can say is that
I’m sorry
.” He gave her a probing look. “There’s still time to save Chloe. Please.”

She nodded and stepped back so he could enter. “Pete’s in the study.” She motioned with her head. “You know the way.”

Pete was sitting behind his desk, intently inspecting a diamond through a loupe. He jumped when Hank knocked. Hank could tell from the way Pete cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up on his nose that his presence had jolted him. Always the consummate professional, Pete stood and extended his hand.

“It’s been a long time. It’s good to see you.” There was a note of sincerity in his voice.

“It’s good to see you too,” Hank said, and he meant it. Pete was one of the few people that he actually missed having an association with. Despite his dealings in the underground world of theft, Pete was one of those rare people who still believed that his word was his bond. “May I sit down?”

“Of course.”

Pete returned to his seat. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”