Murder in Plain Sight

CHAPTER TEN

“COME ON.” TREY GRABBED Jessica’s arm and hustled her toward the house. The idea that someone was out there, in the dark, maybe watching them-

Get Jessica inside, then he’d go looking for the person who’d come onto his property, threatened his guest.

“Trey, you’re overreacting.”

He ignored her efforts to pull away from him. Of course she would. If he’d met a more stubbornly independent woman, he didn’t remember it. “Maybe so.” They reached the door, and he shoved her inside. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Leo and his mother hurried toward them from the family room. Sam, probably alerted by his tone, let out a deep bark, turning to look toward the woods.

“What’s going on?” Leo glanced at Jessica but looked at him for an answer.

“Somebody’s been here. Left a threatening note in Jessica’s car.” He gave Jessica a gentle push toward his mother. “Mom, please keep Jessica inside while we search the grounds.”

She didn’t argue, just put her arm around Jessica’s waist and picked up the phone with her other hand. “I’ll call Adam Byler. You two be careful out there.”

He nodded, jerking open the closet door to grab a couple of flashlights from the shelf. He tossed one to Leo. “You okay to take a look around?”

“You’re not leaving me behind.” Leo’s face set. He switched on the flashlight and followed Trey out. The sound of Jessica’s voice, asking who Adam Byler was, faded with the closing door. “Don’t worry. Your mother won’t let her come out,” Leo said. “How long will it take the township police to get here?”

“Depends upon where they are. Ten to twenty minutes, I’d guess.” Someone-Mom, he supposed-had switched on all the outside lights. He stepped beyond their reach and paused, swinging his flashlight in a wide swath. The grass, cut only yesterday, wasn’t long enough to reveal any footsteps.

“He’d have come from the road, most likely.” Leo aimed his flashlight toward the woods that shielded the house from the road.

“Sam barked at something out that way. Let’s have a look.” Trey started toward the stand of pines, scanning the ground for any sign of the intruder.

“If he’s smart, he wouldn’t hang around,” Leo said. Trey felt his gaze on him. “How bad was the note?”

“It was a photo of Jessica. With an X across her image.” His stomach tightened at the thought. “I’d call that a threat, wouldn’t you?”

“Nasty. But I don’t think it will scare Jessica off.”

Did Leo think he was overreacting, too? Probably. He couldn’t explain it to himself, but the revulsion he’d felt when he’d seen that threat, known someone had come that close to her…

Well, maybe it was better if he didn’t explore those feelings too closely.

They’d reached the trees, and Trey moved cautiously, searching the ground with his flashlight. But the smooth, thick carpet of pine needles didn’t yield any clues.

“If he came through here, he didn’t leave any sign,” he said, reluctant to give up with nothing to show for it. “Out by the road-”

A siren wailed in the distance.

“Sounds as if the township boys weren’t too far off,” Leo said. “Maybe we should walk over to the drive and meet them.”

“You don’t want me playing detective?” Trey tried to keep his tone light.

“Let’s give Adam Byler a chance. I’m sure he’d like something more interesting than speeders and Saturday-night drunks once in a while.”

They emerged onto the lawn and reached the gravel just as the township police car came shrieking into the drive, siren wailing. He raised his hand, and the car skidded to a halt, sending up a spray of gravel.

He leaned on the window that lowered at his approach. “You boys in a hurry?”

“Turn off that siren, you idiot.” Adam Byler glared at the young patrolman who was behind the wheel. “You take a turn like that again, and it’ll be the last time you drive the patrol car. You think the township has an unlimited supply of tires?”

“No, sir.” The kid gulped, probably flushing and grateful for the dark.

Adam swung around to face Trey. “You caught the prowler for us?”

“Just taking a look around,” Trey said. He realized suddenly that his hands were closed into fists, and he forced them to relax. “We wouldn’t want to rob you of the most excitement you’ve had in a month.”

“As a taxpayer, you ought to be glad we keep things so quiet. So, what’s going on here tonight?”

Adam got out as he spoke, standing next to the car and looming over it. Adam had been a lineman, back when they’d played high-school football. Unlike some, he’d never let himself run to fat. Six feet of solid muscle, but it wasn’t muscle between his ears.

“Leo was here for supper, along with Jessica Langdon, the attorney who’s acting for Thomas Esch. Someone got into her car and left a threatening message for her.”

Put into a bald recital of facts, it didn’t sound quite so bad. Not bad enough, at any rate, to account for the anger that pumped through him.

“You find any sign of the prowler?” Adam’s impassive face didn’t give anything away. If he thought this a fool’s errand, no one would know.

Trey shook his head. “We figure he must have parked along the road and walked in, maybe from the woods. All the outside lights weren’t on then. He could easily have gotten to the car without being seen and left the same way.”

“Let’s have a look at the vehicle.” Adam bent to put his head in the car window. “Jarvis, take your flashlight and scout along the road near the driveway. You’re looking for any sign someone was parked there and walked toward the house.”

“Yessir.” The kid was out of the police car almost before Adam finished speaking. “I’ll get right on it.” He trotted back down the lane toward the road, flashlight swinging.

“He won’t find anything,” Adam said dispassionately. “Wouldn’t spot a stolen car unless it drove right over him.”

“He’s enthusiastic,” Leo observed as they started toward the house.

“Yeah.” Adam didn’t sound as if he thought that made up for the kid’s shortcomings. “The rule is, if I get a kid who’s any good on the township force, he’ll go on to something bigger and better as soon as I’ve got him trained. If he has no talent at all, he’ll be with me forever.”

It sounded as if he thought Jarvis fit into the latter category.

“So,” he went on, “is Ms. Langdon a friend of yours, or is the rumor true that you’re funding the Esch kid’s defense?”

“Both.” No point in trying to put Adam off. He knew everything that went on in the township. “It’s too bad you weren’t in on that case.”

Adam shrugged. “Didn’t happen in Spring Township. And I don’t know as I’d have done things any differently.”

They reached the drive, and Adam went directly to Jessica’s car, obviously knowing which was hers. He flashed his torch inside. “Did Ms. Langdon lock the car?”

“I don’t think so. I doubt it.” She shouldn’t have to lock her car when it was parked outside his house. This ought to be safe.

Adam gave him a searching look. “This is really bugging you.”

Tough to hide your feelings from someone you’d known most of your life. “I don’t like the idea of some cretin coming onto my property. Threatening a guest in my house. That’s all.”

“Uh-huh.” Adam’s raised eyebrow expressed doubt. “Let me get the note secure, and then I’d better have a word with your…guest.”

He pressed his lips together to keep from snarling. Adam hadn’t even met Jessica and he was jumping to conclusions about their relationship. It was laughable.

Except that his own anger was revealing just how much he’d begun to care about Jessica.

“A PIECE OF PAPER CAN’T hurt me,” Jessica said for what seemed like the tenth or twentieth time. She shoved away the photocopy Trey had made before his cop friend took away the original threat.

She shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that he knew the township police chief well, or that they had played high-school football together. They’d had the easy, ragging banter that betrayed their closeness, even with a serious undertone.

She, Trey, Leo and Geneva were sitting around Geneva’s kitchen table, mugs of hot cocoa in front of them, Geneva having insisted they needed something soothing after the excitement. Adam had tried to be encouraging. Leaving a threatening note was a criminal act, and he took it seriously, but since no one had seen anything…

“I don’t understand how the prowler got away so quickly, without our seeing or hearing anything.” Trey looked anything but relaxed now. His big hands clenched the mug.

“Isn’t it odd that the dog didn’t hear him?” Jessica was making a determined effort to sound as if this sort of thing happened to her every day, but she couldn’t stop shivering inside.

As if he sensed what she didn’t say, Trey put his hand over hers in a brief, hard grip before taking it away. “Poor old Sam doesn’t have much hearing left. He’s fine if you’re in the room with him, but I doubt that he could pick anything up from that far away.”

“I should have had the motion-detector lights on.” Guilt wrinkled Geneva’s brow. “Trey always says that, but I hate to turn them on because it frightens away the animals, and now look what’s happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jessica said quickly. “If someone was determined to do this to the extent of following me here, he’d have found some other way.”

“That determination is what bothers me the most.” Trey touched her fingers again, almost absently, before wrapping his hand around his mug. “The idea that someone is so obsessed with this case that he’d go to this length-” His jaw tightened. “He came onto our property.”

He came close to Geneva-she was sure that was what Trey was really thinking. No matter what Trey did, the ugliness grew nearer to his mother.

“There’s a lot of nasty feeling out there,” Leo said. “Haven’t you been reading the Call-In Column of the paper?”

“I avoid it whenever possible,” Trey said. Seeming to notice Jessica’s confusion, he smiled slightly. “You don’t want to see it. People can call the newspaper anonymously. All the nutcases in the county get to see their libelous rants in print without having to put their names or e-mail addresses to their words. Cowardly.”

“Not libelous, though,” Leo said with his lawyer’s exactitude. “The newspaper does stop short of that. But it does display all the worst in human nature. Seriously, Trey, you ought to look at the column. There have been a number of comments about the big-city lawyer trying to get a killer off. It’s not surprising that someone with marginal intelligence and less common sense would attempt to frighten Jessica away.”

“Not that little intelligence,” she found herself saying. “Someone had enough imagination to think of taking a photo of me and drawing an X over it.”

“Probably saw it on a television crime show,” Leo muttered. “Nothing but gory crimes on TV these days.”

“You’re right about that.” Geneva gave a fastidious shudder. “I’d rather watch an old movie. Some of the classics from the forties…”

“Let’s try to stick to the point.” Trey wore the harassed look he so often did when he talked to his mother. “I agree with Jessica. Someone had to find the photo-”

“Take the photo,” she said. She tapped the paper. “That picture was taken today, when I was leaving the jail.”

“It wasn’t a copy from the newspaper?” Trey shot the question at Leo, who shook his head.

“No. I’ve been watching the papers carefully, in case we need to file a change-of-venue motion.”

“What is this little drawing at the bottom of the page?” Jessica pointed to the tiny figure in the corner of the page…black lines, entwined in a pattern.

“I had a look at it through the magnifying glass,” Trey said. “It resembles a hex sign, but I’ve never seen one exactly like it.”

“Hex sign?” Her mind scrambled for an association with the words. “Isn’t that some sort of folk art?”

“Pennsylvania Dutch,” Geneva said. “They commonly use symbols resembling flowers and birds. You’ll see them painted on barns and furniture. My husband collected them-there’s a wall full of them in his den.”

Jessica peered more closely at the tiny design. “I thought a hex was kind of a curse.”

“Some people believe they’re a protection, but if you ask any Pennsylvania Dutchman, he’ll insist they’re ‘just for pretty.’” Geneva shrugged. “They’re an old tradition. Most people have probably forgotten why they put them up.”

“Why put it on an anonymous threat?” Leo frowned. “I don’t like any of this.” He peered at the copy again. “Hex signs sometimes feature distelfinks and bluebirds, but I’ve never seen one that resembled a raven.”

A raven. Her face must have given something away, because Trey turned to her.

“Jessica? What is it?”

“Probably nothing.”

His fingers closed over hers, compelling an answer. “Tell me.”

They were all looking at her. She’d have to tell it, whether it sounded foolish or not.

“Last night I heard someone walking past my room. He or she paused by my window for what seemed like a long time.” She tried to smile. “It was probably only seconds. Anyway, eventually the person moved on. I opened the drapes a bit to see if I could spot him, when something hit the window.”

Geneva made a soft exclamation, and Trey’s hand was hard on hers.

“I called the night manager, of course. When he came, we found a dead bird beneath the window. He said it was a raven. He thought it had killed itself smashing into the window.” She took a breath. “But I touched it. It was cold and stiff. Someone had thrown it.”

“You…” Trey seemed at a loss for words. “You should have called me. Or the police. Why didn’t you say anything?”

She shrugged. “What could anyone do?” Somehow it didn’t seem as intimidating now that she’d told them about it. “I was afraid that if it got into the papers, it would just encourage more of the same.”

“It looks as if we’ve still gotten more of the same,” Leo said, his voice dry.

Geneva reached across the table to clasp Jessica’s hand in hers. “We’ve put you in a terrible position, bringing you here. My dear, I never dreamed it would be this bad for you.” Her eyes swam with tears. “Maybe you should give this up. I don’t want you to be hurt, but poor Thomas…”

Jessica squeezed her hand firmly, her heart touched by the obvious caring in the older woman’s expression. “I wouldn’t think of giving up on Thomas. I’m not going to be scared off by a few nasty notes.”

And a few slashed tires, her mind added. To say nothing of that person in the parking lot. And the dead bird.

“Well, you can’t continue to stay at that dreadful motel by yourself,” Geneva said. “You must move in here with us, where you’ll be safe and we can look after you.”

“Jessica may not think this place is all that safe.” Trey’s jaw was tight, but a tiny muscle twitched as if to testify to the enormous effort it took to control his anger. Ugliness and danger had come right to the very doorstep of the Morgan family’s peaceful enclave. No doubt he thought that was his responsibility, too.

“It’s not that,” Jessica answered his emotion as much as his words. “We’re all upset right now. Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

“Jessica’s right,” Leo said. “We’re not in any shape to make decisions now.”

“Besides, maybe Chief Byler will find something,” Jessica added. “He seemed very competent.”

“Adam’s a good guy. Smart. He can’t touch the original crime, but this was in his jurisdiction, and he won’t take it lightly.” Trey’s tension seemed to ease. “Maybe you have a point. We can talk all these through once we’ve had a decent night’s sleep.” He turned to her. “If you want to stay here tonight-”

It took all her determination to make her stand. Smile. Look braver than she felt. “No, thanks. I’ll head back to the motel. Again.”

“I’ll follow you there.” Trey’s tone didn’t allow for any argument.

Once again Jessica said her good-nights, once again she and Trey walked outside together. He waited while she got in and started the car, and she didn’t miss his glance into the backseat, as if to assure himself there were no unwelcome surprises. Only when she’d locked the door did he walk to his pickup and climb in.

She’d expected to have some reaction once she was finally alone, but she didn’t, perhaps because she wasn’t really alone. Trey was there, in the reflection of his lights, shining and steady in her rearview mirror.

By the time she pulled up to the motel, she was yawning. Maybe she’d actually sleep tonight. This time the space directly in front of her unit was free, and she pulled in with only the faintest inward quiver.

Still, she was cautious enough not to open the door until Trey had drawn up beside her. He got out, leaving the truck’s motor running.

She slid from the seat before he could open the door for her, grabbing her laptop. “Thanks so much for the bodyguard duty. I’ll be fine now.”

He managed a smile, but his strong-boned face looked stern in the dim light. “My mother always told me I should walk a lady to her door.”

“That sounds a little old-fashioned for Geneva.” She fell into step with him. “Are you sure you’re not making that up?”

He gave her a look of mock astonishment. “My mother might look like a flower child from time to time, but she was brought up in the strictest Main Line tradition. We learned to write thank-you notes before most kids learned their ABCs.”

“We?”

“My brother and sister and I.”

She stopped at the door, fishing in her bag for her key. “I saw a picture in the family room. They’re younger than you, aren’t they?” She hadn’t had any trouble picking out Trey’s face in the family photo-he hadn’t really changed all that much from his younger self.

“Link and Libby. Twins, two years younger than I am.” His mouth twitched. “It’s a good thing they’re not here, or they’d be in this thing up to their necks.”

“And then you’d have someone else to protect.” She looked up in his face as he took the key card and opened the door for her. “Don’t you ever get tired of being in charge?”

If his face changed at that, she couldn’t be sure. The door opened, letting out a soft glow from the lamp she’d left on. She tried to smile, tried to find something casual to say.

“I’ll…”

He touched her cheek, and whatever she’d intended to say was lost in the warmth that emanated from that touch. Her breath caught as his palm cradled her face, tipping it up to his.

His lips found hers, tentatively at first, and then more surely. His hand trailed down her neck, and she felt the pulse there pound against his palm. Warmth flooded through her.

He pulled away, finally, looking as startled and bemused as she must have looked. His fingers trailed down her cheek, leaving heat in their wake.

“Good night.” His voice was husky. “Lock the door.”

He waited until she was inside, until the dead bolt clicked. And she waited until she heard his footsteps recede and the truck drive away. Even then, her breath still came quickly.

Something had happened, something more than just a kiss. She didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she knew that their relationship had changed. Irrevocably.