Appalachian Abduction (Lavender Mountain Book 2; Appalachian Magic) Page 13

  “Emily.”

  “Nice. What’s your name?”

  “Sarah Slackum. I’m four years old and live at 19 Pence Street.” Sarah smiled at her mom. “I ’membered, Mama.”

  The woman teared up. “Ya done good, honey. Said everything like I told ya to do if’n ya was lost or the police asked ya questions.”

  James kept his focus on the man as the women left the room. “What happened here? Did she hit you in the face with that poker?”

  “Damn sure did.” He grasped the arms of the recliner and held tight.

  The man had the nervous energy of an angry, caged tiger. He still needed to be talked down a few notches.

  “How did this get started?”

  “I come home late and she started accusing me of being with another woman. I’ve had it up to here.” He karate chopped the air by his neck.

  “Been drinking?” James nodded at the mason jar of applejack moonshine on the coffee table.

  “A wee bit,” he admitted. “But so did Edna.”

  “You need to go to the hospital?”

  “Nah. This ain’t nothin’.”

  “You want to press charges?”

  The man snorted. “I’d hear no end of that at the factory. Everyone would make fun of me getting whupped by a woman.”

  “This a regular occurrence with you and your wife?”

  “This ain’t the first time,” he admitted. “Ought to be in yer records somewhere about us.”

  “It’s not good for the children. Ever considered getting counseling?”

  “I ain’t no alcoholic.”

  “That may or may not be. But I’m suggesting that you and your wife take anger management classes.”

  “But she hit me. Edna’s the one that needs them there classes.”

  “Think about it for your children’s sake. I’m reporting this domestic disturbance to a social worker. She’ll talk to you and your wife about the classes and check out the children’s safety. Be expecting a visit.”

  “What’s he still doin’ here?” Edna cried out, striding toward them.

  Charlotte blocked her path and ordered her to sit on the couch. Surprisingly, Edna complied, putting her head in her hands. Her whole body shook with sobs.

  “You’ll be glad to know your husband isn’t pressing assault charges,” James said.

  Edna dropped her hands and snapped her face up. “But it was his—”

  James held up a hand. “You can’t assault people. Ever. For now, let’s just try to get through this evening without this situation escalating. Think of your children.”

  Silence at last descended in the room.

  “For tonight, I think it’s a good idea if you two are separated. Have either of you got somewhere you can go for a night?”

  “I ain’t a-leavin’ my children,” Edna said. “Make Boone go.”

  Boone rose. “Didn’t plan on stayin’ here’s no way. I’m staying with Grady.” He grabbed a jacket and weaved his way outside of the house.

  James followed him onto the porch. “How do you plan to get there? You can’t drive anywhere in your condition.”

  Boone held up a cell phone. “I’m callin’ my brother to come git me.”

  “We could give you a lift.”

  “Nah, Grady be here in less than five minutes. I’ll wait here on the porch for him.”

  * * *

  THEY WATCHED AS Boone climbed into his brother’s pickup.

  “Great job in there,” she said, leaning her head back in the car seat. “Nice touch about contacting the social worker.”

  James nodded and started the cruiser. “I’ll make sure either life gets more peaceful in that house, or the children are removed if they’re in danger.”

  She cast a sideways glance, studying his strong profile. He’d be a great father one day—calm but firm, and loving. Tonight’s call had been tense, but they’d worked together as a team, and every time she saw James in action, her respect for the man grew.

  “I see how your department is a real asset to the community,” she observed thoughtfully. Normally she measured success by the number of arrests made and the amount of contraband recovered. But there was another side of law enforcement, too. One where officers worked with more normal citizens and aided the vulnerable who needed them to intervene on their behalf.

  “We try. The job has turned out to be a lot more enjoyable and interesting than I imagined it would be.”

  “What made you take it to begin with?”

  “I was drifting after getting out of the army. Had become a bit of a recluse, actually. Then the opportunity came along and I took the job, thinking it would be easy, steady work.”

  “Must have been difficult reacclimating to civilian life after leaving the army.”

  “A little,” he admitted. “I wanted peace and quiet when I returned home.”

  “Pretty rough over there?”

  “I’ve seen and heard things that no man can easily forget. Ended up with a mild case of PTSD.” He shot her an uneasy glance. “As my partner, I probably should have mentioned that to you sooner.”

  “I trust you, and evidently Harlan does, as well.”

  “Overall, I’m grateful for my experience in the army. It’s defined who I am.”

  And he was a damn fine man—if a little bossy.

  He might claim the job was coincidental, but there was more to it than that. “I don’t believe you went into law enforcement only because it was convenient. You went in because you believe in justice, especially considering what’s happened to your family.”

  He slanted her a thoughtful look. “Maybe. Glad to know I have your trust. I have a feeling you don’t trust others easily.”

  “I don’t.” She drew a deep breath. What had Miss Glory said about opening her heart? James had opened his a crack, she could do the same. “My partner before you, Danny, ran out on me during a botched drug bust. Left me alone with a pretty scary suspect who had pulled a gun on us.”

  “What a son of a bitch.”

  “It gets worse. We...had a thing going for several weeks before this happened.” There. She’d spit it out. What a fool she’d been.

  “A double betrayal,” he said, mouth grim. “That explains a lot.”

  The police radio crackled. “Fire reported at 101 County Road 14. Fire truck en route. Nearest officer please respond.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Is there a full moon tonight?”

  “What the...” James picked up the mike. “Officers en route.”

  “Can’t someone else take this call?” she asked. “We’ve done enough—”

  “That’s my cabin.” He flipped on the blue lights and siren, hit the accelerator and spun the cruiser onto the road.

  Charlotte held on to the door pull. “Your cabin,” she repeated slowly. Coincidence? No. That old place had been standing for decades. This was a message.

  She licked her suddenly dry lips. Guilt weighted her shoulders. She’d brought this on James.

  They raced through the darkness in silence. Did he blame her for his old homestead going up in flames?

  Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out.

  This is just the start.

  Damn. The anonymous text left no room for doubt. The fire had been intentionally set. Charlotte slipped the cell phone back into her jacket pocket without comment. She’d tell James about it later. He had enough on his mind at the moment.

  In record time, James pulled the cruiser onto the cabin property. At least a dozen other vehicles were parked helter-skelter in the yard and spectators had already gathered, watching as firefighters sprayed giant hoses on the inferno. Orange flames toasted the black sky and the fire’s roar muffled the murmur of human voices.

  There was no saving the family cabin. There wasn
’t even the possibility of saving any items inside, though she doubted anything of sentimental value had been left behind. Anger blazed inside her, as hot as the wall of heat emanating from the burning building. The perpetrators were probably long gone—if this was a professional job orchestrated by Maddie. If so, the bitch was probably standing at the window of her plush mansion, watching as fire glow lit the woods below.

  But if the arson was a mere crime of opportunity by a pervert...her gaze drifted to the tree line. He could be hiding behind one of those trees, getting off watching the sight of his work. She glanced at James, but his focus was all on the cabin. His hands were on his hips, his face stoic. She longed to touch him, offer words of sympathy, but that would hardly do in public. Besides, she’d be of more use to him by finding the perp.

  Charlotte slipped into the crowd and then hurried around to the back of the cabin. Only one lone firefighter fought the flames from the opposite direction. She jogged toward the woods, right hand resting on the holster of her gun.

  A crash boomed from behind and she whirled around. The left cabin sidewall collapsed to the ground and the roof sank on top of it, shooting sparks like the Fourth of July. The smell of burnt pine stung her eyes and enveloped her nose and lungs. She swiped at her eyes and continued into the woods.

  Leaves, twigs and pine needles crunched underfoot, loud as firecrackers in the sudden stillness. Only a few feet past the tree line and the noise of the fire and firefighters was already muffled.

  Screech.

  Her stomach cartwheeled and she raised her gun, spinning in a circle to discover where and what had sounded. Blood pounded in her temples.

  And again, the cacophony arose. Whoo whoo.

  “Just...just a barred owl,” she whispered. Creepy thing was loud as a foghorn. “Nothing to fear.”

  But it took several seconds before her heart ceased its rapid pounding and her breathing returned to normal. Charlotte lowered her gun and searched the inky blackness for signs of anyone hiding.

  Nothing was out of the ordinary. Barren tree limbs reached skyward and the tops of shrubs were laced with crisscrossed shadows from moonbeams. The wind whispered above and around her.

  So why was she so sure that she wasn’t alone?

  Awareness prickled her scalp and snaked down her spine. Someone watched. She listened and strained to pinpoint a location.

  “Charlotte? Charlotte? Are you out there?”

  James. She exhaled in a whoosh and cautiously stepped forward.

  Twigs snapped like a mini explosion from her left side. Footfalls vibrated the ground and at last she could make out the tall figure of a man running deeper into the woods.

  “Halt,” she called out.

  The man kept running, just as she’d expected.

  “Charlotte? Everything okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Be right out.”

  She stepped out of the forest and quirked a brow at his stern face. “I was checking to see if our arsonist was watching all the excitement.”

  “Without backup? What were you thinking?”

  His dad’s cabin was in flames, so she bit off an angry retort. He had enough on his plate without her reminders that he wasn’t her protector on the job. “You were busy,” she said mildly. “Any leads about what started the fire?”

  “They won’t say yet but we both know what happened here. Especially since...” He clamped his mouth shut.

  “Especially since what?”

  “I wasn’t going to mention it but I had a text last night saying to back off.”

  She shook her head in disgust. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Didn’t seem important. I mean, c’mon, it changes nothing. Neither of us will ever back down from pursuing this.”

  She marched past him, eager to leave the dark shadow of the woods and whoever had been out there hiding. “You still should have told me. If you were working with Sammy, I bet you would have, right?”

  “Maybe,” he agreed, falling into step beside her. “And don’t think I’m finished. Promise me you won’t run off on your own again without at least telling me what you’re doing. That’s professional courtesy at the very least.”

  “I can admit when I’m wrong. Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

  “Excellent. I take it you didn’t see anyone?”

  Charlotte hesitated, but she could hardly withhold information after she’d just chastised him for doing the same. “There was someone out there, but he took off running and I never saw his face.”

  “You could have been...” He broke off his chain of thought. “Never mind. You’re here and safe.”

  “I had a text, too, on the way over. It said, ‘This is just the start.’”

  “The Stowerses are getting desperate and they know we’re the ones investigating.”

  “I wonder how much else they know.”

  They trudged back to the fire, wrapped in their own thoughts.

  The fire wasn’t quite as bright and the flames were lower. It wouldn’t take much longer before the firefighters had it completely extinguished.

  “Sorry about your dad’s cabin.”

  James shrugged. “Maybe it’s all for the best. The place was a hard sell for buyers and neither Lilah nor I had any desire to move in.”

  “Speaking of Lilah, I see she and Harlan are here.”

  “And she’s brought Ellie. At least you’ll get to meet my niece.”

  The little family headed toward them. Lilah appeared solemn, but the toddler at her hip was clearly entranced by the fire, and stared at it with saucer-wide eyes.

  “Hey, Ellie,” James said, holding out his arms.

  Charlotte ran a hand down Ellie’s blond curls. “Such a pretty girl.”

  Ellie graced her with a cherubic smile before turning her attention back to James. “See the fire, Uncle Jim Bob,” she squealed.

  Charlotte snickered.

  He winced. “Uncle James,” he corrected her mildly, taking Ellie into his arms. “You okay, Lilah?”

  She nodded, but her lips trembled slightly. “Yeah. A little sad, though. Me, you and Darla had some good times there.”

  They watched in silence as the hoses continued to beat down the flames. Most of the spectators drifted away, driving off in their vehicles. Harlan put an arm around Lilah’s shoulder. “No point hanging around,” he said quietly. “The cold air can’t be good for Ellie’s cold.”

  “You’re probably right,” she agreed.

  They all walked together to Harlan’s car and James strapped Ellie into her car seat.

  “Sorry about the cabin,” she said to Lilah.

  Lilah wasn’t her usual vivacious self, but she mustered a tight smile. “It represented our past. And it held as many painful memories as good ones. As for me, I’ll keep my focus on the present.”

  Harlan glanced significantly at James. “Like I said—trouble,” he muttered.

  Resentment sliced through Charlotte, but she said nothing in protest. How could she? Harlan was right. She’d brought nothing but trouble to James.

  Soon, she reminded herself, this would all be over. She’d leave Lavender Mountain and leave James. In time, he’d forget her and move on with his life—as would she. The thought should have been comforting, but it filled her with sadness.

  Harlan dug into his jacket pocket. “I’d been on the way over to your house to deliver this.” He held out a certified letter. “Captain Burkhart called me and said to make sure to find you. You’ve been formally summoned to a hearing tomorrow to discuss dismissal for job abandonment. Your suspension was over yesterday and you were supposed to have reported back to work today.”

  Damn. She hadn’t paid any attention to the date. Atlanta seemed a lifetime ago. “Tomorrow,” she repeated dully.

  “We’ll go together,” James
said, shooting Harlan a defiant look.

  She stuffed the envelope into her pocket. “This isn’t your problem.”

  “You’re not going alone. End of argument.”

  Like hell it was.

  Chapter Twelve

  “The choice is yours. Report for work here tomorrow morning or be dismissed.”

  “I need more time,” Charlotte pleaded. “Just a few more days and—”

  “You’re fired,” Captain Burkhart said, smugness evident in his pronouncement.

  She clamped her jaw shut and arranged her features to show no emotion. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how those words hurt.

  The man had never liked her. Whether it was because he was a sexist cop or because he’d taken offense for some other unknown reason, Charlotte couldn’t say. But in the two years he’d been her supervisor, he’d made her job hell.

  When she’d reported Danny and Roy’s abandonment at the alley, he hadn’t believed her. Instead he bought into her partners’ lies that she’d been at fault for the life-threatening danger with the drug dealer. According to their false version of the story, she’d carelessly blown their cover and then fled the scene. Valiant men that they were, her partners claimed they stayed behind and pursued the drug dealer—at great risk to their lives.

  Charlotte shook off the old memories and fought for composure. The two other detectives at the hearing stared at her with a modicum of sympathy.

  She rose and lifted her chin. “I used my suspension to pursue this case. My only fault is checking back in a day late. The punishment’s a little stiff for the offense. All I’m asking is permission to use my annual leave for the next few days.”

  Burkhart slapped his hands on the desk. “Enough. We’ve been through this. You’re insubordinate and I don’t believe you ever intend to return to duty.”

  “Not until I have my arrests,” she agreed.

  “And now you’ll never get one.” He also rose from behind his desk. “You no longer have any authority as a police officer. Turn in your badge on the way out.”

  She bit the inside of her mouth, not wanting to lash out and set him straight. She might no longer be employed by the Atlanta PD, but Harlan could still deputize her to work in his jurisdiction until she’d arrested the Stowerses. Right now, she couldn’t think about her future career. All that mattered was rescuing Jenny. After that, she’d have to come to grips with the mess.