Faith's Sheriff (Montgomery Family and Friends) (6 page)

The only good thing about the large shattered window in the front of her house was that he was going to finally get his way.   “There’s nothing we can do about this mess tonight.”  He switched from a comforting voice to his most official and intimidating tone.  “Go pack a bag.  You can’t stay here tonight and it’s definitely too late to be bothering Caroline and Kyle. I guess that means you’re stuck with me for the time being.”

Faith turned on the overhead light and looked at the huge rock lying in the middle of all the mess littering her once immaculate living room floor.  “You won’t be getting any arguments from me this time.”  She shuddered at the thought of the injuries she might have gotten if she’d been sitting on her couch when the rock had been thrown through the window.  “What are the chances that this was just a bunch of kids?”  Even as she said the words she knew those chances were slim to none.

“It’s possible, but not likely,” Cole informed her.  “The sheriff’s office hasn’t received any complaints and these sort of things usually start out small and escalate from there.”  He gave her a narrow eyed look.  “You teach elementary school, this is a little beyond their scope.  Have you had any run-ins with neighborhood kids?”

Faith didn’t even have to think about it.  She hadn’t had any problems since she’d moved into the rental house.  “No,” she was quick to tell Cole.  “Everyone has been incredibly friendly to me.”  She hugged herself and gave him a worried look.  “Do you think this has something to do with Jasmine and her family?”

“I don’t know anything for sure right now, and I don’t want to speculate, but it’s a possibility we cannot ignore.  That’s why you’re staying with me.  You go ahead and pack everything you will need for a couple of days while I call this in to the office.  I’ll have one of the on duty deputies come out here to investigate and file a report.”

The thought of people overrunning her once safe and comfortable home upset Faith.  It made her feel like her hold on things was slipping away.  Control she suddenly realized was nothing but a delusion, because one never really had complete control of his or her life.  Faith sure liked to try though.  She’d had enough of letting other people run her life, yep enough to last a lifetime.   “Is that really necessary,” she had to ask even though deep down she knew he was right.

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt,” he sternly replied.  “If this is connected to Tome and tonight’s murder and attempted murder it needs to be properly investigated and documented.  Sunrise is in a few hours and I need to be in my office and hard at work shortly thereafter.  Some sleep sure would be nice.  I have a guest room waiting for someone and that someone might as well be you.  Now grab your stuff and let’s go!”

FOUR

Faith tossed and turned in Cole’s guest bedroom.  She was still awake when the sun became high enough in the sky to cast a faded light through the thin cotton curtains over the window.  She heard the solid thudding sound of a closing door and knew that Cole had left for the day.  She threw back the covers and made her way to the bathroom.  She wanted to take a quick shower and finish the rest of her morning hygiene routine. 

It was a Saturday, so Faith didn’t have to rush off to work, but she did want to visit the rental house.  She needed to notify the landlord and she wanted to start cleanup as soon as the police told her it was okay to do so.  She needed to be out from under Cole’s roof and the sooner the better.  As a matter of fact that very night wouldn’t be soon enough. 

Sleeping under the same roof as Cole Duncan was disconcerting to say the least.  She wanted to attribute her sleepless night completely to the murder of Jasmine’s mother, the disappearance of Richard Tome, and the rock that ended up in the middle of her living room floor, but she couldn’t.  She knew a part of the blame went to her overactive imagination and the wicked images her mind kept conjuring up of a very naked Cole sleeping just a few doors down from her.

****

Cole Duncan looked hard at the large rock a member of the forensics team was holding up for his inspection.  The words GO HOME had been written in jagged lines probably with some type of permanent marker.  Nothing there to help pinpoint a suspect, but it did prove that this was personal.  A commotion at the door caught Cole’s attention.  He left the rock with the investigator to be bagged and tagged and made his way to the door. 

He wasn’t surprised to see Faith standing there in all her glory.  She’d pulled herself up to her full height and her eyes were aglow with righteous indignation as she demanded to be let into her own home.  Cole couldn’t help but chuckle at the picture she made.  She was definitely a force to be reckoned with.  He couldn’t believe her ex-husband had managed to keep her under his thumb for as long as he did.  This woman was a fighter and her feisty spirit was a turn on for Cole. 

He gave his head a visible shake as a reminder to focus on the job.  He stepped up to the door and put himself between Faith and his deputy.  He gave Faith a stern look that stopped her tirade in midsentence.  He dismissed Deputy James Palmer with a curt, “I’ll handle this.  See if there is anything you can do to help wrap this up and get everyone out of here.”

The deputy gave Cole a grateful look and scurried off to another part of the house.  He was fresh out of the academy.  He was very willing to please, but he was green at the job.  He had potential though and given time Cole knew he’d be a great asset to the sheriff’s department.

Faith squared her shoulders for the confrontation to come.  “I just wanted to know what the police have been able to find out.”  She pointed at the retreating officer’s back, “but he wouldn’t even let me in the door.”

“He was just following procedure, Faith.” He tried to lighten the mood a little.  Maybe he could tease a smile out of her.  He really wanted to see her smile.  “He’s new to the job.  Try not to scare him away will you.  I need all the deputies I can get right now.  He’s not used to women with a bite.”

The corner of Faith’s mouth lifted slightly before she even knew what was happening.  “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d be that sensitive.  Who knew a man in uniform would be afraid of little ole me?” 

 Cole relaxed ever so slightly.  It was apparent that Faith was so much stronger than she looked.  She could handle this and she would have to know eventually, so he might as well break the news to her now.  He lightly grasped her elbow and led her through the door.  “Come on in just don’t get in the way.  The investigators are almost finished.  I called your landlord and he is sending someone from a private maid service over to clean up this mess.  Also a man from the hardware store is coming to board up the window.  He will eventually replace it, but he had to do a special order on the glass and can’t fix it until later in the week.”

“Whoa wait a minute.” Faith held up a hand.  “I don’t expect Mr. Morris to pay someone to clean up this mess. I can do it myself.”  She chewed on her bottom lip.  “I hope this doesn’t mean my rent is going to go up anytime soon.  I’m saving to buy my own place,” she confided to Cole.  “That is if things work out at the school and I end up staying in this area.”

The thought of Faith leaving twisted Cole’s gut.  He was quick to reassure her that this little town was the place for her. “Mason Blake has nothing but good things to say about you and your performance in the classroom.  I don’t think you have to worry about the job working out.  I also know that Caroline is thrilled to have you living nearby.  And about Mr. Morris, he likes to fuss over his tenants since he doesn’t have any family of his own left in the area.  Just let him do it this one time.  He’d be the first to tell you that he’s thrilled this place isn’t just standing empty collecting dust.”

“I guess.”  It was time to focus on why she was really there.  “So did the investigators find anything while they were looking over the place?”

“It doesn’t look like there were any intruders, just the rock.”  He pulled her aside and out of the range of anybody that might be eavesdropping. “There was a message written on the rock,” he told her.

Faith gasped.  She hadn’t been expecting this little piece of information.  “What?  Really?”  She shivered and moved just a little bit closer to Cole.  She knew there had always been a good chance that this attack was personal, but a message only served to confirm her worst fear.   “What was the message?”

“Go home.”  Cole didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush, so he blurted out what had been written on the rock.  “Think really hard, Faith.  Is there anyone who would want to scare you out of town?”

“Other than a possible murderer you mean,” her voice hitched on that last word.  Murderer really wasn’t a nice word at all, especially if you thought one had it out for you.

Cole resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her tight.  It wouldn’t be professional behavior and the house was filled with law officers from the county level all the way up to the state level.   “I know this is unsettling, and I’m going to do my best to get to the bottom of it.  I’m going to need your help though.  Are you sure no one else is holding a grudge against you?”

“Nobody that I know of,” she truthfully answered.  “I haven’t been here long enough to make enemies.  I usually hang out with Caroline and the Montgomery sisters.  We all get along just fine.  There are no problems there.”

Cole nodded his head in agreement.  He knew that group well and there was no trouble coming from them.  He’d grown up with Abigail and he also knew Annabel and Aubrey well enough to mentally cross them off of any suspect list.  Caroline was just as sweet as the Montgomery sisters.  Besides she was the one that had invited Faith to move to Florida.  He crossed Caroline off the list too.  “What about work?”

Faith shook her head.  “I really don’t think so.  Everyone at the school has been very friendly.  I think a lot of people know that Mason put in a good word for me with the principal.  That probably guaranteed me the job, but I don’t think there were any hard feelings over his recommendation.  No one was fired to make a spot for me and I think all the other applicants were out-of-towners just like me.”

“Let’s look at this from a different point of view,” Cole suggested.  After all he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t at least contemplate every possible angle. “What if it wasn’t someone trying to drive you out of town, but someone trying to drive you back to where you came from?”  

Faith’s eyes grew wide and she gripped Cole’s arm with trembling fingers.   “Do you really think this might have something to do with my ex-husband?”

“I don’t know, but I have to consider and investigate every possibility.  I obviously don’t know all the details, because you’ve never discussed him with me, but I’ve picked up enough negative vibes from Caroline to know she didn’t like your ex.”  He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask the question.  “Was your ex-husband ever abusive toward you?”

“Mentally and verbally yes,” Faith confirmed.  “He tried to control every aspect of my life and unfortunately I let him get away with it for far too long.    I lost a lot of good friendships including Caroline for a while, because I let him isolate me from family and friends.  His controlling behavior slowly escalated over the years and I finally snapped out of my complacency and took back my life.”

Faith’s ex-husband sounded like a real piece of work.  “Does he know where you are and do you think he’s capable of something like this?”

Faith shrugged.  “I didn’t tell him where I was going, but I didn’t try to keep it a secret either.  He could easily trace me using my professional credentials if he wanted to.  I just can’t see him going to all this trouble though.  We’re divorced and have been for several months.  My gut instinct tells me that Patrick is too lazy to come all this way just to start trouble.  He liked to control me through manipulation.  He wasn’t an in your face kind of person and shattering a large window with a rock in my opinion is very in your face.”

“The act itself does reek of desperation,” Cole thought out loud.  Something a murderer would do, but he kept that chilling thought to himself.

“Exactly,” Faith agreed.  “Patrick is cold and deliberate.  I just don’t think this is his style.”

“That may be, but I still need to mention the possibility of his involvement in my report.  And I need to investigate Patrick Riley if only to rule him out as a suspect.”  Yep that was the reason Cole reiterated to himself.  It had nothing to do with a burning curiosity to know everything about the man that had once been married to Faith, nope nothing at all.

An awkward silence fell as both of them thought about the implications of the vandalism and the accompanying message.  Faith fidgeted from foot to foot until she couldn’t stand her own wandering imagination anymore.  She broke the silence.  “I talked to Caroline before I walked over.  I’m going to stay with her and Kyle for a couple of days, at least until the window is fixed and it’s safe for me to come back here.”  She paused and when the silence grew uncomfortable she pushed the next words out in a mumbled rush.  “Thank you for looking out for me last night and giving me a place to go.”

She gave him a shy smile.  “For the longest time I felt alone in the world.  Now I know I’ll never be on my own ever again and if I need help someone will be there for me.  I’ve got a wonderful circle of friends here and I hope you know that I include you in that group.”

All thoughts of professionalism completely disappeared from his mind.  He pulled Faith close and gave her a comforting hug.  He didn’t care who saw him do it.  “I’m glad you realize you can’t stay here.  And you’re welcome.  Any time you need me you just have to call, Faith.  There will be a place for you in my home anytime you need it.”  And to Cole’s surprise he realized he meant every word.  The more he got to know Faith the more he liked her.  He wanted her safe and he was not opposed to giving her personal protection if she needed it.

“Thank you Cole.”  She hugged him back and allowed her body to relax into the comforting embrace.  “I’m not reckless, Cole.  That written message says it all.  Someone doesn’t want me here.  I’m not going to hightail it back to Georgia, but I’m not going to put myself in harm’s way either.  Nor will I bring danger to Caroline and her family.  At the first sign that someone has followed me over there I will have to leave.  You’ll be the first person I call in both a personal and official capacity.  I promise.”