Finding Forever (Smoky Mountain Lawmen Book 1) (4 page)

BOOK: Finding Forever (Smoky Mountain Lawmen Book 1)
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“He’s
up in his room playing.”

That
was good.  Hopefully, they could keep his world intact for just a little while
longer.  Marcie lowered herself to the couch, worry plain on her face.  “Why?  Gemma,
what’s going on?”

Gemma
settled on the couch next to the older woman.  Ben sat in the chair angled next
to the couch.  She looked helplessly at Ben.  She just couldn’t force the words
past her lips.  Gemma grasped Marcie’s hand and held on for dear life.

“Mrs.
Trent, you have a daughter?  Diana Lowell?” Ben asked.

Marcie
nodded and looked at Gemma.  “Yes.”  Her eyes widened as she saw the expression
on Gemma’s face.  A tear leaked from Gemma’s eye and she tightened her grip on
Marcie’s hand.  “Oh my God!  Has something happened to Diana?”

Gemma
could only nod.  Another tear slipped free.

“She
was found yesterday afternoon in the forest outside of Hot Springs,” Ben said
quietly.  “She’d been murdered.”

A
cry burst from Marcie.  “No!  No, no, no, no, no!”  Gemma hauled the woman
close and wrapped her arms around her as Marcie cried.  Tears rolled down
Gemma’s cheeks.  She looked over at Ben where he sat watching them stoically. 
She had no idea how he broke this kind of news on a regular basis.  She didn’t
think she’d be able to do it even if she didn’t know the victim or their loved
ones.

He
reached out and placed a hand on her knee, oddly knowing she needed his
strength.  Gemma let it flow through her and took a deep breath, her tears
subsiding as she got her focus back.  They needed answers.

Gemma
motioned to the box of tissues on the end table.  Ben passed her a handful as
she pulled back from Marcie.

“Marcie,
I know this is difficult, but Ben needs to ask you some questions,” Gemma
said.  She handed the grieving woman the tissues.

Marcie
wiped her eyes and sat back.  “Of course.”  She turned watery brown eyes to Ben,
trying to hold back the sobs.

“Mrs.
Trent, Gemma mentioned that your daughter met a man a few weeks ago.  Andrew? 
What can you tell me about him?”

Marcie
sucked in a steadying breath before she answered.  “Not much, I’m afraid. 
Diana didn’t date much and when she did she never brought them to the house. 
She always met them elsewhere.  She didn’t want to expose Caleb to anyone who
wasn’t going to stick around.  Unfortunately, none of the men she dated ever
made it past the first few dates for one reason or another.  She mentioned
Andrew, of course, and told me a bit about him.  She really seemed to like him,
but they hadn’t been seeing each other long.  Only a few weeks.”

“Did
she tell you his last name?  What he did for a living?” Ben asked.

Marcie
sniffed and wiped away more tears.  “Yes.  His last name is Emerson and she
said he was a day trader.”

“Did
she say if he worked for a company or if he was independent?”

“She
didn’t say.  I’m not sure if she knew.”

“Was
there anyone else new in her life?”

Marcie
shook her head.  “No.”

“Other
than the hospital where she worked and the equestrian center where she took
Caleb for lessons were there any other places she frequented?”

“Um,
she took Caleb to a play therapy session once a week and they spent a lot of
time on the weekends in the forest.  Caleb likes the birds.”

“Did
you ever accompany them on their walks?” Ben asked.

Marcie
shook her head.  “No.  I broke my ankle a decade ago and it never healed quite
right.  I can’t walk long distances.”

Ben
nodded and stood.  He motioned Gemma to follow him.  Perplexed, Gemma excused
herself and did as he asked.  He walked several feet away where they were out
of ear shot of Marcie.

He
bent his head low.  “I need to talk to the boy,” he murmured softly.  “He may
have seen something in the woods.  I don’t like that they spent so much time
there and that’s where she was found.  It’s sounding all kinds of alarm bells
in my head.  The kind you don’t ignore.”

Gemma
nodded as she sucked her lower lip into her mouth and chewed on it
thoughtfully, weighing his request.  “You’ll have to get Marcie to agree to it
and you have to let me lead the questioning.  You’re much to imposing of a
figure for him.”

She
could see the inner debate going on in Ben’s head.  They had agreed she
wouldn’t do the investigating, but if she took the lead on questioning Caleb,
it would put her square in the hot seat.  Finally, Ben nodded.  “Okay.  You’re
the expert here.  I have no idea how to handle a child like him.”

Gemma
nodded and walked back over to Marcie.

“Marcie.” 
Gemma knelt before the older woman and took her hand.  “We need to ask Caleb
some questions.  He may have seen something or someone in the woods.  We won’t
bring up Diana’s death.  We’ll leave that to you to break it to him when and
how you see fit.”

Marcie
looked up at Ben where he loomed over them.  “I don’t know.  You know how he
is, Gemma.  He’s not crazy about men, especially ones so…intimidating.  No
offense, Agent Davidson.”

“None
taken, ma’am.  I’m well aware how imposing I can appear.  But it would be
really helpful if we could ask Caleb a few questions.”

Gemma
chewed on her lip again as they waited for Marcie’s answer.  She could only
imagine what was going through Marcie’s head.  Upsetting Caleb was the last
thing any of them wanted.

“Alright,”
Marcie relented.  “But please tread carefully.”

“We
will,” Gemma promised.  “Why don’t you go get him and we’ll wait down here.  I
have an idea to help Caleb feel more comfortable.”

As
soon as Marcie left the room, Gemma grabbed Ben’s hand and hauled him across
the room to where a child’s size table and chairs sat in one corner.   

She
pushed him down to the floor in the corner.  “Sit here,” she said.  “Whatever
you do, stay seated.  You’re so large you’ll frighten him if you stand.  From
what Diana’s said, his father is a big man and he wasn’t nice to them when he
still lived with them and it has left Caleb wary of large men.  We don’t want
Caleb to equate you with him or we’ll get less than nothing out of him.”

Ben
nodded and tried to make himself as small as possible.

“And
give me your gun and put your shield away.  He doesn’t need to know you’re a
cop.  As far as he’s concerned we’re just asking questions about people in the
woods.”

Ben
hesitated slightly before handing her the weapon.

“I
feel naked, just so you know,” he muttered as he pulled his badge off his belt
and tucked it into his pocket.

Gemma
smiled despite the situation.  “I promise I’ll give it back as soon as we get
to the car.”  She shoved the gun in her purse out of sight just as they heard
footsteps on the stairs.

Gemma
grabbed some sheets of paper and a box of crayons from the shelves next to the
table and knelt next to Ben between him and where Caleb would sit. 

Marcie
walked into the room, a blond-haired eight year old beside her just as Gemma
got settled.

“Hi
Caleb,” Gemma greeted softly.  “I just stopped by because I heard you had a
great place to go hiking where there are lots of birds.  My friend, Ben,” she
motioned to Ben, “and I love to go birdwatching and we were curious about where
you went.  Can you come sit down with us and tell us about your favorite birds
and places to see them?”

Marcie
hovered behind the boy as he decided.  Gemma could see him sizing up Ben.  Ben,
bless him, had his knees drawn up and his shoulders hunched, trying to appear
non-threatening.  Gemma offered the boy a smile, willing all the nerves out of
her eyes.  Caleb cautiously made his way over and sat down in the chair next to
Gemma.  Marcie knelt at the very end of the table, opposite Ben.

Gemma
handed Caleb the crayons.  “I thought maybe you could draw me some pictures of
the birds you see, so we can watch out for them too.”

The
boy nodded and immediately started to draw.  Words began flowing from his
mouth—all about birds.  Gemma knew from their sessions together that Caleb had
an obsession with birds at the moment and could go on for days.

The
adults listened for a while as Caleb described the bird he was drawing.

When
he finally took a breath, Gemma quickly jumped in.  “Can you tell me the best
place to see this bird?  We want to make sure we find the right place to go so
we can hopefully see it,” Gemma said.

“They
like the water because there are a lot of bugs there.” he replied.

“Water? 
You mean near a river?”

The
boy nodded.  “I always see it there along with this one too.”  Caleb grabbed
another sheet of paper and started drawing another picture.

“Do
you remember which river, Caleb?”

“I
don’t know the name, but Mom always takes me to a wildlife preserve.”

Gemma
smiled.  “That’s great, Caleb.  These will really help.  Do you ever see
anything besides birds?”

The
boy shrugged.  “I don’t really look for anything else.”

“So
how did you find out the wildlife area was the place to see these birds?  Did
you just hike there one day and see the birds or did someone tell you it was a
good place to go?” Gemma asked, switching tactics.

“Ranger
Jack showed us the spot.  He also showed me where to find woodpeckers and blue
jays.”  Caleb launched into dissertation on both birds that would put the
Audubon’s bird guide to shame.

Gemma
listened intently, knowing how important it was to be interested in what he was
saying.  She didn’t want him to feel like he was being ignored.

“Wow! 
That’s great, Caleb.  I didn’t know you knew so much about those birds.  Did
Ranger Jack teach you all that?”

Caleb
shook his head.  “I read most of it in books, but he told me some.”

“That’s
great.  What does Ranger Jack look like?” Gemma asked.  Maybe they could track
this ranger down and see if he’d seen anything unusual.  “Ben and I will look
for him on our hike and ask him to show us the birds too.”

Caleb
nodded enthusiastically, eager to share his hobby with others.  “Yellow hair,
but darker than mom’s.”

Gemma
nodded.  “Does he have brown eyes or blue?”

“Brown.”

“Is
he taller than your mom?”

Caleb
nodded.

Gemma
tried to think of another man that Caleb knew that was tall.  “Is he as tall as
my brother, Tristan?”

“No.”

“Okay,
that’s very helpful, Caleb.  I think we’ll know him if we see him now.”  Gemma
was about to thank the boy for helping when he began talking again.

“If
he’s not in the woods sometimes I see him at school.”

Gemma
frowned.  “So, he comes to your class to talk about the park?”

Caleb
shook his head.  “He’s in a car by the playground.”

Alarm
bells went off in her head.  Maybe they wouldn’t be asking Ranger Jack about
unusual activity in the park.  Maybe
he
was the unusual activity.  She
looked at Ben.  He was watching Caleb intently.  Marcie sat clutching her hands
together trying not to touch Caleb and distract him.

“Do
you ever talk to him when you see him at school?”

Caleb
shook his head, drawing another bird, this time a hawk.  “He usually just sits
there watching.”

“Watching
you?” Gemma asked softly.

Caleb
nodded not looking up from his picture.  Gemma saw him draw a breath, about to
launch into a detailed history of likely the hawk.  She quickly cut in, wincing
a bit at how rushed she sounded.  “What color was his car, Caleb?  So we can
look for it when we go hiking,” she added, softening her words.

Caleb
paused in his drawing and frowned, clearly trying to shift gears.  Gemma
repeated the question and he answered.  “Dark green.” 

“Was
it a car like your mom’s?” Gemma asked.  Diana drove a late model sedan.

Caleb
shook his head.  “Bigger.”

“Was
it an SUV?” she asked.

Caleb
looked up questioningly. 

“A
big boxy looking vehicle, like my friend Ben’s car out there.”  Gemma pointed
out the front window where Ben’s black Jeep Cherokee was visible.

Caleb
looked out the window and nodded. 

“So,
were the park and the school the only places you saw him?”

Caleb
nodded.  “He’d sit there till I left with mom and then follow.”

Gemma
had to suppress the urge to gasp.  Marcie couldn’t and Caleb glanced at her.

“Caleb,
did the man follow you home?”  Gemma asked gently.

The
boy nodded, but didn’t look up, intent on coloring in the hawk he’d drawn.

“Did
he follow you anywhere else?”

Caleb
shook his head and started talking about his hawk.  Off topic now, Gemma
couldn’t see a good way to steer him back.  She looked over at Ben and
wordlessly conveyed that she was at an impasse.  He nodded.

BOOK: Finding Forever (Smoky Mountain Lawmen Book 1)
8.71Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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