Hold Your Breath (Search and Rescue) (4 page)

“Which list?”

She ignored Callum’s comment. “Thanks for ordering the tire for me. What do I owe you?”

A little proud at how she managed to repress her wince at the amount, she pulled out her battered bank card. Her hand shook only a little as Donnie took it from her.

“That did look like it was done with a knife,” Callum said quietly, leaning so his mouth was close to her ear. “You been annoying anyone lately?”

“Besides you?”

“Yes.”

“Nope.” Rubbing her forehead with the heel of her hand, she shrugged. “No one that I know of, at least. I might be ignorantly aggravating random people, though. I wouldn’t put it past me.”

He reached up to gently squeeze her shoulder before pulling away. “I’ll take a closer look at the other flat when we get back to the station.”

At the thought, she felt her stomach clench. “That’s probably another tire Donnie won’t be able to patch. Shoot. Guess ten-ply tires just jumped even higher on my list.”

“You know,” Donnie said, handing back her card, “you might want to wait on getting those Load E tires until you figure out if anyone’s stabbing holes in them.”

Her teeth ground together, but she managed a tight smile. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” His face grew serious. “And let me know if you hear anything more about the guy you found in the reservoir. I might call a couple of guys I haven’t seen in a while, just to make sure they’re okay.”

She murmured something noncommittal and backed toward the door. “Thanks, Donnie. Can we just back up Callum’s truck to the garage bay?”

“That’ll work. Have a good one!”

“Too late.” Lou sighed.

* * *

The second tire had definitely been slashed. Even Lou, despite her lack of experience, could tell that the long, even cut had not been inflicted by a rock.

Frowning harder than usual, Callum examined the ruined tire. “Where were you when the other tire went flat?”

“I was at my day job. The Coffee Spot.”

He shot her a look. “I know where you work, Sparks.”

“Right. I knew that. I think this day has just turned my brain into goo.” She tugged her cap down over her ears. Now that it was dark and the wind had picked up, the mostly empty parking lot was even colder than before. “I was parked in back, in that dirt lot off the alley.”

“What time?”

“I closed that night, so probably seven thirty? Quarter to eight, maybe? It was well after dark, I remember. I could tell something was wrong with my truck, since it looked uneven, but I thought I’d just parked with one wheel in a low spot or something. That halogen light in the parking lot casts some funky shadows. It didn’t register in my brain that it was a flat until I was right up next to it.”

He didn’t say anything until after he lifted the tire with enviable ease into the bed of her pickup. Dusting off his gloves, he turned to look at her again. She braced, since she knew his “lecture face” all too well. It was not her favorite expression.

“You were alone?”

“Leaving work?” She knew where this was headed. “Yeah. It’s really slow after five in the winter, so Ivy schedules only one of us to close. Plus, since Sylvia quit a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been shorthanded. I’m scheduled to work by myself for every shift this week.”

“Huh.” He pulled his dive-team baseball cap halfway off his head before yanking it back into place. “Don’t like that.”

Releasing a silent sigh, she restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Barely. “Can I get a lecture rain check? It’s really cold.”

He changed to her second-least-favorite expression—irritation—but gave a short nod. “Get home. Lock your doors.”

“Yes, Dad,” she said, grinning at him to soften the sarcasm. “Thanks. I really appreciate you helping me out tonight.”

He didn’t acknowledge her thanks but just said, “File a report with the sheriff about those tires.”

“Will do. First thing tomorrow.” She saluted and climbed into the cab, leaving her door open as she fired up the engine. Her faithful truck turned over immediately, as usual. She patted the dash.

“Did you just
pet
your truck?”

She shrugged. “She’s a good truck.”

Shaking his head, Callum headed back to his own vehicle. Lou could hear him muttering under his breath until he shut his cab door—but before he’d turned away from her, she’d caught the smile on his gruffly handsome face.

* * *

In the shadows of a nearby shed, he watched the taillights of her pickup turn out of the fire station lot. That big guy in the baseball cap thought he was being helpful, but his interference was just delaying the inevitable. Turning away from the now-empty parking lot, he started the half-mile walk to where he’d parked his car. As he unlocked his tense fists, stretching his fingers wide, he felt the anger screaming for release.

He took a deep breath, then another. He just needed to be patient. Soon, this would all be over.

Since she didn’t start work at the coffee shop until noon, she fulfilled her promise to Callum and pulled up to the sheriff’s office just after eight the next morning. She stopped by Donnie’s on the way, to pick up the first damaged tire and yet another intact spare.

As she pushed open the front entrance marked “Field County Sheriff Department,” she looked around with interest. Although she’d been living in the area for the past seven months, Lou hadn’t had the opportunity to visit the stout, blocky building on the north end of town until now. It was, she figured, probably a good thing not to be too familiar with law enforcement offices.

The friendly blond deputy from the day before greeted her. “Lou, right?”

She nodded, racking her brain. She was horrible at remembering names, but his had fortunately managed to stick in her memory. “Chris?”

“That’s me.” His smile widened. “What can I do for you?”

Making a face, she gestured in the direction of the parking lot, where her truck was sitting—hopefully still on four inflated tires. “I wanted to make a report. I’ve had a couple of slashed tires over the past week.”

His smile dropped. “Sorry to hear that. You’re sure it was deliberate? The roads around here can be tough on tires.”

“Yes, unfortunately. Donnie noticed the first one, and Callum and I both agreed the second one looked cut. They’re out in my truck if you want to take a look.”

“Sure thing. Hang on a second.” He ducked back into the office closest to the reception area. When he reemerged, he’d pulled on a jacket and was carrying a small notebook and a camera. The portable radio on his duty belt beeped as he turned it on. “I’d been doing some research on the computer. You learn to make sure to log off around here. If you stay signed in, one of the other cops is going to get on your email, and that’s never good. Everyone in the department gets invited to your place for steak and lobster, or somehow your resignation letter gets sent to Rob, or some other crazy thing.”

She blinked, absorbing this. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing to admit, but I’d probably fit in pretty well around here.”

With a laugh, he held open the door, allowing her to step out first into the parking lot.

“Were you working on the case of the dead body?” She winced a little. When she said it like that, it sounded like the title of a very uninventive British mystery.

“Yeah.” He eyed her carefully as they half walked, half slid over the snow-coated asphalt. “You doing okay? That’s a pretty traumatic thing to have happen.”

Her nod turned into a shrug halfway through. “Mostly. I had some crazy dreams last night. I’ll be fine, though. We all have to experience our first dead person sometime.”

He looked across the parking lot, expression distant. “True.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she moved to open her tailgate, revealing the tires. Chris frowned as he tugged the closer one toward him, leaning in to examine the gash. He took a couple of pictures and then pulled a small ruler out of his pocket. Holding it below the cut, he took a few more photos and then repeated the process on the second tire.

Turning off the digital camera and tucking it into one of his many BDU pockets, he flipped open his notebook and grabbed a pen. “Let me just write down your plate number, and we can go inside where it’s warm for the rest of this.” With one hand, he closed her tailgate.

“Do you agree that someone did this on purpose?” She huddled in her coat as he scribbled down the numbers. Just in the short time they’d been outside, the cold had crept through her layers. Tiny shivers were vibrating through her, making her voice shake.

Giving her a sharp look, Chris urged her toward the building with a hand on her upper back. “Looks that way. Where were you parked when it happened?”

“Behind The Coffee Spot the first time.” A sheen of ice on the ground caught her eye, so she carefully shuffled her boots across the slippery patch. “Yesterday, my truck was in the Fire Station One parking lot all day.”

“This was two separate incidents?”

“Yep.”

“Hmm.”

They walked back into the warmth of the lobby, and Lou shivered, this time from the relief of escaping the cold. Chris led her to the back office, tapping a key fob against the sensor next to the door. When a small green light flickered, he twisted the handle and held it open, standing to the side so she could enter.

The room was cramped, barely big enough for the desk and two battered chairs it contained. A computer that looked like it had been through a lot of hard use sat in the center of the desk. Chris gestured toward one of the chairs, and Lou took a seat.

“So.” Chris sat back in his chair. “Who’d you piss off?”

She frowned. “That’s the second time someone’s asked me that in the past sixteen hours. Have you been talking with Callum?”

With a laugh, he said, “Nope. It’s just the obvious question.”

“I can’t think of anyone. Seriously, I’m a very likeable person.”

He laughed again. “I can see that.” Tapping his pen against his notepad, he stared at the Field County map hanging on the wall. “You live in Burton Valley, right? So, some of your neighbors are the Taylors, Gene Wentworth, Terry Buck…who else is out there?”

“The Moonies own the place next door, but they live in Arizona and have only been out a couple of weekends this winter. Oh, and the father and son who have the same jacked-up teeth are in that trailer about a half mile south of me.”

“Right!” He snapped his fingers. “How could I forget Tim and Tim Junior Helling?”

“How indeed?”

He started the pen tapping again. “Any trouble with any of them?”

“No. The older Helling freaks me out a little when he talks about how the perfect world population is eleven million people, but he’s always pretty polite about it. I’m about sixty percent sure he’d allow me to stick around with the others.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that theory from him a few times. He’s harmless, though. How about any of the other neighbors? Hard to imagine it’s one of them. You have a pretty nice bunch out there.”

She shot him a sideways look. “You almost sound a little disappointed that I don’t have any real crazies within spitting distance.”

“Well, their sanity is not helping us widen our suspect pool.”

“True.” She thought for a moment. “Vic and Missy Taylor are sweethearts. Vic used their skid steer to blow the snow out of my driveway in January. Unfortunately, the county road was still blown over with three-foot-high drifts, but I could drive up and down my driveway if I wanted.”

He motioned for her to continue.

“Gene’s been pretty friendly. After his last stroke, though, he’s really gone downhill. He was telling me how he can barely see ten feet in front of him. I don’t think he should be driving.”

Frowning, Chris made a note. “Thanks. I’ll check it out. How about Terry?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve ever met him. Wait—does he drive a black pickup with a blue topper?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve waved when our trucks have passed each other on the road, but that’s about it.”

“Hmm.” He flipped through the pages in his notebook where he’d been scribbling as she talked. “How about before? Where are you from?”

“Connecticut.” She was already shaking her head. “The only people I aggravated there were my parents, and they wouldn’t even come out here to visit, much less skulk around dark parking lots stabbing my tires.”

“No ex-lovers, boyfriends, stalkers, roommates, rivals?” he rattled off, making her stare and then laugh.

“An ex-boyfriend, but he wouldn’t do anything like this.”

“You sure about that? People can surprise you.”

“Positive.” Despite the ugliness of their breakup, the ridiculous thought of Brent tramping around in the snow slashing tires made her smile grimly. “He’s not a fan of getting his hands dirty.”

“What’s his name?”

“Brenton Lloyd.”

Chris scribbled in his notebook and then looked at her. “Any other possibilities?”

“Not that I can think of. Sorry. I lived a very boring, nonconfrontational life.”

“Okay.” He closed his notebook and stood. “I’ll do some digging. In the meantime, keep your eyes open. Park in well-lit, heavily trafficked areas as much as you can. Don’t be closing the coffee shop by yourself. Here.” He handed her a card. “Call me if anything else happens or you remember something that might be relevant.”

“Got it.”

His serious expression faded and was replaced by a hint of a smirk. “Hang around Callum as much as you can. Don’t think he’d mind.”

“Uh, yeah, no. I annoy him. Greatly.”

The smirk turned into a full-on grin. “Just saying. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you at the reservoir yesterday, and I wouldn’t say he looked annoyed. Befuddled, maybe.”

“Befuddled?”

“Befuddled.”

“I think
you
might be the befuddled one, Deputy Chris, if you think Callum Cook has any interest in me.”

He laughed. “Deny it all you want. But you’re not the dashing law enforcement officer with the keen eye for observation.”

With a snort, she turned for the door. “Keen eye, my ass.”

As she walked through the lobby, a harassed-looking Rob barged through the front doors. He stopped his forward charge just short of crashing into her.

“Sorry about that, Lou,” he said.

“No harm done.” She eyed his frown. “Rough day?
Another
rough day, I mean.”

“State investigators are here.” His scowl started to return. He looked a little worn around the edges. On him, the exhausted look was surprisingly appealing. Although she wasn’t interested in Rob that way, she was surprised he’d managed to remain single. The stoop of his shoulders made her want to watch over him as he took a much-needed nap, and she couldn’t be the only woman who felt that way. “Which means dealing with the usual dick-measuring.”

Confused, she asked, “But I thought you asked them to come?”

“I did. It’s just the typical bullshit that happens when you put a bunch of people who are used to being in charge together on one crime scene. Too many alpha dogs always leads to a snarl or two.” He shook his head and looked at her sharply. “Enough about that. Did you need to talk to me?”

“No, Chris already took my report.”

“Report?”

She shrugged. “Someone slashed a couple of my tires.”

Rob looked over her shoulder, and she turned to see Chris joining them. “I’ll have the report to you by the end of my shift,” the deputy said.

“Good.” Rob turned back to Lou. “Sorry to hear about your tires. I’ll make sure we look into it. You’ll have to excuse me now. I just need to pick up a couple of things before heading back out to the scene.”

“No problem.” She took a step toward the door. “Good luck with the whole dick-measuring thing. Thanks, Chris.”

Both men lifted their chins in the exact same good-bye gesture, forcing Lou to have to quash a smile before it could make it to her lips.

The two men moved toward the office and, as she reached the door, she overheard Rob ask, “Any luck here?”

“Not yet. No one in Field County matching his description—well, the neck-down description—was reported missing between last October and January. I even stretched it a couple of months and checked August and September. I’m working my way through the missing-person reports from the entire state, but that’s going to take me a while.”

“Okay. Keep on it. We’ve got no way to identify the victim right now, even though the state’s dive team is pulling up a ton of shit out of the water that they’re calling ‘potential evidence.’ I’ll…” He went silent for a second before raising his voice. “Did you need something else, Lou?”

“No.” She sent him a sunny smile over her shoulder. “I’m good for now. Thanks!”

Knowing she couldn’t stall and listen any longer, she pushed open the door and stepped out into the frigid wind.

* * *

Lou’s shift at The Coffee Spot had just started when Callum shoved open the glass door, sending the attached sleigh bells swinging. She grimaced. When she’d first started working at the coffee shop, she’d enjoyed the Christmassy sound. Now, however, familiarity had definitely bred contempt.

“What’s that look?” Callum asked a little snappishly as he approached the counter.

“Those bells. I want to rip them off and hurl them into the street for a semi to squash.”

“Oh.” He blinked. “I figured it was me.”

Lou looked back and forth between the bells and the man, pretending to consider. “Nope,” she finally said. “The bells are more annoying.”

Instead of his usual glare, he just ignored her. He must have been in a good mood.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He scowled at the menu, written on an oversized whiteboard and pinned high on the wall behind Lou. “Just black coffee. None of the fancy, sugary stuff.”

“Got it.” Grabbing the travel mug he held out to her, she headed for the pot of plain house brew. “
Manly
coffee.”

Callum eyed her as if checking for sarcasm. She wasn’t sure why he bothered. With her, sarcasm was guaranteed, a free bonus to go with his caffeine fix. “Did you talk to the sheriff about your tires?”

“Yep.” She handed him his filled mug as he passed her a five dollar bill. After she gave him his change, he tucked everything she’d returned to him in the tip jar. Lou bit back a pleased smile. “Thanks. I went in first thing this morning, as a matter of fact. Well, second thing. I picked up a spare and the first stabbed tire beforehand. The sheriff wasn’t there, though—not until I was leaving, at least. I talked to one of the deputies.”

“Chris Jennings?”

“That’s the one.” She grabbed a wet cloth to wipe the counters. They were already clean, but Lou needed something to look at besides Callum…especially with Deputy Chris’s comments running on repeat in her brain. “He was really thorough. I thought they’d blow me off, especially with a murderer running around, but he seemed to take it seriously.”

“Huh.” As he took a sip of coffee, he watched her over the top of his mug. “I bet he did.”

That brought her head up. “Why?”

He was quiet for a moment and then said, “He’s a…thorough guy.”