Just Cause (14 page)

Laurel shook her head. “I never agreed to that. You threatened me, and you assumed I’d accept your terms, but I can’t, even if I wanted to. I have nothing. Nothing. What don’t you understand?”

“You got nice clothes.”

“All at least two years old. I haven’t had a new dress since my husband died. Renee, I can’t help you. You’ve wasted the last month, chasing around after me—” Laurel stared at her. “How did you find me, anyway?”

Renee laughed. “You’re not so hard to find. Some things are public record.”

“Not my residence. That was confidential.”

“Tell that to my parole officer.” Renee shrugged.

“He got my address?”

“Just the town. I came out here and put my ear to the ground, so to speak.”

“But—” Laurel stared at her.

“Then I found out I wasn’t the only one looking for you. That cute guard at the hospital put me on to it.”

“Troy?” Laurel asked.

“Whatever.” Renee shook her head. “I don’t know who those other guys are, but they look mean. They tracked you by your car, found your apartment and all. That’s a guy thing, following a car.”

“And how do women do it?” Dan asked. Laurel looked at him in surprise, but Dan had decided it was to their advantage to keep Renee talking. If he could stall her long enough, his hasty 911 call would pay dividends.

“I let them do the work and followed them, of course.” She laughed. “You’re just the cutest thing. I saw you twice at Laurel’s place. The apartment, I mean. And you were packing up her things last week. Seemed personal.”

A minivan came down the road. The driver slowed the vehicle and put down his window. “You folks all right?”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Renee called. “Tow truck on the way.”

The man nodded and was off. Laurel stared after him, but Renee picked up the conversation where she had left off.

“Once I learned those two jerks were on your tail, it wasn’t hard to find you again.”

“Sort of a modified
cherchez la femme,
” Dan said with a half wink. “Very clever.”

Laurel frowned at him.

“Oh,
cherchez la garbage,
” Renee said. “I found you, didn’t I?”

“How have you been living all this time if you have no money?” Laurel demanded.

Renee raised her shoulders slightly. “Best if you don’t know.” She smiled at Dan. “So, anyway, here we are. That truck ain’t much, but I figure you’ve got a bank account, or at least some credit cards. You can let me have some honest money.”

“Extortion isn’t honest, Renee,” Laurel said bitterly.

“Hey, hey, you don’t want to talk like that!” Renee’s head jerked suddenly, and her eyes lost their focus. Dan listened and was rewarded by the sound of an approaching siren.

“Don’t tell me!” Renee glared at Dan.

He turned his palms upward in a gesture of innocence. “We didn’t know it was a friend chasing us. What can I say?”

Renee swore as the patrol car pulled up behind her sedan and an officer got out.

Laurel stared at the approaching officer. Dan’s on-duty partner, Jessica. Perfect. Maybe she could clean this up quickly.

“Hello, Dan,” Jessica said. She looked at each of them in turn and nodded at Laurel. “Hello again.”

Laurel nodded. Renee kept quiet but eyed Jessica warily.

“What’s up, Dan?”

He gestured toward Renee. “This woman followed us out here and ran us off the road. Then she tried to extort money from us.”

“Classic carjacking.” Jessica took out her notebook.

“Hold it!” Renee cried. “We’re old friends, Laurel and me.”

“Really?” Jessica looked her over in distaste. “You should take some lessons in fashion from her. Although that blouse isn’t bad.”

Laurel choked back a laugh, wondering if Dan had told her about the stolen blouse.

“She really whacked your truck, Dan. Too bad. You’ve only had it since January.”

Dan shook his head with a tight smile. “I’ll have to call my insurance company.”

Jessica ordered Renee to stand next to the squad car and patted her down, then put her into the backseat and went to the blue sedan. Dan approached Jessica and said something to her before returning to where Laurel was standing. “I tipped her off that Renee is a convicted felon.”

Laurel nodded. “Dan, I’m sorry. I thought we’d made it. We were leaving all this mess behind us, and then there’s Renee, hungry and loaded for bear.”

He slipped his arm around her. “It’s all right. Jess will sort it out. Come on, let’s see if I can get the truck back up on the shoulder without a tow.”

By the time the pickup was out of the field, Jessica had finished her preliminary work. She approached the truck, and Dan got out.

“Can you hold her?”

Jessica nodded. “You want to sign a complaint?”

“Not really. We were headed out of state.”

“Well, she doesn’t have a valid license.”

“Give us two hours, Jess. Please?”

“I’ll give you more than that. I called it in, and they’re checking for outstanding warrants in Maine, but I can put her down for no license, no insurance and reckless driving. And her name doesn’t match the registration. They’re looking to see if the car’s stolen. I can keep her tied up in red tape at least until morning.”

“Great.”

Jessica walked around the truck and stood by the passenger door. Laurel hesitated, then opened her window.

Jessica looked down at her for a long moment. “You’re not on the run or anything, are you? I’ll get in all kinds of trouble if I find out later you are.”

“No. It’s perfectly all right for me to be here.”

Jessica nodded. “Your friend’s a different story, though.”

“She’s harassed me. By the way, that’s my blouse she’s wearing. She stole it from me.”

“Do you want it back?”

“No, thanks.”

“Tell me something.” Jessica looked past her and through the other window at Dan for a moment, then leaned closer to Laurel and said softly, “Do you love him?”

Laurel felt a sudden affinity for Jessica. “Yes.”

Jessica nodded. “Well, he’s my partner, and he’s a good one. He’d better come back in one piece, in time for my wedding.” She stood up. “All right, Dan. Best of luck.”

Jessica turned back toward the patrol car just as a black Lincoln pulled over on the shoulder opposite Dan’s truck and a man got out.

“Everything all right?” the man called.

“Under control,” Jessica said, barely looking at him.

The man stepped forward and raised a pistol.

“Place your weapon on the ground, Officer.”

J
essica stood still for a moment, and Dan was afraid she would draw her pistol. Instead she turned slowly to face the man.

“Nice and easy,” he coaxed. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

A second man got out of the Lincoln and came to stand beside him.

Jessica eased her gun from the holster and stooped to lay it on the edge of the pavement.

Dan caught a faint sound behind him as Laurel stirred. He turned his head toward the truck and whispered, “Get down. Get low and don’t move.”

“You!” the gunman barked. “Step away from the truck.”

Dan took a small step away from the pickup.

“Put your hands up, where I can see them.”

Dan raised his hands to shoulder height.

“Where’s Laurel Hatcher?” the second man asked.

“In the squad car,” Jessica replied.

Dan clenched his teeth and was silent.

The gunman approached to within six feet of Jessica. “Give me the key.”

She drew her key ring from her pocket and tossed it on the ground at his feet.

Dan watched, ready to act, but the man stepped back and kept the pistol leveled at Jessica, motioning for his companion to pick up the keys and Jessica’s gun.

“Unlock the door,” the first man said, and his friend went to the squad car, fumbling with the keys. He stuck Jessica’s pistol in his belt and held up the key ring.

After several tense seconds, Jessica called, “The one with the square head.”

A moment later, the man swung the door open and Renee stepped out.

“What are you jokers doing here?” Renee placed her hands on her hips. “Thanks for springing me, but I don’t know as that’s prudent just now.”

The gunman glared at his companion. “That’s not Laurel Hatcher, you imbecile.”

“Watch it,” Jessica said.

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Officer,” he said with exaggerated politeness. Then his face contorted and he yelled, “I never shot a
girl
cop before. Tell me now—where’s the Hatcher woman?”

Jessica inhaled with a resigned air. “I thought she was Hatcher. They all lie, you know what I’m saying? Giving a false name to an—”

“Shut up!”

Renee marched past the man who had opened the car door and approached the gunman. “Temper, temper! You’re apt to find yourself in a heap of trouble tonight. That cop is mean. She was going to run me in for nothing, and look at you! You’re holding a gun on her.”

The man swung toward Renee impatiently and Renee sprang like a cat on his arm, throwing her entire weight on the wrist that held the pistol. Jessica jumped to her aid, and Dan took a step as he drew his pistol from the shoulder holster under his jacket.

A shot rang out, but Dan was certain it went wild. Renee struggled with the man, trying to muscle him to the ground, with Jess in the thick of it.

The man nearest the patrol car reached for the gun in his belt, and Dan drew a bead on him. “Hands up!” he yelled.

The man stared at him, then complied. Dan strode to him and took Jessica’s pistol. “Get in the car.”

The man gaped at him, then meekly crawled into the backseat of the police car, and Dan slammed the door. He turned immediately toward the brawl.

“Jess, I’ve got you covered.” He took another step, to where the gunman could see the weapon trained on him.

Jessica stood up slowly, and Dan handed over her pistol.

Renee rolled to a sitting position on the pavement. “Man! I broke a fingernail.”

“Will you do the honors, Dan?” Jessica held out her handcuffs.

“Sure. You okay?”

“All but my bruised ego. Just cuff him and get out of here. I called for backup ten minutes ago.”

“I’d better stay,” Dan said.

“When you hear the siren, you skedaddle.”

Renee stood up, grinning. “Sure. I’m a witness. I saw this cop subdue the both of them single-handed.”

Jessica snorted. “Forget it. You’re still going to jail, sweetheart. But thanks. Just follow my lead when the backup gets here. These nice people drove off thirty seconds before these two goons showed up.”

Dan handcuffed the prisoner and stood back. “Jess, I can stay,” he repeated.

“No. Get her away from this. You’ve got at least twelve hours before the drama queen walks. I’ll see to it. These other guys will have a longer stay, I’m sure.”

Dan nodded. “Thanks.”

He heard the approaching siren as he walked to the pickup.

Laurel was huddled down on the seat, her face bathed in tears.

“It’s all right, Laurel. You can sit up now. Jessica’s got things under control.”

“What about Renee?”

“She’ll behave. She can’t get away—Jess has her car keys, and the backup is here.”

He pulled onto the road. Laurel said nothing, but he heard her sniff once. When they were a good five miles from the scene of the crash, he pulled off at a scenic viewpoint and shut off the engine.

“Come here.” Laurel slid over next to him, and he held her. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

“Oh, Danny, what else can happen?”

“Only good things.”

She sighed. “I prayed.”

He kissed her forehead. “Best thing you could do.”

“But I really lost it back there with Renee.”

“I wanted to know all your quirks.”

“Yeah.” She smiled shakily. “Are we heading for the interstate?”

“The airport first, I think. We can leave the truck in the long-term parking and get a rental. An everyday, blend-in sedan.”

“Are you sure? That will be expensive.”

“I think it’s best. I’ll send my keys to Jess or Owen. One of them can pick up the truck for me.”

“I couldn’t look when I heard the gun go off,” she confessed.

“Good. I told you to stay down.”

Laurel nodded. “I won’t ask you how you got out of that one.”

“A little finesse and some help from our friends.” He squeezed her shoulders and started the truck. “I hate to say it, but you really do owe Renee one now. We all do.”

As they drove across Ohio and part of Pennsylvania, they talked. Laurel began to droop as midnight approached. They stopped for a late supper at a truck stop, and after that she slept. Dan drove on, nearly to New York, before the adrenaline dissipated and he began to feel his fatigue.

Laurel stirred, and he said, “We’d better look for a hotel soon. I need some sleep.” He squeezed her hand. “Want something to eat?”

“No, but I can drive for a while, if you want.”

“We may as well rest.”

They found a hotel near the highway, and Dan carried the briefcase full of documents into his room. He slept for ten hours and awoke feeling guilty, as though he’d neglected his responsibility, but when he called Laurel’s room across the hall, she assured him all was well. He showered and shaved, and they went out for a meal.

They hit the road again, and Dan drove for eight hours into New Hampshire.

“Want to finish it tonight?” he asked her.

“There’s no hurry. It’s Saturday. We won’t be able to see Jim tomorrow, anyway.”

They found another motel, but this time Dan wasn’t tired. Laurel came to his room and sat in an armchair while they watched the news. Dan sat on the edge of the bed, finding the arrangement a bit awkward. When the news was over, he took the remote and flipped through the channels available.

She stood up. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

“All right.” He reached out to her tentatively. She grasped his hands and looked into his eyes, vulnerable and unsure.

“Let’s just say good night.”

He nodded. “Come on. I’ll see you in.”

He went out into the hallway with her and watched as she slid the card into the lock on her door.

“See you in the morning.” She faced him with a smile that threatened to crumble.

The enormity of it struck him between the eyes. He’d just found her, and now he might lose her again, before he had the chance to declare his love for her. He reached for her, and she melted into his arms.

“It’s going to work out,” he whispered.

Far down the hall, a door opened. Laurel pried herself away from him and shrank into the doorway. “Good night, Danny.”

Sunday dawned gray and miserable. Laurel met him in the hallway at seven, dressed in jeans and a blue pullover. They ate the hotel’s continental breakfast and set off northward. In spite of light traffic, the pounding rain slowed their progress.

That night they made two phone calls from a pay phone in Augusta, to Dan’s parents and Judy. Dan insisted that he and Laurel go out for a real meal in a restaurant.

“Want to see a movie?” he asked when they returned to the hotel and entered the lobby, not wanting a repeat of the night before. He went to buy a newspaper from a vending machine by the desk so they could check the entertainment listings. As he approached it, the headline of the secondary article caught his eye, and he stopped in his tracks.
Hatcher retrial approaching. Attorneys prepare for second round
. A small photo of Laurel was surrounded by text.

He turned back, hoping to shield her from seeing it, but she stood beside him, staring at it.

“Might as well get one and see what the public thinks,” she said.

“Are you sure you want to?”

“We’ve read everything else. I don’t think anything can shock me now.”

Dan kept the paper under his arm as they walked to her room. Laurel sat on the bed and opened it.

Laurel pushed the paper at Dan. “You read the rest. I can’t, but I know you need to.”

She crossed the room to the window and stood looking out. Five minutes later, he shrugged, folding the paper.

“It’s nothing, really. Just pretrial publicity. But it’s made the public aware of it again. We’d better keep a low profile and not go out tonight. I’ll call Jim first thing in the morning.”

He shouldn’t have insisted on the restaurant tonight, but he’d wanted to cheer her up and give her a sense of normalcy. At least no one had recognized her.

She walked to the window and peered out between the drapes, then turned and went to the desk, picked up the TV remote and clicked a few buttons.

“Sorry. I’m a little nervous.”

“It’s all right.” Dan checked the TV listing. “Guess we don’t want to watch anything tonight.”

“What, all murder mysteries?”

He shrugged. “Nothing good. Let’s play tic-tac-toe.”

She laughed, but they sat opposite each other at the little table and played tic-tac-toe and the dot game for half an hour. Laurel was reckless, and Dan won time after time.

As he closed the last box on the dot game, she said, “I love you, Dan.”

His heart tripped, and he looked into her solemn brown eyes and started to rise from the chair.

“No, stay right there.” She pressed down on his arm gently.

He sat again, watching her, trying to tell her with his eyes that her words filled him with hope.

She nodded. “Just stay there, please. I don’t trust you any closer.”

He smiled. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Well, until Judy gets here, I say you have to keep your distance.”

“Anything.”

All things gray and miserable faded in importance. The rain, the newspaper article, his doubts about the future.

Thank you, God
.