Strangers in the Night (17 page)

Abbie reached her parents' place just as her mother was coming out to work in her garden. Dressed in jeans and a loose cotton-print top, she greeted them with a wave. “Hi, you two. You're just in time to help me pull weeds and pick some vegetables for lunch.” After hugging them both, she proceeded into the small shed attached to the garage.

“I know how to pull weeds. Margie showed me.” Emma took her grandmother's hand.

“That sounds like fun, but I just came by to get the rest of our clothes. We'll be staying at the B&B after all.” Abbie had hoped to spend more time there, but with Brent coming after lunch, she needed to step up her plans.

“I figured as much.” Her mother plucked a straw hat from a peg on the wall and disappeared inside for a moment. When she emerged, she had a basket of gardening tools. Abbie could tell the news disappointed her but also knew she wouldn't show that disappointment. Show business did that to people. Not that she wanted her mother to object.

“Can I help, Nana?” This from Emma, who'd poked her head into the shed to watch.

“Only if Mommy says you can.”

Emma bounced and grinned. “Goodie. Mommy, say yes. Please.”

Abbie sighed as expectant gazes locked with hers. She'd wanted the trip to be short but felt herself waver, then realized that having Emma stay with her mother would work out quite well. “Tell you what. If Nana doesn't mind, I'll let you stay here and help her while I go back to Cold Creek to meet with Brent. Then I'll come back and get you.”

“And you'll stay for dinner?” Carlene asked.

Abbie grinned. “Perfect.”

As Abbie pulled out of the driveway, she noticed a rusted red pickup parked a few houses away. As she drove past, the driver ducked out of sight. All she could see was the green plaid of a shirt or jacket. At first she wondered if someone had been following her, but as she made her way toward Cold Creek, Abbie tossed the idea aside.

More than likely, the driver was reaching for something on the floor or in the glove box. She wished she could stop being so paranoid. Still, as Jake had told her, she needed to be on her guard.

For the next two weeks life settled into a routine of sorts for Abbie. Still, she continued to feel unsettled. They had heard nothing from Skye, and Douglas Perkins was still using the B&B as his temporary home. His being there had unnerved Abbie at first, but she had almost become accustomed to having him around. Most afternoons he looked at property with Jake. There was certainly nothing illegal about his being there, but his methods seemed odd to Abbie. He apparently wanted something in the area and hadn't found it as yet.

And Barbara. The police hadn't been able to crack the case. According to Jake, Travis had turned the newspaper clipping over to the authorities. There'd been some flurry over it, with the sheriff wanting to make an immediate arrest. Fortunately, Travis's prints hadn't been on it and the article wasn't enough to make a case against him, so the matter hung there, suspended over them all like some dark and mysterious cloud.

She didn't want to think about Barbara. Yet she couldn't help it. She had gone to the library to get online and learn more about the bank robbery Barbara had been so obsessed about. The gunman had been masked, but in the struggle to take one of the women hostage, his mask had come off. With the bank employees' help, a police sketch artist had put together a likeness. Abbie studied the photo. Had Barbara seen someone in the Cold Creek area who resembled this man? If so, why not go to the police?

Perhaps she thought they wouldn't listen. Had Barbara called them so often with false leads that they no longer considered her information viable? If that were the case, she might have wanted to give the police proof.

Travis had told them that she'd cancelled their date—that she'd had a meeting. Had that meeting been with the bank robber?

Frustrated, she'd made a few notes and gone back to the B&B. There were too many questions—too many missing pieces. Now, as she contemplated Barbara's death again, she wondered if she might be able to find more information. Tim could dig into the case for police details that hadn't appeared in the papers. But would he? Probably not. And she wouldn't ask that of him. Maybe she could talk to Jeff again. On the other hand, why not talk to Barbara's family in Portland? Maybe they could fill in some of the missing pieces. True, the police had talked with them, but they may have missed something.

Dawn had vacated the kitchen by the time Abbie decided to give Jake a call. Judging by the sound of the vacuum cleaner upstairs, Dawn was busy. Abbie would call her mother to see if she'd take Emma for the day. Then she'd let Jake know of her plans and hope he could join her. They hadn't spent much time together and she missed him.

Abbie didn't know why she felt so determined to look into Barbara's murder. Perhaps the driving force came from the fact that she had found Barbara's scarf, which led to finding her body. Or, perhaps she feared that Barbara's death was somehow connected to the note she'd received before purchasing Cold Creek.

None of that mattered really. All she knew was that she felt obligated to Barbara in some strange way. Abbie made her phone calls, took Emma to her mother's, and stopped at Jake's office. Though he'd initially tried to talk her out of going to see Barbara's parents, he relented. And Abbie didn't think it was only to accompany her. They'd talked often of his colleague's death and Abbie knew the going-nowhere investigation played on his mind as much or even more than it did hers.

When she arrived at the office, Jeff was sitting in the chair in front of Jake's desk with his feet propped on the top. He lowered his legs when Abbie came in. “Hi, Abbie.”

Her greeting came with a smile, but at the same time, she gave Jake a questioning look.

Jake cleared his throat. “I called Jeff to get Barbara's parents' phone number.”

Jeff sighed. “I have it, but I'm not sure I should give it to you.”

“We could get it easily enough. There aren't that many Nichols in the phone book.”

Jeff nodded. “That's true. What do you hope to learn by going there? We've already questioned them, and they weren't able to give us any new information.”

She sighed and shrugged. “I can't stop thinking about her. There are so many unanswered questions, like what did she do after the robbery? Why after five years would an article end up in Travis's kitchen drawer? What happened to the woman who was taken hostage? Why did Barbara come here to Cold Creek?”

“That's what we keep asking ourselves, Abbie, and we're coming up empty. I can't stop you guys from going to see her folks, but I'm not sure it's a good idea.”

“I understand your concern, but I feel such a strong connection with Barbara. It can't hurt to talk to them. Since I'm now the owner of Cold Creek, and I found her scarf, I'm involved. Maybe I can learn something.” She licked her lips. “I don't know, really. The idea of talking to them came to me, and I feel I need to follow through.”

Jeff rose. “Like I said, I can't keep you from going. If you do learn anything that might be helpful to the case, I'd appreciate you letting me know.”

“Of course.” Abbie breathed a little easier. She was stepping into the unknown, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Jeff handed Jake a piece of paper. “Here's the number.” Turning to Abbie he said, “I imagine you also plan to check on your sister.”

She nodded, feeling like she was being cross-examined and warned at the same time.

“I'm giving you the name of the officer I talked to on the narcotics squad. He has orders to bring her in if he locates her.”

“Thank you.”

“Talk to him. And don't go looking for her on your own.”

Jake had agreed to go with Abbie for one reason only—okay, make that two. He wanted to protect her and didn't want her carrying out her harebrained schemes alone. He had no doubt that she'd ignore Jeff's warnings and try to locate Skye on her own.

Plus, he wanted to be with her as much as possible. Of course, he'd been elated to be able to cancel his plans to meet with Perkins. Jake suspected the man had no intention of buying anything, but still hadn't been able to figure out why he kept looking. While he hadn't been exhibiting any threats, Jake felt certain he was up to something.

“Thanks for coming with me.” Abbie shifted in her seat, turning to face him.

Jake met her eyes for a moment and thought about stopping the car and kissing every concern and thought from her mind except for him. He reached over to take her hand. “My pleasure.” He cleared his throat and added, “I'm still not sure why we're doing this. It's been five years since the robbery. We don't know for certain if it has anything to do with Barbara's death. What do you think we'll find that the police haven't?”

Abbie bit her lower lip. “I don't know. I want to know what happened to her and maybe her parents can help.”

Jake had called from his office to set up an appointment with Barbara's parents. He'd met them when he'd gone into Portland for the funeral and they were open to seeing him and Abbie. Jeff hadn't been too happy with the plan but, as he said, it was a free country. “So—how is the renovation coming?” he asked.

“Good. Those three guys are perfect.” She grinned. “A little slower than I expected, but thorough. Both the saloon and the house are shored up. They had to replace some rotting beams in the basement of both places. Brent said he was surprised at what good shape the buildings were in. Keith has been cleaning and tearing out wallpaper and preparing to paint. Travis is repairing and refinishing the woodwork.” She chuckled. “All that to say I'm thrilled with the way things are coming together.”

“Good.” Jake eyed the rearview mirror, startled to see a dark sedan behind him.

“What's wrong?” Abbie slipped her hand out of his.

“Probably nothing. The car back there looks like Perkins'.”

Abbie twisted around to look then turned back. “It does, but why would he be following us?”

Jake shook his head. “He probably isn't.” He shared his suspicions about Perkins with her. “I wish I knew why he was hanging around. I don't trust the guy.”

“Neither do I. He makes me nervous.” Abbie clasped her hands and sighed. “I wish he'd go back to California.”

Jake laughed. “Me too, but there's not much we can do about him. Maybe he's hanging around hoping you'll change your mind about Cold Creek.”

“That's not going to happen. Maybe we should just come out and ask him what his plans are.”

“Believe me, I've been tempted to,” Jake admitted. “In fact, last week I asked him what his intentions were.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much. He told me he'd know the right property when he found it.”

The dark sedan pulled to within a few feet of Jake's Cadillac. Much too close. Catching sight of the driver, Jake gasped. “It's Perkins.” Jake gripped the steering wheel and pressed his foot to the accelerator as he took in the terrain around them. They were driving through the coastal range along a curved road with steep drop-offs to the right. He managed to create sufficient space between the two cars, but Perkins closed the gap.