Where Angels Tread (19 page)

“What’s this about?” Shane whispered to Buddy as he took his place around the conference table. Chief Palen had called an emergency meeting at the station, and his already tense staff was squirming uncomfortably in their chairs as they waited for him to arrive. “Someone else wasn’t hurt, were they?”

“I don’t think so,” Buddy whispered back, glancing around to make sure that no one was listening to them. “But it better be for a good reason. Maribel’s already up in arms about this whole situation, and when I got called away from the dinner table I thought she was going to phone Palen herself and give him a piece of her mind. She’s really mad.”

“Why?” Shane was genuinely perplexed. If anything, he thought that Maribel would be comforted to know that Palen was taking the shootings so seriously; the manhunt for the perpetrator had now spread across three counties.

“She thinks we should have caught him by now.” Shane opened his mouth to argue, but Buddy raised his hand to cut him off. “I know it doesn’t make sense. I’ve told her we’ve been working our tails off, but she’s upset just the same. I can’t blame her. I’m sure it’s not easy sitting at home with Henry wondering whether or not I’ll be next.” Buddy shuddered. “I’ll be able to breathe easy again once this guy’s behind bars.”

Shane nodded, remembering the conversation he had just last night with Heidi as they sat cuddled on the couch together, watching the local news. When they flashed the artist’s sketch of the unnamed man across the screen, Heidi covered her eyes with her hands. “I can’t even bear to look at this,” she had said. “It makes me crazy knowing he’s out there at the same time as you.” When Shane left for the night, Heidi hugged him tighter than usual. “Be safe,” she whispered in his ear before kissing him. “Make sure you come home to me tomorrow.”

Her words inspired Shane to be even more vigilant; he kept his eyes peeled at all times, searching for the person who was terrorizing him and his fellow officers. For the first time in his life, Shane finally had someone worth coming home to, and he wasn’t about to let anyone take that away from him.

The door to the conference room burst open and Chief Palen marched in, carrying a stack of papers and looking grave. A hush fell over the room as the officers eyed Palen apprehensively; Shane’s pulse quickened as he saw the eyes of the perpetrator staring down at them from the oversized poster Palen had tacked to the wall. Palen settled into a chair at the head of the table and pressed his fingertips together. “We have a name.”

A rash of mutterings broke out around the room; Buddy whooped and punched his fist in the air victoriously. Shane, however, was watching Palen; the chief seemed less than thrilled about this new development. “Settle down,” Palen said, raising his hand in the air to signal for silence. “It’s not time yet for a celebration. If anything, the new information we got today makes the situation even more urgent.”

He opened up the folder he had placed on the table in front of him and passed a stack of papers around the room. Shane took one and stared down at the bearded face of the man who was causing the people in this room so many sleepless nights. “His name’s Sam Shephard,” Palen said. “He’s from Atlanta, but has ties to the area. We got a call this morning from his sister when she recognized his face on the news. Says he’s had mental health issues all of his life, been in and out of institutions. He’s a drifter, and he’s had more than one run-in with the law. I got ahold of his record, and he’s been picked up for a bunch of small crimes over the last thirty years: petty theft, trespassing, harassment. His sister said that lately he’s been having delusional thoughts, believes that the cops are out to get him. Apparently, he’s trying to rub us all out before we can get to him.”

“Where is he now?” Buddy asked, examining the photo with an expression of distaste. “Has anyone who knows him seen him recently?”

“His sister saw him last about two months ago, when he showed up on her doorstep rambling on incoherently. She called the Santa Barbara police, but by the time they showed up he was already gone. This was after Nick and Kevin were shot, but before we had a sketch of the suspect, so he wasn’t pursued.”

“What does this mean for us?” Shane asked. “We’ve already been hunting this guy down for the past three months, with no luck.”

“It means,” Palen said, rubbing his forehead, “more late nights, more patrol cars out looking for him. He’s already got four of our best guys, and it’s by the grace of God that no one was killed. We have to assume that he’s watching the reports on television. My guess is that he’s madder than ever that he hasn’t managed to kill one of us.”

He reached into a duffel bag at his feet and pulled out a bag of pagers. “I know these are a little outdated, but it’s the easiest way I can think of for reaching all of you at once. Until we catch this guy, every person in this room is responsible for carrying the pager with them at all times. If you get a notification, you drop whatever it is that you’re doing and get down to the station as soon as possible. It means that we’ve either had a sighting, or another incident.”

He stood up from behind the desk and began pacing the room with his arms crossed behind his back. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but in my forty years as a police officer I’ve rarely been this distressed. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed, or this guy starts going after innocent people in the community, unless we do everything we can to apprehend him. I’m counting on each of you to do your part.”

When the bag of pagers reached him, Shane grabbed one and set it on the desk in front of him. He was willing to do whatever it took to put Sam Shephard behind bars, where he belonged, but Shane was less than thrilled at the idea of working even longer hours. His relationship with Heidi was heating up, and the last thing he wanted to do was take precious time away from her to be out patrolling the streets. But, he thought with a sigh, he knew what his life was going to be like when he enrolled in the police academy. Up until this point, it had never bothered him much.

“Wait ‘til Maribel hears about this,” Buddy grumbled as they left the conference room a few minutes later. “She’s going to have a cow.”

“Heidi’s not going to be too happy either,” Shane said, examining his pager. “She tries not to bring it up too much, but I know she’s worried.”

“Speaking of Heidi,” Buddy said, “Maribel and I were talking about it the other night and we’d love to have the two of you over for dinner sometime soon. In all the time we’ve known you, we’ve never been able to have a double date. I think it’s high time, don’t you?”

“Definitely,” Shane replied, “but it’ll have to wait a little while longer, I’m afraid. Between my patrol shifts and her long hours as a nurse and taking care of her son, we barely get any alone time. In fact, tomorrow night is going to be our first time alone at her house. Zachary’s going to a sleepover.” Shane would never admit it to Buddy, but his stomach was twisted in nerves at the thought of spending the night with Heidi. Somewhere along the way, he had lost his confidence with women; his relationship with Heidi was going so well that he was terrified of making any mistakes.

“You dog!” Buddy cried, punching Shane playfully on the arm. “I understand, don’t worry. Just give us a holler when you’re ready. I’d love to meet the woman who’s responsible for the constant smile on my best friend’s face.” He grinned at Shane. “Seriously, man, I’m so happy for you. A few months ago I thought we had lost you, that you were never going to come out of the fog that was hanging around you all the time. Now, you’re like a new man. It’s like the accident never happened.” Buddy cringed and looked at Shane anxiously. “Sorry, but you know what I mean.”

“I think what happened that night is going to stay with me until the day I die,” Shane said quietly. “Nothing is ever going to change that. But being with Heidi has reminded me of what it really means to live again. I thought I didn’t deserve it, but she’s shown me that life is worth living. That it’s okay to be happy.”

“Have you talked about the accident with her at all?”

Shane shrugged. “I mentioned it, but I didn’t really want to go into detail. We both have tragedy in our past, but I think we’ve sort of made a silent pact to keep the past in the past and try our best to live for the future. It’s therapeutic for both of us. I only know the most basic details of what happened to her husband, and that’s okay for now. Someday I’m sure we’ll talk about it more, but that time hasn’t come yet.”

Buddy nodded. “I understand. Maribel’s father died when she was a teenager, and even though they were really close, I can count on one hand the number of times she’s mentioned him. It’s too painful.” They walked together to their cars, shielding their eyes against the glare of the California sun. “How’s that sister of yours doing?” Buddy asked with a sly smile. “You know I’ve always had a soft spot for her. Just don’t tell Maribel.”

“Lacey? She’s great, actually. Had a big audition for a movie role, but I haven’t heard yet if she got it or not.” He wagged his finger in mock annoyance at Buddy. “Don’t get any ideas, my friend. She’s way too good for you.”

Buddy threw back his head and laughed, then held up his hands in self-defense. “I’m not interested, just curious. She dating anyone?”

Shane groaned; the last thing that he wanted to think about was his baby sister’s love life. “Who knows? She always has a swarm of men hanging around her. Apparently the actor who’s up for the lead opposite her is some kind of sex icon, which I’m really thrilled about.” He shuddered. “I would rather she get together with Bryan, to tell you the truth.”

“Who’s Bryan?”

“He’s been her best friend since they were practically in diapers. He’s also in love with her, but I’m pretty sure she hasn’t noticed.” Shane shrugged. “Oh well. I try not to get involved in any of my sisters’ love lives. Some things I’m just better off not knowing.”

“I hear you,” Buddy said, shaking his head, “believe me. My sister’s boyfriend dumped her the other day after four years, can you believe that? Left her for another woman. Maribel had to stop me from showing up at his house and threatening to twist off his manhood, if you know what I mean.”

“Thanks for that image.” Shane patted Buddy on the back and unlocked his car door. “Tell Maribel thanks for the offer to have Heidi and me over for dinner. I’ll talk it over with her, and as soon as we find a time that works for everyone I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you.”

“Will do,” Buddy said, jingling his keys in his hand and heading for his car. “And Shane?”

Shane turned his head to face his friend. “Yeah?”

“Be safe out there.”

Heidi never thought that the repetition of peeling potatoes would be therapeutic, but tonight it was enough to take the edge off of her nerves. She had just returned home from dropping an excited Zachary off at his sleepover party, and truth be told, she was a tiny bit sorry that he wouldn’t be around for the evening. Not because she didn’t want to be with Shane; she did. But damn it, she was scared. Terrified.

Part of her also felt guilty, though she was doing her best to ignore it. When she woke up that morning and saw John’s photo perched beside her bed, Heidi knew that for the first time since his death, she would have to take it down. She could only imagine the look on Shane’s face if he stepped into her bedroom for the first time and came face to face with her dead husband. If that didn’t kill the mood, she thought wryly, nothing would.

So, with a heavy heart, she had wrapped the photo carefully in tissue paper and stored it at the back of her closet. Afterwards, she went straight to the kitchen to pour herself an oversized glass of wine, ignoring the fact that it was 10:30 in the morning. “What are you doing, Mom?” Zachary asked as he walked into the room just as she was draining the last few drops of wine. He watched her with wide eyes as she hurriedly shoved the glass into the dishpan and wiped her mouth.

“Just thirsty.” She turned her head so that her son wouldn’t spot her burning cheeks. “What time do you need to be at the sleepover tonight?”

“Six,” he said, perching on one of the kitchen stools and reaching for the box of cereal. He poured a heaping bowl, then shoved a spoonful into his mouth and watched her thoughtfully while he chewed. “Are you going to be okay here without me?”

“What makes you ask that?” Heidi asked, reaching across the table to stroke her son’s cheek.

He shrugged. “I just don’t want you to be lonely.” He rotated the cereal box and began solving the puzzle on the back.

Heidi debated whether or not to mention that Shane was coming over, but decided against it. While she didn’t want her son to worry about her, she had a hunch that he would forget all about it once the sleepover was in full swing. And the very last thing she wanted to do was have to explain to a ten year old that a man who was not his father was going to be spending the night. No, Heidi had thought with a shudder, he was too young for that particular conversation.

She dropped the peeled potatoes one by one in the boiling water and added a pinch of salt, then unwrapped the package of salmon she had purchased that morning. Grabbing a mixing bowl from the cabinet, she added balsamic vinegar, honey, a few cloves of garlic, and a squirt of mustard for the salmon glaze. After much deliberation, Heidi had decided to stay away from Italian food; even though she knew it was Shane’s favorite, there would be no way for her to compete with the old family recipes he was so used to. Her nerves were already at a breaking point; the last thing she wanted to do was worry about burning the lasagna.