Midnight Sacrifice Read online

  “Sure, Danny.” Bill slunk through the door like a kicked puppy.

  The door closed behind Bill. Mandy glared at Lang. “You could be nicer.”

  “I don’t have time to coddle your retarded brother,” the cop shot back.

  “Do not use that word in my house.” Mandy’s tone was blast-chiller cold. “It’s an insult.”

  Danny’s good hand clenched into a fist, and he itched to plow it straight into the cop’s face. But Danny wasn’t a teenage troublemaker anymore, and he wouldn’t be much use from a jail cell. He had no doubt the cop would love to arrest him. Power-hungry Lang would enjoy arresting anybody.

  “Sorry, handicapped. No, mentally challenged. Is that the politically correct term these days? It is what it is, whatever you call it,” Lang shot back.

  Mandy’s eyes narrowed to tiny, furious slits. “You have no right—”

  “No right to do what?” Land interrupted. “Come here when someone calls the police?”

  Mandy looked as pissed off as Danny felt. Her glare was a freaking dagger, sharp, pointy, and ready to disembowel the cop standing in front of her.

  Lang inflated his chest like a rooster. “Have you asked all your neighbors if they left this for you or if they saw anyone around the inn?”

  “Well, no,” Mandy admitted. “But none of them would leave me something like this.”

  “You neighbors never give you anything?” The cop lifted his sunglasses from his nose. Unnaturally large biceps threatened to burst the seams of his too-tight uniform shirt’s sleeves.

  Mandy sighed. “Mr. Kane gives me cucumbers and tomatoes if he has too many, but nothing like this.”

  Doug emitted a long-suffering sigh. “Look, Mandy. Everybody knows you like flowers. Maybe one of your neighbors bought too many. In any case, flowers,” he glanced at the door, “or a twig are hardly dangerous.” He snapped his notebook closed. “I’m busy. I spent the morning hauling a crazy homeless dude into county for a psych evaluation. Claimed an alien with a ray gun tried to abduct him. Please tell your mother not to call the police again unless there’s been an actual crime.” He pivoted on a heel and strode back to his car.

  Mandy put a hand to her forehead. “As much as I hate to admit it, Doug’s right. I should have checked with my neighbors.” She walked off the porch and around the house. Danny followed. He stood in the background, watching, as she knocked on the houses on either side and talked with the homeowners. The house on the left was owned by an elderly couple, the Kanes, who were too old to be a threat to anyone. Nor had they seen anything or anyone skulking around the inn. On the right, a frazzled young woman opened the door. She jiggled a sleepy toddler on one hip. A baby wailed in the background. Her husband was in Florida on business, and she hadn’t slept since he left. There was no way she’d been delivering flowers in the middle of the night. Strike two. The neighbors weren’t stalking Mandy.

  They returned to the inn. Mandy stomped across the lawn between the houses. In the backyard, she whirled. “I swear, one of these days if Doug Lang ever calls my brother that…that name again, I’m going to punch him right in the nose.”

  “Whoa.” He reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. “You need to calm down. Bill is upset enough already.”

  Mandy jerked away. She climbed the steps and sat on the porch swing. “You’re right. Doug is such a jerk.”

  Danny sat next to her. “Lang’s a dick. No doubt about it. If it makes you feel better, I wanted to hit him, too. But he would’ve enjoyed arresting me too much.”

  Mandy huffed. “You have that right. It would have made his day.”

  “You can’t let people like Doug Lang get to you.”

  “I hate how he bullies Bill.”

  “He bullies everybody he can.” Danny wrapped an arm around her. He pulled her head to his shoulder. She resisted for a minute, then relaxed with a sigh.

  Danny’s eyes drifted to the pot of purple blooms. Where else had he seen flowers like that?

  “There’s something else I never considered.” Mandy sat up. “You know who was really close to Nathan?”

  “Let me guess,” Danny answered. “Lieutenant Doug Lang.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Doug followed Nathan like a loyal dog.”

  Why hadn’t Danny thought of it before? Doug was the perfect person to help Nathan. He would have information about the manhunt and would know where to hide.

  “It’d be pretty tough to investigate a cop.” Danny rubbed his chin. “Maybe Reed can help us out on this.” As a former policeman, Reed would at least know where to start.

  “Good idea,” Mandy said.

  “I’ll call him today.” Danny tucked her back onto his shoulder.

  “Why do you understand my brother better than I do?”

  “Because you’re too close,” Danny said. “I have the advantage of not growing up with him. For example, I think my brothers are giant pains in the ass, but you would probably like them. Most people do.”

  Mandy laughed. “That makes a lot of sense in a weird way.”

  “Yep. Weird. That’s my family.” Danny laughed. “Look, I have no business giving you psychological advice. It’s not like I have my shit together.” His tone sobered. “I came home from Iraq with a side dish of post-traumatic stress to accompany my injury.” He raised his hand and stared at it. “I still seem to be having trouble admitting how bad the damage is.”

  The door opened. Bill stuck his head out. “Danny? I made that ice pack for you.”

  “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” Danny gave Mandy’s shoulder a pat and got to his feet. They went into the kitchen. A ziplock bag of ice lay on the counter. Danny dutifully put the ice on his hand. He glanced at Bill. Mandy’s brother sat on a stool at the island and rocked back and forth in a quick rhythm.

  “How about a snack, Bill?” Mandy asked.

  “I’m not hungry.” Bill shook his head and continued to rock.

  Danny tried. “How about we go watch Star Wars together?”

  Bill hugged himself. “I don’t wanna.”

  With a silent curse at the cop, Danny looked to Mandy. She had the phone in her hand and was punching numbers. “Jed, could you bring Honey over for a while?” She glanced back at Bill. “I’ll tell you later.” Pause. “Pretty bad.” She put the phone back in its charging cradle and spoke to her brother. “Honey’s coming over, Bill.”

  He paused for a second before picking up his rhythm again. Helplessness filled Danny’s chest.

  The fifteen minutes that followed while they waited felt much longer. At the sound of tires on gravel, Bill’s head turned a few inches. A minute later, Jed knocked on the back door. Mandy let him in. Honey raced to Bill. The dog butted her head against his knee until he slid from the chair to the floor. She leaned her body against his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. He hugged her close and went still.

  Finally. Danny let out the breath dammed in his lungs. The pressure in his chest abated.

  “Thanks.” Mandy wiped a tear from her eye.

  Danny didn’t blame her. The sight of the dog calming Bill threatened to make Danny’s eyes misty.

  “Works every time.” Jed nodded with satisfaction. “Want me to leave her here for the night?”

  “That would be really helpful.” Mandy’s voice cracked.

  Jed’s eyes softened. “OK, then. I’ll come back for her in the morning.” He jingled his keys in his hand.

  “Thanks, Jed. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Honey.” Mandy opened the door for him.

  Jed slipped out of the house, but not before Danny caught the wounded look in his eyes.

  Something was off with him. Murmuring brought Danny’s attention back to Bill and the dog. It almost seemed as if Honey was holding him still.

  “That’s a terrific dog,” Danny said.

  “She’s special.” Bill hugged her close. Honey licked his face.

  While Bill communed with the dog, Mandy started the brea
kfast prep. She kneaded dough and mixed batter, but she kept one eye on her brother until he seemed to be back to normal. Danny hoped the company and conversation eased her workload. He wished he could do more.

  Bill glanced at the oven clock. “Oh, it’s time for Phineas and Ferb.” He rushed from the room, the dog plastered to his side.

  “Honey’s uncanny.” Mandy went to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. “I don’t understand how she knows what to do.” She poured two glasses and set one in front of Danny. Mandy took the sandwich bag, now just full of cold water, from Danny. “Did you really need ice?”

  “Not really. It was all I could think of on the spot.” He flexed his fingers and grimaced.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Just stiff.” He winced. “I don’t have much feeling from the elbow down. In fact, I had no business handling a knife this morning. I have permanent nerve damage from the explosion. My fingers get shaky. I’ve had trouble accepting that isn’t going to change.”

  “That’s understandable.” Mandy loaded the last pan of muffins into the oven and set the timer. “Thanks for being nice to my brother.”

  Danny’s brow creased. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to him?”

  “Lots of people aren’t.”

  “Yeah. Assholes.” He stood up and rounded the island to stand in front of her.

  “I’ve even had guys fake being nice to Bill to get close to me,” Mandy said. Even years later, the memories were a shocking stab of reality. “Then once they realized it wouldn’t work, they’d never bother with him again. It was hard on him.”

  “Is that what you think I’m doing?” Danny brushed a hand across her cheek. “You had flour on your face.”

  “I’m not the neatest baker.” She looked up at him. Hold your ground. But the sincerity in his eyes was too much to resist. Danny was too much to resist. Her shoulders fell forward as her resolve crumbled. “No. I don’t. But it’s not fair to him to make him like you. You’ll leave, and he’ll be heartbroken again, like he was when Reed moved.

  “Bill can come and visit Reed anytime.” His fingers trailed along her jaw.

  Mandy shook her head. “Bill has anxiety attacks when he leaves Huntsville. As soon as he doesn’t recognize where he is, he loses it.”

  Danny inched closer. “I’ve seen the scar. What happened to him?”

  “When he was a baby, he and my father were in a bad car accident. Bill almost died. He was left with a traumatic brain injury that affected everything from his mental development to his coordination. Physically, he’s a large man, like my father, but Bill didn’t progress much beyond a cognitive age of seven. No, that’s not fair. He’s more complicated than that; for example, his language skills are pretty good, but the whole concept of math doesn’t make sense to him. His emotions aren’t easy to pin down either. For instance, he seemed to understand my mom’s heart attack, and he was a big help taking care of her. I expected him to freak out. He didn’t. He even went to the hospital to see her, even though he hates strangers and prefers everything to be routine.”

  “What happened to your father?”

  “He walked out one night and never came back. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. The memory of that night was as clear as the conversation she and Danny were having right now. She could hear her mother’s pleas and her father’s excuses. She could see the door close behind him and feel the stab of betrayal and loss. The pain of his abandonment was a permanent splinter lodged in her soul. It was part of her. Could she let it go the way Danny had put his parents’ deaths behind him?

  “I’m sorry.” Danny stepped closer.

  “I don’t know how my mom managed. It’s hard enough now, taking care of her and Bill and keeping the inn going.”

  “She’s a strong woman.” Danny wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close. She didn’t resist. Leaning against his chest felt right. Like the strain of the past twenty years since her father left was bearable. “And so are you.”

  Danny stroked her back. She arched under his touch.

  “Geez, you’re tense. You need a massage.”

  “Good luck finding a spa around here. We live in the middle of nowhere, if you hadn’t noticed.” Though Danny’s hands would suit nicely. Mandy had never been so tired. Every part of her body ached. His fingers rubbed a knot between her shoulder blades. She nearly purred.

  Danny laughed. “Believe me. I noticed.”

  And there it was. Danny would never stay in Huntsville. Her mother was right. She pushed out of his arms, her muscles coiling tight as springs.

  “I can’t do this.” She left the kitchen.

  “Do what?” Danny called as the door to the apartment closed.

  In her room, Mandy locked the door. What was she thinking? He’d almost kissed her. She’d wanted him to kiss her.

  Nothing could happen between her and Danny. To remind herself why, she lifted the corner of her mattress and stared at the threatening pictures.

  She briefly contemplated calling the state police. No doubt Detective Rossi would come to the same conclusion as Lang. A pot of flowers was hardly a threat. Many people knew that pansies were her favorite spring flower. If she hadn’t been so busy, the inn’s front walk would be lined with them already.

  She couldn’t risk telling anyone about the threats, not with potentially two stalkers moving freely about town. The state police were too far away to protect her family, and Huntsville’s own Doug Lang was useless. Danny would tire of Huntsville in a week or so and go back to Philadelphia. Mandy was on her own.

  She needed to be prepared to protect what was hers.

  Mandy did what she always did when she needed help. She called Jed, the one man she knew she could depend on. “I know you just left, but can you come back and stay with Bill and my mom for an hour or two?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  She unlocked the gun safe in her closet and took out a box of bullets. “I need to run a few errands.”

  “Um. OK.”

  By the time Mandy was ready fifteen minutes later, Jed had returned. Danny was nowhere in sight.

  Damn. Damn. Damn. How did he fuck that up?

  By pushing too hard, too fast, stupid.

  But all he’d been offering was a hug. What kind of shit would make a move on a woman who was that upset?

  Danny rubbed his forehead. He unlocked the back door and went out onto the porch. His eyes locked on the flowerpot. Guess it wasn’t evidence. He contemplated putting it in his trunk and dropping it in the nearest dumpster. But something stopped him. Maybe they weren’t evidence right now, but if something else were to hit the fan, who knew?

  He hefted the pot first. Damn thing was heavy. He put his bad forearm under the bottom for support. Pain shot up his arm. Bad idea. The container plopped to the ground. Danny dragged it across the back lawn to the concrete apron in front of the garage. He pulled on the overhead door. It wasn’t locked and gave way to his tug. He shoved the pot of flowers against the wall. He jogged back to the porch and removed the branch from over the back door. He returned to the garage and tucked it behind the container. Just in case something else happened and the authorities suddenly decided the seemingly harmless items were important clues.

  Now what? His arm twitched like a puppet, and the needles of pain had become nails. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed a break. He went through the empty inn. All the other guests were out pursuing their chosen outdoor adventures.

  In his room, Danny stretched out on the bed. He elevated his arm on a pillow and dialed Reed’s number on his cell.

  Reed picked up on the first ring. “Are you OK?”

  “I’m fine. I just wanted to ask you a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What do you think the chances are that Nathan had an accomplice here in town?”

  “Besides his uncle?”

  “Yeah.” Danny adjusted his arm on the pillow. “I was thinking the local cop, Lang, was awfully obnoxiou
s.”

  “That’s Doug.” Reed sounded disgusted. “He’s a total jerk, but I can’t see him helping Nathan. He was pretty shook up when he found out what Nathan had done.”

  “Still, they were close, right?”

  “Yes, they were.” Reed was quiet for a few seconds. “Do you want me to call Detective Rossi and run it by him?”

  “Do you think that’s the right move? Rossi didn’t seem too helpful.”

  “Rossi’s a good cop.” Confidence projected through Reed’s voice. “Sometimes you just can’t get a break on a case.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “In fact, why don’t you come home and let Rossi handle this?” Reed asked. “Jayne’s worried about you.”

  “Not yet. I want to check a few more things.”

  “OK. I’ll call Rossi and ask him to check Doug out. Take care of yourself, Danny, for Jayne.”

  “I will. Thanks.” Danny punched END.

  A car door slammed. He got up and went to the window. Jed was walking from his truck to the house. A second later, Mandy crossed the lawn and got into an old Subaru wagon. She pulled out of the lot. Alone.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Danny rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Jed was sitting at the island eating a fresh muffin. He looked up at Danny. “What?”

  “Where’s she going?”

  “The range.”

  “The range?”

  “The shooting club.” Jed got up and pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet over the coffeepot. “When you carry a gun, it’s important to practice regularly.”

  “Mandy carries a gun?”

  “Of course.” Jed’s already prominent brow dropped. “I wouldn’t let her run around alone without one.”

  Danny digested that tidbit for a few seconds. He knew plenty of people who had guns in their homes, but not very many carried a firearm. “Why didn’t you go with her?”

  “Because she asked me to stay with her mother and brother.” Jed poured coffee. “Look, I don’t like it any more than you do. But do you really think it’s possible for her to not go anywhere alone for four months, while at the same time making sure her family is looked after?”