Tracks of Her Tears Page 9

  “What the hell is the matter with you, Travis?” Seth asked.

  “Ow! This hurts,” Travis whined. “I can’t believe she shot me.”

  Seth had no sympathy. “You pointed a gun at the children, and you’re surprised she shot you?”

  “I wouldn’t have actually shot them,” Travis said.

  Dumb. Ass.

  “You’re lucky she didn’t castrate you.” Seth shook his head, his rage cooling as his brain and body processed the end of the threat. Travis was even luckier that Seth hadn’t shot him. He spent many more hours at the range than his wife. “Why did you kill Amber Lynn?”

  “Whoa.” Travis’s eyes widened. “I didn’t kill anybody.”

  “What the hell is going on, Travis?” Seth still wanted to beat the snot out of this sniveling coward who had threatened his family.

  Fear crossed his face. “He’s gonna kill me. You guys got to promise me you won’t let him kill me.”

  “Who?” Seth asked. “We can’t protect you if we don’t know who’s after you.”

  Travis looked around and lowered his voice. “Bob Fletcher.”

  Seth knew Bob was dirty. “Why is Bob going to kill you?”

  Sirens announced the paramedics’ arrival. Seth stepped back to let them in. “If you want protection, you’d better talk fast.”

  “I was out back at Fletcher’s the other night taking a piss on the way to my car when I saw Bob carrying a girl out the back door. She was either dead or unconscious. Couldn’t tell which. Bob dumped her in the back of his SUV. Thinking he’d pay me to keep quiet, I recorded it on my phone. I need money. My new job doesn’t pay much.”

  “So you tried to blackmail Bob?” Seth asked.

  “Well, first I backed up the video on a flash drive in case Bob searched me. I wanted to hide it good, so I put it in Amber’s purse. At least I thought it was her purse.” Travis swallowed. “Then I went to Bob that night and told him he had to pay me five thousand dollars or I was taking the video to the cops.” He looked pained. “Except instead of paying me, he beat the hell out of me.” Travis lifted his hand with the broken finger. “He used a hammer on my hand and made me tell him where I hid the flash drive.”

  Seth knew the answer before he had the question out. “What night was this?”

  “Tuesday,” Travis said.

  The night Amber Lynn had been killed. Bob must have followed Amber Lynn and Bruce from the bar. Did he ram their van with his vehicle, then snatch Amber?

  “Later that night Bob calls,” Travis continued. “He said the flash drive wasn’t in Amber Lynn’s purse and I’d better get it or he was going to use that hammer on the rest of me.”

  “Did Bob say he killed Amber Lynn?” Seth asked.

  Travis shook his head. “Not exactly. But he said she didn’t have the flash drive and it wasn’t in her purse or at her apartment. I figured . . .” His voice trailed off and he looked away.

  “So you got her killed,” Seth said. Amber Lynn had died because of Travis’s sheer stupidity. Bob must have followed the van, run it off the road, and taken her. The passenger side of the vehicle hadn’t been as heavily damaged. She could have climbed out of the vehicle to go for help.

  “Yeah.” Travis almost looked guilty, but his gaze turned thoughtful. “It took me a while to figure out what happened. When I was at her apartment, I must have put the flash drive in the diaper bag instead of the purse. They were both black and sitting next to each other on the floor. I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention.”

  “Did you break into our house, Travis?”

  He nodded. “I was looking for the diaper bag or I thought maybe someone took the drive out and hid it somewhere else. But I didn’t find it.”

  “Where did you get the dirt bike?”

  “I stole it,” Travis admitted.

  Seth’s blood chilled. Debra had taken the kids to her house. If she hadn’t, gun-waving Travis would have shown up when she was alone in the house with four kids.

  Stevie arrived, then another Solitude cop, and a single county deputy who happened to be driving through town.

  Leaving Travis in Zane’s charge, Seth ran to the Jeep. Carly was sitting on the ground with both kids in her arms. Seth lifted Brianna and held her close.

  He kissed her head. “Are you all right?”

  Brianna nodded, sniffling. “I just wanted to see Santa.”

  “I know, sweetie. I know.” Seth hugged her close. “You were a brave girl today.”

  “I don’t want to be brave anymore, Daddy.” Brianna curled against him.

  “I don’t blame you, baby. Not one bit.” He set her back down on Carly’s lap. “I have to go catch one more bad guy, okay?”

  “You get him, Daddy.” Brianna rested her head on Carly’s shoulder. “Then I won’t have to be scared anymore.”

  Seth would stop Bob no matter what he had to do.

  The ambulance arrived and Travis was loaded in. Seth asked the deputy to follow the ambulance and stay at the hospital with Travis. Then Seth took the diaper bag from Carly’s Jeep and searched it. In an interior zippered compartment, he found a silver flash drive.

  Bingo.

  Seth went to his police vehicle and popped the USB drive into his laptop. Zane joined him at the open car door. They watched the screen. Taken at night without much light, the ninety-second video was grainy. Bob Fletcher carried a body out the back door of the bar. As he turned, Seth could see the body was female and slim. Long hair hung down past Bob’s hip. He loaded her into the rear of his SUV, tossed a blanket over her body, and closed the hatch. Brushing his palms, Bob got into the driver’s seat and drove away.

  “Any local girls reported missing in the past couple of days?” Seth asked.

  Zane shook his head. “No.”

  “We need to get Bob Fletcher.”

  “Let’s go.” Zane started toward his car.

  Leaving Stevie with Carly and the kids, Seth and Zane headed for Bob’s house. He lived in a one-story bungalow with a driveway that ran alongside the house to a detached garage. They pulled up to the curb two houses away. Paint peeled on the shutters, but the shrubs had been neatly trimmed before winter. Zane went around to the back of the property to guard the rear exit while Seth crossed the wide front porch.

  Stepping to the side, Seth banged on the door. “Bob, open up. This is the police. We need to talk to you.”

  No one answered, but he heard a creak, as if someone was walking on loose floorboards.

  Seth listened. Another creak sounded from the side of the house. Drawing his gun, Seth peered around the corner of the house. Old wood groaned as a window slowly lifted. Bob slithered out the window.

  Seth raised his weapon. “Freeze.”

  Bob tumbled to the ground and rolled to his belly. He pushed a foot under himself and launched his body toward his garage. Not wanting to open fire in a residential neighborhood if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, Seth ran after him. Bob was in much better shape than Travis, but Seth caught him in a flying tackle. They went to the ground in a pile. Seth landed on top, but before he had a good grip, Bob flipped onto his back. His hand went to his pocket. Seth saw the blade a split second before it arced toward his face. He blocked the strike, forearm to forearm. Pain zinged through his arm as their bones connected.

  Bob’s other hand shot out to grab Seth’s neck, but he had no leverage lying on the ground. Seth smacked the hand out of the way and delivered a left jab to Bob’s face. Then Seth turned the hand with the knife, twisting Bob’s wrist until his fingers opened. The knife fell to the ground.

  Zane came running from the back of the house, his gun drawn and pointed at Bob. Together they rolled him onto his face and cuffed his hands behind his back.

  Seth hauled him to his feet. “Bob Fletcher, you are under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping, to s
tart.”

  “I’m not talking without my lawyer,” Bob said.

  “In case you don’t know the rest . . .” Seth pushed him toward his cruiser and began reading Bob his Miranda rights.

  Later that night Seth joined Zane in his office at the Solitude PD.

  Crime didn’t take a break for the holidays. If anything, criminals were celebrating by committing extra assaults and burglarizing houses in the hopes of finding holiday gifts. With no space available at the county facility, Bob was spending the night in the Solitude holding cell.

  Zane grabbed a plate of cookies from behind his desk and offered it to Seth. “Somebody sent these in.”

  “He’s guilty.” Seth bit into a gingerbread reindeer. His stomach rumbled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten all day.

  “As sin,” Zane agreed. “Innocent people don’t sweat that much.”

  “He’s jittery too,” Seth said. “And I have no trouble believing he’s violent enough to choke a woman to death. He took a hammer to Travis’s hand.”

  Zane stood. “There’s no point sitting here all night. His attorney isn’t available, and he won’t talk without him.”

  “There are times when the Fifth Amendment is a royal pain.”

  Zane laughed. “This would definitely be one of those times.”

  “We don’t need a confession. We have him cold for Amber Lynn’s murder.” A search of Bob’s property had yielded a black SUV with a dented front fender and blood on the passenger seat. Seth was sure DNA testing would prove it was Amber Lynn’s. Bob’s DNA would also be compared with the tissue taken from under Amber Lynn’s nails. In addition, they’d sent a copy of Bob’s fingerprints to the ME’s office, and a latent print examiner had matched it to the print lifted from Amber Lynn’s neck. They’d even found Amber Lynn’s purse in Bob’s SUV.

  “I wish I knew who the girl was on the video.” Zane said.

  There’d been no sign of a body in Bob’s house or at the bar.

  “I’m leaving an officer to babysit him tonight.” Zane stood and stretched. “But it doesn’t have to be you or me.”

  “Good to be the boss.”

  “Sometimes.”

  Exhausted but satisfied, Seth drove home. A confession would have been great, but Bob had killed Amber, and he was sitting in jail. The evidence against him was strong already. The pending DNA test results would give the prosecutor an easy conviction. Hell, Bob would probably plead out once the evidence was outlined.

  When Seth drove past Patsy’s house, a strange car sat in the driveway. He parked at the cabin, but it was empty. He took a quick shower and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt before walking up to the main house. Carly and Brianna were sitting on the sofa in the living room eating cookies. At the sight of Seth, Brianna launched her body across the room into his arms.

  She wrapped all four limbs around him. “Did you get him?”

  “You bet.” He kissed her nose.

  “Mama and Aunt Stevie took me to see Santa.” Brianna squirmed.

  “They did?” Seth glanced at Carly. His wife smiled.

  Brianna nodded solemnly. “They let me go to the front of the line.”

  “You certainly deserved that.” He set her down, surprised to see Luke White sitting on the floor next to Charlotte, who was building a tower with an ancient set of blocks.

  Carly unfolded her long legs, stood, and kissed him. “Luke wants to take Charlotte.”

  Luke laughed as the baby swatted the tower to the floor. “My parents would love to take her, but my dad is disabled. My mom can barely take care of him. I don’t think either one of them could even pick her up.”

  “That’s a big commitment for a single guy.” Seth dropped into the only chair available: Bill’s. He never felt like he could quite fill the dents in the cushions, but tonight he could swear he felt his father-in-law’s approving presence in the room. He rubbed his face. He was spending too much time with Patsy. He needed food and sleep.

  Luke cast Carly a worried look. “Will they turn me down because I’m single? I can’t produce a wife. I don’t even have a girlfriend right now.”

  “No,” Carly assured him. “You’re her family. As long as everything else checks out, you should be fine.”

  He looked relieved. “I have a lot of work to do in my house before it’s safe for a baby. It might take a week or so. I have to lock up my tools and get those outlet cover things and I don’t even know what else.”

  “Tomorrow is Christmas. It’s also Friday, so the county offices won’t be open until Monday. We can start the paperwork then. I’ll come out to the house and help you make a list of what needs to be done.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Charlotte squatted to her feet, took his cheeks between her palms, and said, “Wukie.”

  “I’d like to come see her tomorrow,” Luke said. “And maybe bring my parents. I know it’s an imposition, being a holiday and all.”

  Walking into the room, Patsy waved away his concern. “You are all welcome. We’ll be here all day after church.”

  Brianna climbed into Seth’s lap. He held her close, breathing in the scent of her hair detangler. His wife and child were safe. His Christmas was complete.

  Patsy stood. “I’m going to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

  “We’d better get you to bed too.” Seth brushed Brianna’s hair from her forehead. “Santa won’t come if you’re awake.” Plus, Seth and Carly still had to sneak the presents under the tree after Brianna fell asleep.

  But then he could go to bed with his wife, something he truly appreciated tonight more than ever.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Carly herded Brianna and Charlotte into the house after Patsy opened the door. The cold wind swept in behind them. The rest of the family followed, except Seth, who had stayed at home because no one wanted to leave Bruce alone. James, Debra, and their boys came into the kitchen next, followed by Stevie and Zane. Church had been followed by a trip to the cemetery to lay a wreath on Bill’s grave.

  “I’ll get a fresh pot of coffee going.” Patsy bustled into her apron. “Debra, would you put the ham in the oven?”

  Seth tugged Carly into the other room and presented her with his gift. The morning had been too crazy. Brianna had pounced on them in bed at five a.m. They hadn’t found any time alone yet.

  Carly opened Seth’s present. “A new fly reel?” She kissed him. Her husband knew her well. She wasn’t a jewelry sort of girl. She’d much rather spend the day at the river—with him. She handed him a large box and watched him open his gift, a new two-person tent, her way of committing to spending more time alone with him like they had when they’d first dated.

  “I see some camping in our future.” Seth grinned. “I know what that means.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “I can hardly wait until spring.”

  Carly felt the flush from her toes to her cheeks.

  Brianna had opened her gifts before the sun had risen. In front of the Christmas tree, she played with her new toy veterinary center. She’d “volunteered” Charlotte to be her first patient.

  “You’re a kitten. You have to meow.” Brianna demonstrated.

  Charlotte clapped and laughed. “Me-ow.”

  James’s two boys pushed their way through. “We wanna play.”

  Brianna looked away. “I don’t know. You were mean to me yesterday.”

  “You’re a bossy-pants,” the older said.

  “Time for Christmas carols.” James headed off the confrontation. “Brianna, would you play the piano?”

  Smiling, she abandoned her toy, climbed onto the bench, and fanned her fancy red Christmas dress over her tights. “Isn’t Uncle Bruce going to play?”

  Seth had brought Bruce home earlier, but he was upstairs resting. He had been given pain medication for his injuries, but Carly knew his
pain was only partially physical. Having Charlotte in the house was a constant reminder of Amber Lynn’s death. Bruce hadn’t had time to grieve or process the murder, and he likely blamed himself even though there was nothing he could have done to foresee or prevent her murder.

  “Uncle Bruce is tired, honey. Maybe he’ll play with you later.” Patsy sat next to her granddaughter and enveloped her in a giant hug. “Let’s sing ‘Away in a Manger.’ I heard you playing it last week, and it sounded lovely.”

  James went for his fiddle and found a tambourine for the baby to shake. Carly and Stevie gathered around the piano. Patsy’s voice floated over the room. They played and sang for an hour, taking turns on instruments and harmonizing the way they had since they were born. While Carly missed her father with an empty ache, she was also grateful to have the rest of her family gathered around her.

  “Brunch is ready,” Debra called from the kitchen. The table was spread with everything from ham to pancakes to pastries. The meal that had taken three days to prepare was consumed in twenty minutes.

  A crash sounded from the living room. Trina yelped. Chairs scraped as everyone left the table to see what had happened. In the middle of the living room, the tree lay on its side. Brianna’s kittens wrestled their way out from under it, their little bodies tangled in the lights.

  Carly and her sister rushed forward to free them while Seth and Zane righted the tree. Patsy broke out the vacuum and cleaned up the broken bits of ornaments. By some miracle, only a few glass balls had broken and the lights still worked.

  “I have an announcement.” James came out of the kitchen with a bottle of champagne. “The O’Rourke deal is going through.” He popped the cork.

  “Congratulations.” Patsy brought a tray of glasses, and James poured and handed out champagne.

  “Construction will start as soon as weather allows,” James said. “It won’t solve all Solitude’s woes, but the jobs are much needed.”

  Full of ham and pie, Carly took a glass and dropped onto the sofa. Seth sat down next to her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Never a dull moment around here.”