Always Watching (11 page)

Wade looked at Olivia. “So how does this work?”

“We can take your car, but it would be better to let me drive.”

“So you're a chauffer too?”

She shrugged. “Comes with the territory.”

Wade considered telling her he would handle it from here on out, then looked at Amy. He gave Olivia a tight smile. “Then we're ready when you are.”

Olivia pulled into the parking lot of the Celebration Community Church. Her stomach knotted at the thought of going inside. She always felt like such a hypocrite when she had to do “church duty” with a client. Shana had loved church, and for six years, Olivia had been a faithful attender with her foster family, had even gone some while she was in college. But once Shana died, she'd stopped going. The nagging knowledge that Shana would be disappointed often rose up to haunt her. Like now. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. This was her job and she'd do it.

Haley pulled in beside them and climbed out. Whenever there was an active threat, when her clients were in public, Olivia preferred to have another member of her team with her as backup. Preferably two. And since Maddy was still in the hospital fighting for her life, they were all putting in extra hours until Charlie and Lizzie could join them on the schedule.

She stood beside the Armada and waited for the girls and Wade to exit the vehicle. “You take the girls. I'll stick with Wade.”

Haley nodded and shoved her earpiece in. She looked at Olivia, who'd already placed hers in her ear. “Can you hear me?”

“Crystal clear.”

“Excellent.” She turned to the wide-eyed preteens. “Why don't you girls show me where you're supposed to go?”

Amy eyed her. “We go to the youth room.” She glanced at her dad, then at Olivia. “But I . . . I think I want to stay with my dad.”

“No you don't,” Stacy said. “They're having donuts and stuff, remember? And we've got one more rehearsal for the play this morning, then all the parents are coming in.” She looked at Olivia. “It's so cool. We're up on the stage and they play a movie behind us and we interact with the characters in the movie and—anyway, it's cool.” She turned her attention back to Amy. “Let's go.”

“We just ate. I'm not hungry and I don't want to be in the play anymore. My part is so small, it won't matter if I'm in it or not.” Amy edged closer to her father.

Wade placed a hand under Amy's chin and tilted her face up to his. “Hon, you were really looking forward to this. Do you remember what we talked about?”

Amy shifted. “I remember.” A shudder went through her, followed by a look of rising panic.

“It's okay. Hold my hand and breathe. We'll go inside and you can think about it.”

“I don't need to think about it. I don't want to be in the play now. I want to stay with you.”

Stacy frowned. “Come on, Amy. I'll be with you. And the youth room is right across the hall from the auditorium if you want to leave and go sit with your dad.”

Amy looked like she might change her mind and go with her friend, then shook her head and leaned against Wade.

Stacy shrugged. “Okay, I guess I'll see you later then. If I wasn't in the play too, I'd stay with you.”

“It's okay. I might come later.” Amy watched her friend walk away and took two steps to go after her, then stopped and reached for her dad's hand. Stacy disappeared through the double glass entry doors just ahead. Wade looked pained but didn't say anything, just clasped his daughter's fingers and started for the same glass doors.

People streamed in from the parking lot, and Olivia kept her eyes on everyone who waved or spoke to Wade and his family. The news reports had downplayed the story, thanks to the intervention of the mayor. No one seemed intent on trouble or overly interested when expressing their concern. And that was the problem with some stalkers. Sometimes they just weren't obvious. She stepped up next to Wade. “Any word from Stacy's mother?”

“No. Not even a text. It's got me more than a little worried.”

“I can ask Quinn to see if he can locate her.”

“Let's see if she shows up for church. If she's not here like we'd planned, then I'll definitely be concerned.”

She nodded. “When we get in there, could you please sit on the end of a row? I don't want you to have to step over people if we have a reason to exit quickly.”

His jaw tightened and she thought he might say no as he opened the door for Amy, Martha, and Joanna. They stepped through and into the lobby area of the church, and he gave a short nod.

“Vicky!” Amy called as soon as she crossed the threshold. A young girl about Amy's age turned and the two girls hugged.

That middle spot between Olivia's shoulders tingled. She stayed alert. She wished she'd insisted Wade stay home this morning, but that was one of the whole points in hiring personal
bodyguards. So one didn't have to stay behind closed doors, so one could carry on with life feeling confident that someone had his back.

Still. Someone
had
tried to blow them up yesterday.

Olivia kept her eyes on Wade and the people around him. Martha and her friend Joanna stood about a foot from Haley, speaking with two other ladies. Amy and the girl she'd called Vicky moved to a stand serving coffee and other treats.

“Apparently the donut lovers aren't limited to the youth,” Olivia said.

Wade nodded. “We have about ten minutes before the service starts. It should start clearing out in here pretty quickly.”

“I'd feel more comfortable if you would go find a seat. It's too hard to keep an eye on everyone with so many people around. Haley's going to be in the balcony watching the crowd throughout the service. I want a bird's-eye view of this place.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Martha disappear into the auditorium and Joanna keep walking until she disappeared into the room at the end. “Where's Joanna going?” Olivia asked.

“She volunteers to count money the first and third Sunday of the month.”

Olivia nodded. “All right. She's taken care of then.”

Others followed Martha into the auditorium, and to Olivia's relief, she saw Wade was right. The crowd thinned considerably.

“Wade?”

He turned at the voice. With a subtle step, Olivia placed herself in between Wade and the woman heading toward them. A quick glance behind her showed Amy still in the line. Her nerves twitched. She didn't like Amy and Wade being so far apart when she was the only one to watch both of them. She turned back to see the woman still coming. Olivia could see both hands, one at her side, the other clasping her purse. Olivia's
gaze traveled upward. She made a mental note of the smile on the woman's ruby red–glossed lips. Five seven or eight, slightly overweight, but with a graceful stride and a mane of gorgeous red hair, she didn't slow her approach or seem to take note of Olivia's protective stance.

Wade reached out his hand to the woman and Olivia did her best to hover without being suffocating. The two clasped hands, and while the woman gave Olivia a dismissing glance, she kept her smile wide, revealing perfect white teeth—and her pleasure at seeing Wade.

“Erin,” Wade said. “I'm so glad you're here. You really had me worried when you didn't answer your phone all weekend.”

“I'm so sorry. I had turned my phone off for the conference and never turned it back on all weekend.”

Olivia eyed her. What mother turned her phone off and didn't call her children for days? A slack one? One who was overworked and overtired? It rankled her, but she stayed silent. The woman had made sure Stacy would be taken care of during her absence. It was a lot more than some parents bothered with. “I was just leaving the hotel for the drive in this morning when I saw your calls,” the woman said. “Is everything all right? Is Stacy really okay?” Her shadowed eyes conveyed her worry.

“Stacy's fine, it was just an exciting weekend, to say the least.” He gave a brief explanation of what was going on with him, leaving Olivia's part in the incident out of the telling. Erin's eyes widened to about three times their normal size. The woman placed a hand over her chest. “Oh my goodness. That's awful.” She hugged him, then stepped back. “I'm so glad you're all right!”

“I am too, thanks.” Wade gestured toward Olivia. “This is my . . . um . . . friend, Olivia Edwards. Olivia, this is Erin Abbott, Stacy's mother. In case you hadn't figured that out yet.”

“I did.” Olivia nodded and Erin gave her a brief smile. Speculation sparkled in her suddenly narrowed eyes, along with a coldness that gave Olivia a slight shiver. Now the woman wasn't quite so dismissing. Olivia noted she was being sized up. Erin thought she was competition. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She heard the insincerity in the greeting and couldn't stop the sudden surge of compassion for the woman. Wade would never be interested in her romantically. Which immediately put her on the suspected stalker list.

Erin then air-kissed the area around Wade's left cheek. “Again, thank you so much for keeping Stacy this weekend. And I apologize for not being more in touch. I've just been overwhelmed with work, not to mention having my hands full with the younger ones.” Her lashes fluttered a bit in a flirtatious expression that made Olivia bite the inside of her cheek. Underneath the makeup and overbright expression, she could see faint shadows beneath the woman's eyes. She didn't have it quite as together as she wanted everyone to believe, with her well-packaged body and perfectly made-up face.

Wade smiled. “No problem. Stacy and Amy would be inseparable if we'd let them.”

“I know.” She pursed her lips and gave a mock pout. “I listened to your show Friday night. It sounded like you were live, then it went to a recorded one. Is that when everything started happening?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I just hope they catch whoever is doing this. That's just wrong. And quite frankly, I don't know what I'd do without you on the weekends. Just listening to you talk and handle all those crazy callers makes me see that my life isn't nearly as wretched as others'. It gets me through my week, so you be careful, you hear?”

“I hear.” Wade shifted, and Olivia caught the embarrassed hunch of his shoulders and the heightened color in his cheeks. Yet he stayed cool and kept the smile on his face. “And I'm glad you find value in the show.”

“Oh I do. And I know I'm not the only one.”

Olivia let her gaze roam, moving from person to person, watching facial expressions, body movements. She let her eyes land on the donut stand, searching for Amy.

Who wasn't there anymore.

Neither was Vicky.

“Stacy went to the youth room. She knows to meet you at your usual spot after church,” she heard Wade say. Again, Olivia panned the area.

No Amy. Or Vicky.

Olivia frowned. Erin Abbott walked off with one last wave to Wade and a short nod for Olivia. Olivia touched Wade's arm. “Amy's wandered off. Where would she go?”

“What?” Wade turned.

“Amy, I don't see her. Where would she go?” There were simply too many people. She should have insisted they forgo church. But the client was the boss and she had to work within the limits of that fact.

Wade frowned and made a beeline for the donut stand. He started asking the people near him if they'd seen Amy and her friend Vicky. Olivia stayed near him and kept her gaze roaming in an arc. From the door to her right, to the area in front of her and around to the door to her left. No Amy.

“No one remembers seeing her,” he said.

“Maybe she went inside the auditorium.” Olivia pressed her earpiece in tighter. “Haley?”

“I'm here.”

“Did Amy come inside the auditorium?”

“I didn't see her and I've been watching the doors. The lights are low, though, and people are still mingling.” She paused and Olivia knew what was coming. “I've got my binoculars out and I'm sweeping the room, but there are just too many people.”

“I should have told Katie to come.”

“No, we should have convinced Wade to stay home.” Haley paused. “We do need to bring someone else on board if he's going to insist on going out in public like this. I don't think Amy's in here, Liv,” she said, her voice low but crystal clear. “Martha is here . . . Okay, it looks like people are settling down and it's getting ready to start. There aren't any teenagers in here that I can see.”

“Because they're all in the youth room.”

“You need to check there. Maybe she changed her mind.”

Wade shoved his way to the auditorium doors and stepped inside. Olivia stayed right on his heels. Darkness swallowed them and she blinked to allow her eyes to adjust. It didn't take long. The lights from the stage soon pushed aside the dark. The music had already started.

She grabbed his arm. “She's not in here,” she said into his ear.

“How do you know? She may have decided to come sit with Martha and Joanna. She's comfortable with them.”

“Haley's in the balcony with binoculars and she hasn't seen her. Let's check the youth room.”

She followed Wade out of the auditorium back into the lobby.

Three loud cracks rang out. She dove for Wade and took him to the floor.

Amy jumped at the loud booms and slapped her hands over her ears. To her left, Stacy let out a scream. To her right, Vicky squealed. The screams and roars from the others in the large room echoed around her.

Amy felt the panic rising, her throat closing, her lungs shrinking. She rose to her feet and ran from the room. She had to get away, get out. She couldn't have an attack in front of her friends. She ran down the hallway that was filling fast with people rushing from the auditorium. She made a left and raced to the bathroom in the children's wing. No one ever used it until after the service, and she'd found it the perfect place to catch her breath and find calm.

She pushed inside. Vacant, just like she wanted. Panting, gulping air, she went to the sink and turned on the faucet. She ducked her head to put her lips to the water, gulping it down her dry throat. She choked, coughed, and sputtered.

She turned the faucet off and grabbed a handful of paper towels and dried her face. She threw the paper in the trash, then went into one of the stalls. The small space would soothe
her attack. She knew it was weird. Small places made some people crazy, but they made her feel protected. She'd felt an attack coming on once before in the youth room and had run to the bathroom before anyone could notice. Discovering the tight space made her feel better had been a huge relief. One of the reasons she liked coming to church so much. She felt safe there. Or at least she had. The attack started to ease. She pulled in a lungful of air and glanced up, wondering why she had to be different, why she had to be afflicted with the panic and anxiety. Sometimes she even wondered if God hated her. Her dad promised that wasn't the case, but privately Amy wasn't so sure.

She rubbed her eyes, not caring that she smeared the carefully applied mascara or eye shadow. She stared at the door and thought. Maybe she should ask her dad to have doors like the stall doors put on her classroom at school. She didn't know why, but she liked the bathroom stall doors.

They weren't regular metal stall doors. These were nice, with handles that locked. They reminded her of the blinds on the den at her house or the bathrooms in that fancy restaurant Aunt Martha liked to go to where all the ladies wore dresses and the men had to wear a coat and tie. The doors were brown and tight and no one could see in. She tested the handle.

Locked.

She was fine. She sat on the lid of the toilet and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Tears leaked down her cheeks and she wanted to wail. Why was this happening to her?
Why, God?
She breathed deep, felt it catch. Relief flowed through her.
When I
am afraid I will trust—

The room went dark.

Amy froze. The squeezing in her chest returned.

She heard the creak of the main door as it shut. She'd been
so lost in her own panic she hadn't heard the door open. Or had someone been in the bathroom and she hadn't noticed?

Soft footfalls reached her ears. No. Someone had come in and shut off the lights. Her heart thudded, her mouth went dry. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her shins. Her body shook and the panic wanted to overcome her. She squeezed her eyes tight, then opened them. Her chest hurt, but she ignored it.

Why would someone turn off the lights? Did they know she was there? Did the person think the bathroom was empty? But why turn off the lights and step
in
side? She hesitated, then opened her mouth to call out.

“Amy?” The raspy whisper froze her. Her stomach cramped and she thought she might be sick. A wave of dizziness hit her and she leaned her forehead on her knees, desperately trying to control her breathing. Conscious of every sound she made.
Be quiet, be
quiet, be invisible.

She thought of her father's stalker. His worry that something would happen to her. Was this the person?

Another footstep. A thin beam of light reached under her door and she bit back a gasp. The light moved across the floor to the next stall and on down. Amy lowered herself to the floor and peered under the partition. The light continued to move, but her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough that she could see dark shoes slowly moving with the light. “Amy? Where are you?”

Amy thought her thundering heart would alert the person as to her location. Fear kept her quiet. Did she recognize the voice? Something . . .

No. Not that soft creepy whisper.
Daddy! Where are you? Come get me! Jesus, Jesus
, Jesus—

Her dad wasn't coming. No one was coming. Jesus wasn't going to help her. She'd have to do this alone. The person moved
farther away. “Amy? I need you to give your father a message for me.”

Amy stayed frozen for a brief moment.

“I know you're in here. Tell your father Justine is waiting for him.” The voice gave a low chuckle, the footsteps moved closer, and Amy's breath lodged in her throat.

Yes, she'd have to do this. And now. She moved as quickly and quietly as possible, crawling under the stall divider into the next space, then the next. The footsteps started back in her direction. She had one more stall and she'd be in the open.

But also right next to the door.

The steps continued. She glanced back. The light came faster.

Amy scrambled out from under the stall, bolted to her feet, and beelined it to the door. Her fingers fumbled for the handle, turned it.

A hand brushed her shoulder and she screamed.

Wade didn't know how long he and Olivia lay in a tangled heap behind the information desk along with others who had taken cover there, but it seemed like an eternity. In reality it was probably more like sixty seconds as they waited for more shots.

When that didn't happen, Olivia rose cautiously to her feet, staying in a crouch, her weapon in her hand. Wade mimicked her position and rubbed his elbow. His heart thundered in his ears as his terror level reached new heights. Had someone shot at them? He looked around and saw nothing amiss. No bullet holes, nothing that looked damaged. Just people on the floor, terrified expressions on their faces.

To his left Wade heard running footsteps. A young man wearing a staff T-shirt came into the lobby holding up his hands in a
surrendering gesture. “It's okay, everyone. That was a bit louder than we'd planned. It wasn't gunshots, just a recording in the youth room turned up too loud. I mean those
were
gunshots, but they were recorded and the door was open and . . .” He eyed the weapon in Olivia's hands and swallowed hard. “Um, we didn't mean to scare anyone. Really.” He backed up, eyes wide. He turned and found Haley behind him, weapon also drawn. “Whoa. What's going on?”

Olivia holstered her gun. “It's okay, Haley. False alarm. But we've still got to find Amy.”

Stacy hurried into the lobby, her eyes searching, then looking relieved when they landed on Wade. “I can't find Amy. She came in the youth room with Vicky and said she decided to be in the play, but then there were these loud bangs and she ran out.”

“Where would she go to feel safe, Stacy?”

Stacy's worried eyes lit up. “The bathroom in the children's wing. She goes there sometimes.” She spun on her heel and raced back the way she'd come. Olivia and Wade followed her. Haley pulled up the rear. Wade noted they had the undivided attention of the people in the lobby, as well as two security guards who spoke into their radios as they hustled toward him. He ignored them. He had one goal, one purpose.

Find Amy.

He passed more parishioners coming out of the auditorium to investigate. Some looked scared, others more cautious and curious. He passed them without a glance, rounded the corner, and nearly wilted when he saw Amy racing toward him, her makeup streaked, her tearstained face bleached of all natural color.

“Dad?” She hurled herself into his arms.

He hugged her for a brief moment, then gripped her forearms and pushed her back to look at her. “Are you all right? Where
did you go? You scared me to death when you disappeared.” He could see the strain on her face, the panic in her eyes.

But she swallowed and gulped in a breath as her gaze darted between him, Stacy, Olivia, and the others. “Vicky wanted to go to the youth room so I decided to go with her. I told Miss Joanna where I was going.”

Wade closed his eyes. He could feel his blood pressure still pounding way too high. “She didn't tell me.”

“She said she would, I promise. I wouldn't have just left like that. But then the shots went off during the play and they scared me. I know it was only a recording, but it was so loud and I ran to the bathroom and got in the stall and I couldn't breathe and then someone came in and turned off the lights and she called my name and I—”

“Wait, wait, breathe,” Wade soothed. “Slow down a minute.” He could see Olivia standing next to him, listening to every word.

She stepped closer. “What do you mean someone came in and shut the lights off?”

Amy nodded and tears gathered. “She scared me.”

“She?” Wade asked. A murderous rage built inside of him at the thought of his child being terrorized.

“I think so. I mean it was the ladies' room. But I pulled my feet up on the toilet and the light went past me so she didn't know I was in that stall, but she knew I was in the bathroom.”

“Light?” Totally confused, Wade glanced at Olivia. “Let's get out of here so we can figure out what she's talking about.”

Olivia nodded and spoke to Haley via her earpiece. “Check the ladies' room in the children's wing and see if anyone is in there. If so, question them, get their statements about where they were when the shots went off, then meet us at the front door.”

“What about my sister-in-law and Joanna?” Wade asked.

“Haley,” she said into the microphone. “Find Martha and Joanna and let them know what's going on. Martha was in the auditorium and Joanna is in the money counting room.” She looked at Wade. “I want to talk to Amy first without an audience.”

Wade looked up and noticed the crowd gathered around him, their interest focused on Olivia, him, and Amy. The two security guards finally caught up to them and the youth pastor launched into another explanation about the noise that set off the panic. Wade wasn't worried about that. Now that he knew there wasn't an actual shooter, he wanted to know who was in the ladies' room with his daughter and why.

Olivia pressed the button to speed-dial Katie while Wade and Amy stood to the side in a small alcove next to the front door. It was perfect. No windows, just two couches, a big-screen television mounted on the wall, and a coffee table with several church pamphlets sitting on it.

“Hello?”

“Sorry to interrupt your sleep—”

“I'm dressing now. Where do you need me?”

“You're about fifteen minutes away from the church. I need you to come do a sweep of the vehicle.” She gave Katie the license plate and the location of the SUV.

“I'll be there in twelve. Wait for me to give you the all clear.”

The phone clicked off and Olivia paced the opening of the alcove. She reached the end and turned to face-plant into Wade's chest. She gasped and stepped back, heat flushing up into her cheeks.

“A sweep?” Wade asked, grasping her upper arm in order to steady her.

“Sorry,” she said.

He didn't seem to notice her momentary discomfiture. She cleared her throat and put a little more distance between them. Her brain seemed to work better that way.

“Your stalker was here,” she said. “She knows where you live, where you go to church, and what vehicle you drive. And now you've made her mad at you. And even though we don't know the whole story yet about her being in the bathroom with Amy—or even if it
was
her—we do know that
someone
was there, and that person scared Amy.”

“True.”

“And since I don't know the motive behind that—other than to scare you—I'm going to assume the worst and take all precautions.”