Shield of Refuge (17 page)

She inhaled deeply and let it out, then looked at the photos. Each one had been taken from a different angle. The lighting was so different from that night and it was hard to tell for sure if the woman's hair had been this red at sunset. Would it look darker in the lower light? Was this the woman Amber had been determined to find?

“It might be her. I'm not sure. Do you have other pictures of her…alive, I mean?”

“What isn't right?” Garrett asked.

She looked at him. “Her hair is so red here. But it's probably the sunlight. It looked darker and browner that night.”

Detective Wang jotted notes on a pad of paper. “I'll see if her family can bring some pictures when they come, but for now, this is all we have to go on.”

“She looks so pale and puffy,” Amber said, staring at Jenna's face.

“It's normal postmortem.”

She wondered if she could have stopped this from ending this way. Amber wiped at her forehead and then covered her mouth. She looked at Jenna's clothing. “I'm pretty sure it's the same woman I saw kidnapped. I recognize her shirt.” Details of that night flashed through her mind. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Garrett cleared his throat. “Can we get onto today's incident?”

“Sure. Ms. Scott, would you identify this man, for the record?”

“I don't know him. Who is he?”

Detective Wang stared at her. “This isn't the man who kidnapped you or Jenna Miller? Or the man who broke in to your apartment?”

The room went silent and Amber felt as if she was remembering things totally wrong. “No, I've never seen him before.”

Garrett looked at the photo. “This isn't the man from her apartment. So it looks like he has an accomplice.”

“Had an accomplice. Let's hope he's the only one. Find out who this is, ASAP, and be sure to check for any gang ties.” Detective Wang handed the photo to an officer, then focused again on his notes. “So, Ms. Scott, go through everything as it happened today.”

She went through the events, clarifying questions as the detective wrote things down. By the time she got to the end, nothing seemed real. “And when did the suspect take your cell phone from you?”

“When he stopped to disable the computer. He couldn't get it to turn off. That's when he asked if I had a phone. I told him I thought I'd dropped it in the car. He yanked me out of the car and threw me against it…” She tried to get the image out of her head.

“What did he do?” Wang asked quietly. “Did he frisk you?”

She nodded. “After he tased me.”

“He tased you before frisking you?”

She was breathing faster. “I'd tried to get away, and that's when he tased me. I finally figured out that he liked it when I fought him. It was like he was living out some fantasy or something. So I told him where the phone was, and he took it and drove in the opposite direction, then took out the battery and drove over the cell phone.”

“Any idea where that was?” Wang asked.

“We were on that back highway between Fossil Creek and Bondurant. He kept calling someone, asking if the coast was clear. It wasn't very far, but with the bad roads, I was afraid we were going to slide off the road and die.”

There was a long silence, as the officers looked to Wang for the next question. “When you heard the suspect talking to the other person, did you recognize the voice?”

“Not that I recall. It was a man with a deep voice.”

“Can you give us any impressions of the relationship between the two?”

“They talked about covering each other's backs, like they'd been close friends who helped each other through a tough time.”

“Now? Or at some other time?” Wang clarified.

“Both,” she answered. “Oh, and the second guy said they needed to take out his uncle. I didn't realize at the time who that was, but Melendez said he'd take care of him, not to worry about that.”

The chief whispered to Nick, then Nick left the room in a hurry.

“Did you hear anything else?”

“I heard sirens, and a car. Then there was one gunshot, and then Garrett and his dad and brother broke in to the building I was in, and then a few minutes later there was another round of shots, and then Garrett took me outside because of the smell.”

“After the one shot, you're sure there wasn't another vehicle?”

“I was focused on the sirens, just hoping the police were coming to get me. Sorry.”

“Ms. Scott, I understand you live alone. Do you have somewhere else you can stay for a while?”

“I'm staying with friends right now,” she said, uncertain whether she should tell who exactly.

The chief shook his head, motioning for Sarah and Detective Wang to leave. After the door closed behind them, he waved his hand at the two-way mirror. “Ms. Scott. The other day I assigned Officer Matthews to provide twenty-four-hour surveillance. I appreciate your cooperation. I'm sure it has been a hardship closing down the shop for a few days, but I need to ask you to remain closed while we make sure we have the right man behind bars.”

“But the shop has a new security alarm.” She looked at Garrett, wondering why he hadn't told her about the chief's change in plan. “I can't just close down my business.”

“Unless you'd like to end up—” the chief started to say, but Garrett interrupted him.

“I'm sure my parents would be willing to let her stay with them as long as necessary. I could bring her in at two or three in the morning, and help her, while providing…”

“No,” she said before thinking clearly. “Thank you, but no. I have to do this on my own.”

“There's no way I'm going to let you keep endangering yourself and your employees,” Garrett argued. “We take care of our own, Chief, and the same applies to those we love. And you may as well know now, I plan to convince Amber to marry me, sooner or later—her choice.”

Amber stared at him in disbelief. He was probably the most honorable man she'd ever known. She couldn't let him risk his job like this.

“Aren't you going to—” the chief began to ask.

“I'm not going to test with the federal agencies.”

The chief paced the room, then ordered Detective Wang to get in there. No one moved. “Good, they cut the speakers.” He leaned his hands on the table and glared at Amber. “What I started to say is, aren't you going to give Matthews an answer?”

Her lip quivered. “Yes, sir, I will.”

“You will? He risks his job, his entire career, and you can only say you will? You're a wedding planner and you—”

“I mean I will give him an answer, but not in the middle of an interrogation room in a police station.”

The chief let out an unexpected chuckle. “You are aware that because of officer safety, part of his employment hinges on an interview of a potential spouse, don't you?”

“It stands to reason. I've already told him that I'm a liability for his career goals.” She looked at Garrett and smiled.

The chief did, too. He looked from Amber to Garrett and back. “I've known the Matthews family for decades and I don't think I could recommend marriage to a better man.” He went through the reality of a cop's life and marriage, divorce rates, stress and the importance of having a support network.

Amber wasn't swayed. “If I was going to give up when the going gets tough, I would never have taken over my grandmother's business in Old Town. Stress is only negative if you don't have someone in your life who can make you laugh, even in the middle of troubling times.”

“Take your fiancée back to her shop to get her things, Garrett. Amber, I don't want to unjustly scare you, but from all the evidence we've seen, I do believe there's reason for taking these precautions.”

“Why?” Amber said eyeing Garrett. “What makes you think…”

“I don't believe the vandalism of CiCi's car was a random incident.”

“How'd you know about that?”

She expected some glib remark, but was surprised when he admitted that he'd been watching her, even when she thought he'd gone home for the night. “When I saw you leave to make deliveries, Sean told me something had happened to CiCi's car, that you'd taken the last set of magnetic signs. I called dispatch and got the details.”

She thought back to CiCi's phone call. After that, she'd noticed the car following her. “Why would he go after CiCi? And why wouldn't he have come after me immediately?”

“Until this week, Parties Galore only existed on your van. It was in the shop. The bakery is still listed and advertised under the previous name, until your new sign was put up. So now that you have the magnetic signs, and have the new sign, it's possible that the suspect believes he's now found the witness. I don't think Melendez associated you with the case until the new sign went up. I think he was after you to hurt me.”

Amber let out a gasp.

The chief stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “Could be trying to make sure he has the right person, but that would mean he actually has a conscience. We haven't found any similar profile between his victims or pattern to his crimes. And I don't plan on letting one develop.”

“I suspect he's inflicting the same torment that he's been through, knowing that someone can identify him.

Vandalizing CiCi's car was a message that he's found you. Then, this morning, he made sure you knew he was there. He drove the same car so you'd recognize it. He pulled up next to you, then dropped back.”

“How'd you know that?” she asked.

“I was the truck he almost ran into as you came out of the bank drive-through. I'm not about to let him get to you again, Amber.”

Garrett moved to calm her down.

“We can't tell you any more details than this, Amber,” the chief said. “I know you've had your doubts that we've been investigating this, but I assure you, it was never ignored. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you more. And now, thanks to Garrett's professional expertise, and his personal commitment to assure your safety, we know who we're looking for, and we will catch him—sooner than later.”

“I don't think he's going to strike like he has with the others, which I still believe were crimes of opportunity. Now his rage is going to escalate because you're his first specific target. We can catch him, Amber, but I need you to trust us and do everything exactly as we say.” His gaze met hers and she felt her anxiety fade just knowing Garrett was going to be taking care of her.

“I can't close the shop, not completely,” she said, trying to sound stronger than she felt. She felt little more than desperation. “You know that. I have a big wedding this weekend, and…”

“I know this isn't going to be easy for you to give up being in charge, Amber.” Garrett put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Don't worry. I have a plan to get you to the wedding on time.”

G
arrett had changed out of his police uniform, prepared to go back undercover as a bakery employee until they caught Anthony “Spider” Melendez, the kid that had been kicked out of the police Explorers group in high school. The kid that the SWAT officer killed was one of Melendez's gang affiliates in prison. They still hadn't been able to find any evidence that he belonged, as well.

He just had a grudge to settle with the local police department because of his uncle, Lieutenant Chavez and the Matthews men. He thought he had finally found a way to get revenge on all of them.

After they left the station, Garrett took Amber to the shop to pack some clothes, and to get whatever else she needed to finish up for the wedding. “While you pack, I'll check my messages.”

Her mind wasn't on the incident or on her obligations. “You weren't really serious, were you?”

“Serious about what?”

“About what? What do you think?”

“Oh,” he said with a smile. “Of course I was serious. I wasn't thinking about how it would come across, clearly, but I did want my intentions to be clear, to the chief, and to you. So you have time to consider your answer, but I assure you, I will ask again.”

“You are never going to live down proposing in the middle of an interrogation,” she said with a chuckle. “That had better not be…”

“That wasn't meant to be the official proposal, but I didn't want to leave the chief in the dark. He needs to know my plans. So you do have time to think about it. I'll make it up to you, I promise.” He reached across the console in between their seats and took hold of her hand.

“I thought I made that clear. I don't care about that stuff. God has shown me what true love is, Garrett. I'd marry you tonight if it weren't for this case, but I want to remember God joining you and me as one and being able to celebrate that every year without remembering running away from a criminal. I want everyone to know I didn't marry you just because you were my very handsome bodyguard.”

“We know the truth, and that's really all we need to worry about.”

She gazed at him as he concentrated on the road. “I've tried to convince myself not to fall in love with you. I knew I should tell you it was nothing so you could reach for your dreams, but I couldn't…and then you turned and proposed to me.

“My family told me that I'd never find true love because I wanted the perfect courtship. And while I was busy chasing my dreams God brought me the least romantic and the most loving, giving, forgiving and selfless man to capture my heart.”

“Who says I'm not romantic? I haven't had a chance to prove myself yet.”

“That's just it, Garrett. “I'm hired to create the illusion of perfect romance for weddings, and yet you've shown me that when love is real, you don't need to spend a penny to set the scene. That's the gift God has given me every time you walk into my life.”

They arrived at the shop, and Garrett locked the doors and set the security again. They walked into the shop and Amber instantly shifted gears, back to the focused party planner that he loved.

“I'm supposed to head up to the resort with the decorations and cake tomorrow. Do you think they finished baking the cake? I have to pick up the rental van, return the car, oh, where is the car?”

“Don't worry about the rental car tonight. Dad and I will come tomorrow with my folks' van and we'll take the scenic way out of town so Melendez doesn't follow us. I think you should call your employees to let them know you're okay and that the shop will be closed for a while. I'll help you finish the cake today. I'll help cover your normal weekend sales, but I don't see any reason to risk…”

“I know,” she said, biting the words off, as if she was trying to hold back her irritation. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I know you're right. Just let me sort through all of this.” She glanced at her answering machine and listened to the messages—the most urgent one from the bride—they had to postpone the wedding because they had three feet of snow at the resort. Amber quickly dialed Maya to reassure her that she'd be ready whenever, the delay wasn't a problem for Parties Galore.

She moved to get a suitcase out of her closet and Garrett panicked. “Amber…” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her slowly.

“Well, there's no rush to do all of this now. Just take enough so you can get some sleep. And pack light. Do you have one of those giant purses that will hold everything but the kitchen sink?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I think I can find one.”

“We need to leave, Amber. We'll be back in the morning to finish up all of this. You have your staff's phone numbers and addresses? Just to be sure this guy doesn't try to threaten any of them, like he did CiCi, maybe we should send officers to get them, as well.”

“You don't think…”

Garrett pulled out his cell phone and dialed Nick. “We're ready,” he said, then disconnected and turned back to Amber. “We're not dealing with a reasonable person. We'll call the police with their addresses on the way to my parents and…”

Amber hurried into the office and returned with a file folder and put it into her bag, then went to turn out the lights.

“Leave them on. We want it to look like we're here. Nick is going to be by in a few minutes with Sarah, and I'd like it to look like we're just out on a double date.”

There was a knock on the door and Garrett reached for the doorknob.

“Sounds like Nick and Sarah are here.”

“I'm feeling like I'm going to vanish into thin air, like witness protection or…”

Garrett opened the door and Anthony Melendez rushed inside, a gun in one hand, and a taser in the other. He smiled at Garrett.

“Remember me, Garrett? I've been waiting a long time to settle the score.”