Chapter Nineteen

"Sara?" The voice could have been a thousand miles away.

Then it came again, this time repeating my name a little louder. "Sara?"

"Uggh-nnn."

"Sara, can you hear me?"

"She's coming around," said another voice, a female one.

"Sara? You're okay. I found you."

I recognized the voice. Clinging to the sound, I blinked slowly, forcing my eyes open. I was cradled in someone's lap and a gentle hand stroked my hair. I blinked again and found myself looking into a pair of very concerned blue eyes. "Jason?" I whispered as my jaw began to tremble. Someone had hit me! A shiver spread through my body and I realized how brutally cold it was lying on the wet ground. I struggled to force myself upwards but I needn't have fought because the arms around me readily helped.

"I'm not sure you should be standing," said Jason as I scrambled to get onto my feet. The world spun and I blinked, sinking gratefully against Jason.

"The police will be here any minute," said the other voice I heard. The realtor. What was she doing out here?

No, the more important question was: what was Jason doing here?

"Are you okay? What happened?" Gwendolyn asked, concern lacing her voice. "I heard someone scream and when Jason and I rushed outside, we saw someone running away."

"That's when we found you," added Jason. "Did someone hurt you?"

"I saw someone trying the door handle," I told them. I reached my hand to my head, relieved to find I wasn't bleeding although I fully expected to see a colorful bruise in the morning. "I think I surprised them and they rushed me and knocked me down."

"Them?"

"He," I clarified as my head began to throb, "Or she. I'm not sure. It happened so quickly. I screamed and they hit me. I must have been knocked out or passed out when I hit the floor."

Gwendolyn gasped and Jason tightened his arm around me. "Trouble seems to follow you around," he said softly but not at all accusingly. I was saved from giving him a tart answer by the blare of a police siren getting closer. Then a car screeched to a stop and multiple doors slammed.

"Detective Logan," called Jason. He lifted one hand in a wave.

"What the hell happened?" yelled Detective Logan as he crossed the lot, the beam from his flashlight dancing on the ground. "I got a call saying a woman had been attacked."

I raised a hand weakly. "That would be me."

"Someone was trying to break into one of the houses," the realtor told him, "I don't know why. I'm Gwendolyn Cooper, the realtor. There's nothing in there. This poor lady saw him and he hit her."

"He? You got a look at him?" Detective Logan squinted at me. I recoiled as the flashlight shone on my face.

I shook my head. "It was too dark and too unexpected."

"Why were you two out here?" he asked, dropping the light.

"I came to see the show home," I told him. "I heard it was really nice and I thought I would take a short walk before driving home."

"A short walk?" Detective Logan gave me a skeptical look. "In the dark? On a construction site?"

"I didn't say it was a good idea!" I muttered.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I don't think so. My head hurts a little but I'll be okay."

Detective Logan turned his attention to Jason. "Did you see the person?"

"No."

"Were you two taking a walk together?"

"No!" we both chorused at the same time.

"Uh-huh," said Detective Logan slowly, clearly and unconvinced. "Sara, I think we should get your head looked at, just to be sure."

"I'm okay, really," I assured him.

He assessed me for a long moment before nodding. "At least come down to the station. The new recruit used to be an EMT and he can give you a swift check-up. Plus, I have a slightly ulterior motive. I'd like you to take a look at some photos."

The suggestion of photos lured me in without protest, just like I was sure Detective Logan knew it would, and I instantly agreed. Plus, if I were being honest too, having an EMT check my head and confirm it was nothing would give me some much-needed peace of mind.

"I'll follow you there," I told him.

"No way," said Jason and Detective Logan at the same time. They hesitated, looking at one another, then Logan took the lead.

"I think it's better if you ride with me," he said.

"I can follow in your car and pick up mine later," offered Jason.

"Why don't I arrange for your car to be taken to your home?" suggested Gwendolyn. I saw her worried grimace as she wrung her hands. "I'm sure you shouldn't be driving later and it's the least I can do, especially after you were injured here. It's not any trouble."

I nodded, grateful. "That would be really helpful, thank you."

"I'll follow you to the station and take you home after," added Jason.

"That sounds like a good plan," agreed Detective Logan, "You should probably take a look at the photos too. Maybe you'll recognize someone."

After I gave my car keys to Gwendolyn and she copied down my address, I got into the front of the squad car with Detective Logan. We were silent on the way to the station but every so often, I noted him taking a look in his rear mirror, checking to see if Jason still followed. I knew that was what he was doing because I was doing it too.

"How well do you know that guy?" asked Detective Logan when we turned into town.

"Jason? I met him a few weeks ago when he first came to town. I know him professionally better than personally," I said, then frowned. Did I? Before Jason had given me a ride into town, that would have been true; but now, after his kiss, I wasn't so sure.

"I had concerns about him after your friend was killed so I looked into him. He appears to be everything he claims to be."

"That's reassuring."

Detective Logan darted a glance at me and I thought I saw him smile in the dark. "I thought you might like to know."

"I'm glad you told me. If you hadn't, I might have really worried about why he was at the housing development tonight."

"He didn't say?"

"No."

"Huh. What were you really doing there?"

I knew that question was looming and at some point I would have to come up with a really good answer. As I hesitated, I thought about lying but figured that wouldn't help at all. "My mother said someone mentioned seeing Bree there. I thought it was strange, so I wanted to go check it out."

"You didn't think of mentioning it to me?"

"I wasn't planning on going out there. I just thought about it and kind of ended up there. I was taking a look around when I saw someone trying to break into the house."

"You figured Bree hid her loot there?"

"No! Well, yes, but I wasn't looking for it exactly. I don't care about the stupid jewels. I was just curious."

"It seems to me like someone else was too. Can you think of anyone else who knew about Bree's visit there?"

I shrugged. There was so much gossip flying around. "Anyone could have known."

"Damn!" Detective Logan hit the steering wheel with his open palm. "I hoped you weren't going to say that."

We fell into silence again, only speaking when we pulled up in front of the station. A moment later, Jason's car slid in behind it. We all got out and walked into the station together. Detective Logan had the new officer shine a light into my eyes, and do simple tests like following his finger with my eyes, and he also examined my head under a good light. He declared me absolutely fine with the possibility of a nasty bruise in the morning.

"Can I get either of you a hot drink?" asked Detective Logan. "It's the bump-on-the-head special treatment."

I laughed, the somber mood suddenly lifting, and declined. Jason, who followed us in, requested a coffee and Detective Logan sent one of the junior officers to fetch two cups. As we waited, he laid out a selection of photos on his desk. "I've been conferring with other police departments while looking into any suspected associates of Bree and these people are generally considered persons of interest. Take a look and let me know if any of them look familiar."

I started with the top column, carefully examining each face, knowing it was fruitless. I hadn't seen anyone in the library the night Bree was killed and it was too dark to see a face tonight. None of them triggered a memory. As I moved to the second row, Detective Logan said, "Perhaps you saw one or more around town before Bree was killed. Maybe you saw them speaking to her? Or parked outside the library?"

Moving to the end of the row, I shook my head, and continued to the third row. I stopped at the second photo. A woman looked familiar. In the photo, she had bangs and a blunt haircut, but I had seen her face before. I imagined the face without bangs and added lighter hair. "I know her," I said, pleased with myself. "This is Bree's sister, Angela Daniels. She called me yesterday and I met her earlier today when she got into town."

"Bree's sister?"

"Yeah, she looks different here but it's definitely her. She said you've been really helpful." I started to move on to look at the other photos but Detective Logan's next words stopped me.

"Bree didn't have a sister."

"Yes, she did. I met her."

"We looked into it, Sara. She doesn't."

"She said she spoke to you..." I trailed off at Detective Logan's pointed look.

"I haven't spoken to any member of Bree's family. As far as I can ascertain, she didn't have anyone and certainly, no siblings. As for this woman, her name isn’t Angela Daniels. It’s Angie Ackler."

"Then who..." I gulped as the implication became crystal clear. Angela wanted me to think she was Bree's sister, and she could only want that if she needed information about Bree from me.

"Did you tell her Bree was seen at the housing development?" Detective Logan inquired.

I thought back. "She was interested in all the places where Bree went around town and... oh, no! I did mention Bree was seen there."

"Could she have been around the same height as your attacker?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. I thought it was a guy but I guess it could have been her." I clapped a hand over my mouth as the realization of how much danger I was in became apparent. "She told me she was staying at a motel out of town."

"Write down the name and address." Detective Logan got up and walked around the desk. With the notepad in hand, he leaned out of his office and called over two officers. He spoke to them quickly and they nodded, and jogged out of the small room with the address I’d written. "They're going to pick her up if she's still there."

"Who is she?" asked Jason. He'd been quiet all this time but I noted the anxiety in his voice.

"A suspected member of the same crew Bree worked with. Her fingerprints were picked up at one crime scene and her face turned up in security footage several times in the days before another one. We think she cases potential places and perhaps operates in some other capacity, like distraction. If she knows about the jewels, then she could have been in on Bree's final job."

"She thought I could lead her to the jewels," I realized. “How could I have been so stupid!”

"She probably took the information you gave her and used it to check out the housing development."

"If she thought about it seriously, she'd have to know that Bree couldn't have hidden the jewels in any empty properties," I said.

Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the four almost finished houses might not have any residents yet but any number of contractors continue to work inside them. Bree wouldn't hide a stash that big in a place where they could be so easily discovered. Plus, she couldn't bury them on the land anywhere because they could get dug up, found, or lost. It would be too big a risk." Detective Logan and Jason both stared at me but I carried on. "I figured the only place Bree would hide the jewels if, and it's a big if, she intended to hide them there, would be on the one finished property. The show home. She could be almost certain that the house would be left alone since it's fully fitted out. She could walk in any time she liked."

"I'm impressed," said Detective Logan. "You've really thought a lot about this."

"It makes sense to me."

"Me too," he said, rising for a second time and waving a hand to the last remaining officer at his desk. Within minutes, he was also jogging out the door, armed with Detective Logan’s instructions. "I'm going to take a look at the show home again. You don't recognize any other photos?"

I took another look, scanning each one. "No," I said.

"Okay. Can I trust you to go home and not investigate anything else?"

"Yes," I said with absolute certainty.

"I will walk Sara to her door and make sure she goes inside," said Jason.

"And I promise not to escape out the back," I added, trying not to smile.

"You make sure you don't do that," said Detective Logan. "We're all out of officers to respond tonight thanks to the new leads you've provided us with."

"Glad to be of help."

"Any point in asking you to stop helping?"

"I really will try," I said, which probably wasn't the answer he was looking for but the best and most honest one I had. Detective Logan opened his mouth, as if to tell me to try harder, then shut it again and shook his head.

"I'll walk you both out," he said after a long pause. He grabbed his jacket from where he draped it around the back of the chair and shrugged it on.

"I hope you catch her," I said as we walked out. "I can't believe I fell for all her lies. She seemed so upset about Bree."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. She's a professional, just like Bree."

I winced, his comment hitting the mark even if I thought he didn’t mean to be so harsh. But Detective Logan was right, Bree was a professional liar and managed to sucker me a hundred percent. Now, with Angela’s appearance, it seemed more likely than ever that she must’ve double-crossed her gang, so it shouldn't have been any surprise that those people would come sniffing around eventually.

"I feel like an idiot," I told Jason as we got into his car.

"Why?"

I pointed to my bruised forehead instead of replaying the night's events. "At least Detective Logan didn't rub it in too much," I said, "but he's right, I should have told him sooner but I believed her. She seemed so sad."

"It just goes to show what a nice person you are," said Jason.

I turned to him. "You think?"

"Sure. You see the best in people. She gave you a grieving family member, exactly what you expected. Detective Logan said she was a professional." Jason hesitated.

"What is it?"

"You're just lucky she only wanted information."

"Yeah," I huffed, "I gave her exactly what she wanted." I paused, replaying the events in my mind again, knowing I would probably do so again that night. Something else occurred to me. "What were you doing there?"

"Where?"

"The housing development?"

"Oh. It's on my way and I thought I'd take a look."

"But the realtor called you by name."

"Did she?" Jason shrugged. "Here we are," he said, stopping almost outside my house. My car, as promised, had already been dropped off. I made a mental note to thank Gwendolyn for kindly arranging it although I suspected her eager goodwill had a lot to do with not getting the construction firm sued or losing her job.

"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate the lift."

"Take it easy tonight. I'll check in on you in the morning and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call," he said, making to reach for the handle.

"Oh, no, don't get out. It's too cold and I'm sure you want to get home, I mean, to your hotel," I told him, resting my arm on his to stop him. I thanked him again, promised I would call if I needed anything, and hurried to my house. Jason waited until I opened the door and waved but he didn't leave until I closed the door. I watched his tail lights from my living room window, waiting until he turned the corner.

There was a lot to contemplate and I almost wished I was officially involved. I was dying to find out whether they found Bree's fake sister tonight or any traces of the person who pushed me over at the construction site. I thought about calling but figured Detective Logan wouldn't appreciate it. I was sure the only thing that saved me from his wrath tonight was the bump on my head. I hoped that he would have some good news in the morning.

One thing was very clear to me: just like Bree, Jason had definitely been to the construction site before, but why?