Calhoun Huntington slipped into a back pew of the Valley Oaks Community Church alongside those parents who insisted on keeping their squalling babies and overactive toddlers in the sanctuary during the service. He didn’t want to add his own disruption to the music now by walking toward the front. He should have come earlier.
He rubbed his tired eyes. What he should have done was leave Tammy’s earlier last night. Last night? Try this morning. At least he’d arrived home in time for a quick shower. He scratched his jaw. No shave though. Oh, well. Brady kept telling him Jesus wasn’t interested in appearance. He just wanted his heart.
An open hymnal touched his knee. Cal glanced down at the kid sitting next to him and nodded his thanks.
Tammy didn’t understand this hunger of his, this craving to sing and be taught by Pastor Eaton. Church wasn’t that important to her. But she had been a Christian longer and seemed to know more than he did. She didn’t care for any of the churches where she lived in Twin Prairie, the county seat 23 miles west of town. And that distance, she said, made his church too inconvenient. Distance or lack of sleep made no difference to him. He had been coming regularly for almost three years now. Tammy had only been around for a couple of months.
The song ended. Cal yawned and pulled a pen from his shirt pocket, tuning out Tammy’s voice and the annoying squiggler beside him. There was something more important going on here. He opened up his Bible along with the pastor.
After the service, Cal found his old friend Brady outside on the sidewalk. “Yo, Brade.” He noticed Gina standing at a distance with others. Most of the congregation mingled outdoors in the late-August morning sunshine.
“Cal. You look like you were rode hard and put away wet, bud. Third shift?”
“You might say that.”
“Ah, Tammy date night.”
Cal tilted his head toward the parking lot. “Who’s the city slicker with Miss California?”
“Reporter from Chi-town. It shows, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. It’s the way his clothes hang. Silk. Tammy had me in Rockville one day, trying on clothes like that. Didn’t have the same effect.”
Brady laughed. “With a neck size of 20, I think you’re talking custom-tailoring.”
“That’s what Tammy said. So what’s he up to? Visiting you or the famous vet?”
“Me. Gina won’t give any interviews. Part of the settlement agreement. If she doesn’t talk about the elephant abuse she witnessed, the zoo folks won’t blacklist her. Come on over and I’ll introduce you.”
As they maneuvered through groups of people, Gina caught Cal’s eye and smiled. In his opinion, she was one classy lady, a good match for his friend. “Olafsson, when are you going to put a ring on that gal’s finger?”
“Soon, but don’t tell anyone.”
He laughed as they neared Gina. “Like nobody suspects it.”
“Hi, Cal!” She gave him a hug. “Suspects what?”
“That you’re the prettiest woman in Valley Oaks.”
“Better not let Tammy hear you say that, mister.”
“No problem. She’s the prettiest woman in Twin Prairie.” He held his hand out to the stranger. “Cal Huntington.”
“Tony Ward, Chicago Tribune. Nice to meet you. I take it you’re a friend of Brady’s?”
He nodded. “Ever since we put on our first helmet and set of shoulder pads. Anything you need to know about him, ask me.”
“Thanks.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pad and pen. “I’ll probably take you up on that. What do you do for a living?”
“Jacob County deputy sheriff.” The guy wrote it down. Cal knew he had better things to do on a Sunday afternoon than talk to this note taker. “I live here in town. Name’s in the book. Gotta run now, though. Nice meeting you. Bye, Gina.” He averted his face and raised his brows at Brady.
His friend wasn’t slow on the uptake. “I’ll walk you to your truck. Be right back, Tony.”
When they were out of hearing distance, Cal murmured, “His eyes aren’t right.”
“All reporters look like that.”
He snorted. “Shifty-eyed?”
“Gina says they’re missing something. You can’t connect with them.”
“Be careful with him, bud.”
“I know what’s missing, Cal. I’m just praying for the man.”
“Yeah. That, too. See you around.” He clapped Brady’s shoulder and climbed into his pickup.
Cal always felt the urge to run interference, to protect his friend. A few years back, Brady’s fiancée, Nicole, ran out on him. She had damaged him in a basic sort of way, leaving him almost…fragile. Cal complained his friend had lost his quarterback nerve. Brady described it as meekness, a realization that Christ was taking care of him, and not to worry. Cal worried. He didn’t feel the need to tell Brady that he had thoroughly investigated Gina a few months ago, even before she made the national news.
Now he’d run a check on Tony Ward. Brown hair, blue eyes, 5’ 11”, 160, early 30s. Silk.
Cal pulled his own notepad from the glove compartment.
Lia Neuman parked her car in the alley parallel to the old brick building and cut the engine. The wipers thumped to a halt. The last notes of a praise song dissipated in the rain’s staccato beat. She turned toward the passenger seat. “Welcome home, Chloe.”
The little girl stirred, her face scrunched against a pillow propped against the door. A gentle snore escaped her mouth.
Lia closed her own eyes for a moment and breathed a prayer of thanks. They were finally home…home in Valley Oaks where home felt as it should…safe, even here in a dark alley at 11:30 P.M. in the midst of a torrential downpour. She should have left Chicago earlier in the evening, but things got complicated telling her parents goodbye and dealing with Chloe’s hesitation to leave the only home she’d ever known. And then the rain began, slowing their journey to a snail’s crawl.
But they had made it. Tomorrow she’d begin sorting out those complications, most of which should simply cease to exist because she was here and not there. Chloe was all hers. The pharmacy was all hers. Well, except for the small-business loan and her parents’ money, which they insisted was an early inheritance rather than funds to be paid back.
She loved her new situation. Escaping the big-city environs and living in a town like Valley Oaks was a longtime dream come true. She was a pharmacist and now her own boss, the proprietor of a well-established business. The apartment above the shop meant she didn’t have to leave home and Chloe in order to work. The small back room served as a private entrance off the alley. It held the stairwell to the apartment and tripled as a cramped laundry room, office, and storage space. The pharmacy itself was a manageable size with plenty of shelves to expand the gift selection.
Everything she needed or wanted was right here within this corner portion of a turn-of-the-century brick building. God was good.
Not bothering with the umbrella now, Lia got out and hurried around the car. She unlocked the store’s back door, opened it, and flicked on the ceiling light, thinking that Chloe’s hesitancy would change in the morning. When she saw her new bedroom set and the special case to hold her stuffed animal collection, she’d feel better about this move. The child was only nine, but at times projected an uncanny resemblance to a 17-year-old’s attitude.
Lia opened the car door, leaned inside out of the rain, and unbuckled Chloe’s seat belt. “Can you wake up, sweetpea?”
Chloe’s groan answered in the negative.
The girl was really too heavy for Lia to carry, but she didn’t exactly have another choice. She smiled wryly to herself. No other choice. That philosophy pretty much summed up her life. Her backside was sopping. “Honey, wrap your arms and legs around me.” Chloe obeyed. With an “oomph,” Lia straightened and pushed the door shut with her hip.
Suddenly a car swung into the alley, its headlights and a spotlight reflecting through the rain and nearly blinding her. It lurched to a stop in front of her car and a large man emerged. “Is there a problem?” he called.
Heart pounding in her throat, Lia quickly backed away, throwing herself off balance. She cried out just as the man caught her.
“Whoa, steady there, ma’am.” The bass voice materialized from somewhere above her. “Here, let me help.”
She struggled against what felt like a brick wall with arms. “No!”
“Ma’am, I’m the deputy sheriff. Sorry if I startled you.”
A policeman? Relief flowed through her, turning her arms to rubber. Chloe’s legs slipped.
“Here, let me take him. Her?”
The weight evaporated. Lia hurried inside behind him and closed the door. “Her. Thank you!”
In the bright light she recognized him, though they had never met. He was the local deputy she noticed sometimes cruising the small town’s streets or sitting in his car beside the highway that ran along the edge of Valley Oaks.
His wide-brimmed hat and long dark brown slicker dripped. He scanned the room. “Where—”
“Upstairs. But wait a sec.” She stepped over to the laundry corner and pulled towels from a stack on the dryer.
Chloe’s arms were around his neck, her legs dangling. She briskly rubbed down the girl’s back.
He took off his hat. “Mind taking that?” He spoke softly as if not to waken the little girl in his arms.
“I’ll hang it on the hook here.”
“Thanks. It’s a frog strangler out there tonight. You’re the new pharmacist, right? Eliana Neuman?”
She laughed and draped a towel about her shoulders. “I hope so or else you’d better arrest me for trespassing. Do you mind carrying her upstairs, Deputy?”
“No problem. And the name’s Cal. Cal Huntington.”
“Nice to meet you. I go by Lia. And that’s Chloe you’re carrying.” She led him up the enclosed stairway. Behind her he jangled, no doubt with the police paraphernalia beneath the raincoat. At the landing’s turn, she saw that he filled the tight space, but his step was light. He reminded her of an incredibly large brown teddy bear.
Heart still madly pumping adrenaline, Lia babbled. “What good timing that you came when you did! I didn’t know how I was going to manage.”
“Just doing my rounds when I noticed some activity in the alley. Do you live here?” His tone expressed disbelief until she opened the door at the top of the stairs and flipped the light switch. “Whew,” he approved, “I guess you do! Man, the last time I saw this place, it was a pit. Unlivable and chock-full of junk. Fifty years’ worth of trash collection.”
“That trash collection turned into a gold mine for the Bentleys in the form of a yard sale. I’m sure you know the former owners.” Lia surveyed the cozy apartment she had spent the last two months renovating. The old wooden floors shone beneath scattered braid rugs. The kitchen and living room ran together with two side windows facing Walnut Street. Soft yellow paint, white lace curtains, and used furniture from home had worked wonders.
“Chloe’s room is right through here.” She led him down the short hall past the bathroom to one of two bedrooms at the front of the building. It didn’t matter that the rooms were tiny. Each had a window facing the lovely town square across Fourth Avenue.
Lia turned on a low-watt bulb and smiled to herself as she pulled back the comforter. She had splurged on this room, buying a white canopy bed Chloe had admired once and accent pieces in the girl’s favorite shade of cardinal red.
Cal carefully set Chloe down, and Lia pulled off her sandals. They left her snuggling into the pillow.
“Deputy, would you like a cup of tea?”
His smile was nice. It crinkled his eyes. “Cal. And, uh, no thanks.”
“Oh, you probably don’t even drink tea! How about some coffee?”
The smile widened into a grin, transforming the intimidating shoulders and square jaw into an approachable neighborhood cop. “Now coffee I’d consider, but I need to get going. I’ll take a rain check, though.”
“You got it.” She followed him down the stairs. “Stop by again sometime so Chloe can meet you. She won’t remember a thing.”
“Will do. Goodnight, now.”
“Thanks again. Goodnight.”
Lia shut the door behind him, flipped off the light, raced back up to the bathroom, and turned the shower’s hot water handle on full force. Her wet clothes had chilled her to the bone. She clipped her long hair atop her head and jumped into the spray.
“Thank you, Jesus, for bringing Cal at just the right moment. Bless him. Keep him safe in his work tonight.” She broke into a praise chorus.
“Mrs. Neuman!” There was a pounding on the open bathroom door.
Lia screamed.
“It’s me! Cal.”
“Oh!” She gulped a breath. Her heart was certainly getting a workout tonight. She peeked around the edge of the opaque shower curtain, grateful not to see his face and yet still embarrassed at his apparent proximity. She turned off the water and called out, “Yes?”
“You left your keys in the door.”
“Just a sec! I’ll be right out!” She held the curtain before her as she stepped out of the tub and pushed the door shut. Eyeing her heap of wet clothes, she quickly toweled off. What was the proper thing to do here? Mom had never discussed this scenario. When a police officer enters your apartment and— Her long terry cloth robe hung on the back of the door. It would suffice.
He stood in the kitchen beside the sink, which was a good distance around the corner from the bathroom. His face was apple red as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I, uh, knocked,” he said, averting his eyes. “You need a doorbell and a new alarm system.”
Lia bit her lip to keep from bursting into laughter at his discomfort.
“I noticed your purse in the unlocked car, so I brought that up, too. Do you need anything else?” He made eye contact somewhere above her head.
“No, but thanks.”
“Okay. I’ll lock the door and your car. I thought I heard you were from Chicago.”
“I am.”
“Then you know you should keep doors and cars locked.”
“But this is Valley Oaks! I feel so safe here.”
“People are still people, Mrs. Neuman. They take advantage of the unsuspecting. You need a deadbolt, too.”
“By the way, it’s Miss Neuman. And my friends call me Lia. I think I’d consider you and me friends, given the fact that you were in my apartment after midnight while I was in the shower. Hmm?”
A small smile played at his lips as he turned and strode to the stairwell. “Yes, ma’am.”
The giggle she had been holding in bubbled out. “Goodnight, Cal.”
“Goodnight. Lia.”
Cal chewed himself out as he punched the doorknob’s lock and pulled the door securely shut behind him. He vocalized his lunacy while opening the driver’s door of Lia’s old model Volvo and jabbing the automatic lock button, rain still spattering off his hat and slicker.
“Huntington, this is exactly what happened to Patterson. Get yourself into a dubious situation and allegations start flying.” He strode to the squad car and kicked a tire before yanking open the door. “You could’ve thrown the keys in on the floor and simply locked up. No, you’ve got to play Mr. Considerate and hike all the way back upstairs. You hear her singing in the shower and you still don’t duck out.”
He climbed in and drove out of the alley.
At least she didn’t seem like the complaint-filing type.
Yeah, that’s what Patterson thought.
Cal shook his head. She was nice. He had recognized her shower song from church. And most of what he had heard about her indicated that she was an asset to the community. She had even lowered some prices on pharmaceuticals. Townsfolk appreciated that in a big way. Her business should grow.
Tammy’s mother worked for her and wasn’t too keen on the woman. He couldn’t put much stock in her opinion, though. Dot Cassidy wasn’t too keen on anybody.
He cruised down Main Street and headed for the all-night Gas Mart. Maybe he should make his whereabouts known… just in case.
So it was “miss,” huh? Interesting. The daughter appeared to be nine or ten. Lia must have been a teenager, probably too young to marry. Said something about her, sticking things out like that, becoming a pharmacist and now buying her own shop. Probably family money. She was cute with her long swinging ponytail, little nose and a mouth that kind of curved up at the corners like a bow tie. There was a vague hint of Asian heritage in the shape of her dark eyes and matching dark hair, but not much of one. The only accent was Chicago style, big city and borderline aggressive. Confident might be a better word. Her black hair hung to her waist. Except when it was pinned up for a shower.
He laughed at himself and pulled into the gas station. Tomorrow he’d pick up a deadbolt and install it for her. Make amends.
Of course if Dot found out then Tammy would find out, and then he’d have amends to make with her… Women!