He glanced at Bree when Eve didn’t answer. “Bree? What happened here?”
“Good grief, put the man out of his misery,” Kade said from his seat by the fireplace. “Eve came down for some tea. Gideon got in while she was fixing it. I don’t know how—I’m positive I threw the deadbolt. He grabbed her from behind and started to drag her outside. Samson heard them struggling and came to help. He drove off Gideon.”
“Samson was pacing in the bedroom,” Bree said. “He kept whining, and I told him to shut up. He went out into the hall then. We had the fan on, so I didn’t hear anything from downstairs. If only I’d checked things out. I just thought he was restless.”
Nick stared at Kade. Could he be the killer? Someone had unlocked the door. He liked Kade and didn’t want to suspect him, but maybe he should.
“Did you see him, Eve?” Bree asked.
“No, he grabbed me from behind. And in Bay City, he shut off the lights.” Eve plucked at some threads on the blanket and didn’t look up.
Nick preferred the Eve who responded to him without all the baggage. He’d hoped to find a new start. Maybe it wasn’t possible.
THE MEMORIES HAUNTED EVEN HER SLEEP. THE next morning, Eve felt hollow eyed and exhausted. Even a shower didn’t clear away her cobwebs. Keri seemed to pick up on Eve’s distraction. She whined and cried until Eve finally put her down for nap. Though Keri hadn’t awakened last night, she surely sensed the tension in the household.
Samson shadowed her all morning, and his company reassured her. If not for the dog, she would be dead right now.
Gideon wasn’t going to do this to her again. She would have to save herself.
She went down the hall to the office and sat in front of the computer. Nick had surely checked out the Web site by now, but she was done waiting for him to protect her. The geocaching site came up, and she scanned down the list of caches in the area.
“Anything new?” Bree asked, coming to the doorway.
“Nope. It’s all the same as the last time we looked.” She didn’t know what she was expecting—some grand revelation maybe.
“Nick will find him. You’re being too hard on him, Eve.”
“You don’t waste any time, do you? Get right to the point.” Eve could feel the sermon coming.
“Maybe all the memories coming at one time made it hard to sort through,” Bree suggested. “You have to give Nick credit for trying.”
“Our marriage went through some pretty rough times the past two years. I don’t see it changing.”
Bree didn’t say anything for a long minute. Eve peeked up at her. “I can see your wheels turning. Just say what you’re thinking.”
“No marriage rises or falls on the actions of one person. How does Will fit in?”
Heat rushed to Eve’s face. That was one memory she hadn’t wanted to examine—the nights she met Will at the studio and danced until ten while Keri slept on a blanket at the edge of the dance floor. The way she lit up when he told her she was beautiful. Only by the grace of God had she not fallen into bed with him. At least there was that much. But realizing how close she’d come made her squirm. She’d actually gone to meet him at a hotel once. They talked for about an hour, but when it came down to breaking her bent wedding vows, she pulled back and rushed out.
She didn’t love Will. There was relief in that realization at least.
Had Gideon followed her that night?
Eve realized Bree was still waiting for an answer. “I didn’t have an affair.”
“What was it, then?”
“A flirtation, I guess you’d call it. Nick was gone more than he was home, and I was lonely. I was used to adulation in the ballet, and suddenly I was a just a wife whose husband barely noticed her. That went on for five years.” She looked down at her hands. “I’m not proud of it. Will and I shared a passion for dance, and he came from humble beginnings just like me. At the time, it seemed we had more in common than Nick and I did.”
“You had Keri.”
The sound of her daughter’s name brought the first smile to Eve’s face. “We both love her so much.”
“You still love Nick.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’ll never change,” Eve said.
“Was he a cop when you married him?”
“Yes, but I thought . . .” She stopped, realizing what she’d been about to say.
“But you thought he’d change,” Bree finished for her. “What do you want from a husband?”
“A man who loves me unconditionally. Who puts me above his job and everything else. I went to church alone almost every Sunday because he got called into the office.”
“There’s no doubt Nick loves you.”
“He doesn’t show it. No wonder I couldn’t get pregnant. I hardly saw him.” Eve realized how bitter her words sounded. Was any of this her fault?
“How were things when you were first married?”
“Our honeymoon was the only time I had him to myself. Work always intruded on everything we tried to do.”
“Aren’t you proud of what he does though, Eve? He saves people every day. There’s a sacrifice in that. Just like a soldier who leaves his family and goes off to war. The family pays a price for our safety. You knew he was created to be a cop when you married him. Did you think that would just fade away because he loved you?”
Eve thought about what Bree said. “Maybe I did,” she admitted. “I don’t think I realized what it would be like to be a law-enforcement wife.”
“Let me ask you something—would you feel the same way about Nick if he were a store owner? What if he worked in an office? Left in the morning at nine and came home at five. Wore a suit to work every day. Talked about numbers on a spreadsheet instead of criminals he’d tracked down. How would that affect your feelings?”
Eve wanted to flippantly say she’d love it, but would she really? The thought felt vaguely distasteful.
Bree was watching her face. “The same thing that drives Nick to love you so completely is also what makes him good at his job. Focus and determination. Passion. He’s rather heroic. What if he were just a normal man who hid behind a counter when a bank robber broke in?”
Eve didn’t want to admit it, but Bree was right. “I wouldn’t have nearly as much respect for him.”
“One thing I’ve seen is how wives want to change who they’re married to. You fell in love with Nick’s passion and commitment. He hasn’t changed. He can’t. But you can change how you react to him. You can partner with him instead of fight him.”
“You make it sound so easy. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”
“You’re stronger than you think. You haven’t been able to strangle the love you have for Nick either. It’s still there if you look for it.” Bree smiled. “Sermon over. I hope you forgive me for interfering.”
“I love you. You can say anything to me. I might get mad, but I know you care.” Eve stood and hugged her. “I’ll think about what you said.”
She’d be lucky to ever forget it.
23
The small white building didn’t look much like a church to Bree. Kade parked their Jeep beside it. They’d left Eve and Nick waiting for the home study guy to show up. In spite of Eve’s trauma the night before, they wanted to move forward to settle Keri’s custody issues.
Bree glanced at the group’s headquarters. It squatted in the thick overhead trees like a pale mushroom with its rounded roof and dingy white paint. The windows were fly streaked and dusty, and the yard around it was overgrown with weeds.
“I’m not sure about this,” Kade said. “I don’t see how they could have anything to do with planting my shovel at the scene.”
“Just humor me, okay?” Bree opened her door and got out. She met Kade at the front of the vehicle. He took her hand, and they went toward the front of the building. This place gave her an uneasy feeling. The idea of a Thursday afternoon meeting was kind of weird too.
Will met them at the front door. His slacks were pressed and spotless
, and he wore a jacket with no tie. His easy smile told her he intended to forget that she’d challenged him over the hunting episode, and the arrogance raised her hackles. As if he was forgiving her, though he was the one who broke the law.
She didn’t return his smile, and his dimmed a trifle, then came back full wattage. Bree could feel Kade bristle, and she squeezed his fingers. “Let’s find a seat.”
“Sit here,” Will said, leading to a row of ladder-back wooden chairs near the middle of the room.
Bree and Kade stepped into the row and sat. Will took the chair on the aisle. Bree glanced around the room. A banner hung above the battered podium at the front of the room: SUPERIOR—NOT JUST A STATE BUT A WAY OF LIFE. Deer heads and black bearskin rugs hung on the walls.
She leaned over and whispered to Kade, “Are they pushing for secession from Michigan?”
“Looks like it.”
There was always some talk going on above the bridge about breaking away from the trolls and forming their own state. Bree didn’t see it ever happening. The UP depended too much on Michigan’s infrastructure.
A man stepped to the podium and held up his hands. “Welcome to our visitors. I think we’re about to get started. My son will come and play for the singing.”
A young man who looked like a younger version of the leader stood and went to the front, where he picked up a guitar and began to strum it. Bree joined in on the verses of “As the Deer.” At least she’d heard the song before. The people in the room—about forty—were mostly young adults in their twenties and thirties. There were quite a few teenagers too. Everyone clapped in time to the music and swayed in their seats.
“Now for our announcements,” the older man said. “Our supplies for the winter are growing, but we need more meat laid up.” Will began to frown and shook his head, catching the man’s eye. The man smiled weakly. “Um, let’s move on to other business.”
Bree felt Kade’s arm tighten under her fingers. He moved her hand off his arm and stood. “If you were about to say what I think you were, let me say right now that I’m a ranger. There is no legal taking of animals right now. If you’re going to lay up meat, it needs to be store-bought.”
Mutterings rippled around them. Bree saw several resentful glances sent their way. She tugged on Kade’s arm, and he sat back down.
“Thanks for that reminder,” the leader said. “On to other business. I heard from the Superior Coalition. They’re going to send a speaker for our meeting next weekend to report on the status of the movement. Secession would be best for Job’s Children as well as for the whole area. For one thing, Yoopers understand living off the land and being self-sufficient.” His gaze touched Kade. “At least most do.”
Bree was tempted to get up and walk out, but she wanted to know exactly how this group figured into what had been going on.
A young man with curly blond hair strode up the aisle. His blond beard looked more like peach fuzz. Dressed in ragged jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, he stepped to the podium. “Today I’d like to talk about the role of pain in shaping our lives. We should really pray that God cares enough about us to give us pain. Only pain shakes us out of our stupor and wakens us to God’s working in our lives. In fact, when I pray, I usually cut myself with a razor.” He pulled up his left sleeve to reveal red slashes on his arm. “It really puts me in tune with God.”
Bree choked back a gasp. These poor kids. Yes, pain shaped their lives, but God didn’t expect them to cut themselves. He’d send the necessary circumstances to mold them. She moved restlessly in her seat, then glanced to the back of the room.
The door opened, and Patti peeked in.
Bree grabbed Kade’s arm, but before she could explain, Patti ducked back out.
What was Patti doing here? Bree didn’t get it. She tried to focus on the meeting. She wouldn’t have called it a church service by any stretch of the imagination. There was no glorifying God’s work, only a pitiful effort to meet him with self-inflicted pain.
Once the meeting adjourned with a prayer for pain that would show the way, she and Kade bolted to their feet. “Let’s go,” she whispered.
Bree somehow managed to hold her tongue long enough to shake Will’s hand and smile. Kade took her hand, and they made their escape into the sunshine. The rest of the group stayed inside talking in small groups.
“They’ve got it partly right,” she told Kade. “Pain shapes us and molds us. But that cutting thing was too weird for words. And there was no mention of just embracing the pain God brings to our lives and looking for the good that he brings out of it.”
“I agree. They seem misguided, but not criminal.”
Bree told him about Patti’s appearance. “She and Will are both connected to Eve. I can’t believe we’re too far off base to think something’s going on here.”
“Let’s look around,” Kade said.
Discarded candy wrappers and soda cans littered the grounds. “For a back-to-nature group, they sure don’t take care of the environment,” Bree said.
They ducked through thick white pines and headed back toward a rock face. “Someone in town said they live in the old mine shaft,” Bree said. “It should be close by.”
“There’s the opening.” Kade pointed out the gaping hole in the mountain.
“Do we dare go in?”
Kade shrugged. “What can they do except throw us out?”
“True.” Bree clutched Kade’s hand, and they approached the opening framed in rough, weathered wood. “It doesn’t look very safe. It’s hard to imagine an acclaimed dancer living here, but I think his acclaim is long gone. Eve said he came from humble beginnings just like she did. It was something they had in common.”
The opening was about twelve feet wide and eight feet high. The top beam sagged, and the interior was dark. A dozen or so lanterns were clustered on the ground near the opening. Several lighters lay beside them.
“You game to go in?” Kade asked. He picked up a lantern.
“If you’re with me. I wish we’d brought Samson.” She stooped and grabbed one of the lighters and lit the lantern in Kade’s hand.
“I’m surprised they don’t use flashlights or battery-powered lamps,” Kade said. He trimmed the wick. “Let’s go before they start wandering this way.”
Bree followed him into the mine. The hewn rock walls seemed to press in on them. Several tunnels branched off in various directions.
“Let’s try this one,” Kade said, tugging her to the right.
They had to duck to enter the room just off the tunnel. Kade lifted the lantern to illuminate the space. Two sleeping bags, a pail upended to serve as a makeshift table, piles of discarded clothing, and several pairs of shoes were in the room.
Bree stepped closer to examine the pictures on top of the pail. “Look, Kade. Patti and Will. And a picture of Eve with Keri.” The whole setup creeped her out, but she picked up the picture of Patti and Will, who was dressed in his leotards. They had their arms entwined, and she was looking up at him with an adoring expression.
It looked recent.
Bree put the picture back. “I bet this is Will’s space. What if he’s Keri’s father?”
“Then why is he so interested in Eve?”
Bree shuddered. “Maybe he’s using her to get to Keri. He asked her where Keri was the other day when we came out here.”
“I think we’d better find out,” Kade said, his voice grim.
EVE GLANCED OUT THE LIVING ROOM CURTAINS. The social worker would be there any minute.
“Quit pacing. It will be okay,” Nick said. “You’ve got your memory back, so you’ll be able to answer all her questions.”
“But the situation is still far from ideal,” Eve said. She walked back into the living room, where Keri sat on the floor fitting wooden puzzle pieces into their frame. The quiet house had her listening for a sound at the door or the creak of a foot on floorboards. She told herself Fraser was watching the house and had it all under control. The Matthewse
s would be back soon.
And Nick was here. No one would try to hurt her with him hulking around. Her fingers touched the tender spots on her neck.
“It will be okay. We’ll deal with it,” Nick said.
Easy for him to say. He had a good job and knew where he fit in. By now all her dance students would have found other teachers. “Did you sell my studio?”
“No. I’ve been making the payments.”
“Why would you do that if you thought I was dead?”
“You loved that studio and put so much work into making it look nice. I couldn’t stand to let it go yet.” Nick’s steady gaze stayed on her, and he started to extend his hand to her, then dropped it. “I heard a car door.” He went into the hall.
Eve followed him. Her chest felt as though someone were sitting on it.
The man wore an easy smile and carried a briefcase. With thin dark hair and muddy hazel eyes, he was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. “I’m Mark Haskell with Child Protective Services.”
“Come in.” Nick held the door open and stepped out of the way.
“This way,” Eve said, leading him into the living room. “This is our daughter, Keri.” Intent on her puzzle, Keri ignored her mother’s introduction.
Mark smiled. “Let’s sit down and talk a bit, shall we?” He went to the armchair and sat down. Balancing his briefcase on his knees, he flipped it open and withdrew a file and something to write with. He closed the lid and placed the file on top of the case for support. He clicked the end of the spring-loaded pen.
Eve and Nick sat on the sofa. They answered Mark’s questions about how they came to have Keri and what they knew of Patti’s background.
“Have you talked to Patti yet?” Nick asked.
“Not yet. We have an appointment this afternoon.” He clicked his pen.
Mark’s pen-clicking habit was beginning to annoy Eve. But he seemed to be a nice guy and was clearly listening to them.
Mark wrote down a few more notes. “Now to your circumstances presently. This is your home?”
“Um, no,” Eve said. “I’m staying with a friend while I’m here in Rock Harbor. I actually live in Bay City.”