Shield of Refuge (6 page)

“I know you want to be working on this case, Garrett, but…it wouldn't be in your best interest to pursue this investigation.”

Garrett couldn't believe what Chief Thomas had just said. Since when did they only investigate the cases that were interesting, or convenient? “Okay, if someone else is looking into it, let me do something to help. I could go through old files, whatever. Maybe one of our old applicants is holding a grudge. Even office work and phone calls would keep me from going stir crazy at home. Anything.”

Chief Thomas stared at Garrett as if he'd said something wrong. He stood and looked out the window, muttering something like “Another hotshot Matthews.”

“Excuse me, sir. Did you say something?”

He shook his head. Finally he looked Garrett in the eye and spoke. “I do have something you can do. Ms. Scott has been very persistent about this missing girl. She arrived at the scene the next morning, started asking questions of every shop owner in the area. I want you to keep her quiet and out of our hair until she loses interest in the case.”

Garrett couldn't believe what he was hearing. “What? I thought you said…”

“I don't doubt she saw something, but it has been just over forty-eight hours. I'm beginning to think that it was a boyfriend and girlfriend arguing or a college prank. We don't have enough to go on right now. Business in the university area is just starting to recover.”

While the chief said something about the newspapers, Garrett's mind was spinning, desperate to come up with a Plan C. Anything to keep from facing those big blue eyes with a scheme to keep her quiet. He should say something to keep the chief from reading the wrong thing into his silence.

“Amber Scott seems very defensive every time one of our uniformed officers talks to her, but I understand that night after the incident, she came to visit you at the hospital. Apparently she seems pretty comfortable talking to you.”

Garrett's brain had stopped registering after the chief ordered him to keep Amber out of their hair for a few days.

“How well do you know her, Matthews?” the chief asked.

The last thing he needed right now was to get to know her better. “I don't,” he said—not that he didn't
want
to know Amber Scott. What he needed was to get back on duty where he could find out what was happening with the investigation. He needed to figure out why they were throwing this case out with the trash.

The chief's commanding voice broke into his thoughts. “Care to explain why she showed up at the hospital, if you've never met her before?”

He came up with a response that the chief would want to hear. “She came to visit because she felt guilty, sir.”

The chief nodded, erasing a smile as soon as it flashed on his mouth. “Good—that makes your job easier. What about her visit just now? Did she ask about the missing girl?” The chief was not happy with Amber Scott.

Nothing was a secret around here. “Yes, apparently no one here would tell her anything about the case. So yes, she's not only concerned about me, but the female victim. As we all should be, shouldn't we?”

The captain shot him a silent reprimand that instantly let Garrett know he'd pushed too far. Chief Thomas picked up a file and opened it. The quieter he got, the harder Garrett's brain worked to figure out how he could survive this assignment. He hadn't seen this coming.

“We have investigators looking at the reports of police impersonators, Garrett. They will make any necessary inquiries. Your assignment right now is to keep Amber Scott quiet. She likes you and you're our best chance to keep her out of the way so we can sort through this.”

Nick had been set up by two fellow officers. Was Garrett next? But how could anyone have set this up? There's no way someone could have planned for Amber to run him off the road. Besides, what could they be setting him up for? It didn't make any sense. Not that the bad guys ever made sense.

How was he supposed to ignore Amber Scott? She was gorgeous, had a strong conscience and she now had information that could frighten the wrong people. No matter what his own plans were, he couldn't stand to let her face this alone. The chief was right about one thing: there had been some sort of connection between him and Amber that night.

There wasn't an officer at the accident who hadn't given him grief about letting a good-looking woman turn him upside down. Now the chief was sending him back for more razzing?

He leaned back in his chair, studying the Chief of Police. “You're serious, aren't you?” he asked the chief, just to be sure it wasn't some initiation prank.

The chief zeroed in on Garrett and nodded. “I am. You're not going out on the streets yet, Matthews. So far, we have no indication that Amber Scott is in danger, but if she draws more attention to herself and this incident, she may have more than
our
interest, real quick. And I don't want another victim.”

Garrett couldn't believe they weren't paying more attention to this case. “And what if this creep goes after our only witness? How can we have nothing to go into an investigation on? How can that be?”

The chief ignored his question. “This will go on your record as witness protection service. Be sure to add that to your résumé.”

He was ready to argue—until the chief turned it to benefit his career aspirations. “What are we protecting her from, exactly, since she witnessed a crime that we're not investigating?”

“I didn't say nothing happened. And I definitely didn't say no one is investigating. I said Lieutenant Chavez found no evidence to investigate….” He paused, as if he wanted to say more, but letting Garrett know he'd been out of line.

Garrett worked to hold his temper. He played this through his mind again. What was the chief really saying? Did he suspect a cover-up? If so, why wasn't he calling in someone with more experience than he had to look into it?

The chief tapped his finger on another file and rubbed his forehead while Garrett waited for him to say something. He seemed deep in thought as he opened the file and read the rap sheet.

Garrett tried, but couldn't make out a name on the file or the paperwork. “Is there something more I need to be aware of?”

He read a little further and closed the manila folder. “Not at this time,” he said with that abruptness that Garrett had learned from his father not to question. It was never a good sign when the chief himself gave you an order. “I'm not asking you to do anything more than keep Ms. Scott out of harm's way, Garrett. But if anything at all comes to your attention, I expect you to come to me and only me.”

Garrett felt the pain deepen. Though he didn't dare say it, this had scandal written all over it. “And how do you suggest I explain myself hanging around her shop? I'm not thrilled with telling her that I'm trying to keep her out of the police's way when we're not pursuing an investigation.”

The chief tapped the police file, not looking a bit sympathetic. “The one thing I wouldn't tell Ms. Scott is that you're there to keep her out of our way. You want to hit the big leagues, now's your chance to see if you have what it takes to go undercover. Say whatever you feel right telling her, Matthews. Just keep her out of our way, and don't let her talk to the press. I don't need the city in another state of panic.”

A
mber hadn't had energy to waste worrying about why Officer Matthews hadn't called after his talk with the chief. It had been a busy afternoon, even for a Saturday and she'd had too much to do to get ready for Maya Brewer's wedding to waste time thinking about a cop. By the time the shop closed, she was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She had a couple of errands to run before she could call it a night. It had been a long week and she hadn't had any rest since the accident.

On her way home she stopped at the grocery store for some perishables. By the time she pulled into the alley, the night had turned cold and damp, and a light snow was falling. As she drove into the alley, she wasn't pleased to find a group of kids lingering close enough to cause her concern. “Dear Lord, please protect me and place Your shield around the shop as I work to honor You and my family through my business.” She drove on past and around a few blocks, giving them time to move on. When she returned the alley was empty. She pulled into the parking nook and hurried to carry the bags inside.

She glanced at the blinking light on the business line and wondered if Garrett had called. She listened to the messages, most of which had been hang-ups, then put the groceries away and went up to bed. She wanted to be refreshed and awake for church services, and since Sunday was her only real day off, she wasn't about to spend it sleeping.

Amber turned on the television, and sat down with a serving of French bread pizza.

She woke a few hours later to the sound of the shop's security alarm. As she jumped up, her plate crashed to the floor, shattering when it hit the coffee table on the way. She stumbled past the glass and ran to her front door. As she heard sirens in the distance, she realized she didn't dare go downstairs. What if whoever had broken in was still there? Hurrying toward the door, she wondered what had happened. Had the kidnapper finally figured out she'd seen him?

Seconds later her phone rang. She double-checked the lock on her apartment and ran to the kitchen, where her wall-mounted phone was. She tentatively answered, wishing again that she had caller ID.

“This is Rocky Mountain Security. We received an alarm from your shop. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm upstairs in my apartment. Do you know what happened?”

“Not exactly, but we've already sent the police. According to your file, this is in a business area and they're first on your call list, right?”

“Yes, that's right.” That had been Nana's arrangement.

“Is there anyone there with you?”

“No. I don't really want to go down….”

“No, you make sure the doors are locked and stay on the line with us. The police should be there any time.”

She made her way to the window above the front of the shop and peeked out, hoping to see the police. Dozens of people were gathered across the street, watching and pointing in her direction. She opened the window and sniffed, hoping there wasn't a fire burning below her.

“Ms. Scott?” the security operator asked.

“Yes,” she said, remembering the phone tethering her to the kitchen. “I'm here.”

“Do you hear any noises from the shop?”

“No, but I looked out the window and there are a lot of people watching and pointing. Something obviously happened.”

Surely the burglar had run by now. She had turned to open the door when she saw the flashing lights of the police car approaching. She looked through the peephole, then quickly turned on the stairs light.

“I see the police have arrived, but I don't have a cordless phone on this line. Should I…?”

“Can you communicate with the police through a window before opening your door?”

She moved back to the window. “Yes, just a minute.”

Amber lifted the window lock and cranked the window open. “Officer, I'm the owner of the party store. The security company is on the line….”

The officer looked up and help up a hand to quiet her. “Just a minute,” he said, then came back to her. “Sorry about that—another officer was reporting from the back of the shop. It's quiet back there. It appears someone broke the front window, but we can't get in, so I presume you're safe to come down.”

“Oh,” she said, realizing she was still barefoot. “Just a minute, and I'll be down.” She reported to the security company, and by remote they turned off the annoying alarm.

She went back to the couch and shook her head at the mess, then slipped on her clogs and hurried downstairs to let the police in.

Since she came to the back door first, she looked out, then tentatively opened the door, wondering who was on call tonight. She hadn't met this officer before. He introduced himself. “I'm Officer Jared Daniels. Are you the owner?”

She nodded. “I'm Amber Scott…”

“Oh, yeah, I recognize the name,” he said, taking a second look. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Amber nodded.

He lifted his hand to his chest and pressed the button of a tiny mike in his buttonhole. After repeating her name three times in response to different questions, he turned his attention back to her. “Let's see what the damage is.”

Her uneasiness tripled with the news that even officers she hadn't met knew her name. Was she on every cop's target list now? She stepped farther away from Officer Daniels. “The broken window is most likely in the lobby,” she said, pointing toward the front of the store.

“Wait here a minute, Ms. Scott. Let me check it out.” He pulled his weapon and eased his way to the front. “Looks okay. Come on in.”

She followed him, which was much less threatening. Peering around him, she saw the hole in the window, and a baseball-size rock on the lobby floor. A bitterly cold wind blew inside.

A third police car arrived and stopped in the middle of the street.

“Don't touch anything,” Officer Daniels reminded her as he reached for the door. “Do you have any plywood around that we could use to close this up?”

“That's locked—let me get the key.” She hurried back to the kitchen, then opened the door for the other officers. She didn't recognize any of them, but they all looked at her as if they knew her. By name, anyway.

“Any wood?” Officer Daniels repeated.

“My grandfather may have left something in the cellar. He was always fixing things for Nana.”

“Are they here now?”

“My grandfather? No, I've taken over the bakery. Papa died several years ago. In fact, he's the one who put the security system in.”

Outside, a blue Mustang screeched to a stop next to the police car and Garrett Matthews rushed inside. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I was upstairs.”

He gave her an odd look, and the on-duty officers stepped back, as if to give him space. “How long have you been home?”

“A while, I guess. Why?” Amber asked, glancing from Garrett to the other officer.

Garrett stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at her. “I came by a while ago to fill you in on…”

“Oh, I'm sorry I missed you.” She glanced at the officer and smiled. “I guess you already knew—I'm the one who ran into Officer Matthews.”

Officer Daniels smiled back. “Garrett's my cousin, so yeah, I know all about it. Still, we'll need to figure out if this case was random, or if it might be related. So can you tell me more about what happened?”

Garrett had started pacing the room. “Yeah, where were you? Why didn't you answer the door?”

“I woke up to the sound of the alarm, so I'm not sure how long I was asleep or what time it is, even. I closed the shop at five and ran a few errands, so I was gone for an hour or two maybe.”

“What—” Garrett's cousin started to ask another question when Garrett interrupted.

“It was longer than that. Did you go out and come home alone, or was someone with you?” Garrett crossed his arms over his chest.

The officer looked at Garrett and laughed. “Well, that's subtle.”

Garrett shrugged his shoulders. “What? I needed to talk to her about the case.”

Amber felt her heart flutter for a moment as she realized he was really concerned about her. Question was, was his interest personal as well as professional? “I was, and still am here alone—besides you, I mean. There were some guys standing outside the pub, so I drove on by and came back a few minutes later.”

Garrett stopped pacing and bent to look at the rock, studying it from all directions without touching it. “Have you seen them around here before?”

“It's rather hard to tell whether it's the neighborhood kids or not with their hoods over their faces.” She glared at him. “I try not to confront them, hoping they'll leave me alone. Nana always managed fine.”

“Your grandmother wasn't—” Garrett started to say something, but his cousin interrupted this time.

“She was very fortunate,” Officer Daniels said, pushing his cousin aside. “Garrett, let us investigate. Why don't you two go see if there's something to cover this hole for the night?”

Garrett glanced up before standing. “It looks like there's something written on this.”

“We'll handle it, Gar,” Jared said, nodding for them to get lost.

“So show me where this wood might be.”

Amber led the way to the cellar, comforted to have him with her. “How'd you know this happened?”

“The shift commander called me. He seems to believe it's related to the kidnapping you witnessed. Apparently the chief told the commander about my meeting with him today. You shouldn't stay here, Amber. Not alone, anyway.”

She pulled the string to turn on the light and showed him where her grandfather's workshop was. “Here's everything.” She pulled a couple of wooden carts out of the way. “I don't see…”

“Amber…”

She didn't want to admit that she'd already started thinking of someone she could call. “What time is it?” She'd never get any sleep after this, but Rachelle had gone out of town to visit her parents for the weekend, and worrying Nana with this was out of the question.

Garrett looked at his watch. “Eleven-fifteen. Do you have someone you can stay with tonight?”

“It's kind of late to be calling people,” she said hesitantly. “I'll be fine upstairs.”

“The chief won't go for that,” Garrett said simply. “We need to find a safe place for you to stay, and it would be best if it's not a friend's home where whoever did this could have seen you go before. You don't want to endanger them.”

Amber simply stared at him. “Well, then, that doesn't leave me many options, does it? I wouldn't want to cause anyone else any trouble. Where does that leave me? Jail?”

“I wasn't thinking of that,” Garrett said, with a smile teasing his lips. “I was thinking of my parents' house. They have several extra rooms. You'd be safe there. And they're used to unexpected emergencies.”

“No offense, but I don't even know you, let alone your parents. Thank you, but I'll be fine. Let's find something to close up the window for a few days.”

“My sister, then? I'd offer my brother's place, but…”

She spun around, disarmed to see the smile on his face. He had his arms folded across his chest and was leaning against the washing machine, just waiting for her to lose her temper. “You're kidding me?”

He chuckled. “No, I'm not kidding you, Amber. But I am trying to figure out what the chief's going to say when I show up to put you into a jail cell because you're refusing protective custody.”

“I need to go to church tomorrow. I can't be in protective custody. I have a wedding to plan for next weekend,” she said, rambling off a list of boring things in her hectic life.

He stepped close, and the smile disappeared. “You really don't have any other options, Amber. I'm not going to stay here with you alone, there's a hole in your window and snow's coming in. It's freezing up there.”

“But…”

“You've already as much as admitted you don't
have
to be here at three in the morning to bake, so you may as well be somewhere you can get some rest, knowing that someone else is watching out for your safety. My parents' house has plenty of room—it's no inconvenience to them. You'll have privacy and protection. They go to church every week, so their schedule shouldn't impact your plans, as long as you understand I'm going with you to church.”

“But…” she said, trying to come up with another plan. “I have lunch with my grandmother tomorrow.”

“I'll be a perfect gentleman, Amber. I like grandmothers. And generally, most of them like me, too.”

That's what I'm afraid of.
“I don't want Nana to know anything about this, though. And if you come along, she'll be suspicious.”

“She doesn't have to know I'm a cop. I could be a boyfriend.”