Marta Perry - Murder in Plain Sight

They stepped out into the night, the dog at their heels. Once they were beyond the yellow glow of the porch light, she paused to let her eyes grow accustomed to the dimness.

Trey took her arm, his hand large and warm against her skin. “Look, about Chip-”

“Don’t start,” she warned. “I can take care of myself.”

“Right.” He didn’t sound convinced, but at least he didn’t continue to argue. “I’ll give you a call when I get back tomorrow.”

“Fine.” She couldn’t deny that she needed his help just to find the Amish teens’ party, let alone to talk to them.

She reached for the car door, but Trey beat her to it, opening the driver’s side door. “My mother might be watching. You don’t want…” His voice died out.

She followed the direction of his gaze. On the front seat of the car, clearly visible now that the dome light was on, was another warning note.

Trey picked it up, holding it by one corner. His breath hissed out.

It was a photo of her, taken outside the jail. Across her figure, someone had drawn a thick, red X. The line trailed down, looking just like drops of blood.

“COME ON.” TREY GRABBED Jessica’s arm and hustled her toward the house. The idea that someone was out there, in the dark, maybe watching them-

Get Jessica inside, then he’d go looking for the person who’d come onto his property, threatened his guest.

“Trey, you’re overreacting.”

He ignored her efforts to pull away from him. Of course she would. If he’d met a more stubbornly independent woman, he didn’t remember it. “Maybe so.” They reached the door, and he shoved her inside. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Leo and his mother hurried toward them from the family room. Sam, probably alerted by his tone, let out a deep bark, turning to look toward the woods.

“What’s going on?” Leo glanced at Jessica but looked at him for an answer.

“Somebody’s been here. Left a threatening note in Jessica’s car.” He gave Jessica a gentle push toward his mother. “Mom, please keep Jessica inside while we search the grounds.”

She didn’t argue, just put her arm around Jessica’s waist and picked up the phone with her other hand. “I’ll call Adam Byler. You two be careful out there.”

He nodded, jerking open the closet door to grab a couple of flashlights from the shelf. He tossed one to Leo. “You okay to take a look around?”

“You’re not leaving me behind.” Leo’s face set. He switched on the flashlight and followed Trey out. The sound of Jessica’s voice, asking who Adam Byler was, faded with the closing door. “Don’t worry. Your mother won’t let her come out,” Leo said. “How long will it take the township police to get here?”

“Depends upon where they are. Ten to twenty minutes, I’d guess.” Someone-Mom, he supposed-had switched on all the outside lights. He stepped beyond their reach and paused, swinging his flashlight in a wide swath. The grass, cut only yesterday, wasn’t long enough to reveal any footsteps.

“He’d have come from the road, most likely.” Leo aimed his flashlight toward the woods that shielded the house from the road.

“Sam barked at something out that way. Let’s have a look.” Trey started toward the stand of pines, scanning the ground for any sign of the intruder.

“If he’s smart, he wouldn’t hang around,” Leo said. Trey felt his gaze on him. “How bad was the note?”

“It was a photo of Jessica. With an X across her image.” His stomach tightened at the thought. “I’d call that a threat, wouldn’t you?”

“Nasty. But I don’t think it will scare Jessica off.”

Did Leo think he was overreacting, too? Probably. He couldn’t explain it to himself, but the revulsion he’d felt when he’d seen that threat, known someone had come that close to her…

Well, maybe it was better if he didn’t explore those feelings too closely.

They’d reached the trees, and Trey moved cautiously, searching the ground with his flashlight. But the smooth, thick carpet of pine needles didn’t yield any clues.

“If he came through here, he didn’t leave any sign,” he said, reluctant to give up with nothing to show for it. “Out by the road-”

A siren wailed in the distance.

“Sounds as if the township boys weren’t too far off,” Leo said. “Maybe we should walk over to the drive and meet them.”

“You don’t want me playing detective?” Trey tried to keep his tone light.

“Let’s give Adam Byler a chance. I’m sure he’d like something more interesting than speeders and Saturday-night drunks once in a while.”

They emerged onto the lawn and reached the gravel just as the township police car came shrieking into the drive, siren wailing. He raised his hand, and the car skidded to a halt, sending up a spray of gravel.

He leaned on the window that lowered at his approach. “You boys in a hurry?”

“Turn off that siren, you idiot.” Adam Byler glared at the young patrolman who was behind the wheel. “You take a turn like that again, and it’ll be the last time you drive the patrol car. You think the township has an unlimited supply of tires?”

“No, sir.” The kid gulped, probably flushing and grateful for the dark.

Adam swung around to face Trey. “You caught the prowler for us?”

“Just taking a look around,” Trey said. He realized suddenly that his hands were closed into fists, and he forced them to relax. “We wouldn’t want to rob you of the most excitement you’ve had in a month.”

“As a taxpayer, you ought to be glad we keep things so quiet. So, what’s going on here tonight?”

Adam got out as he spoke, standing next to the car and looming over it. Adam had been a lineman, back when they’d played high-school football. Unlike some, he’d never let himself run to fat. Six feet of solid muscle, but it wasn’t muscle between his ears.

“Leo was here for supper, along with Jessica Langdon, the attorney who’s acting for Thomas Esch. Someone got into her car and left a threatening message for her.”

Put into a bald recital of facts, it didn’t sound quite so bad. Not bad enough, at any rate, to account for the anger that pumped through him.

“You find any sign of the prowler?” Adam’s impassive face didn’t give anything away. If he thought this a fool’s errand, no one would know.

Trey shook his head. “We figure he must have parked along the road and walked in, maybe from the woods. All the outside lights weren’t on then. He could easily have gotten to the car without being seen and left the same way.”

“Let’s have a look at the vehicle.” Adam bent to put his head in the car window. “Jarvis, take your flashlight and scout along the road near the driveway. You’re looking for any sign someone was parked there and walked toward the house.”

“Yessir.” The kid was out of the police car almost before Adam finished speaking. “I’ll get right on it.” He trotted back down the lane toward the road, flashlight swinging.

“He won’t find anything,” Adam said dispassionately. “Wouldn’t spot a stolen car unless it drove right over him.”

“He’s enthusiastic,” Leo observed as they started toward the house.

“Yeah.” Adam didn’t sound as if he thought that made up for the kid’s shortcomings. “The rule is, if I get a kid who’s any good on the township force, he’ll go on to something bigger and better as soon as I’ve got him trained. If he has no talent at all, he’ll be with me forever.”

It sounded as if he thought Jarvis fit into the latter category.

“So,” he went on, “is Ms. Langdon a friend of yours, or is the rumor true that you’re funding the Esch kid’s defense?”