Carla Neggers - Cold Pursuit

Just past the tavern, the house A.J. and Lauren were renovating, one of the prettiest houses in Black Falls with its graceful trees and mature gardens, was lit up as dusk gave way to night. Jo could have continued a half mile farther down the ridge road to the house where she grew up, and invited herself to dinner. Her father was an experienced law enforcement officer still tapped in to the goings-on in town. She could talk to him about Drew Cameron’s death, the hit-and-run in Washington that morning, Alex Bruni’s ties to Black Falls, Nora Asher’s impulsive camping trip, even Devin Shay and the missing money.

What she couldn’t talk to her father about was Elijah Cameron.

Not now, not ever.

And having just kissed him twice in one day, Jo decided to turn off the ridge road and take the shortcut down the hill to town.

It was dark on the mountain roads. She hadn’t forgotten.

Black Falls wasn’t a hopping place on a cold November night. A popular bar owned by a longtime friend of the Cameron brothers looked busy and lively, and the library, located in a 1920s stone building on the green, was still open. A handful of cars were parked in front of the Three Sisters Café. It was closed for the day, but its lights were on.

Jo pulled in behind her younger brother Zack’s truck. When she entered the café, she was greeted by the clean smell of citrus. Beth was scrubbing a table in the front window as Zack, a firefighter and the cause of numerous heartbreaks in the southern Green Mountains, stood over her, deliberately aggravating her by pointing out what spots she’d missed.

Beth finally thrust her washrag at him. “You want to do this?”

He grinned at her. He was solidly built, his hair darker than either Jo’s or Beth’s, his eyes more green than turquoise. And his smile was notoriously deadly. “For time and a half.”

“A day-old chicken potpie.”

“Sold.”

From the clanging and the voices coming from out back, Jo assumed Dominique and Hannah were working in the kitchen. “I can help,” she said.

Beth shook her head. “We’re almost done.” She reached into her bucket of sudsy water and plucked out another washrag. “We have a regular cleaning service, but we like to turn this place upside down ourselves every now and then. It hasn’t been a great day. We were all looking for something to do.”

“Nora hasn’t been by, has she?” Jo asked.

“No sign of her.” Beth seemed to make an effort to be cheerful and gestured toward the glass case. “There are two brownies left. Why don’t you help yourself.” Then she added, matter-of-fact, “You could bring one to Elijah.”

Not one to turn down chocolate, Jo claimed one of the brownies and sat at a small square table while her brother and sister cleaned. “So,” she said, breaking off a piece of the dark, smooth, gooey brownie. “Tell me about Devin Shay these days. And whatever you know about Nora Asher. While we’re at it, Elijah Cameron.”

Zack wrung out his washrag. “How long have you been back in town, Jo?”

“Today’s my third day.”

“Three days, and already trouble.” He set to work on a table with his usual tireless energy. “Devin needs to get his head screwed back on. Nora’s running from her problems, which just got worse. Elijah is Elijah, just with battle scars and not enough to do.” Her brother paused, and his gaze bored through her. “You might keep that in mind about Elijah.”

Jo pretended not to hear him. “Have you had any problems with Devin?”

“Not me, no. He’s rubbed Scott the wrong way a few times-deliberately.” Zack had never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. “He’ll figure out Nora’s just seeing what it’s like on the other side of the tracks, and he’ll feel even worse about himself. Then who knows what he’ll do.”

“Hurt her?”

“Nah. Not Devin. More like buy a bus ticket to Los Angeles.”

Beth scrubbed hard, and Jo remembered her sister’s discomfort that morning and dived in. “Beth, is money missing from the café?”

She dropped her rag in the bucket. “Hannah manages the café money. You can ask her.”

In other words, Jo thought, yes, money was missing. “Does Scott know?”

“He can ask Hannah, too.” Beth peeled off her rubber gloves. She didn’t look particularly intimidated, but she said, “Jeez, Jo, I can’t believe Charlie Neal had the nerve to pull a prank on you.”

Their brother draped his rag over the side of the bucket. “Better get that second brownie, Jo,” he said.

She turned just as Elijah came in, bringing a gust of cold air with him. He shut the door behind him and greeted Zack and Beth briefly, then said to no one in particular, “I found Nora’s car at the east trailhead. That’s a dry trail-it gets a fair amount of activity even this time of year. It leads to shelters. A good pick.”

“Assuming she didn’t park there to mislead people,” Jo said, breaking off another piece of brownie. “What about Devin?”

“He wasn’t back at the lodge when I left. I didn’t see his truck at any of the trails I checked. No sign of him here?”

Hannah was the one to reply as she emerged from the kitchen. Strands of hair fell out of its pins as she rolled up an evergreen-colored apron into a tight ball. “Devin isn’t here, and he hasn’t been in touch.”

From her cool, controlled tone, Jo suspected Hannah was aware her brother had gotten on the wrong side of the Camerons.

Elijah didn’t look fazed. “What about Nora?”

“I haven’t heard from her since she left here this morning. She and Devin are friends. I know she’s upset about her stepfather, but if she’s with him, then she’s in good hands.” Hannah was sincere, quietly determined. “Maybe Devin’s just the person Nora needs right now.”

But Jo noticed a fleeting uncertainty in Hannah that she doubted Elijah would miss. He stiffened visibly, and Jo jumped in. “Hannah, if there’s anything-you can tell us, we’re just trying to help.”

She stared at her apron as she spoke. “Nora and Devin have more in common than you might think. They’re both uncertain of their futures and lack direction, goals. That’s normal at their age-any age, really.” She shook her head suddenly. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Jo could see that Hannah was reluctant to open up about any concerns she had about her younger brother and wasn’t going to make this easy.

But neither was Elijah. He pounced. “Something’s on your mind, Hannah. Spit it out.”

Hannah’s lips thinned-her version of throwing something at him. Jo got to her feet, ignoring Elijah and his narrowed eyes as she tried to reassure Hannah and get information out of her at the same time. “Have you noticed any change in Devin or Nora in recent days?”

Hannah looked away. “I don’t want you making too much of it.”

Meaning Elijah. Jo said, “Just tell us what you can.”

Hannah walked over to a small table where Beth and Zack were silently pulling together their cleaning supplies and set her balled-up apron in an empty bucket. “Devin’s been working hard at the lodge. He’s figuring out what comes next for him. He knows losing Drew wasn’t the same for him as it was for his children, but still…” She couldn’t seem to finish.

“It was a tough loss,” Jo finished for her.

Hannah nodded, no sign of tears in her pale eyes. “It hasn’t been an easy year, but I have faith in him. Nora’s only been here six weeks. I’m not sure any place could live up to the fantasies she had about life in Vermont, but she’s very smart.” With a sudden awkwardness, Hannah pulled out a couple of pins, more strands of hair flopping into her face. She clutched the pins in one hand and took a breath. “I noticed a change about two weeks ago. I wasn’t alarmed. Nora came by one night and got on the computer with Devin. She was tense, secretive. I thought it was a passing thing.”