The Christmas Rescue

He pulled his scattered thoughts away from dangerous territory. He’d promised her a friendly meal, nothing more.

Brianna chatted throughout dinner, which was nice since Kayla was unusually quiet. Brianna explained all about her school Christmas party and the shopping they’d done earlier that day before going off to visit her dad’s memorial.

Her last comment piqued his interest. This was the first he’d heard of a memorial. He glanced at Kayla, oddly disappointed. He’d heard from Alex how she’d taken Jeremy’s death very hard. She obviously still carried strong feelings for her dead husband even though he’d been gone for two years. He’d been a part of the team that had searched for Jeremy Wilson when his boat hadn’t returned to shore. They’d found him, but too late. “That was a really nice idea, putting up a memorial in your husband’s memory.”

Kayla’s smile was strained. “Actually the memorial was Bill Schroeder’s idea, not mine.”

A prickle of fear raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Bill Schroeder? Had she kept in touch with him over the years? In the months they’d been watching Schroeder, they’d never seen Kayla down by the lakefront near his business. And according to Alex, Kayla hadn’t stayed on close, friendly terms with the guy, either.

But she had been at Pelican Point today. On the same day Bill Schroeder washed up along the lakeshore. Not that he believed she had anything remotely to do with his death.

Still, he didn’t like the strange coincidence. Didn’t like it at all.

Ice formed along the length of his spine. Was it possible Kayla was more closely involved with Bill Schroeder than he’d realized?

TWO

“Did you know him?” Kayla asked abruptly, when Brianna left them alone to greet one of her friends from school dining at a nearby table.

“Who?” he asked, reigning in his chaotic thoughts. “The guy in the water?”

She frowned and nodded. “Yes. I figured you went back to talk to the police because you knew him.”

He hesitated, not sure what to tell her. He wouldn’t lie to her, but at the same time, he wasn’t at liberty to discuss his case. Especially when Kayla happened to know his key suspect on a first name basis. “It’s possible the dead guy could be involved in one of our investigations, but we won’t know for sure until we have positive ID.”

“I see,” she murmured, idly toying with the paper sheath from her straw.

He leaned forward, capturing her gaze with his. “Kayla, I need to ask you something. Just how well do you know Bill Schroeder? I mean, I know he was your husband’s partner in the charter fishing business, but do you still see him? Talk to him?”

She shrugged. “Not really. He did come over about a week and a half ago to show me a picture of Jeremy’s newly erected memorial.”

Ten days ago? Right before the guy disappeared? He tried to sound nonchalant. “Really? What made him think of putting up a memorial after all this time?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure, I asked him that, too, and he told me he’d always planned on doing it, but just hadn’t had made the time. I thought it was a really nice gesture.”

Rafe wished he could be so sure. He wanted to ask more, but knew that if he persisted in asking questions, Kayla would grow suspicious. “A very nice gesture,” he agreed lightly.

Brianna chose that moment to skip back to their table, so he carefully changed the subject. When they’d finished their meal, he boxed up the leftovers and paid the bill.

“Thanks for dinner, Rafe.” Kayla’s smile was lopsided and didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah, thanks for dinner, Mr. Rafe. That was the bestest pizza ever!”

Brianna’s exuberance made him grin. “You’re welcome, mi nina.”

Outside, he slid the leftover pizza box in the front seat of Kayla’s car while she buckled Brianna in the back.

“I’ll follow you home,” he said when Kayla climbed behind the wheel.

“That’s not necessary, Rafe. I appreciate everything you’ve done, but you’ve already gone out of your way for us.”

Her sincere gratitude warmed his heart. Startled by the abrupt stab of longing, he took a step back. “Humor me, okay? It’s on the way home.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. It wasn’t on the way, seven miles in the opposite direction to be exact, but she nodded before closing the door.

Kayla’s bed-and-breakfast was located just a few miles west of town. Her home was nestled deep in the north woods, far from the bright lights of the city. Total darkness surrounded them as they drove down her long, winding driveway.

There was a light on in the kitchen, but the rest of the house was dark. He got out of his jeep and came up beside her as she helped Brianna jump down from her perch in the backseat. “Did you set the security system?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.” He took the pizza box from her hands and led the way up to the front door. Her dog, Clyde, must have heard them because he started barking.

The white panel of the security system was easy to see against the dark exterior. But the green light that normally showed the system was turned on wasn’t lit. He frowned. “Are you sure?” he asked sharply. “Because it’s not on now.”

Kayla stared uncertainly at the security panel, searching back through her memory. “I’m almost sure I set the alarm.”

“Okay, take Brianna and go back inside the car and lock the doors,” Rafe commanded. “Give me your keys. I’ll go through the house.”

After everything that had happened, she could only nod, fiercely glad that Rafe had insisted on following her home. “Come on, sweetie,” she said, tugging Brianna close. “Let’s wait for a bit in the car.”

“Why, Mommy? What’s wrong?” Brianna’s green eyes were wide with fear as she sensed the tension between the adults.

“Nothing is wrong,” she reassured her daughter, not wanting Brianna to be afraid in her own home. “Mr. Rafe just wants to make sure everything is fine before we go in.”

“I want Clyde,” Brianna said plaintively.

The sounds of the dog barking actually reassured her. She couldn’t believe someone was hiding inside with Clyde home. The one thing their puppy was really good at was creating a ruckus. “He’s with Mr. Rafe and I’m sure they’ll be out soon.” Kayla watched through the windshield as Rafe flipped on the rest of the lights, making his way through the inside of her spacious home.

She bit her lip, trying to remember. She had set the security system, hadn’t she? She was almost certain she had, but couldn’t be absolutely positive. She’d resented her brother and Rafe for insisting on installing the alarm system nine months ago, but lately she’d been glad to have the extra protection. She’d fallen into the habit of using the security system on those days and nights that she and Brianna were home alone. On the nights they had guests, there was no point in using it because her guests could obviously come and go as they pleased.

The elderly couple who’d been her last guests had left this morning, and she and Brianna had left shortly thereafter. It was possible she’d forgotten to set the security system.

Besides, if someone had breached the system, wouldn’t the police have been notified?

Rafe returned a few minutes later with Clyde, their clumsy puppy, at his heels. She opened the car door when he approached and climbed out.

“I didn’t find any—ah—anything,” he said, with a quick glance at Brianna. She was grateful he hadn’t blurted out how he’d been searching for an intruder. “But you might want to check things out for yourself to make sure nothing has been disturbed.”

“I’m sorry, I must have forgotten to set the alarm,” she said softly.

“Probably,” Rafe agreed. “The system is set up so that it sends an alarm if the wiring is cut.”

That’s what she’d thought. “So the only way someone could get past my system is if they somehow figured out my code.”

Rafe scowled. “Yes. Do you change it every few weeks like I told you to?”

“I’ve changed it,” she said a little defensively, brushing past him to head up to the door. “Maybe not every few weeks, but I have changed it.”

“Check things out. I’ll be in shortly,” he said, heading over to rummage in the back of his jeep.

“Brianna, bring Clyde inside,” she said. Kayla kept Brianna close as she did a quick walk-through. The house was eerily silent. Normally she loved being out in the middle of the woods, far away from civilization, but for some reason the silence bothered her now. Maybe she was still unnerved by finding a dead body in the lake. She glanced around, looking at her things. From what she could tell, everything was exactly the way she’d left it.

Her apprehension drained away. Rafe hadn’t found anyone. Everything was fine. She was silly to be so anxious. Obviously she’d forgotten to set the alarm.

“Brianna, it’s time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”

Her daughter groaned, but headed toward their private rooms off the back of the kitchen.

She took the leftover box of pizza and shoved it into her empty fridge. The night out had been an extravagance she really couldn’t afford. It was very nice that Rafe had offered to pay. And now she and Brianna would have leftovers tomorrow night, which was a good thing, considering her cash reserves were pitifully low.

She tried to shrug off the gnawing concern. She’d figure out something. She always did.

“Kayla?”

Rafe’s husky voice sent her pulse skyrocketing into triple digits. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves before turning toward him. “Yes?”

“Come here. I’d like to show you something.” He reached for her hand and the warmth of his touch sent a tingle of awareness up her arm.

He shut off the living room light and she was momentarily blinded by the darkness. “Come outside for a minute, but watch your step.”

Curiously, she followed him outside. When he shut the door, she could see the small green light glowing from the keypad, indicating the system was engaged.

Rafe’s presence was noticeable, even in the darkness. He stood close. Too close. She eased back a step.

“Your passcode is 7724, right?” he asked.

She sucked in a harsh breath. “How did you know?”

He turned a switch and her porch was awash in a strange, purple glow. He aimed the black light at the keypad. “See how this black light picks up the little bit of oil residue from your fingertips? I could tell the numbers you used were 247 but I didn’t know which order. It didn’t take me long to figure it out, especially since I knew you were born in 1977. It may take a stranger a little longer, but not much. Once they have the three digits, it narrows down the possibilities immensely.”

Speechless, she could only stare at the evidence he’d presented. He was right. Again.

He tapped in the code and then opened the front door and walked back inside the living room, turning the lights back on. “That’s why I told you to change your passcode every couple of weeks. To prevent anyone from figuring it out.”

“I never realized,” she murmured, sobered by his brief experiment. Her earlier fears came rushing back. She couldn’t hide her apprehension. “Do you think it’s possible someone was here?”

He paused for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t. If the intruder was smart enough to crack your code to gain entrance to your home, he’d certainly be smart enough to engage the alarm again when he left. Why advertise he was here? I believe you forgot to set it.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “You’re right. I’m just being silly. And I will change the code, I promise. And I’ll clean the keypad regularly, too, as an added measure. Thanks for checking things out for me.”

Rafe hesitated at the door, gazing down at her, his expression troubled. “Maybe I should stay. I don’t like the thought of leaving you and Brianna all the way out here alone.”

Her breath congealed in her throat and she didn’t know what to say. Having Rafe nearby would be pure torture, and she wasn’t sure her nerves could handle the stress. And Brianna would only get more attached to him than she already was. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said finally. “And besides, you work tomorrow, don’t you?”

His intense gaze was mesmerizing, his brown eyes so dark they were almost black. “Yes, but at least I could make certain you’re safe here tonight.”

“We’ll be perfectly safe,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “I’m expecting guests tomorrow and they’ll be staying through the weekend. I have lots to do to get ready. Really, we’ll be fine.”

He stared at her for a long moment, before finally nodding. “All right. But promise you’ll call if you need me. Do you have my number?”

She hoped he didn’t notice the embarrassed flush in her cheeks. Taking his number seemed so—intimate. But when he waited expectantly, she pulled out her cell phone. “No, I don’t. But I’ll program it in now. What’s the number?”

Rafe recited his cell number and she quickly entered the number into her phone. She wouldn’t call him, of course, but knowing he was within reach if for some strange reason she did need him was oddly comforting.

“Good night, Kayla.” He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The slightest brush of his fingertips on her skin made her shiver.

She took a step back, plastering a smile on her face. She kept her tone light. Friendly. “Bye, Rafe. Drive safe.” When he left, she closed the door and then leaned against the wooden frame, her legs weak. She really had to figure out how to get a grip of her emotions around him. After all, he was just a man.

“Mommy? I brushed my teeth.” Brianna skipped into the living room, glancing around. “Where’s Mr. Rafe?”

“He had to go home,” she said, straightening away from the door.

Brianna’s face fell. “But he forgot to say goodbye.”

Her heart twisted in her chest before it plummeted to her stomach. This was exactly why she couldn’t call Rafe. Brianna already cared about him, too much.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” She gave her daughter a hug. “He must have been in a hurry to get back to work. Come on, it’s bedtime.”

“I wanted Mr. Rafe to tuck me in.” With a dejected pout, Brianna allowed her mother to take her back to their private rooms. Clyde followed, jumping up on the bed next to Brianna. He’d been sleeping with her since he was an infant puppy and there was no breaking him of the habit now.

She tucked Brianna in bed and gave her a hug and a kiss before shutting off the light and closing the door. Back in the kitchen, Kayla kept busy making a grocery list of the bare essentials she’d need for her weekend guests.

But even as she worked, she couldn’t keep her mind off Brianna’s keen disappointment. She’d known her daughter had been hinting for a father. Brianna had gone so far as to ask why Kayla didn’t go out on any dates like her friend Sophie’s mother did. She’d tried to change the subject, but Brianna seemed to have a one-track mind.

Going to the memorial hadn’t spurred questions about her dead father, as Kayla had hoped. Apparently, Brianna was more interested in trying to replace Jeremy with someone new.

And Kayla was very much afraid that Brianna might have picked Rafe as a potential candidate to be her new father.

The next night Kayla tumbled into bed, exhausted after getting her guests settled in. It seemed like mere seconds later when a sharp scream pulled her from a deep slumber.

She leaped out of bed, stumbling in the darkness as she sought and found the light switch. She winced and shielded her eyes from the harsh brightness that flooded the room.

The sound had come from upstairs. She opened Brianna’s door to make sure she and Clyde were all right, and then headed down the hall, through the kitchen and into the great room. Her guests, two married couples, were coming down the stairs from the second-floor loft.

“I’m telling you, I saw a man trying to get into our room!” The older woman, Gloria Hanover, spoke in a shrill voice.

“I didn’t hear anything,” her husband, Edward, muttered.

“I’m so sorry,” Kayla said, hurrying forward. “Did you already call the police? Or should I?”

Gloria shook her head no.

“I already checked out their room,” Allen Russell said, rolling his eyes. Apparently he wasn’t too impressed with Gloria’s claim. His wife, Lorraine, went over to stand close to his side. “There’s no one there. And even if there had been someone there, I’m sure her shriek scared him off.”

“Are you insinuating I’m crazy?” Gloria demanded, facing Allen, her face flushed and her hands propped on her ample hips. “Because I know what I saw. There was a man standing there, his face pressed against the patio door.”

“There now, no one is calling you crazy,” her husband, Edward soothed, patting her arm.

Kayla tried to smile, but deep down, a cold fear settled in her stomach. Each of the guest rooms had access through a patio door to the deck outside. And she couldn’t help remembering how the security system had been turned off. “I’m calling the police. If Mrs. Hanover saw a man, then we need the authorities to investigate.”

Leaving her guests to talk among themselves, she went back toward the kitchen to find Brianna standing there with the dog at her feet. She rushed over to give her daughter a hug.

“What happened, Mommy?” Brianna asked sleepily.

She didn’t want to scare her daughter, especially after all the strange events over the past two days, but she couldn’t lie to her, either. “One of the guests heard a scary noise so I need to call the police.”

Luckily, Brianna didn’t ask too many more questions. Kayla set her down and made the call. The sheriff’s department promised to send a deputy right away. Since everyone was up, Kayla brought coffee, tea and the pastries she’d planned for breakfast that morning to the great room. Playing hostess helped soothe her frayed nerves.

Had her guest really seen a man? If so, who?

The deputy’s investigation didn’t take long. He took her upstairs to the wraparound deck. Jeremy had designed the house so that every guest room had access to the balcony outside. The deputy pointed with a grim look. “See these gouges? Looks like someone did try to get in.”

She swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze from the evidence. Apparently Mrs. Hanover hadn’t been imagining things at all. Someone had actually tried to break in.

“I’ll file a report,” the deputy continued. “Could be just a random burglary unless you have reason to believe someone has targeted you, specifically.”

“Not that I know of,” she said faintly. As much as she wanted to believe in the random burglary theory, the sick dread in her stomach wouldn’t let up. What if someone had targeted her? She couldn’t imagine why, but the thought wouldn’t leave her alone. She forced herself to go back downstairs to where her guests were waiting.

“Edward, I want to leave right now,” Gloria Hanover was saying. “I’m not staying here another night.”

“Great, just great,” Allen Russell muttered.

Kayla’s heart sank, but she didn’t protest. How could she blame them for wanting to leave? They’d been woken up from a sound sleep by a burglar.

“I won’t charge you for last night’s stay,” she informed the couples graciously. She’d been depending on their fees to help her sagging bank account, but there was no way she could see taking their money. Not after this.

Dawn was beginning to peek over the horizon as the two couples packed their bags and trooped out the door. After they left, she set her security system and then sank down at the kitchen table, propping her aching head in her hands.

What should she do? Why had someone tried to break in? None of this made any sense.

She desperately wanted to call Rafe. Maybe she was overreacting, but as a single mother alone with a young daughter couldn’t help being worried. She had an awful feeling there was something significant behind this recent break-in. There had been too many odd things happening lately.

And she wouldn’t be able to relax until she understood exactly what was going on.

On Saturday morning, Rafe returned home to review the plans he and his partner, Evan Marshall, and his commanding officer, Luke Sanders, had made the day before.

They only had a couple of thin leads to follow up on. They needed a break in the case, big-time. There was no point in continuing their surveillance on Schroeder’s business, considering the local police had Schroeder’s boats taped off as a precaution in case it was a potential crime scene.

He and Evan had agreed to split up the duties in their attempts to jump-start the investigation. Evan’s job was to begin a preliminary surveillance on Karl Yancy, the recluse who’d taken up residence near Pelican Point, renting a boat slip conveniently located right next to Schroeder’s charter fishing business. Yancy had showed up on their radar because of his timely appearance in Pelican Point, the same week as Bruce Pappas’s sighting on Schroeder’s boat. The coincidence of his showing up when a well-known criminal had escaped was too much to ignore.

Evan’s theory was that Yancy was involved too, working with Shroeder. No one seemed to know much about the stranger since he didn’t socialize with anyone around the lakefront. And his background information was sketchy, in that it was almost too clean. Which was suspicious enough in itself. So Evan also agreed to do more digging to see what they could find out about the guy.

Rafe’s job was to work on getting information out of Charlie Turkow, the grizzled, older man who had a charter business that was in direct competition with Schroeder’s. They’d spent some time watching Charlie’s charter, too, and had seen some of the same sort of suspicious activity, his boats coming and going at odd times of the day and night.

But when they’d dug deeper, they’d discovered Charlie had a daughter who lived in Michigan. Sure enough, the next two times they were able to follow him, that’s where he’d gone. Still, his commanding officer believed Charlie Turkow knew more about what might be going on in Pelican Point than he was letting on and wanted Rafe to uncover whatever the older man knew.

Rafe had swung by Charlie’s charter after leaving the gym earlier that morning, but the older man wasn’t anywhere around and one of this boats was gone. Since finding him in the open water of Lake Michigan wasn’t likely, he returned home. And stewed over what little he knew about Bill Schroeder’s activities before he’d died. It bothered him that the guy had gone to visit Kayla. That he’d recently mounted a memorial in honor of her husband’s memory.

He raked a hand through his hair.

He didn’t like the idea of Bill Schroeder being anywhere near Kayla. Leaving her alone Thursday night had been difficult. At least he could rest a little easier, knowing she had guests staying with her this weekend.

But what about once her guests were gone? She and Brianna were all alone in the middle of the woods.

His cell phone rang, and his chest tightened when he Kayla’s name on the display. He couldn’t imagine she’d call unless it was important. “Kayla? Is everything all right?”

“We’re both fine,” she said quickly, as if knowing he might be imagining the worst. He tried to calm his racing pulse. “But Rafe, someone tried to break in last night.”

“Break in?” he echoed, jumping to his feet. “Why? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sounding truly bewildered. “I had guests, so I didn’t have the security system on. But now I’m worried. My guests left early and I changed my access code, but what if the burglar tries to break in again? I’m scared, Rafe.”

The underlying fear in her voice gripped him by the throat. “I’m on my way,” he said, heading out to his jeep. “Make sure the alarm is set, and I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

THREE

The fact that Kayla didn’t argue worried him even more. Rafe shut his phone and started the jeep, more shaken than he cared to admit. He headed for her house, pushing the speed limit as much as he dared.