Setting Off Sparks

Chapter 4

4

By the time Lisa drove home after her shift, she still hadn’t forgotten about that near miss with Finn Abrams. If he was really coming to the wedding with Annika and a potential entourage of photographers, she’d have to be extra careful.

Not that she wasn’t already. She was freakishly cautious. She hadn’t even rented an apartment in Jupiter Point yet. When she’d first left Houston, she’d bought a small motorhome and made it as homey as possible. Now, all these months later, it was her home.

And when she was ready to leave, all she had to do was turn the key in the ignition and go.

Her mother and stepsisters would laugh their asses off if they could see her now. They all had five-bedroom houses and a new car every year. A diamond necklace for Christmas, a Caribbean vacation, and they were happy.

She’d always been the odd one out. Working in health care was strange enough. But then tossing her whole career aside to help Maria? As always, they’d thought she was crazy. They’d definitely think so if they could see her new home here in the Jupiter Point Campground. Instead of live oaks and bayous, she was surrounded by towering pine trees and friendly little nuthatches and chickadees. Since it was the off-season, she often had the campground to herself.

Just how she liked it.

She parked her car on the road that circled through the campground. It was an old-model Mercedes that she’d bought when she started working for the McGraws. She’d chosen it because of its boxy, high-clearance design—the perfect height for helping Molly in and out of her wheelchair. Since then, she’d added a seat cushion and a kind of “lazy Susan” apparatus that made it even easier for Molly to get in.

A footpath led to her camping spot, which included a picnic table and a fire pit with a grill. With a grateful sigh, she stepped inside her motorhome and locked the door behind her. The familiar smell of motor oil and coffee and grilled cheese embraced her. She had exactly two appliances in the kitchenette, an espresso machine and a panini maker—which would also make her family laugh hysterically. No dishwasher? No ice cube maker? No microwave?

She made her way to the back of the motorhome, which was entirely filled with a platform bed. After plopping her tote bag at the foot of the bed, she dropped onto her back and gazed up at the swaths of indigo fabric she’d pinned to the ceiling. Whimsical stars and moons twinkled back at her. A down comforter as thick as marshmallows sank under her weight, along with over a dozen overstuffed pillows.

Home sweet teeny-tiny home.

Safe.

Alone.

A vivid vision flashed through her mind. In the salon, for one shocking moment, she could have sworn that Finn was looking right at her through the storefront window. He wore the same expression he’d had at the tower—intense, smoldering…curiosity.

Who was he, anyway? She reached for her tote bag and pulled out the old tabloid from the salon. They wouldn’t miss it, and she intended to return it as soon as possible.

Well, after she studied every word about Finn Abrams, “wounded hero firefighter.”

Okay, now her family would definitely be laughing at her.

A knock on the door sent adrenaline shooting through her. She scrambled off the bed. The campground was empty. No one visited her here. Ever.

She grabbed the baseball bat she kept as a weapon and hurried toward the front of the motorhome. Outside, she saw two men in police uniforms. She relaxed a tiny bit, recognizing Police Chief Becker from a picture she’d seen in the local newspaper. Not that having the police on her doorstep was relaxing…but it was better than a menacing stranger.

She discreetly stashed the bat and opened the door. “Yes?”

“Ms. Lisa Peretti?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m the Chief of Police here in Jupiter Point, Chief Becker. This here is Sheriff’s Deputy Will Knight.”

She made a quick survey of the two men. Chief Becker was an African-American man who easily cleared six and a half feet. He had a slow, quiet manner that managed to be imposing even when he didn’t say much. Will Knight wasn’t quite as tall. He had broad shoulders, dark gray eyes and an easy smile probably meant to put her at ease.

It didn’t really work.

“You’re a hard woman to track down,” said the chief.

She stiffened. “You’ve been looking for me?”

“For a while now, as a matter of fact. Since last November.”

Last November? Had something happened to Maria? She tried to figure out a good way to ask that question without giving anything away, but couldn’t.

“Um…I’ve been traveling around. I just got back to Jupiter Point. What’s this about?”

“Is this a good place to talk?” He glanced around the little campground. It was about six in the evening, and shadows were settling around the edges of the clearing.

“Well, I’d invite you in, but I’m not sure you’d both fit inside this thing.” That was the truth; both men were big and tall. “How about we sit at that table. Can I get either of you anything to drink? I have cold coffee. Or I could make some hot coffee.”

Will Knight grinned. “Cold or hot coffee. I like a menu with variety. Nothing for me, thanks.”

The police chief also declined a drink, and they all trooped over to the picnic table. As soon as they were settled in, he began.

“Are you aware of the incident that occurred on the trail to the Breton lookout tower last November?”

A bolt of alarm went through her at the mention of Breton. “No, I wasn’t here then. I left at the end of October. But I was volunteering there all summer.”

She cringed at the way the words just flowed out of her. Damn it, didn’t all the TV shows say not to volunteer any extra information?

Will Knight picked up where the chief had left off. “This past November, a man with a gun assaulted a group of hikers from Jupiter Point. They were about half a mile from the Breton tower. The assailant grabbed Merry Warren, one of our local reporters here in town. He claimed he was looking for a girl who had dark hair and lived in the tower. The other members of the group disarmed him and we took him into custody. He lawyered up right away and pled guilty to assault. But he refused to say anything more about who he was looking for or why.”

Oh my God. Lisa’s thoughts whirled in ten different directions.

“Was Merry…she wasn’t the one he was looking for?”

“No. We did some process of elimination with everyone associated with the tower and the obvious target is you. The question now is why.” Chief Becker looked at her in an authoritative way that demanded an answer.

She swallowed hard. Since she’d helped Maria escape, she hadn’t told anyone what happened. She’d promised her silence, for both of their safety.

“Maybe it was a random mugger. If he pled guilty, that’s the end of it, right?”

His steady gaze didn’t waver. “I certainly hope so, for your sake. But my gut tells me otherwise. I’m protective of this town. One of our own reporters was nearly kidnapped, and I don’t like that. The assailant knocked out Finn Abrams too. Nearly gave him a concussion.”

She flinched. Finn had gotten knocked out? That made two people hurt by someone looking for her. “I’m so sorry they were hurt.”

“It could have been a lot worse,” Knight said, his tone deceptively easygoing. Each word felt like a stab in Lisa’s heart. “Merry Warren’s wrist was badly sprained. She couldn’t type for two weeks.”

Becker narrowed his eyes at Knight. “I didn’t hear about that.”

“She didn’t report it. I pried the truth out of her. Gave her an on-the-record quote as bribery. Not bribery in the legal sense,” he added quickly. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and gave it a laconic chew.

Chief Becker rested one elbow on the picnic table and shot the other officer a long-suffering look. “They had to assign you to this, didn’t they?”

“Yup.” Knight grinned back.

Lisa wondered if they had some kind of good-cop-bad-cop routine going on. Or maybe it was more of a stern-cop-goofy-cop routine.

“Back to you, Lisa,” Knight continued. “If you could just answer a few questions, that might help us figure this out. You came to Jupiter Point last summer, right?”

Scratch the “goofy cop” description. Knight was definitely using his casual manner as a smokescreen. “Yes, I came here last June and volunteered as a spotter at the Breton tower until the season ended.”

“Why here?”

“I heard the stargazing is spectacular,” she said blandly.

Knight and Becker exchanged a glance. “That it is,” Knight agreed. “Right, Chief?”

“So I hear. I’m usually too busy protecting the citizens from gun-wielding attackers to notice.”

Lisa laughed; she couldn’t help it. She wanted to trust these two officers. And she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. Maybe it would be okay to tell them a little of her story.

“Listen, I left Houston because of an incident involving a very powerful local politician. It’s possible that this mugger has something to do with that. I have no idea how or why, though. And I really can’t say any more.”

Both men were watching her alertly. “What kind of incident?” Becker asked the question while Knight took out a little notebook and pen.

“Domestic violence. The victim was a school friend of mine. I helped her leave, then we parted ways. I decided to take some time off before I went back. I needed a vacation anyway. My work is stressful and I was pretty burned out.” She worked a splinter out of the edge of the table.

“So you left Houston to protect your friend?” Knight lifted one eyebrow as he scrawled a note.

“It’s just temporary. As soon as I think it’s safe, I’ll go back.”

“I’m guessing it’s not safe yet.”

Lisa looked away. A night moth flitted across the clearing, into the shadows. The chief was right. If someone was looking for her, she couldn’t go back yet. Then again, she probably wasn’t safe here either.

Knight leaned across the table, his gray eyes cool and penetrating. “If you tell us who we’re dealing with, we’ll have a better chance of protecting you.”

She swallowed hard. Maria hadn’t trusted the Houston cops because many of them knew her husband. But these guys were Jupiter Point police. Should she break her promise to Maria and tell them everything? “Has anything else happened since November? Any other people looking for dark-haired women?”

The two officers exchanged glances. “Not that we’re aware of,” said Becker.

“So they came looking, they didn’t find me, and now they’ve moved on.”

“That’s one possibility.” Knight leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I can think of a few others.”

So could she. A hard lump gathered in her throat. Crap. She couldn’t stay in Jupiter Point. She just couldn’t. No matter how good the stargazing was.

Chief Becker rose to his full height, which meant he towered over both of them. “We’ll let you get back to your evening. If anything unusual happens, please call the station. Don’t hesitate. And watch your back.”

She nodded absently. Already her mind was sorting through her familiar departure routine. Pay the rest of her campground bill. Stow her clothes and kitchen items.

Deputy Knight stood as well, and handed her a business card as he shook her hand goodbye. “Put this number in your phone. Call it anytime.”

“Thank you.”

She watched the police cruiser pull out of the campground. Quiet fell across her little corner of the world, which no longer seemed quite so hidden. If the local police knew where she was, how long would it take for Senator Ruiz’s people to find her? On the other hand, maybe they’d given up on Jupiter Point because they hadn’t found her here in November.

Basically, either this was the safest place to be or the most dangerous. How the hell was she supposed to know which?

She couldn’t take any chances. She had to leave Jupiter Point.

Leaning her elbows on the picnic table, she tilted her head back and gazed up at the famous Jupiter Point sky. And jumped a bit with surprise. The first brilliant evening star was twinkling at her as if it had been waiting for her to look up. It had to be Venus. In the Breton tower, she’d spent hours looking at the planets and constellations. Venus always appeared first.

“Hey you,” she said softly. “I know you’re just a gaseous rock, but what do you think I should do?”

The planet didn’t have much to say. But she knew the answer anyway.

For now, Molly needed her, so she’d stay. At least through the wedding.