Part 9 (1/2)
This was the second time that SUV had been here, and it made me wonder what connection it had to Coach Hendrix. Did he know something about John Doe's death, or was he in danger himself? I pulled my cell phone from my pocket, flipped it open, punched in Jawarski's number, and hit Send. Nothing happened. I glanced at the screen and realized that once again the weather had blocked the signal. Service was patchy in Paradise in the best of times. In bad weather, it disappeared almost entirely.
Now what?
My tires. .h.i.t a patch of black ice and we slid a few feet. Tossing the phone into the center console, I fought to steer us out of the skid. After a few seconds the tires found purchase, and I regained control of the car. It hadn't been a dangerous skid, but it was enough to convince me that it was time to get the boys home.
”Aunt Abby?”
”Yes, Caleb?”
”I think they're following us.”
I tore my glance away from the road and checked the rearview mirror. I didn't know if someone was actually following us, but there were headlights behind us. ”I see them, kiddo, but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.”
Brody strained against his seat belt to see the car behind us. ”Turn around, please,” I said. If someone was following us, I didn't want the boys to make it obvious that we knew.
”But they're still coming,” Brody protested.
The headlights followed us around a curve in the road, and I saw the SUV's outline in the glow of a streetlamp. Nervous perspiration dampened my hands. ”I can see that,” I said, trying to stay calm. ”Now please turn around and look straight ahead.”
”Maybe I can see the license number.”
”Brody! I said turn around, and I meant it.”
”Sheesh. You act like we're babies or something.”
The snow began falling more heavily, and flakes stuck to the winds.h.i.+eld. I turned on the wipers and hit the defrost onto high. ”I don't think you're babies, Brody, but this isn't a game. When you're with me, it's my responsibility to make sure you're safe.”
He flopped back in his seat, looking sullen. ”Fine.”
”Fine. Now let me concentrate, okay? It's hard enough driving in the snow without having an argument at the same time.”
Brody folded he arms and scowled.
I ignored him and drove carefully down Pikes Peak to Cliffhanger Drive, and slowly, steadily, the SUV stayed behind us.
Chapter 16.
The storm grew worse by the minute. As fast as the winds.h.i.+eld wipers slapped away the snow, another layer covered the winds.h.i.+eld. The defrost labored to keep a patch clear enough for me to see through, but all three of us were breathing so heavily, the fan couldn't blow fast enough.
”Brody, I want you to find my cell phone. Can you do that?”
”Am I allowed to move?”
”Don't pout. You're old enough to understand danger. I need you to find my cell phone and see if I have any service.”
He dug around in the center console for a while. ”Got it,” he said after a few minutes. ”You have one bar.”
”Hopefully that will be enough.” I turned onto Larkspur and waited to see if the SUV would make the same turn. We were halfway to the next corner when the SUV slowly turned behind us, and my heart shot into my throat. ”Scroll through my contacts and find Jawarski's number,” I directed, trying not to think about what lay in store along the highway between here and Wyatt's house.
Caleb looked out the back window, but I didn't snap at him about it. By this time, the SUV's driver had to know that we were aware of him.
It seemed to take forever before Brody piped up again. ”I've got it. Now what?” The poutiness had left his voice, and a solemn note had replaced it.
”Try to get him on the phone. Tell him where we are and what's going on.”
n.o.body spoke while Brody punched numbers, but I could hear Caleb breathing, and he sounded frightened. ”There's no answer,” Brody announced. ”I've got his voice mail.”
”Leave a message,” I said.
Brody did, but whether or not Jawarski would be able to make sense of it was anybody's guess. When Brody hung up, the phone beeped to indicate that I had a message, and I talked Brody through the steps to retrieve it.
”It's from Mom,” he said after a few seconds of silence. ”She says it's snowing too hard for us to come home. She wants us to stay here in town with you.”
Knowing I didn't have to make that long drive sent a huge wave of relief through me, but we weren't safe yet. I didn't want to lead the SUV driver to my apartment or to Divinity. I needed to find a public place and people. Not that being in the middle of town had saved John Doe, but at least it might give us a fighting chance.
We came full circle to Silver River Road, and this time I turned east, toward King Soopers, the grocery store. Piles of snow left by a snowplow lined the road, and slush had started forming on the road's surface.
”Where are we going now?” Caleb asked, his voice small and frightened.
”To King Soopers. There should be people there.” I tossed what I hoped was a rea.s.suring smile over my shoulder. ”Try to relax, okay? I'm not going to let you get hurt.” I just hoped I wasn't making a promise I couldn't keep.
One at a time, I took my hands from the wheel and wiped my sweaty palms on my pant legs. I couldn't remember when I'd been so nervous, or when I'd had so much at stake, and I hated the SUV driver with a pa.s.sion I hadn't known I could feel.
We crept past the Silver River Inn, a bed-and-breakfast owned by my friends, Richie and Dylan. They'd have helped us, but the front door was two full flights of stairs from street level. Even if we could find a place to pull off the road, we'd never make it up the stairs before the SUV caught up with us.
A few feet farther along, I spotted the new antique store, the Ivy Attic. Its door was at street level, and for one brief moment, I let myself hope that it was still open, but all the windows were dark, the closed sign hanging slightly off-kilter in the front door.
We crept along two more blocks before a tiny voice broke the silence again. ”Aunt Abby?”
”Yes Caleb?”
”I think they're gone. I can't see the lights anymore.”
My eyes shot to the rearview mirror. I couldn't see the headlights either, but that didn't mean we were in the clear. ”Did you see the SUV turn off somewhere?”
”Nope. He was there one minute and gone the next.”
”What about you, Brody?”
”I didn't see anything either.”
Had the SUV really stopped following us? Or had the driver done something more sinister, like turning off the headlights to keep us from knowing what was coming? ”Keep watching,” I ordered. ”If you see anything back there-anything at all-tell me immediately.”