Chapter Ten
“Chase Warner?
“Yes, who’s this?” His phone had gone off at 6:00 AM and Chase picked it up, before checking the caller ID.
Sleep had eluded him most of the night.
After he’d fooled around with Mary, he’d been left with a wicked case of blue balls and a guilty conscience. He never should’ve let it go so far. Sure, she’d been the instigator, but Mary was confused and vulnerable. He was the one who was supposed to be rational.
If only he could stop wanting her, but it wasn’t to be. They were a star-crossed, modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet, from rival mafia outfits. This would never work out.
The agent cleared his throat, interrupting Chase’s wayward thoughts.
“Thorne. Remember me?”
Chase muttered a curse and walked into the hallway, so he wouldn’t disturb Mary who was still sleeping, curled up into a little ball in the center of the bed. She must be exhausted, and Chase was grateful she was getting some rest.
“Yes, agent, I seem to recall our meeting.” Even though, he’d rather block it from his memory. “What can I do for you?” He doubted Thorne called to chat.
“You didn’t tell me your sister had a safety deposit box.”
He scratched his chin. “Because I didn’t know she had one.” It was unusual since they’d shared just about everything. Faith had even told him about the night she’d lost her virginity, for pity’s sake.
“Apparently, a month before her death, she rented one at the bank, a couple of towns over, in Canyon City. Any reason why she’d need one?”
The man sounded suspicious, and Chase was in no mood for an early morning phone inquisition.
“Fuck if I know. How’d you find out about it?”
“I’ve been going through the old police files, seein’ if they missed anything. There’s a record of a phone call from the bank, but the detectives never followed up on it for some reason.”
Chase doubted their competence. Once the detectives found out about Noah’s criminal ties, they didn’t give a damn about solving Faith’s case. One of them said Chase’s sister had probably run away and they didn’t put much effort into the investigation. Who knows? He might’ve been afraid of the mafia, in case they’d had something to do with her disappearance.
“I see, what was inside the box?”
“I haven’t had a look yet, and I wondered if you’d come with me.”
“Why?” Maybe the agent hadn’t ruled him out as a suspect and was up for another round of mind games.
“I’ve asked for a warrant, but it’s going to take some time. After all, a cold case doesn’t have high priority. However, because she’s your sister, you have access to the safety deposit box, as her next of kin, but I wanna be there when you open it.”
“Fine by me. When are we doin’ this?” With any luck, Chase would finally get some answers.
“First thing, tomorrow morning. I’ll meet you at Canyon City Bank at 9:00 AM. It smack dab in the middle of Main Street, so you can’t miss it.”
“I’ll be there.” And then Chase hung up.
***
The next morning, Chase sat in his pickup truck in front of the bank, waiting for the agent to show.
He hadn’t wanted to leave Mary alone, but this was important. Chase had asked one of the soldiers, Alan, to stay with Mary, in case Harry dropped by again. Evidently, Harry hadn’t breathed a word of what happened, because Chase hadn’t heard from his father.
Yesterday, he hadn’t gone to work and had spent all of his time with Mary instead. They’d had a leisurely day watching television, enjoying each other’s companionship. She was still dealing with the aftereffects of the trauma.
Every once in a while, Mary got a faraway look in her eyes, and she started to shiver. Whenever he saw it happening, Chase wrapped his arms around her and talked to Mary, bringing her back to the here and now. So far, it had worked, but Mary needed professional help to deal with the experience.
A few minutes later, an SUV pulled up beside him, and Thorne hopped out.
He glanced at Chase. “Ready to do this?”
Chase nodded, and they both headed inside.
He hadn’t told his father. Chase wasn’t sure why, exactly. A niggling voice in his head whispered Noah might know more than he’d let on, but Chase shoved it down and refused to dwell on the implications.
They walked to the front desk, and the agent spoke with a teller. A few moments later, a woman in a red pantsuit greeted them. She was in her early fifties, with a string of pearls around her throat and a pair of black and red heels. She seemed polished and put together, and Chase felt unkempt in his dusty jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie, in comparison.
“Good morning, I’m Linda Baker, the bank manager. And you are…?”
“Special agent Jim Hawthorne, ma’am, at your service.” He pointed to Chase. “And this is Miss Warner’s brother, Chase.” Thorne flashed his badge.
“Nice to meet you.” Ms. Baker shook hands with them both and turned to Chase. “Do you have identification with you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He withdrew the driver’s license from his wallet and handed it to her.
She studied it a moment. “Thank you.” And then she gave the ID back to him. “Please come with me, we’ll head over to the vault.” She led them both down the hallway.
“Please read this over and sign it.” They reached a small room, and Ms. Baker handed him a form on a clipboard, along with a pen. Chase scanned the document, and it was a standard release, saying he was taking possession of her items.
“When did my sister get the safety deposit box?” he asked as he scribbled his signature.
“According to my records, almost exactly a month before she vanished. After I saw the local news report, I gave the police a call but didn’t hear anything back from them.”
“And you kept it this entire time?” Thorne asked.
“Yes, I figured it might be important, and I didn’t have the heart to throw her things away, even though she hadn’t paid the bill.”
“Did you look at the contents?” Thorne asked.
“No, I thought there might be evidence inside, and I didn’t want to disturb it.” She laid a hand on Chase’s arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“The FBI will settle her account.” Thorne handed her his business card. “Call this number to make arrangements with victim’s assistance.”
“I will. Here, you’ll need this.” Ms. Baker gave Chase a key, and they headed toward a wall full of safety deposit boxes, which were tucked into metal shelves. She also had a key in her grasp and fitted it into a lock on one side.
They turned the keys simultaneously, and the box slid out. It was dusty, and he blew on it, before opening the lid. Inside, there was a journal. As long as Chase could remember, she’d kept a diary, but he had no clue why Faith would keep one at a bank.
When he’d gone through her room, shortly after her disappearance, Chase hadn’t found her most recent diary. Noah always bought her a new one for her birthday. They were all leather bound and engraved with her name on the front, just like this one. He flipped open a page, and sure enough, it was dated a few months before her disappearance. Chase also recognized his sister’s flowing handwriting. Hers was neat as a pin while he had a messy scrawl.
“Recognize it?” Thorne asked.
“Yes, it’s her journal.”
Thorne’s brows rose. “The detective never found it.”
“Probably because she stashed it here.”
“If you don’t mind, I should head back upstairs, I have an appointment.” With a smile, Ms. Baker walked back down the hall.
They took the box over to a desk in the center of the room. Nobody else was around, so they had privacy.
Chase flipped through the dog-eared pages with Thorne at his side. He’d rather read her words by himself, but he knew the agent wouldn’t agree.
“Flip to the week just before her disappearance.”
“Okay.” Chase paged through the diary until he found the right entry.
The passages didn’t make much sense. For one thing, the writing was almost illegible, and she didn’t use full sentences either. Faith jumped from topic to topic. Normally, they read like a book report. Faith even recorded what she ate and how long she’d slept. As a kid, he’d snatched one, hoping to find something juicy, but he’d been bored to tears after a few paragraphs.
“It happened again today.” It was a one line entry on the top of the page, with no elaboration.
“What happened?”
Chase shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Thorne narrowed his eyes.
“Look, I know you don’t believe me, but I’d never hurt her under any circumstances and I don’t know what she’s talkin’ about.” What the hell happened to her?
For a long time, the agent didn’t reply as he mulled over Chase’s words and then he nodded.
“I believe you.”
“You do?” Chase was astonished.
“You might be a mafia prick, but you loved your sister. It’s plain to see.”
“Gee, thanks.” Chase sighed. “I had no idea she was so scared.” He paged through a few more entries, and she talked about staying safe, spending nights at her friend’s houses, instead of home.
Chase tried to remember back, but most of it was a blur. After high school, he’d joined the Marines and went to basic training, and then he’d shipped out. Faith had been left behind, and since their mom was gone, it was just her and Noah.
“So you two didn’t talk much?”
“Quite the opposite, actually, at least I thought we were close, until now.” Faith had been afraid of something or someone, and he didn’t know a damn thing about it.
“What kind of relationship did she have with your father?”
Chase thought it over.
When she was younger, the two of them were close. Unlike Chase, Faith wasn’t a troublemaker and didn’t test Noah’s patience. Instead, she was his little girl. He often took her to the movies and the park, while Chase stayed home. His mother said Noah would’ve taken Chase as well if he’d only behave, but somehow Chase doubted it. They just didn’t get along.
“They got along pretty well. For the most part, he doted on her.” Although, Faith had been horrified to learn of Noah’s criminal activities and she hated the way their father treated Chase.
“Then why was your sister so scared? Why’d she want to leave the house so damn bad?”
“I have no idea.” Maybe Faith witnessed something she shouldn’t have. Was this about his father’s mafia activities? Did one of his enemies threaten her? Like Tucker Cobb? Or was it somebody else? And more importantly, was Noah holding out on him? Covering something up?
Chase had come here for answers, but the diary had only generated more questions.
“Dammit.” Thorne slammed a fist down on the counter. “I thought for sure I’d get a lead out of this.”
He seemed awfully worked up. Chase thought back to the first night they’d met. Again, he suspected Thorne wasn’t merely a professional doing his job.
“Why are you handlin’ this, instead of the Las Vegas FBI office?” Thorne said he wasn’t one of the locals.
“I got my reasons.”
“Which are?”
“None of your business.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “And we both know you ain’t been straight with me.”
Chase didn’t even bother to deny it.
“Since we’re on the subject, is there anythin’ you wanna confess?” His eyes bored into Chase, as though he knew every damned thing he’d ever done, including kidnapping Mary.
Fuck no.
“Do you know somethin’ I don’t?”
He smirked. “Yeah.”
“Tell me.”
Thorne shook his head. “Just remember actions have consequences.”
“You wanna hurt the Lone Star boys, don’t you?” Chase could sense the aura of barely leashed violence coming off of Thorne. This was intensely personal.
“I’m only lookin’ for justice.”
“What did those guys do to you?” Chase asked.
“What makes you think they did anythin’?”
“Because I can read people really well. It’s kept me alive this long.”
The agent stood there for the longest time, pondering his questions, as though lost in his own thoughts, or maybe he was contemplating what he could share with Chase.
“Somebody important, somebody who can’t be replaced, and they don’t even know it.” With that, Thorne sauntered away.
Chase didn’t have a clue who the man was talking about, but he knew Tucker Cobb better watch his ass.
A day of reckoning was coming.
***
“Did you find anything?”
Mary was waiting for him when he walked in the front door.
He shook his head. “No, I’m more confused than ever.” After Alan left, Chase walked her through what they’d discovered in the safety deposit box. Before he’d left this morning, Chase told her where he was going, and he was glad to have someone to share this with, make sense of it.
Chase suddenly realized he’d gotten used to having her here, in his home. At the end of every day, Chase looked forward to seeing her. Somehow, she’d become a vital part of his life, in a short time.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks for carin’.” Mary wanted to know about the case just as much as Chase did. Although, she was hoping her grandfather would be exonerated.
“And I’m sorry you got dragged into all of this.”
“I know.”
Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I have something to apologize for, as well.”
Chase tugged at his shirt collar. “You don’t owe me an apology.”
“Yeah, I do. I shouldn’t have come on so strong. I don’t know what came over me the other night.”
“It’s okay, believe me, you have nothing to be sorry for. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.” Chase screwed his eyes shut and willed himself not to think about it. He’d come so close to tasting her, taking her, and he was barely holding onto whatever little control he had left.
“Then why’d you push me away?”
Because I’m trying to be a better man. The kind of person she deserved.
“This thing between us, whatever it is, is pretty damn complex already, and I didn’t want to add another layer. Besides, you’ve been through enough.”
“What is going on between us?” She looked up at him with those soulful, lost eyes, and he fought the urge to take her in his arms, comfort her.
“I don’t know.” It was a lie. Chase knew he was in over his head. They both were.
What if Chase had to take matters into his own two hands? Mary would never forgive him for punishing Cobb, even if she was horrified by her grandfather’s actions.
It was a classic no-win situation.
If he killed Tucker Cobb, Mary would be all alone in this world, and it would be his fault. Chase didn’t know if he could live with it and he was hoping somebody else, anybody else had harmed Faith.
Against all the odds, Chase cared for Mary.
No, more than that. God, help me.
Chase was falling in love with her.