lurches forward, I fumble with my belt, trying to clasp it in place. I manage to do it but it’s a struggle, both because I’m being tossed around by Hurley’s driving and because my fingers don’t seem to want to work. My head feels as if it’s been overstuffed with cotton—dull, thick, and like my skull wants to explode.
“What the hell just happened?” I manage to say once I get my belt secured.
“You were Tasered. I’m guessing that whoever is framing me just tried to kidnap you.”
“Kidnap
“Most likely they were going to use you to try to flush me out, or kill you to frame me for yet another death.”
“I didn’t for sure,” he says, answering only the last question. “But I figured my disappearance wasn’t a part of their plans, and that they would escalate their efforts somehow to flush me out. You were the logical choice. That guy back there at the gym has been following you since yesterday and I’ve been following him, waiting for him to make a move.”
“That’s why you were outside my bedroom window last night.”
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know,” Hurley says with a frustrated sigh. “I’ve never gotten a good look at him because he’s always wearing a hoodie. About all I can tell you is that he was short and of average build. I think it may be the same guy Minniver’s neighbor lady saw.”
“Did you get the plate number on the car?”
“I did. I have it written down somewhere but I didn’t want to go to or call the station to run it. I’m willing to bet it’s the same number you got from the neighbor.”
I shake my head, hoping to knock some of the cotton loose. “I still don’t get it,” I say, confused. “Why come after me? Why am I the logical choice? What did I do?”
He lets out a humorless laugh. “You met me.”
“Huh?”
“They’ve been going after people who play a significant role in my life, people who mean something to me.”
“I mean something to you?” I say, grabbing at the only part of his explanation that my mind can fully comprehend at the moment.
He looks over at me and smiles, but says nothing.
“Where are we going?”
“Over near Tomah. There’s a cabin there we can stay in.”
“You own a cabin?”
“No, it belongs to a friend I know who lets me use it. When my dad was alive, we used to go there to fish a lot.”
“Your dad is dead?”
“Two years ago. Cancer.”
“Is your mom still alive?”
He shakes his head. “She died in a car accident when I was two. I really don’t remember her at all.”
“Did your dad ever remarry?”
“Nope, it was just the two of us.”
I digest this information, saddened by the fact that Hurley has no family. That explains why whoever is trying to frame him is going after friends and neighbors, and why they came after me. I suppose at this point, I’m the closest thing to family Hurley has.
My head is clearer now and thoughts of family make me think of Thanksgiving, which makes me think of my mother, Dom, and Izzy. Then I remember Izzy’s phone call to me, right before I was attacked. I lean forward and look around inside the car. “Where’s my purse, and my cell? I need to call Izzy and tell him what happened. He’s expecting me.”
“Your purse got left in the parking lot,” Hurley says. “Your cell phone is there, too. It bounced under your car when you dropped it and broke into at least two pieces. I wanted to get you out of there in case your attacker had some kind of backup waiting in the wings, so I didn’t take the time to grab anything.”
“That’s okay. I appreciate what you did. Can I use your phone?”
He shakes his head. “Cell phones can be traced, and until I can figure out who’s behind all of this, I don’t want my whereabouts—or yours—to be known.”
Something about this bothers me but it takes me a minute to figure out what it is. “Wait,” I say. “That throwaway phone you gave me is in my purse and it has your cell number in it. Won’t they be able to trace it from that?”
“Did you save my number under a different name like I told you?”
“I did. I assigned it to Ethan.”
“Then they won’t know it’s mine.”
I wince. “They might,” I tell him. “David overheard my last conversation with you. He was in my cottage and I didn’t see him right away.”
Hurley frowns. He reaches into his jacket pocket, takes out a cell phone, and hands it to me. “Turn it off. As long as it isn’t on, no one can locate it. If they do get the number somehow and trace the calls made to or from the phone to see what towers it pinged on, they’ll think I’m still in the Sorenson area.”
I open the phone and start to turn it off, but hesitate. “Hurley, that guy at the gym came after me while I was on the phone with Izzy. He was with Richmond and they were expecting me to meet them at the morgue. Izzy must have heard me yell and when I don’t show up, he’ll be worried and send Richmond out looking for me. I should let him know I’m okay.”
Hurley doesn’t answer right away but I can tell he’s thinking.
“Please?”
Hurley cusses under his breath and rakes a hand through his hair, leaving it tousled and messy looking. There’s an exit coming up and he turns on his blinker to take it. “Let’s stop here and grab a bite to eat,” he says. “Turn the phone off for now. I need to think.”
He steers into a McDonald’s drive-through while I shut down the cell phone. I order a Quarter Pounder with cheese and some fries, effectively negating the workout I did earlier. I try to mitigate the damage by getting a diet Mountain Dew to go with it and the thought that I’m no better than Richmond comes to mind, but I shove it aside. Hurley orders a Big Mac, fries, and a regular soda. He parks in a distant space at the back of the lot and we sit inside the car eating in silence.
The food gives new life to my frazzled brain and as I watch Hurley stare out the window, his brow furrowed in thought, I remember that I have other things to tell him.
“Do you want to know about the search warrant they exercised on your house today?”
“I don’t know. Do I?” he asks, looking pained. “Did they find anything?”
“Well, they found that potassium cyanide stuff in your workshop and they collected some metal fragments that I’m betting will match ones we found in Callie’s hair. Plus Minniver apparently kept a spare key to his house hidden inside the light on his front porch, but it’s missing. They found it in that drawer where you kept these earrings.” I touch one of the delicate filigrees still hanging from my ears.
Hurley’s face darkens. “Is that it?” he asks.
“Afraid not,” I say, wincing. “They also sprayed Luminol in your workshop and they found a blood smear on the floor leading to the exterior door. We sampled some blood we found in the threshold to do a DNA comparison with Callie’s blood.”
Hurley squeezes his eyes closed. “I’m sure it will match,” he says. “Smart bastards. I’ll give them that.”
After another period of silent eating, I say, “What about calling Izzy? I don’t want him to worry and the last thing we need is a big manhunt focused on me.”
Hurley nods. “I have an idea, but it means letting Izzy know you’re with me and that you’re going to stay hidden for now. It might put your job in jeopardy.”
