She agreed. “I want to go back to my room and call Jules to let her know I’m okay before this breaks on the news.”
Avery called over to Jeremy. “That okay with you?”
“Yes. Go. We’ll talk later.”
Avery wrapped his arm around Rachel, and they headed for his car. Rachel stopped and turned to her dad. “You’re coming, aren’t you?”
He smiled and walked toward them. “Yes. I’m coming.”
***
The press was on the story within minutes of Avery radioing for help. Rachel called Jules on the drive to her hotel to tell her she was safe and explained what had happened.
“Mom! That’s insane. I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“Thanks, sweetie. Me, too. It’s going to be all over the news. Can you call Aunt Julie’s care center and ask them to keep her away from the TV for a while? I’d hate for her to hear about this.”
“I will, Mom. Call me later and catch me up. I love you,” Jules said.
Tears filled Rachel’s eyes as her daughter spoke. She could have died today and would never have heard those words from Jules again. “I love you so much, Jules. I’ll call you later.”
“It sounds like you have an amazing daughter,” Frank said from the back seat of Avery’s car. “I hope I can meet her someday.”
Rachel turned and smiled at him. “You will. You must. I just can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m glad I am,” Frank said.
When they arrived at the hotel, Frank and Avery flanked Rachel to protect her from the few reporters who’d been waiting for her to return. They rode the elevator up to her room. The young officer who’d been there on the previous nights was already waiting in the hallway.
“I hear you’ve had a rough day,” the officer said. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling. Once again, Jeremy had made sure she was safe.
Once in the room, Avery turned on the news and was surprised to see the press was already at the park. Jeremy had taped off the wooded area so they couldn’t go down the path.
Rachel pulled three water bottles from the small refrigerator, set them on the table, and sat in one of the chairs. “Okay, you two. Spill. How on earth did you find me at the river? And how did you two end up together? And,” she stared at Avery. “FBI? You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
Avery laughed, and he and Frank sat down.
“First,” Avery said. “I came to town a few months ago under the guise of buying the newspaper to investigate the cold-case murders. The bureau paid off the two workers at the newspaper to pretend I owned it, and I used the office there as my home base.”
Rachel was shocked. “Why was the FBI interested in those murders?”
“I work for the cold-case division. I’d been begging to be allowed to investigate them for years. Everything I told you was true—I grew up here, and my mother was one of the victims. They finally granted me time to work on them. But I kept hitting a brick wall until you came and shook things up.”
“So, you were the one who called in the press,” she said.
Avery shook his head. “No. That was the last thing I wanted.”
Frank cleared his throat.
Rachel’s turned to him. “You called the press?”
“Uh, no. But I know who did. The same person who called me the minute you came into town. I know she meant to help by calling the press. And honestly, it did help. The town and police needed to be shaken up,” Frank said.
A slow smile spread across Rachel’s face. “She? I bet I know who that is. Gladys called the press. And you.”
“Yes, she did,” Frank said. “I’ve known her for years, and when you came to town and claimed to be Rachel Parnell, she called me immediately. I came to see if it was true.”
She frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?”
Frank looked sheepish. “I had to see for myself if you were really Rachel. And then I wanted to make sure you were safe. So, I followed you and looked out for you.”
“Wait! You were the guy in the green four-door car following me?”
“Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to you. The truth is the moment I saw you, I knew you were Rachel. You look so much like Julie. Then I realized the trouble that would be stirred up from your return. So, I just stayed in the background to watch. Unfortunately, Archie gave us all the slip for a few minutes there,” Frank said.
Rachel leaned closer to her father. “Did you chase me in the cemetery that day?”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t me. I had parked at the entrance to wait for you to come out. I never left my car.”
Rachel sat back. “So, Archie must have followed me there and tried to grab me then.” She shivered. “Thank goodness Avery was there.”
“I wish I’d been with you today, too,” Avery said, looking pained. “I thought Jeremy was the one to worry about. All leads pointed to him. Archie wasn’t even on my radar.”
“Mine either,” Rachel said. “But it makes sense now.”
Rachel hadn’t eaten all day, so they ordered burgers and fries to be delivered and talked more as they ate. The news was on, but the sound was turned down, and every so often, Rachel saw Archie’s face splashed across the screen. It unnerved her to think that just a short while ago, that same face was staring down at her, ready to kill her.
“How did you two end up together?” Rachel asked as she ate the last of her French fries.
“I was following you and Jeremy all morning,” Frank said. “I don’t
