Page 30 of Silent Menace
“Of course.” He looked her up and down, and his expression darkened. “That’s going to be a wicked-looking bruise. You hurt anywhere else? Is Jenna?”
“No, Jenna’s fine. I have a few other bumps and bruises from where they grabbed me and tossed me in the trunk, but nothing serious.”
“The trunk? Of this car?” His eyes flashed with outrage, and he snapped his gaze to Peter.
“No. That one.” She pointed to the sedan in front of them.
Still looking at Peter, he said, “And where were you?”
“Home.” Peter kept his voice measured. “Hailey called me right after the accident occurred, and when we lost contact, I headed this way and called it in. I didn’t know what was happening, but I’d heard sounds of a scuffle before the call dropped, and I knew something was wrong.”
“I dropped my phone when I got out of the Explorer. I’m not sure what happened to it,” she explained.
Again, Eric’s gaze shifted between the two of them, and she could see the gears turning as he realized she’d called Peter first,rather than the police or a family member. She hoped he didn’t ask why. She wasn’t sure she even knew why she’d done it—only that in her post-collision confusion, it had seemed easier to call the first number that came up than to try to figure out who she was supposed to call. All she knew for sure was that she didn’t regret the decision. She was really glad Peter was here with her.
Thankfully, Eric didn’t sidetrack them to that topic. After calling for two tow trucks to take the wrecked vehicles back to the police station for analysis, he pulled out his notebook and pen, then focused his attention on her once more. “What happened? Randi didn’t tell me much.”
She launched into her story again. Now that she’d had more time to calm down and get her thoughts straight, she was able to relate the account more coherently and with better detail than she’d been able to give Peter. She finished with what she’d been about to tell him when Eric’s arrival had interrupted her. “Right before they closed the trunk, one of them told me this was my last warning.”
A moment of silence fell between them at that revelation. But it wasn’t a comfortable silence. Both men looked like they were barely holding on to their tempers.
She could relate. Until Peter had rescued her, she’d been too terrified to be angry, but now she was furious. Those men had traumatized her daughter and endangered both their lives. If she hadn’t already called Peter, who knew how long it would have taken before they’d been discovered? Even with the windows down, Jenna could have become dangerously dehydrated, or someone could have come along and snatched her while Hailey was powerless to do anything. Or an unsuspecting driver could have come by and plowed into their vehicles at full speed.
Peter was the first to speak. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like it.” If she hadn’t been so angry, she might have laughed at the understatement.
But his comment served to get them going again, and Eric started in with his questions: Had she recognized the men? Could she describe them or the other vehicle? Had they said anything else? Did she get the license plate of the hatchback? When had she noticed it behind her?
Unfortunately, she had little of that sort of information to pass on. She’d been slightly discombobulated in the first few minutes after the crash, and once the men appeared, everything else had happened quickly. She hadn’t even thought to look for a license plate number as they were dragging her away. And despite the heat, the men had worn masks and gloves, long sleeves too. The one who’d held a knife to her had been about half a head taller than she was and had blue eyes, but those were the only distinguishing features she’d been able to see. Except—
“Oh, I almost forgot! The other guy’s sleeve must have ridden up when they put me in the trunk. I caught a glimpse of an expensive-looking watch and part of a tattoo.”
“That could be really helpful,” Eric said. “Which arm? And where exactly was the tattoo located?”
“It was just above his left wrist. I think it was some sort of cat—made me think of a puma, but I couldn’t see enough of it to be sure.”
“Just the head or the entire animal?”
“I’m assuming the whole thing. The part I saw had the feet and a tail. It looked like it was perched on a rock.”
Eric jotted the information down, then clicked his pen a couple of times. “You said they claimed you hadn’t been listening to their warnings. Do you think they were talking about the messages left on your car and garage, or could this be in reference to something else?”
“I can only assume that’s what they’re talking about.” It made the most sense.
“What about the man who accosted you two days ago?” Peter asked.
Eric’s eyes narrowed. “You neglected to mention that yesterday.”
With everything else going on, she’d almost forgotten about the parking lot incident. She considered the question, then shrugged. “I have no idea if that’s related or not. He was probably just blowing hot air.” She met Eric’s gaze. “It was Oscar Redmond. Apparently, he blames me as much as Wesley for what happened last fall. He cornered me in the grocery store parking lot and went on a tirade about how I should have left town when Wesley died.” She swallowed hard. She knew her reputation had suffered as a result of her husband’s actions, but Oscar had been the only one to accuse her outright.
But why now? The harm Wesley had done had been over with for months, and as far as she knew, his actions hadn’t directly impacted Oscar in any way even back then. If anyone had a reason to still be angry over her late husband’s actions, it would be Eric and Allye.
“What Wesley did isn’t your fault,” Eric said, as if sensing the direction her thoughts had gone.
She nodded, appreciating the reminder, though she still felt guilty for not seeing the signs before everything came to a head. She glanced at Peter, curious about his thoughts on the matter, but she only saw compassion in his eyes.
“Any chance Oscar could have been one of the guys who ambushed you?” Eric continued.
“No. Neither of them were even close to his size.” That she was sure of.
