Page 55 of Valor

He pressed the tips of his fingers together. “And what about you? You’re not safe until these people are caught. That is abundantly clear. I don’t even like bringing you back to your house because the last two times you’ve gone there, someone has shot at you.”

He didn’t have to remind her, but there didn’t seem like any other option. How could she find what they were looking for if she didn’t take the time to look? “I can’t answer that or even think about that. I have to think about Dad and that he’s injured. They hurt him. Whatever they want, I’ll give it to them if they give my father back.”

“What if they want you? I don’t think that’s a trade you’d be willing to make.” Allen finally stood and held the door open for her.

If he meant to scare her, he’d succeeded. She loved her father, but she wasn’t ready to die. There was so much of life left to live. Losing Mom had been hard and had forced her to look at her own life and mortality. Praise God she’d come out on the other side of her grief with stronger faith, not weaker. She also knew she had a purpose in life, one that wasn’t realized yet.

“I’m not willing, so there must be something else they want or a way for me to get through this. I refuse to believe differently.”

Allen grinned. “That’s the spirit.” He made his way out of the station and led her to his car, then opened the door for her.

Mom had thought Heather was precocious, smarter than her years, but naïve when it came to people. She wanted to trust everyone. That was partly why she trusted her father so implicitly. He’d been right about Luke, the officer who’d left her to further his career. Dad had seen that Luke would never care for her the way she needed. He would never put her needs above his work. True to form, he’d let her down spectacularly, then left her when she was upset about it.

Dad had been right, and now she knew she had to trust him.

When they arrived back at home, she didn’t wait for Allen to come around. He’d let her sit in the front, which allowed her to open the door, instead of the back where she wouldn’t be able to leave until he let her out. Nothing seemed quite right now. Funny how getting chased and shot at could change how she felt about the place she loved.

“Take your time. It’s okay. I’ve got my team working on everything else right now, so I can focus completely on this.” He handed her a pair of booties and gloves.

She appreciated his effort and hoped this wouldn’t take long for either of them. If Dad was back by supper, she could forget about this day and all the things she’d been through so far. Inside, she headed for Dad’s laptop. It had been moved and felt gritty to the touch. She plugged in the password. Even though the device had been manhandled, it whirred to life.

“If they looked through this computer, they couldn’t have found what they were looking for or they would’ve taken this, right?” She looked up at Allen who seemed to hover nearby.

“I would agree with that. Want me to get your computer from your car?”

She’d planned to do that. But, if the shooter returned, they’d have the device they wanted, which would mean they could kill her and Dad. “That’s a good idea but we should look at that in a more secure location. Right now, I want to look around at what isn’t destroyed.” She stood and did a slow circle, taking in the room, remembering she shouldn’t touch anything.

“Why is that? If they wanted something, it would make sense to hunt through what they tried to search through to figure out what that is.” He crossed his arms and tilted his head, genuinely looking like he wanted to hear her thoughts.

She raised her chin so she could appear confident. “They didn’t find whatever it was. Oliver was right. If they’d found what they were looking for, they’d have killed me. So, whatever it is should still be here.”

“And I’ll say again, what if that is you?”

She shook her head. “I’m not a drive. They said I needed to give them a drive. So, unless they want me to take them somewhere, they couldn’t be looking for me specifically. More likely, they must think I know something my father doesn’t or have something he doesn’t.” Which was terrifying. What did she know that Dad didn’t? Could it be one of her clients or information on one of them?

“That’s why I think we need to look at what is still here. I’m not saying we should discount the mess. They want something having to do with photography. They focused heavily on our files, Dad’s camera case, and his computer. I just wish I knew what they meant by ‘drive’.” She headed for the file cabinet and tugged open the bottom drawer. It stuck slightly with the weight of the open drawers above it. “Unless they meant this?”

Allen followed her to the table and flicked the kitchen light on with his pen as she opened a three-ring binder filled with plastic sheets meant to hold trading cards. Dad had found them useful for holding the thumb drives of all his clients. She’d started adding her own a year ago.

“Oh, wow.” Allen hovered his finger over the stickers down each one that had dates, occasions, and names on them. “Do you have every photo you’ve taken in here? There must be thousands.”

The awe in his voice made her feel like she was worthy of praise. So often, people compared her to her father, and she always felt lacking. “Probably closer to tens of thousands, if you count both our contributions. Each set has hundreds of photos. Some will never be shown to anyone except me and Dad. Others have sold for thousands of dollars.”

“That’s really amazing. Do you think they could possibly be looking for something on one of these drives?” He sat next to her. “I admit, I didn’t even think of something like this.”

“I don’t know. It occurred to me earlier that we might have accidentally taken a picture of a crime. I don’t know how we wouldn’t know that, though, with the detailed editing process we do.” If they’d photographed a crime, that would be obvious, wouldn’t it?

“I suppose that’s true.” He glanced at his watch. “I honestly didn’t think this was going to be as big of a case as it looks like it will be. Wall gets pretty quiet after tourist season and leading up to the holidays. I have to keep the peace, or I won’t be sheriff longer than one term. We’re known for being rural and quiet. You have my promise that this case will get handled as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible.”

She appreciated that even if the speed would help him too. The people of Wall had little to talk about when they weren’t trying to avoid the huge crowds that took over the whole center of the town from Memorial Day all the way to Labor Day. Rain or shine. Free water had been the original draw, but now people could get fudge, bison burgers, and trinkets galore, all while getting a little history. If anyone started talking about her father and his kidnapping, they might start pointing fingers at her. She had no other talent or expertise. “I’m glad. Both because I want my father back and because I don’t need to be any more of a target than I already am.”

The way Allen nodded made her realize that he’d come to that conclusion far before she had.

* * *

Allen movedfrom window to window inside Heather’s small single-level home, making sure he wasn’t taken by surprise again. The longer they were there, the more he itched to get her far away from this house until they found the people who’d abducted her father. If she had evidence against someone she didn’t know about, then she was in danger.

He’d been considering for the last hour if he should call in witness protection or what tactic he needed to use to protect her. He had to keep whatever he did completely quiet though. Any hint of a major case in Wall and people would be banging on his door, accusing him of failing them. He’d campaigned on the promise of continued peace and quiet, and he had to keep his word.