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CHAPTER FIVE

Washington State

A ddie pulled up outside the house at the end of the street. Two days at the field office in Seattle getting briefed, and now she was here.

Okay, fine. So it had been more like a week of trying to convince someone—anyone—to take the assignment, so she didn’t have to. But Zimmerman was right. The field office was overworked and understaffed, and no one was interested in Benson and a case that might not even be a case.

The only plus she could see was that the town didn’t even look like the same place where she’d grown up.

She couldn’t believe how far Benson sprawled these days. It seemed like the whole area was a mini-city, spread over what used to be forest. Now there were people and cars everywhere.

The front yard had been cleared of leaves, but the dead summer flowers still filled barrels on either side of the front steps. Maybe they were older than the last growing season. What did she know?

Addie hadn’t been here in…it didn’t matter.

She shut the engine off and looked back at the main street that led into the neighborhood, just in case she caught a glimpse of the white Toyota that had been following her. The last thing she needed was a tail that led right to the old rundown house where her uncle lived with her sister.

Addie didn’t enjoy explaining the intricacies of her family situation to anyone. It was messed up whatever way she sliced it that days after she was released from the hospital, her mom and mom’s boyfriend had packed up and moved to Arizona, leaving Addie with her uncle. A couple of years later they’d dropped off Addie’s baby sister.

They hadn’t been back since.

She climbed out. There might not be much in its nuance, but she was better than them. She texted. She called. Mostly she worked. And what was wrong with that? There were people in the world who were alive because of Addie’s commitment to her job.

Her calling.

Her new mission, and her way to do something for the greater good. Be part of a team. The Lord knew she was no good on her own. All she’d ever been was a pretty face, no substance. Being a cop meant something.

She’d stared evil in the face and lived to tell about it—as well as seek to understand. So she missed a couple of thanksgivings. That didn’t mean she would one day be the kind of mother who abandoned her child just to live her life.

Addie grabbed her keys but none of her things.

The door was permanently unlocked, and today was no exception. Not many people here locked their cars or houses. She didn’t even know where the key to this place was.

The entryway was empty, except for the shoes. Jackets and boots. Her uncle’s keys hung on their ring, and his truck was down the side of the house. So he wasn’t out. He was here.

On the wall beside the living room opening was a framed certificate—an award commemorating exceptional service to the US Government by Deputy Marshal Russell Franklin.

Addie inhaled. Her uncle had quit smoking cigars years ago, but the house still held that oaky tang. “Russ, you here?”

There was a two second pause of complete silence, and then, “Addie?”

She yelled back, “Yeah!”

“Office!”

Buster’s leash still hung by the door. He should’ve thrown that out with the cigars.

Addie wandered through the house to the office where he’d worked for as long as she could remember—taking cases freelance after he retired from the marshals. Skip tracing. Who knew what else. She’d learned it was best not to ask because he certainly wasn’t going to offer up the information.

He stood at the doorway, a frown on his face as she approached. Addie was trying to figure out how to play this off when he said, “You need a nap.”

She’d never been able to pull anything over on a man trained to spot the inconsistency in any story. “That’s only part of why I’m here.”

Sure, she needed rest—according to Matt. According to him, she also needed to get to work, so she figured Zimmerman’s opinion didn’t matter. She was here now, under the Seattle office assistant director.

Matt Zimmerman’s view didn’t have any sway.

He motioned over his shoulder. “I’m in the middle of something. Then we can talk about this new assignment of yours.”

“You know about that?”

He just smiled that grin of his.

“Coffee?”

“Sleep,” Russ ordered. “You’ve been driving, and you haven’t stopped working since you landed, right? I’ll make the coffee, and when you wake up from a nap, we can have a conversation.”

Uh-oh. Addie winced. Seemed like he kept close tabs on her. “Sounds great.”

She wasn’t going to admit she liked the idea, even if it was snooping.

He peered toward the front door. “Moving truck?”

“I didn’t get that far before I left.” She’d figured she was either not staying in Benson that long, or she would pay someone to pack her things and move them here.

While he finished up whatever he was in the middle of, she would get back in her car and find a bed and breakfast…the next state over.

She peeked over his shoulder and saw two men on the monitor of his computer. One had dark hair that fell over his forehead. The other filled the screen, a blond guy with a muscle shirt on—and one arm missing just below his shoulder.

She frowned.

Russ cleared his throat.

“Okay, fine. I’ll disappear again even though I just got here.” She walked away down the hall.

“I know how to find you.”

She waved, though a pang moved through her. She wanted to be someone found—especially by a good man like Russ. But did it always have to be her uncle? Couldn’t she be seen by a hot guy who just got her without either of them having to explain? At least she had this—because her mom sure hadn’t given her anything. Addie had stayed away from Benson too long, but the fact they cared about each other wasn’t something likely to change anytime soon.

Too bad she couldn’t be good at her job and the kind of niece and sister who visited regularly. The two were not mutually exclusive. It didn’t work like that—kind of like life. It wasn’t possible to have everything. If it was, she would know someone who did.

Addie hauled her suitcase and purse in from the car and dumped both inside the door of her old bedroom. It looked the same, except he’d hung a photo from her FBI graduation on the wall. The two of them stood together, Russ smiling in a way she’d never seen.

Mona had been at an elementary school science camp that week.

Addie looked at the screen of her watch. Her sister would be home from school soon unless she was working her job at the chicken sandwich chain in town. Maybe she and Russ could go there for dinner.

She pulled her cell from her purse and laid on top of the comforter. Four missed calls, all from an unknown number. No voicemails.

Addie tapped and scrolled through her apps, then the social media accounts she kept but rarely posted on. She wasn’t connected to anyone she knew—mostly, they were used for work when she needed to look up a victim or suspect. She played a couple of rounds of a word game and realized her eyes were getting heavy.

When she woke up, the lamp beside the bed was on, and she had a blanket over her.

Instead of it being dark outside, light streamed between the curtains. Muted by the cloudy sky and the rain that pattered against the glass.

A shadow outside shifted.

Addie blinked.

A figure stood out the window, hood up. Face in shadow.

She gasped and sat up. Her stomach muscles clenched. She reached for a gun she usually set on the side table. It was still in her suitcase, in the lockbox.

She looked once at the door, then back. The figure was gone.

Addie shoved back the covers and moved to the window. She stood beside the frame, out of sight, and shifted the curtain to peer out.

No one.

The house was cold enough she had to fight a shiver. Addie pulled the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her.

Probably just a figment of her imagination. The remnant of some forgotten dream.

She still wore her suit from yesterday. After a quick shower, she changed into layers of every warm item she had, wrapped the blanket around her again, and headed for the kitchen.

A young woman in jeans and purple Converse sneakers stood at the counter with a T-shirt and jean jacket on her top half. Her hair had been straightened to within an inch of its life and was the same color as Addie’s.

The print on the wall was different. Before an old reproduction of a Thomas Kinkaid hung there. Now it was a striking black and white photo of Mount Hood that seemed familiar.

“Hey, kiddo.”

Mona turned toast in one hand. She took a huge bite. “Hey.”

She’d gotten better with makeup since last time. Addie had handed down her old car when she upgraded two years ago—the summer Mona passed her driving test.

“School today?”

“Yep. Math first, and my teacher is a pain, so I’ve gotta go.” She left her plate on the counter, along with the jam—the lid beside it—and breezed to the door with the remains of the toast in one hand.

Addie sighed to the empty kitchen and brushed back her wet hair. She kept the blanket around her while she poured herself a cup of coffee and trailed down the hall. Russ sat at his desk with the door open. Since there was a couch there, she took a seat while he pecked at the keyboard.

“You should take a typing class.”

“You should keep your opinions to yourself.” He looked over and gave her a toothy grin.

Addie took a long mouthful of coffee and then leaned her head back. “I slept a while.”

“You slept nineteen hours.”

Addie blinked.

“How long have you been pushing yourself?”

“Big case,” Addie said. “All hands on deck, and a complex profile to construct. It took a few months.” The two days in Seattle had been no less busy.

“You caught the guy?”

She closed her eyes. The report was going to say that he’d gotten under her skin, and she hadn’t wanted to follow orders even before that. Benning had played her because he knew more about Addie than she knew about him. That she hadn’t been able to handle the stress of being that close to the suspect.

Her jaw clenched. Now she’d been reassigned.

The writing on the wall.

“You didn’t catch him?”

She held herself still under his scrutiny. “Benning is in custody. I was told to come here.”

“A new assignment?” Just like that, he was back in “police” mode. Addie had to fight the squirm of being under the spotlight gaze of a seasoned investigator.

She took a sip of coffee. “Seems like you might know more about it than me.”

“I make a point to be informed. Planning on staying here?” Gathering intel. Forming a conclusion. What would he find her guilty of?

“I can get a hotel room.”

“So you can tell yourself it’s temporary. You’re only here for a trip, so you’ve got an out when it gets too hard, and you can’t handle it anymore.”

Seriously? “If it does, it’ll be your fault.”

“Now you sound like Mona.”

Addie frowned. “What’s wrong with Mona?”

“Other than the fact she’s a teenage girl?” He patted that barrel chest and the denim shirt that covered it. The guy was built like an ox. Or an old oak nothing could fell. “I’m what’s wrong with her.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Addie sipped her coffee.

“She gets straight As. She shows up to work and she doesn’t spend all her money as soon as she gets paid. I don’t much like what I’ve heard about that new boyfriend of hers, but she always gets home before curfew. What’s there to talk about?”

Addie took a sip of her coffee. She needed fortitude in the form of Russ’s pancakes if she was going to venture into this minefield. He’d raised her. She shouldn’t be concerned now he was raising Mona as well.

They needed a change in subject. “We could talk about who it was at the FBI that assigned me here.”

He snorted. “That boyfriend of yours gave the order, right?”

“We aren’t dating anymore.” Because he was reconciling with his wife. “And I’m going to find out who sent me here.” Then she’d know if this was worth fighting.

“Hmm.”

Addie wasn’t going to ask what that meant. “You know why I can’t be here.” She sighed. “I need breakfast. Want anything?”

“There’s a sausage breakfast casserole in the fridge. One of the ladies from church saw your car yesterday and dropped it off. Cinnamon rolls, too.”

“Seriously?”

“You’re home.” He shrugged. “It’s a big deal.” He turned away.

Addie gathered the blanket and now-empty mug and moved to the back of his chair. She leaned down and kissed his prickly face. “I missed you.”

He said, “Hmm,” again, but nothing else.

“What was that video call about yesterday?”

Russ reached to a white envelope on the desk beside his mouse and slid it under a manila file. “Nothing. Just some business.”

Addie rolled her eyes and went in search of sustenance. It was either nothing, or it was business. It was unlikely both of those things.

She laid the blanket on a chair and stared at the kitchen. What on earth was she going to do? Probably it was the season that left her feeling like this. The way she’d felt when her mom left her on the porch.

Russ hadn’t even been home. Back then he’d locked his doors. Until she sat there for three hours after her mom left her. Forty-five degrees. Eight years old, Viv. How could you do that to her? She’d walked out of the room before he finished his phone conversation.

Nothing good ever happened in February.

Still, at least it wasn’t fall. Homecoming…

She shuddered. She should start by not thinking about that. Then get to work.

Being back wasn’t about closure. Neither was it about that case file with her name listed as the victim.

Just the hundreds since then with her listed as one of the investigating agents. The lead profiler, part of a team that saved lives.

Clean slate.

Hardly. Someone was trying to get her kicked out of the FBI, and she was going to find out exactly what Benson had on its hands.

Take down a killer.

Figure out who sent her here.

There was no reason she couldn’t do both, even if the odds of her success were nil. Like the odds of her convincing her mom to stick around.

Just stay here. Russ will take care of you.

It didn’t matter what mom had said to her.

Addie was going to take care of herself.