Page 25 of Dangerous December (Northern Pines Suspense #8)

“ No one caught the license on that car?” Dev stared across Frank’s hospital bed at Sheriff Long in disbelief. “There were people everywhere—some still in the booths along the street. Pedestrians on the sidewalk. It looked like the car was parked before it sped up and hit Frank.”

The sheriff’s bushy red eyebrows drew together. “Several people identified the make and model of the vehicle. A witness said he saw a male get behind the wheel.“

“H e had a cell phone in his hand. I saw it gleam. But it was too dark to make out his face.”

“It’s definitely a hit-and-run, all right. That driver will face serious charges when we find him.”

“So what are you doing about it?”

“I’ve put out an alert for a car of that description with possible front fender damage, and the radio and newspaper have run it as well.

From the few accounts we have, it appeared to be an accident, not intentional.

Probably a moment of distraction by the cell phone, confusion between the brake and accelerator pedals, or plain, bad judgment. ”

“But there will be charges, right?”

“If we find him, and the investigation warrants it, yes. But Mr. Ferguson failed to pay attention to the shouts of warning, so some responsibility is in his court.”

“From what I saw—”

“You were stressed, experiencing great anxiety and an adrenaline rush, no doubt, when you saw an elderly friend wander into the path of a car going down the street.”

At that, Frank slowly opened his eyes and glared at the sheriff. “I’m not elderly, and I never ‘wander.’ I stride, with great purpose.” Shifting slightly in bed, he winced in pain. “Though after this mishap, the doctors say I may not be doing that so well anymore.”

Dev rested a hand on Frank’s shoulder while he looked the sheriff straight in the eye. “A significant concussion and fractures of his femur and ankle aren’t serious enough?”

The sheriff stiffened. “Like I said, we’ll do what we can.”

Dev listened to the sheriff’s heavy footsteps move down the hall. “Well, what did you think of that example of small-town police work?”

“Guess I should’ve kicked the bucket, so he’d stand up and take notice.”

Dev cracked a smile. “Don’t go having second thoughts.”

“Definitely not.” Frank beamed. “Reva came to visit first thing this morning. She brought me new hearing aid batteries and she read me my greeting cards.”

“I thought you’d read them all. You were telling me about some of the messages.”

Frank’s eyes twinkled. “It sure doesn’t hurt to hear them again.”

“So, at least there was a small silver lining in all of this.”

Until yesterday, Frank had been in a lot of pain, and in a fog from his pain meds. Today, he looked better, and he’d even been able to flirt a little with the woman he admired.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Dev looked out the window and saw the sheriff wedging his belly behind the wheel of his patrol car. “I wonder if Sheriff Long will follow through with an investigation.”

Frank rolled his head against the pillow. “We’ve had better sheriffs over the years. But so far, this one hasn’t absconded with county funds or used his budget to finance a trip to Vegas, so he’s better than most.”

He gave Dev a calculating look. “The town could still do better. He’ll be up for re-election next year. You could let me run your store, and look into giving him a run for his money.”

“Me?” Dev snorted.

“With your military service, why not? Might just be the breath of fresh air we need around here.”

Staying in Agate Creek had never been on his list of possibilities, yet now, he had the beginnings of a new retail venture, and there might even be other opportunities to explore.

Dev rolled his shoulders, tensing the muscles, testing his shoulder mobility. Pain lanced down his arm like a lightning bolt, sharp enough to make him draw in a quick breath.

It would heal in time, enough for whatever the civilian world held for him. The future no longer looked as grim as it had back at the VA, when his life had changed in the thirty seconds it took for that fresh-faced doctor to give him the bad news.

He thought of Beth and felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe the future wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Beth smiled at the residents of Sloane House who were seated at the dining room table and took an empty seat next to Dev. “Sorry we were slow to schedule our monthly meeting with you all.”

“After what happened to Frank, none of us even thought of it,” Reva said. “In our spare time, we try to visit him as often as we can.”

“It’s great that you do,” Dev said. “He appreciates everyone’s visits very much. The hours must drag, lying in a hospital bed day after day.”

Carl nodded. “Any word on when they’ll spring him?”

“His doctors are saying that he might be released soon, but he’ll be housebound for some time. He’ll need visits from a home health aide and physical therapists for a month or two...maybe more.”

Elana bit her lower lip. “He will need a first-floor room. I can give him the one Cody and I share. We might be leaving in December or January, so we could take his small room upstairs.”

“That soon?” Beth exchanged a startled look with Dev. Elana was so wary about the least shadows—how could she manage alone? “Don’t rush things if you don’t have to. When we were discussing your future plans earlier, didn’t you say you were figuring on late spring?”

“With my jobs at the bookstore and the motel, I will soon be ready to be on my own.” She looked down at an envelope on the tablecloth in front of her. “After Christmas, I will start looking for a small place that will work for Cody and me.”

Beth frowned. No matter how she and Elana had juggled the numbers recently, a move into a private apartment was almost impossible, unless...

“Did you hear something from the college?”

Elana’s lower lip trembled as she smiled and held the envelope aloft. “I have been accepted into the college, yes. Spring term.”

Applause broke out around the table.

“That’s wonderful,” Reva exclaimed as she rounded the table to give the younger woman a hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Elana,” Dev said. “Did you hear anything about your financial aid package?”

“Not yet. But I called. The secretary said I should get a letter very soon and that everything will be fine. I qualified for several grants, because I am an older person coming back to school. And,” she added with a shy smile, “because there is a special scholarship for first generation Latinas. It is given by a lady dentist in town.”

“Good news,” Carl said, a smile softening his usual gruff tone.

Elana stood and picked up her envelope. “I am sorry, but I need to help Cody with his homework. Excuse me, please.”

A hush fell over the group after she left the room, then Reva cleared her throat. “I hope she isn’t trying to move out too quickly. She has a lot of responsibility, with Cody to take care of. Here, we watch him for her so she doesn’t need to worry about babysitters.”

Carl nodded. “I’ll miss that little guy if he moves on.”

“Dev and I will talk to her,” Beth said quietly. “I know we all want her to make the right decision.”

“So as far as the rest of you go, how are you doing?” Dev leaned back in his chair.

“I’ve put in three more job applications, but nothing so far. Just because I’m almost fifty-nine with a few little heart problems, they see me coming and imagine the worst,” Carl grumbled. “I’d put in twice the work most of those young kids would—no work ethic in any of them, these days.”

Beth tapped her pen against her lower lip. “I would’ve thought that you’d receive long-term disability, since you were hurt on the job.”

“The railroad said I can’t prove I was, and the pension I get right now isn’t enough to live on.”

“Did you have a lawyer work on this?”

“With what? I didn’t have any money.”

“That’s going to be my next project, Carl.” Beth jotted a note on her tablet. “I’ll look into legal assistance options and see what we can do.”

“My former brother-in-law does some pro bono work, but usually for city employees who have been wrongfully fired,” Reva said. “I can ask him if he could handle this or would know someone with the right experience.”

“Fantastic. Between the two of us, maybe we can come up with something.”

After a moment, she looked up. “How about you, Reva? Is there any way we can help you?”

“First, I want to tell everyone how much this place and your friendship have meant to me over the past few months, while I’ve been trying to decide what to do.”

Reva pressed her lips together. “As you all know too well, I’ve had a hard time getting back on my feet since my husband died. His death and the revelation about our financial picture were a blow, to say the least.”

Carl scowled, his lined face drooping into bulldog wrinkles. “I’d like to give him what-for.”

“But it was my fault, too.” She toyed pensively with her pearl necklace.

“He never wanted me to ‘worry my pretty head’ about our finances, but that was a big mistake on my part. No woman should be as ill-informed as I was for so many years. I just never expected...well, that’s getting to be an old song, isn’t it? ”

“Anyone would struggle with the losses you’ve faced,” Beth said. “Seems to me that you’ve handled everything with a lot of grace.”

“And prayer. It’s sad to think that I might have been neglecting that part of my life all these years. It took these troubles to remind me that I don’t need to rely only on myself.”

Dev looked up from the notebook in front of him. A faint, wry smile touched his mouth. “And that helped.”

“In subtle ways, and in concrete ways I couldn’t have imagined.

Like old friends, calling out of the blue to be supportive.

Chance meetings and the newspaper articles that I’ve come across that speak to my situation.

I’ve had a growing sense of peace that everything, somehow, will work out.

And last night, I got a call from my cousin down in Orlando. ”

Carl leaned forward. “And?”