Holiday Homecoming Secrets

TWO

Bryce turned the flashlight on the shirt. Outside, doors slammed and footsteps headed their way. Two holes, just as she’d said, with brown blood staining the front. Frank’s shirt. “I saw him yesterday,” Bryce said. “And I talked to him on the phone this morning.” The conversation that led him to where he was now.

“Maybe he loaned the shirt to someone,” she said.

“Maybe.”

“Or maybe he donated it to the church fundraiser.” Bryce arched a brow at her and she rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, probably not.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Frank’s number, muscles tense, waiting, praying for his friend to pick up.

Voice mail.

“Hey buddy, give me a call when you get this. We need to talk.” He hung up.

Jade was rubbing her head and staring at the jersey. “I’ll call Heather.”

“Yeah,” Bryce said. “He may have gone over to her place and fallen asleep on the couch or something.” He didn’t think so, though.

Jade’s frown said she wasn’t buying that explanation, either. She dialed Frank’s girlfriend’s number, listened, then hung up. “Voice mail. She’s probably asleep with her phone turned off. We have an early shift in the morning,” she said of her fellow officer. “So, we’ve got a bloodstained shirt with two bullet holes.” Dylan nodded and Jade shrugged. “Where’s the body?” she asked. She’d voiced the question he’d been wondering since she’d pulled the shirt out of the dirt. “We need to search this place from top to bottom,” Jade said.

“Officers are outside,” Dylan said. “I’ll get them on it right away.”

Dylan left and within minutes returned with a handful of officers who started searching.

Bryce led Jade out to the ambulance and motioned for the two paramedics to take her. Once she was settled in the back, he tried Frank’s number once more.

Again, he got voice mail. “I’m going to his house,” he said, hanging up.

“I’d like to go, too,” Jade said, “if you don’t mind. If he’s not there, we need to go find Heather and fill her in on everything.” She flinched when the paramedic who’d introduced himself as Geoff Jones touched the side of her head.

“What’d he hit you with?” Geoff asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “He pushed me into one of the spindles.”

Geoff lifted a brow. “Those things have to be rusty. Have you had a tetanus shot recently?”

“Yes. It’s updated.”

“Good. Then just keep it clean and it should heal nicely. Let me check your eyes one more time.” He shone the light in each, and she blinked when he was finished. “No concussion.”

“I appreciate you checking me out, but I’m fine. Shook up and mad that I let the guy get away, but physically, I’m relatively unhurt.”

“Then let’s go find Frank.” Bryce held a hand out. She blinked, her hesitation lasting only a fraction of a second before she settled her palm against his. He jerked. “Your hands are freezing!”

“I think my adrenaline is crashing,” she said. She glanced at the Geoff. “I’m fine to drive, right?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I don’t see why not. As long as you feel like it.”

“Great.”

“Come on,” Bryce said, still holding her hands, “let’s get you into your squad car so you can warm up.” He moved back, and his leg ached with that now familiar throb that indicated he’d overdone it today. Squashing the anger that was never very far from the surface, he focused on Jade and helped her get settled in the driver’s seat. “You’re sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Why? Are you scared to ride with me?”

He huffed. “No.” Bryce rounded the front of the car and slid into the passenger seat. His leg thanked him.

Dylan stepped up beside Jade’s window, and she lowered it, scattering the soft flakes already sticking to everything. “I imagine the chief is going to tell you to sit tomorrow out,” he told her.

“Probably. And if I need to, I will. Right now, I’m...” She sighed. “I refuse to say ‘fine’ one more time.”

Dylan shot her a tight smile. “All right. I’m going to stay here until these guys are done, then write up my report.” He glanced at the sky. “If I don’t get snowed in.”

“I’ll do the same at some point.”

“Let me know if you find Frank.”

“Will do.”

She rolled up her window, and Bryce shook his head. “You’re one tough lady, aren’t you?”

Jade jerked to look at him. “Me? Tough?” A laugh escaped her. “I don’t know about tough. I just do what I need to do.”

“Definitely tough. You always were.”

Jade wanted to ask what he meant by that, but her heart was thumping so loudly, she wouldn’t be surprised if Bryce could hear it.

Did he know?

No. There was no way he possibly could. She’d planned to tell him, of course, but time had passed, and her secret had become hers and hers alone—albeit an unintentional secret. Her parents didn’t even know everything. “What are you doing back here in Cedar Canyon?” She put the vehicle into Drive and pulled away from the scene. It would take her a short five minutes to get to Frank’s place. She doubted Bryce could tell her everything in that amount of time.

But he could start.

“It’s been six years since you disappeared,” she said. “Six years, Bryce, and no word. Nothing.” A surge of anger swept through her and she did her best to choke it back—only because she wanted to hear what he had to say for himself.

He flicked a glance in her direction. “I know how long it’s been.”

“And it didn’t occur to you that people would want to hear from you? That people might have things they’d like to...ah...share with you?”

He shook his head and sighed. “It did, but I—”

“You even ignored Kristy. Your own sister. She was devastated. Do you know she confessed to me that she even thought you were dead at one point until Frank told her he’d spoken to you on a regular basis?”

“It’s not like I chose that path!” The words snapped from him quick as a whip.

She flinched. “Oh really? So, who chose it for you?”

“Whoever planted that IED in the middle of the road and blew up my Humvee. That’s who.” He slapped a hand against the dash and drew in a deep breath.

“Oh.” She fell silent, waiting for him to continue, afraid he would and equally afraid he wouldn’t.

“Yeah,” he said.

“I’m sorry.”

“I am, too.”

A pause.

“Still could have called or something,” she said.

He gave a short snort of a laugh. “I could have. Should have, yes. And yes, I regret that I didn’t, but I was dealing with stuff. Unfortunately, I can’t change the past.”

“No one can,” she said softly. Boy, was that the truth. Ask him. Ask him why he didn’t call after Frank told him to.

He pulled to a stop at the curb. “We’re here.”

“And so is Frank’s car.” The ranch-style one-story brick house sat on a one-acre plot. Thanks to the barely-there sliver of a moon, the darkness pressed in on them, making it hard to see anything but what the porch light illuminated. Brightly colored lights outlined the perimeter of the roof, and Frank had attached a gold star to the top of the chimney. Christmas was just around the corner, and Frank was fastidious about his decorations. Jade didn’t have to see anything else to know the yard was immaculate. He used gardening and yard work as his stress reliever. Saves me a ton of money on therapy bills, he’d once told her.

“He’s getting the place ready for him and Heather,” she said. “Spends all of his spare time working on it. Heather helps on her days off.”

“The wedding’s coming up soon.”

“Two weeks away.”

He nodded and tapped the wheel. “I always thought I’d be in his wedding.” He sighed. “Life sure does throw you some curveballs sometimes, doesn’t it?” Before Jade could answer, he said, “Was he acting okay with you?”

“I guess. I see more of Heather these days than I do him. Why?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t really explain it. I’ve been talking to him over the last few weeks, and he seemed like he had something on his mind. Like something was bothering him.”

“The latest story he was going after?”

“Could be. I mean, yeah, he was focused on that, but I was just under the impression there was something else.” He opened the car door and stepped out. “Let’s ask him.”

Jade followed him up the porch steps and waited while Bryce rang the bell. “Where are you staying?” she asked him. “At your parents’ place?”

“That mausoleum? No thanks. I’m staying with Kristy and John.” His parents were wealthy and retired, which meant they were rarely at home.

“Sounds like things haven’t changed much between you and your parents.”

“Nope.”

And he wasn’t going to elaborate. No surprise there. He’d never liked talking about them even as a teen. “Are the boys loving having you there?” Kristy and her husband, John, had two boys that Bryce had never met before his return.

“Of course. I’m really enjoying getting to know them.” He swallowed hard. “I hate that I’ve missed so much. I’ll regret that forever.”

At the husky wistfulness in his voice, Jade shut her eyes for a brief moment. “You could have come home sooner,” she said softly.

“I know that now, but back then, I...” He cleared his throat. “Coming home wasn’t an option. I’ll just have to make up for lost time with them.”

“They’re four and eighteen months old. They won’t even know their uncle wasn’t there.”

“But I know.”

She shot a sideways glance at him. “I thought you didn’t like kids.”

He blinked. “What? Of course I like kids. Why would you say that?”

She stared at him. “Because you always said you didn’t want any.”

He sighed. “Just because I don’t want any doesn’t mean I don’t like kids. I used to think I’d be a terrible dad, so why bring a kid into the world just to mess it up?”

“Like your dad?”

“Exactly. I mean, I get that he was super busy trying to provide a living, but as a young boy, I just wanted my dad around. And then when he was around, all he could do was criticize. Once he amassed his fortune, he was more interested in traveling than building a relationship with his kids. I grew up never knowing what having a dad was like. How can I be a father—a good father—without having that?” A shrug. “At least, that’s how I used to think about it. Now? I don’t know. Being around my nephews has been interesting, to say the least. And eye-opening. Kristy sure doesn’t have any trouble being a good mom.” He shook his head. “It’s made me realize I may have been wrong about some things. A lot of things. Still not sure I’d make a great dad and don’t have any intention of finding out anytime soon, but...”

It was obvious he felt strongly about missing out on his nephews’ lives and his views on having children had shifted a bit, but he wasn’t interested in being a father. So what would happen when she told him he had a five-year-old daughter?

Bryce rang the bell again and hunched into his heavy coat. He needed to keep his mouth shut. Since when did he just blurt out personal stuff?

But this was Jade. Beautiful, loving, unforgettable Jade. Someone he’d thought about daily since he’d left her on the porch steps of her dormitory her senior year six years ago, but he knew he didn’t deserve her—because she’d deserved better than him even back then. And he’d had his own dreams to follow.

So he’d left. But he’d gone with the plan to make it up to her, to stay in touch and see if they could make a long-distance relationship work—if she was even interested. Not long after that, the explosion had ripped apart more than pieces of his body. For a while, it seemed like it had shredded his soul, too.

“Bryce?”

He blinked and shook off the thoughts. “He’s not answering.”

“I know. That’s what I said three times.” She frowned. “Are you okay?”

“No, not really.” He walked to the nearest window, wiped the snow off, and tried to peer through the blinds. Impossible.

“I’m going in,” Jade said.

“How?”

“With the key he keeps under the fake turtle.” She moved the piece of decoration from the mulch and snagged the key.

“He never told me about that, either,” Bryce murmured.

“You weren’t here, Bryce. Why would he tell you that?”

He flinched.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice more gentle. “I’m not trying to rub it in that you weren’t here. It’s just that...”

“I wasn’t here. It’s truth. You’re not rubbing it in. Forget it. Let’s just find Frank.”

She nodded, opened the door, and stepped over the threshold, wiping her feet on the mat. “Frank? You here?”

Bryce followed. “Hey Frank, where are you, buddy?”

Silence echoed back at them. Together, they walked through the house. “It’s neat,” she said, and sniffed. “He just cleaned not too long ago. Probably yesterday.”

“He does love that pine scent his grandmother always used.”

“She gave him a case of it when he moved in two years ago,” she said. “I doubt even with his routine cleaning, he’s used it all up yet.”

“Two years. I missed a lot during my self-imposed exile, didn’t I?”

She shot him a tight smile and moved to Frank’s desk in the corner of his den. Bryce slipped up beside her to look over her shoulder. That familiar light strawberry-and-vanilla scent he associated with her filled his senses. He stepped back, and she wiggled the mouse on Frank’s laptop. “Any idea what his password would be?”

“Heather?”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a guess.”

She typed it in. “Nope.”

Bryce spotted a piece of paper sticking out of the top drawer and pulled on it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A name. Tony Swift.”

“I know him,” Jade said. “He owns the shooting range where a bunch of cops practice when they don’t want to use the one at the station.”

“Maybe he was meeting someone there.”

“Maybe.” They continued the search and made it full circle back to the front door with no other information they could deem useful in the search for their friend, but Bryce was hopeful Tony Swift could answer a few questions.

“The place is spotless as always. Doesn’t look like there’s anything to be worried about,” Bryce said.

“Other than the fact that it’s the middle of the night, his car is here, but he’s not home or answering his phone.”

“He could be asleep in a hotel with his phone turned off.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea. You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. I was just hoping...” He paused. “Let me check his closet. Maybe he had a last-minute trip and he just didn’t bother telling anyone.” He didn’t believe that, but...

Back in Frank’s bedroom, Bryce opened the closet door and hope dissipated. Jade stood at the entrance to the room, her expression anxious. “Suitcases are here,” he said. He riffled through the hanging clothes. “And his jersey’s missing.” The bad feeling he’d had earlier when Jade had pulled the shirt from the dirt returned full force.

“Could be in a drawer,” she said.

Bryce shook his head. “He hangs it. At least, he used to hang his jerseys. He wouldn’t change his habits now.”

“He could have—”

“No, he couldn’t have. He hangs it up. You remember in high school, he had those two jerseys? He always hung them up. He wouldn’t do anything different now.”

She drew in a deep breath, obviously looking for her patience. “I was going to say, he could have worn it and tossed it in the dirty clothes basket.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He could have. Bryce stepped into the en suite bathroom. The empty hamper mocked him. He checked every drawer and under the sink. “It’s not there. Washer and dryer are empty, too.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’m out of ideas, then.” Her eyes met his. “I’m scared, Bryce.”

“Ping his phone.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.” She put the call in to dispatch and asked for the information.

Then hit the speaker button.

Bryce waited, impatience clawing at him. Finally, the operator came back on the line. “I’m sorry, Jade, I can’t get a signal on the phone. It’s either turned off or the battery’s dead.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you trying for me.” She hung up and pressed her fingers to her eyes. “I really don’t like this.”

“Me either. Let’s go wake Heather.”

THREE

Heather opened the door on the third knock, her bleary blue eyes blinking rapidly. Jade noticed she held her service weapon in her right hand. “Jade?”

“Hi, Heather,” Bryce said.

“Bryce? Bryce Kingsley?” Heather launched herself into Bryce’s arms and hugged him. He returned the hug until Heather leaned back and cupped his face. “Wow, is that really you?”

“It’s me.”

“Frank said he’d been talking to you and that you were coming home to open a PI business.”

“Yeah. At some point.”

“Well...um...it’s good to see you.”

Heather gave him one more hug, then motioned them inside. Jade swallowed as Bryce shut the door behind him. She didn’t want to admit she was a little jealous of Heather’s enthusiastic greeting. She’d wanted to do the very same thing when she’d first seen Bryce in the mill. Throw herself against him and hug him, run her hands over his features and reassure herself that he was real. But she hadn’t. The fact that she’d wanted to scared her silly. Bryce had walked out of her life and she’d managed to survive. The fact that he was back in it didn’t mean anything had to change.

You’re lying to yourself. Everything’s going to change.

It was just a matter of when. But there wasn’t a thing she could do about it right now.

Heather set her gun on the counter just inside the door to the kitchen that was next to the small foyer, where they now stood a bit awkwardly. “What are you guys doing? It’s the middle of the night.” Her eyes sharpened. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“We hope nothing,” Jade said. “Let’s go into the den and we’ll explain.”

“No,” Heather said. Jade froze at the sharpness and Heather held up a hand. “Sorry. Can we go in the kitchen, please? I’ve torn up the floor in there to start fixing the place up to put it on the market. Frank and I don’t need two places. And besides, I’m thirsty.”

The three of them took a seat at the kitchen table while Heather retrieved water bottles from the refrigerator.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she said, unscrewing the cap and taking a long swig from the bottle.

Jade explained about the attack at the old mill and finding the jersey with the autograph on the left shoulder. “It has to be Frank’s,” she said. “Do you know where he is?”

“Well, before you asked, I would have assumed he was home in bed. Obviously he’s not.” She rubbed her eyes, a slow fear building in them. “What are you not telling me? Is he okay?”

“We’re not sure,” Jade said. She should have known better than to try to leave out details. “That jersey we found at the mill? It...ah...it had two bullet holes in the front and is covered with dried blood.”

“What?” Heather paled. “His Panthers jersey?”

“Yes.”

“But...no. It can’t be his.” A short, humorless laugh escaped her. “I mean, he just wore it the other day.” She snagged her phone from her robe pocket and tapped the screen. From her seat, Jade heard it go straight to voice mail. “Frank, this is Heather. I know it’s the middle of the night, but I don’t care. Call me as soon as you get this message.” She hung up and tried four more times before she finally set the phone on the table and clasped her hands in front of her. Her gaze bounced between Jade and Bryce. “There’s got to be some explanation.” She stood. “I’ll get dressed and head to his house.”

“We’ve already been there,” Bryce said, and Heather froze. “I’m sorry, Heather, but he’s not there.”

“But his car is,” Jade said. “I know that when he flies, he sometimes takes a car service, but I don’t recall him saying anything about taking a trip anytime soon—outside of your honeymoon.”

Heather shook her head. “No trips scheduled. At least, none that I know of. Every so often he takes off and calls me from the road if it’s a last-minute thing with the paper, but—” She checked her phone. “Nothing but your missed calls. He’s got to be here in town somewhere.” She raised her brows. “Or he went to see Lisa.” His sister lived an hour away in Charlotte. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was shaking her head. “But he would have taken his car, so that can’t be. And he would have left me a message that he was going.” She paced from one end of the kitchen to the other, arms crossed, features taut and pale. She turned. “What about his office?”

Frank worked out of the newspaper office downtown. Jade nodded. “But he’d still have to drive.”

“Unless one of his coworkers picked him up.”

“Let’s find out,” Bryce said. “You have their numbers?”

Heather’s lips quirked even though the action didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m a cop. I don’t think getting their numbers is going to be a problem.” The smile didn’t last long. “But I’ll call his boss. If anyone would know what Frank was up to, it’d be him.”