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Vincent Romo was on his way to Mexico. He’d picked up a burner phone before he left Miami, removed the SIM card from his phone, and tossed the shell. He knew he’d fucked up someone’s plans, but shit happened. Those damn kids appearing at Townley’s door unannouncedhad fucked up his. He coughed, then sneezed into his sleeve and kept driving, confident that he was in the clear and about to disappear.
Snow was impeding the recovery of evidence from the crash site. One team was working frantically, taking photos of everything from every angle and bagging everything in sight to get it out of the weather, while the other team was on foot in the woods, looking for the site of the midair explosion. They found their first piece of wreckage nearly a mile east of the crash site—remnants of one of the seats in the chopper, covered in blood and bits of human remains. Then they found part of the smaller rotor from the tail of the chopper, partially embedded in the ground, along with scattered pieces of the fuselage. Recovering all this was crucial, because what they had left at the crash site was mostly ashes.
But it was the bomb fragment connected to part of a cell phone they found embedded beneath that seat cushion that clinched the search for proof that the explosion had been intentional. It was the confirmation they needed to rule this murder, and they radioed their lead investigator to let him know. A team from the FBI was already headed to the site on foot, but with firm evidence now, the investigation went into overdrive.
Wolfgang Outen was a billionaire with his fingers inbusinesses all over the world. Some would grieve his death. Others would celebrate. It was the ones with the most to gain that they were looking at first.
Shirley Pope was on her way down the mountain with a pot of vegetable beef soup and two pecan pies. One pie was for Aaron and Dani, and one for Wiley. She’d already called Dani to let her know she was on the way and could tell by the rasp in Dani’s voice that she was still suffering from the smoke. She would know when she got there if Dani was up for company or not, but Shirley just needed to hug her for the blessing of still being alive. Then to her surprise, as she pulled up into the driveway, Dani came out of the house to meet her.
“Mom! I’m so glad to see you! Give me something to carry,” she said, as Shirley got out.
Shirley handed her the tote with both pies and picked up the pot of soup.
“This is it,” Shirley said. “Lead the way. It’s freezing.”
The house was warm and inviting, and Dani kicked the front door shut behind her as they headed for the kitchen.
“What wonderful things have you brought to spoil me this time?” Dani asked, as she set down the pies.
Shirley put the soup pot beside them, dropped her purse, and took off her coat, and then gave Dani a hug.
“My darling daughter, you are a wonder. I don’t quiteknow how you found the strength to do what you did, but I’m so grateful you are okay.”
It was the gentle tone in Shirley voice and the warmth of her embrace that shattered Dani’s composure. One moment she’d been smiling and the next she was sobbing on Shirley’s shoulder.
“I thought we would all die. I didn’t think we could get the children out in time. I didn’t think I would see Aaron again. It was terrible. Worse than hiding in the closet waiting to be murdered. Worse than being stalked. Those times I knew my enemy. But I never saw this coming!”
“I know, honey, I know.”
Shirley kept hugging her and rocking her where they stood until Dani had cried herself out, and then Shirley took her by the hand and settled them down by the fireplace.
The flames from the gas logs were hypnotizing as the silence wrapped around them. Finally, Dani sighed.
“Thank you for that. I cried last night, but I couldn’t seem to find a way to let go. I was still in fight mode, I guess. And Aaron was so worried about me this morning, leaving me on my own that I pretended I was fine. I didn’t want him to think I was coming undone because they needed him at the precinct. They’re shorthanded because of guarding the crash site.”
Shirley nodded, just letting her talk, but there was no hiding the dark circles beneath her eyes. When she finally stopped talking, Shirley reached for her hand.
“You’re cold, honey.”
Dani nodded. “I know. I feel cold all the way to my bones.”
“How about a bowl of my beef vegetable soup and a piece of pecan pie?”
“Is that what you brought?” Dani cried.
“Yes. One of the pies is for Wiley. I texted him to let him know I was dropping it off here.”
“Will you eat with me?” Dani asked.
“If you want the company, I’d love to,” Shirley said.
“Please! I always want your company,” Dani said.
They went back into the kitchen arm in arm and, minutes later, were eating soup and drinking hot tea.
Amalie was freezing. She’d been in and out of shops all day, stopping only long enough to have a cup of soup at one of the shops, but the trip was successful. Everything she’d purchased was being delivered to her office in a couple of days, and there was a little box of homemade fudge in the seat beside her. All she wanted to do was go home, take a long hot bath, and get ready for her date with Sean. The sky was clearing. The snow had stopped falling, and the streets were clear as she headed back to her neighborhood.
Normally, there would be children playing out in the yards, but today, the residential area of Jubilee was quiet. Nobody was outside, and as she passed the street parallel to the elementary school, she couldn’t help butnotice the number of people and vehicles still behind the school, and the black burned-out hull of what was left of the chopper.
