Thanksgiving Target Read online

  She could offer her credit card, but she might reach her limit fairly quickly. She was still making hefty payments, trying to bring the balance down from when Ted was so ill.

  What if the missing money wasn’t just a bank error? “Max, there’s something you need to know,” she began but was interrupted by Annie’s return.

  “Here you go,” Annie declared, setting a large tray down beside them. “You know, I was thinking about what you said, and I’m pretty sure Melissa had a picture of Gary on her cell phone.”

  “She did?” Max leaned forward. “Are you sure?”

  Annie nodded. “I remember because she claimed Gary was camera shy, always refusing to have his picture taken, but that she’d gotten one of him without his knowing.”

  How odd. Tara exchanged a glance with Max. Why wouldn’t Gary want his picture taken? Max looked just as perplexed. He smiled. “Thanks, Annie. You’ve been a great help.”

  “No problem.” She put her hand on her hip and glanced over their meals. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “No, we should be fine,” Max assured her.

  “All right. I’ll be back in a bit to check on things.” She spun away.

  “Where do you think her cell phone could be?” Max muttered.

  “We can check her apartment,” Tara suggested. She gave a quick, silent prayer of thanks to the Lord for providing her food before taking a bite of her salad.

  “I don’t have a key,” Max said, between bites of his steak sandwich. “And I don’t think her apartment manager is going to let me in.”

  “We could check the hospital,” Tara said helpfully. “If she had any valuables, like a purse or a cell phone when she was admitted, the hospital security department would lock them up for her.”

  “Unless the police took them,” Max pointed out.

  “But why would they? Melissa’s just a case of domestic abuse, and they know her boyfriend was involved. You said yourself they weren’t actively looking for Gary.”

  “True. All we need is her cell phone.” Max’s eyes were full of hope. “We’re finally making progress.”

  “Absolutely.”

  They finished their meal in silence. Annie returned, clearing away their dirty dishes. “Anything else? Did you save room for dessert?”

  “No, thanks,” Max said.

  “I’ll leave your bill here, then.” Annie left the slip of paper facedown on the table. “Oh, and if you’re still looking for information on Gary, you might try getting in touch with Peggy Sue Hamilton.”

  “Peggy Sue Hamilton?” Max echoed. “Is she another server?”

  “She used to be,” Annie leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper. “She was fired last week for being a no call, no-show. But she and Melissa used to go out sometimes. Peggy Sue might know more about Gary.”

  “Do you have her number?” Max asked.

  “Sure. I jotted it down for you.” She handed a slip of paper over to Max. Tara noticed the young waitress seemed rather impressed with Max, going out of her way to help him. And Tara was dismayed to realize she didn’t appreciate the way the younger woman smiled so engagingly at him.

  “Thanks again, Annie. You’ve been very helpful.” Max didn’t seem to notice the young woman’s bright, pretty smile.

  “Any time. Please come back to let me know how Melissa is doing.”

  “Sure.” Max glanced at the bill and took out his wallet to count out the correct amount, including a substantial tip.

  Tara couldn’t blame him. After all, Annie had given them a lot of great information. At least now they had a place to start in their search for Gary.

  They walked out to the car and climbed inside. Once they were seated, Max’s cell phone rang.

  “It’s the detective,” he said, opening his phone. “Did you get him?” When his expression tightened and his mouth thinned, Tara knew Detective Graham wasn’t providing good news. “All right, let us know if you get anything from the car. Thanks for calling.”

  She met Max’s gaze as he shut his phone. “He got away, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah. The brown Ford Taurus was stolen. Your stalker abandoned it about ten miles from your house and must have taken off on foot or stolen another car. The police are going to check the car for fingerprints, but if they don’t find any, we’re right back where we started.”

  Max leaned against the wall of Tara’s cramped office, trying to give her as much room as possible. Her forehead was scrunched with intense concentration as she riffled through her paper files, jotting names on a sheet of paper.

  When she’d insisted on stopping at her office, he couldn’t say no. Especially not after Graham had let him know her stalker had gotten away.

  Tara continued to work, her attention centered on the task in front of her. He shifted, looking away.

  He was too aware of her. Every move. Every emotion flitting across her features. At lunch he’d told her how much he appreciated her being there with him.

  It was true.

  He was startled by how much he was already starting to care for her.

  He needed to get a grip. This was a mistake he’d made before. In Iraq, there was a nurse, Clare, who’d worked in the triage hospital they’d set up in Baghdad. She’d come to him for help when one of the men she’d dated, a guy in his platoon, had been unable to accept it when she’d told him their relationship was over. He’d offered her protection, and a shoulder to cry on. During those weeks he’d helped her out, they’d grown closer. As the weeks passed and they’d spent even more time together, he’d believed he was starting to fall in love with her.

  But his feelings hadn’t been reciprocated.

  Clare told him he was a good friend—and that she’d appreciated his help—but that she’d fallen in love with someone else, a doctor who’d also worked in the triage area.

  He’d felt like a fool, having mistaken her gratitude for something more.

  His bruised heart hadn’t been Clare’s fault. He couldn’t resist helping out a woman in trouble. Hadn’t he proven that again with Tara?

  He didn’t mind providing a helping hand, but he needed to learn how to do that without getting emotionally involved.

  “That’s it,” Tara said finally, sitting back in her chair with a sigh. “I have a list of every man who was involved in any of my cases who even roughly fits the description of my stalker.”

  He straightened and pushed away from the wall. “How many?”

  “Twenty-five.” At his incredulous expression, she grimaced. “I know, it’s a lot. But I went back a couple of years, just in case. I know the stalker has just come after me recently, but it’s possible one of these men was in jail for a while and may have been recently released on parole. I didn’t want to take the chance of missing anyone.”

  “Wise move,” he agreed. “Do you have a fax machine here? We could fax the list to Graham.”

  “Sure.” When she smiled at him, his stomach clenched and he knew he was in trouble. Deep trouble. Tara was too nice. Too likable.

  Too vulnerable.

  She’s a widow, he reminded himself sternly. She loved her husband. She had no interest in him.

  Using his phone, he contacted Graham for a fax number. Once the list was safely in the hands of the police, he grew anxious to leave. They had several clues to follow up regarding Gary. He’d already called Peggy Sue’s cell phone but had gotten her voice mail, so he’d left a message. And he was anxious to get Lissa’s purse from the hospital.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked, opening the office door.

  “I have to make one more phone call first, to check on Beau.”

  He waited for Tara to make the call. From the upbeat tone of her voice he could tell Beau was progressing well. When she hung up, she smiled at him. “Guess what? Beau is going to be released tomorrow.”

  “That’s great,” he said warily, wondering what they’d do with the dog once they’d picked him up. The hotel wasn’t likely to allow pet
s, although he was willing to find a new place to stay, if it would mean making Tara happy.

  She didn’t seem to notice his hesitation as she quickly locked up the office. They made their way outside.

  Inside his rental car he started the car and waited for a break in the traffic. He noticed Tara’s smile had disappeared. Instead she was frowning intently at the list she’d created.

  “Any of those seem more likely now that you’ve had a chance to go through the files?” he asked, as he merged into traffic.

  “Yes.” She frowned. “There’s a man I’d forgotten about. Steve Jasper. He was extremely angry with me two years ago. I hardly remembered the incident because it happened right after the doctors told me there was nothing more we could do for my husband, Ted, who’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, except make him comfortable. I took a leave of absence from work shortly afterward.”

  He could imagine her husband’s plight had been far more important than one of her cases. “So what did happen?”

  “I recommended his ten-year-old daughter be removed from his custody because the school reported suspicious bruises. He had a violent streak I didn’t like—in fact, he lost his temper in the courtroom, which clinched the judge’s decision.”

  A warning chill snaked down his spine. If that guy had laid a hand on Tara…

  “What do you mean, he lost his temper? How?”

  Tara swallowed hard. “He threatened to kill me.”

  SEVEN

  Max tightened his grip on the steering wheel, her words echoing over and over in his mind. He kept his voice even with an effort. “I hope you put Jasper on the top of your list.”

  “I did. And I put a star by his name, asking Detective Graham to follow up on him, first.” She dropped her gaze. She carefully folded her list and tucked it in her purse.

  He tried to concentrate on driving, but his thoughts raced. If Steve Jasper was the guilty man, Max hoped they caught him—and soon. Arson and attempted murder were not petty crimes. The guy deserved a steep jail sentence.

  His admiration for Tara grew, as he realized just how much she dealt with every day in her quest to help people. Clare, too, had given a lot to her patients, wounded soldiers from his platoon and others. He didn’t want to think about the similarities between Tara and Clare. “Good. Jasper definitely sounds like he could be our guy.”

  “I agree.” Tara sat back in her seat with a small sigh.

  Having a list of suspects should help the police move forward with her case. The bombing of her house had given her case a higher priority. Now that they’d done what they could to find Tara’s stalker, he wanted to concentrate on finding Gary. “Let’s head to the hospital, to see if we can get Lissa’s purse and cell phone.”

  “Sure.”

  During the ride to the hospital, Tara fell asleep, her head rolling a little against the back of the seat.

  He pulled up to a stop in the hospital visitor parking lot. Leaving the car running, he turned to look at her. Tara looked so peaceful that he hated to wake her.

  She was clearly exhausted, no doubt having gotten little to no sleep last night. He wished she’d let him drop her off at the hotel while he searched for Gary. But at the same time he knew Tara was much safer with him.

  If this guy, Steve Jasper, was the one who’d bombed her house, leaving Tara to fend for herself was not an option.

  After giving her another ten minutes to rest, he finally shut off the car and reached over to give her a little shake. “Tara? We’re here.”

  “Hmm?” She turned her head toward him, her eyelashes fluttering open. When she realized she’d fallen asleep, she abruptly sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “Sorry about that.”

  “No problem.” He climbed from the car and waited for her to walk around to join him. “I’d like to stop and visit Lissa first.”

  “Of course.”

  Tara accompanied him up to the fourth floor ICU, where he was told Lissa’s condition remained serious but stable. The nurse explained that they were monitoring the pressure in her brain through a special monitor, so they could make sure the swelling wouldn’t get too bad. He was grateful for the care they were giving Lissa. He tried to look on the bright side of things, knowing she hadn’t gotten any worse, but it wasn’t easy. His sister’s bruised and swollen face haunted him.

  Why had she stayed with Gary? Why hadn’t she pressed charges against him? Or moved?

  The little bit he was learning from Lissa’s acquaintances hadn’t reassured him. Had his sister really been so focused on money? If so, why? Was she finding it that hard to make ends meet?

  Maybe when his tour of duty was over he needed to come home. He could support Lissa while she went back to school. Her chances of getting a better paying job increased substantially if she earned a college education.

  He wasn’t sure what sort of job he could get in the private sector, but he had a strong back and didn’t mind hard work. He was sure he could pick up something.

  After a short visit with Lissa, he turned to leave. Tara knew the hospital better than he did, so she led the way downstairs to the main security desk. Getting Lissa’s belongings wasn’t as easy as he’d thought. The security guard on duty wanted them to come back Monday, during normal business hours, but Tara was persistent, and in the end, the security guard finally relented.

  “I’ll need your signatures here and here,” he said, indicating the blank lines on the bottom of two different forms. “And if my boss has an issue with this on Monday, I’m going to tell him to call you.”

  “That would be fine, we won’t mind a phone call at all,” Tara assured him. “Thanks so much for your help.”

  Max signed the forms and took Lissa’s handbag from the security officer. He waited until they were back inside the rental car before opening it.

  He stared at the jumbled contents inside before glancing at Tara. “This feels wrong,” he murmured. “Going through Lissa’s personal stuff like this feels wrong.”

  “I know.” Her gaze shimmered with sympathy. “But Gary needs to be stopped. We wouldn’t be doing this if there was another way to find him. I don’t think Melissa will mind.”

  She was right, but that didn’t make invading his sister’s privacy any easier. Hoping to find the phone, he fished through the purse. The phone wasn’t there. He found her wallet, but there was very little cash and not much else. There was a book of matches from some bar, which was very strange since he didn’t think Lissa smoked. And he found her keys.

  “No phone,” he said finally, setting Lissa’s purse aside. “But we do have her keys. Maybe the phone is in her apartment. Do you want me to drop you off at the hotel before I head out?”

  “I’d rather go with you, if you don’t mind.”

  He tucked the keys into his pocket and started the car. “Okay, but this is only going to make you a party to the crime.”

  “We’re not breaking the law,” Tara protested. “We have her keys, so we’re not breaking and entering. Finding Gary and putting him behind bars is the best thing we can do for Melissa right now. Other than praying.”

  Max nodded, although he wasn’t so sure the praying bit was really going to help. Tara’s connection to God seemed to keep her grounded, but he didn’t have the same spiritual ties she did.

  Were her prayers strong enough to overcome his lapse? He hoped so. He wanted to believe God would listen to Tara on his sister’s behalf.

  At this point, Lissa needed all the help she could get.

  Tara listened to Max’s one-sided phone conversation and realized he was talking to Peggy Sue. She fished out a pen and paper so Max could write down Peggy Sue’s address. After he hung up the phone, he looked at her, his eyes bright with satisfaction.

  “Peggy Sue is willing to talk to us. She has met Gary and thinks she can give us a more detailed description of the guy. I think we’d be better off going to see her first and then searching for the phone in Lissa’s apartment. She may have a couple of pictures o
n there.”

  “Sounds logical. Although remember what Annie said about him being camera shy? I doubt we’ll find more than one picture.”

  “Yeah, I remember.” Max scowled. “I don’t get it. Don’t you think that’s strange? I mean, why would he be so camera shy?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t imagine the reasons are good ones.” She felt a little guilty for not telling Max about Melissa’s substance-abuse problem. Six months ago, Melissa had been arrested for possession of crack cocaine and in order to stay out of jail, she’d been given the option of working with Tara to get help and for follow up random drug testing. Melissa’s drug problem wasn’t her secret to share, but she hoped the knowledge wouldn’t impact their ability to track down Gary. There were some lines she couldn’t cross, and as Melissa’s caseworker, divulging private information was one of those lines. “It could be he’s wanted by the police.”

  “I already thought of that,” Max admitted, navigating the St. Louis streets with ease. “And I hope he is wanted by the cops so that once we find him he’ll be immediately arrested.”

  She had to smile at his optimism. “Works for me.”

  “I can’t even imagine leaving here to go back to Iraq without finding him,” Max said in a low tone. “We just have to find that cell-phone picture.”

  So much for his optimism. She reached over and put a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. God is guiding us. We’ll find Gary soon. You’ll see.”

  He didn’t look at her but kept his eyes on the road. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am,” she said firmly.

  “Okay, once we get to Harwood Avenue, then I’ll need your help in searching out addresses to find Peggy Sue’s.”

  “All right.” She stared at Max’s strong hands on the steering wheel, amazed at how comfortable she was with him. She felt as if she knew him better than some of her clients, which was amazing since twenty-four hours ago, she didn’t even know he existed.