The Deputy's Witness

In the last year, she’d grown close to Robbie and his wife, Eleanor. She’d made sure they both knew that they owed her nothing in trying to protect Robbie at the bank. Mostly because she hadn’t done a thing to actually protect him. With or without her body covering his, he’d still almost died. But then they’d point out that if she hadn’t been where she was, Dupree might not have shot her.

“Nowhere in that bank was safe as long as Dupree and Anna were inside,” she had often countered.

They would quiet then, remembering Larissa and Carl had been shot too. And nowhere near where Robbie and Alyssa had been.

Still, Alyssa and the Rickmans had grown close through more than any sense of warranted or unwarranted life debt. Which made her feel more comfortable being candid around either of them. She lowered her voice and admitted something she wouldn’t have said otherwise.

“I’m a little glad I get a break from seeing Dupree, though. Between the newspapers, the local news channels and the occasional nightmare, I’m tired of seeing him.”

Robbie nodded.

“Even Eleanor can’t stand to turn the TV on lately. But, like I tell her, this is our last hurdle and then we’re done,” he said. He reached over and patted her arm. “After this we can all move on and live happy, full lives with a completely rational fear of banks for the rest of those happy, full lives.”

Alyssa gave him a smile for his attempt at humor and hoped that was true. Closure for her would be when the Storm Chasers landed behind bars for life, never to hurt her or anyone else ever again.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?”

They turned to none other than Judge Anderson, the judge for this case. Her robes moved in the stiff breeze as she descended the entrance stairs and came to a stop in front of the crowd. Another courtroom deputy, an older man Alyssa recognized but couldn’t recall his name, stood at her side. Alyssa wondered where the other man was. The golden-haired deputy with the muscled body in no way hiding beneath his uniform.

A little bit of heat started to swirl behind her cheeks at the thought of that muscled body. Why she never met men like him during the everyday routines of her life, she’d never know.

“I wanted to personally tell you all that we’ll be taking a recess until this afternoon at one o’clock,” she said, her voice carrying clear across the distance. “I am sorry for the inconvenience.”

A series of groans erupted through the crowd, followed by the clash of everyone talking at once. Alyssa was one of them.

“Speaking of hurdles,” she deadpanned.

Robbie let out a hoot of laughter.

“Why don’t we turn that frown upside down and take my beautiful wife out for some coffee and cake?” he said with a pat on her back. “Because I know she probably needs some caffeine considering how late she’s running anyways. My treat. What do you say?”

Alyssa felt her lips upturn in a smile.

“You had me at coffee,” she said, nodding. “But isn’t it a little too early for cake?”

Robbie laughed again. “According to my wife, there’s never a wrong time for cake.”

Chapter Four (#udafacf7d-430d-5ea5-b5da-91df5756006b)

Caleb was pacing. An action he actively tried to avoid doing.

For one, people who paced were not in control of their current situation. Hence the nervous movement edged with anxiety and uncertainty. His career—and his personality if he was being frank—had made his desire to be in control, well, desirable. So he wasn’t a fan of walking back and forth trying to burn anxious energy. Second, pacing usually meant someone was waiting for something to happen, and patience was also not Caleb’s strongest suit.

Yet here he was, moving back and forth just inside the entrance of the courthouse on repeat. Burning a hole in the lobby’s faded carpet.

It had been three hours since the fire alarm went off. Since there was no fire in the building, or even smoke, Caleb had put his bet on the culprit being a punk kid or a disgruntled attendee. Someone who wanted to break up their day with a little excitement. That is, until he’d seen the alarm that had been pulled.

Smashed beyond recognition. Obliterated. It had been a miracle the sirens had managed to keep blaring after the alarm had been pulled and then destroyed. They’d had to wait for the fire department to shut it all down. One firefighter had whistled low at the broken shell of the alarm and asked what was the point of pulling it and breaking it.

Caleb hadn’t had an answer. He’d officially gone on alert, a feeling of foreboding lying heavy in the pit of his stomach. Hours later, that heaviness hadn’t gone away. Not when deputies had come over from the sheriff’s department next door. Not when they had gone through the entire building, room by room, looking for anything suspicious. And not when the security footage hadn’t been helpful, thanks to a gap in the recording, which was due to poor funding.

“It happens sometimes,” the other deputy had said with a shrug. “The courthouse isn’t the only place in town waiting on funding to come through to get a better system.”

“Sounds like an excuse,” Caleb said beneath his breath. The deputy hadn’t heard him, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Again, he didn’t know how Carpenter, or Riker County, truly worked. He didn’t know their struggles or their points of pride. Jumping to conclusions about a broken fire alarm at an underfunded courthouse wasn’t something he needed to do. He certainly didn’t need to overstep his job description by trying to investigate a situation that probably wasn’t anything more than someone caught in the heat of the moment and deciding to break something.

At that thought, Caleb’s body went cold.

His hands balled into fists.

His thoughts turned tumultuous in a fraction of a second. Memories of what he’d done flew through his head.

“Foster! Stop! Dammit, Foster! STOP!”

But Caleb hadn’t stopped.

And now he was in Riker County because of it.

He began to pace again.

* * *

ALYSSA WAVED GOODBYE to Robbie and Eleanor. They drove away from the courthouse in Robbie’s little red pickup, both smiling as they disappeared down the street. Alyssa couldn’t help but smile too. There was nothing like spending a few hours at Danny’s—a local café with the best cake, according to Eleanor—with the couple to get her back into a good mood. Them laughing and smiling at each other had been contagious. Being with them always reminded Alyssa she was missing something they had been lucky enough to find. A partner. A best friend. Someone who would buy her morning cake without flinching.

Being that close to such a strong couple brought out a sense of peace in her too. Like the sight of calm waters after looking over the edge of your boat.

It had helped that, despite it being the day of the trial, they had sidestepped any talk of the Storm Chasers. It was a groove that had become familiar with them over the last year. A rhythm that had become second nature. They talked about happier topics, even mundane ones. Anything that filled the time.

But now Alyssa was back, staring at the front of the courthouse.

How she wished she could go inside, tell the jury what she’d seen and then watch as Dupree and Anna were led away in cuffs. Forever.

Alyssa let out a long sigh. She still had a few hours to go before she could get her wish.

“I might as well go soak in a bath,” she muttered to herself. If there was ever an answer to quell unwanted anxiety, a quiet, citrus-scented bath had to be at the top of the to-do list. She had started to walk around the building, mind already made up, when the sound of footsteps sounded behind her.

“Excuse me!”

Alyssa turned to see a man jogging toward her. He was brandishing a set of keys.

“You dropped these,” he explained, motioning to where she’d been standing when she was dropped off.

“Really?” Even though they were clearly hers—the wineglass pendant Gabby had given her was glinting in the sunlight—Alyssa still opened her purse to look inside and confirm they weren’t there. “Wow. I don’t know how I did that. I could’ve sworn they were buried in my purse.”

The man pushed his glasses up his nose. Alyssa mimicked the motion on reflex. Gabby always made fun of her for the “nerd” move, but when Alyssa was around her own glasses-wearing kind, she was happy for the little inclusion.

“You must have been thinking of other things,” he offered. “This Storm Chasers business has a lot of people around here distracted.”