Lone Wolf Standing Read online

  But over the past couple of days, meals had been sporadic. There had been no lunch two days ago, no dinner last night and no breakfast yet this morning.

  It was as if her captor was losing interest in her, that his top priority was no longer providing the basics of keeping her alive.

  She’d never been able to figure out who had taken her or why, but now she was terrified that whoever it was didn’t want her anymore. And if that was the case, then she feared she would wind up another skeleton in the dirt in this hellhole that had been her home for months.

  Chapter 6

  Sheri had been on Jimmy’s mind from the moment he’d awakened that morning. At eleven he wondered if Ramona had shown up at the Roadside Stop and how well Sheri was holding up.

  It had to be unnerving after all these years to have a mother who’d been absent for twenty-six years of your life suddenly show up.

  He’d discovered last night that Ramona had been in town for several weeks and staying at the Sleepy Eye Motel, a relative dump on the east side of town.

  Later this afternoon Steve and Frank intended to visit Ramona at the motel to learn what she’d been doing in town for so long and what, if anything, she knew about her sister’s disappearance. They had a vested interest in her plans and movements because of their intimate relationships with the women Ramona had hurt so much.

  Jimmy had decided to excuse himself from that particular interview. He didn’t want to blur personal and professional lines and in the case of Ramona and Sheri, Jimmy already knew what side he was on. It was best to leave Ramona to his partners so he could be a support for Sheri if she needed him to be.

  He looked up from his desk as Jed Wilson walked in, bringing with him the scent of fresh pine, a spicy cologne and the faint odor of dog.

  “Hey, Jed.” Jimmy greeted the dog trainer and waved him into the chair before him. “Nice to see you again.”

  “I was in town for some supplies and thought I’d stop by,” Jed replied.

  “I met one of your star students the other night.”

  “Oh, yeah? And who would that be?” Jed folded his lanky frame into the chair.

  “Highway.”

  Jed smiled, crinkles appearing like starbursts at the outer corners of his eyes. “One of the smartest dogs I’ve ever worked with. When Sheri brought him in for training after a week I tried to buy him from her, but she refused. That dog loves her and she loves that dog.”

  “Hmm, is that roadkill I smell?” Officer Chelsea Loren looked at Jed from her desk across the room. She wrinkled her nose as if smelling something bad.

  “I’m surprised you can smell anything since you got that nose job,” Jed returned easily.

  “I had a deviated septum,” she said with a coolness to frost the entire room.

  “You had a big bump on your nose,” Jed replied.

  To Chelsea’s credit, she didn’t say a word. She expressed her irritation at Jed by jumping out of her chair and heading to the back break room.

  “I don’t think she likes to talk about her...uh...enhancements,” Jimmy said.

  “I’ve known Chelsea since grade school. There was never anything wrong with her that needed to be enhanced,” Jed revealed. “Except maybe something wrong with her brain.”

  Jimmy laughed. “Trust me, there’s nothing wrong with her brain. She’s smart as a whip.”

  “If she’s that smart then she’d know her nose was fine and those lip injections just look plain ridiculous,” Jed scoffed. “But I didn’t come here to talk about Chelsea’s foolishness. I heard this morning that Ramona Marcoli has been here in town.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I just wanted you to know that if you need my dogs to sniff out her motel room or anywhere else she’s been staying for signs that Liz Marcoli was there, we’re available.”

  “Thanks, Jed, we appreciate your working with us so closely.”

  Jed raked a hand through his dark brown hair. “You know, even though I wasn’t very close to my aunt Agnes, there are days I still wonder what happened to her. Her disappearance two years ago only reconfirmed my commitment to my search-and-rescue work.”

  “What you do is important.” Jimmy gave him a sly grin. “Even if you do smell like roadkill.”

  Jed returned his grin. “Chelsea has hated me since sixth grade. She was the first woman in my life to tell me I was a jerk and I’ve had plenty of women since the sixth grade tell me the same thing and worse.”

  Jimmy knew that Jed was thirty-five years old and seemed content for the most part in running his business and working with his dogs. Jimmy had never heard any gossip about him and any women in town.

  “You want some coffee or something?” Jimmy asked.

  “Nah, I just stopped in to offer my services if you need them.” He got to his feet.

  “Besides, in half an hour I’ve got an appointment with Mrs. Neddles’s poodle. According to her the pooch has suddenly developed a refusal to piddle outside and much prefers the Persian rug in her dining room.”

  “Hmm, sounds like a mystery for our resident dog whisperer.” Jimmy stood, as well.

  “I’m on it.” Together the two men walked toward the door that would lead Jed back out to the reception room.

  “Thanks for stopping by,” Jimmy said.

  “Not a problem.” Jed cast a quick glance across the room where Chelsea had returned to her desk. “And don’t tell her I said this, but she wears a uniform better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

  With that Jed left the office. Jimmy ambled over to Chelsea’s desk. “Why was Satan’s spawn here?” she asked.

  “Now, now, is that any way to talk?” Jimmy chided teasingly.

  “When we’re talking about Jed Wilson it is,” she replied.

  “He was here to offer his help with his dogs if we want to check out where Ramona Marcoli has been staying to see if they can scent that Liz was there.”

  Chelsea frowned. “I wonder what Steve and Frank have found out about that lowlife Ramona?”

  “Yeah, I wonder, too.” Jimmy checked his watch. It was after four. He had no idea when either of his partners might check in, but he was anxious to meet Sheri later that evening to see how she was holding up.

  “You realize if Agnes Wilson and Liz Marcoli were taken by the same person, then it’s possible we have a serial killer someplace here in town,” Chelsea said softly.

  Jimmy winced. “I don’t even want to think about it. Besides, at this point we have no reason to believe that the two things are related or that Agnes Wilson or Liz Marcoli is dead.”

  “They’re related,” Chelsea said with a confident lift of her chin. “And you know the odds are that both Agnes and Liz are dead. Let’s just hope no other woman suddenly disappears from her home.”

  Jimmy frowned, mentally chewing over her words as he went back to his desk. He pulled out his cell phone and laid it on his blotter.

  Several times throughout the afternoon he’d thought about calling Sheri, but figured since she hadn’t called him she was probably busy at the store or not yet ready to share anything with him about her meeting with Ramona. She might not share much this evening.

  After all, this friendship thing of theirs was new, and while he’d managed to solve the issue of who had been following her, that didn’t mean she’d automatically be prepared to trust him with her innermost feelings.

  He certainly wasn’t ready to share with her the pain of his own personal tragedy, a loss that had been so immense it had made him reluctant to ever hope for love or a family again.

  He didn’t know if he’d ever be ready to share that with anyone. Even now a flicker of the love-starved little boy he’d once been sprang to life, bringing with it a pain that was visceral.

  He consciously willed away that
childhood trauma and walked back to the break room for a cup of coffee, eager for the next hour or so to pass so he could go home, freshen up and then meet Sheri.

  He shouldn’t be looking forward to seeing her as much as he was. He shouldn’t be anticipating the sweetness of her smile, the warmth in her eyes. More than anything he shouldn’t be thinking about the hug they’d shared.

  At five foot ten, Jimmy was never going to be her six-foot prince, but there was no question that his lack of height and her short, petite frame had fit perfectly together. The top of her head had brushed the underside of Jimmy’s jaw and her breasts had pressed against his chest. No, he definitely shouldn’t be thinking about how great they’d fit if they made love.

  He jumped as his phone rang. He grabbed it and saw that it was Steve. “What’s up?” he asked his partner.

  “We’ve finished up our interview with Ramona and we’re heading on home. We’ll have a report for you ready in the morning.”

  “That works for me,” Jimmy said. He knew if his partners had learned anything pertinent to Liz’s case, they’d be heading back into the station instead of to their homes.

  “I’ll see you both in the morning and I’ll want a full update then,” Jimmy said, although he had a feeling he’d get at least a little bit of an update from Sheri in a matter of hours.

  “You got it,” Steve said.

  Jimmy hung up and looked at his watch again. “I think I’m going to go ahead and take off,” he said to nobody in particular.

  If he left now he’d have time to shower and change and relax a little bit before meeting Sheri at six-thirty. It took him only minutes to drive down Main Street to the Wolf Creek Apartments.

  When he’d first arrived in town three years ago he’d rented a studio apartment, figuring when the time was right or he had a reason he’d look for something bigger, something more permanent.

  There was no sense of welcome when he walked through the door. This had always been a sort of temporary holding place for him. He’d collected few items of value over his past and the apartment was void of any real personality.

  The kitchenette was rarely used and the black sofa served as his bed at night. He had an easy chair and a television and that was pretty much the sum of his living space.

  It was supposed to be a place to start and now only served to remind him that his personal life here in Wolf Creek hadn’t progressed much since he’d arrived here as a stranger, a new hire.

  He headed straight to the tiny bathroom where he stripped and got into the shower. As he washed off, he thought of the night ahead.

  Meeting a friend for pizza shouldn’t set off a tingling sense of anticipation. There was no reason for a burst of adrenaline to flood through him as he thought of spending time with Sheri.

  During the past three months he’d worked with her and her sisters, she’d certainly never given off any indication that she might entertain a romantic interest in him. In fact, she’d made it more than clear that he was not what she was looking for in a life partner.

  And even though he’d never believed he’d have a life partner, a wife, it was difficult not to want something more than what he had, especially when he glimpsed the way Steve looked at Roxy, when he saw the shared love and bond between Frank and Marlene. He wanted that, but he was also afraid to wish for it. He never wanted his heart broken again.

  A pizza date with a friend. That was all tonight would be. A friend, that was all he’d ever be to Sheri. Despite the fact that he was drawn to her in a way that was distinctly more than friendlike, he’d spent years learning discipline and control in martial arts training and he’d draw on that to keep himself in line with Sheri.

  He’d have to use that training to keep himself in check...otherwise he knew he risked enjoying any kind of relationship with the pint-size, golden-eyed woman who stirred him like nobody had before.

  * * *

  “I don’t care what her story is, I have zero desire to see her, to talk to her or to interact with her in any way,” Roxy said with vehemence.

  It was four o’clock in the afternoon and Sheri had called a sister meeting to let Roxy and Marlene know about Ramona being in town and wanting to reconnect with all of them. The three were the only occupants in the “green” room at the Dollhouse restaurant.

  It was a room that was supposed to bring peace and tranquility with its lush plants and wooden plantation ceiling fans and wicker tables. But at the moment the room held the tension of Sheri’s news.

  “How long has she been clean?” Marlene asked, her blue eyes simmering with uncertainty.

  “Four years. For two of those years she was an inpatient at a place called Tranquil Home in Arizona and after her treatment finished, she stayed on there as a volunteer.”

  “How would she be able to afford that kind of treatment?” Roxy asked, her voice still holding anger and more than a hint of disbelief.

  “Louis Harper. He’s a successful businessman who fell in love with Ramona and wanted to help her. He wanted to save her. He sent her to treatment and encouraged her to stay and volunteer there.”

  Roxy snorted, distinctly unladylike but also displaying her utter disgust. “Just another man taking care of poor Ramona.”

  “This is different, Roxy,” Sheri protested. “He’s been beside her for the last four years. It was him who encouraged her to come out here and try to seek forgiveness from us.”

  “I’ll never forgive her,” Roxy said defiantly. “I don’t need to forgive her to have a wonderful life.”

  Marlene worried a strand of her blond hair between two fingers. “What does she want from us?”

  “According to her, nothing. She just wants us to know that she’s sorry for the choices she made through the years. She wants us to understand that even as messed up as she was, she knew being with Aunt Liz would be far better for us than being with her,” Sheri explained.

  Roxy narrowed her eyes as she looked at her younger sister. “And Miss Gentle Soul is just ready for us to forgive and forget, to send Mother’s Day cards and share precious moments together.”

  “I never said that,” Sheri replied evenly, refusing to be baited into a spat with her overly emotional sister. “I don’t know what to think, what to feel about any of this. All I wanted to do was tell you both she’s here in town and staying at the Sleepy Eye Motel. She’d like an opportunity to talk to both of you, but that’s between you and her.”

  “Are you going to see her again?” Marlene asked Sheri.

  Sheri frowned thoughtfully. “To be honest, I don’t know. I’m still a bit numbed by it all.”

  “I’d hoped Aunt Liz was with her,” Roxy said, the anger gone from her eyes and instead a deep grief there. “I’d hoped that Ramona had gotten herself into some kind of a mess and Aunt Liz had rushed off to save her.”

  “Apparently that’s not the case,” Sheri said softly. She didn’t say out loud what they all knew to be true—even if that had happened, Aunt Liz would have contacted them long before now. At the very least she would have needed to get money from her account to live on and her finances still remained untouched.

  “So now I’m stuck with a mother I don’t want and without an aunt I desperately need,” Roxy said.

  Sheri reached across the table and grabbed Roxy’s and Marlene’s hands. “And you have two sisters who love you dearly despite all your flaws.”

  Roxy choked out a laugh and squeezed Sheri’s hand.

  “We’ll get through this, Roxy...just like we’ve always gotten through everything...together. And now I’ve got to get out of here.” Sheri rose from the table. “All I’m asking you both is to open your hearts to Ramona just a little bit and see what happens.”

  “Last time I did that I got Steve.”

  “And I got Frank,” Marlene added.

  “M
y point exactly.” With a wave of her hand, Sheri turned and exited the room. She’d dreaded this conversation from the moment Ramona had left the store, but she’d known she needed to give her sisters a heads-up.

  As she stepped outside the Dollhouse she breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could look forward to a pizza night with Jimmy. But first she wanted to head home, take a relaxing bubble bath and get rid of the stress the day had brought.

  She had known going into the Dollhouse that Roxy would have the most issues with Ramona. Roxy had lived the longest with a drug-addicted, neglectful Ramona. Roxy remembered the gut-wrenching fear of strange men, of filthy dope houses and trashy motel rooms. She had memories of rib-gnawing hunger and a constant fear that no child should ever experience.

  Thankfully, Marlene had few memories of the first four years she’d spent in Ramona’s care and Sheri had none. Ramona had a tough task ahead of her in breaking through the wall Roxy had erected around her heart where her birth mother was concerned.

  Things would be so much easier if Aunt Liz were here, Sheri thought as she got into her car to head to her cottage. Liz would have words of wisdom for all of them. She would understand their reluctance to get involved with the woman who had thrown them away, and yet would speak of the power of forgiveness.

  Roxy would be more prone to listening if the words came from the woman she loved, from the aunt who had taken her in and transformed her life with love.

  She dismissed all thoughts of her mother and her sisters as she turned on to the mountain road that would take her home. All she wanted to do for the rest of the evening was enjoy some pizza, a beer and conversation with a friend.

  Luckily, the case of her stalker had been solved and the sense of unease that had been with her for the past week was gone, as well.

  Highway greeted her with a happy bark as she walked through her front door. She fell to her knees and hugged the dog around his neck.

  This was unconditional love. Highway didn’t care if she stuttered when she got too excited or upset. It didn’t matter to him if she was in a foul mood or had fought with one of her sisters, or had made a mistake at the store. Highway loved her despite her shortcomings.