chapter Twelve
It was time to go home. As Tamara sat in the break room the next afternoon she knew it was time to say goodbye to Amber Lake and go back to where she belonged.
She couldn’t be any more use to the case and she’d allowed herself to develop a depth of feelings for Seth that obviously had no future. She had most of her memories back now, at least enough of them to return home and pick up what had been her life.
She had no idea what made her feel so anxious about returning to her apartment, but whatever it was, it was time she go back and face it.
Tonight she intended to tell Seth that first thing in the morning she planned to rent a car and go back. She’d eventually make new plans to visit Aunt Rose and would try to put all this behind her. Once there she’d have to deal with her car insurance and get some kind of wheels, she’d need to catch up on her web mistress duties and she’d have to figure out a way to stop loving Seth Hawkins.
It was for the best. There was no reason for her to continue to linger here when she wasn’t helping anyone and each and every minute with Seth would be an exquisite form of torture.
The crime scene investigators had come up with little to show after spending half the night at the rest area. The problem was it was a public place and fingerprints and DNA samples were plenty.
According to the scuttlebutt she’d heard from the deputies who drifted in and out of the break room there was little optimism that the trash cans in the area would yield any clues.
There had been no more mention of her seeing a therapist or a hypnotist and she was convinced that what little she’d been able to give them last night at the rest area was all she had to give.
She couldn’t give them an impression of the man, had no facial features to offer them, and maybe it was because she’d never seen him coming. Maybe the person who had kidnapped her had sneaked up behind her and somehow rendered her unconscious before she’d seen anything about him.
Breakfast had been awkward, the first awkwardness she’d felt between herself and Seth. She didn’t want to hang around until things got worse than awkward.
She hadn’t seen Seth since they’d arrived at the office that morning. Once again it had been Deputy Broadwick who had brought her some lunch and had sat with her and visited for a few minutes before he’d disappeared back to his duties.
As she thought of the night before her cheeks burned with a touch of embarrassment. She’d practically begged Seth to make love to her and she couldn’t even be upset with him for refusing. He’d been right. This wasn’t real life and she had to stop clinging to him, wanting him, pretending that somehow this life with him in Linda’s house in Amber Lake could be real.
Definitely time to go, and hopefully the man who had taken her wouldn’t follow her home. She hoped something would break that would allow Seth and the sheriff and his men to make an arrest within the next couple of days.
Besides, she knew the killer was a local and she had a feeling if she put some miles between him and herself she’d be safe. Unfortunately, that meant he’d turn his attention to another woman.
It was just after five when Seth came into the lounge and it was obvious by the slump of his shoulders, the terse set of his mouth, that nothing positive had happened again today.
He looked bone-weary and she could only imagine the pressure on him and all the others to solve the crime, to put the bad man behind bars.
“How about we stop by the café for some dinner before heading home,” he suggested as they got into his truck.
“Sounds fine to me.” Maybe it would be easier to tell him what she’d decided about leaving in the morning over a meal in a public place. At least then she hopefully wouldn’t have to worry about embarrassing herself by crying or accidentally confessing that she was madly in love with him.
It took them only a few minutes to get to the café and be seated at a table in the back where he ordered the special of chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes and she decided to have the roast beef with vegetables.
As they waited for their meals, they chatted a bit about nothing, the awkwardness that had been between them that morning lingering on.
Again and again her attention was drawn to the sign advertising the caramel pie, her thoughts returned to those moments in the rest area and her brain worked to find any hidden details she could offer Seth as a parting gift. But there was nothing.
“I’m leaving in the morning,” she said, breaking the uncomfortable veil of silence.
He looked at her in stunned surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m renting a car and heading back home. I can’t do anything more here.”
“But there are still things we don’t know. If what you remembered about the rest area is true, then you were abducted around seven or eight at night and yet you weren’t discovered until the next afternoon. We need to find out about those missing hours now more than ever.”
Tamara picked up her glass of iced tea and took a sip and then set the glass back on the table. “I’ve done all I can, Seth.” She didn’t look at him, but rather kept her gaze on the wooden table. “Maybe I’m never supposed to remember that time, maybe my brain will always protect me from whatever happened during those hours. All I know is that it’s time for me to get home. It’s time for Linda and Samantha to have their house back and for me to get on with the rest of my life.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to go back?”
She looked up at him and wanted to fall into the soft gray of his eyes. He cared about her. She knew that without question. She’d never forget that moment when she’d come to consciousness in the sand and her first sight had been those kind, calm eyes of his. It might have been that single second of connection that had made her fall in love with him.
“Ready or not, it’s time,” she replied. “I have clients ready for me to get back to work. If I remember anything else I can always call you. But it’s foolish for me to just hang around here and put off the inevitable.”
“But how will you get home? We haven’t even found your car.”
“That’s what rental cars are for. I’m sure there’s a place here in town or nearby where I can rent a car to get back to Amarillo. Once there I’ll talk to my car insurance company and see what they can work out. As far as I’m concerned, my car is officially a stolen vehicle. I’ll manage.”
He looked as if he wanted to change her mind, but he leaned back in his chair and released a sigh of obvious resignation. “Of course you’ll manage. You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.”
As she thought of leaving him, she didn’t feel strong. She felt as weak as a baby, ready to weep with a kind of despair she’d never felt before about a man. She didn’t even remember feeling this way after her divorce from Jason.
Thankfully at that moment the waitress arrived with their meals and the conversation turned to the tenderness of the roast, the richness of his gravy and anything else that had nothing to do with the crimes, the killer or her leaving Amber Lake behind.
An early twilight stole over the area as they left the café. Clouds chased across the sky, portending the possibility of a rain sometime overnight.
“Surely you won’t want to take off if it’s raining in the morning,” Seth said once they were back in his truck and headed to Linda’s.
“I can drive in the rain. All I’ll need your help with is getting a rental car. Once I get home and can get my banking situation straightened out, I’ll make it all right with you.”
“I’m not worried about that. Wally down at the gas station on Main is also part of a chain of rental cars. He’s always got one or two cars available. I’m sure we can get you set up without a problem.”
As much as her heart ached, she knew she was making the right decision. It was time to say goodbye to Amber Lake. It was time to say goodbye to Seth.
They hadn’t been inside the house for long, and Tamara had just gotten comfortable on the sofa, when Seth’s cell phone rang. He listened intently, his features suddenly tense...excited. Tamara straightened up, wondering who the caller was and what they were saying to him.
He listened another minute or two longer. “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” he replied, and then clicked off and slid his phone into his pocket.
“That was Atkins. They believe there’s another body at the dunes, but none of them have moved in to the crime scene location yet.”
Tamara’s heart dropped as she realized another woman had been buried. “But maybe she’s still alive. I was.”
“But your face hadn’t been buried. Apparently all they can see of this person is part of a hand. The good news is they caught Sam Clemmons on his ATV riding away from the scene. Atkins is sure he’s our man. This is the kind of proof we’ve needed. He’s the Sandman and he’s in custody.”
“That’s wonderful!” Tamara exclaimed. At least she’d leave here in the morning knowing that the man who had tried to bury her alive was in jail. She just wished he’d been caught before another woman had died.
“Come on, let’s go. They’re waiting for us,” he said as he strapped on his shoulder holster.
“They’re waiting for you. You go and I’ll spend my time here packing up for the morning.”
He frowned and opened his mouth as if to protest, but she stopped whatever he was about to say by holding up a hand. “You said it yourself, the bad guy is in custody. I’ll be fine here and to be honest, I don’t want to see another crime scene like that.”
His frown deepened. “You’ll lock the doors? Don’t let anyone inside?”
“Of course not,” she replied. “But it sounds like the danger has finally passed.”
For the first time since he’d gotten the call a smile curved his lips. “Yeah and Sam makes sense. He’s been at the top of our suspect list since the beginning. We just needed something to tie him to the burials. Tonight we got our break. He was actually seen fleeing from the crime scene. Now, let’s hope before you leave here tomorrow morning I’ll know what the deal is about you being an ostrich.”
She nodded. “Get out of here. They’re waiting for you.” She could feel his excitement, the need in him to move, to get to the scene.
He left and she carefully locked the door behind him. Alone. Time to pack up and face whatever discordant music awaited her in her real life.
She went into the guest room and realized she didn’t even have a suitcase to pack with the things she’d bought since being here. She grabbed a large black plastic garbage bag from the kitchen and carried it with her back to the bedroom. She had just begun to fill it when the doorbell rang.
Her heart thumped a hard rhythm for a moment even though she told herself that Sam Clemmons was the Sandman and he was in custody, caught at the scene of the latest crime.
She hurried to the living room and moved the curtain aside an inch, just enough that she could see the khaki uniform of Steven Bradley, the lovesick puppy man. She relaxed. He was probably here to do a check-in on Samantha and Scooter.
Tamara unlocked the door and eased it open at the same time Steven offered her a bright smile and opened the screen door. “Hey, Tamara, just wanted to stop by and say hi to Samantha and her new furry friend.”
“I’m sorry, Steven, they aren’t here right now. Samantha and Scooter are staying at her dad’s house for a few weeks.”
“Oh, okay. Maybe I’ll check in with them there. Or, maybe not.”
Before Tamara sensed any danger to herself, she jumped as the sting of a needle plunged into her arm. “Hey,” she exclaimed and stumbled backward a step.
Almost instantaneously her leg muscles collapsed, sending her to the floor in a heap. Trouble. The word screamed in her head. She was in trouble. She tried to move her arms in an attempt to get back to her feet, but nothing was working. She was paralyzed.
“Don’t even try to fight it,” Steven said as he stepped into the foyer and picked her up in his arms just as he probably did wounded dogs. “It’s a special concoction that took me months to perfect. Your heart will keep beating, but you can’t move.”
He carried her out of the house and with a quick glance around the neighborhood he moved to the trunk of his car where he placed her inside and slammed the lid.
Darkness. She smelled the scent of tire rubber, of oil and of impending doom. She was in trouble and nobody knew it because they thought they had the Sandman in custody. But they were wrong.
The Sandman had her in his custody.