Page 19 of Fallen Creed

“So you’re coming along with me to the Spencers’ because you’re suspicious. Here I was thinking you wanted to protect me.”

He watched for her reaction out of the corner of his eye. The smile was slight as she did a quick glance at him. Quick, but he still caught it.

“Hey, I learned my lesson,” she said, keeping her focus on the fields. “There’s no talking you out of something once you’ve made your mind up.” She waited a beat before adding, “Hard to argue something that I’m guilty of myself.”

Now Creed smiled. They understood each other well. And yet, they tiptoed around their feelings.

A V-line of geese honked and crossed above them. Clouds were gathering on the horizon. He liked the wide open spaces out here.

“Actually, I’m glad you came along,” he told her. “I’ve never been comfortable doing a search with the family present, let alone doing one with no law enforcement officials to oversee what we might find.”

“You think you’ll find something?”

“Libby did leave their house. It’ll be difficult to tell whether it was her choice or if someone coerced her. Chances are, Grace leads us to the end of the driveway, where someone either picked her up or put her into a vehicle.”

“I never thought about that. Grace will tell us that?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror. At the sound of her name, the little dog raised her head, but she stayed down. They had spent the last two days traveling, and this had been another long day. He hoped it was that simple. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t allow her to work after dark.

“The scent trail would end where Libby got inside a vehicle.”

“Nora doesn’t seem to believe that someone picked her up.”

“She missed work,” Creed reminded her.

Both Nora and her husband had told them Libby never missed. Even if the schedule didn’t work for her, Nora said Libby exchanged with co-workers rather than miss out on the hours.

“Whatever is going on,” Maggie said, “this is turning into a strange and wild ride again. I used to expect Nebraska to be peaceful. After all the times I’ve been here, I’d settle for boring.”

—16—

Maggie was already on edge about Nora Spencer. It didn’t help to smell freshly brewed coffee when she and Creed walked into the Spencer house. Nora had made ham and cheese sandwiches for them, stacked carefully on a plate, accompanied by dill pickles and a bowl of tossed salad. Dressed in her work scrubs and sidelined by discarded body parts, the woman still managed to put together a meal for her guests.

Creed was partially right about Maggie’s motives for being here. She was suspicious of Nora and wanted to learn more about Libby Holmes. But she also didn’t want Creed and Grace out here alone.

Maggie had tried to convince him at the crime scene to wait for morning. As soon as Nora voiced her concern about Libby being suicidal, Maggie knew it would be enough to win Creed over. As a Marine, he knew too many veterans who had succumbed to their PTSD by taking their own lives. But that wasn’t all. His father had committed suicide. Eighteen-year-old Creed had been the one to find him.

Maggie couldn’t help wondering if somehow Nora Spencer knew she might trigger a soft spot by making the suicide claim. Yes, that sounded like a stretch, and maybe Maggie’s skepticism was the reason she’d come along, but she also knew she was overly protective of Creed. Especially since last June.

Four months ago, he’d almost been killed in the middle of Blackwater River State Forest by a serial killer. Even Hannah admitted Creed hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries. Ever since he arrived, she thought he looked tired. Of course, that might be only the result of the long drive up from the Florida Panhandle. But there was something else in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read. And it bothered her.

“Cup of coffee?” Spencer asked them as he poured what appeared to be a second for himself.

“No thanks,” Maggie said.

“Maybe later,” Creed told him. “If it’s okay with both of you, I’d like to bring Grace inside.”

“Oh, right,” Spencer said, turning to his wife and adding, “He’ll probably need one of Libby’s shirts or something.”

“Actually, it would help if Grace could go inside her bedroom.”

Maggie watched Nora’s jaw twitch as she clamped it tight. Spencer had been leaning against the counter and pushed himself away as he realized he’d need to take over from here.

“Go get Grace,” he told Creed. “I’ll show you the girl’s room.

Creed only had to open the back door where they had entered. Grace waited patiently. He picked up her leash and followed Spencer down a hallway. Without a word, Maggie fell in step behind them, expecting to stop Nora from coming along. But the woman stayed planted in her kitchen.

Spencer stopped at the bedroom door, coffee cup still in his hand. With his back facing the kitchen and out of earshot of his wife, he said, “I tried to warn Nora that she can’t always fix people. All of us, we realize that in our profession. But as a nurse, it goes against her grain.” Before either of them could respond, Spencer started back down the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder and added, “Yell, if you need anything.”