Page 42 of Vows of Murder

I’d share my fries with Emma. Neither one of us needed a full sleeve of fries.

I was just finishing up in the grocery store when I saw Molly. She had a couple of TV dinners in her basket as well as cereal, milk, and cookies. When she looked up at me, I saw she had a black eye.

“Molly, who hit you?” I reached up but she turned away.

“I fell.” She tried to move past me but I grabbed her cart.

“Did someone from the compound threaten you? I can call Greg right now.” I pulled out my phone. “That’s not right.”

She held up a hand. “Stop. It wasn’t anyone from the compound. Let me explain, Jill. Can Icall you Jill?”

I nodded and tucked the phone back into the pocket of my sweatshirt. “Yes. I’m Jill Gardner, I mean, Jill King. We just got married. Anyway, that’s not important. Who hit you?”

“Vince. The guy who was helping me find Carlie. He was agitated. He wanted to take her from the hospital. I told him this was Carlie’s decision. I saw in her eyes that she wanted to come with me, but I also saw confusion. I don’t want to push her. She’s still at the hospital but voluntarily now. She has an infection.She’s so thin.”

“Wait, Vince hit you?” Now I was concerned. Especially since this man was Amanda’s ex-husband.

“He called me a loser. A wimp. Then he hit me. And then he quit working for me. It saved me from having to fire him. Anyway, that was Sunday morning. I moved to an extended-stay hotel here in Bakerstown. I have a stove now.” She glanced at her buzzing phone. “And that’s him again. From his voicemails, he’s sorry and wants to continue to help me. I think he’s just afraid I’ll turn him in to the cops.”

“You should.” I glanced out the large windows in the front of the store. I could see the Jeep and Emma, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, grinning. “My dog’s out in the car. I need to get going, but I could meet you for coffee inabout an hour?”

“I’m fine. I’ll come to South Cove tomorrow. Will you be working at the coffee shop?”

“Until eleven.” I paused, not wanting to scare her. “Maybe it’s better you don’ttalk to Vince.”

“Not planning on it.” She snapped her fingers. “I need bread and jam. The room has a toaster and toast is my go-to snack. Especially with blackberry jam.”

I watched her walk away and I got in line to check out. I needed to talk to Amanda. Without Greg around. If Vince would hit a woman he was working for, I bet he also hit his wife.

Chapter 17

Amanda didn’t pick up, so I left her a message. I told her that I had some questions about Vince. That might be enough to get her to call and to keep the call private. Neither of her sons needed to know about this old, water-under-the-bridge issue. I didn’t even know for sure that Vince had done anything wrong besideshitting Molly.

That was enough for me not to like or trust him.

As I’d expected, Emma was ecstatic to be at the pet store. She had to greet all the checkers and stockers as well as the other two dogs in the store. As we were checking out, I noticed one of the clerks was watching something on his cell phone. He held it out for the other clerk to see.

“I told you, they’re raiding the place now. I bet they find all kinds of illegal stuff there. Drugs, guns, and I heard that they’re trafficking womenand children.”

I glanced over as I ran my card through the machine. It was the New Hope compound. Not only was Greg’s truck there, but all the South Cove police units as well as several from the county sheriff and a few state police cars. I saw several additional cars parked on the road.

A woman I recognized from having worked with her occasionally, Anya Carter, was escorting children from the meetinghouse into a van parked in front. “They’re takingthe children.”

The checker who handed me my receipt nodded. “South Cove police went in to do a welfare check and all heck broke loose. I hear one officer was shot.”

I grabbed my bag and hurried Emma to the car. Then I called Greg. I got his voicemail and left a terse message. Then I called him again. This time he picked up.

“I take it you’ve heard. I’m fine, but Tim got shot. Shoulder wound. He’s at the hospital in Bakerstown. Can you go over and sit with his wife? I can’t leave here, and her folkslive in Iowa.”

“Sure. I have to take the groceries and Emma home, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.” My breathing started slowing just a bit. “I thought you might have been—”

“Which is why I picked up. Let me talk to you later. I’ll call Esmeralda and have her sit with Tim’s wife until you get there. She offered but I wanted to see if you had time. You’re good at this.” I heard a yell from his end of the line. “I’ve really got to go. I love you, Jill.”

“I love you too. Stay safe.” I hurried to say both before he hung up.

“I will.”

Then the call ended. I put my phone in the drink holder next to the bottle of soda I’d bought at the drive-through. It hada screw-on cap.

---