Page 5 of Secrets at Dawn
She was just someone he shared the trail with five times a week.
So why did he get the feeling she’d be an important part of his future?
****
He stood at the coffee machine watching it stream into his Goonies mug. The mug was black and had a skull and crossbones. It readGoonies Never Say Die. He loved the movie, plot holes and all. Who cared about perfection when something was that entertaining?
It was Sunday, and he had an assignment due. He was researching the folklore of a small town. Every time Toby thought about the topic and what he’d write about, he thought about the story of the missing lumber baron and his gold. So many treasure hunters had looked for the gold, never mind about the lumber baron. Looking for him would dig up bones. Almost two hundred years had gone by, so even bones might be hard to find. Some said he was a vampire and that he still lingered somewhere in the mountains, barely alive but not breathing. His blood turned to ash inside his skin. No one had ever found him. He and the gold were lost forever. Only the treasure hunters survived, and even then, some of them had killed to find what had been lost long ago.
It was a neat story, but everyone had heard it. It was as popular as Dinsmore College’s magic program. Fun Fact: the college was named after the missing lumber baron. Everyone thought he haunted the campus, but no one had evidence to support such a claim—and for a scientist like Toby, evidence was important, even for one studying the folklore surrounding people like him. He majored in cryptology and genetics. He threw in a few business courses because he hoped to open his own shop someday. He had an entrepreneurial spirit, though he had no idea what he’d sell. Hell, maybe he’d learn how to make a good cup of coffee and open one more coffee shop in town.
He rolled his eyes at himself and thought,as if the dozen already here aren’t enough.
Or maybe he would open another little trinket shop for all the treasure-hunting tourists and hikers.
That wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. He rather liked the little stuffed treasure chests the hunters and hikers often left town with. He even had one he placed on his bed every morning after making it.
He always put the coffee creamer in his mug before pressing the go button on the machine. Sweet cream was his favorite. Just milk, cream, and sugar. He’d looked at the ingredients label before buying it the first time, and he’d stuck to the same brand ever since.
He turned the television on, wanting background noise, but the first thing he saw was a used car dealership commercial he hated, so he switched it off again. The guy in the commercial yelled every word they spoke. It was so unnecessary.
It was after his mug was full and he’d taken it to the sliding glass door to look out at the park while he sipped his first cup of coffee that he found out why he’d been so unsettled.
When he’d finally gotten out of the atrocious dorms, he moved to the apartments across the street from the park. He’d hated living so close to so many magic users. He was a bit envious that they could use theirs so openly when he had to hide his abilities.
No one can know, Toby.
The rental company had tried to sell him on the abundance of wolf shifters who lived in the building. Most were students like him. But that hadn’t been the thing Toby had liked. In fact, that was a bit of a deterrent, too. But he’d loved the park and the balcony where he had a bird’s eye view.
The view was his favorite part. He was grateful to have it, which was something he didn’t feel very often. He was a glass-half-empty sort of person. But he watched the water flow over the rocks in the creek and the leaves flutter in the breeze. Some couldn’t hang on to their branch and floated to the ground like little yellow and red soldiers succumbing to their wounds.
Toby’s fellow runner stood in the small parking area. People who didn’t go to the park but wanted to go to the shops on Main Street parked there when finding space was hard. But very few people were out so early in the day.
He watched her take her keys out of her pocket. She wore expensive workout pants that boasted of not chafing and had a pocket for the essentials, which hugged whatever she put inside against her body.
Her phone must have rung because she took it out of yet another pocket, looked at the screen, and then frowned. He was too far away to see her roll her eyes but close enough to know she had. She shook her head and began typing furiously with her thumbs. Because she was looking down at her phone and she turned away from the park, she didn’t see the two men approach her. But Toby sure did.
They made a beeline straight for her. They didn’t bother walking on the paths through the park; they walked on the grass. Their agenda was clear, at least to Toby.
He set his coffee mug on the side table next to the couch, grabbed his phone, which was also on that table, and hurried back to the scene of what was turning out to be a crime.
The two men appeared to be college-aged students, at least from a distance. They egged each other on, pushing each other playfully. He’d watched enough true crime shows on television to know what would happen to her. And he didn’t need statistical data to know she’d become just another female murder victim if Toby didn’t do something to help.
He stepped out onto his balcony even as he punched in the number for emergency services. The 911 operator didn’t waste time, answering right away.
“I’d like to report a crime. It’s still in progress.”
She asked for his address, and he gave it without hesitation, adding, “But the crime is taking place at Cross Creek Park. Inthe west parking area.” It wasn’t a big lot where rows of vehicles could park, but rather one long row.
“Where are you, sir?”
“I’m standing on my balcony. I can see the whole thing.” He’d been sort of minding his own business. Not that he really ever minded his own business when he sat on his balcony. He liked people-watching too much.
At first, the woman smiled as they approached. Her smile was one of curiosity. The kind you gave to strangers right before they told you what they wanted.
Almost as soon as they started talking to her, her smile fell. Fear entered her gaze, and she took a step away from them.
The men expected her to retreat, and the dark-haired man grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him.
