The Soldier's Promise

She realized she hadn’t seen the dog Marilyn had mentioned. And it was strange that a large dog would not have barked at a stranger’s presence. But Joshua Manning knew the law, had obviously checked into it, and she had no legal reason to demand anything. Especially with only Marilyn’s vivid imagination to go on.

Go. Just leave. She turned the key in the ignition, but her thoughts went back to when he’d mentioned Dave Hannity. There had been pain in his eyes. It had been there only for the briefest of seconds, but in that time she’d felt its impact.

He hadn’t said so, but she was sure he’d been in the service. That was probably why he limped. There was still pain in that leg. She’d seen that, too. She’d seen it in Russ when he’d been recovering from a football injury to his knee, the one that had ended his career as a college quarterback.

She wanted to look back, but she was too far away now. Her world had just been rocked, and she didn’t know why or how. She only knew she had to stay away from him. He aroused feelings she didn’t want or need. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel until they hurt. Then she drove toward the main road. Going to the office.

To a safe place.

CHAPTER THREE

WHEN EVE ARRIVED at the office, Tom was waiting for her. Although it was only midmorning, he looked tired.

His appearance worried her. “Should you be here?”

“I’m going crazy at home,” he said. “Maggie’s hovering around like I’m an invalid. Hell, Eve, I’m not ready for a rocking chair. Two days of doing nothing, and I’m going nuts. Besides, I’m still chief until you replace me.”

Eve was torn. Tom had been her father’s close friend for years, and as a detective with the county sheriff’s department had investigated his murder three years ago. A native of Covenant Falls, he had taken her father’s place as police chief after the funeral and hoped to find her father’s murderers, but he hadn’t. She knew he still fretted about that.

In those three years, he’d become even more a member of her family, rooting for Nick at Little League games, serving as her sounding board and being part of every family celebration. He was someone she didn’t want to lose. Couldn’t lose. But she also knew him well enough to realize he would not do well sitting at home.

“You look a bit flushed yourself,” he said. “Are you and Nick all right?”

She feared the flush was deepening. “Guess it’s from running around this morning. And Nick is fine. Only two more weeks of school, then I’ll be worrying all day long. I can’t keep him off that bike.”

“Your dad used to say the same about you.”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

He changed the subject. “I hear you couldn’t agree on a replacement for me.”

She sighed. The meeting yesterday had been contentious. One of the deputies vying for the job was the nephew of the council president. “In the first place, no one could replace you. But then Al, Ed and Nancy want Sam. I don’t think he’s ready. He’s a little too fast to assume the worst.” She didn’t add that her husband had coached Sam Clark on the Covenant Falls High football team and thought him a bully.

“I agree,” Tom said. “He has seniority over the other officers, but I purposely didn’t promote him to sergeant because I question his judgment.” He sighed heavily. “I think your father hired him for the same reason you have to keep him. You need Al’s support for your budget, and he controls three of the five votes on the council. Or, I should say, owns them. I could keep Sam under control, but if we can’t find someone too strong for the council to ignore, you’ll have a fight on your hands.”

Eve knew he was right. “You just have to find me that person at a salary we can pay. We couldn’t afford you if you didn’t have the county retirement.”

Tom shrugged. “You don’t get paid nearly enough for all the work you do. Grady Dillard just sat in that chair and drank with his cronies. You’ve put life back in Covenant Falls.”

“Our newest resident isn’t very impressed.” The words escaped before she could stop them. Why did Joshua Manning linger in her head?

Linger? No, dominate. It was annoying. Confounding. Maddening.

Tom raised an eyebrow and nearly looked like the man he’d been before all the heart attacks. “The guy at the Hannity place?”

“You’ve heard?”

“Marilyn called me, too. I don’t take her too seriously.” His face hardened. “Also had a burglary call this morning. That’s why I came in.”

“Where?”

“Maude’s. Someone broke into her diner last night. Took the late-night cash. About three hundred dollars or so, she said.”

Eve groaned. If she hadn’t stopped at the Hannity place, she would have heard the news sooner. The amount wasn’t much to a lot of people, but it was to Maude. And it was the first burglary in months. There had been vandalism in some of the cabins around the lake, but nothing more than that. Not in the past year.

“Could be teenagers,” Tom said, “but most of the locals are good kids.”

She suddenly knew who would be blamed. “Any suspects?”

He shrugged. “Not yet, but rumors are circulating, probably helped by Sam. He wants to talk to the new guy. I said no. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“His name is Joshua Manning, and I talked to him this morning. He didn’t say much, except he inherited the cabin from David Hannity, and that David had been in the army. I had the impression he’s ex-military, too, although he didn’t say so. He’s fixing up the place. I can’t see him breaking into a restaurant for a few hundred dollars.”

“You have good instincts, Eve, but if you want, I’ll quietly check him out.”

Eve hesitated. She was reluctant to invade the man’s privacy, and if it wasn’t for the burglary, she would have said no. But she knew how rumors spread in town. Too many would put together the arrival of an unfriendly and admittedly scruffy-looking resident with the first major crime of the year. Better to quash them fast.

“You said you thought he was former military. Why?” Tom was a Vietnam veteran, and she knew he had a soft spot for other present and former servicemen.

She shrugged. Casually, she hoped. “He’s not very talkative. In fact, he avoided saying much of anything about himself. Said it was none of my business, but everything points to it.”

Tom looked quizzical. “He said that to you, and you didn’t bash him?”

“Well, he was right. It really wasn’t my business, and bashing wouldn’t be very becoming of a mayor, would it?” She decided to change the subject. “But he does have a pronounced limp and a fairly recent scar on his face. It follows that he served with David.”

“Or he’s a relative,” Tom said. “Didn’t I tell you not to take things for granted?”

Something else she had learned as mayor. She nodded. “That could be.” She winced at the memory of how Joshua Manning had controlled the conversation and how completely inept she’d felt. She hated that.

Not to mention that she still felt all tingly inside when she thought about him. That was unacceptable.

“Want me to pay a visit?”

“I think he’s had enough of visits. Why don’t you just check with the attorney who handled the probate? You know everyone in this county. And run a quick background check. That should satisfy Sam.” She didn’t like the idea of having to satisfy Sam, but she knew him well enough to realize he might go snooping on his own. Especially if Tom wasn’t around to control him.

Tom nodded. “I’ll do that.”

“I don’t want you to do too much.”

“Just a few phone calls. I swear.”

“If you feel...”

“I’ll call the doc,” he replied.

She hesitated, worried about burdening him more, then said, “And while you’re at it, could you find out what happened to Dave Hannity? Russ used to run with him, and I would like to know. His disappearance was one of the town’s big mysteries after his uncle drowned.”

“Will do. I’m kinda interested myself.”