A Creed in Stone Creek - Linda Lael Miller [105]
“I really want to believe that,” Melissa said slowly.
“But you don’t?” Andrea challenged, and the tears were back again.
Melissa didn’t answer.
“Don’t you see?” Andrea pressed, looking and sounding desperate now. “Nathan Carter robbed that store, not Byron!”
It wasn’t beyond credibility, but there was one obvious problem. Nathan hadn’t been trying to get away from Stone Creek with the money taken at gunpoint from the Stop & Shop—Byron had been the one at the wheel when Tom caught up to him. And Byron probably wouldn’t have stopped at all if he hadn’t run off the road.
“Then why wasn’t he driving Velda’s car, Andrea?” Melissa asked, after taking a few moments to collect her own composure. “If Nathan went into that store, wearing a ski mask, and stole that money, why was Byron the one who tried to get away?”
“I don’t know,” Andrea said.
“You don’t know,” Melissa repeated, absorbing that.
“After Byron realized his mom’s car was missing, he told me to go back to my apartment and stay there. He said there was going to be trouble, he could feel it, and he didn’t want me to be involved.”
“And you went home? Just like that?” Melissa was skeptical. The Andrea she knew wasn’t fond of taking orders.
“Yes,” Andrea replied. “Byron was really upset, and I was scared. Not of Byron, but of whatever had scared him so much.”
“So you’ve been home, in your apartment, since Byron sent you away?”
Andrea bit her lower lip, then shook her head. “No,” she answered, after a few beats. “The Crockett sisters heard about the robbery over their police scanner, and they couldn’t wait to tell me that Sheriff Parker and all his deputies were out hunting for Byron. I panicked and went over to Velda’s, and Nathan was there. He told me Byron was in big trouble, that he’d pulled a heist with a deadly weapon and Velda had gone to the jail to try and do something to help—”
A chill trickled down Melissa’s spine. “And after that?”
“Steven Creed brought Velda home. She’s a basket case. Nathan’s making like he’s all caring and everything—he made her a hot toddy and everything.”
“And you decided to come and talk to me.” It was a statement, not a question. Melissa’s mind was racing, but she knew she appeared calm on the outside. She’d had a lot of practice at that.
Andrea nodded hard, glanced nervously in the direction of the door. “I knew Byron thought Nathan had taken the car, and when I heard about the robbery and headed over to Velda’s, and Nathan was there, I knew what had really happened. I sneaked out while he was making a fuss over Velda, making her a drink and everything, and then I was scared to go home, because Nathan knows where I live.”
Melissa rose from her chair, crossed to the wall phone, and picked up the handset.
Tom Parker answered on the first ring. “Stone Creek County Sheriff’s office,” he said. “This is Tom.”
Melissa launched right in, telling Tom everything Andrea had told her.
He didn’t interrupt, but simply listened.
“I’ll check it out,” he said, when she’d finished. “Keep Andrea there with you, and make sure all the doors and windows are locked up tight.”
“Tom,” Melissa said, after catching her breath. “Be careful, okay?”
“Always,” he promised, with a smile in his voice. “I’ll leave Elvis here to guard the prisoner.”
Melissa didn’t comment. “Call me,” she said.
“Lock up tight,” Tom responded.
And then he hung up.
Melissa checked the front door and all the windows. She brewed more tea, and she and Andrea moved to the living room, where there were draperies over the windows.
Melissa was definitely creeped out, and she knew Andrea was, too, although neither of them said much. Andrea seemed exhausted, and little wonder, after the night she’d put in.
Eventually, Andrea fell asleep on the couch.
Melissa covered her with an afghan Ashley had crocheted for her years ago, as a Christmas gift, and sat down in her easy chair again, huddled inside her bathrobe.
The clock on the mantel ticked