Cold River - Carla Neggers [14]
Who’d made the call?
Who’d bought the materials and assembled the bomb and placed it in the car?
Who’d wanted Melanie Kendall dead?
Whoever had dialed the number of the cell phone and triggered the bomb had known that Melanie Kendall was in that car. How?
Was it someone local, or was there a local accomplice? Sean looked at his brother. “Maybe you should go after Hannah.”
Elijah shook his head. “Not me. I didn’t haul her butt out of the bar that night. You did. I’d have let her bloody those bastards. Even if Wes Harper had arrested her, there isn’t a jury in Vermont that would have convicted her.”
“She was about to get beat up and trampled.”
His brother shrugged. “Just would have made her madder.”
Sean had participated in enough negotiations to know when he’d lost. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Jo’s eyes fastened on Elijah, then Sean, in that kick-ass Secret Service manner of hers. “You two are on a short leash.”
Sean grinned at Elijah. “She hasn’t changed since she was twelve, has she?”
“Four,” Elijah said.
She didn’t so much as crack a smile. “You two can do your Cameron brothers thing,” she said, “but I’m still a member of the task force working this investigation.”
“So your life’s not on hold up here in the sticks?”
Sean had kept his tone light, but Jo didn’t answer for a half beat. “My life is not on hold.”
He saw he’d hit a raw nerve and regretted opening his mouth.
Elijah saved him. “I can follow you and cover you when Hannah checks out of the grocery with her bananas. She’ll never know I’m there.”
Given his brother’s fifteen years’ experience as a soldier, Sean had no reason to doubt him. “Hannah’s scary but not that scary.”
Jo still didn’t smile.
Sean headed out of the café into the center hall and found Devin Shay untangling ski poles in the mudroom. He was agitated, spots of color high on his thin cheeks. “I need a ride up to the lodge,” Devin said. “Hannah’s crazy.”
“What’s going on, Devin?”
“She’s hiking to your dad’s cabin. Alone. I can’t—I’m going with her.”
“Hang on. Hannah can take care of herself, and I can go up to the lodge and check on her. Are you working there today?”
“No.”
“Have you given A.J. notice?” Sean asked him.
Devin shoved the ski poles against the wall. Two clattered to the floor. “I don’t even know why we have so many stupid ski poles. Hannah already took two with her. She’s snowshoeing.”
“Devin—”
“Not yet. No. I will.”
“Get a ride up to the lodge and do it today. Be responsible and up-front. Unless you’ve changed your mind—”
“I haven’t.”
Sean went still a moment, eyeing the teenager. “You haven’t told Hannah yet, either, have you?”
Devin looked away and shook his head. “Have you said anything to A.J.?”
“It’s not my place to tell him or your sister. Devin, you’re almost nineteen. You can make your own decisions about your life. Including Hannah in the process is a good idea. It’s the right thing to do. But ultimately what you do is up to you.”
Toby Shay bounded down the stairs. He was a few inches shorter than Devin, his hair cropped so close, his head almost looked shaved. His obsession with mountain biking kept him in top-notch condition. He was a champion rider, but, according to what his older brother had told Sean, he’d promised his sister he wouldn’t let mountain biking take over his life and fully intended to go to college.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Devin repeated the information about their sister.
Sean put up a hand before Toby could grab poles and snowshoes and head up the mountain, too. Hannah had delicate features and a small frame, which, Sean knew, people often mistook as an indication she was a fragile person. Her brothers, for example. His brothers, too. Sean didn’t. He’d learned a long time ago that she had a spine of iron.
“I’ll see to your sister,” he said. “Devin, you need to tell her—”
“I will.” He looked guilty but less