Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #2 Read Free Page A

holding up his palms. “Mick Hudson. I was trying to assist Keeley when she was attacked. Rivendale got away, but he’s probably not far.”
    â€œRivendale?” John’s eyes narrowed, face gone pale. “I never thought he’d come back. He’s a nervy psycho, isn’t he?”
    In Mick’s experience most psychos had plenty of nerve, and they looked exactly like normal people.
    â€œAnd you are?”
    â€œJohn Bender.”
    The sirens were deafening now as the police pulled up to the house.
    John moved toward the door.
    â€œStay still,” Mick said. “Cops are tense when they respond code three. Don’t give them more reason to be nervous.”
    John shot him a look filled with venom. “I don’t think you can count yourself as a law enforcement expert anymore, can you, Mr. Hudson? Didn’t you leave that arena after you let Rivendale loose to murder Keeley’s sister? I know all about it.”
    Mick’s first reaction was to get in the guy’s face, but the wave of guilt that followed kept him silent.
    â€œThat was the worst moment of my life.” John continued to stare at him. “I loved LeeAnn. If things had turned out different, she would have been my wife.”
    Mick was surprised. Being Tucker Rivendale’s parole officer, he’d known that Tucker loved LeeAnn and she returned the feeling. As far as he knew, they’d been exclusive since LeeAnn returned to Silver Creek. Never had he even heard John Bender’s name mentioned. He shot a look at Keeley, but she didn’t meet his eye.
    He’d missed something. Again.
    You didn’t know a lot of things, Mick. If you had, LeeAnn wouldn’t be dead
.
    * * *
    In the following hour, three cops handled the investigation, interviewing them. Keeley sat calmly on the still-clean sofa, John holding her hand.
    Something about the gangly man annoyed Mick, but then, holing up on his family’s raptor sanctuary since he quit his job hadn’t given him a lot of practice getting along with people. John Bender, as Mick soon figured out, was an avian veterinarian. LeeAnn had worked as his part-time receptionist. Mick remembered LeeAnn mentioned something about studying to become a vet someday.
    Mick sat quietly, listening to every detail until the chief, a short, stocky man by the name of Uttley, finished up.
    â€œRoadblocks are set up and we’ve got people coming from the area response team to help with a door-to-door search.”
    â€œHe can easily stay in the woods,” Mick said.
    The chief raised an eyebrow and patted his front pocket until he found a butterscotch candy, which he stuck in his cheek. “How you figure?”
    â€œHe was a big camper back in the day. Almost an Eagle Scout before he started getting into trouble. Loved the survivalist stuff.”
    The chief sucked, mouth working as he took in Mick’s information. “Think he’ll stick around?”
    Mick nodded and looked at Keeley. “He said something to you, didn’t he? What was it?”
    She started. “I can’t remember. It all happened so fast.”
    â€œAre you sure?” he pressed.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI heard him speak to you.”
    John looped an arm around her shoulders. “She said no, didn’t she?”
    Keeley looked at the floor. “I’m really tired and I have to get up early.”
    â€œI’m going to have a patrol car drive by throughout the night, just as a precaution.” The chief excused himself. “Staying in town, Mr. Hudson?”
    Mick could see by the chief’s sharp eyes that he was nobody’s fool. It made him feel better. A little. “Not sure. Maybe I’ll drive back home tonight.”
    Home? Was that what he had at the sanctuary? A home? It had begun to feel more and more like a hiding place. When he was ten he’d taken a dare and left school at lunchtime, climbing to the top of a fire