Cold feet(47)
Author: Brenda Novak

Caleb wanted to move toward Madison, but he didn’t dare. He was afraid he’d take her in his arms, and what had occurred in the hall last night would happen all over again. "Why would you doubt his word, Maddy? Why would you think him capable of murder?"

She frowned. "Because I know his dark side."

LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, Caleb’s cell phone rang while he was driving Ellis Purcell’s truck to a bakery not far from the University of Washington, where he was to meet Detective Gibbons. He scowled as he looked down at the phone lying innocently on the seat beside him, and refused to answer. He couldn’t believe he’d made the situation with Madison exponentially worse by sleeping with her.

Whoever was calling hung up, and silence fell. But a few minutes later, the ringing started again. Finally glancing at the LED readout, he realized it was his mother, and punched the talk button. He couldn’t avoid her forever. She’d already left him several messages he hadn’t returned because he didn’t want to hear all the reasons he shouldn’t be doing what he was doing. After last night, he was beginning to figure out a few of those reasons on his own.

Unfortunately, his hunch about Ellis’s daughter possessing key information was also turning out to be right.

"Caleb?"

"Hi, Mom, what’s up?"

"It’s about time I got through to you," she said. "We talked more often when you were living in San Francisco."

"Sorry, I’ve been busy."

"With Ellis Purcell’s daughter?"

He shook his head as guilt washed through him. "I’m meeting Detective Gibbons in a few minutes," he said, purposely sidestepping an answer.

"Holly called here last night," she said, switching subjects.

"She did? What for?"

"She’d just said goodbye to her parents at the airport and was feeling a little bereft. She’s taking this all so hard." He heard the sympathy in his mother’s voice. Caleb knew Justine was aware of Holly’s shortcomings, but the ties they’d forged when they were a family didn’t simply evaporate. "She said she dropped by your new place, but you weren’t home."

Probably when he’d been out to dinner with Madison. "I’ll give her a call," he said.

"That would be nice."

His call-waiting beeped. "I’d better go. Someone’s trying to get through."

"Wait," she said. "I was hoping you could come to dinner this evening."

He thought about the contents of the box Madison had described last night. He wanted her to take him to her mother’s house and let him search for it–or at least look for indications of who might have removed it. From what he’d overheard earlier, Madison’s mother claimed she didn’t know anything about that stuff. But Caleb wasn’t completely convinced she was telling the truth. Annette was so loyal to Ellis he could easily imagine her destroying evidence that might prove her husband’s guilt. And he wanted to question Tye and, of course, Johnny because he was living so close.

"Thanks for the invitation," he said. "I’d really like to see you and Dad, but I have other plans."

"With whom?"

"A friend."

"I’d like to meet Madison," his mother said, without skipping a beat. "Why don’t you bring her over?"

Caleb pulled the phone away from his ear so he could catch the number of the person trying to reach him. It was Madison.

"I’m getting another call, Mom."

"So are you coming?"

"I can’t bring Madison. Someone–Tamara or Dad–is bound to give me away."

"I’ll talk to them before you get here, make sure that doesn’t happen."

"I’ll get back to you," he said and took Madison’s call. "Hello?"

"Caleb?"

"Everything okay?"

"I think so. I wanted to tell you that Brianna called me from her father’s house."

"What’d she have to say?"

"She asked me to tell you that the magic rock really works."

Caleb was glad he’d thought of Brianna when he’d found that piece of pyrite on the ground. But he was a little concerned that Brianna had felt the need to use its "magic." "What happened?"

"I guess she spilled her milk, and Leslie got upset," Madison said, worry creeping into her voice. "Brianna didn’t get a chance to explain more than that because Danny walked in on the middle of the conversation and made her hang up."

"Did Brianna seem okay when she called?"

"For the most part."

"Is there any chance Danny would let us pick her up early?"

"No. I’ve tried that before."

"I wanted to bring her with us tonight."

"Are we going somewhere?"

Caleb knew they should avoid each other. He certainly had no business taking her to meet his family. But he couldn’t resist. "My mother invited us over for dinner. I told her I’d ask you."

There was a slight hesitation. "Caleb…"

"Just as friends," he said.

"If Johnny’s still living in the garage and won’t leave, or my mother finds out he’s ever been there, today might not go as smoothly as I’d like," she responded.

"Why don’t I go there with you, make sure you don’t run into any problems?"

"You really want to risk getting involved?"

He didn’t want to risk having Johnny recognize him from that long-ago interview, but he couldn’t let Madison go over to her mother’s place alone, just in case her brother gave her trouble. On the hopeful side, Caleb had a hard time believing Johnny would be sitting inside the Purcells’ garage in the middle of the day. "I’m not worried about it."

"If you’re sure."

"I’m sure." He reached the Grateful Bread Company on 24th Street and could see Detective Gibbons, wearing his customary cheap suit, sitting inside with a cup of coffee. The detective got up and started toward him as soon as he spotted Caleb pulling into the small lot.

Caleb waved him away until he could hang up with Madison. "So will you come?"

"What time?" she asked.

"My parents usually eat around six, but I’ll need to confirm. Do you think we can be finished at your mother’s by then?"

"Unless we have Johnny problems."

"We’ll hope for the best. I’ll see you in a couple of hours." He ended the call and hopped out to find Detective Gibbons already circling the truck, checking each tire. "What do you think?" he asked. "Do they match the track you found near Susan’s body?"

Gibbons had him get back in the truck and back up, then circled it again. Finally, he straightened and scratched his scalp. "I don’t think so."