Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,3
pick her up.
“Honey? Are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m still here,” Jade replied with a sigh. “It’s fine, please don’t worry, I think I’ll just go home.”
“Just hang on! I don’t want you cutting yourself on the glass. Stay on the line until he gets there, okay?”
“Sure.”
Jade looked up just as a patrol car pulled into the parking lot.
Chapter 2
It was just before six when Matthew heard a call over the radio about a vehicle prowl in the Lime Kiln parking lot. He was glad to respond – it was almost the end of his shift and nothing interesting happened the entire day.
He turned his car around just as his cell phone rang. It was Chief Hank.
“Hey Chief.”
“Hey, are you headed to Lime Kiln?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Good.” Chief cleared his throat. “It’s Jade – someone busted her car window.”
Oh. That made it even more interesting. Not that he was happy her car was vandalized, but…
“I’m on it.” Matthew said, stepping on the gas. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell Margie.”
Within seconds, Matthew turned onto Lighthouse Road; he had to remind himself to slow down as he approached the parking lot. It got dark so quickly in the winter that by this hour, he could only see a few feet ahead. Luckily, Jade was easy to spot – she was the only one there as his headlights swung around the corner. She raised a hand and gave a small wave.
Matthew felt his chest tighten. She must’ve been standing there in the complete darkness by herself. Or was she…with someone? It was Valentine’s Day.
“Hey there,” he said as he got out of his patrol car.
She smiled. “Hey. Sorry. I called my mom and before I knew what was happening, dispatch was already involved.”
No, she definitely wasn’t with anyone else – she must’ve gone into the park on her own. Or had she come with someone who then left her to fend for herself?
“Don’t be sorry,” he replied, putting up a hand. “I was happy to stop by. It’s been a very boring night.”
“Well – thank you, I appreciate it. I don’t think this is really all that interesting, though – just a lot of broken glass. I’m not really sure what to do, but I need to find a way to clean it all up.”
Matthew shined his flashlight into the car and examined the glass glistening on the asphalt. “How long were you away from your car?”
“Oh, uh – probably like two hours? Hour and a half? I went on a hike.”
That explained her outfit – it seemed a bit light for the weather. She looked…well, nice. Like she always did, but more outdoorsy than usual. Her cheeks were flushed red and her ponytail looked a bit wind-whipped. “Did you see anyone else while you were hiking?”
She shrugged. “No, not really. When I first started out, there were some people hanging out at the lighthouse. And then…”
“Were you here with anyone?”
“No, I was by myself.”
“Oh, okay.” He leaned down to look under the car, but there was nothing except more glass. One time when he was investigating a burglarized car, he’d found the crumpled up report card of a high school student. People tended to drop things when they were committing crimes – but this time they had no such luck.
“I don’t want to sound crazy,” she continued. “But at times, I felt like there might have been someone else out on the trail.”
Matthew raised himself off of the ground. “You mean following you?”
“I mean…not exactly? But I kept thinking there was someone creeping around, but then when I’d look, I couldn’t see anything.”
Matthew nodded. “I see.”
“But actually, that’s really silly, and I was probably imagining it.”
“No, it’s good to note. You never know,” he replied.
He was about to ask another question when he noticed that she was shivering.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Are you cold?”
She waved a hand. “No, I’m fine. It’s just – I was walking so fast on the trail and now that I’ve been stopped for a while, I’m cooling off.”
“Listen – how about you get into my car and get warmed up.” He paused, taking his coat off to offer to her, which she accepted. “Actually, I don’t live too far from here; I have a shop-vac that we can use for the glass. And then you can either drive your car home or I can have it towed. It’s up to you.”
“I really don’t want to be a bother,” Jade said, her teeth chattering.
“It’s no problem