Hearts on the Line Read online

  He blinked. Montgomery stiffened beside her.

  “I—I—don’t—” David cleared his throat. “Yes. I don’t have anything to live for. My family’s gone. I have bills I can’t pay.”

  Becca started to push Montgomery back toward the stairs, where it was safer, when he interjected, “I’ll help you with that, David.”

  The jumper’s gaze swung to the man next to her. Surprised by the offer, she, too, wanted to look at Montgomery, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off David James. Again she acknowledged the calm power behind Montgomery’s words, as though he knew instinctively what to do in a situation like this.

  “You see, there are ways to help you, David. If you come down from there, we can talk about it.” Becca concentrated on keeping her voice even, nonthreatening.

  For a long moment David didn’t say anything, then he shook his head as though trying to rid his mind of some image. “Help? I’ve tried talking to her. She won’t listen.”

  “When you tried to talk to your wife, she wouldn’t listen?”

  David slowly turned so he could face her, but he remained on the foot-wide ledge. “Yes. I left messages at her mother’s all evening and this morning for her to call me. She didn’t! I was late to work because of her.”

  “Maybe she didn’t get your messages.”

  Surprise flickered across his features. “You might be right! It would be just like her mother not to tell her about my calls. She hates me.”

  “Come down here and we can try again.” Becca pulled out her cell phone, dangling it in front of him as though it were a prize he couldn’t possibly resist.

  David glanced at the ground to his left, then back at Becca. She held her breath, hoping he would follow her gentle command. Sometimes that worked, especially if he hadn’t totally thought through committing suicide.

  David shrugged. “Okay.”

  Montgomery released a heavy sigh that mirrored her own feelings as she watched David climb down from the ledge and walk toward her, holding his hand out for the cell phone.

  As he neared her, she began heading toward the stairs to the tenth floor below, saying, “Do you want me to make the call?” She wanted to get him as far away from the ledge as possible.

  “No, I will.”

  David came up beside her while Montgomery took the rear. After passing the phone to David, she threw a glance over her shoulder, wishing Montgomery was a police officer in case they ended up in a scuffle. She hated involving civilians. Montgomery smiled and nodded as though he could read her mind and was reassuring her he could take care of himself. With his muscular build, no doubt he could, she decided, a connection arcing between her and Montgomery. They were both determined to keep David from jumping.

  “Trish, pick up. This is David. I’ve got to talk to you. Please!”

  Anger, mixed with frustration, returned to David’s face. Becca slowly retrieved her handcuffs from her pocket and prepared for if he decided to dash for the ledge again. If she had her way, he wouldn’t, now that she had him down from it.

  He snapped the phone closed and cursed. “She’s gonna regret not taking my call when—”

  Before David had a chance to finish his sentence, Becca grabbed his arm and twisted first one, then the other, behind his back and locked the handcuffs on his wrists. David jerked around, obviously intending to head back up to the roof. Montgomery blocked David’s path in the stairwell to the tenth floor. From behind, several uniformed officers rushed up and whisked the jumper away, as he screamed his frustration.

  All the emotions and tension she had held at bay during the ordeal flooded Becca the minute she realized David wouldn’t be jumping that day, that he might get the help he needed. While the uniform officers led him away, she sagged against the handrail, squeezing her eyes closed and drawing in cleansing breaths.

  “Thank you.”

  Montgomery’s deep voice penetrated the place she went in her mind where she tried to regroup after a negotiation. When she opened her eyes, he stood right in front of her, filling her vision, all six feet two inches of him. Now that she had the time to examine him, he took her breath away. Dressed in faded jeans and a short-sleeved blue shirt, he reinforced her earlier impression that he was all muscles and power. His chocolate brown eyes twinkled as the seconds ticked into a full minute and she hadn’t said anything. A flush actually colored his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t usually stare at people unless I think they’re going to commit a crime. But after a negotiation, I’m wiped out, even when they don’t last long, like this one.”

  The corner of his mouth cocked upward. “I think I know the feeling. I was so glad when you showed up.” He plowed both hands through his short russet-colored hair, then scrubbed them down his face as though to wash the past hour from his mind. “I don’t know how you do it. Are you called out much?”

  “More than I wish. Usually a few times a month.” She extended her hand. “Thank you for your help.”

  He took her hand within his and shook it. “I wasn’t gonna let David jump.”

  His determination underscored her own in situations like this, and the connection she had felt earlier between them crackled again.

  Still grasping her hand, he said, “But you don’t have to worry about me applying for your job. One officer of the law in the family is enough for me.”

  The firmness and warmth in his touch conveyed the man she had heard about from his brother, Brendan, a former police officer who had until recently worked with her. She’d casually known Quinn Montgomery from afar, but suddenly there seemed nothing casual between them now.

  “I miss Brendan at the CSPD, but he seems to be settling in at the FBI,” Becca said, trying to dismiss the feeling of interest hovering below the surface.

  “Yeah, he’s a regular Elliot Ness.”

  “Not J. Edgar Hoover?” She started down the stairs, realizing that Sarge would be waiting for her.

  “Nah, Brendan’s more a hands-on type of guy, like me.”

  “Is that why you were here? Isn’t Montgomery Construction a big operation?”

  “I like to be involved in all the projects as much as possible, especially with what has happened lately.”

  “That’s right. Wasn’t there a fire at your business a few months back?”

  “Yeah, my carpentry shop and storage barn were destroyed. A lot of things have been happening to the Montgomery family lately. It pays to keep an eye open. What’s going to happen to David?” Quinn punched the down button for the elevator.

  “He’ll get the help he needs.” She slanted a glance toward Quinn Montgomery, trying to remember all that Brendan had told her about his older brother. “Did you mean what you said about helping him with his bills?”

  He nodded. “He’ll need it.”

  “I’ve got a feeling David will appreciate it, especially when he straightens out his life.” Now she remembered what Brendan had once said about his older brother. He was a man whose word was good as gold. She liked that.

  Stepping onto the elevator, Quinn said, “I’m in your debt for showing up when you did. I didn’t know how I was going to get him down from that ledge. I’d run out of ideas.”

  “You were doing a pretty good job of keeping him calm. The important thing was that David was still there when I showed up.”

  That cocky smile reappeared. “I was afraid he could hear my knees knocking and the sound would drive him over the edge.”

  She laughed.

  He liked the sound of her laughter—light, musical, as if it danced on the air. “Seriously, if I can do anything for you, return the favor in any way, please let me know.”

  “I was just doing my job, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “Quinn, and that doesn’t mean I can’t feel indebted to you for your assistance up on the roof, Becca. David was one of my employees, part of my family.”

  She turned her head toward him, her ponytail flying to one side with the sudden movement. That drew his attention to
her light-brown hair, streaked with blond coloring. Her large hazel eyes focused on him, making him aware of the small confines in the elevator. For a moment his gaze connected with hers, and he became lost in her light-brown depths with green specks.

  She blinked, stepping back a pace. “Thank you, but—”

  The elevator doors whooshed open and the noise and activity rushed in to remind Quinn of what had just transpired for the past sixty minutes. What she was about to say to him was lost as a big man in a police uniform approached them.

  “Becca, you did a good job.” The man looked toward Quinn. “I’m the team leader, Carl Johnson. We’ll need a statement from you, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “Fine. I’ll come down to the station later today.” After shaking Carl’s hand, Quinn stepped to the side, seeing his younger brother coming toward him. “Again, thank you, Becca, for your help. If you need anything, let me know.”

  As Quinn walked away, he heard the man say to Becca, “We’ll need your report while it’s still fresh in your mind. This one ended good.”

  Quinn paused to watch Becca leave with her team leader and another police officer. Quinn still could picture her big eyes, full of life even in the midst of such turmoil and potential death. Her look reminded him of Maggie. The memory of the last time he’d seen Maggie pierced his heart. He shook the reflection from his mind. He had moved on. He wouldn’t go down that path again.

  “I hear you had some action this morning.” Brendan patted him on the back. “And you handled yourself well.”

  “I told Becca Hilliard that she never has to worry about me applying for her job.” Quinn walked toward the area where he had set up a makeshift office on site. Still fresh in his mind was the first few minutes up on the roof with David. Fear such as he rarely encountered had washed through him until he had said a prayer to God for guidance. Then, as though the Lord had clasped his shoulder and stood next to him, his fear had dissolved and in its place had been a resolve to see David safely down from the ledge. He had known that everything would be all right. Not long after that Becca Hilliard had arrived as though she had been sent from the Lord.

  “You need to give a statement.”

  “I know. Just give me a few minutes. I need a strong cup of coffee and something sweet.”

  Brendan followed him into the room. “Pour me a cup, too.”

  “What brings you by?” Quinn handed his younger brother a mug full of hot, strong coffee, then filled a cup for himself.

  “Heard about the jumper and came running. Couldn’t see you going through this without me, especially with the trouble we’ve had lately. At first I thought it was connected to that.”

  “Nope. David James just lost it. His supervisor called him on being late for work. That sent the man over the edge. He flew at Collins, hit him a few times, then escaped up to the roof, where he threatened to jump.”

  “Is Collins okay?”

  “Yeah, just a cut lip and probably a black eye.” Quinn lifted his mug to take a sip and noticed his hand shaking. He placed the mug on his desk before he spilled his coffee. “How does she do it?”

  “Who? What?”

  “Becca. Negotiating.” Quinn clasped his hands together to still their trembling, recognizing the reaction as delayed shock. When he had thought David would jump, all he could think of was the man’s two little girls without their father. Thank You, God, for delivering David safely down. And thank You for sending Becca to help.

  “Ah, now it’s just Becca.”

  “Stop right there, little brother. After going through something like what happened on that rooftop together, it seems kinda ridiculous to call the woman Ms. Hilliard.”

  Brendan lounged against the file cabinet. “She has her own methods of destressing. We all do.”

  Quinn knew his brother was referring to people working in law enforcement. He’d been engaged to a woman who had been on the police force until—again his heart twisted with the remembrance of that day Maggie had died. So much for not going down memory lane.

  “You’re the boss. Give yourself the rest of the day off. I think you deserve it.”

  “So I can go over what happened on the rooftop until I go screaming down the street? No, thank you. I think I’ll stay and work.” This was one of his ways of dealing with stress. Finally, Quinn thought his hand was steady enough to pick up his mug and take a long drink of his much-needed coffee. “How’s Chloe? Have you two set a date yet?”

  Brendan chuckled. “I get the picture. No more talking about you. Chloe and I are negotiating when. Definitely Chloe’s the one.”

  “I’m glad, since you two are already engaged.”

  “How about you? Seeing anyone?”

  “Don’t have the time. The fire set me back some. Having to rebuild the shop and barn as well as do all the projects we’re committed to has taken a lot of my extra time.”

  “I thought you finished the shop and barn a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Yes, but…” Quinn let his sentence trail off into the silence. He and his brother knew the real reason he hadn’t dated. Except for the few times Brendan had tried to fix him up since Maggie’s death three years ago, he hadn’t gone out with anyone. Instead, he had thrown himself into his work and his carpentry.

  “She would have wanted you to move on, Quinn.”

  “I know. I am. Colleen has a friend at the paper she wants to introduce me to. I’m thinking about taking her up on her offer once she returns from Italy for her wedding.”

  The second Quinn said that, however, an image of Becca up on the rooftop, totally focused on David, calm and in control, popped into his mind. There’s something about Becca Hilliard that—no, don’t go there. Her job is as dangerous as Maggie’s was, and Maggie’s job killed her.

  TWO

  Becca took the stairs up to the attic and opened the windows at each end of it to let the cool breeze blow through and the stale air escape out. She had a few minutes before Quinn showed up and she wanted to find her sister’s box of memorabilia to send to her. She’d been promising her for months, and if she didn’t do it now, she would probably forget for another month—especially since her younger sister had just called asking her to send it to her.

  Amazed that she still didn’t have the time to do the things needed—after all, both her sister and brother no longer lived at home—Becca headed for the corner where Caitlin had kept her belongings. Her two siblings were gone, so why couldn’t she find enough time to do all that needed to be done?

  “Because I have now decided to finish my college degree in psychology on top of trying to solve the rash of recent murders. What did I expect?” she muttered to herself as she dug through the boxes for the one Caitlin had described. Being married to her job didn’t allow a lot of extra time.

  In the very back, perched on a rafter, she saw the black square box with her sister’s treasures. Becca stretched over the containers piled in her way. Just a few more inches. She leaned farther forward, lost her balance and started to fall. With quick reflexes, she managed to catch herself by putting her hand down on the rafter while her foot came down hard in the area between two beams. The unfinished part of the floor held for a second, then suddenly her foot plunged down through it, the jagged edges of the wood ripping through her capri pants and digging into her thigh. Pain shot through her.

  She swung her leg that dangled from the ceiling in the third bedroom on the second floor, hoping to give herself some momentum to shove herself up out of the hole she was caught in. She couldn’t dislodge herself. She examined the area around her for something to use to drag herself out. Nothing. Frustrated, she slapped her hands on the two rafters, the only firm support around her, and pushed upward. Her leg, caught on something, wouldn’t budge. Again, then again, she attempted to free herself as the pain continued to radiate up her leg.

  Finally, in exhaustion she sagged against the wooden beam. Sweat dripped off her face and coated her white shirt. She took a moment to regain her strength whi
le she ran through different scenarios in her mind. The only thing she could come up with was to keep trying and hope eventually sheer force would dislodge her.

  The ringing of her doorbell cut into the sound of her heavy breathing. Quinn Montgomery. Maybe her knight in shining armor had arrived—not that she believed in such a thing. She’d learned earlier to depend on only herself and her work with the police department had only confirmed that through the eight years she had been on the force. But she was a practical person and right now she needed help.

  The chimes sounded again.

  “Quinn! Help!” she yelled, hoping he heard with the windows open. “Help!”

  “Becca…” She heard his wonderful, deep voice calling up to her through the window. “Where are you?”

  “In the attic. I fell through the floor and can’t get out.”

  “How do I get in? Do you have a spare key outside somewhere?”

  The very thought appalled her. Why make it easy for a robber to get into her house? She’d be the butt of jokes at the police station for weeks. “No. My neighbor on the left has one.”

  “Be right back.”

  Even though help was on the way, Becca gave it another try, hating the idea she was trapped in her house, helpless, depending on another for rescue. Still, all she managed to do was press the jagged pieces of wood into her flesh even more. She bit down hard. She hoped she wasn’t bleeding all over her grandmother’s quilt, which covered Caitlin’s bed. Granny would roll over in her grave if she was.

  Moments later footsteps pounded up the stairs to the attic. She inhaled in a deep, calming breath, and nearly choked on the dust she’d stirred up. She sneezed, releasing one hand to rub her nose. She must look a wreck with sweat-drenched clothes covered in the dust and dirt from the floor. So much for second impressions.

  “Becca?”

  Realizing the mound of boxes hid her from his view, she called out, “I’m over here.”

  Quinn peered over the stack and, with a sharp gaze, assessed the situation with a quick sweep. “Okay?”

  “Except for being embarrassed for putting myself in this position, I’m fine.”