“I’m not sure if they expect a big catfight between me and Cora or not. They all act like this is some entertaining show, but I am truly terrified Noah,” she admitted in a low voice so the other customers wouldn’t hear her.
“I know, baby. Hang in there,” he said firmly. “Cora got bailed out, but she is not allowed near you. If you even see her across the street, you call me. I don’t trust her.”
Ray came over a few minutes later with a glass of tea in his hand. He sat across from them. He looked tired, too, and Alana knew her family was just as concerned as she was.
“How’s it going? Any luck?”
“No.” Noah frowned. “I have Drake following Cora. I think she is hiding him. Otherwise we’d have found him by now. Red Hook is nowhere near the size of a large city. Matt and Tony Smith are helping me out here in town. They are ex-marines and capable of finding a needle in a haystack.”
Ray looked out the big window as if scanning the area. The sidewalks were empty. “I agree. I hope they find something soon. We won’t be able to relax until this guy is off the streets. It sucks Cora’s fancy lawyer didn’t let her sit in a jail cell. She better not get away scot-free.”
“She won’t. A judge will see to that. Worse is her reputation in this town is in tatters. People are shocked and upset by her actions,” Noah admitted. “Even Daddy can’t buy her a new reputation. Our phones are ringing off the hook. People are shocked and angry that she could do something so low to Alana. Helen brought her daughter in to help answer the phones. Hopefully people don’t interfere with our search.”
Alana leaned against him, and she felt herself shiver. He immediately put his arm around her, and she felt better. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“That’s okay. I just feel jumpy. I have never been the target of such hate before. I want this to be all over. I am tired of being scared and worried every time I hear the door ring,” she confessed.
“I doubt Jeremy has the guts to come in here,” Noah assured her. He looked at Ray. “Personally I think Cora is the brains behind all this. I just can’t prove it, but I won’t stop until I do.”
Ray frowned. “If I see that bitch even try to come in here, I will not stop Alicia from kicking her ass.”
Noah smiled. “Let Alicia have her.”
His cell rang, and he answered it. Drake was reporting that the Smiths caught Jeremy trying to break into the hardware store.
Noah sighed with relief and pumped his fist in the air. “Yes, keep following Cora, and I’ll get to the station.” He looked at Alana and Ray with an elated expression. “They got Jeremy.”
Ray smiled and high-fived him. “Awesome news, man.”
Noah kissed Alana’s cheek. “I have to go, baby. Stay with your family until I come and get you. We have Jeremy, but Cora is still around.”
He felt some of the tension leave him as he d
rove to the station. Some but not all.
Chapter 20
“I’m telling you, man. Cora told me to get rid of the dark-haired Latin chick. She said she didn’t care how I did it as long as she was out of her way. I was so desperate I took the money. I was messed up that night,” Jeremy insisted. He had been read his rights, and he still wanted to confess. “All I wanted to do now was get out of town. Cora won’t answer her phone. She has deserted me, that selfish bitch.”
Noah took a deep breath to calm down. He was tempted to get up and drag Cora down here by her fancy hairdo. He was so angry.
“She told me to go in there pretending to rob the place but to get rid of the girl. Those were her exact words. She said she was tired of some dumb waitress taking her man,” Jeremy confessed. His clothes were dirty, and his eyes were red. “I went to Morehead and lay low that same night. Cora promised me a ticket out of state.”
“Are you using meth again?” Drake asked him. He was sitting next to Noah, recording the session with Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded and took a sip of the water Helen had brought him. His hands were shaking. “She took those pictures and told me to deliver them. It was a scare tactic only. I had no intention of doing anything else. I am tired of taking orders from her. She promised me a bus ticket out of here when I told her I was not helping her do anything else. She has lost her mind.”
“Who set the fire at my house?” Noah asked. He believed Jeremy. Now he was afraid Cora would go after Alana herself if she found out Jeremy was in custody.
Jeremy shrugged. He looked at Noah with a serious expression on his face. “It wasn’t me. I have been hiding and trying to get Cora to give me money to get out of here. She won’t answer my calls. After everything I did for her, she left me hanging.”
“She only cares about herself,” Noah told him. “You were drug-free, Jeremy. Why go back?”
“Wrong crowd I hang with. I can’t resist the pull, man.” He put his head down on the table. “I shouldn’t take the fall alone. Plus, Cora has it bad for this chick. I wouldn’t count it over.”
Drake put a subdued Jeremy in a cell. He went straight to the cot and lay down.
Noah called Cora’s dad, and he defended his daughter, saying Jeremy could not be trusted to tell the truth. Noah wanted to yell out to Mr. Stanton, “Are you that blind?” But hadn’t he himself wrote Cora off as spoiled but harmless?