Make Time For Me

“I see, Dr. Leggett. Well, I’m glad you came to us, but you’re right that we don’t really have the kind of equipment that you’d need to do the kind of analysis you’re hoping for. We usually send a deputy out onto the mainland to do that.”

Jason nodded at the sheriff. Sheriff Davidson was being as helpful as he could be, but Olivia had known that there wasn’t much he could do.

“I realize that. I was wondering if we could get your authorization to use a private lab on part of the note. If you could keep the main portion as evidence, and we could use a part of it, to keep the chain of possession from getting messy, then you could follow up how you normally would with the note, and we would at least have something to work with. Unofficially.”

“That’s not strictly legal and allowed, Dr. South worth, but under the circumstances… We are a bit swamped, with the hurricane.”

“I realize that. If you could temporarily deputize me, it wouldn’t be a problem, would it?”

Sheriff Davidson grinned.

“You have an interesting mind, son. You wouldn’t happen to want a career in the law, would you?”

Jason grinned, that charming grin that nobody could resist. Not even the crusty old sheriff.

“If I ever do, I’m glad you’d be willing to put in a good word for me. Thanks, Sheriff. I’ll be sure to let you know whatever I find out.”

“Now don’t you go acting outside the law.”

“Of course not, Sheriff. I know better than that.”

“And take care of the young lady doctor here.”

“We’re going to see her family for a couple of days. Take her away from this unpleasantness.”

“That’s a good idea, son. A good idea.”

They chatted a while longer, Olivia completely excluded in a way that would have irritated her under any other circumstances, but she didn’t mind because this was all so very unpleasant. She entertained herself thinking of how Ellie would react in a situation like that. Well, she couldn’t imagine Ellie being ignored like that, either.

“Take care, then, Dr. Leggett. See you. Stay safe.”

Olivia smiled, wished him a good evening, and left with Jason.

“So that’s how it feels to be a helpless damsel in distress.”

“Hey, I’ll officially be a deputy when we go to NYC day after tomorrow. We got what we needed. Now, come on.”

They walked together, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Olivia, you’re not going to like this.”

“What?”

“I don’t want you to be alone.”

“What?”

“I know you love walking along the cliffs, and I know you like going to the beach, and I know we all have different schedules. But when you’re on the island, I don’t want you to be alone.”

“Oh.”

“I want you to stay with somebody you trust.”

Olivia sighed.

“I thought of that, too. But I don’t know who that is. I don’t know who I trust, other than you. So what can I do? What if I try to do a buddy system and ended up being paired with the letter writer?”

Jason frowned.

“All right, then. I will stay with you at all times.”

“What?”

“You won’t be alone then. I’ll stay with you. You can move in with me.”

“What!”

“It’s practical,” insisted Jason.

“No, it’s not. Don’t be ridiculous. In fact, the note writer escalates after we get close. When we didn’t have time to spend with each other for a while, there was nothing. We slept together in the break room, and then I got the mad blood letter. It might be safer if I stay away from you.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Exactly. I’m not going to live my life trying to appease a mad blood note writer, so let’s not go there. Now, I drove here, so I’ve got to get back. Ellie wants to get a few repairs done tonight and I should be there, it’s a two-person job, and even if it wasn’t, I can’t let her do it herself.”

Jason grumbled, but he didn’t object, not too much. He waited till Ellie was in the Jeep and driving away before he went inside, though.

It wasn’t a long drive – just long enough to bask in the glow of the happiness being with him brought her, not long enough to let her doubts and insecurities make a mess of things.

There was something blocking the road. It looked like a branch of some sort. That was odd – everything had been cleared away from the roads already. The road had definitely been clear when she drove there.

Still, it didn’t look too big. She could drag it to the side, enough to be able to drive through.

Olivia got out, a little annoyed, walked to the branch, grabbed it, and started tugging. It was heavy, but not too heavy. She huffed and puffed a bit, but she managed to drag it far enough to get it out of the way.

“Oh, drat.”

She bent down to pick up the notepad that had fallen from her pocket during her exertions, and she felt rather than heard a twang, and then she heard something hit the wood.

Olivia straightened quickly and saw an arrow – an actual arrow, stuck to the branch, just a few inches away from where she had been before she’d bent down. Her heart nearly stopped.

She looked around, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. What was she supposed to do? Duck? Take cover? Go looking for whoever it was? She darted to the Jeep and crouched, trying to look around. Her phone was in the Jeep. She couldn’t call anybody. There would be no help.

She looked around carefully. There was nobody. There was no movement.

She couldn’t just sit there forever.

Quickly, she reached behind, opened the door, her heart thumping so loudly, and darted inside the Jeep. She stayed low, grabbed her phone, and called Jason.

He didn’t make her wait. He was there in two minutes, with a flashlight so powerful that it could’ve been used for a stage production of a lighthouse drama.

“Hey. Hey, it’s all right. I’m here. There’s nobody around. I pointed this everywhere. Impossible to hide from this, there are no shadows to hide in with this.”

He climbed in, pulled her into his arms.

“Why is it always dark in the woods? It’s not night.”

“We’ll write a stern letter to the editor complaining about it. Can you drive? I’ll drive you home and come back and get the car if you can’t.”

“I can drive. I can. Just… hold me for a minute.”

“I’ll hold you for as long as you need,” promised Jason, and it was a few minutes before she stopped trembling.

“Will you be all right while I go and get that arrow? Bolt – whatever it is.”

She couldn’t stop the shudder, but she nodded.

He got a clean towel and went out. She couldn’t bear to watch.

He got the arrow and came back with it wrapped in the towel, so that she didn’t have to see it again. She was glad about that.

“Do you think they were trying to kill me and missed, or was it some kind of a warning?”

“Tell me what happened.”

She took a deep breath and steeled herself to think about it.