She had a picture of the license plate, but that didn’t do her any good. She didn’t have access to those kinds of official records. She thought briefly about asking Lenny to look it up, since he was a cop and would have access. But after their words in the flower shop, she and Lenny weren’t on the best of terms.
Besides, she didn’t trust him. He was staunchly in the anti-Sanctuary camp, and Penny didn’t trust anyone who believed those ridiculous conspiracy theories over their own eyes and ears.
So, she did the next best thing. She used her insomnia to her advantage and cruised the streets late at night, her eyes peeled for the vehicle she’d seen that night. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She’d never realized just how many dark pickup trucks there were around town.
Sumneyville was a small town though, and she knew if she looked long and hard enough, she’d find the right one eventually.
She did—in the parking lot of O’Malley’s on Friday night, sitting there plain as day, as if just waiting for her to happen upon it. All she had to do was remain out of sight and wait to see who it belonged to.
That was easy enough. A chain-link fence ran along the back of the lot as well as a line of tall arborvitae, separating the parking area from the residential properties behind it. Penny found a good spot and settled in.
While she waited, her thoughts went to Jaxson, as they often did. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since their illicit tryst. As far as she knew, he was still in town, staying at Sanctuary.
She tried to ignore the selfish pang of jealousy that came with that thought. It was safer for him up there, no doubt. And really, how often did someone find out they had a brother or sister they’d never known about?
Probably as often as finding someone who pushes all your buttons and lights you up from the inside out, she thought ruefully.
It was ridiculous, she knew. Nothing but romantic fantasy fodder. But it was what it was. She’d taken one look at Jaxson, and something in her had clicked into place. It wasn’t as if she’d willed it to happen. It just had. One moment, she’d been going about her business, perfectly content. The next, it was as if she’d found something she hadn’t known she was missing.
Like that darn bienenstich kuchen. Jaxson was the personification of a delicious German dessert. She’d hadn’t known that existed either, but once she did, she couldn’t forget it. She’d even tried to make it herself a few times, but there was no substitute for the real thing.
Jaxson Adams was the real thing, too.
Had he felt the same way, it would have been fairy-tale perfect.
But he didn’t. And it wasn’t.
The night they’d spent together was though—at least in her eyes. She didn’t know how he felt about it, but he’d seemed to enjoy himself, too. Or maybe she’d let her desire skew her perception of his.
Regardless, she’d done what she said she was going to do: indulge in one night and then walk away without any further expectations. Hopes, yes. Expectations, no.
The night dragged on. Her legs and back grew stiff, prompting her to move around occasionally. Several times, she had to relocate when exiting patrons decided the bushes were a good place to relieve themselves.
She saw more penises in the span of a few hours than she had her entire life.
People came and went, but no one went near the dark pickup. It was after the two o’clock last call when Mike O’Malley personally ushered a half-dozen guys out the door.
The minute she saw Joe Eisenheiser and Pete Krueger walk out together, she knew that they were the ones she’d seen that night. Joe was a cop, like Lenny. Pete used to work at Obermacher Farms but lost his job shortly after it was sold, which hadn’t really surprised anyone. Both men had reputations for being bullies, and both carried huge chips on their shoulders, preferring to blame others for their own shortcomings.
Penny didn’t know them well, but she did know that they were part of the police chief’s inner circle and shared his anti-Sanctuary sentiments. That didn’t explain why they’d attacked Jaxson though. Unless Lenny had said something to them, and they’d felt compelled to send a stay away from our women message.
Or maybe they were just asterholes.
She waited until the pickup pulled out of the lot and drove away, shaking her head when Pete forgot to put his headlights on. He probably wouldn’t even realize it until he got out past the main street, where streetlamps were nonexistent, and wondered why he couldn’t see the road anymore.
Penny began a slow walk home, her objective complete. Now that she’d identified Jaxson’s assailants, what would she do about it?
Penny agonized over that question the entirety of the next day. The situation was complicated. Should she tell someone and risk inciting more violence? Or should she remain quiet and let sleeping dogs lie?
No matter how she looked at it, she kept coming back to the same thing—unprovoked violence was wrong. Allowing someone to get away with it by not speaking up was just as bad. There were already too many people willing to look the other way, not wanting to get involved. That was one of the reasons things had gotten as bad as they had.
On the flip side, would saying something at this point do any good? Jaxson had the protection of Sanctuary while he was in town, which probably wouldn’t be for much longer, and he hadn’t reported the attack. Plus, even if she did say something, Joe was a cop, which meant he wouldn’t get more than a slap on the wrist, if that. Penny would be opening up not only herself, but also her family to Joe’s wrath along with everyone else who was part of that bully gang.
After a second nearly sleepless night, Penny still wasn’t sure what to do. Reverend McFinley had moved on from the seven deadly sins to the seven heavenly virtues, leading off with justice and courage. To Penny, it was the nudge she’d needed.
After Sunday services, Penny had a quick dinner with her family, and then she changed into comfortable clothes and made a trip to Sanctuary.
* * *
“Penny,” greeted Matt Winston. “Are you here for girl time?”
He smiled a little when he said it. It took Penny a moment to figure out what he was talking about. She’d forgotten about the Sunday afternoon girl time that Kate and the others had invited her to.
“They did tell me about that, but that’s not why I’m here.”
His eyes narrowed in concern—or possibly wariness. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I mean, no. Maybe,” she hedged. At Matt’s raised eyebrow, she blurted out, “I know who attacked Jaxson.”
Matt ushered her inside and directed her toward his office, where she told him about her amateur sleuthing endeavors.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he chastised. “You could have been hurt.”
“Somebody had to do something,” she countered.
“Somebody did do something.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We already know it was Joe and Pete who attacked Jaxson that night.”
“How?”
Matt looked conflicted for a moment and then exhaled. “Jaxson forwarded the picture you took of the license plate to his own phone, and we were able to identify both men from the motel’s surveillance camera footage.”
Penny opened her mouth to ask how, but Matt put up his hand. “Please don’t ask.”