Page 35 of In Her Wake
When Jenna pulled the cruiser to the curb in front of The Velvet Hanger boutique, even the perfectly ordinary mannequins in the window display seemed sinister in light of what they’d recently discovered.She cut the engine but let her hand linger on the keys.
“What are you thinking?”Jake asked, studying her profile.
“That Rebecca’s timing is suspicious,” Jenna replied, unbuckling her seatbelt.“She disappears right when Marjory goes missing, then reappears the morning after we find the body, claiming she’s in trouble.”
“You think it could be part of an act?”
“Let’s find out.”
Downtown Trentville had awakened, residents and workers moving along the sidewalks with the casual pace of small-town life.When they stepped out of the cruiser, a woman with grocery bags nodded to Jenna as she passed.A mail carrier waved from across the street.The normalcy felt jarring against the backdrop of the morning’s discovery.
The boutique’s door chimed as they entered, the sound startlingly cheerful.Betty Rosin looked up from behind the counter, relief washing over her features at the sight of their uniforms.
“Sheriff, Deputy—thank you for coming so quickly,” she said, nervously twisting a pen.“I didn’t know what to do when I got her text.”
“When exactly did Rebecca contact you?”Jenna asked, approaching the counter.
“About fifteen minutes ago,” Betty replied, holding up her phone.“I was opening the store when it came through.”
Jenna took the offered phone, Jake leaning in close to read over her shoulder.The message was brief, almost cryptic: “Betty - driving back to Trentville now.In trouble.Meet me at the store.Please be there.”
“That’s all she sent?”Jake asked.
“Yes.I tried calling her right after I got it, but she didn’t answer.”Betty’s eyes darted to the door, then back to them.“She’s never done anything like this before.I mean, she can be intense, but this...it felt different.Scary.”
Jenna handed the phone back, scanning the empty boutique as she had done yesterday.The clothing hung neatly on racks, the price tags dangling on garments too expensive for most Trentville residents.Rebecca’s taste had always leaned toward the extravagant—clothes better suited to the upscale neighborhoods of St.Louis than their rural community.
“Has she given you any indication of what kind of trouble she’s in?”Jenna asked.
Betty shook her head.“No, nothing.She was supposed to be in St.Louis for a meeting with her husband’s lawyer yesterday evening.That’s the last I heard from her until this text.”
“Did she mention anything about Marjory Powell recently?”Jake cut in.“Any comments about their disagreement?”
“Not really,” Betty replied.“I mean, she complained about Marjory when it first happened—said she was incompetent, unprofessional.But that was months ago.Rebecca tends to find new targets for her anger pretty quickly.”
Jenna was about to ask another question when Betty’s eyes widened, her gaze fixed on something beyond the front window.
“There’s her car now!”she exclaimed, pointing.
Jenna spun around.Through the window, she could see a sleek silver Mercedes slowing as it approached the boutique.Rebecca was visible behind the wheel, although Jenna couldn’t see her expression clearly.But she appeared to spot the police cruiser parked at the curb, and then the Mercedes’ engine roared, tires squealing as Rebecca made a U-turn and accelerated away.
“Damn it,” Jenna muttered, breaking into a run toward the door with Jake close behind.But by the time they reached their vehicle, the Mercedes was already halfway down the block and moving fast enough to draw startled looks from pedestrians.
“Why would she run if she’s innocent?”Jake wondered aloud as Jenna slid behind the wheel, jamming the key into the ignition.
“Good question,” Jenna replied as the engine came to life with a growl.“Call it in.”
Jake grabbed the radio as Jenna pulled away from the curb, tires protesting at the sudden acceleration.“Dispatch, this is Deputy Hawkins.We are in pursuit of a silver Mercedes, license plate THD-482, heading east on Main Street.Driver is Rebecca Ashcroft, person of interest in the Powell case.Request additional units to intercept.Over.”
“Copy that, Deputy,” the dispatcher responded.“Unit 3 is in the area of Oak and Main.Redirecting now.”
Jenna flipped on the siren, the wail cutting through the quiet morning as they tore down Main Street.Ahead, Rebecca’s Mercedes weaved through the light traffic, ignoring a red light at the intersection of Main and Cedar.A pickup truck swerved to avoid her, clipping a parked car.
“She’s going to kill someone,” Jake muttered, bracing himself against the dashboard as Jenna navigated through the intersection, slowing just enough to ensure cross traffic had stopped.
Rebecca’s Mercedes was pulling ahead.She blew through another red light, this time causing a delivery van to slam on its brakes and fishtail, sideswiping a compact car in the next lane.Jenna heard the crunch of metal even over the siren.
“She’s heading for the highway,” Jenna said, recognizing the route.“If she makes it to the on-ramp, we’ll have a high-speed pursuit on our hands.And that’s a very fast car.”
