Lantern Beach Mysteries Box Set

by Christy Barritt

  This was getting more interesting by the moment.

  “So you called the police right after you saw her show up?” Cassidy asked.

  “That’s right. I didn’t want the guilt of knowing she died because I did nothing.”

  Cassidy supposed that was noble enough.

  “How much later did the police show up?” Ty asked.

  “Probably five minutes.”

  So if the police had shown up five minutes after Skye arrived, Skye wouldn’t have had time to kill Buddy and hide his body. Unless they’d thought she was there earlier as well.

  “Are you here on vacation?” Cassidy needed to know more about this man’s mental state.

  Her partner had told her a story once about another cop who’d trusted a mentally unstable man who led the whole investigation on a wild goose chase. The real killer had almost gotten away. She’d never forgotten that warning.

  “I am. Alone, which I know some people think is weird. But I prefer the quiet.” He pushed his glasses up higher.

  “Are you always so observant?” Cassidy continued, trying to figure the man out.

  “I like to think so. I head up a neighborhood watch at my home in Raleigh. I work from home as a computer programmer, so I’m around to see a lot.”

  It seemed like someone would need to be kind of stable to do that job. Maybe this guy wasn’t delusional.

  “What about these other guys you saw go over there?” Cassidy said. “Could you tell us more about them?”

  Sissy glanced at the window again, like he feared those men might reappear. “They looked scary. Like punks, if you know what I mean. And they came and went at weird hours.”

  “Did you see any of them this morning before our friend arrived?” Ty asked.

  “I didn’t, but I slept in today. It is vacation, after all.”

  “Thank you for your help,” Ty said.

  But Cassidy wasn’t sure they were any further along than before.

  Ty and Cassidy drove to the address they’d found at Buddy’s house, only to discover it was an abandoned lot on the sound side of the island. There wasn’t anything there except the trash someone had dumped in the tall grass and a no trespassing sign that Ty pulled to a stop in front of.

  The rain had started coming down hard again, and it pounded against the roof of the truck. It also made visibility bad and painted a cloud of gray around everything in the area. The wind had picked up, and strong gusts occasionally rocked the vehicle.

  “Why would Buddy have come here?” Cassidy asked, staring at the empty lot.

  Ty showed her the paper with the address. “I’m not sure. Unless I’m not reading something correctly.”

  She studied the indention of the words against the gray pencil. “That’s what it looks like to me. Maybe we just need to think this through a little more.”

  “Maybe we should.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late anyway, so I should go home and check on my parents.”

  “You probably should.”

  His gaze caught hers. “Since we’re dating this week, would you like to come?”

  Cassidy felt the pull inside her. Part of her wanted to go and learn more about Ty. The other part of her wanted to obsess about this case—which would do her no good.

  She decided she should go. “Of course I’d like to.”

  A grin spread across his face. “Great. But I’m warning you—my parents can be over the top at times. I apologize in advance for anything they say.”

  “This is going to be fun.” Cassidy’s excitement shifted into a touch of dread then back to excitement.

  Excitement because she wanted to learn more about Ty, but dread because of the ruse they were using. She finally settled with excitement. After all, she preferred figuring people out, and so far, Ty had been a tough nut to crack. Maybe his parents would give her more insight.

  “Not over-the-top bad,” he corrected. “Just over the top with their antics.”

  “I can see that.”

  His windshield wipers worked hard as sheets of rain came down.

  “You don’t talk about your parents very much,” Ty said as they sloshed down the road.

  His words caused Cassidy’s heart to twist. Her cover story was that her dad was an engineer with his own firm in Texas and her mom was a homemaker. But the truth was that her dad owned a tech empire, easily making him one of the wealthiest men on the West Coast.

  With that kind of success had come an unwavering dedication to his job. His conversations with Cassidy mainly consisted of him pushing her to do better than her best. Her mom had treated Cassidy like a little trophy she showed off to her friends instead of a daughter.

  As an only child, she’d grown up feeling alone . . . except for her friend, Lucy. Then Lucy had been murdered, and that act had changed the course of Cassidy’s life. No longer did she want to take over her father’s business. No, she wanted to be a cop. She wanted to serve justice to those who felt as helpless as she did.

  Her parents hadn’t approved.

  “We’re not very close,” Cassidy finally said. “I always felt like an outsider even among blood relatives. Even though I don’t live near them anymore, I’m pretty sure it makes no difference in their lives.”

  “I’m sorry, Cassidy.”

  She shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother her. “When you grow up with something like that, it feels normal. That is, until you see a family who acts like a family is supposed to act—warm and concerned for each other even with their differences. Then you realize what you’ve been missing out on.”

  “Sometimes when we see those things in our past, it makes us fight even harder to not be like that with our own families in the future. We learn from the mistakes of our parents.”

  “You sound like you know.” Which was weird, since he appeared to have a close-knit family—one like Cassidy had always dreamed about.

  “My family is a little too close sometimes. In a good way. But I saw my dad slave away at a factory job his entire life. He was an incredibly talented carpenter, but he never wanted to make the leap to doing it full-time. Now he’s retired, but he has arthritis. I guess that taught me not to put my dreams on hold but to go for them. You just never know how much time you have.”

  “Exactly! That’s why I became a—” Cassidy stopped herself. She’d almost said cop. “An interior designer.”

  “You feel passionate about it, huh?” Ty stole a glance at her.

  She nodded, hating the lie. She couldn’t care a lick about paint colors or fabric swatches, but she’d pretend she did. “I love it.”

  “Maybe when I open my retreat center, you can help me put things together to make it relaxing and peaceful for the wounded warriors who visit.”

  She smiled at the thought of helping. It would be interesting trying to fake her skills in that scenario. “Yeah, maybe.” She paused before adding in a teasing tone, “If we’re still dating then.”

  Ty chuckled. “Good one.”

  She shrugged. “I thought so.”

  They pulled up to his house.

  As they stepped outside, she glanced over toward her place. Cassidy’s sedan was in the driveway, as well as Skye’s old SUV and Elsa. The poor ice cream truck had been terribly neglected this week.

  Most likely, Skye was upstairs. Cassidy would love to pepper her with more questions about what had happened. And to ask her about the blood that had been on her when police arrived.

  But that would have to wait.

  For now, she was going to hang out with Ty’s family.

  Chapter 9

  When they walked into Ty’s place, his mom had prepared some sugar cookies, hot chocolate, and freshly popped popcorn. Rain pummeled the roof. Thunder rolled. Occasionally, a crack of lightning lit the sky.

  “You know what tonight’s the perfect evening for?” Del asked. “Game night!”

  Cassidy smiled at the woman’s enthusiasm. She was so different than her own demure, snobbish mom.
r />   Halfway through a game of Apples to Apples, Ty’s mom paused.

  “Now you two,” she said with a mischievous grin. “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t like each other around us.”

  Cassidy and Ty exchanged a glance.

  “What do you mean?” Ty asked.

  “I mean, it’s like you’re afraid to touch each other,” she said. “I know you’re probably just being cautious around here. But you two are young and in love. Nothing would make me happier than seeing the two of you act like it.”

  Cassidy’s stomach sank. She did not want that.

  “I’m not really big into PDA,” Cassidy said, scooting away from Ty slightly.

  Ty shook his head. “Me neither.”

  His mom gave him a look, and Cassidy knew there was more to that story.

  “You two.” Del shook her head. “I almost think you’re hiding something.”

  Ty placed his hand on Cassidy’s back, and tingles shot up her spine. “Just give us a while to get warmed up.”

  “Of course.” His mom stood, casting one more grin their way. “Now, why don’t we take a little break? I need to go make some more popcorn, and your father wants to help you fix that hurricane shutter. It’s driving him batty because it keeps rattling against the house every time the wind blows.”

  Cassidy followed Del into the kitchen and began loading dishes into the dishwasher. Unfortunately, as Ty’s “girlfriend” she should know how to get around the kitchen better. But she didn’t, so she was going to do her best to fake it.

  “You seem like a really nice girl, Cassidy,” Del said, pouring kernels into a measuring cup. Kujo sat close by, waiting patiently for someone to drop a piece of food. “I’ve been praying for a long time that Ty would find someone like you. Especially after the mess with Renee.”

  At the mention of his ex-fiancée, Cassidy’s pulse quickened. She’d been incredibly curious about what happened between the two of them. She shouldn’t be. Their relationship was none of her business. But the bits and pieces she’d heard had made Cassidy’s head spin.

  “I know that was incredibly hard on him,” Cassidy said, rinsing a plate.

  His mom paused from her popcorn duty. “She was basically what kept Ty hopeful during those hard moments when he was working in the Middle East. He was stationed over there, unlike some SEAL teams. They were helping to train soldiers, as well as other things that he wasn’t allowed to talk about.”

  “It’s a noble—but difficult—calling.”

  “You can say that again.” Del shook her head back and forth, a new somberness coming into her eyes. “He came back home, and she wasn’t there to greet him. She’d moved back to Minnesota and had given his dog away.”

  “Not very admirable.”

  “Not at all.” She leaned closer. “I never really liked her. She seemed flighty, you know? Like she was in love with the idea of being with a SEAL more than she understood just how difficult the profession was.”

  “At least he found out before they got married.” Cassidy closed the dishwasher and looked for something else to distract herself with. She settled on giving Kujo a pat on the head.

  “You’re right. That is a good thing. I just wish it didn’t hurt so much in the process, you know? Nothing’s harder than seeing your kids suffer. You’ll understand one day.”

  Except Cassidy probably wouldn’t have kids. Ryan, the man she was truly dating, didn’t want children. She’d convinced herself she was okay with that. But was she? She doubted it more and more every day.

  She doubted her relationship with Ryan a little more every day, as well.

  Did she want to marry someone who would give her the same life she’d grown up with? She’d end up following in her parents’ footsteps. But, on a logical level, she and Ryan made sense together. Could there be more to marriage than logic?

  The answer seemed like a no-brainer now that she’d removed herself from the situation.

  Or was it because she’d been around Ty and seen a different kind of life? A simpler life away from the pressures of money and status and people in power.

  “Then there was Goldman,” his mom continued, shaking the pot on the stove as kernels began popping.

  Cassidy straightened. Goldman? Who was he? Ty had never mentioned the name, but Cassidy felt certain she should act like he had—if she wanted to keep her cover.

  “He doesn’t like to talk about him.” Cassidy shoved her hip against the counter, giving up on making herself useful.

  “Oh, no. Of course not. Everything changed after Goldman died, though. Everything.”

  Before Cassidy could ask any more questions, Ty and his dad walked in from outside.

  But now Cassidy was more curious than ever.

  Ty walked Cassidy home, his steps slow and unhurried, despite the rain.

  He’d had a surprisingly good time tonight with her. She fit in with his family in a way that amazed even him. Maybe Cassidy coming to this area and moving in beside him was all a part of a bigger plan.

  No, he corrected himself. He couldn’t let his thoughts go there. He had a mission while here in Lantern Beach. He was trying to start a nonprofit for wounded war veterans. He was still trying to raise the capital he needed, but it was slow going. He wasn’t a business type of guy. No, he was a former soldier. But he was determined to make this happen.

  Right now, his main mission was helping Skye.

  “Your parents are really great, Ty,” Cassidy said, slowly climbing the steps to her place.

  “Yeah, they are, aren’t they?”

  “And they seem so happy. How long have they been married?”

  “Thirty-five years.”

  “That’s awesome. I wonder what their secret is.”

  He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “My dad told me once that you needed to marry a friend you could flirt with.”

  Cassidy smiled. “I like that.”

  “Yeah, I do too.” Though there was a lot to be said for the wild feelings and emotions that came with romance, in the end it boiled down to having someone at your side whom you liked. Whom you had fun with. Who shared your principles and values.

  He thought he’d had that with Renee, but, looking back, the two of them had just been different. Too different. He just hadn’t seen it at the time.

  As they reached Cassidy’s door, he paused. He felt like there was something he needed to say—he just didn’t know what.

  He glanced at Cassidy, at how lovely she looked as she stood there with that gentle smile on her face.

  He opened his mouth, not sure what was about to come out. Before any words could leave his lips, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen before holding up the phone.

  “It’s a call from a friend on the West Coast,” he said. “I need to take this.”

  Cassidy’s face looked a little paler. Why was that?

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Cassidy said.

  He nodded, waved goodbye, and then answered, anxious to hear what his friend had to say.

  Back at Cassidy’s house, Skye was already in bed and had left a note that read, “I’m exhausted. Sorry to head to bed so early. We’ll talk in the morning.”

  And they would have plenty to talk about tomorrow. But for now, Cassidy was almost glad her temporary guest was asleep. She needed some time by herself.

  Ty had gotten a call from the West Coast? Surely that was a coincidence. The West Coast was a big place, and there was no reason to believe that a call like that would have anything to do with Cassidy. Yet, a part of her felt unsettled—and possibly paranoid—at the thought.

  She could trust Ty, right?

  She let out a breath. She honestly didn’t know whom she could trust—not with a million-dollar bounty on her head. People would go to desperate lengths for that amount of money, and that was one more reason why no one could know Cassidy’s true identity.

  Shoving those thoughts aside, Cassidy hopped on her computer and started her search. He
r normal search. The one she’d done hundreds of times already.

  She scoured news articles for anything about a murder or dead body that might be connected to the day she’d woken up covered in blood.

  Foolishly perhaps, she hadn’t mentioned the incident to anyone.

  Maybe she should have. But she’d known how it would look. She might go to jail—all for a crime she couldn’t remember. She wanted to investigate for herself first.

  So that’s what she’d been doing. Investigating herself.

  She’d narrowed her possibilities into a short list. She didn’t dare write them down. Instead, she stored the information in her head.

  Most of them were cases with fuzzy details. She checked daily to see if there were any updated news articles on them.

  Cassidy needed to know if she’d done something horrible while she’d been undercover.

  If she had . . . she didn’t know how she’d live with herself. Her family would probably turn their backs on her. So would all her colleagues on the police force. She wouldn’t blame them.

  And everyone knew what happened to cops in prison . . . not to mention the fact she’d be with the members of DH-7 that she’d put away.

  She’d be a dead woman walking.

  Yet if she’d done something horrible, she needed to do the time. She just wanted something more concrete before she opened up that door. She wanted to go to trial first and put those gang leaders away.

  She shoved those thoughts aside as she began her usual research.

  She checked each victim’s name, running it through a search engine. She reminded herself to clear the browser from any cache and cookies since it could potentially lead someone back to her.

  The first two victims didn’t have any new information.

  But the third one did.

  She held her breath as she read the updated article.

  “Sandra Connors’s body was found on May 5 in a remote alley in Seattle. The medical examiner’s report indicated that she had been bludgeoned to death. The police still have no new leads, though they suspect involvement with DH-7 due to a lightning mark left on the victim.”