My cell phone vibrated, and I swiped the screen. Dean. “Gotta answer this.”
Fred nodded.
I tapped to answer, rose, and walked out. “Ruth called and told us you were missing. Where are you?”
“Here in Kalispell,” Dean said. “I texted Ruth and told her not to worry. We have to talk. Meet me at the Walmart parking lot, last row. I’m driving my white truck.”
“I just finished lunch with Marley and Fred. We’re heading home now. I’ll be there as soon as I get my car.”
“I’ll wait.”
The parking lot at Walmart was packed, as usual. Dean had chosen well. Nobody would pay any attention to us here. I parked in the closest spot six cars away and hotfooted it over to his truck. A little nervous about seeing him again, I climbed inside.
“Better lock the door,” he said.
“You think someone is going to pull me out?”
He grinned. “Nice to see you, too.”
He looked good. How could he not with those golden-brown eyes surrounded by suntanned skin? For a moment, I just enjoyed looking at him, then asked, “So why the need for a clandestine meeting?”
“Because I wanted to talk with you alone.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near when you explain to Marley why I’m sitting in a locked pickup in Walmart’s parking lot with a guy I’m not one bit sure of.”
“Getting more and more daring, aren’t you?” His lips curled as he tried not to laugh at me.
I reached for the door handle.
“I just like to tease a bit,” he said. “And you do, too.”
I smiled at him but remained silent, waiting for whatever he was avoiding.
“First off,” he said, “I didn’t tell Ruth where I was going for the same reason I didn’t tell her when I first came to the valley to check out her possible biological mother. She would’ve insisted on coming, and I didn’t want her to be hurt. It’s the same this time. You do know they talk on the phone most every day.”
“Who talks?”
“Patrick and Ruth.” He nodded slowly, relaying the sadness of it.
“I didn’t know.”
“She grieved for my sister and then her natural mother. That’s enough hurt for a while.”
“Why do you think Patrick will hurt her? It doesn’t make sense. He’d be glad to see her, only he isn’t here. He went home a few days ago.”
“Was he here when Lester was killed in your yard?”
“He left that morning.”
“So, you don’t know exactly where he was?”
I did not like the insinuation. “You can’t possibly think Patrick shot Lester!”
Dean reached over and patted my hand. “Didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just trying to make sure Ruth isn’t making a big mistake. She needs a steady man in her life, not a fiery-tempered one. Your son was mad as hell when he and Lester had their knockdown dragout fight. Remember how angry he got when Lester came into your yard at Edgy’s party and accused you of pushing her downhill?”
I pondered for a hard minute. “I don’t know which is worse—being accused of pushing Edgy or having you think Patrick shot Lester. I can’t believe you’re checking to see if my son is good enough for your niece.”
Dean chuckled. “You’re harder to talk to than my herd of mules.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t say cows.”
“Almost did.” His expression crinkled with laughter.
“Will you be serious? I have real problems. Theo Wood is doing his damnedest to prove I’m not only rotten to the core but guilty of Edgy’s murder.”
“Who is Theo Wood?”
“A detective with a grudge against Mel that he still carries. He’d love to see me behind bars.”
Dean frowned. “And Langnecker is going along with it?”
“He may not have a choice. He might be starting to believe me—but maybe not.”
Dean ran a finger along the smooth bottom of the steering wheel. “You didn’t, did you?”
I glared at him. “If you can even consider I pushed her, why are you here?”
“I don’t, I’m just thinking out loud.”
“Well, here’s a thought for you. Exactly how long have you been in town?”
“I wondered how long it’d take for you to try and figure out if I killed Lester.”
I could’ve smacked him. A brittle thought jabbed my suspicious, guarded mind. “Did you?”
“I did not,” he said, “and you know it or you wouldn’t be here in the truck with me.”
“And you, Dean Hyatt, wouldn’t be sitting in a parking lot with me if you thought I did.” Using his words back at him did my heart good. I reached for the door handle. “Go talk to Langnecker if you must, but then go home. Marley and I will handle what comes my way.”
Dean groaned as if I was bonkers. “Why would I want to talk with the detective?” He straightened up. “What did you tell him?”
I laid my hand on his arm and squeezed. His forearm felt rock hard under the plaid of his cotton shirt. “Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out who the killer is before they pin it on me.”
The natural creases in his forehead deepened with concern. “You can’t think like that.”
His distress showed me he actually understood. I almost liked him for sensing my worry. “Well, it’s true. I can tell from the looks I get and the unasked questions, like I’m being played into saying something incriminating.” I slid out of his truck, hating the shadow of doubt I felt about him. But it was there, and I couldn’t shake it.
Before I shut the door, he said, “I’m headed back to Colorado, but you should plan on seeing me again. I’ll call you.”
I didn’t answer, just turned to walk to my car. I glanced back at him. He tapped his forefinger to his brow in a salute and fired up his engine, revving the motor once as if to say Have it your way. He didn’t drive away until I was safely in my car. When I could no longer see his truck, I called Langnecker’s cell. As I waited, I massaged the back of my neck. The spot kept giving me fits. Didn’t actually hurt, just needed rubbing. I visualized Dean’s strong fingers working out the kink.
The detective answered before the phone went to message mode.
“Dean Hyatt is in town and has been for a day or two. I just met with him in the Walmart parking lot, and I think he is on his way to see you.”
“Why the phone call?”
“I figured you’d want to know, and because I’m unsure about him. Odd he is here again, and I don’t know when he arrived. Also, he always seems to have things to check out but never says where or what. Just plain odd.”
“Thank you for checking in.” Detective Langnecker hung up just like that.
I stared at the face of my phone and frowned.
My home echoed with hollowness as if I wasn’t even there. I ached at being alone. Marley must have gone an errand. I was well used to solitude, but she’d been here long enough to make me miss her when she wasn’t present in the house.
I crossed to the bay window. Rose buds on the bushes by the potting shed were blood crimson, the start of another blooming. They appeared tender, like a rebirth after the cool break, but surely the temperature would rise again. “Hurry up, rose blossoms, beat the last of the August heat,” I whispered, laughing at myself for being overly dramatic.
I had to admit my elevated senses came from seeing Dean again. I wished I could just be easy with him, but I always seemed to say or do the wrong things, acting like a sixty-eight-year-old teenager.
A motion by the backyard gate caught my attention. Randal Thornton sauntered into the yard and moseyed across the lawn toward the house. What the—? Last time I had seen him was at Edgy’s funeral, and he had marched out in a temper. He shouldn’t just show up without calling first. Why park in the alley like he had something to hide?
I opened the back door as he raised his hand to knock. “Oops, I could’ve knocked on your nose,” he laughed.
I laughed, too
. My anger evaporated. I did miss the easy way we used to have with each other.
He stepped back. “I came to let you know that Nicole and I are leaving.”
“Where are you going? For how long?”
He looked me in the eyes. “Corinne, I care for you, and that’s the only reason I’m here. Do not go back up in those mountains. Stay away from Bev Stafford. Dangerous people live up there. Do you understand?”
“No, Randal. What are you talking about?”
“They won’t put up with you snooping into their business.” He turned and walked down the steps and started across the lawn. He turned back. “Trust me.”
“How can I, if I don’t know the why?”
He appeared to relent and stepped toward me but then thought better of it and halted as if he didn’t dare get too close. “I am an honorable man. Remember the night we got lost after card club?”
“How can I forget?”
“I didn’t really get us lost on a mountain I know like the back of my hand. I respected that you weren’t ready for a relationship. If I was a bad guy, we wouldn’t have gone home when you became afraid of your feelings.”
I didn’t know what to say.
He pointed his finger at me. “I’m giving you a last warning. If you see Skip, Bev, or any of the others, you need to go immediately to the police. Understand?”
I couldn’t breathe but managed to nod.
He then added, “Me and the wife are in danger, so we’re leaving.”
“You think I should leave, too?”
“Didn’t say that. Just be safe.” The gate shut behind him. The red Corvette pulled away from my fence, and Randal was gone. My instincts told me I’d never see him again. Would I mourn like I did for Mel and Edgy? No, of course not, but it was still hard to lose a long time friend.
Behind me, Marley said, “What was that all about?”
I whirled to face her. “I just got a warning from Randal. He said Bev and Skip are dangerous. If we see them, we should go directly to the police.”
Chapter 22
I counted off the last two days in August, flipped the calendar to September, and continued counting as I sat at the table with Marley. “It’s been over two weeks with no word about Lester’s murder. This sitting around waiting for bad things to happen is driving me crazy. You must really be sick of it.”
Marley’s teaspoon clinked against the side of the china teacup as she stirred, round and round. She kept her eyes focused on the greenish swirling liquid to avoid saying whatever was on her mind. I would have preferred some response, not this down-in-the-mouth attitude from my daughter.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said. “Randal’s warning about the Staffords has caused me nothing but worry. They haven’t shown up. He has to be way off base about them threatening us.”
Marley barely nodded. Even with such a slight movement, a few of her curls moved. The bouncy locks came from Mel, as did the hazel eyes—and the stubbornness. Her discouraged mood mirrored my own.
“I think you need to go back to work,” I said, meaning it despite the tug at my heart. “Why don’t you give your old job a call and see if you can get back on the schedule? I’m sure they’re short of nurses.”
Marley sat back and smiled like a cat in a cream bowl. “What brought that on?” she asked, searching my face. “Are you sure you’ll be all right on your own, or are you just acting brave?”
“I just hate seeing you hanging around, trying to kill time. You’re supposed to be saving the world one patient at a time.”
“Well, for once you’re wrong. I have an announcement and have been waiting for the right time to tell you. I’ve accepted a position at the big new emergency room on top of Medical Hill here in town, and I’ve rented an apartment in the old hospital over on Fifth Avenue.”
“In the building where I gave birth to you? Talk about full circle.”
“Oh, Mom, don’t be too sentimental. I’d like to live there. It’s a neat old building converted to nice remodeled apartment and condos. It’s nearby, and I do need to get back to work.” The expression in my daughter’s eyes made her seem hesitant yet ready for change. Her brow was smooth, a light touched her eyes, and a slight smile waited to spread into a big one. She’d given herself time to be sure of what she wanted. And apparently her marriage was over.
“You’ve made me very happy.” I pressed my hands on my chest above where my heart beats the strongest.
Her grin widened. “I hoped you’d like the idea.” She picked up her cup and gulped the tea, rushing as if time shouldn’t be wasted. “Sorry. Hate to lay this on you and run, but I have an appointment with HR at the hospital.”
I flapped my hands, shooing her away. “Go,” I said to her disappearing back. I leaned against the padded chair, relieved she had chosen to stay in the town where she had grown up. I needed that girl of mine nearby.
And her announcement that she was ready to go back to work also meant she thought no word from the cops had to be good news. Clearly, she felt it was safe to leave me alone long enough for a twelve-hour work shift.
The authorities handling the investigations into Edgy’s death and Lester’s murder were in charge, not us. And my paranoia after Randal’s warning had to cease. I would, however, continue to check the shadows in my yard to be on the safe side and also to answer the creepy feeling I sometimes got in my upper shoulders and neck.
The front door closed behind Marley. Her rush left a void of silence, and I wondered how to kill some time. My mood had lightened, and I wanted to keep it that way and not dwell in the hinterland of my mind. It didn’t take much for me to revert to picturing myself in the wasteland behind bars. There was just no way I could be imprisoned. I needed the outdoors and my rose gardens.
I checked out the window to see what I should be doing in the yard. Didn’t see anything that needed work in my own yard, but I knew Edgy’s dahlia patch should be checked. Fred would surely tend the flowers she used to carefully cultivate, but I had to make sure.
At the end of my front sidewalk, I waited for a gap in the passing cars to cross. A gray Tahoe pulled up to the curb. I turned to walk around it when the driver’s side door opened and Bev Stafford stepped out.
“Corinne, glad I caught you. Thought I’d repay your visit to my place. I have time for a cup of coffee if you have time to give me one. Enjoyed meeting your daughter. Is she home?” Bev’s words rattled along like she always spoke, fast and with no stopping for anyone else to say something.
I jumped into her flow of words. “She left for an interview but I expect her back shortly.” Randal’s warning rang in my ears, Don’t be alone with her. “Tell you what, I was just going to water Edgy’s flowers. Why don’t you walk along with me and we can visit over her pretty blossoms?”
Bev shifted onto her left hip and studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Where does this Edgy live? I’ve never heard a name like that before. Gotta be a shortened foreign name. Probably from middle Europe.”
I stepped into the boulevard. Bev kept right on talking as we hurried across the street. “I’m guessing Austrian. Did your friend ever say where she was from?”
“She was from northern England.”
Bev shuddered. “Was? Is she dead? Oh, my, is she the one I heard about in the news? Are we going to water a dead woman’s flowers? That’s too sad. Let’s go back to your house. I really need a cup of coffee or a drink of water.” She coughed a dry hack, stopping her never-ending stream of words.
My shoulders tightened. No way would I be alone with her in my house. “From the sounds of your cough, you do need some water. Fred will give us some.”
“You know this Fred well?”
“I do.”
Bev planted her feet in a wide stance in his driveway. “I won’t be doing this. We’re going back to your place.” She reached for my arm.
I stepped aside and pulled my phone from my hip pocket.
“Who are you callin’?” Bev demanded.
“Detective Langnecker. He’ll want to talk with you now you’ve shown up here demanding I do what you say.”
“Put the phone away.” Bev opened her purse and lifted the handle of a revolver just enough so I could see it. “I’m not messing around.” Her eyes meant every word.
“I’m not messing around either. Randal warned me to call the cops if you showed up.”
“He did?” Bev shook with fury. “I’ll kill the dirty bastard if I see him.”
Alert to her every movement, I stepped back from the violence surrounding her. “You can’t mean that. We’ve been coming to your house for years, playing cards and having fun. I thought we were friends.”
“You and your daughter meddled in my family’s business. I’m here to take care of it. You don’t want my men to pay you a visit.”
My cheeks burned, but I stepped toward Bev ready for whatever she wanted. The noise of Fred’s garage door rattling upward stopped me. He appeared in the opening. “Corinne, are you all right?” He trudged out onto the apron of cement, down the incline toward us, and stopped just short of standing beside me. He eyeballed Bev. “I think you better get along. Corinne and I are going to see the sheriff. I was just coming for her when you showed up.”
His lie sounded true even to me, and I calmed down a little with him having my back.
Bev stepped away but kept her frown directed at me. “You come into the woods again and you won’t like what you find.” She glowered at Fred. “You either.”
Fred reached over and took my trembling hand, and we stood side by side while she went back to her car, revved the engine, and drove slowly by us, scowling as if the devil controlled her soul.
“That’s one hateful woman,” Fred said as the Tahoe disappeared down the street. “Who the hell is she?”
I dropped Fred’s hand and hugged my shaking arms to my stomach. I choked down the bile, but adrenaline kept me keyed to high alert.
Fred said, “It’s okay now. Just tell me who she is.”
“Bev Stafford. She lives up Star Meadow Road. In the summer months, Randal and I have been driving to her place for card club. Have for years, like we used to with Mel and Randal’s Nicole. But I’ve just learned her family is into something bad.”
Blame the Car Ride Page 20