by Неизвестный
Somewhere in the middle of their embrace, the doorbell rang.
“I can just ignore it,” Jack whispered against her cheek.
“Oh, no,” Kyle said, comically waving his hands, “don’t get up. I’ll just go answer it instead.”
“Don’t be silly,” Miranda said over Kyle’s ludicrous suggestion, “who could possibly need to see you?”
She’d meant it for Kyle, but of course with her lips right next to Jack’s ear, he thought she was talking to him. “Well,” he said, “it is my house.”
“Er, right. Yeah.” Miranda was liking the feel of his fingers running through her hair. “I only meant, um, that it’s late and if anyone needed you they’d call first, right?”
She opened her eyes to see him looking at her oddly. “You know sometimes you’re a little strange, right?”
The doorbell rang again, saving Miranda from having to explain how she’d really been talking to her ghost friend who’d been hanging out with them, unseen, all evening.
Playfully kissing the tip of her nose Jack got his feet and went to answer the door. Butter lifted his head up off the pillow to watch him go by, then tucked his head back under his paws, and went back to his dreams.
Miranda gave her dog a nice pat on the head before following Jack to the front entryway. When he opened the door, they found a short man in a brown overcoat standing there with a sour look on his face. It was no one that Miranda remembered ever seeing before.
Standing this close to Jack, she could almost feel the change in his demeanor. His back tensed. His hands curled tighter. His entire body language became wary, like he was expecting the worst.
“Jack,” the little sour man said, “I’ve got some bad news.”
Apparently the worst was yet to come.
The man’s voice was gravelly, like he’d carried a two-pack a day cigarette habit for the last twenty years. His expression was sad, but his eyes were intense.
“Bad news,” Jack sighed. “When have you ever come to my door with anything but bad news? What is it this time?”
The man on Jack’s doorstep crossed his arms. “It’s Anya Westfield, Jack. She’s dead.”
Chapter 2
Time slowed to a stop for Miranda. She didn’t know who this Anya person was, but it was obvious that Jack did. The information that she had died had an immediate effect on him. For a moment his expression changed to stone, and in his eyes she could see the flash of memories that must be parading through his mind.
Then he noticed Miranda watching him. He cleared his throat and tried to look unconcerned. “Come in, Marvin. Your timing is horrible as always.”
The three of them went to the kitchen, and Jack motioned for Marvin to sit while he set the kettle on the stove to boil. Miranda took a seat too, waiting for the explanations to start.
When Jack came back from the counter he stood behind her chair, putting his hands on her shoulders. She liked the way it felt but she had the impression he was doing it as much to get support from her as for any other reason.
“Miranda, this is Marvin Locke,” he said. “We’ve known each other for a long time. Although, I did not know you were in Moonlight Bay.”
“I came right here after it happened, Jack,” Marvin said to him, shrugging apologetically. “I knew you would want to know.”
“When did it happen? When did she die?”
Jack had reverted to his police officer mode, hiding behind facts and questions to distance himself from the news that Marvin had brought him. That told Miranda, whoever this Anya was, she had meant a lot to Jack.
Now her curiosity was boiling over.
“Today,” Marvin answered Jack’s question. “This morning.”
Jack nodded. “And how did she die?”
“That I don’t know, exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think it was natural causes. I think somebody killed her.”
Miranda felt Jack’s hands flex on her arms. “That’s sad news, Marvin. Thing is, I don’t know what it has to do with me. Not anymore. She’s still up in the Northern Territory. I’m here now.”
The Northern Territory? Miranda remembered Jack saying that he’d been part of a police force in the Northern Territory. This was the part of his past that he didn’t want to talk about.
And now, a girl from that past was dead.
Marvin was staring at him oddly. “You didn’t know?”
The kettle began to whistle on the stove and Jack stalked off to collect cups from the cabinet along with a jar of Nescafe instant coffee. “Didn’t I know what?”
“She died at home, but she’s been living in Raven’s Falls, not the Northern Territory.”
The spoon Jack had been using to stir one of the coffee cups froze in place as he turned a hard stare on Marvin. Miranda could understand why. Raven’s Falls was a town just two hours away from Moonlight Bay. Whoever this Anya woman was, she had been living very close by when she died.
“So,” he said after a moment, “she wasn’t with you anymore?”
“No.” There was a touch of sadness in Marvin’s voice as he admitted that. “It’s been years since we broke up. She was with a guy called Thomas Crowe. I didn’t like the man, but Anya certainly did.”
At the end of the kitchen table, Kyle had been watching the conversation back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match. “Um, Miranda? I’m lost.”
“Me, too,” she whispered back. Then in a louder voice, she said, “Jack? Can you tell me what’s going on here? Should I just go?”
“Please stay,” he said, in a way that told her that he really meant it.
Marvin accepted the cup of coffee when it was handed to him. “Jack dated Anya years ago. When he worked in the Northern Territory. After she left Jack, she dated me.”
“She didn’t leave me,” Jack stated flatly. “She cheated on me, with you. I told her to leave. She did. With you.”
“I know, I know.” It sounded like Marvin wanted to say more, but instead he just shrugged. “Anyway, it was over between us a long time ago, too, and she’s been with Thomas Crowe ever since. Jack, we need to put our differences aside. For Anya’s sake.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Jack told him. “Finish your coffee. Then leave.”
“Don’t be such an arrogant yobbo! You always were thick headed, Jack, but I thought you’d get over it for Anya’s sake.”
“On second thought,” Jack said, “you can leave without finishing the coffee.”
“Boy,” Kyle said, “is it just me or do these two really not like each other?”
Miranda didn’t disagree, but she didn’t think all the male testosterone in the room was helping, either.
“Okay, guys,” she said, trying to calm things a bit. “Maybe you should both take a breath and focus on the matter at hand. Somebody you both cared about, at some stage, has just died, and maybe I don’t have all the information but I think that’s what we should be focusing on. Don’t you?”
Jack finally found a little smile for her. “That’s my Miranda. Always getting right to the heart of the matter. Fine. What I want to know, Marvin, is why it’s you here delivering this news to me?”
“To be honest, Jack, I wouldn’t have. There hasn’t been any love lost between us ever since the whole deal with Anya. The thing of it is, I don’t think she died of natural causes. I think there’s foul play involved. When that thought hit me, I had to ask who I could turn to in order to find out the truth. You were my first thought. You and that Boy Scout attitude of yours.”
“And you drove all the way over here, just because you needed someone to talk to.”
“Yes.”
“All right,” Jack pushed aside his untouched coffee and stepped away from the table, motioning toward the front door. “Well, thanks, Marvin. Maybe I’ll see you in another decade or so.”
Slowly, Marvin got up from his chair, shaking his head at Jack. “Look I know you and I have done our fair share of arguing in the past,
but I’d like to say that I’m sorry for it and I think it’s time to bury the hatchet and move on.”
“Do you believe this guy, Miranda?” Kyle said, as he floated over to look Marvin up and down. “He’s hiding something. There’s something really off here.”
She had to agree. “Before you go, Marvin, why don’t you tell us why you really come by here today?”
Jack stood beside her, arms crossed, waiting for Marvin to answer. Or, maybe he was urging him to leave. Miranda wasn’t sure which.
“You’ve seen through me then,” Marvin said, embarrassed. “Look, the police are there at her place right now, but the police in Raven’s Falls are even more rinky-dink than you guys here in Moonlight Bay. No offense.”
“How could I possibly take offense at that?” Jack snarked.
“Look, my point is I don’t think they’ll be able to solve it. You were always one of the best cops I’d ever seen, Jack, and I know you’re personally invested in getting the right result here whether you want to admit it or not. I came here hoping you’d take it upon yourself to go over there and at least take a look.” He paused, waiting for Jack to say something, and when that didn’t happen his shoulders slumped. Taking a little slip of paper out of his pocket he set it down on the kitchen counter. “Fine. That’s the address where she was living. Do what you want, Jack. You always did. I’ll see myself out.”
He walked out the door, into the night, to his waiting car.
When he was gone, Miranda cocked an eyebrow at Jack.
“What?” he asked, in that oblivious way that men had.
“Well, we need to decide about going over there, like Marvin said, but more than that…” She placed her hand against his chest. “I think maybe Marvin just spilled a story you weren’t ready to tell me.”
He cupped her cheek gently. “I was going to tell you. I swear I was.”
“It’s your past,” Miranda said. “It’s your story to tell how and when you want to.”
“Sure, but after you told me your big secret, about being psychic, this seems kind of trivial.”
She waited, sensing that he was working up to sharing this with her. She didn’t want to ruin the moment. Still, she couldn’t help looking over to where Kyle floated, his face turned away, acting like he wasn’t listening when he so obviously was. When would she be ready to tell Jack about him?
With a sigh, Jack took Miranda’s hand, and brought her to the living room to sit with him on the couch again. “It’s a long story, but here’s the quick version for now. I was working in the Northern Territory at the time. I was young and hadn’t been a cop for all that long and still thought I could change the world. I was happy up there. Anya and I had been together for six months or so. We were happy together, or so I thought. Then I found out that she’d been seeing Marvin while she was with me, and I went a little crazy over it. I kicked her out. That’s where the story should have ended.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t end there?”
He chuckled. “No. I’m afraid not. See, a little while later, Marvin and I ended up at the same bar. It wasn’t planned or anything, but it happened. He said some stuff, I said some stuff, and the next thing I knew our fists were flying. I ended up with eight stitches. Marvin had a dislocated shoulder.”
“Ouch,” Miranda said in sympathy.
“Yeah. Well, I’ve had worse.”
“So what happened next?”
It took several long seconds for him to gather his courage to tell that part. “I had a chair in my hand at one point. I was going to break it over Marvin’s back, I swear I was. That’s how angry I was over what he and Anya had done to me. I lifted it up—” He raised both arms up in imitation of what he had done that night. “—and brought it down like this, only some guy who was just trying to help stop things got in my way and I actually hit him instead.”
Silence hung heavy in the room. Butter had his eyes open, watching them, like even he wanted to know the end of the story. Kyle stood watching as well, and for once he had nothing to say.
There was a hitch in Jack’s voice as he continued. “The guy went to the hospital. He was in traction for two weeks and it was a year or more before he could walk again but from what I understand he’s fine now. The Department investigated me for criminal charges, there were hearings and meetings with lawyers…” He took a slow breath, and blew it out again. “Anyway. I was asked to leave. Quietly, of course, but it was final just the same. I was no longer welcome in the Northern Territory. I gathered all my stuff up, and took a position here in Moonlight Bay, and I’ve never looked back.”
“Until today,” Miranda said, her tone comforting.
“Right. Until today. So I guess we need to make a decision. Do I go and help a man I can’t stand find out if a woman I was hoping to never hear from again died of natural causes or murder, or…”
“Or do you stay here and forget the whole thing?” Miranda finished for him. After a silent moment she said, “Well, what do you think?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should just leave it to the police in Ravens Falls and not get involved. They probably won’t open up to me just because I used to date the victim.”
The victim? That was cold, Miranda thought. “But if you do still care for her…?”
He sighed, holding her hands in his. “Well, I did care for her. I cared for her a great deal. Thing was, with Anya, love was always a one-way street. She never gave back what I gave. Oh, I fooled myself into thinking she loved me as much as I loved her but that delusion was busted when I caught her cheating on me with Marvin.”
“You caught her…?” Miranda was really beginning to understand now why he had kept this secret to himself for so long.
“Yes, I did. Don’t worry about it. Or me, okay? All of that is over. I’ve got no more feelings left for her. I haven’t in a long time. I’m just shocked, that’s all. I mean, I deal with death as a police officer all the time. This one… well, I guess it feels a bit personal.”
“Then why don’t you investigate it?” Miranda pushed gently.
He blinked at her. “Well. You are a rare woman, aren’t you Miranda Wylder? How many women would encourage their boyfriends to come to the belated aid of a woman they used to be with?” Jack looked into her eyes so intently that she felt like he could see right into her soul. A smile tugged at his lips. Well. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to go to Raven’s Falls and at least talk to the police there.”
She leaned in close to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go with you. That way you won’t be alone.”
He kissed her back, a real kiss that she savored. “Thank you, Miranda. I’m glad you’ll be there with me.”
Kyle floated closer even as Miranda closed her eyes. “And I’ll be there for you, Miranda. After all, what are friends for?”
Chapter 3
As Jack drove and Miranda sat beside him, Kyle appeared in the back seat, humming a little tune. For the most part he just watched out the window as they made their way from Moonlight Bay.
It was the next morning from when Jack had gotten the fateful news. They’d started out right after sunrise and now they had just passed the Raven’s Falls town limits sign. Usually this was a two hour trip but Jack had never been accused of driving too slowly. An hour and a half later, they had arrived.
“I’ve got to tell you,” Jack said to Miranda, “I’m not happy about this one. I don’t know if it will bring closure to an old episode in my life or open old wounds.”
“Oh, tell him to relax,” Kyle said waspishly. “He’s a cop. Someone got killed. It’s his job.”
Miranda did nothing of the sort. This was going to be hard enough on Jack as it was. She was proud of him for being here.
When they finally pulled up outside the home of Anya Westfield, they rolled up to a stop at the curb behind two police cars. Miranda let out an appreciative whistle.
“Wow, nice big house,” she said. “I mean, it’s no Ragged Rest, and there’s no view of a lighthou
se from your couch, but Anya must have been doing pretty well for herself to afford this. What was it she did for a living?”
“Honestly?” Jack said, a little guardedly. “She jumped from one man to another. Whoever she thought was going to take care of her better. I’m willing to bet it was more like this new boyfriend of hers, Thomas Crowe, was doing well and she was living off his bank account.”
As Miranda studied the home behind its row of trimmed hedges, she saw a banner strung from hooks over the front door. Attached to the hedges and shrubs were many streamers and several balloons, all of which conveyed the Happy Birthday message.
“Looks like it was somebody’s special day,” Miranda said, and turned to Jack for confirmation.
Jack looked down at his watch, and Miranda got the impression that he was checking the date on the digital display. “Yeah. Guess it is. I’d forgotten all about it. Anya’s birthday was yesterday.”
She reached over to put her hand on his leg. “It’s okay, Jack. Sometimes the past belongs in the past.”
His hand settled over hers. “I much prefer the present, anyway. Let’s go see if the police here will extend me a little professional courtesy.”
As Miranda stepped out of the car, she stopped. In front of her, down the long paved walkway from the street, Anya Westfield’s home appeared to tip sideways, pitching at a severe angle to one side, dropping below ground level until it all just slid away...
It made her feel dizzy, and she had to grab hold of the car door to keep from falling over.
“You all right?” Jack asked her.
“Miranda?” Kyle asked at the same time. “What’s wrong?”
She answered them both at once, but kept her gaze on Jack. “I just… feel something. Sorry, it’s one of the things that sometimes happens to me as a psychic. Feelings, portents, call it whatever you want. A premonition, maybe, but I don’t know if it’s from the past or the future. I just get the feeling something bad is going to happen here.”
When she looked back to the house, everything was just like it should be. It stood there, grand and immovable, with a police officer stationed at the front door to guard the active crime scene.