Twilight at Blueberry Barrens

by Colleen Coble

  “You don’t get to have both. Give Emma her bear back.”

  “Uncle Drake,” Phoebe whined. “She put it down.”

  Drake started to open his mouth, but Kate narrowed her eyes at him and gave a slight shake of her head. He pressed his lips together but said nothing. “You heard me, Phoebe. Give Emma the bear. And don’t throw it. Give it to her nicely, and tell her you’re sorry.”

  Her lips pressed in a mutinous line, Phoebe handed the bear to her sister. “Sorry.” The mutter sounded insincere, but at least she’d done it.

  Emma snatched the bear and hugged it to her chest. “Thank you,” she muttered back at Kate’s prompting.

  Kate looked them over. At least they had on clean shorts and T-shirts. “We’re not about to go outside with your hair looking like that. The bees will want to nest in there. Both of you go brush your hair now. Did you brush your teeth this morning?” When neither of them would look at her, she nodded. “Brush your teeth too.”

  Emma heaved a sigh, and Phoebe stuck out her lip, but the girls got up and went to the stairs. Jackson went with them.

  As soon as they were out of earshot, Drake frowned at Kate. “The girls need to share.”

  “If you give in to Phoebe over every little thing, she’s going to be even more of a terror. She knew Emma had just gone to the bathroom.”

  “Emma is old enough to share.”

  “So is Phoebe. She wasn’t about to share her toy. She just wanted Emma’s.” The man was clueless about kids, and she suppressed a sigh. “And I would have made Emma share if it were that simple. Younger kids play the parents to annoy their siblings. I see it all the time. And if you’re honest, you’ll admit that’s exactly what Phoebe was doing. Sharing is playing together with things. Not taking another child’s possessions and leaving her with nothing.”

  His frown darkened for a moment, then he nodded. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”

  “And trying to placate them with more stuff and ice cream isn’t helping them either. They’re both old enough to learn how to behave. You need to stop it.”

  His eyebrows rose and his face reddened. Now she’d done it and had overstepped the bounds too far. He was trying his best, and she needed to remember that before she shot off her mouth. “Sorry. That was a little harsh.”

  “A little?” He shrugged. “I’m getting used to your take-no-prisoners attitude, Kate, but you might learn to soften it some.”

  “You’re right. I’ve had to fight for everything all my life, and I sometimes forget we’re on the same team.”

  “You think I’m your adversary?”

  She shook her head. “That came out wrong too. I mean, training the girls is my responsibility, and I take it very seriously. I want so much for them.”

  “So do I, so give me a little credit.”

  Boy, had she botched the morning. “I’m sorry.”

  “So you already said.”

  “Could you forgive me if I tell you I found out something important from the last hotel I called? I might tell you if you ply me with fresh coffee.”

  “I just made some.” He followed her into the kitchen and got down a cup for her. “What did you find out?”

  “Wang gave Melissa an engagement ring. It was quite a rock.”

  He handed her a mug. “But she was already married. Are you sure it was an engagement ring?”

  Kate poured coffee into the mug. “That’s what I was told. She must have been planning on leaving Heath. But the bigger question is, where is the ring? Until you saw the text transcript, you had no idea she was having an affair, so I assume that means there was no ring in her belongings.”

  His brow creased as he poured himself some coffee. “I’m Heath’s executor and I saw nothing. I’ll talk to Mike.”

  “Mike?”

  “Melissa’s business partner, Mike Toucet.”

  “What did Melissa do? I assumed she was a stay-at-home mom.”

  He took a sip of coffee and gestured to the table and the almond-flour cinnamon rolls she’d made earlier. “It was a source of contention between them. Heath wanted her to stay home with the girls, but she loved being an attorney and helping the underdog. She did a lot of pro bono work along with Mike.”

  Kate reached for a roll and settled onto a chair. “I’ve always heard pro bono work can be dangerous.”

  “She had a guy stalking her for a while, but nothing ever came of it. It was one of the reasons Heath wanted her to quit.”

  The sweet, cinnamony flavor hit her tongue, and she savored it. “Maybe she stashed the ring at work. Or maybe it was stolen.”

  “Mike will know. I’ll give him a call right now.”

  Drake was watching her with an intensity that made her stomach flutter, and she dropped her gaze. The spicy scent of his cologne was much more enticing than this cinnamon roll. In spite of her objections to some of his decisions, she liked the way he cared for the girls and wanted them to be happy. He was smart and focused, and she found herself drawn to that too. His short-cropped curly hair just begged to have her fingers in it. He hadn’t said anything about his personal life, but she couldn’t believe he didn’t have a dozen other women hanging around. Maybe he was even engaged.

  She’d only be around him for a few more weeks. It would be much too dangerous to let herself fall for him.

  * * *

  Drake liked watching Kate. Her light, quick movements were graceful, and she was a bundle of energy. He admired the way she focused so completely on any task at hand. And she was just so darned cute, beautiful really. Her big blue eyes dominated her heart-shaped face, and her dimples came and went with every expression.

  He dragged his attention away from the way she licked so delicately at her cinnamon roll and reached for his cell phone. He scrolled through the names and found Mike.

  Mike answered on the second ring. “Mike Toucet.”

  “Good morning, Mike, this is Drake Newham.”

  “Drake, it’s good to hear from you.” He sounded harried. “To say I keenly feel Melissa’s loss is the biggest understatement of the year. I called Rod the other day, and he told me you’d gone to Maine. Are you having any luck figuring out what happened up there?”

  “Not yet, but I’m working on it.” How did he tell Mike about the affair? The man had thought a lot of Melissa, and Drake hated to destroy her good image. “Some evidence has turned up, and I wanted to run it past you and see if you’d had any inkling about it.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Did you ever suspect Melissa might be having an affair?” The pause before Mike answered was so long, Drake thought he might have lost the connection. “Mike?”

  “I’m here.” He heaved a sigh. “I never would have guessed that’s what was going on. She seemed a little distracted in the couple of weeks before she died, and she left work early quite often. I thought maybe she had some personal issues she was working through, but I would have bet my life she was crazy in love with Heath. I’m shocked.”

  “I was afraid of that. You saw no evidence of a big ring she was wearing or hiding maybe in her office?”

  “I haven’t had the heart to go through her desk yet. I planned to do it this weekend though.” The sound of footsteps echoed through the phone. “I’m heading to her office now. She had a locked file drawer where she kept sensitive documents. I don’t know if I can get in it, but let me try.”

  Drake listened to his breathing and something rattling as Mike tried the drawer. Where might she have put the key? Maybe in her purse on her key ring? He didn’t have Melissa’s possessions, only Heath’s.

  “It’s locked up tight. Oh wait, I think she gave me a copy of that key once. It might be in my desk.” His steps sounded again, faster this time. Metal slides scraped. “Here it is. Hang on.”

  Drake gave Kate a thumbs-up as he listened to Mike rush down the hall again. Metal rails screeched, and Mike gave an exultant laugh. “Holy cow, you won’t believe what’s in this box. An engagement ring fi
t for a queen.” Rustling sounded before Mike spoke again. “And air tickets to China. Three sets. She’s got them for the kids too. Flight date was for a week after she died.”

  Something squeezed in Drake’s chest. “Thanks, Mike. Let me know if you find anything else of interest.”

  “Will do.”

  Drake ended the call and put down his phone. His world had just been rocked, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with the doubts rising like a storm.

  Kate placed her small hand on his arm. “What’s wrong?”

  Her touch calmed him, and he put his hand over hers. “Melissa planned to take the girls with her to China.”

  Kate’s eyes widened. “Heath surely wouldn’t have let her. With joint custody he would have to agree for them to leave the country.”

  “She was going to take them and leave as soon as they got back from vacation.”

  “Are you rethinking your belief that he’d never hurt her? That kind of betrayal might make any man do something unexpected.”

  Was he? The sinking sensation in his gut began to subside, and he shook his head. “While it might have pushed him into shoving her off the cliff, why would he jump himself? He’d be abandoning his kids. That’s not like Heath. He adored those girls.” His confidence returned and he squeezed her fingers before moving his hand.

  She folded her fingers together in her lap. “Okay, so we keep digging.”

  “We sure do.” He admired the way the sunlight coming through the window lit her head in a halo. “How was everything last night? Any noises?”

  “Not a sound the past couple of nights. I’ve still been shoving my dresser against the bedroom door though, just in case. I should call the sheriff and see if he’s heard anything about Uncle Paul.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” He pulled out his phone again. “I want to ask him about that autopsy report again. He promised to get it to me, and I still don’t have it.” He called the sheriff’s office and asked for the sheriff, but after two rings, Deputy Kissner answered. “Good morning, Deputy, this is Drake Newham. Listen, I still don’t have that autopsy report on my brother and sister-in-law. I know it’s been a crazy time for all of you, but could you get that e-mailed over to me?”

  “I’ll do it right now,” the deputy said.

  “And Kate is here with me. She wondered if there’s been any news of her uncle.”

  “Not a hint of a clue, I’m sorry to say. But we’re still looking.”

  “Thanks. Keep me posted.” He ended the call and told Kate what he’d learned, which was nothing. “I’m beginning to wonder if the sheriff doesn’t want me to see the autopsy. Maybe there’s something in it that will strengthen my skepticism.”

  “Danny isn’t like that.”

  “Maybe not.” He flipped his phone over. “I dug through Melissa’s cell phone records and found Olivia Maunder’s number. She’s Melissa’s best friend and was hosting that event, the one with the picture of Melissa and Wang. I’m going to call her.”

  She scooted closer to him. “Good.”

  He punched in the number and it rang a couple of times before Olivia picked up. “Hello?”

  “Olivia, it’s Drake Newham.”

  “Drake, how good to hear from you. How are you doing?” Her voice held wells of sympathy, maybe even a hint of tears on her end.

  “Surviving. I’m investigating what happened here in Maine, and I wondered if I could ask you a few questions.”

  “Of course. I still miss her so much.” She broke off on a sob. “How can I help?”

  “Did you know Melissa was leaving Heath for Wang? That she was going to China?” There was a long silence, and he thought he heard another shuddering sob escape her. “Olivia?”

  “I’m here. Yes, of course I knew. Melissa told me everything since the day I first met her at a frat party when we were eighteen. I tried to talk her out of it, you know. She thought Chen was just misunderstood.” Olivia made an incredulous sound. “She said his father forced him into crime and he never ordered any of the terrible things he was accused of. She was so blind.”

  “How did they meet?”

  “It was all my fault! He’d given money to my women’s shelter, and I held a dinner to thank the donors. Wang took one look at her and was smitten. He kept showing up where she was and bought her extravagant gifts. At first she wasn’t interested, but she was starting to feel a little taken for granted. Heath was busy with his work, and he was extremely focused on Wang. I never understood why he took the case. He seemed to hate Wang. The next thing I knew Melissa was going to leave him for Wang.”

  “Did Heath talk to you at all about it?”

  She went quiet for a long moment. “He showed up here one night. He was livid. It was right after he’d found out.”

  Drake rubbed his forehead. It wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear. “You think he could have harmed Melissa?”

  She gave a tiny sob. “Oh, Drake, I’ve agonized over this, but I think he was angry enough that if he’d had a gun, he might have shot her. The betrayal was so horrible.”

  His fingers were numb from gripping the phone so tightly. “I still can’t believe Melissa would get close to a man like that.”

  “I know, but some women are drawn to that bad boy. I think Melissa thought she could help him leave his life of crime. There was talk of eventually moving to Australia and putting his crimes behind him. I’m sorry, Drake. I loved her. She was like a sister.”

  “Thanks for your help, Olivia. I’ll be in touch.” He ended the call and told Kate what he’d learned. “She thinks Heath might have been capable of hurting Melissa.”

  Her blue eyes held tears, and she took his hand. “Does this change anything for you?”

  He gripped her fingers and shook his head. “I still don’t believe it.” But his words held no conviction, even to his own ears.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Kate’s steps dragged as she went home after a full day. She’d enjoyed the girls, then Drake had invited her to watch a movie again. Though the wise thing would have been to say no, she agreed. Her head was full of all the questions about the deaths on the cliffs, as well as her uncle’s intentions.

  It was nine by the time she entered her yard, and her steps quickened when she recognized Luke’s truck in the drive. Claire and Luke sat on the porch swing in the dark. Claire wore khaki shorts and a cute orange top and was cuddled against Luke.

  Jackson ran past her to leap onto their laps. “You big moose.” Luke laughed and scooted over to make room.

  Kate disarmed the alarm and opened the door. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come right down.”

  “We were enjoying the gorgeous night. A little late, aren’t you?” Claire’s voice held amusement.

  Kate’s cheeks heated as she entered the house with them on her heels. “We watched a movie after the girls went to bed.”

  “Hmm.”

  At Claire’s noncommittal noise, Kate turned and shook her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.” A dimple came and went in Claire’s cheek. “Just glad you’re enjoying yourself.” She went ahead of Kate to the kitchen and headed for the coffeepot. “We came to crash in your spare room. The hotel didn’t have a room tonight because of the festival, and I’m not quite ready to go back to our place.” Jackson followed her. He loved her nearly as much as he loved Kate.

  “Of course! But you and Luke can have my bedroom. I like the smaller bed in the spare.”

  “I told her you’d say that,” Luke said.

  Kate handed Claire the bag of coffee beans. “You should have called me.”

  “Well, I did, but I got your voice mail.”

  Kate frowned and reached for the purse she’d slung onto the back of a chair. As she dug out her phone, she saw the pouch Jackson had found and pulled it out too. The phone showed two missed calls. “I accidentally had it silenced. Sorry.”

  “What’s that?” Luke gestured to the pouch.

  “Jacks
on found it in the field this morning. I don’t know who lost it.” Turning it over in her hands, she examined it more closely.

  Who would have dropped it in the middle of her blueberry field?

  She opened the pouch and dumped the contents out on the table. “It seems to just be jewelry and watches. A few hair items. It’s like some woman lost her travel bag, but the blueberry field seemed an odd place to be carrying it.”

  Luke came to her side and went through the jumble of items. “Some of this looks old. This watch looks like an antique.” He showed her a delicate gold watch with a jewelry-style band.

  “See if there’s anything on the back.” Claire flipped on the coffeepot and came to peruse the items with them.

  Kate leaned closer to look when Luke rolled it over. “It reads Dixie on the back. The only Dixie I know is Drake’s aunt.” This was getting more and more strange. “I’ll go talk to her tomorrow and see if this happens to be hers. Maybe all these things are hers. Maybe there was money inside or valuable coins. It’s hard to say.” A hint of blue caught her eye, and she picked up a pair of earrings. “I have some just like these.”

  Claire frowned. “Are you sure these aren’t yours? When did you last see yours?”

  Kate thought back. “I was going to wear them to church on Sunday and couldn’t find them. I thought maybe I’d taken them off in the car or left them somewhere.” She looked at the earrings more closely. “One of mine has a scratch on the inside of the stone.” Her pulse kicked when she saw the same scratch. “I-I think these might be mine. Could someone have found them?”

  “Or maybe this belongs to Paul, and he took them when he was here in the house,” Luke said.

  The aroma of coffee began to fill the kitchen, and Kate didn’t want to think about danger any longer. For just a little while she wanted to sit with her family and forget the events of the past weeks. “I’m going to whip up some gluten-free peanut butter cookies, Luke. Your favorite.”

  He yawned and put down the watch. “Honestly, I just want to crash.”

  Claire’s gaze met Kate’s. “You go on up to bed, honey. I’m going to stay up and talk with Kate for a while. I haven’t seen her in forever.”