A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery)

by Waters, JesseAnne

  “I am being brave. I just feel…so…bad.” The words quivered out of her mouth.

  Lucy stood there fighting back her own tears. She felt very shaky herself but wasn’t going to let Kylie feel it. She sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around her. “It’s hard because you knew her.”

  “It’s not just that!”

  Max and Lucy exchanged looks. “What is it Kylie?” He prompted her to continue.

  “I could have gotten us all killed staying here last night! I was being so selfish! I’m so sorry!” She was sobbing.

  “It’s not your fault, come here.” Max sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

  Kylie felt her insides twisting and trembling. “Where did this happen? Was she out there all night?” She spoke more to herself.

  “I don’t know. An autopsy will tell us.” Lucy answered this time.

  Then there was silence. Kylie had a million questions but there were no answers just yet. This was beyond her control and it made her weak. Her stomach rolled every time she thought of how she had accused this woman of murder. She hadn’t sufficient proof of anything, why had she tossed accusations at this poor soul. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t even say her name. She huddled between Lucy and Max, struggling with her guilt until the sirens signaled the police were finally approaching.

  Chapter 13

  Within a matter of minutes the place was crawling with cops. Then the questioning began. Frank sent homicide detective Deborah Winslow over to talk to Kylie and Max in the kitchen, and he went to speak to Lucy.

  Deborah was a serious woman with wisps of gray in her hair despite her young face. Lucy had mentioned her a few times and Kylie had perceived her to be a hard, unemotional person and she wasn’t that far off.

  “So, Leslie called you last night and told you she wanted to come over.”

  “Yes. But I told her I needed to talk to my sister.” Kylie answered Deborah without thinking since this was the second time they’d gone over things.

  “And she said she wanted to come by?”

  “Yes, but I told her we’d make it another time.”

  “And while you were here with your sister, you thought you’d heard something?”

  “No…actually yes, sorry. We thought we heard voices but we weren’t sure. Then we saw a car pull out of the driveway or off the side of the road…I think it was off the side of the road.”

  “But you couldn’t tell what make or model it was.”

  “No, they didn’t put their headlights on until they were past the turn and it was dark.”

  “And you were on your way home?” Deborah turned to Max. “Mr. Shepard?”

  Kylie looked over at Max then followed his gaze. She saw instantly, what had distracted him.

  Testosterone filled the air as Paul strolled through the living room and nodded at Kylie.

  “What’s he doing here?” Max almost growled.

  “Mr. MacFarland is working on this case Mr. Shepard. Do you know him?” Deborah sensed the animosity.

  “No, not really.”

  “So, what time did you leave your office last night?” She continued.

  This was starting to sound like an interrogation to Max. “Didn’t you ask me this already?”

  “I’m just making sure we haven’t missed anything. Sometimes we forget important details. It helps to review the events leading up to the murder.”

  “Well I wouldn’t know the events leading up to the murder, I wasn’t there.” Max’s eyes were fixed on Paul as he walked past the kitchen and into the great room.

  “I’m almost finished, if you could just bear with me a few more minutes.” She said slowly, assessing the situation.

  “Of course go ahead.” Kylie answered pleasantly then squeezed Max’s hand to snap him out it.

  By chance Frank walked over. “How is it going over here?”

  “I just realized we hadn’t eaten anything this morning, do you think we could take a break.” Kylie asked, changing the focus.

  “How about you get your things Kylie, head back over to our house with Lucy. She’s waiting for you.” Frank smiled encouragingly.

  “What about Max?”

  “I just need to talk to him for a minute and then he can meet you there.”

  “Why can’t he come with us?” Kylie sensed something was wrong. She looked over at Lucy, who was now standing in the entranceway, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. Lucy wore a worried look.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on.” Frank said smoothly.

  “It’s okay Kylie go home with your sister. I can handle this.” Max tried to reassure her but sounded reluctant.

  She threw him a confused look but he nodded his head.

  Yeah, she got it but she didn’t like it. She was tired, anxious and now she was irritated but instinct warned her not to protest.

  “I’m going to go talk to my sister and then we’re going to leave together so make it fast.” She said to Frank defiantly.

  Kylie crossed the room then looked back and tried to listen to them but the voices from the other police officers in the living room drowned them out.

  “What’s going on? Why do they need to ask Max more questions?”

  Lucy frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes you do!” Her breath expelled in a rush. “Tell me what’s going on. I can see it on your face. You’re holding something back.”

  “Alright, it’s nothing really. They just want to know why it took Max so long to get home last night. That’s all.”

  “Because he stopped to pick flowers. You saw them!” She frowned.

  “Wait. How did they know it took him longer than usual to get home…you told them?” Kylie seemed mollified.

  “I swear Kylie, I would never accuse Max of anything. I just told Frank and Paul what happened and Paul…” She stopped abruptly.

  “Paul what?” Kylie’s heart raced and something in her sank.

  “He picked up on the fact that Max left work and could have been home the same time we heard the noises outside.”

  Kylie tried to remain calm. “Are you telling me they think it’s Max who did this?”

  “Let’s not jump the gun here. You know its Frank’s job to check everything and Max has an alibi so it will be fine.”

  Kylie stared at the floor. It all became suddenly real. “Some alibi.”

  “I saw the flowers. They could even check if he picked them from where he said.”

  Kylie could sense the uncertainty in her sister’s voice. “Do you think Max did it?” She asked bluntly.

  “No…I don’t, and neither does Frank but he’s got to be sure. Look, why don’t we go upstairs and pack some things? I’m sure they’ll be finished in a few minutes and then we can leave.”

  “So Frank thinks he’s innocent. But Paul doesn’t.” She continued.

  “I don’t know.” Lucy said quietly.

  For a moment Kylie wanted to go over and pound Paul’s head in with a frying pan. She saw him moving about the house talking with people, always keeping an eye on her. The coward. He didn’t even have the guts to come over and talk to her.

  “What’s going to happen if they think he’s guilty?”

  “Frank said there isn’t enough evidence to bring him in. So they should let him go for now.”

  “For now! Oh my God. This is freaking me out.” Her breath was ragged.

  Lucy reached out and tried to steady her. “I know it is but everything will be fine.”

  “What if Paul’s doing this because he wants to get back at Max?” She pulled away from her sister.

  “He wouldn’t do that!”

  “Like hell he wouldn’t! I’ll be right back.”

  Kylie maneuvered around Lucy and walked into the great room. She scanned the room but the sunlight streaming through the window made it hard to see anything. She let her eyes adjust, he wasn’t there. She went out the front door then went around the side of the
house. A policemen stopped her part way.

  “I’m sorry miss you can’t go back there.”

  “I’m looking for officer MacFarland. Is he back there?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Could you go get him for me please, I need to speak to him.”

  People were walking back and forth. The house and the grounds were now police property and she was only in the way.

  Paul came walking around the corner a minute later with a superior look on his face. “You asked to see me?”

  “Yes I did.” She looked at him. His gaze was steady and unreadable.

  “What is it?”

  “I want to know what the hell’s going on?”

  “Leslie’s dead, that’s what’s going on.” He mocked her but the pain flashed in his eyes.

  “I know and I’m sorry.” Kylie was taken aback for a moment but was still too angry to care. “What’s going on with Max I mean? You think he’s guilty?”

  “So you want to play assistant detective again.” He asked sarcastically.

  “No! I want to know why Max is under interrogation.”

  “You tell me?”

  “No you tell me! Because if you’re trying to prove he’s guilty to get back at me you’re just going to hurt an innocent person.”

  “I’m protecting you Kylie.” He lowered his voice as someone walked by.

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “Protecting me! Give me a break. You think if you get him out of the way you can get me back, well it’s not going to happen!”

  “Wow, you think a lot of yourself don’t you?” He shook his head very slowly.

  “Look Mr. Nice guy, the, I’m just protecting you is not going to work. You can save it for someone else.” She turned to leave.

  “Suit yourself Kylie, but you don’t know him. You think you can trust him but you’re making a mistake. I know things you don’t!”

  She turned back towards him and drew in a breath. “You’re wrong!”

  “He’s got no alibi for any of the murders, did you know that? Do you still trust him? Hell, I bet you don’t even know his middle name!”

  Kylie swung around to leave. “Well I know your middle name. Asshole,” she whispered under her breath and headed back to the house.

  It was quieter inside and Lucy was nowhere in sight. She heard voices coming from Max’s room, so she went upstairs and slammed the door shut. She drew the curtains without looking down and felt an enormous sense of dread. It wasn’t until she reached for her suitcase that her legs gave out from under her and she slid down to the floor. Belly deep sobs rolled out, one after another. She reached for the Kleenex box beside the bed and blew furiously into a tissue. This was just shitty. That bastard Paul was trying to screw things up for her. Max was good, kind and honest. She burst into tears again.

  “He couldn’t have.” She said out loud as the door slowly creaked opened behind her.

  “Kylie? Are you alright?” Max stood in the doorway staring down at her.

  “I’m okay.” She straightened herself then got to her feet and lifted the suitcase onto the bed.

  “What did you say when I came in?” He drew back for a minute, not knowing what to do.

  “Nothing, I was muttering stupid stuff, I’m just so tired. What did they want?” She asked, her arms crossed and her back to him.

  “I thought I heard you say he couldn’t have.” He ignored her question and moved closer, reaching out to touch her.

  She froze. Not able to collect her thoughts in order to speak.

  He stood behind her a hand reached out but it only grazed her t-shirt.

  “Kylie. Please look at me.” He waited.

  She turned slowly and looked at him. The sadness in his eyes coiled around her heart.

  “What…” was all she could say. She wanted things to go back to the way they were. She wanted him to touch her, she wanted to touch him but couldn’t.

  “Were you talking about me? Do you think I did that?”

  “No.” She lied…“Did you?” The gashing and twisting that was ripping her stomach apart was showing on her face.

  Max stared at her in amazement. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d do something like that. I know we haven’t known each other that long but I thought you knew me.”

  He looked shaken and she felt like she was dying a slow death. She could feel the lump in her throat thicken and tried desperately to say something.

  “Tell me you didn’t do it and I’ll believe you!” She began to sob.

  Max pulled her into his arms. “I didn’t do it,” he said into her ear, “I swear I didn’t do it. I would never do something like that!” He held on to her tight.

  It was the first time she felt safe all day. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. “I’m so sorry. I’m really so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I understand, I do.” He stroked her hair and rocked her gently. “Everything will be alright, I promise.”

  “You promise?” She sniffed.

  “Yes, I promise Kylie. I’ll never let anything bad happen to you. Now come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 14

  There was something about Lucy’s house that gave Kylie a sense of security. Perhaps it was the way the structure stood, nestled into the mountain top and surrounded by ancient oaks or perhaps it was its strong stone façade. Either way, Kylie always found it to be a refuge of sorts.

  Coming down the stairs she heard Max’s voice in the kitchen and bit her bottom lip. She still felt awful for doubting him but the doubting had thankfully went away. It was the overpowering anxiousness that she wished would vanish with it.

  She entered the kitchen and found Max and Lucy sipping coffee. They were talking about the murders.

  Lucy looked uneasy, and Kylie wondered if it was because her sister thought she was sitting across from a killer or if it was just the general topic that was beginning to play on her nerves.

  “It would be nice to talk about something else don’t you think?” Kylie got a cup out of the cupboard.

  “Sure,” Max smiled weakly. “Well, Lucy was telling me how you helped her renovate when they moved in. It sounded like a lot of work but the place is beautiful.”

  “It was a lot of work but it was fun.” Kylie looked down and remembered helping them install the oak hardwood floors, which had worn over time she noted. She stared at the floors and thought about how simple life used to be. Wasn’t there a time when falling in love meant all her dreams would come true and life would be unproblematic. Back then she used to envision it like that. But then she’d pictured a lot of things differently except for the prince. He was exactly what she’d imagined. She glanced over at Max who was conversing with Lucy.

  The coffee was scorching hot. She poured as slowly as she could and watched the steam make little circles in the air.

  “Are you ok?” Lucy broke her trance.

  “Hey, oh yeah, I’m fine,” she looked down at her sister. The truth was she was sinking into the twilight zone. Everything had become surreal. “I could use some air though. I think I’ll take my coffee out on the deck.”

  “I’m going to go do some groceries and then stop by the shop. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Is there anything special I can get you guys?”

  “No thanks.”

  “Kylie grabbed a sweater and went outside and Max followed. The sky was a dusty orange with a purple horizon. It was beautiful. Kylie pulled on her sweater without taking her eyes of the view.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little, why?”

  “Because it’s really hot out tonight.”

  “Is it?” She turned to look at him but didn’t make eye contact.

  “You hardly ate anything all day; I’ll make you something if you like.” Max said with a little worry in his voice.

  Kylie caught his eyes this time and stayed there. He was so handsome and sexy that despite the circumstances she almost forgot everything for a moment.

  “I’m gla
d you’re here.” She said.

  “Yeah, me too.” He chuckled. She was so easy to be with despite the storm he felt that was raging on inside her.

  “What do you want to do tonight?”

  “I don’t know. I’m thinking about it.” She grinned at the double meaning but noticed that Max was too worried about her to catch on.

  It was almost despicable at how fast her mood could change but then her mother always said, “life’s too short to stay lost for too long.” She took his hand and led him back into the house then slipped on her shoes. “I want to show you something, come on.”

  Kylie slammed the front door and headed up the road with Max at her side. They walked quietly hand in hand.

  “Why does the road get so narrow?”

  “Because Lucy’s house is the last one on the mountain. We’re almost at the top.”

  Kylie took them through a wooded path that came to a small clearing.

  “Wow!” Max exclaimed. “This is amazing!”

  “Don’t you wish you had a telescope?”

  “Well actually I did pack one of them.” He laughed.

  “Of course you did.” She smiled.

  The bush had gotten a little thicker since the last time she was up here but the view was still the same. Kylie sat down on the grass and looked out across the countryside. Max sat down next to her and took her hand..

  “You can almost see Ellington from here.”

  “Is that Forest Hills?”

  “Yes sir, and right down there is Lucy’s shop.”

  Max looked down at the tiny shop then back at Kylie. “It’s beautiful.” He leaned down on one elbow. He hadn’t really touched her all day. Even last night before they went to bed, he gave her a peck on the lips but she seemed exhausted so he left her alone. He was worried, she looked the same but he couldn’t tell if she felt the same.

  The circumstances in which they were living were enough to send someone running, let alone having to contemplate whether or not someone close to you was a potential madman.

  “Listen, let’s not pretend nothing happened. If you want to talk about it, it’s alright, if you want to ask me something go ahead.”