Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  “How big of an issue is this thing that happened a year ago?”

  I stared into my now-empty tea mug and thought, it’s huge. At least, at the time, it was huge. My life had moved past all that darkness when I came to Whispering Pines. What I told her, though, was, “I took a good deal of harassment for it from the men at my station, but not because I’m a woman. I was expected to remain loyal to my ‘brothers in blue.’”

  “Have you dealt with it? This thing that happened?” Tavie asked, using the same tone I heard from Dr. Maddox, my therapist in Madison.

  “I saw a therapist.”

  “That’s not what I asked. The fact that you’re somehow associating that event with the comment this man made tells me this thing is buried deep and still needs to be addressed.”

  “It’s not that the two events are associated. They’re really not. It’s more that I’m feeling vulnerable right now, for various reasons, and the man’s comment made that feeling worse.”

  She studied me again. “You haven’t closed that year-old circle yet. Anniversaries can be good times to deal with old wounds.”

  I laughed, thinking about how much she sounded like some of the witches and fortune tellers in this village. “You could fit in very well here.”

  “Honey,” she pushed her shoulders back, “I could fit in anywhere I go. And as I understand it, that means I can’t fit here. Am I right?”

  “Hit it right on the head.” I winked and let the conversation go quiet for a few minutes as the girls focused on their final meal preparations. I refilled our tea mugs and asked Tavie as I sat, “You said you came here to pray for the village.”

  “We did.”

  “You know what’s been going on here, then.”

  She sipped and sighed. “I’d never even heard of Whispering Pines until last month when that boy went missing. Then the reports surfaced about how there had been one death after another here since the start of the tourist season in May. There’s something very broken in this village, isn’t there?”

  “I think so. It’s my mission to figure out what it is exactly, but with each new bad thing that happens, I feel like I’m failing at my job.”

  “Which is also why that man’s comment hit so hard.”

  Melinda stood before us with a kitchen towel draped over a bent arm like a server at a high-class restaurant. She stood tall with her shoulders back and chin high, then cleared her throat and announced importantly, “Dinner is served.” She bowed low, arm still bent, and held her other arm out toward the dining room.

  Thank goodness. I was saying way more to this woman than I’d intended to.

  Gloria held out the chair at the head of the table closest to the hallway and indicated that seat was for me. Silence did the same at the opposite end with a chair for Tavie.

  “Can you believe I rarely eat in here?” I told the group as we all settled.

  “That’s an absolute shame,” Gloria said wistfully, looking around. “This is a nice room.”

  What was her story? I’d learned a bit about Silence, but what about the rest of them? Tavie as well. It felt inappropriate to ask. They were guests, not friends after all, but I’d love to know about all of them.

  “Just seems to be the way it goes,” I explained. “We’re always so busy serving our guests that when it’s time for us to eat, we just sit at the kitchen bar. Sometimes we go out on the deck, which I love. Maybe now that we’re into the slower time of year, we can make a point of having dinner in here.”

  “Who is ‘we?’” Melinda wanted to know, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. “Tripp Bennett. My partner.”

  Silence scribbled on her whiteboard. He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?

  “Oooo. Jayne’s got a boyfriend,” Gloria said in a singsong while Melinda made kissing noises. It was like suddenly inheriting three annoying little sisters.

  “He is my boyfriend,” I admitted.

  “Duh.” Melinda rolled her eyes. “First you blushed then you grinned like he’s the greatest thing ever.”

  Silence batted her big beautiful blue eyes and held up, Is he?

  “The greatest thing ever?” I asked. “Most days.”

  Where did that come from? Supposedly, the truth was revealed when you replied with the first thing that popped into your mind. Tripp was the best thing that had happened in my life in a very long time. There’d been a bit of tension between us lately, however. As exciting as it was to move in together, we had to get to know each other in a whole different way. We had to learn to sleep with someone else in the bed . . . and all that went along with that. Then there was dealing with the invasion of previously personal space, such as one of us leaving dirty clothes in a heap in the corner—me—and the other insisting they belonged in a hamper. It was just growing pains. I knew that. We’d be fine after the adjustment period. However long that took.

  We piled buns with Melinda’s sloppy joe meat, heaped Gloria’s salad into salad bowls, and had just dug in when the front door opened.

  Chapter 6

  My back was to the door, so my four guests saw who had entered before I did. Still, I knew who it was. I turned to see Tripp and River standing in the dining room entryway looking surprised. As I introduced everyone, I noted the girls’ reactions. Gloria’s mouth formed an O. Melinda leaned back in her chair and let her eyes travel head to toe over the two men. Silence fluffed her hair and smiled so big the dimples in her cheeks got crazy deep. Tavie stood and walked around the table, hand extended.

  “Which one of you is Tripp Bennett?” she asked, her hand pivoting between the two until Tripp held his out.

  “That would be me. This is our friend, River Carr. And who are all of you?”

  “Tavie Smith,” she announced. “Jayne found us in the pentacle garden and took us in like a pack of strays.”

  Tripp looked at me, amused, with an eyebrow cocked in question.

  I laughed and explained, “It wasn’t quite like that. They were in the pentacle garden holding a prayer session for our village, and I asked if they had a place to stay.” The praying part amused him too. “Good news, we’re almost fully booked. One room left.”

  Tripp analyzed the remainder of dinner still on the table. “I know you can grill just about anything, but I’ve never seen you make anything like this.”

  “And you still haven’t. Melinda, Gloria, and Silence made dinner for us tonight.” I winked at the three of them. “You’ve got a little competition.”

  “Would you like something to eat?” Gloria asked Tripp and River. “I’ll get plates for you.”

  “It looks good,” Tripp began, “but we stopped for dinner before coming home.”

  That little spot in me that angered easily lately, flared. Tripp didn’t even call to ask if he could bring me something.

  “Regretfully,” River announced in his standard formal way, “I must again depart to visit my lady and her mother.”

  “I couldn’t eat another bite.” Tripp placed a hand over his stomach. “But I’ll sit with you all if that’s okay.”

  Silence nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling, and patted the seat between her and Tavie for him to take. Interesting. The seemingly shy girl had some impressive flirting skills. Her quiet way worked like a charm and she captured Tripp in her web within seconds. I assumed that was how she used to secure her “place to sleep at night.” Not that that’s what she was doing now. Her actions seemed innocent enough, but perhaps like me always being prepared with my badge and weapon, it was old habits rising to the occasion?

  We chatted as we continued eating and laughed our heads off over Gloria’s impersonation of Mickey Mouse, which wasn’t much of a stretch for her considering her naturally tiny voice. When we were done with the meal, Silence brought out the blondies. Tripp helped himself to one of those. He declared them delicious and asked her to leave the recipe.

  “In the afternoon,” he explained, “I leave cookies on the table i
n the hallway for our guests. I think they’d love these.”

  As they were washing and putting away the dishes, the trio convinced Tripp to let them make breakfast in the morning. Then they ran off to their rooms, excited for a night of bubble baths and privacy.

  “They’ll take over the house if you let them,” Tavie warned. Her eyes shifted between Tripp and me, and the smallest of frowns turned her mouth. “Just say no if they’re intruding.”

  “They’re not intruding,” I assured. “I’m happy to have you all here.”

  Happier than I could explain. Something about this woman comforted me. She felt like a beloved aunt who had come for a visit. The girls like cousins.

  She pulled me to the side, away from Tripp. “Silence isn’t up to anything. I saw the looks you were giving her at the table.”

  I was going to object but instead said, “Is she like that with all men?”

  “Not always. She tends to turn it on when she’s out of her comfort zone or feeling insecure. I think it’s a self-protection thing, like she’s keeping her skills sharp, so to speak, in case she ever needs them again.”

  My heart hurt for the girl. “I hate that she feels that’s what she has to resort to.”

  “Sadly, there are far too many like her.” Tavie gave my shoulder a little pat and headed for the stairs. “I noticed books in the alcove at the top of the staircase. May I borrow one?”

  “Of course. We put them there for guests to use. Let us know if you need anything else. We’re in this room down here. Just knock.”

  “I might interrupt something,” she replied with a sassy grin. “At least I hope I would.”

  I smiled as I let Meeka out to patrol the yard and then joined Tripp on the couch. “You two were gone a long time today.”

  “We had a lot to do. River also wanted to pick up some things for the baby that Morgan mentioned. Then we stopped for dinner. I didn’t realize we had guests. You could’ve called. My cell phone works outside the village, you know.”

  I stiffened. “That means it also makes calls. You could’ve called and let me know you wouldn’t be home for dinner. And I’m fully capable of checking in a few guests by myself.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” He paused before adding, “Sorry I didn’t call.”

  I crossed my arms and stared out the windows at the moonlight glinting off the lake and then over at the boathouse. From here, I could see the front edge of the deck. On some nights, like tonight, it still felt strange to not cross the yard to my little apartment at the end of the day. After six months of having space all to myself—something I hadn’t had since leaving my parents’ home nearly a decade ago—I couldn’t really relax. I could get into bed, but sometimes I just wanted to take off my bra and sprawl on the couch. The great room was the equivalent of a hotel lobby, so I couldn’t do that with guests wandering around.

  “Any idea when you’ll be done with the attic?” I asked.

  “You keep asking me that. I told you, drywalling takes a long time. Once that’s done, everything else should come together quickly.”

  “When will you be done with the drywalling then?”

  “Soon. Would you like me to go up and work on it now?”

  I didn’t respond, hating that we were so short with each other lately. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why do you think something’s wrong with me?”

  I ignored the implication that the problem was with me. “Because until we moved in together, we never argued. It feels like that’s all we’re doing right now.”

  “It takes two to argue. What’s bothering you?”

  “Lack of privacy.”

  He laughed, a huffy little sound. “You can’t be serious. You’ve had nothing but privacy. We haven’t had guests other than River in ten days, so it’s not like anyone’s been bothering you. Today was the first time you left the house or gone to the station in a week. All you’ve done is mope around here while River and I work on the attic.”

  “Then maybe I should say too much privacy. I thought we were going to work on the attic together, and River would help us now and then. I haven’t been allowed to do a thing. What’s the problem? You don’t think I’m capable of using a power tool?”

  We sat in steaming silence until Meeka pawed at the door. I let her in, then headed for bed. A few minutes later, Tripp climbed in next to me. Not ready to be done being mad, I pulled the blankets up to my neck.

  “Look,” his voice was softer now. “I know the thing with Lupe really threw you. It threw a lot of us. I also know you don’t have a lot going on right now. That’s why I’m working so hard to get the attic done. So we’ll have our own space.”

  “This room isn’t enough?” Don’t know why I even asked the question. It wasn’t anywhere near enough. While it wasn’t tiny, there was only room for the bed, a six-drawer dresser, and two chairs with a small table between them by the bay window. Those chairs were the only place we could sit and chill that wasn’t in public view.

  “No.” He turned my face, so I was looking at him. “It’s nowhere near enough. We need more than a room that we’re borrowing from our guests. Someplace we can make our own.”

  “That’s what I want too. I’d like to have a little more say in what’s going on up there, though. At this rate, the apartment is going to be yours and River’s, not yours and mine.”

  That wasn’t quite fair. Tripp and I designed the space together. We chose the colors and bathroom tile together. I just felt very left out of the process now.

  “Other than going to 3G to eat and watch the games tomorrow, the plan was for River and me to do nothing but work on the apartment.”

  “Has that plan changed?”

  He flung a hand toward the second floor. “Yeah. We have guests. Now, I have to get up and make breakfast. I hadn’t planned for that.”

  “Sorry I brought business in and messed up your day. You don’t have to worry about tomorrow. You told the girls they could make breakfast.”

  And suddenly, we were angry again. We lay there, neither of us wanting to speak first, but Tripp finally did. “River told me he’s now planning to be over at Morgan’s all day tomorrow. Would you like to help me sand the final coat of drywall spackle before we go to the buffet?”

  Forcing my irritation away, I said, “Sure. I’d like that.”

  There was a long pause before Tripp said, “So you went into the village today? Anything exciting going on?”

  I rolled onto my side to face him and told him about the Flavia and Reeva debacle. “I think there might also be a little trouble brewing in the village again.”

  “What now?”

  “There was this group trying to stay at the campground.” I explained the whole incident.

  Tripp pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “Is that why you’re suddenly accusing me of sexism? Because of what that guy said? If anything, I’m afraid you’re more capable of using a power tool than me.”

  Now he was patronizing me. Or maybe I was just cranky. I inhaled deep and exhaled hard. “It might be nothing. Maybe they were just trying to be tough guys. But—”

  “But your instincts are tingling. Be careful, babe, okay?” Then preemptively, “I know I don’t need to tell you that. I know you know what you’re doing and are great at it.” He flipped onto his back. “Good thing we live where we do. I’d worry all day, every day in a place the size of Milwaukee or even Madison.”

  After a quick peck of a goodnight kiss, I lay there wondering if he was trying to make a point of some kind. Did he want me to step down as sheriff? He’d mentioned many times that he’d be happy if we just ran the B&B together. The thing was, being sheriff wasn’t just my job, it was part of who I was. If he couldn’t accept that, he couldn’t accept me.

  Chapter 7

  I woke to the smell of bacon. What a fabulous way to start the day. I stretched happily and rolled to face the sunny windows, surprised to find Tripp watching me.

  “You smelled bacon and thoug
ht it was me?” he asked.

  “Yes. Bacon always makes me think of you.”

  “It’s the girls. Remember?”

  I stretched while saying, “We should hire teenagers to cook breakfast for us every day. That way you can lounge in bed with me longer.”

  “We’ll have our own someday. I’ll teach them young. I’m thinking three or four. Then we don’t have to wait until they’re teenagers.”

  He knew I wasn’t ready to talk about having kids. I distracted him from the comment by giving him a proper good morning greeting and then slid into the shower. On one hand, I was glad that the fight from last night was done. On the other, it upset me that we just moved on rather than talking about whatever had caused the fight.

  Breakfast consisted of bacon, scrambled eggs, cut up fruit, and banana-nut muffins. That would be just enough to hold me until we headed to the Thanksgiving buffet around one.

  “Did you still want to help me upstairs?” Tripp asked after the girls pushed him out of the kitchen, insisting they would clean up everything and put it all back exactly where they’d found it.

  “Sure,” I answered. “It’s been a few days since I’ve seen the progress.”

  “Don’t get too excited. Not a lot has changed.”

  The hallway on the second floor formed what Rosalyn and I always thought of as a racetrack. We always started at Gran’s bedroom door and ran in opposite directions around the “track.” The first one back to Gran’s room won. I was bigger and had longer legs, but Rozzie was faster.

  When Tripp and I got to the top of the attic stairs, he held aside the sheet of heavy plastic hanging there to keep the drywall dust from floating down to the bedrooms.

  In the back-right corner of the space was a platform elevated by two steps and tucked into an alcove. We thought that would be the perfect spot for the bed. Tucked next to the stairs in the front-right corner was a space twice as long as it was wide. That would be our walk-in closet. Straight ahead was the bathroom with a small window that let in lots of light. A small kitchenette took up the far left-hand corner and was open to what would be our living room. A row of three four-feet-tall by two-feet-wide dormer windows gave a great view of the lake.