Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  “She’s been asleep the whole time.” Jola had the sort of expression on her face a sleep researcher might have. A curious, trying to understand what just happened quizzical look. “If she were to wake right now, she might remember that she had a bad dream but probably wouldn’t be able to give any details about it.”

  “Can I go back to sleep now?” Lily Grace shuffled toward the Jill room without waiting for a response.

  “Good luck,” Jola called softly after her. “My heart is racing. Not sure I could go to sleep now if you paid me. Not that I can anyway. It’s my watch again.” She waited until the Jill door was closed and softly blurted, “She said a name.”

  It took me a second to realize she meant the woman and not Lily Grace. “A name?”

  “She distinctly said ‘Esther’ twice. ‘No, Esther, please,’ and ‘I promise, Esther, please don’t.’”

  “Esther is her attacker?”

  “I’m assuming so. She was obviously pleading with someone when she said it.”

  “And you’re sure she hasn’t woken up at all.”

  Jola pointed at a chair sitting near the foot of the bed. “Lily Grace and I have been sitting right there. Close enough to notice if she moves but not so close that we’ll startle her if she wakes up. So far neither of us has seen her so much as lift a finger or wiggle a toe.”

  “Except to sit up and scream.” I observed the woman for a minute, wondering what was going on in her head. What was she thinking? Was she thinking? Could she hear us talking? “If she isn’t awake by morning to tell us who Esther is, I’ll check to see if there are any reports of someone by that name who’s missing. It’ll be a longshot, but we don’t have anything else to go on. I’ll also go look for a wrecked vehicle around Sundry.” I tried to calculate how far past the grocery store we needed to go while searching for this possible wrecked car. My efforts weren’t working so well. Mostly because it was the middle of the night. “How long does it take for frostbite to set in?”

  “The wind was just starting to whip when she got to Sundry.” Jola stared at the ceiling, doing her own calculation and mumbled, “Fifteen at fifteen. The temperature was below freezing at that time with windchills well below zero. At fifteen below, frostbite is possible in as little as fifteen minutes. Why?”

  “You said she has frostbite on her toes and fingers. I’m trying to estimate how far she would have walked. With that wind and her physical condition, she might have gone half a mile. I’ll double that to make sure I cover enough ground and drive a mile past Sundry.”

  “Sounds like a logical plan to me.” Jola glanced at her patient. “Go on back to sleep, Sheriff. She’ll probably be quiet now. I have to say, the speed at which you got here comforted me.”

  I opened the room door to find eight pairs of eyes staring at me. Nine including Meeka.

  “Everything’s okay,” I assured them. “Jola’s patient was suffering a night terror.”

  “Patient?” Jonah blurted. “Why do you have a patient here?”

  I didn’t feel the need to share details with him, but neither Dad nor Briar knew what was going on either. “The power went out over at the clinic when Tripp and I were there. We had Jola bring her patient here until either the power goes back on at the clinic or an ambulance can safely get to the village to transport the woman to the hospital.”

  Jonah’s eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Now he was pushing it. Without acknowledging the question, I turned to the group. “We can all go back to bed now. There’s nothing more to worry about.”

  Tripp stayed by my side as everyone else scattered. Jonah was the last to leave. Was he expecting I’d share secrets with him once everyone else had walked away? I said goodnight but otherwise ignored him and went upstairs with Tripp. Once back in bed, I lay in his arms and gave him more of the details.

  “You think she was fighting off someone named Esther in a dream,” Tripp concluded, “and that Esther is the person who gave her those bruises.”

  “It’s only a guess going off of very limited information. As soon as it’s light outside, whether the storm is still raging or passed, I need to go look for a vehicle alongside the road. Our mystery lady didn’t have seatbelt marks, remember. Unless she was thrown or jumped from a vehicle that continued on down the road, that vehicle has to still be out there.”

  “Again,” Tripp said through a yawn, “you’re not going alone. If our guests have to fend for themselves for breakfast, so be it.”

  Chapter 10

  Sunrise in Whispering Pines in mid-January came at around quarter to eight. With the heavy blanket of blizzard clouds still blocking the sky, there was only the barest hint of light by that time. The upside to that meant Tripp and I could have a decent breakfast. First, Tripp cleared our driveway with the plow we’d had installed on his truck. River took care of the sidewalk, front porch, and Meeka’s trench with the snow thrower. Morgan and Briar insisted on doing the cooking. They made blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon, and Briar’s cheesy hash browns that River claimed were so good Tripp was sure to add them to the B&B breakfast lineup after one taste. Much to Rosalyn’s despair, Dad promised they would take care of cleanup.

  While they were all busy with their tasks, I hopped online to see if there was a missing person’s report for anyone named Esther. No one by that name came up. It had been less than twenty-four hours, however. Especially with a blizzard to contend with, it could be a while before they officially listed folks as missing. It had been a total shot in the dark regardless, but I had to try. There was no way I could sit back and do nothing.

  I called Mr. Powell next to ask if he knew anything about the conditions of the highway. Since it was a county highway that bisected the village, county trucks took care of its maintenance.

  “Well, I’d give it fair to middling for a blizz—” He made a little oof noise, and then there was a clattering sound as his phone crashed to the ground and skittered across the floor. A second later, “Sorry about that.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Tripped over my boots.”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head over the antics of the world’s klutziest man. “Let me guess, you left them sitting in the middle of the floor.”

  “No. They’re on my feet.” I bit my tongue as he asked, “Any reason you’re wondering about the roads? You going somewhere, Sheriff?”

  “There might have been an accident last night.” I explained about the woman who’d wandered into the grocery store’s parking lot. “I’d like to get about a mile past Sundry to see if there’s anyone stranded out there.”

  “You realize, don’t you, that if there was an accident and the occupants have been out there all night, they’re likely past help?”

  “That’s my fear, too, but my job is to serve and protect.”

  “And a fine job you do.” He made a grunting noise indicating he’d hurt himself again. He probably poked himself in the eye while saluting me. That had happened more than once. “Tell you what. I’ll send Schmitty out to clear a mile for you.”

  Whispering Pines had one snowplow. Among many other jobs, Schmitty kept the village’s few streets clear and, in this instance, could help with a bit of the highway too.

  “You’re sure? I don’t want to risk any lives.”

  “The danger right now is skidding on the ice or not seeing the edge of the road and ending up in the ditch. He’ll take it slow and won’t clear to the shoulders, but he can get you a lane down the middle. And the county plows might have already taken a pass or two.”

  “That’s great, Mr. Powell. Thank you. How long will he need?”

  “Give him an hour. I’ll have him meet you at your driveway and stay with you to take care of drifting.” He paused then added, “You don’t want to be out there any longer than necessary, Jayne. Get out and home quick as you can. You bringing your talkie? You’ll let me know if you need my help?”

  The concern in his voice was touching. “Tripp
’s coming with me, but we’ll stay in touch. Promise.”

  I hung up the phone and checked the time on the clock on the credenza behind me. It read three minutes to eight. We’d head out at nine. The aroma of bacon frying and muffins baking hit me then. Breakfast should be ready soon.

  “It’s still blowing pretty hard out there.”

  I turned to find Jonah taking a seat across the desk from me. For a second, my throat tightened, and my fight-or-flight instinct wanted me to run to Tripp’s side. There were six people thirty feet away, however. I’d be fine. And Meeka had trailed him into the office and trotted over to my side. Perfectly safe. Nothing to worry about.

  But why are you worried to begin with? Jayne in my head asked. You need to figure this out.

  I did. Right now, though, I was in cop mode and needed to focus on a possible citizen in danger.

  “They estimated the storm would last twenty-four hours.” I forced a conversational tone. “That means we’ve got a bit to ride out yet.”

  “Then they’ll need to clean up. Looks like we’ll be here for a while.”

  “Mr. Powell and his crew are fast. They’ll get the village taken care of quickly, but we’re not a high priority for the highway crews.” Although, if I report a woman in distress who needs to get to the hospital, they might bump us up on the list.

  “It’ll be all right for Millie and me to stay another night, won’t it?”

  “Of course,” Pine Time owner Jayne replied. “I’m happy to charge your card for another night.”

  He smiled but only with his mouth. “And now you need to go search for a vehicle in a blizzard. Dangerous job. Who would think you’d have to risk your life that way in a village this size?”

  I mimicked his smile. “If you figure the percentage of residents to law enforcement, we’re probably not that much different than Madison. Danger is part of the job, but it’s also what keeps it interesting. That and the fact that I get to help people. My job is different every day and ultimately very satisfying.”

  “So this patient upstairs—”

  I silenced him with a wave of my hand. “I can’t talk to you about that, Jonah.”

  “You would have before.” His voice deepened and took on a smooth quality. The one he used when he wanted something. “You used to tell me everything.”

  I flashed to a night two years earlier. I’d pulled over a local judge for running a red light and swerving in and out of his lane. He was visibly intoxicated, and I could smell the alcohol wafting off him as soon as he opened his window. When I asked him to step out of his car, he couldn’t stay upright without leaning on his vehicle. One of Jonah’s buddies had a police scanner and was listening that night. He heard me say “judge.” Knowing civilians were listening, they always were, I caught myself right away and didn’t give the man’s name.

  Jonah was dying for information when I got home the next morning. Using his smooth-talker voice, he assured me, “You know you can tell me anything. I’ll keep it quiet.”

  I wasn’t about to risk the release of that information coming back on me. Ultimately, I gave him clues but not a name and let him find out if his guess was right when the news broke.

  Why was he using that voice on me now? What did he want from me?

  I shook my head. “Sorry. Things are different now.”

  “Breakfast is ready,” Rosalyn sang out from the hallway and froze at the door. She took one look at me, and her smile faded. “Jonah, Millie is looking for you.”

  She walked around the desk to stand next to me and Meeka. Roz stared him down, and he glared back at her. About that time, Millie poked her head in the doorway.

  “There you are, darling.” She stepped in and ran a hand from Jonah’s shoulder to the center of his chest. “Breakfast is on the table.”

  He sighed, flicked her hand away, and pushed himself up to stand, his eyes on me the entire time.

  “Was he always so creepy?” Rosalyn whispered in my ear after he left the room.

  Was he? “I don’t remember him being this way. I might’ve blocked some things, though.”

  Having recently gone through a breakup of her own, she gave me an understanding smile.

  “It might be him, or maybe it’s that we haven’t seen each other in over a year. Something feels wrong, but I’m not sure what’s going on.”

  She stared, mute for a second. “They say distance leads to clarity. Or something like that. Could be you’re seeing the real him now.”

  “That’s what the Jayne in my head said.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  She pulled my chair away from the desk. “Come and eat before it gets cold.”

  During tourist season or whenever the B&B had guests, Tripp and I ate breakfast at the kitchen bar. I got up early so we could eat together and have a little alone time before our days started. Today we ate at the bar because I wanted to get out there and look for this car sooner than later. Eating with the others would lead to conversations, and before we knew it two hours would have passed.

  “You’re leaving Meeka with us, right?” Dad asked while we bundled into our snow gear.

  “Right,” I confirmed. “Zero reason for her to be out in this. I don’t even want her running around the trench in this wind and cold.” I looked at her. “Just outside the door, got it?”

  She responded with a part-sneeze part-ruff, which I assumed meant yes.

  “Good.” We’d clear away the yellow snow and other evidence guests didn’t care to see later. Once again, I handed Dad the walkie talkie and promised to call when we could. I looked up from zipping my black parka with “Sheriff” emblazoned on the back to find him studying me with concern.

  “We’ll be fine, Dad.” My sheriff’s gear was top notch and would keep me warm at the summit of Everest. Or so they claimed. Tripp decided to invest in the civilian version, so would be equally toasty.

  “It’s not that. You seem tense.” He stepped closer and asked softly, “Is it because Jonah’s here?”

  He could sense that even though it had been years since he’d seen Jonah and me together? Or was it obvious and everyone could see it?

  I shook my head. “Something’s not right with him, but I don’t have time to worry about that now.”

  “We’re taking the truck today,” Tripp announced as he laced up his boots. “As good as the Forester handled last night, it doesn’t have a plow. I’m not clearing the way with a shovel again.”

  “We need to transfer the gear from the Cherokee into the truck then,” I told him. We’d gone out before the storm hit last night. Stupidly, we hadn’t bothered with anything more than those two shovels. Neither of us had expected the storm to come on so fast. Which was exactly why people were supposed to carry emergency gear in their cars. “We’re only going three or four miles, but we never know what we’ll run into.”

  “So we should bring food too.” Tripp always worried about people getting enough to eat. “I’ll grab some protein bars, a thermos of coffee, and some water.”

  “And we’ll need those shovels again,” I noted. “If we find that car, we might have to dig them out.”

  “Come with me, Morgan.” Briar stood from the dining room table, wiped her mouth, and set her napkin on her plate. “Now I’m concerned. This could turn into more than a drive along the highway. We need to cast a protection spell over them.”

  “Protection spell?” Jonah repeated with a laugh. “Seriously? You people really are as looney as everyone claims if you think that stuff works.”

  I swear Morgan twitched her nose at him like Samantha from Bewitched, only not quite as dramatically. Maybe it had been dry air or a threatening sneeze. Whatever it was, a second later Jonah lifted his cup to take a sip and dribbled coffee down his chin and onto his khakis.

  Briar paused in front of me. “You have your amulet and charm bag?”

  “They’re under my pillow,” I responded dismissively. We had to go. Schmitty was probably wait
ing for us. If we took too much time, he’d have to clear the roads again. But Briar gave me “the look” and stopped me in my tracks.

  “Go get them,” Tripp told me. “I’ll get the food and start transferring the gear.”

  Five minutes later, I had the amulet around my neck and beneath my shirt, the charm bag Morgan had made for me in my pocket, and was helping Tripp transfer the last of the emergency gear into the back of the warming F-350. I’d gone out in nasty weather plenty of times in Madison. I learned to be cautious and not take chances with life or limb—mine or anyone else’s. While the potential for danger was there, I’d never had a problem. Why was my gut so twisty about it today?

  We found Schmitty waiting at the end of the driveway, and Tripp pulled up next to him.

  “Follow me,” Schmitty yelled through the wind and sound of the trucks’ engines. “I’ll keep the roads clear for you. If that puny truck of yours spins out and you end up in a ditch, I’ll circle around and pull you out.”

  “You wish you had a truck like this.” Tripp patted the truck’s dashboard. “We’ll take your help, though.”

  “I looked for signs of a wreck while I made my first pass out there,” Schmitty reported and shook his head. “Didn’t see anything.”

  “You keep your eyes on the road,” I ordered. “Tripp will do the same. I’ll scan the roadside for a vehicle. Go out one mile then let’s meet up at Sundry.”

  “Sundry. Got it.” Schmitty touched his forehead in a salute of agreement and headed east.

  “He should have waited before bothering to clear,” Tripp grumbled a minute later as a cloud of snow from the plow truck engulfed us. “The wind is blowing so much the highway is already drifted over in places.”

  “The problem with this plan,” I noted after we’d crept about a quarter mile down the two-lane road, “is that he’s pushing snow into the ditches. If there is a vehicle out here, he probably covered it up.”

  “Don’t look for a vehicle then,” Tripp suggested. “Look for signs of something damaged.”

  He was right. An indent or a bulge in an otherwise smooth snowbank. A leaning power pole or tree at an odd angle. That kind of thing. The problem with the trees was that the branches were so loaded with ice and snow it was hard to tell what was accumulation from the storm and what might be from a car colliding with it. I kept my attention focused on my side of the truck but didn’t see anything remotely suspicious, let alone obvious.