by Lee Hollis
As office manager at the Island Times newspaper, it was also her responsibility to have candy on hand in case any tiny ghosts and goblins and witches and werewolves might come into the office with their parents. She didn’t want them to leave disappointed.
So as the office wall clock inched closer to five o’clock, which was her usual quitting time, her eyes never left the ceramic bowl of Gummy Bears that sat within her easy reach. She was always after her kids, even now as young adults, not to indulge in treats before dinner, but those chewy, delectable Gummy Bears seemed to be calling her and making her mouth water.
Just try one.
Yeah, right.
One.
When had she ever stopped at just one?
The next thing she knew she was scooping up a fistful, popping them three or four at a time in her mouth, closing her eyes, relishing in the fruity taste and jelly bean texture.
“Good night, Hayley,” Bruce Linney said as he blew past her from the office bullpen, heading for the door.
Her mouth was full and she was chewing as fast as she could, but there were too many Gummy Bears in her mouth to swallow all at once, and she couldn’t speak.
Bruce noticed her nonresponse and stopped at the door. “Everything all right?”
Hayley nodded.
Bruce took one look at the half empty Gummy Bear bowl and Hayley’s bulging cheeks. It didn’t take a detective to solve this one.
“Save some for the kids, okay, Hayley?”
Hayley narrowed her eyes and crinkled her nose making as mean a face as possible given the fact she could hardly voice her displeasure at the moment.
Bruce winked at her, smiled, and disappeared into the chilly autumn evening as orange and red leaves from the tree next to the office swirled around him.
Hayley’s harsh opinion of crime reporter Bruce Linney had softened during the previous six or seven months. They had worked together on a story for the paper, and discovered, much to both their surprise, that they actually didn’t despise each other. In fact, they worked rather well together, and even though on occasion they still rubbed each other the wrong way, at least the constant bickering and barrage of insults had quietly subsided.
Bruce had also started working out at the gym more, and had trimmed some of his belly fat and put on some muscle. It was impossible not to notice. Although Hayley always loved a nice bearish man she could hold onto, there was also an attitude shift in Bruce as he shed his excess weight and felt recharged physically. He seemed more confident, happier, more at peace. Which was a big change from when he was smoking and drinking and barking at Hayley for her insistence on encroaching into his crime solving territory.
No, the new Bruce was far more palatable.
And dare she say, sexy.
Hayley stuffed another handful of Gummy Bears in her coat pocket for the five minute ride home. She promised to prepare a healthy meal for herself and the kids tonight.
Whenever they got home.
She rarely saw them anymore.
Gemma was back home from the University of Maine in Orono continuing her work-study program at the office of Dr. Aaron Palmer, Hayley’s exboyfriend and town veterinarian, and Dustin, an aspiring filmmaker, was off wheeling and dealing, scouting locations and casting his next opus as if the small town of Bar Harbor was actually his own personal east coast version of Hollywood.
As Hayley pulled into her driveway, she chewed on her last Gummy Bear, which toppled out of her mouth into her lap as her jaw dropped.
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Right there on the front porch were two jack-o-lanterns that had not been there when she left for work this morning.
The kids hadn’t been home all day. She knew that for a fact since she had spoken to both of them less than hour ago.
One of the pumpkins had been expertly carved into the face of Batman. The other was a dead on caricature of Harry Potter.
Batman was Dustin’s favorite fictional character from childhood.
Harry Potter was Gemma’s.
Hayley felt her heart beating faster, ready to burst out of her chest.
There was only one person in the world who could have left those jack-o-lanterns on the porch.
Her ex-husband Danny.
He used to carve those exact same drawings every year for the kids when they were little.
It was one of the few tasks he could be counted on to complete.
Hayley jumped out of her car and ran to the porch to inspect the jack-o-lanterns up close.
They were definitely Danny’s handiwork.
Which could only mean one thing.
He was sending her a direct message.
He was letting her know he was back in town.
Which, in Hayley’s mind, was hardly a good thing.
Because whenever Danny Powell showed up, trouble soon followed.
And Hayley had no clue at this point in time just how much trouble was ahead.
Big trouble.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2016 by Rick Copp and Holly Simason
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4967-0252-4
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: April 2016
eISBN-13: 978-1-4967-0253-1
eISBN-10: 1-4967-0253-0
First Kensington Electronic Edition: April 2016