Would Riley leave her alone after they had lunch? Part of her hoped he would, because she wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone ever again. But another part of her was becoming interested in him. What did he like and didn’t like? He seemed to be a people kind of person, very friendly. Of all the places he could go and be an officer or deputy, he picked Frankenburg. She wondered what made him decide to stay there and be the county sheriff.
There had to be something about this small town he liked. But she was just the opposite. She liked big towns and cities because you could hide in them.
* * * *
Tuesday morning Marissa took extra care in getting dressed for work and her lunch date with Riley. She spent more time than usual putting her makeup on, because she didn’t want Riley to see the scars. The idea of going out with him conjured up all kinds of mixed feelings. She couldn’t understand why she was excited about going out with him, even though it was just for lunch. What was wrong in having lunch with him? More than the excitement though, she was scared. She hadn’t gone out with any man since she had dated her ex-husband before she married him.
Think, Marissa. What are the telltale signs of abuse? What did they teach her at the group home she stayed at while waiting for her divorce? She went and pulled the flyer out of her dresser drawer and re-read it. The flyer said that abusive men were charming, attentive, and sweet at the beginning of a relationship. They would make you feel loved and appreciated, and you’d never know he was controlling you. He’d be overly romantic, to the point you would think he was too good to be true, and he would push you to make a commitment early in the relationship. Then he’d attempt to isolate you. He would become jealous of your friendship with others and start to question who you were with and what you were doing, masking his control as concern for your well-being. He’d be sweet and friendly to everyone else, but when you were alone with him, he’d put you down and make you feel guilty. And finally, he’d convince you that everything wrong in your relationship was your fault, not his.
From what she’d seen of Riley, he was none of those things. However, he was a lawman, and part of a lawman’s job was to control. Control people, control events, maintain law and order, and tell people what to do. Maybe even threaten people if they didn’t obey or do what the law says. Perhaps she was just reading more into this than necessary. But she knew enough to be aware of her surroundings and environment. She didn’t want to misread him in any way.
After she arrived to work, Marissa heard Campbell come into the store and ask to speak with her. Before they could come to the back room to get her, she walked out.
“Here are the sapphires you said needed to be heat-treated.” He handed her a vial.
“Okay.” Marissa smiled. She opened the vial and laid the stones on a black velvet pad. She looked through the polariscope at them and put a few of them back in the vial. “These won’t need to be heat-treated, but these four will.”
“Okay. It’s about a week, right?”
“Yes. I got enough to put a load in the kiln today.”
“I see you’re all dressed up for your lunch date with the sheriff,” Campbell said with a sly grin.
“It’s not a date, it’s just lunch.”
“It’s a lunch date,” Campbell said, still smiling.
Marissa rolled her eyes at Campbell, but she couldn’t but smile slightly.
“Enjoy your lunch date.” Campbell turned and walked out the door.
Cindy and Dave left to go upstairs to their apartment to have lunch with Katy at eleven-thirty and they returned at twelve-thirty. Marissa went back to work until she heard Riley come in the door.
“Hey, Riley. How’s it going?” Cindy asked.
“Fine.”
“If you’re here for lunch, we already ate.”
“I’m here to take Marissa out for lunch.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll let her know you’re here,” Cindy said.
“Those look like nice gems there, Dave,” Riley said.
“Yes, solid diamonds.”
“Really? That one looks really nice.” Riley looked closer at the diamond.
“It will be beautiful on a nice ring setting,” Dave said.
Marissa heard the conversation between Riley and Dave as Cindy walked to the back. “I’m on my way there,” Marissa said.
As she walked into the store, Riley greeted her. She didn’t understand why, but he made her breathless each time she saw him. “Hello, Marissa. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, don’t keep her all day now,” Dave hollered at Riley as they left.
Riley and Marissa walked across the street to The Lunch Box and entered. Since the usual lunch crowd had thinned out, the hostess was no longer there to seat the patrons. A sign situated at the front entrance said Please seat yourself.
“There’s a nice booth over there in the corner.” Riley gestured with his thumb.
They went over to the booth and sat down. Riley took off his Stetson and set it on the seat beside him. A waitress came up, took their drink orders, and handed them menus.
“What do you like to eat here?” Marissa asked.
“I like all the sandwiches, but I favor the ham and cheese sandwich the most.”
“Hmm, I think I’ll have the turkey sandwich, if that’s okay with you?”
“You can order whatever you want, Marissa.” His voice was low and smooth.
“Okay.” Why did I feel I needed his permission to order a sandwich?
The waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders.
Marissa took a sip of her iced tea and then asked Riley, “What did you do after high school?”
“I went into the Marines, and then after four years, I returned and went to Montana State University and studied criminal law,” Riley said, raking his fingers through his hair.
“You were a Marine?”
“Yes. For four years.”
“It must have been exciting, being in the military.”
“Oh, it had its moments.” He shrugged.
“Did you start work here after you graduated from MSU, or did you go somewhere else?”
“I was a police officer for the Denver Police Department for two years before a deputy position came up here. I married Rachel right after I returned from the military, and we moved to Denver. But the marriage soon disintegrated, and I came back here.” He leaned back in the booth.
“How long have you been sheriff?”
“I became the sheriff two years ago. It’s an elected position.”
“I’m sure you could get a job in any state with any police department you wanted, why come back here?”
“I’ve always loved it here. It was an opportunity I’d been waiting for. I always wanted to be Sheriff for Quartz County. To me, there is nothing better than settling down, raising a family, and working in law enforcement. What about you? You went to Nevada State University and then what?”
Marissa took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I got my degree as a gemologist and went to work for a well-known diamond jeweler in Reno.”
“At some point you got married,” Riley said.
“Yes.”
“You’re divorced now. Was it a mutual decision?” Riley asked, leaning forward.
“Yes.”
“Did you marry a gemologist or someone in the gemstone field?”
“Yes.” Marissa fiddled with her earring.
“What was the name of the jeweler you worked for when you graduated, any famous ones?”
“Heartland Diamonds. They weren’t famous as in world-renown, but they were popular a few years ago. They also got into trouble some time ago, but I had already quit working for them.”
“Why? What did they do?”
“From what I understand, they smuggled diamonds.”
Riley jerked his head back and almost choked on his iced tea. “They smuggled?”
“Yes.”
“Were they investigated?” Riley’s b
rows snapped together. His voice was still low and soft, but alarming.
“Yes. The US attorney general’s office was investigating them.”
“Did the investigators ask you any questions?”
“No. I quit before they were caught. My name, so far, hasn’t been brought up in the investigation, and I didn’t volunteer any information.”
“Did you know they were smuggling?” Riley asked.
“I thought they were, but I had no proof.”
“What was your job there?”
“Just like what I’m doing here—testing the diamonds and grading them.”
“Did you see any of these smuggled diamonds?”
“I can’t say I did because I didn’t know where or how they got the diamonds. When I asked, they always said they got it from their distributor. Nothing was obviously wrong. It was just a feeling I had, but again, I had no evidence. So I wouldn’t have had any information for the investigators even if they had come to talk to me.” And Mark would have made sure I didn’t talk.
“I’m glad you weren’t involved in it. That’s a serious crime to be accused of, and the penalty is high.”
Riley looked up as the waitress brought their sandwiches to the table. She took their glasses for refills and returned them.
“You and Campbell seem to hit it off pretty good,” Riley commented.
“Yes, we did.” Marissa bit into her sandwich.
“Who initiated this arrangement between the two of you?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“He made the proposal and I agreed to it, mainly because lifting those buckets, even at half-full, was just too heavy for me. It was a trade-off for the two of us.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Sure,” Riley replied.
“Do you know a person who is a good plumber, um, someone who’s reasonable and won’t take advantage of me? I need to get my hot water heater fixed, or buy a new one.”
“Sure do. Miles Tenecyke. Remember him?”
“Oh, yeah, I do. He graduated the same time I did.”
“His phone number is listed under Tenecyke Plumbing. He’s the most reasonable one around town I know.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“What are you doing for hot water?” Riley asked.
“I’ve been heating water on the stove.”
“Have you got your furnace working yet?”
“No, that’s next on my list.”
“So, Cindy and Dave are going to a diamond convention. Have you ever been to one?” Riley asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, I used to go to them. I went mostly to learn things though.”
“You didn’t check out other companies and their products?”
“No,” she said between bites. “When it comes to diamonds, there are only a few well-known diamond companies like De Beers and Feranand’s. The conventions usually offer new things when it comes to faceting, marketing, and stuff like that.”
They finished their lunch and Riley paid for the meals. They got out of the booth and Riley put his hat on. They walked across the street, heading back to the jewelry store, and Marissa noticed that there were customers in the store.
“I’m going to go in through the back door since they have customers,” she said.
“Okay.”
He walked with her around the building to the back door. When they got there, she turned to him and said, “Thank you for lunch. It was good.”
“You’re welcome. I hope we can do it again.”
Riley stood gazing into Marissa’s eyes. She felt like she was in a spotlight and had to look away from his intense, steady stare. She looked back at him and he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. She quivered at the tenderness of his kiss. He kissed her again, this time with a little more pressure. His lips were warm and sweet on hers. Then she had a flashback of Mark when he kissed her, and she suddenly became nervous and jerked away from Riley. She crossed her arms in front of her and rubbed them as if she had a chill, and she began to shake.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, watching her rub her arms.
“Yes. I’m fine. I’ll see you later.” She turned and quickly walked into the back room of the store.
She shouldn’t have let him kiss her. It felt so damn good and she craved it, but she had to be very careful. She dare not lose her heart with him.
Chapter 8
Over the years different women had different responses to Riley’s kisses, but he didn’t recall ever having one who turned pale and started shaking. Did he say or do something to put fear in her? Or was she hiding something? Did she have information about the diamond smuggling that she didn’t want anyone to know? Did she tell him about Heartland Diamonds just to push suspicion off her? The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that she was holding something back. She was secretive, and she didn’t elaborate much in her answers to his questions.
He walked back to the sheriff’s department and into his office. Taking a seat at his desk, he logged into the computer. He went to the internet and typed in Heartland Diamonds. He was about to read up on the company when there was a knock at the door and Liz poked her head in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but there’s more trouble out at the river between Campbell and the Ferguson boys.”
Riley came out of his office, looking for Jack. He found Jack talking to Deputy Martinez. “Let’s go, Jack. More problems at the river,” Riley told him.
Riley and Jack drove out to the river to investigate. He pulled up on the property and parked next to Campbell’s truck. He and Jack got out and walked over to where the men were arguing.
“I didn’t touch your gad damn machine. You better watch what you’re accusing me of,” Campbell said loudly.
“Okay, fellas, what’s going on here?” Riley put his hands between the two men who were nose to nose, separating them.
“Sheriff, this man cut the chain that runs our trommel. Now we can’t run it, and we have to pay to get it fixed.”
Riley looked at Campbell. “Did you do that, Campbell?”
“Hell no.”
“Well, someone did, and he’s the only one that has a problem with us and our trommel,” Joe said.
“Did you see him do this?” Riley asked.
“No, we haven’t been back here since yesterday afternoon.”
“Is it possible that one of your people did it?”
“Why the hell would someone in my group do this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s someone you pissed off lately. You seem to draw ire from people at the bar,” Jack said.
“Oh, that’s just playful stuff. We’re all kidding and sometimes it gets out of hand, that’s all.”
“Hmm. If that’s the case, why are we getting called in to settle your playful stuff?” Riley stared at Joe.
Joe shrugged. “Could be one of the other patrons thought things were getting out of hand.”
“Uh-huh. Well, as far as I can see, you have no proof that Campbell messed with your machine.”
“We find it rather convenient,” Ryan, Joe’s brother, said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Maybe a bunch of kids came by and did it,” Riley suggested.
“Yeah, a lot of kids float in inner tubes down the river every afternoon, might be one of them,” Campbell said roughly.
“Sheriff, I think you should do your job here and take fingerprints off our trommel and investigate who has been messing around with our machine. This is a money-operating business going on here, and it costs us to have the machine repaired. Each day we can’t use it, we’re losing money,” Joe said.
“First, operating a business here is illegal. This is a claim area for individuals, not for companies. So, you better hope I don’t find a business operating here, because if I do, I will shut the operation down and report it to the county and the Bureau of Land Management. Secondly, I can dust for fingerprints, but I will not fingerprint the whole da
mn machine. If I find someone’s prints that shouldn’t be there, I do the investigation. You don’t take matters in your own hands,” Riley said sternly.
Riley and Jack came back to the sheriff’s department. “Carl, I need you to go out to the river, to Ferguson’s claim, and dust for prints off their trommel machine. Someone allegedly cut the chain.”
An hour later, Carl returned and said, “The prints on the machine were too degraded, and it looked like someone wore gloves.”
“Okay. Thanks, Carl.”
Riley called the night shift sergeant, Don Miller, into his office. “Have two deputies go to the Coyote Bar tonight and talk with the locals and see if anyone’s got a big enough grudge against the Ferguson boys that they might sabotage one of their machines. I want the deputies to note any hostilities toward the gang.”
“Okay,” Don said.
After Don left his office, Riley let out a sigh. Of all the counties in the state of Montana, the Fergusons had to pick his county. The Ferguson boys were out of control, causing problems at the local bars, and it seemed they lacked any sort of discipline.
Beth Nichols, his secretary, interrupted his thoughts. “I need you to approve the payroll, Riley.”
“Okay.” He took the payroll sheet from her and glanced over it, happy to see that they’d stayed within budget, then he signed it.
* * * *
During the afternoon, there was a lull at the store, so Marissa asked Cindy, “Is it okay if I use your phone to call a plumber?”
“Of course you can. Go right ahead,” Cindy answered.
Marissa looked up Miles Tenecyke’s name and called his business.
“Tenecyke, can I help you?”
“Yes, could I speak to Miles please?”
“One moment.”
“This is Miles.” He came on the line.
“Hi, Miles. You may not remember me, I’m Marissa Simpson. I used to be Marissa Saxton.”
“Hey, yeah, I remember you. I heard you were in town. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” Boy, the news of my return has traveled fast. “Riley told me you do plumbing work, and I have a hot water heater that doesn’t work. I don’t know if it’s fixable or if I need to get a new one. I was wondering if you could stop by and take a look at it.”
Blue as Sapphires Page 9