The Dark Side Of The Moon

by Margaret Watson

  “There has now,” he said, his voice grim. “No one gets their throat cut accidentally.”

  “What—” Stopping herself before she could ask for more details, she bit her lip, took a deep breath and started again. “I appreciate your telling me about this. I can assure you I’ll be very careful to lock my doors and windows at night.”

  “I think you should do more than that.” He leaned toward her, and again she fought the urge to back away. “Get a dog, get a roommate or leave town, at least until we’ve caught the person responsible for the murders.”

  His words were so unexpected that she stared at him. “Leave? I can’t do that. I bought this business, and I can’t just pick up and leave it.”

  “Is this business worth your life?” His silver eyes blazed at her, holding her motionless. “I don’t think you understand, Dr. Falcon. No one in Eagle Ridge is safe, as far as I’m concerned. I couldn’t find any connection between the tourist who was killed and Sally Phillips. Both murders appeared to be completely random. If I were a single woman of your age, I’d put as much distance as I could between myself and Eagle Ridge.”

  Passionate intensity seemed to flow from him in waves. It surrounded her with hot energy, making her pulse race. When she found herself swaying toward him she jerked backward, horrified. She deliberately looked away from him, letting her gaze wander around the reception area. Her reception area.

  She welcomed the anger that stirred at his presumption. “But you’re not me, are you?” she pointed out coolly. “I have no intention of abandoning my business. Are you telling everyone who lives here to leave Eagle Ridge?”

  “Of course not. But I’m telling them all to take precautions. Can you at least move into town until whoever killed those two women is caught?”

  “No, I can’t. This is my home now, and I’m sure I’ll be perfectly safe. After all, the murders can’t have anything to do with me. They happened before I was even living here.”

  Hearing her own words, she relaxed slightly. The two women were killed before she’d bought Dr. Westbrook’s practice. And what she’d told this cop was true. She wasn’t going to leave. She couldn’t. She had come home to Eagle Ridge to exorcise her demons, because that was where they had started haunting her. She’d be damned if she would run away again.

  “The murders don’t have anything to do with me, and I’ll be sure to be careful,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “So you see, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  He stared at her. She was five feet eight inches tall, but he seemed to tower over her. “You’re wrong, Dr. Falcon,” he said, his voice quiet and grim. “I have a lot to worry about. And if you won’t take some precautions, you’re one more thing to add to the list.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “Are you living out here by yourself?” The look in his eyes changed, the color deepening until the silver became smoke.

  Tory felt a faint heat creeping up her neck at the intensity in his gaze, and told herself fiercely that it didn’t matter. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I’m living here alone.”

  Something flickered in his eyes, and she felt herself warming again. “These buildings are very isolated. There’s no one within a mile of you.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to live here.” She forced a cool tone into her voice. “I used to live in Chicago, Chief Adams. After a life filled with traffic, sirens and crowds of people, I’m looking forward to the solitude.”

  “I used to live in Detroit, Dr. Falcon, so I know exactly what you mean. Just remember, sometimes solitude isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Pain shimmered in his eyes for a moment, then was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.

  She was unable to look away from him. The top of her head only came to his chin, and his broad shoulders blocked out the light from the window behind him. His tension seemed to wind around her, drawing her closer to him. Like bottomless pools, his silver eyes hid all sorts of secrets.

  Suddenly she wanted to know what those secrets were. She wanted to know why a policeman from Detroit would come to a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a world completely different from the urban jungle he was used to. What was he running away from? And what was he looking for here?

  “You must have known I wouldn’t leave. Why did you even bother to ask?” she asked him, watching his eyes.

  He stared at her for a long moment before looking away. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. This type of murderer picks on women who are alone, and you certainly fit that description.”

  “What do you mean by this type of murderer?” she asked, a new chill rippling up her spine.

  He was silent for so long that she didn’t think he was going to answer. Finally he turned to her with an intensity that disturbed her. “I was a homicide detective in Detroit and I’ve seen more than my share of murders. Enough to have learned a few things. After seeing the victims of these murders and looking at the crime scenes, I don’t think this guy is finished. And I’m worried about you.”

  “Why me?” she whispered. “There are several hundred other people living in this town.”

  “None of them are young women living by themselves, away from other people. And none of them are new to the area, without friends and family here.”

  “I’m not new to the area. I grew up here.”

  “I know that. I also know that you haven’t been back since you left town when you were eighteen. That was thirteen years ago.”

  “I was back this summer when I decided to buy this practice.” She heard the defiant tone in her voice and struggled to subdue it. She didn’t have to prove anything to Eagle Ridge’s police chief.

  “I know that, too.” His voice was steady. “But you kept to yourself and didn’t talk to many people. Don’t try to convince me you have a lot of close personal friends here in Eagle Ridge, Doctor, because you won’t succeed. You’re essentially alone out here, and as the person charged with public safety in Eagle Ridge, that worries the hell out of me.” His hand fisted in his pocket.

  “How do you know so much about me?” she asked, watching him with another burst of fear. It sounded like he’d done a lot of checking on her. He’d been prying into her life.

  “I make it my business to find out about things before they become a problem.”

  “And you think I’m going to be a problem?”

  He looked at her, the expression on his face frightening. “I hope not, Dr. Falcon. I damn well hope not.”

  Gravel spit against a car in the parking lot, the popping noise unnaturally loud in the silence. Tory drew in a deep breath and stepped away from him. “It sounds like my next appointment is here,” she said, glad for the excuse to busy herself behind the reception desk.

  Before he could answer, the front door opened and an older woman walked in, clutching a small dog. “Tory Falcon, I swear I would have recognized you anywhere,” she cried. “Do you remember me?”

  The woman was the mother of one of her high school classmates. Tory’s smile was strained. “Of course I do, Mrs. Brooks. Why don’t you go on into the exam room and I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  Once she’d closed the door to the exam room, Tory turned to Holt. “I’m afraid I’ll have to say goodbye, Chief Adams.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath. “As you can see, I have a patient waiting, but thank you for coming out to talk to me. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

  He ignored her formal words and opened the front door, waiting for her to precede him. His other hand curled around his belt, close to his baton. Tory swallowed hard, looked at the closed door of her exam room, then followed him outside. She stood with one hand on the doorknob.

  “Agatha Brooks is the town gossip,” he said, once the door was shut behind them. “I don’t want to be overheard.” Turning slowly, he looked at her house, surrounded by trees. As she followed his gaze, an eerie feeling stole over her, the same feeling she’d gotten the ni
ght before when she woke from the dream in the darkness. Even now, in the daylight, she shivered as she looked at the trees.

  “Remember what I said.” Holt spoke abruptly. “And if anything bothers you, anything at all, call me. I’ll be here in minutes.”

  Tory thought again of the dream and shuddered as cold fingers of fear traveled up her spine. Somehow she didn’t think he’d meant her nightmares. And a policeman was the last person she’d turn to for comfort from that particular horror.

  “Don’t worry, Chief Adams,” she managed to say in a level voice. “I’m no hero. If I hear anything, I’ll be on the phone to the police.”

  Holt turned to look at her. His gaze seemed to examine her, to peer into her soul. She felt exposed, as if he was probing for all her secrets, and she looked away abruptly.

  “Call me Holt,” he said, surprising her. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of one another.”

  She spun around to look at him again, but he’d turned away and was climbing into his truck. As she watched him drive slowly from the clinic, his car seemed to slow down and almost come to a stop as he passed her house. Almost as if he was memorizing the details of it. Her stomach gave a funny lurch as she watched him. Then, with a spurt of gravel, he sped up, turned onto the highway and was swallowed by the endless trees.

  Tory stood for a long time, staring at the place where he’d disappeared. It wasn’t until the door of the clinic opened and Mrs. Brooks stuck her head out, calling, “Yoohoo, Tory, is everything all right?” that she turned and walked toward the low building.

  Forcing Holt Adams out of her mind, she plastered a smile on her face. “Everything’s fine, Mrs. Brooks. What can I do for Bosco today?”

  Holt eased his foot off the accelerator and loosened his grip on the steering wheel as he sped toward the town of Eagle Ridge. Tory Falcon had surprised him. He hadn’t expected her to have so much steel in her backbone. From everything the people in Eagle Ridge had told him about the girl they remembered, he’d expected the new veterinarian to be a meek, mousy woman. Instead, she hadn’t backed down once. Not even when she’d wanted to.

  He hadn’t missed the fear in her eyes when she looked at him. A fear that had grown, not diminished, when he’d introduced himself as the new police chief. And he hadn’t missed the way she’d straightened her spine and looked him in the eye as she battled that fear.

  Why was Dr. Tory Falcon afraid of him? He gripped the steering wheel more tightly as he sped down the two-lane road shadowed by the towering trees. And why was it suddenly so important for him to find out?

  He hadn’t given any woman a second thought for more than two years. A simple evening of pleasantries had been too painful to contemplate, let alone anything resembling intimacy. The last thing he’d expected this morning as he drove out to her clinic was to be attracted to the new veterinarian in Eagle Ridge. It was the last thing he wanted.

  But he remembered the way she’d held her tall, willowy body all too well, could recall with painful intensity the way his fingers had itched to free her dark red hair from the braid that hung halfway down her back. His immediate, visceral response to the woman had shocked him. A woman, if her deep green eyes were any indication, with her own share of ghosts haunting her.

  Thinking about her house and her clinic, standing alone and isolated among the trees, made him press down a little harder on the accelerator. It was happening all over again. The ugliness he’d thought he’d left far behind in Detroit had followed him to this town, and now other women were threatened. He had hoped to banish those memories forever, washing them away in the peaceful, uncomplicated life of a small, rural community.

  He slowed down when he spotted the figure trudging along the side of the road. Even from a distance he recognized Bobby Duvall.

  Bobby, the son of the former police chief of Eagle Ridge, had been determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. When the city council hired Holt instead, Bobby had quit the police force and turned his rage on his rival. Even though there hadn’t been any outright confrontations, Holt knew it was only a matter of time.

  By the time he reached Bobby, the car was moving at a crawl. When the other man looked at the car, Holt let his gaze travel over him. Bobby was tall and meaty, his golden blond hair gleaming in the mottled sunlight.

  Holt held his gaze and slowly tipped his hat. Bobby stared at him for a moment, his eyes even smaller than usual as they glittered with rage. Then he spit on the ground and looked away.

  Holt watched him for another minute, then pressed the accelerator and drove away.

  When he saw the first two houses on the fringes of town he slowed down again. Their old frame sidings were gray and weathered, but they clung to the rocky soil as if they’d sunk roots far below the surface. They reminded him of the rest of Eagle Ridge. Barely holding on by its fingernails, it prayed every year for a lot of snow and the accompanying skiers. In the economically depressed Upper Peninsula, tourism was the difference between starvation and barely scraping by.

  As he drove slowly past the shops in the downtown area, with their desperately cute signs and names, he wondered again why he’d chosen to come to this particular place. With his record in Detroit he could have gone almost anywhere. He’d been interviewed in more prosperous small towns in lower Michigan, in areas with thriving industries and healthy economies. But once he’d come here, to Eagle Ridge, all the other places had faded away like they’d never even existed.

  Maybe it was because this town reminded him too much of himself. Its faith was gone, and hope was nothing more than a flicker in the distance. The only difference was that in Eagle Ridge hope was renewed every year, hinging on the snowfall predictions for the winter. For Holt hope was only the remote possibility that time would dull the pain and guilt.

  He pulled up in front of the small building that housed the Eagle Ridge police station, strode into his office and tossed his hat on the desk, then reached for the coffeepot. As he took a long drink of the thick, muddy liquid, the dispatcher stuck her head in the doorway.

  “Don’t get too comfortable, Chief. I just got a call from the veterinary clinic. Sounds like they’ve had some trouble out there.”

  Holt set the mug of coffee on his desk very carefully, trying to ignore the rush of fear that swept over him. Pulling out his gun he checked it thoroughly before sliding it into the holster. Then, reaching for his hat, he strode out the door to his truck. He was doing fifty miles an hour before he hit the edge of town.

  Chapter 2

  “I didn’t think we needed to bother you,” Tory said stiffly, watching as Holt Adams examined the rear door to her clinic. He glanced at her, his expression unreadable, before pulling out a container of powder and dusting it over the door frame.

  “Who would have touched this door?” he asked.

  “No one besides Teddy and me, today.” Tory watched him work. “Before that, I have no idea.”

  “The door and the frame have been wiped clean of prints. There’s only one set, and I assume they’ll turn out to belong to your employee.” His voice was devoid of expression, but when he turned to look at her his face was set in rigid lines. “Who discovered that the lock had been broken?”

  “Teddy did. He’s the young man who’s working for me. He didn’t notice it when he got to work, because he assumed I’d opened the back door.” Tory swallowed again, trying to dislodge the swelling clot of fear coagulating in her throat as she watched the police chief. “But when he tried to lock the door after he cleaned the kennel area, he realized the lock was broken. I told him Dr. Westbrook had probably left it that way, but he insisted that I call you.”

  “Damn good thing, too,” Holt muttered as he measured the door. “The lock is broken because the door was forced open.” He turned to look at her, his eyes blazing with intensity. “Someone wanted to get in here pretty badly.”

  “I don’t think it’s that significant.” Tory hoped desperately that she was speaking the truth. “This clinic
has been vacant for a couple of weeks. Anyone could have tried to get inside before I got here.” She swallowed and looked at the broken lock. “We had a break-in like this in the clinic I worked at in Chicago. It was just kids, looking for drugs. That’s probably what happened here.”

  Holt slowly straightened and looked at her. “Maybe so. But the marks in this wood are fresh. Did you hear anything last night?”

  “Last night?” she heard herself ask, her voice faint. “Why do you think it was last night?”

  He snapped closed the toolbox he’d brought. “A hunch. We had a couple of storms last week, but the gashes in this wood look too new and raw to have been exposed to a lot of water. And until yesterday, there would have been no reason to break into this clinic.”

  “You must be wrong.” Crossing her arms in front of her, holding on to herself, she stared at the door. “The clinic has been sitting empty for two weeks. If someone was going to break in, they would have done it before I got here. Why would a thief wait until I moved in?”

  “Unless it wasn’t a thief.”

  Tory felt the cold lump of fear expanding. “What other reason could there be for breaking into a veterinary clinic? There weren’t even any animals in the kennel yet.”

  “I don’t know, Tory,” he said slowly. “I don’t know why someone would try to break into an empty building. But I’m damned glad you called me.” He stepped away from the door and turned to face her. “You still haven’t answered my question, though. Did you hear anything last night?”

  She knew she had to look away before he saw the expression in her eyes, but before she could react he’d seen it. Grabbing her arms, he pulled her around to face him.

  “What did you hear?”

  She tried to back away, to step out of his grasp. His hands were gentle on her arms, but she could feel his strength in their grip. For just a moment panic threatened to overwhelm her, then she jerked away from him.

  As she stood in front of him, her hands hovering over the places he had touched her, she caught a glimpse of his eyes. They didn’t look like policeman’s eyes. The shadows that hid behind their silver depths made her think he would understand about private hells all too well. For one insane moment they beckoned her to step forward, to lower her barriers enough to tell him about her dream and her foolish fear of the trees.