Lethal Affair

by Noelle Hart

  Kylie dug into her pie. “How's your greenhouse coming along? Did you do what I told you?”

  “And then some. There's been some improvement.”

  The sun was sinking fast. “Let's go down and check it out before the light's gone.”

  The walk through the flower lined garden to the rear of the property was fragrant with lavender. Overhead the sky began a summer symphony of electric color, bathing them in tangerine hues.

  Will entered first and switched on a dangling overhead bulb.

  Then came rushing out colliding with Kylie, panic flickering in his eyes. Bringing up the rear, Max bumped into Kylie. They all did a little kerfuffle as Will pushed them both away from the entrance.

  “What's wrong?” asked Kylie.

  “A snake!” Will spouted. “Quick, back to the house.”

  “Cool! A snake!” Max tried to push past Kylie. “I wanna see it!”

  Will wasn't having it. “It's a poisonous one, kiddo. Kylie, please take Max up to the house.” He gave her an intense look asking her to cooperate, and Kylie knew there was no snake.

  Reluctantly they headed back and Will pulled out his cell, hit speed dial for his neighbor. “Rosemary? Thank God. Yes, it's Will. Listen, I need a humongous favor. Can you call the house and invite Max over for something or other. Just make something up, something he'll want to do. I have an emergency here and I can't have Max involved. Please. I'll explain later.”

  Puzzled, Rosemary agreed. A moment later he heard the phone in his house ring and be answered. A few seconds after that Max run out of the house toward him. He met him half way.

  “Dad! The Meeslers are going to see the new Spiderman! Can I go? Please?”

  His insides felt skittish but he kept a stoic expression on his face. “Sure, no prob.” He pulled out his wallet and handed Max some bills. “You give this to Mrs. Meesler, tell her I insist on treating the whole gang.”

  Max looked at the amount and blew out a whistle. “Can we get popcorn too?”

  The skittishness tested his patience. “If you've still got room after that pie, go for it.”

  Kylie had joined them and he turned to her now. “Do me a favor and take Max across the street?”

  Perplexed, she took Max by the hand and headed out the side gate to the Meesler residence. Across the way Kylie met Rosemary at her front door. They introduced themselves. The TV was blasting and Bobby yelled from the interior for Max to join him. He turned to Kylie. “My Dad really likes you.”

  “I really like him too. You too. Hope that's mutual,” she said with sincerity.

  Max grinned. “You're cool.”

  Cool. Wow. A huge compliment coming from him.

  “Go on in now,” instructed Rosemary. When he'd gone, “Will sounded so agitated just now when he called. Is everything alright?”

  He'd just called her? The mystery was deepening.

  “Um... not sure.” At Rosemary's inquisitive eyes, “There's been some recent trouble and I think it has something to do with Will's greenhouse. Something he didn't want Max to see. Sorry, it's all I know myself so far.”

  Rosemary nodded, looking over Kylie's shoulder at Will's yard. “I saw something today. I'd forgotten about it until now but it might be significant.”

  “Oh?”

  “A man. I didn't recognize him and I know the usual people Will has around. There's Buster, his maintenance guy, and the post man of course. This guy was somebody new. He went in through the gate there and then came out a short while later.”

  Kylie's stomach slid into her instantly churning gut. No. Not this.

  “Mrs. Meesler...”

  “Rosemary, please.”

  “Alright. I'm going back over there. Thanks for taking Max on such short notice.”

  Concern lit Rosemary's soft features. “Why don't I keep him overnight, a sleepover with Bobby.”

  “I'll have Will call you to confirm, but I think it's a go.”

  Glancing around as she crossed back over, Kylie searched the street for Drew's car. Spotting nothing, she went through the gate and joined Will outside the greenhouse.

  “Kylie, this isn't what it looks like. What it was made to look like. Please believe me.”

  Dread filled her. Heart pounding like a jackhammer, Kylie went inside. On the shelf between the tomato plants lay a pair of heavy garden gloves with what looked like pieces of dull, blood-smeared metal glued onto the knuckles.

  Oh God. Kylie's knees buckled but Will was there to support her. He was ready to plead if necessary. “I didn't kill her. Somebody put this here.”

  She turned into his arms putting her back to the gloves and gazed steadily into his eyes. “I know. Rosemary saw someone come in here today. It had to have been Drew. Who else would try to tie you to Lillian's murder? Shit, Will. I really wanted it to be someone else. But this cinches it, doesn't it?”

  He folded her shaking body into his arms, suddenly steady as a rock. Kylie's confidence in him might not have been forthcoming had Rosemary not witnessed the plant, but he'd take all he could get right now.

  She clung for a moment breathing in Will's scent, tapping into his inner strength.

  “We have to call the police,” she murmured.

  “Yes. Let's do that. Is Max...?”

  “He's fine. We'll wait until the Meeslers leave for the movie, then we'll call. Don't want him around for the big circus, do we?”

  Will tightened his embrace and siphoned some of her courage. “No, no we don't.”

  *

  Detective Ethan Crane sat at Will's kitchen table while forensics poured over his greenhouse. Spot lights illuminated his entire yard as they went over it inch by inch. Plaster casts of suspicious footprints were being made.

  “I'll need Mrs. Meesler's statement,” said Crane.

  “She took my son to the movies. Don't want him involved in this.”

  “I understand. You're lucky you have a nosy neighbor or I'd be taking you in right now. You realize that, don't you?”

  “The thought had occurred to me.”

  Sitting next to Will, Kylie held his hand.

  “We're canvasing the neighborhood. See if anyone else saw this mystery man who came into your yard today.”

  “Come on, Detective,” said Kylie. “I think we all know who's responsible. Why aren't you going over to his place right now and putting him under arrest?”

  “To borrow Hammond's own words, we need to put our ducks in a row. The law requires...”

  “...just cause.” Frustration had her clenching her teeth. “Those gloves, will they provide the proof you need?”

  “The lab will try to lift fingerprints from the insides of the fingers, but it's not an exact science and that kind of thing takes time. Meanwhile I'm concerned about you, Miss Lambert. If Hammond gets in touch at any time, contact me immediately.”

  Will wasn't satisfied. “What about police protection for Kylie? Have you put a tail on Hammond yet?”

  “I've assigned a patrol car to stay outside Miss Lambert's apartment, but I'll be getting her more than that by tomorrow.”

  Will got up and paced, running an agitated hand through his hair. “This is beyond insanity.”

  Crane placed a hand on Will's shoulder. “My advice right now is, take care of Miss Lambert. She shouldn't be alone at any time.”

  “Count on it, Detective. I won't let her out of my sight.”

  *

  In the Meesler's yard, Drew watched from a spot deep within the tall hedges. The cops had the place all lit up like a sporting event at a stadium. Like a crime scene. Some light spilled over onto the Meesler's property but his hiding place provided pitch black cover.

  Holy hell, they were like ants on a mound, traipsing all over the yard, yelling to one another. Quite the spectacle. Other neighbors had come out to gawk and to speculate. Delaney had been smart to send off his kid. Why weren't they carting him away in handcuffs?

  It burned that Kylie had taken up with the man. Might as well
stick a knife in his heart. She'd betrayed him, run off with another man just as soon as she had her prize. He'd given her a baby and then she'd thrown him away like garbage. What kind of man took up with a pregnant woman anyway? Was she hiding the fact from him so she could tell him it was his?

  That would be low.

  She wasn't what he'd thought her to be all those months he'd dated her. Had held off from bedding her. He'd practically put her on a pedestal, had wanted to marry her.

  Now all he wanted was to kill her.

  First he would bring her to her knees by taking out all that was near and dear to her, just as she had taken away his chance to live a normal life. If not for her he never would have given in to the need, never would have allowed it to surface, never would have acted on what it drove him to do.

  Now it was all he wanted to do.

  *

  Hours after trampling Will's garden the police and their special units were gone.

  Will put on a kettle to brew Kylie herbal tea. He poured himself a hefty shot of whiskey.

  “I forgot to tell you; Rosemary said she'd keep Max overnight. You need to confirm.”

  Will got out his cell and remembering they'd gone to the movies, sent a message to Rosemary's phone saying he would appreciate it.

  He shoved his cell in his pocket. “This has turned out to be one helluva date, hasn't it?”

  “Was this a date?”

  “A threesome, but yes, a date. Like love, dating comes in many forms.”

  She'd discovered that Will had a talent for diverting her thoughts away from grizzly topics.

  “I should head home pretty soon,” she stated. It was time to put distance between herself, Will and Max.

  Will felt the change in her the moment the decision took place. “Honey?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “For your tea.”

  “Oh. Yes, please.” She watched him move around the kitchen and realized she needed to let him off the hook. “Will, I'm really sorry you got involved in this. I'm going to bow out now. You and Max shouldn't be subjected to my problems anymore. This is where it has to end.”

  He scowled into his whiskey, took a sip, then resumed fixing her tea. “Do you really think I'd send you packing just to save my own ass?”

  It came as a bit of a shock to realize she'd underestimated him and possibly hurt him in the process. Will Delaney wasn't the kind of man to jump ship. She should have thought of it before opening her well meaning but thoughtless mouth.

  He spoke again before she could rescind her statement. “I'd go bonkers not knowing you were safe.” He put down the little honey pot shaped like a bee hive and came around the counter to where she sat perched on a stool. Pushing stray strands of her hair back, he cupped her chin and went eye to eye with her. “I have developed a huge crush on you. If it were Max describing it, he'd say it makes me feel all gooey inside, like a warm cinnamon bun. My more adult description is less censored. Damn it, Kylie, you make me feel like I've been asleep my whole life and just now woken up. That includes each and every body part.”

  She expected him to kiss her. Instead he remained inches away, waiting with unnerving calm for her to react, to decide. His greenhouse had been defiled, his sense of security challenged because of her involvement with a monster. Yet here he was, unwilling to bow out.

  When she remained silent he began to pull back. She yanked him back in. “I'm sorry. Not because I think we should part ways but because I suggested it in the first place.”

  A moment as he digested that. Then the feast began, a melding of lips, tongues, teeth, hands moving everywhere. Things went from warm to hot in two seconds flat. Tea and whiskey forgotten, Will asked her with his eyes how far she wanted to take it.

  She answered by taking his hand and leading him to his bedroom where a soft lamp glowed by the bedside, leaving the rest of the room in shadows. The curtains were open with silver moonlight pouring onto the bed but Will wasn't taking chances on peeping Toms. He shut them with a flourish, then turned to Kylie and simply devoured.

  They rolled onto the bed shedding shoes, clothes, inhibitions. Naked and intertwined, they became a tangle of limbs where desire hummed along nerves, igniting previously dormant sensations. Will sank into her, his roaming hands seeking out and finding hot spots to explore with lips and tongue. Silken and firm, her flesh yielded beneath his mouth and she surged up for more. On small gasps of pleasure her fingertips bore into his hair, urging him on. He felt it coming, an exquisite crescendo just before a glorious release that left her puddled on the bed.

  Kylie peaked as she rode over the crest in wave upon wave. Oh God, but this had been a long time coming. She knew it wasn't so much technique as it was trust. She trusted Will, knew that she could let go and be safe in doing so.

  How does a heart know such a thing, she wondered briefly, then flipped him over and got busy returning the favor.

  Watching her, what she was doing to him, Will bit down on his lip in an effort to prolong the fuse that might run out too soon. He wanted, needed to meld with her.

  “Wait,” he whispered, and twisting around pulled a condom from a drawer on the nightstand. He gave it to her. “Put this on me.”

  “But... we don't need...”

  “Until you get a green light from your doctor, I think it's a good idea,” he told her.

  That clinched it. His concern for the delicacy of her condition tore her heart open wide, and she let him in. This wasn't just sex to purge, but lovemaking in every sense of the word.

  He pulled her on top of him and let her set the pace. Watching her slender body gyrate as she lost herself in pleasure, he ran his hands up her burgeoning stomach to mold her breasts and tried to divert his thoughts from the inevitable explosion that might detonate at any moment. She seemed ethereal, her pale skin glowing softly in the dim light, unaware of her own inner strength.

  Will's body was solid, exciting her beyond thought and reason. She was there again, in the sweet spot where her body eradicated logic and reached for what it craved. Blind with it, she climbed the rise to the apex and teetered there for a few blessed moments, then came tumbling down into breathlessness, and felt with a woman's triumph Will's own tumultuous finale.

  They lay side by side, rivulets of sweat cooling quickly now as reality replaced the surreal. Will gathered her close and held on tight, pulling the sheets over them.

  Breathing, calming, nestling, they lay face to face, eye to eye. And there it was. The click. It was so simple yet clearly defined, that moment in time when you know this is the person you've been waiting for. Kylie's heart filled with it, and she could only hope it was mutual.

  She laughed. “I think I pulled a muscle in my butt. That was some work out.”

  “You ain't seen nothing yet,” Will murmured, his eyes glowing softly.

  He proceeded to show her.

  * * * *

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Jolene lay in Lyle's arms and asked him the question she'd been holding in.

  “How did you come to rescue Dino?”

  Half asleep, Lyle grunted, “Hmpf?”

  “I heard you tell... tell Lillian that the rescue was mutual. That he saved you too. What's the story?”

  Lyle opened one eye. “You been listening around corners?”

  “I couldn't help it. She was hitting on you. I have a right to defend what's mine.”

  His lips curved. “Surprisingly that doesn't phase me one bit. We're in love, baby. Feels good, doesn't it?”

  “There's nothing better. Now tell me about Dino.”

  Lyle stared at the ceiling, tapping his memory. “I had a gorgeous bulldog named Dina. She was my constant companion, loved the hell out of her. Dogs have a way of centering you, of keeping it real. They give unconditional love in ways that take you outside of yourself, make you humble. Problem is, they live short lives. Maybe that's why they're so noble and fun loving. Dina reached her time and passed away, and I was devastated.”

&n
bsp; Jolene squeezed his hand.

  “I was lost for a while. Me and Will were working the construction gig, saving our pennies, hatching our plans, but when Dina passed I just couldn't function. I hadn't realized how deeply I'd loved her 'til then.”

  “Oh baby, that you can love that deeply is a gift. Tell me how Dino came into the picture.”

  “Dino was abandoned as a pup at one of the construction sites we worked at. Will found him. He was starved, infested, barely alive. He'd crawled into a cement mixer and thank God Will saw him before it got cranked up. He got him out and brought him straight to me. At first I said no, I couldn't put myself through that again. But Will, he knew it was just what I needed and told me he wouldn't take my no for an answer. I took him in, nursed him back to health and we've been together ever since. Dino is six years old now. I've been giving him all the love he deserves.”

  Jolene's eyes had teared up. “Why don't we find Dino a lady friend? Plenty of dogs in the shelter here.”

  Lyle grinned at her, his melancholy evaporating. “Having a dog is a lifetime commitment. Their lifetime, that is. You up for that?”

  “I'm up for that and your lifetime too. Thought about that at all?”

  Lyle laughed, enjoying himself. “I've been getting some real insights lately about that. All I can say is, they're weighing in your favor. Stay tuned.”

  “Okay. Good enough. For now.”

  *

  “Police Probe Possible Lead in Village Murders!” Lyle boomed as he quoted the headlines, slapping his newspaper onto Will's desk. “Why the hell didn't you call me last night when it happened?”

  “What purpose would it have served? Your whole evening would have gone down the toilet.”

  “What if Rosemary Meesler hadn't seen that guy go into your yard? You'd be sitting in jail right now, that's what!”