Her skinny orange cat leapt up onto the opposite end of the small table, eyeing her suspiciously.
"What do you want, cat? I'm glad you can't talk. You'd have so much to say you'd probably never shut up." She put her service gun back into the holster on her belt, set her smaller pistol on her nightstand next to the wallet that held her badge, and tossed some snacks on the floor for him.
A soft knock on the door grabbed her attention. She checked the peephole and pulled the door open.
"Hey, Dad."
"I saw the mayor's speech on the news the other night. How bad is it?" he asked, hugging her before sitting on the couch.
"Paul and Roger were both in over their heads with drug dealing and Paul was a user himself. We're pretty sure it's tied to the city, just as the mayor said."
"I hope you're right. The last thing we need around here is a murderer on the loose. Your mother's already worried to death about you and we keep hearing people talking about it in the store. I think the town's a little more worried than the mayor thinks."
"I'm fine."
"I know that. Hell, I paid for you to have a higher education than all of those idiots you work with put together. Just be safe and watch your back. That's all that I'm saying."
Dani smiled. "I'm going fishing in the morning to celebrate my first day off in ten days. Do you want to go?"
"Nah, we have inventory next week and I'm still doing pre-counts," he said, petting the cat as it rubbed against his leg.
"Do you want some help?"
"No. You gave the store enough of your youth. Go fishing and enjoy your day off."
*
Kristen was sitting on edge of the dock with her legs dangling over the side. The last cold spell had finally departed and the warm weather behind it was welcoming. She thought briefly about the dead body that had been found a few feet away. The photos of Paul's half eaten face made her shiver. She stood up and walked to the end of the dock, distancing herself from that spot by the rocks before sitting back down. The noise of a boat motoring nearby, grabbed her attention. She was wearing sunglasses, but squinted anyway in the bright sun, and was able to make out the words Sheriff's Office written on the side of the white vessel. The boat drifted a little closer and she strained her eyes to see who was in it, wondering if it was Dani.
Simply thinking of the woman elevated her heartbeat. The biggest mistake she'd ever made was not coming back for Dani after her family had moved away abruptly. So many years had passed between them and she wondered if Dani would understand the reasons why she had chosen to stay away and the reasons why she had returned.
Kristen wasn't sure if she could handle seeing her again. The only thing they'd managed to do in the past month was quarrel and when Dani appeared at her door flashing her wild green eyes and devilish grin, the last thing she'd wanted to do was argue. She'd spent many nights peeling Dani out of her sheriff's uniform, layer by layer, in her dreams, leaving her restless and aroused.
Whether she could handle it or not, she didn't want to see Dani again. Too many emotions were stirred and she was in Cypress Lake for one reason only and Dani Ricketts wasn't going to spoil her plan. Kristen stood and turned to walk back up to the house.
*
When she finished fishing, Dani cruised around the lake, like she always did when she was out on the water. The warm weather had brought many people out of the homes, onto their docks and into their boats. She returned waves and nods as she rode by. She wasn't working, so didn't bother checking registrations as she passed other boaters.
She slowed as she neared the section of the lake that she'd purposely avoided all morning. She didn't need binoculars to know the woman sitting on the end of the dock was Kristen. She had changed a little here and there over the years, seemingly growing up, but there was no mistaking the chocolate brown eyes and adorable smile that grabbed her attention when Dani had been only five years old. She remembered the day like it was yesterday.
The new girl in the class had been told to pick an empty seat and after looking at all of the kids in the room, she had chosen the one next to Dani. They had become instant friends and on Dani's sixth birthday, Kristen had kissed her cheek and told her she would always be her best friend. Then, on Dani's sixteenth birthday, Kristen had kissed her lips and told her she would always love her.
Dani always hoped she'd see Kristen again, she just hadn't been prepared for the way it would affect her after all of these years. So much had changed in their lives. She was the chief deputy for the sheriff's office, in the middle of a double murder investigation and ironically, the only suspect was the woman who'd fled from her life without so much as a goodbye and mysteriously returned without so much as a hello.
Dani shook her head. She was about to gun the engine and head back to the marina when she saw Kristen stand up and turn away. She bumped the throttle into gear and motored closer.
*
Kristen had barely taken three steps when she heard the boat motor growing closer. Shit. She spun on her heels as the boat drifted close to the dock. Dani was dressed in a sheriff's office t-shirt and khaki shorts that clung nicely to her athletic curves. Her hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and dark sunglasses covered her eyes.
"What can I do for you, deputy?" Kristen put a little too much emphasis on the last word as she crossed her arms.
Dani bit back the grin that forming on her mouth at the site of Kristen in a tight t-shirt and cut-off jean shorts. Her honey brown hair fell in loose waves around her neck and the top of her shoulders, revealing gold hoop earrings that were about the diameter of a quarter.
"Are you ready to talk?" Dani asked, reaching over to keep the boat from bumping into the wooden dock.
"Not really," Kristen said, running her hand through her hair and pushing her long bangs to the side. "Unless, you're here to arrest me."
"Should I be? Is there something you need to tell me?" Dani questioned.
"Nope."
"Good. I was hoping maybe you'd want to talk and not about my case. I haven't seen you in twelve years. There's a lot to talk about."
"You need to let it go, Dani." She looked down at the water, and then back at her. "I have," she finished.
"You mean let you go. Don't worry, I did that a long time ago," she sighed inwardly. "We were best friends once, although I think you've forgotten that," Dani said wistfully as she pushed off from the dock and moved back to the controls.
The white boat sped away, disappearing across the lake. Kristen wiped the couple of tears from her cheek as she walked back to the house.
Chapter 10
Two days later, Dani was sitting in the mayor's office with Sheriff Fisher in the chair next to her.
"I don't think I need to stress to the two of you how important it is to close this case. The people of this town are already talking and many of them are starting to feel frightened in their own homes," Mayor Olsen stated, rubbing his beard in thought. "We've buried two of our citizens and I don't plan on burying a third."
"Yes, sir, we're working every angle of the case and everything we come across leads us right back to drugs and drug deals," Sheriff Fisher replied.
"Damn it, I know that. The point I'm trying to get at is we need to shut this drug ring down. If we get the drugs out of Cypress Lake, then there won't be a reason for the dealers to come here in the first place."
"That's a great suggestion, Mayor Olsen, but the problem is Paul Davis and Roger Fillmore were dealing and running drugs in the city, and subsequently, the drugs followed them back here. I don't believe we have a drug problem within our town limits," Dani countered.
"Dani, I've known you since you were a kid. Your own mother is one of the concerned citizens voicing their opinions. Can you honestly sit here and tell me that this is over and there won't be any more dead bodies turning up in our town?" he asked sarcastically.
"No sir. I don't think anyone can do that, but it's your job to make these concerned citizens feel safe here in Cy
press Lake and it's our job to actually make them safe," she responded.
Mayor Olsen gritted his teeth. He was coming up on the end of his second three year term and had planned on running for one more. These unsolved, gruesome murders were throwing a major wrench into his campaign plans and could ruin his chances of being re-elected.
"Someone needs to hang for these crimes and I suggest you work around the clock until you find the person responsible," he declared with a hint of agitation in his voice. "We'll meet again in two weeks. I expect you both to have something more for me than an untouchable drug dealer in the city."
Dani walked out of his office behind Sheriff Fisher.
"You just pissed him off," Sheriff Fisher uttered, shaking his head.
"I know. He's a pompous ass. What does he expect us to do, cross county lines to find a ghost? Drug dealers and users are a dime a dozen in the city." She shrugged as her cell phone rang with an unknown number.
"Chief Ricketts," she growled.
*
The sadness on Dani's face had been eating away at Kristen over the last few days. She couldn't go on any longer knowing that she was the cause of it, so she dialed the number from the business card on the counter.
"Is this a bad time?" Kristen asked, hearing the anger in Dani's voice.
"Kristen?" Dani questioned, softening her voice as she walked towards her SUV.
"Yeah. I can call you later or—"
"No, it's fine. Is everything okay?"
"Yes. I…are you sure you don't want to call me back? You sound upset."
"I just got out of a meeting with our mayor that didn't go well," she said, starting her vehicle and pulling out of the parking lot of the town hall building. "Anyway, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Isn't David Olsen the mayor now?"
"Yep and he's even more of a dickhead now than he used to be when he was the sheriff."
"I never cared for him either."
Dani looked at the phone in her hand and put it back to her ear. She was surprised to be having a regular conversation with the woman on the other end. "Are you sure everything's okay?" she asked again.
"Yes, I'm sorry." She realized Dani must be wondering why she was on the phone. "I called to see if you wanted to come by…maybe for dinner…we could talk," Kristen fumbled.
Dani checked her watch. "I'm downtown at the moment and I need to run home and change clothes, but I can be there in thirty minutes."
"Okay," Kristen replied before hanging up.
Dani ended the call and pressed the gas pedal down a little harder. She had no idea why Kristen wanted to talk all of a sudden. She was sure the awaiting conversation was going to end in argument, just as their others had, but either way, it was still better than stewing on her couch all night over the lousy meeting.
*
Large rain drops began falling from the dark sky. Dani shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans and huddled closer after knocking on the door. She wasn't sure why she was nervous. She'd seen Kristen half a dozen times over the past six weeks. Maybe it was the thought of talking about something other than dead bodies that had her rattled.
Kristen opened the door with a tentative smile on her face, waving for Dani to come in out of the rain.
"I didn't know it was supposed to rain tonight," Kristen said, watching the pouring drops before closing the door.
"Yeah, well it's the perfect end to my shitty day," Dani murmured.
"We can do this another time—"
"No, I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind right now, but I'm glad you want to talk. I'm curious to hear what you have to say." Dani watched her walk across the living room towards the open kitchen. Kristen was wearing jeans and a pink shirt that hugged her slender body, causing sinful thoughts to creep into Dani's head. Kristen had been cute when they were younger, but she'd grown into a beautiful woman.
Dani grinned, shaking her head as she sat down on the couch. Kristen was no longer hers, but no matter how many times she told herself that, she still wanted her.
"Would you like something to drink? I have beer, wine, and water."
"Beer," Dani nearly shouted. She needed something to calm her down. Her blood pressure was still elevated from the meeting and Kristen's sexy backside wasn't helping to lower it.
Kristen returned to the couch with a beer for Dani and a glass of red wine for herself.
"I guess you're probably wondering why you're here."
"A little bit," Dani answered. "Are you finally ready to confess?"
"Confess to what? Those murders?" Kristen sipped her wine and tucked her feet under her. "Are you serious?"
Dani shrugged, taking a long swallow of her beer. "If the shoe fits."
"If you honestly think I killed Paul and Roger then maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation because you obviously don't know me," Kristen huffed.
"You're right. I don't know you…at least not anymore."
"That's why I asked you here. You were right when you said we used to be best friends." She sipped some more of her wine, trying to avoid the green eyes staring back at her. "We've changed so much in the last twelve years."
"I haven't changed that much, but you…you're a completely different person," Dani said.
"You’re a damn sheriff's deputy. Who the hell ever thought that would happen?" Kristen shook her head.
Dani shrugged. "I graduated and realized business wasn't for me, so a month into my freshman year I changed my major to criminal justice."
Kristen raised an eyebrow. "You went to college?"
"Of course. I'm not an idiot, Kristen."
"I know that. You were probably the smartest person in our graduating class." Kristen smiled. "I just…I guess I didn't realize you needed to go to college to be Barney Fife."
Dani laughed. It was the sweetest sound that Kristen had heard in years.
"You don't. Actually, all you need to do is graduate from high school and go to the police academy in the city. Now, if you want to be anything besides a deputy, like sheriff or mayor, then you need a degree in criminal justice."
"Did you have to go to the police academy too?"
"Oh yeah, everyone in law enforcement does. I just went to college first." Dani took another sip from the bottle that was sweating in her hand. "What about you? What do you do?"
"I…" Kristen drank from her glass. "I went to college too, for business actually. I worked odd jobs here and there and finally went back to school a few years ago for real estate and I've been doing that ever since. In fact, I own my own agency in the city."
"Wow, that's…interesting."
"I told you I was here to settle my family's affairs. They sold this house to me two years ago and I'm sick of dealing with the property."
"You said you were packing, but I still don't see any boxes."
"I've been boxing up the stuff in the attic and taking it to a storage unit. My parents aren't sure if they want any of it."
Dani peered around at the living room again. Nothing looked moved from the past few times that she'd been there.
"You look like you want to search the house," Kristen snarled.
"No, I'm just curious. I'm not here as a sheriff's deputy."
"Uh huh." Kristen raised an eyebrow. "You still think I killed them don't you?"
"No, I don't, but suspicion is hard to ignore."
"Maybe you should leave then."
"Damn it, Kristen, I'm not here on sheriff's office business. You invited me to talk, remember?"
"Fine."
"Where are they living now anyway?" Dani asked, changing the subject.
"Who?" Kristen huffed.
"Your parents."
"In the city."
"Is that where you went when you moved away over night?"
"Yes," Kristen replied, looking away from her.
"What happened?" Dani asked. "You were here one day and gone the next."
"It was complicated, Dani." She sipped the last of her wine. "Hel
l, it still is."
"Too complicated to tell me? I was so damn in love with you. We were best friends, but we were so much more. At least, I thought we were, and then you disappeared."
"I'm sorry. That's the way it had to be." She paused. "I loved you too, more than anything in this world," she whispered.
"I don't understand why you never even said goodbye. I could've helped you. My family would've helped yours if they needed it. I don't understand why you just vanished without a trace."
"They…" She blew out a frustrating breath. "My parents…found out about us. They knew we were sleeping together and…they took me away from you and cut all ties to Cypress Lake to keep us apart." She stood and walked into the kitchen.
Dani's mind played her words over and over, but it didn't add up. Kristen returned with a fresh glass.
"That doesn't make sense. Your parents liked me. They knew we were close."
"Close, yes, but not lesbian lovers. My mother threw the bible at me, literally."
Dani raised an eyebrow. "I never knew they felt that way."
"They hid a lot of things from everyone."
"Why didn't you come back after you turned eighteen?"
"They threatened to never speak to me again if I contacted you…they almost didn't allow me to go to college. They were afraid I'd come find you."
"Kristen, that's absurd. You were an adult!"
"There's no reason to get upset about it now. It's in the past."
"Past, hell! You tore me apart, Kristen. You could've been dead for all I knew!"
"It wasn't exactly easy for me either. That was the worst time of my life, but I moved on and I grew up, so did you." Kristen walked into the kitchen, setting her empty wine glass on the counter. "You can't change the past, Dani," she said, stepping back into the living room.
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