Cypress Lake

by Graysen Morgen

  Dani stared out the window at the dock in the distance. She could barely see the light at the end through the heavy rain pouring down in the darkness.

  "I never meant to hurt you. I did what they wanted me to do because, well, at the time, it was the right thing to do. I regret never trying to see you again," Kristen whispered as she squeezed Dani's hand.

  The contact from Kristen's hand on hers felt like lightning rods shooting up Dani's arm, straight to her heart. She could fall back into the past so easily, but she was no longer a teenager without a care in the world and deep down she knew Kristen wasn't being honest with her. Dani pulled her hand away and stood up.

  "I need to get going. I've had a long day as it is and Mayor Dickhead thinks we aren't working hard enough, so I'm sure my workload is about to double."

  "What about dinner?" Kristen asked, walking to the door with her.

  "Another time," Dani smiled.

  "It's pouring out. Are you sure you want to go out in this mess?"

  "I'll be fine. It's not going to let up anytime soon." Dani took half a step forward.

  The electricity between them welded Kristen to the ground. She was sure Dani was about to kiss her. Her pulse raced and her breathing literally came to a crashing halt in anticipation, but Dani turned away and walked out to her vehicle.

  The heavy rain had soaked Dani to the bone. Her wet clothes slid across the worn leather seat of her SUV. She started the truck and drove away without looking back. If Kristen didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth about why she'd left and chose to stay away all of these years, then there was no sense in staying to see where the night might lead. She turned the dispatch radio off and drove home in silence, listening to the rain pelt the roof of her vehicle.

  The skinny orange cat meandered up to her when she entered the apartment, sniffing the air before turning his nose up and scampering off.

  "Asshole cat," she said, shaking her head as she set her gun on the nightstand next to her bed and peeled out of her wet clothing. "See if I give you any treats," she yelled to him as she turned the shower temperature to hot and pulled the lever. She pulled a clean towel from the cabinet below the sink and set it on the closed toilet seat lid before stepping under the spray.

  *

  Kristen grabbed the empty beer bottle from the coffee table, tossing it into the kitchen trash on her way to the master bedroom upstairs. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so dejected. It wasn't like she'd actually made a move and Dani had turned her down. She wasn't even sure she would've acted on it if Dani had made a move of her own, but the idea of it made her tingle. Seeing Dani sitting casually on the couch in jeans and a t-shirt, just as she'd done hundreds of times when they were kids, made her forget about all of the time that had passed between them. She was kidding herself if she thought Dani wanted more than the answers to the questions that she kept asking. Answers that Kristen wasn't ready to give her. Not now. Maybe not ever.

  Oh, Dani. It's better if you don't know.

  *

  The next afternoon, Dani was sitting at her desk, staring at her computer and tossing a green apple from hand to hand as she read over the spreadsheet on the screen.

  "Sheriff Fisher's looking for you," Vince said, popping his head into her office.

  She bit into the apple as she clicked the mouse to go to another screen. "He knows where to find me," she replied, nodding for him to come in.

  "Any new information on our killer?" he asked, sitting down across from her.

  "Not much."

  "Are you sure it's the same person? I mean the M.O. is completely different."

  "You're correct," she took another bite, talking as she chewed. "The only thing…those two had…in common was drugs. Whether the murders…are linked…well, I'm going on instinct. I really think…Roger killed Paul…and then some dealer…from the city killed Roger," she finished, tossing the apple core into the trash and taking a long sip of water from the bottle on her desk.

  "There you are," Sheriff Fisher said from the doorway.

  "I've been right here, working on the schedule most of the day. Someone has to figure out a way to appease his majesty."

  Vince got up from the chair across from her desk and walked out of the small room.

  "We're burning man hours that we don't have allocated. I've adjusted and readjusted the schedule so many times that I may be working the next thirty days with no time off just to cover shifts."

  "I'm going to make an executive decision and say to stay on our regular schedule for now. If Mayor Olsen doesn't like it then he can find some money in the mediocre budget he gives us to hire more deputies."

  "My thoughts exactly," Dani replied, pulling the schedule back up on her computer once again. "I spoke to my contact with the city police department."

  "What did he say?"

  "Not much. A lot of the dealers on the street are using 9mm rounds because they're cheap and easy to get. Without a bullet, it's impossible to match anything. He hasn't heard anyone on the street talking about Cypress Lake, so if Roger's murder is drug related, it was small potatoes."

  "Great. How the hell do I go to the mayor with that? 'Mr. Mayor, our case is closed based on it being a small potatoes crime.' He's liable to fire us both,' he said, shaking his head.

  "Good. I could use a damn day off or even a vacation for that matter. You know he's only being an arrogant asshole because in all the years that he was sheriff, he never saw an actual homicide. Sure, Mrs. Antonio shot her husband and Olsen had to handle that case, but she was standing in the kitchen with the damn smoking gun in her hand and she'd thought her husband was an intruder at the time."

  Sheriff Fisher laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. I'd just moved here and was working as a deputy."

  "It's all a political ploy to secure votes. He's more worried about his hairy ass than keeping the people of this town safe. He's always been a selfish prick. I don't understand why people keep voting him back in."

  "Me either, but unfortunately, butting heads with him isn't helping matters."

  "I really think we need to say Roger killed Paul because he stole drug money from him, then Roger was killed by the dealer that Paul ripped off. Tie that idea up into a nice little package with a bow and call it a day," she said.

  "Is that what you think really happened?"

  She shrugged. "Do you honestly think we have a murderer on the loose in Cypress Lake?"

  "No," he retorted, shaking his head. "I don't think we'll see another murder for the next five years, maybe longer. Those two guys got themselves caught up in a mess and it ended badly for both of them. We'll probably never know exactly how it went down, but at this point, I don't see a reason to keep beating a dead horse. Drugs will kill you…case closed."

  Dani chuckled as he walked out of her office.

  Chapter 11

  A few days later, Dani's day off was coming to a close. She'd spent most of it cleaning her studio apartment, washing clothes, and helping her dad repair one of the dairy freezers in the store. She was tired, but the hot shower she'd taken renewed her energy.

  The warm spring sun had finally set, letting a cool breeze drift through town. Dani slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, preparing to walk down to Muddy's for an early dinner, when her cell phone rang. The unknown number looked vaguely familiar.

  "Ricketts," she answered, pulling her sneakers on.

  "Dani!"

  "Kristen? What's wrong?"

  "Someone's in my house!" Kristen said, shakily. "They broke in."

  Dani stuff her pistol into her waistband and snatched her wallet and keys from the nightstand. "I'm on the way. Get out of the house and wait in your car!" She yelled as she took the stairs down to the parking lot two at a time.

  "Okay, hurry, Dani. I don't know if he's still in there." Kristen locked herself in her car.

  Dani jumped into her SUV and pushed the speaker button on her cell phone as she set it in the console. "Don't hang up, Kristen. I'll be there
in two minutes," she replied, stomping the gas pedal and peeling out of the parking lot with the lights and siren blaring.

  Dani turned on the dispatch radio and keyed the microphone attached to the side of the computer. "Dispatch, this is Chief Ricketts, we have a 10-31 at 321 Lake Drive. The owner is a friend and called me at home. I'm 10-76, two minutes out."

  "Copy, Chief. Deputy Nyman is 10-76, ETA five minutes."

  "Copy." Dani set the microphone down. "Kristen, are you still there?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm turning onto your road now. Have you seen anyone come out?"

  "No. I hear your siren."

  Dani skidded to a spot in front of the house and jumped out of her SUV with her gun drawn. Kristen opened her car door to get out, but Dani slammed it closed.

  "Stay here. When my deputy gets here, tell him I went inside."

  "Okay," Kristen said, watching her back as Dani entered the house with her gun in front of her.

  "Sheriff's office!" Dani yelled. "Sheriff's office! Come out now!" She flipped the switch for the living room light, noticing the room was disheveled as she walked through to the kitchen and then to the bathroom and finally, the back bedroom, where she found an open window.

  She looked in the closet and under the bed, and worked her way up the stairs, checking the far bedroom before going into the master. There was no one in the house, but someone had definitely gone through there looking for something. She looked down at the rumpled comforter on the queen-sized bed. This was obviously where Kristen had been spending her nights since arriving back at the family home.

  "Chief!" Wilbur yelled from just inside the front door.

  "Up here!" she shouted as she left the room. "All clear," she called, walking down the stairs.

  "Get the print kit from your cruiser. I think the window in the front bedroom is the point of entry," she said.

  He walked out to his car and informed Kristen to stay put until Dani came to get her. He returned with a pair of gloves for each of them and his fingerprinting kit. They started on the window, dusting for prints, but found nothing usable. After dusting a few open drawers with no luck, Dani stopped him.

  "Whoever did this was wearing gloves. Son of a bitch," she growled, walking out the front door and waving for Kristen to come inside as she walked to her SUV.

  Kristen was visibly shaken when Dani met her by the car.

  "It's alright. Whoever it was is long gone. They tossed the house, but didn't leave any prints. It looks like they came in through the front bedroom window and probably left the same way."

  "Damn it," Kristen said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She walked through the front door, looking at the mess in the living room that she'd seen when she first arrived and called Dani. "Did they do this to all of the rooms?"

  "I'm afraid so," Dani removed her rubber gloves. "Do you know what they were looking for?"

  "No. There really isn't anything of value here." She shook her head.

  "I'm assuming you weren't home when this happened."

  "No, I was out," Kristen replied. "I'd just returned and noticed the mess when I walked in. I called you right away."

  "Any idea who may have done this?" Dani asked.

  "No. I don't know. I didn't think anyone knew I was here." Kristen blew out a frustrating breath and sat down on the couch. "I've seen a dark car a few times that I'd swear was following me."

  "When did that start?"

  "Remember that night you pulled me over? That was probably the third time I'd noticed it and that's why I was speeding."

  "Why didn't you tell me this?"

  "Dani." Kristen looked at her. "You and I haven't actually been on speaking terms this entire time and you think I killed Roger and Paul. I didn't think you would believe me."

  "I'm the Chief Deputy for the sheriff's office and if that's not enough, I think our history should have made you feel like you could come to me. I'm sorry if I've made you feel otherwise." Dani sat down next to her. "What did the car look like?"

  "I don't know. Every time I've seen it, it's been late in the day near dusk. I know it's dark, like I said, gray or blue."

  "Two door or four door?"

  "I've only seen the side of it once it and it was dark out, but I think it's a four door. It's about the size of my Camry I guess, maybe a little smaller."

  Dani made new notes on the notepad she'd retrieved from her truck when she went out to get Kristen.

  "You don't think the person that killed Paul and Roger is after me…do you?"

  "No, I don’t see a connection. Their deaths are drug related."

  "This whole thing is starting to scare the hell out of me."

  "Is anything missing that you know of?"

  "I didn't really look around," she said, getting off the couch.

  Kristen checked each room downstairs before moving to the second floor. She immediately went to the master bedroom and stuck her hand under the corner of the mattress. "Shit!"

  "What's wrong?" Dani asked, from the doorway.

  "My gun's gone. I forgot to grab it when I left."

  "You have a gun?"

  "Had. I always carried it with me for protection."

  Dani wrote a few more notes. "What kind of gun was it?"

  "It's a solid black Taurus .380 caliber. It's small and easy to conceal. I have a permit for it. Well, in the city I do."

  Dani raised an eyebrow and made a few extra notes.

  "Where did you say you were when this happened?"

  "I said I was out. I had errands to run." Kristen eyed her suspiciously. "If you are insinuating that I faked this whole thing and ransacked my own house I'm going to slap the hell out of you. I've just about had enough of you accusing me of things that I've had nothing to do with. Someone is obviously playing games with me. First, there's Paul's body under my dock, then someone starts following me around, and now this," she snarled.

  "Kristen, I never said you did this. You're jumping to conclusions. As far as the other stuff, it's a little strange and maybe coincidental, but I have never accused you of anything. I merely said you were a suspect."

  Kristen wiped a tear from her cheek and Dani walked over to her, lifting her chin. "That case is closed anyway as far as I know," she whispered.

  Kristen closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of Dani's hand spread down her body.

  "Do you want me to stay here tonight? Or you can come stay with me if you want." Dani wiped another tear as it escaped Kristen's brown eyes.

  "I need to clean this place up, but I'd definitely feel safer if you stayed here with me."

  "Alright. I'm going to go tell Wilbur he can go. I'll be right back."

  After the young deputy drove away, Dani walked around the house to the dock. Thousands of stars filled the darkened sky and the light of the full moon cast a beautiful glow across the lake, shimmering on the surface of the crystal clear water. She wondered if Kristen was telling the truth. The thought of someone trying to hurt her made Dani's blood pressure rise.

  "Is everything okay?" Kristen asked, walking up behind her. "I thought maybe you'd left."

  "I'm fine, just thinking."

  Kristen stepped up next to her. "Do you remember diving off the end of this dock and trying to catch the fish with our bare hands?"

  Dani laughed. "Yeah. We were a mess back then."

  Kristen chuckled. "We sure had a lot of fun together, right here in this very spot."

  "It's the first place you kissed me," Dani said, turning to face her.

  "I remember that. It was your birthday and you spent the night with us. We were trying to feed the fish animal crackers and I kissed your cheek."

  Dani smiled. "We were so innocent and naïve at that age, but I knew in that moment something was different."

  "Me too."

  Dani wrapped her arms around Kristen, pulling her close. Kristen threaded her arms around Dani's waist and laid her head on her shoulder. They stood on the end of the dock, holding each other
in the moonlight, until a barking dog in the distance grabbed their attention. Dani couldn't remember the last time she'd simply held another woman and having Kristen back in her arms was almost too much to bear. Her body felt scorched from the heat of their embrace.

  Kristen took a step back. She was afraid to look up at the smoldering eyes staring back at her. She wasn't sure she wanted to see what was in them. It would be so easy to fall in love with Dani all over again. She was past the point of having a torrid affair with her first love and she knew playing with the fire burning just below the surface between them was a bad idea. She was afraid once that fire got started it would consume them both, burning them to the ground before they could ever put it out. Still, looking up at Dani with her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight made Kristen want her that much more. She took another step back, adding more space between them.

  "You back up any further and you're going for a swim." Dani grinned.

  Kristen laughed, realizing her feet were inches away from the edge of the dock. "I'm going to go start straightening up the house," she said.

  "I'm going to move my cruiser into the driveway. I'll be inside in a minute to help you," Dani replied, following her up the dock.

  *

  Dani got into her SUV and started the engine. She typed a quick note into the computer for dispatch, letting them know the scene was secure and the suspect could possibly be driving a small, dark colored sedan. After that, she pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. She wasn't sure if spending the night with Kristen was the best idea, but she needed to make sure she was safe. She'd let her guard slip on the dock, pulling Kristen into her arms. How can a mistake feel so damn good?

  "Chief Ricketts?"

  Dani jerked her head, shaking the thoughts away as she turned to see who was calling her name.

  "Mrs. Cranston?" Dani squinted to see the little old lady through the trees. She exhaled loudly as she walked over to her.