Safe From the Dark

by Lily Rede

  “It’s been nice having you home,” he ventured, “even if it’s for the wrong reasons.”

  “Colin and Tom are worried that that lunatic will come after me next, which is nonsense.”

  “They want you safe, and I have to agree with them on that point.”

  “Well, I’m not going to let some unhinged person prevent me from living my life.”

  She put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and reached for her purse.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to cancel, dear? It might not be safe.”

  Candace was dismissive as she pulled on her coat.

  “The film will only be playing for one more week, so this might be my only chance. Sure you won’t join me?”

  They exchanged a smile. It was a long-standing joke between them. Candace’s year abroad had left her with a great love of foreign film, and one of the few indulgences Alan’s wife permitted herself was a night at the local art house. If there wasn’t an explosion or a car chase, Alan wasn’t interested.

  “You go on ahead. I’m going to watch the game.”

  He pulled himself to his feet and she stopped him in the doorway with a gentle kiss on the cheek.

  “What was that for?” he asked, surprised. Candace wasn’t prone to spontaneous bursts of affection. They hadn’t slept in the same bed in years.

  “You’re a good husband and a good man. With everything that’s been going on, I wanted to make sure you knew that.”

  Alan squeezed her hand.

  “Sure you don’t want to take someone with you? I don’t like the idea of you in the theater alone.”

  “There will be tons of people there, I’ll be perfectly safe, Alan.”

  “You said it was a French film? It’ll be you and the projectionist,” he teased.

  “Oh, you,” she pouted, with a mock glare.

  “Call if you’re going to be late,” he instructed and she nodded.

  “I will.”

  THE ASHER CABIN WAS dark, meaning that Evie was still in town. Colin hopped out of Zeke’s truck, flicking on a powerful flashlight as Zeke did the same.

  “I don’t think we should be here, Mr. Daniels, sir. Deputy Asher was pretty clear – ”

  “She’s not going to find out, Zeke.” Colin’s voice was firm, which seemed to calm the nervous young deputy, because he nodded. “This is only going to take a couple of minutes.”

  Colin stepped over to the house, shining the beam up to the porch.

  The red spray painted letters were obscene, stretching the length of the porch, over the front windows and door, and Colin felt a wave of nausea and anger.

  “Stand over there, Zeke, see if you can light up the whole thing.”

  The deputy did as he was told, illuminating the harsh statement as Colin took pictures with his camera phone, making sure to get the curves of the letters and the spaces between them. They did look familiar, but he’d need to study them in more detail. This might be a fool’s errand. He wasn’t even sure that the writing on the wall, so to speak, could offer any real clues about the culprit, but surely there must be some similarities in style – something about the way the “T” was crossed and the lower curve of the “S” triggered a warning bell in Colin’s brain. He tried to pinpoint what it was that left him uneasy, but the realization remained annoyingly elusive.

  After a dozen pictures, Colin signaled to Zeke.

  “Let’s get out of here. And make sure that someone comes by tomorrow to clean this up. It’s a disgrace.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  On the short drive back to the house, Colin examined the photos on his phone.

  “Zeke, where are those letters? The hate mail that came into the office.”

  “Sheriff Arnetto has them down at the station.”

  Which meant that Colin was not getting his hands on them any time soon. Evie would explode if she thought he was investigating any angle of the case on his own.

  Hell, she’ll shoot you for leaving the house, Colin.

  Frowning, Colin considered his options. He needed to see those letters, but it was doubtful that Tony or Evie would let him just waltz in and take them, no matter how logical his reasoning.

  Candace.

  Colin smiled. Candace never let a piece of paper enter the office without making a copy or taking a digital print. She was meticulous and thorough, and he could just picture her disgust as she photocopied those letters. But he had no doubt in his mind that copies existed, and that meant that he could get his hands on them with just a little bit of subterfuge.

  Behind the wheel, Zeke yawned. Colin felt pity for the poor kid – he’d been everywhere at once, guarding the house, helping with the investigation, preparing for the upcoming Harvest Festival. The kid looked ready to drop. It wouldn’t be difficult to sneak past him and the other guards – Colin still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He’d get what he needed from Candace’s house, and be back before Evie returned for the night.

  No problem.

  DREYER MORTON ROLLED OFF of Candace Wilkinson, panting, as she calmly sat up and reached for her dress. He leaned back against the pillows and scooped up his pipe and lighter on the night stand.

  “That’s a filthy habit, Dreyer,” Candace remarked, and he watched in fascination as she swiftly groomed herself, erasing all traces of their tryst as though it had never happened.

  “I’m old,” he insisted, “Indulge me.”

  “You’re not that old, and if you keep smoking that disgusting thing, you’re not going to get much older.”

  Dreyer puffed away, and Candace rolled her eyes.

  “Are you sure you can’t stay? Have a drink?”

  “Alan will wait up. I’ve already been away too long, and he worries.”

  “He’s a good man.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  Dreyer had been sleeping with Candace for ten years now, since his wife had passed, and she never stayed longer than their mutual passion demanded. It was a convenient arrangement for both of them, and neither one had any desire for anything more – Candace would find a romance both distasteful and unseemly. In many ways, she was a cold woman, but in bed, well, he had no complaints.

  “That new deputy is something else. Let’s hope she catches the killer before Colin manages to get himself killed.”

  Candace froze.

  “Don’t speak like that.”

  “I know you’ve got a soft spot for the boy, but whatever happens, he brought it on himself.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You are to leave Colin alone. He has enough trouble on his head. And now that new deputy is sniffing around him, too.”

  Dreyer shook his head, watching her stiffly pull on her shoes and coat. Candace had always had a weakness for the Daniels men.

  “Let the boy have his fun. Besides, illicit affairs? Sexual indulgence? I think we both know something about that.”

  She blushed, annoyed.

  “That’s completely different. What you and I have is practically a business arrangement, nothing more.”

  “There are words for people like that, and they’re not pretty, Mrs. Wilkinson.”

  “If you’re going to be disgusting, I’d rather you didn’t say anything at all.”

  Dreyer held up his hands.

  “I surrender. Will I see you next week?”

  Candace looked him over, haughty, and for a moment he felt like a specimen under a microscope.

  “Of course.”

  “I’ve had to hand over security tapes to Sheriff Arnetto, but don’t worry, there’s no hint of our little indiscretions – they’re out of the relevant timeframe anyway. But I will be putting additional security on the house, just in case. Not locals. Professionals out of Boston. You can count on their discretion.”

  Candace started to As she walked out the door, Dreyer wondered if Alan ever suspected that his wife had been fucking another man for years, and then dismissed it. Candace would never permit that to happen. She loved the pe
ople in her life like a lioness protecting her cubs. Dreyer could be confident in thinking that no matter what she had to do to accomplish it, Alan would never find out.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE DOOR SHOULD NOT be open, Colin thought, worried as he stepped from his truck and up to the Wilkinson house. Candace’s car was gone, which meant that Alan was home alone. His heart had been giving him trouble, and Colin was suddenly concerned that he might have had an attack.

  He stepped up to the door and rapped on the frame.

  “Alan? It’s Colin. I just came by to pick something up. Is everything okay?”

  The silence inside the little house on the hill was disturbing, though Colin could hear the muted sound of the ball game on in the den. It was possible that Alan might have fallen asleep in front of the TV. The rest of the lights were out.

  But then why was the door open?

  Colin edged into the house, a feeling of unease raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

  “Alan?” he called again, and headed down the hallway toward the sound of the game.

  He found Alan in the den in an armchair, his eyes glued to the screen. But the kindly blue twinkle was gone – they were glassy and cold. A heart attack would have been less horrific, Colin thought numbly, staring at the blood that stained the front of his shirt, poured down from the gaping wound in his neck.

  Alan’s throat had been cut.

  “Oh, God. Alan.”

  Feeling sick, Colin braced himself in the doorway.

  I need to call somebody, he thought. I need to find Candace.

  A sudden noise in the hallway had him whirling around, heart pounding.

  The killer is still in the house.

  Not stopping to consider what a reckless and dangerous move it was, Colin dove back down the hallway – if the killer was making a break for the front door, he could cut them off. The rage filling him was unbearable. Alan had been a good man, a good husband to Candace, and one of his father’s best friends. It was clear that this attack was designed to remind Colin that no one in his life was safe.

  Colin turned the corner into the foyer and collided with someone in the dark. With all of his strength he pulled back and threw a punch, managing to make glancing contact with soft flesh before she twisted away.

  The soft, feminine, cry of pain was a surprise, and then an angry growl as the attacker retaliated, and Colin felt a slash of fire along his side.

  A knife. Probably the same one she used to kill Alan.

  He stumbled back, scrambling to get out of range of the blade, cursing the darkness that prevented him from making out her features, and losing his footing on the foyer carpet, crashing to the ground. On his back, Colin braced himself for the next attack.

  It never came.

  There were footsteps as the figure swayed forward, clearly in pain, and then regrouped, rushing out the door. Colin pulled himself up and lunged forward, but it was too late.

  She was gone.

  Outside, the sound of the wind and rustles in the trees mixed with the muffled TV in the den, but the killer had vanished into the darkness.

  EVIE ASHER THOUGHT THAT she had never been this angry before in her entire life. Or this scared. She acknowledged that both emotions coursed through her veins, but at the moment, the anger was winning by a mile, as she stepped out of her car. The sight of Colin sitting on the front steps of the Wilkinson home, having his side bandaged by an irate Jocelyn, did nothing to soothe her.

  “I’m going to shoot you myself, Colin Daniels!” Evie couldn’t keep her voice from shaking as she stomped over to join them.

  Behind her, Tony was comforting Candace, who watched in stunned silence as her husband’s body was removed from the house on a gurney.

  “Get in line,” muttered Jocelyn, pressing down the adhesive into Colin’s side, ignoring his wince. “You’re lucky you don’t need stitches.”

  “It’s not like I came over here trying to get myself killed,” Colin didn’t sound appropriately remorseful, which just pissed Evie off further.

  “You’re not supposed to be going anywhere at all! Why do I have half this town guarding your ass? All these volunteers, Tony, Zeke – they all have better things to do than to watch over someone who doesn’t even have the most basic hint of self-preservation!”

  Evie didn’t care that they were yelling at each other in front of a dozen people, or that Colin had gotten up to get in her face, scowling down at her. The blood on his jeans pushed a spike of fear through her gut – she hadn’t been there to protect him. The big idiot.

  “You can’t just lock me up and expect me to sit back while you catch this killer, Evie. It’s my friends and my community she’s going after.”

  “I can do whatever the law allows, Colin Daniels. And that includes putting you under house arrest. Colin Daniels, you’re under arrest for obstruction of justice.”

  Colin looked stunned as Evie pulled a pair of handcuffs from her back pocket, whirled him around, and had him cuffed in the blink of an eye.

  “How the hell did I obstruct justice?!?”

  “You disrupted a crime scene.”

  “You wouldn’t have even known there was a crime scene here if I hadn’t shown up!”

  She ignored him pushed him toward her car.

  “You have the right to remain silent – ”

  “Evie, I’m not sure about this – ” Even Tony sounded hesitant, but Evie was feeling wrathful, and stood her ground.

  “I am taking him home. If he sets one foot outside that house, I’m going to lock him up in the jail cell downtown and invite the local paper to come take pictures. I’m sure that will go over really well with the Town Council.”

  The ghost of a smile flitted across Tony’s face, but he smothered it.

  “And we’ll cancel the Harvest Festival.”

  Candace let out a shocked gasp.

  “You can’t do that! All the work we’ve put in, all the revenue it brings to this town.”

  Tony just shook his head.

  “My number one priority is keeping the residents of this town safe, along with our guests. If that means canceling the festival, you can be sure that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

  He caught Colin’s eye.

  “But we’re not there yet. Colin, go home and cool off.”

  “You’re not really going to let her put me under house arrest. Tony!”

  “Sorry, buddy. You’re on your own.”

  THE TEMPERATURE IN THE car was a few degrees below sub-Arctic, despite the fact that Evie hadn’t looked at him once since shoving him in the back seat like a common criminal.

  She’d actually put him in handcuffs.

  Colin couldn’t believe it. Not that the idea of Evie and handcuffs in the same room wasn’t a combination he hadn’t considered a time or two, but the fantasy usually consisted of her chained spread-eagled to his bed while he licked caramel sauce off her tits.

  He twisted, infuriated by the restraints, even more angry that she’d chastised him like an errant teenager.

  “You can’t just arrest me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  She ignored him, though her shoulders tensed up.

  “Evie, stop the fucking car and look at me!”

  Miraculously, she did as he asked, wrenching the car to the side of the road and killing the engine, but leaving the lights on.

  She started to speak, and then seared him with one fury-laden look before clambering out of the car, slamming the door shut.

  Colin watched her pace along the shoulder, feeling helpless and infuriated. Behind her, he could see nothing but dark woods. They were off the beaten path, completely isolated. Evie was taking a meandering path back to the house to avoid being ambushed along any predictable routes.

  Even when she was mad enough to cut off his balls with a blunt butter knife, she was still thinking like a cop, still protecting him from harm.

  He knew she was angry, but she was also scared. For him.

&nbs
p; Something twisted in his heart and Colin was overwhelmed with a frightening desire to just wrap his arms around Evie, reassure her that he was fine, and then make love to her until all thoughts of blood, death, stalkers, and murder were burned away by the fires of passion. The rest of the world would go away, leaving just the two of them.

  His reverie was interrupted by the back door being yanked open, and then Evie grabbed a handful of his shirt and half-dragged, half-propelled him out to send him stumbling against the heated hood of the car.

  “You nearly died.” She poked him in the chest, hard. Her eyes were huge in the dim light, her body close enough that her hip brushed his swelling cock. Adrenaline and fear and anger were having a predictable result on his body.

  “But I didn’t,” he insisted.

  “Do you know how I felt when your call came in?”

  “Helpless? Frustrated? I’m familiar with the sensations. That’s exactly how I feel when you put yourself in danger, Evie.”

  “Yes, but I’m trained to do exactly that. You’re a civilian. I can’t believe I have to remind you that I’m the one with the gun!”

  “You can’t catch this woman on your own.”

  Her hands came up to his chest. He wasn’t sure she was even aware of the move.

  “I can’t catch her if I’m spending all my time worrying about you.”

  “Well, you’ve got me where you want me now, tied up and unable to get in your way, Deputy. What are you going to do with me?”

  EVIE STARED AT COLIN in the gloom, uncertain. Part of her wanted to keep raging at him, to do everything to convince him that what he’d done tonight was supremely stupid. Another part of her wanted to plaster every inch of her body against his, to assure herself that his lungs still worked by his breath mingling with hers when they kissed, to feel the pulse of his heartbeat in his chest against her breasts, and the rush of blood under his skin as he filled her with his heavy shaft, throbbing with life and heat. Alive.

  You’re going to regret this later, remarked the inner cop, but Evie wasn’t listening as her hands started on the buttons of his shirt.

  Colin didn’t speak, but watched her, his breath coming hard, his incredible body passive under her hands. The way he’d made her give up control the last time they were together was masterful, but it was her turn now, and the thought of having him at her mercy, finally¸ was heady.