Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

by Amy Saunders

  ~ * ~

  Belinda felt the music reverberate across the stone driveway before she actually heard it. Apparently, Stellan Mayhew still knew how to party. She dropped her keys in the valet's palm, trying to stop herself from mussing her updo, smoothing down the hem of her silk halter top to give her hands something to do. Belinda took one last deep breath of salt air as a woman wearing feather earrings checked her name off a digital list and swung open the door for her.

  She stepped into what she remembered being the Mayhew house living room, which was really just a showpiece. She never remembered actually sitting there. The room was unrecognizable as a DJ played the latest dance music from his laptop and pink and blue lights followed the thrashing bodies around the open floor. Most of her former classmates clung to the side walls, relaxed against the mantle, or hung over the second-story railing to watch. Belinda examined her options and not seeing anyone she recognized immediately downstairs, she went up.

  Belinda heard a squeal before she reached the top. How did anyone have the lung capacity to overcome the thump, thump, thump of the bass line? Victoria shuffled over on her tiptoes, practically on her toe nails from the height of her heels. Belinda still had to hunch over a little to give her a hug. Before she'd said hello, Victoria gripped her wrists and led her into a hallway, past what looked like a security guard, and onto a balcony looking out over the ocean.

  "I like our little piece of property," Victoria said, the moonlight highlighting her splash of orange hair, "but this is still the best location in Portside." She took Belinda's hand again. "So Kyle didn't come with you."

  Belinda shrugged, butterflies swarming in her stomach. "Things will never be the same for him."

  "We'll never be the same for him."

  "Not you. He still loves you and Dan. It's just...the accident kind of took all the fun out of this place."

  "I'm shocked he came back."

  Belinda pulled hair out of her mouth, her coif slowly falling apart at the seams with the breeze. "Well, living in our old home sure beats what we'd have on our own. And our parents would rather we live there than leave it empty whilst they travel the world." Victoria leaned back on the railing and pooched out her stomach. Belinda crooked an eyebrow. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

  Victoria gazed coyly at the moon. "Maybe."

  "Do I detect the beginnings of a bump?" Victoria nodded emphatically. "Too much ice cream?" Victoria swatted her shoulder with her clutch. Belinda laughed. "Too much something apparently. How's Dan?"

  "Content as usual." Victoria flicked her head.

  Belinda smiled, giving her friend a bear hug. "I better do this before you blow up."

  "Dan has been hugging me every five seconds. Says he's trying to fill up before he can't put his arms around me."

  "Nice."

  "Isn't he though?"

  Belinda looked down to the lawn, a man hurrying toward the gazebo, built up to look over the water, with a woman trying to catch up. Belinda glanced at Victoria who was also watching them intently. Once they were inside the structure, the woman flailed her arms about, the words "long time ago" drifting on the air. Victoria cleared her throat and motioned her head toward the hallway, quietly returning there. Belinda gazed out at the couple, but followed Victoria's example. She nodded at the guard as they passed and they made their way back downstairs.

  "I'll find Dan," Victoria said, louder now. "He'll want to say hi."

  Belinda nodded and pointed to the hallway, attempting to make a sign for bathroom. Victoria put two thumbs up and Belinda left her to find her husband, which should not have been hard knowing Dan. He was either hiding outside or in one of the back rooms.

  Belinda peeked down the hallway, grateful to escape the pulse of the living room, and tried not to get her heels caught on the carpet. She kept her hand on the beige wall, scanning her memory for where the bathroom was and turned knobs as she wandered, most of them locked. She probably would have given up the hunt at that point, except for the hushed voices coming from a nearby room. She clung to the wall, quietly inching toward the door, her pulse racing. One of the men was definitely Jeff. Victoria had been positive that Jeff was still on the other side of the country. After all that time, Belinda supposed it no longer mattered. On the other hand, Jeff had a way of clinging to the past.

  "We stick to our original plan," Stellan said firmly. "You've held out this long, you can keep going."

  "I don't know if I can do that anymore." Jeff sounded tired, but not in a physical sense.

  "It's been years; it's fine."

  "How is this fine?" Jeff's voice reached a level so she didn't have to strain to hear anymore. Stellan shushed him. "Nothing's been fine since then. Nothing. I've tried to forget but I can't, Stell. I can't forget anything from that day."

  Belinda's ears tuned in even more. That day. The day of the sailing accident?

  "Keep your voice down," Stellan said sharply.

  Jeff made no response.

  "You're not to say a word, Jeff. Do you hear me? Not a word."

  The hair on Belinda's back sprung up as Stellan hissed the last sentence.

  ~ * ~

  Bennett watched the young woman jiggle knob after knob, wandering through the maze of rooms. Now she just paused as if in concentration. Either that or she was drunk and confused. Or a thief pondering her next move. She was the worst thief in Portside if that was the case. He swiveled back and forth in his seat with his fingers laced over his stomach, watching the laptop screens. She was the only person wandering the hallways. All the other party-goers were actually at the party.

  So far this was the least exciting event he'd worked in ages. He was actually relieved when the rogue guest came into view in the hallway. He zoomed in on her so instead of taking up the bottom corner of the screen, she filled it. She still stood motionless, other than swaying a little on her feet. She could be lost. Or his camera could be stuck. He could get Finnegan over there to check things out, but he was just down the hall and could easily do it himself.

  Bennett sprung up, happy to have an excuse to move and quietly exited the room. He'd made a point to keep the room dark to avoid suspicion and stayed quiet as possible while monitoring things. He padded in the direction of the lost woman with his hands dug in his denim pockets. He found her around the corner in the same spot. At least now he knew his camera worked. He paused behind her, but she didn't notice. He could hear chatter somewhere nearby though. An eavesdropper?

  Bennett casually brushed by her, grazing her bare shoulder with his blazer. She jumped, started to screw up her nose in irritation, then seemed to think better of it and smiled. Bennett crooked up one corner of his mouth slightly in response, taking stock of her. She didn't look like a career woman or a party girl. And she looked worried. Her eyes searched his face, probably trying to place him. In the end, they were full of question marks.

  "Do you know where the bathroom is?" she whispered.

  Yep. Eavesdropper.

  He pointed in the opposite direction, then walked that way, glancing back as a cue to follow him. She hesitated, but he wasn't giving her a way out so she followed, taking about four steps for every one of his. They came to the bathroom door and stopped. She looked at Bennett, then at the door, then back to him, drumming her fingers on her bag. Finally, she switched hands, sticking out the right one toward him. "I'm Belinda Kittridge."

  Volunteering her name for the records. Excellent.

  "I honestly don't recognize you," she said. "Are you a friend of Stellan's?" Bennett shook her hand, mostly because she wasn't putting it down.

  "No," he said, and ignoring her shocked face, walked by her and down the hall just enough to fade into the shadows but still close enough to see what she did once he left.

  She squinted to make him out in the dark, putting her hands on her hips and jutting her chin out. Belinda stayed in that position for a few seconds, clearly hurling curse words in his general direction. Bennett licked his lips and waited. Su
re enough, once she felt safe that he was out of sight, she drifted back in the direction of the behind-closed-doors conversation. He marched back in her direction, making enough noise so she would hear, and then hid. Fawn Eyes scuttled back to the bathroom door, knocked faintly, and disappeared inside.

  Bennett chuckled to himself and meandered back to his post at the monitors, briefly checking in with Finnegan. He yawned, resting his head on his palms, unintentionally keeping his eye on the camera nearest the bathroom. Fawn Eyes finally emerged, peeked around her, and walked straight ahead. He leaned forward again, waiting for her to reappear. She did and stiffened when a man entered the picture. Bennett cocked his head. He'd seen that guy on the monitors earlier...with a woman he thought. They must have gone outside and reentered a different way because he never saw either of them again.

  Fawn Eyes shifted her weight several times in the interchange and took micro steps backward. But the man wasn't giving her an out and kept following her with every retreating step. Bennett flipped his phone around and around on the table, debating if he should give Finnegan a call to do a casual walk-by and give Belinda Kittridge an escape. As he was about to, Bennett's client appeared on screen, slapped the other man's back, then shook her hand. After a minute, his client seemed to give her an escape route, which she took in a hurry. His client kept an arm around his friend, leading him out of the camera's eye.

  Chapter 3

  Belinda speed-walked back toward the obnoxious music, which now made her head hurt. She ignored everyone she passed, searching for Victoria to say good-bye and then she was out of there. Victoria's red head finally appeared out of the crowd. She was leaning to one side, chatting with an unexpected guest. Belinda's stomach twisted. Out of one awkward situation and into an even worse one. Good thing she skipped the reunion.

  Lily Devore's dark eyes lit up with as much confusion as her own, but then immediately turned to disdain as she looked Belinda over. "Belinda." She said it like her name left a bad aftertaste. "I didn't expect to find you here."

  Belinda folded her arms. "Likewise."

  "Back for the reunion?"

  "No. You?"

  Lily hesitated. "No."

  "Here long?" Belinda seriously hoped she said no.

  "Just a short visit. You?" Lily raised one of her black eyebrows, her intense blue eye shadow shimmering under the lights passing over them.

  Belinda wanted nothing more than to be rid of this pointless exchange. "Undecided."

  Victoria glanced from Belinda to Lily and back. Then dead silence, unless you counted the bass shooting up through her toes.

  "Are you okay?" Victoria said, touching Belinda's arm. Her cheeks were flushed crimson.

  Belinda ran through the scenario in her mind and decided it was better to hold off telling her about it. She wasn't getting into that with Lily Devore present. "I'll tell you later."

  Victoria nodded in understanding. She could very well guess what happened anyway. She knew Belinda well enough.

  Belinda hugged her good-bye, in case she was huge before they saw each other again, and after exchanging glowers with Lily, she fast-tracked it to the nearest exit, which happened to be a French door leading out into the yard. Her heels sunk into the dirt and she dug through her purse for the valet stub.

  Lost in thought, Belinda was vaguely aware in that sixth-sense sort of way that someone else was present in the yard behind her, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the hand that clutched her arm. "Jeff!" Belinda landed unsteadily on one foot as her heel sunk into the turf. "You scared me!" She could feel her legs taking her backwards. Without giving a signal, they knew she wanted out.

  "Ssh!" Jeff glanced back at the house, his eyes darting around. Belinda couldn't see their color in the darkness, but she knew they were sometimes blue, sometimes gray depending on what he wore. "I need to talk to you about something. It's important. Can I come see you tomorrow afternoon?"

  Belinda's gut reaction was to find Kyle. But Kyle was home. "I—"

  "I promise it has nothing to do with all of that."

  Belinda tried to discern if Jeff was drunk. Though his eyes were frantic, they were also clear.

  "I trust you," he said. "And I need someone I can trust."

  Belinda wished she could feel as certain about him.

  Pieces of brown hair flopped at different angles around Jeff's face. His hair wasn't exactly long—on purpose anyway—but long like he needed a cut. "I know you don't want to see me, and I'm sorry for all I put you and your family through. I don't expect you not to hate me, but I do trust you. More than anyone I think."

  "That's an intense statement considering I haven't seen you in years." Belinda's fear was starting to be replaced by pity.

  "Please, Belinda. I have to tell someone. I can't live like this anymore."

  Belinda's heart throbbed. All Jeff had put her through...but look at him now. Look at what life had done to him. "What's bothering you?"

  Jeff swallowed. "It's about Mark." He lowered his voice so she almost couldn't hear him.

  Belinda's eyes went wide. "About the accident?" Belinda mimicked his voice level.

  He nodded emphatically, urgency rippling through his face.

  Belinda knew what Kyle would say but her gut told her to say yes. She nodded in consent. "Let's talk then."

  Jeff relaxed and the squall in his eyes calmed down. "Thank you, Belinda. Thank you so much." He went to reach for her, but stopped himself as she tensed up.

  Jeff half-smiled instead and after looking around him like a spy in trouble, he skittered back toward the side of the house. Belinda turned to go, catching sight of Lily's dark eyes watching her through the glass doors. Lily looked away quickly when Belinda made eye contact. Belinda fled before anyone else accosted her.

  She zoomed along the narrow curves and stone walls of Ocean Avenue in her Mini Cooper, darting across town back to her house. She calmed down almost the second she pulled into the driveway. The microwave beeped when she entered the kitchen, the smell of fake butter sitting in the air. Belinda crashed into one of the island stools, resting her still hot cheeks on the cool granite. Kyle ripped open the popcorn bag, shaking it in her direction. "Want some?" he said with his mouth full.

  "Sure."

  "The box is in the cabinet."

  Belinda lifted her head enough to throw the plastic spoon next to her at his face. She missed.

  Kyle grinned, shoving another handful into his mouth. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He pulled out the box and slid it in her direction. Belinda held her awkward position to keep glaring. "Still kidding." He held up his hands in surrender, ripped open the plastic bag and tossed the popcorn in the microwave. "Rough party, I take it."

  She felt safe to relax and went back to pressing her forehead on the counter, images of Jeff flashing in her mind. And Lily. Ugh. "You have no idea." Kyle could have an idea if she just told him who she bumped into, but she'd already dealt with his bad mood the night before and didn't want to go there again so soon.

  Kyle munched on the popcorn, licking his fingers. "If you're going to keep living here, you may need to scare up a new set of friends."

  "They're not really my friends. Well, except Victoria and Dan." Belinda lifted her head. "I haven't seen or spoken to the rest of them in forever."

  "And tonight no doubt assured you of why that is."

  "I can't answer that. I talked to like two people."

  "But that was enough."

  Belinda toyed with an earring. "Maybe."

  Kyle laughed. "Bels, it's like eight o'clock."

  "It's nine."

  "Fine, nine o'clock. Should you be home by nine o'clock? I don't think so. You hated it."

  Belinda grinned. "I'm old. Too old for late night partying."

  "Then you're old and you hated it." Belinda threw an escaped popcorn kernel at his face. It was barely spring and his skin already glowed. That the boy in the family had been sun kissed instead of her was a complete genetic miscalculation in her bo
oks. Kyle smiled. The boyish, aren't-I-adorable-so-you-have-to-let-it-slide smile he always pulled out when he'd been naughty. She swore he had a compartment of smiles in his brain, one for every occasion. Belinda had seen this one more than she could count. But it still worked.

  "For the record, you're older than me," Belinda said.

  And he'd won. "Only by a minute."

  "That's one minute I'm going to cash in for the rest of our lives." Belinda dumped the popcorn into a bowl. There was something wonderful about fake food when you were upset. "It's good you didn't go. I sensed the presence of a certain stalker."

  Kyle screwed up his nose the same way Belinda always did. "Carly the Klepto?" Kyle's voice wavered. "Sh–she's still around?" Carly the Klepto, the only woman who truly scared Kyle.

  "I think she is. You better watch it."

  "Yet another reason to seek out new friends."

  "Oh, I'm sure she's moved on by now."

  Kyle shivered. "With a nickname like that, I wouldn't be sure of anything." Belinda grinned happily. "Stop reveling in my natural fear of predatory women and eat your popcorn."

  Belinda licked her fingers, in a much better mood than when she first got home. "Have you started packing up your room yet?"

  Kyle made a face.

  "I got boxes for you and everything. All you have to do is throw your stuff inside of them. It's not difficult."

  Kyle made another face. Belinda rolled her eyes and flung an empty cardboard box at him. "Then you can help me pack up some of these pots and pans while you're just standing here."

  Kyle sighed and set the box on top of the island while Belinda pulled out pots and handed them to him to stack and box. They weren't going far—just to the carriage house out front while her parents had the house interior ripped apart and redone—so Belinda wasn't too worried about how everything was put together. Except for the plates. The plates and glasses were going to be a scene and a half with the dining room china cabinet. Thinking about the work involved there, Belinda started shoving things at Kyle more quickly. Otherwise she was going to have a panic attack just thinking about it.