Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

by Amy Saunders

  Belinda sighed. "This might be a complete waste of time."

  "Nonsense. You're a Kittridge, remember?"

  Belinda cringed. "I actually said that, didn't I?"

  "Yep." Victoria licked chocolate from her fingers. "But he enjoyed it immensely."

  "Do you really think that?"

  "Absolutely. He basically said so himself. After all, you, Belinda Kittridge," Victoria dropped her voice an octave, "are never a waste of time." She pondered that. "You know, I bet he knew it was us all along."

  "And he still came?"

  "Why not? He'd get to see you."

  Belinda didn't want to admit it right then, but she kind of liked that idea.

  After close to an hour of twirling her hair, discussing possible names for Belinda's shop, and eating one of Victoria's candy bars, the gate finally slid open and Lily zipped out of her driveway in her silver convertible. Belinda and Victoria hunched over as she passed, just hoping Lily didn't see them. As soon as she'd disappeared around the bend, Belinda jumped out of the car.

  "Keep watch!" she said before slamming the door.

  Victoria watched as Belinda squeaked through the gate before it trapped her inside. Belinda caught her breath and marched around to the back entrance, peering inside where it was dark and empty. She found a side window open and with a little pressure, popped the screen out and climbed through. Belinda dashed up the stairs to find Lily's bedroom. Not that she knew what she was looking for. Just any clues to what Lily's ulterior motive could be for coming back to Portside. Notes, tickets, receipts. Anything.

  Belinda found the room she suspected belonged to Lily. She glanced out the window and all she could see was sky—and the occasional head bobbing along the Ocean Walk beyond the backyard. The house was insanely quiet except for the chatter of walkers blown up by the wind.

  After peeking into a few dresser drawers, Belinda found an envelope buried under some clothes. Money? She pulled it out out of curiosity. Inside was a thick stack of photographs. Belinda flipped through them, the first few just of Mark.

  Belinda sighed. He had been a handsome guy. Bronze year-round like Kyle with milk chocolate brown hair that had the slightest bit of curl at the ends. And blue eyes. But not light blue like most people. They were dark like indigo. She wondered what he would look like now. Where he would be. Who he would be with...

  The stack slipped from her grasp, all one-hundred photos splaying out onto the wood floor. Belinda panicked, trying to corral them with her palms when she caught glimpses of herself in a couple of the photos. Then she noticed she was in several of them. Looking closer, she realized she was in almost every single photograph, except the first few.

  Her heart raced. There were photos at different times of the day in different locations on different days with one common denominator: Mark. Mark was with her in every photo.

  Then Victoria whistled.

  It was the signal they'd used years ago when doing things they shouldn't have been doing. Belinda frantically gathered the photos, sticking two down her waistband. She stuffed the envelope back where she found it and slammed the dresser shut, flying out of the room and down the stairs and back out the side window, hastily setting the screen back in place.

  Belinda ran straight for the edge of the property toward the Ocean Walk. She turned sideways to sidle between two tall bushes that acted as a fence, getting entangled in the branches and finally pushing and pulling herself free on the other side and hopped down. Belinda spun around, not sure which way to go and headed to her left. She could walk to the next street entrance and circle back around.

  She speed-walked in that direction, hoping Victoria had not driven home since Belinda didn't even have a cell phone with her. She almost tripped going down some stone steps and at the end, standing under one of the low-lying arches, was Bennett Tate.

  "You!" she blurted out. "What are you doing here?" She had hoped to sound casual, but failed from the startled look in his eyes.

  Bennett surveyed her, either confused or annoyed by her appearance. He got up close, his lips pulled tight and eyes hard, and reached his hand toward her. Belinda held her breath and tilted back. He plucked a leaf from her hair and brought it up near his eyes, twirling it. Belinda's eyes went wide, envisioning what she must look like after fighting with the bush. Her hands automatically went to her head, feeling for the damage. Of course, what could be worse than the paint smudge on her nose?

  "Been in the woods?" he said.

  Belinda laughed rather unintentionally, stopped herself, and tried to answer rationally. "My hair must have gotten caught in one of the overhanging bushes. You know, along some of the walls that kind of stick out." Bennett's expression didn't let on whether he believed her. "Are you out for a walk?"

  Bennett tucked the leaf into his palm but stayed a mere breath away. He looked pretty much the way he had the day before, except he'd skipped shaving, which, naturally, only made him hotter. Meantime, she looked like Bush Woman. "I'm thinking," he said. "But I like to walk when I do that."

  "Thinking about what?"

  Bennett's gray eyes held that little spark in the back. She might have missed it, but he was standing so close. "I was thinking about your unfortunate friend." He aimed the leaf in the direction of the cliffs jutting out beyond the ones they stood on.

  "He was unfortunate," Belinda said, regaining some calmness. She licked her lips, rough on her tongue, and dropped her eyes. "I...I have to go. My friend is waiting for me." She tucked hair behind her ears that blocked her vision and stepped to the side to walk around Bennett who blocked her path. She squeezed her back to the stone to pass him. "It was nice meeting you again!" She jogged toward the street entrance, praying he didn't follow her.

  Thankfully, Victoria was on her wavelength and waited for her in the turnaround by one of the Walk's entrances. Victoria looked horrified as Belinda crashed in the passenger's seat. "What happened to you?"

  Belinda flipped open the visor mirror and shrieked. "I just stood there talking to a man looking like this!"

  "What kind of man?"

  Belinda pursed her lips.

  "Well, your level of panic should coincide with the person who saw you. Now, if it was someone who's friends with your father, do you really care that much how you looked? No, of course not. So what kind of man are we talking about?"

  Belinda wanted to cry. "The kind that we trick into coming to your house."

  It took Victoria a second, but then she lit up. "I'm sure he didn't notice your appearance." She did a three-point turn and pulled out to the main road.

  Belinda grimaced. "I'm positive it was the total opposite. He pulled a leaf from my hair and then asked if I'd been in the woods."

  "What did you do anyway?"

  Belinda explained her foray through the perimeter bushes and then how Bennett was walking toward her. For the moment, she decided to keep the photos to herself.

  "So what did you tell him you were doing?"

  "I'm not sure I ever got around to it. I sort of unintentionally turned the conversation on him." Belinda tossed leaves out the window as they drove.

  "I guess you remembered the whistle?"

  "Summer before senior year. Saved by the whistle as my father showed up while Matt Reardon mouth attacked me on our non-date though I was supposed to be at the movies with you."

  "Saved you on two accounts."

  "Matt Reardon. Can you believe I spent an entire school year daydreaming about him? Then I finally get close to all my dreams coming true, and all I wanted to do the entire night was kill him. Came this close to pushing him overboard when he tried to kiss me."

  "Hormones, darling. We all had them."

  "At least your infatuations made sense. Every boy I liked in high school turned out to be a plague upon mankind."

  "It's a good thing you left them all behind. Now you're free for Hot Security Man."

  Belinda shifted her eyes sideways.

  "Just sayin', I don't think he's a pla
gue upon mankind."

  "Not yet."

  "You're older now. You can spot the plagues before you get emotionally invested." Victoria winked, detouring downhill toward downtown on the divided four lane road.

  As she pushed down on the brakes nearing a red light, Victoria glanced in her rearview mirror to see a car barreling toward them.

  Chapter 8

  Bennett watched in horror as the car that had just cut in front of him bashed into the black Fiat, sending it careening through the intersection and straight for the corner of a shop. Fear and panic replaced his idle wondering what Belinda had done inside that house and why. He ran toward the smashed Fiat, grateful he'd followed them from the Ocean Walk.

  He yelled at the dazed shop owner to call for help, swinging Belinda's door open. "Can either of you hear me?" he said. He thought Belinda moaned and her friend didn't make a peep. He couldn't help them and just stood there in frustration, waiting for the paramedics.

  Belinda's eyes flickered as Bennett finally heard sirens. Fortunately, one of the police stations was not far away. Belinda and Victoria started to come to as the help arrived and Bennett was forced out of the picture as the police moved in and the paramedics braced up the two women and helped them into the ambulances. Belinda was in good hands and he made sure that they knew where to get in touch with Kyle before they whisked them away to the hospital.

  Bennett glanced around as they drove off, catching sight of a camera under the overhang of the shop's roof. His eyes widened and he scrambled to get to the owner, whom he knew. The poor guy just stood in disbelief where the nose of the Fiat stabbed through the side of his shop.

  "Is that camera working?" Bennett said, his arm stretched up at the device.

  "Y–yes." The gray-haired man blinked like he answered before he truly understood the question. "Oh...oh!" He did a three-sixty in place and waved Bennett into the flower shop and toward the back where the camera connected to a computer. "I see what you want." He scuttled out of the way so Bennett could take a seat. "This thing might have seen the accident."

  Bennett nodded while he clicked on the mouse, rewinding the footage to just minutes earlier. His heart raced waiting for them to come into view. The shop owner gripped the back of the seat, bending over, watching with the same fixated horror as he got to see how the car landed in his front window. Bennett rewound.

  "That truck hit those two girls on purpose!" Mr. Trebor said in shock.

  Bennett zoomed and froze on the truck that hit them. The camera caught it sideways, but other shop cameras on the strip may have gotten clearer footage.

  Bennett watched it again with Jonas minutes later, knowing he would regret telling Jonas about trailing Belinda. But he might as well get it over with. Jonas would be all over that sooner or later.

  "I don't know what Belinda found," Bennett said. "But I'm positive it freaked her out."

  "How did you come across this anyway?"

  Bennett hesitated. If he told the truth, he'd never hear the end of it. "I...I've been following her."

  Jonas' grin transitioned into a bittersweet smile. "I'll find out how they're doing after this."

  Bennett wanted to sigh in relief. Well, he could do that when he got home. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome. We're checking around the intersection to see if there's any hope of other cameras filming the accident."

  Bennett nodded vigorously. "I think there's an excellent chance of that. I've consulted with some of the businesses here and recommended outdoor cameras."

  "If any of them listened to you, I'd be tempted to marry you."

  "It's not mutual."

  Jonas chuckled. "Fine. What if I said that Belinda would be tempted to marry you?" All Jonas could hear was some sort of grunt or growl. "We've got this. So," Jonas said, leaving his people to collect the video footage from Mr. Trebor, "you did your own little surveillance on Fawn Eyes, eh?"

  Bennett wanted to groan.

  Jonas smiled. "Why not? You started stalking her at the party. May as well keep going."

  "I did not stalk her."

  "All right, all right. Stalking carries ugly connotations. Let's say...observing." Jonas and Bennett marched out of the back of the building by the dumpsters. "You know what's weird?"

  "You?"

  Jonas snorted. "As if I would take your word on that. But seriously. So far almost no one at that party saw Jeff. Unless they're all lying, he wasn't ever a part of the actual event. He was completely MIA."

  Bennett scratched his chin. He needed to shave. "I get the feeling that Jeff didn't go there for the party itself. Something else was afoot."

  "Well, we have Jeff who had been gone for years. And apparently Lily Devore is the same thing. Then there's the Kittridges. But they all manage to be around for this seemingly random party."

  "And the first two are connected to Mark Nichols and the infamous sailing accident."

  "So are Fawn Eyes and her brother."

  Bennett's eyes shot open briefly.

  "Her brother sailed with those guys and Belinda herself had an unpleasant history with Jeff." Jonas squinted into the horizon. "I think I need to dig deeper into this sailing accident. It's looking like a core ingredient."

  "And Belinda?"

  Jonas eyed his friend in amusement. "Calm down. Fawn Eyes is not on my hit list. I wouldn't sick her on you if I thought she was homicidal."

  Bennett frowned.

  "Oh, boy," Jonas said. "I've got you thinking with that remark, haven't I?" Jonas lingered by his car, jangling his keys. "Belinda doesn't remind me of...you know who...not even a little bit."

  "We're not in high school," Bennett said. "You can say her name."

  "Mmm...I'd call her something, but it wouldn't be her name."

  Bennett peeked around, lowering his voice. "When I'm with Belinda, I don't hesitate at all. That's what scares me."

  "Yeah, I know. You save the frowny face and freaking out for me."

  Bennett furrowed his brows. "I do not freak out."

  "Oh yes, you do. You may not say much, but I know your mind's whirring." Jonas nodded at a fellow officer passing by. "Nothing says you have to go all raging bull on this. Part of the reason you got into such hot water before was because you made a snap judgment, and it was wrong."

  "Thanks."

  "Hey, you know that better than I do. So don't make a snap decision this time. Get to know her...progressively. If Belinda's not the charming pixie we both think she is right now, time will show her up."

  "I have trouble with...progressive."

  "Yeah, I know that too."

  Bennett pushed a pebble around with his foot, hoping the ambulances had arrived at the hospital already. "She's surprised me from the start, and it hasn't stopped. That's the only reason I'm even considering it."

  "You can't write people off just because of their, you know, class or whatever. One bad apple, etcetera."

  Bennett digested that. Jonas was usually right about these things. "So...progressively?"

  "Progressively. You can do it; I have faith in you."

  Bennett grunted.

  "Back to the more official side of things, we found evidence on Jeff's body that he may have been in a fight recently."

  "Really? Did you find bruising?"

  "Better. Some blood under his fingernails."

  "He grappled with his opponent then."

  "What about her brother? Kyle?" Jonas said. "He was in with this whole group, and with Jeff Clark back in town, it seems likely he would have shown up at the party despite history."

  "Kittridge is not on camera at any time, and I've spoken to Finn and Rachel and neither of them spotted Kyle."

  Jonas sighed. "It's a real annoyance that you didn't have guys outside for this one."

  "You can take that up with my client."

  "I may have to. It's convenient that he didn't hire you for that on a night someone gets killed on his property." Jonas thought about that. "You could get more about Mayhew's history�
��all of them no doubt—from Belinda."

  Bennett frowned.

  "Don't look so irritated. Deep down, you know you're thrilled to have an excuse to talk to her again. And you should bring her something, flowers for example, because of the accident."

  Bennett peeked up at Jonas. "Should I?"

  "If you value her good opinion, then yes, you should." He clapped his hands together. "Divide and conquer. I handle the official interviews, and you keep chitchatting with the lovely insider. We're bound to figure out how this guy wound up on the bottom of a long drop."

  Bennett arched an eyebrow. He wanted to argue Jonas' constant references to Belinda's physical appearance, but with images of her from his afternoon meeting on the Ocean Walk flashing into his mind, he found himself at a loss for words.

  ~ * ~

  Kyle speed-walked down the corridor, his sneaker squeaking on the white linoleum. The smell hit him first. Rubbing alcohol and strong cleaners cutting into his sinuses. He zigzagged around nurses holding charts and pushing laptops, finally reaching the desk in the ER after sidestepping a boy on a stretcher guarded by two police officers. He glanced around to see if he could find Belinda, but fixed his eyes on the desk after glimpsing a woman behind a green and white curtain with tubes protruding from her nose.

  He blinked sweat and grime from his eyes and tried to focus on the nurse in front of him. She pointed to the glass cubicle where he'd find his sister. It felt like the kind of place where you would most definitely try to escape from in a sci-fi movie.

  "What happened?" Kyle flailed his arms out. For a second, he clearly resembled his twin sister. Belinda held her head, the throbbing that had just started to tone down returning. She put a finger to her lips to tell him to quiet down. "Sorry, but I've been panicking since they called me. Are you hurt?"

  "Not seriously. I guess I blacked out briefly, but it must not be fatal because they're letting me go soon." Belinda paused. Talking only increased the headache. "I'm worried about Victoria."