Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

by Amy Saunders

  Kyle sat down near the bed, calmer now. "I saw Dan on my way in and he said she's all right. So what happened?"

  "I don't really know. One minute, we're laughing about something and then Vix screamed and we're flying into a store."

  "You hit a store?"

  "I think that's what it was but they tell me I have a mild concussion, so maybe it wasn't."

  Kyle placed his wrist on her forehead.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I don't know. I just feel like I need to do something and that's all I can think of right now."

  Belinda batted her brown eyes. "You could adjust my pillow. My head has hurt too much to bother, but it's hitting my neck funny." Belinda leaned forward so Kyle could move the pillow around.

  "Better?"

  "Much." Belinda managed a crooked smile.

  "What do you feel like for dinner?"

  "Pizza."

  "Then pizza it is." Kyle paused. "You know, Mom and Dad are not going to believe all of this."

  "Were we going to tell them?"

  "I don't know. You're the responsible one."

  "So that means I'm the one who gets to ruin their trip?"

  "Of course not. We're in this together."

  Belinda did not like that response. "Last time you said that, I wound up grounded. Alone."

  Kyle grinned in his goofy way. "I remember that. That's when we snuck out to go to that concert during finals when we were on lockdown. Who did we go to see?"

  "I don't even remember now, which proves just how so not worth it it was."

  "And James Lavallee. Was he worth it?"

  Belinda wanted to roll her eyes, but knew it would hurt too much. "That night was the first and last time I got grounded to be near James Lavallee."

  Kyle snickered. "I gave you fair warning about that one, so you can't blame me." Kyle's cheekbones tightened and he reached out and gripped her forearm. "You deserve better, Bels. Much, much better."

  Belinda assumed he meant James Lavallee and nodded her head weakly, feeling an urgent need to close her eyes again.

  "I'm going to look after you, I promise." Belinda thought she heard him say something else about nothing bad happening to her, but it sounded far away as Belinda faded back into sleep.

  Chapter 9

  Belinda had no idea what it meant to find all those photographs of her with Mark in Lily's dresser, and she'd forgotten she even stuffed them in her pants until they fell out when she changed after returning from the hospital. Her body creaked and groaned when she woke up that morning and she felt like she'd been run over by a truck.

  Ironically, it was almost true.

  Kyle stayed home that morning to make sure she was all right to be alone, but had to go into work that afternoon, putting her on lockdown for the rest of the day. He wouldn't be back for hours and Belinda wasn't sure she should tell him about the photos just yet anyway. Nor did she have the physical or emotional strength to bother.

  Physically, she and Victoria came out of the ordeal in okay shape. A little concussed with some scrapes and bruises, but that was all. Emotionally, Belinda felt rocked to her core. She always imagined her life flashing before her eyes in an event like that, but she didn't even have time. It was over before she saw the need for a flashback. When it came down to it, though, she only really cared about Victoria and her baby. She wanted to rip apart the person who hit them for Victoria's sake.

  After staying curled up in bed for hours to watch a stream of cooking shows and taking mental notes of recipes to search online for later, Belinda finally showered. She'd expected the "wing" they lived in to be completely barren, but her mom had left a basket in her bathroom (she and Kyle had separates, thank goodness) of toiletries and brand spanking new towels made from Egyptian cotton. Wrapped in the pink terry-cloth bathrobe also left in her wardrobe, she twisted her hair up into a messy bun just as the doorbell rang.

  Belinda padded downstairs, gripping the rail. They warned her that she'd experience dizziness for a while, but Belinda still wasn't quite prepared for it. Peering into the peephole, she hoped it wasn't the detective again. She took a step back. No, it was much worse than that. How did Bennett Tate find her? Belinda opened the door a crack, quickly running through any excuses that would work to keep from having to let him inside.

  She smiled broadly, involuntarily checking her hair to make sure it was still in place. Thank goodness she'd showered...now she just needed to put on clothes.

  One side of Bennett's mouth curled up and his eyes scanned her, finally settling on her eyes with a look Belinda thought was approval and maybe relief. They stared at each other for a minute, and he pushed a white pastry box into her hands. "I hope you like éclairs," he said.

  Belinda nodded, all of the reasons to refuse to let him in flying from her head. After all, she didn't want to seem rude and he'd gone to the trouble to buy pastries. She wanted to fly upstairs to change, but she could only poke one step at a time and found it even difficult to pick out clothes, her mind wandering off of its task every few seconds. She finally managed to get dressed and make it safely down the stairs for the third time that day with Bennett waiting at the bottom poised to catch her if she fell.

  "Are you all right?" he said, concern passing through his eyes as she recovered from her exertion.

  "Oh, I'm all right." Belinda sat down on the bottom step. Just until Bennett became one whole person again instead of two or three hologram-looking beings.

  He crouched down, scanning her face.

  "It's just the—consequences—of the concussion. I'll be okay in a sec." Once she felt more focused, she stood slowly and Bennett trailed her to the back deck.

  "How's your friend?"

  "About the same as me." She involuntarily glanced at the water. "Nothing major." Belinda looked down at her hands, realizing they were starting to shake, and stuck them behind her back. "She's having a baby, you know."

  Bennett nodded slowly.

  "I was told you were there when the accident happened," Belinda said. "I wonder if it's your voice that I heard. It's all really fuzzy, but I remember someone asking me if I was okay."

  "It could have been me. I was right behind you and got out to help."

  "So you must have left the Ocean Walk right after I did."

  Bennett replied with some vague answer and then shaded his eyes to get a good look at their view and nodded in approval. "Nice location. I like the gambrel roofs." He traced the shape in the air with his finger.

  Belinda's eyes lit up. "You know roofs?"

  Bennett's eyes glinted. "I know a little something about architecture."

  That got Belinda's attention. Bennett Tate was unfolding like origami. Deceptively simple on the surface. "I'd say thank you, but I had nothing to do with it. Do you live on the water?" It was a stupid question, but Bennett didn't seem to care.

  "Technically. But I have to drive or walk to see it."

  "It's a good thing we're surrounded by water then. You don't have to go nearly so far. I've been farther inland for too long and I couldn't stand it any longer." Belinda wanted to sink into the turf as she rambled on about nonsense and hoped she didn't sound like the snob she felt like. "So I presume you came by for something more than chitchat. Can I help you somehow?"

  Bennett pulled a leaf out of his pocket, twirling it the same way he had the day before. That dratted leaf. He knew. No wonder he was in security, nothing slipped his notice.

  Bennett drew in close, the tip of his nose almost touching hers. Belinda's heart flip-flopped, and she was pretty certain she couldn't blame the concussion for her sudden light-headedness. "You should leave the investigating to the police. Especially now with the accident."

  Belinda's eyes opened wide. "Do you think—?"

  "I do. Parker will find who did this. But you need to lie low."

  Belinda's heart might have slowed up but her mind still worked. She glanced sideways. "Aren't you going to ask me what I was doing there?"

 
Bennett's cool eyes warmed up again. "Is that the right question?"

  Belinda didn't expect that response. "What question would you like me to ask?"

  "I'm more curious about the 'why' momentarily."

  Belinda stuck her thumbs in and out of her back pockets, debating if she dared tell him. It was all itching inside of her and here was a perfectly willing listener who might know something she did not. Not that he would be as willing to share. Still, it was awfully tempting.

  "You see," she said, leaning into one hip, "Lily was at the party, which is very strange considering she hasn't been around in, oh, about ten years. Do you know about Mark?"

  Bennett nodded.

  "Okay, well, backtracking a little to not too long after that happened, Lily left to go to school out of state and she just sort of fell off the radar. The accident shook everyone up and most of us drifted apart not long afterward. In any case, it was clear at the funeral that whatever connection she had to Stellan, Jeff, and the others was done for."

  "How do you know?" His gray eyes had grown more intense as she spoke. Good. She had his attention.

  "It's not like she stood up and announced that she would have nothing to do with them anymore, but I saw her and Jeff in some sort of intense discussion after the funeral, apart from everyone. I don't know what they said to each other, but neither of them was happy. But they were unhappy in different ways. Does that make sense?"

  "Not at all."

  "How about this: Jeff looked despondent and Lily looked angry."

  "Better."

  Belinda inhaled. "I think Jeff was just seeking forgiveness, but I don't think that was the right time to do it."

  "Would it have been the right time at the party?"

  Now he had her attention. Belinda tried not to seem too eager for information. "It has been a long time since Mark died. On the other hand, death is a powerful cloud." Belinda didn't want to ask what he knew directly so tossed out some bait instead. "I may have seen Jeff and Lily having a similar conversation at the party to the one I witnessed at Mark's funeral."

  "Outside?"

  Belinda's eyes lit up. "On the gazebo." Oh, forget it. She stunk at taking back doors. "Did you see them? It was dark so I can't be certain."

  Bennett frowned. "I didn't have cameras or people on that part of the lawn." His hands dropped to his sides. "But we did see them leave the house together at one point."

  "Oh." Belinda looked disappointed. "Why not?"

  "Stellan didn't hire us for perimeter security. Only indoors, mostly to protect the bedrooms."

  "Which were all locked." Belinda folded her arms across her chest.

  "You would know. You tested them all."

  Belinda narrowed her eyes. "I was looking for the stupid bathroom! It's not my fault Stellan's house is a labyrinth." She tapped her foot. "You know the fact that Stellan didn't have...perimeter security?" Bennett nodded approval. "That's either unfortunate or very convenient."

  "I think it's both," Bennett said, holding up the leaf again. He was not going to let that go, was he? "Now what were you doing snooping in Lily Devore's house?"

  Belinda screwed up her face in indignation. "I was not snooping in anyone's house! Do I look like the sort that waltzes into people's homes and rifles through their stuff?"

  "Yes."

  Belinda huffed. "Thank you for taking a moment to think about your answer."

  "It's a simple deduction. You eavesdrop and you lie about your identity. Why shouldn't you snoop?"

  "I..." Belinda felt the feistiness fizzle out of her, but straightened her back anyway. "You don't even know me."

  His lip did that thing again where it curled up ever so slightly. "What did you find?"

  "Nothing...I didn't have time." Belinda looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Don't you believe me?"

  "You were distracted, frazzled I would say, by something you found in that house. You did not look like that because you almost got caught."

  Of course he was right, but it was still irritating that he could figure all of that out just by looking at her. Belinda hesitated. "Just some old photographs. Of Mark."

  Bennett's eyes probed hers and she fought the urge to look away.

  Bennett accepted that. Not that he believed that was the whole story, but he would respect her refusal to divulge everything.

  "There might be something else," Belinda said, her escape down the Ocean Walk reminding her of something. "There is a back way up to the Mayhew's home that bypasses the front gate. It's not obvious, but we used to go that way as kids. Do you think the police already know about it?"

  Bennett pulled out his phone to find out. She could hear Jonas' muted replies from where she stood and he sounded eager for Belinda to show them as soon as possible. While Bennett wrapped up their conversation, her second visitor in a day rounded the corner of the house.

  Jarrett held a balloon with "Get Well Soon!" and a rainbow across the front in one hand, and a bouquet of miscellaneous flowers in the other. Belinda felt bad for tricking him at the market like that, but it might look like she hadn't right now anyway. His face lit up at seeing her.

  As soon as he saw Bennett, however, his happiness balloon popped.

  Nervous now, Belinda introduced him to Bennett. He shook Bennett's hand, his blue eyes iced over. How awkward was this? Belinda wanted to say something to make Jarrett feel better, but she was starting to feel dizzy. And, well, faint.

  Bennett caught her before she tumbled to the porch floor. Jarrett ran to her as Bennett scooped her up and carried her to the closest soft surface—the couch in the living room, visible through the window. Bennett cupped her cheek with his palm as Belinda's eyes flickered.

  "She'll be okay," Bennett said. "I think you should go home now."

  Jarrett stuck to his place at Belinda's head. "Maybe you should go home."

  Bennett just stared at him. "Come back to visit tomorrow. She'll be up for company then."

  "What about you? You're company."

  "Right now I'm help until her brother gets home."

  Jarrett's lips formed a hard line as he held Bennett's gaze. "The flowers need water."

  "I'll find a vase."

  Jarrett pushed himself up off the floor and stomped out as Belinda came to.

  Belinda blinked to life, her eyes foggy. "Oh," she said weakly. "Are you ready to go see the path now?"

  Bennett suppressed his desire to laugh. "Maybe tomorrow. But you're not going anywhere just yet."

  Admittedly relieved, Belinda rested her head on the pillow, Bennett's gray eyes the last thing she saw for a while as she dropped off to sleep.

  ~ * ~

  Belinda narrowly got out the door the next night without telling Kyle about the path to Stellan's. Bennett had walked halfway to the front door when she popped out and jogged toward his truck. Well, jogged was exaggerating. She moved faster than a snail's pace. A really slow snail's pace.

  "You didn't have to get out," she said, peeking behind her and hauling herself up into his black SUV. She could see Kyle poking his head around the blinds in the front windows, but had to close her eyes to let the dizziness settle.

  Bennett casually got back in and followed her line of sight. "Is he going to follow us?"

  Belinda laughed. Bennett's lips curled up, pleased that he elicited that reaction. "He can just be a little protective." And she was evasive and he's suspicious, Belinda thought.

  Jonas beat them to the turnaround where Belinda had parked in the past, leaning up against a gray sedan and playing with his smartphone. He nodded to Bennett, smiling widely as Belinda stepped out of the passenger's side. "You've been kidnapped," he said, shaking her hand. Belinda looked at the path encased in shadow and lit only by a partial moon.

  "Could the person have had a flashlight?" she said dubiously.

  Jonas grinned, waving a flashlight to and fro. "Bennett will go with you, honey."

  That placated her, so she took to the slope.

  Belinda too
k the lead, self-conscious with Bennett walking behind her. She hoped her clothes behaved and that the jeans she wore actually flattered her butt. And why was she worried about him staring at her butt anyway? Oh, no. What if he was staring at her butt? Belinda tugged at the hem of her shirt, trying to will it lower.

  They were on an uphill climb that wound from the turnaround to the Mayhew property. Wild flowers and sea grasses made it look like it led nowhere. But it was a good workout for your thighs and a bit difficult to navigate in ballet flats. There were no lights on that side of the property and a few trees nearby let you safely bob from the wild grasses to the trunks without having to step out into the open.

  She found it actually wasn't as dark as it seemed at the bottom. Enough of the moonlight reflected off of the water, shooting a decent glow in front of her feet. They made it to the top of the property and stood toward the cliff.

  "What if Jeff was just standing there, thinking or something?" Belinda looked out at the cliff's edge soberly. "He could have been lost in thought and not even realized someone had come up this side of the property. With the waves, his own distraction, it would have been all too easy to just push him off." She demonstrated, throwing her arms out in front of her. "You were right about no one noticing from inside either." She pointed to where the party had taken place. "It's too far out. And that music was insanely loud."

  "Everything all right up there?" Jonas said through the walkie-talkie he gave her.

  Belinda searched for the right button to push, turning it to different angles to make it out in the light. Bennett slipped it from her palm, holding it to his mouth. "We're fine. It was no problem getting up here."

  "Excellent. You can come down then before someone thinks you're trying to break in."

  Bennett rolled his eyes and stuffed the walkie-talkie in his jacket pocket, pulling out a mini flashlight. He flicked it on, shining it ahead of them.

  "You come prepared, don't you?" The light reflected off of something and Belinda started to reach out to grab Bennett's arm when the world started to spin. She hit a pebble that started a landslide that sent her feet up and the rest of her down. She hit bottom with a grunt and Bennett whirled around to help her, whistling for Jonas.