by Cindy Bell
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that. Yes, I guess I’ll head to the vet. Do you think if I make a report to the shelter, they’ll want to take him?” Christian held the leash so tight that the skin across his knuckles blanched white.
Ally stared at him for a long moment. His tone was almost childlike, and his expression was just as vulnerable.
“Not if you offer to provide him with a place to stay. I’m sure they’d rather he be in a comfortable home. Are you thinking about keeping him if he’s a stray?” Her heart softened some. Maybe she’d misjudged him from the beginning. If he was being kind to an animal, that earned him big points in her book.
“Yes, maybe. I think I might be sticking around longer than I expected. So, maybe you can give me the rundown about this place?” He wrapped the leash around his hand and studied her. “What am I getting myself into?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?” She smiled as the dog licked her hand.
“What I mean is, what’s the lay of the land? Who is really in charge here? I already know you have the best detective in the area in your pocket.” Christian gave her an exaggerated wink.
“In my pocket?” Ally laughed. “I wouldn’t say that. As far as who is in charge, I guess, the old families of this town have some influence. Many people have lived here for generations.”
“Like you and your grandmother?” He glanced up at the sign that hung above her head.
“Yes, like us.” Ally smiled some. “But many go back a lot longer.”
“Like the McArtles?” Christian cleared his throat as he met her eyes. “I hear they’re a very well-known family.”
“Yes, they are. They’re probably one of the oldest families.”
“And the wealthiest in the area.” He raised an eyebrow. “Well, at least they used to be, right?”
“Uh, perhaps.” Ally nodded. “I can’t be sure if they were ever the wealthiest, I’m not really interested in that kind of thing. Growing up here, people were just people, you know?”
“I guess.” He tilted his head towards the shop. “It’s easy to have that point of view when you’re part of the protected class. Grandmothered-in?” He grinned.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ally folded her arms across her chest as she stared at him.
“I’m not talking about anything really. It was just a joke. I’ve heard around town that Billy is the main suspect. But he’s not in custody?” Christian shook his head. “I know that money talks, I guess I just thought that things around here might be different.”
“If there was sufficient evidence to make an arrest, he would be in handcuffs right now. Our police force is spectacular, and they pay attention to detail.” Ally couldn’t help but feel a little defensive. Christian was a stranger looking at her hometown through critical eyes.
“Hm. Seems to me like they should have the details covered by now. But I’ll trust your instincts on that. Luke sure hasn’t missed a single detail about you, has he?” His eyes warmed as he studied her. “What’s the real deal, Ally? Who can I pay off to make sure the dog stays with me?”
“Look, just mention to the vet that you want to foster him, I’m sure he’ll be able to help you. There are honest and dishonest people in every town, but generally the people around here are honest. You’re not going to get anywhere with bribery.”
“All right. I guess every small town takes some time to modernize. I’ve noticed the values around here seem to be hyper-traditional. Not much leeway for the adventurous crowd, hmm?” Christian laughed as the dog tugged at the leash. “Cool it, Max. We’ll get going soon.”
“There is quite a collection of senior citizens here, that does create a more traditional atmosphere. But it also gives us a tight-knit and compassionate community. Good luck with Max.”
“Thanks.” He looked into her eyes. “Next time, I’ll stop in for some candy. For now, I’ve got to get this pup some more exercise.”
“Enjoy.” She laughed as the dog licked her palm again. “It looks like you’ve found a good friend.”
“Maybe more than one.” He caught her eye one last time, then continued on along the sidewalk.
As strange as Ally thought the conversation was, she was glad she had the chance to get to know him better. It made her determination to find out about his past even stronger. As she stepped back into the shop, his words swirled around in her head. He had a way of complimenting and insulting in the same breath. That made her uneasy. But he was apparently there to stay, whether she liked it or not.
After Ally closed up, she headed home. While dinner cooked in the oven, she received a call from her grandmother.
“I had a chance to speak with my friend at the courthouse.”
“What did she have to say?”
“The oddest thing, Billy dropped the lawsuit against Josh’s estate, on the day of the picnic.” Charlotte relayed the remainder of the details.
“So, you’re thinking guilty conscience?” Ally narrowed her eyes as she considered that possibility.
“I’m not sure, he might have dropped it before the picnic. I don’t see how dropping the lawsuit now makes any sense.” Charlotte looked at her watch. “Oh dear, I have to go. Jeff has just arrived.”
“It’s all right, go enjoy, Mee-Maw.” She hung up the phone and walked over to the oven. The moment she opened the oven both Peaches and Arnold bolted into the kitchen. She laughed and shooed them away from her legs as they snorted and meowed with excitement.
“Listen, you have your own food. You two are such beggars.” Ally rolled her eyes. “Let me get you both a little treat, hmm?” As she rummaged in the pantry for a treat for each of them they clamored behind her. Once she’d tossed them each a treat, she headed back to the table. As she sat down, her phone buzzed with a message from Luke. He wouldn’t be able to make it for dinner. She hoped that meant he had a lead on the case. With Billy looking less and less plausible as a suspect, she wasn’t sure in which direction to turn.
* * *
After eating dinner alone, well, alone except for the hungry eyes that fixated on Ally from the moment she sat down, she settled in front of her computer. It was time to do some research. With Billy being a dead end for the moment, she decided to go down another path. If there was something to know about Christian, then she was going to find out exactly what it was. As she began to dig through information about him, she was surprised by the number of articles he’d written. They spanned various topics, and went back several years. It was clear that journalism was his passion, and that he’d been trying to break into the industry for some time. However, there was nothing that would indicate he would be involved in a murder. As she sifted a little deeper, she came across a surprising revelation. In the past five years, Christian had been accused by three different news outlets of fabricating stories. She skimmed over the information until she came to the meat of the story.
He has used outright lies to increase his readership and validate his opinions and that can no longer be tolerated.
Ally could see why Christian would have to move around a lot if that was the kind of reputation he’d gained in recent years. How could he create stories just to get attention? In some ways she could understand it. Perhaps he just felt desperate to finally ‘make it’ as a reporter. But in others she couldn’t. Journalism was all about truth, revealing it, promoting it, and certainly always reporting it. But that wasn’t the case when it came to Christian. It appeared as if some part of him accepted that it was more important to gain fame than it was to be authentic. She printed out a few of the articles about his reputation, then continued to search through other information about him.
As Ally perused his public postings she found that there was a certain void of personal information. There was no mention of a girlfriend or wife in any of his posts. There were no pictures of him with a woman. She could only guess that he had been single for quite some time. That was a little surprising to her, as he was handsome, and quite charming.
She could only guess that he was single by choice. But what would drive him to make that choice? Did he have a bad experience that made him bitter and resistant to relationships? Had he sworn off women for another reason? Or was he just so much of a player that he didn’t stay with a woman long enough to take a picture with her?
It wasn’t just the lack of a relationship. It seemed as if he had very few friendships. Perhaps he just didn’t have much of an online presence or preferred to keep his personal life private, but she found that difficult to believe considering the number of articles he had floating around out there.
Ally also found some history of activism. Christian had been present at a protest against police violence two years before. However, the article that he wrote about that protest was a scathing attack on the victim who had been the catalyst for the protest. It wasn’t as if he even showed both sides. Instead, Christian attacked the victim for being vulnerable, and engaging in behavior that put them at risk. By the time she finished reading the article, her stomach was in knots, both of anger and anxiety. If this was who Christian really was, she didn’t want to welcome him into her town. She wanted him to get as far away from it as he could. Not willing to read another word, she closed her computer and prepared for bed. If Christian was the dangerous man she was beginning to believe that he was, then there would be a lot of work to do the next day. She planned to suggest to Luke to run a background check on him, and maybe even pay him a visit, just to keep him on his toes.
What she couldn’t figure out was what motive Christian would have to kill Josh. He certainly seemed callous enough to commit the crime, but why would he do it? Was there some connection between himself and Josh that she didn’t know about? She planned to dig as deep as she could.
As if on cue, Peaches jumped up onto the bed with her. The cat prodded around on the blanket for a few minutes, then curled up next to Ally. She ran her fingers through her fur. Peaches could always tell when Ally was going to have trouble sleeping. She remembered the way Christian described her hiding out by his trashcans. Peaches was not one to dig for scraps unless they were especially delicious. Was she there for another reason?
“Were you trying to tell me something, little kitty?” She scratched behind her ears. “Is Christian the killer?”
Peaches blinked sleepily at her then turned her head towards her fingertips for more scratches. If she was hiding some secret knowledge, she wasn’t giving it up. Still, Peaches was a great judge of character. She doubted that if he was the killer she would have allowed him to carry her. But Christian was a charming fellow, maybe he could charm cats, too. She laughed at the thought, closed her eyes and did her best to fall asleep.
No matter what, Christian seemed like a sketchy character, and if he was going to make Blue River his home then she wanted to know as much about him as she could find out. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, another face drifted into her mind. Frank. Frank who had a lot to lose if Josh decided he didn’t want to open the business they talked about. She tried to push the thought out of her head. Frank was in the water with him, Frank was his friend, Frank didn’t even have a bow and arrow with him as far as she knew. As far as she knew. She sighed as the swirl of suspects began to parade through her mind again. Billy, Frank, and Christian. Maybe one of them knew more than they were saying. She just had to figure out which one.
Chapter 11
After a pleasant dinner, Jeff drove Charlotte back to Freely Lakes. He lived there as well, but a few buildings away.
He walked her to her door. She smiled at him as he leaned close to kiss her cheek.
“Ah, there it is, finally.” He stood back and looked into her eyes.
“There is what?” She studied him.
“That beautiful smile. I’ve been looking for it all night.” He smiled slightly. “You’ve been so preoccupied.”
“I’m sorry.” Charlotte grimaced. “I tried to focus on our time together, but I got a little distracted.”
“I always want to hear what’s on your mind. Josh’s death is something that’s on all of our minds.”
“Yes, I suppose it is. I just wanted to be able to enjoy my time with you, without that becoming the focus of our conversation. But I see, I failed at that.” She laughed softly. “I can’t help that you’re so perceptive.”
“It’ll all be settled soon.” Jeff wrapped his arms around her. “Once it is, you’re going to be relieved of all of this tension.”
“I certainly hope so.” She pursed her lips a moment, then looked into his eyes. “What if it isn’t solved, Jeff? What if this crime just hangs over us, over this entire town? Is it really something that we can just move on from?”
“Let’s not think about that just yet. There’s still time to figure all of this out. We just have to have a little faith in our great police force to handle this. Hmm?” He placed a light kiss on her forehead. “For now, the doctor prescribes a good night’s rest, and a delicious breakfast in the morning. Don’t let all of this derail your enjoyment of life, Charlotte.”
“Ah, you’ve been reading those self-help books again, haven’t you?” Charlotte grinned. “I love it when you speak with such inspiration.”
“Oh, maybe I should continue?” He laughed. “Tomorrow.” He pulled her close for a hug, then he waited until she stepped inside her apartment. She closed and locked the door behind her. As much as she wanted to believe what Jeff had to say about things working out, she also felt as if justice couldn’t be served unless someone made the extra effort to serve it.
It seemed a bit late to call Ally, so she thought about what she knew so far. The more she thought about Billy’s choice to drop the lawsuit, the more she wanted to know about it. She searched what she could on the internet on her phone and got nowhere. So, she decided to pursue it the old-fashioned way. She picked up her phone, and dialed Mrs. Bing’s phone number. She knew the woman was a night owl, and often stayed up most of the night playing games and watching her shows.
“Hi, Charlotte.” Mrs. Bing sounded pleased to hear from her.
“Hi, Mrs. Bing. How are you this evening?”
“Oh wonderful, I just made it to level seventy-five in Tinkeredbombs. Have you played it?”
“No, I haven’t. But I bet it’s a lot of fun.”
“Oh, it is, you get to build bombs and blow things up, it’s just delicious!” She laughed. “I suppose that sounds pretty absurd, doesn’t it?”
“A little.” Charlotte grinned. “But if you enjoy it, that’s what matters.”
“Thank you for that. Is something on your mind?”
“Yes, Billy McArtle.”
“Oh, I think he’s on everyone’s mind.” Her voice heightened with the excitement of gossip. “Half the town is ready to throw him in prison, while the other half think he needs to be given a pass for losing both his mother and father.”
“And what do you think, Mrs. Bing?”
“Honestly? I think that he isn’t smart enough to pull off a scheme like this. That was always his father’s primary complaint about him. He had no ambition, and despite the best education money could buy, he just never seemed capable of learning. So, I think the police should focus more on the real killer. Frankie.”
“Frankie?” Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Why do you think it’s Frankie? He and Josh were good friends.”
“So they say, but I hear they had a huge argument about the piece of property that Josh owned. I don’t know the details, but it almost got violent. Someone had to break it up.”
“Someone?” She frowned. “Who? Who did you hear this from?”
“Christian. The new guy in town? You know him, don’t you?”
“Barely.”
“Isn’t he so handsome? Ahh, it makes my heart melt every time I see him. Oh, to be twenty, or thirty, okay fine maybe forty years younger.” She sighed.
“Now now, Mrs. Bing, plenty of men appreciate a mature woman.”
“Ha!” She shrieked with laughter.
> “So, it was Christian that told you about the argument? Did he say when he overheard it?”
“No, but he’s only just come to town, so it must have been some time recently. He’s the one that broke up the fight, he’s not the one who told me about it, though.”
“He’s not?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes with interest. “Who else was there?”
“Anita. Well, at least, I was told that Anita was there, by Connie. You know, Connie at the ice cream shop? Anyway, she said that Anita was there when the two were arguing, and that she tried to intervene, but when things got rough Christian stepped in.”
“Hm. That’s interesting.”
“I don’t know exactly what was said of course. I don’t like to be nosy. Anyway, my thinking is that Frankie was depending on Josh to get that business started, and maybe Josh changed his mind, and that’s why Frankie killed him.”
“Maybe.” Charlotte made a note on a piece of paper about the argument.
“I’m such a good detective, aren’t I?” Mrs. Bing laughed. “I wonder if I’m too old to go to the police academy. What do you think?”
“I think you could never be too old to do anything, Mrs. Bing. Thanks for the chat.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“I know you will.” Charlotte laughed as she hung up the phone. She made another note to make sure she had plenty of Mrs. Bing’s favorite chocolates ready for her. Now that she knew that Frank and Josh might be on the outs, her entire perspective on the murder changed. She couldn’t help but wonder what Ally might think.
* * *
Ally was barely out of bed the next morning when she heard a knock on her door. She blinked a few times, still sleepy, as she stepped out of the bathroom where she had just brushed her teeth. Who would be at her door so early? If it was Charlotte, she would have just walked right in. She still had a key, and Ally still considered the cottage just as much her grandmother’s home as her own. As Ally walked passed the bedroom Arnold lifted his head from the foot of the bed, but didn’t even bother to snort. Peaches jumped down from the bed and trailed after her towards the door. As Ally approached it, she saw the knob begin to twist. Her heart skipped a beat. Someone was trying to get in? Did they think she wasn’t home?