by Deanna Chase
“Right.” He backed up, giving her the space she needed, and ran a hand through his thick hair. Son of… what had he just done? He glanced at the contented expression on her face and started to hate himself. How long would it be before he talked himself out of pursuing a relationship with her?
She smiled up at him and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you, Drew. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you today.”
Her sweet voice soothed his doubts. It didn’t matter what his inner voice tried to tell him. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to step away from whatever was going on between them. Not now. Not after feeling her soft and pliant in his arms. “No need to thank me.” He reached past her, opened her microwave, and handed her one of the mochas. “Here. Don’t want you to miss out on this.”
Her eyes twinkled as she took a sip. A low, appreciative moan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes. “This is delicious.”
So are you, he thought. “Go. I’ll get Buffy settled in her crate before I head back to work.”
“Buffy… oh no. Where is she now?” Noel ran out of the kitchen, mocha in hand. When Drew stepped into the living room, the dog was laying in the middle of the floor, chewing on the ball. Noel turned to him. “You did this. Earlier today, she wanted nothing to do with any of her toys.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I owe you. Big time.”
“No, you—”
“Yes, I do,” she said, cutting him off. “Let me take you to dinner. Tomorrow night. Seven. Daisy and Buffy have a sleepover date with Olive and her golden retriever puppy, Endora. We can go to Woodlines. I heard they have a fabulous new chef.”
Drew did not want their first date to be Noel taking him out. He wanted to be the one to spoil her, not the other way around. But he sure wasn’t going to turn her down. “Tomorrow night is perfect.”
“Good.” She flashed him one more radiant smile, then rushed out of the residence.
Drew glanced down at Buffy. She was happily gnawing away at the ball, content as could be. “Buffy,” he said.
The dog immediately disregarded the ball and gave him her full attention.
“Ready to go out?”
She jumped to her feet and followed him to Noel’s small yard. She promptly did her business and then followed him back in. “Time to find your crate.”
The dog lowered her tail and gave him the saddest puppy dog look he’d ever seen.
“You’re not pulling that business on me, little girl,” he said, scooping her up. “You can’t stay out here unattended. Your rep precedes you.”
The crate didn’t seem to be in Daisy’s room, so he headed to Noel’s. The moment he stepped through the threshold, her subtle citrus scent engulfed him. Her furniture was dark, antique wood with just a hint of scroll work in the headboard of her bed. Everything else was clean lines. It was perfect for her. Hard angles with a hint of softness.
He walked over to the crate at the end of her bed, checked to make sure she had clean water, and then placed Buffy inside. She stared up at him with that same pathetic puppy dog stare. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who chewed holes in Daisy’s clothes.”
At the sound of his voice, she turned her head away as if annoyed but then circled three times and curled up into a ball.
“Good, Buffy,” he said quickly and closed the gate to the crate.
The longer Drew stood in her room, the more intense Noel’s citrus scent became. It only made him want to sit in the armchair in the corner and wait for her to come home so he could kiss her again.
He just might’ve, too, if his phone hadn’t gone off. “Drew Baker,” he said into the phone.
“Deputy Baker,” Clarissa said, her voice a little shaky. “I think you need to get back here.”
“Back to the office?” Dread materialized in his chest and settled in his gut. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure, but the Humboldt County sheriff wants to talk with you.”
“I’m on my way.”
Chapter 11
Drew strode into the small satellite office. Clarissa, who’d been sitting on the edge of her seat, jumped up with a small stack of messages for him.
He handed her the chocolate caramel torte he’d picked up at A Spoon Full of Magic and said, “Save those messages for later. I don’t want to keep the sheriff waiting.”
She shoved a piece of paper at him again. “I think you’ll want to see this one now.”
Her insistence made him pause. He took the piece of paper and glanced down.
Xavier Anderson is officially the lead suspect in the John Doe case. He’s been spotted twice. Once at Pacific Cove Boat Rentals and once at the Moon River Inn. Word is the sheriff wants you to stay out of it. He’s not happy about the background check flagged from the Keating Hollow satellite office. C.
“Got it.” He handed the note back to Clarissa, grateful she’d given him a heads up. The sheriff was likely pissed he’d been poking around a case that wasn’t assigned to him. Before he walked into his office, he added, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, boss,” Clarissa said, already pulling the torte box out of the bag.
He squared his shoulders, braced himself for the impending ass-chewing, and walked into his office. “Sheriff Barnes. What a surprise. What brings you all the way out here to my corner of the world?”
The gray-haired, heavy-set man was seated in Drew’s chair behind his desk, scribbling something on a legal pad.
“Sit down, Baker,” he barked.
Drew did as he was told and waited for his superior to finish whatever he was writing. Finally, the sheriff scribbled what looked like a signature and stuffed his pen back into his uniform pocket. When he looked up he said, “What have you found out about Xavier Anderson?”
Drew shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Don’t play games with me, Baker. I know you’ve already started investigating. I need to know everything you know.”
Drew was certain that if he admitted he’d been butting in on a case that was out of his jurisdiction that there could be professional consequences, but since his boss already knew he’d started digging, there really wasn’t a choice in the matter. “I ran a preliminary background check on him three days ago. Nothing came up. At least not anything in the three years since he left Keating Hollow. Since then, I’ve learned from the rumor mill that he’s been spotted twice over in Eureka in the last week. No one seems to know where he’s staying or where he’ll show up next.”
The sheriff’s expression remained completely neutral. “And why were you looking into Mr. Anderson? Did his ex-wife ask you to?”
“What?” Drew frowned. “No.”
“You just did it on your own? Why?”
Drew shifted uncomfortably, knowing he was showing his nerves. “I knew the department was short-handed, so I took it upon myself to see if there were any obvious leads or threads that would help find Mr. Anderson.”
The sheriff nodded as if that answer was acceptable. Then he cleared his throat. “I heard you accompanied Ms. Townsend to the morgue. Is there a relationship there I need to know about?”
Son of a… What was he going to tell the sheriff? That he’d just been making out with her? That he had a date with her tomorrow night that he was hoping would turn into something more than a couple of drinks and a really good steak? “Noel Townsend and I have been friends for a long time,” he said carefully. “When I delivered the news that her ex-husband might be deceased, I didn’t feel comfortable with her driving into Eureka by herself.”
“So you’re friends.” The sheriff wasn’t giving anything away, and Drew had no idea where this line of questioning was headed.
“Yes. Friends.” And that was the stone-cold truth. A least in that very moment.
“Good. Keep it that way.” The sheriff stood and handed over a piece of paper with his official letterhead at the top. Below, he’d handwritten a directive authorizing Drew to take the reins in tracking down Xavier Ande
rson.
Drew read the directive twice to be sure he was reading it correctly. The order was in direct conflict with the information Clarissa had given him just before he’d walked into the office. Of course, whatever she’d heard was just rumor. The sheriff surely wouldn’t put him on a case if he was pissed he’d already looked into it, would he? Drew blinked and glanced back up at the sheriff. “Why are you giving this to me?”
Barnes hesitated for a moment before continuing. Then he cleared his throat. “I need someone on the outside looking into this.”
Warning bells went off in Drew’s head. “You mean there could be an internal affairs issue?”
Barnes sat back down in the chair, suddenly looking tired. “Honestly, Baker, I don’t know. But there have been too many unanswered questions, and records seem to have gone missing. I just need to let someone else take a look at this for right now. And since we can’t move forward until we find this guy, I need you to get started right away. He’s the only connection we have at the moment,” he said. “You have a relationship with the ex-wife of our person of interest. If they’re in contact, you’ll be able to intercept. Plus, your office is quiet. You have another deputy who can take care of this town while you’re investigating. But most of all, I trust you to go the distance to see this investigation through to the end.”
“Noel isn’t in contact with her ex. I can guarantee that,” Drew said, somewhere between annoyed and pissed off that his superior was implying Noel was somehow still caught up with the asshole who’d abandoned her.
“Fine. But he might still get in touch. If he does, you’ll be there.” The sheriff strode over to the door. “Keep this one close to the vest. Without knowing what’s going on internally, I’d prefer my guys didn’t get wind that I handed this off to you. Got it?”
“Got it,” Drew said, a little stunned. He was just one guy. If there were shady cops participating in a cover up, he had his work cut out for him. And Drew couldn’t blame the sheriff for being suspicious. If the sheriff’s staff weren’t any better than the county officials he and Noel had dealt with at the coroner’s office, the environment was ripe with opportunities for payoffs and incompetence.
“Good. Keep me updated on any new developments. The case file is in your top drawer.” Without waiting for an answer, the sheriff strode out and closed the door behind him.
Drew sat in his chair, temporarily stunned. The county sheriff had never handed off a case to him before. It was true that Keating Hollow was a quiet town with rarely any crime to speak of, so he certainly had time. But he wasn’t a detective. Something didn’t add up. He got to his feet, moved over to his desk, and yanked the top drawer open. The unmarked folder was right where Barnes had said it would be.
Sitting in his chair, Drew pulled the thin file out of the drawer and flipped it open to find only one page. It read:
Subject: Xavier Anderson – Person of interest in a suspected murder.
Mission: Find Mr. Anderson and bring him in for questioning. Where has he been the last three years; who has he been in contact with; and what has he been doing?
Notes: Anderson has ghosted and is currently in the wind; no paper trail since March 2015. There have been possible sightings in Eureka in December of 2018. Possible internal interference in the case. Strongly suspect magic is involved in his disappearance.
Drew stared at the last line. They suspected magic. No wonder they’d tossed the case to him. As far as he knew, he and Putzner were the only two witches on staff in the county. And Putzner wasn’t interested in doing anything other than writing parking tickets. It’s why Drew was in charge of the satellite office.
All right then, Drew thought as he fired up his computer. This was what he’d wanted in the first place; to find Noel’s ex and give her some closure. Now he’d just been given the green light.
So why did he feel so uneasy about it?
He ran a hand over his head and logged into the case number listed on the sheet of paper the sheriff had left him. Xavier Anderson’s face instantly appeared on his screen. The two sightings Clarissa had warned him about were listed. Then there was nothing until his disappearance three years ago. He scrolled down and frowned. The first record of Xavier Anderson’s existence was one month before he married Noel.
“What?” he said out loud to no one. That was impossible. A thorough background check run by the department on a missing person would include voter registration, traffic violations, arrest records, previous addresses, and any government identification such as a driver’s license or passport or state ID. It could also include names of family members, any military service, and even credit reports. There wasn’t anything more listed here than he’d found in a basic public records search.
Xavier Anderson hadn’t existed before he’d married Noel, and he’d ceased to exist after he disappeared. Something wasn’t right in Andersonville. Xavier had a current driver’s license and credit cards. They should’ve shown up on this report. Was he using fake aliases and stolen credit card numbers? If so, why had he reused Xavier Anderson if he was trying to stay under the radar? He was going to have to get the credit card and license numbers from the evidence room down at the station. How was he going to do that without tipping someone off? He had no idea.
Drew printed out the flimsy records and added them to the file he’d already started on Xavier.
A knock sounded on his door.
“Come in.”
Clarissa poked her head in. “Everything okay? What happened?”
“It’s fine.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “The sheriff just wants me to take over an investigation for him.” He held up his file. “Can you give Putzner a call and let him know I’m headed out of town? He’ll need to cover if anything comes up. Tell him I’ll let him know when I get back.”
“Sure, boss. Anything else I can do for you?” she asked as she opened the door and stepped inside.
He started to refuse but then thought better of it. “Yes. Any chance you have any connections down at the evidence and property department in Eureka?”
“Sure. I have a friend who works there. What do you need?” She flipped open a notebook and clicked the end of her pen.
“The credit card and driver’s license number for Xavier Anderson. His wallet was found on the John Doe, and they aren’t showing up on the background check.”
She frowned. “That’s unusual. You think they’re fake?”
“Maybe. But I can’t be sure until I run them down,” Drew said.
She made a note then glanced up at him. “Any reason why you need me to ask my friend to do this? Seems like it would already be in his file.”
“That’s exactly why I need your help. It’s not there. And just between you and me, something smells to high heaven. I want to keep this quiet until I figure it out.”
“You got it, boss. Anything else?”
“Not right now.” He fished his keys out of his pocket. “Just call Putzner. That should be enough torture for one day.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Don’t worry about me. I know exactly how to handle him.”
He just bet she did. Clarissa was sweet as pie when people were kind to her and treated her with respect. But the minute they turned on her, she shut them down hard and fast with just a couple of words. It was fascinating, really.
Drew followed her out into the lobby. Before he could even reach the front door, she was already on the phone notifying Putzner.
“Listen, Pauly, cut the attitude,” she said. “It’s in your job description to be on call when necessary. So unless you’re resigning—oh, no? Okay then. I’ll let you know if any calls come in.”
She was still dressing him down when Drew stepped out onto the cobbled sidewalk. He glanced across at the inn, his lips tingling with the memory of kissing Noel in her kitchen. His feet automatically started moving in that direction. It wasn’t until he stepped off the curb that he caught himself. No, he couldn’t just barge in on her. Daisy was there,
and he had a job to do. He’d talk to her tomorrow. On their date. Their first date.
Damn, after the encounter they’d had, he didn’t know if he could wait the twenty-seven hours to see her again.
Chapter 12
Noel sat at her dad’s dinner table, nibbling on her blackberry pie. Her dad had called and invited her and Daisy for dinner not long after she’d picked Daisy up from school. She hadn’t realized that when she’d said yes, it meant she was going to be ambushed by Abby.
“Come on, Noel,” her sister whined. “You have to. It’s girls’ night.”
“Abby,” Noel said with a sigh. “I have to be up early. I can’t be your second in your crazy golf cart races with Wanda.”
“But she’s already recruited Hanna. If you don’t go, I’m going to have to kidnap Faith, and the last time she rode with me, she lost her lunch.” Abby pressed her hand to her stomach, clearly still queasy over the situation. “I don’t think doing donuts in the mud is her thing.”
Noel couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her lips. “Donuts? Are you insane, Abs? You’re going to kill yourself on that thing.”
Her sister just shrugged. “Don’t be so dramatic. You just have no idea how much fun it is since you haven’t given it a try. As Wanda says, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on. I promise you, you won’t regret it. Dad already offered to keep an eye on Daisy. You guys can just stay here for the night. Isn’t Alec on duty tonight at the inn?”
“Yes,” she said, shaking her head in exasperation. There was no winning this argument with her sister. The fact was, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. Oh, she was in no rush to tool around in the freezing cold air, but she was enjoying this side of her sister. This animated, excited version of Abby was the Abby of their youth. The one she’d been before they’d lost Charlotte. Noel couldn’t shut her down just because she wanted to stay inside where it was warm and drink hot cocoa.
“So you’re in?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.