Jenn Vakey - Rilynne Evans 07 - Revenge with Murder

by Jenn Vakey

  He seemed to be taking it harder than she had expected. It was understandable, though. This was the first and possibly only murder case he’d ever work. Having it go unsolved would be crushing. In addition to that, he was sure to face repercussions for a murderer going free.

  With as little as she had seen, she couldn’t bring herself to give him any assurances that they would find the person responsible. It wasn’t often that she had a case where she wasn’t able to see anything useful. When she mentioned that fact to Ben the night before, he had joked that it was probably the universe trying to tell her to just enjoy her honeymoon. Though he laughed, she had a feeling he wasn’t completely joking. If they were going to solve this, Rilynne felt like they were going to need to rely more on her detective skills than her visions.

  Sergeant Perez didn’t speak as they made the trip around the island to their house. Although Rilynne wanted to find out more about the absent contractor, she knew it wasn’t the right time to push it. The only thing she was likely to get out of him right now was hostility.

  Instead, she decided to run through the case in her head, seeing if she could see something she had missed before. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice when they pulled up in front of the house fifteen minutes later until the car jerked to a stop. After muttering a quick goodbye, she and Ben climbed out.

  “Grab your stuff,” Ben said. Rilynne looked up at him, but he walked to the house with only a grin as an explanation.

  She chased him in through the open front door and found him grabbing his swimsuit from where they left it drying in the bathroom. She smiled without a word and pulled her shirt off.

  “It’s nearly dark,” she said. “Are we going to actually have time for a swim?”

  Ben didn’t take his eyes off of her as she changed into her suit. It wasn’t until she finished that he finally responded. “We don’t need light to swim. At least not more than the full moon that’s going to be out tonight.”

  “If I get eaten by a shark, I’m going to come back and haunt you,” she joked, grabbing her flip-flops and moving toward the door.

  Ben changed into his suit and pulled his shirt off, leaving it on the floor as he walked out after her. “If a shark comes after us we’re going to go together, because I don’t intend on you leaving my arms tonight.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “We really should jump in the shower before we end up falling asleep,” Ben said. Rilynne lifted her head up just enough off of his chest to look at the time on the clock on his nightstand. It was almost midnight. “The bed’s already going to smell like ocean.”

  Rilynne kissed his bare chest before setting her head back down. As she ran the tip of her index finger around in little circles, she watched as he erupted in goosebumps. “That would mean moving, though, and I really don’t want to. You’re so warm and comfortable.”

  He let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a groan, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close.

  “You know what I was thinking about the other day?” Rilynne asked a few moments later, sliding her touch down his arm to his hand. Though they had been back in the house for nearly half an hour, his fingers were still wrinkled.

  “What’s that?” he asked, his tiredness sounding through his voice.

  “The way I used to feel when we would spend time together before we started dating. I was so scared to let myself give in to the feelings I had for you. It was the best thing I ever did, though,” she said softly. She smiled just at the thought.

  Ben brushed his chin against her head and she could just feel him smile. “You weren’t the only one. Between what you were going through with Christopher and that stupid no-fraternization rule, I tried really hard to stay away from you. That obviously didn’t work,” he chuckled. “I resigned to holding everything in until you made the first move. Trust me, that really wasn’t easy.”

  Rilynne looked up at him quizzically. “I didn’t make the first move,” she insisted. “You’re the one who asked me out.”

  Ben pulled away just enough to meet her gaze. “If memory serves, you’re the one who made a point to steer Scarlett’s sights away from me,” he stated. “I figured if you were going to be outwardly jealous, instead of trying to hold it in and acting like it wasn’t still completely obvious, that you were ready. Well, that was about as patient as I was going to be. I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

  “I wasn’t jealous,” she muttered, dropping her head back down against him. She wasn’t even convincing herself.

  Ben laughed. “You were completely jealous,” he said. “So much so that you made a point of talking about our dinner at Pinkston’s in front of her.”

  “I didn’t think you caught that,” she admitted. “Or I guess I didn’t think you realized my motives behind it. I felt really bad about doing it, too. It was better than the desire to punch her in the face as she mooned over you, though. It was actually pretty hard to restrain that desire.”

  “Of course I did,” he replied. “And that was definitely the right choice. At least with the dinner talk there was only a chance that people might talk. If you had up and hit her, I don’t think there is a single person in the homicide department who wouldn’t have figured out what was going on pretty much immediately. Correction, the entire station.”

  Rilynne shrugged. “I still blame you for that whole situation, by the way. You’re the one who was jealous in the first place and sicked your love sick intern on me.”

  “I won’t deny that seeing a card from your neighbor thanking you for a wonderful night got my blood boiling.”

  “That’s not what it said,” she groaned. “He was thanking me for saving his son. You know that. And I’m pretty sure you knocking him out should have been enough for you. You sent Scarlett after me just to get a reaction.”

  He let out a satisfied sigh and she felt him grin again. “I definitely got a reaction from both of those. I didn’t care if you were ready or not that night. If that car hadn’t showered us, I would have kissed you right there on the street. You have no idea how bad I wanted to. You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”

  “I don’t even know why I was so angry that night,” she thought back. “I really was though. I was so angry that I opened my big mouth and risked you finding out my secret. I still can’t believe I did that. And for the record, I wanted you to kiss me, too. Even after the car.”

  “That was probably just because I saved your life,” he said with a cocky tone. “I was like your prince charming. No girl can resist that.”

  “I’m sure that’s all it was,” she replied sarcastically. “You did a pretty good job drive me crazy back then. I know I wasn’t good at hiding it. Matthews used to give me so much grief. And I know Wilcome said the reason that stupid rule was lifted was because of Nicole, but he very pointedly looked at you when he told me about it. I’m actually surprised no one else in the office figured it out. They all seemed pretty shocked when we became official.”

  “They were pretending,” he said bluntly. “They actually had a pool going that started shortly after we walked into the station all bloodied and bruised that night. Matthews and LaShad won and split a three hundred dollar pot.”

  “What were they betting on? Whether or not we would get together?” she asked, shocked by the revelation.

  He shook his head. “They apparently all knew that was going to happen. It came down to a matter of when and who would make the first move. In addition to that, they also had a wager on how long we would stay together. That’s why the pot was so big.”

  Rilynne sat up and looked down at him in disbelief. “They were betting on how long we would last? I’m going to kill them,” she said angrily.

  He laughed and brushed the hair gently from her face. “If it makes you feel better, pretty much everyone had money on us going the distance. I think the only holdouts were from those who secretly wanted a shot with you themselves.”

  “S
till, they’re all dead,” she said, lying back down. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me which ones bet against us.”

  “Even if I did know, there’s not a chance of that,” he said. “But Matthews refused to tell me. I think he knew you would try to get it out of me and wanted to avoid you actually killing people in the station. I didn’t even find out about the bet myself until the night of my bachelor party. Steele had a little too much to drink and let it slip. After Tylers punched him in the arm for it, Matthews finally filled me in.”

  While it wasn’t entirely surprising, given their fondness for placing bets, Rilynne was still taken aback. She thought back to the months before she and Ben had started dating, but she couldn’t think of a single instance where anyone other than her partner or Wilcome let on at all that they suspected something was developing between them. More than anything, she was surprised they had hid it so well.

  “They’re all dead,” she muttered again. “Is there anything else they’re betting on that I should know about?” He laughed and shook his head. “If this is the game they want to play, I say we play back. We can fix it so they lose every time they feel like betting on something having to do with us.”

  Ben laughed. “That’s the only thing about us that I know about. I know there was one about if or when Matthews would have a complete breakdown before the twins were born, and there was one on how long it would be before Steele snapped and attacked Tylers after he started dating his sister. No one guessed after the first two months on that one, though. I don’t think there are any at all right now. No one seems to have anything bet worthy going on, I guess.”

  “Why wasn’t I included in any of these?” she asked, somewhat slighted from her exclusion.

  “It’s my understanding that they were worried you would figure out there was a bet about us and they were all a little afraid of what you would do to them,” he replied. He took her hand, which was still drawing random shapes on his palm, and moved it up to his mouth to kiss it. “Who would have thought that a bunch of men, half of which are on the department boxing team, would be frightened of my lovely wife? I’m actually proud of that fact. I think we should take advantage of that sometime.”

  Rilynne thought about it for a few moments. “I guess I am too. I guess it makes up for it, but only slightly. I’m still going to make them pay. I’m going to be sneaky about it, though. They aren’t going to see it coming. When I finish with them, they’re going to regret using us for their own entertainment.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said, kissing her hand again.

  “I’ve made an important decision,” she stated a few minutes later. He picked his head up and looked down at her, but she didn’t meet his eye. “I don’t want to move. There are spare sheets in the bench at the foot of the bed. I say we worry about that shower in the morning and we can just put the other set on for the rest of our stay.”

  “You know we’re supposed to leave in two days, right?” he asked.

  Rilynne had been so caught up with everything going on the past few days that she had completely forgotten the end of their trip was growing nearer. With Ben’s reminder, she was faced with two completely different emotions. She was saddened by the fact that their honeymoon was ending, but also panicked because they were still no closer to finding out what happened to Caitlin Burton.

  “We’re just going to have to make the best of the time we have left, then,” she said sweetly. “I say we start it by spending the rest of the night in each other’s arms, not worrying about anything aside from what we’re going to do to get the guys in the station back for their betting behaviors.”

  Ben laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around her. “You do that. If it seems like I’m sleeping, just keep going. That’s just what it looks like when I’m listening intently.”

  “I’m sure that’s what you’ll be doing,” she said. She kissed him again and whispered a goodnight as she felt him drifting off under her.

  She listened to the drum of his heart beating as she closed her eyes and let her mind wonder. Before she knew it, she drifted into a deep sleep herself.

  Thump, thump.

  The drumming echoed around her. It grew louder with every passing moment, as if she were walking toward a drum circle.

  Thump, thud, thump.

  Rilynne spun around to see where the sound was coming from. Aside from a couch covered in an old white sheet, there was nothing in the large room but her. One of the walls had several holes in it, and there was debris scattering the floor beneath them. She moved toward them, but the closer she got, the more her chest tightened. Not wanting to feel the pressure any longer, she backed away and took another look around. There was something familiar about it, but she didn’t understand why. She had never been there before.

  Thump, thump.

  She looked at each of the three doors carefully before deciding which to use. Though they were identical, something about the one on the east wall seemed to be calling to her. With one last look around the empty room, she moved toward the open door. As she did, the drumming slowly became more rapid.

  When she passed through the doorway, she found herself standing in a large throne room. Surrounding her were dozens of piles of money and jewels. The sight of it took her breath away. Some of the towers of riches reached all the way to the ceiling. Even if she had wanted to determine how much it was all worth, it would be a near impossible task. She wanted to reach out and touch it, even if only to feel it in her hands.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  The drumming grew more rapid as her eyes passed over each sparkling object. Before long, they were coming so close together that it was hard to tell where the first one ended and the next began.

  It was almost more than she could take.

  Suddenly, there was a crack as a blinding light flooded into the room. She couldn’t see. Almost instantaneously, the drumming slowed back to its original speed.

  Thump, thump.

  Thump, thump.

  “What’s going on?” she called out. As her voice echoed through the room, it was only interrupted by the sound of something crashing behind her. She turned around to see where it came from. From the corner of her eye, she could just see someone sprint past the door she just entered.

  “Come back!” she yelled. “What is this place? And what’s that drumming sound?”

  Rilynne hurried to the door, but whoever had been there was gone by the time she reached the other room. She considered trying one of the other doors. After taking a quick glance back behind her, though, she forgot where she was going.

  Where there had been towers of riches, there was now only a small layer of dust coating the empty floor. It was gone, with not a trace left behind.

  Thump, thump.

  Rilynne walked around the dark room, boards creaking beneath her feet and the paper was peeling from the walls.

  Thump, thump.

  Thump, thump.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  The pounding grew louder and faster. It was almost more than she could take. She pulled her hands up over her ears to block it out, but she could feel it radiating through her body.

  It sounded harder and faster until she almost couldn’t take it anymore. She tried to get to the door, but it was too much.

  “Stop it!” she yelled, dropping to her knees. She tried to pull herself back up, but it was too strong. She needed to get out.

  It felt like her head was going to explode and her heart was going to vibrate out of her chest. She moved her hands from her ears to pull herself across the floor to the door. As she inched forward, the pain built both within her ears and chest.

  She didn’t know how much more she could take. She was on the verge of screaming when it came to an abrupt stop. Suddenly, there was only deafening silence.

  The moment she opened her eyes, a smile stretched across her face. She looked up and was surprised to see Ben sitting up looking down at her.

  “You were squirming in your sleep,”
he stated. “What happened?”

  Rilynne reached up and pulled him in excitedly for a kiss. When he sat back up moments later, she smiled again and said, “I know what happened.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Are you sure?” he asked for the third time. His eyes lit up. He dropped the towel to the floor and reached for his pants.

  Rilynne quickly pulled her shoes on and grabbed her phone. “Just as positive as I was the last time you asked. I still don’t have everything worked out, but I know enough. Let’s go to the station and get Perez. We’re going to need the mayor for this.”

  Rilynne had to struggle to keep from sprinting as they headed down the deserted road. If Ben hadn’t been walking beside her, she wouldn’t have been able to hold back.

  She only slowed when she heard Ben’s phone ringing.

  “Yeah,” he said as he pulled it up to his ear. Rilynne studied his face for any hint of where the conversation was going. “Thanks, Matthews. We’ll see you in a couple days.”

  “What did he say?” Rilynne asked the moment he hung up. “Were you right?”

  Ben grinned and nodded.

  Rilynne looked back to the road ahead, filled with both excitement and pride. “I’m not going to lie; I’m pretty excited about this. It’s going to be fun.”

  “I love that look,” Ben said. Rilynne looked up at him curiously, finding a large grin looking back down at her. “The excitement you get when you’re working a case. It builds until you get ready to solve it, and by that point you can see it in your eyes. It’s part of the reason I fell in love with you in the first place.”

  Rilynne reached out and took Ben by the hand, lacing her fingers with his.

  “Well, after we get this taken care of, I promise I’ll be all yours,” she said, the sweetness of her tone barely masking the excitement. “And I’m going to do whatever I can to make these last few days up to you. I’m amazed at the patience you have with me. My stubbornness even annoys me sometimes. I don’t know how you put up with me.”