by Louise Lynn
Celia rolled her eyes. "That's different. And don't you dare try to change the subject. You and the sheriff have been waltzing around each other for months, and he finally asked you out, and you don't say yes. Why not? And don't use Anthony Ray as an excuse."
Hazel sucked in a breath of the heavenly coffee gripped in her palms. Celia sat next to her on the enclosed porch, during a brief break in the morning rush. Sheriff Cross hadn’t shown up yet—thank goodness.
But Hazel wasn't sure what to say. Anthony Ray was her excuse, valid or not.
"It was sudden. He could've asked me to dinner tomorrow, and that would be okay."
Celia looked ready to roll her eyes again. "You go out to dinner with me and Esther at the last minute all the time."
Hazel was about to say, ‘that's different too,’ but pinched her mouth shut. She took a sip of her latte to give herself time to think. "I wasn't even thinking about dinner. I was thinking about this case. It bothers me."
Celia sighed. "Yeah. Well, murder should bother everybody."
"I know. This is. . . different. Maybe because I didn't know the kid. Or because he was so young." She wasn't sure. But something kept nagging at the back of her mind. "And this has happened before. Do you remember that?"
Celia tugged on one of her dark curls and it wound around her finger. "I think. At prom the year after you went to college. I didn't know the girl because she was in Esther's class, but the reaction in the town was similar. But that was an accident."
"I know. She drowned. But why was she swimming in the lake in April at night?"
Celia shrugged. "Because teenagers are dumb? Come on. You know that when we were that age kids would dare people to do stupid things all the time. Jump off the pier in winter and stuff like that."
Hazel shrugged. She had a feeling Jay may have been the one daring people to do that. Or he may have been the one who took up the dare. She honestly couldn't remember. "Okay. But it's usually boys who do that kind of stuff. Girls have a little more sense."
Celia nodded. "Yeah. Well, actually I don't remember if it had anything to do with a pier. I think it had something to do with a boat. Like she was in a boat and it flipped."
"At night?" Hazel said.
Lake Celeste was dangerous enough to boat on during the day. Doing so at night was the definition of foolhardy.
Celia shrugged again. "I don't know why you're dredging that up. This kid had his neck broken and that girl drowned. They’re not similar at all."
She was right, of course, and Hazel didn't know how to explain the feeling she got. It was just that—a feeling. It probably didn't mean anything.
Celia had to return to work, and Hazel had her own business to attend.
As she was leaving the café, however, she spotted both Sheriff Cross and Violet at the counter.
"Hazel," Violet said and waved. She looked tired, and her hair was brushed back into a messy ponytail. She sported a black denim skirt over a pair of wild leggings and a sweater that looked like it was fighting to decide if it wanted to be black or purple. An extra-long rainbow scarf was wound around her neck more times than Hazel cared to count.
"First day of school?" Hazel asked.
Violet nodded and looked ready to roll her eyes. "Uncle Colton is forcing me. I don't see the big deal missing a couple of weeks, but–"
Sheriff Cross’s mouth pulled into a line. "If you want to pass sophomore year, you have to go to school."
Hazel smiled at him. "Your uncle is right. But it's not that bad." She wasn't lying when she said it. Cedar Valley High hadn't been an awful prison, but it hadn't been paradise either.
"Do you mind if I swing by your studio afterward? If you're there. Because I really don't want to go sit in an apartment all by myself," Violet said.
Sheriff Cross sighed and looked ready to say something, but Hazel held up her hand to stop him. "That's fine. If I'm not at my studio, you can either go to Esther's place or my mom’s. They’d be happy to welcome you."
The girl at the counter gave them their order, and Sheriff Cross took his bagel and coffee and nodded toward the door. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Hazel’s stomach did a silly little backflip. As soon as they got outside, she forced herself to look in his eyes. "I'm sorry about last night. You caught me off guard, and I was thinking about the case. And Anthony Ray really is a little bit destructive when he's hungry."
Sheriff Cross smiled and shook his head. "That's fine. And it’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. A name popped up in my investigation. The deputies are acting a bit weird about it. I thought I’d ask your opinion. Do you know Robbie Smith?"
Hazel blinked. "Yeah. He was in Esther's grade in school, but what does he have to do with Brandon Sizemore?"
Sheriff Cross looked at his cup of coffee before answering her. "Some witnesses said they saw him talking to Brandon that night. So, I don't know. I’m sending someone up to the Lodge to talk to him later, but the deputies kept acting like he was. . . I'm not sure."
Hazel pinched her lips. No matter how much Cedar Valley had changed, it hadn’t turned around a hundred percent since she was in high school. "He made a bit of a splash when he was younger. But I don't see why he would kill Brandon."
Then again, she didn't know why he was talking to Brandon either.
"He works as a ski instructor at the Lodge?" Sheriff Cross asked.
Hazel nodded and sucked in the heavy floral scent of hyacinth that surrounded CATfeinated this time of year. "Yeah. Listen. The reason the deputies might be a bit weird about Robbie is because he was one of the first kids to come out. In high school. It was kind of a big deal."
Sheriff Cross blinked and slowly nodded. "Okay. That makes sense. I’ll have to have some people talk to him. But he hasn't come forward with any information," he said and rubbed his cheeks. They were smooth, save for a little spot on his jaw that had a few dark hairs.
Hazel smiled, and mentally added Robbie Smith to her own list. "You look exhausted. Are you getting enough sleep?"
"What's enough?" Sheriff Cross said and let out a bark of unamused laughter. "It's just this case and Violet all coinciding is a bit much. But I’ll get through it. And I'm gonna talk to the girlfriend again. See if she has anything new to say."
Hazel thought of Amber Ross and the pictures on her phone. The ones with Travis in the background. Another thought struck her. "Did you find Brandon Sizemore’s cell phone?"
Sheriff Cross handed her his cup of coffee and Hazel held it as he dipped into his pocket to glance at his notepad. "I don't think so. It wasn’t on the list of evidence. You think someone took it?"
Hazel furrowed her brow and shrugged. "I don't know. But Amber Ross wouldn't let go of hers that night and she took hundreds of pictures. Plus, I saw Brandon Sizemore shooting photos with his own cell as well. Yet it wasn't on his body? That's weird. You know how kids are with their cell phones."
Sheriff Cross nodded knowingly, and she handed him back his coffee as Violet stepped out. "I don't want to disturb your little Elizabeth and Darcy moment, but if we don't hurry we’re probably going to be late for school," she said and looked at her uncle.
"Elizabeth and Darcy?" Hazel said and stared at Violet.
Violet gave her a sunny smile. "From Pride and Prejudice."
Hazel got the reference, but she wasn't sure if it fit them. Well, Sheriff Cross was dashing enough to be Darcy. And rude enough. But she held back the desire to snicker at that.
She let Sheriff Cross and Violet go and headed back to the studio. Michael would have to cover for her for a few hours, she needed to get up to the Lodge before the deputies had a chance to talk to Robbie Smith.
She needed to know why he was talking to Brandon Sizemore that night, and what he was keeping from the police.
Chapter 10
There was a stronger bite in the air at the Lodge, and the snow that had been long since plowed was piled in dirty gray-brown masses at the edges of the road. Still, it did
n't distract from the beauty before her. The great Cedar Lodge, a hundred-years old or more, and built so it fit with the rustic forest around it—like the rest of the town.
It seemed as if every investigation led her here, for a different reason. At least this time she was looking for an employee and not a guest.
In fact, it was easier than Hazel originally imagined. As soon as she walked into the ski shop, Robbie Smith was right there, organizing sweatshirts on a clothing rack. They were all marked down to clearance because of the coming warm weather.
"Robbie, can I talk to you?" she said and stepped up to him.
The ski shop was empty, this being a Monday in April, but he still glanced around as if they were in a crowded room.
"What’s this about?" He only briefly met her eyes.
That seemed like the actions of someone who was hiding something, and Hazel steeled herself to be lied to. "I think you know what it's about, and I'm really just looking for the truth. Travis was talking to you at the dance that night, and witnesses said you were talking to Brandon too."
Robbie Smith's jaw clenched, and she remembered him doing something similar in high school when he was being bullied before he came out. "Yeah, so? Talking to someone makes me a killer now?" He forcefully moved one set of sweatshirts to the clearance rack and started discounting them with his little price gun.
Click. Click. Click.
"I never said I thought you did it, I just want to know what you and Brandon talked about. A kid is dead, and I thought you’d want to help the police find who did it."
Robbie drew in a long breath and let it out. "Of course, I want them to find who killed Brandon, but—look. Talking to him at the dance was stupid. Travis asked me to because they were having problems. It's not what you think, okay?"
Hazel glanced around the brightly lit ski shop and shrugged. She honestly didn't know what she thought. But it was odd that Robbie Smith, who spent most of his time near the Lodge, would be down at the Rockwell Manor talking to high school students. "Do you volunteer at the high school or something?"
Robbie rolled his eyes. "No, but some of the students do ski. Not Travis. Or Brandon, but the girlfriend, Amber, did."
"Yeah. So how did you know Travis and Brandon?"
Robbie discounted another set of sweatshirts. "He actually came looking for me. It was after he got here a couple months ago. I guess Jay told him about me."
Hazel raised her eyebrows. "Jay Turner? I didn't know you guys were friends."
Robbie gave her an incredulous look. "We're not. The Taproom is the most disgusting feature in the entire town. Seriously. No one with any class goes there. They come to the bar up here, but Jay sent his nephew my way, so what was I supposed to do—turn him away?"
"I guess not, but why did Jay send his nephew to you? Is this about getting a job at the Lodge?"
Robbie's jaw clenched again. "Look. It’s really not my place to say why he came. I can't tell you without breaking his trust. And if he didn't tell you, I don't know what to say."
What was all this talk about trust and secrets?
Hazel frowned. "So, you want me to talk to Travis again, and ask him to tell me the truth this time? Look, I came up here because the deputies are going to want to ask you some questions. And this is about a murder. So whatever secrets you're keeping, if you lie to the police, you'll be in real trouble. I'm trying to help Travis."
Robbie's eyes flicked to hers, and he ran his fingers through his wavy hair. "Why do you think Jay would send his nephew to talk to me? Seriously."
Hazel thought about it for a moment, then it struck her. Of course. Why else? Besides being a ski instructor, there was only one other thing about Robbie Smith that was widely known in town.
"He's gay," she said.
Robbie nodded tightly. "Yeah, and he wanted some help dealing with coming out. So being a reasonably okay uncle, Jay sent him to me. We started talking. It was kind of like I was his mentor or something," he said and shook his head.
Hazel mulled that over for a minute. "Okay. So, you’re Travis's mentor. Were you talking to Brandon to get him to stop picking on Travis?"
Robbie's shoulders tensed. "Brandon was a different issue entirely. I was trying to get him to come clean. Everything he was doing from going to the dance with Amber to his whole macho act was hurting Travis. He's the reason they broke up. Brandon was gay too," Robbie said with a heavy sigh.
Hazel stood there for a moment in shock. Here she thought Brandon had been a bully, then he wasn't. Well—he could still be a gay bully, she assumed. But that wasn't the reason he was picking on Travis.
"They were. . . dating," she said slowly.
Robbie nodded. "In secret, but still. Travis was mad that Brandon didn't want to go to the dance with him. He thought that could be their moment to come out. And, at first, Brandon said yes and broke up with Amber, then he changed his mind at the last minute. They were still going out. At least, Travis and Brandon claimed they never officially broke up, but things were tense between them. Now this."
This being a dead teenager.
"Do you think whoever did it knew he was –"
Robbie shoulders stiffened. "If they did, and that's why they killed them, it puts a whole new spin on it, doesn't it?" His voice dripped with bitterness, and Hazel couldn't blame him.
She put an arm around his shoulder. He tensed under it briefly, and she gave him a tight squeeze.
Robbie stared at her when she let go. "What was that for?"
"Everything," Hazel said and shrugged. "Like I said, a deputy is going to be by later. You probably want to tell him this too."
"You don't think that'll look like motive? Against Travis?"
Hazel worried her bottom lip. "I think Travis has a pretty good alibi."
Robbie raised his brows at her. "Travis has an alibi?"
Hazel told him what Jay had explained to her the night before, and Robbie let out a disdainful huff.
"Yeah. Right. Jay did not open his bar that night. For one, his alibi, Benny was here at the Lodge when I came back, and that was right around midnight. I left just a little after you did, but Jay and Travis were still there. With Brandon, as far as I know."
This bit of information was a thousand times more shocking than learning the truth about Brandon and Travis.
"Are you sure? Jay didn't take Travis home?"
Robbie shook his head. "No. And I know it looks bad for Travis too. I’m not trying to get him in trouble, but you're right. I'm not going to lie to the police either."
A jagged rock took shape in Hazel’s stomach, and she frowned in its presence.
Jay lied about his alibi?
Not good. In fact, that was much worse than not good.
It could mean that he was guilty, and Travis was trying to cover his tracks. Which meant Travis did the one thing she asked him not to do.
He’d lied to her.
Chapter 11
Hazel spent the rest of the morning distracted as she and Michael worked with the Spring Fling Dance photos. She told Michael she wanted them done by that afternoon, so she had an excuse to head to the high school, and, with a sigh, he nodded.
When she came to the pictures of Brandon and Amber, Hazel paused.
Brandon had his hand draped around her hip, but he was standing as far away from Amber as he possibly could while still being in the frame. He was grinning, but looking off to the side, and Hazel wished she knew what he saw. The smile on Amber's face looked plastic. Almost a grimace.
Hazel wondered again if she could've been the one who did it. Though, why break Brandon's neck? Did they have a fight? Was it some sort of weird accident?
With a sigh, she moved to the next photo.
It was another one of Brandon and Amber, but Travis was between them, his arm draped around both of their shoulders, though he had to stand on his tiptoes to drape it around Brandon's. In this one, Brandon leaned close to Travis and his smile was a bit more genuine. Amber looked resigned, a
nd furious. Not uncommon for a girl who’d just been broken up with.
Thanks to their combined work, they finished editing all the photos by noon, and Hazel put in a rush at the local printer. It was just her luck that a small town like Cedar Valley had a photo printing shop. It wasn't a large affair, just part of the local drugstore, but they had a high-quality printer that was good enough for most of her clients.
The higher end stuff she had to order from Reno.
Unlike the elementary school the month before, the dance photos for Cedar Valley High only took up one box. Simple enough for Hazel to deliver on her own.
She gave Michael a sympathetic smile. "Thanks for all your hard work lately. I swear, I'll give you a long weekend off before wedding season kicks in."
Michael shrugged and ran his fingers through the mop of brown hair that hung over his forehead. "It's not like I have much to do on my weekends off anyways. I just go around the lake and take photos. Though, I wouldn't mind going with your dad some time," he said with a smile.
Hazel nodded. "I think I can arrange that."
Her father was a world-famous National Geographic photographer, so no wonder Michael wanted to catch a little insight from him. And Hazel knew her father loved helping others, so it would be a match made in heaven. She may have even suggested the same thing to Travis, but she wasn't sure about that now.
Hazel left Michael to manage the studio while she went to deliver the photos. She made sure she got there before school let out by a good twenty minutes, so she had time to run to the office, drop them off, and collect her check.
Since Cedar Valley wasn’t large, the high school wasn't either. Only a small building with a handful of classrooms, one for each subject. Hazel knew that the local school photography department was lacking in most ways, just like Travis had said.
As the bell rang, she slunk outside and waited for Travis to exit the school.
She didn't spot him, though she did see Amber surrounded by her group of blonde friends—all dressed alike. They looked more like sisters than anything. Was that a new thing with teenage girls these days? Hazel wouldn't know. She'd never had a group of friends that looked exactly like her because of her hair and her height.