by Vakey, Jenn
She had been right. The warm breeze that gently tickled her cheeks was perfect. It was just warm enough not to sting as it struck the back of her throat, but not so hot as to make her uncomfortable.
Rilynne tried hard to catch up to the woman, but even though she was moving as fast as her legs would take her, she wasn’t able to shorten the distance between them. It wasn’t until they came to the lake that the woman stopped and she was able to reach her.
“Do you know what’s really sad?” she asked Rilynne. She shook her head softly, still trying to remember where she had seen her before. As hard as she tried, nothing came to mind.
“I always really liked it here. This spot, that is. I would come out here whenever I wanted to get away from it all. I always considered jumping in for a swim, but I never did. Ironic, isn’t it?” Rilynne suddenly knew exactly who was standing in front of her. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before.
“It is,” she replied, looking from Brittney Price to the lake in which she had been found. The situation made her sad. It was more than just the death; it was, as Brittney stated, the irony in it all. “Who did it? Who put you in there?”
Brittney just looked at her and smiled. “I was so scared. If I’d known this is where I would end up, perhaps it wouldn’t have been so bad. Or maybe it would have been worse.” She seemed to have become entranced by the movements of the water. After a few moments, she didn’t appear to notice Rilynne standing there at all. Rilynne was just about to reach out to regain her attention when she suddenly dove into the shimmering lake.
She watched, stunned by the swiftness of her action, and waited for Brittney to reemerge. She never did.
Rilynne waited for what seemed like an hour before turning to see if anyone else was around. As she spun around, she found herself standing on the sidewalk across the street from Lori’s house in Bodker. Something was different, though. She felt different.
She considered walking toward the house, but before she could take the first step, a moving truck pulled into the driveway. Just behind it was a SUV holding six large men. For some reason the scene both frightened and annoyed her.
When she looked closer, she could see that the men walking toward the open front door were all her old friends from the station. She wanted to go toward them, but something inside was holding her back. She tried to push through it, but after several long moments of trying, she decided to give up.
Before turning away, she looked down and found a white box in her hands. It was a small box, no larger than a deck of playing cards. On top of it was a bright red bow. The sight of the box struck an entirely different emotion, though she didn’t know exactly what it was. She loosened her grip on it and watched it drop to the ground, landing in a pile of cigarette butts that were littering the ground around her feet. Then without another look at it or the house, she turned and walked down the sidewalk.
When she rounded the corner ahead, the sound of her feet slapping against the hard, cold sidewalk was replaced with the roaring sound of water. Along with it came the feeling of a giant weight being lifted off of her. She felt like herself again.
“This is truly one of my favorite places,” she said aloud as she felt her feet sinking into the familiar sand beneath her feet.
“I know,” a voice came from just behind her. Though she was startled, she didn’t turn to face him. “It’s one of mine, too. This is where my dad took my mom right before they died. It was a surprise anniversary trip. You should have seen her when she found out. I don’t remember ever seeing her so happy,” Ben said. Rilynne looked up at him curiously. Before she could ask him anything, he continued. “Right after Justin told me he was sick we decided to make a trip out for ourselves. I guess it just made us feel closer to them.”
“How…” she started, but didn’t know how to continue. “You’ve never told me that,” she said a few moments later. “I’ve been here so many times. It’s where I go to feel safe or look for answers. How could this be the same place?”
“Why are you asking me?” he said with his all too familiar, puckish grin. “I’m often left in awe by the things you’re able to do, even if I’m not able to understand them.” She stammered, wanting to ask what he meant, but he interrupted her before she could. “So what brings you here now? Are you looking for answers or just needing to feel safe?”
“I…I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “Why are you here? It’s just that usually when I see someone here, they turn out to either be dead or a killer. As far as I know, you don’t fit in either category.”
“As far as you know,” he said playfully.
“You’re hiding something from me,” she stated abruptly. “You have been for a while.” She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did. She thought for a moment that he was going to deny it. Instead, he looked almost amused.
“Aren’t you hiding something from me?” he chuckled.
“Not because I want to,” she said defensively. She waited for the anger to show in his expression, but it didn’t come. He just smiled as he reached out and took her by the hand.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore,” he said gently. “Everything is going to work out just the way it’s supposed to. What you really should be worrying about is him.” He swung his free arm up and pointed down the beach.
At the other end, barely visible against the towering trees, stood a single man. She took a step toward him causing her hand to slide out of Ben’s. “Who is he?” she asked, straining her eyes, trying to get a better look. “Is that the man I’m looking for? Did he kill Brittney Price?”
When she turned back around, Ben was gone. Rilynne glanced up and down the beach, but knew she couldn’t go searching for him. She had to find out who the other man was. She started running toward him, but the sand sank below her feet and slowed her down. With every step she took, she only descended deeper and deeper into it. Before she could do anything, it was up to her neck.
“No!” she yelled as it started to flood over her face. She tried to scream for help but the sand was pressing over her mouth. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t breathe.
“No,” she gasped as she jolted up. Rilynne ran her hands violently over her face and across her chest, but the sand was gone. She struggled to catch her breath as she tried to focus on the room around her. Using the moonlight flooding through the window, she could just make out her bedroom around her. She’d never been so happy to be sitting in her bed.
Chapter Four
It was just after eight when Rilynne walked out of her front door. Matthews was waiting outside with the trunk already popped. After dropping her suitcase in, she climbed into the passenger seat.
“Where’s your uniform?” he asked as he pulled away from the curb. “I only agreed to take you to the agency so I could see you in the uniform. The guys wanted evidence. I agreed to take pictures, but now I’m going to have to go back empty handed.” The insincere disappointment in his voice left Rilynne with a grin.
The staffing agency was on a small strip near the high school, tucked between two larger offices. The inside had a single desk sitting in the back corner, opposite a small seating area. The corner behind the desk had two large bookcases, filled with thick, black binders.
“You must be the detective Patrick was sending,” the woman sitting at the desk said when she looked up at her. Her thick, curly hair was pulled up in a clip, making the large pearl necklace around her neck stand out. “I’m Anna Marks. Come have a seat and I’ll pull together everything you’ll need.”
Rilynne rolled her suitcase against the wall and took the seat across the desk from Anna. She watched as she grabbed a thick file out of her filing cabinet and began pulling pages out.
“Here’s a detailed layout of the house. Now, as I’m sure you were informed, I’m only agreeing to this because Patrick has given me his assurances that it will never get out that I’m at all part of this. In order to cover myself, I’m going to need you to fill out all of the
standard paperwork. You can start on this pile. Please read everything before signing,” she said. Rilynne couldn’t help but notice the note of annoyance in her voice.
She didn’t say another word until Rilynne signed the last page in the thick stack. The moment the pen left the paper, she grabbed the pages and said, “I’ll make a copy of these for your records. Since you can’t very well be dropped off in a car belonging to anyone at the department, I’ll have a cab come by to take you to the manor.”
By the time Anna handed the stack of papers back to her, the cab was waiting outside. Even though she had worked several undercover assignments in her time on the department, she still felt a knot growing inside of her as they made their way through the city. It was somewhere between nervousness and excitement.
“You can just leave me at the front gate,” she told the driver as they started up the long, private driveway.
The driver nodded but didn’t respond. She looked out the window and watched the towering trees pass by. After several long minutes, the car slowed and she looked forward to find a large iron gate crossing the road. It was almost frightening. She wondered to herself if that was the intention when it was built.
As the car came to a stop, she pulled her bag out of the trunk and paid the driver. When she turned around, she found two large men staring down at her. They were just as intimidating as the gate itself.
“The agency sent me for the open maid position,” she said, trying her best to sound nervous.
The larger of the two men, who was built like a gorilla, stepped toward her. She recognized him as Rick Olsen, though his pictures didn’t come close to capturing his intensity. His eyes, though a pretty shade of light blue, seemed to burn through her like a hot laser. It took all of her strength not to back away.
He grabbed the papers out of her hand and flipped through them before grunting and nodding to the man in the gatehouse. “Come with me,” he said in a deep, scratchy voice. He tossed the papers back at her and turned toward the gate, which was now half opened.
She dragged her bag behind her as she followed him to a golf cart parked just inside the gate. She thought for a moment that he would help her load the bag onto the cart, but instead he sat down and waited for her to finish. After lugging the bag onto the back, she barely had time to climb into the passenger seat before the cart lunged forward.
After the length of the driveway they had driven before reaching the gate, she had expected the manor to be only moments ahead of them. Instead, they drove another five minutes in silence before the tree line broke and the grounds appeared.
She let out an involuntary gasp when the manor came into view. In her opinion, it was closer to a palace. The layout made her think of a chicken’s foot, with three separate wings branching off of the main foyer. The entire manor held twenty-nine bedrooms and twelve restrooms in addition to the dozens of personal and social rooms. From the layout she had been given, she knew that the end of the west wing held the rooms occupied by the staff, aside from nanny who had a room near the children.
One thing that had surprised her was the bedroom arrangements. Not only were Jared and Cyndi Lewis sleeping in separate bedrooms, the rooms were on entirely different wings. Jared was on the east wing, along with the children, and Cyndi was on the north. Connecting the ends of the three wings was a large, underground tunnel. Looking at the plans, it appeared that the tunnel didn’t extend beyond those points, but it was something she would want to look at herself.
He drove around to the left of the building, stopping at the end of the west wing. “Come with me,” he said again. She grabbed the bag and followed him through the large French doors. He didn’t slow until he reached an open door twenty feet down the hall. “You will stay here,” he stated.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” she asked, trying to hide her grin. Without responding, he turned and walked away.
The room wasn’t as small as she expected. The walls were stone white, except the one sitting behind the large headboard, which had been painted a dark red. To the right side of the bed sat a black nightstand that matched the bed frame. In lieu of a dresser, the bed had six drawers buildin on either side.
“Not bad,” she said aloud to herself as she continued examining the room.
“You must be the new girl,” Rilynne heard as she pulled the bag up onto the large, cushioned chair in the corner a few moments later. She turned to find a man standing in the doorway watching her curiously. Her first thought was he looked like a statue; his handsome facial features seemed chiseled beneath his dark, flowing hair. The smile on his face left her almost mesmerized.
“I guess so,” she replied. “Judging by the button up shirt and tie, I would say you’re the driver.”
He shrugged in an amused sort of way. “I prefer chauffeur. You can call me Danny, though.”
“Danny it is. I prefer Naomi to new girl. It helps to prevent confusion after I’ve been somewhere for a while.”
He chuckled as he looked her up and down. After he seemed satisfied with what he saw, he winked at her and said, “I guess I’ll see you later then, Naomi.”
She was hit with mixed feelings when he left. Although she was left with an uncomfortable sensation, she couldn’t help but be optimistic after the encounter. She had learned long before that men seemed to be much more forthcoming with someone they were attracted to. She just didn’t know how to take advantage of it without returning his flirtatious advances.
Before she called to check in with Matthews, she went through every inch of the room making sure it hadn’t been bugged. With how paranoid the Lewis’ seemed, she wouldn’t have put it past them to put surveillance in the room, especially after the previous occupant was murdered. After she was satisfied, she pulled out her phone.
“What have you got?” Matthews asked.
Rilynne looked both up and down the hall twice before closing her door. “Nothing useful,” she replied as she sat down on the corner of her bed. “Other than the head of security, the only person I’ve met so far has been the Lewis’ chauffeur. He seems friendly enough, though a bit of a flirt. It didn’t take him more than a few seconds to start hitting on me.”
“Let him,” Matthews said abruptly. “If it will help you get close enough to get information out of him, let him think you’re interested.”
She hesitated, unsure how comfortable she was with his suggestion. “So, let me get this straight. You want me to flirt and lead him to believe I’m interested in him? I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“I’ve seen you play the flirting card in interrogations,” he said. “It won’t be much different than that.”
Rilynne couldn’t disagree with him more. It was one thing to be sitting in a room with someone and bat her eyes while she questioned them about a crime. Flirting with someone who was oblivious to the fact that she might have ulterior motives was a whole other ball game.
“Okay,” she replied with a resigned sigh, though she still wasn’t pleased with it. “I’ll call to check in tomorrow night, unless I find something sooner.”
After hanging up, she lay back on her bed and stared around the room. She knew that playing on the chauffeur’s desires would no doubt make it easier to learn what she needed to, but something about it still struck her wrong. When she really thought about it, the reason was simple: Ben.
Rilynne had hoped to spend her first day getting familiar with everyone in the house, but soon found there was little chance of that. She hadn’t even managed to fully unpack when there was a knock at the door. When she opened it, she found Olsen standing in the doorway with three large binders.
“Mrs. Lewis wishes you to spend the rest of the day going over the procedures of the house,” he said as he held out the binders. “You’ll begin your duties tomorrow. She will not tolerate anything less than perfection.” He turned without waiting for a response and walked tightly down the hall.
She had read over her share of procedural guides, but had never se
en anything so extensive. Every room in the manor was given its own section, and it seemed that every item within the room was listed. In addition to a picture and description of the items, there were very specific instructions about how they should be cleaned.
As unusual as they were, the binders were actually very useful. They included nearly every item placed around the house. Rilynne knew that the item used to hit Brittney Price was long and approximately three inches wide. While it wasn’t guaranteed the item was in one of the binders, it definitely gave her a place to start.
As she looked over the instructions for each area she would be responsible for the next day, she made a list of every item that could have caused the bruise found on the victim’s lower back. Though she knew the manor was huge, she found a surprising number of items that were consistent. Unfortunately, none of them were in the rooms she would be cleaning tomorrow.
By the time she finished flipping through the binders and reading over the detailed list of responsibilities she would have, it was just after ten. She walked quietly to the kitchen and grabbed something from the staff fridge, then retreated back to her room.
After pulling on her pajamas and running her fingers quickly through her long auburn hair, she slid under the thick comforter. Her head barely touched the pillow before she felt herself drift away.
“This is the exact type of uniform I was assured I wouldn’t have to wear!” Rilynne yelled into the mirror. The image in front of her made her want to walk out the door and head back to her real life. The puffy skirt barely left her covered, and the top was so low cut that she was afraid she would pop out of it the next time she took a deep breath.
She turned to find the members of the homicide unit standing around her room, each with his own judgmental look.
“Well, I guess that’s as good as it’s going to get,” Wilcome said abruptly. “Off to it then. And if you get fired from this job, don’t bother coming back to the station.”