“Hired him from a chain in Sacramento. Good references. Maybe he forgot something and came back.”
“Or he doubled back when he saw you approach the loading dock. He could have been the man in the black sheet.”
“I hope not.” Goosebumps pop all over my naked body, and I scratch at the blood flecks. “Can I shower now, Sheriff? Are you finished?”
“For now.” His shadow moves toward the bathroom door. “I’m going downstairs to question everyone and review the security tape, but I’m coming back to protect you.”
“I don’t need you to go all chivalrous on me.” My tone comes out more biting than I expect. Probably because I’m still pissed at him for treating me like an undercover sidepiece. “If I want protection, I want you to assign Shane.”
“No, Tami.” His presence is right outside of the plastic shower curtain. Tension rolls off of him like static before a dry lightning storm. “I know I didn’t kill Viola, but I don’t know that about anyone else. You trapped the killer behind the dumpster when you found the body. You said it was still warm.”
“I can’t identify him.”
“Or her. You said lean, stronger and taller than you. How do you know it’s not the PE teacher? I heard rumors she demanded a free room and is challenging your ownership of the Bee Sting.”
“You hear a lot.” I hug myself, because it’s getting cold, and all I want is to turn on the hot water. “I know it was a man.”
“How?” His voice betrays an intense unease.
“He pushed his hard penis against my behind. I don’t think Diana Van Dirk has a penis, do you? She’s dating your uncle Chip, isn’t she?”
“My uncle’s drunk ninety percent of the time. I’m not sure he’d even notice. But it doesn’t matter. You’re in danger because the killer doesn’t know how much you saw or heard. The killer doesn’t know if you can identify him. So, whether you like it or not, I’m staying with you tonight, parents or no parents. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“You’re doing it again.” A dull heat boils over me. “Making an excuse for sticking close to me. I already told you I’m not interested in being the secret midnight hookup.”
He yanks the shower curtain aside, catching me with my hands covering my breasts. His dark-brown eyes are like deep pools of coffee, and his face is as rugged as a chiseled boulder.
He cups my head with both hands and tilts my lips toward his. “We’ll sort this thing out together. You’re in too much danger for me to keep this under wraps. I’ll talk to your parents and let the entire town know you’re mine, and nobody would dare mess with you.”
I want to kiss him so badly. In fact, my lips are pursed on the verge of complete surrender. But a ghostly finger taps on the back of my neck, and I draw back, determined to keep my pride intact.
“If you’re only doing this to keep me safe or from an overinflated sense of responsibility, forget it. Everyone in town will know it’s fake, and I’ll still be the laughingstock. Don’t I deserve a little respect?”
“After this is over and you’re safe.” He strokes the side of my face, melting my resolve, but not quite.
“No, you’ll treat me like any other hotel guest. Set a deputy in front of my door, but I don’t want any special treatment masquerading as protection.”
“I thought you were on board with it just yesterday. I don’t get it.” He scratches his head and turns away from me. “You wanted to go all cloak and dagger. It’s why I dressed up as Bigfoot.”
“I thought it was the only way to get you to be interested. You said you can’t go out in the open because you don’t want to be seen as a crooked cop.”
“I’m not a crooked cop.” His jaw sets with determination. “And I need your help. What is Evan covering up for you?”
“I don’t see how it has anything to do with you being crooked.”
“Your father had a deal with Weaver to cover up something. If I become your boyfriend, wouldn’t he have a hold on me too? Through you?”
I back away from Todd and gape, shaking my head in disbelief. “Whatever he did with Weaver has nothing to do with you.”
“What do you know about it? You have to tell me.”
“It’s nothing, Todd. Drop it. It’s sleeping dogs. You have a murder investigation, and everyone’s getting sleepy.”
He moves so fast, striking like a cobra or a Mack truck, and smashes his lips over mine. Kissing me hard and sending heat zapping from the tips of my nipples to the throbbing between my thighs.
I kiss him back, giving him a taste he won’t soon forget, then I forcibly jerk my head aside and scowl. “I’ll work with you to find the murderer and secure my hotel, but I’ll take care of my own security. Don’t go digging in my past. You won’t like what you find, and I won’t let you break my heart.”
“No, Tami.” His gaze is as heated as a bed of burning coals. “I might be breaking you in, but I won’t ever break your heart. I’m going to fix all of this and clear your name. I’ve an inkling what happened, and you can’t stop me from digging. Once you’re cleared, I’m going to marry you.”
“What are you saying?” I drop my hands, no longer caring that my breasts, belly, and thighs are fully visible. “You think I killed Viola? Are you kidding me? Clear me from what? It’s your mask the cat dragged in. Your bloody mask.”
“I’m not accusing you, but I need to know what Evan knows. Maybe he’s trying to frame you to pressure you into doing what he wants. I won’t let him ruin you.”
“It’s not up to you.” I squeeze myself so hard, goosebumps pop over my skin. “You go back there and do your job, Sheriff.”
“I will.” His gaze is steady on me. “No matter what anyone has on you, I promise you, I’ll fix it. And after I fix it, I’m going to make you my bride. Pure and clean and glorious.”
His segue gives me whiplash. One minute, we’re talking about murder and the next, he’s proposing marriage?
“You’re delusional, Todd Colson,” is all that pops from my astonished mouth.
“Maybe I am.” He laughs heartily. “But you’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, and for the first time in my life, I’m going to get what I want.”
He closes the shower curtain, leaving me shivering with a cocktail of crushed ice over hot warm fudge.
I’m all he ever wanted? How can that be?
Twenty-Six
~ Todd ~
“We have a big problem,” Shane says to me the next morning at the station. “One of Tami’s sorority sisters is missing, and witnesses say she left with that big animal, the anonymous Bigfoot. However, some of the earlier photos show Bigfoot’s mask behind the dumpster, but he supposedly left hours before the murder.”
“Maybe the guy tossed the mask on the way out.”
“True, but it’s gone now,” Shane says, flipping through his notes. “Whoever did this invited the rest of the guests to mess up the crime scene. I’d say that was pretty smart.”
“Only a few people know about the control room.” I swallow cold coffee and rub my bleary eyes. I don’t particularly trust Shane, but he is a fellow cop, and right now, I need his help. Since he was at the station most of the evening, he wouldn’t have had much opportunity to plan the murder.
I sent him over right before the fireworks show, and because he’s not one of us, he’s more noticeable. Plus, he wasn’t in costume—not that it’s hard to find a black sheet and cover himself up.
“That’s part of the problem,” Shane says. “The control room wasn’t locked, and Tami left herself logged in to the audio effects app. Anyone, including Tami, could have typed in the words for the ghostly broadcast.”
I read the words Shane copied from the screen.
Woo … woo … woo … Anyone still awake? Don’t miss out on hashtag harrowing haunts. Follow the screams and meet the latest Bee Sting ghost. Bring your phones and take pictures of the evidence and examine the murderous scene. Hunt for clues and interview witnesses. First one to find t
he murderer wins an original Bee Sting Bordello gold nugget.
“Did you ask Molly about the message?” I ask. “It’s unlikely some random person would know to type in a message like this.”
“Shucks, I finished with Molly first and let her go home since she had an alibi.”
“Did you find Evan?”
“He wasn’t in his room, but he didn’t check out. Everyone thinks it’s Bigfoot. He left his mask, and he’s big and strong enough to beat up Viola.”
I feel like strangling the idiot. “Your job is to gather evidence, not make suppositions. What else do you have?” I pace back and forth to keep my boiling blood from erupting. I can’t be everywhere at all times. After leaving Tami, I went to the Sixty Miners and questioned Paul. He was not helpful, saying that there was almost a riot from people ripping black tablecloths from his tables and starting a black ghost fad.
“Don’t worry, Sheriff,” Shane drones on. “Lots of people uploaded photos thinking it was part of an act. I’ll have them sorted by timestamp, and we can go over it with a fine-tooth comb. The earlier ones are less likely to be disturbed, but the only real evidence we have is Tami’s description of the man who pushed her.”
“How many guys had black sheets for their costume?”
“Too many to count,” Shane replies. “I told you Paul’s black tablecloths were stolen, and too many women were witches.”
“I need you to go over every interview again and see if you can find something we overlooked. What I want to know is why Viola went to the dumpster if not to meet someone. She wasn’t seeing anyone as far as I know, but she was doing research on old mining claims and property deeds. Why was she looking into them?”
“Curiosity? She was a librarian.” Shane’s back in his mocking tone again. “I’d say of all the women at the party, she was the least likely to be murdered.”
“Au contraire.” I narrow my eyes and prepare to teach Shane a thing or two. “It’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for. I’m betting she looked into something she shouldn’t have found. I’m wondering if she isn’t above a spot of blackmail. Suppose she discovered a secret the killer didn’t want exposed.”
“Enough to kill her? Bash her face in so brutally?”
“Quick and dirty job. Poison is unpredictable. A gunshot too loud and leaves ballistic evidence. Same with a sharp knife. There’s the type of knife, the angle of the cut giving away right- and left-handedness, height, strength. But a baseball bat is common.”
“He had to have brought it with him,” Shane points out. “Did anyone dress as a ballplayer?”
“No, but it’s not hard to hide it underneath a robe.” I’m trying to remember when I last saw someone with a bat, but our summer softball league is already over. “Or maybe it was left in the basement.”
“I sent it out to be analyzed.”
“Good.” I finish up my coffee and collect the paperwork. “I’m going to do some investigating on Viola’s background.”
“I’ll keep an APB out for Evan Graves. Should we bring Molly in for questioning?”
“She’ll only lie.” I tap the desktop. “Why don’t you keep a tail on her? Find out where she goes and who she talks to. She and Evan are persons of interest.”
“They sure messed up the crime scene with that invitation to meet a ghost.” Shane slaps the crime scene photos on the desk with disgust. “Footsteps everywhere. Fingerprints all over the bat. Victim’s body moved, poked and prodded to see if it’s real or not. Fucking brilliant.”
“Yep. I want an update on the deputies stationed at the hotel. Tami’s determined that the show must go on, and so far, most of the guests are staying put. A few left, and more are checking in. There’s nothing like a murder to gander up people’s curiosity around here.”
“Unlike SF. No one cares over there.” Shane yawns. “Okay, boss. I still think we should track down Larissa and that Bad Boy for Hire: Bigfoot. Ask if they saw anything. I’d like to see if Furball has blood on his costume.”
“I’ll follow up on them.”
“Are you also going to follow up on Tami?” He winks slyly. “She is officially a person of interest.”
“She’s a witness, and the killer might be afraid she can identify him.”
“So she says.” He snickers and gives me a superior look. “Nine times out of ten, the person who finds the body is a suspect. Add to that, she claims she got blood all over her because a mysterious unseen person pushes her. You have no evidence that masked marauder was even there. Don’t you think her story is overly dramatic?”
I have to keep myself from punching the douchebag. He’s full of implications and acts so superior like us small-town cops are bumbling fools.
“Tami is traumatized, but don’t you worry. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Especially since the cameras don’t show anyone coming and going into the area.”
“How about when Viola exited the hotel?”
“She hurried out from the service entrance, but no one else was captured entering or exiting until Tami appeared. Too bad, the dumpster area isn’t covered by the video, but it’s not looking good for Tami.”
“Tami’s not a murderer. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I must admit it’s not her style.” Shane makes a stirring motion over his coffee cup and stares at the dark liquid as if there are tea leaves with the answer.
“Leave Tami to me and find Evan. He could easily have looped the video to show nothing while he went out to meet Viola.”
“You watch too many TV shows.” Shane twists his lips and lifts his chin. “There would be forensic evidence of video tampering. The cut in and out can be detected. I can have that analyzed.”
“Then find the evidence. Tami’s sure what she saw and felt.”
“Yeah, your big cock.” Shane wipes his hand through his hair and yawns.
I slam my fist on the desk and glare at him. “That’s enough. You have nothing on Tami other than to keep her safe. Find the freaking killer if you’re so smart.”
“I will.” Shane pushes back from the desk and puts on his hat. He grabs the keys to the Tahoe PPV and strides out like he’s a modern-day gunslinger.
Jerk.
I’m left driving the old police cruiser back to the hotel.
Last night was weird, but I staked my claim in a way that’s hard for Tami to misunderstand. I’ve been denying my feelings too long, and seeing Tami so distraught, covered with blood, frightened, yet trying hard to keep a level head to answer my questions twanged a heartstring as deep as the bass guitar’s low E.
I love her, as much as I know how, which is little, but I can at least try.
The sun is peeking through the treetops, and the roof and windows of the hotel are covered with frost. The temperature dropped overnight, and snow is forecast.
I saunter through the lobby and spot a different concierge, a woman from out of town. Which reminds me I need to follow up with Neil as well as the groundskeeper who wasn’t on duty.
“I’m Sheriff Colson,” I introduce myself. “How are things this morning?”
“After the fright last night?” Her cheeks are rosy. “By the way, I’m Shelly. I missed it all, didn’t I?”
“Good thing for you, Miss Higgins. Is Miss King up?”
“Oh, yes, sir. She’s in the dining room presiding over the Buns and Bones pancake breakfast.”
I thank her and find Tami fluttering from table to table, greeting her guests. Her hair is curled and bouncy, and she’s dressed like a farm girl with denim overalls and a gingham checked shirt.
“Hey.” I flash her a smile. “How’d you sleep last night?”
She blushes and turns away, but her eyes flitter my direction twice. “At least we turned off the sound effects of the Weeping Widow. I more than made up for it.”
“And your parents? Are they well?”
“My dad slept like a log, and my mother chattered until she sputtered out, then it was endless snoring. They
slept on either side of me.”
I lean over and whisper. “Was it to ensure your safety or chastity?”
“Both, Sheriff Colson.” She glances over her shoulder at the guests and straightens her back. “Welcome to our Buns and Bones breakfast. Would you like to sit with Rosalie, Bonnie, and Suzette? Or between your uncle Chip and my parents?”
“Did my uncle spend the night with Diana? Where is she this morning? Did she check out?”
Tami makes a zipping motion over her lips. “I’m an innkeeper. Confidentiality rules apply.”
“I need to question Diana later, but if my uncle can provide her an alibi …”
“You’ll get nothing out of me,” Tami says. “Check with Shane. He dragged everyone out of bed last night.”
“I’ll do that. Can we go somewhere to talk?”
“Sure.” She rubs her arms and bites her lip. “I have to keep an eye on the guests.”
“I think they’re doing just fine. It’s better if we speak in private.” I steer her up the stairs to the Weeping Widow Walkway. “I’d like you to help me with the investigation. You can speak to people here better than I can. Find out if Viola was doing research for anyone.”
“Okay, anything else you want to know?” Tami unlocks the suite door and gives me a smirk, but doesn’t step aside to let me in.
My heart does jumping jacks, and sweat dampens my forehead. Is she flirting or dismissing me? Suddenly, every piece of body language is important, and I hope I’m not misreading her.
“About what I said last night.” I take her hand. “I meant every word.”
A pink blush travels up her cheeks, and she wets her lips. “About me? Why the big change?”
“There wasn’t any change. Only I didn’t admit it before. I know your dad was paying off Weaver, and I suspect it has something to do with you. Evan’s missing, and he threatened you last night. Tell me again, Tami. What is it he’s holding over you?”
She yanks her hand from mine and snaps her jaw shut. Her eyes narrow. “Why, Todd, you creep. I almost believed you meant what you said, but all you’re after is digging up dirt on my family.”
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