by Geri Krotow
“Stop placating me, Rio. Do all of the usual work-ups you’d do on any other suspect. It won’t be as heavy a workload since you did a preliminary investigation on her after she delivered those flowers to Zora Krasny last Christmas. For all we know the crazy cult might be trying to get to her next.” He referred to the bouquet of flowers a serial killer had sent to the person he’d hoped would be a future victim via Kayla’s floral shop. But Zora had been working undercover with fellow SVPD detective Bryce Campbell to lure the criminal out. The case had gotten larger than expected when Zora’s biological mother, a member of a cult Zora had helped break up when she escaped as a child, showed up in Silver Valley. The same cult members were being released from prison and were settling in a trailer park on the outskirts of town.
“Sir, we both know she’s not a suspect. Not really. And her involvement with the potential cult is nil. On a personal note, I know her—knew her—well. She’s a good person, boss.”
Colt searched his face and a slow grin cracked his usual tough expression. “Nice to know you have at least some kind of a personal life, Rio. Nevertheless, we both know how important it is to keep our paperwork in order. Since you don’t think she’s culpable, there isn’t any conflict of interest as far as I’m concerned.” Colt Todd leaned forward and rubbed his temples before he opened his eyes.
“The cult nonsense isn’t going to go away quickly or quietly. We’re dealing with some very determined people who will do anything to gain a foothold of power in a place like Silver Valley. We have everything they’d want—access to major East Coast highways, proximity to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC. We have good people here for the most part. But the heroin dealers and counterfeiters are taking their toll.”
“We’re going to beat them, too, boss.”
“Yes, we are. We may need some help along the way, though.”
“We already have FBI and Treasury working in our area, sir.” Rio had no issues with the Feds and had, in fact, made several good contacts with agents operating locally. It was a mutually beneficial exchange of information and they all wanted the same thing: to put the bad guys behind bars and keep them the hell out of Silver Valley. “You’re talking about the Trail Hikers?”
“Yeah.”
Rio was familiar with the Trail Hikers, a government shadow agency that contracted agents who worked undercover, not only in Silver Valley and the Harrisburg area, but also throughout the United States as needed.
“I’m not full-time TH, sir, but I’ve been cleared to operate with them, and I received the introductory training. I’m aware of what they’re capable of. But I don’t think we’re in that much of a bind yet.”
“I didn’t think we were, either, but without their help we would have never brought down the Female Preacher Killer in time. We might still be chasing that bastard.”
“Sir, we’ll get Meredith’s killer, too. He’s amateur at best, to have confronted the mayor’s personal assistant in a place where anyone could have walked in at any time. Chances are it’s someone the mayor knows.” He wanted to wrap this up with Todd. Kayla was somewhere in the building, waiting to give her statement. But Colt wasn’t done with him.
“Watch it, Rio. We can’t start operating on assumptions. We both know where that will get us. I’m asking you to keep an open mind. If you see anyone you think is a Trail Hiker, you can’t let them know you suspect there’s a bigger investigation afoot. It’s for all of our safety.”
“Keep my eyes open and my mouth shut. I know the routine, boss.”
That got a full grin out of Colt Todd, a rarity when his boss was stressed.
As Rio let himself out of his superior’s office, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it might be the last smile he’d see from his boss in a long time.
* * *
Colt Todd watched Rio depart as an attractive silver-haired woman walked into his office.
“Claudia. You’re working late. Nice to see you.”
“Colt. I heard about the murder.” She shut the door behind her. When she turned back to him, she held out her hand. They shook and not for the first time he wished he could tug on her slim but strong arm and bring her up against him, lower his mouth to hers and...
“I trust I’m not interrupting you?” She motioned to the door Rio had just exited.
“Only our most recent murder investigation. Please, sit down.” He waited until she slid into the chair before he lowered himself into his. “It’s damn vexing, Claudia. When I was a rookie, we were pressed if we had one or two murders a decade. Now we’ve had more in the past six months than the last five years. What the hell is going on with this town?”
“I think we both suspect the same thing, Colt.”
“I can’t wait to take down these cult maniacs.”
“That’s what I’m here for. I have to ask you, and the SVPD, to give the True Believers a wide berth.”
“What do you mean by that?” He already knew, but he wasn’t going to let her off the hook, no matter how damn attractive she was.
“Higher levels of government are interested in the cult, Colt. How it’s reorganizing, why it’s picked Silver Valley and if Leonard Wise is back in town.” She named the original leader of the cult, a man who had created a colony of children with young women convinced they had to listen to him. “I can’t say much more, except that we need to monitor them. They may lead to some bigger crooks. And a bigger scheme than taking over a town of twenty thousand in suburban Pennsylvania.”
He looked at her and admired how she didn’t blink, didn’t flinch, as he’d been known to make many cops, and especially criminals, do. “You’re asking me to keep the residents of Silver Valley in danger from these crazies and to put my force at risk for longer than necessary, Claudia.”
“Yes, I am. And it’s not a request, Colt, so your conscience can be clear. It’s an order from way above my pay grade.” Claudia was a retired United States Marine Corps general. “Above her pay grade” referred to the highest levels of government.
“If it has the attention of the White House, why not bring in more FBI?”
“Trail Hikers are elite, Colt. The FBI is fantastic at what it does. But we don’t know how far the cult’s reach is. Who’s really calling the shots. Leonard Wise could be a front man for someone, something else. Until we have more concrete answers we can’t call in anything that would arouse suspicion.”
“Or spook the cult away.”
Claudia nodded. “You got it. I hate it as much as you that Silver Valley has become the petri dish to observe these slime bags. All I can do is promise that TH is here, backing up SVPD whether or not your officers are aware of it.”
“How much support will we get from your group?” He knew he had Claudia’s support as the group CEO, but even she had superiors to answer to.
“As much as you need, like always. As long as our budget holds out, which, trust me, it will.” She shifted forward in her seat. “Can you fill me in on what you have on the Houseman murder? Rio will file a report for us, but I want to hear it from you first.”
“You must think the murder’s related to the cult, Claudia. Or is there something more I don’t know?”
“No, I have no connections. Yet. But a mayor voted into office in such a rush, especially a political thug whose specialty until now has been New Jersey politics, raises red flags. We can’t rule out the True Believers manipulating local politics for their own gain.”
“You’re leaving something out, Claudia, but I’ll play along.” He waited for her to smile and felt a rush of warmth to his crotch that he had to admit was a damned welcome feeling after years of living his self-imposed celibate lifestyle since his wife had died eight years ago.
Maggie. God, he still missed her. But when Claudia was around, the pain diminished. He filled her in on what he knew.
“Kayla Paruso, the florist from last Christmas who delivered the message in a bouquet to Zora Krasny.” Claudia wasn’t asking, she was thinking aloud.
The woman had a steel trap for a brain. Another reason he was attracted to her. “We did an extensive background check on her at the time. She was raised by Foreign Service officers and has lived globally, probably conversational in two if not three languages besides English.”
“That’s not going to help us solve this, Claudia. She barely caught a look at the guy and describes his voice as deep and masculine.”
“From a polyglot that’s not a bad thing. I’m sure she’d be able to identify the voice again, in court. What I’m more interested in is her potential as a Trail Hiker.” Claudia’s eyes gleamed and the color on her high cheekbones conveyed her enthusiasm at adding to her team of super-trained law-enforcement agents.
“A florist? Claudia, I’m a simple man, the leader of a team of local cops. But even I know the importance of having the training and background to go into any kind of law enforcement. I doubt Kayla Paruso knows the difference between a pistol and a rifle.”
“Because she’s a woman?”
“Hell no. Because she’s an artistic type. Have you met her? She’s a pretty woman, very intelligent and very focused on her flower shop. It’s her life.”
“That kind of focus can easily translate into what we need on TH, especially for undercover surveillance.” Claudia’s eyes narrowed. Colt hid his amusement because he didn’t want Claudia to think he was making fun of her. He wasn’t. He was thrilled that he could make her react like this. It brought him back to his first thoughts about Claudia when she’d walked into the office...
“Don’t, Colt.” Her gaze was steady, her voice calm, but he saw the tremor in her hands. “I know what you’re thinking and it won’t work. I don’t date men I work with.”
Well, shit.
* * *
Kayla hated the smell of the Silver Valley Police Department’s building. A small structure in the middle of the most commercial part of town, it seemed benign enough. Until she walked in and smelled the combination of day-old coffee, cigarette smoke and sugar. The coffee was self-explanatory. Any office that worked 24/7 needed a source of caffeine. The smoke wafted in from the outdoor designated smoking area, as all government buildings in Pennsylvania were smoke-free. The sugary scent she’d never been able to pinpoint. The likely stereotype was doughnuts, but the SVPD employees she’d met, from the receptionist to police officers and detectives, were all in incredible physical shape.
Still, the smell of cotton-candy sugar lingered in the air.
She hated it because she associated the building with when her brother had been brought in to give a statement after the church fire last Christmas. She’d picked him up afterward.
The first time she’d had occasion to visit was also last Christmas, when her statement had to be taken and filed for her unintentional delivery of flowers from a serial killer.
This third time certainly wasn’t the charm, she thought, as she sat in a cracked, padded chair in a drab interrogation room, waiting for someone to come take her statement—again.
She’d already told two different officers her version of events, from when she’d pulled up outside the barn until Rio had arrived on scene.
As if she was a suspect.
She felt like one, despite her guilt at not being able to do anything to save Meredith. Meredith, who’d been shot right in front of her, wasn’t much younger than Kayla. She’d been doing her job as the mayor’s assistant and in one horrible evening her life was over.
Kayla hadn’t been able to do anything to save her own brother, Keith, from the evil that seemed to be invading Silver Valley, either. She’d been stunned when one of the couples from the church had filed a suit against Keith and the town, claiming they’d suffered from the fire and it was his fault. The mayor had said he sided with Keith but still removed him from active duty. He was still on administrative leave from the Silver Valley Fire Department.
Purposeful steps sounded on the other side of the door before Rio opened it and strode into the room. A smarter woman wouldn’t have looked at him, but Kayla allowed herself a good long glance at the man she’d been unable to shake from her memory. She told herself it was the shock, not desire.
Rio.
It would be so much simpler if she hadn’t slept with him. If she didn’t know the passion beneath that rock-solid cop exterior. And he might be her only chance at proving she had nothing to do with this murder.
Rio was the one man she’d even considered starting a serious relationship with in years, until she realized how dangerous his occupation was. She’d dated a cop before, but with no intention of making it anything more than casual. Cops weren’t available to her. Too risky. They could be killed. She’d had enough loss in her life. Being involved with someone she couldn’t count on around-the-clock didn’t appeal to her.
He lied to you.
He hadn’t lied, really. Just left out one little fact about himself until it was too late for it to be an innocent oversight. If he didn’t trust her with his real life from the get-go, she wanted no part of it.
“Here.” He set a take-out latte in front of her. The sweet almond smell made her groan. He grinned.
“I thought you’d appreciate it about now. I’m sorry you’ve had to wait for so long.” He took the chair opposite her.
“Sure you are.” She wasn’t going to refuse the drink, however, and enjoyed several sips before she spoke again. “Thank you for the coffee. Let me guess, you need me to go over everything I’ve already told Officers Ogden and Miller?”
“No, you’ve given your official statement. I need you to dig a little deeper and think about your clientele. How many new customers have you had in the past few weeks?”
“You mean since the new mayor was installed?” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her tone. Rio’s lips twitched. It would be so easy to reach over and make him smile.
Would have been, if they were still seeing each other. She really needed to get a grip. They’d barely dated. It had been more like a mutual lust-satisfaction gig. An arrangement Rio appeared to have forgotten.
“Since whenever. Anyone stick out, anyone seem strange, out of place in Silver Valley?”
She shook her head. “It’s one of my busiest times of year, between Passover, Easter and springtime in general. Not as busy as Christmas, but it gets close to the same volume over the month. I can’t always tell which new customers will stay and which ones are simply buying their bouquets for the season. But no one struck me as odd.”
“What about your regular and special event contracts? You mentioned the current mayor is a regular customer?”
“The previous mayor is no longer on my regular list, of course, but yes, the new mayor picked up where she left off. Actually, his wife, Gloria, is the one who does the ordering.” Ex-mayor Amelia Donner had started the tradition of keeping fresh flowers in the office while she was mayor and had extended it to her home. But these days Amelia Donner had no money for anything but her legal defense. “I do occasionally drop off some fresh flowers to Amelia.”
“That’s nice of you.”
Kayla blushed. The latte warmed her fingers and she clung to the paper cup, wanting to drink more but not wanting to lose the source of comfort, afraid that her hands might still shake.
She risked a look at Rio, who remained his usual gorgeous self-contained “I am a detective, damn it” self. There was that flicker of light in his deep brown eyes, the flicker she missed. A lot.
He waited for her to think some more, remember something he could use. This was how Rio operated. As if he had all the time in the world. As if she was the only person he cared about.
“Gloria Charbonneau orders flowers fairly regularly for the same types of affairs as Mayor Donner did. But...” She took a large gulp of her drink.
“Go on.”
“She isn’t the friendliest person. She has very expensive taste and never wants the stems I have on hand. I have to go to the Port of Baltimore or Philadelphia for her requests and get the flowers fresh. I even had to go
into New York once. I was surprised when she called about flowers for this wedding only because she’s a careful planner, from my brief association with her. She doesn’t do anything short-notice if she can help it.”
“The wedding is a surprise from what you’ve said. And that corroborates the statements we’ve taken from the owner of the Weddings and More Barn.”
“Yes, definitely short-notice. And I’ve never met her daughter, Cynthia. If she’s anything like Gloria, the next week is going to be a rough one. Gloria is a perfectionist, to say the least. You should be interviewing her, though, not me. I’m only the florist.”
Rio’s eyes lit up and his dimples, surprising in his masculine face, made Kayla smile.
“For being ‘only the florist’ you seem to get yourself in the middle of a lot of activity, Kayla.”
“Spare me the official mumbo jumbo, Rio. You know me. You know it’s all coincidence. It’s a small town, and even if there are twenty thousand citizens of Silver Valley, there are only three other florists besides me, along with several more in the Harrisburg area. We each offer a different type of service.” She shrugged, ready to be done. “You’ve taken my statements, and you know where I live. I’m not a flight risk. It’s after midnight and my day starts in four hours with delivery preps for the local churches. May I go?”
He held her gaze long enough for her to see her emotions echoed in his expression. Feelings she had no desire to address, not at half-past midnight on a work night. On a night she’d witnessed a murder. On any night since they’d last been together as a couple.
“Yes, you can go. First let me make something very clear. While I’m confident we’ll clear you of any suspicious activities, that doesn’t mean this is over. We have a murderer out there, someone who probably knew the victim. That means a local, and that means you could be on his radar. Your van was in full view. We’re going to keep a close eye on you. Extra patrols past your shop at opening and closing, and by your home in the evenings. Don’t be alarmed, we’re just doing our job. But I would like you to stay quiet about what you saw last night. Don’t volunteer to anyone that you were there—we told the owner of the Weddings and More Barn that it was a local who called in the report but we didn’t say you were there. For all he knows, you drove up after the SVPD units arrived and went home.”