The Murder in Skoghall (Illustrated) (The Skoghall Mystery Series Book 1)

by Alida Winternheimer

  Chapter Five

  Jess emerged from the shower and dressed in a flowered skirt and brown top. It was the first time she’d worn a skirt since the move, and she was feeling particularly feminine. She stopped in the office before going downstairs to admire her new roll top desk once more. Jess ran her hand over the smooth surface before plunking down in her chair. The chair squeaked as she pushed it back on its spring. She let it rock her forward and find its own equilibrium with another squeak each time it tilted away from the desk. She put her hand into one of the bookstalls, feeling the smooth side panel, thinking how neatly her Oxford English Dictionary would fit inside. The letter cubbies called to her next. She couldn’t help probing one of the smooth compartments with curious fingertips. She felt something and jerked her hand back out. Jess leaned forward to peer inside, wondering what small treasure awaited discovery. Whatever it was, it was too far back to see. She slid her hand inside again and found it. Pinched between her first and second fingers like tweezers, she withdrew the lead cowboy.

  Jess stared at the little figure in disbelief.

  She had a dinner guest coming soon, which was reason enough not to think about the cowboy. She set it atop the desk and stood up to go downstairs. Pausing before she turned away, a wave of deep sadness came over her and she wondered how she could ever imagine herself a writer.

  Pushing away dark thoughts of fraud and posing, Jess decided to fix one of her specialties: stuffed bell peppers. Tyler arrived as she busily sautéed garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. She moved the pan off the burner and went to the door, wiping her hands on a towel and smiling for her guest. Suddenly this felt like a date and Jess had her first rush of nerves. Tyler offered up a bottle of wine and kissed her cheek. His smile dropped as he moved into the house with a stiffness to his gait that Jess had not seen before. He set the wine on the kitchen table and turned around, his mouth forming a word, but instead of speaking, he winced and his hand shot to his lower back as his hip did a funny little bob.

  “Are you all right?” Jess touched his arm in concern.

  Tyler straightened up. “Yes. Just a back spasm.”

  “Oh, Tyler, I am so sorry. We never should have moved that desk upstairs.”

  “I insisted, didn’t I?” He tried smiling, but his lips only thinned into a tight line with a curl at both ends.

  “I should have refused. Does it hurt very much?”

  “Not too bad. I took something before I left. It should kick in any time now.”

  Jess brought one of the dining chairs into the kitchen so he could sit at the farm table. “I’m cooking tonight, so you just sit and keep me company.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Tyler grinned at her.

  Jess poured them wine and turned the flame up under her pan and stirred the vegetables. “Do you like bell peppers?”

  Despite her protestations, it wasn’t long before Tyler insisted on helping, claiming he felt useless watching her work. She let him fix a romaine salad and they talked about the day, ruminating about the old man, making up stories about how he had amassed the shed full of “junk,” as Tyler called it. “Hey, now,” Jess said, “I found some great stuff in there. I’d like to go back with more time to kill. In fact..!” She went into the living room and returned with the mixing bowls. The largest one filled her arms like a beach ball. “These are for you.” She set them on the table in front of Tyler.

  “No…” He pushed his hand through his hair. “Jess, you shouldn’t have. I mean, they’re great, but it’s too much.”

  Jess snorted. “Too much? You saw what I paid for all this stuff. You are a chef. These are really cool mixing bowls. Right?” She looked at Tyler, waiting.

  “Yes,” he said finally.

  She let out a breath of relief. “Good. Really? If you don’t like them, that’s different.”

  “No, I like them. I just. I’m not used to people giving me gifts. It’s, ah…it’s really nice.”

  With that settled, Jess slid the bell peppers in the oven and poured them a second glass of wine. They went out to sit in her new rocking chairs while Shakti roamed around the front yard. The house’s shadow fell over the base of the sugar maple and the tree’s shadow fell over the smokehouse. In the woods nearby, a woodpecker tapped away and Jess, having forgotten the cowboy for the moment, sighed at the pleasure inherent in rocking on her own porch with a glass of wine and a friend. Maybe more than a friend.

  Jess pulled the casserole dish out of the oven and set it on the stovetop. The juices bubbled away, the peppers’ shiny skins curled at the edges and the smell of the vegetables steeped in garlic and spices pleased the senses. She placed one of the red pepper halves on each plate and carried them to the dining room. Tyler followed her with the tossed salad and a basket of bread. “Everything looks delicious,” he said as they took their seats. Although the sun would not set completely for another hour, being surrounded by trees made it feel like the gloaming. The candles heightened the effect, adding a romantic soft glow over the table. Jess sipped her wine, watching as Tyler cut a piece from his bell pepper. She would allow him the first bite and watch his face to see what he really thought.

  He slid his fork into his mouth, his eyelids half closed, his mouth pleasantly turned up as he began to chew.

  “Umf.” His eyebrows dipped down and his lips puckered. He glanced up at Jess before closing his eyes. His hand shot to his wineglass. He made another sound, a sort of open-mouthed bleb, before bringing the glass to his lips.

  Jess stared at him, horrified. “Oh my God,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

  Tyler cleared his throat. “This has some…vinegar?”

  “A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. That’s all.”

  “Maybe…” he paused to swallow more wine, “maybe you mixed up your teaspoons and tablespoons?”

  “No. I’ve made this a dozen times. It’s always been good.” She stared at Tyler as he desperately downed the wine in his glass. “Let me get you some water.” Jess rushed to the kitchen and brought them both a glass.

  She sat and looked at her plate, wary of further betrayal. At last she cut into her own pepper and took a bite. If it was as bad as Tyler said, she deserved the same fate. He watched her this time. She closed her eyes tightly as she slid the fork back out of her mouth. She chewed, slowly at first, then put her teeth to work.

  She opened her eyes. “It’s fine.” She switched plates with him. “Try this one.”

  She cut into Tyler’s pepper and he into hers. “I don’t understand it,” Jess said. “The filling is mixed together in one bowl. They should taste the same.” She put a bite of his pepper into her mouth expecting it to be horrible, but it was the same as hers—perfectly delicious. Tyler tried the second pepper with the same result as before, only this time he hurried to the kitchen sink and spit it out. Jess flushed with embarrassment, her cheeks burning, her palms damp. Tyler returned to his seat and politely dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I can’t explain it.”

  “You don’t have some superhuman tolerance for vinegar?” Tyler asked.

  “No. I swear…”

  “I was kidding.”

  “Oh.” Jess glanced at the offensive peppers. “I can toss these.”

  “No, you eat yours. I’ll stick with salad and bread.” Tyler smiled reassuringly at Jess, his dark eyes reflecting the flickering candles. Jess looked at the expanse of his chest, the breadth of his shoulders, and refused. He’d be ravenous with only bread and salad for his supper. She put the peppers aside and put water on to boil. They made up some pasta together so there could no question of Jess mixing up her measuring spoons. In fact, Tyler took over the sauce. Though it was a simple red sauce, Tyler’s ease and creativity showed with his selection of herbs, the splash of kalamata olive juice, and the red wine he added to the mixture. It was comfort food after the bell pepper debacle, and they both ate their fill as the room darkened with the setting sun.

  “Do you think,” Tyler
asked after they had pushed their plates aside, “I could brush my teeth? I can still taste a little vinegar.”

  “Of course.” Jess directed him upstairs to her bathroom and a new toothbrush inside the medicine cabinet.

  After clearing the dishes, Jess went into the front hallway and saw Tyler turn from the landing to the lower half-flight of stairs. He seemed unaware of her and so was unguarded and as he lowered his foot to the next step. He sucked air through his front teeth, his face scrunching down in pain.

  “Did brushing your teeth help?” Jess asked.

  Tyler nodded and finished coming downstairs, this time moving quicker and smiling, though Jess knew that smile was forced.

  “How did you injure your back?” she asked when he reached the base of the stairs. “The first time.”

  “I took a bad fall,” he said. “Landed wrong.”

  “Would it help if I massaged your back? It’s the least I can do since moving my desk caused this.”

  “All right.” There was hesitation in his agreement.

  Jess hoped it wasn’t a mistake, but the offer has been made and accepted.

  She set him on the end of her coffee table, facing the windows behind the couch where Shakti had curled herself in a tight ball. Jess stood behind him and began working on the knots in his shoulders. She felt them slip down as he relaxed under her touch. She moved her hands to the rounds of his shoulders, rubbing firmly. “That’s nice,” he said when her thumbs pushed into his muscles. She moved to the base of his neck and pressed her fingers into his flesh then slid them up to the base of his skull. He stiffened momentarily, then relaxed again as she kneaded the dimples where skull meets neck, mimicking the craniosacral work she had had done on herself. Tyler’s thick, wavy hair smelled like cinnamon and pepper. Jess wondered if that was a result of his cooking or if men’s shampoos were scented with spices instead of flowers. Tyler relaxed his head forward and sighed.

  Jess knelt behind him and pressed his flesh with her hands, massaging his lower back, closer to where he was in pain. “Can I move your shirt?” she asked. He hesitated again, but finally untucked his shirt and pulled it off. Jess bit her lower lip, grateful she was behind him. His smooth muscled shoulders and back were every bit as lovely as she had imagined. She placed her hands back on his shoulders and worked the hard muscles around his shoulder blades. “You have a magic touch,” he said, as she moved lower. When Jess reached the area of his suffering, she pressed his shoulders forward and he obliged, leaning over his knees. With the movement, more of his low back rose from the waistband of his jeans and Jess saw a scar that began somewhere on his left hip and curved upward as it came toward his spine, like a child had drawn a grin in red crayon. Jess was gentle with his lower back, asking repeatedly how much pressure he wanted her to use. Each time, he asked for more. Her hands ached when she finished. Jess leaned toward him to kiss his shoulder, but stopped. She settled for patting it with her hand instead.

  “Thank you,” Tyler said, swiveling on the coffee table to face her. He grasped her hands and drew her toward him. They moved to the couch. Shakti stretched her body out and pushed her paws into Jess’s back before relaxing again. Jess ignored the puppy, focusing instead on Tyler’s chest. It was even more magnificent than his back, the smooth definition of muscle appealed to her more than she would have imagined. Though her hands were tingling with fatigue, she wanted to rub his chest—first, she decided, with her hands and then with her face. He leaned toward her, their lips met, and then their tongues. Jess tasted the toothpaste on his tongue as surely as he did the red wine and garlic on hers. His hands followed her arms up to her shoulders while they kissed, then roved to her neck. Tyler’s fingers worked their way up the back of her head, twining with her soft hair. He drew her closer to him, then shifted his legs, bringing them up onto the couch. Jess laid her body atop his, all while kissing. As they took over the couch, Shakti rolled to the floor and padded off to the kitchen.

  Tyler’s hand wound up pinned to the back of the couch. His belt buckle dug into Jess’s stomach. They shifted again, this time coming apart and sitting up. They grinned at each other like school kids discovering the pleasures of the flesh for the first time. Jess had not been with a man since her husband, since before she filed for divorce. That was about a year ago, and she had not imagined the clean scent of Tyler’s skin would send her pulse racing or make her suddenly eager to feel herself pressed under the weight of someone much stronger than her, someone who could envelop her with a sense of security and the heady knowledge that he desired her. “Is this heading where I think it is?” Tyler asked. Jess nodded and took his hand. She led him upstairs.

  Jess walked backwards into the bedroom until she felt the bed against the backs of her legs and fell onto it, pulling Tyler down with her. He caught himself on his arms and then brought his face to hers. His kisses, now that they were on the bed, became hungry, insistent. She responded by matching his intensity, moving her mouth and teeth from his lips to his earlobe to his collarbone. Jess knelt on the bed and slipped off her top and bra. Tyler’s hands found her breasts while he pressed his mouth to hers. They signaled their eagerness to each other with small moans and sighs as they freed themselves of the rest of their clothing. Jess pushed against the waistband of Tyler’s jeans and felt the ridge of scar on his hip. She moved her fingers along it, exploring its length, then the jeans were down and if Tyler noticed her probing, he did not let on or he did not care.

  Jess helped Tyler with a condom and even that practical task raised her desire to new heights. “Lie down,” she said, pressing his chest with her fingertips. He obliged, turning and straightening himself on the bed with his head at its foot. Jess straddled his hips, facing into the room. She used her thighs to raise and lower herself, while she rocked her hips. Tyler massaged her breasts with his palms while Jess found the rhythm to send herself over the edge. She arched her back, lifting her face to the ceiling and moaned softly.

  When her ecstasy subsided, she found Tyler staring at her, perhaps a little awestruck. “I love seeing your face,” he said.

  Jess began to move again as Tyler lifted and lowered his hips against her, driving himself to a moaning climax. Something caught Jess’s eye in the corner of the room. A movement. She lifted her gaze to see if Shakti had come upstairs.

  A woman stood in the corner near the windows. Jess’s mouth opened, the sweat on her back suddenly cold. She had light red, curly hair tucked behind her ears and wore a sleeveless floral nightgown with lace trim. Her feet were bare, and she had the saddest look in her eyes Jess had ever seen. The woman opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She touched her hand to her throat, then turned away from Jess.

  Jess tried to raise a hand to point, tried to say something, but her head swam with the impossibility of what she was seeing. She watched as the woman walked through the wall between the master bedroom and the office. Tyler muttered urgently. Jess looked down as his face contorted in the throes of passion. She shook her head to clear the vision from before her eyes and began moving again. His hands dropped away from her waist and pounded the mattress as he roared with pleasure.

  Chapter Six

  How do you tell a man you saw a ghost while having sex with him? Jess had no idea. She pretended it hadn’t happened, though that left her unable to explain her sudden quiet, her racing heart, her need to be held. She pressed her cheek against Tyler’s chest and begged him silently to stay the night in her bed. When he rose, she panicked and gripped his arm. He looked surprised and she said, “A kiss before you go.” He went as far as the bathroom and returned to stay the night. When Jess slept at last, it was not the sleep of the sated, but of the haunted. She dreamt of a redheaded woman in a summery nightgown wandering through her house, and Jess felt spied upon even in her sleep.

  In the morning, she was almost able to pretend it hadn’t been real. A dozen times the word “ghost” had been on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t force it out. Tyler would think she w
as crazy. Or a liar. And with that, Jess realized she was still alone in Skoghall.

  “Is everything all right?” Tyler asked before going out to his truck. Jess nodded, once again swallowing that impossible word, and watched him drive away, his shiny black truck bouncing over her rutted drive.

  She picked up Shakti and cuddled the puppy to her chest, took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, Bear. We can do this.” Jess turned around and went back inside the house. It was warming pleasantly as the early morning chill evaporated with the dew on the trees. Yet the house seemed suddenly ominous, with a lurking presence in every corner. She walked into the music room, her temporary office, and set Shakti on the floor. Jess watched her movements, anxiously waiting for the dog to sense something beyond her own perception, but the dog seemed at ease.

  “Dear Chandra,” she typed. Not knowing how to tell her friend what she’d seen, Jess began by telling her about the move, her antiquing day with Tyler, and their dinner. Her hands froze when she began explaining the mysterious vinegar incident. Was it possible the red-headed ghost had done that? Jess grabbed her computer and a few other writing supplies. She put them in a bag and got Shakti’s leash from its hook in the vestibule. In a matter of minutes she was following Tyler into Skoghall.

  As she turned onto Main Street, Jess realized there was nowhere to go. She couldn’t take her dog into a café or library. She had never been to Tyler’s place. In fact, she had no idea where he lived. Even if she could go to his place, she couldn’t explain her need to be there without mentioning the red-haired woman. Jess parked on Main Street, pushed her bag into the foot well where it wouldn’t be easily seen, and got out of the car.

  She walked Shakti past businesses that didn’t open before 10:00. It seemed life in Skoghall was geared to meet the River Road traffic. A cyclist came zooming down the hill, bent low in his drops. Shakti barked at the alien creature: brightly colored, helmet and sunglasses obscuring the face, wheeled, and fast. Jess laughed as her little Bear raised the alarm, the first warning of her young life sounding all down Main Street. Shakti leaned forward, her ears lifted, the fur over her shoulders raised into fluffy hackles that could only impress another puppy. “So you do mean business, after all.” Jess knelt beside her and patted her head, soothing her well beyond the cyclist’s disappearance from view. Shakti quieted and looked at Jess with her eyebrows arching one and then the other, then turned and barked again. It took a good deal of petting to convince the puppy the blur of color and whir of skinny tires had meant nothing to them.