by Crissy Sharp
He opened one eye and watched her pull the covers up to her chin. He lay as still as possible, afraid if he budged she might leave. The shaking stopped and her breathing evened out. He turned on his side and watched her, making certain she was asleep. Though her back was to him, he could see her shoulder rise and fall with each breath. He scooted closer until he could feel the heat from her body and wrapped an arm around her waist. He tried to fight off sleep as long as possible, afraid this moment would be over all too soon, but his eyelids grew heavier.
Light poured in through the windows and his alarm sounded. He rolled over and shut it off. Lotty was gone. He stared at the small indentation on the pillow where her head had been. She’d been there. Right next to him.
A shrill sound pierced the silence. He looked back to his alarm, wondering what he’d pushed that had triggered such an awful sound, but realized it was a scream coming from outside. He ran to the window and couldn’t see anything, so he sprinted down the stairs two at a time. The front door was open and Lotty and the boys stood on the front porch. The sound stopped as he approached the door.
“Who was that?” Jason asked, but he saw the answer before he finished the question. Steph Navarro, another neighbor, stared into her yard with her hand clasped over her mouth. She wore a look of horror. Several other neighbors stood in a semi-circle behind her, displaying similar expressions.
“They found the body,” Lotty whispered. She pulled the boys back inside. Jason stayed on the porch, trying to catch a glimpse, but the group of people made it impossible. He moved closer, battling it out in his mind. He was curious and wanted to see if he recognized the victim. However, he wasn’t sure he could stomach what he’d find. He inched closer, staring at Steph and her ghostly, white face. Her husband tried to pull her away, but she resisted.
Jason was finally close enough he could see the bottom half of the body. Judging by the slacks covering the legs to the black dress loafers, it must be a male. If he could get a little bit closer, he could see a face. Just as he caught a glimpse of a man’s chin, his foot caught on something and he crashed to the ground. He jumped up right away, hoping he hadn’t drawn attention to himself skulking in the shadows. He looked down to see what had tripped him and a yell burst out of his mouth. His stomach churned. Another body lay on the ground. Jason jerked his leg away as quickly as possible and tried to get a breath. This body was in the rubble next to what used to be Jocelyn’s garage and the face was covered in ash. Jason backed away as several people joined him to see what had caused a grown man to yell out in fear.
Jason didn’t recognize the man he’d tripped over. He was in a suit, just like the other body. There were no visible wounds. He wanted to look away, but curiosity forced his eyes to stay on the man. When he felt like he might get sick, he backed away, but the smell of death mixed with the man’s ashen face were imprinted in his mind.
“Everyone step back,” Brent yelled. He nudged people away from the body. “This is a crime scene. Nobody touch anything and everyone please back up.” He stopped next to Jason. “Another stranger in a suit, huh?”
Jason tried to respond, but the words got lost in his throat.
“Two men and one woman. No one here recognizes any of them.”
“A woman?” Jason whispered. There was a third body? He wanted to grab his family and get them as far from the neighborhood, from Walden, as possible.
“Yeah. She’s down by the Tuckers’ dock,” Brent said, shaking his head. “What kind of a sick person would do this? It’s not supposed to happen in Walden.” He kept shaking his head and repeating, “Not in Walden.”
Jason stared blankly toward the lake, wondering the same thing. He wandered back to his house as cop cars poured into the neighborhood. He was going to figure this out. Figure out why this neighborhood was suddenly so dangerous, why Lotty was a target, and why there were three dead bodies in his picturesque Montana town.
Chapter 9
The delicate, white plate with pink flowers slipped through Lotty’s fingers and hit the floor, smashing into pieces. The sound brought her back to reality, standing in her kitchen, not standing over bodies outside. She grabbed the broom and started cleaning up the mess. Tiny shards of glass covered the kitchen tile. She concentrated on holding the broom steady, but her shaky hands made it difficult.
Strawberry Lake Estates had been packed full of police officers, paramedics, crime-scene investigators, and coroners all day. She’d been interviewed four times already this morning. Each time worked her up a little more. Jason had been by her side for the first two interviews, but left for his office after that. He’d offered to stay, asked if she needed him, but she told him to go. She didn’t want to keep him from a case, and even more importantly, she didn’t want to seem weak. However, as the day progressed, she cared less and less about that. She needed him here.
Word spread through the neighborhood that all three victims had been dead for several days. None of them showed visible wounds, blood, or any sign of struggle. None of them had been identified. Beyond that, details were sparse.
No part of it made any sense to Lotty. She tried to piece together how these bodies related to the arson and the robberies and how they were connected to her, but she didn’t know where to begin. She swept the last of the glass into the dust pan as a loud knock at the door made her jump and drop some of the pieces. She couldn’t face another interview. Her emotions were drained and all the implications that she was somehow involved were too much.
Her door opened and footsteps sounded in the hall. Lotty ducked behind the counter and remained still.
“Lotty, are you home?” Nikki’s familiar voice set Lotty at ease. She stood up as Nikki entered the kitchen.
Nikki grabbed her in a hug. “I’m so glad it’s you,” Lotty said.
Nikki laughed, but held onto Lotty for several seconds. Then she took the dust pan out of Lotty’s hand and finished cleaning up the mess of glass. “The clean-up team is out there decontaminating everything. I needed something to get my mind off those bodies.”
“I made a strawberry trifle yesterday. Want some?” Lotty asked.
“I wasn’t sure my appetite would ever come back, but apparently it has. That sounds delicious.” Nikki sat down at the kitchen counter. “And I want to play with your boys for a bit if you’d like to get out of here for a while.”
Lotty pulled the trifle out of the fridge and eyed Nikki. “I’m not sure I’m ready to venture back out of this house yet.”
“Your house doesn’t exactly feel safe either...” Nikki trailed off as she nodded toward the spot on the wall where someone had left a threatening message. Watching Lotty’s face fall, Nikki added, “I just mean you need some time away from the neighborhood. I told Ty we could make a fort today. Go enjoy your freedom for a couple of hours.”
“Thank you, Nik,” Lotty said. Their relationship seemed so one-sided. Nikki constantly helped her and she never did anything in return. This week she was going to try to do something nice for Nikki, but right now she really could use a little time to clear her head. “I was thinking about going to Dixie’s yesterday, but never got around to it,” she continued, thinking of the things she’d put on her list to buy at the farm supply store.
“Dixie’s?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve figured out a good hobby. I’m going to build a chicken coop.”
“Hmm.” Nikki smiled. “What does Jason think about that?”
A lump formed in Lotty’s throat at the mention of his name. “I haven’t mentioned it yet, but what’s not to love? He’s going to get fresh eggs.”
Nikki held her smile. “Well, I think it sounds like a great idea and I’d love some of those fresh eggs. Now, as for not wanting to leave your house today, that’s up to you, but if you feel like running out, I’m here to watch the boys.”
Lotty contemplated her offer. “Now would be the perfect time for me to find something to keep my mind busy. I need to start that coop.”
“Mm hmm,” Nikki agreed.
“Okay, I’m going to Dixie’s.” Lotty set a bowl of trifle in front of Nikki. “What would I do without you?” She wrapped an arm around Nikki’s shoulder and handed her a spoon. “I just put Aiden down for a nap and Ty is trying to find some of his missing Legos in the playroom.”
“Anyone here want to build a fort?” Nikki yelled before spooning a generous portion of whipped cream and strawberries into her mouth.
Lotty mouthed “thank you” and grabbed her purse as Ty came running into the kitchen and hugged Nikki.
The chaos in the neighborhood had calmed down. Still, Lotty held her stare straight ahead as she drove out of the cove.
She pulled into the parking lot in front of Dixie’s and forced her thoughts to chicken coops. The list in her pocket showed all the supplies she needed, and she’d found several blueprints online detailing how to build one.
As she reached for her door handle, a flash of orange caught her eye. Two men stood by the corner of the building talking. One, in an orange shirt, waved his arms wildly. The other had his back to her and wore a baseball cap, but she was ninety-five percent sure it was Cade. For one thing, the sunglasses perched on his hat were Cade’s trademark Oakleys. He’d been wearing the same style of sunglasses since she’d met him seven years ago. She sank down in her seat and watched the heated conversation. There was something familiar about the guy in the orange. However, since Walden had a population of barely eight-thousand, a lot of its citizens were familiar. Maybe he was one of the other volunteer firefighters that had been at the house.
Lotty slid down even further in her seat and continued watching the exchange. If only she could hear what was being said. She pushed the button to lower the window and listened. All she could hear were the birds chirping.
What was she doing? It was none of her business whether Cade was or wasn’t having an argument. Her need to know whether or not the man was Cade diminished with each passing second. She pushed the window back up and lifted her head to find both men looking her direction. Cade’s narrowed eyes smoothed out and his pursed lips transformed into a smile. Her heart pounded, and she had to fight the urge to start her van and speed out of the parking lot. She forced her friendliest smile and wave before getting out of the van and continuing into Dixie’s.
She picked out several tools and a roll of chicken wire and headed for the lumber. Every action took twice as long as it should since it seemed her mind was still in the parking lot wondering what was going on. As she turned the last corner, her cart bumped straight into Cade. He cocked his head to the side and watched her intently, eyeing her cart full of supplies.
Trying to avoid his piercing stare, she feigned interest in the end of aisle display of painter’s tape. She picked up a roll and rubbed her fingers across it. “How are you, Cade? What are you doing here?” she said, her eyes never leaving the tape. It was a dumb question, but it was the first thing she thought of.
“Getting supplies...like I do nearly every day,” he said. “What are you doing here? Looks like you’re in the middle of something fun.”
She glanced at him. Her fake interest in painter’s tape could only last so long. His blue eyes danced as they took her in. She pasted on a smile. “Yeah, I’m building a chicken coop.”
“Wow, that’s ambitious.”
“I’m hoping to build the frame this week, so I’m headed over there to get some two-by-fours.” She pointed toward the lumber.
He walked next to her. “Why the sudden interest in chickens?”
“Maybe I’ve always loved chickens.” She wasn’t about to explain to him that she couldn’t find a lot in her life to be happy about so she was hoping a hobby would help.
He shook his head with a smile. “Okay. Do you already have cement at home?” he asked as he looked over the contents of her cart again.
“Uh, no, I’m using wood.
Cade smiled. It was the same smile Lotty gave Ty when he tried to help her make dinner. It said, “you have no idea what you’re doing, but good for you for trying.” She looked longingly at the lumber. Couldn’t he go away and let her figure this out on her own?
“Right, but you need cement for the four corner posts,” he said, pulling the cart back in the direction she’d come from. “You’ll need those posts set before you ever need two-by-fours.”
She sighed and followed. Why hadn’t the blueprints she’d found explained that? Maybe they had. She’d only skimmed them and looked at the picture, taking special note of the adorable shutters. She’d spent several minutes debating whether her chicken coop shutters would be red or blue. Now, with Cade’s stare burning her face, she realized she could have been a bit more thorough reading the actual blueprints.
“So, pretty crazy day in your cove, huh?” he asked as they walked to the aisle with cement.
“Mm hmm.” So much for getting her mind off the bodies.
“Any theories?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet,” she answered.
“I mean you. What are your thoughts?”
“I don’t know what to think. I’m still processing it all.”
“What about Jason? He must be going nuts knowing it involves you,” Cade said, throwing a bag of cement into her cart.
Lotty stared at him, confusion shadowing her features.
“I mean with your name on the wall. It obviously has something to do with you.” He watched her intently. Great, he thought she was hiding something too.
“You sound like Officer Netley.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “We can’t have that,” he said. “Sorry.”
“What about you? What was going on outside when I pulled up?”
“Aw, nothing important. Just a work problem. We’ll call it creative differences.” He motioned back toward the lumber.
She stopped next to some and read the specs on it.
“Nope, you don’t want that stuff,” Cade said.
She stared at him waiting for an explanation.
“It’s pressure treated.”
She was tired of feeling incompetent. She’d come back when Cade wasn’t here offering his help. Why should she care if it was pressure treated? Cade could use his superior two-by-fours and she’d be fine with the despicable pressure treated stuff. In fact, now she was determined to only use pressure treated. “Okay, thanks. I’m just going to buy what I have and get the rest another day when I have Jason’s truck.”
“Oh, sure, okay. Good luck with your coop. Let me know if you need any help.”
She waved without saying another word and headed to the checkout.
“Lotty, woo-hoo, over here.” The shrill voice turned her stomach to lead. She smiled through gritted teeth and turned to Trinity.
“Hi, Trinity.” Lotty continued toward the checkout. “Nikki’s watching the boys for me. She’s probably wondering what’s taking me so long, so I better buy my things and get home.”
“Oh, Lotty, always so stressed. I’m the one who’s been through an ordeal and you don’t see me all worked up.”
Lotty placed her items on the counter.
“My home is now a crime scene. That woman was dumped on my dock. Plus, someone smashed my spotlight so now it needs to be replaced and this store is so poorly marked, I can’t find the lights.”
“They’re in aisle thirteen, Ma’am,” the cashier said.
Trinity didn’t acknowledge the girl. “Anyway, we don’t feel safe in our own home anymore. I’ve been trying to get Dan to move somewhere warm like Phoenix for years. I think he might finally be persuaded.”
The mention of Phoenix sent a swirl of grief through Lotty. Phoenix, where Jason went when he abandoned her. That trip, nearly fourteen months ago, had sent her downward spiral of emotions into fast forward.
Lotty paid the cashier and told Trinity she needed to get home, again. Trinity turned her attention to the cashier and began ranting about how the store should be set up. As Lotty walked out the door, her mind
was filled with memories of Jason and planning a trip to Phoenix.
Jason had needed to go to Scottsdale, Arizona for something to do with one of his cases. He’d suggested Lotty go with him. They hadn’t had much time together since Aiden was born and the little time they had been together was filled with crying and random outbursts from an emotional, postpartum version of herself. She’d been thrilled at the idea of spending a few days with only Jason. He’d said he would just have to work one afternoon and then spend the other three days with Lotty at a resort he’d found in Phoenix.
She immersed herself in everything Phoenix until she found amazing places for them to dine and play. Her mom flew in from Santa Barbara so she could stay with the kids while Lotty and Jason were gone. Lotty spent two days packing, choosing perfect outfits for every occasion and imagining how this trip was going to heal any small rifts forming in her marriage thanks to her short bout with postpartum depression.
The morning of the trip, she woke up alone in the bed. Butterflies overtook her stomach as she spent extra time on her hair and makeup. She ran down the stairs to find Jason, but the house was empty. Her mom returned from a walk by the lake with the boys and told her Jason had left hours earlier. He’d decided it would be easier to go by himself. Lotty had been crushed. She took the boys and went back to Santa Barbara with her mom. She never wanted to see or hear about Phoenix again.
Her thoughts were jarred back to the present as she turned into Strawberry Lake Estates and saw Officer Netley standing in the road talking to another officer. If only she still had a garage she could hide in. She parked as close to her house as possible and jogged inside.