Mr. Serious

  “Thanks, Doc,” Waylon said. His shoulders fell and there was an air of resignation in his voice. Christina felt the same way, for once again it was as if, when they finally started to make progress, everything in the world stood in their way.

  She understood the need for privacy and HIPAA regulations. She did. However, it didn’t make it any easier when it impeded their progress in the investigation. They needed to find the woman with the rash.

  No one went out to that stock pond at this time of year. No one—unless they were trying to hide something. Maybe Alli had been there, scoping out a place where she could kill Winnie. Or maybe she had been spending her nights at the place. It was well out of view from the staff at the ranch house and the vacationers who came and went from the guest houses and close enough that she could come and go unnoticed while she was waiting for her opportunity to take Winnie.

  Christina could almost feel the pieces clicking together.

  She couldn’t wait to see her sister again. To confront her about what she had done and what she had put the family through. Perhaps she could even get some much-needed answers from her.

  The nurse cleared her throat as she motioned to Waylon’s arm. “That’s a doozy of a rash,” the nurse said. “The doctor’s right, you definitely want to take care of it. My cousin had a rash like that a few days ago.”

  Her cousin?

  Waylon’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah?” he asked. “What’s your cousin’s name?”

  “Lisa. Lisa Chase. Why?” the nurse asked, oblivious to what the doctor had been talking about—and the HIPAA laws that had stood in their way.

  “Did she come in here to be treated?” Wyatt pressed her.

  The nurse frowned. “Yeah. Dr. Nay told her exactly what he just told you. Benadryl and calamine. At this stage, with just the pustules and no oozing lesions, it’s the only thing you want to do. The next step is antibiotics if you’ve been scratching at them and they become infected.”

  Waylon nodded, but as he looked over at Christina, she could tell he wasn’t really listening to anything the nurse had to say; instead, he was shifting his weight from one foot to the other just like a runner getting ready for a sprint.

  “Thanks,” Waylon said, “I’ll get right on that.”

  “If you need, I bet I can get the doctor to prescribe—”

  “No. I’m fine.” He took Christina’s hand and gave it a squeeze. They had answers. They finally had some kind of an answer.

  “Wyatt?” he asked, turning away from the nurse.

  His brother had a gleam in his eye. “I’ll have my men stay here with Winnie. She’ll be protected by at least three officers at all times in addition to the hospital’s security.”

  It was really no wonder that both the brothers had gone into law enforcement—they knew how to keep a person at ease even when the world was falling apart.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hate wasn’t a new emotion in her world. No, it was a feeling Christina had become well versed in when she had watched her parents fight, when they had torn at one another, and the day her sister had repeated their cycle—and left her holding the strings to a life that she had never intended on leading. Yet she had never hated anyone or anything more than she hated Lisa Chase in that moment.

  The woman had tried to kill one of the few people she truly loved.

  She stared out the window as they pulled into William Poe’s driveway.

  Why did everything always come back to this vile man? He was like a poison. First Bianca, then Monica and Alli, and now they could even tie him to Lisa. He had always proclaimed his innocence—so far, he’d even been cleared of any wrongdoing in each of the cases, but he could only run for so long before the authorities would catch him playing in the shadows. Or at least, Christina hoped.

  Then again, maybe he wasn’t anything more than just a man who had the power to make women go crazy. She followed Wyatt and Waylon up to the front door of the evil man’s house. Knowing her luck, he probably wasn’t even home. He had a knack of being out of town when it came to the crimes that were rocking the community of Mystery.

  Wyatt banged on the door. The sound was hollow and eerie.

  A slight wheeze escaped her throat.

  “What?” Waylon asked, taking her hand.

  “Nothing,” she said, and as the word ghosted from her lips, the front door opened.

  Standing there was William Poe. He looked a bit haggard and tired, but his suit jacket was crisp from being freshly laundered and pressed. “What is it now?” he grumbled.

  “Is your friend Lisa Chase here?” Wyatt asked.

  “Why would you need to see her? She’s done nothing.” William’s face contorted with rage. “I don’t know what kind of thing you have against me or why, but this has to stop. You can’t keep harassing me. This is ridiculous.”

  “We’re harassing you?” Christina said, nearly hissing the words in her fury. “Ever since you entered our lives, everything has been going wrong. People have been killing each other, going missing, and stealing and hurting children.”

  “You think any of this has to do with me?” William laughed, the sound low and menacing. “You are just as crazy as your sister if you think I want to have anything to do with any of that or with any of you. Have you ever stopped to think that where everything truly stops and ends is at your family’s goddamned ranch?”

  “Shut your mouth,” Waylon seethed.

  “No. You all need to be put out of business—you and your family have only brought trouble to this community. And once you’re gone, that cursed guest ranch will be sold to the highest bidder. I’d be doing a public service if I got to be the one to take you all down.”

  “Is that a threat?” Wyatt asked, his voice even more dangerous than Poe’s.

  “Ha ha ha.” William laughed, the sound as cheap and ridiculous as his suit. “I don’t make threats. When I say I’m going to do something, I won’t stop until it’s done.”

  “How dare you think you can come at my family? My home?” Christina lunged toward the man, but Waylon grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back.

  “Not here. Not now. Wyatt’s going to handle this,” he whispered, the sound harsh in her ear. “If you touch a hair on that man’s head, we will lose any ground we have in going after him.”

  “We’re not here to pick a fight with you, Poe. We’re only here to speak to Lisa. Now, is she here or not?” Wyatt continued.

  “Why in the hell would I tell you?” Poe sneered.

  “If you don’t help us, I have no problem getting more police and media involved. One little call and you and your personal life will be out in the open. I’d hate it if some pictures of you and one of your many female acquaintances would make it into the hands of a reporter or two.”

  “Now who’s threatening?” William growled. “How dare you come here and treat me like I’m some kind of criminal. I haven’t done a goddamned thing.”

  “If it walks like a duck.” Wyatt shrugged.

  Waylon leaned in close to Christina so only she could hear him speak. “What photos is Wyatt talking about?” he whispered.

  She turned to him and cupped his ear. “They found a set of incriminating photos when they were investigating Bianca’s murder. There was one with Alli in a lace teddy.”

  Waylon sent her a look of surprise but then turned back to his brother and Poe. “I am sure the press would love to get their hands on the information that links you to Alli. Especially after everything that’s happened.”

  “If those pictures are leaked, I will come after you. I will sue you and the sheriff’s department for every penny—”

  “Oh, don’t misunderstand me, Poe. I have no intention of misconduct. However, I’m sure there are more copies of those photos we found,” Wyatt continued.


  It was a wonderful thing to watch the brothers work.

  “That’s ridiculous. Alli and I were done a long time ago.”

  Christina glanced over at Wyatt, but he didn’t give anything away.

  “Do you know where Alli is?” Christina asked, unable to hold herself back any longer. “I need to find my sister.”

  William turned to look at her. “Why do you think I’d give two shakes about what has come of your sister?”

  The way he said the words made her unsettled. It was almost as if there was something he knew that she didn’t—something sinister.

  “What has come of my sister, Poe?” she seethed.

  He laughed again, the sound filled with mirth. “I told you. Your sister is of no concern to me. She’s been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since—”

  “You threw her to the curb?” she interrupted. “You know, I have had a hard time understanding why my sister has done the things she has in the last few months, but now—talking to you for just a few minutes—I can almost understand why she was driven to the edges of her sanity.”

  Poe stepped closer, pressing his face close to hers. “Maybe you should look to yourself before you start pointing fingers at me, little girl.”

  Waylon’s hands tightened on her arms.

  “Before someone—namely you—gets hurt here, Poe, where’s Lisa?” Wyatt said, motioning inside the man’s house. “For once, take a moment and make a choice that will serve you the best in the end.”

  Poe took a few steps back and looked back over his shoulder, like he was looking for the woman in question.

  “You know you don’t love her. You don’t love anyone but yourself. So, before you are pulled any deeper into our investigation, get out. Get her to come and talk to us,” Wyatt pressed.

  Poe said something Christina couldn’t quite hear, but from the look on his face as he glanced back at them, she was glad she couldn’t. “Lisa!” William called. “Get your ass out here, woman! The little deputy and his goon squad want to ask you some questions.”

  A small, dark-haired woman, the one she had seen the other day, stepped into the doorway.

  “Don’t speak to them. In the meantime, I’m calling my lawyer.”

  “For me?” the small woman squeaked.

  William laughed, and the sound echoed off the walls of the house. “Hardly. Whatever mess you are in, you are in it by yourself. I can’t be associated with any more trouble.” He stopped and pointed toward the brothers. “And I’m sure that no pictures will go public. I’ve played your stupid game. Do we all have an understanding?”

  Waylon glared at the man. “One thing we will never have, Poe, is an understanding. I don’t want you to think for one minute that we see you as anything more than the societal louse that you are.”

  Wyatt laughed as Poe stormed off down the hall. “Louse? That’s the best you got for that guy?”

  Waylon shrugged. “I would have called him an ass—”

  “Stop,” Lisa squeaked. “William may not be a perfect man, but he doesn’t deserve to be talked about like that. Especially not by a civil servant,” she said, pointing at the badge on Wyatt’s uniform. “Your job is to protect the innocent.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Poe is far from innocent.”

  “Of course he is.” Lisa looked around the driveway like a trapped animal as she scratched at the welts that ran up and down her arms.

  “What makes you think he’s innocent?” Wyatt asked.

  “I’m the one who killed them. He never wanted me to hurt a hair on their heads. But I had to do what needed to be done. One must sacrifice for the greater good.”

  “Who did you kill?” Wyatt asked, his voice as cold as the snow on the ground around them.

  “Alli was first.” Lisa looked at Wyatt, but her expression was vacant—indifferent.

  Christina’s ears rang with the woman’s words.

  “You killed Alli?” Christina whispered, the words like weights that made her sink to her knees as they left her body.

  “She had it coming. She was no innocent. The little girl, on the other hand, that was unfortunate. I didn’t want to kill her. She just wouldn’t come quietly. She kept trying to scream. Especially when I told her how I was going to sell her.”

  “You were going to sell my daughter?” Waylon seethed.

  Lisa nodded, like the trafficking of children was among the most normal things in the world. “I would have been set up for life.” She glanced over her shoulder and in the direction where Poe had disappeared. “I don’t want to have to depend on anyone too much. Dependence leads to disaster.” She turned back and leered at Christina. “Just ask your sister.”

  “Where is she? Where’s Alli? What did you do with her?”

  Lisa looked over at her. “How could you find one without the other? I went out of my way to make sure that mother and daughter could at least be together in the afterlife.”

  “How could you?” Christina started to lunge toward Lisa, but Waylon stopped her.

  “How could I what? Kill your sister?” Lisa looked utterly confused, the face of a monster. “Don’t worry. It was one quick bullet to the head. It was just like shooting out my tire. It was easy.” She reached behind her and pulled out a gun. “In fact, it was just like this,” she said, raising it and pointing the barrel toward Christina.

  Before she had time to react, Waylon was on the woman, pushing her to the floor and pulling the weapon from her hands.

  Blood streamed from Lisa’s nose as she looked up at Christina. She laughed. The sound was high and crazed. “I may not have gotten you, but your day is coming. All of your days are coming. I may not be the one pulling the trigger, but you’re all going to die.”

  Waylon rolled Lisa over, pressing his knee into the center of the woman’s back as he pulled her arms behind her. “That won’t happen. I will stop at nothing to protect the ones I love.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  She wasn’t merely broken. No, Christina was destroyed, and all Waylon could do was hold her. He held her as they’d watched Wyatt cuff Lisa and stuff her into his car. He’d held her when they heard about her sister’s body being pulled from the pond. And he held her as they lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

  If he had his way, he’d hold her forever.

  She’d barely spoken all night, and he hadn’t even mentioned eating.

  Christina shifted in his arms, and her loose hair slipped over his chest. He ran his fingers through her locks in a feeble attempt to comfort her in the only way he knew how. There was no going back and undoing what had been done, or taking back the tragedy that seemed to have become a constant in not just their lives but those of all who lived and worked at Dunrovin.

  She moved slightly and looked up at him. “What are you going to do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When are you leaving?” She sat up a bit more and lifted herself onto her elbow so they were eye to eye.

  He cupped her face, running his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. “I will stay here as long as you need me.”

  She snorted. “We both know that can’t happen. You’ve given your life to the army. They are going to want you back sometime.”

  He smiled, but the ache that had filled his heart—the one that had started the moment he’d realized his feelings toward her were more than mere friendship—expanded and threatened to make his chest explode.

  “I have a couple more days here, but when I leave, you and Winnie...you can come back to Fort Bragg with me.”

  Christina looked out the window, where the bits of falling snow were shining like glitter in the moon’s silver light. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to take Winnie away from this ranch. This is the only home she’s known. She’s already been through so much
change.” She looked back at him, a tear in her eye. “But ultimately the choice is yours. She’s your daughter.”

  “Alli chose you to watch over her, to take care of her. She didn’t choose me.”

  The tear slipped down her cheek. “What Alli wanted, or thought...it doesn’t matter now.”

  “Yes, it does. She chose you because she knew what a good mom you would be. She chose you because you are a good person. She loved you. Just like I love you.”

  Christina’s mouth opened with surprise, and she made a muffled, strangled sound, as though she wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Don’t say anything at all,” he said, filling the emotional gap between them. “You don’t have to love me. I don’t want you to feel like you need to say anything. Whether or not you love me, I love you. I love everything about you—your strength, the way you put Winnie and the needs of others before yourself. You’re so selfless. So giving. You are one of the kindest people I’ve met in my entire life. I would be a fool not to love you.”

  “No,” she said. “I’d be a fool not to love you.” She leaned in and kissed him.

  His body awoke, just as it always did when she was near. As their lips parted, he stared into her eyes, and a piece of his heart broke.

  She loved him.

  He loved her.

  Yet there was too much between them to make anything work. Sometimes love just wasn’t enough to bring two people together.

  She’d never leave this place.

  “I’m scared,” she said, laying her head back down on his chest.

  The words, though barely above a whisper, reverberated through him as though she had screamed them.

  “Why? What are you scared of?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

  “I’m scared of what the future will bring. And I’m scared of losing you.” She reached up and took his hand, her ring flashing in the silver light streaming in from the window.

  “I have to go back to work, it’s true.” He sighed. “But like I said, you and Winnie can come with me. Take a break for a week and get out of this place. You can check out the base. Then we can come back for Christmas.”