Murder Made to Order

by Lena Gregory

  Chapter 2

  Gia stepped over a large branch blocking the path through the woods, then patted her pocket—for the millionth time—to make sure her canister of bear spray was still there. Though she enjoyed their walks, which allowed her to spend time with Thor and provided both of them some much needed exercise, her nerves sometimes got the better of her. This morning was no exception.

  Thor trotted happily alongside her, sometimes darting ahead, but always staying on the trail and within sight.

  She didn’t have the heart to call him back, even though she wasn’t in the best mood this morning and her mind was a million miles away. Unfortunately, her hectic schedule at the café didn’t allow much time for hiking, or anything else for that matter. So she trudged on, despite wanting to go home and spend her morning curled up with a good book.

  Savannah and Trevor had both insisted early morning hikes would clear her head and help her get used to living at the edge of the forest. Though they did help her focus better, they did nothing to help her embrace her new surroundings. If anything, they terrified her even more. Looking into the woods surrounding her property and not knowing what lurked just behind the tree line gave her the creeps, but hiking the local trails and actually seeing snakes, alligators, and other critters, some of which she couldn’t even identify, brought nightmares.

  And yet, here she was….She’d been looking forward to hiking the new trail, but her mind was too cluttered with everything else to focus on enjoying the peaceful morning. She sucked in a shaky breath, the humidity making her chest heavy. “Don’t get too far ahead, Thor.”

  The big, furry dog, who still hadn’t quite grown into his chunky paws, stopped at the sound of her voice, turned back to her, and tilted his head, then waited for her to catch up.

  “Good boy.” She petted his head. “At least, you’re having a good time. You sure do love these early morning walks, don’t you?”

  He dropped his tongue out and panted.

  “Come on. There’s supposed to be a lake up ahead. I’ll get some water out when we get there, and we can rest for a few minutes and have a drink.” She hefted her small backpack farther onto her shoulders and started forward.

  The trail was becoming more overgrown, the brush encroaching on the open space. When it forked, she hesitated. She’d looked at the map at the edge of the parking lot, but she couldn’t remember which way to head. The path to the left held less vegetation and seemed to be used more often, so she turned that way. Most likely, all the trails would converge at the lake anyway, so it probably didn’t matter.

  A line of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Gia wiped it away, slid an elastic band off her wrist, and tied her hair back. Winter in Florida was a whole lot different from winter in New York. Though she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit she missed it. The cold bite of winter air—which would freeze her lungs when she inhaled. The beauty of snowflakes falling and blanketing the entire city in white—which would turn to black slush a few days later, leaving puddles of muck scattered wherever she tried to walk, soaking her feet and splashing from tires if she ventured too close to the street. The warmth of a cozy fire and a mug of hot chocolate on the coldest of nights—of course, it wouldn’t be the same without someone to cuddle with.

  She sighed.

  No matter how many times she went over the same arguments in her head, they didn’t change the fact she had no clue what she wanted to do. Who knew? Maybe the zoning error would prove to be a blessing in disguise, the shove she needed to return home.

  But she had good friends in Boggy Creek, people who’d stood by her and accepted her. And yet when it came right down to it, she still couldn’t help feeling like a visitor. New York had always been, and would probably always be, home.

  The sound of dried leaves and palm fronds crunching beneath footsteps pulled her from her indecision.

  “Thor, come.”

  Thankfully, he obeyed the command, and she clipped his leash to his collar. He would never hurt anyone, but sometimes he got a little overenthusiastic about greeting new friends, and not everyone appreciated a strange dog, no matter how well meaning, jumping up on them.

  “Heel.” She kept him close to her side and angled herself so she’d be between him and whoever was coming toward them.

  Ahead of her, a stooped figure emerged from the woods and turned onto the trail. The petite woman shuffled toward them—at least, Gia thought it was a woman. It was hard to tell with the flowing, hooded cloak concealing most of her features, but long, salt-and-pepper hair hung limp over the front of her shoulders from beneath the hood. She leaned heavily on a long, thick walking stick that appeared to have been fashioned from an old tree branch.

  The woman paused for a moment and shook dried leaves and twigs from her long cloak, then pulled the hood down farther over her face, concealing her features in even deeper shadows.

  “Thor, sit.” Gia stopped, keeping the puppy close. If he ever jumped on the fragile-looking woman, he’d bowl her over and probably crush her.

  As the woman shuffled closer, Thor popped up, tail wagging.

  “Thor. Sit.” She kept her voice pitched low but tried to make the command strong so he’d know she wasn’t playing. Whether or not he’d obey when he got too excited was a toss-up. She wound the leash tighter around her hand, just to be on the safe side.

  He dropped back down and looked at her expectantly.

  “Good boy.” She patted his head.

  The woman moved toward them, keeping her head low. When she’d almost reached them, a shadow crossed the path.

  A chill raced up Gia’s spine, and she shivered and looked up. A dark gray cloud blocked the sun. She was going to have to turn back or pick up the pace a bit. She definitely didn’t want to get caught in a torrential downpour in the middle of the forest. She smiled at the woman. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, dear.” The woman paused and peered at Gia from beneath her hood. Her piercing eyes were the deepest blue Gia had ever seen. Mesmerizing. The woman tilted her head, and the hood shifted, casting a shadow over her eyes and dimming the hypnotic effect. “Might I offer a piece of advice?”

  Gia glanced up at the darkening sky again. “Of course.”

  A frail hand poked out of her long flowing sleeve and landed on Gia’s arm. Her ice-cold touch raised goose bumps. “You are headed down the wrong path, dear. You must change course, find another way.”

  “I…uh…”

  The woman patted her hand, then continued on her way.

  “Wait… I…” Gia called after her.

  The woman didn’t even pause, just kept shambling along at the same steady pace.

  Gia looked around, unsure whether to continue the way she was headed or turn back. The cloud passed, and the sun reemerged. She looked back over her shoulder.

  The woman had already rounded a curve in the trail and disappeared.

  Gia shook off a chill. “Weird, huh, Thor?”

  Thor tilted his head and studied her, then looked after the woman. Sometimes it freaked her out a little that he seemed to understand her. Then again, she’d never had a dog before, so maybe that was normal.

  “Come on, boy.” No sense letting the odd encounter stop her from continuing her walk. Besides, maybe the woman hadn’t even been talking about the trail she was on. Maybe she’d meant something more mystical. She did seem a bit…eccentric. She kind of reminded Gia of the fortune-teller she’d been talked into visiting at Coney Island one year when she was a teenager, the woman who’d told her she saw a change in her future, something to do with wilderness and a large animal.

  Gia and her friends had laughed it off. Born and raised in the heart of New York City, Gia had never entertained the idea of doing anything so exotic. She and her friends had fun trying to guess what it could be, though. Gia had said maybe she would go on a safari in Africa. Addi
son had thought she’d be a forest ranger and look after bears. Bears…oh…

  Gia patted her pocket to make sure her bear spray was there. Yup, right where it was the last hundred times she’d checked. She looked around again at the towering pine trees and thick underbrush. Dark clouds started to gather overhead, unusual for a Florida morning. The storms typically came later in the day, but why take chances? She started forward. “Come on, Thor.”

  Okay, so maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the woman’s rambling. But what could she have meant? What had Gia been thinking when she’d first encountered the woman? She’d been trying to decide what to do. She’d thought of going back to New York, but she was pretty sure the last thought she’d had before running into the woman involved staying in Florida.

  Did that mean she was supposed to leave, after all?

  Or maybe her last thought had been about going back home. Her decision to stay or go changed on a minute-by-minute basis. She just couldn’t remember.

  A squirrel darted across the path; its skinny tail dropped low.

  Thor bolted.

  Caught off guard, Gia was forced to run along with him, while she desperately tried to free her hand from the tightening leash. “Thor. No. Stop.”

  Thor bounced into the underbrush, dragging Gia behind him.

  She stumbled over an exposed root and went down hard, face-first into a tree trunk.

  The squirrel ran up a tree, and Thor jumped up, his front paws landing against the tree trunk, and barked once.

  Thankfully, Thor stopping allowed her enough slack to unwind the leash from her hand. She sat up, keeping a tight hold on the leash handle, and gently probed her aching chin. Her fingers came away coated in blood. Great. “Thor. Come.”

  Apparently giving up on the squirrel, Thor trotted over to where she sat. He took one look at her, dropped down to sit, and lowered his head.

  Bracing herself against the tree trunk with one hand, Gia climbed to her feet. She stood still, leaning against the tree for a moment, and took a few deep breaths. The throbbing in her face was manageable, so she pushed away from the tree and took a tentative step toward the trail. Her knee buckled, but she regained her footing before taking another spill.

  Thor stood and shot her a look from the corner of his eye.

  “It’s all right, Thor.” It really wasn’t his fault, just an accident because he was a big dog and got a little overexcited. She patted his head as he fell into step at her side. “Come on, let’s just go home.”

  Once she was back on the trail, she brushed herself off as best she could and hobbled toward the lake. From where she stood, she could see the bridge crossing the lake on the more heavily traveled trail she usually hiked. It should be quicker to skirt along the lake and take the main trail back to the parking lot. With any luck at all, it would be.

  She reached the lake and started along the shore, keeping a close watch on the water for any sign of movement. She slid her hand into her pocket and clutched the canister of bear spray.

  Soft muck sucked at her sneakers. A loud sucking sound accompanied each step. Maybe she just wasn’t cut out for hiking. Of course, paddleboarding hadn’t worked out much better. Everything had been going well, until she’d seen a log in the water and realized it had eyes.

  A mosquito landed on her arm, and she swatted it away. Another took its place. She slapped an itch on her face, then gasped at the sting. She’d forgotten about the scrapes she must have sustained when she’d hit the tree. Her back started to itch, and she shifted Thor’s leash to the other hand so she could reach it.

  The puppy lurched ahead.

  “Thor, no.”

  He shot a look over his shoulder at her and stopped, then turned in a circle and whimpered.

  A pang of guilt shot through her. Maybe she should have done more to reassure him the mishap hadn’t been his fault. “It’s okay, boy.”

  She reached out to pet him, and he whined again and turned in another circle.

  “What’s wrong, Thor?” She petted his head. “Come on, let’s—”

  As she rounded a large tree, she almost tripped over something half-submerged in the muck. She yanked out the bear spray and held it out in front of her, then crept closer.

  A woman’s body lay facedown in the mud. Even though her upper body lay half in the marshy underbrush, Gia recognized the woman’s clothing. She was still wearing the same hot pink dress she’d worn the day before when she’d come into the café. One sandal had come off but remained tied around her ankle. The other foot was submerged in the murky water, so Gia couldn’t tell if she was still wearing the other shoe. Unless someone else shared Marcia’s tacky taste in clothing, it was a pretty safe bet she’d just stumbled over the council president.

  Chapter 3

  Gia took a deep breath and staggered backward. Then she screamed.

  Questions raced a million miles an hour through her mind. She turned in a circle and got tangled in Thor’s leash. What if whoever had killed Marcia was still around?

  “Ma’am?” A tall, bulky, deeply tanned man in a blue T-shirt jogged toward her from the main trail. “Are you all right?”

  Gia aimed the bear spray at him and took another step back, trying to untangle herself. “I…I…uh…”

  “Are you hurt, ma’am? Did someone hurt you?”

  She shook her head and pointed toward what she assumed was Marcia Steers.

  The man rounded the last curve and stopped short. “What the…?”

  “I don’t know. I came around the corner and she was there, laying in the mud just like that.” Gia bit her tongue to keep from rambling and finally untangled herself.

  Though Thor still clung tightly against her leg, at least she was no longer wrapped in the leash.

  “Did you call the police?” the man asked.

  She shook her head.

  He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and stepped away to make a call, presumably to the police. His free hand gestured wildly while he spoke.

  Leaving him to deal with the police, Gia stared down at Marcia. Even though she’d barely known her, Gia’s stomach turned over. Who could possibly have done something like that? Was it nothing more than a random mugging? Somehow Gia doubted that, unless Marcia just happened to be strolling along the mucky lakeshore in her high-heeled sandals, which hardly seemed likely.

  Still, she didn’t see a purse lying around. Of course, Marcia could have locked it in her car.

  “Come on.” The man took her elbow and guided her away from the body. “The police are on their way. I’m Bryce, by the way.”

  Gia nodded and allowed him to lead her away from Marcia. “I’m Gia.”

  “And who’s this big fella?” Bryce gestured toward Thor but made no move to pet him.

  “This is Thor.”

  Thor tilted his head up toward Gia and whimpered.

  She petted his head. “It’s okay, Thor. The police will be here any minute.”

  “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Bryce asked.

  “No, I’m okay. Thank you.”

  When they reached the end of the trail, he gestured toward a small clearing where several logs had fallen. “Just sit here, and I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.” Gia nodded and led Thor to one of the logs. She weaved her fingers into his thick mane, then sat and waited. She didn’t have to wait long.

  Tires crunched over gravel and twigs, shattering the stillness of the peaceful morning in the forest. A flock of birds took flight, fluttering branches as they fled. Perhaps the approaching vehicle had scared them off.

  “Would you like some water, Gia?” Bryce held out a bottle of water he’d taken from a cooler. He’d paled considerably since noticing the body, and a slight tremor rocked his outstretched hand.

  “Thank you.” She uncapped the bottle and took a small sip, m
ore for something to do than anything else. Her stomach rebelled. She looked around for something to pour water in for Thor.

  “Here.” Bryce handed her a thermos cap. “You can fill that for him.”

  “Thank you.”

  He simply nodded while his companions, two women and another man, stared openly at Gia.

  She met each of their gazes, and each of them looked away. She couldn’t blame them for being curious—suspicious—whatever. After all, she probably looked like she just went ten rounds with a heavyweight champion, and they had found her standing over a dead body.

  Gia groaned. This did not look good. Hopefully, either her friend Leo or Hunt would show up.

  She touched her tender chin with the back of her hand—still bleeding but not as heavily—and filled the thermos cap, then set it on the ground for Thor.

  He lapped greedily. Apparently, his stomach was in better shape than hers.

  A black SUV stopped a little ways from where she sat on the log. A man emerged and slammed the door shut. Despite his jeans and T-shirt, Gia had no trouble recognizing Captain Hayes. Oh, boy. The universe really was conspiring against her today.

  Ignoring the others, who’d gathered in a semicircle a few feet away, Hayes homed in on Gia, frowned, and strode toward her.

  Great.

  “Ms. Morelli.” He propped his hands on his hips and stared down at her. “Would you care to tell me what happened?”

  Gia bristled. Who did he think he was? She surged to her feet, and an eddy of darkness encroached. She shot a hand out to steady herself against a tree, then waited a few seconds for her head to clear. “I was hiking the trail with Thor, and I found a woman’s body.”

  “Mmm-hmm… And is this body any relation to you?”

  She bit back the nasty response that formed in her mind an instant before it could pop out of her mouth. “No.”

  Not exactly.

  He was bound to find out there was a connection, but let him figure that out for himself.

  She was saved from having to elaborate by the arrival of a second officer. Officer Leo Dumont hurried toward her. “Are you okay? What happened? Did someone hurt you?”