by Amy Lilly
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.” -Veronica Roth, Divergent
I was sitting in the living room wrapped in a blanket trying to get warm next to the fire. My fear had chilled me to my core. Someone hated me enough to leave that on my door. I had Watson in my lap and was softly stroking his velvety ears trying to comfort myself. He pushed his cold little nose against my hand and whimpered.
"It's alright, little guy. I'll keep you safe," I whispered bravely to him. Ferdie had taken up his post on the windowsill and his tail switched back and forth as he gazed out the window. The telephone on the end table broke the silence. "Hello?"
"It's me, Phee. I'm pulling up right now with Wade. Rick is here, too." Juliet said. "Go ahead and unlock the door." Hanging up, I picked Watson up and hurried to the front door. I undid the security chain and unlocked the deadbolt. I opened the door and Juliet rushed in and wrapped her arms around me. I started to sob. "It's alright, Phee. It's going to be okay," she said soothingly.
"Phee, what the hell is going on here?" Rick demanded. He was still in his sweatpants and sports jersey that he slept in. His hair was standing on end. His fists opened and closed as he tried to contain his anger. He looked at the rose tacked to the door and spat out a curse. "I'm calling the police."
"I already did," Juliet said. "I called them right before I called you. Sheriff Dawes and Clint are at an active crime scene right now. Janet, the night dispatcher, said that she was calling it in to the sheriff and they would send one of the reserve deputies over to take Phee's statement and collect the evidence. They should be here any minute."
"I am going to catch whoever played this little joke on you, Phee, and I am going to beat their ass," Rick said through tightly gritted teeth. "This is not even funny."
"Calm down, Rick," Wade said. "I don't think threatening to beat someone no matter how much they deserve it is helping the situation. I've got to wonder if this is related to everything else that has been going on in town. First, Huey Long is strangled, and then Carla is poisoned. Now, Phee gets a bloody rose stuck to her door. I’ve got to tell you. I'm worried. There's a little too much going on and it all seems to center around Ophelia." He nodded in my direction. Juliet tightened her arm around me and shot Wade a warning glance.
"It might not be anything," Juliet reassured me. "Maybe someone is just staring Halloween pranks a month early. Let's go sit down, Phee, and wait for the deputy."
"I, for one, need a drink," Rick said. He walked over to the antique drinks trolley in the corner of the living room, poured a finger of whiskey and swallowed it in one gulp. He poured another and handed it to me. "Drink it. You're white as a sheet and shaking."
I took the tumbler from him and drank it. The fiery liquid scalded my throat and I gasped. "Thanks," I wheezed out. A knock sounded from the front door. I started to get up, but Rick put up a hand to stop me and went to answer it. He returned moments later with Deputy Sorensen. Dave Sorensen was the high school science teacher, but he was also a reserve deputy. He had been a military policeman in the Marines, so he filled in when necessary.
"Hey there, folks. Phee, I understand this is your house?" He pulled out a notebook to jot down some notes. "Tell me what happened."
"I was sitting in the living room when I heard a noise outside, and Watson started to bark. I went outside to check it out and didn't see anyone. When I turned around to go back inside, I found the rose. It looks like it was dipped in blood or red paint or something. It scared me so bad that I ran inside and haven't been back outside since,” I said. Juliet gave me another hug and a nod of encouragement. "I was already on the phone with Juliet. I told her what happened, so she, Wade and Rick rushed over here. I didn't see or hear anything else."
"Wait. What are you doing with Clint's dog?" Rick interrupted. Juliet shot him a warning glare. He opened his mouth to say something else and then thought better of it.
"Alright. Any enemies that you know of? Any recent altercations with anyone? Can you think of any reason why someone would play a joke like this on you?" Deputy Sorensen asked.
"I don't think this is a joke," Juliet interjected. "Huey Long and Carla Karsen both argued with Phee before they were killed and now someone has left this rose on Phee's door as a warning. My sister doesn't have any enemies. She is the nicest person I know."
"Is this true, Phee?" Sorensen was jotting something down in his notebook.
"About me arguing with Huey and Carla before they were killed? Yes. About me being the nicest person? I don't know." I gave him a weak smile. "I really don't know who would want to scare me like this."
"Well, I'll take the rose into evidence. It isn't paint on it. It does appear to be blood, but what kind I don't know. I'll get it to the lab in the morning, and we'll let you know. In the meantime, can someone stay here with you tonight?" He closed his notebook and looked up at me.
"We'll stay," Wade offered, "if that's okay with you, Phee. Juliet and I can stay, and Rick can head home. He needs to stay with Carrie." Rick gave him a grateful look. He had enough on his plate with his wife pregnant with twins. He didn't need to worry about his little sister, too.
"Thanks Wade. I would appreciate it if you would," I said gratefully. "The spare room is already made up. And thank you, Dave, for coming out tonight. It might be nothing, but I have to tell you, it really shook me finding that on my door."
"Not a problem. I'll update the sheriff and someone will be in touch with you in the morning. Keep your doors and windows locked. Try to get some rest." He touched his finger to the brim of his hat, turned and left.
"Well, let's everyone calm down and try to get some sleep. We can deal with everything in the morning," Juliet shot another glance at Rick who was still pacing like a caged tiger. "Rick, head on home to Carrie. She's got to be worried. We'll call you if anything happens."
"You're right. I'd better get back to her. I don't like leaving her alone at night." Rick pushed his fingers through his hair. He looked exhausted. "I still want to know what's going on with you and Clint, but now is not the time or the place. I'm installing an alarm on this house tomorrow, Phee, and I don't want any argument. Understood?" Rick did a final check of the window locks in the living room. He came over and gave me a hug. "I won't let anything happen to you, PheePhee. I love you. Wade, I'm counting on you to keep my sisters safe."
"I love you, too, Rick. And quit calling me PheePhee," I tried to joke, but it fell flat.
"I will make sure nothing happens to them. I faced worse dangers over in the sandbox. If anyone tries to break in here tonight, they'll be met with a .45 at the door. Wade patted the side pocket of his camos where I now noticed there was a large bulge.
"I'll call you in the morning." Rick turned and left. Wade followed behind him to lock the door.
"Try to get some sleep, Phee. Wade and I will be right in the next room,” Juliet reassured me.
"Okay. I doubt I could sleep a wink after this, but I'm going to take Watson and get under the covers. Thanks for coming to my rescue, Juls." I hugged her and headed towards my bedroom.
"What are sisters for but to ride in and save the day?" Juliet responded.
I headed into my bedroom and checked the window locks one more time before crawling into the bed. I let Watson curl up on the bed next to me. I felt a heavy thump land at the end of the bed. Ferdie had decided to share the space with the puppy. I felt him settle on my feet. Surrounded on all sides with my furry guardians, I fell asleep moments after closing my eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
“A gun. I had been brought down by a gun. It was practically comical. Cheaters, I thought.” -Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice
I awoke to a loud pounding on the front door. I grabbed my robe from the end of the bed and hurried to answer the door. Wade was already there with the gun in his hand. He motioned for me to stay back. Juliet peered around the door of the
spare room. Anxiously, we watched as Wade rolled his wheelchair to the door and looked through the front entry window. He relaxed and put the gun down. He reached up, unlatched the chain and unlocked the deadbolt. When he opened the door, Clint charged through like an angry bull bearing down on a toreador. He spotted me standing in the hallway, and in two long strides, he pulled me into his arms.
"Ahem," Wade coughed gently. "Hey there, Clint."
Releasing me, he inspected me up and down. "You aren't hurt? Are you okay? I got here as soon as I could, but I couldn't leave the crime scene."
"I'm alright. Just a little shaken up." I gave him a wan smile in an attempt to reassure him.
"Wade and I can head home now if Clint is going to take over Phee duty," Juliet offered. She was nothing if not subtle. I gave her a grateful look.
"I'm not going anywhere," Clint said. "Thanks for coming by, Wade. I really appreciate it. You, too, Juliet."
"Not a problem. Phee, I'll work tomorrow for you. You stay home and try to relax." Wade shrugged on his coat and handed Juliet's jacket to her.
"Thanks Wade. I'm going to take you up on that offer." I hugged Juliet and gave Wade a quick hug of gratitude as well. "I'll call you if anything happens." I stood at the doorway with Clint until I saw that they had safely climbed into Wade’s car and stowed his chair in the back. I closed the door, locked it and promptly burst into tears.
Clint picked me up and carried me to the living room. He settled me onto the chaise lounge. Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, he wrapped it around me. "I'm going to take Watson out for a minute. I am sure he is about to burst. Then I am going to make you a cup of coffee, and you are going to tell me everything." I nodded my ascent. He wiped my tears away with his thumb and planted a kiss on the end of my nose. "I'll be right back."
Clint snapped the leash onto Watson's collar and carried him to the kitchen door and out into my fenced in back yard. A few minutes later, I heard him shut and lock the door and the sound of the teapot being filled with water. I wiped my eyes, and I gave a last little sniffle. So much for my master plan not to turn into a hysterical mess. I probably looked like a naked mole rat - all pink and blotchy with red eyes.
The teapot whistled. I heard the rattle of cups and moments later, Clint appeared in the doorway with two cups of tea in his hands. He handed one to me and settled at the foot of the chaise. Taking a sip, I realized he made it just the way I like with just a touch of honey. Taking another sip, I warmed up and told him what had happened after he left.
"This is getting too close to you for my comfort," Clint said grimly once I had finished. "I just left the scene of another murder. Someone shot Duane Phillips at close range in his trailer tonight."
"Oh no! Not Duane! He just came and saw me today. I told him you wanted to talk to him. Why in the world would anyone want to kill him? He was the nicest guy." I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. Duane had been my friend. I couldn't believe someone had shot him.
"We believe that someone shot him to keep him quiet. He must have shown someone or given someone the destroying angel mushroom sometime recently and that person used it to kill Carla. We found some in his trailer. Duane was a loose end that they couldn't afford. He paid the price with his life." Clint's mouth tightened. "Now I want you to tell me everything that you did today. In particular, I want to hear about you and Juliet's investigation into Cincinnati."
I told him all about my visit with Charlie at his house. I explained how Charlie had been present when I had argued with both Huey and Carla, so it made sense that maybe he had killed them to protect me. "But his feet are too big," I finished.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"The footprints outside of Mr. Long's house were not very big. Juliet told Charlie that we were collecting clothes and shoes for a family in need. He wears a size thirteen shoe. From what we could tell, he doesn't own any tennis shoes. It can't be him."
"Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, someone besides the murderer left those footprints outside of Huey's house? And maybe, just maybe, Charlie might still be a suspect. Of all the ridiculous things you and Juliet have done over the years, I think this one takes the cake!" Clint gave me an exasperated look.
"No," I said in a small voice. "But he's such a nice man. I just really hope it isn't him."
"Well, luckily for you and Juliet, it isn't. Charlie had an alibi for tonight's murder. It turns out that Si Kaminski's cable went out tonight. He walked next door to Charlie's house to finish watching the baseball game. He stayed until well after midnight since the game went into triple overtime. Duane was killed sometime between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. He wouldn't have had time to kill Duane and drive all the way back across town to his house before Si walked over at 8:15. Charlie was one of the first people we talked to tonight since he let Duane park his camper in the woods behind his house. He’s been eliminated as a suspect."
"Juliet and I left Charlie's house around 7:45 if that helps any," I offered. I tried to imagine how anyone could kill peace-loving Duane and felt an overwhelming sadness when I realized I wouldn't hear see him around town anymore.
"Well, that definitely clears Charlie, then. Duane's place is at least a ten minute walk through the woods from Charlie's in broad daylight. In the dark, it would take at least twenty minutes. Plus, Charlie’s knocking on seventy years old. Duane might be a stoner, but he was pretty fit from all of his hiking and rock-climbing."
"I'm glad it's not Charlie," I said. "I really like him, and he looks out for me."
"I am, too. But now we have a bigger problem," Clint said darkly.
"What?" I asked.
"Whoever was killing people to protect you has changed the game by killing Duane. And even more concerning is I believe that something else has changed. The bloody rose was a warning. I don't think whoever is doing these killings is looking out for you anymore, Phee. I think you’ve become their next target."
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.” - Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express
I looked at Clint with horror. "Do you really think that? I mean, why would anyone want to come after me?"
"To be honest, I don't know. Duane's murder and now this blood-covered rose left for you tells me that everything is tied to you," Clint said grimly. He pulled me closer to him. "I am going to do my damnedest to make sure nothing happens to you."
"I just can't imagine anyone I know doing these horrible things to Huey, Carla and now Duane. It has to be someone new in town or someone just passing through. Have they figured anything out with Huey or Carla's murders?"
"We should have the last of the reports back from Carla's autopsy tomorrow. The preliminary results had indicated the cause of death was the poisonous mushroom. This final report was the only thing we were still waiting on. It will tell us how much of the deadly mushroom killed her and verify it was during the benefit breakfast. The problem is that so many people were there," Clint said.
"It had to be someone who was preparing the food, wouldn't it? I mean, it's not like she wouldn't have noticed someone dropping mushrooms onto her plate," I reasoned. "That should narrow it down some."
"Well, you would think so, but there were several people helping out on the serving line. And with that big of crowd, they could wait for Carla to turn her head to talk to someone. They could drop it into her food and she'd be none the wiser. It's like finding a needle in a haystack except this needle is deadly,” Clint said discouragingly. "I just know that I am tired and frustrated with our lack of leads."
I rested my head against his chest. Before tonight, I had always felt safe in Miller's Cove. Juliet and I thought nothing about walking around in Longfellow Park at midnight. Most residents still left their doors unlocked at night. Our little town was changing and not in a good way. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Clint said.
"What's happening
with you and me? I mean, not that I expect anything or..." I trailed off unsure I wanted to hear his answer.
"Phee, can't you tell how I feel about you? I've just been waiting for you to open your eyes and stop seeing me as Rick's buddy who gave you rides on his dirt bike. I got tired of waiting for you to get a clue." He leaned in and kissed me gently.
"I've been waiting for you to stop seeing me as the little girl in pigtails who begged you for that ride on the bike." I shook my head in disbelief.
"I think I know that you aren't that same little girl. I believe I covered that earlier this evening," Clint said huskily as he kissed me again. "And I plan on staying right here with you tonight to keep you safe." He stood up and held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and followed him to the bedroom.
I woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee. I opened my eyes and found Clint wearing my blue chenille robe and holding two cups of coffee. I sat up and he handed one of the cups to me.
"You look good in blue," I smiled at him. "I hope you didn't try to wear my skunk slippers."
"I tried, but they didn't quite fit. I've got to get going, Phee. I'm supposed to meet with Doc Thompson over at the hospital to get the initial autopsy results on Duane and pick up a copy of Carla’s reports." Clint took off the robe and started to pull on his discarded clothes from the night before. "I've got to drop Watson off at my house first and change clothes. I'm already running late."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you stay here with me."
"I'm not sorry." He leaned over and gave me a quick, hard kiss. He took a quick sip of coffee before setting the cup on my nightstand. "I'm just sorry that I can't stay longer. I want you to lock the door behind me and stay put today. If you absolutely have to go somewhere, make Rick or Juliet takes you."