Shadow Valley

by Kate Sherwood

  His smirk got a little deeper. “I did, actually. Thanks for asking.”

  She wasn’t sure if she should ask what he’d been productive at. Something drug-related? Surely he wouldn’t tell her if it was, but she was strangely reluctant to hear this man lie to her. She was in town to figure out the law enforcement disputes, not to solve actual crimes. It certainly wasn’t part of her job to interrogate drug dealers. But was Joe Cody a dealer, as such, or was he something else?

  “Did you know who I was?” She hadn’t known she was going to ask that, but once she’d started, she decided that she’d like to hear the answer. “Yesterday, when you helped me out of the car—did you know who you were helping?”

  He looked thoughtful. Not like he had to think about what the true answer was, but rather like he had to decide which version of that answer to give her. “After I got you in the truck,” he finally said. “I didn’t recognize the car, or anything.” He grinned, sudden and sweet, and she felt an unfamiliar and totally unwelcome lurch in her stomach. God, he was beautiful. “I wasn’t following you in from the city.”

  “Still.” She fought to keep her voice cool. “It probably would have saved you some trouble, if you’d left me in there.” She needed to establish some distance between herself and this man before she made a fool of herself, and if wild accusations were the best technique she could think of, then they were what she would use. “Things would probably be a lot simpler without an additional person investigating your actions.”

  He looked temporarily surprised, and then his smile took on a wicked edge. He leaned in a little closer, but kept his gaze locked on hers. “I really don’t think you’re going to cause me all that much trouble, sweetheart.” He leaned back upright without shifting his eyes, and she was unable to look away. It took the icy touch of her milk shake glass, placed on the counter next to her arm, to bring her back to where she was supposed to be. She turned, too quickly to pass as casual, and saw the waitress smiling gently.

  “Milk shake,” the woman prompted, and then turned her attention to the man still standing close behind Megan. “Your order’s up, Joe. You want it on the account?”

  “Yeah, please,” he said easily, and leaned past Megan, just a little too close, to take the heavy paper bag out of the waitress’s two hands. Megan tried to resist, but she couldn’t, and she inhaled just enough of his spicy, woodsy scent to make her light-headed before he leaned back out of her space. She felt his hand on her shoulder as he said, “Good to see you, Megan. Maybe we’ll run into each other again before you head out.”

  God, she wanted a snappy comeback, something to make it clear that he wasn’t rattling her, but she wasn’t even sure she could be trusted to be coherent. “Yeah, okay,” she managed, and then he was gone. From the corner of her eye she could see his broad, rangy shoulders moving away, and she allowed herself to turn her head just enough to catch a quick, tantalizing glimpse of his jeans-clad ass heading out the door. She turned back to her milk shake and saw the waitress watching her.

  “Joe Cody,” the waitress said, her voice knowing, and a little wistful. “That is one fine-looking man. And it’s not all looks, either, from what I hear.” She made her point crystal clear with a quick wink, then headed down the counter to serve another customer.

  Megan sucked up a mouthful of milk shake, and tried to let its coolness wash over her. She needed to get a grip on herself. She wondered if there was something actually wrong with her. Did she have some sort of psychological disorder that made her attracted to inappropriate men? Nymphomania? She’d always thought that was just a porn-inspired male fantasy, but what if it was real? What if she had it?

  Or maybe she was just weak-willed. Maybe she just needed to listen to her damn common sense and stop letting herself be led around by…well, it was hard to say exactly what part of her she was being led around by, in this case. It felt like she had iron in her blood, and Joe was a magnet. It was like every part of her was being pulled toward him. Some parts more than others, maybe…

  Another mouthful of milk shake and Megan felt like she was getting back in control of herself. The milk shake was actually very good, rich and creamy, and she wondered if chocolate really could be a substitute for sex. Then she remembered the warm weight of Joe Cody’s hand on her shoulder, the smell of him as he’d leaned past her, and she almost laughed. Chocolate was good, but it wasn’t going to replace the way the man had made her feel, not anytime soon. The most it could do was provide temporary distraction. That would just have to do.

  Chapter Six

  Megan headed over to the garage after lunch. The advantage of a small town, she realized, was that most things were within walking distance. The disadvantage, of course, was that there was therefore no need for taxis or buses or any other means of transportation for those whose cars were temporarily out of service. She looked at the heap of her salvaged belongings. Someone had been kind enough to spread them out a little, to help it all dry, but she’d gathered it back up into a pile for transportation. She realized too late that there was no way she could carry it all, especially since most of it was still soaked with several times its own weight in ditch water.

  The woman behind the desk had been watching her work, and then shook her head. “You need help, honey.” She didn’t wait for an answer, just turned her head and bellowed. “Joe? You busy?”

  Megan was unwilling to believe that her luck could be that bad. Surely there was more than one Joe in this town.

  “My brother,” the woman explained. “He pretends to use the free bay to work on his truck, but he’s probably just goofing off.”

  Megan looked at the woman. She was rounder, but she had the same dark hair, the same blue eyes. Megan was braced for it when Joe Cody poked his head into the office. He was looking at his sister, but Megan could tell from his smirk that he knew she was in the room. “You need something?”

  “The girl from the ditch, yesterday,” the woman said. “You can help her get her stuff to…” She made a face and looked at Megan. “You want it all to the motel? You can drop stuff off at the grocery store for dry cleaning—they ship it down to the city a couple times a week. And the electronic stuff…” She turned to Joe. “You think Dave could do anything with that?”

  “Doubt it.” Joe looked at Megan. “It was in the water for a couple hours. It’s probably wrecked. Your computer—maybe it’s got some sort of secret police files on it, or something—you should probably send it down to your office. They have people for this, right?” His smile was tighter and didn’t seem quite as sincere as earlier efforts had. “Wouldn’t want the criminal element up here getting their hands on it.” His sister looked apprehensive, and for the first time Megan could see a trace of something potentially dangerous in the man. But it disappeared quickly and he went back to talking like a salt-of-the-earth backwoodsman. “The phone—I don’t know. You could let it dry out for a couple days and see what happens, but I think it’s going to need to be replaced.”

  Megan had no idea how all of this had somehow become their business, but she needed to get back in control of the situation. “Yeah, thanks, I’ll keep all that in mind.” She smiled dismissively, but neither sibling seemed inclined to take the hint. Possibly because she was still standing there in the office, staring at a huge pile of wet possessions.

  “I can give you a lift, if you want,” Joe said. His tone was perfectly neutral, and Megan was tempted to take him up on the offer. It would be so easy to let him take care of her. She could relax, if someone else was there to take over. Lord knew, she hadn’t been doing such a great job of being in charge of her own life, so maybe he could do better.

  Or maybe, once again, she was being melodramatic. The guy was offering to give her a lift, not take over her life. And unless he was going to take on the whole mess, she still needed to put some thought into things, and she couldn’t afford to be seen drivi
ng down Main Street with a suspected murderer and drug lord. Not even if the drug was just marijuana. “I can just call a friend for help, thanks.”

  He nodded as if he’d known that was what she was going to say, then turned to his sister. “So you don’t need me?”

  “I guess not.” She didn’t look quite as friendly as she had earlier; apparently she didn’t appreciate having her gestures of goodwill refused. Or maybe she didn’t like having her brother rejected. Megan couldn’t tell which of the Codys was older, not just by looking, but based on their interactions, she was pretty sure Joe was the baby. She felt a sudden chill as she wondered whether it was this woman’s husband who had been murdered. And whether it had been done by this man.

  “If I could just borrow the phone,” Megan tried, but the woman was shaking her head before Megan was done talking.

  “Sorry. It’s for employee use only.”

  Yeah, she was not impressed with Megan’s attempted independence.

  Help came from an unexpected source. “Come on, Shan,” Joe tried, but stopped when he saw the look on his sister’s face. He dug inside his coveralls instead, and pulled out his own cell. He held it out in one hand, carefully, as if he wasn’t sure how Megan would react.

  Megan reached out and felt like an idiot for being careful to touch only the phone, not the man’s skin. She really wasn’t sure she could trust herself to withstand physical contact. He kept his eyes on her as she fumbled with the unfamiliar phone, and she tried to act nonchalant, as if she was unaware of his scrutiny.

  She wasn’t sure exactly who to call, but finally swallowed her pride and pulled Anna’s card out of her pocket. The sheriff was busy, and Anna had been the only other person in the office who’d seemed at all friendly. She dialed the number and listened to the ringing.

  “Why the fuck are you calling me at work?” Anna sounded genuinely angry, and Megan was taken aback. This was the number Anna had given her. But Anna didn’t even know who was calling…unless she recognized Joe’s cell number. Megan thought of Don’s reference to Anna’s ‘boyfriend’ and tried not to look over at Joe.

  “Anna, it’s Megan Archer. Sorry. My phone’s wet so I borrowed…someone else’s.”

  There was an awkward pause. “Oh. Sorry. Uh, what’s up?”

  Now it was Megan’s turn to feel awkward. “I hate to impose, but I don’t have a car or a rental, and I need to get my stuff from the garage to the motel. I was wondering if you might be able to help. With a ride. Sorry.”

  Another pause, then “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there in five minutes.” The phone disconnected, and Megan carefully handed it back to Joe.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” He looked as though maybe he had a little more to say, but after a moment he just turned and headed back into the garage. Leaving Megan alone with his sister, who was still not looking pleased.

  “I appreciate the offer,” Megan said.

  “Obviously.”

  “I’m here to do a job,” Megan explained. She had no idea how much this woman knew about her, or even about the Cody family business. “I need to appear impartial.”

  “Oh, you’re a judge? I hadn’t realized.”

  This wasn’t working well at all. “I’ll just start carrying my stuff outside. Thank you for all your help. Really.”

  The woman barely nodded, but Megan could feel eyes following her. God, the town was claustrophobic. The mountains that had seemed majestically beautiful that morning now seemed to loom over her, as if they too were watching and judging.

  Anna pulled up in a squad car just as Megan was dragging the last of her luggage out to the front walk. Anna looked at the belongings doubtfully, then brightened and waved as Joe’s sister appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Shanny! You’re wearing that shirt—I told you it was a good buy.”

  Megan tried not to interfere with their friendly exchange, but she was running out of things to do. And Anna seemed oblivious to the tension. “And you met Megan—she’s the one your brother pulled out of the drainage ditch last night.” Anna glanced down at the piles of wet belongings. “But I guess you already figured that out.”

  “Yeah, I figured a couple things out,” she said, and Anna looked between her friend and Megan, then shrugged.

  “We’d better get this stuff loaded up. I’ll see you Friday at the barbecue?” Anna waited for an affirmative nod, then turned back to Megan. “I told Don I was going to take you down to Kalispell to get a rental. I can show you where the Walmart is too, in case you need to replace some stuff.”

  Megan was beginning to wonder about this town’s obsession with Walmart, but she nodded gratefully. “That’d be great, if you have time. I hate not having my own car.”

  “Don’s pissed, of course, says I’m needed up here, not out running errands for out-of-towners, but Don’s a dick. In case you hadn’t noticed.” She popped the trunk release and she and Megan started shifting the belongings. “There’s a dry cleaner next to the Walmart, with a Laundromat attached.” She lifted one bedraggled sleeve of Megan’s cream DKNY jacket and let it drop with a splat. “But you may be doing some shopping.”

  “It sounds like you give good advice,” Megan tried, nodding toward the doorway where Joe’s sister was still standing. “Maybe you could join me? Show me where the good shopping is?”

  “I’m pretty busy right now.” Anna didn’t meet Megan’s eyes.

  The message was clear. Anna was a decent person, and she’d taken pity on Megan, but she wasn’t looking for new friends. Fair enough. Megan felt like an idiot for trying, but she was getting used to feeling stupid. She was in town to get a job done. And to get away from a bad situation, but that wasn’t what she was supposed to be thinking about. She was here for work. She had a mission. The governor had received enough complaints from enough people that he was worried and wanted to know what was going on. And Megan was happy to have a chance to do her job. She didn’t need distractions, not from coworkers and certainly not from criminals.

  She carefully wedged her dysfunctional laptop in beside some of her drier clothes and slammed the trunk before going to sit in the front seat. She could do this. She could stay focused on business. Anna got in beside her and they pulled out onto the main road. They were just passing the Thanks for Visiting Shadow Valley sign when Anna glanced over to Megan and said, “So…about Joe Cody....”

  Chapter Seven

  “What about him?” Megan didn’t know where this was going. She hadn’t been that obvious, had she? She certainly hoped Anna wasn’t expecting some soul-baring girl talk, especially not immediately after the shopping rejection.

  “When you called…the way I answered…” Anna looked frustrated, as if words were inadequate for whatever she was trying to say. “We used to date, Joe and I. Forever ago—like, high school. We graduated, he left town, that was it. So when he came back…you know. We’re sort of friends now. Well, not really friends, but it’s a small town—everybody knows everybody.”

  “So Don calling him your boyfriend…”

  “I think we’ve already covered the part where Don’s a pain in my ass. I haven’t seen Joe Cody naked for almost fifteen years. When I’m not at work, we’re friends, but that’s it. We’re not dating. Or even fucking around. Nothing.”

  “Okay.” Megan didn’t want to be petty, but she was sort of enjoying the sensation of not being the one on the defensive.

  “I just wanted to make that clear. You know. It could look like a conflict of interest, from the outside. I get that. But it isn’t. I am dedicated to my job, and maybe Joe Cody broke my teenage heart, but I’m a woman now. I’ve been married and divorced, I have two kids, a mortgage, a fucking dog. I am not that girl anymore.”

  This was getting a little intense. “Okay,” Megan said, trying to communicate the words calm down without actually saying them.


  They drove in silence for a while, and then Anna said, “Not that the man isn’t fucking hot.”

  Megan was beginning to wonder if this was a trick, some way to get her to confess her own attraction. She didn’t want to shut the conversation down, but she didn’t want to give herself away, either. “Was that—his sister—was it her husband that was murdered?”

  Anna nodded. “Allegedly.”

  “But they’re okay? I mean, she’s not mad at him about it?” Megan was having some trouble understanding this situation.

  Anna kept her eyes on the road ahead of her. “No. She’s not mad about it.” There was something in Anna’s tone that made Megan think it might not be a good idea to push any further. So they drove in silence for the rest of the trip to town. When they got there, Anna dropped Megan off at the car rental place with directions to everywhere she’d need to go, helped her transfer her sodden belongings from one car to the other, and then was gone.

  Megan watched the cruiser pull away. She wasn’t sure if she was satisfied with Anna’s explanation about her manner of answering the phone, but she tried to put it out of her head. She was in Shadow Valley to investigate the clashes between law enforcement bodies. That was all. She wasn’t investigating police corruption, and didn’t even like letting her mind wander in that direction.

  Ten minutes later she had the keys of a rental sedan. She’d gotten the biggest car they had, and it was comforting to let herself relax into the solidity of the vehicle. The trip to Walmart went smoothly. She didn’t discover any exciting fashion, but she filled her cart with serviceable clothes, essential toiletries and easy-to-prepare groceries for the motel room kitchenette. She was waiting at the checkout when she realized that the two women in the next line were giving her the eye. One of them picked up a tabloid-style newspaper from the magazine rack and squinted at the cover, then at Megan.