Escape to Sampson's Quarry (A Sampson's Quarry Mystery - Book Two)

by Sophie Tucker

  Also from Lirios Publishing

  Click on the title to view in the Amazon Store

  Sea Oak Mysteries

  by Adele M. Cooper

  Book One - Witness in the Park

  Book Two - Tilted Justice

  Book Three - Coming soon

  Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mysteries

  by Olivia Swift

  Book One - The Secret of Chestnut Hall

  Book Two - The Secret of the Jewel Shop

  The Sampson’s Quarry Mysteries

  by Sophie Tucker

  Book One - The Road to Sampson’s Quarry

  Escape to Sampson’s Quarry (A Sampson’s Quarry Mystery - Book Two)

  Sophie Tucker

  Copyright © 2017 by Sophie Tucker

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Escape to Sampson’s Quarry

  Bri and Reese – Sampson’s Quarry - Book Two

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About the Author

  Also from Lirios Publishing

  1

  "Are you sure you're okay with baked macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight?" Bri Caldwell called from the kitchen.

  "Of course," her best friend, Haley Gardner, said from right behind her.

  Bri gasped and took a step back. "Holy crap. You scared me. You move like a ninja. I didn’t even hear you come into the kitchen."

  "Sorry!” Haley exclaimed, her green eyes wide. “I have been dying to have your baked mac and cheese.”

  "Okay, good,” Bri said, crouching down in front of an open cabinet trying to find her baking pan.

  "That’s a lot of work though. Why don't you let me order pizza or something?” Haley offered. “I don't want you to go to all of the trouble with cooking."

  Bri grimaced into the cabinet. "No, it's no trouble at all. I like to cook."

  Which wasn't a complete lie on Bri’s part; she did enjoy cooking quite a bit. It was the idea of having a complete stranger showing up at her door that she didn’t like.

  "I know, but still. I'm here on vacation for both of us to kick back, not just me." Haley explained.

  Haley’s visit to Sampson’s Quarry was the first time the two had seen each other since Bri had moved almost six months before. It had been a difficult but necessary move, and Bri had felt lost for weeks after she had arrived. Knowing that Haley was coming to visit had bolstered her spirits and gotten her through some rough days. Bri had been so excited for the visit that she had been counting down the days on her calendar.

  Haley had driven up from their hometown of Fairview with Bri's brother, Lucas, and while the visit had not started out great, Bri was even more thankful that they were there. It had ended up being a harrowing trip after they happened upon a crime in progress. Haley had not even known that she had seen anything until after a madman tried to run them off the road several times. It had all ended in a horrible car accident that sent Haley to the hospital for several days.

  Considering the details of the accident, it was a wonder that Haley and Lucas had come out of the accident with relatively minor injuries. Bri was more than grateful that the man had been apprehended and even happier to have Haley staying with her. Originally, she had planned to stay for two weeks, but it looked like Haley would need to extend her vacation in Sampson’s Quarry.

  Bri waved Haley’s objections aside and pointed to a chair at the breakfast bar. "Hush and sit. I told you I like cooking. I'd rather do this than order pizza. So, sit here and talk to me while I cook. It’s been too long since we’ve done this."

  “Yes, ma’am.” Haley said, giving her friend a snappy salute before sitting down on one of the high bar stools at the breakfast bar. "As long as you don’t feel like it’s work."

  "I really don’t.” Bri rinsed out the baking pan and set it to dry. "Speaking of work, any leads on a new job?"

  Haley sighed. "Not really. I have looked through all the job boards in Fairview, and I am not really finding anything that I want to do. I suppose at some point I'll just have to apply for anything that is available."

  Bri shook her head. Haley really had not had much luck in the last few weeks. Her new manager had canceled her request for time off that had been approved months before. The new manager had expected Haley to work the next week. In a rare moment, Haley had thrown her heightened sense of responsibility to the winds and said she didn’t care. She was going to go on her vacation and promptly quit.

  Bri put a large pot in the sink and began filling it with water. "Maybe you should start looking for a job here,” Bri said with a laugh. Even though she would love to have her best friend come to live in Sampson’s Quarry, Haley had enough on her mind. Bri didn’t want to add to her worries.

  She rolled her eyes. "I am about to that point."

  Bri recognized the dejection in Haley's voice. She set the pot on the stove and turned on the burner to low. She leaned against the counter across from Haley. "Are you okay?"

  "Yes and no,” Haley replied. "It's just that, ever since high school, I've never not had a job. I guess I am just having a hard time dealing with being unemployed."

  "I know that you’ve always worked. I understand that and admire it, in fact. But you need to cut yourself some slack. You don’t need to be working fifty-hour work weeks. You are allowed a little R and R.”

  “Believe me, I am trying. It's really difficult knowing I don't have a job waiting for me in Fairview. I don't like this feeling of not knowing. Does that make sense?"

  "Of course, it does.” Bri understood far more than Haley would ever know. “Listen, I have known you since we were in grade school. You plan everything.”

  “And you plan nothing,” Haley said wryly.

  “That’s mostly true.” Bri chuckled and added, “The point is that you normally plan for nearly everything but you couldn’t really plan for being jobless, and that makes you a little crazy.”

  Haley snorted. “A little crazy?”

  “Okay, a lot crazy. Maybe finally making a decision based on your gut will be good for you.”

  “I suppose,” Haley said slowly. Then she furrowed her eyebrows at Bri. “Is that how you ended up in Sampson’s Quarry?”

  Haley had been questioning Bri about her sudden move to Sampson’s Quarry ever since she had made the decision to do so six months ago. Bri had continued to tell her it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but Haley knew her too well to believe it.

  “It is. I got transferred to a new position at work, through no fault of my own, and I hated it. I decided that it was time to think about having a career and not simply a job.”

  Haley furrowed her eyebrows comically, shaking her head slowly. “You? No.”

  “I know. It was almost like I was planning, right?” Bri shrugged. “I literally spent an hour on my computer looking at different professions, and I decided I liked the idea of working in real estate. I applied at several real estate offices and Nancy was the first person to give me a callback. I figured it was a sign that I couldn’t ignore.”

  Haley was nodding, “That’s a little like how I felt when I quit at the portrait st
udio.”

  “It felt pretty good, didn’t it?”

  “It really did.” Haley slid off the barstool. “I am going to get my laptop and look to see if there are any job openings here in Sampson’s Quarry.”

  Bri was in shock, and Haley was in the living room before she could ask, “You would move to Sampson’s Quarry?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it before. Now that Mom has decided to move to Florida and I quit my job, I don’t really have a reason to stay in Fairview.” Haley pulled her laptop from her bag. “I’d rather be closer to you.”

  “Me too.” Bri didn’t even want to think about it. She had been so lonely being so far from Haley. It seemed too good to be true after missing her so much.

  Not a minute later, the shrill tone of the telephone sliced through Bri’s moment of happiness.

  “You want me to answer that?” Haley called from the other room.

  “No,” Bri answered, hoping that she sounded normal. She went to the door to say, “Just let it go to voicemail.”

  “Hello?”

  Bri’s felt her heart rate increase as she waited.

  Haley frowned and set the phone down. “That’s so weird. They hung up.”

  "Do you get a lot of those?"

  Bri froze at her friend's question and then bent down in front of the open cabinet as though she hadn't heard anything.

  "Do you get a lot of those kinds of phone calls?" Haley asked, coming into the kitchen.

  Bri leaned further into the cabinet, sure that Haley would see the anxiety on her face. "I'm not really sure. I don't usually answer the phone; I just let it go to voicemail."

  She had been letting all of her calls go to voicemail ever since the calls started about three months ago. When it first started, she hadn’t thought much about it. It had been easy for her to explain the calls away, certain that they were for the person who had the phone number before her. The calls became more frequent and only seemed to happen at night or on the weekends when she was home. After a while, she blamed it on telemarketers and would hang up the phone as quickly as possible. It wasn't until Bri had worked several nights in a row, helping Nancy with an open house event, that she realized it was much more than telemarketers. When she was home during the day, the phone had been silent. The calls had started again at a quarter after five, precisely the time she would have been walking in the door.

  By then, Bri had stopped answering the phone, but it still unnerved her. It had been so disconcerting that she had gone to Nancy to ask about working an hour earlier in the day so that she could get home an hour earlier. If nothing else, she would get an hour of silence before the phone started ringing. That had worked for almost a week, but by Friday of the first week, the calls had started an hour earlier. That's when she accepted the truth; someone was keeping tabs on her. Someone who knew exactly what time she got home from work each day. She tried not to think about it, but not because she was naïve enough to think it would simply go away. It was simply the fact that she refused to live in fear, even though she flinched every single time the phone rang.

  "Is that why you never answer your phone or return our text messages right away?" Haley asked her before sitting back down on the barstool.

  "I don't know.” Bri paused as if she hadn't thought about it. "Honestly, I think it had a lot to do with working at the realty office with Nancy. I got in the habit of turning the volume off on my phone and just checking it every now and then.”

  “I get that. I did the same thing when I was at work.”

  “If there isn’t anyone in the office, then I can return the call. It's been much busier in the office, so I haven't been able to check my phone or return calls as often. That’s why I tend to message back as soon as possible. I can do it quickly and without anyone knowing it’s a personal matter."

  "But..." Haley started, but was immediately interrupted by a knock at the door. "Oh, that must be Lucas."

  Haley jumped up again and went to answer the door.

  "Oh good," Bri said, definitely more thankful for the interruption than to see her brother.

  Bri continued working in the kitchen, happy to let Haley and her brother have a few quiet moments together. The two had just started dating after several years spent alternately circling each other or avoiding each other. As glad as Bri was that they had finally gotten themselves straightened out, it made sense to give them their space. Normally, as Haley’s best friend, it was her duty to hear all of the details regarding a new boyfriend, but this time Bri was more than happy to sit out. There were some things she did not need to know about her brother.

  Bri pulled milk, eggs, butter, and cheese out of the refrigerator, setting them on the counter. She had just started whisking the eggs and milk together when Lucas came into the kitchen.

  "Hey, Sis," he said, reaching over the breakfast bar to tug on a strand of her blonde hair before sitting down on a barstool next to Haley. "I don't know what you are making, but I bet it is going to be good."

  "Baked mac and cheese." Bri set the mixing bowl on the counter so she could add the macaroni to the boiling water. "I can throw together a salad too if you want."

  "I can do that," Haley offered, nearly jumping off the barstool.

  Bri nodded toward the refrigerator. "Everything is in the bottom drawer. There should be a few bottles of dressing on the door."

  Haley set a bottle of beer and an opener on the counter. "So how did things go today, Lucas?"

  Lucas had gone down to the police station to pick up the report regarding the accident so that Haley could submit everything to her insurance company.

  He popped the top off of the bottle. "It was interesting."

  "Interesting? How so?" Haley asked, pausing as she chopped the lettuce.

  To Bri's surprise, he turned to her. "How long has your car been leaking brake fluid?"

  Bri frowned and wiped her hands on a towel. "I didn’t know that it was. Is it bad?"

  "I left here to drive up to the police station and your brakes felt a little soft. I didn't really think much of it. I haven't driven your car except for a couple of times since we've been here. I was about five miles from the police station when I realized the brakes were getting worse."

  "Worse?" Haley glanced between Lucas and Bri.

  "Yeah, I blew right through a stop sign on Collins Avenue. I was lucky that no one was going the other way. I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor and they barely slowed me down."

  "Oh my goodness, Lucas. Are you okay?" Bri put a hand to her chest.

  "Yeah, like I said there was no other traffic around."

  "What did you do?" Haley had abandoned the salad making to stand next to Bri.

  "I was able to coast to a stop farther down on Collins. There happened to be an auto shop a couple of doors down."

  “Oh, that must be Galloway Auto," Bri said.

  "Yeah, the guy I talked to was pretty helpful."

  "That's where I had the oil changed. They have a great reputation for being trustworthy."

  "How long ago was that?"

  Bri tried to think back. She wasn’t great about keeping up with the maintenance on her car, but she was trying to do better. "Well, I try to take it in every three months. I think the last time that I took it in was about a month ago."

  "Good, that will help," Lucas said.

  "Help what?" Haley asked. "I feel like you're not telling us everything. What's going on?"

  "I had one of the guys come over and look at your car, and he said it looks like somehow you got a bunch of pinholes in your brake line."

  "And that's what was causing the leak?" Bri asked.

  “Yeah, it was a slow leak. That's why it was just a gradual feeling of the brakes getting softer."

  "Until all the brake fluid was gone, of course," Haley added.

  "The guy in the shop was able to push the car over into the bay and he replaced the brake line for now. He did ask that you bring it back in so he could check it over for any oth
er issues."

  "So, the car is okay to drive for now?" Bri couldn't imagine what they would do if her car was out of commission too.

  "Yes, for now. I'm just wondering if we should take it to a different shop to have it checked out."

  "Why?" Bri frowned as she stirred the macaroni in the pot.

  "You said that you took your car in there about a month ago? That’s probably how long it's taken for the brake fluid to leak out of those small holes."

  "You don't think they did it, do you?"

  "I don't know.” Lucas ran a hand through his short blonde hair. “I'd rather be safe than sorry."

  "Yeah, me too." Bri turned back to the stove and turned off the burner. She didn't want to think about what the damaged brake lines meant. They were just going to have a nice relaxing night. They would eat a good dinner and maybe watch a movie. Everything was going be fine. She turned to ask Haley a question when the phone began to ring again.

  2

  "Did you need these listings tonight?" Bri asked from the doorway.

  Nancy looked up from her desk and smiled. "I can take them if you have them ready, but they could wait until morning."

  Bri waved a sheaf of papers. "I was able to get them done early."

  "Great. Thanks. It was pretty busy today. I'm surprised you were able to do it. Great job."

  "It was busy but not crazy. I was able to print them out while your last couple was arguing about how many bathrooms they need in their new house."

  Nancy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, that's always good for at least ten to fifteen minutes."

  Bri laughed. "Definitely. Is there anything else you need me to do before I go?"

  Nancy looked around her desk and shook her head. "No, I think I'm good. Have a great night."