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

by Sophie Tucker

  Clearly, he didn’t want to elaborate. Bri tried to remember what they had been talking about. “You don’t want Nancy to call you? I thought you said that you were looking to buy a house.”

  “I am.” He seemed to hesitate and then said, “I am just in the early stages of the whole process. I am afraid that I don’t even know where to start.”

  “That is not a problem. That is most definitely why we are here,” she assured him. “I can get some basic information from you today. Nancy can help you hone in on what you really want.”

  “That sounds fair enough,” he told her.

  Bri opened one of her desk drawers, pulled out a form and started to fill it out. “Do you have any idea how many square feet you are looking for?”

  Detective Reese smiled weakly and shook his head. “Not a clue.”

  Bri tapped the pen on the paper for a few seconds. “Okay. How big is your family?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked her, sounding a little puzzled. "My mother lives in Illinois."

  “No. I mean here in Sampson’s Quarry. How many children do you have?”

  “Children?” He seemed amused. “I don’t have any children, nor a wife for that matter.

  Bri’s cheeks reddened as she realized the question sounded like she was hitting on him. She hurriedly said, “Okay.”

  She didn’t have time to say anything else as the phone began to ring. She was relieved for the small moment that she could try to gather herself.

  “Redmond Realty, this is Brianna, how may I help you?”

  “Bri," Nancy said, sounding rushed. “I forgot the keys for the open house I am showing this afternoon.”

  Bri knew that Nancy wasn’t due back into the office until late in the day. “Can I bring the keys to you?”

  “Oh, Bri, that would be so helpful,” Nancy said with obvious relief. “The house is in the Mont Clair neighborhood. Do you mind very much?”

  “Not at all,” Bri replied, grabbing a pad of paper and pen. “Which keys? And where should I meet you?”

  “The keys are in the key cabinet. The address is 2117 North Starling Drive. I am almost done here, so I should be there in the next fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  “All right, I will see you soon,” Bri said before ending the call.

  She looked up at Detective Reese who had gotten up to look at the large map of Sampson’s quarry that hung on the opposite wall. She crossed the room to talk to him.

  “Detective Reese,” she started.

  “Reese,” he corrected softly.

  Something about the softness in his voice made her shiver, and it took her a moment to start over. “Reese, I apologize but I need to run a quick errand.”

  “No apologies necessary; I understand completely.” He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and handed her a card. “You can reach me at that number.”

  “Great. I will have Nancy call you so that you two can talk and set up a meeting.” Bri was flustered standing so close to him, and she was trying to compose herself so that she appeared somewhat professional. “Thank you so much for being so understanding. I apologize again for the inconvenience.”

  He shook his head. “There is no inconvenience. I just happened to be driving by and thought I would stop in and ask a few questions.”

  “We didn’t even get very far with that either,” she replied with a grimace.

  He laughed, his blue eyes seeming even brighter. “But now I know where to find you.”

  “Yes, you do. Please feel free to come see me, I mean, us, well, Nancy soon,” Bri stammered out, feeling even more ridiculous.

  “I intend to,” he told her with a grin that made her knees weak, and so she was very thankful that she was able to grab on to her desk.

  He waved and walked out the door. Bri sat there for what seemed like minutes. There was something about Detective Reese that she was extremely drawn to. He seemed safe and exciting at the same time, solid and commanding but also caretaking. Perhaps it was simply his police training, but she suspected that it had more to do with his blue eyes and broad shoulders.

  “Stay focused, Bri. No men, they only cause more problems,” she reminded herself. She got up from her desk to retrieve the keys for Nancy’s office before she grabbed her bag and locked up the office.

  The Mont Clair neighborhood was in a more exclusive part of Sampson’s Quarry on the north side of the town center. Bri just barely made it in the fifteen minutes since Nancy had called. She turned down another street so that she could park around the corner from the house being shown. When she had first started at the office, she had done some quick online research and learned that it was best if a buyer arrived at a house with no cars at the curb. The potential new owner could see an uncluttered view of the entire house and yard.

  Bri got out of her car and straightened her skirt. She walked swiftly, while still attempting to appear professional, as she crossed the distance between her car and the large house with the “For Sale” sign on the front lawn. Except there was not a soul around, no Nancy, no anybody. Bri checked her phone, but there was no text message or a missed call. Not wanting to be found lurking around the front door, she walked to the side of the house to a small patio tucked behind several panels of privacy lattice. She knew she would be hidden from view from the street, but she would also be able to see when Nancy arrived.

  It was nearly twenty minutes later when she heard a car slow and then stop in front of the next house. Nancy appeared at the front walkway a moment later, looking around and then checking her phone.

  Bri walked out from behind the lattice to meet her. “Hello.”

  “Oh, Bri. I’m so glad you’re here. I didn't know what to think when I didn't see your car.” Nancy ran her fingers through her short spiky hair that looked messy and chic at the same time.

  Bri gestured down the street. “I parked around the corner, so my car would be out of sight.”

  Nancy smiled at her. “Very smart. I’m so sorry that I’m late. The Grassley's just had to see the kitchen one more time. And the master bedroom. And the back patio.”

  “Of course. Do you think they will put in an offer?”

  She nodded knowingly. “I expect a phone call from them by the end of the day. Mrs. Grassley loved the house. Mr. Grassley isn’t quite sure he wants to spend that much, even though it is well within the budget they gave me.”

  “Mrs. Grassley will change his mind, I am sure they will prove you right and call back soon,” Bri told her.

  “I am absolutely sure of it.” Nancy looked around. “The Thorntons should be here soon.”

  “Do you want me to wait with you?” Bri offered.

  “No, I will be fine. I’m sure they won’t be long now. Since you’ve already locked up the office, why don’t you go ahead and go home early?”

  “Oh, no, I…” Bri hesitated, not wanting to take advantage of the situation or lose any hours.

  “Bri, I really appreciate your help. You deserve some paid time off.” Nancy checked her watch. “It’ll be less than two hours but I still would like you to take it.”

  Bri had not been expecting that. “Thank you. I guess I will see you tomorrow morning then.”

  “You bet,” Nancy told her. She nodded her head toward the curb. “Now, go home and relax.”

  "Thanks again. Good luck on the showing." Bri waved and then began walking back to her car

  She slid into her car and already had it running when she realized there was something on her windshield. It looked like some sort of paper advertisement. She got out of the car to pull it off the windshield but saw that it had been taped onto the glass on the inside. Confused, she got back in and pulled it off. It was a single sheet of heavy paper folded in half. She unfolded it to see letters scrawled across the page in red marker.

  YOU WILL BE SORRY THAT YOU LEFT FAIRVIEW

  4

  Bri had been even more on edge after finding the threatening note in her car. Before the note, she had simply been
uneasy the first few hours that she was home. Now she was constantly looking over her shoulder trying to find out if someone was following her. It was that same sort of fear that had caused her to move from Fairview over six months ago. She really had not wanted to move away from her family and friends, but she was afraid for their safety.

  It was all Curtis Tomlinson’s fault. Her ex-boyfriend had proved to be a nightmare during and after they dated. Bri was quick to admit that there were plenty of people that had it way worse than she did. She didn’t have any broken bones or other serious injuries, not that he didn’t threaten bodily harm when she broke up with him. He had threatened everything, following her around town, stopping by her work, and calling her phone at all hours of the day and night. Bri had already started looking for a new job. She had been transferred to a different position within the same department, and the new job made her miserable every single day. Dealing with Curtis’s crazy behavior just made everything that much worse.

  Nancy Redmond had been the first to reply to the many job applications that she had sent out. Bri had been both excited and nervous to visit Sampson’s Quarry for her interview. Wary of driving so far by herself, she decided to book a flight. She had gone to great lengths to make it difficult for someone to learn where she had gone. The flight she had taken flew into another airport farther away, and she drove a rental car an extra hour to get to Sampson’s Quarry. Bri had liked the smaller town from the moment she had arrived. Her interview had gone well and Nancy had offered her the position on the spot. With Nancy’s help, Bri had secured an apartment before the weekend was over.

  Now that everything seemed to be starting over, Bri was beginning to think that she should start looking for someplace else to live. Only this time, she might have to cut off ties with everyone. She had moved from Fairview thinking that it would be enough, hoping that the distance would be enough to deter Curtis from coming after her. If he was the one stalking her now, she supposed it was her own fault. She had kept in touch with friends and family through social media. She had ensured that her own posts were private. There was no way for her to be sure that others were not sharing them. It was possible that Curtis may have found her through one of her own friends or family members.

  Having gone to the post office during her late lunch hour, she was able to drive directly home after leaving work. Haley and Lucas had planned a big day of hiking and would not be back until later in the evening. Bri looked forward to relaxing with a book when she got home. She was fishing her keys out of her purse when she heard music coming from her apartment. Standing in front of her apartment door, Bri stopped, wondering if she should run back to her car. Just then she heard Lucas’s voice and she let out a sigh of relief.

  "Hey, Bri!" Haley called out to her from where she sat at the breakfast bar.

  "Hey yourself,” Bri said, hoping she did not look as freaked out as she felt. “I thought you guys were spending the day hiking."

  "We did," Lucas replied. "We ran out of food, so we ended the hike early."

  Bri looked over at Haley. "Is he being serious?"

  "Yes," Haley said, looking up in from her laptop and rolling her eyes. "You know how he is. He eats enough food for a small family."

  "Still?" Bri looked at her brother. "Why didn't you just pack more food?"

  Lucas looked offended. "Why is everyone picking on me?"

  "We aren't picking on you. Just trying to find out what's wrong with you." Bri exchanged a laugh with Haley.

  "Now you're just being mean," Lucas said, trying to look offended.

  Bri stuck her tongue out at him. "All right, give me a few minutes. I'm going to change my clothes and then I will get started with dinner, okay?"

  Haley slid off the barstool. "Take your time. Dinner is on us."

  Bri stopped on her way out of the room to look at Haley. "Oh, are we going out?"

  "No, we ordered Chinese food."

  "Awesome! Do I need to go pick it up?"

  Haley frowned. "No, of course not. We picked a restaurant that had free delivery."

  "Oh, great," Bri said stiffly.

  “Is that okay?” Haley asked. “I wanted to do something nice. You’ve been so generous and dealt with all of this crazy stuff with the accident. I didn’t want you to have to cook tonight.”

  Bri felt bad for her reaction. “It was really sweet of you. Thank you so much. I had a crazy day at work.” She gave Haley a quick hug and then went into her bedroom. She appreciated Haley's thoughtfulness about getting dinner so that Bri did not have to cook, but she was still very apprehensive about having a stranger come to her door. Even more so with the recent discovery of the note.

  Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that she could still have a relaxing night. Lucas and Haley were two of her favorite people. If she had problems relaxing around them, there was little hope that it would ever happen. Changing out of her work clothes would be the first step toward that. Bri sat down on her bed and took her shoes off. She normally did not mind dressing in business attire for work, but today she was done with high heels, even the low ones she had worn that day. Intent on putting her worries behind her, Bri pulled on a pair of old, well-worn jeans and her favorite superhero T-shirt. She twisted her wavy blonde hair into a messy bun before leaving her bedroom.

  "That was weird," Lucas said as Bri walked back into the living room.

  "What was weird?" Bri asked him.

  "That phone call,” Lucas said, setting her cordless phone back onto the table.

  Bri had not even realized that he had been holding the phone. She tried to wave it off like she had with Haley the previous week. "It was probably just a telemarketer."

  "I don't know. The guy seemed pretty angry and wanted to know who I was."

  Bri felt her heart stop for a moment. "There was someone actually on the phone?"

  "Yeah," Lucas said slowly. "Why? Is that odd to have someone on the phone?"

  He and Haley exchanged a concerned look.

  Bri laughed, but it sounded a little fake even to her. "Of course not. I just didn't know what you meant."

  Haley spoke up with, "Well, yeah, that makes sense. You probably thought it was another hang-up call.”

  Lucas frowned. "What are you talking about? What hang-up calls?"

  "It's nothing." Bri shook her head. "Every once in a while, I get a phone call and there's nobody there. I think it's just telemarketers or political calls. They all use computers to dial these days."

  "Every now and then?” Lucas said. “How often is that?"

  Bri shrugged. "I don't know, a couple of times a week maybe. Seriously, I don't really think about it."

  "I don't know if it's nothing really. This is the third phone call you gotten tonight. Two were hang-ups and in this last one the guy seemed pretty upset."

  "It was probably a wrong number then." Bri went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, acting like she was looking for a drink instead of just wanting the conversation to end. "There's no reason for anyone to be calling here."

  "Still," her brother said.

  She had come back to the kitchen door when the doorbell rang. Startled, Bri gasped.

  “Feeling a little edgy?” Lucas frowned at her as he walked to the front door.

  Bri nodded. “The doorbell just startled me.” It was mostly true, but she doubted her brother would understand if she told him not to answer the door. Even so, she held her breath, frozen in the doorway of the kitchen.

  Lucas opened the door and looked surprised. Bri’s heart began to race before she heard her brother say, “Detective Reese, hello.”

  She spotted the detective in the doorway, taller than her brother, dark hair, and those blue eyes that seemed to see right through her façade. Her heart continued racing but for a different reason. There was a split second she wondered if she should be relieved that he was the one at the door.

  "Good evening, Mr. Caldwell." Reese had not expected to see him there but remembered that both Ms
. Gardner and Mr. Caldwell had driven up together to visit Ms. Caldwell.

  "Call me Lucas," he said, extending his hand to Reese. "Come on in."

  “Reese,” he said shaking Lucas’s hand. He stepped inside and nodded at Ms. Gardner and Ms. Caldwell where they were standing near the kitchen.

  The front door opened directly into the living room. He noted the maroon couch and two chairs arranged around a wood and glass coffee table. The table had been set up with three plates and utensils.

  "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

  "No, not at all," Bri told him

  "I just wanted to follow up with Ms. Gardner regarding the Owens case."

  "Oh? Has something new come up in the investigation?" Ms. Gardner said, coming to join them in the living room. “And please call me Haley.”

  Reese pulled a couple of photos from the back pocket of his jeans. Showing them to her, he asked, “Do you recognize this car?”

  “Yes, I think that is the car that tried to run us off the road.” Haley turned to Lucas. “What do you think?”

  Lucas took the pictures. “She’s right. I’d like to see a shot of the other side. I’d bet money that there is a dent and some paint missing from the front quarter panel.”

  “You would win that bet.” Reese smiled and handed him another photo that plainly showed the damage that Lucas had described. “The car was abandoned not far from where the black car was stolen. We already suspected that it was the silver car that you had mentioned in your statement and also visible in the photographs taken at the restaurant.”

  The phone rang suddenly and Reese watched as everyone stopped and turned toward the phone. Haley glanced from Ms. Caldwell to Lucas with a questioning look on her face.

  Ms. Caldwell seemed to recover first and walked over to the phone. She seemed to hesitate in answering it but finally pushed the button. “Hello?”

  She listened for a moment and then hung up.

  “Was that another hang-up call?” Lucas asked.

  "Hang-up calls?" Reese asked.