Spirit Lake

by Vickie McKeehan

  She reeled on Luke, sticking a finger in his face. “I’ll tell you what we focus on…other people. It’s consuming us. You know what? On second thought, I’m gonna walk back to town.”

  “Get in the car, Gemma,” Luke directed. “It’ll take you half an hour to walk when I can get you back there in five minutes.”

  “Can you do it without commentary?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “That’s what I want. No small talk. Just drive, buddy. Just drive.”

  12

  Gemma put her fiery attitude into her work. The minute she returned, she scanned the display case, counting up how many of the exotic truffles had sold.

  “Looks like I need to make more.” Bunching her hair into a tight ponytail to keep it out of her face, she got to work, setting out her ingredients for another day’s worth of chocolate.

  Lianne was riding on her own high. Oblivious to her boss’s mood swing, she wiped down the counter and tidied up all the tables. “Putting up the chalkboard outside to advertise the new flavors sent us over the top. I’m convinced we should run specials every day and offer unusual flavors. Best sales day ever with that new stuff you made this morning. Did you get a chance to swing by the jewelers at lunch?”

  “No!” Gemma barked. “I didn’t.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Did you and Lando have a fight?”

  “No!” From behind the counter, she stopped grinding beans and stared at Lianne. “I’m sorry. I’m snapping at everyone, even Luke. We learned the identity of that girl left out at the farm. It seems Ginny Sue’s nephew sweet-talked his sixteen-year-old girlfriend into coming with him to California. But when they get off the bus they start arguing. She misses her family and wants to go back home. He wants her to stay. Kirby ends up killing her, Lianne. The first night he gets into town, he murders his girlfriend and dumps her like trash out in the country. Yesterday, I was convinced that girl belonged to the other serial cases. Lando wasn’t, by the way. But today I got it in my head that Piper had obviously been killed by someone unfamiliar to the area, not a local, but someone who left her there on a whim. That was Kirby, new in town, angry and impulsive.”

  Gemma wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and tossed it aside. She left the prep area to sit at one of the tables. “I’m no good at this psychic crap. And that’s what I think it is. Even with the stones, I was wrong. Again. Half the time, I don’t understand what I’m doing.”

  “Wait a minute. You just said you were able to see that it wasn’t a local. Kirby wasn’t a local. So, you were right.”

  Gemma sent her a pathetic look. “That’s reaching, and you know it.”

  “I need chocolate,” Leia announced as she came zipping in the door. She stopped, mouth open, when she saw the faces on her two friends. “What’s wrong?”

  “Lianne was just trying to boost my ego,” Gemma explained. “I’m a pathetic loser.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I’m rotten at this psychic stuff.”

  Leia rolled her eyes. “Not this again. You’re so moody and all over the place that one would think you’re pregnant.”

  Gemma blinked, started counting on her fingers. “No way.”

  “Are you sure?” Leia countered.

  “I’m certain.”

  Leia walked behind the display case and helped herself to the last two pieces of chocolate labeled Sweet Magnolia, and one with the name Spicy Hibiscus. “You’re telling me you’re this upset because the psychic stones don’t work? How would you know? You’ve had them in your possession for like two minutes.”

  “Believe me, it’s all a bunch of hooey.”

  “Mom will be glad to hear that. Not,” Leia muttered. “Ever since she heard about Kamena, Aponivi, and Salisaw, she’s been retelling all the ancient legends and stories about warriors to anyone who’ll listen.”

  “They’re nice stories,” Lianne chimed in, angling toward Gemma. “But maybe that’s all they are. Maybe your grandmother had a special gift, a knack, that she hoped you had. Although I still say you got part of it right about the girl’s killer. It caused a renewed search of the area that led straight to Kirby.”

  “Wait a minute,” Leia began, “you said you were rotten at this. Even I know a psychic is only half right most of the time. You always do this. You always try to be the very best at whatever it is. Drove me up the wall in school. You need to chill and realize that half the time you’ll be wrong. Get used to it and stop whining.”

  “Yes, well, I’m also learning that murder is not something I can face every day.”

  “Who can?” Leia charged. “It gets to Lando, too, and this is his job. Get real, Gemma. This is life. Things don’t always tie up in a nice, neat, pretty red bow the way you want them to. Grow up.”

  Lianne tittered with laughter and reached across the table to take Gemma’s hand. “Leave it to real friends to set you straight. That’s what we are. Sometimes the truth hurts.”

  Gemma scrubbed a hand over her face. “You’re right. I was hoping a trip could fix the way I feel, do away with all the self doubt. Now, I’m not so sure.”

  Leia draped an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “A day or two of escape is great, but eventually you have to come back and face reality, face whatever is wrong, whatever you’re avoiding. Be honest, is it the wedding?”

  “Everyone keeps asking me that. No, I’m fine. Lando’s fine. Now I remember why we eloped the first time. We didn’t want to deal with all the constant drama involved and the buildup to the event.”

  Leia blew out a breath. “Guess what? I’m a big talker but I’ll probably be a mirror of this same whiny nutcase in a few more weeks as our wedding date gets closer. What is it about getting married that freaks couples out?”

  “You really think this is about the wedding? That’s ridiculous. I want to be with Lando. Period. I’m just…very confused…about…a lot of things. I need to wrap my head around where to go with this psychic part of my life. Some days I feel like it gets between me and reality for sure.”

  Lianne squeezed Gemma’s fingers. “Maybe those days off are a good idea. You need to recharge. Think about what you’ve been through since last spring. It’s been a constant emotional roller coaster since March. Getting away isn’t a bad idea. Where would you go?”

  “The cabin at Spirit Lake. If it does happen, be forewarned. We’re cutting off our cell phones and ignoring any and all calls. I’ll make enough chocolate to get you through to Friday. If you sell out by that afternoon, lock up and go home.”

  “You really think you can talk Lando into leaving?” Leia questioned.

  “He promised me.”

  “Yeah. Right. I’ll believe it when I see you guys pack up the car.”

  Lianne ran over to the counter to retrieve a piece of paper. “Oh, before I forget, Ebbie Lucas called while you were out helping Lando solve crimes. She says Dr. Song wants to come by your house tonight and talk to you about that dog Lando found.”

  Gemma’s eyes flicked with concern. “Aww, it sounds like Rolo isn’t going to make it after all. That’s a shame. We were all pulling for him.”

  “I dunno. Ebbie didn’t go into specifics. When do you hope to be heading out of town?”

  “Leaving Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and not coming back until sometime Saturday. Which is why I need to start stockpiling the truffles.”

  Leia bit into the Sweet Magnolia. “Is this really from a flower?”

  “A pickled flower,” Gemma corrected. “I dice up whatever flower or herb I’m using into tiny little pieces, extract the flavor using a cold press technique, like I do for hibiscus, and then add a smidgen to enhance the chocolate. But I think for the days I’ll be gone, I’ll fix up enough simple cremes using cherry, orange, and vanilla liqueur. I don’t have a lot of time to slice and dice.”

  “That’s a shame because this Spicy Hibiscus is delicious. Do you think we could serve these on a grand scale at the restaurant?”

&
nbsp; “I don’t see why not. You want me to produce them or do you want to give it a try?”

  “You’d share the recipe?”

  “Don’t be lame. Of course. How many times have you saved me from meal disaster?”

  “About fourteen dozen, going all the way back to high school when we had to come up with main dishes for Home Ec.”

  “I was good with desserts.”

  Lianne waved that off. “That’s no biggie, anyone can make brownies.”

  “Gemma couldn’t,” Leia stated, getting a playful bash to the arm for the comment. “You couldn’t. You used too much flour every single time. How hard is it to measure flour accurately?”

  “Which pretty much tells you it’s a miracle Gram left her business for me to run.”

  Leia studied her friend. “Marissa trusted that you’d do it right. She put her trust in her granddaughter and look at you now.”

  Gemma’s eyes lit with newfound realization. “Trust. Maybe that’s the answer.”

  She mulled that over while making dinner. If she trusted herself more, maybe she’d get better results. With everything.

  “What about that, Rufus? You trust me, and I trust you. I trust Lando. Trust is a big part of what we do every day. I just need to trust my instincts more often, right?”

  The Lab didn’t even bother to look her way but chose to leave the room, trotting off to stand at the front door, waiting for Lando to open it.

  Sure enough, a few minutes ticked by before their favorite guy appeared in the entryway, taking off his gun belt and going through the same ritual he did every night securing his firearm away.

  She watched him from the hallway. “How’d Kirby take the news that you found Piper?”

  Rufus threw his entire weight up against Lando’s legs, preventing him from going anywhere. He had to bend at the waist to give Rufus a welcoming body rub just to get the dog to move so he could close the door. “Kirby was like a deer caught in the headlights. He actually believed he was twenty-four hours away from walking out of jail and getting away with it.”

  “Isn’t that true of most murderers? Did he ’fess up to what he did and tell you why he did it?”

  “Only that she changed her mind about staying once the bus pulled into town.”

  A little thrill moved through Gemma knowing she’d pegged that part already.

  “Piper wanted him to buy her a ticket back to Joplin. Kirby refused. They argued about it some more until Ginny Sue shows up in her car, Kirby decides to leave Piper there to wait for the bus. He then hops in with his aunt, all smiles and charming. Once they get to Ginny Sue’s house, he asks to borrow the car with the lame excuse that he wants to see the sights around town. Trying to be nice to her nephew, Ginny Sue hands over her car keys.”

  Gemma could see it all play out now. “That’s when Kirby goes back to the bus stop and sweet-talks Piper into getting into the car.”

  “Yup. When Piper tells him again that she made a big mistake coming here, they get into another argument. This time it gets physical.”

  Gemma chewed her lip. “He pulls to the side of the road. That’s where Kirby strangles her, right there in the front seat of Ginny Sue’s car. He realizes what he’s done and then drags her body out of the vehicle onto Coyote property. He never goes anywhere near the barn that night.”

  “You were right about that.”

  “But wrong about the murder being part of the series. Your cop instincts are excellent. I should learn to listen to you more often. The thing is, I didn’t actually see or feel anything on Sunday that led in that direction. I jumped to a false conclusion. The right feeling didn’t hit me until I was standing in the barn. I think you sensed it, too, that the bones might be near the only water source.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “Like you said, we make a good team. We should trust in each other instead of arguing so much. We should rely on each other’s instincts more often. We both have valuable gifts we bring to the table, each in our own way. I’ve been wrong all along…about a lot of things. I’m not supposed to do this on my own. I never was. It’s you and me, Lando. Trusting each other. That’s what Marissa has been trying to tell me ever since I got back here in March.”

  “You think?”

  “I do.” She linked their arms and steered him into the kitchen. “I even made Cajun chicken and rice.”

  “That’s my favorite.”

  Just as she got ready to dish it up, the doorbell rang. “I don’t believe this. I forgot Cheyenne Song said she’d stop by, something about news on Rolo.”

  There was resignation that dinner would have to wait as Lando lumbered back to peer through the peephole. “It’s her all right.”

  The vet was all smiles. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “No, not at all. Come on in.”

  “I’ve wanted to get back inside this house ever since your grandmother invited me to a Christmas bash here,” Cheyenne admitted. “I have this fascination with early twentieth century architecture. It amazes me that your grandparents were able to turn a place that started out as a commercial building into a warm, inviting home.”

  “It helps that one was a visionary, and one was a carpenter with the ability to make her concept come to life.”

  “They must’ve been good for each other, very special people.”

  Gemma smiled. “I happen to think they hung the moon, but why do you say that? I’m just curious.”

  “When I first arrived in town, Marissa helped me with getting a project of mine up and running, helping to save as many strays around here as we could round up. She butted heads over it with a lot of powerful people who wanted to euthanize the whole bunch living in the animal shelter, almost a hundred cats and dogs.”

  “I remember that,” Lando said. “Marshall Montalvo was the financial backer, calling on Sam Wells to do the dirty work. Sam was right there egging on the city council to support getting rid of the animal shelter altogether. Arlo and Raynelle were part of that, too. They were fine with euthanizing all the strays.”

  “Yes, well, Marissa and I fought them tooth and nail. But it was Marissa who dug in her heels and started a petition. That woman went around getting enough signatures to stop Sam Wells and his bunch in their tracks. She barely slept before recruiting help from Enid Lloyd and Birdie Sanger. Those three ladies ended up being the driving force. They approached several business owners in town to donate money to start a no-kill shelter. And then talked Alex Kedderson into forming a legally recognized nonprofit.”

  Gemma’s eyes widened. “I never heard that story before.”

  “Protect the Paws, north of town, was a direct result of your grandmother’s efforts. Marissa went a step further and talked Inez LeMond into parceling off a section of her land and donating it to the cause. I don’t know where she found them, but Marissa located carpenters and volunteers to begin construction on the actual shelter within a week. She got the better of Sam Wells and his cronies that day, and not for the first time. Maybe that’s why I miss her.”

  “What a great story.” That warm feeling of having her grandmother nearby moved through Gemma until the realization dawned. “But that same crappy guy will probably be our next mayor.”

  “I’m not happy about that either,” Cheyenne said. “Sam Wells might be our local banker, but he plays dirty. I know firsthand because he talked me into a second mortgage on the clinic. As it turned out, that decision almost forced me into having to sell him the clinic before I could repay the loan. There was a clause in there for a massive balloon payment that had to be paid by a certain date or refinanced at a much higher interest rate.”

  Lando shook his head. “Unfortunately, he did that to a lot of people. I’ve been hearing stories like that from other business owners since I took this job.”

  Gemma started to pace. “That’s so unfair. That’s like wanting to tear up Gull Landing to build condos, using Montalvo Construction as the contractor.”

 
“I hadn’t heard that little nugget,” Cheyenne murmured, glancing at her watch. “I didn’t mean to run on like this. I came here to give you an update on Rolo.”

  “How bad is he?” Gemma asked.

  “Oh, he’s doing great. I got his records from the Arcata vet. I found out Rolo’s three years old, neutered, up to date on all his shots, and loves being surrounded by a bunch of toys.”

  “But I thought Ebbie’s phone call meant that he was about to die or something.”

  “No, not at all. He’s getting stronger every day. He’ll hobble around for a while, but he isn’t going to die any time soon. What I stopped by to tell you is that Rolo’s owner, Ruth Coffey, was found dead two weeks ago in Arcata. I found out from police that her nephew was arrested in Spokane for her murder. When I told them I had Ruth’s Westie, they said the nephew probably traveled down the 101 outside town and tossed the dog out the window on his way to Washington state.”

  Lando stared at Gemma. “That must be the violence you saw when you touched him on Sunday.”

  Chills traveled up Gemma’s spine. “I guess. What kind of monster kills their own aunt? What am I saying? We just learned today a nineteen-year-old man killed his girlfriend simply because he didn’t want her to leave him and now this.”

  “Let’s face it, we’re living in very violent times. Ruth was in her seventies and apparently suffered abuse from this nephew going back several years. At least they caught him.”

  “So where does that leave Rolo?” Gemma wanted to know.

  “Completely alone in the world. I’m told Ruth had no relatives other than the nephew. So…I was wondering…when he’s finally able to leave the clinic, I thought…maybe you’d like to take him.”

  “Us?” Lando said. “But we already have a dog.”

  “That really connected to Rolo,” Gemma pointed out. “Rufus didn’t want to leave him behind Sunday at the clinic. I could tell.”

  “That’s true,” Lando realized. “Sure. I guess having one more around won’t hurt.”