Scene of the Crime: Widow Creek

by Carla Cassidy

  She smiled as he entered. “He finally wore himself out,” she said.

  “Tell the truth, he finally wore you down,” Nick replied.

  “Maybe a little of both.” Her smile fell. “I need to figure out what I’m going to do with Lauren’s dogs.”

  He sat on the sofa next to her. “There are several other dog breeders in the area. Maybe we can contact them and one of them will be interested in taking the dogs.”

  She nodded. “All of them except Zeus. I’m not sure what I’ll do with him, but I definitely don’t want him going to a stranger.”

  “I could take him,” Nick offered. “He likes me and I have plenty of room for him. Besides, maybe he can teach Taz some good manners.”

  Gratitude filled Lexie. If she did take the old dog herself she’d have a problem with the landlord, as she lived in a no-pets apartment. She would have had to find a new place to live that allowed pets.

  It felt right for Nick to have Zeus. She knew Zeus would be happy here. “Thanks,” she said simply.

  He nodded. “And I’ll place some calls about the other dogs and see if we can find them a good home. Now, are you ready for something to eat?”

  They ate breakfast at Nick’s, and then returned to Lauren’s house. Lexie got on the phone to the funeral home to make the necessary arrangements for Lauren and Nick used his cell phone to make calls to the local dog breeders in the area.

  Lauren’s funeral had been arranged for Wednesday morning and on Thursday a breeder from a nearby town was coming out to look at the dogs.

  With the business taken care of, Lexie sat at the table and stared out at the woods where her sister had been found. Nick sat across from her, wishing he could think of something to take her sorrow away. But he knew that nothing in the world he could come up with could sweep that emotion away from her. It was going to take time for Lexie to heal from this. Hell, it had been a year since Danielle had been found in that motel room and there were still days when the pain felt fresh.

  “I want to take a walk,” she said suddenly.

  “A walk? A walk where?” he asked curiously.

  She pointed toward the woods. “There.”

  “Oh, Lexie, honey, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he protested. Aside from the fact that it was a miserable day, nothing good could come from her walking the area where her sister had tragically died.

  Her chin thrust forward. “It’s something I need to do, Nick.” A frown swooped across her forehead. “I can’t tell you why, but I need to go there. Something’s bothering me. I’m just not sure what it is yet.”

  Nick stifled a sigh. He couldn’t imagine what it was that was bothering her, and the scene of Lauren’s death could only upset her even more. “You sure you don’t want to wait until another day?” he asked.

  “I want to do it now,” she replied.

  “If that’s what you feel like you need to do then let’s take a walk,” he finally said, deciding he probably couldn’t talk her out of it anyway.

  “When we drove in here yesterday and saw all the men—I feel like everything after that happened in a fog,” she said as they pulled on jackets and stepped out the back door.

  Maybe she needed to go back to assure herself that it was all real, that all the tragedy of the day before had really happened, Nick thought.

  “It was a rough day, Lexie,” he replied. “Probably one of the worst you’ll ever experience in your entire life.”

  “I know,” she replied.

  The dead leaves crunched beneath their feet and he sensed Lexie pulling into herself, preparing for the scene of her sister’s accident. The sky overhead had grown darker as the day had gone on, as if reflecting Lexie’s grief in the gathering dark clouds.

  There was a fine mist in the air, as if the clouds hadn’t decided yet whether to move on or release a torrent of rain. Nick just wanted for Lexie to do whatever it was she needed to do quickly so both of them could get in before the rain began in earnest.

  As they drew closer to the thick grove of trees, her footsteps slowed as if dread was weighing her down. “You don’t have to do this, Lexie,” he said softly.

  “No, I have to,” she replied firmly. She stopped and looked at him in obvious confusion. “Something is bothering me. It’s been bothering since Lauren was found. I swear Friday evening when I got here and couldn’t find Lauren, Zeus and I went completely through these woods.”

  She broke eye contact with him and looked forward, a frown cutting a vertical line down her forehead. “I told you that everything was a blur yesterday. You need to show me exactly where Lauren was found.”

  Now she had him curious. “This way,” he said and together they began walking again. When they reached the trees he led her along the creek to a rocky area and pointed to the opposite side of the bank. “She was there.” He tried not to remember the agonizing cries that had come from Lexie when she’d seen her sister.

  Lexie stood frozen and followed the direction of his finger with her gaze. For a long moment she didn’t even appear to be breathing as she concentrated on the place where her sister had died.

  “She couldn’t have been there,” she finally said. She reached out and grabbed him by the arm. “Are you sure? Are you positive that it was that exact spot?” Her fingers clenched tight, biting through the material of his lightweight jacket sleeve.

  Nick frowned and looked around the area, wanting to be sure of what he was telling her before he spoke again. “Positive,” he finally replied. “I remember that fallen tree branch up ahead. She was right there.” He looked at Lexie once again. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  She dropped her hand from his arm. “I sat right there.” She pointed down the creek bed, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. “I sat right on that big rock with Zeus next to me the first night I got here.”

  She took several steps forward, her body vibrating with barely suppressed energy. “We would have seen her if she’d been there. Zeus would have found her or at least would have sensed her presence in the area. I knew something was bothering me last night before I went to sleep, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s what was bothering me. Lauren couldn’t have slipped and fallen the way they said she did at the time they said she did. If she had I would have found her Friday night.”

  Nick walked to her side and looked at her in confusion. “What are you saying, Lexie?”

  She stared at him with those big, beautiful eyes. “I’m saying that she must have been killed and then moved here to make it look like an accident. I’m saying that my sister was murdered.”

  She didn’t wait for his response but instead turned and headed back to the house.

  LEXIE FELT AS IF SHE WERE on fire as she headed back to the house. Her brain screamed with troubling thoughts that shifted around and around like nebulous shadows, seeking some kind of logical explanation for what didn’t make sense.

  She was vaguely aware of Nick following behind her as she entered the house, yanked off her jacket and then stood in the center of the kitchen, unsure of what she should do next.

  “Lexie, sit down,” Nick said as he took off his own jacket. “Tell me what’s going on in your head.”

  She looked at him helplessly, then sank down at the table. He sat next to her, the familiar scent of him momentarily slicing through the chaos in her mind.

  If she hadn’t been in such a fog of grief the evening before when Lauren had first been found she would have realized that something was wrong…something was very wrong about the whole situation.

  Nick’s gray eyes gazed at her in confusion and for just a moment she wanted to fall into their depths, lose herself once again in the warmth and comfort of his arms and forget the bad feeling that now threatened to embrace her.

  She shoved that desire away, knowing that it was just a convenient and very temporary escape from the questions that now clawed at her.

  “There’s no way that sometime on Wednesday or Thursday Lauren fell and hit her h
ead and died there on that creek bank, because if she had I would have found her body there Friday night. I think Lauren was killed someplace else and then moved there.” She wondered if he thought her grief was making her crazy.

  “Nick, I’m telling you she wasn’t there Friday night. I walked that entire area. Zeus and I searched for her. She wasn’t there and nobody can make me believe otherwise.”

  He frowned. “But if what you say is true, then Gary Wendall would have had to know about it, he’d have to be a part of it. Gary is lazy and maybe more than a little incompetent, but I can’t imagine that he’d kill a woman or know somebody who did and then conspire to make her death look like an accident. And in any case why would he or anyone else want Lauren dead?”

  Lexie blew out a sigh. “I don’t know.” She took off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes, wondering if her grief was, indeed, making her crazy. Who on earth would want to harm her sister? Lauren had been kind and generous and Lexie couldn’t remember anyone ever having a beef of any kind with her.

  “If you really believe that, then what do you intend to do about it?” he asked.

  “The first thing I’m going to do is get back in touch with the funeral home and tell them I want a complete autopsy on Lauren. I want to know if the head wound that killed her was from a slip and fall or from blunt force trauma.”

  “And if you find out it was blunt force trauma?”

  A well of strength rose up inside her, strength born from the love of her sister. “Then I’ll find out who is responsible for killing my sister and I’ll make them pay for their crime.” It was a promise not just to herself but to Lauren.

  Unfortunately the call to the funeral home was too late. Lauren had already been embalmed and her wounds cleaned up in a way that would remove any evidence they might have gained from an autopsy.

  Lexie was bitterly disappointed at the news, knowing that the best evidence of foul play had been washed away. She decided not to speak to Sheriff Wendall about her suspicions, at least not yet.

  For one thing, she wasn’t sure what she believed, and in any case she didn’t want to give him a heads-up that she had any doubts about how Lauren had died.

  But for the next two rainy days the doubts only grew bigger. If Lauren had died an accidental death, then why was her body moved to the creek bed? Lexie would swear under oath that Lauren hadn’t been there on the night she and Zeus had walked the property. So, who had placed her there after death?

  The rain that had poured down had washed away any evidence that might have been left at the scene. Footprints would be gone, as would any blood spatter pattern there that might prove or disprove Lauren’s fall.

  During those two days Nick scarcely left her alone. They spent their hours together talking about theories that made no sense, grieving for Lauren and discussing their lives before they’d met.

  Nick talked a little bit about Danielle, who had been the president of their high school student council and a cheerleader.

  Lexie found herself telling him about Michael the rat, although she certainly didn’t confess to him the hurtful things Michael had said to her when he’d broken up with her.

  Each night Lexie insisted Nick go home while she remained at Lauren’s. Making love with Nick had been wonderful and Lexie knew if they stayed under one roof for the night it would happen again and she couldn’t let that happen.

  It would only make things more difficult for her when she left, and eventually she would go back to her home, back to her life.

  Nick had heartbreak written all over him and her heart was already shattered enough by Lauren’s death. He’d told her he wasn’t looking for love again in his life, but even if he was she knew he’d choose some pretty blonde who didn’t have a pink streak in her hair, somebody who was socially more adept than Lexie would ever be.

  Michael had made it clear to Lexie that she lacked in areas that would make her a companion, a lover for life, and it was a lesson she’d never forgotten.

  The morning of Lauren’s funeral the sun finally reappeared and shone brilliantly. Lexie stood at the kitchen window sipping coffee with her head filled with thoughts of her sister.

  She remembered the two of them playing as children, how supportive Lauren had been in high school when Lexie couldn’t find a place where she belonged. Lauren had always tried to include Lexie in her group of friends, had encouraged Lexie to break out of her shyness and make friends of her own.

  Bits and pieces of lives shared fluttered through Lexie’s mind, alternately filling her with both happiness and tears of sorrow.

  While she knew her grief would be with her for a very long time, over the past two days a resignation had slowly washed over her, a weary acceptance that Lauren was truly gone.

  But along with the grief she had a fierce determination burning in her soul, the determination to somehow find out the truth about Lauren’s death. If somebody had killed her, then Lexie wanted that person in prison for the rest of his or her life.

  A knock on her door let her know Nick had arrived to take her to the graveside service she’d arranged. He looked amazingly handsome in a black suit and white shirt, and the first thing he did when he stepped through the door was take her in his arms and wrap her in a bear hug.

  She closed her eyes and allowed the warmth of him to invade her soul.

  What was she going to do when it was time to leave Widow Creek? Time to leave Nick? She didn’t even want to think about that right now. He’d become her staff to lean on, her anchor in a storm-tossed sea. Eventually she’d have to regain her strength and stop depending on him, but at least for today she was grateful to have him by her side.

  “You ready for this?” he asked when he finally released her. “It’s going to be a tough day.”

  “I know. I guess I’m as ready as I can be under the circumstances,” she replied.

  “You look nice,” he observed.

  “Thanks.” She nervously smoothed a hand down the thighs of her black slacks and was grateful she’d packed a black-and-white blouse to go with them. She checked her wristwatch. “I guess we should probably go.”

  “It’s about that time,” he agreed. She grabbed her purse and together they left the house.

  As she slid into the passenger seat she hoped that along with saying goodbye to Lauren at the funeral she’d get some answers as to who might be responsible for her murder.

  Widow Creek might be Nick’s hometown, but Lexie believed that at the moment the small town was hiding a murderer and she was determined to do anything in her power to bring that person out in the open.

  Chapter Seven

  “I don’t imagine there will be too many people there,” she said as Nick pulled his car out of the driveway and onto the road that led into town. “Lauren wasn’t here long enough to make a lot of friends.”

  “At least the sun is shining,” he replied. “It rained something fierce on the day I buried Danielle. It was like the sky cried all the tears that I couldn’t release.”

  She glanced over at him. “I hope this doesn’t bring back too many painful memories of that day for you.”

  He cast her a warm smile. “I’ll be fine, Lexie. I’m just here to help you get through a tough day.”

  And it was a tough day. Lexie was surprised by the amount of people who came to pay their respects. She was also surprised to discover that the tears she’d shed on the night that Lauren’s body had been found hadn’t been the only ones she had to release.

  As the minister spoke of the sorrow of the people of Widow Creek who hadn’t gotten the opportunity to know Lauren, to share in her life, deep sobs escaped from Lexie as she was reminded of all the things she’d never share with her twin sister.

  Nick kept an arm firmly around her shoulder and she leaned weakly into him as she said her final goodbye to her twin. When the service was over and the crowd began to disperse, Lexie tensed as Gary Wendall ambled up to her and Nick.

  “It was a nice service,” he said as
he pulled his hat off his head. “It was good to see so many people turn out.”

  “Yes, even though my sister was here only a short time, it appears she made some friends,” Lexie replied around the lump in her throat.

  Gary put his hat back on his head and rocked back on his heels. “I suppose you’ll be heading back to Kansas City now that this is all said and done.”

  “On the contrary, I have no intention of going anywhere until I find out who killed my sister.” Lexie hadn’t meant to tell him what was on her mind, but as she blurted out the words she watched Gary’s face carefully.

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “What are you talking about?”

  “Somebody whacked my sister over the head and then put her body on that creek bed sometime between the time I arrived at the ranch and when you found her body. I’m not leaving Widow Creek until I have some answers.”

  Gary flicked a derisive glance to Nick. “You’ve obviously been spending too much time with him. I hope you two are very happy with your conspiracy theories, but there was nothing to indicate that anyone murdered your sister.” Gary released a deep sigh. “Look, Miss Forbes, grief does terrible things to people. If I thought for one minute this was anything other than a tragic accident, I’d be conducting a full-blown investigation. Go home, Lexie. Go home and get on with your life and let your sister rest in peace.” He didn’t wait for Lexie’s response, but instead turned on his heels and headed to his car parked in the distance.

  “Come on, let’s head back to Lauren’s,” Nick said.

  “You want to visit Danielle and your daughter’s graves while we’re here?” she asked.

  “No, I’m good,” he replied and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s just get out of here.”