by Addison Fox
Which took him right back to where they’d started the evening.
“I meant what I said in the car. Penny does seem to be warming up.”
“I’m not sure. I mean, I see it in small ways. She’s become my shadow, following me all over the house, but she still won’t let me get near her.”
“She’ll come around. She knows you want to care for her and that’ll win her over in the end.”
“There’s that Finn Colton confidence once more.”
Before he could question the comment, the waiter arrived with their drinks and took their orders. Finn was pleased to see she’d ordered a hearty lasagna; he’d requested a Bolognese that was a particular favorite.
Picking up where they’d left off, he pressed his point. “Dogs have amazing empathy. She knows you care for her. She’s just working on building up her trust with you.”
“Did you go through it with Lotte?”
“Not in the same way. I’ve worked with her since she was a puppy, so the trust has been different between us. But it did take us a while to get her on a service path.”
“How do you mean?”
Their food arrived and after requested refills on their drinks, Finn took his mind back once again to his earliest days with Lotte. He hadn’t thought of them in a long time, so it was funny to realize how much of that time he did remember.
“She showed a lot of promise as a puppy, picking up all the basic training exercises and obedience drills.”
Darby nodded as she cut a piece of her lasagna. “Most of the work I do at the training center is centered on cleaning, but I also help out with the obedience trials since I have experience training puppies. Managing them around food and ensuring they can sit or move on command. The really little ones always break my heart. They’re so wiggly and squirmy, I just want to pick them up and cuddle them.”
“It gets harder for them after that, once they start learning how to track scents. Lotte made it through the early training really well but once we got together she wasn’t able to keep her focus on tracking. I’d gotten so attached to her and had a rough month convinced she wasn’t going to make it through the program.”
“What was the breakthrough?”
“I had a really bad day at work. A domestic abuse case gone bad. I knew I shouldn’t have gone to training but went anyway, and just couldn’t keep my focus. We were using an old blanket soaked in something unmentionable here as we eat dinner and either I shoved it too hard in her face or I was just frustrated enough she wanted my attention.”
He’d always judged himself for that moment, his selfish behavior toward Lotte an experience he was hardly proud of. So it was humbling when Darby’s reaction was not only encouraging but innately kind, as well.
“She knew you needed something.”
“I guess she did. I’ve always been sorry it took a bad moment to make the connection, but the pure empathy and her ability to read my emotions is something I’ve never forgotten. I knew I wanted K-9, but after that day I realized I wanted K-9 with Lotte.”
“And she found the prize?”
“Then and every time since.”
“Maybe it was a breakthrough for both of you.”
In many ways it had been and he’d remembered the lesson in the ensuing years. “It’s certainly made me a gentler handler and a better handler. When I finally understood how much she was taking in around her, I realized that all my actions had an impact on her.”
“So Penny’s just taking in what’s around her?”
“She absolutely is. Her world has been upended and she’s just trying to right herself again. She’ll settle. And when she does, I predict you’re going to have a beautiful friendship.”
“I’ll hang in there, then. I know she’s worth it. And she’s wonderful company.” A mischievous light filled Darby’s eyes as she laid her fork and knife on her plate. “She also functions incredibly well as a silent yet supportive girlfriend when nothing in the closet seems quite right for dinner.”
“I’d say she did her job well, then. You look great.”
A pretty blush filled her cheeks but she held his gaze. “I wasn’t asking for a compliment, but maybe next time you can give me a clue where we’re going.”
“That takes all the fun out of it.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no. Since I’ve proven I can’t dress for winter weather to save my life, perhaps you can give me a clue.”
While he wasn’t crazy about her covering up those pretty legs, he had already planned out the week and the next night was straight-up-the-line casual. “Okay. Tomorrow night, jeans and a sweatshirt.”
“We’re staying in?”
“Hardly. You’re joining me for bowling night.”
All hints of mischief fled as she leaned forward over the table. “I’m horrible at bowling.”
“Then you’ll be an improvement over me.”
“No, I’m really horrible. I throw gutter balls at least four frames per game.”
“And I throw ’em at least five. Seriously, you can’t imagine how much I stink at bowling. I believe my cousin Brayden calls it the height of suck-a-tude.”
“Why do you play, then?”
“It’s a league and it’s the one place I can shame myself in front of my men and women and still hold my head high in the squad room. The RRPD fields three teams, along with one each from the fire department, the K-9 training center and the EMS squad, and two from the teachers at the high school.”
“And you want me to come play?”
“We’ve been down a player since Carson has been dating my sister Serena. Between a newborn and a budding romance, he hasn’t been all that interested in bowling.”
Finn knew it was also an opportunity for his team to review Darby and to get a sense of her for the investigation. His head was growing increasingly cloudy as he found it harder and harder to see the woman as a killer. It would do him good to have her reviewed by other seasoned professionals.
Having Carson distracted also gave him a chance to solicit an opinion from someone who wasn’t Darby’s ex-brother-in-law.
“I haven’t been Carson’s favorite person. Not since the reading of the will.”
“He’ll come around.”
“First Penny. Now Carson. Is that how you deal with everyone who doesn’t agree with you?”
“Most things reveal themselves in time. It just takes patience and a willingness to wait them out.”
“Like a killer?”
Whatever tentative truce they’d built over the evening faded at the clear reminder in her words. He and Darby weren’t out on a date. Nor were they building a relationship between the two of them.
They were hunting a killer.
He’d always had a legendary focus and commitment to his job. With a murderer on the loose, it was a damn poor time to suddenly lose his concentration.
Chapter 7
Darby ignored the cloudy skies and the threat of snow that had hovered since she’d woken that morning and worked her way through downtown Red Ridge, checking off her list of errands. The evening before hadn’t been far from her thoughts, but the errands kept her busy and focused on more than Finn Colton’s sky blue eyes, which reminded her of a pretty June day, or his broad shoulders, which were strong and oh, so capable.
They were a mirage. An oasis in the desert and she’d do well to remember that. Spending time with him was a job and nothing more.
The check in her hand that she was about to deposit at the Red Ridge Savings and Loan was tangible proof of that fact.
A job. That’s all you are. And since it pays well and it’s the path to get you off the suspect list and out of debt, you’d do well to remember that.
She kept up the mental pep talk as she walked into the bank, only to find a line of people gaping at a bellowing Fenwick Colton.
Private business, she’d always thought.
“Half my investments in this town are sucking wind because of this damned Groom Killer!”
Darby tried not to listen, taking a place in line to wait her turn. But Fenwick’s loud rant made that impossible.
“My daughter’s supposed to get married at the end of the year. How’s that going to happen if every wedding company in a fifty-mile radius is out of business?” Fenwick’s voice echoed off the high marble walls.
“Mr. Colton.” The bank manager did his best to calm him, but even those efforts were loud enough for everyone to hear. “If you’d like to take this to my office, I’m sure we can discuss this calmly and—”
“Don’t you patronize me, Tommy Sanders. I remember when you were just a teller here.” A loud thwap as Fenwick slapped a hand on the marble counter echoed off the ceiling before the distinct rustling of newspaper added to the din. “And we can just as easily discuss things here in front of the damn town. We’re all reading the same garbage each and every day in the Red Ridge Gazette.”
“Yes, Mr. Colton, but if you’d—”
Again, Fenwick interrupted the poor, beleaguered Tommy, his voice straining as he read the headline Darby had already passed in a glass-fronted box out on the street. “Groom Killer Waiting to Make Next Kill. That’s considered news?”
“Well, it’s a big deal,” Tommy said, his voice placating.
“It’s salacious garbage and it’s ruining this town day by day!”
While she didn’t agree with his public display, Darby had to admit Fenwick had a point. The killings were awful enough and already had the entire town whispering, scared for its safety. Daily updates in the local paper, the front page screaming out all sorts of salacious innuendo, was hardly a way to keep everyone calm.
It also gave the killer what he or she wanted. If you were going to behave in such an awful way, wouldn’t you want credit for it?
She wasn’t a thrill seeker—she never had been—but she’d overheard enough conversations in the diner to know that when people did something out of the ordinary, they wanted credit for it.
Wouldn’t killing someone be the height of that?
It was enough to bring a chill back to her bones, only, unlike the wind the night before, this chill went far deeper, settling into her soul.
Was it really possible they had someone walking the streets of Red Ridge who not only had killed her ex-husband and another man, but who was waiting to kill again? Someone who cared so little for another’s life they felt it was theirs for the taking?
For the first time since learning of Bo’s death, Darby felt something other than confusion or sadness or surprise. Something small flickered to life, burning away that veneer of cold.
Something a lot like anger.
She’d been so focused on her own problems the past few weeks she hadn’t truly given thought to what was going on in her town. A remorseless killer, determined to snuff out a life as if it was no more than a fly to be swatted or an animal to be put down.
But it was more than that. People’s lives were at stake. And, with sudden clarity, she realized that while the one who’d lost a life paid the highest price, those who loved them were paying a terrible toll, as well.
“Next!”
The call from the teller pulled Darby from her musings and she headed for the window. The transaction moved quickly, the money going into her account so quickly it was nearly anticlimactic. The hours and days of worry vanished as if they’d never been, Finn Colton’s generosity now lining her bank account and her future along with it.
Which meant she had a choice. She could take what he offered and rebuild her life. Or she could fight back against the nameless, faceless injustice and help him catch a killer.
As Darby walked back out onto the street a few moments later, several large flakes dropped from the sky, coating her hair and coat immediately.
Instead of feeling the cold, all she felt was a fire in her belly that emanated outward, setting her entire being into motion.
* * *
Finn ran Lotte through a familiar series of drills at the training center, pleased for the chance to get outside and move a bit. Although he spent a fair amount of time away from his desk, his work taking him into town more often than not, the threat of snow had indicated a day that was likely to keep him in more than out. When the thought of sitting inside the precinct all day had left him with a stifling sense of claustrophobia, he’d opted for a trip to the training center.
The cold did a lot to clear his head as Lotte did a series of agility drills before they switched gears and worked on tracking some new scents. He’d read up recently on a dog who’d actually discovered electronics data and he was anxious to see what Lotte could do with scents that weren’t innately natural in origin. So far she hadn’t been nearly as successful as one of their other K-9 members—a large, lumbering basset hound named Goose—but he remained hopeful she’d get the hang of things.
In the meantime, they’d practice and he’d keep his focus on helping her learn.
By the time they’d finished an hour later, Lotte’s tongue was lolling a bit and even Finn’s warm blood had finally worn thin in the cold air. He took them both inside to warm up and came face-to-face with Hayley Patton.
“Chief.” She had a puppy on a leash and was gently pulling him down the hallway toward the kennels.
“Miss Patton.” Finn nodded, curious to watch her retreat down the hall. The quiet moment gave him a chance to consider her and he was surprised to see how gentle and patient Hayley was with the puppy after the fireworks she’d put on at Darby’s.
It had been more than obvious Penny didn’t like the woman and Finn had always trusted a dog’s sense about people as an important barometer. While not foolproof, there had been several occasions when Lotte had detected someone who was just “off.” It was never the people who were afraid of dogs, but the ones who had a disdain that went beyond basic dislike or legitimate fear.
So what was up with Hayley Patton?
Was she the grieving bride-to-be she’d been playing around town? The raging shrew who expected everyone to bow and scrape now that she was practically widowed? Or was she really a gentle, misguided woman who channeled her energy and affection into dogs instead of the world around her? More questions without answers.
“Chief!”
He tucked away thoughts of Hayley and focused on the voice squawking through the portable radio clipped to his shirt. Answering the summons, he moved into a small conference room off the main hallway. “What’s up, Lorelei?”
“Trouble brewing at the bank.”
He’d known Lorelei long enough to take her statement as more gossip than danger, but held back the sigh at the unhelpful level of detail. “What kind of trouble?”
“Your uncle Fenwick was in there making a ruckus about the Groom Killer.”
“What was he on about now?”
Lorelei clearly warmed to her story, her voice echoing from his radio with all the authority of a newscaster. He’d already gotten the gist of Fenwick’s antics within in a few statements but let Lorelei keep on as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the steady supply kept on the conference room’s banquette.
“He’s claiming his daughter Layla’s wedding is in jeopardy because of the Groom Killer, the headlines the paper keeps running and your ineptitude to find a killer.”
Finn put his cup down, a streak of annoyance lighting up his limbs.
He tolerated his
uncle on most days, but when the man insinuated he wasn’t able to do his job, they had a problem. “I’ll go see him now.”
“Figured you’d want to know.”
“You figured right.”
As he disconnected with Lorelei, Finn drained the last of his coffee, fortifying himself for the conversation to come. Fenwick Colton saw himself as the king of Red Ridge and, normally, Finn was willing to let him have the crown.
But when the king started talking trash about Finn’s hard work and the hard work of his department, he wasn’t above taking action. It was mighty comfortable sitting on a throne, watching the world go by.
It was another matter entirely to take up a sword and battle the real monsters that lived in it.
* * *
Finn put little stock in legends and stories, especially when they gave people an excuse for bad behavior. The century-long feud between the Coltons and the Gages was one of those stories and he’d spent his life fighting the expectation that somehow his birth and his last name predisposed him to a set of choices.
He liked who he wanted to like. Disliked for the same reasons. And refused to believe that someone was bad simply because they’d been born into a family who lived across town.
Fortunately, his generation seemed to be the first in a hundred years that might truly trample the battleground that perpetually stretched between the Colton family homes on one end of town and the Gage family homes on the opposite end.
Carson and Serena had certainly trampled up everything in their path, finding each other despite the specter of a family feud. He’d also caught wind of another romance brewing between the youngest member of each family, his sister Valeria and the youngest Gage, Vincent. Word around town was that the smitten lovers had been caught kissing more than once and their parents were both determined to break them up. A position that had only grown stronger since fear had spread over the antilove-based motives of the Groom Killer.