Grafted into Deceit

by Sherri Wilson Johnson

  Her dream of one day remodeling the old house on the back of the property had lost its charm when she’d discovered the marijuana operation inside of it. Greenhouse X didn’t seem like a desirable place for a weekend retreat now. Did she need to own all that property anymore? Maybe she should sell it and invest the money in rental properties. She could continue to design landscapes for the corporate world and have her office at home.

  With a last glance in the mirror and a nod of approval, Marina dismissed the urge to solve every dilemma today and scooted downstairs to the kitchen for her coffee. After she poured the steaming delight into her travel mug and grabbed her things, she descended to the basement and climbed into her Honda rental car. Her settlement from the insurance company wouldn’t be much for her BMW, and with her current lack of funds, buying a new car wasn’t an option. Nothing stopped her from enjoying the luxury of a new rental sedan though.

  If Marina had reopened the business on Monday after Thanksgiving, she could have brought in some much-needed cash, but the police were completing their removal of the marijuana and finalizing the investigation, and customers would have been in the way. As a result, Marina had spent the week leading up to the first day of December recuperating from her injuries and reflecting.

  Now she needed to regain normalcy, if possible, and at least pretend to move forward. Maybe her heart would follow her efforts.

  The drive to the office, uneventful and routine, gave her an extra thirty minutes to prepare for her first entrance since discovering Greenhouse X’s existence. The click of the key turning the lock on the office door sent the trembling in Marina’s hand all the way up her arm to her heart. Once she opened the door, she’d be faced with dealing with everything she wanted to avoid. Was she ready?

  I am with you always.

  Yes, Lord, I know you’re with me.

  Marina pushed the door open and walked inside, conquering her fears her top priority. Without a flash of consideration, she locked the door behind her, sprinted to the back door, and double-checked its lock. Although it wouldn’t get dark for a while, the waning sunlight heaved shadows across the lobby causing Marina’s fear to ramp up a notch or two. Determined to win, she made her way down the hallway to her office while ignoring Iris’s office across from hers.

  She’d paid what bills she could pay and had sent emails to the clients who were waiting on proposals for winter landscaping, when a crash in Iris’s office jolted her out of her chair. Not willing to let someone overtake her, she scrambled to her door and closed it with as much care as her panicking nerves would allow. With one click, the door locked and sealed her inside. Whether she was safe or in more danger remained to be seen.

  Steven’s pastor on Sunday had said God did not give people a spirit of fear but one of power and love and a sound mind. Marina wanted these things. Being ruled by fear could destroy her. Sometimes the bigger enemy was the enemy of imagination. Right now, Marina wouldn’t let her imagination reduce her to a spineless jellyfish. She straightened her shoulders and unlocked the door. But before opening the door, she ran to her desk and grabbed the letter opener. When the paper cutter came into view, Marina bolted over to the table in the corner where it sat.

  After studying the paper cutter for a minute, she unscrewed the bolt that held the cutting arm into place and retrieved her weapon. The sharp edge of the blade glinted in the office light. “Nice. Let’s see someone try to take me down with this in my hand.”

  Marina made it back to the door and inched it open enough to slip into the hallway. With her body pressed against the wall, she held her breath and waited for sound or movement or a sign of an intruder.

  Nothing.

  Bravery had never been one of her best traits, but this blade in her hand emboldened her. She hopped across the hallway in two leaps and leaned against the wall next to Iris’s closed door. Her palms poured sweat and kept her from turning the doorknob. She almost lost her grip on the blade. With a quick transfer from her right hand to her left, she wiped her palm on her jeans then returned the blade to her right hand. After wiping her left palm free of sweat, she twisted the doorknob and spun around to face the open doorway prepared to defend herself against an attacker.

  The shadow-covered office seemed empty as was the hallway behind her. While her guard remained up, Marina’s courage increased as she clicked on the lights to find one of Iris’s windows cracked open enough to let the breeze into the office. On the floor underneath the window, a pile of rumpled file folders and papers rested. Marina relaxed her shoulders and set the paper cutter blade on the edge of Iris’s desk.

  “You’re ridiculous. Why do you let yourself be scared? It’s not even Halloween anymore.” Marina closed the window, which must have been left open by the police when they’d done their investigation, and returned the stack of folders to the table beneath the window where they must have come from before sliding to the floor.

  Steven arrived at 5:30 p.m. as planned, and Marina ran to the front door to unlock it and let him in when the light from his headlights beamed into the lobby. His wave and grin comforted her to the tips of her toes. His jeans and red flannel shirt wrapped him in a relaxed and night-at-the-county-fair look that stripped her cares away. His green eyes glistened with obvious excitement to see her. With a quick click of the lock, Marina removed the barrier between them and let him inside the building.

  He captured her waist and drew her close to him. The feel of his whiskers against her soft cheek and his gingery woodsy scent guided delightful quivers down her spine. “You okay?”

  “I am now.” The warm blanket of concern and security he wrapped around her strengthened her.

  He pulled back and studied her face. “What happened?”

  “Oh, nothing. I’m just creeped out. I thought I could be here alone, but I’ve been looking over my shoulder the whole time.”

  “Still afraid there’s more layers we haven’t uncovered?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, I’m here. You ready to head over to the ranch?”

  “Can’t wait.”

  A light drizzle brought Steven’s umbrella out of the backseat, and he sheltered Marina beneath it as they ran arm-in-arm to the door. Ms. Lottie met them with open arms.

  “Come on in outta the cold and wet, y’all. Once the sun goes down, it’s awful out there this time of year. Rex and Cora are back there in the den with the Tagliaferros. Supper is up in a few.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Lottie.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope y’all are hungry.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Steven left his umbrella on the porch and took Marina’s hand. He led her to the back of the B&B where the two awaiting couples erupted in greeting.

  Ms. Lottie brought her chicken pot pie with its creamy filling and tender chicken and vegetables to the table a few minutes later. It, along with the crackling fire and soft lighting and laughter, eased the tension that had built up in Marina’s shoulders and back all day.

  “Marina, I love your name. How did your parents decide to name you that?” Kathryn asked with a Southern accent, which made Marina want a slice of peach pie. Her silky brunette hair framed her heart-shaped face, and her dark eyes glimmered in the candlelight.

  “Well, they were vacationing on a boat and had docked in a marina to wait out a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. You can imagine where I’m going with this story.”

  Everyone roared with laughter. Steven gazed at her with the silliest look on his face. She arched her eyebrow at him.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “You were conceived in a marina on a boat? I knew you were awesome for a reason. I can’t wait to meet your parents.”

  Meet her parents? He wanted that? Could things get any better than they were at this moment? “You will as soon as they return home from their trip.”

  “Have you been able to make any decisions about your business?” Cora asked, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her stomach, which boasted a sm
all baby bump.

  “Other than dissolving my partnership with Iris? No. I’ll get over the trauma that happened out here two weeks ago, but right now, I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable in the office again. The little bit of time I spent out there earlier wasn’t fun. It doesn’t feel like my place anymore.”

  Rex scratched his bearded chin. “If you decide on selling, let me make you an offer before you list the property. All right? I’m kinda particular about who my neighbors are.” His gruff tone betrayed the concern he must feel for her well-being.

  Cora placed her hand on Rex’s forearm. “Rex, honey, I’m sure Marina can’t think about that right now.”

  “Sorry ‘bout that. I wasn’t thinking of how hard it must be for you to move on.”

  Marina waved his concerns away. “It’s okay. You’ll be the first person I contact if I decide to sell. I’m glad you weren’t this particular when I bought the place.”

  “Oh, I was. I learned that from Daddy. You were a big improvement over that Ronald Hutchins who owned it before you.”

  Ronald Hutchins called the state penitentiary his home now. If not for his foreclosure, she wouldn’t have been able to afford that much acreage.

  Kathryn glanced up from her bowl and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Did you need any other advice about legalities?”

  “No, I’m good for now. Thank you for all your help.”

  “Don’t hesitate to call us.” Phil said, his accent thick, while scraping the last of his crust out of his bowl.

  “Thanks.” Marina wouldn’t spend the whole evening talking about the damage Iris had done to her life. “So tell me how you two met.”

  “Oh, that’s a funny one. She was a bridesmaid in my first wedding.”

  Spoons came to a halt, and everyone went as silent as rocks. Somehow Marina didn’t choke on her last bite of pie. “What?”

  Phil grinned. “I was jilted.”

  “My friend’s loss.” Kathryn giggled. “We met again last year when I was prosecuting his uncle and cousins for drug trafficking.”

  “Oh goodness. Congratulations on making it to marriage.” Marina laughed.

  “You’re not kidding.” Kathryn patted Phil on the shoulder before leaning over to steal a kiss. “When he called out to me on the pier in Cedar Key, I noticed how his accent was thicker than the molasses on one of my Aunt Anne’s biscuits. There was something super charming about it.”

  “Well, of course there was. It’s hard to resist an Italian born and bred in New York.” Phil puffed out his chest and cocked his chin.

  Kathryn smacked him on the arm but blew him a kiss.

  After the laughter quieted, Marina continued. “Cora, didn’t you say your first husband was trafficking drugs?”

  Cora laughed. “Yes, as a matter of fact, he was.”

  “What is it with people these days?” Marina shook her head. Would she ever be able to laugh about what Iris had done to her? “They mess with our lives. I don’t see how you’ve moved past it, Cora.”

  “Well, that tragedy led me here where I met Rex and his wonderful family. Good things can come of bad things.”

  Marina pinched her bottom lip and focused her gaze on Steven, as rain pinged off the gutters. Good things already had come of Iris’s betrayal. “Yes, yes, they can.”

  “Besides, things like drug trafficking keep me employed.” Steven winked at her.

  “You’re awful!” Marina laughed.

  As Ms. Lottie delivered pumpkin pie to the table with a stack of clean plates and forks, Rex leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. Even without his Stetson, there was no denying he was a cowboy. His time outdoors on the ranch had tanned his skin and etched crow’s feet around the dark eyes of this man not yet thirty, and his wavy hair and thick, dark beard made him look like he stepped out of an old western. “I still think something’s going on with two of my ranch hands. My brother Matt said the other day he heard Rocky and Stu arguing over some delivery that wasn’t gonna happen now.”

  Steven leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening and eyes burning. If Marina’s suspicions were right, more trouble waited for them.

  “A delivery, huh?” Phil folded his arms in front of him and studied Rex. “Sounds to me like someone interrupted their plans.”

  Marina’s heart pounded. If the two ranch hands were arguing over drugs they were getting from Iris, then she was the one to interrupt their plans, and she was still someone’s target. “Steven? Do you think I’m safe?”

  Steven patted her hand. “Let’s not borrow trouble, Marina. Tomorrow, I’ll do a background check at the station on these two guys and see what I can figure out. Don’t worry.”

  Don’t worry? How was she supposed to stop worrying when everywhere she turned more threats of danger appeared?

  Chapter Twenty

  The trembling in Marina’s supple hand caused a disheartening ache in Steven, and he squeezed it and poured the only kind of comfort he knew into her. Not even the crackling fire or time with friends had settled her. “It will be okay, you know.”

  With sadness in her eyes, she shrugged. “I sure hope so. I’m tired of being scared.”

  He squeezed her hand again. She might not feel it yet, but to Steven, Marina had overcome huge enemies and emerged stronger for it. She exuded strength, and no one could steal that from her. If he’d achieved his goal, she now understood God’s great love for her. Even though more danger might be ahead, did Marina understand why Steven had peace things would be okay?

  Fourteen nights ago, Steven had chased a vintage pickup down Elm Grove Road on mission to find drug dealers and his brother’s killer. He’d discovered, instead, a fearful Marina hiding behind a dogwood tree protecting her life. Over the course of their time together, they’d found the answers to their questions and locked away the people responsible for countless crimes. This once stranger now allowed him to hold her hand, to protect her, while they conversed with peers.

  He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and absorbed her warmth. How had he not stumbled across this wonderful woman in all these years of living in the same area and having mutual friends? And he called himself a detective. He chuckled under his breath.

  Rex and all the folks at the Southern Hope ranch had been his friends for ages, and they’d been friends with Marina since she’d moved in next door. Somehow, even though their paths had crossed when she’d attended his church and dated Mark, they hadn’t had a true connection until he’d suspected her company of being involved in drug trafficking and until he’d rescued her.

  Now she sat beside him and seemed content despite her current fears. But Marina’s words weren’t needed for him to know she’d had enough socializing and wanted to leave. Her world had been a constant whirlwind since the wreck, and she needed downtime.

  As much fun as being with Rex and Cora and getting to know their B&B guests was, Steven ached to spend time with Marina before they said goodnight. If she was up for it, he’d love to sit on the bales of hay at her company’s corn maze and stare up at the stars while holding hands and chatting.

  “I’m going to get Marina home, folks. Thanks so much for the lovely evening. Phil, good to meet you.” Steven stood and reached his hand out to Phil.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Steven.” Phil pumped Steven’s hand.

  “Kathryn, keep this guy out of trouble, if you can.” Steven patted her shoulder.

  Phil bellowed as he stood. “She already knows how impossible that is.”

  Everyone followed Steven and Marina to the entryway. Rex marched ahead and opened the door for them then reminded Marina he was there to help if she needed anything. No more than a light mist fell, but Steven still grabbed his umbrella, opened it, and held it above Marina’s head.

  Once at the passenger’s side of his SUV, Steven opened the door for Marina but held his hand up to halt her before she slid all the way into the seat. “Someone slashed the tires.”

  “Wha
t?” Marina hopped out, disregarding the mist, and examined the tires with him. “Steven, I told you we weren’t safe.”

  He’d told her things would be okay. Would they? “This probably has nothing to do with you.”

  She ran her hands through her hair and held onto the ends as if hanging on for her life. “Yeah, right! What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going back inside until a unit comes out here to investigate.” While he formulated a plan for keeping her safe, he escorted her back up to the porch where everyone still stood.

  “You back for more of Ms. Lottie’s pie?” Rex laughed.

  Steven grimaced. “Someone slashed my tires. We’re not going anywhere.”

  “Oh no!” Cora exclaimed. “Y’all come on back inside.”

  “I won’t tolerate this on my property,” Rex growled, as he folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance.

  “Steven!” Marina’s screech pierced through the night and punctured his heart.

  He pivoted and caught her pointing in the direction of her property.

  “It’s on fire! Someone set my place on fire!” She collapsed on the porch in a heap and buried her face in her hands. Cora and Kathryn ran to her side while Rex and Phil joined Steven.

  It took less than a few minutes for the smoke-filled air to reach them, and Steven’s rage burned as everyone coughed and gagged. “I’ll radio this in to the station, and then I’m going over there.”

  “No, Steven! You’ll get killed.” Marina’s panic-stricken cry reverberated through his heart.

  “Marina, I’m not going to die. But whoever did this may.” Steven pounded the soppy earth beneath his feet all the way back to his SUV, yanked open the car door, and flopped into the seat. If his radio had been the perpetrator’s neck, the guy wouldn’t have any breath left in him now.

  Stilling himself a moment, he pushed down his anger, feeling convicted over the hatred that welled up inside him. “This is Detective Steven Pennington, and I’m out on Elm Grove Road at the Southern Hope ranch.” How many times had he said that in the last two weeks?