Deadly Summer (Darling Investigations Book 1)

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Hmm . . .”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked in an accusatory tone.

  “Nothin’. Just tryin’ to get the facts straight.”

  “Huh.” Dixie didn’t sound convinced.

  “Look, if someone is settin’ her up, it makes sense they’d wait until she was alone to give her the information. With no witnesses, it’s easier to cast doubt on her story.”

  “But who set her up, and why would the sheriff’s deputy believe she moved the body?”

  “I don’t know, but I aim to find out.” He paused. “Just keep an eye on her, okay?” Luke asked in a soft tone. “And if anything looks amiss . . . call me.”

  “You still care about her,” Dixie said.

  “If I can prevent anyone from getting hurt or injured, I’ll do it.”

  “So you’re only doin’ this because it’s your job.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “It’s just what every girl likes to hear.”

  “Dixie . . . ,” he said in a warning tone.

  “Just sayin’.”

  “I’m goin’ home and goin’ to bed. I have to be at the Rotary breakfast at eight. You still doin’ okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m a phone call away, Dixie. You know that.”

  “Thanks.”

  What was that all about?

  “One more thing,” Luke said. “When was the last time you saw Ryker?”

  “I don’t want to talk about Ryker.”

  “You’re better off without him. He wasn—isn’t a good man.”

  “I know,” she said, her voice heavy with tears.

  Dixie told him goodbye, then walked into the living room with her hand on her hip. “How much of that did you hear?”

  I felt terrible. “Dixie . . .”

  “Hey,” she said, “no judgment here. I wouldn’t have interrupted that conversation either.” She paused. “He still has feelings for you, you know.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” I said, but my heart beat a little faster in my chest. To lighten the moment, I added, “Besides, how could I ever be with someone who slept with that gossip Gina Matherson?”

  “You were with that scumbag Connor Blake.”

  I shuddered. “I never slept with my sleazy costar. He just made the world think we did.” And Luke too.

  “Well . . .”—she sat down beside me—“I’d bet the whole farm that Luke didn’t sleep with Gina even though she tried to convince everyone it happened.”

  “Dixie . . . Luke and I are like oil and vinegar. You can throw ’em in a bottle and get them to stick together for a little bit, but they always separate. Always.” And that knowledge made me sadder than I wanted to admit.

  “Let’s go to bed,” she said, getting to her feet and pulling me off the couch. “You need your rest.”

  “Okay.”

  We went upstairs, and I was dragging by the time we got to the top.

  “I should have had Teddy carry me back up,” I joked.

  “He probably would have done it too if he were here.”

  That caught my attention. “Where’d he go?”

  “Beats me. He said he needed to think.” She must have seen the concern on my face because she said, “Don’t worry. It’s his thing. You know how Pawpaw liked to walk the farm? Well, Teddy does too. He’ll be back once he feels better.”

  “You’re sure he didn’t go after the guys he thinks broke in?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.”

  “Don’t baby me, Dixie,” I said as I sank onto the bed. “I want the truth even when it’s hard. He went after them.”

  After a moment of silence, she lay down beside me. “Maybe.”

  Worry slithered through my gut.

  “Don’t concern yourself about Teddy. He’s the most level-headed of all of us. He’s nobody’s fool. If he went after them, he knows the odds are on his side. He’ll be careful.”

  I was counting on it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  When I woke up the next morning, I was glad I’d sent Lauren a text saying we would be in late. In fact, part of me was sorry I said I’d go in at all. I was pretty sure I’d benefit from sleeping the day away. But I had a new incentive to make this show work—Teddy and Dixie had reminded me that we were a family. The show had to succeed so we could pay off that loan. Then I could figure out where I fit in here.

  Still, I couldn’t let go of the conversation I’d overheard between Teddy and Dixie the night before. I needed to talk to Teddy and find out what financial issues he was dealing with regarding the farm, but I was also worried about how he’d come up with the extra cash. I was particularly worried after Dixie had suggested his strategy might not be on the up-and-up.

  After I showered and went into the kitchen, I was surprised to see my grandmother in front of the stove frying bacon. Dixie was still in the shower, and there was no sign of Teddy. I almost walked out, but the coffee smell was begging me to stay.

  “Good morning,” I said as I walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a mug.

  She didn’t answer while I poured myself some coffee and topped it off with milk. I tried to ignore my disappointment as I headed for the swinging door.

  “Where you goin’?” she asked, her gaze still on the skillet. “I’m about to start the pancakes.”

  My mouth dropped open, but nothing came out.

  She glanced up at me. “You’re too damn skinny. Your momma always wanted you that way, keepin’ pieces of pie and cookies from you . . . Well, you’re home now, and Baumgartners eat.”

  Tears flooded my eyes. This was as close to a declaration of love as I was going to get from Meemaw. “Yes, ma’am,” I croaked out.

  “We still have ten minutes, so go tell your cousins.”

  I could still hear the shower upstairs, so I went out the front door to drink my coffee on the porch. I was surprised to see Teddy sitting on the steps with his own cup of coffee.

  “Is there room for me?” I asked.

  He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Summy, what are you doin’ out of bed?”

  “No rest for the wicked,” I said, descending the steps. I squeezed in next to him, bumping him with my hip to get him to make room.

  “Tell me about it.” He chuckled as he scooted over, but all the laughter had left his voice when he asked, “Why were you and Dixie out at Lake Edna yesterday?”

  I realized that he didn’t know anything about our investigations—fake or otherwise. I told him about the cases Lauren had lined up, then said, “But Otto . . . he was really missing. And Gretchen was so upset. The Sweet Briar Police weren’t lookin’ into it, and Lauren saw no urgency in the matter, so I decided we could kill two birds with one stone—find Otto and help redeem my image on the show.”

  “It almost got you killed, Summer.”

  “I wasn’t purposely lookin’ for danger. No one thought anything bad had happened to Otto.” Dixie and I hadn’t bought that, but there was no need to tell him that. “The janitor told me he’d seen Otto’s bike out there, so we went to look.”

  Teddy sat up. “What janitor?”

  I told him what I remembered about the incident, then added his description. “He was average height and build, he had brown eyes, a trim beard, and short brown hair—nearly shaved—and he was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. Do you know who it could have been?”

  He shook his head. “No. Not a clue.” He turned to me, looking more serious. “You need to leave everything regarding Otto Olson alone.”

  “What?”

  “It’s obviously bigger than you and Dixie thought. You should step aside and let the police handle it.”

  “Teddy.”

  “I’m serious, Summer. Stick to your fake cases with Lauren or, if you hate it enough, quit.”

  “I can’t quit.”

  “If the show’s makin’ you miserable, then do it. Ignore the whole Baumgartners-aren’t-quitters motto. Meemaw’l
l get over it.”

  “It’s more than that.” I took a sip of my coffee, then turned to face him. “I need to be honest about something, Teddy. The reason I’m really here.” I hadn’t intended to say anything, but the secret had been weighing more heavily on me now that I was here with them. It was harder to ignore.

  A grin twitched at the corners of his lips. “You’re working for the cotton farmers in Dale County, trying to learn my secrets.”

  “I’m serious, Teddy.”

  He sat up slightly. “Okay.”

  “A few months before the fire, I was in Atlanta filming a commercial, and Pawpaw came up to see me.”

  Teddy watched me intently.

  “The farm was having problems . . . there had been a huge rainy period, and the fields were too wet to harvest. Most of the crop was lost.”

  “I remember,” he said. “I was in school up at Alabama A&M. I was concerned about the rain, but Dad and Pawpaw said there was nothing to worry about.”

  “Pawpaw asked me for a loan.”

  He turned to look out at the land in front of us. “So you gave him one?”

  “Sort of.” I pushed out a breath and leaned over my knees. “He needed three hundred thousand to tide him over to the next year, but he had two conditions. One, he wouldn’t let me give him the money outright. He asked me to cosign a loan with a ten-year balloon payment. I was to make the payments for the first year, then he’d take over as soon as he got back on his feet. He was certain he could pay it off before it came due. But then he died, and Momma and I had our falling-out, and she took off with my money.”

  He did a double take. “Wait. What?”

  “The loan—”

  “Not the loan, Summer. The part about your mother taking your money. She said the money she had was from managing your career.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I finally stood up to Momma, and my bank account was the price I paid.”

  “She stole your money? Why didn’t you press charges?”

  “Dixie. It would have caught the attention of the media, and I was doin’ my best to lie low and let the news about the fire fizzle out. If I’d prosecuted or sued . . . especially since Momma ran back here . . .”

  His eyes sank closed. “You gave up your money to protect Dixie.” He sounded heartsick.

  I glanced at the door behind me. “You can never tell her. Swear to me.”

  “Yeah, I won’t. She would hate that. But I don’t understand how this happened.”

  “Bottom line, Momma took most of my money, which meant I couldn’t just outright pay off the loan. I’ve been making the payments ever since, but the balloon payment is coming due, Teddy. And that’s why I’m here—I’ll make enough money from this show to pay it off.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, starting to sound pissed.

  “That was the second part of the promise: I couldn’t tell Meemaw.”

  He gave me a wry grin. “Uh, I know you had a head injury, but I’m still not sure how you’ve confused me with Meemaw.”

  “You were still in college when Pawpaw died, and then you dropped out of school, and you were dealing with the whole mess with Dixie and the farm . . . I didn’t want to worry you. And if I’m being honest, I was sure I’d make the money back. I never expected to be nearly thirty years old and so flat-out broke that I’m on the verge of losing my house and the family farm.” I grabbed his hand. “But I’m going to save the farm, Teddy. I promise you that.”

  “Jesus, Summer. You’re losing your house? Don’t you want to put the money toward that?”

  “It’s too late for that, and if I have to choose, I pick the farm.”

  “Where are you gonna live when this is done?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Do you want to go back to California? You never wanted that life.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

  “I do. You have a home here, Summy. You belong here with us.”

  My eyes filled with tears, and I rested my head on his shoulder to hide them. “I heard you and Dixie talking last night. I take it the farm has more money problems.”

  His shoulder stiffened under my cheek. “I’m takin’ care of it, Summer.”

  “But if we work together—”

  “You have the loan covered. Leave it to me to handle the rest.” He leaned down and kissed my temple.

  “Why’d Dixie think you might know something about what happened to her old boyfriend?”

  “I do. Ryker Pelletier was a drug-dealin’ piece of white trash, and he got what was comin’ to him.” His voice was so hard he didn’t sound anything like himself.

  I sat up. “Did Dixie know?”

  The screen door opened and Dixie asked, “Did Dixie know what?”

  “About Ryker bein’ in the Sweet Briar Hospital morgue,” Teddy said, getting to his feet.

  Did the abrupt change in subject mean Dixie didn’t know about Ryker dealing drugs?

  “I was with you when we found him,” Dixie said. “Don’t you remember? Maybe you shouldn’t work today.”

  “I remember,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I’m just tired, but I have to work today.” I looked up at Teddy for support now that he knew the stakes.

  “She’ll be okay, but if she looks too tired, tell that witch Lauren she’s either taking a break or coming home.”

  “I’ll have no problem keepin’ Lauren in line,” Dixie said, “but you need to keep the news about Ryker to yourself. Luke’s still keepin’ his identity secret, which means we’re not supposed to know.”

  “Did Luke tell you last night?” Teddy asked.

  “Definitely not.”

  Teddy’s brow lowered into a scowl. “I still don’t get why you’re civil to the man who ruined your life.”

  Dixie groaned. “I’m not having this conversation again. Let it go.”

  My phone started to ring in my pocket.

  “Get yourselves in here,” Meemaw called out from inside the house. “Breakfast is ready.”

  I tugged my phone out, and my heart stuck in my chest when I saw it was Marina’s number. LA was two hours behind, which meant it was close to seven in the morning there. Way too early for Marina to be calling me.

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” I said. “My best friend is callin’.”

  “Don’t take too long,” Dixie said. “Meemaw will tan your hide if the pancakes get cold.”

  “Start without me.”

  I answered the phone while Dixie and Teddy went inside. “Marina, what are you doin’ callin’ me this early?”

  “I just found out you were attacked! Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I’m sorry . . . yesterday was crazy.”

  “I had to find out on the news, Summer! They said you were in the hospital in critical condition with a head injury!”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, I’m sitting on Meemaw’s front porch drinking a cup of coffee. I really am sorry.”

  She hesitated. “How’s it going out there?”

  I pushed out a huge groan. “Workin’ with Lauren is just as difficult as we expected, but it’s good gettin’ to be with my family again.”

  “I hear your Alabama accent is coming back.”

  “Yeah . . .” I sighed. No use fighting it.

  “Have you seen your ex?”

  “Multiple times. It’s gone better than expected.”

  “Is the spark still there?”

  I wasn’t sure what to tell her. In truth, the spark had never left. The real question was how smart it would be to consider fanning it into a flame. “It’s complicated.” I heard my grandmother yelling my name. “I have to go, Marina. I’ll call you soon. Thanks again for house-sitting.” Given how many paparazzi had staked out my house, we’d agreed it would be a good idea for Marina to stay there and keep an eye on things.

  “You better . . . But, hey! Before you go, I thought you should know that those weird hang-up calls on your house phone ha
ve stopped.”

  After my right hook made national television, I’d gotten several calls to my landline from a blocked number. The caller would quietly say my name and then hang up. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing, right? They must have figured out I’m not there right now.”

  “I guess, but I still have a bad feeling about it.”

  “You know weird things happen with me. But if they’ve stopped, then we have nothing to worry about. I’ll call you later, Marina. Thanks.”

  “Be careful out there, Summer.”

  “I plan to.”

  By the time I finally joined my family at the table, Dixie and Teddy were nearly done, and I was full after a few bites. The nurse had told me not to operate any moving vehicles until my vision was fully repaired, so Dixie drove the truck into town while I dozed in the passenger seat. I woke up when she pulled into a parking spot close to the office, and I was beginning to question whether I could handle going back to work. My head felt like it was splitting in two, and my vision was fuzzy.

  When we walked into the office at nine thirty, Lauren had a full-blown conniption.

  “You’re late!”

  “I’m not supposed to be here at all, Lauren,” I said, sitting in my chair. The room was hot, stuffy, and crowded with people. Her yelling wasn’t helping my headache. “The doctor expected me to take time off, but I’ll be fine as long as I don’t overdo it.”

  She gave me her version of a death stare, but it was hard to take someone seriously after seeing them plastered with your vomit.

  “I’m here,” I said. “I’m gonna stick this out for as long as I can.” I glanced over at the crew. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”

  “The a/c’s out,” Tony said. “We’re leaving the door propped open for now, but someone’s coming to look at it.”

  Karen was studying me, looking pleased as she said to Lauren, “I told you her bruises would look worse today. It makes this whole thing more authentic.”

  Or it would make me look like a joke, depending on how Lauren decided to spin it. I wouldn’t put it past her to play up the Summer-moved-Otto’s-body-and-faked-her-attack angle to manipulate ratings. I had to earn my $50,000-per-episode salary, and she might decide this was how.

  I sucked in a breath. We’d only been filming for two days, but other than Otto’s body and my attack, there was absolutely nothing to justify the high price tag. Oh, Lord. What if she found out the other dead guy was Dixie’s ex-boyfriend? And if he had been a drug dealer . . . I had to make sure she had plenty of other drama for the show. Even if it painted me in a bad light.