DEADLY HOPE a gripping detective mystery full of twists and turns

by Jack Parker

  "This is beautiful, Luci." I sat on my knees at the edge of the blanket and waited for Luci to join me. She continued smirking and opened the basket. Plates and silverware were spread onto the blanket, enough for Mattison as well. Luci pulled a covered bowl from the basket and peeled the lid off.

  "Berta's secret spaghetti recipe. This was my favorite meal as a child." Luci commented absently and spooned abundant amounts onto each of the plates. I accepted mine and dug in with gusto. The sauce was sweet and tangy and delicious. I couldn't quite pinpoint the exact taste of the individual herbs used, but I must convince Berta to tell me her secrets.

  "Oh my god, this might be the most amazing thing I've ever tasted." I hummed my approval as I shoved another bite in my mouth.

  Luci smiled, a huge genuine smile, and I nearly choked. Her soft blonde hair had frizzed and pulled loose during the humidity and activities of the day, and the flickering flames highlighted the errant strands, casting a striped shadow on her face. Once again, I was taken by her pure, organic beauty. Her blue eyes appeared black in the dim light; even though I sat less than a foot from her, I could never have hoped to read any sort of emotion in those usually soulful and telling eyes.

  "This is the reason I was excited you invited me to tag along." Mattison groaned in delight. "Berta has not made this in two years."

  I leaned against the wall of the tower, and Luci settled in beside me. I was grateful that she seemed as reluctant to leave my side as I was hers. Mattison wisely chose to remain silent on the subject and sat crossed-legged at the other side of the blanket. I whimpered when my belly protested against the intake of food with a sudden cramp. I ignored it as best I could and shoveled the remaining pasta into my mouth. Luci sat her plate aside and reached for the glass bottle in the chilling bucket. She poured three glasses and passed one to Mattison and me.

  "Uh, Luci, this is wonderful, really, but I don't drink." I rushed and held the glass out to her. She pushed it back towards my mouth.

  "It's cider, Darling. Aside from the occasional glass of wine if a client insists, I do not partake in alcoholic beverages, either." I smiled and sipped the cold liquid. It was spicy and delicious, like everything else.

  "Here." She handed me a strawberry. "I know your credulity may be strained, but I assure you this particular cider and strawberries complement each other brilliantly." I took the strawberry and bit into it. The lingering spice and the sweet tang of the fruit exploded in my mouth, and my eyes widened with the surprising flavor.

  "Wow. I did not expect that." I jerked at a sudden explosion, and the cider sloshed onto my pants. I ignored it as a huge starburst of sparkling light flashed in the sky.

  "Ah, here we go. I had hoped the rain would not spoil the final event of the evening." Luci tucked her feet to one side and leaned towards me. Mattison stood and leaned her elbows on the stone wall with an excited fervor. I just stared.

  I'd never seen the Fourth of July fireworks from such a high vantage point. Mom used to take Lilly and me to watch them from the bridge near our house when we were little, but after she'd left, Lilly and I climbed on top of the house. Both places were fairly obstructed by the forest, but I loved watching them. The tower sat above the tree line and offered a clear view of the sky for miles.

  "Do you like it?" Luci whispered in my ear, too low for Mattison to hear over the boom and crackle of the flashing lights.

  "I love it," I whispered back, afraid to speak too loudly lest I destroy the magic of the moment. The skin around Luci's eyes tightened as she smiled at my approval.

  "I truly regret my behavior earlier today. I should not have lashed out so violently. Please forgive me."

  I nodded and leaned my head onto her shoulder. After our earlier conversation and her sneaky Fourth of July surprise celebration on the bell tower, she most certainly had been forgiven. She pressed a kiss to my head and pulled my hand into her lap. Her fingers trembled slightly as she played with mine, and I wondered at my incredibly luck. Were Luci and I truly falling in love? Did a woman as absolutely stunning as Luci Pravitas actually love me or at least felt so attracted to me that the simple act of holding my hand made her nervous? I shushed my mind and enjoyed the fireworks and the evening for as long as it lasted. Tomorrow, we returned to reality, but for tonight, we allowed ourselves to live in this fantasy.

  CHAPTER 17

  The next morning Sheriff Armentrout called to set up interview times for David, Mattison, Berta, and Cal. Everyone came to Luci's office one at a time, except for Cal, and spoke with Derrick and the detective from Charleston. Detective Green seemed honest enough. He clearly searched for the truth, but his tired eyes told me that he'd seen too much throughout his career. He was slightly overweight with thinning hair, but he was still handsome, I thought. He wasn't irritated, like Sheriff Armentrout, when he was told that he must be escorted to the stables to talk with Cal.

  I didn't even know we had stables, not ones with actual horses, another secret Luci maintained all this time. David saw my surprise and explained that Luci went there every afternoon to ride her horse, which is why I had time to work with him at that time. Cal apparently preferred to live in a small shack that he'd built himself than in the house with the rest of the staff. He feared that something happened to the horses, and he would be too far from them to notice or do anything about it. When I asked David to tell me about Cal, he told me that I would learn in time not to bother the young man. Apparently dissatisfied with everyone's answers, the two men left with a promise to return once they determined cause of death. That was over a month ago.

  As the time slipped into August, I forgot all about the investigation. Luci and I resumed my slow progress into the world of her business and my self-defense training. Little by little, I began to understand how the stock market worked, how to choose worthy managers and CEO's, and how to properly control and protect my own body. She left small decisions in my hands, such as the ongoing landscaping. I even convinced her to restore the third and fourth floors completely and to dig a swimming pool in the back courtyard. The only place I was not allowed to go or command was the stables, not yet. I respected Cal's privacy and his social anxieties and obeyed her wishes.

  Any thought of running away was fleeting and quickly soothed by Luci's blue silk voice and soft warm hands. I still panicked when she hugged me or touched me too familiarly, but now that I understood that the anxiety stemmed from my lack of intimate physical contact and connection, I warded off full blown panic attacks more easily. The fact that we were together always, except for the two hours during the afternoon when she rode, helped as well. She pushed my limits, and I appreciated the challenge. Every morning began with a hug or her warm hand on my leg at the breakfast, and though it terrified me, I was hooked. I yearned for her touch much more deeply than I ever wanted meaningless sex. She made me feel so much more with a single fingertip trailing across my shoulders as she passed than those men ever had, and I let her. I knew that every touch of her graceful hands brought my soul a little closer to salvation.

  When Luci and I weren't together, David and I worked on the trail leading to the river. Luci protested lightly that she could have hired a crew to finish the work under my supervision, but I insisted on completing the project without outside influence. She assumed that I avoided a repeat incident like the one with Kevin-Corey-Caleb, but honestly, I enjoyed the work and didn't want the sacredness of this small river cove further denigrated by unworthy hands. David remained silent on the subject and followed my orders. I think he may have felt guilty for hitting a man but justified it because he was defending me and my integrity. This week we were setting blue-grey river stones, each about the size of a basketball, on either side of the pathway to clearly mark it. The distance between the house and the river could only have been half a mile, but it seemed so much longer when hefting around giant rocks.

  What surprised me the most, perhaps, was the developing loyalty of everyone in the house. When my diner family was threatened,
we all pulled apart, but everyone in the Pravitas household banded together. We were a true family, and come hell or high water, Luci would never let her family fall apart. She'd have fought for each of us until her last breath, of that I was certain. She took it upon herself to personally tend to the emotional needs of each member of her staff, her family. She'd even been kinder to Berta, though only in terms of taming her hostility towards the woman.

  She reminded me constantly that she only refrained from her usual cold and biting demeanor around the cook because I enjoyed Berta's company and food so much. When she held her breath rather than yell at Berta, I smiled sweetly over her desk from my office chair and teasingly held my hand over her heart. She threw a piece of wadded paper at me just this morning for taunting her while she controlled her anger towards her mother's companion. I merely laughed and tossed it back. She banned me from her office for the morning, which led me here to my path in amiable silence at David's side. I hadn't wanted to audit expense reports anyway, so I changed into a black tank top and old jeans and scurried to my path.

  "What are you thinkin' on, Hummingbird?" David's voice called from what seemed like a distance, but when I returned my thoughts to reality, I realized he stood beside me at the tailgate of the small truck we'd been hauling rocks on.

  "Huh?" I said, not quite understanding the meaning of his question.

  "You've been squeezing that rock and staring into space for the past minute or so. What are you thinking about?" I looked down at the rock and then back at David. His concerned brown eyes lightened my mood, and I bumped my shoulder into his as I pulled the rock off of the tailgate. The weight pulled my arms down painfully, and I used my knee to readjust my grip.

  "Just thinking about how lucky I am. If Luci hadn't found me, I don't know where I would be right now. Probably in jail." Gravity pulled the rock to the ground, and I scooted it across the soft dirt until I was satisfied with the placement. "I think I'm done for the day. Well, I'm not, but my arms are. I need to finish yesterday's audit anyway." I grinned up at him from the ground, but his mind had strayed far from the work. I couldn't be sure without asking, but I thought it wandered to the bad decision of my past that led to the incident a month ago in these very woods.

  "David?" I stood slowly, my aching arms falling to the background of my mind as a slight panic rose in my chest.

  "Do you love her?" I jerked my head at the question and stared at him for a pregnant pause.

  "Luci? Yeah, of course. She's a great friend. You all are." I tried to assure him, but he shook his head and crossed his huge arms over his chest. I'd never seen this side of him, not directed at me anyway.

  "I don't mean the way you care about me or Mattison. If you are going to be with her, I need to know that you are with her and only her," he clarified. His cheeks reddened, but from anger or embarrassment, I couldn't be certain.

  "With her? David, I… oh." Realization slapped me in the face, and I would have laughed had David's intense brown eyes not been upon me so intently. "Mine and Luci's relationship isn't sexual, David," I stated confidently, hoping to end this odd tension between me and the one man I'd actually come to trust.

  "That's not what I meant. You haven't been here as long as I have. You didn't see how destroyed that whore left her." I recoiled at David's harsh words. I knew the situation with Emily had been bad, but if David's barely contained anger was any indication, it was far worse than I imagined.

  "David, I…"

  "No." He held up his hand. He wasn't being cruel or disrespectful. He just had something to get off his chest. "I see the way she looks at you. Everyone does, even Berta. Don't make her fall in love with you and then leave her or go back to sleeping with anything that moves." His arms fell to his sides, and he leaned against the tailgate. His anger had passed or had been covering the fear I now saw in his eyes.

  "She stares at you when you aren't looking. Do you know that?" I shook my head; I didn't know. "You scare her. You're young and beautiful and full of passion, and she's drawn to that like a moth to flame. And she's been burnt before, believe me. You know about Emily, but she was only one of three 'companions' she's had since I've been working for her, you being the third. She's poured her heart into all of them, but none of them have made her smile like you. So, if you can't give her the same loyalty and devotion that she will give you, that she's giving you already, then leave now before it gets worst." I saw how much saying these things to me pained him. He cared for me, but ultimately, his true devotion lay with Luci. I understood that enchantment all too well.

  "David, believe me when I say that I am not going anywhere. Luci saved me, just like she saved you and Mattie. I'm sure that I would have been just fine and kept living without her, but a part of me was dead. Do you understand?" He grinned, and his eyes became distant with nostalgia. I rubbed my throbbing arms anxiously as I waited for him to respond. I hadn't realized Luci had been so unlucky in love, but I understood if David spurned me to protect her. She was so much more than an employer to him.

  "I do," he finally said and then held out his huge hand to me. I took it. A surprised squeak flew from my lips when he picked me up and hefted me onto the bed of the truck. His smile reached his eyes again as he closed the tailgate and all was right with the world again. Dear lord, I adored this man.

  I leaned against the pile of smooth stones and closed my eyes. The sun warmed my face. I was in paradise. My euphoria dissipated, however, when we stopped in front of the house. An SUV from the sheriff's department sat in the driveway behind Luci's shiny black sedan. They'd come back, unannounced, which could only mean one thing. My hands shook as I vaulted over the side of the truck and hit the ground running. David's footsteps were close behind me. I didn't have far to go; Sheriff Armentrout and Detective Green were waiting for me in the Great Hall. Luci was nowhere in sight.

  "Derrick?" My body went numb. They were going to take me to that white cinderblock dungeon with no sunlight.

  "Lauren, I'm sorry." The Sheriff fingered the brim of that stupid hat and looked guilty.

  "Miss Danes, this is a warrant for your arrest." Detective Green handed David the paper and grabbed me by the arm. I heard the drone of his voice as he dictated the Miranda Right, just like they did on television. Mattie and Berta stood at the other end of the Great Hall by the entrance of the dining room. Mattie cried gently into Berta's shoulder, but the old woman glared angrily at the scene.

  "Derrick, I didn't do it. Please." I was scared. I wasn't afraid of prison. I was afraid of being ripped away from Luci and the sun. "Please, Derrick, I promised I wouldn't leave." I couldn't control the words that came out of my mouth. Everything moved in slow motion. Where was Luci? My tired shoulders immediately cramped from their locked position behind my back.

  "For God's sake, Green, the girl isn't resisting. Take those damn things off her." Derrick stepped forward, but Detective Green jerked my arm painfully towards the door. The cuffs cut into my wrists under the pressure, and I cried out, more from the shock of the biting steel against my skin than the pain.

  "Green!" The detective stopped and allowed Derrick to replace his hand on my arm. His touch did little to soothe my anxiety, but at least he didn't feel the need to jerk me around while handcuffed.

  "The cuffs stay on," Detective Green commanded. Derrick's jaw muscles clenched but he nodded in agreement.

  "Mattison, run to the stables and get Luci. Tell her I took the truck," David barked and followed us out the door. Mattie jumped from the side of the stoop and sprinted around the house.

  Derrick hovered protectively at my side until I had been safely deposited into the backseat of the SUV. Detective Green climbed into the passenger seat and glared at me from the other side of the steel mesh protection barrier. Anger swelled in my chest as the shock dissipated, and I stared out the tinted window. Even from the grave, that bastard ruined my life. I hadn't killed him, but I began to wish that I had.

  David followed us to the courthouse but never made
it past the front office. I imagined that I would be taken to a small, dark, and dingy interrogation room with one single hanging light over the table like the T.V. depicted and forced into an orange jumpsuit. The jumpsuit never came, but I did sit in a small room for what might have been hours. They never fingerprinted me or took my mug shot in front of the lined wall. I just sat there. Sheriff Armentrout unlocked the cuffs, but Detective Green attached them to a metal loop underneath the table. The sheriff glared at him but said nothing as they left the room. That could have been ten minutes ago or an hour for all I knew; it felt like I'd been there all night. There were no clocks in the room, and I didn't own a watch.

  Finally, the door opened and Detective Green stalked in first, followed by Sheriff Armentrout who looked more than a little irritated. Green plopped into a chair, and Derrick stood behind him with his arms crossed over his chest. He was not happy. I looked between the two men and wondered how I might use their tension with each other to my advantage. What would Luci do? The black silk voice that she used during martial arts training echoed through my head. "When you are at a disadvantage, stay calm. You cannot think properly if you are panicking. Dodge and block until you find an opening."

  "Miss Danes, you are in a heap of trouble. Do you know that?"

  Don't answer the question, ask one.

  "What evidence did my father's body offer?" I surprised myself when I swore I heard Luci's blue silk purr from my own throat. Detective Green's eyebrow knitted together, and Sheriff Armentrout smirked. He may not have believed I was innocent, but he certainly knew that there was not enough evidence to charge me with murder. I would survive this.