He started the engine, floored the accelerator, and squealed out of the lot, checking his rearview mirror. Jimmy still hadn’t moved from the other car, but Max had no doubt Rose would soon learn of the argument. And probably blame him.
***
Rose pulled her beat up Ford into the driveway. She missed the days when she could afford a house with an attached garage. Knowing Max had returned to town made her feel especially vulnerable as she jumped from her truck and raced for the front door.
Even at midnight, it was still warm outside. The summer had been a scorcher so far, and it was only early July. She might have to break down and buy a portable air conditioner if the heat kept up. That was one more expense she couldn’t afford.
Upon opening the front door, her cat jumped from the back of the couch to the floor. He stretched his large orange and white frame its full extent before sitting his backend on the floor and curling his tail around his side. He meowed in a plaintive tone, reminding Rose he didn’t like the heat any more than she did.
“I know, Gizmo. Sorry. I’ll open the windows and get your dinner.”
She locked the front door and walked through the small living room, heading for the kitchen. As she slid open the window and the breeze fanned her face, she had a horrible thought.
Next to her, Gizmo jumped on the counter. He meowed his approval at the fresh air and then bumped his head against her arm—a clear demand for dinner.
“What if he comes after me?” Rose scratched Gizmo’s chin absently, staring out the window. “He could climb inside if we leave this open.”
Although this house was a far cry from the upper scale home on the lake that her childhood home had been, Rose had never worried about her safety before. The little one-bedroom place was rundown and old, but her neighbors were great people. She’d never had a second thought about flinging her windows open at night to bring in the cooler air.
Rose sighed. “We don’t have a choice, Gizzie. Max could break the window anyway, if he really wanted to kill me. We’ll roast in here tomorrow if we don’t cool it off.”
Besides, he continued to claim innocence. Rose didn’t want to think about it too hard, but the gnawing doubt she’d always harbored was gaining traction. She wasn’t so sure that Max was guilty.
After pouring a bowl of gourmet cat food, Rose set it on the ground and popped a frozen meal into the microwave. Sometimes it annoyed her that the cat ate better than she did, but Gizmo had kidney problems and couldn’t survive on cheap store-brand food. He was her only companion the past five years since Mom went into the asylum. She rescued him from the pound and even if it was hard financially, he was family.
Rose gagged down her mystery meat dinner and then opened the other windows. Her feet ached from the long week, and she settled onto the couch to read a book before going to sleep.
Gizmo hopped into her lap and curled into a ball, purring his content.
She wished she could ignore the world and just stay like this, relaxing with her furry buddy, but tomorrow was Sunday. It was the only day she had off from both jobs, and the day she cleaned house and visited her mother.
Ginger Spelling might not always remember who Rose was, but Rose couldn’t skip making the drive around the lake to see her. Maybe if her mother was having a good day, they could take a trip to the town of Serenity and stop at Jim’s Fish House. Her mother used to love that place. A meal like that would mean no air conditioning unit this month, but it would be worth it to make Ginger happy.
With a sigh, Rose set her book on the end table next to the couch and scratched Gizmo between the ears. The words weren’t making an impression on her brain and she’d have to re-read the pages she’d turned. She knew why she couldn’t concentrate and why she tried to distract herself with thoughts of her mother.
Max’s baby blue eyes filled her vision as soon as she let her guard down. How could a murderer be so handsome and normal looking? He still looked like the boy she loved. Maybe he was a bit more muscular, and his boyish face had hardened into that of a man, but he still looked like her charming Max.
Even though she’d dated a few times over the years, it had been nothing serious. She should hate Max, and part of her did. Mostly, she wanted him to be as innocent as he claimed. If someone else had torn her family apart, she could start rebuilding her life and find some happiness—maybe even with him.
But everyone said he was a killer. She’d even believed it herself for a long time. She couldn’t be swayed by his sexy smile and how much she still loved him. Max was a killer, and happiness would never be possible.
Chapter Two
The sound of screaming outside her bedroom window woke Rose from a deep sleep. Her heart thudded painfully as she dug her knuckles into her eyes to clear the sleep from them.
Gizmo jumped onto the window sill, meowing his displeasure at the people outside. They had at least gone from screaming to talking loudly, lowering her anxiety slightly.
“I called the cops,” a woman said.
“I want to see it.” A boy’s voice.
“Stop right there. Don’t touch anything.” The woman again.
Rose finally placed the voices as belonging to her neighbors. She rolled out of bed, her heart rate slowing to normal, and grabbed the robe off the chair in the corner of the room. After wrapping it around her, she approached the window.
Kelsey Tanning stood in Rose’s yard. Her twin eight-year-old boys jumped around her feet, seeming more excited than scared.
“What’s all the yelling about?” she asked.
Kelsey walked to the window, looking solemnly through the screen. “The boys wanted to bring you over some pancakes this morning, but found something on your porch already.” Kelsey pressed her lips together, looking a bit sick. “You have an enemy, Rose. I called the cops.”
Bryant, the older twin by ten minutes, ran to stand beside his mom, craning his head back to look through the window. “There’s a lot of blood, Aunt Rose. A note too, but Mom wouldn’t let me or Tray read it.”
“Blood?” Rose stepped back from the window slightly, bile rising in her throat. The first night Max comes back to town, someone leaves a threat on her doorstep?
Kelsey pressed her face against the screen. “I heard Max Kensington is out, and you two had a run in yesterday at the store.”
Rose nodded.
“If I were you, I’d stay inside. Don’t even look at what’s out here. Let the cops handle it.”
“What is it, Kel? I need to know.”
“It’s a dead rat, gutted, with a noose around its little neck.” She shuddered. “You don’t need to see this. I’m glad the boys found it, not you.”
Gizmo dropped to the ground and padded across the room, meowing at the door to remind Rose it was breakfast time.
None of this made sense. Why would Max leave a clear threat on her doorstep? Sure, he was angry that she didn’t want to talk to him, and seemed truly heartbroken to hear she hadn’t planned on marrying him. Still, a direct threat left for anyone to see?
“Why would he do that?” she murmured. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Doesn’t have to make sense. He’s obviously bat shit crazy.” Kelsey ran a hand through her messy blond hair. “Look, this is nothing against you, but I’m going to have the boys stay away from your house. Just until we’re sure it’s safe, not because we aren’t still friends.”
“No, it’s okay. I understand.”
She really did. She had often baby sat for Kelsey on weekends and sometimes took the boys to the park just to get out of the house on Sundays after visiting Mom. That wouldn’t be possible now. Rose wouldn’t put them at risk. She’d tough it out alone. No one would want to be around her now—not with Max on the loose and after her. If it actually was Max.
The twins were still talking about how cool the blood was. Kelsey seemed fine with it, but Rose wouldn’t want her children looking at something like that. “Get the kids home. I won’t come out of the house until
the cops get here. Thanks for thinking of me with the pancakes, but I’m not hungry now.”
“Come on, boys, let’s go.” Kelsey put her hand against the screen. “If you need anything, I’m just next door.”
It was nice of her to say that, but Kelsey had her own problems. Her deadbeat drunkard of a husband sat on the couch every day doing nothing while Kelsey tried to hold down the fort. She didn’t have time to worry about Rose’s problems.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Rose slid the window shut and waved at them as they walked through the yard.
Gizmo scratched at the door. “Meow.”
“I know, I know. Dead rats aren’t your thing.” She opened the door and followed him to the kitchen. “You’d be useless as a mouser. Let’s get your breakfast.”
***
A knock sounded on her door just as she finished washing Gizmo’s bowl. Rose quickly dried her hands and hung the towel over the handle of the oven, taking in a deep breath before heading to the door.
Opening it up, she firmly avoided looking down for fear of seeing the rat, meeting Calvin Black’s eyes.
“Morning, Rosie.” He jerked his head at the man standing next to him. “It took me a while to get here because the Chief wanted me to bring in Officer Jet, here. He’s from the Oregon State Police Department and was in the area.”
Officer Jet stuck his hand out, and Rose shook it. “Sorry to hear about your trouble, ma’am. Officer Black told me about your run in yesterday with a man who was just released from prison.”
“Max Kensington,” Calvin supplied. “The first thing he did when he got out was harass our Rosie inside the gas station she works at.”
Rose narrowed her eyebrows, not sure she liked where this conversation headed. Sure, Max leaving the threat was her first assumption, but she’d had time to think things over while waiting for the officers. “Max would have to be a complete moron to do this after speaking to me,” she pointed out. “He knew you were in there listening to us.”
Cal shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t care. You broke his heart when you let it slip that you never planned to marry him. Plus, Jimmy Durant says Max assaulted him in the parking lot.”
Rose dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands. Jimmy Durant persistently pestered her for dates and acted like he ran the town, possibly even more than Calvin did. “Jimmy probably asked for it. He’s always playing the tough guy and flashing that gun of his.”
“Why are you defending Max?” Calvin’s shock was obvious. “He killed your sister, and you’re defending him. That’s plain wrong, Rosie.”
Was it wrong? A court exonerated Max. No one in Clarkston wanted to give him a chance, all reacting like she had yesterday, but was he actually innocent? Rose had been so angry with him for so long, it was hard to adjust. She didn’t know what to think.
She shrugged at the officers. “I don’t want you going after him without looking at all the possibilities. A court did find Max innocent. If you focus on him, something could slip your notice. What if this is someone else’s doing?”
And that was not a happy thought. Could they possibly have two deranged people in her little town? Not that she was sure Max was deranged. Damn—she didn’t know what to think. It was too confusing.
Officer Jet glanced over his shoulder and down briefly, probably looking at the rat. “We take this stuff seriously, ma’am. Whether it’s Max Kensington or not, we don’t want another murder spree on our hands.”
So that’s why they brought in a state cop. Two of the girls murdered eight years ago had lived in nearby towns. One was from Serenity, a touristy place on the western side of the lake. The other murdered girl lived in Madras, which was about fifteen miles up highway 26.
When Oregon first learned they had a serial killer on their hands, there had been statewide panic. However, Rose could see a problem with blaming Max for all the murders. Sure, DNA evidence connected him to Sage’s death, but he hadn’t been convicted in the other killings. Not that the prosecuting attorney hadn’t tried. There just wasn’t any evidence.
Once Max was locked up, the murders stopped. It only made sense that the cops look at him as the culprit for them all, but Rose always had a nagging voice in her head that wondered when he would have had the time to kill those girls. He had kept busy working for his uncle, and when he wasn’t there, he was with her.
She heaved a sigh. Max was the only suspect they had for the rat, so that’s where they had to start the investigation. “Kelsey said whoever did this left a note. What does it say?”
Jet glanced at Calvin. “You know her pretty good, right? Think she can handle hearing it?”
“She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Calvin answered.
“And ears that work, too,” Rose snapped. “Tell me. Obviously, it’s a threat of some kind. What does it say?”
Cal licked his lips and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “It says, ‘Watch your back. The cat’s next.’”
***
Max lazed in his bed, not wanting to face another day of persecution, but heard the knock on the front door. He sure hoped it wasn’t another concerned townsperson coming to berate his mother for letting him live here. It wasn’t like he had much choice but to come back. What could he put on a job application? No job experience, but prison taught me to clean toilets like no one’s business and stand up for myself. That should rush his application to the top of the pile.
He had applied for funding to start college after the summer, but he was mainly going through the motions to make his mother happy. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. He’d always been good at fixing cars, but who would hire him? Truthfully, being free these past few days seemed like a dream. It was hard to make the transition.
“Max?” His mother tapped on his bedroom door. “The police are here to see you.”
Great. So much for freedom. Being home wasn’t all that different from having prison guards breathing down his neck all day.
Max hopped out of bed and pulled on some pants. He opened the door and nodded at his mother on the way to the bathroom. He was a free man, and there was no way he’d meet the cops with bed head and bad breath. They could wait. Despite his rebellious streak, Max did hurry through his morning ritual.
When he walked into the living room, Calvin Black and another officer waited for him.
“Take a seat, Max,” Calvin ordered. “We need to talk about where you were last night.”
Max stuffed his hands into his pants. “I’d rather stand, thanks.” He wouldn’t let Super Cop reduce him to criminal status by telling him what to do.
The other officer with Calvin shrugged and took off his hat, holding it loosely in his hands. “Mind if I sit? It’s been a long day already.”
At least this officer was less hostile. Max nodded to the couch, walking over to the chair beside it to perch on the edge of its arm. There was only one reason he could think they would show up asking about his whereabouts. “Is Rose okay?”
“Funny you would ask about her.” Calvin plopped next to the other officer, not waiting for an invitation. “Did you pay her a visit last night?”
Shit. Something had happened to her. Max folded his arms, tightly gripping his elbows and breathing deeply. It wouldn’t do him any good to yell at Calvin and demand to know what happened. The officer was determined to find Max guilty of something. He turned to the other cop, looking at his name badge. “Officer Jet, please tell me Rose is okay.”
“She’s fine, just shook up a bit,” he confirmed, relieving Max’s anxiety. “We do need to know where you were between midnight and seven this morning.”
“Seriously?” Max stood back up. “Did Rose say I did something? The last time I saw her was at the store around five. I never saw her after that.”
“Where were you?” Calvin asked, a sneer on his face.
“Here, in bed.” Max paced the length of the coffee table a few laps and then stopped, wondering if that some
how made him look guilty. “After I left the gas station, I came straight home and stayed here all night. You can ask my mom.”
Calvin snorted. “Did she sleep in your bed?”
“Of course not, you damn pervert!”
“Calm down,” Officer Jet said. “All he meant is that your mom can’t entirely alibi you if she was in a different room. Did you sleep alone last night?”
Max closed his eyes. They were determined to see him as a criminal, no matter what. “Yes, I was alone. I went to sleep around eleven-thirty, after the news. I never left the house.”
“Thanks for the story.” Calvin stood and headed for the door, Officer Jet trailing behind him. “Stay away from Rose. We’ll be in touch.”
As soon as the door shut, Max’s mom came into the living room, puffing out a plume of smoke. “What did you do?”
Sally Kensington still wasn’t over the fact she had become the town pariah due to Max’s conviction. She never let him forget how hard her life had been because of him. To be fair, she was a good mom, but the last eight years had been hard on her.
“I didn’t do anything, Ma. I don’t even know what happened. Something to do with Rose, but they said she’s okay.”
Sally walked across the room to stub her cigarette out in the already overflowing ashtray. “You stay away from that girl, son. She’ll only bring you pain. If I realized she worked the late shift, I wouldn’t have sent you for my smokes.”
Max lay on the couch, stretching his legs out and staring at the ceiling. “All this time, Sage was right.” He could still see the hurt in Sage’s eyes that night before it turned to anger and she slapped him, scratching his cheek in the process. “I told her she was a stupid, jealous little girl, who I’d never love as more than a kid sister. I told her not to spread lies just because she couldn’t handle the fact I loved Rose, not her.” Max closed his eyes. “It’s the last thing I ever said to her.”
The couch dented in as Sally sat next to his legs. “I’m sorry, son. I know that eats you up inside.”
“The worst part is, Sage told the truth.” He looked at his mom to see her frowning.
Murderous Lies Page 2