by K. J. Emrick
“Darcy.” Jeff’s voice was clipped as he stopped in front of her. What had she done to get up his nose this time? “I know you’re probably riding high on all of the attention you’re getting right now for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again. But that doesn’t give you the right to steal what’s mine.”
Irritated, she crossed her arms under her breasts and stared him down. “For Pete’s sake Jeff, what are you talking about now?”
“Photos. I’m talking about photos. The ones you stole from me. The ones from in the box you gave me the other day. Some of the photos are missing. Where are they?”
“Seriously? That’s what’s got you so upset? I have no idea where they are, Jeff. Why would I want your lousy photos?” She’d had enough. Sidestepping him she stormed past without looking back.
“This isn’t over Darcy!” he called after her. She rolled her eyes as she kept walking. What was up with Jeff and his quest to find those photo’s. She sure didn’t know why he was so fixated on finding them.
Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it if she had no clue where they were.
When she got back to the shop Sue met her with a wink and a half-smile.
“Where did you go to?” Sue asked her. “Were you off talking to Jon?”
“No. Of course not.” Darcy sat down at one of the three reading tables in the store and rubbed her temple where a small headache was forming.
“I think that he’s cute,” Sue went on about Jon. “Everyone thinks so. It’s really nice to have a new guy around this town. I mean, he’s a little old for me, and I do have Randy, but he’d be perfect for you. Don’t you think he’s cute?”
“No, I don’t.” Just then Smudge jumped up onto the table and meowed loudly in her face. She hadn’t realized that her cat was in the store. She shook her head at him and said, “What? I do not think he’s cute.”
Sue chuckled nervously when Darcy spoke to Smudge. Darcy was well aware of how Sue thought it was kind of odd the way she talked to him. She laughed, trying to put Sue at ease. They got back to work and Darcy went back to making her plans for getting into the police station.
Chapter 8
That night Darcy went over to Grace’s house. She was nervous knowing that she was about to lie to Grace. It was for a good cause, she kept telling herself, and if she ever found out what Darcy had done her sister would understand. Eventually. Grace lived in a very nice upmarket apartment in Seelander Court which was close to the center of town with her husband Aaron. Darcy timed her visit for just after dinner time. Timing was crucial to her plan.
“Uh, hi Darcy. What are you doing here?” Grace said at the door with an uncertain smile.
Oh no, that hadn’t been too friendly. Darcy smiled and said something about just wanting to visit with her sister and then stood there uncertain what to do next. When she hesitated Grace said, “Are you coming in or not?”
She turned away from the door and walked back into her apartment. Darcy quickly stepped inside and shut the door.
She followed Grace into the dining room. Grace’s husband was clearing dinner dishes away. “Hi Darcy.” Aaron smiled at her over his shoulder as he balanced plates and bowls in one hand. They had just finished dinner. Perfect timing.
“Hi Aaron.” She looked from one to the other of them. “Sorry, is this a bad time?” Grace speared her with a narrow-eyed look and then went back to wiping the table clean. Aaron picked up the last of the plates and carried the stack of them into the kitchen leaving Darcy and Grace alone. Grace was very quiet and Darcy felt a bit awkward.
“Um,” she started. “I wanted to say, about this morning, I’m sorry I pushed you. I understand that you’re bound by law and can’t share information with me.”
“Thank you,” Grace said slowly, while eyeing Darcy a little suspiciously. With a sigh she finally came around the table to pull her into a hug. “It’s alright Sis. You are who you are. I know that you can’t stop yourself from wanting to help.”
For just a moment Darcy let herself enjoy the comfort of her sister’s embrace. Then she stepped back from Grace, careful to keep her smile in place. It just didn’t feel right, lying to her sister this way. “I’m glad you understand. I’m alright, really. I want you to know that. I, um, I have to run now. I can see myself out.”
She began to walk out of the dining room and then stopped. She turned back to Grace. This was the part of her plan that would be tricky. “Um… I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Could you maybe spare me some leftovers before I go?”
Grace rolled her eyes at Darcy. When Grace walked into the kitchen Darcy bolted for the front hall in search of the police department keys. A small row of key hooks was attached to the wall just inside the door, with car keys and house keys and there next to them, the keys she needed. Quietly, she grasped them and slid them off the hook and into her pocket. Her throat was dry and her pulse pounded in her ears. She’d done it, though. No turning back
She waited in the living room until Grace came out from the dining room, a plastic container of something in one hand. She shook her head as she handed the food to Darcy. “Come earlier next time. We’ll set a place for you. You know I love you, right Sis?”
Darcy could only nod as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She gave Grace a one armed hug and quickly left. She knew Grace would be furious if she ever found out what Darcy had just done. It was the only way, though. She had to know what had happened to Anna.
Misty Hollow was a small town, and the police department building was only staffed by two officers from seven at night until eleven, when the midnight patrols came on duty. During those hours the place was locked up and anyone needing assistance had to either call the emergency cell phone that one of the officer’s carried, or push a big yellow call button at the front of the building. It was the only window of opportunity she was going to have.
Darcy had some time to kill before she would be able to get into the police department undetected. At least a couple of hours she figured. She didn't want to go all the way back home so she headed to the book store. Might as well eat the dinner Grace had provided and do some brainstorming on Linda's missing cat mystery while she had some time. She had made a promise and meant to keep it. Darcy knew she would be frantic if it was Smudge that was missing.
But before she could get to the store, it was as if her thoughts had conjured him up, she spotted Smudge up ahead in the distance. He was just sitting there in the middle of the sidewalk with his head held up sniffing the air. What on earth was he up to?
She watched him for a few moments more before he darted off in the direction of the industrial end of town. Where was he going? Without thinking, holding the plastic container tightly in one hand, Darcy scurried after him.
She hadn't realized before this that it was surprisingly difficult to keep up with a cat when he was on a mission of some sort. And Smudge was definitely on a mission. What was that cat up to?
She followed him as he raced off across lawns and sidewalks until he got to the narrow street that led away from town toward the section comprised of large warehouses and storage facilities. Out of breath and suffering from a painful stitch in her side, Darcy lost him around about there. He could certainly move and Darcy was no slouch in the fitness department but still couldn't keep up with him.
She took a few minutes to catch her breath. Looking all around her she tried to see if she could catch a glimpse of Smudge but it was now too dark, the sun having set completely while she was on her mad dash through town.
Darcy could hear a dog barking madly in the distance. Did that have something to do with Smudge? She hoped not. The dog sounded really mad but she knew her cat could take care of himself. There wasn’t much she could do about it anyway. She didn’t see where Smudge went and it was too dark to see anything anyway. Even if she knew which way he went she probably wouldn’t find him now.
She turned around in the direction of the center of town and wan
dered along at a leisurely pace, letting her thoughts churn in her mind. Where did Smudge get to? Where was he going? He’d looked like a cat on a mission. Darcy guessed that she didn’t know the half of what that cat got up to when she wasn’t looking. He was always getting out of the house somehow and she had no idea how he was doing it.
As she entered the main town square she could see a patrol car parked up the street a little way. She couldn’t see who was actually in the car as the face was in shadow. But the way her senses went into full alert she knew without a doubt it was Detective Jon Tinker. She debated whether or not to turn around and walk back in the direction she’d just come from when she told herself not to be so silly.
She would just walk right on past without acknowledging him at all. Taking a deep breath, she put one foot in front of the other and soon she was level with the patrol car. Darcy couldn’t seem to help herself as she drew level with the car. A quick glance sideways to see if she was actually right had her inhaling sharply.
Sure enough.
Jon Tinker was sitting there behind the wheel spearing her with such an intense stare that she felt it all the way down to her toes. She almost stopped, mesmerized by his eyes that in the lighting from the street lamp looked almost black. He looked like some sort of God sitting there unmoving, just staring at her.
Breathtaking. She silently scolded herself for her fanciful meanderings. The fight or flight instinct finally kicked in and she scurried away from the car as quickly as she could and didn’t stop until she was inside the bookstore. She leaned against the door for support as she sucked in air.
He had the most peculiar effect on her.
At just after eleven pm Darcy went straight to the police department. She couldn’t see any lights on and the place certainly looked deserted.
At the back she tried one key after another in the lock. The third one worked, and checking left and right just to make sure no one had seen her, she slowly opened the door and quickly stepped inside. She pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and switched it on.
Something jumped at her from the shadows. Hand over her mouth she only just managed to stifle a scream. She followed the darting shape with the beam of her light until it came to rest on the impassive black and white face she knew so well.
“Smudge!” she gasped at him, her heart rate ratcheting up a notch, and then laughed silently at herself. It was just her cat. Where had he come from? She hadn’t seen him since he’d given her the slip earlier. She wagged a finger in his face. “You and I need to have a serious chat later boyo. Where did you get to earlier?” He just looked at her blankly. “Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m saying.” He shook his head and sniffed.
She calmed her racing heart and went over to the row of filing cabinets. Using the smaller key on Grace’s key chain she undid the lock at the top of the set marked “Current Investigations” and opened it up. At the front of the drawer was a brown accordion folder marked with Anna’s name.
The file contained a brief report on the fog, which had been so bad that night that the main roads going in and out of the town had been closed for safety. Interesting. A few pages back she located the coroner’s report which said that Anna’s time of death was nine o’clock. That would have been right when the fireworks were going off. The report also said that she had died of two gunshot wounds to the chest. Small caliber. Almost no blood.
That explained why Darcy hadn’t realized in the beginning that Anna had been killed. At first she’d thought, that Anna had just died as she hadn’t seen any evidence of blood on Anna’s body. She remembered hoping that the dream she’d had was just a dream and not a premonition.
Oh, poor Anna.
Darcy wiped a few tears away from her eyes. She then set the file down on a nearby table and read the report on Anna’s house. There had been no sign of a struggle, which indicated that Anna probably knew her attacker well. There were also two cups of tea on the table, which would indicate that she had been with someone she knew when she died. Darcy shuddered at the thought that someone she probably saw every day right here in town had killed Anna.
There was also the envelope of money on the table, which hadn’t been taken out of Anna’s bank account. There was also a list of people’s names in the report, all of Anna’s friends in the town. Darcy’s name was on the list as well. The list had handwritten notations after each name. A list of alibis, she realized. It seemed that practically everyone was at the ceremony at the time of Anna’s murder.
Darcy ran a hand through her dark hair. She’d been sure that this report would tell her something important. Something she needed to know to solve this mystery. This was all just confusing facts and notes. Angrily she slapped the report closed. Who had done this to Anna?
The sound of keys rattling in the front door startled her.
She quickly shoved the file back into the cabinet and pushed it closed as she shut off her flashlight. There was no time to get to the back door again. Racing across the room she slid under Grace’s desk, hoping that she would be able to hide there without being seen. For one panicked moment she thought maybe it was Grace coming to find her but then she remembered she had Grace’s keys. Whoever this was had used a key to open the door.
And then Smudge rubbed up against her. She nearly jumped out of her skin as he silently curled into her body, hiding just like she was.
The lights flickered on and she saw a pair of men’s feet and legs walk past her hiding place. Blue slacks, shiny shoes.
She heard the man walk over to the filing cabinets and she poked her head out just enough to see who it was. Jon. It was Jon. He was taking out the file on Anna. Then she pulled back quickly when he turned around. She held her breath and listened to him walk over to his desk. Her mind flashed to their encounter earlier that night when she’d seen him in the patrol car. An involuntary shiver shook her body at the memory. What if he found her here, somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be? What would he do?
She relaxed when she heard him turning the pages of the report. She really hoped he wasn’t going to be long, she didn’t want be stuck under the desk all night.
He began humming to himself. It was some tune she could almost identify but not quite. A little while later she heard him finally stand up and put the file away again. He crossed the room, passing her hiding spot, and flipped the lights off. She heard the door close and lock again. He was gone.
Darcy sighed with relief. Now she just had to get out of there.
She threw the keys she had stolen onto Grace’s desk hoping that Grace would assume that she just left her keys at work the day before. She went out the back door the same way she had come in. She didn’t feel like she’d accomplished a thing.
Smudge followed her, rubbing at her legs like he was trying to encourage her. “Easy for you to say,” she told him.
Chapter 9
The ticking of the clock was lulling Darcy into a light sleep.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She was so warm and comfortable. Sighing deeply, she relished the feel of the warm sunshine on her face. Snuggling down deeper into the soft wool blanket beneath her, she could feel herself falling further asleep. A gentle breeze was ruffling her hair. It was so nice here.
"You should be careful you don't burn dear."
The gentle female voice brought her back from the brink. Darcy cracked an eye open and turned to her left to see her Aunt Millie sitting in a white wicker garden chair gently rocking backwards and forwards in time with the ticking clock.
Today she wasn’t wearing the black dress that was her usual attire when her spirit presented herself. Instead she had on an old fashioned vivid white silk dress with ruffles all around the bottom and on the edges of the sleeves. Though her steel gray hair was up in its tight bun, like usual.
No chance of her burning in the warm sun as shading her was a hand held parasol sporting all of the colors of the rainbow. She looked relaxed and glorious as the colors intensified
and seemed to swirl about her. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world. And Darcy supposed that she didn't.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Stretching, Darcy yawned. Sitting up she opened her eyes properly and looked all around to see the where that annoying clock that was ticking so loud was situated. That was odd. She couldn't see one anywhere. But she could hear it.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
"What is up with that clock!" Annoyance tinged her voice as she looked all around once again.
"Oh come now dear. You know what it means."
Darcy shook her head. "No I don't Aunt Millie."
"Time flies over us but leaves it shadow behind." Darcy whirled around to her right. Smudge was lounging back on the blanket leaning nonchalantly on a front leg and was casually picking at his claws.
"Where did you come from?" Darcy was perplexed. He hadn't been there a moment ago.
“Nowhere, somewhere, around.”
“Around?”
"I'm always around Darcy, you should know that by now."
That was true enough. He seemed to appear from nowhere sometimes like he did at the police station.
Darcy knew now that she was in the midst of a dream. Smudge could only ever talk to her in a dream state. Aunt Millie for the most part too.
"Why don't you just relax while you can dear?" Aunt Millie's voice was soothing and Darcy laid back on the blanket once again to stare at the brilliant, clear blue sky. Colors were always so much more vibrant in this dream state. She sighed.
"You sound troubled child."
"I am Aunt Millie. Anna was murdered."
"Yes, I know dear."
“You can’t turn back the clock. The clock will only turn forwards into the future.”
“What does that even mean Smudge?” Darcy was met with silence. She sat up impatiently turning toward her cat. But he was no longer there. That was a short visit.