by B. J Daniels
“I hope you find her killer,” Mac said as he handed Shep the package. “Her death must have been hard on Charlie.”
“It was.”
* * *
CHARLIE RUSHED TOWARD the restaurant exit, determined to escape as quickly as possible. She threw open the door, practically throwing herself out as well, and crashed into a woman who’d apparently been standing there waiting for someone. It wasn’t until she looked into the woman’s face that Charlie realized who this woman had been waiting for. Her.
With a jolt of horror, she found herself face-to-face with her dead stepsister.
Charlie was actually holding on to Lindy’s arm to steady them both and looking directly into the blue eyes she still saw in her nightmares.
The shock of it immobilized her.
Lindy pushed her off and rushed into the crowd of Christmas shoppers. Charlie stared after her, mouth agape. Caught so completely off guard, for a moment she didn’t even realize what she was holding in her hand—the blue scarf Lindy had been wearing. She must have grabbed hold of the scarf as Lindy pushed away from her.
The woman had been Lindy. There was no doubt. No ghost. Flesh and blood. Lindy was alive—as impossible as it seemed. And Charlie was holding her scarf.
Only seconds had passed. She could still see Lindy making her way through the crowd. Maybe it made no sense, but the one person who could provide the answers wasn’t going to get away. Not this time.
Charlie started after her. She’d always been faster than Lindy when they were girls. She would catch her.
But before she could get two steps away, someone grabbed the sleeve of her coat and swung her around.
She found herself looking into Amanda’s angry face. The woman reeked of alcohol and seemed to be having a hard time standing without holding on to Charlie’s sleeve. Charlie tried to free herself from Amanda’s death grip on her coat sleeve. She was still shaken, not just from seeing Lindy, but actually colliding with her. That surprised look in Lindy’s eyes... She hadn’t planned on that happening either.
“I want to talk to you, bitch,” Amanda slurred, grabbing hold of her again. “Now!”
“Not a chance in hell,” Charlie said, and tore Amanda’s hand from her sleeve. Turning, she hurried down the sidewalk, still hoping she might be able to catch up to Lindy.
But in the few blocks to her apartment, she didn’t see Lindy again.
Thanks to Amanda’s clawlike hold on her coat sleeve, she’d missed her chance. Lindy had gotten away. Again.
But in Charlie’s hand was the scarf—Lindy’s favorite. She stopped trying to make sense out of it as she reached the steps to her apartment. Her heart was thundering in her chest. Lindy was alive.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“YOU DO REALIZE it couldn’t have possibly been Lindy,” Shep said reasonably after Charlie had finished telling him what had happened.
“I have her scarf to prove it,” she argued.
He’d bagged the scarf, hoping the lab would be able to get DNA from it. Now Charlie paced her small apartment, angry and upset—mostly at him. He’d never seen her this worked up.
“I was within inches of her face. I looked into those blue eyes. I was holding on to her. I have her scarf. Her favorite scarf, by the way.” She took a frustrated breath. “I was so close that I could almost feel her heart beating. She was...real. Solid. Flesh and blood.”
“I’ve never doubted that whoever you saw was a real person—just not Lindy.”
“It was her though,” Charlie cried. “They were wrong about who died behind the house that night. It couldn’t possibly have been her. I just saw her and she’s alive. Come on, Shep, I haven’t seen the autopsy photos, but I heard that she was brutalized,” she said. “Isn’t it possible—”
“That someone else was killed behind your house and Lindy just took off and has now come back? Charlie... I know what you think you saw—”
“I know what I saw. How do you explain it?” she demanded, hands on her hips.
She looked so damned cute that he almost laughed. But as stirred up as she was, he didn’t dare. “I can’t explain it yet.”
When she’d come in the apartment door, she’d rushed into his arms. She’d been trembling. He’d held her close and breathed in...perfume. Only Charlie didn’t wear perfume. But maybe her friend Tara did. Or maybe...
He could still smell the scent on his shirt. “Smell this,” he said, moving to her and holding out the collar of his shirt.
“Seriously?” she asked, as if it was some kind of trick.
“Just smell it.”
She did and stepped back abruptly, eyes wide. “That’s Lindy’s favorite perfume.”
“I had a feeling it was. You said she seemed to be waiting outside the restaurant for you. She must have followed you there. What do you know about Lindy’s extended family?”
“Nothing. Neither Kat or Lindy ever mentioned any relatives.”
“I was just thinking she might have had a cousin who looks enough like her to fool you when you had only got a few seconds to really study her.”
Charlie shook her head, getting more angry with him as if he was only trying to distract her. “The cousin would have to be a dead ringer for her.”
She stopped pacing to stare at him. He saw the change in her as if she’d suddenly shifted gears. “When I told you about Amanda confronting me outside the restaurant, you got a funny look on your face. Why were you in such a weird mood earlier?”
“Now look who’s changing the subject.” Shep chewed at his cheek for a moment, studying her. “Are we going to be honest with each other now?”
“I thought we were,” she said slowly.
“I saw you get a call after fighting with Daniel. A few minutes later you walked down the street and into a bar. Your boss followed you.”
“Wait, you spied on me?”
“When I called you, I was already at your office. I was excited about the news I had to give you. I saw you take a call and then Greg came out of the building and followed you right down to the bar.”
“You thought we were what? Hooking up?” she demanded.
“That’s definitely how it looked.”
Charlie shook her head. “I thought you knew me better than that.”
“So did I.”
She swore, eyes narrowed. Flames could have shot from those dark depths. “The call, for your information, was from Tara, my friend from work, asking me to come early to the shower because Amanda was headed there. She couldn’t bear spending any more time with her than possible. I was trying to decide if I had time to come back here for the gift I left here since I’d forgotten the shower completely or just go and save Tara. I stepped into the bar to get out of the snow and shoppers to think.”
“Things didn’t go well with Daniel.”
She glared at him. “You said you were there, so I don’t think I have to tell you how things went.”
He nodded sheepishly.
“That’s when I happened to see Greg headed in my direction. I stayed in the bar, waiting for him to pass. I had no idea he was following me.”
“Why did he follow you?”
Charlie sighed. “I thought it was just a coincidence. He insisted I have one drink with him. I tried to get out of it, but he knew I had plenty of time before the shower. When I told him I didn’t, that I needed to come back here for the gift, he offered to come with me. So it seemed having a drink with him was preferable to bringing him back here.”
“It doesn’t sound like he gave you much choice,” Shep said. “Whatever he wanted to talk to you about must have been important.”
“His bad choices in women? I have no idea what he was leading up to. I changed the subject, finished my wine and got out of there.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, you weren’t the only one to see Greg come after me. Tara sai
d that Amanda saw him, which probably explained her rotten mood at the shower. I hope he doesn’t try to talk to me again about whatever it is.”
“Sounds like he might want your advice on whether or not to marry Amanda.”
She groaned and plopped down on the couch. “That’s what I’m worried about. Isn’t it bad enough that I have a dead woman stalking me? The last thing I need is to be caught between Amanda and Greg.”
“I’m wondering why Lindy was waiting for you outside the restaurant,” Shep said. “Maybe whoever is behind this didn’t get the reaction they’d hoped for from the earlier sightings—or even the doll.”
Charlie rolled her eyes, still angry with him for not accepting that the woman she’d seen was the dead Lindy. “I’m more concerned with what she’ll do next. We need to find her before she finds me again.”
Shep couldn’t have felt more inept. “I’m trying to track down as much information as I can, but I have to admit, I’m at a loss. Maybe it’s time to turn it over to the police.”
“What does the judge say?”
“That the police can’t do anything, probably won’t take it seriously since there has been no real threat.”
“Sounds like we need to do this together,” Charlie said.
“You have a job. I’m off right now. You should concentrate on that.”
She looked as if she was going to argue so he quickly changed the subject.
“So what are you going to do about Daniel?”
As if on cue, Charlie’s phone rang. She took the call in her bedroom.
When she came back out, she was dressed in jeans and a sweater. She’d pulled her hair up and formed a messy ball of it at the nape of her neck. He didn’t think she’d ever looked more beautiful.
“I’m meeting Daniel,” she said. She headed into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Turning to him, she offered, “Beer?”
He shook his head. After the argument he’d witnessed, he found it hard to believe she was going out with Daniel. “How did you meet this guy anyway?”
She seemed to hesitate. “In a bar. He said he saw me from across the room and...” She looked up. “You’re just going to make fun, aren’t you?”
“No.” He said it softly, gently. “I’m curious is all, okay?”
“Curious? Or you think he’s behind the Lindy sightings? I already told you, I met him several months ago—long before I saw her the first time.”
He nodded. “How much does he know about you?”
“If you’re asking what I think you are, nothing. I never told him I even had a stepsister. All I’ve told him is that I lost my parents, ended up in foster care for a while, got into trouble and a judge turned me around.”
“He never asked anything specific?”
“No. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Daniel isn’t behind this.”
“And you know that how?”
“I just know it.” She let out a frustrated sound. “It’s so obvious that you don’t like him and you’ve never even met him.”
He knew the wise thing to do was bite his tongue. “I’m not impressed, if that’s what you’re asking. I think he’s all wrong for you.”
She laughed. “Really?”
“You want him to be the guy, but in your heart, you know better. He’s not good enough for you.” Neither is your boss, he wanted to add. Because he suspected Greg wanted more from Charlie than advice about his love life.
“You realize that you sound...jealous?”
“Jealous? The guy’s a jerk.” He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Daniel or Greg or both. “Sorry, but I know one when I see one. I’m just trying to save you from a life of heartache—not that this relationship will last that long.”
She glared at him. “How can you say that?”
He stepped to her and took both of her shoulders in his hands. He felt that familiar tingle. “Because ever since I got here, not once have I heard you say that you’re crazy in love with him or that you love him at all. I think you want this to be the perfect love story, but you know the truth in your heart. It’s why you haven’t moved in with him.”
* * *
CHARLIE COULDN’T BELIEVE THIS. She felt her exhaustion, frustration and anger mix into a dangerous brew. “You come walking in here and within a few days, you know what’s right for me?” She opened her mouth to argue that Daniel was the one, but only ended up sputtering, she was so angry. “You know nothing about it or me. And...and what makes you an authority on relationships? From what you’ve told me, you’ve had only one and look how it ended.”
“I’ve witnessed enough of them.”
“So you aren’t in a relationship.”
“Not at the moment, but—”
“That’s what I thought.” She let out a bark of a laugh. “But you’ve already decided that Daniel is wrong for me based on your vast...experience?”
“I can see that I’ve upset you.”
“You think?” Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and saw that it was Daniel. “I’ll take this in the other room since it is none of your business.”
“He’s calling to either cancel or ask you to pick up something on your way over to his house for the night,” he said after her.
She slammed the door, the sound echoing painfully through the apartment. She heard the man who lived directly downstairs yell a curse. “I was just heading to your place,” she said into the phone.
“That’s why I called.” For a moment she thought he was going to change his mind about her coming over to talk. “I was thinking...”
Charlie held her breath. Don’t let Shep be right.
“I’m sorry about earlier. Not seeing you, being with you... Well, it’s been driving me nuts. So I’m glad you’re coming over.”
“Me, too,” she said, relieved.
“You’ll be here soon?”
They only lived a few blocks from each other. She was looking forward to a night away from her apartment and Shep. “I’m on my way.”
“Great. Hey, I just had an idea.”
Don’t let Shep be right.
“Would you mind picking up something for us at that takeout place you like? I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to go to the store so there is literally nothing to eat here. I’ll call and it will be ready and paid for. Say you don’t mind.”
Charlie groaned inwardly, before murmuring agreement. She disconnected, angry at herself for not telling him to go get the food himself. But then why should he have to go out in the storm when she was headed that way anyway?
What made her grind her teeth was that Shep had been right. But was he right about why she hadn’t moved in with Daniel as well?
She half expected to see Shep grinning when she came out of the bedroom. He’d called it, but then again, he didn’t know that.
When she looked at him, she saw that he didn’t seem to be pleased about anything this evening. He seemed distracted and out of sorts, which wasn’t like him.
She realized that he’d thought the news he’d brought her would exonerate her from Lindy’s death. He’d expected her to be happy and finally free of all of it. Shep was trying to help her. She wished she hadn’t argued with him about Daniel.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she said, only to have him merely nod. “I shouldn’t be too late.” She headed toward the door for her coat and boots when she saw him get up and start doing the same.
“Where are you going?” she asked as he pulled on his coat.
“I’m going with you.”
“What?”
“I told you. I’m not letting you go out in the storm alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll be with my boyfriend.”
“Right. Daniel. Unlike you, I’m not sure he isn’t involved in all this. Even if he isn’t, I’m at least walk
ing you to his place.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I told you, he doesn’t know anything about my past.”
“You don’t think he could have done some research on you?”
Charlie groaned. “What are you going to do? Stand outside his apartment house?”
“Don’t worry, you won’t see me.”
But she would know he was there, she thought angrily as she watched him reach for his Stetson. Once a ranch boy, always a ranch boy, she thought.
“Ready?” he asked as he snugged the Stetson down on his thick, dark hair. “Don’t want to keep lover boy waiting.”
She growled under her breath.
“I forgot to ask you,” he said as she buttoned her coat. “Was your boss sick from the mousse, too?”
“You know, I never got a chance to ask him,” she said. “But Amanda told me he’d called in sick and he hadn’t come to work until the afternoon.”
“Sounds like with the day you had there was no chance to ask him,” Shep said sarcastically.
She shot him a look. “It didn’t come up at the bar, okay?” His tone made it clear he was still upset with her. He couldn’t possibly think that she was interested in Greg.
But unless she’d lost her sixth sense, it appeared that Shep was jealous not just of Daniel—but Greg.
* * *
CHARLIE ARRIVED AT Daniel’s house with the food. She’d walked the four blocks through the falling snow. She knew Shep was somewhere behind her but she didn’t turn around to look. If he wanted to get cold and wet, far be it from her to stop him.
She’d made a decision. After a very long day, she was ready to tell Daniel the truth. About Lindy. About Shep. She couldn’t keep this from him any longer.
Common sense told her to wait until she wasn’t so emotional, so exhausted, so over everything. But in her weakened state, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop herself.
“Here, let me help you,” Daniel said as she stepped through the front door of his apartment. He took the food into the small kitchen while she shrugged out of her coat and boots. She’d noticed that his roommate Jason’s car was gone, which meant she and Daniel would be alone.