Murderous Intent and Deadly Desires

by Angela C. Blackmoore

  Abby sniffed. “I don’t weasel, Lanie. I just happen to be around when people start talking or doing things. It’s not my fault. Besides, you know I’m innocent. I was sitting with you the whole hour during the town hall break, so you know I had nothing to do with it. It’s not like you have many people you can say that about. You might want to think about using Gabe, too. He was with us, and you know he’s trained in law enforcement as well. I bet he’d help if you asked.”

  Lanie mulled over Abby’s words as she bit her lip. “Maybe. We’re kind of short on manpower, and practically the entire town is a suspect. It’s been slow going.”

  “Good, you think about it. In the meantime, I have to go pick up Cheerio from the vet.”

  Lanie frowned. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, he’s okay. Just getting his after-cast check-up,” Abby said. “Otherwise I would have brought him with me. You know how he loves to see people.”

  “I do!” Lanie said, grinning. “Tell him Reggie and I will be up to play with him soon. I think Reggie is competing with Gabe for Cheerio’s affection.”

  “I will,” Abby said as she got out of the sleek police car. She came around the side and leaned down. “By the way, Sam told me to tell you he supported you, too. He says you wouldn’t take their word for it, but they think you’re ready for this investigation.”

  Lanie got an obstinate look on her face, but it slowly dissolved as she thought about it. “Really? I thought they were just picking on me.”

  Abby nodded. “Yes, for real. He said that’s what you thought, too, but he seemed earnest to me. You should give them a break and let them help you.”

  “Okay, Abby. Thanks, and I will. Maybe I’ve been too defensive about this.”

  Abby nodded and patted the side of the car before turning and leaving the garage. Hopefully she had helped her friend. She’d check in with Lanie in a few days, but first she had to go pick up Cheerio.

  Chapter 3

  Cheerio barked and danced around in a circle before rubbing himself against Abby’s legs.

  “Who’s a good boy?!” Abby said while scritching his flanks aggressively and then patting him hard.

  He loved a little roughhousing around Abby’s legs, looking up at her while she stood over him. She thumped his chest a few times before standing up and smiling at the vet. “How is he doing, Doc?” Abby asked as she stepped toward the counter.

  “He’s doing just fine, Abby,” the man said as he handed her a small bag. “Here are some dental chews. Just make sure he has a few of these a week. It looks like his gums could use the cleaning but other than that, he looks like he’s in good health.”

  “Do you think I should brush his teeth?”

  “That’s in the bag, too,” the vet said, smiling. “A brush and some toothpaste. I hope you use them. Most folks around here laugh at me when I ask them to brush their dog’s teeth. Some do it, but most just think it’s a bit too crazy.”

  “I bet Gini Moore’s not one of them,” Abby said, grinning. She’d met the older artist and her dogs, Putter and Driver, a few weeks ago at her gallery, and she didn’t seem the type to skimp on her dog’s health.

  The vet grinned just a bit wider. “Oh, no. No, but I do have trouble getting her to feed her dogs things other than people food. I think those dogs eat better than I do.”

  They both laughed as Abby paid the vet bill. She looked at the numbers and paused, remembering what Hazel had told her about the Morgan family treasure. She’d blocked it out of her mind amidst the chaos of the past week, but she realized that she couldn’t put it off. Hazel needed her answer, and it wasn’t fair for Abby to let her grandmother wait too long.

  Except, she hadn’t decided what she wanted. There was nothing that could have prepared her for being told that her grandmother was filthy rich with some long-forgotten treasure, and that she was going to be the heir. Truthfully, she wasn’t even related to Hazel except for the fact she had been married to her grandson, Dan Morgan. She shouldn’t have any claim at all to an inheritance, much less some fantastic treasure, yet that was exactly what Hazel had asked her to become.

  “Mrs. Morgan? Is everything okay with the bill?” the vet asked carefully.

  Abby looked up, smiling as she pulled herself out of her moment of reverie. “Oh, yes, sorry,” Abby said, handing the man her debit card. “I was just thinking about something else. No, the bill is fine. Excellent service as always.”

  “Good,” the man said. “Bring him back in about a month, but honestly he’s doing fine. His paw has completely healed. Good thing for him, because he’s such an active dog.”

  “You can say that again,” Abby said before heading to the door. She waved goodbye to the vet while holding the door for Cheerio and headed for Gabe’s truck. She needed to go pick him up from work soon. They might even go on a small hike before he took her back home.

  As she got into the truck, she saw a folded up piece of paper under the windshield wiper. Curious, she got out to retrieve and open it. As she read, she began to feel a hole open up in her stomach.

  We are going to get you.

  The note was scrawled in bad handwriting that she could barely read. She read it over and over again, just in case she was misreading something, but no, there it was. ‘We are going to get you.’ She felt a chill roll up and down her spine as she looked around. There was only one other car in the parking lot, and that belonged to the vet.

  Quickly, she ran back inside the vet’s office, startling the man who looked up in alarm. “Did you see anyone outside by my truck?” Abby asked, breathless.

  The vet shook his head. “No. It’s been a quiet day and I’ve been in the back with Cheerio until you got here. Why?”

  Abby handed the man the note. “Because I found this on my windshield.”

  She watched as the vet opened the note with a frown, but slowly his eyes widened. “Oh, my,” he said, then looked back up at Abby. “No, I didn’t see anyone, but we have a security system that watches the parking lot. Maybe it got a look at who did this.”

  Abby nodded, but then looked back toward the door. It was probably just some of the Association people being mean, but what if it wasn’t? What if it was something darker? Abby mulled over the Association. They were a group of townspeople that were trying to make something like a homeowners association, but for the entire town. Unsurprisingly, not everyone was as enthused as they were about being told what to do. Were any of them willing to threaten someone else? It scared Abby, and when she turned back to the vet, he could see it in her eyes.

  “Maybe I should call the police, Abby,” he said seriously as he picked up the phone.

  She nodded and then went to sit down on one of the waiting room chairs while the vet talked on the phone. Pulling her own phone out, she dialed the number for the ranger station. It didn’t look like she’d be able to pick Gabe up soon.

  Chapter 4

  “You did the right thing, Abby,” Gabe said as he held her close. After getting a call from Abby, he’d had Ben drop him off rather than wait for Abby to get free. He was sitting in the seat next to her and the chair arms made it a little awkward, but he did his best to hug her. “It’s probably just some disgruntled townsperson trying to play mind games with you, but it’s not worth finding out the hard way.”

  “He’s right, Abby,” the sheriff said as he leaned on the vet’s counter. He was waiting for the vet to get the security footage called up on his antiquated system. “Too much stuff has happened in the past few weeks for me to suggest anyone blow this off. With the senator involved, it just makes things that much more tense.

  “I’m ready, Sheriff,” called the voice of the vet from the back room.

  “Okay, Oscar, we’ll be back in a second,” the sheriff called back, then turned to Abby and Gabe. “Come on back, you two. I want to see if you recognize whoever it might be. The more eyes the merrier.”

  They both rose and followed the tall, lanky sheriff into the back room of the vet’s
office. It looked like half the space was used as a supply and cleaning closet, and there was barely enough room for the four of them to fit. Oscar, the vet, stood in front of a boxy contraption with several lights and knobs and a very small, black and white screen that seemed to be frozen on the parking lot of the clinic.

  “Okay, I can’t say as this will be the best video in the world, but hopefully it shows us who put the note on your truck. The cameras are pretty visible on top of the building, so I can’t promise anything.”

  “That’s okay, Oscar, just roll the tape,” the sheriff said in his slow drawl.

  With that, the man pushed a button and the tape began to move forward. It was very hard to see anything on the small screen, but they all watched intently until a figure made an appearance, moving toward the truck. Whoever it was, the person was wrapped up against the cold in a down vest and thick hoodie pulled low. It was clear the figure was aware of the camera, because the person’s face was turned away, angling sideways a few times in an effort to hide from the camera.

  The figure came up to the driver’s side of the truck, and then reached over with gloved hands and slipped something under the windshield wipers before retreating quickly off camera. That was it.

  Sheriff Pearson looked at them with his brows low and a frown on his face. “I don’t suppose either of you recognize that person?” he asked.

  Abby and Gabe exchanged glances but both of then shook their heads. “Not anyone I recognize, but under that hoodie and vest, it could be anyone,” Gabe said.

  “I think it was a woman, though,” Abby suggested, although she wasn’t certain.

  “What makes you say that?” the sheriff asked.

  “The cut of the jeans. Even though the vest and hoodie were pulled down, it looked like women’s jeans to me. That and the way she walked, I think. That or an effeminate guy.”

  The sheriff frowned as he wrote down what she said. “Good thoughts. Oscar, can you rewind that and let us see it again?”

  The vet nodded and played with some more controls for a few moments. It wasn’t all digital as Abby expected, but at least they’d gotten a look at the person. After a few moments, the video played again and they all leaned even closer, trying to see more detail. However, the mysterious figure had been good at hiding who they were and they gleaned no more details than before.

  “Oscar, do you mind if I take the tape or whatever this is stored on?” the sheriff asked. Oscar nodded, then popped out what looked like an old VHS tape. The sheriff looked at it and shook his head before sliding the tape into a manila envelope. “Good thing we have some old tape players lying around. Oscar, might I kindly suggest you update your equipment? I’ve thought about throwing those things out about fifty times already, and it’s a good thing I was too lazy to do it.”

  Oscar shrugged and grinned. “Sorry, Sheriff. It’s not like I ever expected to use it. It’s just there to keep the kids from hanging out in the parking lot.”

  “I understand,” Sheriff Pearson said, chuckling. “Well, you never know, but just think about it.” He paused and turned toward Abby and Gabe. “May I also suggest you keep your eyes open for the next few days? The fact that they used we as part of it leads me to believe it’s not just one person. I hate to say it, but it’s probably just more of the Association’s shenanigans. Still, a lot of those Foundation people are still hanging around and they may be behind it as well. Since they failed in ousting the mayor, they may be trying to take things in a different direction.”

  Abby grimaced. The Red Pine Falls Urban Renewal Association had been the group that Don Buckshire had headed up in order to ‘guide’ the town in using the Foundation’s grants for improving the community. It was a supposedly benign group, but one that had been twisted to protesting and threatening anyone that refused to join. The participants had been led to believe that if they didn’t get most, if not all, of the town’s populace as members, then the grant money that had been promised to them would be pulled.

  Since so many of them had already contracted, and used, some of the money to start home and business improvements, it had made many of them angry and scared. It was a dangerous combination that would make even the most peaceful townsperson do crazy things.

  To Abby, it had all been part of the master plan of Senator Clark. The vile man had established the Foundation of Oregon Urban Renewal and come to Red Pine Falls full of promises of free money. He’d turned that into a full attack on the mayor who had been threatened with a vote of confidence. One that might very well have ended up with the man losing his job and being replaced by Don Buckshire.

  The plot had been foiled by the brutal murder of Don Buckshire at the very town hall where the vote of confidence for the mayor was just about to happen. She still remembered the livid look on the senator’s face when he’d stormed out of the town hall.

  Now the grants had been stalled, and people were more terrified than ever. The out-of-state workers that had been performing much of the work had begun making noises about being paid, and this, in turn, had made the people of Red Pine Falls even more off-balance. It was not a good combination.

  Now, she might be on the block for revenge.

  “Abby,” Gabe said as he slipped his strong arms around her shoulders. “Let’s get you back to the island. I don’t think going on a nature walk is a good idea right now.”

  Abby nodded, letting Gabe lead her out of the vet’s office and help her get into the truck. Cheerio was happy to see them both, but Abby could only give her dog a cursory pat before slumping into the seat, deep in thought.

  Chapter 5

  When they pulled up to the bridge, both Abby and Gabe looked glumly at the road closed sign sitting in front of the concrete barricade that sat like a troll in the middle of the bridge. Abby let out a huge sigh and got out so that Gabe could go park the truck at the marina. With Cheerio trotting next to her, she walked out onto the middle of the short bridge and leaned against the heavy rails that ran along the expanse.

  Cheerio whimpered softly, then nuzzled against Abby’s thigh, sensing her distress. He didn’t like how she was right now. It reminded him too much of how she acted for a long time after Dan had passed. Finally, he waffled up at her and nudged her hand with his wet nose.

  “Sorry, Cheerio,” she said softly. “I know you don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t believe everything that is happening right now. Between the senator, his Foundation, the latest murder, and this stupid bridge being closed, I just don’t know what to do.”

  Cheerio blew out air from his nose and then put his paws on the lower rail of the bridge, putting his face closer to Abby’s as his mouth opened. His breath turned to frost as he breathed out, trying once again to nuzzle her sadness away.

  Finally, Abby reached out and petted his head though it didn’t feel the same with her gloves on. Still, the dog appreciated the gesture, closing his eyes and reveling in the touch for a moment before lowering himself off of the rail and sitting next to her in companionable silence. For her part, Abby returned to watching the water moving slowly under the bridge.

  It was deep and black, reflecting the overcast skies above, broken only by the occasional leaf or bit of debris that floated by.

  Who could possibly be out to get her, she wondered to herself. She was just about to dismiss the issue, but after thinking about it, she realized there were several reasons that someone might be out to get her.

  One was the treasure. She’d already heard plenty of rumors about it, and even Mr. Wilberson had complained often enough of having to drive people off the island who were looking for it. She’d also been instrumental in solving several murders here, not to mention confronting a gang of bikers. If Abby was being honest with herself, there were more than a few reasons for the wrong people to be angry at her.

  Maybe coming to Red Pine Falls had been a mistake.

  But then her eyes fell on Gabe as he walked across the field from the marina where he’d parked his truck. He smiled, a
nd she could see his boyish dimples even from this distance. This man had come into her life when she needed him the most, and she felt more and more love for him with each passing day. She still remembered the feeling of him when he’d tackled her into the brush on the first day she’d met him.

  At the time, she’d not appreciated the gesture, but he was saving her from Buck Danson taking a shot at her with his hunting rifle. She’d been angry at the time, but even after they’d started their relationship, she hadn’t told Gabe how much she thought about rolling around in the brush that day.

  Rolling her eyes at herself, she waited for him to make the bridge and then mosey over to her, leaning on the railing right next to her and nudging her with his shoulder. “Hey,” he said, smiling at her.

  She smiled back, then wrapped her arms around his and leaned into him, putting her head on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said back softly, nuzzling against his fleece coat.

  “You going to be okay?” he asked, concern for her weighing in his voice.

  She didn’t answer but shrugged, instead.

  In answer, he disentangled himself and then pulled her into a warm hug. “It’s going to be all right, Abby,” he said into her hair as he kissed her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Abby said into his chest. “It might just be some idiots, but it might be someone the senator sent, right?”

  “Abby, the senator isn’t going to send ninjas or something after you.”