by Sarah Barrie
‘No,’ she said again, this time with a definite tone to her voice.
‘One?’
‘You’d have to get in line. Connor, I firmly believe we’re chasing Adam Mansfield, and no word of a lie, this guy is as dangerous as they come. If by some weird twist of fate you do get near him—and I don’t say this lightly—get the hell out of there.’ Her hand shook a little as she replaced her cup on the saucer and she laughed humourlessly. ‘I’ve spent most of the night looking at the violently murdered victims of a satanic sociopath. The last thing I probably need is caffeine.’
‘Can you prove it’s him yet?’
‘You know I can’t discuss the details of the investigation with you.’
‘He was in there with her, doing those things …’ He swallowed back the bile. ‘She went through all that while I was sleeping peacefully upstairs.’
Indy sighed heavily and chewed her lip in a way he knew meant she was debating something with herself. ‘Okay, look. She didn’t suffer it out the way the other victims had. I’m gathering that even gagged, he must have been worried she’d make too much noise. It looks like he strangled her. The other injuries are post mortem.’
At least that was something. ‘Thanks. So what’s next?’
‘He’s not getting out of the state. We’ve got his picture everywhere and we’re going public with a plea for information as to his whereabouts. The media are posting his image on the news tonight in the hopes someone might have seen something.’
‘Indy. Sorry to disturb you.’
‘No, it’s fine. Hi, Jared.’
‘Hi,’ Connor echoed, recognising the policeman from Jules’s case. ‘How are you?’
‘Good, you?’
‘Not too bad. What are you doing here?’
‘Actually,’ Indy said, ‘Callie spotted him keeping an eye on her case up in the Hunter. She wasn’t sure who he was so I had her work up an image with a sketch artist. I was pretty sure it was Jared when I saw it. And sure enough …’
‘You were up there? Why?’
Jared performed a one-shouldered shrug. ‘My father ran the Waldron case down here years ago. He was never really happy with the outcome. When Paisley was involved in that case last year, I thought I’d keep a bit of an eye on the trial. See how it played out.’
Connor thought there must be a bit more to it than that. ‘Why?’
‘Let’s just say he’s not a big fan of the Waldrons,’ Indy told him. ‘But Jared’s knowledge of the area and people is proving to be very useful to the current case.’ She got to her feet. ‘I’ll see you later,’ she told Connor, then gestured for Jared to walk with her.
‘Was that Jared?’ Tess said, appearing behind him. ‘I wonder what he’s doing here?’
‘Hopefully making progress,’ he said. ‘What’s up?’
‘I have to take a group out to Mt Field.’
‘Be careful.’
‘I will. And the group I’m taking includes half-a-dozen built male hikers, so don’t stress, okay?’
He nodded, deciding to take the remainder of his coffee up to his office. He was behind in more ways than he wanted to think about. He’d left Logan with Travis and Matty, and hoped his brother had that under control. He went up, let himself in and sat at his desk, dragged his hand over his face. A friend, an employee, had been murdered, but he still had a business to run. With everything that had been going on, there was more to do than usual.
He didn’t leave the office for the rest of the day. When his eyes started playing tricks on him and exhaustion had his brain fogged to the point of uselessness, he finally got up and went in search of Callie. At least that part of the business had run smoothly.
She looked neat as a pin in black silk pants and a jade green shirt. Her dyed hair was straight and tidy around a face painstakingly made up—he knew now—to hide the light smattering of freckles that would give away her true colouring. For a moment he wondered if she was real or if his mind was playing tricks. But she gave him a smile that turned sympathetic—he knew he must look like hell—and strode across the foyer to greet him.
‘Rough day?’
‘Just what you’d expect. You look like a dream.’
‘What kind?’ she said with an attempt at humour. ‘Because I think if I don’t eat soon I’m going to become a nightmare.’
‘You didn’t have lunch?’
‘I somehow lost track of time.’
He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead to hers. ‘I realise you don’t really want to do this. So thanks.’
‘You know I don’t mind,’ she said, her arms linking around his waist. ‘Have you heard anything else?’
‘The police are going public on Adam, appealing for information.’
‘When?’
‘Evening news.’
Her arms dropped and she stepped back. ‘Uh-oh.’
‘What?’
‘Connor, you haven’t even told your staff yet. How are they going to feel when they find out about Kaicey on the television?’
He swore and shook his head. ‘I hadn’t thought that far.’
‘You need to call an emergency staff meeting.’ She checked the time. ‘In half an hour.’
And here we go again, he thought, admiring the way she could morph into motel manager. ‘What am I going to tell them?’
‘The truth.’
* * *
Callie stayed on reception duty while the staff gathered in the staff room. She hoped the fallout would be manageable. Connor had asked Indy to come back and address them with him and she’d returned just in time, due to having to pre-record a news piece. Guests milled in and out of the guesthouse, but there wasn’t enough to do to keep Callie occupied.
Time ticked over slowly until eventually the staff began filing down the hallway with red eyes and dull expressions, some quiet, others whispering, some sullen, others anxious. Connor came out last, with Indy and Logan. It was difficult to figure out who looked worse.
‘How’d you go?’ she asked.
‘As expected,’ Indy answered. ‘I think I’m going home for a soak and a glass of wine. I need a break. Hey, you haven’t managed to remember what was on that envelope by any chance?’ she asked Connor.
‘I thought you were taking a break. And no, just that it was black.’
Black envelope? Callie frowned, but even as she wondered what was going on, she murmured, ‘“The longest night”.’
‘Yeah—that was it,’ Connor said. ‘How did you know?’
‘Dale and Lisa had them.’
‘Do you know what happened to them?’ Indy asked with interest.
‘Um … I don’t know what happened to Dale’s. I gave it to him and he took it away somewhere. Lisa had hers in her bag. How do you know about them?’
‘Because Kaicey got one too,’ Connor told her.
‘They all had them …’ Indy’s gaze moved past her shoulder and was thoughtful. ‘Where did you see Kaicey’s?’
‘She was playing with it in reception. You don’t think she was after that, do you?’
‘It wasn’t anywhere obvious,’ Indy said. ‘But we didn’t go through all your filing cabinets.’ They went into the office. ‘Does anything look out of place?’
‘Everything is. There was—’ shit, he didn’t want to say it, ‘—blood spatter. Things were thrown out, wiped clean, reorganised.’ But he looked around and after several moments spotted something on top of one of the shelves. ‘That.’
Indy pulled on a glove and took the shoebox down. ‘This isn’t yours?’
‘Never seen it before.’
She took off the lid, lifted a note from the top. ‘“In case anything happens to me”,’ she read and flicked through, finding the black envelope and some photos Callie couldn’t get a good look at before Indy replaced the lid. ‘Excuse me,’ she said. ‘I’ve got work to do. See you later.’
Stiffly, Callie moved her head to the side, grimacing as she tried to loosen the knot that
had formed there.
‘We should call it a day. No one’s checking in or out now and we’ll be back in the office tomorrow.’
‘Okay.’ She massaged her neck again. ‘The news was just on.’
‘And?’
‘And I’m not sure if Indy told you but she didn’t mention Calico Mountain in the statement, she just referred to Kaicey as a “local resident”.’
‘Which would be why the phone isn’t running off the hook.’ He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. ‘Will you stay?’
‘Here?’
‘Please. I’d feel better if you were close by, just for the time being.’
‘Okay,’ she said. She didn’t really want to go.
‘Thanks. I have a couple of things to finish off down here. Go on up, shower, and I’ll be there soon.’
‘Okay.’
She felt a bit strange about being in his apartment without him, but she found herself a towel, had that shower, then wrapped herself in his robe and had just decided to sit in front of the television to wait when he came through the door. He stopped, looking her over in a way that had her skin tingling.
‘How is that sexier than the little black dress from the party?’ he wondered out loud.
‘I have no idea. What’s that?’ she asked of the small bottle in his hand.
‘I’m going to fix that neck.’
‘It’s not that bad.’
He smiled in a way that said he didn’t believe her and put the bottle on the table. His warm palm slid up her neck, his fingers probing and kneading before delving into her hair to massage her scalp. Her eyes closed of their own volition.
‘I take it back,’ she groaned. ‘Don’t stop.’
He stepped behind her and continued to work on her neck and her shoulders. Large, warm hands, exerting just enough pressure to find and relax the aches and kinks. She was drifting, swayed. Then she squealed as her legs were swept out from underneath her. She hung on as he carried her over to the bed and gently put her down.
‘Lie down. Let me do this properly.’
‘You’re as exhausted as I am.’ She scrambled to get up, but a moment later she was somehow exactly where he wanted her, a firm hand on the base of her spine holding her in place. ‘You’ll undo all my good work. Stay still.’
When those hands went back to working on her they were slick with oil. There wasn’t enough strength left in her to argue with the heat spreading through her veins. When the progress of his fingers was interrupted by her robe, she slipped out of it to give him full access to her back. He continued working right down to her toes. By the time he worked his way back up, his mouth trailing his fingers, she’d moved past relaxed and right up to out of her mind.
‘Stop squirming,’ he murmured against her skin. ‘You’re meant to be relaxing.’
‘I think I’ve been as relaxed as I’m going to get. Unless …’ She sat up, twisted and pressed her mouth to his, then moaned in approval as those strong hands moved to her waist and pulled her hard against him. ‘Unless that.’
‘I aim to please. Let me get that sorted for you.’ He went to work. When she awoke the next morning the bed was empty and the shower was running, so she got up, scavenged in Connor’s wardrobe and found a shirt to wear that fell below her knees. She’d just gotten into it when he came out of the bathroom.
He stopped, looked her up and down, grinned. ‘You look like a child in that.’
‘You’re bigger than me. This was not the largest shirt you had in there.’
He pulled out a suit and draped it on the bed.
Her smile dropped. ‘That’s formal for you. I’ll have to put on yesterday’s clothes.’
‘You’re not.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I’ve already sent your clothes down to the laundry. You’re staying put.’
Her hands went to her hips. ‘I’m not lying around up here all day like some kind of sloth. Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘You put that idea in my head, I won’t get a thing done. But you’ll be more comfortable up here for the next couple of hours than down there.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Media. And they’re out for blood.’
‘Oh.’ She pressed a hand to her stomach.
‘I’ll try and give them enough to satisfy them this morning, and hopefully they’ll leave before too long. Order up some breakfast, relax. Unless you want to add fuel to the fire by letting them know Caroline Johnson is here.’
‘Absolutely not.’
But by the time she’d had breakfast she was already getting impatient. She opened the window and heard the chaos on the guesthouse steps, heard Connor directing the reporters into the staff room—most likely to stop the spread of panic to the guests. Then she called down to Tess, but couldn’t get through for several minutes.
When she did, Tess sounded flustered. ‘I’m dealing with everything from mass check-outs, to demands for refunds, to reporters, to people just being nosey. I’m supposed to be running activities this morning and I don’t have time to breathe.’
‘Can you divert any calls up to Connor’s apartment?’ Callie asked. ‘I can’t do anything else up here.’
She heard the sigh of relief over the phone line. ‘Thank you! It might free me up enough to call in someone else to run activities.’
By lunchtime everything had calmed down to a manageable level and Callie had her clothes back. She got changed and noted just one media van still packing up in the carpark. She watched from the window as it drove away. Then she went downstairs to see what was going on. There was a tightness in her chest from the media presence, a feeling of claustrophobia from being pinned down in Connor’s apartment. The lunch sign was on the reception desk, so she assumed that’s where Tess had gone. There was no sign of Connor. He’d be around, probably busy, so although she knew she’d only need to call for him to find time for her, she didn’t want to bother him.
Instead she went outside and walked through the new gardens, checking on the plants. They looked good, healthy. So she walked around the established ones next, got an idea for tidying, pruning, replacing, adding. She couldn’t garden in her current clothing—it was one of only two office appropriate outfits she had with her—she’d need to go back to the Hunter Valley at some stage, organise for everything in storage to be shipped down, sold off or thrown away. That had seemed like such a monumental task, something to dread whenever she’d thought about it. Now she couldn’t wait to get on with it.
It was time to begin her new venture. Between Connor and Waldron Park, her life felt fuller than she would have thought possible six months ago. A new business, a new relationship. How could she have been lucky enough to have such an amazing second chance?
She was anxious to see what value the real estate—damn it! She’d promised to be at the house when the agents came through. She checked the time, relieved to see she still had enough to get back.
She raced up to Connor’s apartment, grabbed her things and scrawled him a note. Then she went to Waldron Park, met the real estate agent and opened the place up for them to look around. The agent suspected there was rot in two of the bathrooms, and there was a smell that could be detected in some areas of the house, suggesting a problem with rodents. Light was a problem. But she was pleased when the gardens were mentioned as a plus. When they were finished, she went back to Calico Mountain and spent the rest of the afternoon in the office.
She had just decided to leave when Paisley called to give her the figure the estate agents had put on the house. It was a lot, but it was manageable.
‘I’m going to get a loan from the bank,’ Paisley said, ‘so we can go halves in the renovations. I’ve ordered a structural report and a pest inspection for next week. And I’ve set up a meeting with the solicitors for when I come down next, so assuming you’re still happy to go ahead, we can get it rolling officially. This is so exciting! I can’t wait to get down there.’
Assuming she was still happy? She coul
dn’t let Paisley down now. It had probably been premature to jump in so quickly, but she’d just have to hope the reports weren’t disastrous.
By the time she got off the phone, Connor had appeared.
‘Hey, you’re still here.’
‘I had to go home, but now I’m back. You didn’t get my message?’
‘If it’s in the apartment, I haven’t been in there. Anything I need to know?’
‘Yep. Three staff members have called in sick. Said they can’t possibly come in tomorrow.’
‘It’s been a big shock for everyone.’ He sat, resting his elbows on his knees. ‘I can understand they’re grieving, but the place has to keep running.’
She rubbed his shoulders. ‘And to you, the guesthouse is your life, but to your staff, it’s a job. I would guess because they don’t know very much about the circumstances of Kaicey’s death, some of them might even feel scared it could happen to them.’
‘Indy filled them in.’
‘She didn’t tell them more than she had to though, did she?’
‘No. She can’t risk the case by giving away too many details. We’re just lucky we’ve got you.’
Callie smiled as he stood and pulled her into his arms. ‘I have some news.’
He leant back to look at her. ‘Is it good?’
She laughed a little. ‘I’m going halves with Paisley in Waldron Park. We’re going to turn it into a bed and breakfast.’
His face lit up. ‘Hey, that’s great—congratulations!’
He seemed genuinely excited for her. She gave a long internal sigh of relief.
‘I’ll bet Paisley’s thrilled?’
‘Understatement. I’m going to get moving soon. Get over there and keep playing around.’
‘Which staff aren’t coming in tomorrow?’
‘Meghan, Amy and Gemma—the new cleaner. Why?’
‘I’ve just placed an advertisement for a new assistant and a receptionist. I think two people is sensible considering neither will know the ins and outs of the place for a while.’
‘I agree.’
‘I contacted the temp agency for temporary staff to fill in in the meantime, but after all this, I don’t like my chances. I was hoping I could convince you to help out a bit longer—just until I’ve filled at least one of the positions.’