by Cindy Stark
“Holy crackers,” she whispered.
She wasn’t sure she’d fixed the lock, but she’d definitely done something. Only time would tell if she’d dug her grave or not.
Whatever blast had rocked her had also blown out the candle. She quickly stuffed her items into her purse, peeked out to see if the area was clear, and then she stepped from behind the trees. She strolled casually back to the truck so that if anyone saw her walking, they wouldn’t think she was behaving erratically.
She hurried to climb inside Peter’s truck and then slumped down in the seat. She fired off a text telling him they’d be late for their appointment if they didn’t get going. Nothing suspicious about her message should Timothy see it.
A few moments later, Peter climbed into the truck, his face a mask of calm emotion.
She envied him that. “You do calm very well, Chief Parrish.”
He started the engine and pulled out onto the street. “Thank you. Did the spell work?”
Her gut told her it had. “I believe so.”
She was dying to know what had happened inside. “Everything with Timothy go okay?”
“Yep.”
“That’s all you’re going to give me?”
“For now? Yep. I need time to cool down before we have a proper conversation about everything I’ve learned this morning, and we have a wedding planning appointment to get through first.”
He was angry. She could see it in his aura and sense it in his words. She couldn’t blame him, although she hadn’t been able to think of any other way out of the situation.
She wanted to explain but knew, if she tried now, things could explode in her face. She’d have to bide her time, get through the appointment, and then pray that Peter would understand.
Twenty
By the time they arrived at Audrey’s, Hazel sensed Peter’s frustration and anger levels had barely decreased. She had to take his hand as they strolled through the garden to the table where Hazel had met with Audrey before. He didn’t pull away, but she knew that didn’t mean she was forgiven.
Audrey waited there for them and greeted them with a smile. She held out a hand to Peter. “So nice to meet you, Peter. I always try to picture what the groom will look like before I meet him, and I have to say I came close this time. You, two, make a beautiful couple. I sense that you’ll have a happy marriage.”
Hazel blushed.
Peter gave her a friendly smile. “I feel the same.”
She was impressed with his stoic composure and how well he was at acting. His ability to hide his emotions must serve him well in his job, but she worried about what he’d had hidden beneath.
Audrey indicated two wicker chairs. “Have a seat.”
Peter waited for them both to sit before he claimed his chair.
Audrey opened her notebook and glanced over what she’d written. Then she turned to Hazel. “I’ve secured the church for your selected date.”
Hazel beamed. One huge hurdle crossed. “That’s great.”
She turned to Peter. “I don’t think I mentioned that we’re actually taking Katelyn and her former fiancé’s date.”
He lifted his brows. “Is that so?”
Audrey nodded. “Sadly, not everyone is as strong of a couple as you are.”
Hazel took Peter’s hand and squeezed it. “Katelyn has really had a rough go of it lately. First, she broke up with her fiancé and then her best friend was murdered.”
Audrey’s expression grew empathetic. “A terrible tragedy. I’m sure Brandt is broken up about it as well. From what I hear, he knew Valerie quite well, too.”
Hazel’s pulse paused. “Brandt? Her fiancé’s name was Brandt?”
Audrey nodded. “Brandt Williams.”
Peter tightened his grip on her, and she turned to see him staring intently at Audrey. Their minds were on the same track. “Why did they break off the marriage?”
Audrey gave them an apologetic smile. “I really shouldn’t say. It’s their business.”
Hazel held her gaze. “She told me he cheated on her.”
Audrey hesitated and then nodded. She leaned close to whisper. “With one of her good friends. Katelyn was quite broken up about it.”
Hazel gripped his arm. “Oh, my gosh, Peter. I just realized I left the water running outside at my mother’s house. It’s probably flooded everything by now.”
The surprised look on Peter’s face fit perfectly with her plan. “You did?”
Hazel turned toward Audrey. “I’m so sorry. We need to reschedule. My mom is out of town, and I would hate to have her come back to a mess. Please, charge us extra for your time.”
Audrey gave them an understanding nod. “You’d better go.”
She took Peter’s hand and dragged him away from the table. “Really, so, so sorry. I promise I’m not usually this much of a flake,” she called over her shoulder.
By the time she and Peter were halfway down the garden path, they were running.
“Katelyn?” he asked, his breathing labored as he helped her into the truck.
“It all makes sense,” she answered, her voice also challenged by running and excitement.
The ride back to town seemed to take forever, but each avenue they discussed as they drove fit perfectly in line with Katelyn as the murder suspect.
As they neared the police station, she worried that she needed to stake her claim. “I’m coming with you.”
He nodded without question. “She works most afternoons. We’re headed straight to the store.”
Hazel grinned, grateful that he hadn’t pushed her away. “Are you planning to confront her straight up or try to corner her?”
“I think a blunt, face-to-face question is best. She’s not a strong person. If she’s confronted directly and she’s guilty, she won’t be able to hide it.”
Late afternoon sun poured down on her and Peter as they exited his truck and strode toward the grocery store.
Instead of heading for the checkout counters where Hazel could clearly see Katelyn, Peter directed her toward the back. “We’ll need to ask Bill to cover for her before we question her. Can’t do it in front of the world.”
“Good thinking.”
Peter knocked on the manager’s door. A few moments later, a short, portly older man with thinning hair opened it.
“Bill, can I ask you to relieve Katelyn for a bit? I need to speak to her.”
Bill drew his bushy brows together. “Of course. Anything I can do to help?”
Peter shook his head. “Nah. I’ve got it covered, and hopefully, this will just take a minute.”
The manager seemed uncertain, but he complied. They followed him as he waddled up to the front area. Before Bill could head to the checkout counters, Peter grabbed his elbow. “We’ll be out front. Could you send her our way?”
“Of course.”
They exited the building, and Peter pulled Hazel a few feet away from the main doors. A few moments later, Katelyn stepped out into the bright light and glanced around. When she spotted them, a puzzled expression crossed her face.
She walked slowly toward them. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Hazel sensed nothing but grief coming from her, and she suddenly doubted they had the right person.
Peter gave Katelyn a reassuring shake of his head. “I just need to ask you a question. Didn’t want to do it in front of the customers.”
Katelyn glanced back and forth between them, seeming uncertain. “Okay.”
Peter held her gaze for several long moments, and she wondered if he was giving Katelyn plenty of time to grow nervous. The pause certainly sent her anxiety skyrocketing.
“Katelyn?” Peter asked in a terribly serious voice. “Did you kill Valerie because she slept with your fiancé?”
Hazel blinked. Talk about blunt.
Katelyn didn’t move, didn’t speak, and Hazel wondered if he needed to repeat the question.
Without warning, Katelyn turned and dashed across
the parking lot. Peter shot a surprised look at Hazel and then took off after Katelyn. Hazel kicked it into high gear, too.
Katelyn had made it to the grass along the edge of the parking lot before Peter closed in. From out of nowhere, a black and gold furry body flew between them, biting into Katelyn’s ankle.
Katelyn screamed as she tumbled head first onto the grass and rolled. The German Shepherd climbed onto her back and sat. Peter caught up to her a half second later.
“Katelyn Travis, I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Valerie Lindquist. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
He finished reading Katelyn her rights and then helped her to her feet. “If you promise you won’t run, I won’t cuff you.”
Tears streamed down her face, and she wouldn’t look at either of them. She shook her head, and Hazel took that as a promise she wouldn’t run. Not that she could with a damaged ankle, and a proud German Shepherd ready to tackle again.
As Peter called for a police unit to meet them, Hazel approached the wily Cannon, certain the dog would take off. She held out her hand and took slow steps. When she was near enough, she wrapped her hand around his collar and petted his head. “You’re a real good boy. Do you know that? I think you’ll make a fine detective one day.”
Epilogue
Hazel sat on the porch swing in her backyard, slowly rocking, her mind racing over the upcoming conversation with Peter. Skittering nerves pulsed below her skin. Katelyn’s arrest had forced them to postpone their talk about what Hazel had learned in the library, and Hazel feared time wouldn’t be on her side.
The sound of Peter’s truck pulling into her drive caused her to stiffen. She forced herself to breathe and willed her shoulders to relax. Peter was a reasonable man. Once she explained herself, he would understand.
He’d have to.
She’d sent him a text earlier, telling him where he could find her, and she listened for his footsteps. When she sensed he was near, she looked up.
A spark lit in his eyes, but he didn’t smile.
She wanted to run to him, to apologize profusely and promise she’d never do anything so crazy again, but she couldn’t.
Instead, she stood and walked toward him. “Hey,” she said softly.
He lifted his chin in acknowledgement. “Hey.”
When she reached him, she took his hand. He pulled her tight against him, and she wanted to cry with relief. “I’m sorry, Peter. I don’t mean to make you worry.”
He leaned back and tilted her face toward him. “You know I love you, right?”
She nodded.
“You know I would die if anything happened to you, right?”
Emotion welled behind her eyes. “Yes.”
He crushed her against him. “Please don’t ever let that happen. I couldn’t bear it.”
She hugged him tightly to her and inhaled the sexy scent of his cologne. “I didn’t mean to cause you heartache, but I can’t be who I’m not, either.”
“I know,” he said, his lips against her hair.
She pulled away and tugged him toward the swing. “Come sit with me. Tell me what happened with Katelyn.”
They sat, and he wrapped his arm around her. “She cracked like ice under running water.”
Hazel chuckled at his description.
“Katelyn had discovered her fiancé had been cheating on her and broke it off. It wasn’t until the day of Valerie’s murder that she discovered Valerie’s roses had been sent by her ex-fiance. Valerie confessed to her that they’d been lovers. Apparently, it was enough to send Katelyn over the edge.”
Hazel covered her mouth in surprise and shook her head. “That’s…crazy. Poor girl. I could practically taste her pain, but I’d thought it was from the loss of her best friend. In reality, the betrayal must have made it so much worse.”
Peter stroked the back of her hand. “She said she was glad it was in the open, that she couldn’t take much more hiding it from the world.”
“Sometimes paying the penance for what you’ve done is easier. I’m always amazed at how relieved some felons are to be caught.”
He chuckled. “You wouldn’t think it would make sense, but it does.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know we need to talk about what I found in the library.”
He hesitated. “Yeah. It’s been on my mind a lot since yesterday.”
She shifted her head so she could see him. “I think the Sons of Stonebridge killed your wife, Peter.”
He gazed toward her yard and the forest beyond. “Could we call her Sarah instead? It’s hard to think of her as my wife after how she lied to me.”
She could understand that. “Of course. Even so, I can’t imagine you don’t want to get to the bottom of it.”
“Oh, I do. If they murdered her, there will be hell to pay. Regardless of how she tricked me, she was a decent person and didn’t deserve that.”
“I’d wager that was true for all the witches persecuted here in Stonebridge. Maybe justice for them will help heal the past.”
“Your quest, right? To heal the past?”
She nodded. “I feel compelled to the depths of my heart to do exactly that.”
He sighed. “Then I’m compelled to help you.”
Her heart swelled, overflowing with love. “Which is why you are the perfect man for me.”
He chuckled, the sound creating more threads in their tapestry. “I guess, for better or for worse, we’re meant to be together.”
She turned to him and grinned. “For better or worse. I can’t wait to say those words to you.”
He placed a passionate kiss on her lips. “Me, either. Though I have a suspicious feeling life will never be boring.”
She wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Who wants boring anyway? For tonight, let’s just be happy. Tomorrow, we’ll start our official investigation into the Sons of Stonebridge and their nefarious activities.”
He kissed the side of her neck, sending shivers racing through her. “Deal.”
****
Click here for Elemental Eight, Book 8 in the Teas and Temptations Series.
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If you enjoyed reading this book, the greatest gift you can give me is to tell a friend and leave a review at Amazon or Goodreads. It helps others find stories they might love and helps me to continue pursuing this crazy writing career.
Thank you and happy reading,
Cindy
The End
Book List
TEAS & TEMPTATIONS COZY MYSTERIES (PG-Rated Fun):
Once Wicked
Twice Hexed
Three Times Charmed
Four Warned
The Fifth Curse
It’s All Sixes
Spellbound Seven
Elemental Eight
BLACKWATER CANYON RANCH (Western Sexy Romance):
Caleb
Oliver
Justin
Piper
Jesse
ASPEN SERIES (Small Town Sexy Romance):
Wounded (Prequel)
Relentless
Lawless
Cowboys and Angels
Come Back To Me
Surrender
Reckless
Tempted
Crazy One More Time
I’m With You
Breathless
PINECONE VALLEY (Small Town Sexy Romance):
Love Me Again
Love Me Always
RETRIBUTION NOVELS (Sexy Romantic Suspense):
Branded
Hunted
Banished
Hijacked
Betrayed
ARGENT SPRINGS (Small Town Sexy Romance):
Whispers
Secrets
OTHER TITLES:
Moonlight and Margaritas
Sweet Vengeance
About the Author
Award-winning author Cindy Stark lives with her family and a sweet Border Collie in a small town sh
adowed by the Rocky Mountains. She writes fun, witch cozy mysteries, emotional romantic suspense, and sexy contemporary romance. She loves to hear from readers!
Connect with her online at:
http://www.CindyStark.com
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5895446.Cindy_Stark
https://www.amazon.com/Cindy-Stark/e/B008FT394W