The River's Secret Page 22

  He nodded and I picked up his bill. “I'll pay this, you go take care of Mrs. Towers.”

  Doc shook his head and said, “Too many changes.” He waved at Ron who was taking the tourists' orders and left.

  It was nice to sit by the window. I could see the entire downtown area. All the businesses were opening; clerks swept the sidewalks in front of their shops. Arroyo was a pleasant little town and I was glad to be its police chief.

  I watched as Jay came out of the card store and walked toward the diner. No skyrockets, no throbbing pulse or shortness of breath. Just a sense of calm, a comfy feeling. He was dressed in all black, mysterious, good-looking, and available - I could do worse.

  He sauntered through the front door, grabbed a cup of coffee from Ron, and slid into my booth. “Good morning, Chief.”

  I smiled. “Good morning, Jay. How's the writing going?”

  “Outstanding! I'm three-fourths of the way through my fifth novel.”

  “That's great.”

  “I've been writing like a demon. This is the first break I've taken in days.”

  I shook my head. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”

  His smile turned into a grin. “I couldn't be dull if I tried.”

  “I hear a challenge in there.”

  “Ah, you're in a good mood.”

  “Just glad to be home.”

  “We missed you around here.”

  “I thought you were busy writing?”

  “I always miss you when you're gone, Chief.”

  “How about calling me Connie?”

  “How about going to dinner and a movie in Parsonville with me tonight?”

  “I'd love to.”

  He coughed, spitting coffee on the table.

  “I'll take that as a yes. Pick me up at five.” I got up to leave. Jay stared after me, wiping coffee off his mouth and nose. That must be the first time I got in the last word. It felt good.

  Now to the office, talk to Samantha, find the owners of the left-over bones, and move on with my life.

  My cell phone rang before I could leave the diner.

  Chapter 27

  I took the phone out of my pocket and stared at it. Not another call from the Jackal. I was done with him.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Connie. It's Sheryl.”

  “Oh, hi Sheryl. How are you feeling?”

  “Good.”

  “Are you still in the hospital?”

  “No, they let me out this morning as long as I promised to take it easy for a few days,” she said. “I’m actually calling you from the plane. I should be back in D.C. in a few hours.”

  “Are you going to be staying with Matthew in D.C.?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That's great, Sheryl.”

  “Thanks, Connie.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Have you seen William since you left here?”

  “Yeah, he stopped by my house last night.”

  “Okay, that explains it. He was supposed to have a conference call with the New York office this morning and he didn’t call in. That's not like him. They called Matthew and I called the airlines and learned that he didn't take his flight back to D.C. and now I know why. Did he stay with you?”

  “No, Sheryl. He left after only a few minutes.”

  “Oh, I'm sorry, Connie.”

  “About what?”

  “Nothing,” she said with a sigh. “Matthew will catch up with him when he checks in at the office. Oh, by the way, I've got the printouts from the different cities in front of me. Remember you asked me to check for similar conferences or anything that would make someone visit these specific cities?”

  “Yes, did you find anything?”

  “No. There's nothing that connects them all. Two had medical conferences during the time that the women were killed and three have amusements parks. But there's nothing they all have in common, except having the same chain stores, malls, restaurants, and places like that.”

  “Another dead end.”

  “I'm afraid so. They're just random cities in random states.”

  “That doesn't help you figure out where he's going next.”

  “Nope.”

  I said goodbye to Sheryl and closed my phone. Let them chase the Jackal. I was done. On the way out the door, Ron handed me one of Erma's Scrumptious Oatraisin Cookies.

  He smiled and said, "Some things shouldn't change."

  I ate the cookie in two bites. It was still warm from the oven and delicious. Some things shouldn't change, I nodded to myself. When I came into the office, Bob sat with his feet on his desk, fast asleep.

  I put my fingers to my lips as a signal to Aaron and Matt, my other two officers, to keep quiet.

  I crept over, leaned on Bob's desk, and pushed his feet on the floor.

  When they hit the floor, he yelped and fell out of his seat.

  Aaron and Matt laughed. I smiled at Bob. “Good morning, Bob. When will Samantha and her parents be here?"

  He checked his watch. “In about ten minutes.”

  “Perfect. Come on in to my office and I'll tell you what you should say to her.”

  “What?” He jumped up. “I thought you would talk to them.”

  “I will speak with the parents, but you'll speak to the daughter.”

  “But, Chief,” he whined.

  “Shut up, Bob, and follow me.”

  Aaron and Matt were still chuckling as I left the front office with Bob skulking behind me.

  I walked through my office door, saluted and winked at my dad's picture, and sat down at my desk. Bob took the chair in front of my desk.

  He started to speak, but I put my hand out. “Just listen.”

  “Samantha's fifteen years old. She wants a life. Her parents want her safe. Explain this to her. I'll try and get her parents to agree to group dates. If I have to, I'll offer to chaperone a few of the first group dates if that will make them feel any better.”

  “But I…” Bob stuttered.

  “You can do it, Bob. I have total faith in you.”

  His eyes widened. “You do?”

  “Of course.”

  Bob sat up a little. “Really?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He sat up tall in the chair. “Thanks, Chief. I won't let you down.”

  “I know you won't.” I pointed to the door. “Let me know when they get here.”

  “I'll do that.” Bob left my office with a huge smile on his face.

  My office phone rang and I picked it up. It was Dr. Cain.

  “Okay,” he said. “I'm officially on record and say each girl was stabbed twice and one of them was hit on the back of the head with a hard jagged object, probably a rock.”

  “And that caused their deaths.”

  “Yes. I stayed up all night, re-did all my measurements and tests. One of stabbings was a rather sloppy job. I saw lots of small nicks on the chest bones that I would speculate are hesitation marks on the body with the bashed-in skull. However, I didn't see them on the other body. But two deep thrusts finally killed them both.”

  I hung up and dialed Claire Radcliff's office. She answered on the first ring.

  “I will never get my work done if you keep calling me.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, I'm sorry,” she said. “Who's this?”

  “It's Connie Davenport from Arroyo.”

  “Now, Connie. I told you it would take a few days for the sketches.”

  “I know, but I wondered if you could just make a couple of quick sketches and send them to me.”

  “They wouldn't be finished.”

  “I know, but they might spark someone's memory. The sooner I figure out who those two girls are, the sooner I can catch the person who murdered them.”

  “They were murdered?” she asked.

  “Yes. Dr. Cain says they were stabbed.”

  She sighed. “So sad. Okay, I'll do some quick sketches and send them over t
oday.”

  “Thanks.”

  I hung up the phone as Bob stuck his head in. “The Larsens are here.”

  I gave him a thumbs up signal. “You talk to Samantha in the interview room. Send her parents in here.”

  “Okay.” He took a deep breath.

  Patty and Michael Larsen came into my office and I indicated for them to sit on the couch. I pulled a chair over. Patty was short and extremely thin, and was the music teacher at the middle school. In contrast, Michael was well over six feet and carried several extra pounds. He taught history at the high school. They had serious scowls on their faces and their rigid bodies exuded pure tension, I thought they would break as they sat down. I took the initiative. It took some convincing but the Larsens finally agreed to let Samantha go on a group date that evening if I would be the chaperone. Bob tried his best with Samantha, but finally I got her to agree only because Jay would be there, too.

  For the rest of the day, I did the paperwork that had accumulated while I was gone. It was time to teach Bob how to do some of it. I had a sandwich brought in from the deli for lunch and kept on working. It was better to get it all done in one day than spend the next week doing it.

  It was four-thirty before I knew it. That meant I barely had time to go home and change before Jay came to pick me up, and then I would have to give him the news about our date.

  I stopped at Bob's desk on my way out. “Have the pictures from Dr. Radcliff come yet?”

  “Nope,” he said.

  “I really wanted to see them tonight. Do you still have the key to my house?”

  He nodded.

  “If they show up before you go home, would you take them over and leave them on my kitchen table?”

  “Sure, Chief.”

  “Nice job with Samantha today.”

  Bob smiled. “Thanks Chief.”

  I glanced at my watch. Four forty-five. “I'm out of here.”

  “Have fun on your group date,” He smiled, then added. “I mean your date with Jay.”

  I rolled my eyes and left. I actually exceeded the speed limit on my way home. If I didn't hurry, Jay would beat me to my own house. As I came through the back, the front doorbell rang. Jay was early?

  Or had William come back?

  Chapter 28

  When I answered, Jay smiled. He was dressed in tight black jeans, a baby blue t-shirt that made his glistening azure eyes sparkle, and a black leather jacket. He held a bouquet of wild flowers. All that black should have been a turn-off, but it worked for him. My stomach didn't jump like it had butterflies in it when I saw him, but it didn't roll with revulsion, either. It was a nice comfortable feeling. I could live with that. Right? And what would he say about my inviting a mob with us on our first date?

  He raised his eyebrows, “Were you kidding about dinner and a movie?”

  I shook my head and gave him my best smile. “No, but I have good news and bad. Which do you want first?”

  He frowned, then handed me the flowers. “I hate bad news, so give me the good news first.”

  “We're still going to dinner and a movie.”

  His face lit up in a huge smile. “Great.” Then his eyes narrowed. “So, what's the bad news?”

  “We're taking six teenagers with us.”

  “Excuse me?” His eyes widened and his smile disappeared.

  I explained about Samantha and her parents and the group date with us as chaperones.

  He shrugged. “Samantha's a good kid. Her parents are way too overprotective, and her friends are weird. But hey, we're still on a date.” He let his eyes wander up and down my body, still in my uniform. “Aren't you taking the chaperone guise a little far?” He touched the badge on my chest. “Of course, it does exude power and control.” His smile broadened. “Quite a turn-on, if you ask me.”

  “No, I'm not wearing this,” I said as I pushed his hand away. “I just got in and haven't had time to change.”

  His smile turned into a sultry grin. “Want some help?”

  “No.” I handed him back the flowers. “Would you put these in water? The vases are under the sink in the kitchen. Then have a seat. I'll be back in a few minutes.”

  I dashed down the hallway and only checked twice to make sure that he didn't follow me. He didn't, and I wasn't sure if that was good or not. Taking my clothes off had been one of William's best talents. It always amazed me how quickly he could get me undressed.

  “Damn it!” I muttered under my breath. William and I were done. It was time to stop thinking about him.

  Quickly, I hung my utility belt on the hat stand in my room and locked my gun in the gun box. I changed into a pair of jeans, red shirt with a US flag on it, and a blue sweater. It was hip enough to wear with teenagers and tight enough to make Jay happy.

  When I came back, Jay sat on my couch and the flowers were in a blue vase on my coffee table. They looked nice.

  As soon as he saw me, the corners of his mouth upturned slightly and he came over. “Oh,” he murmured. “I take it back.”

  “What?” I said, understanding the look in his eyes but completely ignoring it.

  He slid his hand down my arm, picked up my hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. He tilted his head up and smiled again. “You exude power and control even when you're not wearing the uniform.”

  I met his smile with one of my own. “Thanks,” I said, then added, “sorry about dragging a group of kids with us on our first date.”

  “That's okay. I've got three really good reasons for doing it.”

  “What?”

  He let my hand go and held up his index finger. “One, it proves to you that I can be flexible about you being a cop and all.”

  It was important that he understood about my job. “And second?”

  He held up another finger. “Eventually we have to take them home and I'll have you all to myself.”

  I ignored his obvious connotations. “And third?”

  He used those two fingers to caress the side of my face. “And you owe me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Let's go, Jay.”

  A cool breeze had picked up as we stepped into the night, I was glad I was wearing a sweater. Jay held the door for me as I got into his black Suburban. I hadn't expected him to be such a gentleman or so sultry. Maybe it was the writer in him, but he seemed to know just what to say. I couldn’t imagine any woman being able to resist that combination.

  As we swung out of my driveway, I called Samantha and told her we were on our way.

  “Great,” she said. “Just honk the horn and I'll come right out.”

  I told Jay and he frowned. “I'm not much for honking a horn when I pick up someone.”

  “I suspect that she doesn't want her brother, Samuel, to know that her group date has a chaperone. He's only a year younger than her and she needs to save face.”

  “That's probably it,” Jay agreed. “How about some music before we have to listen to the kids' crap?”

  “Sure.”

  He nodded toward the radio. “Pick something.”

  “What do you like?”

  “I like it all. You choose.”

  I fiddled with the radio until I found the local country-western station. Jason Aldean's “Who's Kissing you Tonight?” was playing. My mind slipped over to William. I was sure he wouldn't have a problem finding someone else. Everywhere we went, women threw themselves at him. Stop thinking about him, I ordered myself, maybe the song was an omen of things to come for me too.

  It wasn't one of Jay's pre-set buttons, so country probably wasn’t his favorite. “Is this okay?”

  “Great,” he said, as he smiled and tapped the steering wheel along with the music.

  Samantha's family lived on the other side of town. As we drove down Main Street, I glanced into each of the store fronts. The chief of police was never really off duty. As we drove by the cafe, Ron stood outside with a group of tourists, pointing down the street toward Jane Mitchell's bed and breakfast inn. Jay rolled down his w
indow and waved. Ron had a puzzled look on his face; the tourists must be asking a question that he couldn’t answer. Ron returned the wave and then went back to his group. The other two businesses that were lit up and busy were O'Brien's Pub and the ice cream shop - each staying open for its own particular clientele.

  We got to Samantha's house a few minutes later in one of the newer developments in Arroyo. There was a colonial look to the homes and they were nice, but I preferred the older sections of town with the unique houses. Every house looking pretty much the same, in muted colors ranging from tan to light brown, just didn't do much for me.

  Jay pulled into the driveway, shut off the engine and started to open his door.

  I put my hand on his arm. “I promise to not think you're an unmannered oaf, Jay. Just honk the horn.”

  He frowned, slid back into his seat, tapped on the horn, then started the car again.

  I had reached over to turn down the radio, which seemed to come on three times louder than it had gone off, when I heard Jay whistle.

  “What?” I asked.

  He nodded toward the house. “Now that's an eyeful, isn't it?”

  I whipped my head around. Samantha strolled down the walkway wearing a very short black miniskirt. Its lack of material was underscored by a tight red crop top, skimpy, snug, and cut so low it didn't leave anything to the imagination. And on her feet were dangerously high-heeled black sandals. Red lip gloss accentuated her smile and heavily lined azure shadowed her normally lovely blue eyes. At least she left her long blonde hair alone. She was a beautiful girl made much less attractive by globbed on makeup and licentious clothing.

  I rolled down my window and asked the obvious question, “Where are your parents tonight?”

  She flipped her hair with her fingers. “Oh, they're at a meeting at church.”

  I flipped open my phone and held it out the window. “Then I'll get a picture for them of you on your first group date.”

  She stepped backwards. “No, that's okay.”

  “I insist,” I told her as I aimed the phone's camera.

  She took another step back.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “Nowhere, I just don't like my picture taken.” She stepped further away from the car.