by Kay Bigelow
“Dr. Samuels, I’m Sojourner Lyre, lieutenant with the Victoria police department. And here are your papers deputizing you as a police captain in charge of this investigation,” she said, handing Leah a sealed envelope.
“Leah Samuels, please, and this is Jardain Bensington.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Bensington. You’ve been my hero since I was a teenager. I watched you captain your dragon boat and wanted to be you.”
“Thank you. Have you raced yet?” Dani asked.
“This spring I rowed for the policewomen’s boat. We didn’t do nearly as well as your boat, but we’ll give you a run for your money next year.”
“We’ll see about that,” Dani responded with a grin.
“Uh, can we get some work done here?”
“Oh, sorry, ma’am.”
“Lieutenant, we’ll all be on a first-name basis while you’re here on Wild. Will you introduce me to your team?”
Sojourner waved her three colleagues to join them.
“This is Leah Samuels, she’s running the show, and this is Jardain Bensington, who needs no introduction.”
“Wow,” the youngest of the trio said as she held out a hand to Dani. Dani shook the youngster’s hand, and had a hard time getting her own back.
“This is Treat Daniels, Lucy Andrews, and the starstruck youngster is Bailey Witherspoon,” Sojourner said.
“I want you all in civvies the entire time you’re here. I need you to act like police officers but look like civilians. This evening we’ll get something to eat and then head to the bungalow that’ll be both your living space and your headquarters. You’ll be sharing with my two team members who you’ve already met. Any questions?”
“What’s expected of us here?” Bailey wanted to know.
“How long are we going to be here?” Treat asked, looking around at the women heading into the main building. Leah smiled to herself. As a police officer, it was unlikely the younger team members had ever been to Wild, but had undoubtedly heard all the rumors about it.
“You will both get your questions answered in the morning. In the meantime, I suggest you eat something and get some rest. There may not be a lot of the latter in your near future.”
“God, I hope not,” someone, maybe Treat, whispered.
Leah found Peony sifting through the boxes left in the truck. She located the one she needed and handed it out the side doors to the woman waiting for it.
“Peony, we’re going to eat and then I’ll take you to the bungalow you’ll be sharing with the police reps and which will also function as your headquarters. I want you to join Jardain and me for dinner.”
“Gladly,” Peony said. Leah knew she was pleased because she wanted to row for Dani’s dragon boat team the next spring.
Dani excused herself as they entered the main building. When she rejoined them, she told Leah she had let Camryn know they wouldn’t be having dinner with her that evening.
They were shown to the VIP table when they entered the dining room. Peony and Dani discussed what it took to become a rower on Dani’s dragon boat and the conversation moved from there to talk of training regimens. Leah listened to the two women talking about something they both seemed to love. She was relieved they were getting along so well since dinner would have been interminably long otherwise.
After dinner, they met the other members of their team at the van parked in front of the main building.
“Did Reagan get her equipment from the van?”
“She did. It was delivered to the clinic while we were having dinner. What’s left in the van is our equipment.”
“Why don’t you follow us?” Dani asked as they approached their cart.
“Will do. Did two Toys meet and have a baby?” Peony asked as she pointed toward their transportation.
Peony was referring to the name affectionately given to a small car millions of people around the galaxy owned because of its low price and fuel efficiency. The car came in one color, which changed from year to year. This year’s color was, unfortunately, pink. They were sturdily built, got outstanding gas mileage, and contained only one amenity: a radio that didn’t always work. They had a back seat, but nearly everyone used it for either trash or storage because only a small child could barely fit back there. They were cheaper and smaller than compacts, hence their nicknames of Toys.
Both Dani and Leah ignored the slur against their cart’s heritage and climbed into the cart. Dani made a U-turn and headed toward the bungalow with the pedal on the metal and not caring if Peony and her van could keep up.
“You certainly made Peony’s year. She really wants to try out for your dragon boat team and race with you next spring. You gave her some invaluable tips. Thanks for helping her,” Leah said.
“I hope she makes the team. I like her.”
When they neared the Y juncture where the road to their right led to their bungalow and the left led to the bungalow reserved for their team, Dani pulled over and waited.
When she saw the van headed their way, she moved along at a more sedate pace. When they arrived at the smaller bungalow, they parked the car and got out.
They approached Peony, who was at the back of the van getting ready to unload the electronics she brought with her.
“Speedy little devil, isn’t it?” she asked Dani.
“I barely had my foot on the accelerator. Can I help carry something in?”
Leah headed inside the building. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Peony was the last one inside. Leah pulled her aside.
“Check for bugs before you do anything else.” she whispered. “Did you bring an extra bug detector?”
“Yeah, I got the same feeling. I did bring an extra. Want it?” Peony said, pulling one of the small devices Cots had developed for them earlier that year from the carrying case as well as a bag to hold anything Leah might find.
Leah nodded, and said, “Let me know what you find.”
Before Leah left, Peony handed her a folder that held a sheaf of papers.
“Some light reading from Cots.”
“Thanks. We’ll have breakfast at the big house at seven tomorrow morning.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Peony said with a smile.
After making sure the team had everything they needed, Dani and Leah went on to their bungalow. On the short trip, Leah explained she wanted to do a sweep of their home “just in case.”
While Dani puttered in the kitchen making lemon squashes, Leah went from room to room. She found two bugging devices and two video feeds in their bedroom, one in each of the other bedrooms, study, dining room, and a bug and a video feed in both the kitchen and living room.
“Find anything?”
“Yeah, ten devices and four video feeds.”
“Ten? Isn’t that a little excessive? Video feeds?”
“Not if you’re involved in something illegal and want to know what the people investigating you have found.”
“What about the video feeds? What are they for?”
“Hard to say beyond the obvious,” Leah said.
“So someone has video of us this afternoon?”
“So it seems.” Leah wasn’t sure how she felt about that. In the heat of the moment earlier, it hadn’t seemed that important. Now, though, she was uncomfortable knowing someone might watch them making love.
“Can we watch them?”
Leah quirked an eyebrow at Dani.
“I want to see what someone knows about us,” Dani said by way of explaining why she wanted to watch them make love.
“Sorry, we can’t watch. Only the person who planted the bugs will be able to see what we were up to. I can get Cots and Peony to trace the feeds so we’ll know who has them.”
“Do you think you found all of them?”
“Probably.”
“What if you didn’t?”
“Then I guess they’ll hear the beautiful Jardain Bensington coming multiple times,” Leah said, smiling.
“And t
he even more beautiful Leah Samuels calling out my name as she comes,” Dani said, taking Leah’s hand and leading her to the bedroom.
Afterward, Dani said, “I’m sorry you found the bugs. I’ve never been much of an exhibitionist so I was feeling a little inhibited.”
“I told you I removed the bugs. No need to be inhibited,” Leah said, already aware that Dani had been different this time. Quieter, less vocal, no whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
“You said you thought you found them all,” Dani said.
“Peony and I will sweep the place tomorrow to see if I missed anything. Once Cots finds out who owns the bugs, we’ll be able to confiscate the equipment. We could then plant their bugs in their rooms and find out what they’re up to.”
“You have a remarkably devious mind.”
“Only when I’m challenged,” Leah said with a smile.
A few minutes later, Leah asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I missed you whispering in my ear the things you wanted me to do to you and you being vocal when you came.”
“I guess I’m more than a little freaked out by the bugs. That’s the kind of video that becomes blackmail material or goes viral in a nanosecond.”
“Then first thing tomorrow morning, I’ll make sure it goes nowhere but in my safe in my condo in Victoria.”
“Maybe they would be safer with me,” Dani said.
“I’ll give you half of them, then.”
“Good idea,” Dani murmured as she snuggled up to Leah’s back.
As she was falling asleep, Leah couldn’t remember another time in her life when she was so content and at peace with herself and her world.
Chapter Twelve
Leah awoke after only a few hours’ sleep. She couldn’t tell what time it was, but she knew it was early. On her way to the shower, she looked for a clock in the bedroom before remembering she hadn’t seen a clock anywhere other than in the kitchen. Nowhere else she’d been, including the main building, had a clock. Her guess was that the owner of Wild didn’t want her guests to be aware of time passing by having clocks everywhere.
After showering and dressing, Leah grabbed her computer on her way to the kitchen. Thank God for smart homes. Where would I be without them? Coffeeless, that’s for sure. She told the house to make coffee and before she could count to ten she heard the coffee machine doing its thing. When it finished, she took her coffee, computer, and the files Cots had sent to her via Peony to the lanai.
When she opened her computer, she discovered it was five o’clock and later than she’d thought. She took a quick look around and saw the sky was just beginning to turn to day. It wouldn’t be long before the sun began rising over the mountain. As she sipped her coffee and stared out beyond the lap pool, she noted the myriad colors spread across the landscape as if a mythical someone had simply thrown up handfuls of wildflower seeds for miles.
Her mind returned to earlier that morning and the minutes before they’d started making love.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, Leah. I don’t know when it happened, but I know it feels like I’ve finally found my peace and my place in your arms. I’m trying, despite my training, not to overanalyze the whys of it.”
“The whys?” Leah had asked.
“Yes. Why you? Why now?”
Leah remembered thinking how frightened Dani must be as she experienced newfound feelings. She doubted there was anything, really, she could do to lessen Dani’s fears, but she wished she could. Leah had done the only thing she could think of to begin ending Dani’s fears about having a relationship with her—she made love to the woman and put all the love she was feeling for Dani into it. She also knew she had to give Dani the reassurances she needed to know that Leah was in love with her, too.
Leah pulled herself out of her reverie and opened the file folder Cots had sent. She was immediately engrossed in what she was reading. So engrossed, she failed to hear Dani step out of the house.
“Mind if I join you?”
“There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen.”
Leah quickly put Cots’s reports away. When Peony had handed her the paper-thin tablet hidden inside the folder, she’d wondered why he had sent his report via Peony instead of electronically. She needed time alone to absorb the information. Now she wondered if Dani would be hurt if she asked for what she needed.
When Dani returned with a carafe of coffee and a mug for herself, she paused to kiss Leah softly on the lips. Leah smiled at the domesticity of the scene.
“How are you this morning?”
“Physically or emotionally?” Dani asked.
“Both.”
“Physically, I feel great. Emotionally, I’m a little shaky.”
“Do you know why?”
“I don’t, and that surprises me. There are so many firsts happening in rapid succession, I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around them. Would you mind if I spent an hour or so by myself to try to sort it out?”
“No, of course not, if you’ll promise to tell me what the firsts are,” Leah said.
“I will tell you, I promise. I’m sure you need some time on your own as well. I know, for myself, it’s sometimes hard to be around people for a long time after being used to being alone.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Good. Why don’t we meet back here in an hour? Maybe we can grab some breakfast at the big house.”
“Sounds good.”
Why didn’t you tell Dani about Cots’s report? Because I haven’t digested it and some of the names are her friends.
Dani stood and dropped her robe on a chair as she passed on the way to the lap pool. She dove into the water and began swimming lap after lap.
The sight of a naked Dani walking away from her sent Leah’s heart pounding. She knew if she stayed in the lanai she wouldn’t get any work done because she’d be fixated on Dani. She sighed, retrieved her ever-present bag, put Cots’s report inside, and picked up her mug. She went to the study and sat at the desk facing a large expanse of lawn. To her left was the team’s bungalow, to the right but farther away was another bungalow. Straight ahead was nothing but lawn until it met the mountain Camryn had mentioned the day before. It really wasn’t a lawn, Leah decided. The grass was too tall, maybe six inches, and when a breeze moved over it, it looked like green ocean waves. The sun looked like it was sitting on top of the mountain again this morning. I wonder how anyone could ever get used to looking at that view?
Anxious to get the file read before her hour was over, she stopped speculating about the grass and watching the sun rise. She took the file from her bag and began reading it again. Cots had given her extensive information on Stanhope, the security chief, but there wasn’t anything she didn’t already know from Cots’s earlier report on her. He had also run his checks on Reagan Dominier but found nothing untoward other than she’d surprised her superiors and colleagues by quitting her job shortly after having done an autopsy on a toddler who had been physically abused and killed by his parents. What her superiors hadn’t known is that Reagan had miscarried her first child a month earlier. Shortly after resigning her position as Chief Forensic Pathologist for the government on Calisto, she’d disappeared. No wonder she’s happily ensconced on Wild. There’s essentially no crime here and certainly no abused babies.
She glanced over the list of the guests who had arrived on the company shuttles and in private ships. According to Cots, there were no red flags in those women’s background checks. That left only Camryn and Anabel Cooper, the belligerent woman from the day before who’d wanted to immediately leave the planet.
Leah quickly turned to the last page of the report to read Cots’s summary on Cooper. He said that, at the very least, she should “be a person of interest in the murder of the female in the woods.” If Leah wanted to know why, she’d have to read the full report. I’d rather be out on the lanai ogling Dani. She sighed and began reading.
Fifteen m
inutes later, she understood why Cots had flagged her. Cooper was an unsavory woman, and not just because she felt entitled due to her wealth and status. She was, by all accounts, a bully, rude to everyone, her employees hated her, and the people she did business with hated her more. Cots had spoken to a dozen people, all of whom said they disliked her intensely and knew of no one who liked her but could name dozens of people who would love to see her dead.
Cots had also unearthed the fact that Cooper had been arrested several times for assault and battery, but the charges were dismissed before the cases went to trial. Cots speculated the victims were either paid off or intimidated into dropping the charges. Leah thought he was probably correct in his assumptions.
Just because she was all the negative things attributed to her did not make her a killer. But she was also violent in addition to being a real asshole. Assuming for the moment that Cooper was capable of murder, why would she kill the young girl in the woods? Leah let her mind wander over several scenarios that made no sense. Because the girl had run away, and had she been seen or gotten as far as the big house, she would have been able to tell someone about being abused by Cooper? Was Cooper sexually abusing the girl as well as physically abusing her? That’s only one of many possibilities.
Perhaps Cooper was the kind of woman who had an obsession with a woman young enough to be her daughter, and as she grew older could no longer charm these young women so she’d turned to physical and psychological abuse. It wasn’t a giant leap to assume it would be easier for Cooper to intimidate a girl like the one they’d found in the woods than a grown, or nearly grown, woman. Leah was sure if Cooper was even half as bad as Cots’s report said she was, her own scenario had some merit. Maybe Cooper’s need to be physically abusive in order to control young women was at the core of the assault and battery cases against her.
Not knowing who the young girl was who was killed on Wild would hamper the investigation. As unlikely as it might be, maybe Reagan would find something during the autopsy that could help identify her.
Hold on. I am getting way ahead of myself on this. So far there’s not a scintilla of evidence pointing toward Cooper as the killer. Her gut was telling her Cooper was the killer while her head was telling her to keep an open mind and treat this like she had every other murder she’d ever investigated.
