by Jenn Cowan
When the person holding the flashlight comes into view, I lunge toward them, knocking the flashlight out of their hand and catching them off guard. We both go down. They cushion my fall, although they’re not much of a cushion with all the bulky muscles underneath their flannel shirt and jeans. My knee scrapes the side of the bin, ripping my pants and cutting into my skin. Pain shoots up my leg and I feel blood begin to run down my leg. Way to go, Autumn. Now, you’re not only probably going to get shot, but if you do survive this, you’re going to need a tetanus shot.
“What in tarnation is going on here?” Another flashlight comes into view from the other grain bin and shines in my face.
“Mr. Rivers?” I hold up a hand to block out the light, but I can still make out the wrinkled face and gray hair of the old farmer dressed in overalls.
“Autumn? What are you doing out at this hour? What are you doing here at this hour? You know we don’t open until 9 am.”
Josh comes into view and quickly helps me to my feet. “We couldn’t sleep and were out for a drive when we saw the light so we decided to come check it out.”
Mr. Rivers chuckles. “We’ve had some vandals lately. Silly kids spray painting bins and spilling seed.” He gestures to the guy on the ground. “You remember Devin from school, right, Josh?”
“Of course,” Josh says, reaching out to help the youngest Rivers boy to his feet.
Devin stands and brushes off his jeans then retrieves his flashlight and shines it on me. “Autumn, is that really you?”
“Yes,” I grumble, wincing slightly as my leg throbs.
“You’re hurt,” he says, scanning the flashlight down my body and landing on my leg. “There’s a first aid kit in the office. We’ll get you fixed up, but you’ll probably need a shot. These bins are old and rusty. I’d hate for you to lose those pretty little legs of yours.”
I roll my eyes. The last person on earth I would ever want to fix up my leg is Devin Rivers. He’s Daysville’s ladies man. A glorified bachelor at thirty-five. No kids and no girlfriend and with no plans of ever getting one. He’s the town flirt and all the single ladies gush over him even the Crafty Crew.
“Autumn, you’re really bleeding.” Josh takes off his shirt and presses it to my leg.
“It’s fine,” I say, but the loss of blood is making me kind of dizzy. I open my mouth to tell Josh when spots fill my vision and I faint.
12
“You can’t postpone the wedding. The rehearsal dinner is tonight. The wedding is tomorrow. We have everything ready. All the food. The decorations. The church. The dress. The tuxes. The flowers. We can’t let all of that go to waste over a murder.”
I blink and try to focus on the person ranting in my bedroom. Wait. I’m not in my bedroom. This definitely isn’t my bed and these aren’t my soft sheets. These are stiff and scratchy. Where am I? I blink, but can’t seem to get my eyes to focus on anything. My head feels groggy like I drank too much wine and my body feels heavy like I lifted too heavy at the gym. Although, I know that’s not the case because I never go to the gym. I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Not being able to keep my eyes open is making me anxious. As I inhale again, I’m accosted by a weird combination of smells. It smells like sunflowers mixed with disinfectant. Suddenly, everything comes back to me. The murder, the kidnappings, the developer, the seed company, scraping my leg. I’m in the hospital. I force myself to open my eyes.
Josh is sitting on the couch across from my bed, running his hands through his hair. His face is pale and he’s wearing a hospital gown. Did Josh get hurt too? I rack my brain, trying to remember more of the details about last night. Everything’s so fuzzy.
His mother is standing just off to the side of him with her hands on her hips, ranting about the wedding and how hard she and my mother have worked on it.
I catch a whiff of my mother’s vanilla perfume next to me and turn my head.
She turns her attention from Josh’s mom to me and smiles. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“Tired,” I rasp. My throat feeling like it’s filled with straw. “Water?”
Josh jumps up from the couch, stopping his mother mid rant and hurries to my side. “Autumn, I was so worried.” He kisses my forehead and strokes my cheek. “What can I get you?”
My mother hands him a glass of water. “She’s thirsty. We’ll step out and give you two some space.” She stands and takes Josh’s mother by the arm, who seems put off that Josh is ignoring her reasons on why we can’t postpone the wedding. When her blue eyes fall on me, she gives me a small smile then follows my mom out the door.
I’m still not sure she’s forgiven me for everything that happened a few months ago. When everyone thought Josh was dead and she blamed me for him getting married to a killer. Yeah. That wasn’t fun. Alas she has been really helpful with all the wedding plans so maybe I’m just still feeling guilty about all of it.
“Here.” Josh holds the straw to my lips.
I suck down the water like I haven’t had anything to drink in days. It feels nice on my throat and I finally feel like I can talk again. I clear my throat and ask, “When can we go home?”
Josh smiles. “As soon as the doctor says you can leave. You lost quite a bit of blood. The doctor asked if you were on any blood thinners. The wound wouldn’t stop bleeding. I told him no, but I wasn’t sure. Are you? Is everything ok?” He questions, before rambling on again, “They gave you a tetanus shot and you got some liquid stiches.” He takes a breath then kisses my forehead again. “Autumn, you almost gave me a heart attack when you fainted. I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my life.”
“You ran? Where?”
“Carrying you to the Jeep. Devin offered to help, but I know how you feel about him, so I scooped you up and high tailed it to the Jeep and drove like a mad man to the hospital. A line of police cars followed me right to the hospital too.”
“What? Why?”
“I broke every speed limit in town and with every cop out looking for the murderer/kidnapper, they thought I was him. It wasn’t until they saw you in the passenger seat that they figured out what was going on. The captain has been by a few times to see if you’re awake. I guess there’s a lead, he wants to run by you.”
I perk up at those words. “A lead? Did he say what? Did they find Eddie and Violet?”
Josh shakes his head. “No, but I told the captain they were missing. Everyone on the force not to mention everyone in town is looking for them. They traced the call from your phone. It pinged just outside of town so everyone’s scouring the corn fields,” he pauses.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“We have another problem.” He studies my hand in his, but doesn’t continue.
“What’s the problem?”
“Our wedding.”
I frown. “What about it?”
“It’s tomorrow and our mothers are throwing a fit that we want to postpone it. Everything is paid for and all the guests have RSVP’d. I think they’re afraid if we postpone it that’ll we’ll never get married and give them grandbabies.
The thought of babies with Josh causes butterflies to erupt in my stomach, but I quickly brush them aside. I need to focus, which is hard when he continues to rub circles with his thumb on top of my hand. “What do you think?”
He sighs. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m the one who suggested postponing it in the first place so you could solve this case and be completely focused on us. I’m not sure you can do that with Eddie and Violet missing, Travis in the hospital, Allison in jail and a murderer on the loose, right?”
I bite my lip. He’s not wrong. I have a lot on my mind, but I know how much planning and preparation has gone into our wedding. It’s not as easy to cancel a wedding as they make it look in the movies when a bride or groom runs off to enjoy the honeymoon, leaving the family to clean up the mess the other one caused. We’re not calling off the wedding because we don’t want to get married, we’re calling it off to solve a murder. Do
I not have my priorities straight? Is solving a murder more important than marrying my best friend? No. No, it’s not. Sure, I would love for everything to be done by the time the wedding starts tomorrow afternoon, but if it doesn’t, I’m going to marry Josh. “Tell our mothers the wedding will go on as planned.”
Josh’s eyes grow wide. “It will?”
I nod and lean into kiss him on the lips. “It will.”
“So, you want to get married tomorrow whether or not the murderer is behind bars, Travis is in a coma and Eddie and Violet are missing?”
“I do,” I say, swallowing down the guilt and doubt I’m feeling. Tomorrow will be about me and Josh, but until then I plan to do everything in my power to get this case closed, get Eddie and Violet back home and figure out who this shady developer is before I walk down the aisle. Hopefully, Travis will wake-up in the next twenty-four hours too.
“What about tonight’s rehearsal dinner?”
I glance at the clock. It’s a little after nine in the morning. “We have all day and the dinner isn’t until seven. The spa is closed for the wedding so we can focus on the case.”
Josh frowns. “Autumn, you need to rest. You never did answer my question about taking a blood thinner.”
I chew on my lip. “I’ve been taking some aspirin this week.”
“Really? Why?”
I sigh. “Between the wedding planning and the drama with the Crafty Crew, I’ve had several headaches. I found some aspirin in the office drawer at the spa so I’ve taken some every day this week to keep them at bay. The spa was full so I didn’t feel like I could cancel so I just took it and pushed through. I guess that’s why I lost so much blood.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I stroke his cheek. His face is scruffy from not shaving. I kind of like the un-kept Josh look. “I didn’t want you to worry. You have enough on your plate too.”
He turns his head and kisses the palm of my hand. “I could have given you a massage. Taken some of your clients. You shouldn’t be afraid to tell me if you’re not feeling well. I’m going to be your husband. For better or worse. In sickness and in health. I’m here for you. Please don’t hesitate to tell me what’s going on with you especially if you’re sick.”
His words make me want to melt into a puddle of love on the hospital floor. “I’m sorry and I will.”
He smiles and leans into kiss me when someone knocks on the door.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” the captain says, looking uncomfortable in his wrinkled uniform as he cautiously steps into the room. “How are you feeling, Miss Fisher?”
“Better, thank you, Captain. Josh tells me you have a lead,” I lean back on my pillow as if it’s no big deal, but in all reality my insides are churning with anticipation.
“We do, but we’re not sure it’s going to lead to anything. That’s why I want to run it by you before we go charging in.”
“What is it?”
He swipes a hand down his face. Dark and puffy circles sit beneath his blood-shot eyes. It doesn’t look like he’s slept yet. “A tip was left at the station that suspicious activity was happening out at the old mine last night.”
I feel my cheeks grow warm. Violet and I were out at the mine. Could they have saw us or was someone else out there? The thought sends chills down my spine. “What kind of activity?”
“Several vehicles coming and going.”
I purse my lips because I don’t want to tell the captain about me and Violet being at the mine because then he’ll ask why and I’m not prepared to go into those details. “How many is several?”
“They didn’t say.”
I cross my arms. “And why do you think this is a dead end?”
“Because they saw you and Violet out there.”
Busted. Shoot, now what am I going to tell him? My father always told me that the less information I gave sometimes the better so I keep my mouth shut.
“Were you and Violet out at the mine?”
I don’t respond, but just stare at him.
“Autumn?”
My father chooses that moment to come in and check on me. Thank goodness. “Ah, Captain Rivers, I saw your brother and nephew out in the waiting room. They were saying something about having a description of the vandals out at the seed company.”
The captain shoots me one last suspicious glare and declares, “We’re not finished here, Miss Fisher,” before stomping toward the waiting room.
“That didn’t have anything to do with you and Violet being seen out at the mine last night, did it?” My dad asks, shutting the door behind him.
“I plead the fifth.” I hold up a hand as if being sworn in.
My dad smirks. “I’ve taught you well.” He sighs then asks, “Hypothetically, say you and Violet were out at the mine, what were you doing out there?”
“Hypothetically.” I use air quotes and smile.
He grins. “Of course.”
“Well hypothetically speaking Violet came across some information about a developer in Daysville who is buying up old properties and is planning to turn them into high rises and a mall.”
My dad’s grin disappears and his face grows ashen. “I have to go.” He hurries from the room without a backward glance.
“Wait! What? Where are you going?” I call after him, but it’s no use, he’s gone. I exchange a look with Josh, who appears just as perplexed as I do. “We have to follow him. He knows something.” I take the needle out of my hand like I’ve done it hundreds of times, because quite frankly I have. I switch off the bed alarm so it doesn’t go off when I get out of bed then throw the covers off of me and reach for my clothes. I cringe at the rip and bloodstain on my yoga pants, they’re definitely going in the trash, but right now, I need clothes. I slip into the bathroom and quickly put my shirt on over my head. I catch a whiff of something, something that smells kind of sweet, it’s something I’ve smelled before, but I can’t put my finger on where I’ve smelled it. Knowing I only have a tiny window to follow my dad, I finish putting on my shirt and head out of the bathroom to look for my shoes.
Josh hands them to me and takes my arm.
Something isn’t right. What is it? Oh, now I remember. “You’re not going to talk me out of this? Tell me I need to get back and bed and rest.”
“Nope,” Josh says, buttoning up his blood-stained shirt.
I pause. “Why not?”
“Because it will waste time and you’ll either convince me to go along with your reverse psychology skills or you’ll sneak out while I’m in the bathroom. At least this way, I know where you are and can keep you safe.” He tugs on his shoes and takes my hand.
“What will we tell the nurses?”
“We won’t.”
“Huh?”
Josh tugs me toward the emergency exit door that’s been broken for over a year and helps me down the stairs.
“I can’t believe you’re breaking the rules. This is so unlike you, Mr. Parker.”
He gives me a cocky grin. “I’d break every rule in the book for you, Miss Fisher.”
I swoon at his words then focus back on the task at hand when we reach the exit. The sun beats down from the clear sky and the humidity is through the roof today. I’m already sweating and we just stepped outside.
“Wait here, I’ll get the Jeep,” Josh says, helping me toward a bench so I’m not having to stand on my hurt leg then he hurries toward the parking lot.
I spot my father getting into his Lexus. He must have been delayed, probably by my mother. Thank goodness for wedding oriented mothers.
Josh pulls around and helps me into the Jeep just as my dad’s leaving the parking lot.
“Where is he going in such a hurry?” I ask no one, but Josh answers.
“You don’t think your dad is helping this shady developer, do you?”
I glare at him for even asking such a ridiculous question, but before I can respond, I watch in horror as my dad turns down the road leading to the mine. “What
is going on?”
Josh slows down so not to follow too closely and have my dad spot us.
He’s driving like a maniac down this gravel road. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t end up with a rock in his window at the rate he’s flying.
This is so unlike him. He always follows the law, which includes driving like a grandpa most days, but definitely never over the speed limit. Something’s up and my guess is it does have to do with the developer. They bought the old mine and plan to build a mall right on it. Could my dad be the attorney helping them put the paperwork through? Surely not, my dad loves Daysville just the way it is, doesn’t he? I rack my brain to remember all the conversations we had about Daysville. I remember my mom talking about how much she loves the small town feel of Daysville and the community, but my dad never commented. Maybe he didn’t agree with her. Maybe he wants Daysville to change. A sinking feeling forms in my gut. Is my dad not the man I thought he was? Is my hero working for the bad guy?
13
I watch in horror as my dad enters the old mine. What is he doing? My father has no reason to be at the mine… unless… I shake my head. I don’t even want to go there. There’s no way my dad would be any part of changing Daysville, right? I swallow down the lump in my throat and push open the door.
“What are you planning to do?” Josh inquires, opening his own door.
“Get some answers.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “You’re just going to waltz in there and demand to know what’s going on?”
I chew on my lip. That was originally my plan, but now that I hear it out loud, it sounds kind of lame. My father can’t legally tell me what’s going on if he’s representing this shady developer. The whole attorney client privilege thing. So, what will he say? Nothing? Plead the fifth? Make up some story about protecting me? Well there’s only one way to find out. I slam the passenger door, not caring if my father heard me or not. My palms are sweating and my heart’s pounding in my chest. A wave of nausea hits me thinking about my father being a part of whatever this developer has planned. I force it down, square my shoulders and march up to the mine.
