The View from Rainshadow Bay

by Colleen Coble

  Zach’s gut clenched. This would devastate her. First Clarence and now Lucy. “This has to be connected to Clarence’s death. The C-4 proves it was no accident.”

  “You were eavesdropping? This is my investigation, not yours.” The sheriff’s mouth flattened and he looked away for a moment, head bowed, before he faced Zach again. “I don’t know, but I’m going to keep an open mind about it. In this neighborhood, the perp could have been a punk looking to score. A knife is not usually an assassin’s weapon of choice.”

  “You mind if I break the news to Shauna? This will be hard for her.”

  The sheriff stared at him. “I’m going to be here awhile, and I’d rather she didn’t hear the news on TV, so yeah. And just in case, she shouldn’t be staying alone. She is the only witness to the explosion and the last person to talk to Clarence. If we’re dealing with the same killer, she could be the guy’s next target.”

  Footsteps pounded up the stairwell, and the forensic team arrived at the door. The sheriff grabbed Zach’s shoulder and pushed him toward the exit. “Get out of here, and let us do our work.”

  Zach stepped out into the hallway, and Lucy’s orange tabby peered at him from under the railing. He stooped and held out his hand. “Come here, Weasley. I’ll scrounge up some food for you.” The cat crawled out a few inches and licked his hand. He scooped it up. “Let’s go see Shauna.”

  Chapter 6

  Where’d Everett go?” Felicia came down the stairs drying her long black hair. She wore slim-fitting jeans with boots and a figure-hugging red top that accentuated her dark eyes.

  Shauna told her what had happened. “I should probably go get my son, but I was hoping your husband would call you with an update.”

  Felicia dropped onto the sofa and tucked her legs under her, then began to braid her hair. “Oh, Everett doesn’t keep me informed of his comings and goings. I learned early on that he got mad when I questioned him.”

  Shauna didn’t know what to make of Everett’s new bride. She clearly said whatever she was thinking. “How do you like Lavender Tides? You’re from New York?”

  “Well, most recently from New York, but I grew up in Phoenix. My modeling career took me to the Big Apple five years ago.”

  “How’d you meet Everett?”

  Felicia smiled. “I think you really want to know why I married him. That’s what everyone wants to know. I see it in the sidelong glances as they look from him to me. All they see is a twenty-something model hooked up with an aging Elvis wannabe. The real truth is, I actually fell for the guy. Who can really explain how love hits? My uncle is in law enforcement, and he took me to a party in Seattle. Everett sat at our table. Within five minutes I knew I wanted to marry him.”

  “I’m glad it worked out.” And when Shauna thought back to her own marriage, people had looked at her the same way. Jack had been six two to her five two. They didn’t really go together, and she’d never felt worthy of him. He’d come from a good family, while her drunken father made her a constant source of pity and condemnation. Her heart warmed toward the young woman.

  Love was a funny thing—experience in life sifted thoughts and feelings until you looked in someone’s eyes and found a match you weren’t expecting. She sometimes thought she’d been drawn to Jack because he’d grown up alone, just like she had. There was more to it than that, of course, but it was a bedrock common experience that let him understand her fears.

  She’d been here longer than she planned. “I’d really better go. It’s been great talking to you, Felicia.”

  The doorbell rang and Felicia rose. Shauna glanced through the big windows toward the driveway and recognized the truck. What was Zach doing here? She followed Felicia to the foyer.

  Felicia opened the door. “Can I help you?”

  “This is a-a friend, Zach Bannister,” Shauna said.

  Zach wore jeans and a Seahawks sweatshirt and cap. A frown crouched between his dark-blue eyes. His gaze went past Felicia to Shauna, but he didn’t smile. Was that pity in his face? She shot to her feet and pressed her palm against her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced back at Felicia then. “Do you mind if I come in? I need to talk to Shauna a minute.”

  Shauna gripped her hands together. “What is it? Is Alex—?”

  He held up his hand. “I’m sure Alex is fine. It’s Lucy.” He moved past Felicia to reach Shauna’s side and put his hand on her shoulder. “I went by to check on her. The door was standing open, and when she didn’t answer, I went in. She’s dead, Shauna. I’m sorry.”

  “Dead?” She shook his hand off her and stepped back. “That’s not possible. D-did she kill herself?” The thought of such despair horrified her. She wanted to throw up, scream, or beat her head against a wall.

  He cupped her shoulders. “No. She was stabbed.”

  Her head swam, and her vision darkened. Don’t faint. “Stabbed. You mean murdered, just like Clarence.”

  “The sheriff isn’t sure yet, but he says it’s possible. You were right about the bomb. They found traces of C-4.”

  Her chest tightened. “Who would want to kill Clarence?”

  “I’m worried about you. So is the sheriff. What if you’re next on the killer’s list? He might think Clarence told you something.” Zach’s fingers squeezed her shoulders. “You’re moving into my place. I’ve got two spare rooms.”

  “That’s out of the question.” Every time she turned around she’d be faced with what he’d done. She couldn’t handle it—not now, not ever.

  Felicia shut the door. “You are a good man.” She left them alone and went into the kitchen.

  He gave Shauna a little shake. “You have to think of Alex. Who’s going to protect him and you if that psycho comes back? Your dad? He’s drunk all the time. Marilyn? He’d mow her down at the front door, and she lives out in the boonies with no neighbors just like you. You need a man between you and danger, someone the killer won’t mess around with. And you need to be near neighbors who would hear glass breaking.”

  “I’ve done all right by myself for the past year. I can handle myself.”

  “It’s not about you, Shauna. It’s about Alex. He doesn’t need to face any more trauma. He’s had enough in his short life.”

  He was right.

  She didn’t even have a gun, though she’d grown up knowing how to shoot. She was rusty on her self-defense moves, but even if she’d kept up with that kind of thing, it wasn’t much good against a gun or a knife. If she moved to Marilyn’s, it would just put her mother-in-law in danger as well as Alex.

  “You know I’m right.” His somber and intent eyes willed her to listen to him. “I hope you’re okay with cats. I took Weasley with me.”

  “Of course. There was nothing else you could do.” She frowned. “Wait a minute—aren’t you allergic to cats? And what about your dogs?” His rottweilers, Apollo and Artemis, would terrorize the cat.

  “The boys actually like cats, if you can believe it, and I couldn’t leave the poor guy to run in that neighborhood. Some kid would probably set him on fire.”

  She thought through his offer. Her house sat in the woods where even a passing car wouldn’t be able to see much. She could scream for help and no one would hear her. The big windows she loved made her vulnerable out there by herself. Someone could smash in one of them in the living room and step right inside. And she wasn’t sure she could aim a rifle at a man and pull the trigger. She had to think of Alex.

  She gave a jerky nod. “All right.”

  How was this going to work? Friends would think she’d lost her mind. Marilyn would have a fit, and even her dad would question the arrangements. She couldn’t tell her son what was really going on because he’d be frightened.

  She rubbed her forehead. “Any ideas on how to explain this to Alex?”

  He lifted a brow. “He’s five. I don’t think he’ll question anything.”

  “Let me grab my purse. I’ll try to explain it to him. Let me know when you’re
heading for my house, and I’ll meet you there, if you don’t mind hanging out while we pack.”

  Zach’s hands shook a little as he raked his hair out of his eyes and got out of his truck in front of Shauna’s house. The moment Zach realized the killer might try to hurt her, he’d known what he had to do. He owed this to Jack, to their lifelong friendship. And it might help him come to grips with his guilt.

  Her white truck sat next to the brick walkway to the porch, and he frowned as he climbed the steps. He’d asked her to wait until he arrived to go inside, just to be safe. She opened the front door before he could press the bell. The messy bun on top of her head emphasized the widow’s peak on her forehead, and she looked cute with wisps of hair escaping to graze her high cheekbones.

  Dark circles under her eyes emphasized her stress. “I’m still not sure about this. It’s going to look bad to other people.”

  “We can both handle a little gossip. How did Marilyn react to the news you were moving in with me?” He stepped into the entry and shut the door behind him.

  She hunched her shoulders. “I chickened out. She was already upset about Clarence and Lucy. I didn’t have the heart to lay that on her too.”

  He thrust his hands in his jacket pockets. “It will be all over the county by tomorrow night. You know it will. How’s she going to feel if she hears it from someone else?”

  Shauna passed her hand over her forehead. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I’ll go back over after dinner.”

  “Want me to take care of it?” He’d rather face an angry tiger than Jack’s mother, but he’d do it if she needed him to.

  She smiled then, a brief grimace that didn’t reach her eyes. “She’d eat you alive.”

  “I think I can hold my own. Where’s Alex? You told him?”

  “I told him we were going to visit you for a while, that it would make it easy for you to take him on the outing. He didn’t question it at all, just like you said. He’s in his room. You know the way.”

  He nodded and headed down the hall, then heard a flurry of small feet skipping his way.

  Alex launched himself at Zach’s legs. “Zachster! Mommy said you were coming to get us. I thought she was teasing.”

  Zach’s heart warmed at the nickname Jack had always used too. No one else ever called him that except Jack and Alex. He hoisted the boy to his chest. “Hey, little man, I’ve missed you.”

  Alex wound his small arms around Zach’s neck. He smelled of jelly and little boy. “I’m not little anymore.” The boy said it with all the seriousness of his four-foot stature.

  Zach held him tight. Moisture blurred his vision. The boy’s resemblance to Jack made his heart squeeze. Jack would be so proud of this kid. “You’ve grown four inches, I bet.”

  “I bet it’s more like a whole foot.” Alex squirmed to be let down.

  Zach set him on his feet, then ruffled his auburn hair. “What do you think about going to my house? We have a cat to take care of too. Weasley is going to live with us.”

  “I love Weasley.” Alex’s turquoise eyes widened, and he danced around the hall. “We can have breakfast together. I haven’t played Pac-Man since Daddy went to heaven. Mommy doesn’t like it. You still have your game, right?”

  Zach had paid a ridiculous price to buy two old Atari machines on eBay just to show Alex how to play the game Zach and Jack had played growing up. The boy liked it better than the modern games filling the cabinet in the living room. Every Saturday night they’d had a Pac-Man marathon. Zach had thought Alex would have forgotten it by now.

  “I sure do, and I think I’m up for the challenge tonight. I’ll make my famous Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast.”

  “Yay! I’m going to go tell Mommy!” Alex ran down the hall.

  Zach followed at a slower pace. It had been a year since he’d been here. An interminable number of days filled with self-loathing and guilt. He had a chance to make it up to Alex and Shauna. Alex would be easier than his mother. The accusation in Shauna’s eyes wouldn’t fade overnight. He didn’t deserve for it to leave easily either. Maybe never.

  He found Shauna and Alex at the kitchen island. Alex was already stuffing his mouth full of an almond butter and jelly sandwich. He was allergic to peanuts, so peanut butter wasn’t allowed in the house.

  Zach hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and his stomach rumbled. “Mind if I have one of those?”

  Shauna glanced at him. “Help yourself. You know where the stuff is. I just put it away.”

  His throat was tight as he went to the corner cabinet and pulled down the almond butter and the bread, then got the jelly out of the fridge. It was about three, still a couple of hours to dinner. Should he offer to cook tonight or ask her if she wanted to? He would need to tread a very cautious line.

  “Anything special in mind for dinner?” He forced a lighthearted tone. “I could buy pizza for our Pac-Man challenge.”

  “Pac-Man,” Shauna said in a choked voice.

  He shot her a glance and saw tears filling her eyes. This was going to be harder for her than he’d realized.

  Chapter 7

  Shauna was only too happy to escape from the sound of Pac-Man. It brought back way too many memories, and even bearding the lioness named Marilyn was preferable to watching Alex playing with Zach.

  The salty scent of the sea blew in her open window as she drove to her mother-in-law’s. The quiet drive along the water with the lights of houses glimmering in the dark settled her jitters. She could do this, even though it would be unpleasant. She ran up the windows before she reached the lavender fields. The plants were still in bloom, and the aroma would make her head pound.

  The lights were on in the barn and the chicken coop when she pulled into the drive. An incoming text message dinged, and she glanced at it. A friend, Ellie Blackmore, wanted to have lunch, but she turned off the screen. She hadn’t had an outing with a friend since Jack died, and she still wasn’t ready.

  She eyed the barn, then got out and headed that way. Marilyn must have gotten to her chores late. Shauna found her mother-in-law in the barn tossing hay to her milk cow, Ellen. She wore a tailored pink shirt over slim gray slacks. She refused to wear jeans, even though Shauna had bought her several for her birthday one year.

  Even doing chores, she wore her nice clothes. Though Shauna had never asked Marilyn why she dressed that way, Jack had told Shauna it was part of his mother’s need to control circumstances. Marilyn’s dad had been a high-profile judge who never wore anything but a suit. She’d married Walter, a man just like him, and he’d insisted she present the proper facade to the community. One day she’d dressed in capris in defiance of his decree and had gone for a walk along the beach with Jack. That afternoon Jack’s father choked on a piece of food at a restaurant over lunch and died. Her picture in the capris arriving at the hospital had been on the front page of the paper. According to Jack, she never dressed casually again.

  The familiar blend of farmyard smells made Shauna nostalgic. In the early years of her marriage, before Alex came along, she’d spent a lot of time helping Marilyn in the barn. She’d learned a lot about gardening and farm animals. Though, since Jack died, she’d let weeds take over her own small plot of tomatoes and jalapeños.

  Marilyn turned to hang the pitchfork on the wall and spotted Shauna by the door. She put her hand to her chest. “Goodness, you about gave me a heart attack. Has something else happened?” She came toward Shauna.

  Shauna reached over and plucked a chicken feather from Marilyn’s hair. “Nothing else has happened, but it might. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Alex, so I came back alone.”

  Marilyn lifted a brow and frowned. “Where’s Alex now?”

  Here it comes. Shauna wetted her lips. “Well, that’s part of all this. The sheriff thinks it’s possible that whoever killed Lucy and Clarence might hunt for me next. For protection, Zach Bannister has invited us to move into his spare rooms, just until we know Alex and I aren’t in danger.”r />
  Marilyn’s perfectly shaped brows drew together, and her mouth grew pinched. “That’s ridiculous, Shauna. Kick him to the curb and stay here with me. You don’t want to owe that man anything.”

  “We’d be no safer with you. You’re in the country as well with no close neighbors. We’d have no protection, and I’d just be putting you in jeopardy as well.”

  Marilyn’s scowl deepened. “How can you stand to be around the man who murdered my boy? And to let him be around Alex is worse yet!” She brushed past her and exited the barn.

  Shauna followed and pulled the door shut behind her. She hurried to catch up with Marilyn, who was marching toward the house. “I knew you’d be upset, but it seemed to make sense. My dad is never sober enough to be any help. And Zach offered.”

  Marilyn swung around with her eyes ablaze. “Of course he did. He’s trying to dump his guilt, but that’s an impossible goal. Nothing he says or does could make up for what he did. Murder. Pure and simple murder.”

  Shauna reached toward her, but when Marilyn flinched, she dropped her hand back to her side. “That’s a little harsh. What he did was stupid and foolhardy, but it wasn’t murder. I can see he’s suffered too. He loved Jack. You know he did. They were like brothers.”

  “As a kid he was at this house more than he was at his own, and he repaid my kindness by killing my only child.” Marilyn’s voice grew thick with unshed tears. “I can’t even wrap my head around this.” She turned and rushed for the door.

  “Don’t tell anyone the real reason we’re there,” Shauna called after her. “I don’t want Alex to be frightened. We can stand a little gossip to protect him.” She hurried toward the porch.

  Marilyn slipped inside, and Shauna heard the click of the lock. She shook the doorknob. “Open up, Marilyn. Let’s talk about this.”

  There was no reply, but she heard the quick retreat of Marilyn’s feet. Then the living room light went out, and a few moments later, the upstairs bedroom light came on.