“If you don’t put this van into gear and get home, I’ll tell Logan you tried to carry in the groceries.”
“Don’t you dare! You have no idea what he’d do. He already has a cleaning woman coming in four days a week, two teenage boys handling the ground work at Fairyland, and I get to point to what I want done.”
“I’m counting. One . . . two . . . ” Laura laughed as the van backed out of the driveway and headed down the street.
#
“I’m telling you, Logan, we can manage.”
“I’m sure we can, but you look half dead already.” Logan flashed Laura a boyish smile. “Besides, Josh will be here any minute.”
Laura glared at Kelli’s handsome husband. The previous year he had spent a bundle locating a lost childhood friend for his wife’s Christmas present. Within two weeks he had flown his entire family out to New Mexico for the reunion. He had lovingly watched their daughter while Kelli and Laura had spent days catching up. When they boarded the plane for their return flight, he had passed out tissues and the order that Laura would be visiting Pennsylvania come springtime. Even if he had to fly back to New Mexico to get her. Laura thought Kelli had found a terrific husband, but she was almost too used to doing everything for herself.
“How Kelli puts up with your high-handed attitude is beyond me,” she muttered. “You didn’t have to get your friend to help.”
Logan walked around the back of the horse trailer, shaking his head. “How this thing made it across the country is beyond me. Frowning he kicked a bald tire on the trailer. “You have to meet Josh anyway. Mrs. Billington told Kelli your first assignment for the paper will be joining the scavenger hunt and reporting on it from a participant’s point of view. Kelli already lined up Josh to be your partner. “
“My partner?”
“You have to have a partner to enter.”
Laura opened the passenger door on the Jeep and handed Logan a potted cactus. “Why did Mrs. Billington tell Kelli what my first assignment was?”
“One thing you’ll learn about this town, there are no secrets. Everybody knows everybody else’s business. Besides, Mrs. Billington asked Kelli about finding you a partner for the hunt.”
Laura handed him another cactus and picked up two more. Preceding him into the house, she placed the plants on the floor near the living room windows. “When is this scavenger hunt?”
“This weekend.”
Laura listened to the sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway. “Sounds like your friend has arrived. Do you think I should warn him that I’m a sore loser?”
“No need. With Josh as your partner, you’re bound to win.”
“Has he won it before?”
“Nope. This is the first time he’s entered.”
“Oh, great, an amateur! What I need is someone with experience. I haven’t been in a scavenger hunt since I was in Girl Scouts.”
Logan chuckled as he headed out the kitchen door to greet his friend.
Josh parked the police cruiser behind Logan’s van and stared at the sinister-looking house. Laura Bryant needed therapy, he decided. With a cautious glance at the sagging roof and rotted floorboards on the front porch, he changed his opinion. Laura Bryant needed to be put into a padded cell. Anyone who would spend hard-earned cash for this place was either hiding from the law or crazy.
He heard the slamming of the back screen door and walked around the side of the house. Why did he have to be in Philadelphia last month when Kelli’s friend Laura came to visit? He should have called New Mexico and run a check on her. Union Station was his responsibility; everyone expected him to keep them safe. Now there was a psychotic living among them. He glanced down at the revolver hanging at his hip and wondered if now, after four years of being on the force, he would have to put bullets in it.
Josh rounded the back of the house and froze. Parked on the grass, close to the back door, was the dusty Jeep and horse trailer from the gas station. His gaze jerked from Logan, who was walking toward him, to the woman stepping off the back stoop. Those legs had a name, he thought, and it was Laura.
Laura’s warm smile of greeting slipped as she noted the stunned expression of the police officer standing in her yard. His crystal-blue eyes sparked with recognition and astonishment. The light blue of his uniform shirt nearly matched his eyes, while his short coal-black hair looked soft and inviting. His face was tanned and classically handsome, but in a rough way. It spoke of strength and masculinity, and his sensual lower lip hinted at a more passionate side.
Her gaze drifted downward as Logan made the introductions. Broad shoulders, well-developed arms, and a chest with a silver badge pinned to it were caressed by the standard policeman’s shirt. Navy pants hugged lean hips where a black leather holster held a service revolver. Colombo never looked like this!
Laura walked the few remaining steps toward him and held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Josh. I’m sorry if Logan inconvenienced you tonight. We could manage on our own if you have some other plans.” The man had to have plans, she thought. His little black book probably rivaled the phone directory.
Josh came to his senses with a thud. Her voice held a musical quality that seemed to slip down his spine and touch his soul. Her large deep-brown eyes widened as he briefly shook her outstretched hand. “The only plans I had were to help Logan help you.” His questioning glance shot to the horse trailer. “I had envisioned a moving truck, though.”
“I sold everything that could be easily replaced,” she said. “There wasn’t much left when I was done.”
Josh raised an eyebrow toward Logan, who just shrugged. Wanting to put some distance between Laura and himself, Josh walked to the back of the trailer. As he lifted the bolt and opened the double doors, he heard Laura’s warning shout. Two cardboard boxes tumbled out, aiming for his head. He quickly raised his arms to hold them back and grunted in pain as something bounced off his foot. He vaguely heard Logan’s chuckle as he closed his eyes against the stars dancing before them.
Feeling Logan reach for one of the boxes he was still holding back, Josh hesitantly opened his eyes. Every inch of the trailer was crammed solid. Laura couldn’t have fit even a toothbrush in.
“Are you all right, Josh?” she asked.
He looked down and watched as she picked up a dented toaster. “Sure, us cops are tough.” He moved aside for Logan and took the remaining box down from its perch. “You just stand back and tell us what goes where, and we’ll have you moved in faster that you can say Monongahela River.” He saw a K on the heavy box cradled in his arm and headed for the kitchen.
Laura glanced at the retreating backs of the men and tapped her foot. An idiot could figure out which box went where, she thought. They were all marked. She clutched the toaster, walked to the Jeep, and picked up another cactus.
#
Josh frowned as Laura swept past him carrying a kitchen chair. He quickly realized she wasn’t the type of woman who sat back and let other people do the work. She jumped right in and started grabbing boxes. The trailer was one third empty as he carefully pulled an Indian rug off two oak bureaus. He passed the rug to Logan, then removed the top drawer from the larger bureau.
He started across the yard, but his feet faltered as he looked down into the drawer. Silky undies were neatly stacked next to lacy bras. An enticing aroma of roses and sunshine rose from a decorative sachet nestled in between satiny slips. It wasn’t the intimate apparel that caused him to stumble, it was what was lying on top of them. The garments cushioned a silver hand mirror, brush, and comb with turquoise stones embedded in their handles. Beside the brush was a five-by-seven silver picture frame with a photo of a young man, woman, and small child.
The woman could have been Laura, except he estimated the photo was over twenty years old. That meant the little girl in the black and white photo was Laura. She appeared to be around four. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a feathering of bangs were cut high on her small forehead. She
was dressed in a flower-print dress, white anklets, and sandals. Her smile held the sweet, innocent joy only a child who was well loved and cared for could exhibit. What had happened in her young life that had changed it so drastically he wondered.
Josh climbed the stairs, heading for the bedroom Laura had indicated was hers. He knew she had grown up in foster homes, the same as Kelli, until she graduated from high school. He set the drawer down on the floor and studied the photo once more. What had happened to the smiling couple? Had they deserted Laura, or had they been taken before their time, leaving a small, frightened daughter behind?
He excused the questions as professional curiosity as he hurried past Laura in the kitchen. One fact remained in his head as he pulled another drawer out of the chest. That was one very valuable brush set for a mere newspaper reporter to own.
#
“Please be careful with that,” Laura begged.
Logan and Josh glanced at the black steamer trunk they were pulling from the back of the Jeep. This was the first time Laura had expressed any concern over her possessions.
“What’s in it?” Josh asked curiously.
A guilty flash brightened her cheeks. “Family heirlooms.”
Josh and Logan tightened their grip on the leather handles and lifted the trunk out of the Jeep. Astonishment clouded their faces as they bore its full weight. The trunk felt empty.
Laura hurried before them and held the door. After seeing them safely into the house, she rushed up the steps ahead of them. “It goes up to the third floor.”
“Are you sure you want it on the third floor?” Logan asked.
She grasped her hand in front of her. “Please.”
Josh noticed her discomfort and quickly reassured her. “We’ll put it wherever you want it. It’s your house and your—” he tested the weight of the trunk again—”heirlooms.”
Laura read the unspoken question in his voice and flew up the stairs to the third floor. Quickly she opened the door to the room she had swept out earlier and stepped back. She bit her bottom lip as Josh and Logan lowered the trunk to the floor in the center of the room. “Thank you both.” With a nervous gesture she ushered them from the room, then turned off the hall light and practically dragged them back down the stairs. “How about if I make something to eat and drink?”
“Something cold to drink would be great, but I’m not hungry,” Logan said.
“Ditto for me,” Josh said, still looking puzzled. Laura maintained her rapid pace back to the kitchen. “It’ll be ready in a jiffy.”
“While you find the glasses,” Logan said, following her, “I’ll put the legs on the kitchen table. Josh, why don’t you go set up Laura’s bed for her?”
Josh glared at his friend. It would seem childish to demand to do the table, but the farther he was from Laura’s bed, the better it would be for his overactive hormones. The sight of her long, tanned legs was permanently engraved in his brain. He didn’t need the memory of her bed slats to drive him over the edge. He started to speak, but Logan just grinned at him and strolled into the kitchen.
#
Laura carried a tall glass of lemonade up to her bedroom. A muttered oath emerged from the corner of the room where Josh was battling with the oak headboard. “Need any help?”
Josh glanced up and forced a pleasant smile. The woman didn’t give up, he thought. Here he was, trying to be a helping friend, while she seduced him with icy drinks and damp wisps of hair clinging to her slender neck. “Grab that end of the board and hold it still,” he said.
She placed his drink on the windowsill and did as directed. The bed frame slid together without any more problems. She stepped out from between the frame as Josh carefully placed the slats across it. She helped him pick up the box spring and mattress and fit them on the framework. For the first time in five nights she’d be sleeping in her own bed. With impish delight she threw herself backward and bounced on the mattress.
Josh’s determination started to crumple. His hand trembled as he raised the glass to his lips and downed all of the icy liquid.
Laura bounced once and stilled, staring at Josh’s profile as he gulped the lemonade. His face held the sheen of perspiration and the beginning shadows of his beard. His head was thrown back and his eyes were closed in pleasure. She felt a faint quiver in her stomach as she realized Josh Langley was one very sexy man. He even made drinking old-fashioned lemonade seem sensual and exciting.
He lowered the empty glass and turned his head toward her.
Laura was rising from the mattress, but froze when she encountered his heated stare. Was that desire burning in his eyes? She cursed being nearsighted, and wondered if he’d consent to stay exactly like that while she rummaged through her purse for her glasses?
He frowned and pulled his gaze away from her. “Is there anything else you want done before I leave?”
So much for desire, she thought. “No, you and Logan handled everything. The rest can wait for another day. I’ve been up since four-thirty. All I want now is a hot shower and cool sheets.”
The glass practically cracked in Josh’s grip as he followed her from the room. His eyes locked on her swinging ponytail as they went back down the stairs. Logan was pushing the four wooden chairs around the table as they entered the kitchen. “Are you about ready, Logan?” he asked. “I think our hostess is dead on her feet.”
“Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” Logan asked.
Laura scowled at the two men. “I’ve been living alone for the past ten years. Why won’t I be okay in my own house?”
Josh wanted to voice his concern about the rumors of old man Peterson’s ghost, but kept his mouth closed. Dark circles had formed under Laura’s eyes, and her shoulders were drooping. She didn’t deserve a sleepless night after the day she had put in. Besides, there weren’t any such things as ghosts. “You did check the locks on both doors?” he couldn’t help asking.
“Yes, sir,” she snapped.
“What about the smoke detectors?” Logan asked.
“They were working fine this afternoon. So unless those little copper-top batteries aren’t doing their jobs, I should survive the night.”
Josh bit his cheek to prevent the chuckle from escaping. “Mrs. Billington said you’re not allowed to contact her. She’ll see you Sunday at the covered-dish dinner.”
“Why not? What covered-dish dinner?”
“She doesn’t want you to talk to her until after the scavenger hunt. That way no one can say she passed you any clues. The dinner is held in the park and it lasts all day.”
“Oh. So when is the hunt?”
“It starts Friday night.”
“Friday night? How are we supposed to see to find things?”
Josh glanced at Logan, then back to Laura. “Didn’t anyone tell you anything about the hunt?”
“Just that you would be my partner.” In a hesitant voice she added, “That is, unless you’ve changed your mind?”
“No, I haven’t changed my mind. We’re still partners.” He glanced at his watch and saw it was after nine o’clock. “Okay, partner, this is how it is. The hunt lasts for thirty-six hours straight. Nonstop. I want you to lock these doors and go to bed and sleep for at least eight hours. Tomorrow night I’ll stop by around six with a copy of last year’s clues so you can see what we’re up against.”
“You mean we aren’t going to be looking for leaves in the shapes of the seven wonders of the world, or a bug that has red on it?”
“Oh, Lord, an amateur! Kelli set me up with a girl scout.”
Laura’s temper started to rise. “I can decipher clues as well as the next guy. So, don’t you worry, mister sleuth. I’ll pull my weight.”
Logan coughed and headed out the back door. “Good night, Laura. I’ll tell Kelli you’re all settled in.”
Laura scowled at the swinging screen door. “Thanks, Logan.” She knew he had enjoyed the exchange between herself and Josh. He deserved to choke on his laughter.
> “I’m sorry, Laura,” Josh said. “I didn’t mean to call you an amateur. It’s just that I hate to lose. What kind of an example would I set if the sheriff couldn’t solve most of the clues?”
She took a deep breath and relaxed. Josh was right. It was important that he at least do well, if not win, this hunt. He was going into it handicapped by being partnered with a newcomer. “If you would bring everything you can on past hunts, I’ll fix us dinner tomorrow night so we can discuss strategies.”
An unexpected happiness lightened his heart. “Sounds good. I’ll be here at six.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Lock up and go to bed.” He was outside when his voice floated back. “Can you cook?”
Laura chuckled. “You should have asked that before you accepted,” she said, then shut the solid inner door and clicked the lock.
Josh smiled into the darkness as he rounded the house. Logan, who was blocked in by the police cruiser, was leaning against his van. Josh stopped next to him and slumped against the van’s rear door. “I have only one question.”
Logan raised his eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“What do you suppose the ’family heirloom’ is?” Both men leaned their heads back to stare up at the third floor window. Minutes went by while they considered the question, then they stiffened as a light appeared in the window.
Josh held his breath as a shadow crossed in front of the light. Two minutes later the light was extinguished, leaving only Laura’s bedroom light burning. Josh dragged air into his lungs. No screams filled the night. “She must have checked on the ’heirloom.”’
“Must be valuable,” Logan muttered.
“Or fragile.”
“It really isn’t any of our business what it is. Josh glanced at his friend. “You’re right. Families have, and are entitled to, different things they value.” He pushed himself away from the van and headed for the cruiser. “See you around, Logan. Give Kelli and my goddaughter my love.”
Satin Sheets and Strawberries Page 16
