Raven Falls

by Jill Sanders

  “Thanks, but I know I did,” Raven said with a sigh. “And that’s all that has ever mattered.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Seek what sets your soul on fire

  It took Cade a few days to finally get back up to check on Raven. He’d texted her and even called her, but he’d been too busy to make the trip out there.

  The entire town was alight with a fresh wave of gossip. The murder was the hottest topic, besides Roslyn’s little outburst.

  So far, Cade was thankful that no one was pointing their fingers at Raven. Instead, Colin Brooks and even Morgan Roche were the main masterminds in these tales.

  It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that he and Blue finally drove out to the resort with plans to meet Raven for dinner. She claimed that she had a surprise for him and Blue.

  He figured it was a dog treat or a toy, but when they parked, he noticed the string lights in the courtyard and Raven standing under them, her soft-pink dress almost glowing under the soft lights. Her red hair glowed like flames in the night. He felt his heart skip. Then he noticed she was standing next to a table.

  “What’s all this?” he asked as they approached her, willing his heart to settle back down. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.

  “First things first.” She smiled and bent down to set a plate with an entire steak on it, cut into bite-sized chunks, in front of Blue.

  “Hey, I hope you have one of those for me?” he said, jealous of his dog.

  “I do.” She chuckled. “Ours, I figured you’d want warm.” She motioned to the table. “This is to say thank you. To you both.” She glanced down at Blue, who was wolfing down his steak.

  “For?” he asked, pulling out the chair for her to sit down.

  “Staying with me the other night,” she answered after he took the spot opposite her.

  “It was nothing. Any friend—”

  She held up her hand.

  “I have ulterior motives,” she said with a smile, leaning a little closer.

  “Oh?” His eyes moved to her lips. She was wearing a pale pink lipstick that matched the dress she was wearing. She had diamonds in her ears that sparkled in the overhead lights every time she moved.

  She nodded and leaned back. “This is a trial run.” She turned away from him and nodded.

  Suddenly, two waitstaff appeared from the darkness and handed them menus.

  “Oh,” he said a little less enthusiastic. She laughed.

  “Hey, you get a free meal out of it. Not to mention the company of a… friend,” she added, her eyes meeting his over the menu.

  “Okay.” He nodded in agreement. “I’m game.” He scanned the new menu and whistled. “You’ve added a few more fancy meals on this.”

  “We have,” she agreed. “I’ve been working with an up-and-coming chef who aspires to run the kitchen here one day,” she said with a smile.

  “Oh? Well, let’s see if he or she is any good.”

  “He,” she added.

  After placing their orders, Blue settled down at Raven’s feet and instantly fell asleep.

  “He’s always like that after a big meal,” Cade added with a chuckle.

  “I received a call from your uncle today.” She sipped the wine that she’d ordered. He’d stuck with a Coke, since he knew he’d be driving home later.

  “Yeah? What did he have to say?”

  “He claims that my uncle hired a lawyer and has refused to answer any questions. He also said that my aunt has moved out of the resort and is staying with him in a hotel in Redding.” She played with her wine glass.

  “You didn’t know your aunt had moved out?”

  “After the other day, I sent word through my cousin Cal to let Roslyn know she was no longer welcome here. Now it’s just my cousin Liza who is still hanging around.” Raven shrugged. “Something tells me she won’t be attacking me anytime soon.” She shook her head. “Cal assures me that the last thing Liza wants to do is stay at a second-rate hotel with their parents.”

  “Interesting. I find it fascinating that they continued to all live here over the years. They moved in after the fire, right?”

  “Yes. They had a home on the edge of the burn area but ended up selling it after I left. I think they’ve grown accustomed to having people wait on them hand and foot.”

  “Are you planning on staying here or finding a place of your own in town?” He and so many others in town were curious about her intentions.

  “I had wanted to look to purchase a place of my own, but now…” She shrugged. “Things have taken a turn with finances. I’ll move over to the east building until the west is up to date. Then, when things are more stable, I’ll look for my own place.”

  “You haven’t moved to the east building yet?” He shook his head. “Can I stress the importance of doing so, again?” He leaned closer.

  “Yes.” She smiled. “I’ve been… busy. Besides, I was hoping to wait until David’s crew had a chance to finish some of the rooms before moving over. They’re due to start updating the fire system on the west side next month. Do you know, I have more construction men running around here than I do staff at the moment?” She shook her head and leaned back. “I’m not sure where David is getting them all from.”

  “That’s a good thing. You still have a lot to do.” He motioned towards the doors. “How’s it going inside?”

  “Good. They have the bar area done. I think… with everything that happened, David pulled all the men together to finish the job early. They’ve removed the plastic sheets and put up some temporary plywood walls instead.” She shivered.

  “That’s good.” He nodded.

  “They’ve torn out the old flooring and are replacing it now. They should be done in a day or two. Then they’ll install the new planters we’ll use as separators…” She stopped suddenly. “You didn’t come out here to listen to me talk about the work.” She waved her wine glass. “How is your work?”

  He smiled. “Boring compared to what’s going on around here.”

  “No, please.” She motioned towards him. “I’d like to hear.”

  “Okay.” He shrugged. “Let’s see. First thing Monday morning, we received a call about Brett Dove setting a trash bin on fire.”

  “Brett?” She frowned. “Old man Dove?”

  “The very same.”

  “He’s still alive?”

  He chuckled. “And setting his trash on fire at least twice a month. Since the big one, as everyone in town calls it, every time someone lights a cigarette, we get called.” He watched a sadness creep into her eyes, so he moved on quickly. “Next, I went back to the firehouse, checked all the oxygen tanks, updated my reports, and played a practical joke on the two newbies.” He shrugged. “It’s sort of a rite of passage.”

  She smiled. “See, your job isn’t boring,” she said just as their food was delivered.

  “This coming from the woman who’s rebuilding an entire ski resort,” he said once the waiter left.

  “I’m not rebuilding it with my own hands.” She waved her fork.

  “How was your night with your friends?” he asked suddenly before taking a bite of his steak.

  “Much needed.” She took her own bite of steak.

  “Okay, your new chef has my blessings,” he said after he swallowed. The steak practically melted in his mouth, and the mixture of flavors caused his entire body to tingle with food delight. He couldn’t remember tasting anything this good in the past few years.

  Raven smiled. “I agree. My god, Tim made me lunch today and it was the best salad I’ve eaten in weeks, so when he suggested he make me dinner…” She took another bite and closed her eyes on a low moan. He watched her intently, his mind switching away from hunger for the food to hunger for her. “I think I’m going to have to bump him up from waiter to chef.”

  “He has my vote.” He tried to focus on the food instead of the sexy little moans emanating from Raven.

  They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the
cool evening of summer. In a few more weeks he knew they’d been in full drought as the summer heat dried up the California hills that surrounded the town.

  For now, everything around them remained green, lush, and alive.

  “I wish I knew more about how Joe died,” Raven said after she pushed her plate away. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  “My uncle is keeping it under tight wraps. I think he doesn’t want it spreading around town.” He took his last bite and then leaned back in the chair. “I thought you would know how he died.”

  “How, I mean, sure, I saw the aftermath.” She shrugged and closed her eyes. “But how…” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t even know where they found…”—she took a deep breath— “the rest of him.”

  Cade frowned into his drink. He hadn’t expected the conversation to take this dark turn, but she had probably been thinking about it since that night. The fact that he was one of the only people she could talk to about it had him leaning forward.

  “More important is the question of who would or could have done such a thing?” she asked.

  “Okay, so let’s figure it out together. My uncle doesn’t share work with me, but I have heard a few things.”

  She smiled slightly. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She bent down and pulled a notepad from her purse. “My friends and I have made a list.” She flipped the pages.

  “Is this one of the reasons you asked me here tonight?” he teased. “To play cop.”

  Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks turned pink. She looked even more beautiful in the sparkling lights as she grew flustered.

  “No,” she said quickly and started putting the notepad away.

  “I was joking,” he said with a smile as he covered her hand with his. “I’ve been thinking a lot about who would do this and why also,” he said, not willing to tell her the other questions that raced through his mind. “Let’s go over your list. Who knows, it might help.”

  He was very curious to see what the friends had come up with. He’d heard rumors all throughout town about Joseph Ramsey. Everyone who had known the man claimed that he’d been a nice enough man.

  So far, what Cade had heard about the man was just the basic facts. He’d never been married and had lived in town until his home and business had burned down along with all the rest. Then he had moved to Redding. That was it. He’d also learned from Raven that he’d been friends with her father back in the day.

  “Well, the most important questions we had were…” She opened her notepad and scanned the pages. “Who did Joe have a meeting with? Why was he in that elevator? Who had something to gain from his death?” She glanced up at him. “Those are the biggest questions besides how he died. I mean, the technical aspects. I can’t imagine that overpowering someone is easy, let alone…” She made a motion by swiping her finger over her throat.

  “Right.” He nodded. “Okay, as for the meeting part, I’m sure my uncle has figured that out. If he was any good at his job, Joe would have had records. Calendars.” He shrugged. “Schedules.”

  “Right.” Raven nodded. “I’d hoped to talk to Ruth Downing about it, but she rescheduled our meeting until next week.”

  “Joe’s assistant?”

  “Well, more like partner. The way Joe introduced her, it sounded more like Ruth was running the business and Joe was just helping out occasionally. He retired a few years back,” Raven added.

  “Right. Okay, let’s assume we get the information on who he was meeting. As to why he was in that elevator… You said that night that you’d believed you’d shut it down. Was that due to maintenance?”

  “Yes and no. It wasn’t that the elevator was broken, though most of them on the property need some maintenance, which is scheduled.” She held up her finger. “Now that I’ve hired back the maintenance company, they’ll be here first thing Monday morning to start inspecting each elevator and doing repairs.”

  “Then why was it shut down?” he asked.

  “Because of the construction. That elevator is the dining elevator.”

  He shook his head. “The…”

  She smiled. “It’s a quick access to the dining room. For guests heading down to dinner. It exits in the formal dining room. Instead of waiting for a main elevator, guests could take it instead.”

  “Right.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s a thing.”

  She chuckled. “It was when this place was built.” She glanced around at the main buildings hovering over them. “The main building”—she motioned behind him— “was built in nineteen thirty-two. The time when men wore tuxes and women were draped in silk, furs, diamonds, and pearls as they made their way down to dinner.” Her voice had turned dreamy, and her eyes became unfocused. “This place was one of the first luxurious ski resorts within driving distance of San Francisco. Of course, back then it would have taken guests a lot longer to drive up here from the city, which meant they stayed longer.” She leaned her elbows on the table, and he watched her disappear into the daydream of the history of the place. “There was just the main building back then, and only two ski runs.” She chuckled and her eyes turned to him. “You should have seen what they considered a ski lift back then.” She shook her head. “I remember seeing pictures in my father’s office.” She seemed to snap out of the daydream. “Sorry, I’m getting off topic.”

  “Right.” He smiled.

  “Dinner elevators.” She straightened. “Okay, so, I had it shut down a couple days before. I remember David mentioning that his guys had cut the power to it. They didn’t want any guests or employees accidently walking in on the construction zone. Besides, we don’t need it running, at least not until guests start arriving.”

  “Okay, so how did it get turned back on?” he asked.

  She tapped the notebook. “Another question we have. I asked David, and he claims that he’s asking his workers and will let me know when he finds out. He’s shut it down again, at least until the maintenance crews come on Monday.”

  “Which leaves us with the question of who had something to gain from his death,” he pointed out.

  “Right.” Raven frowned. “My uncle and Morgan Roche are top of that list.” She glanced down at the notebook. “They had the most to gain from his death to keep Joe from finding out about the money they’d stolen.”

  “So you’re saying they killed Joe to keep their embezzling from being exposed? From going to jail?”

  “It’s a theory.”

  “Hadn’t you already exposed them?”

  “To a point. I mean, Joe was looking into the accounts further. To build the case against them.” She bit her bottom lip.

  “I’m not buying that,” he said after a moment. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

  How many times had he believed Raven was guilty of all the horrors the townspeople had accused her of? How many years had he believed that she was guilty of not only the destruction of the entire town, but of basically murdering thirty people? Including her own parents.

  He ran his eyes over her face and realized he’d been such a fool. He’d fallen into the trap of believing what was easy because of his pain and his anger. He’d wanted to blame her for his pain because she’d been absent. A faceless, guilty party at which he could direct all the pain that had been inflicted on him and others. If he had learned anything over the past few weeks since Raven had returned, it was that everything was not always as it seemed.

  “Not everything is as cut-and-dried as it first seems.” He leaned forward suddenly and locked eyes with her, then lifted her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. “Take you for example.”

  “Me?” Her voice was barely a whisper in the night air.

  “Sure.” He pulled her up to stand next to him, then nudged her closer until they were so close, the scent of her soft perfume mixed with that of the freshly planted rose bushes a few feet away. “If I believed everything that was said about you, then I wouldn’t be here, with you, like this.” His eyes ra
n down to her mouth. “Wanting to kiss you.”

  Her breath hitched and her lips curved up.

  “Then I suppose we need to look at the possibility that my uncle and his mistress are innocent.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

  “There should be music,” he said suddenly. “And a dance floor.” He started to sway with her as the sound of crickets filled the air.

  “I’ll add it to my list of improvements.” She moved easily with him. “Where did you learn to dance?” she asked after a moment.

  He smiled. “Are you kidding? I was raised by two women.” He chuckled. “Both Reggie and I were taught the proper way to dance since the moment we could walk.”

  A slight frown curved her lips downward. “I… can’t remember Reggie ever being this smooth.”

  He sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. “He was just a kid,” he said, his eyes going unfocused. “It’s strange, but I can’t really remember him sometimes. I’m thankful my gran had some photos.”

  She remained silent. “I wouldn’t mind seeing them. There’s a lot I’ve forgotten. I only have pictures of my parents that were left here at the resort,” she said softly. He could hear the pain in her tone.

  He brought their swaying to a stop and looked down at her. “I really want to kiss you,” he said, his eyes searching hers.

  She smiled up at him. “I’d like that.”

  The last time he’d kissed her, it was to distract her from the horrors she’d just witnessed. This time, it was for purely selfish motives.

  He couldn’t remember ever feeling lips as soft or perfect against his own before. The way her body fit against his, it was kismet. A perfect fit.

  When she tilted her head, giving him better access, he took more. Needed more. He no longer cared where they were, how many people could be watching, or how much time had gone by. All that mattered was breathing her in.