Inside her room, the windows muffled sounds of birds singing and a distant lawnmower running. Kelsey padded to the window on bare feet, then settling on the window seat, she picked up her old panda bear, hugged him and looked out at the dew-drenched gazebo. Had it always looked this romantic?
She sat there until the sun rose hot in the clear blue sky. A frown knit Kelsey’s brow. He should have been back by now. Unwilling to sit inside and moon over her new love on a gorgeous Indian summer morning, Kelsey reluctantly took a shower, then dressed in an emerald-green silk shirt and dug into the back of her closet, where she’d hidden her favorite jeans. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of smoke, but she hadn’t trusted Martha to wash her jeans; for fear that she wouldn’t get them back. As she pulled them on, she glanced at Doran’s shirt. It wouldn’t do to have Martha find those items in her room. Kelsey went through her bathroom into Doran’s adjoining room. She inhaled the masculine scent he’d left in the room and wondered what it would have been like to wake a few moments earlier – just enough to watch him dress and perhaps give him a kiss good-bye.
She buried her nose in his shirt and smelled their mingled scents. The aromas seemed right together. Kelsey smiled as she draped it over a chair and smoothed her hands over the comforting fabric.
Quietly, she went back to her own room and slipped the photo of the unknown girl into her pocket. She wasn’t quite certain why she never wanted to go anywhere without the old picture, which had come to mean so much to her, but somehow the blue-eyed girl represented all the unknown kids that she hoped to help if she won the election.
When she got outside, the sunlight felt hot as a caress against her skin, but there was no comparison to the way Doran touched her. Kelsey turned to her right, quickly walked through the herb garden, then slowed down when she entered the rose garden. Picking an aimless route, she sauntered from one statue to another, pausing to study each. While she circled the reproduction of Michelangelo’s David, thinking that if the artist had wanted to capture perfection, he should have lived a few more centuries and met Devlin Doran. When she walked around Venus, she wished she could compare to the tall, statuesque beauty. With a sigh, she realized that Devlin Doran had made her feel as if she did.
Dreamily, she sat on a sturdy concrete bench, held up by Corinthian columns and breathed in the rich scent of the flowers. Forevermore, no matter what happened, whenever she smelled this lush blend, she would tingle with thoughts of romance and love. Kelsey finally got up and slowly walking from flower to flower, bending over and drinking in the individual perfumes: this one floral, that one exotic spice.
Kelsey didn’t realize that the gazebo was her destination until she arrived at it. Her hand caressed the handle for a moment before she opened the door and went inside.
So many of her happy memories had been formed here. She’d sat cross-legged on the wood floor and listened to her grandmother talk about horticulture and expound on the uses of her favorite herbs. Together, they’d painted the floor and woodwork hunter green to honor the happiness and beauty plants brought to their lives.
Kelsey sighed at the memory of her sloppy strokes getting more paint on herself and the screen, instead of the lattice. The paint was worn, but she was a much better painter, now. Kelsey decided that when she could go home, the first thing she would do would be repaint her door as a tribute to Grandma Rose. Or maybe do it as a tribute to new love. Perhaps the lovely green could serve both purposes.
In the distance, a streak of red rocketed up the drive. The idiot drove like Zoë, but it couldn’t be Zoë, because she‘d been forbidden to enter the gate since Martha had realized she would never be anything but a shameless tramp. If Zoë had learned early on that sexual attraction could be so wonderful, it was no wonder she acted the way she did. Kelsey sat down on the fainting couch and caressed the sun-faded fabric.
Outside, a hummingbird darted among the peace rose’s flowers; its ruby throat a striking contrast against the pale petals. Would Doran be like the hummingbird, or would they find a way to stay together? It had taken her years to find the one man she truly loved. “Let him feel the same,” she whispered.
In the distance, a car door slammed.
Kelsey stretched out on the chaise on the couch and gazed up at the rustic rafters. The faint fragrance of his cologne mixed with her perfume, the aroma of the garden and the musky tang of love. But would it be love everlasting for him, as it would certainly be for her? She listened to the whirl of the hummingbird’s wings and fell asleep to thoughts of her hopes. She dreamed of Doran’s lips trailing a sensual path down her neck and his breath hot against her lips as he bent toward her for a kiss. She sighed in her sleep and welcomed the dream with open arms, but moments later, she was startled awake.
Zoë clomped across the room on lethally high crimson heels, while the screen door bounced against the frame. Kelsey sat upright so fast that the gazebo seemed to revolve around her. Zoë put her hands on her hips, where they nearly covered the miniscule red leather skirt. “Kelsey, you need to drop out of this election. I know Marv and he has to win.” Her chest heaved against the skimpy white lace shirt. “I don’t know why, but he does.”
Kelsey blinked several times. “He can threaten me with dead chickens all he wants. I’m not quitting.”
“He didn’t leave that, I did." Zoë sat heavily on the corner of the couch, tears welling in her eyes.
"You were responsible for the chickens?" Kelsey stared at her in disbelief. Just when you thought you knew someone, you find out that you don’t know them at all.
Zoë nodded. Head down, she cleared her throat. "I wanted to scare you off before you got hurt more than you already had been.” Tears and mascara created rivulets down her cheeks, but she seemed unable to look her in the eye. Still, Kelsey was certain that for once, Zoë was telling the unvarnished truth. “Jesus Christ,” Zoë said, her tone broken by misery, “he had someone cut your brakes, just like Rams’ because he wanted Rams out of the way.” She swallowed and took a quick peak at Kelsey. “Marv will kill anyone and everyone necessary to get what he wants. I never wanted to see that truth, but I’ve had to face it. Please, oh please drop out so you stay safe.”
Kelsey sat up straight, unable to get past the worst shock. “You put that damned thing on my door?” Zoë nodded. “Were you responsible for both of Ramsey’s too?” Though Zoë shook her head, her guilty look said 'yes'. Kelsey gritted her jaw and spoke through her teeth. “Did you deliberately seduce Byron and break my engagement?”
Zoë’s expression hardened. “He was bad news. I didn’t want you hurt.”
She was right and she could keep Byron, but if she so much as looked at Devlin, she’d wring her neck.
Zoë brushed away tears and edged away from her. “I only did Ram's first chicken; the one with the warning note." She wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands, stark black streaks made her cheeks looked like she was part zebra. "I was trying to save him, too,” her tone rose to a whine. Zoë folded her arms across her stomach, as if in pain. “He wouldn’t listen to me, either. No one listens to me when I warn them." Zoë suddenly leaned close and grabbed her hand. "If he’d dropped out, Abby and Jenny would still be alive and you’d be safe.”
Kelsey looked from their hands to Zoë’s desperate expression. If she’d known to warn them, it meant she got her information from somewhere. “How did you know someone tampered with my car?"
She let go of her hand. “I can’t tell you how I know, but I’ve known him and been afraid of him for most of my life.” Zoë crossed her heart, as they’d done since she was a toddler. “That’s the truth. The honest to God truth.” She swiped at her tears and created more smudges. Kelsey studied her, wondering if she’d ever understood her or her motives. Zoë gulped. “I know I’m not worth much to you and you really hate me, bu-“
“I do not hate you.” Kelsey took Zoë’s hands between both of hers and squeezed them. “I don’t like what you’ve done with your life, but I love you as
a person and sister.”
Zoë cried harder.
Kelsey drew close and hugged her. Not knowing what to do or say, she let her cry on her shoulder and gently patted her back. “I don’t know what to think about the ways you’ve tried to protect me and Rams, but I appreciate the motive behind your actions.” How could anyone have believed a stinking, fly-encrusted chicken would make anyone worth their salt change their mind?
Zoë’s tears fell in a hot, wet stream against her shoulder. “I love you, too.” She shuddered. “That’s why I have to help you.” Zoë straightened and grabbed her biceps. “You have to quit.”
If she quit, Marvin would certainly win and the voters would lose. Kelsey sighed. “I can’t.”
“But he’ll kill you.”
Not with Devlin protecting her. She hoped. “If that’s what is meant to be, I’ll die for a good cause. Which is more than I can say about staying safe in a laboratory altering orchid genes.”
Zoë wrenched free and ran out, sobbing as if she'd lost her last friend. Kelsey lunged after her, then stopped midway to the banging door, which bounced adding percussion to Zoë's wails. Unwilling to follow Zoë, she and began to pace. Physical movement couldn’t overcome the emotional baggage Zoë had left in the atmosphere. And it certainly didn’t explain why Zoë had been so convinced she needed to be scared safe, that she’d found a dead chicken to hang on the door.
Why a chicken, or all things? Did it represent something particular, or had it simply been easy to get? Kelsey frowned at the memory of the bird’s smelly feathers. For certain, she hadn’t gotten it from any grocery store she’d ever been to.
Where on earth would anyone get a chicken with feathers?
Too many questions; too few answers.
Walking had always helped her think. And it was an activity she hadn’t had enough time for since she’d stepped in to help Ramsey. She needed a good, long walk to clear her mind and help her find the answers. Kelsey quietly went out and headed toward the trail that wound under an arbor covered with clematis, through the cut flower garden, and then branched, one path circling toward the pond, the other paralleling the main driveway to the gatehouse. Pretty as they were, swan bites left scars. She glanced back toward the house, to make certain Devlin hadn’t returned while she’d been distracted by Zoë, but his black suburban wasn’t where he always parked. The sun felt hot on her back. Which guard had let Zoë in? It was a question, which could be easily answered. Teeth clenched, Kelsey spun on her heel and walked briskly toward the gatehouse, confident that a good mile or three would bring more than one answer to her questions.
Kelsey ducked behind a broad oak trunk that bordered the driveway and glanced back. Zoë was carrying her shoes and moving fast toward the gazebo. Kelsey looked up in the branches at the surveillance camera and shook her head at the useless technology.
“Kel, where are you?” Though distant, Zoë’s voice was too close.
She could either cower behind this tree trunk until Zoë was gone or she could find out which guard was on duty. Without a backward glance, Kelsey jogged down the trail.
As she trotted around the final curve and the gatehouse came in sight, she heard an engine and saw a white sedan pull up to the gate. The guard stepped out and chatted with the driver, as if greeting a friend.
Kelsey squinted to see if she recognized the friendly guard, but the wrought iron made identification impossible. What she did see was the emblem of the county sheriff on the car door. Perhaps the guard had been smart enough to phone for backup after Zoë got in. When the guard stepped backward, Kelsey slowed to a fast walk. The car door opened and an unmistakable portly figure emerged. Since when did Sheriff Botts come out on nuisance calls?
Kelsey slowed her pace and glanced back. Zoë’s distant white and red figure jiggling and wiggling down the path toward her. If the guard had identified Zoë as the problem, she’d bet a month of Tuesdays that Botts had come for the opportunity to frisk Zoë. Kelsey looked in one direction, then the other, uncertain which way seemed less savory. Still, she wanted to know which idiot had let Zoë in. As she studied the man’s profile, the guard began making sweeping gestures. Kelsey frowned and wondered why his body language appeared defensive.
Bits of the conversation came to her. “Can’t let you n-” Jake pointed to his cruiser then flashed his badge. The guard shook his head.
If the guard hadn’t called him, why was he here? Kelsey jogged to the gate. More phrases came to her. By the time she got to the wrought iron, it was obvious that the guard had not phoned for backup.
“Afternoon, Jake, what brings you out?”
Botts looked relieved to see her. “There’s been an accident. Someone named Doran is asking for you.”
Kelsey gasped. "Devlin Doran?"
Jake eagerly nodded. “Said you were here, but your man refused to phone the house."
Kelsey gulped. “How bad is it?”
Jake shrugged. “He's at County General.” He gestured to his cruiser. “You want I should call them and ask?”
She nodded.
The sheriff got into his vehicle and spoke into the microphone. Though she strained to hear the conversation, but his voice wasn't loud enough. After an unbearable wait, while she sweated through the back of her shirt, Jake got out. Face sad, he walked to stand a foot from her on the other side of the gate. “Looks like his brakes failed.” Jake looked sad as a sagging hound dog. “He’s not so good, but they’re operating and hope it’ll turn out good.”
Kelsey’s knees felt like they’d turned to water and she sagged against the gate.
Jake reached through the bars, trying to support her. “You okay Ms. Kelsey?”
Was she?
“You want me ta give you a lift to the hospital?”
She weakly nodded. Jake turned to the guard. “Donny, open the gate.” The guard half saluted and touched a button. “Careful, now, just a bit, so’s I can get in there to help her.”
As the sheriff scooted inside, Zoë screamed. “No!”
Awful as the thought of Devlin being hurt was, at least it had provided an escape from Zoë’s whining. Kelsey hung onto Jake's beefy arm and let him support her to the passenger door. “Hop in.”
As she got in, a yowl of misery slashed the air. Sheriff Botts turned around as if he’d been attacked from behind. Kelsey slammed the door shut, grateful to have a means of escaping Zoë and her endless supply of confusion. As the door closed, Zoë stopped running toward them, sank to her knees and began crying loud enough to be heard in the next county.
Chapter Eighteen
Doran grabbed his cellular phone, and tapped in Quinn’s code number. "Hey, I've got a problem."
"You and me both."
"The Burb lost its brakes."
"Are you hurt?"
“Of course not, but I’m damned determined to get Ling for once and for all.” Doran sighed. “In the meantime, I need a wrecker and another set of wheels.”
“I’ll get Trent on it. Where are you?”
By the time Doran dropped Trent back at the office, he was royally pissed at his lapse of attention to detail and determined to make Ling pay ten-fold.
Quinn was right, if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with Kelsey, he would have made a through inspection of his ride before he got in. Instead, he’d been thinking about Kelsey, love and tenderness, just like he’d been doing ever since he saw her photo.
As he drove Trent’s old blue pickup toward Beja Flora, he told himself that he had to end it before it went any further. They had a lot of hearsay and some incriminating evidence on Marvin Frederickson, but no incontrovertible proof and nothing to truly exonerate the MacLennans. Particularly not since his ride could have been sabotaged in their compound. Of course, the damage might have been done at the auditorium, but it didn’t seem like it should have taken that long for the lines to leak out.
Still, in his heart of hearts, he didn’t want to believe that either Kelsey or her family were involved in Ling’s
sordid schemes. And if he couldn’t be objective, he would jeopardize himself and everyone trying to help him.
It was time to bail out.
Trent’s truck rattled up to the guardhouse and he leaned out. The door slammed open and Zoë shot out of the shelter. “I thought you were half dead or something.” Her cheeks were a mess of runny mascara and her eyes were red-rimmed.
How the heck had she heard about the accident? A better question was who had told her. He smiled and adopted a casual tone. “Why would you think that?”
Zoë’s bosom heaved, as if she’d run a marathon. “Sheriff Botts was here and said so.” The guard behind her nodded as he tried to sidestep for a better view down her overstuffed lace shirt. “He told Kelsey you’d been hurt and she left with him. You’re supposed to be getting some kinda operation.” Zoë looked at him, as if searching for injuries.
“Where am I supposedly getting this done at?”
Zoë sniffed and shrugged.
“Sheriff Botts took her to you,” the guard said. “I think they were going to County General,” he grinned. “She’ll sure be happy to find out the guy that got hurt wasn’t you.”
“She left with Botts?” They both nodded. “Shit!” Doran exploded. “They got her.” And by using the lamest old trick, too. He should have warned her.
Fresh tears ran down Zoë’s cheeks. “He got her for Marv, didn’t he?”
“That’d be my guess.”
“Marv always calls Jake ‘the good sheriff’,” Zoë sobbed.
“They left about twenty minutes ago,” the guard said.
“I watched her go,” Zoë wailed. “And I screamed for her not to, but she never, ever listens to me.
Doran leaped out of the old truck and grabbed Zoë. “Snap out of it.” He gave her a little shake. “If you lose it, she won’t have a chance.”
“Oh God, she’s going to die because I didn’t stop her, again.”
“Think,” he shouted. “Where would Frederickson have her taken?”
“I don’t know.”
Deadly Rumors Page 25
