Heron Park

by C. K. Raggio

  Her father’s eyes widened. He glanced at Sam and his daughter. A grin erased his concern. “That, Agent Sanders, is a promise.”

  There was no way Rick could go back in there. He wasn’t good at goodbyes. “Can you tell her I had to leave?”

  Her father looked from Cassie, back to Rick. “Um, yeah, I’ll tell her.”

  Cassie’s eyes met Rick’s as he turned and hobbled away. He had a feeling he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

  Hill came down the hallway, his arm in a sling. A nurse pushed Flemings’ wheelchair. He had a cast to his groin. It was going to be a very long trip home.

  “Did you see her?” Hill asked.

  Rick kept moving. “Yeah, I’ll meet you guys downstairs.”

  He needed to leave before he lost his nerve. Before he broke down and gave Cassie the option. She’d already been through hell. She didn’t have room for three men in her life. She’d be better off without him.

  Hill blinked at him.

  Flemings sneered. “You finally get turned down? About time a woman saw through your shit.”

  “Go fuck yourself, Flemings,” Rick said through gritted teeth. “Oh, and just so you know. Your wife was screwing half the department, it wasn’t just me.”

  The nurse gasped and Hill grabbed onto Flemings’ shoulders before he fell out of the wheelchair. He shook his fist and yelled something at Rick.

  It was going to be a really long ride home.

  ~~~

  Cassie dropped the newspaper down on her kitchen table. There wasn’t a mention of Steven Bailey. Not even a blurb. It made sense. Two months to the day had passed since his death. But still, the months it’d taken them to catch him felt like years. It didn’t seem right that he wasn’t all over the news. He’d taken so many lives, ripped apart so many families.

  If she ever wanted to see Steven again, she only had to go as far as her bed. Her dreams were filled with his face. She woke up every night in a cold sweat, her side screaming like Steven’s knife was still imbedded there.

  Izzy was in her dreams too. So was Rick. She’d lost two people she cared about. But at least Rick wasn’t dead. She still didn’t understand why he hadn’t said goodbye. Why he looked so heartbroken when he’d walked away from her room.

  She hadn’t taken the words he whispered in her ear on the plane seriously, she’d been too focused on his thoughts about Sam. But the way he’d watched Sam at her bedside in the hospital room, made her think that maybe his words had been true.

  It was probably for the best. Even if he hadn’t left the way he did, she wasn’t sure if it would’ve changed anything about their relationship.

  How do you live without somebody you love? Somebody you care about? Just keep breathing.

  She followed her own advice, took a deep breath, and glanced out the window at her father and Sam. They carried rods and other fishing gear from the truck to the boat. There was no wind outside and the bay was like a sheet of glass. The sun glistened off it like a million lightning bugs on speed.

  Stepping outside, she inhaled the salty air. Her side itched and she ran a gentle hand over the scar below her ribs. She’d had a few set backs with infections. It was healing nicely now, though. She’d be back to work in a week.

  She’d talked to Hill a few days ago. He called to let her know they finally spoke to the real Josh Meyers, Steven’s brother. He ran a guard dog-training center. They couldn’t even find a parking ticket on his record. The most they could do is keep an eye on him. Maybe he didn’t even know what his brother had been up to. But something deep inside her screamed otherwise. She had a feeling he had a huge part in everything, but without evidence there was nothing any of them could do about it.

  Sable bounded from around the house. She slowed as she neared Cassie and came to a skidding halt at her feet.

  “Hey, girl, how ya doing?” Cassie scratched her behind the ear before the dog sprinted off over the dune.

  “You’re coming with us, right?” her father asked as he walked by.

  “Wouldn’t miss it. Just let me grab a sweatshirt.”

  Her Islanders sweatshirt seemed to scream from her closet for her to put it on. She slid it over her head and walked back out.

  Her father was shaking his head and said to Sam, “When are you two gonna get together? I mean make a move already.”

  “Well…” Sam started, then rolled his eyes when he caught sight of Cassie. He turned back to her father and raised his voice. “Never if she insists on wearing a shirt like that. Are you kidding me right now?”

  Cassie laughed as she strolled past him to the boat. “What? It’s not my fault your Rangers were humiliated in the last game against us.”

  “Hey, easy now, sweetheart,” Sam snorted. “We wouldn’t want you to fall off the boat and ruin your hideous shirt.”

  Her father cleared his throat. “All right you two, enough. One of you is going to end up in the water. And, I have a feeling that person’s name won’t be Cassie.”

  Sam winked at her.

  Her father joined them on the boat and started the engine. Cassie looked to the beach, knowing what the sound would bring. Sable came first, followed by Sassy, previously known as Peggy.

  Cassie still wouldn’t admit to anyone that she’d fallen in love with the little black dog that Steven left behind. Especially to Sam, who had brought the dog home from the shelter. He didn’t have a choice but to get Sassy out of there, he’d insisted. They were going to put her down.

  Surprisingly, the dog didn’t trigger the bad memories Cassie had feared. When Sassy’s nub of a tail wagged, she couldn’t help but feel the simple joy that only a dog owner could understand.

  Bringing up the rear of the threesome was Snow. Cassie smiled as the three dogs jumped aboard the boat. After Snow’s four surgeries and a bout of pneumonia, they’d all but given up hope. She’d surprised them all.

  Cassie released the lines and shoved off. Snow took her spot on the bow. She nosed the wind, balancing on three legs. They’d removed her mauled front leg when the infections started to spread. It was a hard decision, but it saved her life and Snow didn’t seem to notice the handicap.

  They started down the inlet. Cassie let the wind whip at her hair. An osprey dove from the sky and plucked a fish from the blue-black depths of the bay. Predator and prey.

  “What are you thinking about?” Sam came up next to her. He placed a hand at her hip, his other rested on the side of the boat.

  She grinned, looking up at him. “Nothing. Just enjoying life.”

  Her father slowed as he went past the last house on the beach. This would be a great opportunity. Cassie pivoted off her foot, ducked under Sam’s arm and shoved him with all her might.

  His eyes widened. “Ahh.” He hit the water with a slap and splash. Icy droplets sprayed Cassie’s face.

  Her father put the boat in neutral. “Really? What are you guys? Teenagers?”

  Cassie leaned over the side. She knew she’d be going in anyway, so she helped it along and jumped. The freezing water covered her head and stole her breath away.

  Her father shut down the engine, letting the boat drift with the tide and walked to the stern. The dogs barked and hung over the back, staring down at them.

  “I should leave you two idiots out here to swim to shore.” He tried to sound serious, but failed miserably. His eye sparkled as Sam boosted Cassie up before climbing in after her.

  “You guys done now?” he asked. “Blankets are in the cabin, along with some extra clothes. I’m not going back, so you better hope the sun stays out.” He headed back toward the helm, his smirk becoming a frown.

  Cassie followed his gaze. A heron waded in the shallows, looking for its lunch. It turned its head and stared at her as they drifted by. Cascades of water dripped from her sweatshirt onto the deck. Her teeth chattered.

  An image of Izzy’s lifeless body on the bench and the screeching call of a heron flying overhead filled Cassie’s mind. Would she ever
not think of Izzy when she saw one of those birds?

  The boat’s diesel engine sputtered to life. The heron spread its enormous wings and took flight. A blanket fell around her shoulders and she gave Sam a sad smile.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  Izzy was dead, but so was her killer. She hadn’t failed, Steven did, and it was because of her. She’d fulfilled her promise to herself and her partner. “Yeah.” She gazed into his green eyes, at the specks of amber. His dimples deepened with his smile.

  What if Steven’s brother took over where he left off? Would he come after her? Her family?

  She turned, rested her chest against Sam’s and wrapped her arms around his neck. If Josh came after any of them, she’d take him out just like she took out his brother. Sam kissed her forehead and her thoughts of murder and killing faded away. She’d never felt safer, more content than at this moment.

  Sam’s eyes widened and slammed shut as she moved in, tilting her face toward his. His lips were cold, wet. Perfect.

  Her father let out a triumphant laugh from the front of the boat.

  Everything would be just fine, as long as she remembered to breathe.

  THE END

  I hope you enjoyed reading Heron Park as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to hear your honest and thoughtful reviews.

  Please follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ckRaggio or contact me through my blog: http://www.ckraggio.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cover Art and Formatting were all thanks to the talented and wonderful ninjaMel from http://www.ninjameldesigns.com

  Edited by the brilliant author/editor Glen Krisch http://www.glenkrisch.wordpress.com Please be sure to check out his novels and short stories at Amazon.

  Thank you to my friends and family for their support and encouragement.

  For my husband, for giving me the time to chase after my dream.

  And for the Rock Stars at CritiqueCircle.com Without all of you my dream would never have become a reality. A million thank yous! Rachelle Ayala, RD Brady, David Bridge, “Carla”, HC Elliston, Pam Godwin, Dana Griffin, Jordan Mierek, “Mooderino”.

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright ©2012 by Christine King-Raggio

  All Rights Reserved

  Heron Park is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or article, without written permission from the author.