by Hebby Roman
Jared sat on the couch and blew out a long breath. Everyone’s gaze was locked on him, anxious to know what happened. Carmen was certainly curious although she imagined there wasn’t much to tell other than the dead man’s identity.
“The victim is Kevin Maloney, the council guy.” Everyone nodded in acknowledgement. They already knew about his neck being cut open since Carmen had described it. It felt so wrong that the entire time he talked, she fought harder not to stare at his lips or eyes than to remember every detail of what she’d seen or heard when heading to the cabin.
“Detective Stabler is coming over here. He’ll need to ask you questions, Carmen.”
“Oh...yes...of course.” She’d thought Jared would be the one questioning her.
Moments later, the doorbell sounded and a stout man with beady eyes entered the room. He wore a blue shirt, black pants and black tie. The man had bags under his eyes and the look of that one professor who never smiled.
“Good evening everyone. I have questions for each of you. Anyone else that may have been at the cabins today as well.” His small eyes went to each of them. “It’s going to be a long night.”
Carmen frowned. “Is he friend or foe?” she whispered to Jared.
“Both.”
“Detective Stabler, this is Carmen Dias, a writer from Atlanta. She’s the one who found Maloney.”
Stabler eyed her as if she were a clue. “Young lady. Sorry about the way Montana welcomed you.”
So maybe he wasn’t so bad.
Two hours later, her opinion changed. Detective Stabler had her go over every detail of the walk to the scene and what she saw several times. Each time he’d stopped her mid-sentence to ask more questions until she wanted to punch him in the face.
Finally Jared stepped in. “I think you’ve got what you need. If anything else comes to mind, I’ll ensure to let you know.”
Carmen wanted to cry from exhaustion allowing Jared to guide her to the kitchen where Williams had already questioned Henry and another ranch hand. Natalie and Rick were told to go in to be interviewed by Stabler.
Their questioning only lasted ten minutes or so. However, both looked as drained as she felt when they returned to the kitchen.
“You should probably stay here at the main house tonight. We’ve done a sweep of the area, but I imagine you’re nervous.” Jared’s hazel gaze met hers. The green was darker than normal, she supposed due to the intensity of the situation.
“I agree, stay here. This is horrible. I insist,” Natalie said seeming to be close to tears. “I feel horrible about all this.”
Carmen decided she wasn’t going to cower. She didn’t expect anything to happen with all the police crawling around.
In Atlanta it was nothing to wake up to sirens at least once a week or have to skip an elevator when some sort of public servant took it over for some emergency in her building.
“I’m okay. I’m from the city. Stuff like this is not a big deal.” This however was different. Not only was it a small town, but also everyone seemed to know the victim and his family. And of course, there was the fact she’d found the body.
“Is there anything else you noticed or saw that you can think of?” Jared asked as they walked to her cabin. She suspected he didn’t offer to drive so that it would give her time to breathe fresh air and consider his questions.
“No. Like I said, I thought I saw a shadow in the woods, but it seemed too small to be a human. I thought maybe it was a large bird or something.”
He nodded and took her arm to guide her around a tree stump. They made it up the steps and Carmen unlocked the door.
He insisted on walking in first while she waited just inside. Finally he came back to the front room. “Looks to be clear.”
A tremble traveled through her at his proximity. “Jared?”
“Mmm?”
“Did you check the closet?”
His lips quivered. “Yep. Under the bed too.”
“Okay.” She didn’t move. Alright so yes she was spreading it a bit thick. But the way he was acting all heroic made her insides turn to mush. Besides, why not play the scared victim just for a bit and see how he handled it.
He led the way into the bedroom, turned and put both arms up on the wall trapping her. “Is there anything else I can do for you Carmen?”
So he’d seen right through her ploy. “Umm. I guess not.” She bit her bottom lip, sure she was blushing.
Then he kissed her.
And she forgot everything, the dead body, the weather and even her name. The kiss was sudden, unexpected and oh so very perfect. The way his mouth moved over hers made her legs wobbly and stomach flip. The man definitely knew how to do it right.
When he broke the kiss, she remained still, her eyes closed needing to keep the sensations just a bit longer.
“Are you all right?” Jared cupped her jaw. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have...”
“Oh. Yeah. What?” Apparently, she also forgot the English language too. “No. Please don’t apologize. It was very nice.” She grinned like a loon. “Thank you for everything.”
His lips twitched. “You’re so different.” Jared studied her for a moment. “How have you not died yet?”
When her mouth fell open, he chuckled. “I’m kidding, but you seem accident prone and who else would have stumbled on the first murder anyone can remember here in this county?”
Carmen couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “It’s a gift.”
“Have a good night. Be sure to call if you change your mind and want to stay at the house.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, she changed her mind. The silence grew. There were creaks outside and some damn owl decided to hang out right outside the window and ask who over and over. Carmen went to every window and double-checked them. When she turned toward the bedroom, every scenario from all the scary movies she’d seen came to life.
“Oh goodness. The hell with it. I’m not staying here.” She stopped and considered what to do. She could rush to her car and drive to the big house. Of course the killer would be in the back seat. If she ran to the house, the killer would chase her, she’d be the one chick that tripped on an imaginary tree root and deserved to get killed. Carmen blew out a breath. She went to the front door and peeked out. No one.
Then she quickly packed an over-night bag and went back to the front. After looking out every single window, she took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Okay, okay, okay.” She stepped and took off at a run...right into a hard chest.
“Ahhhhhhh!” Carmen screamed, dropped her bag and turned to run back inside.
“I figured you’d changed your mind when I saw every light go on and off. Then you started looking out the windows.” Since he was laughing while talking, she barely understood what Jared said.
“It’s not funny.” Carmen barely held back a giggle. “I got spooked. Something creaked.”
He picked up the bag. “Come on. Let’s get going. We have an early morning.”
“We do?”
“Yeah. The teams of workers show up to start the prep. As long as we stay away from the murder scene we should be okay.”
Carmen scanned the area staring into the woods to make sure the killer wasn’t there. “Have you considered people may not come? I mean there’s a murderer around here.”
“The murder was something personal. I doubt the killer is anywhere near here.”
“Hmmm.” Carmen wasn’t too sure. For the next few days, she was going to trust her spidy senses. If anything at all felt wrong, she’d be on the next plane to Atlanta.
“Wait. So the festival is still on? What about the whole dead guy thing?”
Jared let out a breath. “Yes it will still go on. Maloney was part of the city council. He always came and enjoyed it. So it’s best to honor him by still doing it. Besides, I’m sure there’s going to be some sort of memorial speech in his honor.”
/> If she died, Carmen would insist her friends and family not do anything fun for a long time. They would mourn and be sad for at least three months. Black. She nodded. She would insist they wear black the entire time too.
She tripped on a tree stump, stumbled forward and landed on the ground. “Ouch.”
“It's a pretty big stump. I thought you saw it on the way over.” Jared helped her up.
Carmen dusted off her pants. “I was planning my funeral. My mind was elsewhere.”
“Mmmm,” Jared replied and continued walking.
It was too dark to see clearly, but she could swear he was chuckling.
Chapter Seven
Montana people were very odd. Everyone acted as if getting up while it was still dark outside was normal. Carmen shuffled into the kitchen, her head wrapped in a scarf and wearing flannel pajamas. After pouring a cup of coffee and adding creamer and sugar, she lumbered to the kitchen island and did her best to pay attention to the conversation. Her eyes felt as if someone had taped rocks to her eyelids. It took strength but if she lifted her eyebrows it helped to keep them open.
“Good morning,” Henry said grinning from the table with a stack of pancakes on a plate in front of him. Jared, his father and mother all sat at the table. Several others stood around with cups of coffee. She didn’t care who they were. All of them were crazy.
“Now,” Rick announced looking at his watch. “Everyone should be here in another half hour or so.” He looked to the two men standing with coffee. “Be out there and direct them to park by the main building. Some may not know where to go. We’ve got a group of newbies.”
Everyone groaned not seeming to like the idea of new people. Carmen joined in, but for a different reason all together. It was too damn early.
Natalie smiled at her. “Your plate is over by the stove. The one with a cover on it.”
Now they expected her to eat at the crack ass of dawn too? “Thanks,” she mumbled and went to the stove. Surprisingly, the meal actually appealed to her. Two pancakes, link sausages and a small dish of fruit were carefully arranged on the plate. She picked it up and went to sit next to Jared. Although she didn’t dislike Henry, she wasn’t sure if he wore pants. He was bare from the waist up.
“You’re welcome to stay here the entire time if you’re nervous to stay at the cabin,” Natalie told her. “I fully understand. I could barely sleep last night even knowing Rick and Jared were here.”
Carmen had fallen asleep as soon as her light was out. It had been a long day and even the thoughts of the killer climbing in through the window only bothered her for a few seconds.
Then again, the kiss had definitely been a good distractor.
“Syrup?” someone asked and Carmen realized she’d closed her eyes.
About twenty people were at the barn area when she, Jared and Henry rode up. They were dividing into four groups of five people. Carmen joined the group that would do clean up. One group was going out to do lights, mostly guys. One group would unload a truck; the third would bring things out of a storage barn and organize it. Her group was in charge of cleaning the main hall.
Carmen hurried inside the huge warehouse structure to get away from the cold winds. Although it was not windy inside, it was still freezing and Carmen wondered how much they were paying the people to work outside. It was crazy.
Within an hour two huge bonfires were lit outside and tall space heaters were set up around inside the space. Surprisingly, the large area was comfortable after a bit.
Carmen had to stop several times to catch her breath after making a third trip with a wheelbarrow full of hay. They purposely had given her the easy job and still she was getting tired. Spin class had nothing on working at a ranch. Like the others, Carmen wasn’t interested in standing or going near the fire. Walking, loading, and carrying were enough to keep her blood flowing.
In the distance, she spied a couple cars heading over to the cabins, and she stopped to watch. According to Jared, the murder scene would be inaccessible for weeks. It was a bit of a problem since they often housed some of the crew that worked the festival in cabins one, two and three.
The family hoped at least the three cabins would be cleared for use by the time the festival began.
“They want us to come over,” Jared said motioning toward the cabins. “We can take the snowmobile.”
“Oh yippee,” Carmen replied with a flat tone. “Nothing like a nice blast of cold air.”
He ignored her comment and guided her by the elbow toward another building. The family certainly had a lot of storage space. There were barns, stables, storage buildings, and then over by the house was a garage that could house about five vehicles.
She kept an eye on the surroundings. With everyone preoccupied, the killer could return and stab her. It could be no one would notice until she fell onto the snow and bled all over it.
Upon arriving at the cabin, Stabler motioned for them to meet him near the wood line. The bags under his eyes were still huge. She considered mentioning he could use cold compresses in the morning and then decided it probably wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Let’s walk back a bit,” Stabler said by way of greeting. She let out a sigh and followed him as he walked away from the cabin. About fifty feet later, he met her gaze. “Now show me exactly where you walked and describe what you saw.”
Carmen sighed. “I walked here,” she said and moved to the opposite side of the road. “Didn’t see anything here. Like I said, other than a few birds or whatever.” She continued on, noticing Jared standing outside speaking to a woman. Probably a cop by the way she stood with her arms to her sides bent at the elbows.
“I saw the car tracks about here,” she pointed at the ground noting the tracks had been covered by snow. They continued on with her moving closer and telling Stabler where she was when noting the door open.
The closer they moved to the cabin, the more nervous she became. If he asked her to go inside, she would decline.
Thankfully he didn’t make her go inside. However, he did ask a few more questions.
When they mounted the snowmobile to leave, Carmen sagged with relief. “Go. Before he comes at me with a few more questions.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll ponder and come back with more,” Jared replied. “Sorry, I know it’s not easy.”
“Why aren’t you investigating it? I mean you’re a detective and it’s on your land.”
“Precisely why I’m not. That and the fact, I’m also a suspect.”
Carmen leaned back just as he took off. Her feet lifted from the holders and she grabbed at Jared’s jacket. “You almost made me fall,” she said into his ear. “That was rude.”
Suspect? Why would Jared be a suspect? Was that why he’d remained outside the room when Stabler had been there the night before and not asked her any questions about the incident?
Then there was another very important question. Did she walk around in the dark the night before with a very attractive killer? Carmen gasped. Had she kissed a hunky murderer?
And now, she was riding around with a murder suspect. Her mind whirled. What if she wrote the story she’d been sent to do, and also did some investigating on her own? She could write a separate story on the murder.
Witness to a murder. It could be the story of a lifetime, a story from the perspective of an unbiased witness. Someone who knows no one involved. Her lips curved and she tapped Jared’s shoulder.
“I have to go to my cabin. I forgot my laptop there.”
“Do you want me to take you to the house after?”
She’d made arrangements to interview his mother that afternoon. She glanced at her watch. It was only eleven in the morning. It already felt like an entire day had passed. That's what getting up early did to a person. It made the days longer, which meant more would be expected from her if she didn’t want to go to bed disappointed in how much time she wasted.
They made it to her cabin. Jared s
tood next to the snowmobile. “Hey I know this may be a bit odd.” He looked to the ground and then lifted his gaze to hers. Damn he was hot.
“Would you like to go to town for dinner this evening?”
Hell no. Not if you’re a murderer. Carmen bit her bottom lip and pictured her death in the backseat of his truck. Then the picture turned into a make-out scene. “Oh yeah. I mean. Sure.”
He smiled and she ducked and rushed up the steps. “Don’t wait for me. I’m going to hang out here for a bit and answer some email.”
As the hum of the snowmobile’s engine got softer, she let out a breath. She’d interview Jared without him knowing. The more she could get for her story, the better, especially if she had a conversation with the man who turned out to be the killer. There was the pesky problem of him killing her.
However, he wouldn’t. Mainly because she’d tell everyone from his parents to the naked guy they were going out to dinner. Also, she’d call and ask Mila to call her at ten to check and ensure she was back in her cabin, safe and sound.
Satisfied and excited at the dinner date, she hummed as she entered the cabin only to freeze and scream. A man stared at her through the kitchen window.
It took several seconds to register it was Henry. He waved and smiled.
He then turned and walked away in the direction of the family house. That window needed blinds.
Maybe Henry was the killer.
“Why do they consider Jared a suspect and not Henry?” Carmen asked Natalie over a cup of coffee later that day. The women were alone in the house since everyone was still out working on organizing all the stuff for the festival.
Natalie huffed. “Henry has an alibi. We have an alarm system and cameras at the bunkhouse. The video shows where he was during the day. And that he slept all night at the bunkhouse.”
Carmen didn’t push the subject of Jared being a suspect. Instead she waited to see if Natalie would volunteer the information.
