Cry Wolf (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Perfect. See you then.”

  They ended the call, and DeeDee signaled before pulling out into traffic again.

  About half an hour later, she was parked in front of a small strip mall where the yoga studio was located. Inside, the air was filled with soothing New Age music and the tinkle of chimes. A small reception desk sat to one side of the entrance, and a skinny girl in black leggings and a pink sports bra sat filing her nails. Her nose ring glittered beneath the overhead lights. The girl’s eyes widened slightly as DeeDee stepped up to the counter.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, staring at the gun holstered at DeeDee’s waist.

  “Uh, hi. Yeah. I’ve got some questions about your Moon-Morning yoga classes.”

  “Great.” The girl finally managed to look DeeDee in the eye. “Would you like to sign up? We have new classes starting all the time and offer a range of difficulty levels from beginner to advanced.”

  “Oh, thanks. But no. I’m not here for myself. Did you have a class yesterday morning?”

  “Sure,” the girl said. “We have them every morning. They’re very popular around here, especially with all those movie people in town.”

  “May I see the roster, please?” This time DeeDee showed her badge. “Official law enforcement business.”

  “Um, sure.” The girl pulled out a clipboard from the drawer beside her and passed it over the counter.

  DeeDee flipped through the pages, and sure enough, she found both Laura Rockwood and Gina Presti’s names on the list. Pointing to them, DeeDee asked, “Can you verify both these people were in the class yesterday morning?”

  “Those two? Oh yeah. Hard to forget when they got into a fight near the end of class. I’m bummed because I never got to see what was happening before they broke it up. I miss out on all the good stuff because I’m stuck behind this desk all the time. Not to mention I never got a piece of the pie.”

  “Pie?” DeeDee asked.

  “I saw Gina coming into class carrying some sort of pie in a bag. Must have been juicy too because she didn’t want to spill it.” The girl mimed carrying a tray in front of her, palms spread out flat. “Probably blueberry.”

  Why would Gina bring a pie to yoga? DeeDee’s suspicious mind thought about poison, but Tucker was already dead at that point. Maybe the yoga class worked up an appetite and people brought snacks.

  “What time would you say that fight took place?” DeeDee pulled out her notepad again to jot down the answer.

  “Easy,” the girl said. “Those classes run from three thirty to four thirty each morning like clockwork, and those two got into it right before the end of class, so I’d say maybe four fifteen.”

  “Great. Thank you.”

  DeeDee walked out of the yoga studio to find Dex parked next to her cruiser. “Hey, I was just on my way over to the coffee shop.”

  “I’m a little early. Had to get out of the office for a while.” Dex held up a cup of joe and another for her. She took it gratefully. “I drove by The Coffee Connection,” he said. “Saw you weren’t there yet, so I decided to head on over here. After grabbing us energy to go, of course.”

  “Thanks. Did you get the results of my background check?”

  “I did. I also got some new information from the reports Stan brought back from Ursula about the victim’s body.”

  “Yeah.” She took a long swig of her coffee. “What’d she find?”

  “Splinters.”

  “Splinters?”

  “Yeah, lots of them, lodged in the victim’s body. Ursula thinks they might’ve become embedded when Rockwood was moved. Did you see any wooden carts or floors or anything that might’ve caused them when you were at the movie set earlier?”

  “No.” DeeDee frowned. “Then again, I wasn’t really looking. You want to head back over there with me now and we can check it out together? I’ll bring you back here after we’re done to get your car.”

  “Sure.” Dex climbed into the passenger seat of the cruiser while DeeDee got behind the wheel and started the engine. “I can give you the rundown on Caine Hunter’s background check on the way over.”

  “Perfect.” DeeDee pulled out of the lot and headed back toward the Crenshaw mansion. “So what did you find? Is it awful?”

  “No.” Dex squinted out the window into the sunshine. “There was just something a bit off about it. Not anything the average person would notice, but with my FBI training, I always look a little deeper. I have this sinking feeling Caine Hunter isn’t who he says he is.”

  His observations only made her own suspicions rise higher. She’d felt that the guy was holding something back when she’d interviewed him earlier, and this only confirmed it. Still, she didn’t want to go inventing some trouble where none existed either. It wasn’t unusual for werewolf pack names to get changed over time, or for members to adopt assumed names because they didn’t want favors because of their pack association. So, on the positive side, maybe Caine Hunter wanted to earn his movie producer credits on his own.

  That was something DeeDee could respect.

  They pulled up to the movie set and got out. The Sunrise Group was still at it, as were the guards who let her and Dex inside. She led him over to the props trailer, and together they searched the cluttered interior once more. It didn’t take long to find something.

  “Over here,” DeeDee called to Dex, who was searching through crap on the other end of the trailer. He walked over, and she pointed to what she’d found. “A wooden dolly. It’s got wheels too, for easy transport. Looks like the perfect size to move a body, and the top is all rough and splintery.”

  The Fae prop master still lurked around the perimeter, and DeeDee gestured toward them. “Hey, remember me? I was here this morning. Listen, we need to know how many of these wooden dollies you have lying around.”

  “That’s the only one,” the prop master said.

  “Look at this one wheel too,” Dex said, crouching beside the thing. “There’s mud caked on it. The size looks about right for those tracks we found near Rockwood’s body too.”

  “Hey, Sam,” Caine Hunter said, charging up the ramp and into the shadowed interior of the trailer. He blinked several times as his vision adjusted from the brightness outside, then frowned down at DeeDee. “What are you doing here, Deputy?”

  She squared her shoulders against the unwanted attraction for him flooding her system. “I’m trying to figure out who killed Tucker Rockwood. How about you?”

  Caine gave her a flat stare. “I’m trying to make a movie. In case you haven’t noticed, your investigation has disrupted my entire shooting schedule. Not to mention the workarounds I haven’t even had a chance to deal with yet because Tucker’s gone.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did his death inconvenience you?” DeeDee crossed her arms, her booted toe tapping against the metal floor of the trailer. Some part of her knew her attraction for this man was the source of her irritation, but that didn’t stop her from letting him have it. “How thoughtless of the guy to go and get himself murdered.”

  Dex coughed to cover an inappropriate snort and joined the prop master on the other side of the trailer.

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  “No, I don’t know, Mr. Hunter. In fact, I don’t know much about you at all. Typical Hollywood type, nothing but smoke and mirrors.”

  “I’m sorry.” Caine’s gaze narrowed. “Do you have some kind of problem with me?”

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.” DeeDee stepped closer to him, poking her index finger into the middle of his muscled chest. “How do I know you didn’t run in here to tamper with evidence?”

  “Excuse me?” Caine scowled and moved closer still to her, so close his front now brushed hers and sent all sorts of wicked zings of awareness through her. “What evidence?”

  “Uh, that would be this cart,” Dex said, interceding at last.

  Shaken, DeeDee stepped back from Caine, shocked at how close she’d come to tackling him to
the floor of the trailer and kissing him. Cheeks pulsating with heat, she kept her gaze lowered as Dex continued.

  “We think it might have been used by Rockwood’s killer to transport the body to its final resting place.”

  Caine shook his head then looked to the prop master. “Who used this cart last night, Sam?”

  “I don’t know, sir. My day ended at eight on Monday, and I locked up and left shortly afterward.” The Fae shrugged. “When I came in Tuesday morning, it was back here again.”

  “Can you tell us who has access to this trailer besides the prop master?” Dex asked Caine. DeeDee still stood off to the side, not trusting herself to speak quite yet. There was something about this guy that made her throw caution to the wind and become distracted. For a gal like her, distraction was dangerous. People died when DeeDee wasn’t careful.

  Cursing, Caine tromped back down the ramp and lifted a large rock on the ground near the corner of the trailer. Beneath it was a set of keys. “I know this looks bad, but you have to understand that making a movie involves creativity. I don’t like to limit my crew. Sometimes the most brilliant ideas strike in the middle of the night. So we always keep a set of keys available for anyone to use to get the props they need.”

  Taking her opportunity for escape, DeeDee ran back to her car and grabbed the crime scene tape then returned to cordon off the dolly. “No one touches this until our crime scene techs have processed it. It’s too big to fit in the cruiser, so we’ll have to leave it here for now until we can get the crew in. Understand?”

  Caine nodded, not meeting DeeDee’s gaze.

  “Come on. Let’s go,” she said at last, tugging on Dex’s arm as she passed. “I’ll radio in for the CSI crew on our way back to headquarters.”

  The drive back into Silver Hollow proper was oddly quiet. She couldn’t help remembering Caine’s genuine confusion when she’d asked him about the dolly. Her instincts told her he wasn’t the killer, but she still had to do her due diligence. To slack off now could mean that the real murderer would go free, which was unacceptable.

  Then there was this niggling sense of connection blossoming out of nowhere inside her. Worse, the feeling intensified whenever Caine was around. It was as if she could sense his thoughts and feelings. Which was ridiculous. Sure, she’d heard about such things happening with true-soul-mate-bonded werewolves, but that couldn’t be what was happening.

  First, she was pledged to marry another man. Second, Caine was a suspect in her murder investigation. And third... Well, she couldn’t think of a third reason right now, but the first two were bad enough.

  Dex practically stared a hole in the side of her head until DeeDee finally stopped for a red light and faced him. “What?”

  “Nothing.” He held his hands up in surrender at her snippy tone. “I just noticed how you and Hunter got into it back there and wondered if there was something I should know.”

  She frowned. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Like maybe you two were dating or something. I thought I sensed something there.”

  The light turned green, and DeeDee accelerated again. “Well, you sensed wrong. There’s nothing between Caine Hunter and me, okay? Just forget it.”

  “Fine. Consider it forgotten.” Dex stared out the window beside him again. “That’s good. I mean, he could be the killer. But if he’s not, then if maybe someday something did start with you and him, things could proceed as normal.”

  “Proceed as normal?” DeeDee scrunched her nose as they turned the corner and rounded the main green at the center of Silver Hollow’s downtown to head back toward the strip mall and Dex’s car. “That’s about as unromantic a statement as I think I’ve ever heard, Dexter Nolan.” She snorted. “And here I thought you’d gone all mushy since you fell for Issy Quinn.”

  “I will never be mushy.” He gave her a look. “And maybe what I said didn’t come out right, but I stand behind the sentiment. You’re a good person, DeeDee, and a wonderful cop. You deserve to be happy.” He grinned. “And mushy or not, I’ve never gotten any complaints from Issy.”

  Laughing, DeeDee pulled into the strip mall parking lot. “It’s nice to see you two so happy.”

  “Yeah, life’s pretty great with the right person.” His expression went all goofy with love. DeeDee rolled her eyes. “Hey, don’t knock it until you try it, Deputy.”

  “Right. Sure. Now get out of my cruiser before you start oozing hearts and rainbows.” Dex chuckled and climbed out. “I’ll see you back at the station.”

  “Yep.” He waved then climbed into his own car and started the engine.

  Still, DeeDee couldn’t shake the frustration beneath her surface. So much so she lowered the passenger-side window and flagged down Dex. “Hey, you up for another cup of joe?”

  “Lead the way,” he said.

  CHAPTER 12

  “So you never told me what you found out at the yoga studio,” Dex said as they met up at the entrance to The Coffee Connection. They walked inside and found the place surprisingly busy for a midweek midafternoon. The interior had a nice modern, industrial feel, with lots of exposed brick, overhead steel pipes, and earthy colors. A large glass display case near the register was filled with yummy homemade bagels and treats, and DeeDee’s stomach rumbled anew. After all, she’d only had one scone at Caine’s place, and that had been a few hours ago. She was due for another snack, right?

  “Well, she was there, all right, according to the receptionist, anyway. Along with the woman she thinks her husband was having an affair with, Gina Presti.”

  Dex cringed. “How’d that go down?”

  “Not well.” DeeDee snorted. “They got into a fight near the end of the class. That’s how the receptionist remembered them being there.” She stepped up to the counter and ordered a large cappuccino and a cinnamon crunch bagel with cream cheese. Dex ordered the same.

  “Apparently, the receptionist wasn’t happy about not getting to see the catfight,” DeeDee continued as she paid her bill then moved down to the end of the counter to wait for her order. Dex followed behind her. “So yeah. Not having a clear time of death for the victim doesn’t help, since we can’t clear either woman yet. Laura Rockwood had a point, though. What kind of sicko would poison her husband then go to a yoga class afterward?”

  “Her?” Dex asked.

  “Not sure,” DeeDee said. “Maybe.”

  “Clawson!” the man behind the counter called, and DeeDee stepped up to the counter to grab her order. The guy, decked out in a Santa hat, was the owner of the place.

  “Thanks.” DeeDee grabbed her coffee and bagel then narrowed her gaze on the man. “Hey. As owner of The Coffee Connection, you must spend a lot of time here.”

  “All of it, it seems like.” He smiled. “Why?”

  “We’re investigating the murder of Tucker Rockwood. Did you ever see him in here?”

  He passed Dex his order then leaned his hip against the counter. “Yeah, Tucker came in a lot. He was here on Monday, in fact, with some hot young blonde. They looked pretty friendly too, if you know what I mean.”

  Dex gave DeeDee a look.

  “Did anything out of the ordinary happen while they were here?” she asked.

  “Hmm.” The owner frowned. “Let me think. You know, now that you mention it, he did seem to get into it with a couple of those protestors. They come in here a lot too.” He nodded toward a group of them in one corner of the shop. “Weird bunch. Almost like a cult.”

  DeeDee scrunched her nose. Yeah, they were troublesome and rude, but that didn’t make them a cult. “What do you mean?”

  “Look at their hair,” the shop owner said. “Same cut on all of them, men and women. Sort of long and scruffy. And those patches on their jackets—blue mountains with an orange-and-yellow sun rising above them. I know they call themselves the Sunrise Group, but I swear there’s more going on there than just simple protest marches.”

  “Huh.” DeeDee grabbed her stuff and turned to Dex. “Let�
�s eat outside in the car, eh?”

  “Uh, sure.” They went out, and she got into the cruiser while Dex started his old Buick to let the engine run while they talked. He then climbed into her passenger seat. “So what do you think about what the owner said? Think those protestors had something to do with Rockwood’s death?”

  DeeDee spread thick cream cheese on her bagel with the cheap plastic knife the shop had put in her bag, then took a bite, savoring the sweet crunch of the cinnamon chips and the creamy goodness of the cheese. She took a swig of coffee to wash it all down before answering. “I think we need to add them to the list of suspects. Can’t rule out anybody yet.”

  “Not even Caine Hunter?”

  “Especially Caine Hunter,” she said around another bite of bagel. Her stomach did that strange little flip it always did whenever his name came up, but she shook it off and focused on her case. “The only thing we can verify at this point is that Hunter met with Tucker on the day of his murder. They argued about money, which is always a dangerous subject.”

  “True.” Dex finished his bagel in three bites then shoved his trash back in his bag. “But I really can’t see him offing the guy. I mean, Tucker Rockwood’s star power was carrying that whole movie. Why would Hunter tank his investment in the movie by taking out the lead actor?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” DeeDee devoured her last bite of food, hating to admit Caine had made the same good point when she’d talked to him earlier, but unable to deny it either. “So I guess we’re left with the wife and protestors. Maybe the girlfriend too. The shop owner said Tucker was in there with her the day he died. Perhaps she wanted Tucker to leave his wife and got mad when he refused. Did I tell you the widow’s worth way more than Rockwood could ever hope to be?” She filled Dex in about Laura being the daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon. “With that kind of money in play, it would be hard for Tucker to leave.”

  “And you said she knew about Tucker cheating too and didn’t seem to care much.” Dex shook his head. “That kind of freedom would be hard for certain men to walk away from.”