by Lena Gregory
First Willow, then Harley. What was going on?
Chapter 8
Once Gia closed the café for the night and picked up Thor, she drove past Willow’s house. Even though there was no car in the driveway, she pulled in and ran up to the front porch of the small bungalow. She rang the bell and waited. When no one answered, she knocked on the door and called out to Willow and Skyla. Still nothing.
Just like Earl had said when he returned to the café earlier. No one was home. And when she’d tried both of their numbers, neither of them had answered.
Gia cupped her hands against the window and peered through the sheer curtain.
Nothing moved inside.
Frustrated, she dropped her arms to her sides and looked out over the neighborhood, composed of small cottages, mostly built in the fifties and sixties, that lined the narrow streets. Lawns were neatly trimmed, lights had started to come on in a few downstairs windows, and the scent of barbeque filled the evening air. A comfortable place to call home.
Gia sighed and returned to the car. If she didn’t hear from either of them by tomorrow, she’d have to look at Willow’s employment papers and see if she’d listed anyone other than her mother as an emergency contact.
“Looks like no one’s home, Thor.”
He barked twice in response, or maybe because a cat sauntered along the front of the garage door. Hmm… She hadn’t checked the garage. “I’ll be right back, Thor.”
She jumped out and jogged to the side window, then tried to peer into the garage. Blinds blocked her view, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t maneuver herself into a position that allowed her to see beneath them or between the slats. So much for that idea.
She returned to the car and slammed the door. “Come on, Thor, let’s go home.”
With one last glance around the property, Gia shifted into gear and pulled out. She tried Willow’s number again, but it went straight to voicemail. Skyla’s did the same.
She threw the phone onto the passenger seat and settled in for the twenty-minute drive home. There was no sense even trying Hunt, since she already knew he wouldn’t answer. Calling Trevor was a waste of time. Savannah would have called if she’d heard anything. So that left going home, heating up the breakfast pie she’d taken with her for dinner, and…
She had no clue what to do. The waiting was driving her crazy, and it had only been one day. What if she didn’t hear from anyone for days?
She turned on the radio, flipped through the stations, and settled on one playing soft rock. Leaving the more crowded area of Boggy Creek behind, she started up the road that cut straight through the forest toward Rolling Pines. Thick forest crowded both sides of the road, giant pine trees soaring into the sky. Bushes and some sort of palm leaf-looking shrubs battled for space beneath the trees, and green murky water came right up to the top of the ditch running along the side of the road in several spots.
The encroaching forest had intimidated Gia when she’d first moved to Boggy Creek, had made her feel small and vulnerable, as if it could swallow her whole. Over the past few months, that had changed. She’d come to love the feeling of losing herself in the serenity of the forest.
Thanks to Trevor.
Though he’d tried to get her to share his enthusiasm for many of the outdoor activities he enjoyed so much, he’d never been able to accomplish that until he took her kayaking. The peace she felt while gliding over the lake through the mangroves and palm trees was like nothing she’d ever known. Of course, that peace only came while she was in the kayak and only when Trevor was with her. She’d never venture into the forest alone.
How could the man who’d become such a good friend have ended up arrested for murder? There had to be a mistake.
Movement in the distance caught her attention. Gia flipped off the radio and sat up straighter, squinting to bring the dark figure moving along the side of the road into focus. She tensed as the stories Trevor had shared with her about the skunk ape flooded her mind. The skunk ape was a Big Foot-like creature that was said to roam Florida’s forests.
As she got closer, she recognized the dark, hunched figured shambling along the shoulder. She passed, then pulled over to the side of the road and got out, not wanting the woman to think a stranger had stopped.
Thor whimpered and wiggled around in the back seat.
“Stay, Thor. I’ll be right back.” Gia waved as she walked toward the woman. “Hi, Cybil.”
Cybil Devane shifted the hood of her long cloak farther back, her long salt-and-pepper hair spilling over her shoulder. “Gia. How are you, dear?”
“I’m doing well.” She stopped and looked around the deserted stretch of road. “What are you doing out here?”
“Walking.” Cybil laughed, her piercing blue eyes bright with humor. Cybil had lived her whole life traipsing through the Florida wilderness, and she probably couldn’t understand Gia’s trepidation any more than Gia could understand her comfort in the isolated surroundings.
“Do you live out here?”
“Close enough,” Cybil said.
“It’s good to see you again. I wasn’t sure I would.”
“I told you last time we met, we’d happen upon each other again.”
Gia grinned. Last time Gia had run into Cybil had been on her first kayaking trip with Trevor. “Yes, you did. You also said maybe next time we’d chat for a while.”
“And so we shall.” Cybil shifted her long walking stick to the other hand, then took Gia’s hand in hers and squeezed. “You seem troubled, my dear. Is everything okay?”
Gia lowered her gaze and started to pull her hand away.
Cybil held on tight, with a surprisingly strong grip. “I see you on the lake with your friend sometimes, and you’ve seemed at peace lately. What’s changed?”
“Trevor, the man I go kayaking with, is in trouble, and I’m not sure how to help him.”
“Are you sure he needs help?”
Of course he did; he’d been arrested for murder. “I’m sure he needs help. I’m just not sure I’m the person he needs it from.”
“Sometimes there’s nothing to do but be there and lend support.”
Gia only nodded. What could she say? Cybil was right. Unfortunately, at the moment, she couldn’t even get in touch with Trevor to let him know she believed in him. “Where are you headed?”
“Nowhere in particular.”
Somehow Gia didn’t quite believe that. While Cybil swore she wasn’t psychic, had even laughed at the prospect, Gia had her suspicions. It seemed awfully coincidental that she always showed up right when Gia needed guidance.
“I brought home a breakfast pie from the cafe to have for dinner.” Of course, she’d left it in a bag in the car with Thor, whose face was plastered in the back window at the moment. If she was lucky, which she doubted today, maybe he hadn’t already eaten it. “I was just headed home to make a cup of tea and have dinner. Would you like to join me?”
Cybil studied her.
“I’ll drive you home after.”
“I’d love to join you.” Cybil started toward the car with Gia at her side, resuming the same steady pace she always seemed to move at. “And there’s no reason to drive me home afterward.”
The sun sat just on the edge of the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of pink and blue. “It’ll be dark soon.”
“I can walk in the dark just as easily as I can walk in the light.”
Gia had already found Cybil hiking in the forest twice, and both times she was alone. “Don’t you ever worry about walking everywhere alone?”
“Nope. Been hiking these forests my whole life, and I’ll never give up the peace it brings me.”
Gia could certainly understand that. She’d felt it every time she went kayaking, as if all of her troubles slipped away. But that was in a kayak, and with a companion, not ru
nning around in the forest, by herself, at night. She wasn’t about to argue with Cybil, but she had no intention of letting her walk home alone in the dark either.
Cybil just shook her head and laughed, as if she’d read her mind.
Gia walked her to the passenger side and opened the door for Cybil. Thankfully, the bag was still intact. Apparently, Thor had been more interested in what Gia was doing than food.
She grabbed her cell phone off the seat and handed the pie to Cybil to hold in her lap.
Thor poked his head between the seats and nudged Cybil’s shoulder.
“Hello there, boy.” She petted his head, then fished a treat out of her pocket and handed it to him.
Gia lifted a brow at her.
“What?” she asked, her face a mask of innocence.
“Do you always carry dog treats in your pocket?”
“Always. You never know what you might run into in the forest.”
Gia put the walking stick in the trunk, then got in and resumed her trip home. “Do you live nearby?”
“About a twenty-minute walk, not far at all.”
“Is there anyone at home you’d like to call?” Gia held out her cell phone. “I don’t want anyone to get worried if they’re expecting you.”
Cybil sighed. “There’s no one. Hasn’t been since my Duke passed on more than ten years ago now. He used to walk these woods with me all the time. Every night after dinner, we’d head out to hike. On the weekends, we’d pack a picnic lunch and take it with us, then lose ourselves in the forest for the entire day, as if we were the only people in the world. When I walk now, even after all these years, I can still feel the warmth of his hand wrapped around mine.”
“I’m sorry.”
Cybil lifted her hand and studied it, then closed it into a fist and laid it on the seat. “His hand was so big it used to swallow mine up. He always made me feel safe. Still does.”
“How long were you married?”
“Forty-three years.”
“Forty-three years? You don’t look old enough to have been married that long.”
A grin shot across her face. “We married a lot younger back in those days.”
Gia laughed. She really liked Cybil, had since the first time she’d met her. Whether or not the woman actually had any sort of sixth sense, she didn’t know. But either way, she had no doubt they were meant to meet. It was rare for Gia to meet someone and feel an instant bond with them. The last person that had happened with was Savannah. “Do you have any children?”
“Nah, it was just Duke and me. There was a time when I wanted children, wanted the joy of a big family, children and grandchildren home for the holidays, but it wasn’t meant to be for us. And we were okay with that, but now… Well, now I do get a little lonely at times.”
Gia’s heart ached for her. She resisted the urge to reach out and take her hand. Cybil’s tone had been one of sadness tinged with resignation, but she’d accepted her life and been happy. She wouldn’t want sympathy.
“We always had dogs, though. Big dogs, like your boy here. And they’d walk with us in the evenings, never on the weekends, that was our special time together, but most evenings, and I got to keeping treats in my pocket.” She offered Gia a sly smile.
“Do you have a dog now?”
“No, the last of them left me a few years ago, and I never got another.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not getting any younger, dear, and who would take care of him if something happened to me?”
The thought of leaving Thor alone brought a lump to her throat, and she choked it down. If anything ever happened to her, Savannah or her brother, Joey, would surely take care of Thor. Or maybe Hunt would. Though she knew that with absolute certainty, she made a mental note to ask. You never could be too careful. “Would you like a dog?”
“Of course. I love dogs, but I won’t be irresponsible.”
“I’ll tell you what—why don’t we go to the shelter, and you can pick out a dog you like, and if anything happens to you, I’ll take care of him. I promise.”
Her eyes went wide. “You’d do that?”
“Yes. When Savannah first suggested getting a dog, the whole concept was completely foreign to me, but since I got him… I can’t imagine living my life without him.”
“You are a truly kind woman, Gia. Your friend is lucky to have you.”
Her cheeks heated. “When would you like to go?”
She sat up straighter. “No time like the present.”
“You want to go now?”
Cybil shrugged. “Why not? Debby at the shelter has been after me to take home a pup for years. We used to get all of our pups from her mom when she ran the shelter before she passed. Unless you don’t have time now?”
To be honest, she had nothing to do, and she’d enjoy looking at the puppies. She had a feeling it wouldn’t be quite as overwhelming now as it had the first time. “I’d love to go. Do you think they’re still open?”
“I’ll give Debby a call and tell her we’re coming.” Cybil dug beneath her cloak and pulled out a cell phone.
“You have a cell phone?”
“Of course I do, dear. What do you think I go hiking all over with no way to get help if I need it? It even has GPS, in case I get lost. If I can get service, that is.”
Her image of Cybil obviously had nothing to do with reality. For some reason, Gia imagined her living in an overgrown, ramshackle cabin in the middle of the forest surrounded by wildlife and gardens with none of the modern conveniences people had come to depend on. “Don’t even tell me you live in a condo complex.”
“No. But I do have a beautiful house on the edge of the forest. It even has a big screen TV and an elaborate computer system.”
“Seriously?”
“My Duke was a very successful computer programmer.”
Gia just shook her head, her lesson about jumping to conclusions based on appearances learned.
A niggle of guilt crept in. Hadn’t that been what she’d done to Hunt? Condemned him for arresting Trevor without any idea what the reality of the situation might be. She barely kept a groan from escaping as she turned onto the narrow dirt road that led to the shelter.
Chapter 9
The minute she opened the car door, Thor made a beeline for Debby, who stood waiting on the front porch of the shelter.
Debby dropped to one knee and threw her arms around his neck. When he snuggled against her, she straightened and petted his side with both hands. “Look at you. You got so big already, fella.”
“He did, didn’t he?”
Debby stood and shook Gia’s hand. “I don’t know, looks like it might be time for a little brother or sister.”
“Bite your tongue. I love Thor, but I’m not ready to get another one yet.”
“Yet.” Debby grinned. “We’re making progress.”
Gia laughed. The fact she’d even consider another dog still came as a bit of a surprise. “Anyway, for now, I’m just along for the ride.”
Debby turned and greeted Cybil. “I’m so happy you finally decided to come in.”
“Me too.”
She ushered them inside. The local news played on a small TV on the waiting room’s far wall. Debby muted a story about the art and craft fair coming up the following week. “Sorry, I was waiting for the story about Ron Parker to come back on. Not that I haven’t seen it a hundred times already, but I just can’t wrap my head around the fact he’s dead. Murdered, no less.”
“Did you know Ron?”
“Come sit.” She gestured to a seating arrangement in the far corner, then took a bone from a bin on the far wall and handed it to Thor. “Would you like coffee?”
“No, thank you.” Gia was already having enough trouble sleeping without adding caffeine. She took a seat on a beat-up armchair,
while Cybil and Debby sat on the love seat opposite her on the other side of a low table. Thor settled at her feet to gnaw on his bone.
It felt good to finally be off her feet after running around all day.
“As for Ron Parker…” Debby clasped her hands together, her knuckles turning white. “Yes, I knew him. He was my boyfriend, once upon a time, for about a week in the ninth grade.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, dear.” Cybil patted her hands.
“Thank you, but I haven’t seen Ron since high school. When we started dating, he seemed like a nice boy, but when he was around Mitch Anderson and his groupies, he turned into a real jerk. He took me to hang out with them one time, and it was awful, so I cut my losses and moved on.”
Someone else had said Ron and Mitch Anderson were friends in high school as well, but Gia had listened to so much gossip about them over the past two days, she couldn’t remember who’d said it. “Were Ron and Anderson close?”
“Very. That whole group was, to the exclusion of practically everyone else. The one time I was with them, not one of them even bothered to talk to me, and when I tried to talk, they ignored me. And what did Ron do? Nothing. He just laughed along with them like I wasn’t even there.”
If Debby had been half as friendly and talkative in high school as she was now, Gia could see how uncomfortable that would have been for her.
Debby frowned. “That’s why I was so surprised to see Ron running against Mitch.”
“You’re not the first person to say that. Do you think they had some kind of falling out?”
Debby lifted her hands wide. “I have no idea, but I also haven’t seen Ron in…well…more years than I care to admit.”
Gia didn’t see a way to push for more information on Ron and Mitch, so she tried a different tact. “Who else was part of that group? Do you remember?”
