“BJ might be an unwanted guest, and me by association, but I gambled Racine wouldn’t throw her out right away because she wasn’t able to keep her behind bars.”
“What do you mean?”
“BJ is hot-headed and tends to say too much. Racine would want her to make a scene and in turn get more of her influential friends to see Racine as the grieving mother with a crazy killer bold enough to come into her home making demands. The pressure that would place on Sheriff Appleton would be almost unbearable. He would have to figure out a way to get this case closed—with BJ convicted.”
“But that’s too risky! Flynn, it sounds like you’re playing games with her life.”
“It wasn’t my idea. I said I took the gamble. BJ was desperate enough to risk us coming here, and it did work to distract them all while I made my way up here. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you hiding in the closet.”
Annie leaned forward on the couch and rubbed her ankle. The darn thing was beginning to swell, and she wondered how she would get out of there. Come to think of it, her shoes were still in the closet. Would they be traced back to her?
“Don’t worry, Annie. I’ll get you out of here.”
“Thanks. Oh, Flynn, I talked to someone downstairs who seems to think Racine likes Mark far more than she loved her son. Do you think she could have killed him to get his money? Mr. Kelley, Mr. Witman’s attorney—I also talked to him—wouldn’t say, but she’s the next logical choice since it’s her mother.”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but I’m guessing if she came upstairs to burn this license, she doesn’t have the real one. Someone else grabbed it, maybe even destroyed it, and that person might have done the deed.”
“Racine didn’t want her husband to follow her upstairs and find out what she was doing. What if he had the same idea, and he already destroyed the second license?”
“That’s possible, but I can’t see him sneaking anywhere. He’d have hired someone. I’ve questioned all the staff. Plus, I highly doubt he killed his son.”
“Don’t count him out.”
Flynn met her gaze, and his softened. “I won’t.”
She looked away. Annie didn’t want to think of her own family. “I’d like to get going if you don’t mind. I bet Omen is wondering where I am.”
“You went on a date with him.”
She kind of liked the jealous tone to his voice, although she still had doubts about letting their relationship develop into more than friendship.
“It’s not a date. I needed an escort, and Omen encourages my zany ideas.”
Flynn’s eyes widened. “You mean he covered for you to get up here?”
“No, he didn’t know about it. I grabbed the opportunity when you made your grand entrance.”
“Thanks, a lot.”
“No,” she teased, “thank you.”
Chapter Eleven
“Annie, I was surprised when you contacted my secretary to reschedule your appointment for this week rather than next week.”
Annie gave a shaky chuckle and tried to smile but failed. She clutched her hands together and forced herself to sit back in the chair. “Yes.”
Dr. Verville waited while a million thoughts vied for place on Annie’s tongue. She couldn’t settle on any of it. Worst of all, she was embarrassed. With the nutty stunts she had pulled, she shouldn’t ever experience the emotion. Yet, here she sat in the grips of it.
“I notice your hands are red and chafed. You’ve been washing them more?”
“Um…”
“We were making progress. If you’re having trouble speaking, then maybe I can read a little from the journal I asked you to keep. Have you been keeping up with it?”
Annie perked up. This she could address. “I have, faithfully. I even adapted a new series from it, but I guess that’s not the purpose. I promise I’ve been adding my thoughts and experiences to it. It’s just anything that smacks of pen and paper becomes rife with ideas for my books. Even my grocery list is always more scene outlines than actual groceries.”
“If your journal is full of book notes, it might be a way you can express yourself and feel safer doing so when you tell yourself it’s fiction.”
“You’re probably right. I’m also delaying getting down to why I’m here.” She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “Dr. Verville, a man asked me out.”
“You’ve never been asked out before?”
“I have, but I’ve never been interested before. Scratch that. I’ve been interested but not seriously.”
The doctor typed a few notes on her laptop. Annie longed to stand over her shoulder to find out what she’d written.
“Why don’t we talk about it?”
Annie almost panicked and backed off, but she had to get this said, or she would scrub the skin clean off her hands. The last couple of days following the Witmans’ party were excruciating.
“His name is Flynn Aikens, and I like him a lot.” She laughed. “I sound like a teenager. In terms of experience, I suppose I am—a preteen.”
She groaned, but Dr. Verville waited without pushing her. Annie rubbed both hands over her thighs and gathered her thoughts.
“I’m the movie cliché. I’ve never been kissed, Dr. Verville. I’ve never had a boyfriend, if you know what I mean.”
“It’s understandable you would have challenges in that arena after what you suffered as a child. However, it’s not impossible for you to overcome them.”
“I keep telling myself that. After all, Jane did.”
Dr. Verville shifted in her seat. “Let’s keep our focus on you and your accomplishments.”
“Okay.”
“Does Flynn know about your past?”
“Yes, he knows everything. Anybody who looks up my family name could learn our history. When my mom died, we were away in the mountains, renting a cabin. The story still made it back here. The older homeowners in my neighborhood know, but there are a lot of families that moved in later. As far as I know, they haven’t made the connection.”
“Let’s go back to Flynn. Does he know you’ve never had a partner?”
Annie’s head spun. “No. He knows I have OCD, and he never judged me on it as far as I could tell. Aunt Bridge feels he’s out of my league.”
“Why?”
Annie looked at her and blushed. “Think of the hottest action movie star. Then bundle it with your idea of a hero. That’s Flynn.”
“Do you believe you’re not worthy of a man like Flynn, Annie?”
“Not worthy? No way. I’m fine. If I could move past my problems, I think I could be a good girlfriend. Not the hottest, mind you, but darn devoted.”
Dr. Verville chuckled. “Good.”
“My biggest issue is I’m terrified of men touching me. Flynn and I had an incident a few months ago. He tried to help me, and I flipped out on him. It didn’t drive him off, but I think he’s looking at it as just a temporary OCD reaction. Not that I would be the same at any other time if he touches me.”
“Is that what you think will happen?”
Annie extended one foot to look at the bandage around her ankle. “I don’t know. He held me while I limped a couple days ago. I hurt my ankle. I felt a little panicky, but overall I was fine.”
“It’s possible now that you know him better, you trust him more. Take your time with this. There’s no need to rush. You have to move at your own pace and what feels comfortable to you. Think about discussing your experience level with him, or you can wait a while. Go on that first date, and don’t think about intimacy. Focus on what makes Annie feel Flynn is worthy of her.”
“Oh, I like that! Yes, it’s not all about what I’m missing, right, doc?”
“Right. You’re not missing anything, Annie. You’re a successful woman, who’s lived an incredible life so far. You should be proud of what you have accomplished.”
“I am, and there’s no reason not to think I’ll go even farther.”
“Exactly.”
&nbs
p; Annie settled down a little more. She still had that niggling doubt and worry deep in her core. At the same time, she knew she had strength of will to at least go on a single date with Flynn. If she flipped out and ran off, at least she would have the experience of dating a handsome man.
* * *
Annie pulled two books toward her and studied each. She hovered a hand over one and then the other, trying to decide which she wanted to tackle more. Unfortunately, neither appealed.
The journal she kept for recording her feelings felt like too much of a weight this time of evening. Dr. Verville told her the best time to write in it would be after the day ended, and she could include all she had felt that day and her experiences.
The other book was the diary her great grandmother left behind. Annie hadn’t learned anything new in that arena.
“I guess I could at least find out more about Grandma Hanna,” she muttered to herself.
Annie headed into the hall and stood at the door leading to the attic. She hadn’t hired anyone to go up there yet to clean. The maid service was for the lower floors. Digging through all the boxes, looking at old pictures, the thought made her shrink back. Not to mention the dust and cobwebs.
Shadow walked into the hall and peered at her. He made a funny sound deep in his throat. Annie wrinkled her nose.
“What was that noise?”
He made the noise again.
“If you’re about to throw up, let me warn you. I can’t recover from that.”
She almost laughed at the absurdity. Shadow peered over his shoulder, looking toward the steps to the first floor.
“It’s not time for you to go out. We have a schedule to keep, mister. You go for a walk at seven, and that’s it for the night.”
Annie could have sworn Shadow rolled his eyes. He gave a short bark and ran to the top of the stairs. All of a sudden, his warning came through. Shadow’s former owner had trained him well. He warned of humans nearby without giving away his position or his owner’s. Annie didn’t know the signals.
“Please tell me you’re not saying someone’s in my house,” she whispered as she joined him at the top of the stairs.
Annie peered into the darkness. She had come upstairs while it was still bright out, so no lights were on down there. With her hand on the light switch, she froze. If someone were down there she’d alert them by turning on the lights. Instead, she grabbed a newly purchased baseball bat from her bedroom and held it in a tight grip.
A click of her tongue, and Shadow followed her downstairs. They descended one step at a time because Annie’s ankle still twinged. She prayed she wouldn’t have to run. The darn ankle was cramping her style.
When she got to the first floor, she paused to listen. Nothing stirred other than the brush of a leaves and branches against the side of the house. Being used to the sound, she wasn’t scared.
Near the steps, she spotted the heels she had worn to the party and smiled. Flynn had not only retrieved her shoes, but he helped her escape from the second floor of the Witmans’ house. She’d felt like a real international spy. Too bad he left her on the doorstep while he went to retrieve Omen.
Now that she thought about it, she wondered if dating Flynn was a good idea. Sure, he looked jealous when he had to let Omen drive her home. However, he’d gone back to get Barbara Jean. Annie had no experience whatsoever dating men, but she was pretty sure a woman did not enter into a tug war with someone that looked like Barbara Jean.
Shadow made the noise in his throat again, and this time Annie heard it, too. Someone was at her front door. She half hopped, half scurried down the hall and stopped a couple feet from the entrance. Shadow moved ahead of her to block her path.
The dog growled and lowered his head. Annie raised the bat. When Shadow barked once loud and threatening, Annie couldn’t mistake the footsteps she heard. Someone ran away from the door at top speed.
Thinking fast, she unlocked the door and threw it wide. Shadow jetted through the opening and pounded the sidewalk in hot pursuit. Annie hobbled out after him, but paused when something crinkled under her bare foot.
She looked down and found a note, dimly illuminated from her outside lights. The note read—Keep your nose out of business that doesn’t concern you.
Annie’s hand spasmed, and she threw the note away from her. Her heart pounded, and she stood staring at the sheet for a few minutes. Someone had threatened her. Who? They had come to her house, knew who she was, and had left a warning.
While the note didn’t say “or else,” she inferred it. After all, if the killer left the message, they had already killed once. She swallowed and tried to calm down. Her head spun and refused to figure out who would know specifically that she had been looking into the murder.
“Why threaten me anyway? What about Flynn?” She chewed her thumbnail. Maybe they had already warned Flynn or were on their way to his house now.
Annie hesitated to shut the door with Shadow gone but decided to anyway. He scratched when he wanted in. Besides, he might take a chunk out of the bad guy’s rear and save them all a lot of grief.
She locked the door and flipped on every light on the first floor. “Not scared at all.”
Flynn answered on the first ring. “Hey, I meant to call.”
“I wasn’t waiting by the phone, if you’re wondering.”
He laughed. “You wouldn’t, Annie. That’s what I like about you.”
She had a fleeting thought to ask what else he liked but dismissed it. “Someone left me a threatening note.”
“What?” The sharp bite to his tone made her regret telling him. He’d been worried about her safety. Now he had good reason to cut her out of the investigation. “I’m on my way. Lock the doors. Wait until I see the note before you call the police.”
Annie agreed. As soon as she hung up, the phone rang again. This time it was Stacy. She started not to answer but gave in. “Annie? I need to talk to you.”
Annie checked her heartbeat and found that it had settled quite a bit after a few seconds of talking to Flynn. “Sure, can I come by tomorrow?”
“I was hoping to come to your place in a few minutes.”
“Stacy, what’s wrong?”
Annie heard the agitation in her tone. “I think Robert’s done something he shouldn’t have.”
“You mean like broke the law?”
“Maybe.” She began to whisper. Annie tried to not get too worked up again. Stacy was prone to make more out of anything than it needed to be, for her own entertainment. “I don’t want to discuss it over the phone, but last night when I was at his house, I saw something. I mean I already had my doubts, but—”
Annie swallowed. “Saw? Like what? A piece of paper, a receipt, a dirty movie?”
“Annie!”
“Just trying to get a clue to what you mean, sweetheart. Give me specifics.”
“I think he gets paid to…to…” Stacy gasped. Something banged in the background, and Annie strained to hear.
“Stacy, are you there?”
When she got no answer, Annie started to panic. She wondered if she needed to call the police. Was this all Stacy’s imagination, or was it something more serious?
“I’m here,” Stacy said after a few minutes. “I think your dog just ran through my back yard and knocked over my new feeder. I don’t know what he was chasing.”
“Crud, I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one and clean up the mess.”
“That’s not important right now.”
Annie figured it was important if Shadow was chasing a murderer. How their neighborhood had livened up lately. She missed the quiet nothingness of a few months ago.
“Something as regular as a naughty dog has helped me calm down,” Stacy admitted. “I’ve been worrying myself sick over this thing. I’m going to do some more thinking. I’ll make us some cucumber sandwiches and spiced tea tomorrow and bring them over. Then we can talk about it like civilized adults.”
“Uh, okay.” Annie had tried Stac
y’s cucumber sandwiches and wished the woman read more recent romance novels other than regency ones. “Are you sure? You sounded really upset a moment ago.”
“I’m positive. I think I’m just being dramatic, like usual.”
Annie couldn’t dispute this. She tried to hear if Stacy were being held at gunpoint and was just saying all this now to get off the phone. Then she put such thoughts down to her own imaginative nature.
“All right. Call me in the morning or after you get off work. I’m kind of grounded with this ankle for the time being, so I’ll welcome the company.”
“You got it.” Stacy hung up, and Annie waited for Flynn to arrive.
Chapter Twelve
Flynn held a rubber glove in his hand that Annie had given him. He pinched the edge of the sheet so tight, the tips of his fingers turned white. His teeth ground together, and his eyes burned with fury.
“This is why I told you not to get involved, Annie. I wanted to keep you safe.”
She tried to play off her nervousness. “It doesn’t actually say they’ll do anything if I don’t stop.”
He glared at her. “The person took the time to come to your house. My guess is if they hadn’t heard Shadow’s bark, they would have broken in.”
“My locks are good,” she protested.
“You have a deadbolt, the same kind on Racine Witman’s private room.” He slammed the sheet on the table and stalked over to her. “You remember that one, don’t you? The one I picked to come and save your butt when you got in over your head?”
Annie raised her chin and squared off against him. “Now, you’re getting carried away. I could have gotten out of there the same way I’ve gotten out of scrapes before.”
He appeared doubtful.
“You don’t believe me, but you didn’t give me a chance.”
“Is it your aim in life to risk it?”
“No, of course not.”
“Annie…”
She gasped when he touched her cheek. A part of her wanted to backpedal fast. Another part wanted to stand there and see what it was like to be touched by a man she liked. A cough separated them, and Annie looked over at Barbara Jean. Why in the world had he brought her along?
Death Loved A Woman (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 2) Page 8
