* * *
Aiden’s new home was an authentic log cabin. How long he’d be in town he didn’t know, but what did it matter? There was no one back home in Chicago waiting for him, not even a pet. He was accountable to no one and liked it that way.
Aiden got to work building a fire in the huge stone fireplace and soon had a roaring blaze. He found a coffee maker in a cupboard, brewed a cup of java, grabbed hold of his beaten-up leather travel bag, and settled onto the couch to enjoy his handiwork. A niggling voice reminded him just how nice it would be to share this moment with someone special. “Aw, shut up,” he said aloud and stuffed the thought away.
He unzipped the bag and pulled out his files. It took a moment to find the one he wanted—an old case involving a woman who’d skipped town with her eight-year-old daughter, dropping everything to get away from her abusive husband. Her name was Connie. Aiden had been hired by Connie’s mother to find her before her shithead of a husband, or the cops, did.
His heart tore in two every time he thought of the case. It was the only one he’d failed at. The only one where the bad guy beat him. Looking now at the picture of a smiling Connie and her little girl, he felt the warmth of tears begin to form in his eyes and pinched them away. Never, he vowed, never would he screw up a case again.
Morning came too quickly, and Aiden awoke bundled up on the couch. He hadn’t bothered to go up to the bedroom loft, just pulled the throw from the back of the couch over himself and nodded off. He’d slept in his clothes and was grateful he’d had the presence of mind to toe off his boots first.
An uncomfortable gurgling in his stomach sent him to the kitchen in search of food, but he’d only bought a few things at the corner store when he hit town. He thought of Lily and the diner. Should he go back so soon? He was torn between duty and a niggling desire to see Lily again. He should do some surveillance first—watch her a bit, but then again, having a little chat with Miss Valier may prove valuable too.
After a little freshening up, he pulled into a parking space in front of the diner. A pudgy, middle-aged man in an untucked flannel shirt and dirty jeans was hard at work replacing the broken glass of the front door.
Aiden entered. Even the chill of the October air sweeping in through the empty doorway hadn’t kept customers away. Probably die-hard regulars. A smile unfurled across his face as the smells of frying bacon and fresh coffee swept past him, making his stomach gurgle and rumble. Customers, perched at the counter and in booths, were bundled in their coats, shoveling eggs, toast, and crispy bacon into their mouths.
After finding a spot at the counter, he looked around for Lily but saw only a harried, middle-aged waitress making her rounds with a coffee pot in each hand, one orange-rimmed, the other brown. Bangs, just a little too long, bounced up and down with her eyelids, which were covered thickly with glittery silver-and-purple eye shadow.
“Mornin’,” she said as she made her way to the business side of the counter. “What can I getcha?”
“Coffee, please.” Aiden read her nametag. “You the only one working today, Annie?”
She turned over the cup resting in a saucer in front of him. “Nah, Lily’s here. She’s just in back. Can I getcha anything else?”
Aiden pulled a sticky, plastic-covered menu from its place between the ketchup and saltshaker. It took only a second to find what he wanted. “I’ll have the lumberjack special.” He pointed at the accompanying picture of three pancakes, four eggs, a mountain of home fries, and five strips of bacon.
“Sure thing,” Annie said with a lingering gaze, her eyes narrowing just a bit. “You’re new around here, aren’t ya?” She waited a moment before turning toward the grill to start his order.
“Yeah,” Aiden answered, then swiveled around looking for Lily. Just as he did, she stepped from the back, arms filled with what looked like bags of frozen home fries. Aiden jumped to his feet and ran to help, taking them from her.
“Oh, hi,” Lily said with a startled smile. Her green eyes were even more beautiful in the light of day.
“Where do you want these?”
“Counter’s fine.”
Aiden walked back to where he’d been sitting and placed the surprisingly heavy, and very cold, bags of potatoes on the counter.
“Thanks.” Lily touched his shoulder as she passed.
Though he couldn’t feel the heat of her touch through his jacket, his skin tingled anyway. He had to remind himself to stay focused on the business at hand.
Lily began helping Annie at the grill, plucking small order sheets from the overhead carousel.
“So, looks like business is still booming,” Aiden said.
Lily turned to face him and offered a warm smile. “You’re right about that.” She took a quick glimpse at the black plastic clock over the door. “If you stick around for about half an hour, things should slow down. Then we can talk, that is, if you’d like.” She suddenly seemed shy.
Aiden nodded and raised his cup in a salute. “I’d like that very much.” He wouldn’t have been able to put away his smile if he wanted to.
CHAPTER 3
The rhythms of the diner were as much a part of Lily as the red of her hair and the green of her eyes. She’d called it right. Within thirty minutes, the restaurant held a manageable four customers. There were a few hours until the lunch rush, so she invited Aiden to a booth and asked Annie to take over.
Aiden pulled out his wallet to pay his bill, but Lily waved him off. “No, after what you did for me last night, it’s on the house.” She smiled. “It’s the least I can do.”
He tipped his head in a gesture of thanks. “I appreciate it, though it’s completely unnecessary.” Wagging a finger, he said, “Don’t be doing this every time I come in, OK?”
They slid into the same booth they’d sat in the night before. What a difference a day makes, she thought, eyeing him. Today her heart was hammering for a very different reason. The only danger now was that this handsome stranger just might steal her heart if she wasn’t careful.
“You gotta deal, mister. The way you eat, I’d go broke in a month.” She let out a throaty laugh and was immediately self-conscious. He smiled and stared at her with…what? Admiration? She couldn’t tell for sure but found herself smoothing her hair and wishing she’d put on lipstick.
A disappointing thought suddenly struck her. He was new in town, so maybe he was just passing through. The words slipped from her thoughts and out of her mouth. “What brings you to town?”
“Thinking of starting a business.”
She straightened and tried to hold back the smile about to erupt on her lips. “Here, in Higgstown? What kind, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He tented his fingers and looked thoughtful. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe a little souvenir shop. I hear it gets really busy during the tourist season. I’m retired and don’t need the income. Just want something to keep me out of trouble.”
He looked to be in his mid-thirties. How odd to be retired so young. “So, you’d be staying here? For good, I mean?” She cringed inwardly, hating how lame and desperate she sounded.
A smile lit his face as if he’d caught her meaning. “More than likely. If I can manage to set something up.”
An errant lock of hair fell over his forehead, and it took all the self-control she could muster not to brush it back in place. “This probably isn’t the best time of year to start a business. Summer would be better, but then again, if you’re in no hurry, the scenery with the fall colors is breathtaking.” She looked away, wanting to kick herself for saying it was a bad time to start a business. What did she want to do, run him off?
“I like the scenery that’s in front of me right now,” he said, grinning broadly.
The heat of embarrassment reddened her cheeks, and an awkward silence fell between them. Aiden reached out, stopping just short of touching her hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“No, no…you didn’t do anything to be sorry for.”
�
�What I’m trying to do is ask you out, and so far I’m not doing a very good job of it.”
Lily’s brows lifted with interest. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been asked out before. Every unattached guy in town had hit on her at one time or another and a few of the married ones too, but this guy was different. She didn’t have to worry about his motives. He was new in Higgstown and didn’t yet know how much she was worth.
She loved the scruff on his chiseled jawline and that dimple! It was cavernous, and he didn’t even have to smile for it to pop.
“So, what do you think? Would you like to go out with me tonight?” He leaned closer to catch her gaze.
“I’d love to,” she replied with more fervor than intended.
His smile split his face. “Great. When do you get off work?”
Lily pulled her order pad and pen from her apron pocket and wrote down her number and address on the back of a sheet. “I’m off at six.” She slid the paper to him, and when their fingers met, a sizzle of electricity shot up her arm.
* * *
Six o’clock came quickly, and Lily was out the door. Unusual for her, but the thought of seeing Aiden and knowing she didn’t have much time to get ready lit a fire under Lily. Denise, tall, scrawny, and still sporting pimples at twenty-four, was working the evening shift. Lily barely said two words to the poor girl before hurrying out. Normally, she’d stop and chat for a while but not tonight.
Her stomach fluttered with excitement as she got into her car and turned up the tunes. Before she realized it, she was singing—that was something she hadn’t done in some time. However, it wasn’t long before the dark thoughts sneaked up on her as they often did. Hell, why was she always punishing herself whenever a little happiness entered her life? She deserved some good fortune—probably more than most people after the ordeal she’d lived through, well, was still living through.
She clicked off the radio, her mind turning back to the morning of Wednesday, July 13, the day her world was turned upside down. She’d been on her way out the door, heading for work, when Sheriff Wilkins met her in the driveway. She’d smiled up at him.
The tall, wiry man had cleared his throat, then adjusted his hat. “Lily, may I have a word?”
“Yes, of course. What is it? Has something happened?” Blood had rushed to her temples and pounded there. She knew the look of a man who was about to deliver bad news.
He’d nodded toward the front door. “Mind if we go inside?” His tone had been as gaunt as he was.
Lily could barely move, but she’d willed herself forward with the sheriff trailing her into the kitchen.
“Please, sit down,” Lily offered and had taken a seat herself. She’d pressed her hands between her knees to keep them from shaking. Why was she so frightened? Instinct had nagged her, pressing every fear trigger she’d honed over her lifetime. Something was terribly wrong.
Wilkins had stared at her. Lily had watched him and tried to read his expression to gauge what was coming. He’d taken a seat and removed his hat, setting it on the table. “I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your sister’s been found dead.”
The gravity of his words had struck like a punch to the gut, and sucked the breath from her. Her world had gone black, and the last thing she’d heard before fainting had been the furious beating of her own heart.
By the time Lily got home, she’d managed, with some difficulty, to push the dark thoughts back into the recesses of her mind. Rex, her Irish terrier, clawed at the other side of the door as she turned the key in the lock and opened it.
“There’s my boy,” she said, bending to pet him. He was a quiet dog, never really barked, but somehow he always knew when she’d be home, even though her hours were never routine.
After taking Rex out to do his business and emptying a can of dog food into his bowl, Lily went upstairs to hit the shower. Aiden had said he’d be by at seven. That didn’t leave a lot of time for preening. She kept her shower short, and when she came out of the bathroom, Rex was waiting, curled up in his bed in the corner of her room.
“Hi, my little man. How’s my boy tonight?”
The dog stood and wagged his short reddish-brown tail excitedly.
“Mommy’s got a date.” She knelt beside him and kissed the top of his head. “Sorry to leave you again.” Despite her excitement, she felt a pang of guilt. Poor Rex had been alone all day, and now here she was going out at night. With a heavy sigh, Lily ran a hand through her damp hair. “Ah, hell, I need to get a life.” She eyed her dog again. “You understand, don’t ya?”
Rex wagged his tail as if in reply.
“I promise not to be too late.”
After blow-drying her hair and applying her makeup, she realized she didn’t know where Aiden was taking her. She hadn’t bothered to ask and he hadn’t said. Padding to her closet, she threw open the door and took inventory. She didn’t know what to wear. What would pass as a date in Higgstown, Maine? A movie, dinner, bowling? The last one she didn’t much care for.
God, how she wished Sara was around to give advice. It was unbelievable how complicated her life was now. Wilkins and Deluca were the enemy. How strange that felt, to be on the other side of the law, to be looked at with suspicion. Wilkins especially was a disappointment. He’d known her since she was a child. How could he think it possible she would murder the only person in her life she loved?
Lily shook the bad thoughts away again. At least her restaurant was still in business. She’d been afraid she’d lose customers, but hers was the only diner in town. When people’s stomachs got to rumblin’, they came just as before. Business was business, she guessed, and friendship another matter entirely.
“What do you think of this?” Lily said aloud, pretending her sister was standing beside her, knowing she sounded like she was off her rocker. But she really did believe Sara could hear her. She yanked a pair of khaki chinos off a hanger along with a blousy cotton top. “Should be good enough for bowling, dinner, or a movie.”
The crunching of tires on gravel caught her attention, and she peeked out her bedroom window in time to spy a silver Dodge Ram kicking up dust as it made its way along the meandering driveway.
Her heart took off in a sprint. She told herself to settle down between calming breaths. He was just a man for crying out loud. She took one last glance in the mirror and smiled at her reflection before heading downstairs to answer the doorbell that would ring any second.
CHAPTER 4
Before exiting the truck, Aiden punched in Wilkins’s number on his cell.
The sheriff answered on the second ring. “Whatcha got for me?”
“What? No hello? Straight to business?” Aiden said.
“Damn right. That’s why I hired ya.”
“I’m in Lily’s driveway right now. I’m taking her out and just wanted to know how hard to push. You know her better than I do, and I don’t want to mess up right out of the gate.”
“That’s it? That’s why you called? Hell, man, feel her out, push as hard as necessary to get the truth out of her. Did she kill her sister, or is she involved in any way in her sister’s death? That’s what we need to know.” His tone held a touch of impatience.
Aiden felt the hot flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. What possessed him to ask such a stupid question? He sighed. There was something about Lily that made him draw back a bit, like he had to be careful with her, like he didn’t want to hurt her. He’d have to push those feelings aside, and quickly, if he was going to do his job.
“OK. I hear ya.” Aiden cleared his throat. “How’s Chrome? If he’s hurt, tell him I’m sorry. I’ll come by later and pay him. Guess he’d like his ‘get out of jail free card’ now.”
“Don’t worry about it—already paid him. Figured you’d be charging the department for his services anyway. He’s on his way back into whatever gutter he crawled out from.”
Aiden laughed. “Thanks, sheriff. Hope he didn’t overcharge you.”
“Guy like that can’t be trus
ted. I gave him half of what he asked for, and he seemed happy enough.”
“You’re a smart man,” Aiden said, relieved he didn’t have to stop by the station later that evening. More time with Lily. “All right then, I’d better get going. Can’t keep a lady waiting. I’ll check in when I have something for you.”
Aiden took a breath and readied himself for the role he was about to play. If he hadn’t been a private investigator, he could’ve easily been an actor, but he’d decided to take the practical road, the one more frequently traveled, and went into law enforcement. After ten years on the force in Chicago, even the steady pay, benefits, and pension weren’t enough to keep him at a job that was more paperwork than police work. He left, hung a shingle, and started his PI business three years ago. With cutbacks and the poor economy, police departments ended up being his best customers. Outsourcing was his cash cow. He fancied himself a freelance cop, which was perfect. There was intrigue, danger, and excitement without the tedious paperwork and red tape.
Aiden headed for the front door of Lily’s restored turn-of-the-century farmhouse. Nice place. Lots of property, well kept, but not what he’d expected of someone with as much money as Miss Valier. With her millions, she should be living in a mansion with servants and have a winter home in Palm Springs. Why did she stay in small-town America and work in a crappy diner? He knew she owned it, but with the freedom her money afforded, why would she choose to keep working there? Perhaps because it had only been a few months since she’d inherited her sister’s money, and she hadn’t had the time to spend it yet?
He knocked on the large cherry-red door, heard what sounded like a dog on the other side, not barking or growling, but scratching, and then the door swung wide.
Aiden thought back to the photos of Lily in the file Wilkins had given him. Stress and strain were written all over that face. Hooded eyes, dark and swollen, hair hanging limply, and a forehead creased with worry. They must have been taken shortly after her sister’s murder, because this woman, the one standing in front of him right now, was hot!
Nowhere to Run Page 2
