Scene of the Crime: Black Creek

by Carla Cassidy

  Dammit, they’d been so sure of how this all would go down he didn’t even have a weapon on him. Both of their guns were locked in the car back at the dock.

  He crept to where Cassie remained on the ground. Part of the color had returned to her face and she gave him a grim half smile. “If I don’t get a chance later to tell you, thanks for saving my life.” There was warmth in her eyes, a warmth that instantly threatened to pull him in.

  “I just did what anyone would do under the circumstances,” he replied gruffly.

  “My parents didn’t. When I was seven and they threw me into the deep end of a swimming pool, they laughed as I fought not to drown. Finally a man I didn’t know who was staying at the same motel jumped in and pulled me to safety.”

  Rage welled up inside Mick, a rage coupled with a wealth of compassion for the child she had been. But he couldn’t think about that now. He had to somehow get them across the river and to the dock before the gunman found them again.

  There was no way of knowing if the shooter had a boat and had already crossed over to this side of the river and was now hunting them in the woods.

  “We’ll talk about how much I’d like to beat the hell out of your parents later, but for now we’ve got to move.”

  She nodded and pulled herself up to her feet. She drew a deep, steadying breath. “Ready when you are.”

  As they began to walk, Mick knew that Cassie was well aware of the danger. Her gaze kept shooting backward over her shoulder as if she expected somebody to come lumbering out of the brush with gun in hand.

  The same sense of urgency thrummed through his veins. There was no mistaking those two bullets that had slammed into the canoe. Somebody had been specifically aiming at them. It definitely hadn’t been an accident.

  They paused only long enough for Mick to pull his cell phone from his pocket. He opened it and frowned. “Waterlogged,” he muttered as he jammed it back in his shorts.

  “Who were you going to call?”

  “I was going to see if one of the other agents would pick us up someplace.”

  Cassie stifled a laugh with the back of her hand. “What were you going to tell him? Pick us up left of the big tree next to the other big trees?”

  Mick grinned easily. “Okay, I admit it was a dumb idea.”

  They began to walk again. “How are we going to get back across the river and to the dock?” she asked worriedly.

  “I haven’t quite figured that one out yet,” he admitted.

  At that moment the silence was broken by the sound of a motorboat. A new fear torched through Mick. Was the shooter now cruising the shoreline hoping to catch sight of them and finish the job he’d attempted?

  His instincts told him to go deeper into the woods, but he ignored that survival instinct. He had to know who was in that boat. He needed some answers and taking the safe way might not give him any.

  He motioned Cassie closer to his side. “Wait here, I’m going to check out who is in that boat.”

  Although she looked tiny and fragile with her wet clothes clinging to her and her hair just beginning to dry around her face, she raised her chin and nodded, an innate strength shining from her eyes. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

  Mick moved with the stealth of a big cat toward the shoreline, his heart banging hard against his ribs. If it was the shooter in the boat he didn’t want to give away their location, but he’d like to at least make some sort of identification.

  The motor chugged at just above idle speed, indicating that whoever was driving the boat was going very slowly. This only increased the nervous tension that twisted in his gut as the water came into view.

  The boat wasn’t immediately visible to him and he had to creep out of the cover of the woods to look up the river in the direction from where they’d come to see it.

  Jeb was behind the wheel and he was crisscrossing the lake, apparently looking for them. But Mick’s gut instinct told him Jeb wasn’t the shooter.

  Mick stepped into the open and waved his hands in an effort to catch the man’s attention. It seemed to take forever, but finally Jeb saw him and steered the boat toward the shore. Mick raced back to where Cassie waited.

  “It’s Jeb. I think he was looking for us. He’s coming to pick us up.”

  Together he and Cassie walked back to the shoreline just as Jeb pulled up and shut off his engine. “Boy, are you two a sight for sore eyes,” he said as Mick helped Cassie into the back of the small motorboat.

  “How did you know we were in trouble?” Mick took the seat next to Jeb’s.

  “Your canoe washed up at Kissing Point, empty except for the two holes in the side. Jenna, my daughter-in-law, was there to deliver your lunch and when she saw the empty canoe she called me.”

  “Somebody took a couple of shots at us. We had to dump the canoe and swim for cover along the shoreline,” Mick explained.

  Jeb looked at him in astonishment. “Jenna said there were a couple of holes in the side, but she didn’t say they were bullet holes.” His eyes narrowed as he scanned the opposite shore. “Probably a couple of drunken hunters. Dammit, it’s not hunting season and that area is wildlife protected.”

  “Apparently those two little facts don’t stop some people, especially if they’ve got a bit of liquid courage inside them,” Mick replied, going with the hunter story rather than to admit to Jeb that they were chasing a killer who had apparently found them.

  Jeb started his engine and within minutes they were back at the dock. “I’ll reverse the charges on your credit card,” Jeb said when they were all out of the boat and standing by the bait shop. “You didn’t get the river experience you paid for.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Mick replied, just eager to get into the car and out of there before somebody took a couple of shots at them again.

  Mick didn’t relax until they were back in the car and even then he didn’t let down his guard. They both pulled their guns from the glove box, ready for trouble if it found them again.

  As they drove back toward the heart of town, he kept his gaze divided between the road ahead of him and the road behind them.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as he passed the entrance to the Sweetheart Suites.

  “I don’t know about you, but I feel the need to get a little distance from Black Creek and gather my thoughts together.” He looked over at her and couldn’t help but notice that her nipples were hard against the damp T-shirt.

  He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He couldn’t let his mind wander to the pleasures of Cassie. Adrenaline still pumped through him, making it dangerous for him to think about Cassie naked in his bed, his thumbs teasing those taut nipples. He had to keep focused on what had just happened, on what their next move should be.

  “I figure we can find a place to stay in Cobb’s Corners for the night,” he said. “And then I want to set up a meeting with Sheriff Lambert for first thing in the morning. I need to update him on what’s happened and I want him checking some alibis.”

  “What about clothes and night things?” she asked as she plucked at her damp T-shirt.

  “I saw some kind of a discount store in Cobb’s Corner close to the café where we ate lunch with Lambert. We’ll stop there and they should have whatever we need for the night.” Once again he tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He needed to get her out of that wet T-shirt as soon as possible.

  They rode for a few more minutes in silence and he felt the weight of her gaze on him. “What?” he asked and glanced at her.

  “It was him, wasn’t it?”

  Mick frowned thoughtfully before replying. “Yeah, I believe it was him.”

  “Then he’s changed his pattern. He’s completely changed the game.” Her voice was taut with tension.

  “Yeah, I know.” A knot twisted in his gut. “And you know what that means?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but rather cast her a quick somber glance. “We’re now playing a game with no rules.”

  Chapter Eight<
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  Cassie wasn’t a happy camper. The discount store they stopped at didn’t have her usual shampoo, the hairbrush she bought wasn’t like the one back at their suite and apparently nobody in Arkansas wore long pajamas in July. The only night clothing she could find was a spaghetti-strapped, short, flimsy shift that was light blue and patterned with white sleeping kittens.

  She added two pairs of new underpants to her small shopping cart and two pairs of shorts and two T-shirts, one to change into as soon as they landed someplace and the other to wear the next day. She then went in search for Mick who had been in charge of picking up toothbrushes and paste, deodorant and anything else he thought they’d need for the night.

  She found him in the candy aisle, dropping several bags of goodies in his cart. “I thought you were getting toothbrushes.”

  He gestured to the bottom of the cart where a package of large white T-shirts, a package of boxers and a pair of black shorts rested next to the required items. “I just figured we might get a little munchy later. You like licorice?”

  “I like these better.” She grabbed a bag of chocolate-covered raisins and threw them into his cart. “Shouldn’t we get holed up someplace before somebody from Black Creek sees us here?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready,” he agreed.

  Mick paid with cash and within minutes they were back in the car and headed toward the Cobb’s Corner’s Motel down the street. The motel was located next to a fast-food place. Mick pulled up in front of the office and went in to see about a room for the night.

  As he left the car, Cassie released a shuddery sigh that she felt as if she’d been holding in for hours. You’re okay, she told herself. You survived not only a crazed gunman, but also the Black River.

  She wasn’t sure when she’d been frightened more, when she’d realized the hole in the canoe was from a bullet or when Mick stood up and she realized she was about to be cast into the deep river water.

  But you’re okay, she thought again. Still, she couldn’t stop the jitters that had seized her insides from the moment that hole had appeared in the side of the canoe.

  You’re a trained FBI agent, she reminded herself. You can handle anything. Just whatever you do, don’t fall apart.

  As Mick stepped out of the office, she couldn’t help but admire the easy stride that carried him back to the car, the totally relaxed cast of his shoulders and the charming smile he flashed that lifted those sinful lips of his. Didn’t he have the jitters, too? Wasn’t he afraid of what might happen next now that they had no idea of the killer’s next move?

  Funny, but the very sight of him calmed her, steadied the nerves that had been jumping inside her since the unexpected dunk in the river.

  He slid into the driver’s seat and handed her a key. “We’re in unit twelve. It’s around the back, so our car won’t be seen from the street.” He started the engine. “And don’t expect the same kind of accommodations that we’ve had at the Sweetheart Suites. I have a feeling business is tough here in Cobb’s Corners.”

  “That makes sense. Most people would drive right by to get to Honeymoon Haven. You don’t suppose our killer is from here? Maybe a disgruntled business owner who every day watches his very livelihood zoom by?”

  “It’s something to consider, but my gut instinct is that our boy is from Black Creek.” He parked in front of their unit. “The first thing I want to do when we get inside is tell the boys in the cottage next to ours that they can get a good night’s sleep tonight because we won’t be there. My phone should be dried out by now. And the second thing I need to do is to set up a meet with Sheriff Lambert.”

  They got out of the car, each grabbing some of the bags from the discount store. “I’ve never stayed at a place where I carried in plastic bags instead of a suitcase,” she said as he opened the door.

  He turned and smiled at her. “You’ve never taken a swim in a river, either. Just think of how this assignment and I are opening up your world.”

  “There are less dramatic ways to open up my world,” she said ruefully as she stepped into the room. It was just what she’d expected. Gold carpeting, small nightstands, a round table and two chairs shoved in the corner and a television bolted down to the top of a small dresser. What she hadn’t expected was the king-size bed.

  She turned to look at him. “They didn’t have any double-doubles available?”

  “I’m sure they did, but I didn’t ask.” He dropped the bags he’d carried in on the foot of the bed. “Cassie, we don’t know for sure that our cover has been blown. We still need to play our roles as a honeymooning couple, and honeymooning couples don’t stay in separate double beds.”

  She wanted to argue with him, but realized he was right. They couldn’t know for sure that their covers had been blown. All they really knew was that they’d definitely gained the attention of the killer.

  She sighed and put her bags on the bed next to his. “Guess there’s nothing left to do but get settled in.”

  “I’m going to make those phone calls and when I’m finished I’ll walk next door and get us some lunch. I’m sure a burger and fries will be just as good as whatever would have been in our picnic lunch that we missed.”

  As Cassie carried one of the bags into the tiny bathroom, Mick got on his cell phone. A small sizzle of anxiety heated the pit of her stomach, the familiar burn when things didn’t go as planned, when she had to fly by the seat of her pants.

  She unloaded the items they’d bought, and as she did she remembered the conversation they’d been having in the canoe before the first bullet had struck, the conversation about Sarah and the baby that would never exist.

  The selfish act of that woman had devastated Mick. She’d heard it in his voice when he’d spoken of it, seen the torment that had darkened his green eyes. Sarah had destroyed him, and there was a part of Cassie that wanted to make things right for him, that wanted to make him believe that love and family was still possible.

  But she knew better than to entertain that kind of fantasy. She wasn’t the woman to make his world right. She was obsessive-compulsive, a control freak who quivered at the very thought of change.

  Mick was all about change, about going with the flow, greeting each day as if it were a great adventure. He was chaos and disorder and didn’t fit with the neat and tidy and controlled world she’d built for herself.

  Unable to wait another minute to wash off the river water, she turned on the shower and quickly stripped off the clothes that now smelled slightly fishy and would be making their way into the nearest trash can.

  The hot spray of the shower coupled with the small bar of clean-scented soap the motel provided did the trick. She washed and rinsed her hair twice and then finally stepped out of the tub and dried off. There was no hair dryer, so she simply brushed through her clean wet hair and then left the bathroom.

  Mick sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at her. “We’re all set to meet Lambert at the Dew Drop Café tomorrow morning at seven. And now I want what you just had…a nice hot shower to get the river stink off me.”

  He grabbed a pair of shorts and his package of T-shirts and then disappeared into the bathroom. As he showered Cassie wandered the room aimlessly, checking the drawers in the dresser and the ones in the end table, finding nothing, not even the usual Bible.

  He wasn’t in the bathroom long, and when he reappeared he was in one of the new T-shirts and a pair of black shorts. “Ah, that’s much better,” he said. “And now to the really important stuff…lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Will you be all right here alone while I go next door for some food?” he asked.

  She grabbed her purse and pulled out her revolver. “We’ll be just fine,” she assured him.

  His eyes glinted with a teasing light that caught her breath in her chest. “God, you look hot right now.”

  “Get out of here before I shoot you,” she retorted.

  With a laugh he left the room. Cassie locked the door behind him and then wandered back
to the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

  Hot? Hardly. Her hair was a straight mess from having air-dried without using any product or spray. She didn’t have on a drop of makeup, but her cheeks filled with heightened color as she thought of the kiss they’d shared at the spa.

  Drat the man anyway, she thought as she twirled away from the mirror. He wasn’t her problem. His past was tragic, but everyone had baggage from their youth. You just had to suck it up and move on.

  She unpacked the other bags and laid her new shorts and light blue T-shirt on the dresser. As she pulled out the nightgown, her heart jumped in an uneven rhythm. She’d never slept in anything quite so revealing, and the idea of doing so right next to Mick made her mouth grow dry.

  With nothing left to do, she sat on the edge of the bed and tried to empty her mind from any thoughts of the night to come. Tonight would be no different than the past two nights she’d slept beside Mick. They were partners, not lovers.

  Instead she focused her thoughts on everything that had happened since they’d first arrived in Black Creek, every person they had met and who she thought might be the culprit.

  It was disheartening to realize they didn’t have any real suspects, they simply had a couple of people who believed they might have something to gain if the town remained Black Creek rather than officially becoming Honeymoon Haven.

  A knock on the door moved her to the window, where she peered out the curtain to see Mick holding a white sack and a drink tray. She unlocked the door to let him in.

  “I almost ate mine on the way back,” he said as he carried everything to the small round table in the corner. “I smelled the food and almost lost it.” He began to unload the food. “I didn’t think to ask you what you wanted so I got you a grilled chicken sandwich, a salad and a diet drink. If that doesn’t sound good I got myself two big cheeseburgers and fries. I’ll be glad to share.”

  Cassie sat at the table across from him. “No, chicken and a salad are perfect.”

  For the next few minutes they ate in silence. It was funny, she somehow felt closer to Mick than she’d ever felt to Glen. Maybe it was because Mick had shared with her his heartache. Maybe it was because they were facing an unknown killer and had only each other to depend on at the moment.