Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1)

by R. T. Wolfe

  Dave wasn't long. The three of them sat in the folding chairs as Brie explained what Dave was looking at and how she'd found the photos. Nathan noted the way she could stuff her fears and suspicions whenever she needed to and supposed he should feel relief that she could let loose when they were alone.

  Dave took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "Trouble is there's no threat here. I can get a patrol to pick up the neighborhood canvas, but I can't get a squad car to sit at your house just because someone thinks you're a slut."

  For the first time in a very long time, Nathan lost it. "No threat? Are you joking? She's had some, somemaniac taking pictures of her for almost a decade! He set fire to her home, broke into her garage."

  Brie intervened. "You're going to wake up Duncan and Andy, Nathan. He's right. There's no proof to say any of this is connected."

  "Can I take these?" Dave motioned to the pictures.

  "Sure," Brie offered.

  Nathan turned to Brie. "You're not going home."

  "Nathan," she spoke softly.

  "Damn it. You heard me."

  Brie turned to Dave. "Do something. I can't bring this to a home with two children."

  "By the looks of the pictures, it already is. It's late. I'll let myself out and the two of you can duke this out." He stood. "Stop by the station tomorrow. I'll see what we can do about extra patrols," and headed for the door.

  "Where will I sleep? I need my stuff. Oh, hell."

  "I have a mattress, and I have an extra toothbrush."

  "Goes to show what you know about women. I need a lot more than a toothbrush. I can bring Macey with me to at least get some things."

  "Not tonight, and I can't come with you and leave the kids here."

  She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm tired, Reed. Show me where you are putting me."

  * * *

  Brie woke to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of an air compressor. Dogs barked out back. Reluctantly, she lifted the arm with her watch and looked at the time with one eye. Holy crap. She hadn't slept this late in years.

  Yesterday's clothes would have to do. She buttoned her jeans while walking toward the glorious smell. Her head did a double take when she passed the room Nathan designated as his temporary work-out room. Stopping in the doorway, she stared at the side wall.

  Hanging was a fair-sized piece of cork board with note cards stuck to it using white push pins. One name was written on each card, the cards were lined in columns. In the first, there seemed to be what looked like a short list of suspects that included Sandy Finley and Brian McKinney. The long list must be the middle column. It contained Susie Phillips, Elizabeth Whittier, Isabel Seward, Mr. and Mrs. Moreley, and Mr. and Mrs. Novick.

  Brie slowly made her way to the board before she sensed she wasn't alone. After reading the final column, which included Clifford and Amanda Piper, Lucy and Molly Melbourne, and Tim and Liz Brownley, she turned to face Nathan.

  "What's this?" He looked tired.

  "I'm making a case board." He stepped next to her, looking at the names. "Good morning."

  "No, I mean this last list of people. Good morning back." She tapped the column of names that included her sister's.

  "People to talk to. I've already spoken with Lucy Melbourne a few times. Dave seems to have Amanda covered."

  "When did you speak to Lucy? How did you get her to let you in her house? No, to open her door for you? She doesn't like you, you know."

  "That's not true. She loves me." He reached around and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. "I invited Dave and Amanda over tonight. I guess I should've asked you. Will you stay?"

  "For the evening, yes. For the night, I'd better not. I'll stay with Liz."

  "I figured. Tell me what you think." He nodded toward the board.

  She turned her head to the side, keeping her eyes on the names. "I think Sandy is in the right spot. I would have never believed it, but as I look back, she's perfect. I didn't meet Brian until after the fire. Or during the fire, I should say."

  "He could have known you. I've looked over your notes. The timing is too perfect. Recent incidents started right after you starting seeing each other seriously, worse when you broke it off."

  "He broke it off. Nathan, he's a... softie."

  "He put his hands on you at your party. Has he tried to contact you?"

  She took a deep breath. "He drank too much at my party and... has driven by a couple of times. I spoke with him briefly. We don't have to talk about this if it makes you uncomfortable."

  "I'm not uncomfortable, especially about anyone my girl calls a softie."

  "Susie Phillips is too sweet. Elizabeth Whittier is too old. I could shoot you for even having Isabel Seward on your list. Moreleys, again too old, and the Novicks were on their cruise the day I found the dead rabbit. Remember? I was putting up their lights."

  She walked over and pulled the pin out of the Novicks note card and moved it over to the third column. "My bet is on Sandy. Have the police questioned her yet? She was there when I started working at Bloom. I moved up too quickly, worked with the assistant superintendent, offered higher positions. That's what Liz says.

  "She was always trying to make things difficult for me and wouldn't support me if I had an unreasonable parent or a student that needed accommodations. She was sent home long before me the day of the lockdown, would have had plenty of time to set out poison for Macey. And she was there both mornings my windows were shot out. Huh. It makes even more sense when I say it out loud like that."

  She walked over and looked through the window, noticing the crew had already arrived to start cutting down the dead trees. "I overslept. I need to get out there."

  His long arms wrapped around her waist making her eyelids drop. He kissed her on her bare neck, sending chills down to her feet.

  "Dun-can!" Andy yelled from the doorway. "Dad is kissing Miss Chapman."

  "Shit." Nathan left his hands on Brie's waist and turned to squint at Andy.

  "Gross," Duncan yelled back from his room.

  Andy stood and grinned from ear to ear.

  * * *

  Nathan was determined to finish the base cabinets for the kitchen. It was the last thing to do before he could start finishing the floors. They'd been without furniture in the house long enough. The high from being so close kept him moving. After drilling the first cabinet in the corner of the kitchen, he stopped for a short water break.

  The bottle he'd half-emptied dangled between his thumb and forefinger as he rested his arm up on the window frame. Eventually, a double-deep kitchen sink would be centered beneath the window. He imagined standing at the sink, looking out at the breathtaking view of the lake morning after morning. The lake was calm, then, and looked like an enormous mirror framed in green. The reflections of the homes lay in the water and looked like an underwater city. The wild flowers that bloomed along the floodplain were an acre's wide patchwork quilt.

  He spotted Brie with her large yellow notepad. She looked efficient in ugly boots and sexy golden thighs. He couldn't believe how much she'd gotten done in the past few days, or how different the yard looked.

  She must have gotten too warm because she'd taken off her sweatshirt, exposing the tank underneath. It was damp with sweat and clung to her slightly. He could see the outline of muscles in her back that were long and sexy. He remembered the feel of her firm legs when they'd wrapped around him in her kitchen.

  The bright color of the wildflowers created a backdrop for her female shape, and he imagined how she would look lying underneath him in all that color. Her mass of hair tossed around her oval face, over her shoulders, over her naked body. He could nearly feel his hands trail across her smooth skin and up her golden thighs as he lifted them, moving into her until they lost each other in the heat.

  "Nathan?"

  "Son of a bitch!" His arm slipped from the window, and he dropped his water. "Ma," he said, slowly closing his eyes.

  "Watch your language around... " R
ealization filled her face and she stopped. "Oh, good grief, Nathan. This is like walking into your high school bedroom. Is she out back?" His mother walked casually to the fridge and set down her wicker basket as she opened the door.

  He rubbed both hands over his face and picked up his half-empty water bottle. "Ma."

  "That's it. Your father and I are taking Duncan and Andy for the night." She unloaded small plastic containers of mostaccioli bake.

  "Ma." This was not happening. "It's not... she's not... we're not like that."

  She reached in her basket and pulled out a bag of garlic bread. "Obviously."

  "I'm not having this conversation with my mother." He turned toward the door to the garage pulling his headphones over his ears. "I'll be in my spray room."

  * * *

  "Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Melbourne." Nathan walked in as Lucy opened her door.

  "Please call me Lucy. Come in and sit down. I heard about Brianna."

  They walked back to the kitchen.

  He followed and propped one leg on a stool. "You look lovely today."

  She wore turquoise slacks and a matching blazer with her hair up high.

  "How well did you know Brie's parents?"

  Lucy hesitated. She stood at her coffee pot and sighed. "We were very close. My husband and I moved in a few years before we had MollyAnne. We raised them together, you know. MollyAnne, Elizabeth and Brianna were like triplets."

  She sat on her stool, gazing at a china dish filled with potpourri. "I remember when the boys would run after the girls with frogs they'd pulled from the creek. MollyAnne and Elizabeth ran away squealing, and Brie snatched them from the boys and put them back into the water. What is being done, Nathan? That girl has been through enough if you ask me," she said gruffly.

  "The police are keeping an eye on her place. Do you remember the night of the fire?"

  "Of course I remember the night of the fire." She stood. "Why would you ask me something like that? Do they think all this has something to do with the night of the fire?" Lucy clutched a fisted hand to her chest.

  He took her free hand in his and patted it softly. "Amanda's friend. The police officer? He's looking at everything. He may want to talk to you. And to Molly. Tell me what you remember. Please, Lucy."

  She sat again with empty cups and a full pot of coffee. "I was sleeping. It was late. June. A hot night for June. I heard the explosion. No, felt the explosion. I remember what time it was, because my clock was the first thing I saw when my eyes flew open. It was eleven-forty. I was too scared to do anything except pick up the phone and call the police.

  "It seemed like a long time before they arrived, but they told me it was just under ten minutes. My husband had passed away a few years before. I'm just now becoming accustomed to being alone. I rocked on the edge of my bed until I heard the wail of the sirens and collected the courage to walk down the hall to look out a window.

  "The whole other side of their house was engulfed in flames. Two fire trucks were pulling up, and I could see the lights from police cars coming around the back way from over by the old farm... by your house. There was a loud knock on my door. I stood in my housecoat in the heat while they asked me the same questions over and over again. Everyone moved so fast. It looked like chaos to me, but they pulled Brianna out quickly. They didn't bring out her parents. They were too... " She stopped and moved her closed fist to her lips. "Please keep her safe. She's like a daughter to me."

  "Do you know how I can get a hold of Molly? I know Brie would like to see her." He put his hand on her shoulder.

  Lucy nodded. "She told me she's on a buying trip out of the country. It's what she does. Buys clothes from shows and brings them to stores around the state. She has a condo downtown. I'll write down her number for you."

  They sat together, sharing coffee and cranberry-orange scones. Nathan took his time asking her about childhood stories and bringing her back from her painful memory.

  "I'm glad she's staying with Elizabeth for now, but you'll send her back when this is over?"

  "The police hope to wrap this up as soon as possible."

  * * *

  Nathan returned to find Brie in his backyard wearing snug blue jeans and old sneakers. She was speaking loudly to two men he hadn't met over the roar of several, extremely noisy machines.

  She motioned for him to follow her back to the front. "We'll never hear each other with the chainsaws and mulcher running at the same time."

  He followed, thinking about the different hats she wore, each with its own personality, yet all very Brie. Mostly, each would serve as an effective distraction of the night before. This hat was an intriguing mixture of tomboy and site boss. "What are you doing to my trees?" he asked.

  "Dead trees. You have six of them back here. Arnie there owes me a favor. Well, a lot of favors. We may be even after this. He's almost done." Reaching the front, she turned and put her hands on her hips, thumbs facing forward.

  "How do you know they're dead?" He was more interested in hearing her boss voice than he was about the trees.

  "No bend to the branches. No green on the inside. And I live behind you, remember? I've watched them die. Four died when Dutch elm disease came through. Two are poplar, which is a blessing if you ask me. You work with wood and you don't know trees?"

  "I know them when they're cut and dried."

  "Listen, if I'm going to be off work for a while, I'd like to use the time to get this done." She looked around at his property. "Can you hold off your outside guys for a few days? Maybe a week? Or two? I was hoping to have sod delivered the day after tomorrow. It can't be walked on for a while after that."

  * * *

  Brie handed her sister another suitcase and her pillow. "I appreciate this."

  Liz maneuvered them down Brie's stairs. "I still don't know why you don't just bring Macey with you. Tim wouldn't mind."

  "She'll be happier with Nathan's dog."

  "I hope the pictures of him and me don't seal the suspension." She stood with her eyes closed rechecking her mental list of everything she would need.

  They made their way to the garage to hook up the trailer she used for hauling her landscaping equipment. After getting the mail and her newspaper, she stopped in front of Liz, who stood in the garage. "Why aren't you saying very much?"

  "Because you're an idiot." Liz dropped to the step that led into the mudroom. "Who cares about your job? Who cares about where you're sleeping and what pillow you have? You are in danger." Tears fell down her stony face. "Someone's been watching you."

  Brie plopped on the step next to her. "It's my defense mechanism. Laugh or cry. We've already been through hell, Liz. This is nothing." Brie leaned over, and they rested the sides of their heads together.

  Chapter 20

  Brie left Liz's a few mornings later frustrated that Liz lived so far away, didn't drink coffee and that Brie had broken her last hair tie and had to wear it down. Parking her truck out of the way of Nathan's crews, Brie decided to take the dogs over the creek to pick up yesterday's mail and newspaper. How could the man start work without first reading the newspaper? The short walk was just enough to give her time to sort through her day. Macey and Goldie ran without leashes and used the log without hesitation. She looked at her empty house and thought about the damned hair ties.

  She kept her promise to Nathan and went only to the mailbox. Tucking the mail and paper under her arm, she whistled for the dogs and started back.

  As she balanced across the fallen log, she noticed the creek was receding. What happened to April showers? As soon as she stepped down on the other side, she started flipping through her mail while the dogs scattered noisy mallards. She stopped when she noticed a thick manila envelope. Pavlov's dog. Her shaking hands calmed when she read the return address. Bloom Elementary. Opening the clasp, she peered inside cautiously, much like she did with the photos. In it were letters written on school paper. Dozens of them.

  Right in the cold field, she plopped
down, crisscrossed her legs and started going through the letters. Curiously, the dogs pressed their cold noses against her cheek. The letters were from her students. From more than just her current students. Sean Spencer wrote several pages of misspelled words asking what she'd been doing and when she would be back. Others filled her in on the sub, giving the retired teacher a reluctant thumbs-up. She suspected the package was exactly something Liz would have put together.

  It might all work out after all.

  * * *

  Brie held the phone between her head and shoulder speaking with Mrs. Seward as she took a diet soda from Nathan's fridge. "It's nice to speak with you, too. Thank you for asking. Can you find Liz for me? Her students have PE at this time. Thank you. You, too."

  As she waited on hold, Nathan meandered in. His tool belt hung low on his hips. Why did women find that so sexy? Because it was.

  The weather had turned cold again and she saw the thermal wear sticking up from under his Henley. She looked over and smiled at him before turning back to the phone as Liz answered.

  "The letters are perfect. Just what I needed. Thanks."

  "How'd you know it was me?" Liz asked. Brie could hear papers rustling on the other end of the receiver.

  "I know you."

  "You're welcome but don't get too excited just yet. I found out Mrs. Whittier got her backstabbing hands on copies of your pictures and put some choice ones up in the workroom before Tyman got hold of them. Half the lunch hours saw them before she took them down."

  Brie squeezed her eyes shut at the visual flashing through her head.

  "If it makes you feel any better, she's in Tyman's office as we speak."

  "That helps. Check on Duncan and Andy for me, will you?"

  She hung up and sat thinking.

  "What happened?" Nathan leaned up against a base cabinet with his thumbs in his pockets.

  "Nothing really. Liz had some students write me letters. They were heartwarming. I miss it."

  "Mmm. And?"

  "You are observant. A teacher got her hands on copies of the pictures. Our pictures. And pinned some up in the workroom. If they let me back, I'm not sure exactly what I'll be going back to."