Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon

by Carla Cassidy

  Certainly kissing Daniella had sent him into a mini tailspin. He wanted her, and that was enough to make him feel uneasy. He also was quite taken with Macy. These were new, alien emotions for him. He’d always been so careful to keep himself from caring about anyone.

  There was no question that the appearance of a dead body in the yard had begun the faint thrum of unease inside him, but the simple fact that Daniella and Macy had been receiving little gifts from an unknown source had that thrum working up to a full throttle.

  For you.

  That was what Daniella had thought the caller had said to her hours before Samantha Walker had been found murdered. For you.

  As if her death was a gift, like the flowers and the doll left that morning.

  As he reeled in his line and recast it, a knot of tension pressed hard in his chest. He was trained to find the darkness and he felt it nearby, slowly encroaching on the light that shone from Daniella and her daughter.

  If somebody was gifting Daniella not only with flowers and candy and the body of a woman who might have been her competition, it spoke of an obsession. What else would someone obsessed be capable of?

  “Hi, Mr. Sam.” Macy came racing toward him, her blond pigtails bouncing with each step. He couldn’t help that the sight of her smiling little face lifted his heart. “Are you catching any fish?”

  “Not today, but I’m not trying very hard.”

  “So what are you doing?” She looped an arm around his shoulder and leaned against his side. Her openness awed him. As a kid he’d always been on guard, afraid to show any feelings at all.

  “Just sitting and thinking,” he replied.

  “I think sometimes, but I don’t much like to just sit. Do you have a daddy, Mr. Sam?”

  “My daddy is dead.” As always thoughts of his father knotted anger inside his chest.

  “That’s sad.” Macy leaned a little closer. “Do you miss him?”

  Sam hesitated. “No, not really,” he finally replied. “My daddy was kind of a monster.”

  “And your mommy wasn’t a princess?” Macy asked softly.

  “No, she wasn’t a princess.” Realizing it was getting close to lunchtime, Sam began to reel up his line. “But it’s okay,” he said. “The monster died and I’m here with two princesses and everyone lived happily ever after.”

  Macy laughed and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “I love you, Mr. Sam, and I really wish you would be my new daddy.”

  “Oh, honey, I can’t be your new daddy. I’m going to be going home in a couple of days.” It felt bad, watching the smile fall from her face, the twinkle in her eyes dim. “But maybe I can come back and visit occasionally and we can hang out together,” he added hurriedly.

  Who would have thought that the Prince of Darkness could be taken down by a pigtailed little girl with a smile as big as Louisiana?

  “That would be nice, but a full-time daddy would be nicer,” she replied.

  “Macy?” Frank called to her from the yard. “It’s time to water that garden of yours.”

  “I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” She raced toward Frank and the two of them disappeared around the side of the house.

  It was after lunch when Sam found Daniella alone in the kitchen cutting up vegetables for whatever she had planned for dinner.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

  She gazed at him warily and set down the knife she’d been using. “If this is about what happened last night, the only thing I have to say is that I normally don’t go around kissing my guests. I just made an exception for you.”

  God, he wanted to kiss her again at that moment, with her cheeks flaming bright and her chin lifted in a show of defiance. Instead he smiled in an attempt to alleviate her defensiveness. “I’m glad you made an exception for me, but that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Oh, then what’s up?” She directed her gaze to the peeled potatoes on the cutting board in front of her. She picked up her knife and began to dice one of the potatoes.

  “Actually I wanted to find out more about these gifts you’ve been receiving. You said they started coming about a year ago?” She nodded. “And how often do you get them?”

  A frown cut across her forehead. “I don’t know, about every four to six weeks or so. Why?”

  “You aren’t curious to find out who is leaving them?”

  She stopped cutting and paused with the knife in the air. “Of course I’m curious, but I don’t know how to find out who’s leaving them. After the second time something was left for us, I asked Frank and Matt and Jeff if any of them were responsible, but they all insisted they weren’t, so I just figured eventually whoever it was would make himself known.”

  “What do you think really happened to Johnny?”

  Her eyes flared wide as she stared at him. She placed the knife on the counter and released a deep sigh. “After all this time there are really only two scenarios that make sense. Either he’s dead or he chose to disappear. There are times when I believe only death would have kept him away from me and Macy, and there are other times when I wonder if maybe I missed something in the days or weeks leading up to his disappearance. Maybe I didn’t realize how overwhelmed he was with a new baby and a business. What difference does it make? Gone is gone and he’s nothing more than a part of my past.”

  “I’m just wondering if he really is a part of the past or if maybe he’s behind the gifts you and Macy have received.”

  She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I know Johnny isn’t behind the gifts.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he asked curiously.

  She pointed to the pot of carnations on the table, a faint whisper of revulsion crossing her features. “Carnations were my mother’s favorite flowers, and when she died she requested that her casket be covered with them. Johnny knew I absolutely hated carnations after that. He’d never send me something like that.” She searched his face with her gaze. “What’s this all about, Sam?”

  He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if he should tell her the thoughts that were swirling around in his head or keep them to himself.

  He’d come to Bachelor Moon to get away from the darkness of his job, his life, and he’d found a lightness of spirit, good people with Daniella and Macy. And now he was going to bring his darkness to her and he hated it, but he felt as if he didn’t have a choice.

  “Daniella, it’s obvious that somebody close to you has a crush on you, but it’s not a good kind of a crush. I think it’s a sick obsession, and I believe that along with the flowers and items for Macy, he left you Samantha’s body as a gift. I think he’s dangerous and you shouldn’t trust anyone.”

  He watched as the light in her eyes doused, replaced by a dark, simmering fear. He hated that the darkness that had always surrounded him had found its way to Bachelor Moon and a woman who was slowly working her way into his heart.

  DANIELLA STARED AT HIM, her heart beating an unsteady rhythm. For you. The words thundered in her head. Over the last couple of days she’d managed to convince herself that she’d misunderstood what the caller had said to her. But now Sam was forcing her to see the bigger picture, and that picture frightened her.

  “What should I do?” she asked.

  He frowned. “There isn’t much you can do at the moment other than tell the sheriff. What I’m going to do is contact a friend of mine back in Kansas City. Lexie Forbes is a computer geek who can find out anything about anyone. I’m going to have her do some background checks on some of the people here and see what she can dig up. Maybe something will pop that will give us an idea of who is responsible. In the meantime you just need to be careful about what you do and who you’re with.”

  “You’ve frightened me.”

  His eyes darkened. “I know, and I’m sorry. Unfortunately this is what I do, Daniella. I see evil everywhere. I suspect people of terrible things.”

  “What a horrible way to live,” she replied softly.

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nbsp; He gave a curt nod to acknowledge her statement and then took a step backward. “I’ll let you get back to work. I’m going up to my room to make that call, and I’ll see you at dinner.”

  At that moment the phone in her private quarters rang. She left the kitchen and went into her small living room, where Macy had already answered the phone. “Mommy, it’s Lisa. She wants to know if I can spend the night tonight.” Macy’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

  “I need to talk to Tina to make sure it’s okay,” Daniella replied.

  Macy relayed the message to Lisa, then Macy held the phone out to Daniella.

  “I think the weather is making Lisa stir-crazy,” Tina said. “So I thought it might be nice if she had Macy over for the night. I can pick her up and I’m off tomorrow, so I can bring her back home whenever you need her back.”

  “It’s okay with me if you’re sure you want her.” Daniella looked at her daughter, who nodded eagerly. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to get Macy away from all of the madness.

  “Actually, you’d be doing me a favor by letting her come. Otherwise Lisa is going to drive me crazy. Why don’t I plan on picking her up around four-thirty? I’ll order in pizza for dinner and we’ll be set for the night.”

  With the plans made, Daniella returned to the kitchen to finish cutting up the vegetables for the homemade chicken pot pie she’d planned for dinner.

  There was no question that her discussion with Sam had disturbed her. Until he’d said it she hadn’t tied Samantha’s murder to the gifts she and Macy had received over the past year, but his assessment of the situation made a horrifying kind of sense.

  Once again she found herself thinking about the men who were close to her. In all the years Frank had worked for her he’d never crossed the line or given her any indication that he might have a crush on her. Frank seemed happiest outside in the sunshine tinkering with the landscaping.

  Tina’s idea that Matt had a thing for her was ludicrous. Matt might be staying in her bed-and-breakfast for an extended period of time, but he was gone more than he was here. It had been less than a year since he’d lost his wife, and he’d certainly never given her the idea that he might like her as anything more than a friend.

  Jeff? Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of the man who had been best man at her wedding, a man who she suspected might have feelings deeper for her than friendship.

  It was impossible to think of Jeff as somebody who could kill anyone. He was a criminal defense attorney, a respected and well-liked man in the community.

  She thought of all the people she had interaction with, like Ray, who delivered clean sheets and towels, and Billy Sampson, the teenager who occasionally delivered groceries.

  It might not even be anyone she did business with, but it could be anyone in the small town who had somehow focused their attention on her, a sick attention that spoke of a dangerous obsession.

  “I got my suitcase packed,” Macy said, as she came into the kitchen.

  “Toothbrush? Clean undies?”

  “Oops, I forgot those, but I got all my Barbie dolls packed with their clothes. We’re going to play wedding day, and my doll gets to be the bride.”

  “How about you go back into your room and add that toothbrush and clean underwear to the bridal party?” Daniella suggested. “And while you’re in there, you need to straighten up that bookshelf and make sure your room is clean, otherwise there won’t be an overnight.”

  Macy raced out of the kitchen, and Daniella knew she would be occupied with cleaning her room for a while. It took another hour for Daniella to finish up the chicken pot pie and have it ready for the oven.

  Sam hadn’t showed himself since he’d gone to his room to make his phone call. She suspected he might be taking an afternoon siesta.

  An afternoon nap sounded wonderful to her. She was more tired than usual, and she knew it was from the stress of the events of the last week.

  And in less than a week Sam would be gone. He’d be back in Kansas City living his life, doing his job, and she would be left here alone to deal with the mess.

  She couldn’t help but think that Jim Thompson had stayed away from her the last couple of days because he didn’t want any confrontation with Sam. She knew it wasn’t fair for her to want Sam to stay, for her to depend on him in any way. And the truth was she didn’t only wish he could stay longer because of the bad things that were happening, but also for the good things—like that kiss.

  If he stayed longer, if they had more time together, was it possible that that kiss might develop into something deeper, something lasting? Or was he simply a man looking for a quick and easy vacation thrill, and she was his woman of the moment?

  She slid the chicken pot pie into the oven and cursed herself for being a fool. Sam had already told her in more ways than one that he was a man who traveled alone, that he had no interest in marriage or children.

  “Hey, Daniella,” Matt said, as he came into the kitchen.

  “Matt! I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Just got here this minute. I was wondering if you’ve got anything cold to drink. It’s a bear out there. I feel like I’ve been in a sauna just walking from the car.”

  “The weatherman is still predicting storms for the evening,” she replied, as she opened the refrigerator. “Lemonade?”

  “Perfect.” He sat at the table as she poured the cold drink for him. “Thanks.”

  “How is the house coming?” she asked, putting the container back in the refrigerator.

  “Coming together great. In fact, we’re ahead of schedule. Why? Are you eager to get rid of me?”

  “You know better than that. I hardly know you’re here most of the time. You know, Tina’s stopping by later to pick up Macy for an overnight.”

  Matt raised one of his eyebrows and looked at her. “Is that a not-so-subtle attempt at matchmaking?”

  Daniella shrugged. “You and Tina had a good thing years ago.”

  “I’m not ready for any kind of a relationship right now. It hasn’t even been a year since I lost Cindy.”

  Daniella wanted to kick herself. It had only been earlier in the day that she’d thought that Matt was still grieving for the wife he’d lost.

  “Oh, Matt, I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” He downed the lemonade in several long, deep gulps. “I think I’m going to go upstairs and take a nap. It isn’t often I have spare time in the afternoon. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  As he left the kitchen, Daniella put his glass in the dishwasher, her thoughts tumbling around in her head. How could she possibly suspect Matt of having some kind of sick, crazy crush on her? He was still in mourning for his dead wife.

  At just after four o’clock she left the house and headed for the bait shack. Every Monday she checked inside to make sure the last round of guests hadn’t depleted the bait for the next round of guests. If she found they were running low on anything, then she made out a list for Frank and he took care of the restocking.

  A false dusk had fallen, provided by the gathering storm clouds slowly creeping across the sky. The air was like a blanket around her, sticky and without a hint of a breeze.

  Daniella had never liked storms. Even though logically she knew thunder and lightning couldn’t harm her while she was inside her house, they still frightened her.

  She was almost sorry she’d agreed to let Macy spend the night with Tina and Lisa. Although Macy wasn’t afraid of bad weather, stormy nights she and Macy usually cuddled together in her bed.

  Maybe it will blow right past, she thought as she entered the semidarkness of the bait shack. Frank had apparently already cleaned the place, for the concrete floor was pristine and the dressing table was clean, as well.

  It took her only minutes to check the bait in the water wells and the cages, then she went to the small refrigerator to check on the worm supply.

  She’d just opened the door when she sensed somebody
behind her. In an instant she was grabbed from behind, and a sickeningly sweet smelling cloth was pressed tightly against her nose and mouth.

  Knowing she was in trouble, she tried to scream. She kicked and bucked in an attempt to get free but the arm that held her was like a band of steel.

  She tried to hold her breath, but it was impossible, and as she breathed in a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. Darkness encroached into her brain, and her last conscious thought was that the storm had arrived and she was terrified.

  Chapter Six

  Sam had gotten in touch with Lexie Forbes hours ago and then had stretched out on his bed for a nap. He didn’t expect to hear from Lexie today. She was doing him a favor and would have to work that research in after her regular work had been done.

  It was strange. He’d thought talking to Lexie would give him the fever to pack up and get back to Kansas City, back to the job that had taken so much out of him, that had always been his life. But that hadn’t happened.

  At the moment he felt disconnected from the work that had consumed him and instead felt immersed in Bachelor Moon and Daniella and her daughter. He felt no desire to hurry back to the apartment that had been nothing more than a place to sleep and change clothes.

  It was the scream that awakened him, a piercing scream that jolted him not only out of sleep but out of bed.

  Macy!

  The childish scream came again as he vaulted down the stairs. It had come from outside. He flew out the front door and saw her in front of the bait shack.

  She was on her back on the ground and as he raced toward her he wondered if she’d fallen. And where was Daniella? Surely she should have heard Macy’s ear-piercing scream.

  “A monster…it was a monster,” Macy sobbed, as he reached her side.

  “What happened?” Sam asked, as he helped her to a sitting position.

  “He shoved me down. The monster shoved me hard and then he ran away.” Tears still streaked down her little face, and the roar of an alien emotion—the need to protect—ripped through Sam.