by Sylvia Nobel
“Me? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It will. You need to speak with your mother.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me we’re back to her stupid bad luck curse? Admit it, you’re using that as an excuse to get your own way, as usual.”
“Wait just a minute,” I cut in, the downside of the adrenaline rush spawning a raging headache. “If I recall correctly, along with your initial request, you also said you wouldn’t try to stop me from doing my job.”
He absorbed my statement in silence, braking to a slower speed as we approached the outskirts of town. The rare sight of the usually dull brown landscape blanketed in white sidetracked me for a moment and I marveled at the stark beauty of sunbathing saguaro cacti backdropped by the grandeur of Castle Rock capped with snow. “So, is it your contention that Lucy is lying?” Tally pressed.
“Oh, Lord have mercy,” I moaned, rubbing my sandpapery eyes. “Okay, here’s the deal. Grant did kiss me at the fairgrounds, but I didn’t kiss him back. I let him know in no uncertain terms that I have no intention of re-kindling our relationship.”
“Then why was he with you at the funeral?”
“His mother asked me for a favor.” I gave him the background on Grant’s car wreck, Marissa’s phone call, our trip to see Dr. Garcia, and then Phyllis’s tearful plea. Of course, I couldn’t reveal that my visit to Myra Colton was the main reason I couldn’t travel with his family. “I’m not kidding you when I say that shit has been raining down on me from all sides. I’m trying to do the right thing and please everybody and I’ve ended up pleasing no one. Yeah, most of it’s my fault, but you’ve got to believe me when I tell you that there’s nothing going on between Grant and me other than we’re both working the same story.” He never needed to know about Grant’s conduct last night.
He pulled into the medical clinic’s parking lot, shut off the engine and sat there drumming his fingers before saying somberly, “Kendall, I see the way he looks at you and it bothers the hell out of me. It’s pretty obvious to me that he’s still in love with you.”
“Relax, cowboy, whatever he’s feeling, it’s all on his end.”
His eyes searched mine. “Level with me. If you’re feeling any doubts about us, any doubts at all, please tell me now.”
I slid to his side and looped my arms around his neck. “Hey, big guy, are you forgetting that I asked you to marry me?”
His arms tightened around me. “I was getting there, but you, being the impetuous, hot-headed woman that you are, beat me to it by a couple of seconds.”
“Whatever,” I murmured, pressing my mouth to his sensuous lips. We kissed until we were both breathless. When I pulled back, I looked him straight in the eye. “I’m really flattered that you’re jealous of Grant, but you needn’t worry.”
“Positive?”
“Positive. Actually, you owe him a debt of thanks.”
His expression bordered on incredulity. “For what?”
“Number one, because of his quick thinking and perseverance I didn’t freeze to death last night; two, it gave me a new perspective on a lot of things I might not have gotten any other way; and three, it laid to rest all the old ghosts that have been haunting me since I left Philadelphia. So, that’s a good thing for us.”
“So you’re going to be happy with the living arrangements after we’re married?”
“You already know I’m not crazy about moving into the same house with your mother, but I have to say that over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot more about what makes her tick and well, I’m hoping for the best.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that if I were you. Sometimes things have a way of working themselves out.”
The incisive glint in his eyes prompted me to ask, “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
25
I spent the remainder of Wednesday afternoon sleeping so soundly I didn’t even dream, and felt slightly disoriented when I was awakened around five that evening by Marmalade happily kneading my chest, purring and drooling. “Hi, baby,” I murmured, still feeling groggy. She’d been all over me when I’d gotten home and had stayed on my lap while I consumed two cans of hot soup and a turkey and cheese sandwich that Tally said would have choked one of his horses. The slew of phone messages waiting, calls I needed to make to the office and posters that needed to be picked up at the copy shop weighed on me, but I’d been too exhausted to do anything but fall into bed. As I lay there savoring my warm sheets and scratching Marmalade’s soft chin, my thoughts slipped back to the events of the last forty-eight hours. The horror of our plunge down Yarnell Hill, followed by the long night spent in the freezing, claustrophobic confines of the truck cab now seemed like a nightmare. No matter how many times I went over the accident in my mind, the exact events prior to and during the accident were a tangled blur, and where I’d felt positive before that it had been deliberate, I now began to question myself. Was it possible that the other driver had simply lost control on the icy road? Sheriff Turnbull and the deputy taking the accident report had both worn dubious expressions when I’d voiced my accusation. But if it had actually been an accident, why had the driver not contacted the authorities after we went over the edge? I wondered how Grant was fairing. Had he been treated and released? If so, how had he gotten back to Hidden Springs? I also wondered about Marissa’s condition.
I yawned, stretched, threw off the covers and padded into the bathroom with Marmalade following in my footsteps. She sat on the rug washing her face as the tub filled. While brushing my teeth, I glanced out the window into the fading light of the persimmon-colored dusk, noting with interest that, with the exception of a few deep drifts nestled into crevices on the mountains, most of the snow had melted.
With a satisfied sigh I sank into the scalding water perfumed with a mountain of jasmine-scented bubble bath. Considering the circumstances, I felt pretty darn good. Following Dr. Garcia’s examination, he’d pronounced me to be in surprisingly good condition. The tingling sensation on the end of my nose, he explained, was slight frostbite and he recommended plenty of fluids and bed rest.
Earlier, on the drive to my place, Tally had filled me in on his own adventures during the snowstorm, detailing the long list of problems he’d encountered while being stranded for hours along I-40—his friend’s injury, the damaged horse trailer and his own harrowing trip back to the ranch yesterday with the mares in tow. He made no bones about the fact that he’d seen enough snow to last him for a lifetime and I was in total agreement. Treasuring the feel of the warm sunlight streaming in the window of the cab, I’d only had time to share about half of everything I’d discovered during my investigation by the time we pulled into my driveway. He expressed reluctant admiration at the amount of progress I’d made in such a short time, but was still firm in his belief that my involvement was too risky. “I don’t want to lose you,” he remarked solemnly, laying his hand over mine.
I squeezed back. “I don’t want to lose me either.”
“What am I going to do with you?” he asked with a frustrated sigh. “When I met you, I suspected that you were a type A personality, but I was wrong—you’re a quadruple type A personality when it comes to your job.”
“I know, and sometimes I wonder why you put up with me.”
He grinned at me. “No question about it, you can be a total pain in the ass.”
I smiled back. “Thanks. Listen, if it will put your mind at ease you’re welcome to tag along with me next time I’m on assignment.”
“I may take you up on that.” He stayed long enough to tuck me into bed, unplug the bedroom phone and promise to return later. “I think I can scrounge up another vehicle for you to drive until we go car shopping this weekend.”
“You sure you trust me with another one?”
“It’s my father’s old truck,” he said with a wistful smile. “He beat the hell out of it so I don’t think there’s too much damage you can do to it at this
point.” My stomach dipped at the words, ‘my father’s’ and I wondered again what his reaction would be when Ruth told him the truth.
Thinking that my bed had never felt so soft and so warm, I smiled up at him. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Yeah. Maybe you should consider buying an armor-plated tank.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Call me when you wake up,” he’d chuckled, planting a tender kiss on my lips, “and I’ll come get you.”
“Okay,” I’d replied sleepily, cuddling under the covers, barely able to keep my eyes open as he headed out the door. “And tell everybody at the office I’m fine and to expect me in the morning.” I think I’d been asleep before he reached the front door.
The steady trill of the telephone in the living room interrupted my thoughts. Damn, I should have brought the cordless into the bathroom. I looked at my pink, pruned skin and decided that I’d probably had enough anyway. The phone jingled again as I toweled off. “Hold your horses,” I shouted, shrugging into my robe. I sprinted to the living room and snatched up the cordless phone.
“Hey, Kendall, it’s Walter. You get my messages?”
“Not yet.”
“Uh-oh. Hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Nope, but I’m still getting myself together.” Marmalade had followed me and was mewing for her dinner.
“That’s good. Well, how’re you doin’?”
“Still feeling kind of muddled, but all in all not bad.”
“You gave us all one hell of a scare.”
“Sorry. That would be total irony, wouldn’t it? I go to cover a funeral and end up being at my own.”
“Not funny.”
“No, it really wasn’t.”
“Saw you on the five o’clock news,” he announced. “Pretty dramatic rescue.”
“Tell me about it. How’d I look?”
“Like hell.”
“Wonderful. Well, what’s up?”
“Got something you might find intriguing. You were right, Ginger’s brother is a whiz at finding stuff on the Internet. Anyway he came across a bizarre unsolved homicide case that occurred during the time frame you gave me that may or may not hold any significance.”
That jerked me out of my stupor. “I’m listening.”
“Let me preface by saying that because this homicide took place out of state, I don’t know if there is any connection to the Gibbons case, but thought I ought to pass it along to you anyway because at one time this person had ties to Arizona.”
“Shoot.”
Tapping on the keyboard, Walter hummed off key to himself for a couple of seconds before saying, “Okay here we go. Three years ago the body of fifty-eight-year- old Harrison Reese was discovered in the backyard of his plush hillside home in Monterey, California. He’d been shot once through the heart at close range. At one time Reese had been a prominent defense attorney in Phoenix. He’d only resided in California for nine months when the murder occurred. There was no apparent motive and nothing inside the home had been disturbed. Because there wasn’t much to go on at the crime scene, the case went cold.”
“I hate to say that a shooting sounds routine, but nowadays that’s sadly true. Why did you say it was bizarre?”
“The guy’s tongue had been cut out.”
With a twinge of alarm I remembered Riley’s words to Ruth on his last visit. Several people he’d been involved with in the past had recently died under what he’d described as very odd circumstances. Could this person be one of them? If so, it narrowed down our search considerably. “Good work. This could be the link we’re looking for,” I told Walter, unable to suppress the eagerness in my voice. “Keep digging. Have Brian check out every case that Reese argued before Judge Gibbons.”
“Just the felony cases?”
“Primarily, but have him also look for anything else that strikes him as out of the ordinary. Oh, and I’d also be interested to know who represented both Moorehouse and Pendahl during their trials.”
“Will do.”
I called Tally to let him know I’d be ready to go in an hour and then hunger pangs drove me to the kitchen again. Marmalade and I shared dinner, a gigantic tuna salad and potato chips. While I munched on cookies, I dropped my newly charged cell phone into my purse before reviewing the barrage of messages on my home phone. Good grief! It seemed like half the town had called to check on my welfare. It was nice to know so many people cared. Living in a small town, where everyone knew what everybody else was doing, really was like having an extended family.
I returned Tugg’s call, told him I’d be in early to file my story on the Gibbons funeral, brought him up to date on the particulars of the case, and he urged me to take as much time as I needed to recover.
“Hey, if you don’t have any wheels, don’t break your neck trying to get in here at the crack of dawn,” he’d advised. “I got everything covered. In fact, if you feel like it, take the rest of the week off.”
I thanked him for his concern, explained that Tally was arranging to loan me another pickup, then said goodbye. I hit the speed dial for Ginger, who sounded at first relieved to hear from me, but then took the opportunity to bawl me out. “Girl, I can’t let you out of my sight for a second,” she complained with mock severity. ”You scared the ever-lovin’ pee out of everybody!”
“Sorry, but at least I accomplished one thing you’ll be pleased about. Myra Colton agreed to create the ice sculpture for the party.”
That made her happy, but she wanted to hear every single detail of the funeral, my accident, the night spent alone with Grant, and it was a good twenty minutes before I finally got her off the line. And that was only after I promised to have lunch with her the following day. Then I dialed Grant’s cell number. It rang four times and I was poised to hit the OFF button when I heard him croak, “Hi, there.”
“Oh, crap. Did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’ve been sleeping for hours.”
“Are you all right? Are you still in the hospital?”
“I’m fine and back in my lonesome little bed at Hidden Springs.”
I let his comment slide by. “How’d you get back from Prescott?”
“I hitched a ride with Winston and Marissa. He was waiting to pick her up and she was kind enough to offer me a lift.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Apparently she’s anemic. The doctor prescribed iron pills and she’s supposed to stay in bed for a couple of days.”
An awkward silence developed between us, which he finally broke. “So how’s everything with you? I couldn’t help but notice the expression on Tally’s face when he saw me this morning. I figured you might be in the doghouse.”
“No, quite the contrary. Everything is great.”
Then he surprised me by saying, “Kendall, I’m heading home tonight.”
“Tonight? I thought you weren’t leaving until tomorrow.”
“I booked an earlier flight. Not much point in hanging around any longer.”
After an extended hesitation he said, “I was kind of hoping to see you again and say goodbye in person but…maybe it’s best if we just leave things the way they are and…” he cleared his throat a couple of times, “I sure wish things had turned out differently for us, but they didn’t…and that’s cool,” he finished with forced optimism. “Anyway, again, I’m sorry about screwing everything up between us. I hope you and Tally will be very happy together and I hope he knows what a lucky bastard he is.”
In a way, I’d be sorry to see him go, because it was unlikely our paths would ever cross again. His visit had accomplished a couple of things though. It allowed me to let go of the bitterness I’d been hanging onto, and helped me realize just how much I really did love Tally. Grant had surprised me. It had taken a lot of courage for him to come here and make an effort to put things right, an attribute I’d never credited him with before. Maybe he really had changed. “I hope you’ll be happy too, Grant. If it’s any consol
ation, I’ll always be grateful that you were with me last night. And, thanks for slapping the crap out of me.”
His small laugh was touched with despondency. “Well, at least I got half of what I came here for, plus a little more excitement than I originally planned on.”
I told him of Walter’s recent phone call and he whistled his appreciation. “You’re getting close to breaking this story. I can feel it in my gut. Wish I could hang around to be in on it when you do, but I gotta get back to the grind.”
“Grant, thanks for your insightful comments. It really was great working with you one last time.”
A lot of throat clearing. “Yep. Like I said, we always did make a hell of a team.”
“Take care of yourself and give your mother my best.”
“I will. Bye, Kendall. If you ever need me for anything…well, you know where I’ll be.”
“Same here. Have a safe trip.”
I shook off the momentary sadness I felt at saying that final good-bye and rushed to get dressed. I had just finished trying to tame my frizzy curls when I heard the familiar rumble of Tally’s truck. I grabbed my coat, dashed outside into the cold night air and was met by Attila’s deep-throated bark from the truck bed. I stopped to pet his glossy black coat for a minute, and by six-thirty we were on the road driving towards the Starfire. While I was anxious to have a vehicle again, the more important part of my agenda was to corner Ruth to find out if my hunch was correct. The first thing I told him as we bumped along the gravel road under the star-studded sky was the news that Grant would be flying back to Philadelphia within hours. His reaction was immediate: the impact of my announcement generated a long, contented sigh accompanied by the noticeable release of tension from his stiff shoulders. “Can’t say as I’m sorry to hear that,” he remarked quietly.
Not wanting to dwell on Grant, I quickly switched subjects and filled him in on the remaining details of the Gibbons case, including the ghostly visitation I’d experienced at Hidden Springs, to which he eyed me with extreme skepticism. “So, I’m supposed to believe that you were temporarily possessed by the spirit of a dead boy? Come on, Kendall, you’re usually more logical than that.”
