Blinded by the Trees

by Kira Chase

  PARTNERS

  BOOK 3:

  BLINDED BY TREES

  by

  KIRA CHASE

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  Published by

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  An Imprint of Whiskey Creek Press LLC

  Copyright © 2011 by KIRA CHASE

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-61160-153-4

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Nancy Donahue

  Editor: Sara Kent

  Printed in the United States of America

  Other Books by Author Available at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid:

  www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com

  Partners: The Wrong Corpse

  Partners: The Other Woman

  Chapter 1

  Johanna Obrien peered out of the window of Barker and Obrien Investigations, which was located in a strip mall sandwiched between a coffee shop and hair salon. The sky darkened ominously as the wind picked up swirling carelessly discarded scraps of debris down the sidewalk. Seconds later large drops of rain pelted the windows of the office. She watched the rain for a few minutes, then turned away from the window and walked back to her desk, which faced her partner Frankie Barker’s. She smiled at Frankie across the ample space which separated their desks.

  They’d met when they were police officers in Philadelphia and after two years decided to leave the city and open their own business together. They designed their log home, which sat on twenty acres of pure bliss thirty miles outside of Philadelphia in Charlestown, Pennsylvania. They’d been lovers and partners for over twelve years and were still as much in love now as the day they’d first met.

  “Are you ready to close up shop early and spend the next ten days celebrating?” A wide smile spread across Johanna’s beautiful face.

  Frankie grinned at her. “I sure am. I love Christmas.”

  Johanna laughed. “You’re just like a little girl. You get so excited.”

  “I know, but I can’t help it. Later I’m going to bake cookies and I thought we’d wait until tomorrow when my mother comes to put up the tree if that’s okay with you.”

  Johanna nodded. “That’s fine. What time is Selma coming?”

  “She said she’d be here in time for supper. I just hope we don’t get another ice storm. I worry about her on the roads.”

  “She’ll be fine, honey. The last weather report said only rain.”

  Frankie frowned. “And you know how the weather around here can change in the blink of an eye.”

  Johanna propped an elbow on her desk and peered at her. “You know if it weren’t for you digging out the truth, my life might have been drastically altered and God only knows what would have happened.”

  “That’s behind us now, babe. Gretchen got hers and as soon as she goes to trial, she’s going to be behind bars for a very long time.” She sighed. “She couldn’t break us apart no matter how hard she tried. We have an unbreakable bond.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t believed in me and trusted me.”

  Frankie stood, walked over to where Johanna sat, and placed a hand on Johanna’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know you and I love you. No one will ever destroy what we have. Forget about her and that whole mess. It’s in the past and Gretchen can’t hurt us anymore.”

  “You were stabbed, Frankie. She could have killed you,” Johanna said quietly. “You have permanent scars because of her.”

  Frankie shrugged. “The scars will fade. Don’t dwell on what might have happened. Be thankful for what did happen. I’m still here and we’re still together.”

  “I am thankful, Frankie.” She reached up and grabbed Frankie’s hand. “I’ll always be thankful. And you’re right…I need to quit dwelling on it and concentrate on what’s really important. You.”

  “Good. Now let’s get out of here and start our holiday.”

  Johanna placed the closed sign in the window and locked the front door while Frankie rechecked the phone to make sure that their calls were transferred to their home phone. They turned out the office lights and walked to the small room at the end of the office where they kept their coats and odds and ends. The room was also a back entrance to the office, which contained their own private parking space. After putting on their coats, they grabbed their purses and exited through the back room.

  “I’ve got a few errands to run,” Johanna said as the wind whipped a strand of her long auburn hair over her eyes. She quickly pushed it aside. “I’ll see you at home in about an hour and a half.”

  “I’m going to start my pot of chili so it’ll be easy to just heat up tomorrow.”

  Johanna smacked her lips. “Sounds good.”

  “Drive carefully.”

  “Always, babe,” Johanna replied as she entered her car and waited for Frankie to get into her own car before pulling out of the small parking area.

  * * * *

  “Something smells good,” Johanna said walking into the kitchen.

  “I was going to send out a posse for you if you hadn’t returned pretty soon.”

  Johanna laughed. “The stores were more crowded than I expected.”

  “Well, I’m relieved that you’re home.” Frankie turned from the counter with spatula in hand where she’d been removing cookies from a baking sheet and placing them on a cooling rack. “I’ve got the gingerbread cookies made. Tomorrow we can decorate them. I thought we’d wait for Mom.”

  “That’s a good idea. We’ll put up the tree after dinner and then decorate the cookies. Selma will like that.” Johanna pulled out a stool and perched at the island watching her. “I don’t know how you do it.”

  Frankie shrugged as she continued removing the cookies from the baking sheet. “This has been a family tradition ever since I can remember. Mom and I would bake a ton of cookies and then put them in decorative tins and give them to our friends and neighbors.” She laughed as she brushed a fallen strand of brunette hair from her brow. “I swear half of Bradford had some Barker cookies every year.”

  “Ours usually came from a bakery. I don’t blame Mom, though. She was busy with Dad and the business. Holidays were hectic.”

  “But your baking is fantastic. I never could get the knack of making a perfect pie crust.”

  “I can’t make Christmas cookies like you do, though. You are the expert in that area. And it’s been nice having this tradition with you for all these years. I look forward to your cookies every year now.”

  “Thank you.” Frankie’s eyes swept around the spacious cozy kitchen. “I guess that’s why this kitchen is so special to me. I have loads of space. You should have seen how cramped it was for Mom and me with our Christmas baking in our small trailer.” She giggled. “We had containers of cookies stacked everywhere until we delivered them. For weeks our trailer smelled like vanilla and gingerbread.”

  Johanna smiled. “But those are memories you’ll always have and tr
easure.”

  She nodded. “And traditions I’ll always keep alive.”

  “I’m glad,” Johanna said. She looked toward the stove. “I see you’ve got your pot of famous chili cooking.” She sniffed appreciatively.

  Frankie wiped her hands on her apron. “And my homemade cornbread is ready for the oven tomorrow. All I need to do now is wait for Mom to get here.” She walked over to the counter where the coffee maker sat. She poured two cups of coffee and carried them to the breakfast nook where they ate most of their meals. Johanna joined her and they gazed out of the window at the fat snowflakes beginning to fall.

  “It’s snowing. I didn’t hear anything about snow on the weather forecast. I hope your mom doesn’t have any trouble with the weather.”

  “Nah, she’ll be okay. She’s used to driving in the snow. We’re not due for any major accumulations as far as I know. I worry more about the rain turning to ice.”

  “I forgot you grew up in worse weather than we ever get here.” She stirred some cream and sugar into her coffee. “I can’t wait to see what our artificial tree is going to look like.”

  Frankie’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll fix it up and no one will ever know that it’s not real. I’m going to make some homemade eggnog, or Mom will, and we’ll play Christmas songs. It’ll be so much fun!”

  Johanna reached across the table, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. “I love the way your face lights up this time of year. You’re like a little kid waiting for Santa.”

  “I suppose I still believe in Christmas miracles just like when I was a kid.” She pulled a small notebook with attached pen from her apron pocket.

  Johanna lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

  “This is my list of everything we need to get finished before Christmas. I think we’ve got most of it done. We just need to drag out the tree decorations.”

  “I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. It seems like yesterday it was Thanksgiving.”

  “Me either. This month has flown by.”

  The gate intercom buzzed startling them. They looked quizzically at each other. “I don’t know who that could be,” Johanna said, rushing to the security panel, which was unobtrusively located on the wall outside of the breakfast nook. She pushed the intercom button.

  “Hey, sweetie, I got an early start. I wanted to surprise you girls. I’ll see you in a few. That is if you let me in.”

  A wide grin broke over Frankie’s face when she heard her mother Selma Barker’s voice come over the intercom. She took off her apron and placed it on the back of the chair. “I guess she did get an early start…a day early. But that’s my mom,” she said with a laugh in her voice.

  “Can’t wait to see you, Selma.” Johanna pressed the button to open the gate and then turned to Frankie. “Well, now we can relax. She’s here safe and sound. This is going to be a beautiful Christmas.”

  They hurried to the front of the house, grabbed their jackets and peered out of the storm door just as Selma’s bright red Ford pickup with white cab pulled in front of the garage. They watched as she got out of the truck and walked to the back of it. Frankie rushed out of the door with Johanna trailing behind her.

  Selma gave Frankie a bear hug. “It’s good to see you, baby.” She kissed her cheek. “I missed you.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Mom. This is going to be such a wonderful Christmas,” Frankie squealed, grabbing Selma’s suitcase while Johanna grabbed the bag of brightly wrapped packages.

  “Come here, you,” Selma said, wrapping her arms around Johanna. “I swear you get prettier every time I see you.”

  Johanna blushed. “You’re looking good yourself, Selma.”

  They trudged, loaded down with Selma’s luggage and packages, to the porch while Selma chatted all the way.

  After they were inside, Frankie took her mother’s hot pink parka and hung it in the coat closet. “How was the drive? Did you run into any trouble?”

  “No trouble at all. Bradford got hit with a storm earlier in the week, but the drive here was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. Last night the weatherman predicted snow, but it seems that I beat it here. That’s why I came a day early.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously. “And I thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

  “What if we wouldn’t have been home?”

  She shrugged. “I would have gone to the office. If you two weren’t there, then I’d just start calling your cell phones until one of you answered.”

  Frankie smiled at her mother as she led her to the sofa. “Let me get you a cup of coffee.”

  “That’ll be great, honey,” she said, rubbing her hands together. She was dressed in her usual pair of putter pants, this pair being a dark green, which matched the green in her Christmas themed sweatshirt. She settled her plump body onto the sofa.

  “I like your hair, Mom. The color suits you.”

  Selma blushed. “Thank you. I decided to go a darker shade of brown. I figured if I didn’t like it, then I can always go back to the lighter shade.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever just go natural?” Frankie teased.

  “Not me,” she said then laughed. “Of course I suppose I should have it styled.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But then again, it’s easy to take care of the way it is. Just run a brush through it and off I go.”

  Johanna grinned as she settled herself in an easy chair opposite the sofa. “You look perfect just the way you are, Selma.”

  “Thank you, Johanna.”

  “Yes you do, Mom,” Frankie agreed. “I’ll get the coffee.”

  “Need some help?” Johanna offered.

  “I can manage. You stay here and chat with Mom.” She hurried to the kitchen.

  Selma glanced around the room. “You girls did a beautiful job decorating. It looks so festive.” Her eyes traveled to the mantel where three stockings were prominently hung. A strand of garland was draped over the mantel and three candles were arranged in the center. “I see you and Frankie are ready for Santa.” She winked.

  Johanna threw her head back and laughed. “Frankie’s like a little kid…so wound up.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Frankie enter the room with a tray of steaming cups of coffee. She placed a hand near the corner of her mouth and in an aside to Selma said, “I think she really does believe in Santa.”

  Selma laughed heartily. “I think you’re right.”

  Frankie set the tray on the coffee table then placed her hands on her hips. “Hey, I heard that.” She scrutinized both of their faces. “There’s nothing wrong with believing in Santa Claus,” she said with a smile. She handed each of them a cup of coffee, then seated herself next to her mother. “As I was telling Johanna just before you arrived, there’s something magical about the season.” She picked up her cup of coffee. “Anything is possible. It is definitely the season for miracles.”

  Johanna lifted an eyebrow. “I do think, Selma, that on Christmas Eve we’ll be watching It’s A Wonderful Life. Frankie knows it by heart. I’ve got to admit, though, that I look forward to watching it every year, too. I’d never seen it until I met Frankie.”

  “Aha!” Frankie said, stabbing a finger good-naturedly at her. “I knew it!”

  “I remember when Frankie was a little girl we’d watch it every year as part of our Christmas Eve tradition. Every few minutes she’d race to the window and peer outside thinking she’d heard Santa’s sleigh bells.”

  “That’s sweet,” Johanna said.

  “Okay, enough, you two. Now you’re embarrassing me.” She turned to her mother. “I thought we’d put the tree up and decorate it tomorrow, Mom. Since you’re a day early, we can decorate the cookies tonight instead of tomorrow. That is, if you’re not too tired after your trip.”

  “I’m not tired. Sounds like fun.” Selma looked around the room, then quizzically at her daughter. “Have you gotten the tree yet? I didn’t notice it on the porch, or is it out back?”

  Frankie rubbed her chin. “We decided this year to g
et an artificial one. It’s beautiful and you can hardly tell that it’s not the real deal.”

  “A real tree is so much more Christmassy. And it has that wonderful fresh scent.”

  “Mom, you know how I feel about the environment and everything. That’s one of the reasons we decided not to buy a real one this year.”

  Selma frowned. “Tree farms grow trees especially for Christmas. You can chop one down yourself or have them do it for you. You’re not going into the forest and chopping down a perfectly healthy tree that won’t be replaced.” She smiled at the younger women. “But whatever you two girls decide will be fine with me. I’ve got to let you two make your own traditions together.” She grimaced. “You’ve never had a fake tree before, have you?”

  Frankie was thoughtful for a minute. “Just a small tabletop when I lived in that tiny apartment in Philly. It just wasn’t the same, though, now that I think about it.”

  “And I really do love the scent of a real tree,” Johanna added enthusiastically.

  Frankie and Johanna looked at each other and Johanna slightly lifted her slender shoulders.

  “Okay, Mom, if you have your heart set on a real one then I suppose we can get one. Or I can send Johanna to a tree farm with an ax to chop us one down,” she teased.

  “I can see me now,” Johanna teased back. “Swinging the ax and yelling timber!”

  Selma laughed. “You two are something else. I don’t blame you for not wanting to cut down anything on your own twenty acres. You have your own forest right here.”

  “Someday we’re going to explore every inch of it,” Frankie promised.

  “Just so we don’t get lost. No one would find us.” Johanna grinned.

  “I don’t know about that, Johanna. Frankie is used to, or was, traipsing through the woods. She never got lost. I think her Girl Scout training served her well.”

  “You’ll be safe with me as your guide, Johanna,” Frankie said sternly.

  Johanna smiled. “Well, in that case, Selma, I think we’ll wait until you can also join us.”

  “That’s a deal. We’ll do it next spring. Now getting back to the tree. I saw a nice lot about a mile or so down the road.”