Secrets in a Small Town

by Nicole Stiling

  “This crazy bitch is going to shoot me!” the technician shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

  Micki lowered her weapon slowly, looking from the man to Savannah. She looked toward the wall near the back door where the mount was halfway installed above the doorframe.

  “Micki, this is Paul. He’s here to install the cameras?” Savannah stood between them, keeping her eyes trained on Micki.

  Paul kicked a box toward her, the words “SafetyVision” scrawled on the side in bright blue.

  Micki breathed out, relieved and embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I should have checked your credentials this morning when I left the house,” she told him as she re-holstered her gun.

  Paul just stood there, his hands still raised above his head.

  “I’m sorry, really. Please continue. It was a mistake. Sorry.”

  He lowered his hands finally, leaning slowly toward the ground. “If I pick up my drill, are you going to shoot me in the nuts?”

  Micki shook her head, still embarrassed. “No, Paul. Your nuts are safe.”

  He grumbled and griped something about foolish women going off the deep end, but Micki thought it might be best to just let it go. She didn’t really need to deal with a lawsuit on top of everything else.

  Savannah watched Micki with faint amusement, her cheeks flushed, and the wild in her eyes slowly taming. “You could have called?”

  Shaking her head, Micki grabbed Savannah by the wrist and dragged her into the kitchen. “Yes, because if someone is being murdered, it always makes sense to call them.”

  “Didn’t you hire this company to install the camera? I thought you knew a guy.”

  “I did, and I do, but we still don’t know who’s doing this. It could have been a front, or maybe the real stalker was in the back of the van with a rifle pointed at the driver’s head. Too many variables. I should never have left this morning without checking him out. I’m sorry,” Micki said. She looked down at the ground, upset.

  “Micki,” Savannah’s tone was uncharacteristically gentle, “you did nothing wrong. We have to live our lives. There’s actually something very sweet about your overreaction, but you can’t watch over me every second of the day.” She reached out and cupped the side of Micki’s face.

  Micki leaned into it, closed her eyes. “Yes, I can,” she said petulantly.

  “No, you can’t. Like you said, maybe the cameras will catch him. And then all of this can just go away.”

  Micki brought her own hand up and placed it on top of Savannah’s. She pulled them both away and kissed Savannah’s fingertips. “I couldn’t take it if anything happened to you. I think I’d die.”

  Savannah gave her a half-smile. “You wouldn’t die. Don’t be so dramatic. If this had happened two months ago, it would have been like any other case to you. I realize that my sexual expertise has left you dazed, understandably, but you don’t have to worry. I’ve taken care of myself for a very long time. That hasn’t changed.”

  Micki scoffed but pulled Savannah into her tightly. “Shut up, Savannah. It wouldn’t have been ‘any other case.’ I already told you, I never actually hated you. And I always thought you were smokin’ hot.”

  Savannah laughed, rubbing her hand softly up and down Micki’s back. Their embrace was unfamiliar but entirely welcome. “So, does this mean we’re dating, Chief Blake?”

  “I think it might, Ms. Castillo. I don’t make a habit of doing what we did last night with friends.” Micki chuckled into Savannah’s shoulder then let insecurity weasel its way in. She pulled back so their faces were just inches apart. “Is that okay?”

  Savannah tucked a piece of Micki’s hair behind her ear. “I warn you, I’m not very good at this. I’m selfish and rigid and stubborn beyond reason. I can be relentless when it comes to being right. I’m set in my ways, and I don’t share well.”

  Micki feigned shock. “Well, that changes everything, then. I’ve always looked at you as the second coming of Mother Teresa.”

  “Funny,” Savannah deadpanned. “But I’m serious. It’s one thing to put up with those things in a friend or even someone you share a bed with. It’s a very different thing to deal with that kind of person in a romantic relationship.”

  Micki smirked, leaned in and placed feather-light kisses on Savannah’s neck. “I think”—kiss—“I’m up”—kiss—“for the challenge”—kiss.

  Savannah hummed in approval, tightening her grip on Micki’s arm. She used her index finger to raise Micki’s chin so they looked into each other’s eyes. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” she whispered before bringing their lips together in a cloud of heat. They kissed deeply before Micki smiled into it, moving her head back only slightly.

  “Being with me isn’t always a day at the beach, you know,” she said, her lips moving against Savannah’s as she spoke.

  Rather than respond, Savannah gripped the back of Micki’s neck, pulling her more firmly against her. Their bodies melded into one another, their kiss blocking out everything around them.

  At the sound of an electric drill, they both startled and jumped away from each other. “God, this is weird,” Micki laughed, reaching for Savannah’s hand.

  “Yes. Yes, it is. Now go to work.”

  Micki left through the front door, giving Paul another quick nod of apology. He ignored her. She sat in her cruiser for a minute, seeing Savannah’s shadow move from room to room. Her heart filled. But what if she’d been right, and the guy in the white van had been the one coming after Savannah? What she was doing was terribly unprofessional and, if she was being honest, dangerous. She needed to focus on her training, on keeping Savannah and Eliana safe. Instead, she was floating through a cloud of excitement and wonder. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if she should put the brakes on whatever this was with Savannah. And then she smiled at how utterly ridiculous that was. She was self-aware enough to know that wasn’t going to happen. But enough was enough. It was time to throw herself into the case and take the offender down.

  Chapter Twenty

  Everything was different than when Micki had been with Stacey, and that scared the shit out her. This thing with Savannah was new, and intimacy had the tendency to seem a lot more intense early on than it did six months down the road. Micki knew that. But even when she’d first started dating Stacey, she never felt as if she was in such a spiral. It was sweet and exciting, but this time, Micki felt different. Though she wasn’t as blatant about it as Savannah, Micki liked to be in control. Not over inane things, like whether or not employees could wear white-soled shoes, but when it came to her emotions, Micki was a textbook control freak. Maybe it was just because Savannah was…Savannah. That Micki had been able to break through her armor, even just a little bit, made her swell with affection. Ugh. She felt as if she belonged in a Saturday night movie of the week. Will she be able to break through the walls of love? Tune in to find out. Stupid.

  Micki picked up the phone while unbending a paper clip. “Winter Valley PD, Deputy Chief speaking.”

  “It’s me.”

  “Hey, Beck. What’s up?”

  “Why is my dad on his way down to see you?” Rebecca asked.

  Micki could sense the bite in her question. “Um, well, I can’t really talk about it. At least not yet. I just need to ask him a couple of questions. Total run-of-the-mill stuff,” Micki said.

  “You couldn’t have given me a heads-up?”

  “Not really. You know how these things work.”

  “Wow.”

  “Rebecca, I—”

  But a dial tone was all that was left of the phone call. Micki hung up the receiver and rubbed her face with her palms. One of the drawbacks of such a small town, she supposed. They were all just scurrying up different strands of the same web.

  Micki looked up as Gary Raye walked into the police station, his superiority complex on full display. He frowned at Micki before taking a seat across from her. He stared at her desk with disdain. Any goodwill Micki had buil
t up with him in the past appeared to be long gone.

  “I assume you have a matter of great importance to discuss with me, else I’ll be forced to lodge a complaint for having my time so egregiously wasted,” he said, flicking a small blob of dust to the floor. His three-piece suit was clearly expensive, and he acted as though sitting in the scratched folding chair would taint him with paucity. He was handsome, with gray hair at his temples and a chiseled jaw. He was in his mid-fifties at most.

  “Absolutely, Gary, sorry, Mr. Raye. I’ll get right to the point. Can you detail your relationship with Savannah Castillo for me, please?”

  Raye’s eyebrows raised. “Relationship? We haven’t one.”

  “Then please go over any interaction you’ve had with her.”

  “As a man of significance in this town, even though I no longer live here, we have had business dealings. Surely you didn’t bring me here to debate permits and contracts.”

  “No, no, I didn’t. Were you upset with her when she rejected your advances? Did you feel that your masculinity had been bruised?” Micki cringed as soon as the words were out. For the second time in her interviews, she’d let her defensiveness rear its ugly head. There really was something to be said for being too close to a case. Badgering wasn’t a common technique when trying to set a person of interest at ease. Even someone as cartoonish as Gary Raye.

  His expression distorted into one of contempt. “I don’t know who you think you are, Chief, but I’m not someone to be toyed with. Tell me, is this some sort of role-play assignment for your junior college project?”

  Micki sat back in her chair, ignoring him. “I apologize, Mr. Raye. I didn’t mean to offend you. But I do need to know about the contact between you and Ms. Castillo.”

  “Well, if you must know, I had taken a slight interest in her some time ago. I thought it might give her a little thrill, notching a Raye on her bedpost. She’s an attractive woman, certainly, but remember, I have many business partners out in LA. Those women make the women of Winter Valley look like farm pageant castoffs.”

  Micki swallowed every bit of abhorrence she felt. How this arrogant asshole raised her sweet, trustworthy, humble friend Rebecca was a complete mystery. Her behavior today notwithstanding.

  He continued. “I fully believe she rejected me as a way to preserve her own pride. She knew I would never consider anything as trivial as feelings, so she cut me off at the pass. Brilliant maneuver, if you ask me.”

  Micki’d had enough with the show he was putting on. “Where were you the night before last?”

  “At my daughter’s house. In your apartment, which you would have known, had you not been brownnosing Ms. Castillo. I’ve seen people do many things to advance their careers, but I must say moving in with someone is a first.”

  “I didn’t move…” Micki trailed off. “You know what? Thank you for your time. Please see yourself out.”

  She scribbled confirm with Rebecca on her notepad before storming outside to get a breath of fresh air.

  Micki watched as Raye pulled out of the police station in his Lexus, speeding off toward the highway. She sincerely hoped that the interest in her father wouldn’t drive a wedge between her and Rebecca. She was the first friend Micki made when she moved to Winter Valley. They’d met at the mailboxes when Micki was still living in the basement studio she’d rented. It was the only apartment available without a twelve-month lease, and at the time, she wasn’t sure she should commit to anything. What if Winter Valley ended up being like Twin Peaks? Although lately, that notion was hitting a little closer to home than Micki cared to admit. She decided she’d catch up with Rebecca later that night. There was no reason for them to be at odds just because her father turned out to be a lecherous dick.

  The gifts Savannah had been receiving were tainted with emotion, and Gary Raye was pretty emotionless. Micki didn’t see him as a viable suspect, but her list was pretty short as it was. There was an ex-boyfriend who’d been in Jamaica, an ex-girlfriend who’d been in town but didn’t seem to have any kind of motive, and an ex-assistant who lived two hours away. Micki sighed heavily before trudging back to her desk.

  “Chief,” Billy called, waving a folder in the air. “Here are those hotel records you requested.”

  Micki took the file back to her desk and read through the Jamaican resort’s records. David Shaw had checked in and out on the days he’d said he had. Micki snapped the folder shut and shoved it into her desk drawer. What the hell was she missing?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The scent of Moroccan oil–infused shampoo tickled her nose. Savannah opened her eyes sometime before dawn, taking a moment to familiarize herself with her surroundings. She was in her bed, as usual, but the sensation of tangled limbs around her own was still alien. Micki was lying on her stomach facing the other way, but her arm was wrapped tightly around Savannah’s waist, and their lower halves were pretzeled. Savannah ran her fingers lightly along Micki’s arm, feeling more comfortable in her embrace than she could remember. Maybe ever. Probably ever.

  That a catastrophe had delivered this woman to her in such a way was almost fitting. That’s what they’d always been to each other—absolute disasters. The fighting, the one-upping, the demeaning. The thinly veiled sexual tension that always ended with insults and dirty looks. All of that seemed like a lifetime ago. She’d been more open with Micki than she’d been with anyone in a long time. Her relationship with David was real, but scattered on the surface. With Cori, the love was there, but there was never a promise of tomorrow, and that had worked for them. Before that, she’d had a series of near misses, a few maybes, no definites. That was all. And then Micki had come along, and Savannah was questioning everything she thought she knew.

  Micki stirred gently, so Savannah lifted her fingers not to wake her. Micki muttered something in her sleep, and instead of letting her go, tightened her hold. She couldn’t make sense of this. Her feelings were unexpected and growing exponentially but were shrouded in uncertainty and fear. It was all happening too fast. Savannah had never in her life jumped into a relationship before. That kind of life event took careful planning and consideration. When all of this went away, if all of this went away, would Micki go with it? Eliana was clearly attached to her, but she had been before all of this had started. Savannah honestly believed Micki wasn’t the type to just pretend that Eliana didn’t exist, even if things between them fizzled, so Savannah was comfortable that Eliana’s feelings were protected. Still, control was such an integral part of Savannah’s being, and all of these external forces were pinning her to a wall. Without Micki to ground her, Savannah wondered if she would have spun out completely with the stalker invading the areas of her life she’d worked so hard to keep private. Not that she was in control of her feelings around Micki, either. She wanted to trust her, to let her in, but she didn’t know if she’d survive the aftermath of being let down, of that inevitable heartbreak one more time. But this time Savannah didn’t know how to stop it. She didn’t want to just walk away or rebuild the walls Micki was carefully dismantling brick by brick. She wanted to believe what she was feeling, as terrifying as it was.

  As Micki shifted again, her foot lodged comfortably behind Savannah’s knee, Savannah smiled and slid her arm beneath Micki’s. For now, the only thing to do was to allow it. To feel it. Warm. Protected. Loved. She’d deal with the emotional fallout later.

  * * *

  Cuppa Joe’s was bustling as usual. Micki saw David Shaw sitting at one of the outdoor patio tables sipping on an iced coffee and eating a scone. He looked up, and their eyes locked, so just ignoring him was off the table.

  “Hi, David,” she said, nodding once at him. “How are you?”

  “Fine, thanks. Enjoying the sunshine,” he said. He shaded his eyes with his hand and looked up at the sky. “Feels like spring.”

  “It does. Well, have a good one,” Micki said. She pushed through the door and spotted Savannah sitting at a table by the fireplace. Her stomach did a
flip-flop at the sight of her in her black suit with a white collared shirt poking out, scanning a newspaper with her reading glasses perched low on her nose.

  “Hi.” Savannah smiled, folding up the paper. “I ordered you a coffee and a cheddar bagel.”

  “Interesting choice,” Micki said. She smiled, remembering their last encounter over a cheddar bagel. How times had changed.

  “Did you see David out there?” Savannah asked.

  “Yeah. Did he talk to you?”

  “He looked surprised to see me. Asked how I’d been. Told me he’d heard about my recent troubles and offered to help if he could.” Savannah shrugged and took a long sip of her cappuccino.

  “That was nice of him, I guess. Did it seem weird to you?”

  “He seemed sincere enough. This whole thing is weird. No one who knows what’s going on knows how to act around me.”

  “You look really good today. Just saying.” Micki winked at her and bit into her bagel.

  Savannah laughed. “Thank you. So do you, actually,” she said.

  Micki had on her regular baby blue, short-sleeved uniform shirt with her navy dress pants. She had spent a few extra minutes on her hair, though. Savannah reached across the table and tugged on a strand of Micki’s waves. Micki quickly scanned the restaurant to see if anyone had been watching.

  “What? Are we having a clandestine affair that I’m supposed to keep secret?”

  Micki snorted. “No, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m taking advantage of you. Especially since I’m the lead investigator—yes, I know, only, you don’t have to say it—on your case. It might appear unseemly.”

  “Unseemly?” Savannah kicked off one of her heels and ran her foot up the length of Micki’s leg, walking her toes up toward the top of Micki’s thigh.

  Micki almost choked on her bagel. “Savannah!”

  A few heads turned. Savannah brought her leg back down and raised her eyebrows at Micki. “If you want to make sure no one thinks you’re taking advantage of me, I can put that fear right to rest. Don’t test me.”