by Lori King
They didn’t need the car, really, because the sheriff’s station was within easy walking distance, but the temperature was starting to drop. She wanted to ask Hank all kinds of questions, but he looked really serious. What the hell was going on?
They parked and went inside the station. Edna Rose, Hank’s wife, was the dispatcher. She frowned when she saw them.
“What’s going on, Hank?”
“I’ll tell you about it later, Edna. Miss Russell, after you.” He waited for her to enter his office, and then closed the door. Robby stood next to his desk. She sat down.
“What’s going on, Sheriff? Since when did you start calling me Miss Russell? I was just over at your house to help celebrate your fortieth wedding anniversary.”
He blushed but kept a professional tone. “How well did you know Jerry Tilly?”
“Not well; he went to high school a few grades ahead of me and Robby. Why?”
“When did you last see him?”
“I saw him last Friday. He came into my store to look for something for his girlfriend, who was into all things gothic. I sold him a bat bowl.”
“Did the two of you ever argue?”
“What? I saw him for twenty minutes in the last five years. Why are you asking me about Jerry?
“Jerry was found today by the old mill. He was killed and thrown down into the well.”
“Oh, God, no.”
“The only things found close to the body were his clothes, which were ripped and bloody, and a bag with an item purchased from your store.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but why are you questioning me?”
“There have been three other bodies found and all the victims—had purchases from your store.”
“You can’t think that I had something to do with this!”
“Where were you last night, between the hours of seven and ten-thirty in the evening?”
10
“Hank, you’ve known me my whole life. My parents were at your wedding. You can’t think I’m some kind of killer!” Rita’s heart felt like it was going to pound its way out of her chest.
“Rita, don’t say anything else until you have a lawyer here.” Robby came to stand next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Hank glared at his nephew.
“She’s not under arrest, but I do need to question her. It’s up to you, Rita. Do you want to wait for a lawyer or answer a few questions? It could be a while before you can get a lawyer to come.”
She shrugged Robby’s hand off her shoulder. “I have nothing to hide. I’ll answer your questions.”
“Good. Let’s start with Jerry.”
“Like I said, he came into my store a few days ago. I sold him the bowl and he left. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Okay then. What about Logan Day, Carl Beaumont, and Les Benson?”
“I’m not sure…”
Hank sat down and typed something on his laptop computer. He turned the laptop around to show her DMV images. “I was going to show you the pictures from the crime scenes but their faces aren’t easily recognizable.” She had to fight the bile rising in her throat at imagining what that must have looked like.
“Logan was killed a week ago, Carl was killed a month ago, and Les was killed two months ago.”
She looked at the images of the dead men again, focusing on their faces. She always had good recall for faces, and when it came to her store, she paid attention to every small detail so that she could match the customer up with the right item.
“I don’t know about the one named Logan, he looks familiar, so he might have paid cash. Carl and Les have been to my shop for Halloween gifts before; I see them maybe once a year. They came in, but I’m not sure what they wanted. I think they both used credit cards to pay for their purchases.”
“We believe they were killed the same day that they each purchased something from your shop. Do you have receipts for their purchases?”
“I can get them. I computerized my register, so it will match the specific item purchased with the payment and date. Do you know what the others bought?”
“I can find out.”
“Do you want to go to my store tonight?”
“No, I have more information I need to get. I’ll meet you at your store first thing in the morning. For now, go home and stay there. I’ll have Robby take you there.”
“Okay.” She stood up, feeling scared. The thought she might have been the last person to see these men alive was daunting.
“By the way, I don’t believe for a second that you had anything to do with this. I just have to keep it professional.”
Rita gave him a half smile. “I appreciate that.”
She followed Robby out of the station house and he opened the door to his uncle’s SUV for her. She got in without saying a word. She felt dazed, like she was just following the motions. Robby said something to her, but she didn’t hear him at first.
“What?”
“I said that I know this is shocking to you. I mean, I see this kind of stuff all the time, being in this business.”
She looked at him in confusion. “I thought you handled traffic disputes.”
His face turned a bit red. “I do that, too, but criminal investigations are kind of my thing.”
Rita bit her lip to keep from laughing. In high school, he would pass out if he got hit hard enough to bleed or saw someone else bleed. He kept a bottle of sanitizer in his coat pocket because he hated to touch anything that might have germs. Robby was the least likely person to become a homicide detective. He parked the SUV right outside her house, not pulling up into the driveway.
“Thanks for driving me home.” Just as she reached for the handle of the door, he turned in his seat and reached out a hand to put on her thigh.
“I broke up with Chrissy.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” She wasn’t really, but she couldn’t think about any of that petty stuff right now, not knowing there was a murderer out there. Robby didn’t seem to have a problem with that, though.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been off and on for years, more off than on. I just got tired of her shit, ya know.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re better off without her.”
“I know I am. So, I was thinking it was time I moved on with my life. I think we should start seeing each other again.” He rubbed his hand up and down her thigh.
She fought the urge to slap his hand. “You just broke up with her tonight, Robby. You need time to let that sink in.”
“We haven’t really been a couple in a while. It was all for show. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”
“Mr. Dicks at the jewelry shop said that you two were in his store looking at engagement rings just a few weeks ago.”
“I didn’t buy anything. Chrissy was just so picky, and then she wanted me to spend over six month’s worth of salary for one fucking ring.” He went on and on, complaining about how Chrissy wanted this and that, she wouldn’t let him go out with his friends. When he started to complain about their sex life, she had enough.
She opened the door. “Good night, Robby.”
“Wait, Rita, what about our date?”
She pretended not to hear him and waved while walking as fast as she could up the snow-covered walkway. She sighed with relief when she heard the SUV pull away. She needed to take a hot shower and drink some hot tea to ease her nerves.
“What date?” a voice growled out of the darkness.
She jerked around to see who it was and slipped, falling into the snow. She was struggling to pull herself out when a hand reached down. She looked up at the face that went with that hand. Luke.
11
“What the hell, Luke! You scared me to death.” She took his hand and let him pull her up. He didn’t make any straining noises at all, like some guys did. He just pulled her up like she was as light as a feather.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She pulled to free her hand, but
he released her reluctantly. “What are you doing here? Not only that, but where have you been all day?”
“I had a call from my ranch hands; they found a dead body out by the old mill. We called Sheriff Rose. It’s been a long day. The sheriff asked us to help the coroner and said he would question you.”
“He did. He had his nephew Robby drive me home. It’s just awful what happened to Jerry.”
“How well did you know Jerry?”
“Look, I’ve already answered the sheriff’s questions, and I’m freezing out here. I would really love to just go inside, find something to eat, take a long hot bath, and drink some hot chocolate.”
“Oh, I brought you this.” He held up a brown bag. She could smell the delicious aroma of food.
“Where did you get that?”
“I stopped by the diner to see if you were there and Mindy said where you went and that you didn’t get to eat. I brought your take-out bag to you.”
She reached for the bag, surprised that he would go out of his way to bring this to her. It was sweet. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
A wolf howled in the distance, and Luke went on alert. She felt the skin on her crawl. “It’s just a wolf. We have a pack or two out here, but they rarely come close to town.”
“I’m going to check the perimeter around your house. You go on inside, but don’t go upstairs, stay in the front room. When I’m done, I’ll come and inspect your house to make sure it’s safe.”
She was about to argue with him, but he was already jogging away. How he was able to jog in this snow was beyond her. She turned and managed to get up her steps without slipping and falling again. She unlocked the door and entered the house.
“Mom!”
There was no answer. She turned on the lights and headed to the kitchen, placing the bag of food on the tablet. There was a note propped up on the bar. Rita picked it up and read it.
“Hi, honey, I am staying with the Tilly family at the hospital. They just had a death in the family and are devastated. Grandma Tilly had chest pains and they took her in. I’ll stay with her overnight so that the rest of the family can make funeral arrangements. I have my cell phone if you need me.”
She sighed. At least her mother was somewhere safe. Rita looked out the window, checking for Luke. Where had he gone and how did he disappear so quickly?
Shivering from having fallen in the snowbank, she walked to the mudroom and took off her coat and gloves. She sat on the little bench to remove her boots. She was still freezing. What she really needed was to get out of all her wet clothes and take a nice hot shower, but Luke had told her to wait until he was done doing his parameter whatever. Fuck it! She could take a shower if she wanted to. It was her house. She would shower, then come back down and heat up her food.
Rita went upstairs to her bathroom, turning on the lights along the way. Everything looked fine to her. She turned on the faucet in the shower and waited for it to heat up. Then she removed her wet clothes and stepped inside.
“Oh, that feels so good.” The hot water massaged her body and she couldn’t help moaning from the pleasure. The day had really worn her down. From Chrissy hitting on Luke, to the creepy customer, to being questioned about a murder by Sheriff Hank, and then to top it off with having her ex-boyfriend looking at her like she was a juicy steak. Ugh.
She totally deserved this shower and the hot chocolate she had been looking forward to all day long. It was odd but sweet that Luke brought her food and was being protective of her, but she still couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her. Her only enemy was Chrissy. She might be a major flirt and a total bitch, but she wouldn’t kill anyone.
She soaped up her body, then put shampoo in her hair. She had just dipped her head into the stream of water to rinse it out, when someone shouting her name startled her. She lost her balance and would have fallen if not for hands reaching out and grabbing her arms. She was pulled up against a hard body.
She looked up and froze. “Luke, what the fuck!”
“I didn’t mean to startle you again.”
His voice was deeper and huskier than before. His eyes traveled up and down her bare body. She saw the spark of desire in his eyes and her nipples tightened. Damn body betraying her. She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him.
“Luke, I need some privacy here.” She should have been outraged at his intrusion, but seeing the spark of interest in his eyes was a real turn-on.
“I think you need something else.” He moved forward slowly, giving her time to protest, but she was too curious to refuse him.
His lips touched hers, and it was like an electric arc shooting from him to her. She groaned from the pleasure of being held and kissed. Boy, did Luke know how to kiss; it was an art form for him. His hands traveled over her body, and she was burning, a slow, steady burn, and she knew that she would never be able to push him away. She wanted him too much, wanted to touch and taste him all over.
His hands cupped her ass and lifted her against him. She felt his cock pressing at her juncture through his pants. Something wild and fierce was struggling to break free inside of her. He pulled back, leaving them both panting.
“God, you’re so beautiful and sexy. Tell me now if you want me to stop, because if you don’t, I’m going to fuck your brains out.”
She waited for her survival instincts to kick in, but they didn’t. For some reason, she felt safe with him. Her attraction to him was more than physical. There was more to Luke. He was intelligent, charming, at least sometimes, and had shown her his kinder side by bringing her food. Plus, the sheriff trusted him to help with the investigation, which told her that he was dependable.
Everyone thought she was waiting until she was married to have sex, but the truth was she was waiting to find someone who made her feel sexy and desirable, someone who didn’t care about her size. Now she wanted Luke, so she chose to let him be her first. If something more came out of this, then great. But if all she had was tonight, she planned to take it and hold on to the memories they would make this evening.
“Take your clothes off,” she demanded.
“My pleasure.”
12
Rita tried to help him remove his now-wet shirt, and as soon as his muscular chest was exposed, she ran her hands up and down it. Damn, he was built like a Greek god.
Her eyes lowered to watch him as he unbuttoned his jeans. As soon as he got them open, his massive cock sprang out, waving at her like a battering ram.
“Holy fuck! I haven’t seen anything that huge before.” Not that she had seen many cocks; none, actually, except on the Internet or maybe on an HBO special. Now she was worried about whether her body could even fit him without tearing something.
He chuckled. “I promise you – once you go big, you won’t go back.”
She laughed, looking up into his dark eyes. She loved that he was trying to make her feel more comfortable. “Let me help you take your boots off, so you can get out of these jeans.”
She knelt down on the shower floor, grateful that she and her mom had renovated the old bathroom. All she’d had before was a bathtub that was much too small. Rita far preferred the large step-in shower. Especially now, she thought.
She gripped first one boot, then the other. She helped him keep balance while she removed his socks. Then she reached for the waist of his jeans. She dragged them down slowly. His skin was a natural golden brown. Every inch of him was perfection.
She rose slowly back up to her feet. She should be thinking twice about doing anything with him. How well did she really know him? Not well at all; they were practically strangers except for what she knew about him through the stories his parents and sister had told her. Was this a mistake, to get physical so soon? Maybe, but she had been cautious her whole damn life, and this was her chance to do something adventurous.
“Are you changing your mind? It’s okay if you are. I’m a stranger that just barged in here. When you didn’t answer me downs
tairs, I got worried. I can leave if you want. Is that what you want?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.
Even now, he was trying to make her feel at ease. He would leave if she asked him to. She was in control. She shook her head and stepped forward to wrap her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her waist. The way he held her made her feel dainty, feminine, and beautiful.
“I want this, I want you. I know it’s crazy, we haven’t known each other for very long, but when you touch me it feels—right.”
He leaned down to nibble her lips. “It is right. I want you, too, no one else but you. Let me show you.”
She wasn’t sure if he was just saying that because of the intimate moment, but he sounded sincere. Rita rubbed her breasts against his chest and felt him rumble in pleasure. The sensations of their wet bodies sliding together sent ripples down her body, straight to her needy pussy.
Luke’s large hands reached between their bodies and cupped her breasts. He pulled away so he could sink to his knees. This made him the perfect height to nuzzle his face between them. He sighed in pleasure.
“A breast man, huh?” Rita asked as she tilted her head back in pleasure.
He suckled her tightened nipple into his mouth. “I’m a breasts, ass, hips man—hell, I love it all.” He used his teeth to tease her tip.
“Oh, God, that’s so good,” she moaned.
He turned to her other breast and lavished it with just as much intense attention. She felt a pulsing in her lower mound and felt a desperate need for his attention there, but didn’t know how to tell him what she wanted, since she didn’t exactly know what she wanted.
“Luke, I need…”
He released her breasts and began kissing his way down to her pussy. He lifted one of her legs to rest over his shoulder. She pressed her back against the shower wall and gripped his shoulders for balance.
