Peril in Paxton Park (A Paxton Park Mystery Book 1)

by J A Whiting

  Shelly said softly, “Did you know I was one of the people who found Jill’s body?”

  Jack stopped walking and turned to face Shelly. “You found her?” He blew out a long sigh and touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  Shelly gave a wistful smile. “How about we talk about happier things?”

  “Good idea.” Jack met her smile with his own and his kind, intelligent face warmed Shelly’s heart.

  By the time they crossed the finish line, the two young people were talking animatedly and laughing together.

  “I was concerned about doing this.” Shelly limped to a bench and sat down to massage her sore limb. “But, you made it fun and I forgot all about worrying about my leg.”

  “I enjoyed it, too. Thanks for being my 5k buddy.” Jack sat down next to her. “What’s your plan for the rest of day?”

  Shelly undid her long braid and let her hair loose. “I’m going to meet up with a few friends, have lunch, maybe try out some of the activities. I’d like to try the archery.” Shelly was about to ask Jack if he’d like to join them when he said, “Would you mind if I tagged along?”

  “I wouldn’t mind at all.” A bright smile spread over Shelly’s face.

  Jack got up and brought back two water bottles, one of which he handed to Shelly. The sun warmed them as they sat on the bench listening to the music and watching the people walking around the grounds. Juliet and her friend, Fred, found them and they scrunched together to make room for them to sit.

  “How did you do on the race?” Shelly asked her friend.

  A wicked grin showed on Juliet’s face. “I won.”

  “By a mile, too,” Fred said.

  While giving congratulations, Shelly noticed someone glaring in her direction from the other side of the main outdoor plaza. Lucy Millhouse, the blond, athletic high school physical education teacher who had been jealous over Jill Murray’s interactions with Jack stood next to a concession stand holding several quivers of bows and arrows. It only took a second, but Lucy’s eyes bore into Shelly’s with a look of fury and disgust before she gathered up the equipment and stormed away. The hostile gaze sent a shiver of anxiety through Shelly’s body.

  “Shelly?” Juliet asked.

  Shelly blinked and turned back to her friends. “What did you say?”

  “We thought we’d head to the grill and buy lunch, then take it down to eat by the lake. I have a blanket in my car we can spread out. Sound okay with you?”

  Standing up, Shelly smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

  Heading down to buy their food, Shelly took a quick glance over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Lucy weaving her way through the crowd towards the field where the archery was being held.

  Shelly’s stomach clenched and she thought that if Lucy was involved with the archery activity, it might be a good idea to try some other event in the afternoon and completely avoid the bow and arrow demonstration. After the dirty look she’d just received from Lucy, Shelly thought it best to sidestep the woman, especially when she was around weapons.

  20

  After lunch, Fred and Jack got texts from resort management asking them to help out at the lake so they excused themselves and told Shelly and Juliet that they would find them later in the day. Two other friends came to join the girls and everyone but Shelly wanted to try the archery so despite maneuvering to avoid the activity and being unable to come up with reasons to do something different, she trudged down the hill along with the others.

  Lucy, wearing little shorts and a tight, red tank top with the resort logo printed across her chest, finished up with a client and called, Who’s next, as she turned around to see Shelly, the first person waiting in the line.

  Shelly’s heart dropped, but Lucy gave a big smile and waved her forward. “Hi, Shelly. Nice to see you.”

  Thrown off by the young woman’s friendliness and thinking for a second that she might have imagined the earlier nasty gaze, Shelly braced when Lucy leaned close. “I saw Fred sitting with you on the bench a while ago. He was supposed to be working the archery, but he claimed he had a conflict so I got this assignment. I’m supposed to be teaching the mixed martial arts. Fred is not my favorite person at the moment.”

  Shelly breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Lucy’s evil eye had been directed at Fred and not at her. Lucy explained the mechanics and physics of the bow and arrow and took two demonstrating shots at the red and white target. Both of the arrows hit nearly dead center.

  “Impressive,” Shelly said.

  Lucy shrugged a tanned, muscular shoulder. “I’ve had a lot of practice.” She took hold of Shelly’s arm and positioned her body for the best aim. Handing her the bow and arrow, she went through the proper way to stand and hold the equipment. “Go ahead. Give it a shot.”

  Shelly steadied herself, let go, and the arrow flew through the air to hit the uppermost part of the target.

  “Great,” Lucy told her. “You’re a natural. Most people can’t hit the target at all on their first attempt.” Getting Shelly ready for another try, Lucy asked, “Where’s Jack? He was with you earlier, wasn’t he?”

  “He was asked to work at the lake for an hour to cover lunch breaks.”

  “Is he joining you after that?”

  Shelly thought Lucy’s voice had an edge to it. “He said he might.” She released the arrow and this time it hit closer to the bullseye.

  “He must like you.” Lucy smiled, but Shelly got the impression it was forced. “Well, nicely done. Time for the next person. See you later.” Shelly was dismissed and as she walked out of the cordoned off archery space to wait for Juliet and the others to complete their turns, a man further down the line caught her attention.

  The man whooped and hollered each time he tried the bow and arrow. His behavior was over the top and inappropriate and when a security guard came forward to speak with him, he adjusted his position which made his face visible to Shelly. She wasn’t surprised to see it was Scott Bilow. Scott exited the area at the security guard’s request and headed in Shelly’s direction. When he saw her, his face lit up and he hurried over.

  Without even saying hello, he boasted, “Did you see how great I was at archery? I’ve never tried it before. This was my first time.” He seemed slightly manic.

  “Good for you.” Shelly kept her voice even.

  Scott stepped closer. “Did you try it? I bet you’re good at it, too.”

  Shelly could smell alcohol on the man’s breath. “I had a turn already.”

  “Good.” Scott’s words slurred a little as he gestured to the resort restaurant. “Join me inside. We can get a drink.”

  “I don’t like to drink during the day.” Shelly took a tiny step back.

  “Still holding a grudge against me for showing up at your house announced?” Scott made a pouty face.

  “I don’t bear grudges,” Shelly told him.

  “Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over.” Scott’s eyes had a glassy appearance.

  Shelly looked at Scott and asked, “Do you know Maria Stores?”

  Something flickered over the man’s face and he seemed about to deny knowing Maria, but thought better of it. “Who did you say?”

  “Maria Stores. Meg Stores’ sister.”

  “Oh. Yeah.” Scott shifted his focus to the ground. “I guess I met her once or twice.”

  “Is she here? I thought I saw her this morning before the race,” Shelly fibbed.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.” Scott looked clearly uneasy.

  “Is she still in town?”

  “I think so.”

  Shelly watched the man’s face. “I haven’t seen her in a few days. I have a box of hers, it has some of Meg’s things in it. I didn’t want Maria to forget I still have it. Have you seen her lately?”

  “What? No.” Scott moved a few steps away to put distance between them.

  “Is Maria staying at the resort hotel?”

  “I think so.”

&n
bsp; Shelly took a chance making the next statement. “I saw you having dinner with Maria the other night.”

  A look of surprise passed over Scott’s face and he mumbled a few words about to deny having been with Maria, but then said, “I ran into her. I wasn’t having dinner with her. I sat down at her table for a little while.” He narrowed his eyes at Shelly. “I didn’t see you there.”

  Shelly had no idea where Scott and Maria had met for dinner and she froze for a second, afraid he would ask her something that would reveal her claim of seeing them together was a lie. “I ran in for a minute. I realized I was at the wrong place.”

  “Who were you looking for?” Scott asked.

  “An acquaintance.” Shelly craned her neck looking for Juliet.

  “Maybe you’d like to meet me for dinner sometime.” Scott leered at her.

  Shelly kept her attention on the people in the archery area. “We’ve already been through this. It’s not a good idea.”

  “I get it.” Scott’s expression darkened. “You think you’re too good for me?”

  “We’re not the right match.” Shelly watched him in her peripheral vision. She didn’t like the tone in his voice.

  “I have a master’s degree, you know. I make a lot of money.” Scott moved closer.

  Shelly didn’t reply, but she clenched her fist just in case.

  “I’m smart. I know how to treat women. I can show you a good time.”

  Shelly flicked her eyes to the man. “I’ve recently come off a relationship,” she fibbed. “It’s not the right time for me to start something new.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a relationship.” Scott’s smile was creepy. “It can be for fun.”

  “I don’t think so.” Shelly wished he would go away and leave her alone and she was glad she was in a crowd of people and not in some isolated place with him.

  “You should give me a chance,” Scott whined.

  Shelly tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t incite the man.

  Scott began to amble away and as he went, he muttered, “You know what happens to girls who won’t give me a chance….”

  Shelly’s heart jumped into her throat.

  Sitting at the kitchen table leaning over a bowl of soup, Shelly spooned the warm broth with vegetables and rice into her mouth. She’d arrived home an hour ago, showered, changed into a t-shirt and shorts, and heated up her dinner. Justice was perched on the seat next to Shelly listening to the woman’s monologue about the day. “And then he said, ‘you know what happens to girls who don’t give me a chance’. I could barely breathe.”

  The calico cat hissed her disapproval.

  As soon as she and her friend had a minute alone at the resort, Shelly reported her interaction with Scott Bilow to Juliet. Shocked and unnerved by the man’s comment, Juliet said she would call Jay to tell her what Scott had muttered as he walked away from Shelly at the archery event. Even though she was on edge and distracted, Shelly stayed with the group of friends until late evening to kayak, hike, and listen to the outdoor concert. Jack wasn’t seen again for the rest of the day.

  Fred and Juliet decided to have dinner and drinks at the pub, but Shelly begged off and went home. The majority of the day had been fun and she was glad she’d done the race even if she walked most of the way. It was the beginning of what she hoped would be a full recovery of her athletic ability, and even if she couldn’t manage to return to her former skill level, Shelly decided she’d work hard to be as good as she could be and would be content with that.

  Despite all the fun she’d had at the resort festivities, a small part of the day’s experience still picked at her. Lucy’s passive-aggressive behavior and Scott’s oddly threatening mutterings had put a damper on things and she couldn’t shake off the feelings of unease.

  After giving it some thought, Shelly had decided that Lucy probably was angry that Jack was having a good time with a group of people that didn’t include her and had made up the story about being annoyed with Fred to deflect from the real reason for her irritation. Why was Lucy so jealous? If Jack wasn’t interested in her, why didn’t she just move on? There seemed to be plenty of eligible men in Paxton Park.

  Shelly yawned and felt like crawling into her bed and pulling up the soft blankets, but her muscles ached and buzzed from too much activity and she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. “How about we watch a movie together, Justice?”

  The cat, standing in the chair and frozen like a statue, stared from the kitchen to the living room, its fur bristled up over her neck and shoulders.

  A zap of fear rushed through Shelly’s body and she sat stock still, listening, the air thick with tension as she strained to hear. After a full minute had passed, she began to relax and was about to say something to the cat when she heard a scuff and a thud that sounded like it came from the front of the house.

  Shelly jumped to her feet.

  What was that? Is someone out there?

  21

  Her eyes darting around the kitchen trying to locate her phone, Shelly realized she’d left it in the bedroom. When Justice leapt from the seat and dashed into the living room, Shelly reluctantly followed, inching down the short hallway. Stepping over the threshold into the living room, the doorbell sounded and the young woman’s heart jumped into her throat.

  “Who is it?” Shelly demanded, her voice loud.

  “It’s me. Jack Graham.”

  As Shelly hurried to open the front door, relief flooded her body when she saw Jack standing on the porch with a warm smile lighting up his face.

  “Hi,” he grinned. Glancing down, he noticed Justice at Shelly’s feet and bent to greet the animal. “What a handsome cat.”

  Justice purred and offered both of her cheeks to the man for a scratch.

  “Sorry to stop by unannounced. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “I got called away to the zip line today at the festival. A client froze in fear in the middle of the course and it took some doing to get him down. It happens on occasion. They asked if I could go up and take over the rest of the group.”

  “The poor client. I completely understand.” Shelly chuckled. “There were a couple of spots on the course where I panicked and thought I’d be stuck there forever.”

  “It can be a challenge,” Jack replied. “So I wanted you to know why I didn’t join up with you and Juliet and Fred later in the day.” When he made eye contact with Shelly, a tingling warmth spread through her veins. Jack added, “I didn’t want you to think I stood you up or anything.”

  “That’s nice of you.” Shelly felt her face flush.

  Jack said, “I gave a friend a ride home. Rob Whitaker. He lives on the next street over. We were talking about the neighborhood and he told me you and Juliet lived over here. That’s how I knew which house was yours.”

  Shelly gave a nod. “Um, would you like to come in? Have some tea or coffee?”

  “Oh, no, thanks. I should get home. I need to be up early for work.” Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and he nervously shifted his feet. His words came out in a torrent. “Tomorrow is supposed to be nice. If you’re free in the afternoon, I wondered if you’d like to go on a bike ride. There are some great trails on the east side of the mountain I can show you.”

  Shelly’s heart did a little flip and she tried to modulate the excitement she felt so it wouldn’t be so obvious when she replied. “I finish work around 2:30pm tomorrow. I’d love to bike.”

  Justice trilled and rubbed against the man’s ankles.

  Jack’s eyes brightened. “Great. Meet at the resort around 3pm then?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Jack went down the steps to his car. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”

  When Shelly shut the door, she looked down at the cat with a wide smile. “I wasn’t expecting that.” The chat with Jack had soothed the nervous tension she’d been feeling and her mind and muscles felt more relaxed as she flicked on a mo
vie and snuggled with Justice on the sofa.

  Pulling a soft blanket over her legs, her eyelids grew heavy as she patted the sweet cat curled on her lap and thought about the day’s happenings. Even though she’d walked most of it, the race had been a mental success for her and she’d enjoyed Jack’s company as they completed the course together.

  Jack’s arrival on her doorstep was a pleasant surprise and she looked forward to the next day’s bike ride with him. Her thoughts turned to Lucy Millhouse and her obvious jealousy over Jack. From what she’d heard and seen, Lucy seemed to have an obsession with the man and allowed a nasty side of her personality to flare up whenever she saw him enjoying the company of other people.

  The offensive comments Lucy had made to Jill Murray about was she sure she wanted to move to Paxton Park showed the woman’s deep resentment towards anyone who even casually conversed with Jack. Shelly hoped Lucy didn’t find out about her and Jack’s upcoming bike ride.

  Thinking about Lucy’s odd behavior caused her interaction with Scott Bilow to pop into her head. Scott certainly seemed like a troubled man … unable to keep a job, always after women, boastful and insensitive to other people’s wants, possessing an inflated ego. When she remembered his mutterings about what happens to women who don’t give him a chance, a cold chill ran over her skin. She didn’t want anything to do with the man and would avoid him at all costs.

  Justice moved to rest on Shelly’s chest and watching the cat for a few minutes as she rose and fell slightly with each of the woman’s breaths, Shelly’s heavy eyelids closed and she dozed off.

  Dream images moved through her mind like shadows. Some stayed longer than others. Flying along the zip line, biking down the mountain trails, swimming in the cool, refreshing water of the clear lake.

  The scent of the pine forest floated past her nostrils and the warm breeze brushed over her skin. Some oak leaves rustled overhead. A cardinal’s call danced in the air and a fly buzzed near to her ear.

  Her sister, Lauren, stood in the shade of the tall oak facing her.