by Rose Pressey
“We could always go back to the psychic, and maybe she would have new information. You know, if something came to her, or maybe she will get a vibe off me.”
“You really would do that?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Just let me know when we should go. I’ll go with you.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
Since he’d agreed to that, I felt maybe it would be easier to ask him to go down to the river with me.
“How’s your family” he asked. “I really need to get over and see your aunt. I’ve been craving a burger. How about we go tomorrow?”
“I’d like that,” I said.
Caleb and I sat in silence for a few more seconds until I decided to tell him what Madame Gerard had told me.
“Actually, there was something the psychic told me,” I said, watching condensation bead up on my glass.
I sensed Caleb staring at me now.
“What’s that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“She said I should go back to the river for something.”
His eyes widened. “Are you serious? Is she trying to get you killed?”
“She’s not trying to kill me. At least, I don’t think she’s trying to kill me. But apparently she thinks something’s there that could help solve the murder.”
“The police have been out there so many times. I don’t see how they could’ve missed anything,” Caleb said.
“Never say never. It’s possible. I mean, things get overlooked. It just happens,” I said with a wave of my hand.
“You’re not seriously thinking of going there for this item, are you?” he asked. “You don’t even know what you’re searching for.”
“Well, the thought had crossed my mind,” I said.
Caleb shook his head. “No way. I think that’s a terrible idea.”
“That’s why I thought maybe you could go with me. I mean, nothing bad can happen to both of us there.”
I knew he wanted to say that something could happen, but he didn’t want to make me think that he couldn’t protect me. I hoped he would see that this was important.
After a few seconds, he released a deep breath. “Okay, I guess we could go there. But you don’t think we’re going now, right? It’s too dark.”
“No, of course not,” I said with a wave of my hand.
“We could go in the morning when the sun comes up, before everything gets started around here. I’m not sure how I let you talk me into this. I guarantee you, Pierce won’t be happy when he finds out about this.”
“Yeah, but you want to solve the crime before he does, right?”
He contemplated this thought for a minute, rolling it over in his mind.
“Yes, I suppose that would be nice,” he said.
“Besides, Pierce won’t know. I won’t tell him.”
“Okay, but no one knows about this, right?”
I held my hand up. “I won’t tell a soul.”
He pushed himself up to his feet. “I suppose I should let you get some rest if we’re going out early in the morning.”
“Yeah, I guess we’d better rest.” I fidgeted my hands, unable to hide my anxiety. “Thanks again for agreeing to this.”
“I just hope we don’t regret it,” he said.
“Oh, it’ll be fine.” I tried to sound confident, although I wasn’t sure it was working.
Caleb stood beside my chair now, so I rose to my feet as well. When I took the glass from his hand, our fingers touched. My heart beat faster as he peered into my eyes. His face was only inches away from mine. Was he you going to kiss me? How did I feel about that? I knew if he tried to kiss me, I wouldn’t stop him. I would kiss back. Apparently, I wanted it to happen.
He moved closer to my face. His lips were almost touching mine when a loud noise caught our attention. We spun around to see what had happened. I saw no one nearby.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Caleb said.
“What did it sound like to you?” I asked.
“It almost sounded as if someone was walking this way.”
Caleb and I walked to the edge of the trailer and peeked behind it. But again, we saw no one.
“It must have just been the wind blowing a tree branch or something,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, I guess that was it,” I said, still feeling a bit uneasy.
“Well, I suppose I should get going.” Caleb motioned over his shoulder.
“Are you going to be okay to walk to your trailer alone? What if the killer’s out there?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine. Remember? I’m trained for this kind of thing.”
“Oh yeah, right,” I said.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.
Caleb studied every inch of my face for a few seconds before walking away. I tossed up my hand in a wave. He didn’t notice.
CHAPTER 16
Secure your displays so that the wind—or ghosts—don’t knock them over.
At least the rest of the evening had been uneventful. I had been on edge, wondering if the sound we’d heard was something sinister. That thought had disrupted my sleep quite a bit. But nothing else had happened, so I eventually eased into sleep.
Now, with the morning sun peeking through the blind’s slats, I was wide awake. Even though I was tired, I was ready to start the day. Just a bit of sleep had given me revived energy. Now I hoped that my creative juices would flow and I could paint something fantastic today. Plus, I hoped whatever I painted would also contain a message within the images.
Caleb would be here soon, so I had to hurry and dress for our trip down to the river. Still, I wondered if he thought I was a bit loopy for wanting to do this. But bless his heart for not saying anything if he did. After filling up Van’s water and food dishes, I headed for my clothing options.
Who was I kidding? There really weren’t options. I’d just be wearing a variation of the same thing I wore every day, a T-shirt and jeans. I grabbed a light jacket for my arms because I didn’t want any insects or possibly poison ivy to reach me.
“Van, I’ll be back soon, okay?” I kissed his cheek and set him back on the floor.
He blinked at me. It was probably just the sunlight in his eyes, but it almost seemed as if he’d winked at me. I headed outside into the warm sunshine. Only a couple of seconds had passed when, glancing to my right, I spotted Caleb walking down the path toward me. He tossed his hand up in a wave. A gorgeous smile came across his face.
“Perfect timing,” I said when he approached. “I just stepped out of my trailer.”
“Are you ready for this trip?” Caleb asked.
“As ready as I can be, I suppose. Thank you again for going with me.”
“I want to—really, I do—so don’t worry,” he said.
Caleb and I set out toward the wooded path that led to the river. Instead of going on the one that I had taken recently, we headed in the direction of where I had gone originally and found Erica’s body. It was the first time I’d gone back down that path since it had happened. My anxiety had increased just thinking about it.
At least Caleb was with me. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to go back down this way without him. But Madame Gerard had said I needed to go back to the area, so I supposed she meant the specific spot where Erica had been found.
Caleb led the way as we trailed down the path. The leaves and pine cones crunched under our feet. It was darker under the shade of the trees, and the smell of pine encircled us. With each step closer to the river, my anxiety increased. I had to remind myself to calm down. Flashbacks of finding Erica’s body kept coming to my mind.
The sound of the water reached my ears, and the river came into view. We were growing closer. Up ahead was the tree beneath which I had found Erica. Caleb lightly squeezed my hand as if he knew what I had been thinking.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” I attempted a grin.
I tried to i
gnore the spot where I’d found Erica, but I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to avoid it. We stopped at the river and peered around at the beautiful landscape. I wasn’t sure where Ama was this morning. I’d expected her to walk with us.
Madame Gerard had been vague and just said search for something. Well, there was a whole lot of scenery around, and it would be hard to discover anything that was hidden. Caleb and I walked around the area, but there was just absolutely nothing there other than pine cones, branches, and leaves. Nothing that would point to a clue in a murder investigation.
“You know we shouldn’t be back here,” Caleb said.
“Frankly, I’m surprised that you came. I expected you to tell me that there was absolutely no way you would do this.”
“Well, I would’ve said that, but I had a feeling that you’d do it anyway. And I didn’t want that to happen. I think it’s too dangerous. I wanted to ask them to close down the entire craft fair.”
“Are you serious? I don’t think that’s necessary, do you?”
“I feel it’s better safe than sorry.”
I peered out over the water, contemplating Caleb’s idea. What he’d said made sense, but I wanted to hang on to the thought that everything would be okay.
“You know I would never forgive myself if something happened to you,” Caleb said, breaking into my thoughts.
Just the way he said that sounded romantic. I knew that seemed odd. How could a person be romantic when discussing a murder? But it seemed like more than just a police officer protecting someone. It seemed as if he really liked me. That made butterflies dance in my stomach. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time—if ever.
“When I popped up at the trailer and didn’t see you, I knew I would find you here,” the voice came from over my shoulder.
I jumped a bit and peeked behind me. Ama stood behind us.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to talk to Ama with Caleb right there in front of me. She didn’t seem to notice that I wasn’t talking to her.
She continued. “Did you come here to paint? This is exciting. Now we can really get somewhere.” Ama frowned. “But you don’t have your canvas or your paints. I suppose you’re going back to the trailer to retrieve them.”
Yeah, that was it. She really would be upset with me when we got back to the trailer and I didn’t gather up my art supplies to go back to the river. I would have to explain to her exactly what had been going on and why I wouldn’t be painting there. It would be disappointing for her, but I had my reasons.
“Wait. I know why you came here. You didn’t come down here to paint at all. You came down here because Madame Gerard told you to come. I completely forgot about that.” Disappointment sounded in her voice.
Now I felt completely guilty. I would have to make it up to her somehow. But how?
“Well, did you at least find anything?” she asked.
“Not really,” I whispered.
“What did you say?” Caleb asked.
“I was complaining about the mosquitoes,” I said as I smacked my arm, pretending to squish one.
“Oh, they are thick, aren’t they? I think I have a million bites on my arm. It was a good idea that you wore that jacket,” he said.
“Yes, I thought ahead for once.”
“You know, it would be much easier if you just told him I was here and that you are talking to me. He would totally understand,” Ama said.
Probably so, but I didn’t want to get into it. I just wanted to get out of the spooky setting. Not that the craft area was more comforting. After the murder, a dark cloud had settled over the place. It seemed as if we were all trapped under it. I had a feeling that everyone else felt the same way.
The place didn’t have that light and airy feeling, as I had hoped. Ever since the murder, reporters had descended on the craft fair too, making it extremely uncomfortable. A lot of people just wanted to come out for the sake of curiosity. It seemed more like a media frenzy than a quaint craft fair.
I gazed around the area and said, “I suppose this is a pointless trip.”
“Well, maybe something else will come to the psychic if we visit her.”
“Maybe so,” I said, with butterflies in my stomach.
I was glad Caleb was willing to go back to see Madame Gerard with me. Even if it meant nothing new in the case, at least I would have some more time with him. I wanted to get to know him better. Something glimmered under the sun. I stepped over closer to the trees, to the area where I’d found Erica. Being near the spot sent a shiver down my spine.
I spotted a glass bottle on the ground. Picking it up, I examined it and saw that it was an empty bottle of root beer. Someone had just discarded their trash.
“I hate litterbugs,” I said, showing Caleb the bottle.
“It doesn’t appear as if it’s been there long,” he said.
“I wonder why the police didn’t collect that as evidence? Do you think this trash is evidence?” I asked.
“Most likely not, but you never know.” He took it from me. “I’ll just give it to the FBI so they can check it out.”
“Okay, I guess that’s that for this trip.” I brushed the dirt off my hands.
I surveyed the area one last time before giving up. I just couldn’t understand why Madame Gerard had told me to come back here. The only thing we found was an empty bottle. That didn’t seem significant.
Caleb and I headed back down the path toward the craft fair area. My uneasiness waned as I got further away from the area. I never really wanted to go back there anyway, although Ama had wanted me to go there a lot. She wanted me to go back and paint more. I wanted to as well, but I wouldn’t go to the crime-scene area. I’d possibly go down to the other side again. It seemed less secluded there. Although I doubted Caleb would want me even to do that, and I wouldn’t ask him to sit with me while I painted.
Caleb and I reached the craft area and headed over to my trailer.
“I should get back to work today.” He gestured over his shoulder. “I’ll see you later for a burger?”
I tossed my hand up in a wave. “I’ll see you later.”
“I can’t wait.” His eyes lit up when he spoke.
“Neither can I,” I said.
Caleb checked over his shoulder several times as he walked away, I supposed in order to see if I was still watching him. That made him even more adorable to me.
As I set out my paintings, I felt someone watching me. Soon I realized Danny was staring at me. He took a drink from a bottle and went back to his painting. That was when it hit me. What was he drinking? Was it just like the bottle we’d found? My heart rate went up at the thought. I had to see for sure.
I stepped away from my trailer and headed down the path toward Danny’s. I tried to keep my eyes off him, but it was almost impossible. Actually, I didn’t care if he knew I was staring. After all, he did the same thing to me. He would get a little taste of his own medicine. When I got near the trailer, I knew I had to get a closer look at that bottle. Perhaps I would just come right out and ask him what he was drinking. I could certainly do that. It was not against the law. Weird, maybe, but not illegal.
“May I help you?” he asked in a sarcastic tone. “Is there some reason why you’re staring at me?”
“What do you have there? Is it refreshing?”
I groaned internally, knowing how ridiculous I sounded. He scowled, letting me know he thought I was crazy. I didn’t care. I just wanted to know what he was drinking. Maybe I would have to wait until he tossed it into the trash. I’d collect the bottle for examination.
“It’s root beer,” he said in a snotty tone.
I hoped my facial expression didn’t give away my shock. This was exactly the type of drink that was in the bottle I’d found at the river. Sure, he could’ve been there today, but it would be a coincidence. Other people drank root beer too, but considering I’d bumped into him on the tra
il that day, I figured this was a huge clue. I wondered if there would be fingerprints on the bottle that we’d found.
“Thanks, I’ll have to give that a try,” I said.
He gave me another strange glare, letting me know that I should get away. I had no problem leaving his trailer because I didn’t want to be around him for a second longer. I had all the info I needed for right now, although I would have liked to get hold of the discarded bottle and possibly get his fingerprints.
Luckily, he had no idea what I was up to, and I wanted to keep it that way. Quickening my step, I headed away from his trailer and back over to mine. I felt his gaze on me as I walked away, but I didn’t check to make sure. It would send chills down my spine to see him staring again.
Once back at my trailer, I sat down on the lawn chair and pulled out my phone so that I could text Caleb and let him know what I’d found. My curiosity got to me, and I spied on Danny again. In his usual creepy manner, he watched me.
Focusing on my phone again, I typed out a message to Caleb, but deleted it before hitting SEND. Perhaps I should wait until I actually had the bottle before I told him about this. I could just be jumping to conclusions, and I didn’t want him to think I was that impulsive. Although he probably thought that already.
Now I had to come up with a plan to get that bottle out of the trash can. I couldn’t just walk up and take it with Danny watching me. Every once in a while, I peered over his way as I painted. He was still sipping the root beer. What was taking him so long? Hurry up and drink it, for heaven’s sake.
After about another fifteen minutes, Danny got up and walked over to the trash can. He tossed the bottle toward the container but completely missed. He’d already stepped away at this point, so I assumed he wasn’t picking up his trash and placing it in the bin. What a slob. That had been more than he’d done at the river, though. Wait. I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t know that he’d actually left the bottle by the water. That bottle could have absolutely nothing to do with the murder. Plus, any number of people could’ve left that bottle there.
