For Sale On Display

by Hollie Hutchins

  “How honorable of you.”

  His tone was somewhere between flirty and sarcastic. Anna rolled her eyes and said she had to go. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.” She hung up before he could respond.

  A Child’s Intuition

  Noah arrived promptly at nine, with coffee and croissants in hand. Anna took the coffee but not the pastry. She always found that her intuition was stronger when she was hungry. Maybe it was a survival thing. Her body goes into panic mode the hungrier it gets, and her intuition kicks it up a notch in the pursuit of finding food of getting Anna to safety.

  She sipped her coffee in silence as Noah drove to the Oliver’s estate. Their mansion sat on a huge plot of land, surrounded by acres of snowcapped fir trees. The winding road that led from the properties main gate to the actual house was starting to make Anna a little car sick, but since she had nothing in her stomach, nothing threatened to come up.

  “I should warn you,” said Noah, as they drove up to the front steps of the house. “Mrs. Oliver is not a fan of the local authorities, so maybe we should just introduce you as a detective not the deputy.”

  “Whatever makes this go smoothly,” said Anna. “But just out of curiosity, why is she distrustful of the authorities?”

  “Her disdain originally stems from her childhood, when her father was arrested by the sheriff at the time for suspicion of drug smuggling and prostitution. Decades later, her daughter is murdered and the way she sees it, the sheriff will arrest the wrong man, just like the older sheriff did when he took her father in.”

  “Was her father actually innocent?”

  Noah gave her a look. “There’s no way to know for sure, I guess, but I looked over the case files and it seems pretty cut and dry. He was found in bed with the prostitute and a briefcase full of cocaine.”

  Anna laughed. “So what you’re really telling me is that this woman is delusional?”

  Noah shook his head. “Mrs. Oliver is a very kind woman. She’s been really good to me. But she never got over the trauma of seeing her father hauled away in handcuffs. She feels like all the authorities are out to get her and her family because of how much money and influence they possess here in Idle Waters. It probably didn’t help that they hired Sam Cottons as deputy, even if his career was short lived.”

  He parked the car next to the bright red sports car which sat right in front of the massive garage.

  Anna raised her eyebrows and stopped Noah before he opened the door and stepped out. “Mrs. Oliver doesn’t like Sam Cottons?”

  “Of course not,” said Noah. “But whether or not that’s because she didn’t think he was good enough to date her daughter or because she thinks he’s actually a bad person, I don’t know.”

  “So you know they dated?”

  “Sue told me.”

  “And what do you make of that?”

  Noah grinned. “What do you make of it? After all, you’re the intuit here.”

  She glared at him. “Just because I’m an intuit that doesn’t give you permission to not do your job. If you’re not going to even try to pull your weight, then I might as well just work alone.”

  Noah sat back in his seat, and crossed his arms across his chest defensively. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to start something, it was a joke.” He paused and looked at his reflection in the rear view mirror. He fixed his hair. “Although, for someone who was hired for her intuitive abilities, I do wonder why it’s taking you so long to solve this case.”

  Anna felt warmth flood to her cheeks. “Look, I know this isn’t about me. You bungled your last job so bad and got somebody killed, and now you’re taking your frustrations and feelings of inadequacy out on me. I don’t give a shit about what you did in the past and I you can say as many snarky comments to me as you want, but what I won’t tolerate is you letting your emotions and fears get in the way of solving this case.” She opened her door and stepped halfway out. “So you can either get it together or you can find a new partner.” She slammed the door shut and headed up the steps.

  “I don’t understand, Noah.” Mrs. Oliver was standing in the grand entrance to the mansion, wearing a velvet red robe and matching house slippers. She had dark brown hair, which was pulled back into a tight French braid. “You’ve already questioned the children, they don’t know anything. What good is going to do bringing all of this up again?”

  “This time I’m going to have my associate here, Anna, talk to them. I think she may be able to glean more from their responses.” Noah hadn’t spoken a word to Anna since exiting the car. There was a tension in the air between them, and he put an edge in his tone when he called her his associate.

  “Why?” asked Mrs. Oliver. “What makes her so special?”

  They were talking about Anna as if she wasn’t standing right there.

  “Hi, Mrs. Oliver,” she said, sticking out a firm hand. “I’m Anna Arnold and I’m just going to come right and say it, I’m an intuit. Do you know what that is?”

  Mrs. Oliver eyed Anna’s hand a moment before grasping it, ever so gently, with her own and giving a single shake. “Yes,” said Mrs. Oliver. “I believe I have. It means you have powers.”

  Anna nodded. “Powers of intuition. I can pick up on things others cannot. If you give me permission to speak to your children, I think I might be able to find some clues and get us one step closer to finding Valerie’s killer.”

  Mrs. Oliver looked to Noah. “And you vouch for this woman?”

  He didn’t say anything at first, and Anna was worried he was about to jeopardize this whole thing over some petty disagreement.

  “I do,” he finally said. “She’s a very good detective.”

  “Alright then,” said Mrs. Oliver. “Go on up. Ellie and Harris are playing upstairs. I told them to expect visitors.” She motioned for them to ascend the staircase. “Call if you need anything.”

  Noah and Anna walked up the stairs, side by side, not speaking. They followed the sound of children’s laughter down the hallway and into the last room on the right.

  Anna rapped her knuckles lightly on the door. A delicate, female voice told them to enter.

  “Hello,” Noah said opening the door. “Ellie, Harris, do you remember me? I’m Noah, we’ve met a few times. I work for your parents.”

  The room had a big pink bed in it and was wallpapered in a print of pink horses with purple manes. It must’ve been the girl’s room.

  Ellie smiled. “I remember you.”

  “I don’t,” said Harris.

  “That’s ‘cuz you’re a dummy!” said Ellie.

  “Am not!”

  “Are too!”

  “Hey, hey,” Noah said in a calming voice. “No need to shout. It’s okay that you don’t remember me.” He bent down so he could be eye level with Harris. “You’re parents probably introduce you guys to a lot of people. It’s hard to keep track of everyone.”

  Harris nodded. “Yeah.” There were tears in his eyes but they no longer threatened to fall. “It’s hard.”

  “Who are you?” Ellie asked, staring up at Anna.

  “This is my friend, Anna,” said Noah. “She’s here to ask you a few questions, is that okay?”

  “About Valerie?” said Ellie.

  “Sort of,” said Noah. “She wants to ask you about the night when you guys went over to your aunts house.”

  “You mean the night Valerie died.”

  “I, uh.” Noah looked to Anna for support.

  “Yes,” said Anna. Clearly this little girl wasn’t interested in beating around the bush, which Anna appreciated. The thirteen-year-old had been through a horrible trauma, and there was no reason to pretend otherwise. “I want to know about the night Valerie died.”

  Harris started crying and collapsed into Noah’s arms. He picked the child up and patted his back. “It’s okay,” he cooed. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He walked passed Anna and whispered that he was going to take Harris into his bedroom and read hi
m a story.

  Closing the door softly behind them, Anna turned back to Ellie. “You don’t have to talk to me about it either,” she said. “I’m sure this is very difficult for you, and if you think it’s going to be too upsetting—”

  “No, I can talk.”

  “Oh, okay.” Anna pointed to bed. “Do you want to sit.”

  Ellie crawled onto the bed and Anna pulled up the rocking chair from the corner of the room and took a seat.

  “Can you tell me what you do remember from that night?”

  “My parents left for dinner,” she began. “I remember my mom came into my room to say goodbye to me. She was wearing my favorite dress of hers. It’s black with silver sparkles that look like stars. She kissed me on the cheek and said they would be back soon and to mind my sister. Valerie was downstairs watching TV.”

  Anna took the small pad of paper from her back pocket but realized she didn’t have anything to write with. Ellie opened the drawer of her bedside table and handed Anna a bright blue pencil that had a rainbow eraser. “Here, you can use this.”

  “Thanks,” said Anna. She was shocked by the girl’s awareness. She spoke like an adult, and to anticipate another person’s needs without them having to vocalize them was not a trait commonly found in thirteen-year-olds. “Go on.”

  “I read for a while, then Harris came into my room and started bugging me. He wanted to play make-believe but I’m too old to play those games. I told him to go make Valerie play with him. He started to leave and then we both heard the door slam downstairs.”

  “Do you know what time that was?”

  Ellie shook her head. “No, sorry. I don’t remember.”

  “That’s okay. What happened then?”

  “Somebody was in the house, a man, he and Valerie were shouting at each other. Harris ran to me and I hugged him and told him everything was okay. I remember thinking I should go find a phone to call my parents, but then… that’s it.” She looked off into the distance. “That’s all I can remember. The next thing I know I was with my aunt, watching cartoons.”

  “Your aunt,” said Anna. “How was she acting? Did she seem scared or worried?”

  Ellie frowned. “No, she was calm. She just watched TV with us. Then when my parents called and told her what happened to Valerie, she fainted.”

  Interesting. Why wasn’t the aunt weirded out by the kids being dropped off at her house randomly?

  “The man you heard shouting,” Anna continued. “Did you recognize his voice?”

  “I don’t know.” Ellie closed her eyes and tightened her fist. “I’m trying to remember, but it’s all so foggy.”

  “Did you hear Valerie say a name or anything? Maybe the name Sam?”

  Anna saw a few tears slip out from under Ellie’s closed lids and she decided it was time to stop. “It’s okay, Ellie. Don’t worry about it. You helped me a lot already. You don’t have to think about this any longer.”

  Ellie’s eyes flew open and her pupils were dilated.

  “Wait!” she said. “I remember something. Eyes.”

  “Eyes? Whose eyes?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve been seeing them in my dreams almost every night since. I have nightmares about them. I was trying to think of what I heard Valerie say just now and instead I heard a man’s voice, not the same voice that was screaming at Valerie, and I saw his eyes. I can’t remember what he said to me, but he had really, really big eyes.”

  Anna wrote down a note about the eyes and a man’s voice. “What color were his eyes?”

  “Really pale blue, almost gray.”

  Anna furrowed her brow but wrote down blue/gray anyway, even though she knew for a fact Sam nor Pauly had gray eyes.

  “Thank you so much, Ellie,” said Anna. “You’ve been a major help. If you remember anything else, you can call me anytime.” Anna tore the corner off of her piece of paper and put down Stella’s home phone number. “If a woman named Stella picks up, just ask for me.”

  “I will.” Ellie took the number and put it safely in the drawer along with the pencil.

  Anna stood up to leave. “You can call me even if you don’t remember something, if you just need to talk. I never had a sister, but I do know what it’s like to lose family members.”

  Ellie smiled. “Okay. Thanks, deputy.”

  “How did you know I was the deputy?”

  “Stella used to give me piano lessons before she had to get a real job working for the Sheriff. When you said her name, it all just sort of clicked. I had a sort of feeling that you were the deputy. It just made sense.”

  Anna narrowed her eyes. “I guess that does make sense.” She nodded her head slowly and then walked towards the door. “Well, goodbye Ellie and thanks for your time.”

  “Goodbye,” said the little girl. “Talk soon.”

  Anna closed the door and stood leaning against it on the other side, contemplating.

  Was it really that obvious Anna was the deputy? Had she really gotten that rusty at being undercover?

  She shook her head. It wasn’t that.

  That kid was an Intuit. And a damn good one at that.

  The drive to the gravel was awkward at first. Noah seemed to still be slightly irritated with Anna, but Anna was too engrossed in what she’d just discovered to notice or care. As they pulled off the main road and headed in the direction of the abandoned house, apparently, Noah’s curiosity got the better of him.

  “Did you find anything out?” he asked. “Did Ellie remember anything important?”

  Anna pursed her lips and took a second to respond. “That depends, are you still mad at me about this morning?”

  Noah glanced her way then back at the road. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

  “I’d just like to know where I stand before I hand over all my precious new information.”

  “So you did find something out?”

  Anna threw her hands up. “Maybe, maybe not.” She smiled at him, hoping he would take it as a gesture of peace and they could move on.

  He smiled back but remained quiet for a while. “It wasn’t my fault,” he said right as they came up on the fork in the road. Anna pointed for him to go right. “One of the guys I had hired to work with me, protecting Lewtin at a huge political rally, fell asleep on the job. He was a good guy, and I hired him because I knew he needed the money. He worked three jobs to put food on the table for his family, and that day he had just come off a grueling swing shift at some fast food joint. He dozed off for maybe five minutes, max, and I was too busy watching out for Lewtin’s wife and kids, and the sniper took his shot.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Anna. “I shouldn’t have brought it up, nonetheless thrown it in your face like I did. I just felt attacked and I tend to lash out when I feel that way.”

  “I understand,” he said. “And you were right. I have some unresolved issues regarding that case and I have been letting them get in the way of this one. But I won’t let it happen again, I swear.”

  “Good,” she said. “And I swear not to bring it up again.”

  “Good.”

  “That’s the house there,” she said. “That’s where Sam met up with those guys that night.”

  “It looks like there’s no one there,” said Noah. “You want to go look inside?”

  Anna stared at the house for some time, trying to get any sort of feeling from it. “I don’t think there’s anything there,” she said. “I can’t feel any energy coming off it, and my gut is telling me it was really just some temporary meeting place for the gang.”

  “We might as well pop in, since we drove all the way over here.”

  Anna bit her lip and took a sweeping view of the surrounding area. As she focused on the house, she did feel something, a sort of pull at the back of her mind, but it wasn’t from the house itself, rather, it seemed to be coming from the woods behind it.

  “I think we need to search those woods,” she said. “There’s something there.”

  “O
kay,” said Noah. “Whatever you say.”

  They got out of the car and headed for the wooded area behind the abandoned house. Noah took the lead, seeing as Anna was walking quite slow. She needed to keep her mind fairly clear in order to accurately follow ‘the pull’ and that meant she slowing her pace and constantly looking side to side.

  “What does it feel like?” Noah asked. “When you get an intuition?”

  Anna stopped, they were just a few feet from the woods now. “Shh,” she said. “I have to focus.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  She put a hand out to gesture that she needed to be in front now and Noah motioned for her to go ahead. She guided him through the trees, taking somewhat sharp turns now and then, when the intuition pulled her in a distinct direction. After about ten minutes of walking, they came upon a clearing. There were tattered, ripped clothes littering the area and a poorly constructed “tent” made out of a big tarp and some piled up boxes.

  Noah sniffed the air. “There were wolves here recently. I can smell them.”

  “Anybody you recognize?”

  He shook his head. “My sense of smell is only that good when I’m in wolf form. I can change if you want me too, but it will take some time, seeing as I do not currently feel threatened or angry.”

  Anna laughed. “I could probably make you pretty angry if I tried.” She bent down and picked up a red t-shirt. “But there’s no need. This is Sam’s t-shirt. He was wearing it the night we followed him here.”

  “Did you see him go into the woods that night?”

  “No,” said Anna. “And we had eyes on him the whole time. He was inside the house, talking to some people. Nobody came or left the house until a few hours later when he went back to his car and headed home.” Anna sighed. “Looks like you’re not the only fuck-up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, me and Sue must’ve lost him,” said Anna. “He either slipped out into the woods while we were out here watching, or he purposefully drove back to his place, waited until we were distracted and somehow got passed us to come back to the gravel.”

  “He could’ve come back the following day, right? When the other guy was tailing him? People where the same shirts two days in a row.”