Ropes and Trees and Murder

by Patti Larsen

  I seriously had no idea. “Fee! Please you have to do something.” Aundrea’s near panic clenched my stomach into a tight ball of now what. “You have to talk to him, this is ridiculous.”

  “What’s wrong, Aundrea?” I pushed through the kitchen door, dodging (Amber? No, this was Megan, right? Sigh.) as she hurried past with a jug of fresh coffee and a bright smile on a face no older than eighteen. Was I ever that young? “Is this about the flowers?” Wait, no, she’d said “he.” He who?

  “It’s not the wedding,” she snapped, her voice near tears. “It’s Jared.” Um, what? “You need to talk to the sheriff.” I almost asked why but she was too fast for me. “Crew’s arrested him and he’s in jail right now.”

  This again. I drew a breath, heart racing despite myself. “Aundrea,” I said her name slowly, one syllable at a time. “Just take a second. It’s going to be okay.”

  “It’s not, Fee,” Aundrea wailed. “My poor baby didn’t do anything.”

  “You thought Crew arrested Pamela back in October, remember?” All the sheriff wanted to do was ask her questions about her past with Sadie Hatch. “I’m sure everything is fine.” While I liked Aundrea, she was a bit of a drama queen.

  A bit? Snort.

  “You don’t understand,” Aundrea hiccupped her way through a sob. “He’s not accusing him of murder.” At least there was that. “Jared was in a fight and Crew arrested him and put him in that wretched cell and he’s been there all night.” She wept a moment while I gaped at my phone. He what? “Please, you have to do something. He’ll listen to you.”

  Thank goodness Daisy came walking through the door, Mom at her side, at that exact moment. I hung up on Aundrea, babbled a quick apology to my mother and bestie before dodging for the door, leaving the hurt and unhappy Petunia behind while I ran the few blocks to the sheriff’s office, heart in my throat.

  Okay, so it wasn’t life or death, but this was Jared and I owed him. If he’d been in lockup all night… not that I’d put some constructive quiet time past Crew if he thought Jared needed it, but town jail?

  I took the steps two at a time to the sound of someone shouting within, pretty sure I knew exactly who to expect and threw the door open. I burst into the office to find Aundrea, Pamela holding her back, screaming like a banshee at Crew while Alicia hovered on the periphery, her eyes locked on her boyfriend. He sat on a bunk behind the bars of the small cell on the other side of the divide between reception and the bull pen, head in his hands, looking defeated. In the second cell, separated by a row of bars, Philip Davis sat with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the back of Crew’s head like he could kill him with his thoughts.

  From the black eye and blood on his shirt, it was pretty clear who Jared had been fighting with.

  Crew’s eyes lifted from Aundrea and met mine, the faint tic making his cheek jump, vein standing out in his forehead. At least it wasn’t me eliciting that response this time, though I was sure my appearance wasn’t helping any. Thing was, whether he knew it or not, I was on his side this time.

  It took me a moment to get between him and Aundrea, to hug her, to murmur things to her that calmed her down enough she wasn’t yelling anymore. Instead, she hugged me back at last and glared at the sheriff while I gently extracted her and handed her off to Pamela. At least the newspaperwoman didn’t look pissed, more amused than anything, though Alicia seemed heartbroken enough I reached out and took her hand, tugging her toward me as I addressed Crew in as calm a tone as I could.

  “Sheriff Turner,” I said.

  “Miss Fleming.” His jaw jumped.

  “I’m wondering if the two you have locked up might not be cooled off enough after a night behind bars to warrant their release.” Look at me, the voice of reason. Crew’s narrowed eyes softened just slightly. “Good behavior and all that?”

  “Still waiting for that good behavior,” Crew said while Philip snarled something nasty I didn’t quite catch.

  “I see.” I hugged Alicia before handing her off to her future mother-in-law. “Maybe I could be of some assistance in this instance?” I gestured at Jared who hadn’t moved. “If that would be okay with you?”

  His lips quirked just a bit, enough I knew he wasn’t going to argue. The jumping muscle under his eye eased, the vein relaxing somewhat. “You try a jailbreak and you’re going in there with them.”

  I winked, doing my best to lighten the mood further. “No promises, copper.”

  Crew’s arms dropped from where he’d crossed them over his chest, an immovable force of nature bending. Imagine that. “I won’t be pressing charges,” he said over my shoulder at Aundrea and Alicia, both of whom seemed mollified. “But I can’t have open brawling in the streets, Ms. Wilkins.” Aundrea nodded. “Just get them to stop being idiots,” he whispered to me on the way by. “If at all possible.” He sounded frustrated, annoyed. I paused long enough to grasp his forearm and squeeze gently, hoping he took it as the support I intended.

  I just wished I could have done more, especially when the front door banged open again, this time allowing the furiously snarling Olivia Walker entry into his domain. I felt him tense immediately, all of the ground I’d gained with him lost as she stomped to a halt next to Aundrea.

  “Sheriff Turner,” the mayor snapped, “I’m holding you personally responsible for the disaster at Zip It!. You get that park open again or your job is gone!”

  ***

  Chapter Eighteen

  Oh no she did not just threaten him. I might have respected Olivia on professional grounds, but she could back off the guy I was into—especially considering he had the most thankless job in all of Reading, cleaning up the messes she created for him.

  Before I could leap to his defense and likely annoy the crap out of him because he was, after all, a big boy who could take care of himself, he did just that, facing off with the mayor with the kind of steady confidence I had learned to adore about him. And make me acutely aware of how mercurial my own temper was in comparison.

  Hey, I’d just spent some up close and personal time with a dead guy. Cut me some slack.

  “Mayor Walker,” he said, deep voice low and level but carrying to everyone in the room, “threatening me is unnecessary. I’m as committed as you are to the safety and protection of this town, despite what you might think to the contrary.” That shut her up as a slow flush darkened her paled out cheeks while she stammered something that might have been an attempt at an apology if he’d given her time to get it all out. “I’m in the middle of investigating the murder at the very park you mentioned, without the kind of backup I could use from state police I might add, at your insistence. And so, I would ask you with great respect to back the hell off so I can do this job you seem to think is at risk.”

  Wow, color me impressed. Olivia grumbled something I didn’t catch but took a step back, nodded.

  “You understand my concern,” she said.

  “I do,” he said, hands on hips in an easy posture of control, not a hint of the jaw grinding annoyance I expected from him in that moment, nor the straining sign of the cords in his neck, the tic under one eye, the vein on his forehead. Good for him for showing such restraint, at least with her. Nice to know I had the ability to get under his skin, I guess.

  Olivia swallowed, cleared her throat. “The press—”

  “We’ve had bad press before,” Crew said, softer this time, almost kind. Was he empathizing with the pressure she was under or manipulating her? Didn’t matter, did the job. She seemed to soften further as he went on. “And we’ve done okay, as far as I can tell. Let me handle this. You’ve got enough on your own plate. But until we’re done collecting evidence, Olivia, I need to keep the park closed.”

  Her brown eyes snapped with anger. “No troopers.” She shook her head as if calling help would mean some kind of disaster instead of making his life easier. “No outsiders.”

  He didn’t sigh but I could tell from the intake of breath and the sudden tightness of his sho
ulders he wanted to. “Your call,” he said.

  Her two companions seemed unhappy with her choice. I only now noticed Olivia hadn’t entered alone, so focused on her attack on Crew and the subsequent conversation I only then realized she’d barged in with two town councilors in tow. Sophia met my eyes and seemed irritated to find me there, but Geoffrey Jenkins just nodded and grinned in a way that made me feel like I’d somehow agreed to something I’d regret later.

  “Maybe a call to John Fleming is in order,” Geoffrey said, turning his attention to Crew.

  The sheriff stiffened immediately, though I was pretty sure he didn’t intend to show his flash of anger because that steady calm returned, too late. The smirk on Geoffrey’s face made me want to smack it off him for that jab at Crew’s confidence.

  “If I have need for a private investigator,” Crew said then, slow and careful, “I’ll do just that.”

  “I for one have all the confidence in the world you’ll uncover the truth,” Geoffrey said, the pompous ass, two seconds after challenging the sheriff’s abilities by throwing my dad at him. He came to stand next to Olivia, one hand falling on her shoulder in a clear show of superiority, if only to me. “The entire council stands behind you and your track record, Sheriff Turner,” he said, oily and slick with the kind of subtlety free politicospeak that brought out the worst in me. Olivia blanched then scowled up at him while he finished. “Anything you need.” He squeezed Olivia’s shoulder, smiled down at her. “Anything.”

  If it wasn’t clear to her before, surely it had to be now, as it was to me and everyone else in the room. Here was the challenging contender in Olivia’s next race for mayor. And I was pretty sure he was at least a two step down, thanks.

  Crew didn’t take the bait, just nodded. “If you’ll all excuse me, I have a murder to solve.”

  Geoffrey didn’t give the mayor the chance to argue, using his hand on her shoulder to turn her around and steer her toward the door, Sophia Bell following in annoyed silence. Since she was the only one he’d brought, it was obvious who his main supporter had to be on the council but I wondered how many of the others would be swayed by today’s events and the overt signals Geoffrey seemed to be giving off. How long had this undermining of her authority been going on? I really needed to pay attention to local politics.

  Crew turned toward me as they left, head down, Aundrea and Pamela, Alicia between them, muttering to each other while the sheriff noticed me standing there. I reached out with one hand, heart in my throat, wanting to support him but not knowing what to say. The sudden breach of his defenses seemed to make things worse for him as he realized I was still there. Whatever anger he’d held inside in the face of opposition from the mayor and her council he seemed suddenly unable to contain. But instead of letting it out at them, he aimed it at me.

  “Five minutes, Fee,” he snarled, keeping his voice down but enough fury in his tone I knew pushing him would end badly. Why was he taking it out on me? “Then I want you out of here.”

  My jaw tightened, my own temper waking in reaction. Totally not fair, and despite the fact I knew he wasn’t really angry with me it was hard not to feel hurt. But to my credit, rather than taking a bite out of him like I might have not so long ago, I forced a breath into my lungs and clamped down on the need to snap back.

  “Ask Matt about the shoe print and sign I found at the base of the tree.” I was sure he knew about it already but I had to bring it up.

  Crew’s blue eyes snapped fire as he closed the distance between us, lips almost touching my ear. “Fee,” he growled, “I will not tell you to mind your own business because I’m done with that.” I heard him swallow, felt the heat off his skin as he struggled with his temper. “But I swear to you on this badge I wear if you make trouble for me I’m going to kick your ass. You hear me?”

  I nodded. “Got it.”

  Crew backed off, nodded himself once, staring at the floor before turning and striding into his office, not quite slamming the door behind him. I could have gone after him, was tempted. With his searing emotions out of the way compassion washed through me, the understanding he hadn’t been exaggerating about the pressure he was under hitting me harder than his temper, wondering just how much weight Dad and I added to his shoulders, especially my father. Instead, I decided to focus on what I could do instead of making Crew’s life miserable and spun toward the cells.

  Five minutes, huh? Fine. I could accomplish a lot in five minutes. But first, I had three women to wrangle. I could do that much for Crew.

  I crossed back to the reception area, the swinging gate hitting my hip as I stopped next to Pamela. Aundrea was near tears, Alicia, too and I hugged them both before forcing a smile.

  “It’s going to be fine,” I lied openly, having no idea if it would or not but needing them to buy it. “I’ll talk to Jared. I know Crew will let this go once everyone cools down.” More make believe and guesswork but seemed to do the trick. Then again, I was pretty sure the sheriff would do as he said earlier and not force the issue as long as the two idiots in the cells stopped making his job more complicated.

  Aundrea hugged me before casting a longing, sad gaze at her son who sat with his head still in his hands, totally ignoring everything going on past the bars keeping him from freedom. Alicia went with her as they exited, both pausing a few times to look back, then disappeared out the door while I reached out and grabbed Pamela’s hand, keeping her with me a moment.

  She met my eyes with a faint frown, though she didn’t seem worried, more relaxed about the whole debacle that just unwound than she should have been, in my opinion. Instead of calling her on it, I spoke.

  “Boston Globe, huh?”

  She blinked, startled. “That was a while ago,” she said.

  “Tell that to Fleur King,” I said.

  Another blink then a grin. “Fleur’s in town? Investigating what?”

  I shrugged. “Hoping you can find out details and tell me. Something to do with Lewis Brown.”

  Her eyes narrowed, thin smile dominating her face. “I’ll look into it,” she said, “and get back to you.” Considering all I’d shared with her in the past, I’d be holding her to that. She glanced at Jared with a softening amusement mixed with concern. “Take care of him, yeah? I’m getting kind of fond of the kid.”

  I nodded, let her go. Watched her leave before turning back to the bullpen and the silent young Wilkens. Crew might have been ready to kick my ass for interfering, but I was in the mood for a boot or two of my own and Jared was in my sights.

  ***

  Chapter Nineteen

  I came to a halt outside the bars, grasping them and staring into the cell. Jared’s dark blue t-shirt was torn at the neck, a smudge of dirt on one cheek as he finally looked up and met my eyes. I realized then as I took in the split skin on his right hand over his knuckles and the ashamed expression on his face I didn’t have to give him a hard time over fighting.

  He had been doing the job for me all along.

  “Hey,” I said, keeping it light despite my previous desire to smack him for being an idiot. “How was your night?”

  He snorted softly, expression showing faint amusement before he settled back into self-judgment. A quick glance to his left at the scowling Philip told me he wasn’t over his anger with his opponent however.

  “I’ve had worse,” he said. Sighed. “And better.”

  “Mind telling me what the hell you were thinking starting a fist fight with a suspect while a murder investigation is going on?” Might have been a stretch. I had no idea if Crew suspected Philip of anything, though personally I had him at the top of my own list. I’d seen him hurrying away from the tree where we found—where I’d found—Lewis Black and he’d appeared out of sorts at the time. Never mind Carmen had been right behind him, so was she complicit or guilty even? Of course, I had no proof. Still, stabbing in the dark was a favorite pastime of mine and I wasn’t about to stop speculating until I had an answer anytime soon.

 
Jared’s face flinched, flat and angry a moment. “It’s personal,” he said. “Nothing to do with the murder.” Another glare, one that Philip returned before looking away again.

  Boys. “Fine, whatever,” I snapped. “But you might want to think about putting your private issues to the side while one of your businesses is in trouble. Not to mention hurting your mother and your girlfriend in the process.” Okay, not entirely fair, but I wasn’t above cheating a little on the emotional manipulation front to get what I wanted.

  Jared flinched but didn’t relent. “Please stay out of it, Fee.”

  I tsked at him before spinning on Philip. “You’re not talking either, I take it?”

  The young protestor flashed me a very rude hand gesture before crossing his arms over his chest again and looking in the other direction.

  Perfect. I was done wasting my time on this anyway.

  I hesitated as I turned to leave, thinking about Crew. Instead of bothering him directly, I waved to Toby and headed for the street, pausing to text the sheriff instead from the safety of the sidewalk.

  I’m so sorry. I had no idea until now what’s been going on. I know you told me you were under pressure. I just didn’t get it. You weren’t kidding. I wish there was something I could do to make it right. I hit send and stood there, chewing my bottom lip, wondering if I should have stayed quiet instead of reaching out, doubting with every passing second before finally hitting regret. Just as my phone chimed and his answer appeared.

  You want a job, Fleming?

  Um, that was the last response I was expecting. I’m a bit busy at the moment. Besides, we have this great sheriff in town and he’s got things handled.

  Another pause, shorter this time. We’ll see. About all of it.

  Well, crap. I agonized over sending another text, about turning around and going inside, breaking his no hugging or kissing at the office rule, when a final message landed.