Return To Stony Ridge

Chapter Three

Morning brought a thick layer of fog and an uneasy truce. R.J. hadn’t expected to sleep at all, let alone so deeply, but the stresses of the day before had taken their toll and he’d awoken at his normal time, surprised that Lucky wasn’t there nudging him awake.

At least she hadn’t murdered him in his bed.

Despite the early hour, she was dressed again in her own clothes when he got downstairs and Lucky was barking to be let back inside. He fed the dog while Teri poured coffee for them both. She diluted hers with plenty of milk and sugar, he noted.

“Have a seat while I make us some eggs,” he told her. “Scrambled, okay? With cheese? I’ve tried doing them over easy but they usually end up scrambled anyway.”

“I don’t eat breakfast.” Her stomach growled loudly in protest.

R.J. raised his eyebrows, noting the way her blush gave her high cheekbones a delicate pink stain. She really was quite attractive. He wondered what she’d look like in something other than black.

Though obviously embarrassed, she held his gaze. “I didn’t have dinner last night. Scrambled eggs would taste great.”

He wanted to smile but didn’t. “I’ve got precooked bacon strips, too. They aren’t as good as the real deal, but I don’t have much time most mornings.”

“That’s okay. Eggs are more than enough. What can I do to help?”

“How are you at toast?”

“Depends on the toaster.”

“Not the domestic sort, huh?”

“There are restaurants for a reason, you know.”

He didn’t want to like her, but she made it difficult. He found his guard slipping as they prepared breakfast with the deft ease of people who had done so together more than once. The domesticity of the scene unsettled him. R.J. was fully conscious of her on several levels, and that alone was disturbing. Letting himself be attracted to her wasn’t smart. He needed to keep in mind that the woman was here with an agenda.

“Where’s the army that’s going to help us eat all this?” she asked, watching him stir the grated cheese into a huge mound of eggs in the frying pan.

“I work construction. I protein and carbo-load most mornings. You should see what I have for lunch.”

Her lips quirked. “Pass.”

“You one of those women who diet all the time?”

“No.”

That had struck an unexpected nerve. Her flat tone and severe expression left him wondering, but then he should have known better than to mention the D word to a woman.

She set silverware on his small table, poured them each a glass of apple juice and, at his request, buttered several slices of toast.

“Are you always this domestic?” she asked as they sat down together.

“Not much choice if I want to eat. You’ll have noticed there aren’t a lot of restaurants nearby.”

Lucky plopped on the floor between them with his usual wistful expression.

“Your dish is over there,” R.J. reminded him. But he broke off a slice of bacon and tossed it to the dog. For a second, he thought Teri was going to scold him, but she reconsidered and started eating.

For someone who didn’t eat breakfast, she made hearty inroads on the food he’d put in front of her, including the bacon strips. She could stand to gain a few pounds, though he wouldn’t have told her so under torture.

She was a little too thin, if generously proportioned. Her dark red hair floated around a pinched face that still showed lines of strain. She’d made an effort to restrain the silken mass of her hair, but his bathroom wasn’t well equipped for unexpected guests. Probably because he rarely had any. At least the smudges beneath her impossibly green eyes weren’t as dark as they had been last night, but the sliding glances she kept sending his way were still wary.

Fine with him. R.J. didn’t trust her, either.

“Sleep okay?”

Startled, she looked up. “Yes. Thank you. But your dog licked me awake before the crack of dawn. He made it clear he wanted out, so I turned him loose. Hope that was okay.”

“Absolutely. I appreciate it. Lucky’s a dog of simple needs, but he does think people are here to serve.”

“Uh-huh. Well, if you ever run out of sandpaper, I’m sure his tongue could fill in for you in a pinch.”

R.J.’s lips curved. The persistent tug of sensual awareness annoyed him. He decided it had been too long since his last date and finished his meal quickly, anxious to clear his driveway and get her car out of the mud. He’d be glad to send her on her way. The thing was, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be that easy.

He was right.

“Do you think we could make a fresh start this morning?” she asked over a forkful of eggs.

“In what way?”

“Tell me everything you know about the night Valerie disappeared.”

His fingers tightened around his coffee mug. He took a swallow to buy some time. He couldn’t see any reason not to share the small amount of information he had. He’d already told her most of it anyhow.

“According to Kathy Walsh—she’s the house mother, I guess you’d call her. Anyhow, according to Kathy, Valerie went to her room shortly before eleven. In the morning, she was gone. Her son and her clothes and her car were still there. Even her purse. She wasn’t.”

He found he was gripping the cup tightly enough to snap the handle and set it down. Teri’s expression was equally bleak.

“No one heard a thing. The house alarm was still armed for the night. All the doors and windows were locked. One of the kids heard her son crying that morning and Kathy went up to check on them.”

A flash of sympathy, almost pain, came and went in her expressive, too green eyes.

“The chief of police is a friend of mine. Wyatt’s wife is the founder of the shelter so he was called in right away. He discovered the broken cell phone in back by the fountain,” he went on more calmly. “Wyatt thinks it belonged to Valerie, but he’s checking to confirm that. He came to see me right after he found the phone.”

“Why?”

There was no need to tell her how Wyatt had questioned him about R.J.’s argument with Valerie the evening she disappeared. Wyatt had only been doing his job. And quite possibly that argument was responsible for her disappearance. If he hadn’t pressured her to talk to Wyatt and press charges against her husband, maybe she wouldn’t have run.

“I took her to Heartskeep. Wyatt thought maybe I knew where she had gone.”

Mistrust was back in Teri’s eyes. R.J. ignored it and continued.

“We searched the grounds until it got too dark to see. By then, it was raining hard enough to wash away any useful evidence of anything. The thing is, if she’d stayed close to the house someone would have found her.”

“Why would she have gone outside in the first place?”

R.J. raised and dropped his shoulders. “We don’t know. It’s possible she went to get something from her car before the house alarm was turned on and surprised someone on the grounds, possibly an intruder who had nothing to do with her husband. The crushed cell phone was found in some disturbed grass out in the maze. That’s quite a distance from the parking area and there were no signs of a struggle near the car, nor that anyone had been dragged there. I can’t come up with a single reason for her to have gone into the maze that night. It was dark and raining.”

Feeling the helpless anger once more, he had to force his tightly balled fingers to relax.

“Maybe she ran from someone and was trying to use the cell phone to call for help,” Teri suggested.

“Or she dropped it when she was unloading things from her car and someone else took the phone out back.”

“And crushed it?” R.J. shrugged again. “I agree it’s unlikely, but we have no idea what happened. She simply vanished.”

Teri wasn’t sure what to make of the undercurrent of anger in his voice, but the suppressed violence set her stomach churning. She’d seen how strong he was.

But if he’d hurt Valerie, would he be angry? She didn’t think so. The problem was, she no longer trusted her instincts when it came to men.

“How is it you know Valerie?” Had they been lovers?

“Her brother was one of my best friends in high school. Valerie used to tag along after us like a puppy.”

Or a girl with a crush? Teri didn’t voice that aloud but it seemed likely. A lot of women would be drawn to R.J.’s good looks and self-confidence.

“Valerie has a brother?”

“I thought you were a private investigator.”

“There wasn’t time to run a background check on her,” she told him quickly. “My job was to find her and offer her protection from her husband.”

“Who hired you?”

“I told you, I’m not at liberty to say.”

Those dark blue eyes turned frosty. Teri worked to control a shiver, but she refused to be intimidated by him.

“You’d better get permission, then,” he said softly, “because Wyatt isn’t going to accept that answer.”

“The police can’t force me to answer questions.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

She hoped he couldn’t tell how the softly spoken threat had unnerved her.

“Why did she e-mail you in the first place? Were you her lover?”

The last part came out before she could stop the question. Only a flick of his eyes revealed any emotion at all. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she wished she hadn’t asked.

“How long have you been a private investigator?”

She raised her chin defiantly. “Long enough to know when I’m being stonewalled. If you’re her friend, you’ll help me.”

“Will I?”

Trust came hard, but if she wanted his help she knew she was going to have to bend a little. “We could sit here glaring at each other all day, but it wouldn’t solve a thing. I came here to offer Valerie and Corey a safe refuge from Lester.”

“What sort of safe refuge?”

Exasperated, she set down her fork and pushed aside her plate. “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be safe.”

“You think I’d hurt her?” he demanded.

“I don’t know you, do I?” she replied, mimicking his earlier words to her.

His eyes narrowed. “You could be working for her husband.”

“And you could be the person she met out by the fountain,” she countered.

His penetrating gaze would unnerve most people. She was far from immune, but Teri forced herself to hold his gaze steadily, even though her heart thudded against her chest.

Without comment, he set her gun on the table and stood, carrying his dishes to the sink. For a moment, Teri was stunned. The relief hit her hard. Her fingers trembled as she picked up the gun and tucked it into her waistband. Without a word, she gathered her dishes and joined him at the sink.

“What made you decide in my favor?”

“Who said I have?”

They proceeded to neaten the kitchen in silence while she seethed. He was the most arrogant, annoying man. Then she saw an answering anger simmering in his gaze.

“So why did you give me back my gun if you don’t trust me?”

“Stupidity. On the other hand, I can always take it back from you if you try anything.”

Arrogant, obnoxious… “You think so?”

“We both know so.”

She wondered if she should have kept the steak knife instead of replacing it this morning. Lucky watched them anxiously, sensing the tension in the air. Teri swallowed down a hot reply. She needed R.J.’s help, not his anger. But the man did know how to infuriate her.

“I’m pretty sure her husband knows she came here, R.J.”

“So you said.”

“I also think he followed her here. I think he got to her the other night.”

That made him pause. “How?”

“The same way I did. Your e-mail message. Your name, Stony Ridge and Heartskeep were all mentioned.”

“I meant, how do you think he got to her?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He called her cell phone.” R.J. didn’t respond.

“Look, Lester won’t be satisfied with hurting Valerie. He’s going to come after you next for helping her.”

“I sincerely hope so.”

His expression clearly said he’d relish the idea.

“You’re a fool. I may not have done my research on Valerie, but I did on Lester. The man is dangerous.”

R.J.’s expression hardened. “I can be dangerous, too.”

The hairs on the back of her neck raised. She didn’t doubt his words. There was a core of steel in his tone. Just maybe he’d be a match for Lester.

“Earlier you said you broke into their house?”

She shifted at that steady stare. “Not exactly.”

“What…exactly?”

Teri released a breath and reminded herself that she needed his trust. “I let myself in through an unlocked window. But that’s not the point. I think Lester killed her.”

For a long minute, R.J. didn’t move. He didn’t speak, but his features clearly showed a starkly dangerous side to the man. Then his normal expression settled into place.

“That’s a strong statement.”

She managed not to shudder. “Yes.”

“Why would he kill her?”

Could she make him understand? Would it matter if he did?

“Lester is not what he appears to be. Most people who meet him will tell you he’s one step from a halo.”

“Murderer to saint is a pretty far leap.”

She was no longer fooled by his mild tone. “Not as far as you might think. You haven’t met him yet.” She set her jaw, unwilling to get into a discussion about Lester Boyington. “Look, if you really care about Valerie, help me.”

His eyebrows lifted. “How?”

“Take me to Heartskeep and introduce me to the people who were there.”

“The police have already talked to everyone.”

“Female officers?”

He didn’t respond.

“These are women who’ve been abused, right? I can get them to tell me things they may not want to tell a male authority figure.”

She knew R.J. didn’t trust her, but he wanted Valerie found. If there was even a chance she could deliver, Teri felt sure he’d take the risk.

“And you think they’ll tell a private investigator things they wouldn’t tell Wyatt?”

“Maybe. I think it’s worth a shot, don’t you? Someone must have seen something.”

“Not necessarily. It was dark. And you haven’t seen Heartskeep.”

“Then show me. Tell people I’m an acquaintance of yours.”

“Who happens to be a private investigator?”

She met him glare for glare. His eyes fell first.

“Wyatt won’t appreciate interference in his investigation.”

The knot of tension in the pit of her stomach eased. He was going to help.

“Let me worry about your police chief.”

He set the last dish in the dishwasher before answering. “I’ll see about moving that branch from the driveway. Then we’ll see if we can get your car out of the mud.”

“I’ll give you a hand.”

“Ever use a chain saw?”

“Power tools don’t scare me.”

“What does?”

She met the challenge without flinching. She could have told him, but she didn’t. And a few hours later, after she got her first glimpse of Heartskeep, Teri decided the huge old mansion might have to be added to her short list.

The wrought-iron gates that protected the vast grounds were intricately shaped, but, to her mind, dark and towering and intimidating. She waited in her mud-splattered car behind R.J.’s large truck while he spoke into the call box near the mouth of the gate. Then he punched a series of numbers into the box. After what seemed like a long wait, the gates slowly swung open.

If all it took was a pass code and R.J. had the code, he could have gotten inside whenever he wanted. So could anyone else. Or was it necessary to call first and be given a code? She didn’t know much about security systems, but Valerie had gone missing so there was some way to beat them. Teri had no doubt that Lester had discovered that way.

The long, fog-cloaked driveway with its dripping trees was disturbing, but it did little to prepare a first-time-visitor for the impact of the house itself. The enormous structure squatted in the center of a clearing shrouded in mist. Dismally, its many windows reflected the gnarled, half-dressed trees and the bleak fall sky overhead.

“Welcome to Heartskeep,” she muttered out loud.

If houses had souls, this one would be old and splotched with secrets.

Teri tried to quell her apprehension as she followed R.J. and Lucky onto the wide front porch. The imposing front door was unlocked. Because someone knew they were coming or did they leave it that way? Without knocking, RJ ushered her into a hall much too large for the purpose.

Though attempts had been made to make the insides cheerful with the use of colorful, welcoming fabrics, nothing could be done to shrink its overwhelming size. Heartskeep would never be a homey sort of place to anyone who wasn’t fond of grand hotels.

The woman who bustled forward to greet them exuded the warmth the estate lacked. Kathy Walsh was probably in her midfifties. A slim, well-preserved woman with sad but friendly eyes, her expression showed concern and a trace of alarm.

“R.J., I’m so glad you came by. We have a bit of a situation. Alexis insisted on coming in this morning and now she’s in labor. I’ve been trying to reach Wyatt, but either he turned off his cell phone or he’s out of range. I don’t want to call the dispatcher because at this point I’m not sure he’d have time to get here anyhow. Alexis needs to get to the hospital right away. Can you take us in your truck?”

“Of course.” R.J. strode into the enormous open room clearly visible from the front door. A group of women clustered around an attractive, very pregnant young woman bent over in a high-backed chair. She looked up ruefully as R.J. reached her.

“Wyatt told me to stay home today, but oh no, I just had to get some paperwork done. I felt fine other than a slight backache this morning. I had all kinds of energy when Will picked me up and drove me over here, but my water broke after he left to run an errand in town.”

“Yeah, sometimes it happens that way,” R.J. said calmly.

She smiled at him, shaking her head. “How would Stony Ridge’s favorite bachelor know that?”

R.J.’s grin was cocky. “Television. A person can learn all sorts of things watching television.”

“Yeah, well I hope you learned how to deliver a baby, because I’m not sure this one is going to wait much longer.”

“He’ll wait,” R.J. promised. “Hear that, junior? Hang in there a little longer.” He helped Alexis to her feet. “I’d offer to carry you, but Wyatt would probably punch me.”

“Hah! You’re just too much of a gentleman to point out you’d need a crane to lift me.” She looked past him to where Teri had stepped forward to stand in the hall opening. “I’m sorry for the rude welcome. I’m Alexis Crossley.”

“Teri Johnson. And no apology is needed,” Teri told her. “There’s nothing more incredible than the birth of a baby.”

“True, but you’d think they could have come up with an easier system for giving birth to one.”

Teri grinned, immediately warming to the woman.

“Let me grab my coat and I’ll come with you,” Kathy told R.J. She sent Teri a questioning look.

R.J. followed her gaze with a frown.

“Go ahead, R.J. I can wait here,” Teri offered. She knew he wouldn’t like it, but his truck wouldn’t hold all of them.

The woman called Alexis doubled over again with a groan. That cinched the matter.

“Okay if Teri waits here with Lucky? She’s not a guest.”

“Fine,” Kathy replied anxiously tugging on her jacket. “We need to go. Mrs. Norwhich is in the kitchen.”

Teri grabbed Lucky by the collar so he wouldn’t follow them. “Go.”

R.J. shot a warning look in her direction and went.

Teri turned to the silent cluster of watching women and smiled. “Hi. I’m Teri. I’m a friend of R.J.’s.”

“THE GHOST isn’t going to like this,” Boone whispered. His small face pleated with worry.