Safe From the Dark (15 page)

Colin
was silent, fuming, and Evie leaned her hands on the desk, locking eyes as she
made her point.

“The
sooner you learn that none of these people are really who they say they are,
the better. Underneath the surface of one of these good, hardworking citizens
is someone who mutilated a poor animal and left it as a message, who shot at us
from the woods, who emptied a clip into Deirdre Small. Until that person is
caught, you can’t trust anyone!”

“Is
that how you get by?” Colin asked, “Assuming that everyone is hiding something?
Pushing everyone away so that you run no risk of getting hurt? There are people
you can count on in this world if you just let them in.”

“This
from the man who refuses to date a woman long enough to learn more than her
name and cup size.”

They
were nose to nose now, furious.

Evie
was horrified to feel unexpected tears welling up, and hastily swallowed them
as his eyes widened.

“Don’t
go anywhere without an escort,” she ordered, and fled.

“WANT
ANOTHER ONE?” GRACE asked as Evie slurped up the dregs of one of Mary’s famous
cherry shakes in the corner booth of the diner.

“Keep
‘em coming.” Evie muttered, and Grace signaled a waitress.

“Must
be serious. Or are you one of those people who can suck down carbs and not
regret it in the morning?” Fiona Morton’s brown eyes brimmed with amusement as
she twirled a forkful of salad.

After
the confrontation with Colin, Evie stormed out of the building, forgetting that
she still needed to question Tom. Ten minutes of aimless wandering and Evie had
her temper under control, and was surprised to find herself just a few steps
away from Bright’s Ferry’s lone library. Remembering that she had promised
Grace that she would stop by, she headed inside. Grace greeted her effusively,
and Evie was once again bemused by the contrast between the librarian’s perky
personality and her dramatic Goth look. Grace insisted on giving her the tour,
and Evie was impressed by the scope of the little library’s collection. Clearly
the library was something Grace was passionate about, and Evie felt a little
pang of emotion as she filled out an application for a library card.

Like
a normal Bright’s Ferry resident.

“You
look like you need a drink,” Grace had noted astutely, and dragged her through
the stacks in search of Fiona. Upon introducing her to the young woman with the
beautiful mocha skin and slim figure, Evie was surprised to find that she was
Dreyer Morton’s granddaughter, just out of college – a sweet and even-tempered
young woman with a wry sense of humor. The girl was easily persuaded to take a
long lunch, and a few minutes later they were tucked into their “regular” booth
in the back corner.

When
Mary set a luscious pink cherry shake in front of Evie, all thoughts of a
double shot of tequila vanished into an overload of sweet, creamy goodness. Grace’s
eyes widened as Evie downed the first shake in a matter of moments, while a
waitress came around with a tray full of chicken salads.

Evie
took a deep breath and pushed the empty glass away.

“So,
spill. What did Colin do now?” Grace asked.

“Nothing.
Everything. He just refuses to accept that someone he knows is guilty, and it’s
getting in the way of my investigation.”

“Colin
needs to fix things. It’s hard for him to step back and let someone else take
the lead.”

“Yeah,
I got the total control freak vibe right off the bat.”

Fiona
laughed, but Grace only grinned into her salad.

“That’s
because you two are exactly, precisely alike.”

“I
think I’m insulted,” said Evie, but she shrunk into her seat.

“Come
on, Evie, you know it’s true. And as for Colin’s…let’s call it popularity…with
the women in this town – the last thing Colin wants is for anyone to get hurt. Including
himself, so he doesn’t get too involved. Sound familiar?”

“Maybe
a little.” Evie stabbed a fork into her salad.

For
a moment, they chewed in silence, as Evie stewed over Grace’s perceptive
comments.
Maybe a lot,
she thought,
The difference is that I don’t
sleep with everything that moves. No, I just don’t get involved at all, because
look at what happens when I do. God, Asher, maybe you should take a page from
his book and just get laid. No emotions, no sweet words or promises.

“Well,
this table got really serious all of a sudden,” said Fiona, and leaned over for
a sip of Evie’s second shake, which had just arrived at the table. “Mmm…don’t
let me have any more of that. Hey, Evie, I heard you had a date with Matt
Harris.”

She
waggled her eyebrows suggestively. If Evie hadn’t been watching, she would have
missed Grace’s almost imperceptible stiffening across the table.

“It
wasn’t really a date. Just dinner.”

“If
I had a hot firefighter interested in me, I wouldn’t settle for just dinner.” Fiona
shivered delicately.

“You’re
single, right?” Evie remarked, “Why don’t you ask him out?”

“Because
my grandfather would have a heart attack.” Fiona scowled, “He’s still pissed
that I went to Boston to go to college instead of up here, so I’m trying not to
antagonize him.”

“Why
come back at all?”

Fiona
laughed.

“Haven’t
you noticed? There’s something about this place. Besides, a certain violet-haired
librarian offered me a job.”

She
good-naturedly elbowed Grace in the ribs.

“So
for the moment I am single and, sadly, celibate. But Gracie here could stand to
see a little action. But she thinks Matt is too nice.”

“He
is
too nice.” Grace grumbled.

“The
man is smart, funny, polite, kind to animals, and built like a freaking sexual
beast, Gracie, and the way he looks at you is in no way
nice.
” Fiona
insisted, but Grace shook her head.

“Look,
we’re not compatible, okay? He needs a nice wholesome girl with normal tastes. Can
we just drop it, please?”

Fiona
shrugged and reached for Evie’s shake again.

“Do
you mind?”

“Go
for it,” said Evie absently, wondering about the puzzle that was Grace. She was
a study in contradictions – sweet and bubbly, but with a love for the dark and
spooky and Goth. And if she read between the lines, Evie would hazard a guess
that she was looking for someone with slightly darker sexual preferences than a
wholesome blond firefighter could provide. But she kept this thought to
herself. Despite the frustrations of the morning, having lunch with “the girls”
was a new experience for Evie, and she was determined to nurture these
friendships.

“Do
you – ” she began, hesitant, “Do you two want to come over for dinner next
week? I know you’re busy with the Harvest Festival, and we’re all kind of at DEFCON
One, but I thought it might be nice…”

“I’ll
bring the wine,” said Fiona immediately, “And Grace will make brownies, because
she has a way with chocolate that would bring a grown man to his knees. Maybe
you should make a batch for Matt Harris, Gracie. One bite and I’ll bet all
those nice,
wholesome
tendencies would go right out the window.”

Gracie
frowned and threw a balled-up napkin at her friend, whose eyes were twinkling.

“Just
for that, no brownies for you.”

Evie
laughed.

COLIN
HUNG UP THE phone with a sigh as Tom walked in with an armful of files.

“Everything
okay?”

“Yeah,
it’s fine.”

Tom
set the files down on the desk.

“I
thought Deputy Asher wanted to speak with me?”

“I’m
sure you couldn’t avoid her if you tried.”

“I
didn’t see anything, I promise. I told Sheriff Arnetto everything the night
Deirdre was killed.” The young man looked anxious.

“I
know you did, Tom. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”

God,
I hope everything’s going to be okay
,
he prayed fervently.

Colin
felt stretched thin, the events of the last few days wearing him down. Yesterday
he’d had to tackle the guest room, which was covered in Deirdre’s blood – he
was going to have to repaint, among other things – and the grief that had
overwhelmed him as he stared at the bloodstains on the carpet was deep and
frustrating. He could only imagine how Tom must feel, having found Deirdre in
the first place.

“Tom,
why don’t you take a few days off? I’m sure Candace and I can handle things
here.”

But
Tom shook his head, adamant.

“I
appreciate the thought, Colin, but it’s better to have work. Besides, the
Harvest Festival is barely a week away, and there’s already too much for three
people to handle.”

“It
might not be safe to hang around, Tom.”

“Fuck
it,” scowled Tom, “If some bastard wants to come after you, they’re going to
have to go through me first.”

Colin
grinned to cover the swell of emotion.

“Well,
in that case, get back to work.”

Tom
saluted.

“Yes,
sir.”

EVIE
STARED AT THE corkboard covered in photographs and scribbled notes and sighed. At
this point, half the town could be the killer. She’d managed to knock a few
names off the list, but there was too much ground to cover – too many suspects,
too many loose ends.

Tony
came up next to her and leaned against her desk in the main room of the
Sheriff’s Department. Late afternoon sun streamed through the windows as Tony handed
her a cup of coffee.

“You
sound the way I feel.”

“Thanks.
I keep thinking if I stare at it long enough, the killer’s just going to pop up
and be totally obvious.”

“Unfortunately,
it doesn’t work that way. And I hate to do it, but I have to add one more
problem to our growing pile of shit.”

“What’s
that?” Evie sipped her coffee, strong and black, the way she liked it.

“Over
the next week, we’re going to have thousands of people coming in for the
Harvest Festival. Not only is it going to be harder to pick out any suspicious
behavior, but we’re going to be stretched thin regardless – there’s no way we
can keep up security.”

“So
what do we do?”

Tony
started moving photographs from one end of the corkboard to the other –
Candace, Tom, Colin.

“Let’s
focus security on Colin and his staff. The killer is going to strike close to
home, and Candace and Tom are like family. So we’ll focus on this column.”

“So
I’ve been informed,” Evie muttered, sour.

Tony
grabbed a notepad from the desk and scrawled on it, and then ripped the sheet
off and tacked it up under Tom’s picture.

Evie
Asher
.

“Hey!”
Evie protested.

“Evie,
your love life is none of my business, but I’d have to be blind to miss the
fact that you’ve got our young mayor wrapped around your prickly little
finger.”

“Hardly,”
she scoffed.

Tony
folded his arms and held her gaze, steady.

“Protest
all you like, but the killer’s already seen the two of you together, and I have
absolute proof that you are high on his or her target list.”

“I’m
sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t
be sorry,” insisted Tony, “You’re allowed to have a life, and personally I
think it would be great for Colin to wind up with someone who’s as much of a
control freak as he is. But your timing sucks.”

“What
do we do next?”

“Well,
we’ve got a call in to the pharmacy to confirm Candace’s alibi, we’ve basically
eliminated all of Colin’s paramours and business associates. I’m at a loss. What
do you think?”

Evie
examined the board for a moment and then moved two photos to the center, and
then stood back.

“Dreyer
Morton or Millicent Grayson?” Tony sounded surprised.

“Millicent
has been impossible to track down – every time I try to get hold of her to ask
a few questions, she’s unavailable. The scuttlebutt is that she has a thing for
Colin, and seems a little possessive about him.”

“Poor
girl. Her husband was lost at sea. They never even found the body.” Tony
revealed.

“That
might be enough to drive a person over the edge – alone with a young son to
raise, fixated on a kind, successful man who has the gall to ignore her
advances.”

Tony
nodded, reflective.

“Well,
check it out, though I don’t know. It seems like a stretch – she doesn’t look
like she could harm a fly. What about Dreyer Morton?”

“It’s
no secret that he hates Colin for having a relationship with his daughter.”