To Bedevil A Beauty (Southern Sanctuary - Book 5) (22 page)

Berry
rubbed a finger along the fading bruise on her cheek as she thought about the
words
dream woman.
  Ugh, they made her feel sick inside. Sounding
too much like a variation of Robert’s definition of ‘
perfect
’ for her to
feel comfortable with.  She was no one’s dream woman anymore.  She’d
never stick her head in the sand again, toe the line, nod and agree when inside
she was miserable. It might have taken her three years of a loveless marriage
but she knew who she was now.  She wasn’t afraid to stick up for herself,
make a scene or get angry. She was no one’s fantasy.  Unless Ramsey’s idea
of a dream woman equated to a broke, feisty, independent divorcee who’d sworn
off men… for life! 

Well
except for the sex part of the equation… and maybe the morning showers
together… and the laughing and chatting between sexual bouts was kind of nice
and sharing breakfast.
 
But other than
that - all of which she was pretty sure she could find with countless, passing,
faceless men - though of course, the only face she could picture right at this
minute was Ramsey’s… but she’d get over him.
 
Once they broke things off.
 
Once
he went back to Melbourne. 

Ramsey
could tell this was going badly, damn it, he wasn’t a wordsmith. 
Stringing more than two sentences together was positively bordering on chatty
for him. Yet, with Berry, he thought he’d broken through that barrier.
 
Now here he was once more, frozen into mono
syllabic gruffness.  Fuck, he couldn’t seem to get the right words out
because they were too damn important.  And of course Berry was no doubt
still reeling from the news of his involvement in Granger’s arrest and
imprisonment. 

“Um…
well, when I say dream woman… I don’t mean dream woman.”

Berry’s
eyes narrowed, zeroing in on him.  “Well that clears that up.”  Eyes
flashing.

“You’re
upset, I get that.”  Who wouldn’t be, she had every right to be angry
about his role in the operation that bought down her ex-husband.   

“Take
it back.” 

“Um.” 
Ramsey was confused, how could he take back his involvement in Granger’s
arrest?

“Things
were going along so well.  Then you have to ruin everything by spouting absurd
dribble like that.”  Berry shook her head in wonder.  Men, bah. 
What was wrong with just having mindless, no-strings attached sex?  Why
did they insist upon trying to romanticize everything?  “What did I tell
you about compliments?”  Berry didn’t wait for him to answer.  “I
told you not to waste them on me.  I’m not anyone’s ideal.  Whatever
pedestal you’ve built under me is of your own making… trust me, I’m not
perfect, far from it, you need to open your eyes and deal with the reality that
is me.”

Ramsey
finally got a clue.  Berry wasn’t angry or even dazed by the news that he
was responsible for arresting Granger, she was pissed off because he’d used the
words
dream woman
to describe her.  He couldn’t help himself, he
began to laugh and then he couldn’t seem to stop.

Berry
sent him a death glare.  “What are you chuckling about Hotshot? 
Nothing is funny about this.”

Ramsey
just laughed harder, oh God, he wiped away a tear of merriment.  “You…
You’d have to be the craziest, most stubborn, brave, single-minded and
beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

Wait…
what?  Brave and beautiful she could live with, but the other stuff was
hardly complimentary, was it?

Ramsey
grinned broadly.  “That first time I saw you across that court room, I
thought you were a beautiful ice princess. Cool and remote, untouchable by
someone like me. You took my breath away.  Then when I actually met you, I
found you to be a hot-tempered, in my face minx, with a head full of glossy
gorgeous curls who stomped around glaring at me, accusing me of being a flirt…
trust me, until you Berry, I didn’t even know I could flirt.  You have no
compunction in trying to boss me around.  You argue with me… sometimes I
think just because you like to argue, and god damn it if arguing with you
doesn’t turn me on.  I love that you don’t tiptoe around me or worse jump
every time I move.  I like that you can see me Berry, that you can always
see me.”

Oh
Goddess, Berry felt like she was dangling off a precipice, holding on by her
fingernails.  Thank the Goddess he hadn’t actually said that he loved her,
she might say or do something she would spend a life time regretting. 
Sworn off men remember, no matter how gorgeous, sweet, annoying and frustrating
they could be.  No matter how many of her quirks and not so nice
attributes Ramsey listed and said he admired… liked… loved.

Grrr,
Ramsey Hughes was an extremely sneaky man. The bastard had somehow managed to
get under her skin.  It was all that mindless hot sex, the laughter and
his constant distracting presence in her life, her bed, her shower.  She
could feel herself weakening.  It was on the tip of her tongue to confess
that she… l… liked him too.  Then his next sentence impacted on her like
he’d pulled the pin on a grenade.

“When
Mrs Richart offered me this job, I thought I’d go stark raving mad out here in
the sticks… instead, I find long lost relatives, that I’m magic and you.”

All
the oxygen abruptly left Berry’s body. Alma… Great-Aunt Alma was involved.
 
Alma, the family match maker, interfering
busybody, devious mastermind or more affectionately known by the family as ‘the
Sherman tank’ because she was about as subtle as one.  Oh Goddess, if Alma
had lured Ramsey here then that meant.  “Oh No!”  Berry stood up
suddenly, bright colour staining her cheeks. Her eyes glittering with shock and
horror.  “No.”  She cut Ramsey off when it looked like he was about
to say something. “Absolutely not.”  Warily, slowly, as if she were afraid
he might try to stop her, she stepped over the throw rug she’d dropped to the
floor and cautiously began to make her exit.
 
Walking backwards so she could keep a sharp eye on him.  “No… No!”
She said the word again and then one more time louder when she saw Ramsey tense
as if he were going to rise to his feet and follow her.

Ramsey
had no idea what was going on. One minute they’d been talking, sharing. 
Things actually seemed to be going kind of well.  Then Berry had reacted
as if he’d dropped some nuclear verbal bomb and gone crazy.  Backing out
of the room, her hands raised, palms up, as if he were the family dog and she
was teaching him to stay.  What the hell was going on here?

“Berry?”

“Hell
no.”  She gave him one last heated glare and abruptly disappeared from
sight, her bedroom door slamming shut the only indicator of her destination.

Ramsey
released the breath he’d been holding.  “Well, that went well.”

Chapter
Twenty

By
Tuesday, Ramsey had run through a gamut of emotions; stunned surprise,
confusion, frustration, irritation, more confusion, before finally settling on the
fact that he was actually kind of pissed off at Berry. 

Since
her little scene Friday night, she’d taken to avoiding him like it was an
Olympic sport.
 
He’d barely managed to
catch a glimpse of her over the last four days, despite the fact they still lived
in the same apartment.  She’d holed up in her room the entire
weekend.  When he’d knocked on her door to ask if she needed anything, if
they could talk?  She’d texted him that she was snowed under with
paperwork. 

Texted
him!  He was standing right outside the fricking door.

Yesterday,
she’d waited for him to leave before allowing Cam McKenzie escort her to
work.  And she’d scurried home early last night only to go straight to her
room and stay there. 

This
morning he’d tried to be tricky, pretending to leave for work only to return
five minutes later having
forgotten
his mobile.  Berry had been in
the kitchen, sharing a cup of coffee with Zeke.  The moment she saw him
she’d frozen, forced a smile, glanced at her watch and claimed she hadn’t
finished getting ready for work and scampered off to her room.  Leaving
Ramsey and Zeke alone, uncomfortable silence descending between them after Zeke
pointed out Ramsey’s mobile was actually in his hand. 

Damn
it, how could he resolve whatever the problem was between him and Berry if she
wouldn’t even make eye contact with him?  Let alone talk, bicker or even
glare in his direction.  A hundred times he’d run through their
conversation.  The hot button news of his involvement in her ex-husband’s arrest
had gone over seemingly as inconsequential to Berry. The
dream woman
bomb had gotten a reaction, first bad but then he was relatively sure he’d
begun to talk her around… so just what had set her off?  Ugh, now he was
back to frustrated.

Which
seem to be a constant state for him at the moment.
 
Alone in his bed.
 
Virtually alone in his apartment, and getting
nowhere fast on the location of just where Robert Granger might be hiding
out.  All of this frustration was only compounded by Berry’s well-meaning
family.

This
morning, just before lunch, Berry’s Great-Aunt Adelaide visited him.
 
Bearing gifts in the form of a steaming cup
of sinful smelling coffee.  To thank him, she said, for his saving Berry
during the hostage situation.  Dressed in her signature white, Adelaide
had swept into his office all compliments and singing his praises, but the
minute she’d sat her rear in his visitor’s chair the inquisition had
begun.  How was Berry?  How was she coping?  Word around town
was she seemed upset… would he know anything about that?  Had he and Berry
had a fight?  On and on she peppered him with questions.

Ramsey
took it all in his stride.
 
Though,
turnabout was fair play, so for every question he dodged, he asked one of his
own.  Learning in short order that Adelaide was in fact Berry’s
Great-Great-Aunt, which boggled his mind and made the naked picture depicted on
Adelaide’s license both more admirable and scary.  Between breaths he also
got Adelaide to admit that she was a potion maker.  No wonder Berry had
warned him and his instincts had gone into overdrive every time the woman had
offered him a beverage. 

He
then contemplated for a moment the as yet untouched cup of coffee on his desk
before speculatively eyeing Adelaide.  For all her grand gestures, highly
personal interrogation of him in the witness box and surprising invasion of his
personal space with her hugs and kisses, Adelaide Dunst had been nothing but
nice to him and kind of helpful, when it came to his pursuit of Berry.  He
was still unsure about this whole magic thing, but he’d always gone with his
gut before so with that in mind, he picked up the coffee and drank it.
Admittedly, it was one damn fine cup of coffee.  Placing the cup down he
stared across the desk at Adelaide who was for the first time in his presence
silent as she returned his gaze with a wide-eyed expectant look of her
own. 

Ten
seconds passed, thirty seconds, a minute… then two.  He wasn’t sure what
he thought would happen but whatever it was it was a letdown, for Adelaide
too.  Whose mouth had dropped open in stunned surprise for a moment before
she’d hastily gathered her things and departed.

Half
an hour later he wasn’t surprised to watch Daphne sweep into his office.
 
Her jewelled coloured outfit so bright he had
to wait a moment for his eyes to adjust.  He accepted her hugs, kisses,
flattery and compliments as part of the price of getting through the next ten
minutes.  She seemed unsurprised when he refused to give out any
information on the case or speculate on how Berry was coping.  Getting to
her feet she leaned over his desk and placed a small box in front of him,
claiming it was just a small thankyou gift.  Ramsey eyed the cufflinks
contained in the box; square, slate grey stones set in silver.  He bit
back a smile as Daphne actively held her breath as he put them on. 

Ten
second, thirty seconds, a minute, then two… nothing happened.  Before he
could give in to temptation and ask what was supposed to occur, Daphne made a
hasty exit from his office, clear disappointment written across her face.

Margot
showing up twenty minutes later was no great shocker.  But this time
Ramsey was ready.  He rounded his desk to accept her proffered hug and
kiss but before she could even open her mouth to thank him for resolving the
hostage situation he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie off the plate she was
carrying and shoved it in his mouth, whole.  Chewing furiously. 
Margot’s stunned surprise quickly changed to eager anticipation. 
Swallowing was hard with an audience but Ramsey managed to force it down, waiting
the standard two minutes before giving Margot a small nod of appreciation and a
mumbled ‘good cookie’.

Margot’s
hand covered her mouth in stunned shock.  Damn, he’d like to know what was
going on with Berry’s relatives and their attempts to manipulate him with their
so-called magic.  Either he was immune, or the Aunts’ magic was on the
fritz.  Before he could open his mouth to question her, Margot swung
around and fled.  This town… Berry… were really going to drive him
insane.  He’d be back in
el Hefe
shrink’s office in Melbourne
before he knew it, drooling and babbling worse than Gerry.
 

It
all came back to Gerard Bannon.  Sitting at his desk later that afternoon
Ramsey compared the file Cam McKenzie had compiled on Gerry alongside the one
he’d prepared on Robert Granger.
 
It was funny,
Ramsey contemplated a recent photo of Granger.
 
Over two years in prison hadn’t appeared to harden the man or impacted
him adversely, if anything Granger looked softer and weaker than when he’d gone
in. 

Gerry,
a hardened, mentally unbalanced ex-cop, seemed to be an unlikely ally.  In
fact the two, according to their prison files, shared no activities or work
details.  Other than the fact that Gerry’s cell was located next door to
Granger, there was no other link.
 
Okay,
so what had Gerard said when he’d been talking to Berry?  Something about
listening to Granger tell stories every night about his ‘witchy’ good luck
charm wife.  But still, why would Gerard be sucked into joining forces
with Granger?
 
Why would he be willing to
head to the Southern Sanctuary after they broke out of jail just because of a
few rambling stories about an ex-wife with peculiarly good luck at choosing
winning horses? 

Granger
didn’t strike him as that charismatic or capable of manipulating someone of
Gerard’s shaky mental balance.  Damn, he pushed Gerry’s file away, his
eyes falling on the file beneath it.  One of the other - still at large -
escapees, Morris Tidewater, forty-two counts of fraud.  So why hadn’t
Tidewater jumped on the bandwagon?  A safety in numbers kind of
thing?  Ramsey scanned Tidewater’s information, no shared activities and
his cell was located at the end of the block, a fair distance from Granger’s
cell, so when the prison flooded and that wall had crumbled Tidewater had set
out on his own path. 

That
just left Previn Carlyle, shyster, master manipulator and Granger’s cell
mate.  He and Granger had shared library class and kitchen clean up
together.  Ramsey’s eyes flicked down to Carlyle’s internet search
history.
 
That witch connection again
,
hmm, it was
half a world away and historically notable, but why would someone like Previn
Carlyle be researching it when his earlier searches all revolved around the law
and ways to decrease his sentence?  “Why Salem?” 

“What
was that Chief?”

He’d
barely muttered the words, Maureen’s hearing was better than any submarine
sonar.

“I
was wondering, what’s so significant about the Salem witch trials?”

Maureen’s
head popped around the corner.  Petite, with a ready smile, Maureen was the
epicentre of the police station, not to mention he was beginning to think
supernaturally gifted when it came to knowing what was going on in this
town.  “I suppose you could say that Salem was the early germination of
the Southern Sanctuary.”

Ramsey
quirked an eyebrow upwards for a brief second.  Maureen needed no further
encouragement.

“Many
with magic in their veins fled to the New World settlements hoping to find a
safe haven to raise their families, where they could better protect their
secrets from overly attentive neighbours and inquisitive clergy. 
Unfortunately, the harsh environment and close living of settlement life in the
initial years made that an almost impossible dream.  Mistakes were made,
others became suspicious and accusations were cast.  Before things could
spiral too far out of control several families banded together and left Salem…”

“The
Brights, the Dunsts, the Bennetts…”  Ramsey reeled off a few of the names
he knew.

Maureen
smiled. “Those and a few others.  They headed North, hoping to find a
place to settle.  According to our family records they stopped in several
new locations, met, mingled and sometimes married local indigenous Indians and
while some chose to stay, the Group, as a whole, kept moving.  Eventually
they found their way by ship to this big, new, promised land.”

“But
Australia wasn’t discovered yet!  The first settlers didn’t arrive until
1788.”  Ramsey shook his head in denial.

Maureen
beamed a smile his way, giving him a cheeky wink.  “We were here
first.  Just one more secret I’m afraid you’re going to have to keep
Chief.”

Ramsey
collapsed back in his chair.  Magic was real.  Now he was supposed to
believe that the Southern Sanctuary had been settled eighty to ninety years
earlier than the history books said?  Pushing his own astonishment aside,
Ramsey glanced back down at Previn Carlyle’s file… so just why was Robert
Granger’s cellmate so interested in Salem?  How would Carlyle even know to
look at Salem?  Following a hunch, Ramsey called up a local telephone
directory, skimming through it he noted down four random names. Typing those
names into his computer he pushed the button for search and what do you know…
Salem came up.  Damn, just what did it mean?  Had Granger been
getting his cellmate to do some research for him?

Looking
up he found Maureen once more in his office, her cell phone in her hand, a
strange look on her face.

“What?”

“They’ve
just arrested Robert Granger…”

“Good.” 
Ramsey stood to pick up his coat, he had a hundred or so questions he wanted to
ask their new prisoner.

“No
Chief, you don’t understand.  He was apprehended at a small airstrip just
outside of Alice Springs.”

Alice
Springs?  Ramsey froze, that was several thousand miles away. 
Granger must have been travelling from the moment his plan had gone snafu and
his buddy Gerry Bannon started taking pot shots at him and accidentally hit
Berry.  Damn, the locals there would be transporting Granger directly back
to New South Wales, he’d never get his hands on him now. 

Still,
something didn’t sit right.  Shit, who was he kidding, none of this sit
right.  Then another thought pushed everything aside, Berry would be
moving out.   God damn it.  Hold on, maybe there was a way to
stall.  Keep the information from Berry so… he looked over at Maureen, her
cell phone still clutched in her hand.  Shit, who was he kidding? 
The whole town knew by now that Granger was re-captured.  Double damn,
what else could possibly go wrong?

He
no sooner had that thought when his desk phone rang.

Maureen
eyed the phone, her dark eyes dilating for a split second.  “That will be
the NSW police wanting to arrange Mr Bannon’s transportation.”

Ramsey
frowned… oh she meant Gerard, Gerry boy.  Reluctantly he picked up the phone,
now it looked like he was about to lose the last person he had physical access
too who could have told him why the hell Robert Granger wanted Berry back in
his life so badly.