Whispers of Danger and Love (10 page)

Opening the dryer, she thrust his shirt inside, acutely aware of the familiar scent of David.

Concentrate on the pizza
, she chided her rampant libido, hoping it would subside. Her vulnerabilities to this man were getting out of control. Why didn’t an immune set up the more she saw of him instead of a reaction the other way? A chemical bonding must have happened when she was otherwise occupied. Now she couldn’t shake it loose. Had she really tried? Really? She shook herself and reentered the room. Thank goodness the fragrance of a well-made pizza filled the kitchen, blocking out any other tempting aromas.

Chapter 9

With Jane riding shotgun, Cheryl turned into the gated subdivision and started calling out street names. An invading army would never find their way around this place, Cheryl thought. Perhaps this was in the planner’s mind when he laid out the initial design.

The homes were widely spaced with trees shading acres of well-kept lawn with foundation plantings, but with her expert eye, Cheryl could see few perennial gardens. Did her clients know their plans would stand their grounds out in a neighborhood that kept actual gardening to a minimum?
Not my problem, but I will warn them in advance of any actual work.

The house was large, about ten years old and to her critical eye, boring. And expensive. This couple was on the way up the corporate ladder. Not much to change. The acreage in back seemed to consist of scrub brush, first forestation, and native trees. The front was a sculptured lawn probably maintained by a service. Although the recent rain was helping, it was obvious the lawn suffered from heat, lack of water, and too many close mows. The service liked its money. A sprinkling system would have been an asset.

She wished the rain had actually stopped. The sun tried, but according to the weather report, bands of rain showers would continue to sweep the area at least through today. Jane and she were suitably decked out to walk the grounds, rain or shine, but it was always more pleasant to explore in dry weather. A phone call had alerted Betts, and she met them at the door.

“What can I get you? Tea? Coffee?” Her smile was almost blinding, but now Cheryl understood it was her way of chasing nerves.

She kept shaking her head no. “We just need access to your back acreage. I wouldn’t want the neighbors to call the police if they saw us. How about I stop back by here before we leave? By the way, this is my friend, Jane Stewart. She works with me.”

The two exchanged pleasantries and Cheryl headed for the back door. She wanted to get back to the Toledo job if the rain stopped long enough for the equipment to get in.
This shouldn’t take very long.

Cheryl was pleased her initial assessment was correct. This land was practically a blank canvas in spite of the beauty of the wild flowers that grew there. Most of the growth could be scraped out without any trouble. Shifting her eyes toward what she thought might be the very back of the lot, she could see the neighbor directly behind had a line of evergreens no doubt marking the property line. One good-sized oak tree beckoned her forward. They would make sure to save it. It was a sin to destroy a valuable hardwood tree that took so many years to grow.

Jane wandered off calling out that she had spotted wild black berries. Cheryl neared the oak and stared up into the branches admiring the strong, healthy specimen. The ground underneath and around the tree was barren, naked hard-packed earth, either from lack of water or from frequent picnic visitors in the past.

The wind puffed moisture-laden air toward her and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. She walked around the tree expecting to find an animal carcass, but it was a person instead, sitting upright leaning his head against the oak tree.

Dead. Very dead. Bugs were crawling out of places Cheryl didn’t want to contemplate. With a great deal of effort, she suppressed a scream. Hands shaking, she reached into her pocket for her cell and dialed 911. After she completed the call, she called out to her friend.

“Jane, can you come over here for a second?” She’d send Jane to inform Betts that the police would soon be arriving.

“Why are the police coming?” Jane asked. “What did we do wrong this time?”

Cheryl explained but recommended to Jane not to look around the tree.

“It’s not a pretty sight. You’d be better off not knowing.” Nausea rose up, and Cheryl felt slightly dizzy. The dank odor tickled her nose and she swallowed rapidly trying to control her senses. “I wish I hadn’t seen the poor man myself.”

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it. I’ll wait for you at the Malone’s house, all right?” She trudged through the brush, glancing back at Cheryl a time or two, her face a study in confusion with a smear of berry juice on her lips.

Cheryl shifted slightly to glance behind and spotted a shoe entangled in a short patch of wild St. John’s wort. She wasn’t certain it belonged to the dead man. She hadn’t noticed if he had on both his shoes. Then belatedly she remembered she shouldn’t be contaminating a crime scene and moved back to the safe side of the oak. In the distance, she heard the whine of police sirens. She breathed a sigh of relief. This was not a problem for her to solve.

When David arrived, she was standing alone out in the street. He jumped out of his car and gathered her firmly to him. For once, she relaxed and let herself be completely engulfed by those protective arms. They had been there for her when she was a frightened young girl and there for her now. Safe.

She needed to feel safe. The familiar smell of David surrounded her, and she snuggled her head on his chest, oblivious to the poke of a gun holster into her shoulder. He murmured soft words and squeezed her, comforting her as if she were still that ten-year-old who fell out of the apple tree.

“You okay, Cher? You’ll be just fine in a little bit. It’s upsetting to see violence like that. I know, honey. I know.” He cuddled her for a moment, leaning against her car.

Finally, she lifted her head. “I found one of your men, David. Did they tell you?”

He tucked her head back down on his chest.

“Yeah, baby. They told me. That’s how I knew where you were. What were you and Jane doing out there in the first place? How do you know these people?” He released her and they walked a little way toward his car.

“Potential clients. Only met them yesterday. My parents recommended them. They know them from the Country Club.” She shuddered, still trying to erase the visual of the dead man behind an oak tree.

David had shifted into full detective mode and gave her a glance that expressed doubt. He wasn’t rolling his eyes yet, she thought. Cheryl knew he had always considered the country club crowd snobs, although he respected her parents.

“What were you doing way back there? Weren’t the gardens closer to the house?” Still holding her hand firmly, he scanned the area.

Cheryl gulped and swallowed a hysterical giggle. She held tight to David’s hand, still needing the comfort of him near her.

“They want me to build them a golf practice area in their backyard.” She looked up at him and wondered why she spent so much time pushing him away. His solid chest and shoulders were almost like a barrier between her and a world gone weird.

“They want you to put a putting green in their backyard?” David shook his head. “Are they nuts? This is a restricted neighborhood.”

“Yes. I was just making a preliminary inspection of the grounds. I haven’t actually accepted the job.” She stepped away enough to see David’s face. “Who is that man? And who do you think shot him?”

“Well, you might have guessed he was a friend of Toledo’s. Yes, he’s one of the men in the photos we gave you, not from around here, but he was expected to show up in the area. Just not dead. This complicates the case.”

They stood silent for a minute, still holding hands, until Jane appeared leaving by the front door of the Malone’s house and started down the drive toward them. Cheryl let go of David’s hand. He tilted her chin up, inspecting her eyes and face critically.

“You gonna be all right? You want me to drive you home?”

With all my heart!
“No, Jane and I have other things we need to be doing this morning. Do you think you can come over tonight and tell me more about all this?”

He nodded but Cheryl could see he was distracted. He reached for his cell in the holder at his belt. Still murmuring into the phone, he pulled her to him from the nape of her neck. He planted a quick but firm kiss on her lips and strolled toward the black-and-white parked up the street. As he left, he was still concentrating on the phone conversation.

Jane gave a huge sigh as she climbed into Cheryl’s car. “I swear. Life with you is never dull. All the adventures we’ve had never included a dead body before. Who do you think that man was? Some burglar? What was he doing way back there?” She buckled her seat belt as Cheryl pulled swiftly out into traffic.

“I dunno to all your questions. Can we just concentrate on getting the heck out of here right now? David promised to come over tonight and give me more information. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out. I knew the minute I saw that couple there would be trouble. Some sort of premonition, don’t really know why. They seem nice enough, and it wasn’t their fault some man decided to die right there underneath their tree.” Cheryl couldn’t stop herself from shuddering. She wondered how long it would be before she stopped seeing that blank stare. “I hope I don’t dream about it.”

“Do you think he just sat down underneath the tree like Rip Van Winkle and went to sleep never to wake up?” Jane was obviously still mulling over the incident.

“He went to sleep, all right. He had a couple of holes in his forehead. Someone shot him.” Cheryl tried to suppress the memory.

“He was murdered! You didn’t tell me he was murdered. Oh, my. I can’t believe we found a murdered man. Did you tell David about that?” She wrung her hands in excitement.

“Yes, he knew. The uniform cops radioed him. He’s one of the detectives who will work on the case, probably. You want to go to lunch at my parents’ house? I could use some petting. How about you?”

Jane nodded enthusiastically. She knew the Esterbrooks would feed them well.

“This day is turning out to be a big surprise all around, isn’t it?” Jane asked. “First, we find a dead man, then we find out he’s murdered, then we get to have a special lunch with your parents. Wonder what the rest of the day will be like,” Jane said, giggling, only slightly hysterically.

“Did I tell you that I met the policeman who dragged you out of the old garden the other night? He asked about you. Nice-looking fellow.” Cheryl glanced sideways and saw Jane’s jaw drop.

“No, really, Cheryl? The big fellow? He kept apologizing for holding his hand over my mouth. Smelled like mint chocolate. He asked about me? What was his name?”

“Malcolm. I don’t know the rest. He plays volleyball with David, one of those noisy ones that come over. David invited them to meet me. They all apologized for the poor lily that was smashed.”

“He was cute. Do you suppose?” Jane subsided into thoughtful silence, which was Cheryl’s intent. She didn’t want to answer any more questions about the dead man.

Cheryl intended to quiz her parents about the Malone’s, but she kept quiet on that subject for now. No sense in alarming Jane more than she had to. Life was complicated enough as it was.

The Esterbrooks were just going out to the Country Club for lunch and insisted that Cheryl and Jane join them. Cheryl forgot how dependent they were on the dining room at their club. Just what they wanted to chat about over an elegant lunch. Who killed a man and dumped him on the Malone’s property? No, that wasn’t it. How did it happen that they’d recommended the Malone’s to Cheryl in the first place and had they any knowledge of their background?

Jane preempted her, of course. “You won’t believe what happened to us this morning,” she rattled off in a too loud voice. Cheryl tried to poke her underneath the table, but to no avail. “Oh, sorry.” Jane smiled at Cheryl and scooted her chair over a bit. 

“We went over to look at that backyard acreage . . . ouch!” She turned a wounded face to Cheryl. “Oh, okay. You wanted to tell your parents, didn’t you? I’ll keep quiet. See, I’m zipping my lips. I won’t say a word about what you found under the tree.”

“Too late. The beans are spilled. Tell all, daughter,” her father ordered.

Her mother’s eyes crinkled with worry while guilt raced through Cheryl’s stomach. She hated upsetting her mother.

“What happened?” her mother asked. “I worry about you off by yourself. You had Jane with you, though. Still, I just don’t know why you didn’t take over your father’s office. You got that business degree.” She rearranged the silverware beside her plate so that it was perfectly aligned. “It was so right for you.”

“Nothing exactly happened to me,” Cher explained. “I did want to ask you why you recommended me to the Malone’s. How well do you know them?” She had their attention now, and both focused on her with intent gazes. Her parents weren’t slow turtles. They read between the lines just fine.

“Not very well. We met them about a month ago here at the Club. Seemed a nice enough young couple. He’s in finance so I understand. Sounded similar to what my old office dealt in. The company he’s affiliated with is respectable, or at least used to be. I’m retired for five years now. Things change. Why do you ask, honey? Did you lose money with them?”

Before Cheryl could reply, her mother rushed to say, “We recommended them to you for your business. We didn’t mean for you to be forced to work for them. They talked about a big project. We thought it might give your little business a boost. Did it turn out wrong?” She clasped her hands together.

Her mom’s emotions were right out there for the world to see. Her dad was different. He had a pleasant expression turned to the world, but one never knew exactly what he was thinking. He was a ‘can do’ kind of fellow though. If she had a real problem, she wouldn’t hesitate to ask for his counsel. Usually he was very tactful.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Cheryl hedged. “Can we order first? I’m starving and I’m sure Jane is too.

Everyone agreed, and her dad called for the waiter.

“Unless you want to just eat from the buffet. Alaska salmon is the special.”

Cheryl couldn’t fathom eating fish of any kind today. In fact, she wasn’t sure she could eat anything at all. “I think one of your wonderful hamburgers with sweet-potato fries would suit me just fine,” she said.

“It really had nothing to do with me, Dad. I was walking the property and spotted this half-grown oak tree, a lovely specimen. I headed over that way—it sat right on the property line, I think. I wanted to be sure I could save it from the bulldozers.”