Chapter Eighteen
The lights were on outside behind the inn, their reflection glittering on the snow. Even so, it looked dark to me. The weekend was almost over; most of the holiday guests had already left. Those remaining would be inside now, resting from the day’s activities or getting ready for cocktail hour. The area around the skating shack was deserted.
Our boots crunched in the snow as we made our way down the path. I remembered what Sean had said about eyes watching us. The thought should have been reassuring, but somehow it wasn’t. Instead my skin crawled.
Beside me, Bertie was strolling along as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The backpack was slung over her shoulder. She was whistling a song under her breath. I didn’t recognize the tune.
As if she’d read my mind, she looked over at me and said, “ ‘Camptown Races.’ ”
“You’re kidding.” I almost laughed. Maybe that was her objective. “Doo-dah? Doo-dah?”
“It sounds stupid when you say it like that,” Bertie replied. “You’re supposed to sing it.”
“That is so not happening.”
When I turned my gaze forward again, I saw that we’d walked farther than I’d thought. The rear wall of the shack was right in front of us. Its door was around the other side, facing the pond. I looked at my watch.
“Five fifty-five,” I said. “I guess we should go inside and wait. I hope Cliff didn’t play us for a couple of fools.”
“I’m hoping the same thing about you,” a voice came to us suddenly out of the dark.
I jumped, then spun around. Cliff materialized out of the shadows. He was dressed all in black, with a knit cap pulled low over his head. He was carrying a satchel in his hands. His gaze went immediately to the backpack. I imagined him licking his lips in anticipation.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said. Surely those unseen watchers would be as reliable as witnesses as the cameras inside the shack. “We can make the switch right here.”
“No.” Bertie’s refusal was firm. “Not until I’ve looked inside the bag and seen what he’s brought us.”
“Same goes for me,” Cliff said. “And out here, anyone could see us.”
One could only hope, I thought.
We walked around the corner of the small building. Cliff pushed the door open and motioned for us to precede him inside. Plain wooden benches lined the windowless shack’s slatted sides. A covered lightbulb hanging from the ceiling provided only minimal illumination. Dozens of pairs of ice skates, their laces knotted together, hung from hooks along the walls.
Cliff walked in behind us, but didn’t close the door. A moment later, I saw why. Harley Jones came striding through the narrow doorway after him. Then the door was shut.
Bertie and I looked at each other. We’d barely gotten started and already things weren’t going according to plan.
“This isn’t what we agreed to,” I said.
Harley squinted at me in the half-light, then frowned. “You didn’t tell me she was going to be here,” he said to Cliff.
Cliff was surprised. “You two know each other?”
“We’ve met,” he grunted. “She was on the hayride, night before last. Asking questions about Belinda.”
“What kinds of questions?”
“The nosy kind,” Harley replied. “I don’t like how this feels.”
In the close confines of the shack, Bertie and I were forced to stand way too close to the two men. When Harley suddenly reached out, he was able to snatch the backpack off Bertie’s shoulder before she’d even realized what he was doing.
“Hey!” She tried to grab it back.
Harley held the bag off to one side, out of reach. He unzipped the top and looked inside, then smiled.
“Did they bring the money?” Cliff asked.
Harley nodded.
“Did you bring the drugs?” Bertie demanded. “Because I’m not handing over the money until I see what you’ve brought.”
“That’s funny,” Harley said with a snide grin. “Because it looks to me like we already have both.”
Bertie and I hadn’t even been in the skate shack for two minutes before losing control of the situation. I hoped Sean and the sheriff were seeing and hearing what they needed.
“Let’s just make the deal and get out of here,” said Cliff.
Bertie held out her hand. He started to give her the bag, but before he could hand it over, Harley pulled him back.
“Not so fast,” he said. “How do we know these two are on the up-and-up?”
“Because we did our part,” Bertie retorted. “Go ahead and count the money. It’s all there. Then give us the oxycodone and get lost.”
Harley shook his head. “Something about this deal is giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
Cliff turned and stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about that one being mixed up somehow with Belinda.” Harley nodded toward me. “It doesn’t feel right. I think we should just take the money and go.”
“You’re going to rob us?” Bertie sputtered in outrage.
Harley laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “It’s not like you can stop us.”
“What do we do about them?” Cliff asked. My stomach dropped. So far he’d had a moderating effect on Harley. Now it sounded as though he was coming around to Harley’s way of thinking.
“Let’s tie them up and leave them here. Those skate laces should do the trick. By the time anyone finds them, we’ll be long gone.” Harley reached for the nearest pair of skates and pulled it down from the wall. I began to shiver as he deftly began to unknot the laces. “Or maybe after we’re far enough away, I’ll call Evelyn. She can get rid of them the same way she got rid of Belinda.”
Bertie’s hand reached over and grasped mine. I was pretty sure she was shaking too. I squeezed her fingers and hoped we’d been right to put our trust in Sean.
“You don’t want to do this,” Bertie said to Cliff. “Don’t let him convince you to do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
“Shut up, both of you,” Harley snapped. “You girls aren’t nearly as clever as you think, coming out here all by yourselves. Don’t worry, you’ll be a little cold at first, but after that Evelyn will fix you right up. All things considered, it isn’t a bad way to go.”
It felt as though I’d run through the entire gamut of emotions in the past several minutes. By turns, I’d been nervous, then frustrated, and then afraid. But now I was angry.
“Is that the last thing you said to Belinda?” I demanded.
Harley glared at me, his eyes glittering with malice. He pulled the first two long laces free and handed them to Cliff. “Belinda was already dead by the time I brought her out here.”
“You dumped her in the snow like she was nothing.”
“That bitch was nothing,” Harley replied. “Just another stupid little girl who was too nosy for her own good.”
His hand came up and shoved my shoulder. I stumbled back against a bench and lost my balance. My shoulder bounced off the wall.
“Put your hands behind your back so he can tie them,” Harley ordered. “And if you don’t stop talking, I’ll find something to gag you with too.”
Suddenly there was a loud crash. The slatted door splintered and flew inward. “Police!” Sheriff Finley shouted. “Stop what you’re doing and put your hands in the air.”
My knees went weak as a wave of relief swept through me. I looked over at Bertie and knew she felt the same way. We were probably thinking the same thing too.
Finally! What had taken them so long?
* * *
Later Sean explained that they would have broken up the meeting sooner except the more Harley and Cliff talked, the more trouble they got themselves into. Having them also incriminate Evelyn, and accuse her of administering the overdose that had killed Belinda, was an unforeseen but welcome bonus to the case the DEA would be building.
By the time I heard all that, I was back in my room at the inn with Sam and Faith. Both of them had welcomed me as if I’d been gone for days rather than a mere half hour. It had felt much longer to me too.
In my absence, Sam had packed our bags. Next door, Frank had done the same with their things. Rather than celebrating Valentine’s Day with a romantic evening, the five of us would be spending it on the road heading home. That felt like the best idea I’d heard in a long time.
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” I said when we spoke to Sean before we left.
By that time, Sheriff Finley had already taken Harley, Cliff, and Evelyn into custody. The trio had quickly turned on each other, spending much of the trip into town denouncing their partners in crime. Sean assured me that when the time came to press charges, both law enforcement agencies would have plenty of material to work with.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Evelyn was the one who asked me to look into Belinda’s death. Under the circumstances, why did she do that?”
Sean grinned. “Apparently she didn’t have much faith in your abilities. She thought what Bertie told her was a joke. However Evelyn was concerned about what Sheriff Finley might uncover. She decided it might be a good thing to have you running interference. She hoped that would distract the sheriff long enough for her to have time to cover her tracks.”
“That’s insulting,” I said.
“Except that you proved her wrong,” Sam pointed out. “Now Evelyn is the one left looking foolish.”
Sean nodded. “Trust me, she’ll have a long time in jail to think about that mistake.”
* * *
We arrived home half an hour before midnight. Technically it was still Valentine’s Day. Our house was dark. Aunt Peg, the boys, and our Poodle pack were already asleep. Bertie and Frank’s minivan was parked at the back of our driveway. They quietly transferred their things from one vehicle to the other and left.
Sam and I remained in the SUV for a few minutes before going inside. Faith was asleep on the seat behind us, her nose nestled between her front paws. There was snow on the ground and frost on the car windows, but it was warm and cozy inside.
“I’m afraid today wasn’t much of a Valentine’s celebration,” I said.
Sam smiled. “Actually the long weekend was great up until the last day. It was nice to have a chance to get away together.”
“I agree.” I leaned across the console and rested my head on his shoulder. Through the windshield I could see that the night sky was filled with stars. “I’d planned to buy you a bottle of wine. And maybe some buttercream fudge. Then suddenly everything got away from me.”
“I can understand why single-handedly cornering a band of drug dealers might cause that to happen.”
“It wasn’t just me. Bertie helped.”
Sam chuckled. “I noticed. Frank spent the entire time you two were gone swearing under his breath and pacing around the room. They’ll probably never go on a vacation with us again.”
I sat up and looked at him. “What did you do while we were gone?”
“I cradled Faith in my arms and told myself I had to trust that you knew what you were doing.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Sam shook his head. “You’re wrong. I wasn’t any happier about the situation than Frank was. To distract myself from worrying about what was happening, I finally decided to count up all the reasons why I love you.”
“Oh?” I asked with interest. “How many were there?”
“At least a hundred.”
“I don’t think so. That sounds excessive.”
“I know. I was as surprised as you are,” Sam replied. “Go ahead,” I told him. “Start with number one.”
He pulled me into his arms for a long, lingering kiss. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather show you.”