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Shandra rolled her shoulders and sat up straight. She’d been hunched over the computer for too long. Ryan should be arriving soon.
Sheba rose to her feet and walked down the hallway to the back door. Before Shandra could get the computer off her lap and her feet untangled from the blanket she’d wrapped around her legs, the big dog woofed to go outside.
“I’ll be there in a minute.” She stepped out of the blanket pooled around her feet and headed to the hallway. Sheba’s wagging tail caused a breeze, sending chills across Shandra’s exposed skin.
She opened the door and the dog bounded out into the cold evening air. A quick swing through the kitchen for a cup of hot cocoa and she returned to the couch. The notepad she’d used to scribble down her findings sat on the coffee table. She picked it up and leaned back. What was a hit man doing in Huckleberry in the ’70s? The same time Donald Kerby worked for Mr. Narvel. They’d discovered during the murder of Mrs. Narvel that her husband had used mob money to build the ski resort and town. Perhaps a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Aducci was in order tomorrow.
Her eyes closed and she breathed in and out, ignoring the questions plaguing her mind. She drifted into that realm between consciousness and not quite sleep.
She stood on the edge of a cliff, staring into the unending gap below. Ella appeared, floating in the air above the abyss. “Grandmother, why am I here?” The wispy image pointed across the chasm to the other side. A man and woman argued. She couldn’t tell who they were, only see the dark silhouettes against the blinding yellow of the sun. “Who are they Ella?” Someone sneaked up behind the man. She saw the raised arm holding a revolver. “No! Don’t!”
“Shandra, wake up. Shandra?” A hand shook her gently.
She slowly released the dream and came awake. Ryan’s face came into view. A smile tugged her lips. “My dreams aren’t so bad when I wake and see you.”
He grinned. “Was this a dream with your grandmother?”
“Yes.” She told him about the dream and how she’d felt the man was in danger. “I don’t understand. Is it Maxwell who is in danger or was it showing me what happened that caused Donald Kerby to run?” She shook her head. “I’m so confused.”
“Let’s go to bed and tackle it in the morning.” Ryan grasped her hand, helping Shandra to her feet.
“Did you find out who gave the letters to Ruthie?” She picked up her full cup of cocoa and headed for the kitchen.
“It was Nattie. Zelda called her asking about the letters. Nattie didn’t know about them but put things together and decided Chea did. She tore her daughter’s room apart and found them.”
“So was someone watching Nattie and knew the letters had been delivered?” Shandra spun from putting the cup in the sink. “Is Nattie now in danger?”
“I would guess someone learned about the letters from Zelda and her call to Nattie. Then someone watched Mrs. Small and followed her. Saw her put the box at the diner steps and couldn’t get to it before you picked it up. To get rid of the letters, they improvised an easy accelerant and tossed it through the kitchen window. The only good thing is no one but Ruthie, Maxwell, you, and I, know the letters weren’t burned.”
Ryan maneuvered her back through the great room. Sheba raised her head from her bed by the fireplace. “Are you staying there?” Ryan asked.
The dog flopped her head back down.
“You must have let Sheba in when you came home.” Shandra slipped into bed.
“I did.” He went in the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for bed.
Shandra wanted to talk more about what they’d each learned but her eyes wouldn’t stay open.
~*~
Shandra woke early the next morning. The dream she’d had while on the couch returned to her as she’d slept. This time she didn’t shout. She waited to see what would happen. The man with the gun forced the man with the woman to leave. He didn’t kill him.
She padded through the great room with Sheba trotting ahead of her. At the laundry room, Shandra asked, “Do you want fed or go outside?”
Sheba grabbed the handle on what was supposed to be a laundry bin but instead held the large bag of dog food.
“Breakfast it is.” Shandra poured food into Sheba’s bowl and refilled the two-quart water bowl.
In the kitchen, she started coffee brewing for Ryan and put the kettle on for her tea. By the time she had pancakes whipped up and the coffee had brewed, Ryan walked into the room.
“Smells good.” He started to give her a morning hug when Sheba woofed. “I’ll get that.” He left the room to let the dog out.
Shandra set the stack of cooked pancakes on the counter along with butter and syrup. “Go ahead and start,” she said when Ryan returned.
“Did you have any more dreams last night?” he asked, taking a seat on a stool.
“The same one as before, only I waited and the man with the weapon forced the other man to leave. Do you think it was Donald being forced to leave? But by who?” She sat down next to Ryan and placed a plate of fried eggs on the counter between them.
“It seems that he was forced to leave everyone he cared about behind when he left. If it had been something he wanted to do, I would have thought he’d have taken his wife and daughter or at least his lover and his daughter.”
Shandra snapped her attention on Ryan. “Lover? Where did you learn that?”
Ryan mentally slapped himself. He hadn’t meant for that to slip out. That’s what came of talking over his cases with Shandra. He forgot this case needed to be kept to himself to avoid the wrong information getting out. Like that Donald had been fooling around with Ruthie’s teacher. He shoved a big bite of pancake in his mouth.
Shandra peered at him with narrowed eyes. When he swallowed, she launched. “Who was Donald Kerby’s lover? How did you find out? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
He held up a hand, palm toward her. “Whoa. I’m the officer working the case. I don’t have to tell you everything I learn.”
The warm amber eyes he’d found so interesting when they’d met were now giving off an icy glow. “Since when have you started not telling me everything? We work together as a team even though your superiors don’t know that. Or have you decided that my dreams and the information you gather can’t be meshed together to find the truth anymore?”
Ryan dropped his fork and grasped her right hand. “I believe in your dreams and your ability to ferret out the truth, but in this case, you are close to Ruthie. I didn’t want you having to lie to her or Maxwell because I gave you information that would upset her.”
She stared into his eyes. “That’s why you didn’t tell me about the lover? To make sure Ruthie didn’t find out?”
“Yes. You know I don’t lie or withhold anything from you. But in this case, I’m not only protecting you, I’m protecting Ruthie.” He ducked his head then peered into her eyes. “I care about you and I care about Ruthie. You two are good friends. I don’t want this investigation to come between you.”
She leaned forward and kissed his lips. “Okay, I’ll let this little secret you have stay that way. For Ruthie’s sake.”
“Thank you.”
Shandra picked up her fork, moving pieces of pancake around on her plate. “But if you found out about the lover, won’t Ruthie?”
“According to my source, the affair was kept very quiet, because of Ruthie. I’ve been guaranteed no one knew about it.” He put another bite in his mouth.
“Someone knows. What about Zelda? Wouldn’t she know if her husband was fooling around?” She gave him a sideways glance. “I’d know if you were.”
He swallowed the bite with a chaser of coffee. “You would know because you are an observant woman who can tell when people aren’t being natural. However, with Zelda, you’re talking about a woman who was drunk or high most of the time. I doubt she even knew when her husband was home or when he was gone.”
“True. But this is a small community. Someone would have noticed Donald’s car always at someone’s house or a motel.”
“I’ve had the same thoughts. It’s something I need to ask the person in question.” He slipped off the stool. “Gotta go. I need to talk with Zelda this morning. If she is the only one besides Chea and Nattie to know about the letters, she had to have slipped about them to someone. I need to find out her hang outs and see who frequents them. You up for a date night when I find out what bars she haunts?”
“I’ll take a date night with you any time, even if we’re looking for perps.”
Ryan laughed at Shandra’s attempt to sound like a policeman. “I’ll come pick you up about six.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“What are you doing today?” Ryan asked.
She was in between projects which meant she was waiting for an idea to hit for her next vase. Some days she rode the mountain, some days she sat in the sun with a sketch pad.
“I’m going to check on Ruthie and Maxwell and help them clean up the diner if that’s all that needs done.”
“Be careful. We don’t know if there will be any more attempts on them. I’ll have the sheriff put out a press release that a box of letters from Ruthie’s deceased father burned in the blaze. That will keep them safe.”
Shandra threw her arms around him. “Thank you! I’ve been worrying about those two ever since I saw Maxwell carry Ruthie out of the smoking diner.”
“You’re welcome. See you tonight.” He kissed her lips and headed to the great room. He picked up his computer bag, grabbed his coat, and headed out to his work vehicle. After talking with Zelda, he would track down Orin Kerby. He had a sneaking suspicion the man was behind everything that had happened to his brother.