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  Chapter 18

  The sound of the surf pounding the shoreline is far more soothing than the sound of the live band that happens to be screaming into the mic at the moment.

  Fish and I weave our way back into the crowd where I spot Chris and his friends standing near the waterline, each with a drink in their hand, laughter in their throat.

  Within their circle, I spot Cameron speaking with a girl about my age.

  I can’t blame him for having a conversation with someone, but the way he’s leering at her, the way his hand is riding down her hip, it sure doesn’t look as if he’s mourning Kaitlynn too hard—that is, if they were getting back together. According to Cameron, they were still friends. But Chris did say she had a boyfriend.

  Speaking of Chris, he doesn’t look as if he’s mourning Kaitlynn too hard either, but at least he’s not pawing Sammy. That’s who he’s currently locked in a conversation with.

  That night comes back to me in snatches. Both Chris and Sammy were acting strange. But Sammy was the one talking about Kaitlynn in the past tense before it was ever revealed to her that Kaitlynn was dead. It does make me wonder if my theory is correct.

  Chris was acting funny, too. He had some drunk blonde pawing all over him, and he sure didn’t seem to mind. Then I distinctly remember him nodding at someone in the crowd as the sirens cut through the air. It was almost as if he were signaling them or acknowledging what the sirens could have meant.

  I spot Hannah standing off to the side, talking with a few girls, and her blonde hair flashes in the moonlight. A memory comes to me from the night of Kaitlynn’s murder. That drunk blonde in Chris’ lap. It was her. And oddly enough, Chris wasn’t pawing all over her. Hannah did insist Chris was seeing someone and that it wasn’t her. I suppose it could still be true.

  And just beyond her I see Jeannie Branch and Rissa in what looks to be a heated conversation.

  Huh. That’s funny. It almost looks as if they’re having the same heated argument Rissa and Kaitlynn were having the night she was killed. Maybe that’s a personality quirk of Rissa’s? Maybe she’s a loud and animated talker? Or maybe she’s just hard to get along with. She does seem to be the constant in the equation.

  Fish rubs up against my chin. Don’t you think we should be getting back to the stand? I have a bad feeling about this, Bizzy. Maybe that obnoxious detective was right. The last thing we want is to get involved with someone dangerous.

  “There are a million people here tonight. I doubt I’m in any danger at all.”

  Weren’t there a million people here the night poor Kaitlynn was murdered?

  “All right, smarty paws. Point proven.” I decide to walk by Kaitlynn’s beautiful and polished friends, and sure enough not one of them seems to notice me. And why would they? They’re all too busy having a great time. I’m sure Kaitlynn would have wanted it that way. She was a sweet soul. I didn’t need to know her for a year to figure that out.

  Rissa and Jeannie hit the crescendo of their argument, and they both stalk off in opposite directions at once like a couple of balls on the pool table that were just hit with force.

  Rissa takes off toward Sammy and Chris, but Jeannie makes a dash toward the boulders that lead to the woods. It’s quiet out that way and the perfect place to think—or the perfect place to sulk after an argument.

  “Jeannie,” I call out and quickly catch up to her.

  She turns and offers a bleak smile my way. “Oh hi, Bizzy. I was about to visit your booth. But I had a nasty run-in with a friend. Lucky for you, I like to eat my feelings. I’ll take two dozen of those cinnamon rolls, and I’m not kidding.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  A dull laugh pumps from her as she gives Fish a quick pat.

  “It was, but it’s over now. I’m pretty good at letting things slide off my back. I like to save my revenge for later.” She gives a wicked grin.

  I swallow hard. “Jeannie, your father, his last name is different than yours. Can I ask why?”

  Her eyes widen a moment. “He went to prison.” She shrugs. “It wasn’t his fault, but I don’t even bother telling people that anymore. No one believes me. They say, ‘Sure, everyone in prison is innocent. Isn’t that what they all say?’” She rolls her eyes, and they flash in the dark.

  “It was Kaitlynn’s father who did the crime, wasn’t it?”

  Her mouth falls open. “You know? I didn’t think anyone knew that.”

  “Yes, I know. You mentioned you were new to Cider Cove. But Kaitlynn knew who you were.”

  She shakes her head. “We moved here. Kaitlynn’s family is from Rose Glen. We never talked about it. She never wanted it to affect our friendship.”

  “But it did. How could it not? Is that why you went after Chris?”

  Jeannie inches back as if I slapped her. “What?” How does she know that? And what else could she possibly know?

  Fish lets out a growling meow. She’s frightened. Let’s get back, Bizzy. We’re too far from the crowd. I don’t feel safe out here with her.

  Fish sprints out of my arms and darts between my ankles.

  My adrenaline kicks in as Jeannie takes a full step back and I close in on her.

  “You killed her, didn’t you? Chris broke it off with you that night. Is that why you did it? He wanted to go back to her. He chose her over you.” My panting becomes wild as I lock eyes with her. “Jeannie, this was clearly a crime of passion. I’m sure you were overwhelmed at the moment. An insanity plea could work for you.”

  Her chest bucks, her face grows strangely blank and her eyes vacant as if she were reliving that awful night.

  “I didn’t mean to do it. She was arguing with Rissa”—her voice grows tight and angry—“over that stupid, stupid boyfriend of theirs.”

  “Of theirs?”

  “Yes.” She gives a caustic nod. “That’s who Kaitlynn was seeing. She was seeing Ben.”

  “Not Cameron?”

  My God. Chris knew she was seeing someone else. He assumed it was Cameron. He was wrong. And that night of her death—Kaitlynn told me it was a friend of hers dating Rissa’s boyfriend. And if Jeannie is right, Kaitlynn herself was that friend. Of course, she wouldn’t admit it.

  A husky laugh comes from Jeannie. “Chris was her cover. Chris became whatever lie she needed to plug a hole, and he was always up for a game. He still loved her. But so did Ben. He even gave Kate a ring.” She gets a far-off look in her eyes once again. “Rissa knew that someone close to her was the problem. She just didn’t know how close. I told her tonight. She hated Kaitlynn for a number of reasons, but she still didn’t believe me. I don’t even know why I bothered. But Kaitlynn came up in our conversation, and I thought she’d want the truth. Do you want to know what the irony is? Kaitlynn decided at the last minute not to break up with Chris. On the night she died, once Rissa took off and I had a moment alone with Kaitlynn, she told me she couldn’t go through with it. She wasn’t going to break up with Chris after all. She said she could tell something was changing inside him, and maybe, just maybe, their love stood a chance. She was leaving Ben. She called him a mistake.”

  “And that’s where the rage came from.” I nod as I say it. “Kaitlynn was holding the knife, wasn’t she? It belonged to the inn. It was from a table she was bussing. Your pent-up rage from what her father did to yours, in addition to the thought of Chris and Kaitlynn reuniting, pushed you to the brink. It only makes sense. You were blind with rage—you were alone with her, and you killed her.”

  “I wasn’t alone with Kaitlynn.” She looks past me into the crowd. “Sammy saw everything.”

  “What? Sammy witnessed it?” My heart riots clear up into my ears, detonating with every beat. “Of course, she did. That’s why she spoke about Kaitlynn in past tense the night she was murdered.”

  “She saw.” Jeannie nods as if she were coming to. “She didn’t know how bad Kate’s injuries were until later, but she wanted to stay out of it. She wanted to let us deal with things on our own.
Sammy has never been one to get her hands dirty. She asked me to confess. I told her I would, but one day turned into two, and then a week went by and here we are. I thought I might actually get away with it. But that’s not the case, is it?” Her eyes ignite with fury.

  “Jeannie, you didn’t even bring the murder weapon with you that night. There’s still time to go to the sheriff’s department and turn yourself in. I can go with you if you like. This wasn’t premeditated.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” Her eyes dart to mine, cold and dangerous. “And neither was this.”

  Jeannie grabs ahold of my arms and throws me down to the boulders, sending the back of my head against the rock with a thump.

  Fish lets out a riotous roar and tries to jump between us, but Jeannie grabs my shoulders once again and does her best to beat my head against the granite.

  My vision blurs. I see stars, and not the ones overhead. It takes everything in me to latch onto her shirt and give a firm shove to her chest. I pull myself upright, and I fight—I wrestle her right over the damp sand as a wave slaps down over the two of us, hard.

  “Oh God!” A horrific cry comes from me as I struggle to get away from the water.

  Fish lets out another howling roar before darting off in the sand. And I won’t lie. My heart sinks at the prospect of being alone out here in the dark, too far from the crowd for anyone to hear or see us.

  Another wave lands over us, and this one drags us off with it as it surges back to sea. Please God, anything but this. Struggle as I might, Jeannie won’t let go. Instead, she does her best to hold me under as we bob and weave in the restless sea.

  “Stop it!” I howl in her face as we come up for air, her fingernails digging into my neck as she struggles to pull me under the water once again. “You don’t have to do this!”

  “I’m sorry, Bizzy.” She pulls me farther into the ocean as her body trembles hard from the icy brine and it’s as if she’s having a seizure. “I’ll make it look like an accident.” She submerges my face into the water and lies over my back as if she were using me as a floatation device. That day, all those years ago in the whiskey barrel, comes back to me and it’s as if Mack herself is holding me down once again.

  I struggle to grab ahold of her as my body does its best to twist to safety, but Jeannie proves immovable.

  Can’t breathe. Can’t hold my breath another moment longer.

  Bizzy!

  I buck as I hear an all too familiar voice.

  Hold on!

  It’s Sherlock.

  I buck and writhe in what just might be my final moments.

  I need air.

  Just one breath.

  It’s too painful to deny myself the pleasure of breathing. Taking in a lungful of water would be better than this. And I’m about to do just that when her hold on me loosens and I cork to the surface, coughing and sputtering.

  “Bizzy!”

  I turn to find Jasper running this way and Sherlock attached to the back of Jeannie’s shirt by his teeth.

  Jasper quickly subdues her and has her in handcuffs. He puts in a call, and in no time a swarm of deputies surround us.

  “She did it,” I gasp, staggering my way over to the nearest boulder. “She confessed. She killed Kaitlynn Zimmerman.”

  “Bizzy.” Jasper pulls me in, wrapping his arms around me tight. “What were you thinking?” He leans back. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you running after a sus—”

  I pull him down by the neck and crash my mouth to his, landing a heartfelt kiss of gratitude right over his lips. Jasper softens to me, moaning as our kiss becomes something less than chaste, and we indulge in something far headier than I could have ever hoped for.

  We part ways, and I bat my lashes up at him and shrug.

  “I couldn’t think of a better way to keep you from lecturing me.”

  A crooked grin ignites over his face. “I like your methods. And do you know what else I like?” His finger brushes over my cheek. “You, warm and dry.” He takes off his jacket and lands it around my shoulders, and I stop shivering for just a moment. “Truce?”

  “Truce,” I say, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Please tell me, right now, if you have any plans on seeing Mayor Woods. Because if you do, I’ll have to bow out graciously. I’m not interested in the drama she brings to the table.”

  He shakes his head. “She’s not my type.”

  “Oh? You have a type?” I can’t help but be amused—and elated to hear it.

  “Yes, in fact, I do. About yea tall.” He lands his hand to the top of my head. “Gorgeous blue eyes, dark hair, lips that I can’t get my mind off of. Feisty. Maybe a teeny bit stubborn—but challenging, and I like a good challenge.” He takes a quick breath. “And full disclosure, Mayor Woods offered me drinks at her place, and I declined. Now that was not a challenge. And even if it was, it would have been the wrong one.” He dots another kiss to my lips. “I’m not in the least bit interested in Mayor Woods. I’m interested in you, Bizzy.”

  “What a coincidence,” I say, my gaze unable to look away from those magnetic silver eyes. “I’m interested in you.”

  Jasper bows down to kiss me just as Sherlock barks into the night, and we glance that way to find Fish nestled beside him as if warming herself against his fur.

  We share a laugh at the two of them, and Jasper ticks his head to the side.

  “It’s funny”—he says—“this is exactly where it all began.”

  My mouth falls open. “You’re right. This is where we met. And on that day you were equally as soaked. But no need to reprise that.”

  “How about we start a new tradition? Warm cider and a fire at my place? I also have to question you and take a full report of tonight’s incident.”

  “Only if I can get a shower and my sweats on beforehand.”

  “Sounds like a good deal.”

  The deputies take Jeannie in, and Jasper takes me back to his place for questioning.

  And I start each answer with a kiss.

  Chapter 19

  The Country Cottage Café is brimming with people. It’s the final Saturday of September, and fall is in full swing. The inn is nearly booked to capacity once again, and it seems everyone in Cider Cove is breathing a little easier now that Kaitlynn’s killer is behind bars.

  Jeannie was booked and charged with second-degree murder. And Sammy was implicated in trying to help conceal a homicide. They’ve both secured top-notch lawyers, and the rest is entirely up to our legal system.

  Jasper and Sherlock enter the café, and my heart skips a beat for the both of them. Jasper has on his jeans and a sweater and looks as if he’s ready to cozy up next to a fire. And if I get my way, I’ll be right there to cozy up with him.

  Bizzy! Sherlock barks. Where’s Fish? I’ve got a bone to pick with her. She usually jumps out of the bushes as soon as I leave the cottage, and she wasn’t there to greet me properly this morning.

  I wrinkle my nose at the adorable pooch as I lean over the counter. “Well, hello there, Inspector Sherlock. I bet you’re wondering where Fish is. She’s outside on the patio just waiting to pop out and greet you.”

  Sherlock jumps and barks while looking at his owner, and Jasper laughs.

  “It’s almost as if he understood you.” He lifts a brow my way, and I lean across the counter and land a kiss right over his lips. “I’ll have Sherlock save me a seat outside, and I’ll be right back to put in an order.”

  “I’ll be right here waiting.”

  Mom, my sister, and Georgie wander in, bundled in sweaters and scarves. Macy has a fantastic pair of boots on that I lent her a few years back. Wait a minute. Did I lend those to her? I’m starting to think Macy has gone shopping in my closet one too many times.

  “Guess what?” Macy grins so hard it’s practically electric. Normally, this wouldn’t faze me, but considering the source of that brimming smile, I’m a touch worried about whatever might pop from her mouth next. “Mom is finally bringing her mystery man a
round, and we’ll get to meet him in the flesh!”

  An entire stream of words gets trapped in my throat. “Really?” I lift a brow my mother’s way, and she gives a sly nod.

  I made my mother promise she wouldn’t say a word to Macy regarding the fact she was dating Jasper’s brother. In fact, I haven’t said a word to Jasper—in part due to the fact I was certain it would never last.

  It’s not going to last. Right?

  A mild sense of panic grips me. “When is this miracle going to take place?”

  Mom leans in. “This Saturday. His restaurant was one of many that was asked to cater the Haunted Harvest Festival being held at the orchard. I’m going to help him make the delivery and set everything up. And rumor has it, he wants to take me on a haunted hayride.” She’s quick to wave it off with a smile.

  Macy looks as if she can hardly catch her breath. “Do you see this, Bizzy? Mom has a date on a haunted hayride. And who do I have to spook me properly? This is precisely why I need you to introduce me to those Wilder brothers.”

  Jasper pops up just in time, and Georgie makes wild eyes at me. “Here’s one now, Bizzy. You’d better put your mark on him before Macy goes for the kill.” She winks over at poor Jasper who looks mildly concerned and with good reason.

  “Speak of the devil.” Macy turns his way. “Rumor has it, you have not one but three eligible bachelors in your family.” She pulls at a blonde lock of hair while batting her lashes up at him. “How soon can I meet these brothers of yours? And do you have photos and phone numbers I can have in the meantime?”

  Jasper’s cheek bounces with a brief smile. “One of them is dating.” He shrugs. “I hear it’s some hot woman from Cider Cove.” He tips his head toward Macy. “It’s not you, is it?”

  Mom clears her throat and shakes her head my way in the event I was about to spill her secret. Little does she know I’d go to the ends of the earth to protect it. I’m not exactly thrilled we’re dating brothers. And add Macy to the mix? This could get ugly.