Copper Lake Encounter Page 11

  Maneuvering her eggs onto the toast halves, Nev cut into one and let the yolk spread over the bread and onto the plate. “News gets around fast here, doesn’t it?”

  Anamaria laughed. “Incredibly. Let’s see...you went to services at Mount Olive on Sunday, had dinner with Mr. Obadiah and Ty that afternoon, captured Daisy when she made a break for freedom, spent part of the day with Sophy and the girls and had dinner with Ty at B-Jay’s. Oh, and kissed him right down the street.”

  Her face warming, Nev took a bite to delay responding. The egg was perfect, the sourdough buttery-crusty on the outside, soft inside. Delicious. “You forgot to mention my breakfast yesterday with Kiki Isaacs.”

  “I didn’t forget. I just try not to talk about Kiki, especially here. She tried to arrest my friend—” she nodded toward the kitchen door “—for murder a few years ago, so her name is best not spoken here.”

  After casually dropping that tidbit—murder?—she went right on. “I thought I might run into you today, so I brought something for you.” Reaching into her large shoulder bag, she pulled out a bouquet wrapped in waxed paper and paper toweling and laid it on the table between them.

  Nev stared, the goose bumps popping up again. Slowly lowering her fork, she picked up the bouquet and inhaled deeply of the flowers nestled inside. Dahlias and daisies. Her chest tightened, forcing her to breathe shallowly. Okay, Anamaria was a friend of Ty’s and probably of Sophy’s, too. Either of them could have told her about the flowers Nev had given the girls, about Daisy’s pleasure at getting daisies and Dahlia’s disappointment at not getting dahlias.

  But neither Ty nor Sophy knew that she’d gone to the flower shop again yesterday afternoon and asked the clerk about dahlias. The guy had said he could order them, but they wouldn’t come in until their next delivery on Saturday.

  “Do you know the clerk at the flower shop down the street?”

  Anamaria shrugged. “I grow my own flowers.”

  “So who told you—” Nev stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m forgetting the manners YaYa taught me. Thank you very much. Dahlia will be thrilled.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  But who told you? How did you know I wanted dahlias?

  After studying her a long moment, Anamaria asked, “Have we met before? You seem very familiar.”

  “I don’t think so.” Not even in her dreams. Though Nev could easily imagine the little girl in her dream with the light laugh, the slender brown legs and the long dark curls growing into this beautiful woman. “This is my first time in Copper Lake, and I’ve never been to Savannah.”

  Fine lines appeared between the other woman’s eyes. “Hmm. You remind me of...” She shrugged. “Of someone. Someplace. Another time. I don’t know.”

  If Anamaria was the little girl from the dream, all grown up, was it possible she had similar dreams? If Nev could see her, could Anamaria also see her?

  There was no way to find out, since there was no way Nev would tell her about the dreams. She never shared them with anyone besides YaYa, not since the first one that had come true. It hadn’t been anything major: a dream about a friend of Lima’s losing her job because of the boss’s wife’s jealousy. When it had happened a few days later, Lima had looked at her as if...

  She’d never identified that look. She didn’t like to remember that day. Was it anger, horror, fear, disgust, loathing? Some combination of them all? But she’d learned to never confide in anyone besides YaYa after that.

  She also wasn’t about to ask Anamaria about the newspaper article regarding a local man’s death that had mentioned her. That was way too blunt and nosy, and while it was fine to be curious, being nosy crossed the line.

  “I understand that Ty’s house used to belong to your family,” she said, watching Anamaria’s face for tiny changes in her expression. “Mr. Obadiah said you were a wild child, playing in the woods, fishing, going to the river. It must have been wonderful, having all that freedom to run.”

  Sadness underlay Anamaria’s smile. “It was a wonderful time that ended all too soon. My mother died while we were there.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It was a great place, though. Mama and I used to play in the rain, quacking like ducks until we got too tired from laughing. We went back and forth to the river so much that we beat down a trail in the weeds, and we fished, swam, waded or just sat on the bank talking.” She smiled again, faintly. “I’m glad Ty’s living there. The house needs attention and laughter and family, and he’ll give it that.”

  “He’s certainly giving it a lot of attention.”

  That piqued Anamaria’s interest. “Ooh, he’s invited you in. What did you think?”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Except...?”

  Her grin was so mischievous and knowing that Nev couldn’t help but respond. “The kitchen is very...gray.”

  Anamaria laughed, a delighted sound so familiar to Nev from the dreams. “Exactly. So...you’ll be staying in Copper Lake awhile.”

  “Oh, no, only until Sunday.”

  Anamaria laid her hand over Nev’s, and this time she felt something. Not quite a spark, not a surprise, just a tiny little tingle that started in the center of her palm and dissipated before reaching her wrist. “Did Mr. Obadiah and Ty neglect to tell you that I have the sight? You’ll be here a good long while, Nev. Trust me.”

  * * *

  Ty was headed for lunch at a new place across the river when a call went out over the radio for a break-in at the Heart of Copper Lake Motel. Not all break-ins required a detective’s presence, and even if this one did, he was checked out. Someone else would pick it up. Still, though he’d just crossed the bridge, he made a wide U-turn and headed back. After last night’s vandalism, he would feel better knowing that Nev wasn’t affected by whatever had happened today.

  Besides, he wanted to see her.

  When he pulled into the motel lot, a marked unit was sitting in the parking lot in front of the rooms. An unmarked car, a navy blue Ford, was parked behind it. Kiki. Great. Her back was to the street, so he still had a few seconds to wheel around and avoid her.

  It took only about one of them to decide checking on Nev was more important than avoiding Kiki. He parked in the third row in the lot, scanned for Nev’s car and didn’t find it, and then strode over to the two vehicles. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Kiki looked at him from behind heavily tinted glasses. “I thought you were at lunch.”

  “On my way.”

  “There’s no need to butt in on Ryder’s call.”

  Then what are you doing here? He caught himself before he could voice the question, though. He was reforming his behavior when it came to Kiki, right? “I’m not butting in. I’m just curious. There was a vandalism call here last night.”

  Kiki’s forehead wrinkled, a sure sign she was squinting her eyes into narrow little slits. “A detective checking out a vandalism call...I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that. But, wait...isn’t your father’s out-of-town guest staying here?” She put extra emphasis on father’s and guest. Not enough for Ryder Benton to catch, but enough for Ty to hear the accusation in it.

  “Yes, she is.” He shifted his gaze to Benton. “What happened?”

  “The manager got called away. She’ll be back in a minute. Apparently somebody broke into room ten, did a bit of damage.”

  Nerves tightening, Ty looked toward Nev’s room. The door was closed, the drapes drawn. It looked like every other room in the motel. What kind of damage? Why? And where was Nev? He was about to pull out his phone to call her when Shelley Newhart, the manager, jogged across the parking lot to join them, her black ponytail bouncing.

  “Sorry about that,” she said before nodding his way. “Hey, Ty. Not that I don’t appreciate Ryder here, but I’m glad you guys came. Come have a look.�
�� She handed the card key to Ryder, who’d pulled on a vinyl glove, and then stepped back as he opened the door. “The guest has been out all morning. The housekeeper discovered it just before I called. It kind of freaked her out.”

  Kiki shoved ahead of Ty, blocking his view, so he had to rise onto his toes to see past her. The room was lit only by the light coming through the door and a crack in the drapes. The bed was unmade but neat, the flowers he’d brought still sat on the nightstand and Nev’s perfume lingered faintly on the air. It was a pretty normal scene.

  If he didn’t count the long-edged knife plunged into the pillow where Nev had laid her head, the bloodred writing on the note it pinned to the cotton and the notes spray-painted on the walls that echoed the note. Go home. You don’t belong here. Get out or... A crude stick figure decorated the wall beneath the last one, something any child might have drawn except for the broken neck.

  “Holy crap.” That came from Kiki, her voice low and stunned.

  “Who’d she piss off?” Benton asked, moving to the side, making room for Ty and Kiki to move farther inside.

  “She’s only been here a few days.” Shelley was scowling. When she’d taken over the Heart of Copper Lake, it had been just another cheap motel. She’d invested a lot of time and money in cleaning it up and renovating it room by room, until it was the best motel in the area. Police cars in the parking lot on a regular basis weren’t good for business.

  “You know where she is?”

  Ty shrugged under Kiki’s gaze. She’d removed her glasses and nestled them into her hair on top. “Playing tourist, I imagine. I’ll see if I can get hold of her.”

  He dialed and then walked down past room eight while listening to the ring. He was about to give up when, somewhat out of breath, Nev said, “Wait, wait, I’m here. Hello.”

  The relief that washed over him was damn near enough to make him weak in the knees. She was okay. Safe. “Hey, it’s Ty. Where are you?”

  “The library. That’s why I almost missed you. The librarian gave me a look that could have scorched paper when my phone started ringing. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the motel.”

  “Did the shaving cream bandits strike again?”

  “Why don’t you head this way? We’ll talk when you get here.”

  “I’m walking out to my car now. You sound grim. Is this bad news? It’s not something about YaYa or my family, is it?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “Your family’s fine.”

  “Thank God. Okay, spit it out. I don’t like surprises. Tell me what’s up so I can prepare myself on the way over.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. “Someone broke into your room and left some, uh, messages.”

  “Oh.” That was all she said. No questions about what the messages were. No questions about her belongings. Just a quiet little subdued Oh. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be waiting, sweetheart.” Ty disconnected and then returned to room ten, stopping beside Shelley, not crossing the threshold. He didn’t like Nev sounding subdued. Except for those first minutes when they’d met, every time he’d seen her, she’d been cheerful, happy, optimistic. Sure, she had some self-doubts, and her relationships with her mother and sister weren’t what she’d like, but overall she seemed satisfied with life and her place in it. Damned if he would let someone take that from her.

  “We’ll move her to another room immediately,” Shelley murmured. “Or we’ll pick up the tab if she’d be more comfortable staying someplace else.”

  He nodded. He didn’t much like the idea of just putting her in another room. The person who’d done this had managed access to this room without a problem; What would stop him from getting into another one?

  He saw her car before it turned into the lot. By the time she’d parked a few spaces down from his, he was there, opening the door, helping her out. Her coffee-with-cream eyes were filled with concern, and she looked graver than he’d ever seen her.

  “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  He shook his head. With his hand barely touching her upper arm, they walked across the parking lot and right up to the open door. Her jaw tightened, her mouth forming a thin line as she looked inside, her gaze locking for a moment on each note. It was hard to say which one disturbed her most. It was the stick figure that bothered Ty, the idea of taking something so simple and innocent as a child’s drawing and turning it into a threat. From the tension radiating through her, he would guess it was the knife in the pillow that got to her.

  “The crime scene techs are on their way over,” Kiki said. “Does anything appear to be missing?”

  Nev shook her head. “The only thing I have of any value is my laptop, and it’s in the room safe.”

  Kiki opened the cabinet that held the safe. “It’s okay. Shelley, is there a place where we can talk privately?”

  “Nine is empty, or we have a meeting room in the main building.”

  “We’ll take nine.” Kiki threw Ty a look as she stepped past. “You coming as a detective or a friend?”

  There was no doubt about his answer. “Friend.” Though that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask questions or examine evidence.

  Room nine was a mirror image of ten, minus the ugly threats. Kiki took one of the two chairs at the small round table, and at her gesture, Nev claimed the other. Ty stood back, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

  “Do you think this was the same boys who sprayed shaving cream on my car last night?” Nev asked, her demeanor calm, her voice quiet with just the littlest bit of a quaver.

  “No.” Kiki was blunt, as usual. “Gavin and Kevin Holigan are twelve and thirteen. They probably can’t spell that good, and besides, this isn’t their style.”

  Ty agreed with her. The Holigan family never used weapons. They never hurt anyone. He’d never heard of one of them ever threatening anyone, not even the cops who arrested them time after time or the buddies who testified against them. They were career criminals, but for the most part, they were pretty decent people.

  “Do you have any problems at home in Atlanta?”

  Nev smiled wryly. “No. I live with my mother, grandmother and sister. I work at home. I go to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I don’t have any enemies there. I don’t inspire that kind of passion, Detective.”

  Those self-doubts again. Ty didn’t doubt she believed that. She had no clue what kind of passion she could inspire. He wanted nothing more than an opportunity to show her.

  He needed nothing more than to keep her safe.

  * * *

  By the time Kiki was finished with her, Nev was feeling more normal, her stomach slowing its tumbles, her nerves done twitching. Obviously there was some mistake. Whoever had broken into her room had been looking for someone else or got his kicks making strangers freak out because she honestly didn’t have any enemies. Never had. She was the nice girl, the good girl, the friend to everyone. She stayed in touch with kids from grade school on and was on good terms with most of her ex-boyfriends. She’d never given anyone a reason to hold a grudge against her.

  Kiki had asked dozens more questions and was clearly not impressed with Nev’s answers. Nev didn’t blame her. It had to be easier to solve a crime when the victim had some idea who was angry with her or why, but she just didn’t live that kind of life.

  The police were gone from the room next door. Only Nev and Ty remained on the sidewalk outside, both of them just looking at the damage, when the manager approached. She made the offer of another room or paying for the cost of another motel. Nev didn’t want the woman to be out any money because of her, and since she was convinced the whole thing was just an ugly prank, she accepted the key to room two—right next to my apartment, Shelley said.

  She didn’t want to admit, even t
o herself, that her sense of security was shaken. She’d slept three nights in room ten, trusting that the locks on the door would keep the world out. She would be lucky to sleep at all tonight for fear that the guy would return.

  On the good side, if she didn’t sleep, she couldn’t have bad dreams.

  Working pretty much in silence, she and Ty moved her stuff to the new room. The pitcher of flowers was the last thing. She cradled her arms around it, enjoying the fragrance, still touched by the fact that Ty had picked them for her.

  When she set them on the nightstand, she swept her gaze around the room, concentrating on the white walls, the standard motel-type paintings, the perfectly made bed and the unslashed pillows. She could put those images out of her mind. She would.

  “Have you had lunch?”

  Ty’s voice startled her. She’d talked a lot with Kiki, but he’d been quiet the whole time. It was Kiki’s case, and he’d let her handle it. “I haven’t.” She forced a smile and wagged a finger in his direction. “Never let it be said that an unpleasant surprise can make Nev Wilson lose her appetite.”

  He slid his arm around her shoulders and walked her out the door. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Comfort food.” When everything that could go wrong did, when nothing in the world could heal her hurts, a plate of YaYa’s home cooking always made her feel better. Smothered pork chops, brown sugar-glazed ham, collard greens and fried okra, macaroni and cheese and a slab of Coca-Cola cake to finish it off. She felt better just thinking about it. “But don’t you need to go back to work?”

  “I’ve got my radio and my cell phone. They can reach me if they need to. But we’ll need to take your car. I can only transport people to the station.”

  She offered him the keys, and he unlocked and then opened the passenger door for her. He still held her hand, though, and raised his free hand to her cheek. “I was worried about you.”

  He looked and sounded so serious, his dark gaze intense. When was the last time anyone besides YaYa had worried about her? Five years ago, before Daddy died. He’d been a worrier, and he’d always felt he needed to make it up to her for Mama’s obvious preference for Marieka. Daddy had been intense, too, about things such as the people he cared for.