Last Chance Christmas (Last Chance #5)(26)
Author: Hope Ramsay

“Are you saying he was murdered?” Kamaria didn’t look very pleased.

“No, I’m saying I don’t know how he died. But you can relax because Jimmy didn’t die in Last Chance.”

He picked up one of the wide-angle shots of the crime scene. “It happened out in the swamp on the old game trail that runs from Bluff Road to the Jonquil House. It’s Billy Bennett’s jurisdiction. Billy says it was suicide, but he hasn’t yet consulted with the coroner. Lee is on the warpath, though, so the situation is likely to get more complicated.”

“Did you find the gun?”

“No, ma’am. Billy called off the search before the dive teams could come out.”

“Why would he do a thing like that?”

Stone gave the mayor-elect a direct stare. “I’ve got two theories. The first is that he’s an idiot. The second is not as flattering.”

“Are you saying that the sheriff is trying to cover something up?” She leaned forward.

Stone reached into his bottom desk drawer and pulled out the old paper files that he’d copied from the county archives a few days ago. He handed them to Kamaria. “It wouldn’t be the first time the Allenberg sheriff covered something up.”

She frowned. “What is this?”

“It’s the investigation into the death of Zeke Rhodes. I have to be honest with you, Kamaria, I never bothered to look at these files before, because all this happened before I was born. It seemed irrelevant until Lark Chaikin arrived in town.”

Kamaria’s eyes grew round. “Stone, I realize that I have not yet been sworn in as mayor of this town, but I’m going to ask you to please put these files back where you found them. I don’t want you digging up the past. In fact, I wish you had run that woman out of town the minute she arrived. She’s been after my momma asking a lot of questions. She’s got Momma all upset.”

“I’m sorry about that. But Lark has a right to be here. And besides, if I had run her out of town, I wouldn’t have found Jimmy’s body.”

“What?”

Stone explained the situation.

“What is it about the Chaikins?” Kamaria asked rhetorically when he’d finished. “They show up in this town, and people start dying.”

“Lark Chaikin didn’t kill Jimmy Marshall. And after reading that report of what happened in 1968, I don’t think my grandfather died by falling off a ladder either. I think someone beat him to death. And I don’t think it was Abe Chaikin.”

“Stone, drop this. My mother could get hurt.”

“I know that. But don’t you want to get to the truth?”

“Are you asking me to stop the Bennetts from doing whatever they want in their jurisdiction?”

“No. I don’t know that we can. But we can investigate the cold case. Zeke’s so-called accident happened inside the town limits.”

“Listen to yourself, Stone. You sound crazy, like your daddy. Who wanted to kill Jimmy Marshall? And why would the sheriff be so determined to cover something like this up?”

“Jimmy was no saint. I’m pretty sure he bribed an inspector to keep the chicken plant open. And he might have borrowed money from the wrong sort of person. That sort of thing can get a person into some real hot water.”

“So you think this was blackmail?” Kamaria asked.

“No. Blackmailers usually don’t commit murder. And neither do loan sharks. You can’t collect from a dead man. To be honest, I’m more concerned because Billy Bennett has been kind of dragging his feet on this case.”

“Stone, please, this isn’t a good time to pick a fight with the Allenberg Sheriff’s Department. I want you to forget about those old files and I want you to let Billy Bennett do his job the way he sees fit. I like you. I don’t want to get ugly over this. So I’ll just remind you that your contract with the town is up for review next month, and it’s customary for an incoming mayor to clean house.”

Chapter 14

Ruby called them the casserole brigade, and Lark had to admit that Ruby’s friends had an understanding of logistics that rivaled U.S. CENTCOM in Afghanistan. The women fed a veritable army of people who stopped by Hettie’s house that evening. They put Lark to work in the kitchen because she hadn’t brought anything to eat and because the dishes were piling up fast.

Hettie seemed to be holding herself together. She was a brave woman, and Lark was happy to help in any way she could. In fact, standing in Hettie’s kitchen with her hands in soapy water, Lark had found a kind of fellowship with the ladies of the auxiliary. Her mother had died when she was young. Lark didn’t have girlfriends. This community of women was new to her.

The only community she knew about was the brotherhood that existed among soldiers in the field. But in a way, Semper Fi applied as much to the ladies of the auxiliary as it did to the marines she knew. These women were always faithful. And when bad things happened, they closed ranks and took care of their own.

By the time Ruby drove Lark back to the beauty shop, the rain had turned to sleet, and the forecast was for ice through much of the night. Ruby was in a hurry to get home before the roads became impassable.

“Now, honey, if the power goes off, and it probably will, you just give Stone a holler. That apartment’s going to get cold if the baseboard heating goes out. So don’t you be stoic, you hear?”

“I won’t. Thank you for everything.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, honey. Thanks for coming out and helping in the kitchen. You didn’t have to do that, you know?”

“I wanted to. It really made me feel better about everything.” She didn’t explain how, for just an instant this evening, she felt as if she belonged here.

Ruby smiled, the dash lights limning her face in green. “I know. In fact, everyone knows. I’d say you went a long way toward changing some minds today. Not that people should have judged you, but people do sometimes. Don’t you worry, now, I’m working on Elbert, and we’ll figure something out for your daddy.”

“Thank you.”

“You have a good night. And you call if the lights go out. Don’t be shy.”

“I won’t.”

Lark hurried through the sleet to the stairway. The steps were slick already, and she suspected they would become treacherous before the night was out.

So much for Indian summer.

She had just hung up her wet pea jacket and was searching the kitchen for a kettle and some tea when someone tapped at the front door. The knock startled her, but when she saw the silhouette of a man wearing a Stetson through the window curtains, all her fears vanished.

And the temperature in the apartment rose a good ten degrees.

She hurried to the door and opened it. Stone stood there looking tall and strong and sober as black coffee. She had to fight the urge to walk right out there and wrap him up in her arms. He looked huggable, even if he was wearing a rain slicker, a holster, a bulletproof vest, and twenty pounds of communication equipment.

She didn’t act on her desires. Instead she stood there taking him in. The corner of his mouth lifted just a fraction, and Lark felt oxygen-starved.

“I see Momma had her way with you,” he said.

Lark self-consciously touched the short bob that Ruby had given her. “Your mother has a gift. I was so sure she was going to give me something that required a ton of hair spray, and instead she gave me this. It’s probably the best haircut I’ve ever had.”

His smile deepened. “Thanks for playing along with her. I also heard you spent the evening over at Hettie’s place. People are surprised.” He paused for a moment. “But I’m not.”

He reached into his trouser pocket. “I came to return this.” He handed her the memory card containing the photos she’d shot that morning out in the swamp.

She took the card, their fingers brushing in the exchange. “Did you look at all the photos?”

“Yeah.” His voice was low. A plume of steam escaped his lips. It was amazing how much meaning the man could put into a single word.

“Come in,” she said. “I was just making some tea. You look like you could use something warm.”

He hesitated for a moment, then pushed off the door frame. “I can’t stay long. The weather’s turning and it’s only a matter of time before someone slides into something. We’ll probably have downed tree limbs and power lines, too.”

He hung up his raincoat and Stetson next to her wool coat, then divested himself of the utility belt and holster. The tiny kitchen shrank the moment he stepped into it.

“I think there’s some tea up here.” He pulled open one of the cabinet doors just as she was heading in the same direction. They bumped hips. And like charged electrons, the motion sent them both spinning off to opposite sides of the kitchen.

He found the tea. She reached for the kettle. Somehow they managed to get water going and find a teapot and mugs without running afoul of each other again.

The sudden lack of words between them left her with no choice but to focus on the ping of sleet against the window above the sink. Lark stopped herself from saying something inane about the weather.

She had something she wanted to say, but it wasn’t inane, and it would probably shock him.

He took a seat at the small kitchen table. She turned and leaned back against the counter. “Haley said something very interesting this afternoon,” Lark said.

Stone cocked his head. A flame burned in his eyes. “Haley is always coming up with zingers.”

“She said she thought you were lonesome.”

“That’s hardly a startling observation.”

“You don’t have to be,” Lark blurted.

He stared at her unblinking. “Are you making me an offer?”

“Life is short. Just ask Jimmy Marshall.”

The kettle whistled to life, saving Lark from further embarrassment. Why the hell was she having such a hard time telling Stone that she wouldn’t mind warming his bed for a few nights? She’d never had a problem doing that before.

She turned away, filling the teapot with hot water.

The silence was thick and tense until he asked, “So is this some kind of holiday gift?”

She picked up the teapot and put it on the table. She sat down. “Okay, forget I said what I just said. I have a different moral code than you do. I find you attractive. I got the impression from the kiss you laid on me earlier today that the feeling was mutual. But I get that this is a small town and you’re kind of, well, old-fashioned.”

His lips quirked. “That wasn’t a compliment, was it?”

“No, yes. I don’t know,” she murmured.

“No?”

She poured the tea and wrapped her hands around her mug. The warm cup was a contrast to the storm raging outside the window. Stone was old-fashioned. Last Chance was old-fashioned. They took care of their own here. They embraced tradition. It was crazy to think that Stone would be willing to bed down with her, just because he was lonely.

Just because she was lonely.

She pushed that thought away. Maybe instead of jumping into the sack with him, she should talk with him. Maybe she should listen to the advice Miriam Randall had given her. Stone was so much like Carmine, and she’d always told Carmine everything.