Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) (22 page)

Other Books by Jenn Vakey

Rilynne Evans Mysteries

Delusions with Murder

Deception with Murder

Suspicions with Murder

Wanted with Murder

Suspicions with Murder

Book #4 in the Rilynne Evans Mystery series

“
Y
ou’re being stubborn,” Ben Davis said as he sat down on the porch swing.

Rilynne Evans was leaning against the back door, staring up at the stars floating above them. She took in a deep breath, pondering his statement before walking across the deck and joining him.

“I’m not stubborn,” she said firmly. He threw his head back and laughed dramatically. As he did, the gentle breeze passing through the yard picked up his shaggy, dirty blonde hair and made it dance. “Okay, fine,” she continued. “I can be stubborn at times, but I’m not now. It just wouldn’t be right. Even the thought of it makes me feel dirty.”

As she picked up her feet, Ben kicked off and set the swing into motion. The chill in the air that she had grown accustomed to since moving into her two-bedroom house, had been replaced by the first signs of spring. Along with the warmer breeze, she could distinctly make out the aroma coming from her neighbor’s flower garden, which was just beginning to bloom.

“How would it not be right?” he asked. “I understand you not doing it when it was still painful to think about, but now things are a little different. You can’t just choose not to accept it.”

She knew he had made a valid argument, but she still couldn’t help but feel strange about it. “I’ll think about it,” she groaned. “I won’t make any promises, though.”

“I swear,” he said, shaking his head. “I have
never
seen anyone being so difficult about accepting money that’s due to them. I understood you not taking the money that he had stolen and acquired while in hiding, but this is completely different. Life insurance is legal, and there’s nothing dirty about it.”

She had actually been taken by complete surprise when she received the check in the mail from the insurance company. After her late husband, Christopher Parker, had faked his death, a two million dollar policy had been paid out to his sister, Sarah. With the case of insurance fraud still pending, she never even considered that her policy would be paid out. She had been so angry when she returned home after the ordeal in Colorado that she submitted the paperwork without putting much thought into it. Now that the events from two months earlier had settled, she was left with an uncomfortable feeling every time the subject was broached.

“It’s just… strange,” she said as she dropped her head down on Ben’s shoulder.

She felt him tense, before quickly relaxing again. “The whole situation was strange,” he said. “Between him faking his death, trying to kill you, shooting me, and turning out to be a serial killer, accepting the life insurance payout would be the least strange aspect of the entire event.”

“I wouldn’t categorize him as a serial killer,” she said, though she hadn’t made up her mind on that one yet. “You also left out the part about him being shot and killed by my boyfriend.” With his head resting against hers, she could just feel him grinning. She knew it was not due to the events surrounding Christopher’s death, but because she had referred to him as her boyfriend. Though they had moved past friendship and begun dating, it was not a phrase she had used before. She half expected him to bring it up, but he just wrapped his arm around her and kicked his foot gently against the ground.

“It’s a quarter million,” he said, breaking the silence several minutes later. Rilynne shook her head as she rolled her eyes. “It would be one thing to turn it down if was twenty or thirty thousand, but that’s a lot of money. You could even buy a house if you wanted.”

“I like my house,” she said.

“You like it now,” he stated. “What about down the road when you want to settle down and have kids?”

She was glad he couldn’t see her as her face began to burn. She could tell by the movement of his knuckles dragging against his chin that the statement had an effect on him, as well. Even though they had become incredibly close since she moved to Addison Valley, it was still not like him to be so bold with his comments.

“Well…” she trailed off, trying to think of anything to say. “When that time comes, I will absolutely want to buy a big, pretty house with a nice back yard. For now, I’m just fine in the little one I have.”

“Speaking of buying places,” he quickly changed the subject, “I heard Matthews was making an offer on that land. I guess he talked Katy into it, after all. I thought she would shoot the idea down for sure.”

“They’re compromising,” Rilynne said. She bit the edge of her tongue and chose not to elaborate. If Ben desired more information, he didn’t to ask. Instead, he pulled her closer and took her by the hand.

Rilynne took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling more relaxed than she had been in a very long time. Despite all of the chaos she had faced in the nine months she had lived in Addison Valley, she couldn’t remember ever feeling more at home. That was only helped by the relationship that was building between her and Ben. When she looked back, she couldn’t remember why she had put it off for as long as she had.

Aside from her one big secret, she felt like she could tell him anything, and she did. He was more than just her new boyfriend, he was her best friend. As close as they were, though, she still couldn’t see herself telling him what she could do. She had only told one other person about her visions, and that had not turned out well. Her worries were more prominent with Ben than they had been the first time. When she had told Christopher what she could do, she had only been concerned with his reactions. It was different with Ben. She was more concerned with his feelings about being lied to than the actual secret itself. It was a battle that was continuously raging in her mind, and the struggle was only growing deeper by the day.

Other than the times she had to lie to hide her secret, she had only lied to him one time before. Though it had been an order from Detective Wilcome, head of the homicide office, he had been understandably upset. She could only imagine how he would react about her willingly keeping something from him.

“I should probably be going,” he said, causing her eyes to snap open. “I’m in the process of introducing a new fish to my tank, and I need to get him out of the bag before he suffocates. I had to special order him and the guy at the pet store would not be thrilled if I have to go back for another one.”

“What kind of fish did you have to special order?” she asked curiously.

“It’s an Imperator Angel. I’m hoping he gets along with the others. They can be semi-aggressive. I really wanted to get a lionfish, but it would have eaten my smaller fish,” he explained.

She waited until he started to move before pulling her head off of his shoulder. After he stood, he reached down and pulled her to her feet. Though the sun was starting to sink, the wood deck was still warm beneath her bare feet.

“Is your mom still coming for a visit in a couple weeks?” he asked as they stepped back into the house and headed toward the front door.

“As far as I know,” she replied. “Why?”

“I told her last time she was in that I would take her to see my tank. She mentioned that she has always wanted to set up a salt-water one, so I’m going to give her some pointers. You know, with as often as she makes trips down here, she might just consider making the move,” he said with a grin.

Rilynne peered up at him, catching sight of the flakes of gold in his chocolate eyes as the light hit them. “If she wants to move down here, I will fully support her. I’m not going to put the idea in her head, though.”

Ben chuckled and shook his head as he reached for the doorknob. He pulled it open and stepped out before turning to face her. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he dropped his head down. Even though he was a step below her, she still had to rise up on her toes to meet him.

Her heart jumped as his lips gently pressed against hers and a shiver spread through her. All she could do as he pulled away was smile. Though it had been two months since their first kiss, they continuously took her breath away. He smiled before stealing another quick peck and turning toward his car.

Rilynne closed the door and watched him through the window as he backed out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. She let out a deep, satisfied sigh. The tingling sensation was still tickling her spine as she made her way around the house, turning off every light before heading toward her room.

*

Rilynne had a rare, dreamless night. When the morning light flooding through her window greeted her eyes, she felt only relaxed and rested. “This is going to be a good day,” she said aloud to the empty room. She kicked her thick comforter off and slid off the edge of her bed. With the foam topper she had put on top of her mattress, her king sized bed sat just shy of four feet tall. Though it had been that way for over a year, she still occasionally found herself underestimating the drop. This was one such morning. As her feet hit the floor, her knees buckled and she fell forward, hitting the wall with a hard thud. “Perhaps I spoke too soon,” she laughed and pulled herself up.

Shaking it off and glad no one was around to see, she quickly got ready and left for work.

Even though she was delayed by two stopping school buses, she felt that nothing could put a damper on her good mood.

“What have you got for me?” she asked when she walked into the office ten minutes later.

Detective Wilcome raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “You closed your last three cases in under a week. That last one had everyone stumped for the last three years since it went cold. Are you trying to prove something?”

“You never know. Maybe if it gets out that our department is closing murder cases in record time, people will decide to stop killing each other,” she said with a grin.

“Doubtful, but I like where your head is,” he replied before turning and walking back toward his desk in the corner.

Rilynne dropped her purse onto her desk and sat down. Minutes later, her partner walked in. Detective Todd Matthews had been paired with Rilynne after the Pirate Killer case had been closed. She had never had a better partner. Matthews was not only confident and able, they seemed to always be on the same page. It was very rare that Rilynne needed to think of a cover story to get him to follow the path of one of her visions.

“So what have we got today?” he asked as he sat at the desk in front of hers.

She let out a deep sigh. “Nothing.”

He seemed more pleased by the fact than she was. After she learned that her husband had been a murderer, she had been throwing herself into her work. In the month since she returned to work after the events in Brooks Hollow, Colorado, she had worked and closed nine cases. Most were cold cases that hadn’t had a new lead in several years. While Matthews had been nothing but supportive, she understood why he was glad to have a break.

“Everyone gather around,” Wilcome said a few moments later. “Come on, we don’t have all day.” Rilynne spun around in her chair to face him as the other detectives moved closer. “All right,” he said when they were all in place. “We’re going to have a spot opening up soon, so I would like to introduce you all to our newest member of the homicide squad.” He turned toward the doorway as a tall, slender blonde walked in.

Rilynne couldn’t believe her eyes. She thought for a brief moment that she must still be in bed dreaming.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked as she jumped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around the new arrival. “How furious is Wooldridge?”

Lori let out a little laugh. “Do you really need an answer to that? He’s beginning to resent Addison Valley for taking all of his detectives.”

“I know you joked about moving down, but what made you actually decide to?” she asked as she leaned against her desk.

“Well, I thought-” Lori started, but before she could finish, a grunt came from behind them.

Rilynne and Lori turned to see Wilcome looking down at them, arms folded and a look of impatience. “As I was saying,” he said as Rilynne dropped back down in her seat. She glanced back and saw a look of pure amusement on Matthews’ face. “Detective Sibrian couldn’t have picked a better time to join our department, since Detective Skinner will be joining the wonderful world of retirement at the end of this month. Until then, she’ll be floating around while she learns the ropes.”

With one last exasperated look at them, Wilcome walked back to his desk.

“Brilliant,” Matthews said as he leaned back in his seat. “It’s good to see you again, Sibrian.”

“You too,” she replied before turning back to Rilynne. “So, where was I? Ah, yes… After we came down last month for a visit, I decided that we really should be closer to my mom. She tried to get us to move to Dallas with her, but I thought I would give small town living a shot first.”