Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

Cliffhanger

(The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

Amy Saunders

Copyright 2012 Amy Saunders

Other Titles by Amy Saunders

Auf'd (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries,
Book Two)

Biohazard

The Jester's Apprentice

Dead Locked

Chapter 1

Belinda could
have turned left to go directly to the house, but she charged straight through
the four-way stop. At the top of the road, before it dipped down and curved
inland again, she could just make out the ocean between the blades of
wheat-like sea grasses bowing toward her. Pure joy swelled in her chest and she
pressed down on the accelerator.

Belinda skidded
into the beach parking lot and flung open the door, her face hit by the sea
breeze still clinging to winter. She jogged toward the water's edge, jumping
around on one bare foot, giggling as she nearly collapsed onto the sand
wrenching her other shoe off. My, how that white, gravelly stuff was tougher to
walk through than she remembered!

Belinda stopped
at the water's edge, the sand itself sending chills up her legs. But she had to
do it. She had to dip her feet in the water just once. She secured her blonde
hair in an elastic, taking a deep breath of salt air—and, ooh yeah, seaweed. Yuck.
Belinda stood on the water mark and waited for the next surge. She closed her
eyes as it rushed toward her, bunching up and suppressing a squeal as the Atlantic said hello.

"Hello!"
she said back with her arms opened wide, but she dashed back to the safe zone
before it could reply.

Shivering and wet
and sand covered, Belinda leaned against the craggy rocks creating a natural
barrier between the town beach and the rest of it. Belinda gazed out at the
horizon, the silhouette of a sailboat moving along it. It had been too long
since Kyle sailed. He always shot her down when she suggested it, but she would
do her yearly thing and say something anyway. Her feet dried and Belinda
finally trudged back to her car, brushing sand off of her feet in the parking
lot. Kyle was supposed to leave work early to meet her, so it was time to go
home.

She backtracked,
cruising along until a familiar house peeked out from a gap in the conical
topiary fence. Belinda slowed down, rounding the corner of the driveway, and
passed through the open gate and down the brick drive. She parked next to her
brother's Jeep and dashed into the house.

"Kyle!"
Belinda's voice echoed in the foyer and she headed straight for the open glass
door across the hall. She found him lazing in a wood lounger on the back deck
with a beer, alt rock blaring out of his earbuds. "Kyle!" Belinda
stepped around his legs, arching her eyebrows and waving.

Kyle jumped,
ripping the buds out. "Hey, you're early." When his brown eyes lit
up, she was practically looking into her own. The one clear sign of their
twin-ness from her perspective.

"Actually,
I'm late. I detoured to the beach for a minute." Belinda grinned and they
bear hugged after he stood up. "Is there anything to eat?" Kyle just
offered a lopsided grin. "I'll take that as a no."

"I would
have stocked up, but I figured—"

"You figured
you would just wait and let me do it."

"No, I was
going to say I figured you'd want to get your own stuff."

"And?"

"And that
you would get some other things while you were there."

Belinda put her
hands on her hips. "Am I going to regret living with you?"

"Probably."
Kyle grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "But look at that view,
eh?"

Belinda meandered
off the low-lying porch and toward the edge of the property where it dropped
off into the sea. It was more protected than other parts of Portside where the
houses were right on the open ocean. But the wind and the currents below still
tasted wild. Kyle was right. Putting up with him again was worth that view
everyday.

"All
right," she said, turning around, "I can do this. But you will help
me with the housework, or I'm going to tell Mom that you killed her tomatoes
and we'll see just how fast they get back from Europe."

"Total
accident."

"You ran
over them with your dirt bike."

"Accident."

"Dirt bike.
In the yard, destroying their finely tuned grass and tomato plants."

Kyle hugged his
chest. "They are not going to come back from Europe early for that."

"No, but
they might do something drastic like kick you out."

"Hey, if I
go, so do you." He pointed at her nose. "I have some pretty sick
stories I could tell them about you too."

"From when?
High school? Ancient history."

"New York. Art gallery. Not so ancient."

Belinda rolled
her eyes to the blue sky, squinting in the light. "Fine. I will forget
about the tomato 'accident.' For now." Kyle grinned. "But don't get
comfortable. I was an adult for the whole New York thing."

"And I was
an adult for the whole running over the tomato plants thing."

Belinda looked
back out at the water. Kyle picked up on what was coming next and rolled his
eyes. "Bels, don't—"

"It's great
weather for sailing today. In fact, I saw someone out on their boat at the
beach."

Kyle sighed.

"What?"

"You know
what. I don't want to. Not anymore."

Belinda's eyes
grew sad. "Mark would hate that you've given it up. He would absolutely
hate it."

"Well, he's
not here to care, is he?"

Belinda pursed
her lips. From the flare of gold in his eyes, that was all she should say on
that subject right then. "So what do we do for dinner then?"

Kyle loosened up.
"We could crash Victoria's."

"We are not
crashing Victoria's." Belinda thought about the other options and
scrunched her nose. "Well, maybe this once. I'll call and see if she minds
a couple of extra diners."

"I'm used to
you being home already."

Belinda wrinkled
her nose, working up a retort, when someone called her from the front of the
house. She turned to see a young man waving from the entrance. "Oh,
no," she mumbled.

Kyle grinned as a
tall kid with bright blue eyes smiled broadly and came out to the backyard.
"Belinda," he said cheerfully, "you're home! I'd heard talk
but...you're actually here." His face beamed.

"Hi,
Jarrett." Belinda shifted awkwardly. She gripped Kyle's shirt as he
started to walk away, but he pulled free, making smoochy faces at her behind
Jarrett's back. Once Kyle was out of earshot, Jarrett stuffed his hands into
his pockets and moved in closer. Belinda took a step back, glancing behind her
to be sure of the cliff.

"I'm
eighteen now," he said.

Belinda blinked.
"Oh, well, congratulations. Eighteen...it's a good year." For some
people, she imagined.

Jarrett laughed
nervously, pulling on his earlobe. "You said to, you know, try again when
I was eighteen. So here I am."

Belinda's mouth
fell open, but no sound came out.

"You wanna
go get a coffee or something?"

Oh, dear,
Belinda thought. Really? She just got into Portside and it was already looking
like time to leave. "I just got—"

"It doesn't
have to be right now. Tomorrow, when you're settled in and all."

"It's not
that. I...I'm here to work. I'm overseeing our house renovation and I've got
other plans—"

"You're
busy; I get it. But coffee, Belinda? I know you like coffee." He flashed a
smile, his blue eyes sparkling. She had to admit he was cute, and if she were
his age or vice versa, well, maybe.

Belinda shook her
head. "Of course I do, but Jarrett—"

"What?"
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Belinda wanted to
just run into the house and lock the doors. Why wouldn't he just move on already?
"Maybe when you're twenty-one."

"Last time
you said when I was eighteen."

"Well, twenty-one
is the new eighteen."

"Belinda—"

"Jarrett,
we've been over this. Several times. And my opinion that you are too young for
me has not changed." Belinda hooked her thumbs in her back pockets, trying
to figure out how to end the conversation. "There are lots of girls your
age." There. That should pacify him.

"They're all
silly."

Or not. And he
was starting to whine.

"They're not
all silly. You just need to keep a wary eye open. Besides, you're headed off to
college. You'll meet more girls there."

"I wouldn't
have to if you would just go out with me."

Belinda sighed,
not mentally prepared for a debate.

"We get
along." Jarrett put his hands out toward her pleadingly. "We have
great conversations. I don't see what the problem is."

"I know you
don't, but please try and see this from my perspective. You're a smart guy, you
can surely imagine."

Jarrett didn't
look to Belinda like he was trying that hard, but his sour face slowly reverted
back to a smile. "I don't have that great of an imagination."

Belinda crossed
her arms. "I beg to differ."

"Anyway,"
Jarrett inched closer, "my band is practicing this Saturday afternoon. You
should come. You like alt rock, right?"

How did he do
that? After that whole conversation, he just glossed over it like nothing
happened. No matter how mean she acted, he kept coming back for more.

"We're not
that bad either. We've been practicing really hard. Even played at a few
parties." Jarrett rocked on his heels.

"That's
terrific, Jarrett. But I..." Why did he refuse to be reasonable? And why
did she have such a hard time telling him to get lost? "I'll see."
Belinda slumped over.

Jarrett grinned.
"You won't be sorry."

Oh, yes, I
will,
Belinda thought.

Just a few
streets away stood Victoria's and Dan's pomegranate-color house or the Pom-Pom
house as they'd nicknamed it when they moved in a few years ago. Belinda was
always surprised by how shady it was there, but they actually had trees in
their yard. Waiting with the door open was a five-foot-three, copper-haired
woman in a floral skirt. She and Belinda bounced up and down at the sight of
each other. When the complimenting and talking all at once finished, they took
to the bench off of the kitchen.

"We're so
glad you're back!" Victoria said, squeezing Belinda's hands from across
the table.

"Well, who
else is going to see that the house renovation goes smoothly while my parents
are gone?"

"Kyle?"

Belinda laughed,
poking Kyle as he snarled. "I could handle this...if I wanted to."

Belinda rolled
her eyes. "Well, Mom and Dad asking me to come back to do this works out
anyway." Her whole countenance brightened. "I have a cupcake boutique
to get off the ground, and you and I have scouting to do."

Victoria grinned.
"Are we about to repeat the great beach cookout catastrophe?"

"Ugh."
Belinda ran her tongue across her teeth. "I still have sand in my mouth
from that."

"My mom had
to throw out some of her cookware, you know. My dad insisted he had grit in his
food whenever she'd use them."

"Those were
the days. When we made off with your mom's world-class cookware to use on the
beach of all places." They both laughed. "Neither of us knew much
back then."

"Now I think
we know too much." Victoria frowned. "Dan sends his love, but he had
to eat already and get back to work. He's at the end of a big job right
now." She rested her chin on the heel of her palm. "I can't wait
until it's finished."

"Will he be
joining you for the reunion?" Belinda said, dishing out some of Victoria's homemade mac-n-cheese.

"Thankfully,
yes. Since neither of you is going, I'm going to need him for moral
support."

"You could
hardly count Kyle as moral support anyway," Belinda said.

"Hey! I
resent that."

"Well, it's
true. I love you and all that, but most of the time you were off flirting in
high school and I can't imagine our tenth reunion would be much
different."

Victoria glanced
between them. "Do I have any takers for the after-reunion party at the
Mayhew house?"

Kyle snorted.

Belinda twirled
her fork.

"You're not
even considering it, right?" Kyle said.

Belinda smiled
sheepishly. "If he's not in town..."

Kyle arched his
eyebrows, rubbing the bone right above one of them. "You'll regret it.
Even if he isn't here, you'll regret going." Kyle popped a piece of roll
into his mouth as he spoke. "You've already been accosted by one jilted
lover. Do you really want to try for two?"

Victoria glanced between
the two of them. "What other jilted lover are we discussing?"

"Jarrett
paid her a visit," Kyle said gleefully.

"Already?"
Victoria arched her eyebrows.

"He only
lives next door," Belinda said nonchalantly. "He saw me drive
in."

"Wow." Victoria sat back. "You make one whale of an impression at pool parties."

"I had no
idea that innocently popping into something I was invited to would get this
intense."

"The kid has
guts."

"Yep. A
sixteen-year-old walks right up to me at his pool party and asks me out without
the slightest concern that I might say no, but I can't find someone of legal
age with the same tenacity."

Kyle cleared his
throat. "Um, excuse me, but Jarrett is eighteen now."

Belinda's head
whipped around. "I thought you left before he said that."

"I kept in
hearing distance."

Belinda sighed.
"Is Jeff in town for the reunion?"

"To my
knowledge, no," Victoria said.

"But none of
us are besties with these people anymore," Kyle said. "He could be
here and none of us know about it. It's not a stretch."

Belinda nodded.
She knew that. She did. But the thought that Jeff wouldn't be around and it
might be safe to go tempted her.

Kyle sighed,
digging his fingers into his short-cropped brown hair. "Do I have to
forbid you to go? Because I will."