Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) (10 page)

"But why is
his name on the rental?" Bennett offered. Belinda nodded weakly.
"Jonas will figure it out. He's fair and he's never happy with the obvious
solution. It'll be okay." It sounded like a pathetic condolence
considering everything her brother was facing. His entire future hung on this
evidence.

But the little
assurance he could offer seemed to lighten her up and Belinda gave him a
lopsided smile. She took a deep breath. "You're right. There will be a
solution to this. They'll find it."

Belinda glanced
around her as if suddenly nervous someone could be watching, but Bennett had no
time to say anything about it before she moved on to the next topic. "Soon
enough there'll be lemonade and hot dogs selling right over there."

Bennett followed
her sight to the parking lot way at the other end of the beach. "I know it
all too well."

"You
frequent the lemonade and hot dog trucks too?"

"I certainly
did in high school. Well, as a senior anyway."

"Temporary
food obsession?"

"Temporary
saving obsession." Bennett bent down and rinsed the shell in the water.
"I worked in the lemonade truck, trying to save for college."

"Did it
work?"

"Well,
between that and waiting tables and other assorted jobs I took on when I could,
I did make it work."

"If anyone
could, it would be you." Belinda smiled, but it looked more melancholy.
"It's so funny to think you were right over there all that time. You may
have even sold me lemonade." She shaded her eyes, wrinkling her nose.
"Did you have bleach blonde hair and wear the same red plaid shirt all
that summer?"

Bennett shook his
head just happy she still wanted to word play.

"Ah, well. I
still bet we saw each other."

"You come to
this beach?"

Belinda shrugged.
"Why not?"

"You don't
have a...private beach you like better?"

"I see how
it is." Belinda grinned. "You think I'm a beach snob. Well, I am. And
I prefer this beach. My family always has." She was now twirling the
hoodie ties around her fingers. "What about your family? Do they live in
the area?"

"My dad
lives in-state." He was in a perfectly good mood; no need to ruin it.
"And my grandmother lives right here in Portside."

She nodded in
understanding, but Bennett could see she wouldn't be satisfied with that
enigmatic response forever. He started to think—no, dared to hope—this little
thing he had going might last longer than he initially imagined.

"I hate to
leave already," Belinda said, "but I have a dinner thing to go to and
I have to get ready."

"A dinner
thing?" She was just waiting for him to ask, he could see it on her face,
but he wanted her to stay as long as possible so he willingly obliged her.

"It's a
thing for patrons of the art museum. My parents are big donors and I promised
them I would represent. So I need to clean up."

From his vantage
point, there was nothing special she needed to do to look any cleaner. Before
he lost his courage, Bennett asked, "Are you going alone?"

Belinda blushed.
"Kyle would go with me any other time, but not tonight. So, yeah, I'm
going solo."

Bennett breathed
a little easier, relaxing his shoulders. That was good news. Very good news.

"Can we
catch up later?" Belinda said. "Tomorrow maybe?"

Bennett's eyes
glinted. "We will definitely catch up later."

Chapter 12

Bennett swung by
his house to shower and change to meet Jonas, but he still got there early. He
spun a french fry between his fingers while he waited, involuntarily thinking
about the leaf he plucked from Belinda's hair when he met her on the Ocean
Walk. That afternoon felt like a long time ago now that he was concerned with
helping her solve the issues with her brother. It was an interesting situation
no matter how you looked at it, but he would stay on it to keep near Belinda
even if it wasn't interesting.

Jonas pulled out
the chair next to him, the screeching waking Bennett up from his reverie. Jonas
grinned, snapping the plastic menu in front of him. "Dreaming of Fawn Eyes,
Bennett?"

Bennett snarled,
dropping the soggy fry back on the plate. "I'm thinking about the sticky
situation she's in." And the unspoken thoughts on her face earlier, he
thought.

Jonas' grin
disappeared. "Well, her brother is certainly trapped in an unpleasant one,
that's for sure. On all fronts. How was she after Kyle...you know?"

"Frantic.
Nervous. Scattered." Bennett recalled her expression when he told her
about the rental car. "She got a little...verklempt."

"Verklempt?
So she did go hysterical....that took longer than I imagined."

"I wouldn't
define it as hysterical. She just lost it when I told her about Kyle and the
rental car business. Then she ran up into her room for a while."

"And went
hysterical. Belinda ran into her room so you wouldn't see, but trust me. She
went nuts once the door closed. If there's one thing I learned growing up with
four women, it's what happens when they have meltdowns."

Bennett had to
accept that Jonas did have an advantage over him when it came to women, having
three sisters. He leaned on the table then leaned back when bread crumbs stuck
to his forearm. "What do you make of the rental car business anyway?"

Jonas scanned the
menu. "Kyle denies that he rented that car and got pretty upset at the
suggestion that he hurt his own sister. We're in the process of hunting down
actual witnesses who made the rental agreement and not just a piece of paper,
but it's difficult because it's a local place and the owners are being all
skittish. I don't know what they're afraid of, but whatever people. I just want
to solve this case."

"Okay. So
I've gotten the official statement. Now what do you actually make of it?"

Jonas grinned.
"I don't buy it. I could believe he killed Jeff, but trying to kill his
twin sister in a brutal car accident? No. I don't see it." He set his menu
down.

"If he
killed Jeff, he might be afraid that Belinda will find out. People do terrible
things when they're desperate." Of course, he didn't buy Kyle as that kind
of guy either.

"That's true
enough. But I'm not sold yet." Jonas stared at him over the menu, slanting
his green eyes. "You're holding back on me. What's up?"

Bennett pursed
his lips. Sometimes he thought Jonas knew him a little too well. He had too
much trouble hiding how he really felt around Jonas. "It's just a feeling
I get whenever the whole subject of Mark comes up with Belinda."

"You think
something was going on with Kyle and Mark's girl there, uh, Lily Devore?"

Bennett wished
that's what it was. "No...with Belinda and Mark."

Jonas' eyes
widened. "I did not think of that." Jonas arched his back, leaning
away from the table. "Are you sure this isn't just you trying to find a
major flaw in Belinda?"

"No. And I
don't even care that much, but..."

"But?"

Bennett sighed.
"But I hate feeling jealous of a dead man." Every time Belinda said
Mark's name, his stomach twisted up, and it had finally hit him that he wanted
her to say his name with as much feeling. It was annoying to say the least.

"Fear not. I
don't think she's planning on going through life alone because of it."
Jonas' phone buzzed. He checked it, glowered, and put it back in his pocket.
"Catch up session ended I guess." He stood, the chair screeching
again.

"One more
thing before you go." Bennett tapped the table. "The address in the
notebook I found at Belinda's? It belongs to a lawyer."

"Does that
help us?"

"Not sure
yet."

Jonas humphed.
"We'll get to that later I guess. Eat some of those fries for me, won't
you?" Jonas saluted and whirled back out of the restaurant.

Bennett stared at
the soggy fries, now also cold, and turned up his nose. He was pretty sure even
Jonas would pass them up. He checked the time, paid for his food, and ran out.

~ * ~

"You look
nice," Kyle said as Belinda rounded the final stair in her black dress
with the frilly skirt. It was Kyle's first attempt at talking since she came
home, and he would have to pick now when she was running late for the art
museum thing.

She thanked him
and then they stood staring at each other awkwardly. Belinda really wanted to
race out, but she also felt bad just taking off.

"I'm
sorry," he said a minute later, his eyes darting between hers and the
floor, the kitchen, the door. "About earlier."

It wasn't quite
enough, but it would have to do for now. So she gave him a quick hug and promised
they would talk more when she got back, which wouldn't be too late if she could
help it. She started to pull away, but Kyle restrained her, placing his hand on
her head. Belinda was too shocked to move, and he didn't say a word. Just
kissed her forehead before letting her go.

"Be careful,
little sister."

Belinda
half-smiled and drifted out with Kyle waving with worried eyes as she closed
the door behind her. She barely had time to wonder what on earth that had been
about before she entered the closed museum now filled with mingling patrons and
museum employees and volunteers.

Belinda accepted
a champagne flute from a passing server in the hallway just in time to see Lily
Devore in the exhibit room at the end of it. Belinda muttered to herself and
slipped into the smaller room to her side. She already knew the pieces in
there, but she looked at each oil painting as if she'd never seen any of them.
Especially the painting of the sailboat at full tilt.

She stared at it
in a trance, trying to decide what Kyle's odd hug had meant, when a wrinkled
hand wrapped around her shoulder. Belinda jumped, eliciting a chuckle from the
older man behind her. "I thought I was too old and creaky to startle
anyone anymore." He smiled and side-hugged her.

Russell
Carmichael. Well, it was better than Lily Devore.

"I've heard
through the grapevine that you come to us straight from your
grandmother's," he said silkily. "How is she since I saw her last
anyway?"

The grapevine
could only be one person. Belinda's nana was right. That old biddy was out to
get her.

"Still not
interested."

Carmichael threw
his head back and cackled. Belinda couldn't believe he hadn't given up the
chase yet. According to her nana, Carmichael had been after her for decades, if
you counted the time before she married too. He waited a year after Belinda's
grandfather died in the nineties before starting all over again. If she
believed her nana, and Belinda did, it was more about her money. But who knew?
Maybe Carmichael did really like her that much.

He sort of forced
her out of the side room and toward the main exhibit area—a large box with wood
floors and a vaulted ceiling. Several conversations echoed, but Belinda hung
around the rim, deciding it was safer as both Lily Devore and Jarrett were in
the center of the room. Events and fundraisers were dangerous places when you
were on the outs with anyone in their general circle. She admired the gallery
of paintings from a modern artist and a friend of her family's. Her mother
owned several originals.

She made her way
around the room, standing back a few feet to absorb one painting in particular.
A few of the pieces on display were new to her, including this one. She
glimpsed a man off to her side doing the same as she. With another, more
studied, glance, Belinda twirled around to face Bennett. He leaned back on one
leg with a hand stuck in his jeans' pocket and a decidedly smug look on his
chiseled face as if he knew she'd be there.

"You..."
she stammered. "You didn't tell me you'd be here!"

"I didn't
know
you
would be here," Bennett said. "You said you had a
dinner thingy, remember?"

Belinda pursed
her lips. "Don't play dumb with me, gray-eyed eagle. You knew this is what
I meant."

Bennett's eyes
glinted. "So I did. Are you sorry to see me?"

Why did his
cheekiness have to be so darn attractive? "I don't know why, considering
how insolent you are, but I am glad to see you." He'd drawn much closer,
but it felt comfortable now. "Actually, I'm relieved. I wasn't really in
the mood to come."

"I'm sure
everyone would understand if you stayed home tonight."

"Not
everyone." She glanced at the floor.

"Well, you
look beautiful. And like you attend these events often."

Belinda blinked.
Had Bennett just said she was beautiful? "You don't look like a stranger
here either." She looked him over, casual chic balancing a red wine glass
in one hand.

"I'm not
your parents, for certain, but I have my interests too."

"Are you a
fan?" She jutted her chin toward the wall of canvas. Bennett nodded, his
head tilted back to look at the painting above them. "Well, the next time
my parents have Simone for dinner, I'll invite you so you can tell her in
person."

Bennett arched an
eyebrow. "I should have guessed."

Belinda smiled
sheepishly and was about to add that she only mentioned it because of his
interest in the artist's work when the museum director pulled her away to ask
about her parents, kindly ignoring the news about Kyle, though she was sure
they all knew. She glanced back but Bennett stayed on the perimeter of the
room, returning to examining the paintings. On top of not being in the mood to
chitchat, she was also now in the same circle with Lily, who glowered every
time she made the mistake of glancing at her. She caught Jarrett's eyes once,
but he averted his.

Belinda snagged a
plate with shrimp, too hungry to be picky. She gave up on the miniature fork
almost immediately, trying to eat delicately with her fingers. Just when she
thought she'd succeeded at capturing one of the shrimps, the bugger squirted
out of her hands and dive-bombed Lily, bonking her on the chin and free falling
down her plunge V-neck dress.

Lily screeched
and danced around in a circle as the shrimp used her stomach as a slip-n-slide.
The entire group stopped to watch, Lily's squeals the only echo in the room.
Belinda stared with her mouth agape.

"Belinda
Kittridge!" Lily shrieked. If the entire room wasn't watching before, they
were now. In fact, Belinda was pretty sure she heard people in the hallway
actually enter the room. "Mark was a fool! How he ever dumped me.
Me
. For...for you is absurd!"

"Oh,
dear," Carmichael muttered from somewhere nearby.

Belinda felt her
face go hot as everyone turned their attention to her. A queasy, unsettled
feeling writhed in her stomach. It could have been the concussion still, but
she doubted it.

Lily's walnut
eyes, filled with rage, appraised Belinda. Belinda glanced around her, but
there was no one in that room any less shocked than her.

"I should
go," Belinda managed to squeak out.

"You're not
going anywhere."

There was that
panic again.

"I have
business with you, Belinda Kittridge. And you're not leaving until it's
done."

Bennett came into
Belinda's peripheral, making her jump.

Now if there was
one person in that room who could go head-to-head with Lily it was Bennett Tate
with his gray eyes now the color of cold steel. "Believe me," he said
sharply, "you're done." With his hand firmly on Belinda's waist, he
started to lead her out.

"Look at
you!" Lily said to their backs. "Mark belonged to one of the top
families in Portside, and you're sashaying around with some glorified mall cop
who thinks donating a hundred dollars a year makes him one of us!"

Belinda froze
despite Bennett's trying to push her forward. She whipped around, closing the
distance between her and Lily in a few short strides. She had no idea what she
looked like, but it must've been bad because the crowd parted for her like
royalty. And not the waving to the crowd kind of royalty, but the off with
their heads kind of royalty.

"Let me make
something perfectly clear," Belinda hissed, close enough to Lily's face to
smell the champagne on her breath. "Nobody talks to my friends that way.
Least of all some lawyer's daughter whom my family could buy and sell five
times over!"

Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed. Nobody so much as swallowed.

Except Russell
Carmichael who murmured that the Kittridges always did give the best parties.
Belinda decided to put in a good word for him to her nana.

She left with
Lily's eyes exploding out of her head, catching sight of Jarrett gawking at her
as she breezed back the way she came. Belinda's heels were the only sound in
the entire museum as the two of them walked out, every pair of eyes fixated on
them.

Let them talk
about that.