Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) (19 page)

Chapter 22

Jonas flew into
Belinda's and Kyle's driveway on his bike, his hair streaked back by the wind.
He jumped off, laying his bike on the grass and ran up to the door, trying to
catch his breath as he waited. Kyle looked a little surprised to see him, but
no matter. He wasn't there for that.

"I need to
see Belinda," Jonas huffed. "We know who hired Byrne and what Trebor
probably found at Lily's, and she needs protection, right now."

Kyle's eyes,
neutral up to that point, flew open and he ran up the stairs, slamming the door
in Jonas' face in the process. Jonas rolled his eyes and muttered something
about manners. Seconds later, he reappeared, plowing past Jonas into the yard.

"She's
gone!" Kyle threw his arms in the air, heading straight for his Jeep.

"To go
shopping?"

Kyle looked at
him hard. "To go to Stellan's warehouse. She thinks
Sea Stud
is
there."

Jonas ran to get
in Kyle's Jeep before he took off. Kyle backed up in an L over the grass to
turn. Jonas' heart sank as the Jeep bounced up and down, metal crunching under
the tires. He glanced sadly behind him as they raced to the end of the
driveway.

"Sorry,"
Kyle murmured and stepped on the gas.

Jonas tried
Belinda on her cell every few seconds while they drove. Nothing. Straight to
voicemail, which meant it wasn't even on. "This is bad. Bad, bad,
bad."

Kyle looked to
him in panic. "If you're saying this is bad—"

"Dude, watch
the road!"

Kyle swerved,
nearly running into a sand dune to avoid a runner.

"How did you
get your license exactly?"

"Just tell
me we'll find my sister."

"We'll find
your sister. Now please keep your eyes on the road." Jonas rubbed his
forehead. He was getting a migraine. "Why is Belinda so obsessed with the
stupid boat?"

Kyle didn't
answer, his expression hard.

"Kyle,
please. I'm trying to help you. What is the importance of finding
Sea Stud
for her? Besides the sailing...whatever we want to call it now."

"It's not
Sea
Stud
. It's Mark."

Jonas licked his
lips. "Was she involved with him?"

Kyle hesitated,
his eyes glued to the road now. "She doesn't think I know they spent so
much time together that summer, but Mark finally confessed and told me his
plans to break it off with Lily and start dating my sister. Openly."

Jonas wrapped his
mind around that. "So she's doing all of this for
emotion...sentiment?"

"I don't
know, man. I don't pretend to understand her, all right? But I promise you
that's why she's going there. It's all about Mark. All of it." He banged
his palm against the steering wheel.

"Were you
gone the day he died because you were mad at each other? Because of the failed
sponsorship?"

"What?
No!" Kyle laughed incredulously. "Is that what Bels told you?"
He shook his head. "One sponsor blowing us off because of Lily's father
was not that upsetting. I mean, in the long-run it just didn't matter. The
Devores always liked to make plays like that against other families to show off
I guess, but we knew we'd get another sponsor, probably a better one, within a
month or two."

"But you
guys fought."

Kyle scratched
his head, a smirk in the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure we did, but I
think it had more to do with the rumor. Mark was angry that Bels got dragged
into it. In any case, I finally told him about the spy following them
around." Kyle's eyes grew serious. "I think he knew it too, though he
didn't say as much to me."

"Do you
think he suspected Lily was behind it?"

Kyle searched the
road ahead for answers. "I wouldn't doubt it. She had gotten more jealous
and possessive that year. I think she could sense her time was running out."

Jonas called
Bennett. They needed all the help they could get.

~ * ~

While still on
the phone with Jonas, Bennett hurried into the garage to get in his truck when
he saw something that shouldn't have been there. Muddy footprints. Just like at
Belinda's. Bennett spun around to find Jarrett.

Bennett grabbed
him by the arm before the kid could move and whipped him around in a circle,
pinning him to the worktable. Jarrett struggled, breathing heavy and trying to
see his assailant.

"What have
you done?" Bennett yelled in his face.

Jarrett's deep
blue eyes swirled in confusion. "I don't know what you mean."

Bennett tightened
his grip.

"I don't
know!" Jarrett's voice cracked. "I came to tell you...I'm scared.
I...I thought you could help."

He sounded
sincere so Bennett loosened his grip a little. "Have you figured out Lily
was using you?"

Jarrett nodded.
"I'm sorry for what I did. I wasn't thinking straight."

"I'll say.
How you thought hurting Belinda—or worse—would endear her to you is beyond
me."

"You don't
understand. She wasn't supposed to get hurt. Not really. She was supposed to be
in trouble and then I...I..."

"You would
show up and rescue her?"

Jarrett nodded
pathetically. "But you kept getting in my way. First, at the accident you
showed up, and then you were there when I wanted to visit her afterward. Then
with the fire, that cop showed up before I could get there!"

"Did it
never occur to you that what you were doing could have gotten her killed
whether you planned to show up to save her or not? Or that perhaps the person
suggesting it wanted her to end up dead?"

"I know it
was a stupid idea now, but I just wanted her attention. I thought she'd change
her mind...see me as an adult if I could help her."

Bennett loosened
his grip some more, feeling a little sorry for the kid. He was clearly an
idiot, but still.

"Lily
suggested it," Jarrett said. "I saw her at the market after you left
with Belinda and I thought you were dating and was mad. Lily asked what was
wrong...so I told her. And then she said to meet her later because she had some
advice for me." Jarrett looked ashamed. "I had no idea she hated
Belinda. Or that she wanted to hurt her."

"What tipped
you off?" Bennett said sarcastically.

"Look at me,
man." Bennett studied the bruises on his face and his bulging lip.
"After the fire, I saw Belinda on the stretcher with an oxygen mask and it
hit me that what I was doing was crazy, so I told Lily thanks and all, but I
was done. Then some bald thug helping her out beat me up, threatening to do
worse if I told anyone."

"Did you
drive the car that hit Belinda and Victoria?"

"No."
Jarrett swallowed. "I just went and paid for it and all. I was nearby when
it happened, but it didn't matter. You still got to her first. But I...I did
drive past you at the museum. I was just angry and stupid."

Why did people
always state the obvious? "I'm well aware that you're stupid. You put the
rental under Kyle's name."

"That was Lily's
idea, not mine," he said bitterly.

"You didn't
refuse."

Jarrett looked
down again. "I know."

"You know,
you could have killed Victoria's baby. A trauma like that might have caused her
to miscarry."

Jarrett tried to
nod, blinking furiously. Bennett helped him up, straightening out the kid's
jacket. In a strange way, Bennett understood his desperation.

"I just
wanted to know why Belinda likes you and not me." Jarrett kept his eyes on
the cement floor.

"For one,
I'm not trying to get her injured or killed for my personal benefit. And two,
she won't be put in jail for dating me."

"I'm eighteen,"
Jarrett said indignantly.

Bennett shrugged.
"Do you want to help save her for real or not? Belinda is missing and more
than likely it's because of Lily."

"I'm not sure
I can help."

"I wouldn't
say that." Bennett slapped the back of his shoulder. "You have
childish innocence on your side."

Jarrett glowered.

"You can
start thinking of how to make up for your stupidity while I drive,"
Bennett said. "Get in the truck."

Bennett and
Jarrett were already at the warehouse when Kyle drove up. They ran toward them,
Bennett waving his hands in the air. Kyle zipped around him, near Belinda's
car, slamming on the brakes.

"The boat's
gone," Bennett said breathlessly. "But it was definitely here; the
pilings are still inside and there are tracks in the dirt."

Kyle swore,
slamming his hand on the steering wheel and set off the horn.

Jonas stared
calmly at the warehouse, planning their next move. This was his case, and that
wonderful woman wasn't disappearing permanently on his watch. Jonas turned to
Kyle.

"Is the boat
water worthy?" Jonas said.

Kyle looked
scared and furious simultaneously. "Last time I saw it. Why?"

"I'm just
wondering..." Jonas gazed out past Bennett to the harbor.

Bennett's jaw
tightened. "The two other people connected to this case died in the water.
And the truck tracks in the warehouse..." Bennett glanced behind him, his
eyes drawing a line between the warehouse and the boat ramp.

Jarrett
swallowed. "I heard Lily's thug say something about it costing more to put
it in the water."

Kyle snapped to
attention. "What do you mean? What are you thinking?"

"Get us to
the harbor," Jonas said while Bennett climbed over him into the backseat.
"You—" Jonas pointed at Jarrett. "Call your parents and tell
them what you've done. You'll need a good lawyer, but you get some points with
me for helping out here."

The harbormaster
waited for them as Kyle screeched to a stop right at the water's edge. Jonas
wasn't a squeamish person, but when Kyle finally stopped, he actually let out a
huge sigh of relief that they made it there alive—and didn't dive hood first
into the harbor.

Jonas and the
harbormaster yelled back and forth over the dual outboard engines. They had no
way to find
Sea Stud's
position. As they flew out of the harbor, all
three men hanging over the sides to keep lookout, Jonas quelled a sudden shot
of panic. So much water out there. And they didn't even know for sure that this
is what was happening. It was just a hunch.

Jonas took in a
huge gulp of salt air. His superior officer told him the day of his promotion
that his gut got him the new job. At that moment, he felt the weight of the
world riding on that statement. If anything happened to Belinda, this would be
his first and last case.

Chapter 23

Belinda could
feel the world rocking around her. Movement like a car, but it wasn't a car. It
was like being sloshed around...in water. On a boat. She opened her eyes,
panicked and relieved at the same moment. Panicked because she was on a boat—
Sea
Stud
if she was right—on the water. And relieved because she did wake up,
which meant she was alive.

But her relief
quickly passed as she came to and felt something sticky and tight on her mouth.
Her hands were behind her back, wrapped together. And when she tried to move
her legs, her feet were bound. Her impulsive behavior was coming back to bite
her. Without meaning to, she heard a whimper escape her taped mouth and tears
formed in fear.

A pendant in the
shape of a knot encrusted with tiny diamonds descended in front of her face
like a spider, swaying from side to side. Lily stepped over Belinda, lying on
her side on the floor of the cabin, and kneeled down, tilting her head to the
side to look her in the face. Belinda couldn't hide her fear, her eyes wide
with it. Lily sneered.

"Not so
uppity without a roomful of people to come to your rescue, huh?"

Belinda breathed
hard, barely controlling herself from bursting into tears.

"I bet this
is the first time in your whole life you can't say a word. So let me set
something straight for you." Lily leaned closer, her dark eyes wrathful.
"Nobody takes what I want from me. Especially not some spoiled trust fund
baby whose pathetic life I can stamp out. Mark learned that the hard way. And so
will you."

A tear slipped
across Belinda's cheek. Lily wiped it away gently, Belinda recoiling at her
touch.

"If you'd
only kept your hands to yourself," Lily said, "you wouldn't be
here." She stood and Belinda listened to her footsteps trail up to the deck.

Belinda closed
her eyes tight, breathing in and out deeply to steady herself. As badly as she
wanted to lose it, this was no time to fall apart. If her life ever depended on
her sanity, it was right then. What had she been thinking about before she blacked
out? Mark. And that first and last time they kissed. What was that day like? It
was hard to remember under the circumstances, but Belinda forced herself to
recreate it in her mind.

It was August,
the end of their fun time as all three of them had to get ready to start
college. But nobody was in a rush for that summer to end. The weather had been
perfect and Belinda was glad they'd used every spare minute to be on the water.
Especially looking back. Kyle was always with them, but that day he'd had something
going on, but Mark asked Belinda to go out with him anyway. It was a perfect
day to swim so she didn't argue. They stayed out all afternoon and watched the
sunset on the Atlantic.

That's when Mark
told her...he told her he'd broken up with Lily. That he was going to study
engineering, but he and Kyle were going right on ahead with their plans to sail
the world. And Mark couldn't wait for the holiday break so they could see each
other again. The way he'd said it kind of sounded like he wanted to see them
both. But then he'd looked straight at her, his deep blue eyes saying something
completely different. His brown hair curled up around his forehead and he'd
smiled. Mark didn't have a compartment of smiles like Kyle. He just had that
one, but it made her heart gush.

Then he gave her
the knot pendant and they'd both laughed because it was a silly thing, but it
still meant so much to the both of them. Before she had time to process any of
it, Mark kissed her. Soft and hard at once, and Belinda wrapped her arms around
him as he brought her closer, inhaling the mixture of sunscreen and salt always
emanating from him. They stayed out until twilight, finally forced to separate
to get back into the harbor before dark. The last time she saw him was on the
dock when he promised he'd call the next night and they'd go out again that
coming weekend.

But Mark didn't
make it until that weekend.

If she'd only
looked harder.... Belinda squeezed her eyes closed. She'd left the necklace on
Sea
Stud
by accident, and ran back that night to get it. But Mark wasn't on
board. The lights were on in the cabin and his car was in the lot, but he was
gone. She couldn't find the necklace and when he didn't show, or answer his
phone, she figured he'd run out to get something. They were right in town so he
could've walked. But now Belinda knew why he was missing and she wanted so
badly to redo that night. He was already dead or dying. Lily knew what had
happened that day, and she killed Mark for it.

And now she was
going to finally kill Belinda too.

"Well,
Belinda," Lily crooned as she reentered the cabin, "the coast, quite
literally, is clear, which is unfortunate for you. So I'm afraid it's
time."

Lily yanked on
Belinda's arms, forcing her up and to her feet. But Belinda's feet were also
tied, so Lily grunted and panted, having to pull a reluctant Belinda along who
refused to hop or help her in any way. If this Montresor thought Belinda was
actually going to make it easy for her to drag Belinda to her own death, she
was nuttier than she thought.

Belinda's mind
raced as Lily dragged her up the stairs to the deck. She could feel the bruises
forming as she clunked along, getting thrown into the sides as the boat rocked.
She closed her eyes as full sun hit her. Lily left her on deck, clearly not
worried about Belinda escaping. From what she could see, there was no direct
hope of that. Nothing but water and sky.

"Mark was
pretty surprised to see me that night," Lily said, admiring what looked
like a bike chain. "When I told him I knew you two had gotten cozy long
before then, he had the audacity to say nothing had happened until he dumped
me. Well, I assured him that, even if I did believe him, I didn't care. The two
of you would pay for making a fool of me."

Belinda had a
pretty good idea of what Lily had in mind now and wriggled around, trying to
loosen her wrist bonds. But Lily had spent too much time with Mark. She knew
how to tie a knot.

Lily laughed.
"Mark warned me to stay away from you, but I told him he wouldn't be
around to protect you. Then I cracked his head open before he could stop me. I
didn't plan on Stellan being such a coward. Or Jeff spying me leaving Mark's
sailboat that night and being smart enough to put it together." Her eyes
gazed in the direction of the harbor. "It was supposed to be a murder that
you would be blamed for. Ah, well. This works too." Lily pulled the
necklace out and slipped it over Belinda's head, fondling the pendant. "I
never meant to hold on to this for so long, but I couldn't ever quite let it go."
Lily's eyes focused on Belinda's. "I guess it's time."

Lily hoisted
Belinda's feet in the air, so Belinda took her chances and kicked her legs as
hard as possible. On dry land, it might've only irritated Lily. But this was not
dry land. Lily fell backward, crashing near the cabin door. It stunned her
because she sat still long enough for Belinda to get up on her knees and try
and scuttle as far away as possible. She had no other game plan with her
restraints, which felt like they got tighter as she struggled. And the more she
saw of her surroundings, the more despairing she became. But she refused to
just sit there and cry while Lily murdered her.

Before Belinda
could crawl her way to the other side of the boat as waves knocked her off balance,
Lily got her footing again and pulled Belinda up. If she thought that would be
safer, she was wrong. As soon as Lily bent over to wrap the bike chain around
her ankles, Belinda buckled her knees and thrust her body forward, knocking
Lily in the face and toppling her over. She yelled as she rolled on the deck,
just shy of sliding overboard. Belinda cursed, wishing she could just waltz
across and push Lily over, but she was doing good to stay standing.

Then she saw it.
The sun glinted off of a moving object in the distance and it was hurtling
towards them. Could it be another boat? Could it even be someone she knew? But
she didn't have much time to hope. Lily pulled her legs out from under her and
Belinda slammed onto the fiberglass, the wind knocked right out of her. She
laid there paralyzed, trying to breathe, while Lily wrapped the chain around
her ankles.

As soon as air
surged into Belinda's lungs again, she swung her feet at Lily's head. But Lily
dodged, yanking Belinda to the lower deck. Seeing the water, feeling the metal
weighing down her feet sent new shockwaves of fear through her. But also
renewed determination. Before Lily could pull her over the edge, Belinda
channeled all of her energy, squeezing it through her torso down into her leg
muscles, and snapped her legs out.

Lily staggered
into the ship's wheel and pushed Belinda off the side with her feet as the boat
took a sharp left. She stood taller as Belinda slid into the water screaming,
smug and eager to watch her die a slow death. But she'd set things in motion,
and as the boat careened sideways into a swell, Lily flew backward. The last
thing she saw as her temple drove into the corner of the cabin entrance was the
shape of someone who looked like Mark standing on the bow of a motorboat.

~ * ~

Bennett squinted
into the sun, his body slung over as far as he could manage without falling out
of the boat as spray doused him with every wave they hit. He had one side,
Jonas the other, and Kyle the bow. Just then Kyle turned yelling, his words
stolen by the wind. He pointed and as the boat swerved, Bennett aimed his
binoculars in that direction, adjusting them to see clearer.

Kyle hunched on
the prow ready for battle. Bennett ripped his jacket off as Kyle dove off the
bow. The harbormaster took a sharp right and Bennett dove from the side. He
surfaced, seeing Kyle's and Belinda's heads, but she had tape across her mouth,
and she was slipping from Kyle's grip. Bennett fought the current and the
waves. It had been a while since his stint as a lifeguard, but he felt the training
coming back to him. Kyle ripped the tape from Belinda's mouth, but struggled to
keep her above water.

"We've got
you," Bennett told Belinda. "You're not going anywhere."

She fought to
keep her mouth and nose above water, her breaths shallow. Kyle ordered her to
breathe deeper while Bennett dove under, the salt burning his eyes as he tried
to see to remove the chain from her legs. In Lily's hurry, she'd just wrapped
it with no real knot, but it was still tough to unwind underwater, especially
with Belinda flailing her legs. Not moving out of the way in time, one end of
the chain flew straight into the side of his head. He surfaced, gripping the lifesaver
for support as his head started to throb.

Jonas pulled
Belinda on board. She collapsed into his arms, coughing and crying. He lifted
her onto a seat while Kyle helped Bennett up, now really feeling the pain in
his temple. Kyle and Jonas untied and unchained Belinda, now just crying. Kyle
hopped up next to her as she blabbered incomprehensibly.

"Bels, Bels,
just...just stop talking right now." Kyle held her tight, his golden brown
eyes betraying how scared he really was. By some miracle, his sister obeyed and
just cried into his shoulder.

Jonas slapped
Bennett on the back as they watched from a respectful distance. "Good
job," Bennett said, keeping his eyes on Belinda.

Jonas gazed over
at
Sea Stud
—and Lily's still body. "You too."

"It's okay
if you're relieved." Bennett swallowed. "It's been an intense
case."

"Thank
you." Jonas half-smiled. "I may have to cry myself. When I'm home, in
the dark, of course."

Belinda got
herself together a little more, and slid off the seat with Kyle holding her arm
to keep her steady. She was about to say something like thank you, when she
realized that was hardly going to express how she felt, so she just flew with
her impulse and wrapped her arms around Jonas' neck. It took Jonas a few
seconds to recover and hug her back.

"You're
starting to feel like an old friend," Belinda said, releasing him.
"We're having you over for dinner. No protesting."

Jonas nodded, not
even considering the idea of protesting. "I'll bring the beer."

Belinda grinned,
meeting Bennett's gaze. Bennett smiled back in his way, and she reached for him
and—

"Wait!"
Kyle dove between them, putting his hands up. "Wait, wait, wait." He
locked eyes with Bennett. "Do you currently have a psychotic
girlfriend?"

"Kyle!"
Belinda rolled her eyes.

"No,"
Bennett said solemnly.

"Have you
ever
had a psychotic girlfriend?"

Bennett looked to
the sky, giving that a moment's thought. When he didn't answer right away,
Belinda started to worry and held her breath.

"No."

She exhaled.
"Are you done?"

Kyle thought a
minute. "Yep."

"Then please
move."

He stepped back
and before anyone else could get in the way or object or kidnap her, Belinda
threw her arms around Bennett, planting her lips on his at the same moment.
Bennett didn't hesitate to respond this time, clutching her back tightly. Jonas
arched his eyebrows and Kyle wrinkled his nose.

Belinda pulled
away, both of their eyes sparkling. Bennett licked his lips. "Salty."