Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) (3 page)

Chapter 3

Belinda
speed-walked back toward the obnoxious music, which now made her head hurt. She
ignored everyone she passed, searching for Victoria to say good-bye and then
she was out of there. Victoria's red head finally appeared out of the crowd.
She was leaning to one side, chatting with an unexpected guest. Belinda's
stomach twisted. Out of one awkward situation and into an even worse one. Good
thing she skipped the reunion.

Lily Devore's
dark eyes lit up with as much confusion as her own, but then immediately turned
to disdain as she looked Belinda over. "Belinda." She said it like
her name left a bad aftertaste. "I didn't expect to find you here."

Belinda folded
her arms. "Likewise."

"Back for
the reunion?"

"No.
You?"

Lily hesitated.
"No."

"Here
long?" Belinda seriously hoped she said no.

"Just a
short visit. You?" Lily raised one of her black eyebrows, her intense blue
eye shadow shimmering under the lights passing over them.

Belinda wanted
nothing more than to be rid of this pointless exchange. "Undecided."

Victoria glanced
from Belinda to Lily and back. Then dead silence, unless you counted the bass
shooting up through her toes.

"Are you
okay?" Victoria said, touching Belinda's arm. Her cheeks were flushed
crimson.

Belinda ran
through the scenario in her mind and decided it was better to hold off telling
her about it. She wasn't getting into that with Lily Devore present. "I'll
tell you later."

Victoria nodded
in understanding. She could very well guess what happened anyway. She knew
Belinda well enough.

Belinda hugged
her good-bye, in case she was huge before they saw each other again, and after exchanging
glowers with Lily, she fast-tracked it to the nearest exit, which happened to
be a French door leading out into the yard. Her heels sunk into the dirt and
she dug through her purse for the valet stub.

Lost in thought,
Belinda was vaguely aware in that sixth-sense sort of way that someone else was
present in the yard behind her, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the hand
that clutched her arm. "Jeff!" Belinda landed unsteadily on one foot
as her heel sunk into the turf. "You scared me!" She could feel her
legs taking her backwards. Without giving a signal, they knew she wanted out.

"Ssh!"
Jeff glanced back at the house, his eyes darting around. Belinda couldn't see
their color in the darkness, but she knew they were sometimes blue, sometimes
gray depending on what he wore. "I need to talk to you about something.
It's important. Can I come see you tomorrow afternoon?"

Belinda's gut
reaction was to find Kyle. But Kyle was home. "I—"

"I promise
it has nothing to do with all of that."

Belinda tried to
discern if Jeff was drunk. Though his eyes were frantic, they were also clear.

"I trust you,"
he said. "And I need someone I can trust."

Belinda wished
she could feel as certain about him.

Pieces of brown
hair flopped at different angles around Jeff's face. His hair wasn't exactly
long—on purpose anyway—but long like he needed a cut. "I know you don't
want to see me, and I'm sorry for all I put you and your family through. I
don't expect you not to hate me, but I do trust you. More than anyone I
think."

"That's an
intense statement considering I haven't seen you in years." Belinda's fear
was starting to be replaced by pity.

"Please,
Belinda. I have to tell someone. I can't live like this anymore."

Belinda's heart
throbbed. All Jeff had put her through...but look at him now. Look at what life
had done to him. "What's bothering you?"

Jeff swallowed.
"It's about Mark." He lowered his voice so she almost couldn't hear
him.

Belinda's eyes
went wide. "About the accident?" Belinda mimicked his voice level.

He nodded
emphatically, urgency rippling through his face.

Belinda knew what
Kyle would say but her gut told her to say yes. She nodded in consent.
"Let's talk then."

Jeff relaxed and
the squall in his eyes calmed down. "Thank you, Belinda. Thank you so
much." He went to reach for her, but stopped himself as she tensed up.

Jeff half-smiled
instead and after looking around him like a spy in trouble, he skittered back
toward the side of the house. Belinda turned to go, catching sight of Lily's
dark eyes watching her through the glass doors. Lily looked away quickly when
Belinda made eye contact. Belinda fled before anyone else accosted her.

She zoomed along
the narrow curves and stone walls of Ocean Avenue in her Mini Cooper, darting
across town back to her house. She calmed down almost the second she pulled
into the driveway. The microwave beeped when she entered the kitchen, the smell
of fake butter sitting in the air. Belinda crashed into one of the island
stools, resting her still hot cheeks on the cool granite. Kyle ripped open the
popcorn bag, shaking it in her direction. "Want some?" he said with
his mouth full.

"Sure."

"The box is
in the cabinet."

Belinda lifted
her head enough to throw the plastic spoon next to her at his face. She missed.

Kyle grinned,
shoving another handful into his mouth. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
He pulled out the box and slid it in her direction. Belinda held her awkward
position to keep glaring. "Still kidding." He held up his hands in
surrender, ripped open the plastic bag and tossed the popcorn in the microwave.
"Rough party, I take it."

She felt safe to
relax and went back to pressing her forehead on the counter, images of Jeff
flashing in her mind. And Lily. Ugh. "You have no idea." Kyle could
have an idea if she just told him who she bumped into, but she'd already dealt
with his bad mood the night before and didn't want to go there again so soon.

Kyle munched on
the popcorn, licking his fingers. "If you're going to keep living here,
you may need to scare up a new set of friends."

"They're not
really my friends. Well, except Victoria and Dan." Belinda lifted her
head. "I haven't seen or spoken to the rest of them in forever."

"And tonight
no doubt assured you of why that is."

"I can't
answer that. I talked to like two people."

"But that
was enough."

Belinda toyed
with an earring. "Maybe."

Kyle laughed.
"Bels, it's like eight o'clock."

"It's
nine."

"Fine, nine
o'clock. Should you be home by nine o'clock? I don't think so. You hated
it."

Belinda grinned.
"I'm old. Too old for late night partying."

"Then you're
old and you hated it." Belinda threw an escaped popcorn kernel at his
face. It was barely spring and his skin already glowed. That the boy in the
family had been sun kissed instead of her was a complete genetic miscalculation
in her books. Kyle smiled. The boyish,
aren't-I-adorable-so-you-have-to-let-it-slide smile he always pulled out when
he'd been naughty. She swore he had a compartment of smiles in his brain, one
for every occasion. Belinda had seen this one more than she could count. But it
still worked.

"For the
record, you're older than me," Belinda said.

And he'd won.
"Only by a minute."

"That's one
minute I'm going to cash in for the rest of our lives." Belinda dumped the
popcorn into a bowl. There was something wonderful about fake food when you
were upset. "It's good you didn't go. I sensed the presence of a certain
stalker."

Kyle screwed up
his nose the same way Belinda always did. "Carly the Klepto?" Kyle's
voice wavered. "Sh–she's still around?" Carly the Klepto, the only
woman who truly scared Kyle.

"I think she
is. You better watch it."

"Yet another
reason to seek out new friends."

"Oh, I'm
sure she's moved on by now."

Kyle shivered.
"With a nickname like that, I wouldn't be sure of anything." Belinda
grinned happily. "Stop reveling in my natural fear of predatory women and
eat your popcorn."

Belinda licked
her fingers, in a much better mood than when she first got home. "Have you
started packing up your room yet?"

Kyle made a face.

"I got boxes
for you and everything. All you have to do is throw your stuff inside of them.
It's not difficult."

Kyle made another
face. Belinda rolled her eyes and flung an empty cardboard box at him.
"Then you can help me pack up some of these pots and pans while you're
just standing here."

Kyle sighed and
set the box on top of the island while Belinda pulled out pots and handed them
to him to stack and box. They weren't going far—just to the carriage house out
front while her parents had the house interior ripped apart and redone—so
Belinda wasn't too worried about how everything was put together. Except for
the plates. The plates and glasses were going to be a scene and a half with the
dining room china cabinet. Thinking about the work involved there, Belinda
started shoving things at Kyle more quickly. Otherwise she was going to have a
panic attack just thinking about it.

"So we have
a million other things to do this week to get ready to move—and to make room
for the demolition." Belinda handed him a nested stack of frying pans.
"Besides packing everything up and moving it, we have to deal with the
furniture so it's not demolished with the tile."

"I thought
we had a moving company taking it all away to storage for us."

Belinda paused,
her hand in motion to pick up another sauce pot, flushed from the party, the
moving pressure, and her tense reunion with Jeff Clark. Or more to the point,
the mention of Mark and the sailing accident. She'd managed not to give it much
thought, but now her mind involuntarily kept switching to images of Mark. She
handed the pot to Kyle and leaned against the counter to catch her breath.

"All we have
to worry about is this stuff, and you need to be here for the movers."
Kyle stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I love
you." Belinda slowed her pace. "I totally forgot we had professional
help for that."

Kyle snickered.
"Maybe they can help you too." Belinda glowered and slammed another
pot into his chest. As she did so, she caught sight of a long scratch across
his forearm where Kyle's sleeve was pushed up.

"What did
you do to your arm?"

Kyle glanced at
it automatically. "I think I scraped it on a piece of metal or something.
You know how crammed the yard is this time of year."

"Are your
shots up to date?"

Kyle blinked.
"Am I a dog?"

"You can get
some pretty nasty infections from rusted metal, Kyle. I'm just asking."

Kyle shrugged.
"It's nothing. I'll slap some disinfectant on it before bed, okay?"

With more of that
work out of the way, Belinda crashed in her bedroom, pretty stark with no one
inhabiting it on a permanent basis for years. She sat on the edge of the shabby
chic comforter and re-read the note card her mom had left on the dresser.
Belinda remembered when her parents built the house when they were teens. It was
strange and yet comforting coming back to it. Getting all misty-eyed, she set
the card so she could see the puppies on the front from bed.

She forced
herself to turn off the light, closing her eyes on the thoughts of how best to
pack up the plates and arrange everything. As she drifted off, those concerns
were replaced by ones from the party. The strange conversation she overheard,
obnoxious Lily, and the intensity in Jeff's eyes when he mentioned Mark.

Mark. Now that
subject brought up a whole bunch of other feelings that could keep her awake
for days. Belinda flopped over on her back and stared into the dark. It was
gonna be a long night.

Chapter 4

Belinda's cell
phone buzzed and startled her awake much earlier than she cared for after
sleeping restlessly. She felt for the phone with her eyes closed, opening one
halfway to read the message. She read it once and closed her eye again, then
bolted awake, kicking off the covers and running for Kyle's room.

Belinda flew
inside and shook him until he finally woke up with a start, eyes crazed, and
mumbling something about a fire. She shoved her phone into his face. After over
a minute of just staring at it blankly, the words on the screen finally
penetrated and his complexion turned from bronze to ash. "Jeff is
dead," he croaked.

Belinda cupped
her mouth with her hands, now sure she hadn't misunderstood Victoria's text.
Kyle met her eyes, disbelief, fear, and something else mixed in his. Torment?
Or maybe that was just Belinda's reflection.

Victoria sat with
the two of them on their back deck a half-hour later. Stellan Mayhew had
contacted Victoria and asked her to pass the information along. A nice gesture,
Belinda thought. At least she didn't find out about it from the news. Kyle
slurped milk out of a cereal bowl but Belinda had no appetite. She sat curled
up in a lounger with her hands wrapped around her stomach.

Before she woke
up, Belinda had dreamt about swimming off of Mark's boat. Kyle and two others
she couldn't identify disappeared, leaving only gurgling water behind. She
guessed they drowned. It was disturbing, but now she felt a new wave of
disturbed. Emptiness. Relief. Guilt. Sickness. All of these tried to control
her at once. So she emptied herself of feeling and chose numbness.

"So they
think he jumped?" she said rather neutrally, though Belinda felt anything
but neutral, especially looking out at their view. Their property line ended in
a similar plunge toward the water. She gripped her shirt to keep from shaking.

"I
guess," Victoria said, staring up at the sky through sunglasses. "I
didn't want to bug Stellan with a lot of questions."

"When did it
happen?"

"All I know
is that it was some time last night."

"I saw him
last night. Did I tell you that?"

Victoria turned
to see Belinda. "No, you didn't, but I assumed from the way you ran out of
there."

"This was
after that, on my way to get my car. He wanted to see me."

Kyle snapped to.
"You didn't tell me you saw Jeff."

Belinda groaned.
"Did I have to? Wasn't my blatant misery and early return enough?"

Kyle shrugged.
"I thought you just hated the party in general. What did he say?"

Belinda sighed.
"Nothing. Stellan showed up before he could get anything out." She
shivered thinking about Jeff's skittish expression at the party like he was
being watched. What did he want to tell her about Mark and the accident?

Kyle put his
cereal bowl down and stared out at the water, the sun glistening off the
ripples. The current was fierce that morning, visible on top of the waves. It
would be good sailing weather, circumstances aside. "I'm sorry, Bels.
Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged you to come back."

Belinda slowly
changed her position, her legs going numb. "I came back of my own
volition. I knew I'd see him again eventually."

"I think
he'd actually gotten worse," Victoria said. "Dan and I talked about
it last night and we both felt like something was gnawing at Jeff."

"He never
got past Mark's death," Kyle said, gripping the chair arms. "Jeff
blamed himself more than Stellan for what happened."

"I've always
wondered why," Victoria said. "I know Stellan was affected, but it
hit Jeff the hardest. Stellan seemed to shake off the blame."

"Jeff was
more sensitive." Belinda returned to her curled up position in the chair.
Is that what Jeff wanted to say to her so badly? Did it connect to what Jeff
told Stellan?

"Jeff
should've stayed in California," Kyle said. "He might have forgotten
eventually." Belinda and Victoria exchanged glances. Kyle turned to both
of them and pulled out one of his secret weapon smiles. "Bels needs to
eat. Let's go make pancakes."

~ * ~

Jonas Parker
leaned over the cliff's edge as far as he could and dared, examining the rocks
below. He held his tie down to keep it from blowing up in his face, but then
his light brown hair blew into his eyes anyway. It was amazing that Jeff
Clark's body had not been swept away, and fortunate that a man who worked for
the Mayhews spotted it early that morning. Jonas looked down to where the body
had been and repressed a shudder. What a way to go.

"Detective!"
Bennett sauntered across the lawn toward him.

Jonas jumped,
quickly stepping away from his perch and darker thoughts. They shook hands,
Jonas slapping Bennett on the shoulder.

"Congrats on
the promotion. Way to get broken in." Bennett swung his head in the
water's direction. "You asked to see me?"

Jonas rubbed his
chin. "I'm hoping you'll have something from the party last night for us
to work with."

Bennett nodded, sifting
through what he knew had happened. "You don't think he jumped?"

Jonas shrugged.
"Too early to say. It's possible. All we have so far is what appears to be
a note to someone named Mark in the victim's pocket, an empty beer bottle on
the cliff's edge, and traces of some white stuff on the grass. The only person
living in the house right now, one of the Mayhew kids, thought the victim had
left, but he didn't park with the valet service and his car is not at his
grandparents' house, which is where he was staying. I could use your insider
information to narrow things down."

"I've got
plenty of footage of empty hallways."

Jonas laughed.
"What? Nobody snuck off to snog in one of the bedrooms?"

"All the
bedrooms were locked. And I think this crew is past their partying prime."

"Aren't we
all? Well, I'd like to go over the footage with you first, if you don't mind.
You might have some insight on who we're dealing with."

Bennett had
brought his equipment for that reason and they set it up in the same room he'd
occupied the night before. Lots of empty hallways as promised, some bad dance
moves, and a few odd hallway moments. They watched the victim, Jeff, and a
woman as yet unidentified, go outside in a hurry. Then there was Belinda.

"Fawn
Eyes," Bennett muttered. Jonas raised an eyebrow. Bennett pursed his lips
as he came on the screen.

Several minutes
later, Belinda reappeared in the same spot, talking to the victim and then the
client. Jonas marked something down on his phone.

"And that's
the extent of the people activity beyond the party," Bennett said.
"At least, on camera. You'll want to talk to Finn about what happened
outside." Bennett tore his eyes off the monitor and slid a printout of the
guest list across the desk. "I only have names this time, no photos. I'm
also under the impression that most of these people no longer live in the area
but were just in town for their high school reunion."

Jonas arched one
brown eyebrow. "Thrilling. No wonder none of them could dance." He
pocketed the list. "So, should I start my inquiries with Fawn Eyes?"

Bennett twirled
his thumbs, staring at the black and white image of Belinda Kittridge. Real
life did her more justice. "It's your call, Detective."

Jonas swiveled
around in the office chair, lifting his feet off the ground to do a full circle.
"She had an unpleasant meeting with the vic and ran from the party right
afterward. So I'd have to say she's first on my obvious list."

"Your
'obvious list'?"

"My list of
people who obviously know something about what's going on with my dead
guy." Bennett's eyes eagerly wandered back to the screen. "Maybe you
should get that shot printed out. It is the best one after all."

Bennett glowered
and shut the laptop.

"Why are you
so touchy? You know, Finn warned me you were in a mood, but I told him he just
doesn't understand you." Jonas grinned.

"This is
work, and right now she's a suspect." Bennett started to pack up his
equipment.

Jonas took stock
of his friend. "You know..."

Bennett wrestled
with getting the laptop back in its case. "You know what?" His voice
was crisp like he knew what came after that. Maybe now wasn't the right time to
finish the thought.

"Never mind.
Thanks for the help, bro." Jonas threw his jacket back on.

"Anytime."
Bennett was now consumed with his repacking, or more likely with other less
pleasant thoughts, so Jonas left him to it and went to interview Belinda
Kittridge.

~ * ~

Belinda had
finally settled down enough to crack open her laptop to browse wedding registry
items for her cousin's upcoming shower when the doorbell rang. Reluctantly, she
pushed herself off the couch and opened the door to Jonas Parker. He smiled, a
bit lopsided, and explained why he was there. Belinda escorted him to the back
porch, thinking it would have a calming effect on her.

"I have to
say...wow." He crashed into a lounger, the wind undoing his
forward-brushed light brown hair, hurling wisps of it straight up into the air.
He didn't seem to take any notice and just absorbed the surroundings for a few
minutes. Belinda waited with her hands clasped in her lap, perched on the edge
of her seat, not quite as relaxed as she'd hoped.

"So I just
have a few questions to ask," the detective said after he seemed to get
enough of staring at their property. "Nothing too scary. First, I'd just
like to know how you knew Jeff Clark."

"Oh...well,
that's easy." Belinda swallowed, her mouth going completely dry. "We
went to school together and our families knew each other."

"Were you
close?" Belinda started to speak then hesitated. Almost like a good TV
interviewer, he jumped in. "Is it more complicated than a yes or no
answer?"

Belinda nodded, her
eyes filling with tears. She hadn't cried once yet, or even felt like it. Now,
when she needed to hold it together, she was unraveling. "We weren't on
the same page about our relationship."

"I see. Was
that the cause of your awkward meeting with him at the party?"

All Belinda could
do was nod emphatically.

"Was seeing
him upsetting to you last night?"

More emphatic
nodding. The detective let her compose herself. She took a deep breath, dabbing
at her eyes with a sleeve and sniffed. "He...if I had known he would be
there, I would have skipped the party."

"What
exactly was your relationship like with Jeff?"

"He liked
me, a long time ago, in high school." Belinda fought to remember what had
actually happened. Some things stuck out too much and others not enough.
"I didn't feel that way about him, but before I got a chance to be clear
on that, he suffered a tragedy."

Jonas leaned
forward on his knees, his brow creased up in concentration.

"You may
remember from the news," she continued, feeling choked up again, "but
one of our friends died in a horrible sailing accident about ten years
ago." The detective nodded. "Well, Jeff was with him when he drowned.
I mean, he was one of the boys on the sailboat when it happened. And...and he
was never the same person after that."

"So did he
drop his interest in you?"

Belinda shook her
head. "The opposite happened. He became somewhat obsessed with it to the
point that my family had to leave town for a while. He did calm down,
thankfully, but," Belinda thought back to him in Stellan's yard, "he
always insisted it didn't work out because of the accident. Because he wasn't
the same person after it."

"But that
wasn't the case."

"No. It
wasn't."

"Is that
what he said to you in the hallway?"

"Well...he
didn't really get a chance. I avoided him because we always had the same
conversation. That we couldn't be together because of his issues related to the
sailing accident. I couldn't deal with it anymore." A shock of terror went
through her that he'd think she meant she killed him. "I mean, I just
avoided him because of it."

The detective
seemed to ignore her blunder.

"Something
different happened last night though." Belinda edged closer to the
detective. She had to get this out before he switched topics. "Jeff asked
to meet me today. He said he had something important to tell me about...about
the sailing accident."

Jonas' chill
expression intensified. "Do you have any idea what he wanted to say?"

"I can only
relate it back to something I overheard between Jeff and Stellan. But it's all
out of context."

Jonas leaned
forward. "Doesn't matter. Tell me." Belinda related every detail
about the conversation that she could recall. It wasn't much, but Jonas took
notes, and looked her directly in the eye. "Who else was on that boat when
the accident occurred?"

Belinda didn't
even have to think. "Jeff, Stellan, and Mark."

He took notes on
his phone. "Mark?"

"Yes, Mark
Nichols." Belinda looked down.

Jonas tapped his
stylus on his phone. "We found a note to a Mark in Clark's pocket. Do you
think it could be this Mark Nichols?"

Belinda didn't
know how to answer that question. "Well, I suppose it could be, but Mark
has been dead for almost ten years." Jonas tilted his head, so Belinda
went on to explain. "He was the friend that died in the sailing accident."

Jonas nodded.
"Did they sail together often?"

"Oh, yes. My
brother was in their group a lot too. And sometimes Mark's girlfriend, Lily
Devore."

"Is she
still in the area?"

"Not
permanently. But she was at the party last night."