Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) (4 page)

"Huh."
Jonas glanced up from trying to make out his screen in the sunlight. "So
your brother wasn't there that day? Of the sailing accident?"

Belinda almost
clapped her hand over her mouth. "No." She bit her lip. "Is this
a murder investigation?"

"I honestly
don't know yet. Why?"

Belinda turned to
look out at the property's edge. "Because I'll tell you right here, that
Jeff did not kill himself. He acted his share of crazy, and he was definitely
freaking out about something, but I know that he would not have asked to see me
that night only to jump off a cliff right afterward." Her voice was shaky
but convinced.

Jonas nodded and
stood, stretching his long legs out. Belinda followed him around the house to
the driveway, looking for his car, but Jonas knocked the kickstand of a bike up
and peddled off.

Belinda darted
back inside and called Kyle's cell. He answered, sounding a bit distracted.
"Got a minute?" she said, pacing around the kitchen island. "I
just had a big oops moment and I need to tell you."

"Did you
take off with someone else's watermelon again?"

Belinda narrowed
her eyes. "That happened once about five years ago. Honestly."

"Okay, okay.
What was today's 'oops' moment?"

"Not that
I'm in the mood to tell you now, but I talked to the police about Jeff."

"So it was a
murder."

"He didn't
say that, and as far as I could tell he was just sizing up the situation."

"All right,
well go on. I'm sure that's not what you're ramping up to tell me."

"I had to
tell him about my relationship, or lack thereof, with Jeff, and it kind of came
out that you used to sail with all of them."

"Well, I
did."

"I also
accidentally mentioned that you weren't there when the accident happened."

Kyle paused.
"Well, I wasn't," he said flatly.

"I know.
It's just...I don't know..."

"Don't
worry, Bels. Jeff is dead and we did hang out a lot at one time. I'm sure
they'll want to talk to me at some point. It would've come out anyway. It's not
a secret."

"What if
they ask—?"

"Then I'll
answer. Stop worrying about it. I can take care of myself."

Belinda stared at
a photo in the kitchen of the two of them on Mark's sailboat before the
accident. No matter what approach she took, the subject always remained taboo.
"Are you working?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll
let you go."

"Bels—"

"Yeah?"

"Antelope
sheep."

Belinda smiled.
"Pollywog rattlesnake." Belinda hung up, still stuck on the photo.
She'd had all these romantic notions of coming home, imagining that life would
be just the same as before. But it wasn't, and Jeff's death only magnified that
truth. Nothing would ever be the same.

~ * ~

Jonas got on the
phone with Bennett immediately as he hugged the curvy beach road heading back
to the station. "Two things," he said, peddling over as a car passed.
"Fawn Eyes is not our killer."

"If you even
need one." Bennett stowed his laptops away in his home office and locked
it up. "Last I checked, the reason for his death was undetermined."

"Second,"
Jonas was not in the mood to argue about technicalities, "you need to cozy
up to her. This woman knows these people, their history. And given the right
circumstances, will share that wealth of knowledge."

Bennett stared
into his empty fridge. "Then turn back around and go ask her
yourself."

"I can't. I
don't have a legitimate reason to."

"You're
investigating a potential homicide. I vaguely recall that counts as a
legitimate reason to question people."

"Yes, but
you are not a police officer."

Bennett paused,
hand frozen over his keys in claw formation.

"Everyone is
on guard with the police, but she wouldn't have to be with you. You could just
talk and it's not official." Jonas congratulated himself for his brilliant
idea.

"And how
would we do that?"

"You bump
into each other, you say hi, then you say something else, then she replies,
then you ask a question, and so on and so forth. You know, it's called
conversation."

Bennett rolled
his eyes. "I get that, thank you. But when would I bump into her? I've
never seen her before in my life."

"It's like a
type of car. You never knew it existed until you buy one and all of the sudden
everyone you see owns that same car."

"So Belinda
Kittridge is a now an automobile."

"No. Belinda
Kittridge is a socialite. A socialite who could offer vital information to our
cause." Not to mention attractive and single as far as he could tell.

"I wouldn't
describe her that way. She associates with these people but I'm not sure she
belongs with them."

Jonas laughed.
"You've watched that footage of her a lot today, haven't you?"

Bennett turned
blood red and glared at his keys. "I can't help you."

"Oh, yes you
can. And you will. Investigating is still in your blood, I can smell it. You
made a terrific PI so I'm sure you can find a way to casually run into her
somewhere. Then you do your little conversation thing and whammo she tells you
something invaluable."

"You do
realize I know why you're actually doing this?"

Jonas shrugged.
"It'll be good for you. And it beats staring at an aerial view of her
walking back and forth in a hallway all day."

Bennett gripped
his keys. "We'll see."

Jonas hung up,
satisfied that he'd done what he set out to do. If Bennett didn't find her
patterns and fall into step with them within two days, Jonas would take an
early retirement and go flip hamburgers for the rest of his life.

Bennett returned
home about an hour later with his lunch. He sat out in his yard in the shade,
perfectly content to sit there and eat his lunch in peace. Perfectly content.
His mind didn't wander to Belinda Kittridge and what she might be doing at that
moment. Not even for a second. He held his plastic fork straight into the air,
his lunch poised on top of his other palm. Not. For. A. Second. Bennett
growled, cursing Jonas under his breath, and marched back into his office. It
would be a lunch while working kind of day.

By the time the
last piece of fish met its destiny, Bennett had spent an absurd amount of time
reading the press Belinda and her family got for their benefits and other
community work. Though they were mentioned in conjunction with other Portside
families, it did seem to be as Bennett thought. They moved in their own circle,
getting along but separate from the other families to a certain extent.

Belinda
volunteered for various activities when she was in town, and she and her family
contributed to an assortment of places and events in Portside and beyond, especially
when it came to the arts and boating. In fact, Belinda and her grandmother had
recently led an exclusive art-related fundraiser.

Where could he
"naturally" run into her though? Bennett ran his fingers through his
dark hair, contemplating the common denominators. There wasn't much of a way
around it, he would have to watch her and create his own natural meeting place.

Chapter 5

True to his word,
Kyle had bought no food of interest to her, but he had developed a sudden
craving for all things homemade now that he had her captive. Belinda smiled to
herself while strolling through the small downtown market. Kyle had started a
list of things he wanted her to make while she was in town. Incredible. The man
who couldn't keep track of his keys had made her a list—a legible one, mind
you, with stars for bullet points, stuck on the fridge front and center. Oh
well. He certainly appreciated her cooking by letting none of it go to waste,
and her nana had advised her to use her skills for all they were worth. So she
would. Besides, she'd learned that Jeff had been murdered, which she'd as much
as told that detective, and it would help her de-stress to bake.

Rounding out the
vegetables for the evening, Belinda headed for the baking aisle. Checking her
list to make sure she didn't muse her way out of the store without something
important, she glanced up to see the storm cloud eyes of That Guy from the
party staring straight at her over the boxes of organic granola. Startled and
embarrassed for no good reason, Belinda quickly averted her eyes and booked it
to another aisle.

Just when she
thought she was safe with the flour and semi-sweet chocolate chips, Jarrett
materialized next to her, pouty faced and huffy. The band gig. She'd forgotten
all about it in the craziness. And, honestly, she'd never intended to go and he
as much as knew that. But, nevertheless, he was going to give her the
Greenhouse Treatment, as Kyle called it. Jarrett would blast her with guilt to
see if she'd grow useful to him.

Jarrett deigned
to say hello to her and then stood there holding his bottle of soda, his cheeks
suctioned in from repressing his loathing of her.

Belinda took a
deep breath. Time to be the adult. "How was your gig yesterday?"

"You mean
practice?"

Oops. Of course
she meant practice. "Yes, practice. How did it go?"

"Awful."

"Oh. I'm
sorry to hear that."

Jarrett shrugged.

So far, not so
good, but he wasn't making any move to leave and Belinda was out of
conversation starters. Just when she was about to come up with some clever out
like, "Well, look at the time," That Guy rounded the corner behind
Jarrett, walking straight toward her.

That was the good
and bad news.

His expression
was flat, but not blank. No, not blank at all when Belinda looked closely.

"I found
them," That Guy said, shaking a box of—granola bars?—over his head.

Belinda glanced
behind her to look for the receiving end of That Guy's dialogue, and stood in
complete shock when he took her basket and positioned himself next to her like
they were...together. Had she actually known this poor guy and totally
forgotten he existed? Belinda took another look at him. No, she felt confident
she wouldn't forget a guy that good-looking.

Jarrett got over
his surprise and focused his sulking blue eyes on the man next to her.

"Ready?"
That Guy said to Belinda. "We're running late." He slipped his hand
through hers, gripping her fingertips. A bolt went through her and she nearly
yanked away, but he kept too tight a grip.

Still unsure if
it was a rescue or a trap leading to bigger problems, Belinda said a quick good-bye
to Jarrett, who glared with all his might at That Guy, and followed her new
companion across the store. He strode next to her like they walked through the
grocery store together everyday, which she quickly decided had pros and cons.

Pro: he held her
basket, which she realized too late would be way heavier by the end of her trip
than she wanted.

Con: she had no
idea how to get rid of him and he was walking super fast. What if he just got
in the car with her and drove off?

She started to
ask him who he was when he cut her off. "What else do we need?"

Still stunned,
she glanced at her list and detoured to the refrigerated section, That Guy not
missing a beat behind her. She filled up her basket, now really grateful she
wasn't carrying it, and hustled to the checkout lines. Making it to her car and
the finish line, so she hoped, her Worst Case Scenario actually happened.

That Guy snipped
her keys from her fingertips and started the car. Belinda ran around to the
other side to ensure he didn't leave without her. As she did so, Second Worst
Case Scenario happened. Only this one never occurred to her before.

Lily Devore
crawled up out of her silver convertible and looked directly at her, clearly
taking note of the strange man in the driver's side of Belinda's car. Acting
like they hadn't just made eye contact, Lily marched past her and into the
store. Flustered, but with no time to think as her car revved, Belinda buckled
in.

As soon as they
started moving, he spoke. Finally. "We'll drive around the block and come
back."

"Why?"

He glanced at her
like the answer was obvious. "Because of the kid. It would look weird if
we left separately."

We wouldn't
want that,
Belinda thought. "Personally, it looks weird that we left
together. It's quite possible that Lily Devore will know your name before I
do."

That Guy's lip
twitched, a glint lighting up the back of his eyes. "Bennett Tate."

Repeating his
name silently, Belinda realized that Bennett Tate already knew her. That
thought unsettled her, especially considering she was now at his mercy in her
car. He went straight through the next intersection, hung a right, then another
right, and zipped back towards the market, coming to a stop under the shade of
a tree near the road in the parking lot.

Before she could
begin to ask all the questions flooding her mind, Bennett got out. "Enjoy
your dinner," he said and started walking away.

"Pleasure
meeting you!" Belinda called to him, but he didn't acknowledge her.

She watched him
walk, hoping to get some clue about him other than that she'd seen him two
mysterious times now. But Bennett Tate was not so easily decoded and he walked
across the street and kept going.

Belinda took a
deep breath to steady her nerves before she attempted to drive home. As she sat
there wondering about her pretend friend, she couldn't decide if she was more
disturbed by his hand holding or the fact that he left without so much as a
glance back at her.

As with most
things in Belinda's life, there was an upshot to the whole weird market
experience: it gave Belinda a story for Victoria the next day and took her mind
off her more immediate troubles.

"He sounds
hot," Victoria said. "I'd go for a third encounter if I were
you."

Belinda laughed.
The two of them drove around town, scouting for a possible venue for Belinda's
future cupcake boutique. The town of Portside had almost everything you needed—except
fancy and scrumptious cupcakes. With encouragement and advice from her nana,
Belinda had decided over the winter to use some of her money to fix that.
"You don't think it's creepy?"

"Yeah, but
it's also hot. Creepy hot."

Belinda kept a
lookout for empty commercial space, afraid she'd miss something while yapping.
"I'm scared that I'm going senile and I actually do know him."

Victoria shook
her head. "You wouldn't forget a guy that attractive."

"You haven't
even seen him!"

"I have a
good imagination, and you would not forget a man that attractive." Victoria stopped to let a family cross the street. "You know, you keep acting like you
have no recourse to find out who he is. You're a Kittridge. You know everybody
in Portside and everybody knows you."

Portside was not
a very big town, though it liked to fan out its feathers. It was tough to hide
there.

"I hadn't
thought of that." Belinda watched the woman push a baby carriage back onto
the sidewalk. That would be Victoria soon enough.

Victoria grinned.
"That's why I love you."

Belinda watched
store after store go by, chewing on that.

"You should
be near the Rusty Pirate," Victoria said, pointing. "People can go
there for dinner and lunch and then cross into your boutique for dessert."

"There's
also that sandwich place at the end of the shops. Best grilled cheese
ever."

"But no trip
to Portside is complete without—"

"Gelato!"

"I was going
to say billiards in downtown, but sure, gelato."

Belinda's mouth
turned down. "I stink at pool."

"You're not
picking a location based on your skill levels. You're just trying to attract
people who will want your cupcakes." Victoria winked and swung into an
open spot on the street right across from the Rusty Pirate. "Time to taste
test the recommendations."

They waited for
the hostess to seat them and between the leaves of a palm tree, Belinda saw the
glistening black hair of Lily Devore and across from her, Jarrett.

Belinda elbowed Victoria, moving out of the line of sight so Jarrett couldn't see her, yanking Victoria along with her. "Please, please tell me," Belinda whispered as they
followed the hostess to their seat, "that he did not ask her out and she accepted."

Victoria climbed
up onto the stool using the bar on the bottom as leverage. "I can't see
that, can you?"

"Only if
she's using him."

"What would
Lily need him for? And don't say what you're really thinking because I am
pregnant and might throw up on you."

Belinda scrunched
her nose in disgust. "I'm not thinking that anyway. It wouldn't be like
her. I actually don't know what to think."

They both tried
to shrink into the shadows as much as possible as Lily left. She didn't even
glance around, putting on her sunglasses and strutting off down the street,
looking pleased about something. Jarrett left a minute later, walking in the
opposite direction of Lily. Belinda glanced at Victoria. Odd. But first things
first. Belinda had to unravel the mystery that was Bennett Tate. And she was
formulating a plan.