Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) (6 page)

Her heart raced.
There were photos at different times of the day in different locations on different
days with one common denominator: Mark. Mark was with her in every photo.

Then Victoria whistled.

It was the signal
they'd used years ago when doing things they shouldn't have been doing. Belinda
frantically gathered the photos, sticking two down her waistband. She stuffed
the envelope back where she found it and slammed the dresser shut, flying out
of the room and down the stairs and back out the side window, hastily setting
the screen back in place.

Belinda ran
straight for the edge of the property toward the Ocean Walk. She turned
sideways to sidle between two tall bushes that acted as a fence, getting
entangled in the branches and finally pushing and pulling herself free on the
other side and hopped down. Belinda spun around, not sure which way to go and
headed to her left. She could walk to the next street entrance and circle back
around.

She speed-walked
in that direction, hoping Victoria had not driven home since Belinda didn't
even have a cell phone with her. She almost tripped going down some stone steps
and at the end, standing under one of the low-lying arches, was Bennett Tate.

"You!"
she blurted out. "What are you doing here?" She had hoped to sound
casual, but failed from the startled look in his eyes.

Bennett surveyed
her, either confused or annoyed by her appearance. He got up close, his lips
pulled tight and eyes hard, and reached his hand toward her. Belinda held her
breath and tilted back. He plucked a leaf from her hair and brought it up near
his eyes, twirling it. Belinda's eyes went wide, envisioning what she must look
like after fighting with the bush. Her hands automatically went to her head,
feeling for the damage. Of course, what could be worse than the paint smudge on
her nose?

"Been in the
woods?" he said.

Belinda laughed
rather unintentionally, stopped herself, and tried to answer rationally.
"My hair must have gotten caught in one of the overhanging bushes. You
know, along some of the walls that kind of stick out." Bennett's
expression didn't let on whether he believed her. "Are you out for a
walk?"

Bennett tucked
the leaf into his palm but stayed a mere breath away. He looked pretty much the
way he had the day before, except he'd skipped shaving, which, naturally, only
made him hotter. Meantime, she looked like Bush Woman. "I'm thinking,"
he said. "But I like to walk when I do that."

"Thinking
about what?"

Bennett's gray
eyes held that little spark in the back. She might have missed it, but he was
standing so close. "I was thinking about your unfortunate friend." He
aimed the leaf in the direction of the cliffs jutting out beyond the ones they
stood on.

"He was
unfortunate," Belinda said, regaining some calmness. She licked her lips,
rough on her tongue, and dropped her eyes. "I...I have to go. My friend is
waiting for me." She tucked hair behind her ears that blocked her vision
and stepped to the side to walk around Bennett who blocked her path. She
squeezed her back to the stone to pass him. "It was nice meeting you
again!" She jogged toward the street entrance, praying he didn't follow
her.

Thankfully, Victoria was on her wavelength and waited for her in the turnaround by one of the Walk's
entrances. Victoria looked horrified as Belinda crashed in the passenger's
seat. "What happened to you?"

Belinda flipped
open the visor mirror and shrieked. "I just stood there talking to a man
looking like this!"

"What kind
of man?"

Belinda pursed
her lips.

"Well, your
level of panic should coincide with the person who saw you. Now, if it was
someone who's friends with your father, do you really care that much how you
looked? No, of course not. So what kind of man are we talking about?"

Belinda wanted to
cry. "The kind that we trick into coming to your house."

It took Victoria a second, but then she lit up. "I'm sure he didn't notice your appearance."
She did a three-point turn and pulled out to the main road.

Belinda grimaced.
"I'm positive it was the total opposite. He pulled a leaf from my hair and
then asked if I'd been in the woods."

"What did
you do anyway?"

Belinda explained
her foray through the perimeter bushes and then how Bennett was walking toward
her. For the moment, she decided to keep the photos to herself.

"So what did
you tell him you were doing?"

"I'm not
sure I ever got around to it. I sort of unintentionally turned the conversation
on him." Belinda tossed leaves out the window as they drove.

"I guess you
remembered the whistle?"

"Summer
before senior year. Saved by the whistle as my father showed up while Matt
Reardon mouth attacked me on our non-date though I was supposed to be at the
movies with you."

"Saved you
on two accounts."

"Matt
Reardon. Can you believe I spent an entire school year daydreaming about him?
Then I finally get close to all my dreams coming true, and all I wanted to do
the entire night was kill him. Came this close to pushing him overboard when he
tried to kiss me."

"Hormones,
darling. We all had them."

"At least
your infatuations made sense. Every boy I liked in high school turned out to be
a plague upon mankind."

"It's a good
thing you left them all behind. Now you're free for Hot Security Man."

Belinda shifted
her eyes sideways.

"Just
sayin', I don't think he's a plague upon mankind."

"Not
yet."

"You're
older now. You can spot the plagues before you get emotionally invested." Victoria winked, detouring downhill toward downtown on the divided four lane road.

As she pushed
down on the brakes nearing a red light, Victoria glanced in her rearview mirror
to see a car barreling toward them.

Chapter 8

Bennett watched
in horror as the car that had just cut in front of him bashed into the black
Fiat, sending it careening through the intersection and straight for the corner
of a shop. Fear and panic replaced his idle wondering what Belinda had done
inside that house and why. He ran toward the smashed Fiat, grateful he'd
followed them from the Ocean Walk.

He yelled at the
dazed shop owner to call for help, swinging Belinda's door open. "Can
either of you hear me?" he said. He thought Belinda moaned and her friend
didn't make a peep. He couldn't help them and just stood there in frustration,
waiting for the paramedics.

Belinda's eyes
flickered as Bennett finally heard sirens. Fortunately, one of the police
stations was not far away. Belinda and Victoria started to come to as the help
arrived and Bennett was forced out of the picture as the police moved in and
the paramedics braced up the two women and helped them into the ambulances.
Belinda was in good hands and he made sure that they knew where to get in touch
with Kyle before they whisked them away to the hospital.

Bennett glanced
around as they drove off, catching sight of a camera under the overhang of the
shop's roof. His eyes widened and he scrambled to get to the owner, whom he
knew. The poor guy just stood in disbelief where the nose of the Fiat stabbed through
the side of his shop.

"Is that
camera working?" Bennett said, his arm stretched up at the device.

"Y–yes."
The gray-haired man blinked like he answered before he truly understood the
question. "Oh...oh!" He did a three-sixty in place and waved Bennett
into the flower shop and toward the back where the camera connected to a
computer. "I see what you want." He scuttled out of the way so
Bennett could take a seat. "This thing might have seen the accident."

Bennett nodded
while he clicked on the mouse, rewinding the footage to just minutes earlier.
His heart raced waiting for them to come into view. The shop owner gripped the
back of the seat, bending over, watching with the same fixated horror as he got
to see how the car landed in his front window. Bennett rewound.

"That truck
hit those two girls on purpose!" Mr. Trebor said in shock.

Bennett zoomed
and froze on the truck that hit them. The camera caught it sideways, but other
shop cameras on the strip may have gotten clearer footage.

Bennett watched
it again with Jonas minutes later, knowing he would regret telling Jonas about
trailing Belinda. But he might as well get it over with. Jonas would be all
over that sooner or later.

"I don't
know what Belinda found," Bennett said. "But I'm positive it freaked
her out."

"How did you
come across this anyway?"

Bennett
hesitated. If he told the truth, he'd never hear the end of it. "I...I've
been following her."

Jonas' grin
transitioned into a bittersweet smile. "I'll find out how they're doing
after this."

Bennett wanted to
sigh in relief. Well, he could do that when he got home. "Thank you."

"You're
welcome. We're checking around the intersection to see if there's any hope of
other cameras filming the accident."

Bennett nodded
vigorously. "I think there's an excellent chance of that. I've consulted
with some of the businesses here and recommended outdoor cameras."

"If any of
them listened to you, I'd be tempted to marry you."

"It's not
mutual."

Jonas chuckled.
"Fine. What if I said that Belinda would be tempted to marry you?"
All Jonas could hear was some sort of grunt or growl. "We've got this.
So," Jonas said, leaving his people to collect the video footage from Mr.
Trebor, "you did your own little surveillance on Fawn Eyes, eh?"

Bennett wanted to
groan.

Jonas smiled.
"Why not? You started stalking her at the party. May as well keep
going."

"I did not
stalk her."

"All right,
all right. Stalking carries ugly connotations. Let's say...observing."
Jonas and Bennett marched out of the back of the building by the dumpsters.
"You know what's weird?"

"You?"

Jonas snorted.
"As if I would take your word on that. But seriously. So far almost no one
at that party saw Jeff. Unless they're all lying, he wasn't ever a part of the
actual event. He was completely MIA."

Bennett scratched
his chin. He needed to shave. "I get the feeling that Jeff didn't go there
for the party itself. Something else was afoot."

"Well, we
have Jeff who had been gone for years. And apparently Lily Devore is the same
thing. Then there's the Kittridges. But they all manage to be around for this
seemingly random party."

"And the
first two are connected to Mark Nichols and the infamous sailing
accident."

"So are Fawn
Eyes and her brother."

Bennett's eyes
shot open briefly.

"Her brother
sailed with those guys and Belinda herself had an unpleasant history with
Jeff." Jonas squinted into the horizon. "I think I need to dig deeper
into this sailing accident. It's looking like a core ingredient."

"And
Belinda?"

Jonas eyed his
friend in amusement. "Calm down. Fawn Eyes is not on my hit list. I
wouldn't sick her on you if I thought she was homicidal."

Bennett frowned.

"Oh,
boy," Jonas said. "I've got you thinking with that remark, haven't
I?" Jonas lingered by his car, jangling his keys. "Belinda doesn't
remind me of...you know who...not even a little bit."

"We're not
in high school," Bennett said. "You can say her name."

"Mmm...I'd
call her something, but it wouldn't be her name."

Bennett peeked
around, lowering his voice. "When I'm with Belinda, I don't hesitate at
all. That's what scares me."

"Yeah, I
know. You save the frowny face and freaking out for me."

Bennett furrowed
his brows. "I do not freak out."

"Oh yes, you
do. You may not say much, but I know your mind's whirring." Jonas nodded
at a fellow officer passing by. "Nothing says you have to go all raging
bull on this. Part of the reason you got into such hot water before was because
you made a snap judgment, and it was wrong."

"Thanks."

"Hey, you
know that better than I do. So don't make a snap decision this time. Get to
know her...progressively. If Belinda's not the charming pixie we both think she
is right now, time will show her up."

"I have
trouble with...progressive."

"Yeah, I
know that too."

Bennett pushed a
pebble around with his foot, hoping the ambulances had arrived at the hospital
already. "She's surprised me from the start, and it hasn't stopped. That's
the only reason I'm even considering it."

"You can't
write people off just because of their, you know, class or whatever. One bad
apple, etcetera."

Bennett digested
that. Jonas was usually right about these things. "So...progressively?"

"Progressively.
You can do it; I have faith in you."

Bennett grunted.

"Back to the
more official side of things, we found evidence on Jeff's body that he may have
been in a fight recently."

"Really? Did
you find bruising?"

"Better.
Some blood under his fingernails."

"He grappled
with his opponent then."

"What about
her brother? Kyle?" Jonas said. "He was in with this whole group, and
with Jeff Clark back in town, it seems likely he would have shown up at the
party despite history."

"Kittridge
is not on camera at any time, and I've spoken to Finn and Rachel and neither of
them spotted Kyle."

Jonas sighed.
"It's a real annoyance that you didn't have guys outside for this
one."

"You can
take that up with my client."

"I may have
to. It's convenient that he didn't hire you for that on a night someone gets
killed on his property." Jonas thought about that. "You could get
more about Mayhew's history—all of them no doubt—from Belinda."

Bennett frowned.

"Don't look
so irritated. Deep down, you know you're thrilled to have an excuse to talk to
her again. And you should bring her something, flowers for example, because of
the accident."

Bennett peeked up
at Jonas. "Should I?"

"If you
value her good opinion, then yes, you should." He clapped his hands
together. "Divide and conquer. I handle the official interviews, and you
keep chitchatting with the lovely insider. We're bound to figure out how this
guy wound up on the bottom of a long drop."

Bennett arched an
eyebrow. He wanted to argue Jonas' constant references to Belinda's physical
appearance, but with images of her from his afternoon meeting on the Ocean Walk
flashing into his mind, he found himself at a loss for words.

~ * ~

Kyle speed-walked
down the corridor, his sneaker squeaking on the white linoleum. The smell hit
him first. Rubbing alcohol and strong cleaners cutting into his sinuses. He
zigzagged around nurses holding charts and pushing laptops, finally reaching
the desk in the ER after sidestepping a boy on a stretcher guarded by two
police officers. He glanced around to see if he could find Belinda, but fixed
his eyes on the desk after glimpsing a woman behind a green and white curtain
with tubes protruding from her nose.

He blinked sweat
and grime from his eyes and tried to focus on the nurse in front of him. She
pointed to the glass cubicle where he'd find his sister. It felt like the kind
of place where you would most definitely try to escape from in a sci-fi movie.

"What
happened?" Kyle flailed his arms out. For a second, he clearly resembled
his twin sister. Belinda held her head, the throbbing that had just started to
tone down returning. She put a finger to her lips to tell him to quiet down.
"Sorry, but I've been panicking since they called me. Are you hurt?"

"Not
seriously. I guess I blacked out briefly, but it must not be fatal because
they're letting me go soon." Belinda paused. Talking only increased the
headache. "I'm worried about Victoria."

Kyle sat down near
the bed, calmer now. "I saw Dan on my way in and he said she's all right.
So what happened?"

"I don't
really know. One minute, we're laughing about something and then Vix screamed
and we're flying into a store."

"You hit a
store?"

"I think
that's what it was but they tell me I have a mild concussion, so maybe it
wasn't."

Kyle placed his
wrist on her forehead.

"What are
you doing?"

"I don't
know. I just feel like I need to do something and that's all I can think of
right now."

Belinda batted
her brown eyes. "You could adjust my pillow. My head has hurt too much to
bother, but it's hitting my neck funny." Belinda leaned forward so Kyle
could move the pillow around.

"Better?"

"Much."
Belinda managed a crooked smile.

"What do you
feel like for dinner?"

"Pizza."

"Then pizza
it is." Kyle paused. "You know, Mom and Dad are not going to believe
all of this."

"Were we
going to tell them?"

"I don't
know. You're the responsible one."

"So that
means I'm the one who gets to ruin their trip?"

"Of course
not. We're in this together."

Belinda did not
like that response. "Last time you said that, I wound up grounded.
Alone."

Kyle grinned in
his goofy way. "I remember that. That's when we snuck out to go to that
concert during finals when we were on lockdown. Who did we go to see?"

"I don't
even remember now, which proves just how so not worth it it was."

"And James
Lavallee. Was he worth it?"

Belinda wanted to
roll her eyes, but knew it would hurt too much. "That night was the first
and last time I got grounded to be near James Lavallee."

Kyle snickered.
"I gave you fair warning about that one, so you can't blame me."
Kyle's cheekbones tightened and he reached out and gripped her forearm.
"You deserve better, Bels. Much, much better."

Belinda assumed
he meant James Lavallee and nodded her head weakly, feeling an urgent need to
close her eyes again.

"I'm going
to look after you, I promise." Belinda thought she heard him say something
else about nothing bad happening to her, but it sounded far away as Belinda
faded back into sleep.