Framed in Death Valley Page 12

  Something, he recognized, had happened to him when he’d heard that heartbeat. It was as if the small pattering had echoed through his whole being and set his own heart thunking in a whole new rhythm. What had happened, he could not exactly articulate. He’d known perfectly well there was an infant growing inside Laney, but now everything felt different. The baby, their baby, was a tiny person, a living human in perfect miniature.

  He’d gone on his phone, while Laney had slept in the hospital bed, and done some research. The site he visited said that at the fourth month of gestation, the baby would have fingers and toes, even a downy coating of hair, maybe.

  Surely it would, since Laney’s hair was a glorious thick crown and he had to shave regularly to avoid a five-o’clock shadow. It was only natural that their baby would have a wonderful head of... He blinked hard. What was the matter with him? Imagining what their baby’s attributes might be? Hadn’t he promised he was going to step out of this child’s life? But he’d learned that the baby could even now be sucking its thumb, deep in its watery world. His cousin Willow had sucked her thumb until she was well on to five. But that might be a problem, he realized, because it could cause the need for braces, as it had for Willow. With a mental smack, he brought himself to heel.

  Stop it. You have to leave.

  That thought stabbed a pain deep into his core. Could he really walk away from Laney and his baby? To reduce his contact to child-support payments and letters, an occasional visit or phone call if Laney would allow it? A thought flowed out, one that had bloomed unbidden in his mind the moment he’d heard the pulse of his baby’s heart. If Jude could capture Kenny...maybe then... But he did not allow himself to complete the thought. Danger or not, he’d broken her heart and her trust. No good, came the remembered echoes of the townspeople. Monster.

  He dragged a look to Laney again. The baby would have half of his genes, wouldn’t it? What if...? If Muffin had Laney for a mother, the baby would be just fine, even if they did have a fair share of his DNA.

  He remembered something his father used to say. God don’t make junk. The fragile heartbeat he’d eavesdropped upon made him agree. There was nothing about that tiny life growing in there but pure, 100 percent God-in-action. The thought startled him.

  A beautiful ache spiraled through him, tumbling and slow like he imagined the baby was, floating in Laney’s belly, sucking a miniature thumb. In the silence of his heart, he thanked God. It was the first time in a very long time he’d humbled himself so completely. Thank You, he said silently, that I got to hear those precious beats. He didn’t deserve it, but he’d take it and hold it close for the remainder of his days.

  Laney stirred once they rolled into the valley, straightening with a wince.

  “Pain?”

  “Headache,” she groaned, pressing her palms to her temples.

  “I’ll call Dr. Irene and ask what you can take for it.”

  “I already know what I can take for it.” Her chin went up. “A chocolate milkshake with whipped cream and three cherries.”

  He stared for a moment before the laughter burst out of him. “A milkshake? That’s what you and Muffin need?”

  “Yes.” She nodded solemnly. “No peanuts, though. Muffin doesn’t like them.” She kept a completely straight face except for the barest hint of mischief.

  He managed the question around his wide grin. “How do you know Muffin doesn’t like peanuts?”

  “We get heartburn.”

  “Ah. Well, I’m sure we can meet those requirements.” He flat out marveled at her ability to think about ice cream and joke after what she’d experienced in the last twenty-four hours. Whoever said women were the weaker gender had obviously not known any very well.

  She sat back with a sigh, a dreamy look on her face, perhaps contemplating her dessert.

  Excitement prickled his nerves. He could hardly conceive of it. Was he being allowed to participate in soothing one of those pregnancy craving things? The thought delighted him so much, he drove quickly to an ice-cream shop before the mysterious craving might vanish and she’d change her mind.

  He made sure the deputy behind them pulled up close as he explained his ice-cream mission. The cop smiled.

  “That’s not too bad. When my wife was expecting our second, she made me get sauerkraut, cases of it, day and night. I can’t stand the stuff.” He declined Beckett’s offer to buy him a shake, as well. He hurried inside to complete the purchase.

  The smile...that lovely radiant grin when he handed her the milkshake twirled through him like a runaway dust storm. He was transported back to the joy he’d felt when she’d accepted his proposal, the days when the world was a beautiful place.

  Laney was admiring the sweet concoction. “You got the three cherries too. Muffin and I thank you.” She set about consuming it with gusto until the last sip was gone.

  “Headache better?”

  “Much,” she said.

  He’d helped. He’d eased her pain. His elation lasted until they drew up to the Hotsprings Hotel and Willow came sprinting out. She helped Laney out of the car and threw her arms around her. “I am so sorry. I didn’t see your text. You could have died.” Two tears rolled down her freckled cheeks.

  “She needs to lie down,” he said, to forestall the emotional storm he knew was coming from his impetuous cousin, but Laney was already striding toward the dining room. He managed to get ahead of her to open up the door, but Herm was there. He clasped her to his narrow chest. He didn’t speak a word, just squeezed her to him until she kissed his cheek.

  “I shouldn’t have blabbed to Kenny on the phone,” Herm said. “I think my brain must be getting old. I...”

  “I’m all right,” she said. “And you did nothing wrong. How have you been holding up?” And then they were all following her like a row of ducklings while she surveyed the kitchen. Dinner preparations were already in process, the small kettle boiling a supply of potatoes for mashing and a single pan of pork chops in the oven. Laney peeked in and frowned.

  “Why so few chops?”

  Herm looked cowed. “Well, you see, uh...”

  “The Timmons family checked out early,” Willow said.

  “Yeah,” Herm said. “They were sort of upset at what happened to you. Rita’s still here, though, and another family of four are supposed to be checking in in a couple of days.”

  Laney looked crestfallen. “So Rita is our only guest?”

  “Uh-huh.” Herm shrugged. “Can’t figure on why she’d want to stay, though. She isn’t signed up for any tours or stuff, and she don’t seem to like my cooking. Jude is with her now.”

  Beckett spun on his heel.

  Laney stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Wait, Beckett. Jude won’t want you interfering.”

  “If she tipped Kenny off, I have the right to interfere.”

  Still she held on. “Since there’s no need for a full dinner service, I’m going to go take a shower and sit with Admiral for a while. Will you walk me?”

  And because there was nothing in the world which he would not do to keep Laney safe, he nodded and followed her out. Aunt Kitty, Jude’s mother and Laney’s adopted mother, stepped out of the cabin first, holding Admiral. The dog wriggled and squirmed until she put him down. Laney scooped him up and cuddled and cooed over him before she hugged Aunt Kitty.

  Kitty was a full foot shorter than Laney, a full foot shorter than practically anyone. Her silver-black head of tightly curled hair barely made it to midchest on him. There were no square angles on the woman. She was “well insulated,” as she liked to tell people. Kitty had never treated him as a suspect, nor a would-be criminal. She was the same generous soul she’d been since he was a little kid who’d needed his knee bandaged or his button sewn on. Kitty was a mother to scores of people in Furnace Falls even though Kitty herself was the victim of a bad marriage, and her own daughte
r, Jude’s sister, had left town when she was eighteen. Kitty and Jude had not heard a word from her in all those years. Even so, Kitty had a smile for anyone and a heart for everyone. He bent to kiss her.

  She kissed him and thumbed his cheek. “You need a shave, honey.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She waited until Laney sat in the worn upholstered rocker and Admiral heaved himself into her lap. “Herm was busy, so I put clean sheets on the bed, brought you some cookies and soup too.”

  “Thank you, Aunt Kitty,” Laney said. “You shouldn’t have gone to that trouble.”

  Aunt Kitty endured a painful foot condition, which probably explained why her mouth was pinched with discomfort. She waved them off and shoved her hands into the pockets of her blouse. “Who can’t slap on some clean linens? Oh, I almost forgot.” She drew an object out. “On my way back from the laundry room, I found this on the ground. Figured you might need it.”

  Beckett held out his hand.

  She dropped a sturdy metal screw in his palm.

  “Where exactly did you find it?” he asked.

  “On the sidewalk along the two hundreds.”

  The western wing of the complex. Room 205, he thought. He looked closer at the screw.

  “Does something need fixing?” Laney said.

  He offered a careless nod. “Nothing to worry about. I’ll take care of it.”

  She didn’t press him further. He noticed her wince again, as if the headache was back.

  “Maybe you should lie down,” he suggested.

  “I’ve had plenty of lying down. I want to cuddle with Admiral for a while.” She began to croon baby talk to him about smoochies and other inexplicable things.

  “I’ll go warm up that soup,” Aunt Kitty said. “Let me have that sweater too, and I’ll pop it in the washer. We’ll have a nice chat.” She shot a glance at Beckett. “Unless I’m interrupting family time.” Her look was hopeful. He knew that she’d probably been praying nonstop for the mending of his marriage.

  Could it be possible? God had provided them with a child when they’d thought it was impossible. Was there any way He would allow Beckett to fix what he’d ruined?

  Right now, he had other priorities, he reminded himself. She was not safe, not with Kenny and Uncle Leonard at large and Rita in their midst. He studied the screw in his palm.

  He had a feeling he knew exactly which room it had come from, but he’d do his homework, just to be sure. There would be no margin for a careless error on his part.

  Time to do some fixing.

  THIRTEEN

  Laney tried to relax into the conversation as she sipped the soup with Aunt Kitty. It was still warm in the early evening, but the air conditioner kept pace. Something niggled at her, a suspicious gleam in Beckett’s eye as he looked at the screw Aunt Kitty found.

  “You know what, Aunt Kitty?” she said abruptly. “I really need to walk around for a few minutes. I forgot to light the tiki torches. Would you like to have a stroll?”

  “Pregnant ladies always get what they want,” she said with a smile. “But I might not make it too far since my foot is yammering at me. Silly plantar fasciitis. We can put a man on the moon, but no doctor in the universe can make a shoe insert to ease these old feet.”

  Laney smiled. “How about just across the courtyard?”

  Aunt Kitty offered her elbow. “Milady?”

  Admiral waddled along after them as they traveled the flagstone path. The temperature was slipping down into the seventies, a perfect fall evening. She took the lighter she’d rescued from her sweater pocket and set it to the wick of the two tiki torches on either side of the lodge’s rear entrance. The grounds were empty, and so was the pool. It pained her to see it. Fall should be their busiest season, with plenty of tourists sitting by the firepits, swimming and riding bikes. Across the fence Levi waved as he tended the horses. The lack of guests at the Hotsprings Hotel was no doubt affecting Levi’s business, as well. She hoped he could pick up some other tour groups to make up the slack.

  Aunt Kitty walked fairly smoothly until they passed between the lodge and the west wing. Then she winced in pain. Laney regretted encouraging her to walk.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Sit here and rest.”

  Kitty lowered herself into one of the Adirondack chairs. “Just for a while. Let’s enjoy the breeze.”

  Laney peered along the walkway that edged the west rooms and noticed Beckett knocking on Rita’s door.

  “I’ll just be a minute, okay?”

  Kitty smiled. “You know where to find me and my aged feet.”

  Laney reached Beckett as he knuckled the door of Room 205.

  He cocked his head, ready to scold her. “Wave to Aunt Kitty,” Laney said. “She’s keeping a watchful eye on both of us.”

  Beckett offered a wave. “Go back and sit with her.”

  She smiled sweetly. “I think you meant, Laney, my dear. It’s such a pleasant night. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable sitting in the company of Aunt Kitty?”

  Before he could reply, Rita’s door swung open.

  She looked a bit rough, Laney thought. Her normally braided hair was loose and hung about her face in limp waves. She had on the same clothes she’d been wearing at the Death Valley outing.

  Rita’s look darted from Beckett to Laney. “Are you all right? I felt terrible about what happened.”

  Beckett started to answer, but Laney spoke first. “I’m all right. Thank you. I’m sorry the tour ended with such drama.”

  “But you got away from Kenny. That’s the important thing. He’s dangerous.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Beckett said. Rita did not meet his eye.

  Laney noticed her tote bag on the floor, bulging with contents. “Are you leaving?”

  She looked at the bag as if she hadn’t seen it. “Yeah.Tomorrow.”

  “I’m sorry to hear it.”

  She shrugged. “It’s...a little more dangerous than I imagined. I’ve...changed my plans.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” Beckett asked.

  Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  He held up the screw. “I bolted all the wardrobe cabinets into the wall myself, in case of earthquakes. This one is from your room. I checked all the other rooms already.”

  “Well, I guess it fell out of the wall. Feel free to screw it back in, if it makes you feel better.”

  “It didn’t fall out of the wall of its own accord.” He looked over her shoulder. “You were tugging on it, searching for something behind it, weren’t you? Maybe something you thought Pauline hid in the room before she was killed?”

  Laney could not hide her own surprise. Pauline had hidden something? For one wild moment, her heart leaped. Could it have been evidence that might shed some light on who really murdered her? “Did you find something?”

  Rita went still. “No.”

  “Quit lying,” Beckett snarled. “I’ve got a guy hunting my wife because he thinks I killed his sister.”

  “I know what kind of man he is.” Rita’s throat convulsed as she swallowed. “I talked to him.”

  “What?” she and Beckett cried at once.

  “When I first came here, I left a note on his uncle’s doorstep with my number. He called me a couple of days ago.”

  Beckett’s body went taut as wire. She could feel the heat emanating off him in angry waves. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or a cop? Anyone?”

  “I decided I didn’t want to be involved with him.”

  Beckett seemed to be speechless, so Laney stepped in. “What did you say to Kenny?”

  “I tried to ask him if he knew who Pauline came here to meet.”

  “How did you know she’d come here to meet someone?” Beckett said.

  Rita appeared not to have heard the quest
ion. She chewed her lower lip for a moment. “At first Kenny thought I was working for the cops, and then he accused me of being a friend of yours. He wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. In fact, he was getting around to threatening me when my phone went dead. When I heard what happened to you while we were on a photo tour, how he tracked you to the borax works...” She shivered. “This is all getting out of hand. I thought I wanted to be a big-shot reporter, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going back to town meetings and flower shows. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  She tried to close the door.

  Beckett stopped it with his palm. “You have to tell us, please. What do you know about Pauline? What did you find that made you come here in the first place?”

  Rita’s phone rang. She answered it, eyes widening before she hung up a few seconds later. “It was Kenny,” she said, cheeks gone pale as moonlight. “He said he’s going to kill me too if I stick around. I’m leaving in the morning. I dropped my car at the shop because it was overheating. It will be ready by ten and then I’m gone.”

  “But what did you find?” Laney pleaded, worried that Beckett would lose it completely.

  Rita shook her head. “As soon as I’m clear of this town, I’ll call you.”

  “And tell us what?” Beckett demanded. “This isn’t fair.”

  Laney kept her voice soft and calm. “You’re scared. Tell us now. We can get the police to help you, protect you.”

  Rita jammed her fists to her hips. “If I go to the police, Kenny will know. He’s got friends in this town. He will track me down. No, I’m handing this all over to you and you can straighten it out with Kenny. That’s all I’m saying. If you send the police here tonight, I won’t ever tell you what I have from Pauline.”

  Then she slammed the door in their faces.

  Laney and Beckett walked away a few paces, facing each other in the failing sunlight. When she spoke, Laney was surprised at her eagerness. She took him by the forearms. “Beckett, this might finally be over. She knows something about what happened.”