“Okay.” He didn’t care if she dogged his steps 24/7. The more details he observed and could put into his report, the faster he’d be done with this assignment and could get back to his regular job—starting with looking into a few of his old cases that were still nettling him.
Holding the front door for her to pass he said, “I’d like to begin with you, if you don’t mind. I understand you were present when the body was found.”
“Not exactly,” Keira replied. “A bunch of us were at my father’s house when we heard the call and headed over there. Olivia had been late for a lunch date with a friend, Merry O’Leary. It was Merry who spotted her lying at the bottom of a cliff near the lighthouse. We thought she’d just slipped and fallen until some men rappelled down there and could inspect the scene closely.”
“It looked like murder right away?”
Keira shook her head. “Not exactly. Like the report says, at first glance we thought Olivia had fallen. It was the bloody rock nearby and the way she hadn’t bled much after she landed that made us suspect foul play.”
“How many bystanders had already tromped all over the evidence by then?”
Watching her face closely he saw nothing but honesty underlying her prompt denial. “None. I just told you. A couple men went down the cliff on ropes before we did anything else.”
“Why take that approach?”
“When you see the area you’ll understand. That was by far the fastest way in, and at that time we weren’t sure whether Olivia was injured or actually dead.”
Nick noted that his new partner shivered as she spoke and wondered just how much of a rookie she was. “This is your first major case?”
She rolled her eyes and tried to smile at him, failing miserably. “Oh, yes. The only death I remember ever seeing up close was a pet hamster I had when I was a kid.”
She paused, swallowed and licked her lips, making Nick slightly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom.
“I refused to look in the casket at my mother’s funeral,” Keira continued. “I wanted to remember her when she was happy and full of life.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, but having to deal with tragedy is part of this job. Surely you knew that when you chose a career in law enforcement.”
That observation brought a smile back to Keira’s face and a twinkle to her bright blue eyes. “Yeah, well… I’m afraid I pictured my job more as that of an understanding friend, kindly suggesting that lawbreakers behave themselves instead of having to exert authority over folks who have known me since I was a kid.”
“Sometimes there are far worse problems to deal with, as you found out.”
“I sure did,” she said with a nod. “The hard way.”
Keira appreciated the inn’s welcoming beauty more every time she visited. Victoria Evans had kept the flavor of the old building when she’d returned to Fitzgerald Bay to take over the business, and most of its clients openly complimented her on the ambience of the inn and the delicious food served in the café.
Some locals had predicted that the long-ago sins of Victoria’s father would keep away customers but that hadn’t happened. Other than a few folks who still mourned for Patrick Fitzgerald, Keira’s cousin, whom Victoria’s father had killed while driving drunk, Victoria seemed to have overcome her dad’s heartbreaking history. Even Patrick’s most defensive kin seemed to have mellowed during the past ten years, although there was still a lingering touch of animosity that saddened Keira.
As Nick started up the gracefully carved stairway to the second floor, she called after him, “I’ll wait right here.”
And I hope I don’t look half as uncomfortable as I feel, she added to herself. This was one of those times when she would have given just about anything to be free to turn on her heel and stalk out the door—without her new partner.
Unfortunately, it was her job to stick with the guy, to babysit him, so to speak. She could do that. She might not like it but she could do it. What was it that the Bible said in the book of James about withstanding adversity? Something about testing bringing maturity, if she remembered right. Admittedly she was only twenty-three and pretty inexperienced. Maybe this was the Lord’s way of making her better at her job.
A shout and a heavy thud from above startled her out of her reverie. While other guests and employees froze and stared at the ceiling, Keira sprang into action.
Her boots thudded up the carpeted steps. What was going on? And why did it seem as if the whole inn was holding its breath?
I am, too, she realized, gulping air. The heel of her hand rested on the grip of her .40 Glock but she didn’t draw it. No sense brandishing a gun if calming words would do the trick.
She reached the top of the stairs in time to hear another crash. And another. Then glass breaking.
Inching her way down the hallway she tried to pinpoint the source of the sounds. There? No. Down there. One more door? Maybe.
Pressing her spine against the wall she stood to the side, out of the line of fire, just as she’d been taught at the academy, before readying her gun and knocking. “Police! Open up.”
The door swung in. A man’s shoulder and foot stuck out the opening for such a brief time they were hardly more than a blur.
Before Keira could swivel fully to confront him, he was jerked backward. The door slammed. She wasn’t certain who or what she’d seen but she was positive one of the colors involved had been the sea-green of Nick Delfino’s pullover sweater!
Hoping the door was unlocked she grabbed the knob. It turned! She was in. Almost.
Someone or something crashed against the door on the opposite side just as she was easing it open. The sudden jolt staggered her. By the time she’d regained her equilibrium, the door had bounced against the cracked frame and was standing ajar.
Keira gave it a shove with her free hand and peered inside. The room was a shambles. Its occupant didn’t look as though he was in very good shape, either.
She didn’t need police training to tell that Nick had gotten the worst of the brief altercation. He was half sitting, half lying on the polished hardwood floor, while examining the back of his head with one hand.
She directed the gun’s barrel at the ceiling as she crouched next to him. “What happened?”
“Prowler.” Acting groggy, he pointed to the open window. “That way.”
“Will you be okay if I leave you?”
“Just get him,” Nick ordered, rapidly regaining his senses and with them his air of authority. “Be careful.”
A quick trip to the window let Keira scan the snow- covered alley, then lean out just enough to see what lay directly below. There was no one visible.
She raced downstairs, scanning the area and seeing no one but concerned residents. She ran around back. No one. With a final assessment, Keira rushed back upstairs.
