Niall Davis was just about to call his wife. He'd been in meetings all morning and hadn't had a chance to check in on her and the kids. It's something he never forgets to do and he was sure she'd be wondering what was keeping him."Nancy?" He picked up the phone and spoke to his assistant who sat at a desk just outside the doors to his executive office."Yes Mr. Davis?""Has my wife called?""No sir, she hasn't would you like me to call her now? Oh wait a minute sir."He heard her greet someone who'd walked into the office. "Sir," she came back on the line, "the police are here, they say they need to speak with you." The police? What could they want?"Send them in." He hung up the phone and got to his feet as they came through the door, led by his assistant. He came around from behind his desk with his hands in his pockets."Hello, what can I do for you? That will be all Nancy." He turned his attention to his assistant who nodded in acknowledgement and left, closing the door beh
She was dead tired by the time she walked out of his office and out onto the street. Both physically and emotionally drained. It was almost three thirty by the time they got back to the station house and there was still tons of work to be done.She looked over her notes at her desk as she ate a stale tuna salad sandwich from the deli at the grocery store and took sips from her bottle of lukewarm water. "Pete, did you get that list of people I asked you for?""Yes I did boss." He tore off a sheet of paper from his notebook and walked over to drop it on her desk. "That's it? Just the O'Rourkes, the housekeeper and the nanny?" She looked up at him skeptically."All I came up with so far. It seems the lady was a very private person just like her husband said. If she hung around with anyone else no one knew. Other than her charity and her husband's partners at the bank there doesn't seem to be anyone who she was close to." He shrugged and walked back to his desk across from hers.She lo
Detective Sparks made her way up the stairs and heard the children at play. She cleared her throat to announce her presence and the other woman looked up at her entrance. The young nanny looked just as she'd expected, a brown haired Irish lass with light green eyes."Hello!" Her Irish accent was thick, her smile charming and Detective Sparks wondered at the folly of women who hire women like that to live in their house with their husbands and children. Not that she thought all pretty young girls had ulterior motives, but just one look and she was already picking up on the fact that this one at least, was a lot more than she seemed.Maybe it was the New Yorker in her that made her so cynical but whatever it was, her senses were already on high alert. All the same, she knew better than to pass judgment on someone just based on gut instinct alone."Hello, Bridgette, I'm Detective Sparks I'm here to ask you some questions about Mrs. Davis." The nanny looked down at the children, a boy
The farm was no less beautiful in the setting sun that it had been earlier this afternoon. She could see it from a different angle this time and noted that it was a shorter and more direct drive coming from the Davis estate. Unless of course your aim was a secret hideaway closer to the woods. 'Don't go there Celia' she chided herself.If Sonya Davis were having an affair with Riley O'Rourke, would she have gone to all that trouble to go into the woods? There were more than enough places scattered around the farm to go to if that were the case. And more comfortable too no doubt.They hadn't found any soiled mattresses hidden away, or a tent set up for secret trysts; nothing that would lead anyone to suspect someone was having sex out there. Not even an indentation in the grass. Surely they would've left some kind of evidence behind if this is something that had been going on for a while.Her eyes searched out the landscape; she could see silos, barns, some of them older and probably
She didn't go back to the station, but headed home to the little cottage she'd rented in the heart of town. She'd got the place for a song, at least a third of what she would've paid for the same kind of accommodations in the city.The place was neat and out of the way with its little garden out back and the trees that shielded it from view of anyone driving by. She'd been lucky to find it or more to the point that the captain had found it for her just when she needed it.The owners had moved away after spending their lives here. Gone to some retirement home in Florida where they were enjoying sun and surf. They'd left all the furniture and she hadn't needed to change a thing, except the mattress since she was never one for home decor.Though the place looked like something out of a nineteenth century inn, it did fit with the general ambience of Briar Reef so she saw no need to fiddle with it. Plus it had saved her from having to shell out thousands of dollars.She used one of the
Detective Sparks left her house at about the same time and headed for her old beat up truck that she'd bought off of old man Stevens. She didn't need much more than that to get around since most places were within walking distance.She could've taken the police issue vehicle but since it was late and she knew from this morning that her old beater could handle the terrain much better she decided to forego it.Riley O'Rourke had been the one to call in to the station when he saw the strange light in the trees in the woods behind his place. The call came just in time to save her from herself since she'd just been sitting there making herself crazy with her thoughts.She knew that time was running out for them, that the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours made all the difference in the world when it came to a murder case, but she just wasn't getting it. And the fact that her mind kept coming back to Mr. O'Rourke wasn't helping matters.She hated to admit it, but he was looking more
For the rest of that whole night she kept him busy. After he was done with her in the kitchen he took her off to bed because that's what she wanted. Her body finally gave out after she'd ridden his cock for the second time and fell against his chest too tired to move.He held her close and kissed her head before rolling her off of him and onto her side of the bed. He watched her sleeping face in the moonlight that came through the window and wondered at what was going on in her head. He hoped that he was able to chase away the demons at least for tonight. He'd deal with tomorrow when it got here.He took a quick shower to clean up and his stomach growled as he flicked the water off. He rubbed it and dried off, before stepping out of the shower and heading down to the kitchen in search of something to eat.He remembered why he'd missed dinner when he saw it sitting on the table under the cover Eileen had placed over it hours ago and his eyes went to the kitchen window in the directio
She pulled into the parking lot outside the ranch-style red brick building that housed the police station. There were only five fulltime staffers here, and a handful of volunteers when they were needed. She'd already been fielding calls from the mayor and knew that if she didn't have something soon to keep him off her back he'd bring in the state patrol. Something she didn't want to happen, because she didn't want to lose her first real case since moving to the small town.But the way things were looking she didn't hold out much hope that she'd be left at the helm. Time was of the essence but no amount of time was going to help if she didn't get a clue as to what was going on. And going over and over the case in her head was only leaving her with more questions than answers. What a mess!"Morning boss! I've already got started on those leads like you said but I don't think we're going to find any help there. Two of the places that ordered the acid are commercial cleaners, office bu