Blood Moon (Bear Sheriff Book 1) Page 5

  He walked to the back room of the tiny Sheriff’s station that held the cells. Jimmy Rivers and Stu Copeland were still in separate cells. They’d begged him to let them go before he’d left this morning, but their requests had fallen on deaf ears. In the third cell was Angie Campbell. He hadn’t locked her in, or even closed the door on her, but she’d taken her residence in the cell as worse than a prison sentence.

  “Are you arresting me, Sheriff?” she asked, eyes ablaze. She got up off of the bench and came close to him.

  “I’ve told you already that you’re not under arrest.”

  “Then why’d you make me wait in the cell with these men? These criminals?”

  “Shut yer mouth!” Stu Copeland rumbled. Jimmy Rivers kept his mouth shut.

  “Like I said, it’s for your safety,” Marcus said. He’d tried to explain it to her, that he needed her and Maudette to come in to give statements. He reasoned that Maudette should give hers first, as she had the least amount of information. In the meantime, he’d had no place for Angie Campbell to wait – and he didn’t feel comfortable letting her wander around the town with a murderer on the loose.

  He could have been targeting her instead. He could be out there, looking for his opportunity.

  But Angie hadn’t been okay with waiting in a jail cell – but he didn’t care if she was okay with it or not. His job was to keep her safe and get to the bottom of this murder. He would do whatever he thought was necessary to making that happen, even if she didn’t like it.

  She stormed past him into the outer room. He turned to follow her, hesitated, and then looked back at the two men locked up.

  “Don’t let this happen again. If I have to break things up, you’re looking at assault charges.”

  “I’d never press charges. Never give in to the law,” Jimmy hissed. He was a nasty man that had no use for the police, the Sheriff, or any sort of law and order.

  “Then I’ll say you assaulted me,” Marcus told him, unlocking Jimmy’s cell and then Stu’s. “Now get out of here and keep your noses clean.”

  Both men glared and walked past Marcus without another word. He’d never file fake assault charges against them, but he hoped they didn’t know that. And he knew that they’d never file any sort of charges or complaints, either. He knew both men – and for the most part, their families – preferred to settle things without any sort of police intervention.

  He followed them out of the room. Angie Campbell was already sitting in the chair across from his desk. Once the door shut and the men were gone, Marcus sat down in his chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. He rubbed his eyes again. He’d had long days before, and then there were days like this.

  And it’s still not over. Not yet. And it won’t be over soon, if things go the way I’m thinking they will.

  Angie Campbell looked impatient, but she didn’t say anything. Marcus took a few deep breaths, clearing his mind and getting a feel for the woman sitting across from him. Emotions were roiling off of her. Most of all fear, but there was some confusion, guilt, and even…

  Relief?

  Marcus did his best to hide his surprise. He pulled his legs off the table, sat down in front of Angie, and leaned forward.

  “Tell me what you and your assistant were doing in Charming, Miss Campbell.”

  “I’ve been hired by the Mayor to help revitalize the town.”

  “Revitalize? Explain.”

  “I – we – go around to different places, mainly failing neighborhoods, old business districts, those sort of places, and I create a sort of action plan. A way to bring businesses back into the fold. Drive up sales, sell real estate, make places popular again.”

  “How’d you get into the business?” he asked. Angie paused and he could tell that she didn’t think these questions were important. Truthfully, they probably weren’t – but Marcus wanted to get a handle on just who Angie Campbell was. He wanted to see if he could tell when she was telling the truth and when she was lying. He needed to ask her questions, understand what she was thinking, and then he would be able to truly figure out what was going on here.

  She shrugged and answered, “It just kind of happened. I started in real estate at a young age, working for my mother. Graduated college with a Masters in City Planning. It all just kind of fell into place.”

  “And that led you to Charming? Your plan is to revitalize the entire town? Is that it? Starting with a coffee shop? What’s next, Miss Campbell?”

  “How does this tie into solving Erica’s murder?”

  Marcus leaned back and said, “Just answer the questions, please.”

  “I didn’t decide to come to Charming out of the blue. Mayor Copeland contacted me. I’ve never done a job like this before, but it pays more than I could have ever imagined I would get for a job, and I wanted a challenge.”

  “So, Miss Campbell, does money motivate you?”

  She narrowed her eyes and said, “Doesn’t it motivate everyone?”

  He considered and said, “Some more than others. How does Erica fit into all of this?”

  “She was my assistant.”

  “So you paid her,” he asked, and he could see Angie came to the conclusion.

  “I would never!”

  Instead of responding, he asked, “Was she your friend?”

  There was a noticeable delay before Angie Campbell answered, “Yes, of sorts.”

  She’s good, Marcus realized. She’s careful not to lie, yet she’s not completely telling the truth, either. Most people wouldn’t notice her attitude, but then again – I’m not most people.

  “Of sorts? Explain.”

  She obviously hadn’t been expecting him to ask about that point, but she recovered quickly. “We weren’t the best of friends – I’ll be honest about that much. I was her boss, and she was my employee. Things were tough, at times. Some days we blurred the line between a working relationship and a friendship. Other days, we were best friends. Most of the time, though, she was my employee.”

  “I see,” Marcus answered. “And you paid her well?”

  “Is that any of your business?”

  “It might be if she was cutting into your earnings,” he asked, coming back around to the same idea he’d proposed earlier.

  “Are you accusing me of murdering my friend? That’s ridiculous!”

  “People have killed others for less,” Marcus said. He was fishing for any sort of clue to figure out why she had been feeling relief – an emotion not usually found when your friend was murdered only a few feet away.

  “I didn’t kill Erica.”

  “But you’re glad she’s dead.”

  The room instantly turned icy. Marcus knew he’d touched a nerve. Angie Campbell’s outrage at being accused of Erica’s murder had instantly vanished, instead replaced by steel.

  “How could you say that?” she asked. Marcus noted that she didn’t deny it.

  “Why, Angie? Why are you glad she’s gone?”

  “I’m not glad!” Angie exclaimed.

  “I know,” Marcus said, leaning forward and glaring at her. He knew his gaze had turned predatory as she reeled away from him. Marcus got up and slammed his hands on the desk. She jumped. He came around the table, getting close to her. “I know, somewhere deep inside of you, you’re feeling the slightest hint of relief. Why?”

  “It was hard to get her to actually work. I’d wanted to let her go for a while now, but she was too good at her job. She was half of the equation that kept me in business.”

  “There’s more to it than that!” Marcus yelled. He knew that she was telling the truth – but not the entire truth. “Why?”

  “She was stealing from me,” Angie Campbell whispered. If Marcus’s hearing hadn’t been better than most, he wasn’t sure he could have heard her. “For years, now.”

  “How much?”

  “Around a million,” she answered, suddenly looking up, her eyes ablaze. “Is that what you want to hear? She’d been stealing from me for years
. She took care of my finances, and she skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars off. Every deal she made with companies and individuals had just a little bit of money that ended up in her pocket. She was a thief, okay?”

  “Why’d you let it go?”

  She shrugged. “She was good at her job. Great at it, in fact. All things considered, we worked well together. So well that I overlooked her stealing money from me. I missed the money, yeah. But it was worth it to keep her around. I didn’t mind.”

  “So you didn’t care, but you glad she’s gone?”

  “I didn’t want her to die! I wanted her to quit! To take the money and leave. I didn’t want that kind of guilt on my shoulders.

  “You may not believe me, and you may think I wanted her gone. Maybe you think I hired someone to kill her. I mean, who wouldn’t think that? She was stealing an insanely large amount of money from me, and she was lazy at her job. We didn’t get along well most of the time – but in a way, we were friends. I didn’t want her to die, though. I didn’t want anyone to die.”

  Marcus leaned back and was silent a few moments.

  “Do you think I did it, Sheriff?”

  “No,” he answered, thinking. “I know you didn’t kill her. I know you didn’t want her to die, even if you two weren’t on the best terms. I know people, better than you think. So no, I don’t think you killed her. Never did.”

  “Then why’d you ask me all of the questions?”

  “Because I wanted to see what kind of person you were, Miss Campbell.”

  “And what’d you find out? What kind of person am I, Sheriff?”

  He didn’t answer for a few moments. Then he answered, “Someone who is in a lot of danger. There’s someone out there that more than likely wants you dead and they won’t stop until they’ve achieved their goals. And I don’t intend to let that happen.”

  “Thank you,” she begrudgingly answered. “What’s next?”

  Marcus sat back down in his chair and said, “You’re going to walk me through everything – and I mean everything – about this job for the Mayor. And we’ll go from there.”

  So – she isn’t happy her assistant is dead. Not exactly. There’s a relief that things are over, and I can’t fault her for that.

  But there’s also something I didn’t detect earlier, hidden underneath all of that fear: sadness, and an unbelievable amount of guilt.

  Marcus listened to what Angie Campbell had to say.

  Chapter 8

  The coffee shop was pristine, busy as far as Charming was concerned, and altogether great. But sitting inside of it, Angie didn’t feel the happiness she’d expected to feel after setting foot in it for the first time. Instead, she could hardly believe what was going on.

  And for whatever reason – she chalked it up to just losing Erica – it didn’t feel right. Having this corporate coffee shop in this small town… It didn’t feel like it belonged.

  I don’t feel like I belong.

  And that was the truth, wasn’t it? Angie didn’t belong. Erica didn’t belong. And because of that, Erica had paid the price for it. She was dead, and Angie was still alive. Would it be for much longer? Would the killer come after her too? The Sheriff seemed to think so, and Angie thought it was possible.

  No, not possible. Probable. Unless Erica wronged someone at the bar and I didn’t know it, then they’re probably after me. Erica could be rude at times, I know that – but was it enough to get her killed? No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t enough to drive someone to murder her.

  It’s about the town and what we’re doing to it. They don’t want this coffee shop. They don’t want new restaurants, fancy housing developments, and a bustling population. They want nothing to change. Nothing at all, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it.

  So, I’m next. They’re going to be coming after me soon. But I won’t let them get me, and I certainly won’t let them stop me.

  Angie was a mixed bag of emotions. She sipped her coffee, which on a normal day would have tasted divine. Now, it was bland and way past cold. Nothing felt right.

  Erica was gone. She was dead. And it was because of Angie. Waves of guilt crashed over her. Just when she thought she could pull herself together, another surge would break down her defenses. She didn’t cry; she wasn’t much of a crier, anyway. But that didn’t mean she didn’t miss Erica.

  And compounding the issue was that the Sheriff had been right. Deep down, buried away from everyone – including herself – Angie had resented Erica, just a little bit. She’d been stealing from her. She had been for years, and though Angie had pushed it away, ignored it, and told herself it didn’t matter, the truth of the matter was it bothered her. In a way, they were supposed to be friends. Angie had acted like they weren’t, but they had been. But real friends didn’t steal from friends, so were they truly?

  I should have confronted her about it. Worked our way through it. Let her know that it wasn’t okay, but I didn’t want to fire her. Maybe I could have paid her more. Gave her more time off.

  Maybe…

  Maybe we could have been actual friends.

  And that’s what hurt most of all. She’d known, that despite all of their bickering and fighting about the job, Erica had been a friend, whether Angie could admit it or not.

  And I kept up a wall to keep her away.

  Angie felt a tear start to form, but she wiped her eye and pushed it away.

  I’m sorry, Erica. I’ll figure out what happened to you and why. Whoever killed you… They’ll regret it. I promise. You… You were my friend.

  The Sheriff had dropped her off here, told her to stay put and stay where others could see her no matter what, and then he’d went back to the crime scene to talk to the coroner and investigate everything he could.

  She didn’t know what to think of the man. He obviously cared about what was going on, and he seemed smarter than the others in this town – so why was he here? Why was he wasting his life here when he could be out somewhere else growing a career?

  But he was also intense. There were a few times when he’d scared her in the interview, a few times where she thought he was saying she was a suspect. And those strange, golden eyes didn’t help, either.

  She couldn’t help but notice the man himself. He was rugged, strongly built, and tall. He had a strong jaw, which was covered in a few day’s growth of stubble, but she knew he would clean up well. He was attractive, much more attractive than most of the others in this town.

  No matter how she looked at it, he didn’t belong here.

  And isn’t that just a little bit odd? He’s almost as much of an outsider as I am. It’s easy to see. Even a blind person could see that there wasn’t any love between him and Maudette – just a sense of him doing his job.

  Those men in jail hated him, and it wasn’t just because he was the county Sheriff. There was something else there.

  She drained her coffee and got up. She was supposed to stay here, but what good would that do? Glancing at the clock, she saw it was just after 1:00. She had half of a day to get to work. It wasn’t what Erica would have wanted, but it was what Angie needed. She had to keep her mind off of what had just happened.

  The least she could do was walk up the main drag and see what she was working with. She knew it wasn’t much, and as she stepped out into the hot, sunny street, she knew she was right. The weather here was stifling, almost unbearable. It was a dry kind of heat, and there was little wind to cool her down. She suddenly wished she would have grabbed an ice water instead of a coffee, but she wasn’t about to go back into the coffee shop that felt so wrong.

  The gas station was just across the street. It wasn’t much, but it did the job it was supposed to. There were two pumps outside and a few options between necessities inside of the store, but not much else. There was a row of coolers, half of which was filled with beer, two rows of chips and candy, and a counter. The clerk watched her with suspicion as she bought a water and came to the counter.

  He rung her up
and when she handed him her credit card, he shook his head. “We don’t accept cards here.”

  “You what?” she asked, dumbfounded. He repeated himself and Angie shook her head, as if she was in some stupor. She fished out a couple of dollar bills, handed them over, collected her water and change, and left.

  What kind of place is this? It’s worse than I thought.

  Then she went back across the street, passed two empty store fronts, and came to the little antique shop. She spent half an hour looking around through old books, trunks of junk and knick-knacks, and everything else under the sun. There wasn’t much of value, and everything was insanely overpriced, but Angie had to admit that it wasn’t all bad in the store.

  When she came back outside, she looked up to the sky. The sun was high overhead, on its way downward, but to the east, a storm front was blowing in. The feeling had changed. The air felt charged, different, and Angie didn’t know if she liked it.

  Do I like anything in this town? Do I like anything at all?

  Still, even with the storm looming, Angie kept walking down the main street of Charming. There was an old auto body shop that looked run down and deserted, though once she walked past the open garage doors, she saw there was a man inside working. It was nice to know that not every business had been closed down. She passed the Mayor’s office, glanced up at the massive windows that looked down upon Charming, and expected to see the Mayor looking out over his town – but the blinds were drawn. Wind was starting to rustle her hair.

  She didn’t know how long she walked, but she reached the end of town and saw the motel looming in front of her. The storm was closer now, and she considered finding some cover, but she didn’t want to go meet with the Sheriff. She wanted to avoid him, just like she wanted to avoid everyone in town.

  She saw his Bronco parked at the far side of the parking lot. If there had been a coroner or an ambulance or whatever else, they were gone now. She wondered what the Sheriff was finding, but she knew it was out of her hands now. She crossed the street and turned back around, heading back into town proper.