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  “Well, it depends on whose askin’?” he asked cautiously.

  Del was tempted to reply with sarcasm, but knew it wouldn’t serve any use. Still, having driven most of the night on only a few hours’ sleep for a job she still wasn’t sure she should have taken; she wasn’t in the mood for games.

  She shyly tucked a piece of long blonde hair behind an ear, and peered up at him through her lashes, flashing a charming smile. “Well, I’m Delaney Delacroix, and I’ve an appointment with Mrs. Kingsley to help her with some private family matters. She’s given me an address, but I’m not from around here.” Charming the pants off him seemed like the fastest way to get the information out of him, and all she wanted was to get this over with so she could have a nap.

  The old man threw back his head, and laughed. “Oh, you’re good Missy. You think that those green eyes and pearly whites will charm the hell out of me. They just might later on, but I know that Regina Kingsley don’t like to be kept waiting. You head down that road over yonder, and when you see a lake on your left, take the road right beside it, and you’ll dead end into the house.”

  Del flashed him a genuine smile this time, thankful for his sense of humor. “Thanks for your help.” She turned to leave, but stopped as a thought crossed her mind. “You wouldn’t also know where I could find a nice place to get a room for a few nights, would you?”

  Scratching his head, he turned, and pointed down the street. “If you turn right at the light, about a half mile or so, you’ll see the Buck n’ Doe’s inn. They’re pretty clean.”

  She nodded, and placed a hand on his forearm. “Thanks again Mr…?” She paused, expecting him to finish with his name. He seemed kind, and something told her an ally in this man would be beneficial to her work.

  “Well Missy. You can call me Jasper, and if you want some company one of these nights, I would be honored if you’d join me for dinner over at the diner.” He smiled down at the young woman. ‘Oh, to be thirty years younger again.’ He patted her hand. “You’d better get in gear. Like I said, Regina Kingsley doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  “Well, Jasper, you can call me Del. Most do. Thanks for all your help. I’ll see you around, I’m sure.” She turned, and headed to her Jeep, pausing to throw a wink over her shoulder. “And Jasper, I’ll be sure to take you up on that dinner invite.”

  She climbed into her Jeep, letting out a deep sigh as she did. Dinner would provide a good opportunity to get some information out of him, about the town, and the people living in it. Her dashboard clock confirmed the time, and she set out for the Kingsley estate feeling all the while like a lamb about to head into the Lion’s den.

  Jasper cocked his head, and admired the view from behind. It was just as good looking as the view from the front. He smiled, and gave a tiny wave as the pretty young blonde drove off.

  j

  AJ was standing at the front window as he saw Delaney’s Jeep round the bend of the road. Quickly he put down the glass of bourbon that he had poured earlier, and was about to drink from again. Looking around, he was glad that Mother was nowhere in sight. Taking a step closer to the window, he whistled softly as he watched the blonde get out of her vehicle.

  ‘That is a fine looking woman,’ he thought to himself. ‘Maybe I can have some fun after all.’

  Stepping out of her Jeep in front of the large manor, Del rolled her eyes slightly at the sight. It was large, and extravagant, pretty typical for old money. Approaching the front stoop, her sharp eyes noted small signs of disrepair. Paint peeling, chipped molding, and a garden around back that needed some attention. Perhaps things weren’t as prosperous as the Kingsley’s would like people to think. Then again, these were hard times. She reached up, and knocked roughly on the door, listening for signs of movement from within out of habit.

  “Mother...the detective is here,” AJ called out as he walked to the foyer, and opened the door. “Yes, may I help you?” His eyes traveled up, and then down the slim body, liking what he saw.

  Del regarded the man carefully, groaning inwardly at his less than subtle leering. He was tall; she had to crane her neck to catch his dark eyes when they finally left her chest. He may have been handsome in his younger years with his strong jaw, and thick hair, but there was something behind those brown eyes that she wasn’t so sure she liked, something that told her not to take this man at face value.

  “Yes, I’m Delaney Delacroix, and I’ve an appointment with Regina Kingsley.” She kept her tone professional. For all her good-natured flirting with Jasper in town, the unsettled feeling this man gave off warned her to play it careful.

  She looked subtly over his shoulder, gauging the layout of the foyer before she had to step in. Large, and extravagant, with elaborate mahogany paneling, it too showed signs of aging, but what really got her attention was the display case of marksmanship trophies. Pausing, she noticed they were all awarded to an Arthur, or Regina. So, the woman of the house could fire a gun, not that surprising for a Southern town though. She quickly noted the lack of sensors around the doors, odd that a house with money wouldn’t have an alarm system. That told her that these people had the power in this town, Mayor be damned. AJ was quick to extend his hand to shake hers.

  “I’m her son Arthur Junior, but you can call me AJ, everyone does. Mother should be down momentarily. Won’t you please come in?” He liked how smooth and silky her hand felt in his.

  “Arthur! I’m quite sure that Ms. Delacroix can walk a straight line without your assistance,” Regina’s voice called out sharply as the older woman appeared at the top of the stairs.

  Retracting her hand, Del turned her attention to the woman at the top of the stairs. Tall, but not as tall has her son, Regina Kingsley descended the staircase with a regal bearing most royalty would envy. Grey hair was pulled into a severe bun on the back of her head, and steel grey eyes never once left Del’s face. Del noted in the back of her mind that Regina was sporting some pretty expensive accessories out of date though they were. Flashing a smile at her client, she reached out, and clasped the hand offered to her.

  “And so we meet, Mrs. Kingsley. Is there a place a little more private in which to discuss the matters that called me here?”

  Regina liked the not too firm handshake the blonde gave her. “Ms. Delacroix, I have no problems in discussing this in front of my son...he may not have the head for business, but he does care for the young girl. We’ve all known Jenny all her life. Why don’t we adjourn to the library, and we can talk more comfortably.” Turning, she led the way into an oak shelf lined room, filled with books, leather chairs that were still in good condition, but worn around the edges, and a wet bar. Sitting in a wingback chair, Regina waited for the young woman to ask the first question.

  She took a seat in the chair offered, her jacket falling open to reveal a holster tucked into her left shoulder. She noted with a smug satisfaction the slight widening of the eyes when AJ caught a glimpse of the weapon. Reaching into a pocket inside her jacket, she pulled out an old notebook and pen, flipping to a new page.

  “Did you get the information I requested?” She figured Regina was a woman who liked to keep things simple and straight to the point. For now, Del was willing to indulge her.

  Arching an eyebrow at the blonde’s tone of voice, Regina thought better of the cutting remark that was on the tip of her tongue, and instead let her eyes tear up.

  “Yes, I had Arthur go to her mother and had her write down everyone that she could think of who might know where our sweet Jenny went. Trust me Ms. Delacroix; she just wouldn’t leave without telling her mother good-bye.”

  “And the father?” she asked, jotting notes as they spoke, years of practice allowing her to write while barely looking at the page, leaving her eyes open for body language.

  Smoothing back her hair, Regina sighed. “I’m sorry to say that Jenny’s father is no longer in the picture, and hasn’t been for most of her life. To tell the truth, Jenny LeBlanc isn’t my granddaughter, but is the
daughter of a family friend. Amelia can’t afford to search for her, so I offered to help. Anything for a friend, you know.”

  AJ crossed over to the wet bar, and almost picked up his glass again, when he thought better of it, and grabbed a handful of peanuts out of a nearby bowl. “Yes, Mother, and Amelia are such close friends.”

  Putting down her pen, Del let an annoyed look pass over her face before she schooled it back into something more neutral. Standing, she watched them both as she spoke, “Mrs. Kingsley, who exactly do you think you’re working with here? If you think I drove all this way after being dragged out of my bed at some ungodly hour of the morning to be lied to, you have another thing coming. Now, I’m willing to help you here, but there isn’t a damned thing I’m going to be able to do if you can’t even give me some straight answers. In the future it would do you well to give me some answers when I ask.”

  The older woman stared at the blonde while AJ almost spit out the mouthful of peanuts he was chewing. Finally smiling, Regina nodded her head.

  “You are good. No wonder you came so highly recommended. Yes, you were being lied to, but not completely. Jenny is my granddaughter, and while my son here is her father she doesn’t know, nor does anyone else outside the family.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t have taken a whole lot of work to figure out. You see, as soon as I mentioned the father, your son went about as rigid as a steel pipe. AJ over there has a ring on his finger, but judging by his not so subtle once over of me at the front door, I wouldn’t put it past him to have a few adventures from time to time. I’m going to assume all this secrecy is because she wasn’t exactly planned?”

  Glaring at her son, Regina silenced any type of defense that he was going to offer for checking out the detective. Sighing, and turning back to the younger woman, she motioned for Del to take her seat.

  “Boys will be boys, but at least he learned to use protection, and no, Jenny is a result of a fling he had early in his marriage. I paid Amelia off to keep her silence, and have made sure that Jenny is well cared for. She has been missing for almost a week, and no one knows where she has gone.”

  Dropping once again into her chair, Del decided she had made her point, and resumed her note taking. “Now, when was the last time she was seen, and who was she with?”

  A Chapter 2 a

  Graceful hands left the warmth of the coffee cup, and reached up to rub at tired eyes. After finally dragging as much information out of the Kingsley’s as it seemed she would get, she’d made a beeline for the local diner. Del sat, staring at the picture of the girl in front of her. She’d already gone through all the contacts, familiarizing herself with the names, of which there were few, before she’d picked up the photo.

  It was fairly recent, and showed the missing girl with her arms wrapped around her mother. Red, nearly auburn waves fell around her face, and past her slim shoulders. Her smile was charming, if not a little shy, and Del thought she was hiding sadness behind the warm hazel eyes, peeking out from under the unruly set of bangs. She wasn’t a big thing, petite without being frail, and her face still held the soft roundness of youth. Del wouldn’t give her a day over eighteen, let alone her actual age of twenty.

  She had just picked her mug up for another mouthful of caffeine when a flash of bronze across the street stilled her hand halfway to her mouth. She set the mug down, and leaned closer to the window. Jasper was across the street sweeping again, but it was the woman he was talking to that caught her attention.

  She let her eyes drift over well-toned calves, following bronze thighs that disappeared into the running shorts currently covering one of the nicest asses Del had ever had the pleasure to look at. She followed the curve of her spine, nearly whimpering as she reached well-formed shoulders left bare by a dark tank top, and continuing with the wonderful line of a graceful neck until it was covered by the messy, caramel tinted ponytail resting at the base of her skull.

  The woman had obviously been running before she’d stopped to chat, her golden skin flushed with the exertion, her top damp with sweat. Whoever it was must have sensed her stare, and before she could look away, she found her eyes locked with the dark gaze of the stranger. Del felt her stomach twist, and her insides clenched in a long forgotten ache.

  The gaze held for a few seconds longer, and when the woman turned away to continue her conversation Del let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding. She felt the waitress’s presence beside her, asking if she wanted anything more.

  “Can you tell me who that woman across the street is?” Del asked, her eyes never leaving the woman’s back.

  The waitress leaned across the table looking out the window. Finally she pulled back some, refilling Del’s cup as she spoke.

  “That there is Raelin Montrose. A real odd one she is.” The distaste in her voice made it pretty clear to Del that this woman was not fond of Rae. “I heard she performs some kinda cultish rituals out at her house just outside town. Her family’s been here a while, but they were all a bit weird.”

  Del finally tore her gaze away, and regarded the middle-aged woman next to her. “How do you mean weird?”

  “Well, they always kept to themselves mostly. You head up to her place sometime; you’ll see what I mean. They got pentagrams and funny stuff hanging all over the place. It’s been there ever since I can remember. Just Rae up there now though. Folks try to stay away from her, we don’t want to get tangled up in no Satanic hocus pocus.”

  Del watched the woman as she spoke, reading her discomfort quickly. Not wanting to ruffle too many feathers this early in the game, she decided to change the subject. She read the waitresses nametag quickly, and slid the photo of Jenny across the table. “Tell me Mary, you ever see this here girl around? She’s been away for a week, or so now, and her family are getting a bit worried. I promised I’d help find her.”

  Mary studied the picture a few minutes before she slid it back. “Yeah sure, that’s our Jenny. She lives with her mom just up the way. Haven’t seen her in a few weeks though. She doesn’t like to eat here much, trying to watch what she eats, and all. You know what young girls are like.”

  “Thanks for your help. Here’s my card. You just let me know if you see her, or hear something okay?”

  Mary glanced at the card before nodding, and tucking it into her apron. Del started to turn her attention back to her work when Mary spoke up again. “If you gots a missing girl on your hands, you might wanna try heading up to Rae’s place. They say she sees things normal people don’t see. It’s nonsense to me, but who knows what kinda voodoo happenings she got going on up there.”

  As Mary rushed off to serve another customer, Del glanced out the window hoping to catch another glimpse of the beautiful woman, but when she looked, Raelin was gone.

  j

  After her client left, it was all Raelin could do to not go charging out to the middle of town, curious, no, needing to know who, or what had arrived. Instead, she opted to put on her running clothes, and at least work off some of the excess energy. Besides, running always got her in tune with her surroundings anyway.

  It was about a mile into town, but Rae followed one of the older lines, and it felt like she was running with an old friend. By the time she started into the town proper, her nerves were all but gone, and she was feeling relaxed. Jasper Wilkins was out front of his store, sweeping the sidewalk as she jogged up, but as she got closer, the tingling started again. “Morning Jasper, how’s business?”

  Looking up, Jasper regarded the woman in front of him. She was beautiful; the whole town knew it, with her deep brown eyes, and smiling face. Her dark hair was pulled up into a rare ponytail, the ends falling in loose ringlets against her back. The light sheen of sweat she worked up only served to make her bronze skin glow, a pink hue splashed across her cheeks and bare shoulders from the run into town.

  He’d had to restrain himself from following a stray drop of sweat as it ran down her neck, where he knew it would meet the generous curves under her
tank top. She was tall, and unlike the blonde he’d met earlier he didn’t have to look down to catch her eyes, eyes that aside from being amused by his appraisal, were a warm chocolate color.

  He was well aware of what the other townsfolk thought of Rae, and her family, but she’d never been anything but nice to him, and he couldn’t bring himself not to like her. She had an earthy charm to her, and for the second time that day he found himself longing to be about thirty years younger. “Oh, you know Rae, about the same as always. You seem in good spirits today.”

  Rae could feel someone’s eyes caress her body, starting at her calves, and slowly make their way up her back. It took all of her will not to whip around to look around the town square, so slowly she turned and locked gazes with a blonde woman sitting in one of the tables in the diner. Her heart started to race faster than it had been when she was running, and she hoped that she wasn’t blushing as she turned back to Jasper.

  “I’m sorry. What did you say?” she asked the older man.

  Jasper looked over Raelin’s shoulder, and smiled to himself as he saw the blonde from earlier. He had guessed Rae’s preference a few years back when a few young men who were dared by their peers came back like dogs with their tails between their legs. Clearing his throat, he repeated himself, “I got that roll top desk in for you. Would it be alright if I brought it by tonight?”

  “Sure, why don’t you come out around six, and I’ll fix you dinner? I’ll make that pot roast you like so much.” Rae offered with a smile.

  Chuckling, he replied, “You know me so well. I’ll be there. Is it okay if I bring a helping hand? This back isn’t as young as it used to be, you know.”

  Reaching out to lay her hand on his shoulder, the brunette could feel that his arthritis was acting up a bit, so she pushed some healing energy through his bones. “No, not at all. The house needs more people in it every once in a while. It gets too used to just being me there, and it loses some of it happiness. I’ll see you at six.” She waved good-bye, and started back home.