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  Del swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thanks. I really appreciate that. It’s good to know she’s all right.” Del glanced at the kitchen clock and saw it was getting on in the day. “Damn, I need to get into town. Let me help you clean up and then I’ll go see how much poking around the townsfolk will let me get away with.”

  Shaking her head, Rae declined the help. “You go ahead, I’ve got this. If you want a suggestion, go back to the diner and sit in the back corner booth. You can hear a lot of gossip from that table and many people forget that the table is even back there. It’s where I sit when I eat there, so they tend to stay away from it.”

  Del smiled charmingly. “Well, I thank you for the hospitality. Let me give you my cell number in case you need to get a hold of me,” she opened her coat to grab her trusty notepad out of the inside pocket, checking her gun out of habit while she grabbed it. Remembering Rae’s dislike for weapons, she quickly let go of her coat, letting it fall back into place. “If you let me come back, I’ll leave it in the Jeep, I Promise. Now here’s my number. My cell phone is equipped with two lines. One for work, and one personal. That number is the personal line. Don’t let just anybody get a hold of it,” she scribbled the number down and slid it across the table to where Rae was sitting.

  Taking the slip of paper, Rae glanced at the number briefly before rolling the paper up into a little ball and tossing it over to Rori, who proceeded to play with it. “Got it, and yes. You are invited back. You have an open invitation.”

  Del arched an eyebrow at the fate of her number. “You know, a girl could get offended by someone throwing away her number like that. Anyways, I’ll see you soon okay? You call me if you see anything weird around town or anything,” she leaned down and gave Rae a quick kiss on the cheek and a wink before she headed for her Jeep.

  Getting in, she popped her keys into the ignition, turned, and got nothing. Rolling her eyes, she marched back into the house, looking at Rae with her hands on her hips, amused grin on her face. “I thought I warned you that you’d be in trouble if my Jeep didn’t start this morning.”

  Placing her hands on the blonde’s hips, Rae smiled. “I decided that I wanted a real kiss...not a peck on the cheek. The Jeep will start up now.” Leaning down, she pressed her lips against Del’s, running her tongue lightly over the blonde’s bottom lip.

  Del whimpered at the contact, her hands reaching up to wrap around Rae’s neck. Feeling Rae’s tongue on her lip, she immediately parted her lips, content to let Rae control things for now.

  Moaning at Del’s response, the brunette kept the kiss light and teasing. This felt so good and so right that Rae ignored Rori clawing at her jeans until he got impatient and dug his claws into her calf. Pulling away, she looked down at her cat. “Okay...” Looking back at the blonde, she almost laughed at Del’s expression. “He was reminding me that I had a lot of things to do today and to quit wasting time. Besides, this gives you an excuse to come back out here to finish the kiss.”

  Del laughed at that, her fingers playing with the short hairs at the base of Rae’s neck. “A better excuse there never was. Do you want to meet up for a dinner later or is that too soon?” Here, she looked at Rori, “I’ll even promise to get her back before curfew.”

  Moving her head with Del’s touch, Rae smiled. “We will start the town talkers if we have dinner together at the diner. And as much as I would like to, I think that we should wait a few days before we do that. You have a job to do, and the talk might just make it harder. Maybe later on, okay?”

  “Makes sense, but I’m going to hold you to that rain check. Now, since you’ve hopefully fixed my Jeep, I’m going to try and leave again.” Del pulled away, only to step back in for one last quick kiss. She jumped into her Jeep, and was relieved when the engine turned and she was able to back out of the driveway. She rolled down the window and threw Rae a quick wave before she pulled out of the driveway and headed back into town.

  j

  Opening the door, Amelia LeBlanc looked at the blonde standing on her front porch. She was no one that she had ever seen before. “May I help you?”

  “I’m Delany Delacroix. I have a few questions I was hoping you could help me with. You mind if we step inside?” Del introduced herself, subtly checking the layout of the front foyer as she had done at the Kingsley’s’. The house didn’t looked big as she glanced over it when she’d pulled up, but it was well kept and gave the impression was that it would have been a nice place to grow up.

  Stepping aside, she ran her hand through her hair. “You’re the detective that AJ hired aren’t you? He called yesterday and said that you might come by. I gave him everything that I could think of the other day.”

  “I’d just like to clarify a few things. Nothing too hard.” She looked at the photos hung on the walls. Jenny was obviously well looked after, at least the Kingsley’s had told the truth about that. “She’s a beautiful girl.”

  Amelia smiled and worried with a handkerchief that she had in her hands. “Yes, she is, and she is as kind as anyone you’ve ever met. I am so worried about her.”

  “Why don’t we sit and talk a bit. I know you’re worried, but I promise I’ll do my best to get her home safe.” Del reached out and squeezed the woman’s hands reassuringly.

  The older woman motioned the blonde towards the sofa. “Anything that I can tell you, I will.”

  “Mrs. LeBlanc, does Jenny have a lot of friends? Are there any boyfriends in her life, either past or present?” Del asked, sitting on the couch beside the other woman.

  Shaking her head, Amelia dabbed at her eyes. “No, she stayed to herself mostly.” Bowing her head, she cleared her throat before she looked back up at the investigator. “I don’t know if you know small towns, but Jenny has been talked about for years because of my indiscretion. She’s the bastard daughter of someone...someone in town whom I’ve never named. She’s paid for mine and AJ’s passions, but she’s risen above it all. She had just been accepted at Julliard for her piano playing.”

  Del smiled at the pride in Amelia’s voice. “Julliard, that’s pretty impressive. You must be very proud.”

  “I am so very proud, and she was so excited about going at first, but then things changed. I don’t know what happened.”

  “When you say changed, what do you mean?” Del whipped out her notebook, knowing whatever she learned next would be worth remembering.

  Standing up, Amelia walked over to the baby grand piano and ran her hand lightly over the keys. “When we got the paperwork from the school, they wanted to know about her family. I think that she finally really wanted to know about her father, but I didn’t want her to know. AJ always argued that she would not tell anyone, but I was ashamed that I had slept with a married man, so I refused.”

  “I can only assume she didn’t take it well.”

  Facing the younger woman, Amelia shook her head. “No, she couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t tell, but I just couldn’t. I know what I did was wrong, but I am so glad that I slept with AJ, because I was gifted with Jenny. She just demanded to know, and stormed out of the house, slamming the door on her way out. That was just after dinner last Monday.”

  Del looked up from her notes finally, seeing the sadness in the woman’s eyes. “I know this is hard, but it really is a big help.”

  “I just know that something has happened to her, and I hope that it’s not...I just hope that she all right,” Amelia turned away.

  “Hope that it’s not what exactly? If you know something, you need to tell me Mrs. LeBlanc. I want to find your daughter, but I need your help.”

  Shaking her head, the older woman refused to say. “I’m not sure...I can’t tell you about it.”

  Del watched the woman, meeting her gaze evenly. Sighing, she closed her notebook, replacing it in its usual place. Whatever it was, this woman was determined to keep it to herself for now. “Fine, but you can be sure I’ll figure it out sooner or later. Now you mentioned that Jenny was talked about. Did she g
et bullied or picked on often?”

  Shaking her head, the woman sighed in relief that the detective was going to drop her line of questioning. “Not lately. It was mostly when she was younger. There were still some boys that liked to shout out things when she walked through town, but other than that, nothing.”

  “Okay, only two more questions for you. Do you remember if anyone person might have given her a harder time than the others? Was there anyone Jenny might have mentioned she didn’t get along with?”

  “I can’t tell you...I don’t know the answer to that. She had few friends, as she spent most of her time practicing the piano, but she never mentioned anyone.” Amelia sat down on the piano bench.

  “Last question then, I’ll leave you be. Was there anywhere Jenny ever went to be alone. Has she ever had a place she felt safe or spent most of her time when she wasn’t home?” Del got up and crouched in front of the older woman, resting a gentle hand on her knee.

  Looking into the younger woman’s eyes, Amelia knew that this was someone who could find her daughter. “I know that she trusted Raelin Montrose. She’s someone who lives on the outskirts of town, and everyone considers her a witch. Her family has been in the area for years and has kept to themselves, but they are practitioners of magic and that makes the townies uneasy.”

  Del fought to keep the surprise off her face at the mention of Rae’s name. Seems like she’d be seeing Rae sooner than she expected. “Well Mrs. LeBlanc, you’ve done very well. You’ve been a great help and I’ll try my best to find your girl. Here’s my card. Call me if you think of anything okay?” She patted the woman’s knee as she stood, holding out her business card.

  Taking the card, the older woman clarified her statement. “I don’t think that Raelin had anything to do with Jenny’s disappearance. She’s the one person that knows what it’s like growing up in this town with everyone whispering about you behind your back.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind if I come across her. Like I said, you just give me a call if you think of anything else all right? I’ll do my best to bring her home.” Del squeezed the woman’s shoulder and headed for the door to let herself out.

  j

  The room was dimly lit as the curtains were pulled over the windows so when Jenny awoke her eyes could easily make out the detail of the room. It was simply decorated with just a bed, dresser, and a nightstand with a table lamp.

  When she attempted to sit up, her head began swimming while her ribs protested the movement, and she once more lapsed into unconsciousness.

  j

  Standing in the doorway, Raelin watched as Del’s Jeep disappeared down the dusty road away from her house. Finally, she turned away and closed the door.

  “And what exactly was that?”

  Glaring at her cat, the brunette warned. “Don’t even start. We’ll talk after I finish.”

  Quickly she cleaned up the kitchen and got through her morning routine in record time. After checking on the rest of the house, she brewed herself a cup of tea and went out onto the front porch to enjoy it on her swing. She had barely made herself comfortable before Rori slowly walked out and sat down in front of her with his tail swishing across the floor.

  “She didn’t even know that you were here Rori, so don’t start. You decided to high tail it out of here when you heard them pull up. Maybe if you had decided to introduce yourself, she wouldn’t have pulled a gun on you.” Rae glared at the feline.

  “Did you ever think for a moment that she might be dangerous? What were you thinking inviting a stranger to stay the night in our house? Who knows what she could have pulled?” Rori jumped to the railing so he was eye level with Rae, his tail flickering angrily.

  Leaning forward, Rae’s eyes narrowed. “They told me that she was coming. They have never led me into danger before so I went with my feelings. She’s a good person, and she’s here to help.”

  “She pulled a gun on a cat! I’m not exactly a dangerous convict! She’s a loose cannon Rae, and I don’t want you getting tangled up in whatever it is she’s into.” He narrowed his eyes to meet hers. “And even worse, you are fraternizing with her. Care to explain that?”

  Leaning back with a smile, Rae’s hand touched her lips unconsciously, and she shook her head as her mouth opened and closed a few times. “I can’t. I had the urge to kiss her and before I knew what I was doing, I was. Oh Goddess! She has the softest lips, and we just...fit together perfectly.”

  “Are you out of your mind? You’d only known her for an hour, maybe more. I’ve always been proud of your level headedness Raelin, but I’m not sure I approve of this. You can’t possibly know that she isn’t going to hurt you. She’s a city girl, and you’re just something to keep her entertained in this small town. It’s what city folk do, they use people.”

  “No Rori, I don’t know for a fact that she isn’t going to hurt me, but I can’t take this solitary life much more. I’ve never known the touch of a lover, the feeling of love that fills one’s heart or the rush of release. I did a reading after I felt her in town and they showed me the lovers...what am I supposed to think? As much as I love you cat, you’re the wrong kind of pussy,” the brunette ended with a smile.

  “Sorry to disappoint,” his whiskers twitched as if he were smiling back, “I can see that you are going to see her even if I ask you not to, so please Raelin, and promise me you will be smart about this. Don’t go jumping into bed with her, just because she’s the first attractive woman to show some interest in you. I don’t trust her, and you shouldn’t either,” he jumped from the porch to her lap, looking at her intently.

  The brunette picked up her pet and held him close. Rori had been her closest confidant for years, and she trusted him more than any other being on earth. “I don’t plan on jumping into bed. I will get to know her better and then maybe we will think about it. Who knows? Maybe nothing will come of this.”

  “That would upset you though, wouldn’t it? If nothing comes of you and this woman?” He purred his appreciation for her attention.

  Rubbing her chin against the gray cat’s head, Rae examined her feeling. “I know that this is something that hasn’t really started, but it has so many possibilities. She is so accepting of my gifts, and of what I can do, and I don’t know if there is someone else out there who would be. So yes, I would be hurt.”

  “Just promise me you will be careful. You’ve been hurt enough in this life. I don’t want to see you suffer child.”

  Placing a soft kiss on the feline’s nose, Raelin whispered, “I will, and you stay close by for a while.”

  Rori nuzzled Rae chin in reply, “I’ll stay near, but I want to keep in touch with the others. Things are getting tense in town, we don’t know what it is, but something isn’t right. Have the cards said anything recently?”

  “Other than what I have already told you, they said that Del was searching for something and in my dream last night, she all but confirmed it,” she winced when she told him about her dream.

  “You’re dreaming about her now? What happened in your dream Rae, and don’t try to lie to me.”

  Leaning back, Rae glared at the cat. “I have never and will never lie to you Rori. What good would it do? I was standing on the edge of the lake and she paddled up. I told her to trust in herself and what she feels inside. To be careful what she sees with her heart. She told me to be ready...that there was something dark going on and it didn’t want her here. That she was here to take care of the dark and then we kissed.”

  “I didn’t know you’d dreamt about her. This changes things. Something really is going on in town and this proves it. We need to figure it out, before someone else gets hurt.”

  Rubbing her hand along the silky fur, Rae looked out over the field in front of the house. “Have the field and town cats keep a sharp eye out for her. It may be a few days before she makes it out here and I’m sure that she’ll run into trouble by then.”

  “I think Miss Delacroix finds trouble no matter where she is…” H
e jumped off her lap and started to head off the porch, halfway to the stairs he turned and looked at her. “So, is she at least a good kisser?”

  Picking up her tea, she walked past him with a smirk. “A lady never tells.”

  “Nobody ever tells the cat anything.” With a flick of his tail and a loving mew, he disappeared off the deck.

  A Chapter 5 a

  Del sighed as she drove towards the main drag of Leroy. She had been stupid to let her emotions take over last night. She’d never ruled Rae out as a suspect, hadn’t gotten the answers she’d wanted and worse off it looked like Rae was someone she’d want to talk to about Jenny. How was she supposed to question a potential suspect when all she’d be thinking about was the feel of those perfect lips against her own?

  She had known staying the night had been a bad idea, but there was something about Rae, a pull she couldn’t deny. She needed to cool things off and create some distance. Perhaps she’d wait a few days before heading back out to the woman’s house. She knew she needed to go back out, she had some questions she needed answered, but a little distance might take of the edge off and let her work without distractions.

  Remembering Rae’s advice about the diner, she headed there to see if she could get anything else to go on. Mrs. LeBlanc had been helpful, but she’d not gotten as many leads as she wanted. Upon entering, she immediately headed for the booth in the back that Rae had mentioned.

  Plunking herself down, she took stock of the patrons. A few people sat here and there, but there was a large group sitting a booth or so over. She smiled, knowing the local gossips were sitting in the perfect place to fill her in. She waited for the waitress to take her order before she pulled some files out of the bag slung over her shoulder and pretended to be interested in a file. Taking a legal notepad out, she began to take notes on the conversation already in full swing to her left.