A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1) (8 page)

Spencer cast him a sideways glance. “It strikes me as odd that this house was occupied, when none of the other targets have been. You mentioned checking into renters. Maybe Nicole is our perp, and she staged this to throw us off.”

“What? That’s nuts! I suppose she hit herself on the back of the head, too.” Clearly the man was eager to point the finger at someone.

“Desperate people do desperate things. She had opportunity, and according to Miss Davis, none of her personal belongings were stolen. Seems suspicious. That’s all I’m saying.”

Mark worked his jaw. No way Nicole did this. He knew it in his gut, and it was never wrong. “Nicole is the victim. She said herself the missing television would’ve taken two people to carry. She didn’t have anything worth stealing except her laptop, and I suspect they’d have taken that too if she hadn’t come home and surprised them.”

“Maybe. Or maybe she had help.”

“No. It doesn’t add up.”

“Prove it.”

“Prove you’re right.” Mark crossed his arms and stared through the front window.

“For a rookie you’re sure cocky—especially a rookie at
your
age. Then again from what I overheard, maybe you think you’re better than the rest of us. Because it seems to me you misrepresented yourself to the woman. She’s under the impression you’re an expert detective.” Spencer signaled and turned into the station’s parking lot.

Mark sighed. He never should’ve asked to ride along. “You make it sound like I’m ancient. I’m only thirty-two, and I didn’t lie to Nicole.”

“Sounded like it to me.”

“Will you let it go?”

“Can’t.” He shifted and looked Mark in the eye. “Look, I don’t care how you pick up on women, but don’t lie about your qualifications to do it.”

Mark ground his teeth. Keeping his past quiet wasn’t worth this. “I said I didn’t lie to her. I’m a detective in Portland. I’ve been on the force for ten years.”

A slow grin spread across Spencer’s face. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?”

“Huh?”

Spencer opened the door. “I already knew about Portland. But I wanted you to tell me. Sorry about having to use the woman to get you to confess.”

“You baited me!” He reached for the door then hesitated. “So you don’t believe Nicole is guilty?”

“It crossed my mind for about a second. But she doesn’t fit the profile. She hasn’t been here long enough to be our suspect.”

Mark’s shoulders relaxed, and a slow grin worked its way across his face as he shook his head. Part of him wanted to laugh, while another part of him wanted to give the guy a piece of his mind.

“Sorry about your partner by the way. I saw your file opened on the Chief’s desk. I know I shouldn’t have read it but couldn’t help myself.”

Mark’s grin faded. He hopped out and crossed his arms. “You knew this whole time?” Annoyance mingled with anger toward the Chief. The man should’ve been more careful with his private information. “Who else knows?”

“Only me. I made sure to close the file.” He cleared his throat. “Figured you wouldn’t be able to resist this case. I hadn’t counted on needing the help of your
friend
to get you involved though.” He moved toward the station.

Mark ran around the car and followed. “Was this some kind of set up?”

“In a way. I thought you’d be an asset.”

Mark shook his head, barely able to believe what he was hearing. He didn’t know whether he should respect this guy for his ability to get to the truth or should be annoyed with him for being nosy and coercive. “So all this time you’ve been manipulating me to do exactly what you wanted.”

“Pretty much.” Spencer chuckled. “You had me worried. I was beginning to think you were going to turn in your badge at the end of the summer, but there’s hope for you.” He tossed the words over his shoulder. “I want your report on my desk within the hour. I think we’re close. They messed up this time by hitting an occupied house.”

“Yeah. Either that or they’re getting braver.” What if they started burglarizing houses regardless of occupancy? Mark sat at his assigned computer and got busy. Why had Nicole’s house been hit when it was surrounded by vacant houses? His head jerked up. Why hadn’t he thought to check that? Had they been robbed also?

Chapter Eight

From her driveway, Nicole made a quick call to Connor, then tossed her suitcase into the car and peeled out of the street. No way would she stay there another night. Her only regret was leaving all the books she hadn’t had time to read—plus there was still the
good book
clue she hadn’t figured out. But it couldn’t be helped. Grams wouldn’t want her in danger.

She carefully navigated the road leading to the rental company. Maybe this was a sign that she should go home. She followed the curve of the road and then slammed on her brakes. A deer stood in the middle of the street. Lazily moving its gaze from her car, it meandered toward the side of the road edged by pine trees. Deer in Sunriver acted as if they lived in a zoo with no cares.

When Bambi had safely made it into the trees, Nicole pressed on the gas. What had the thieves been after? Mark and the other officer seemed unfazed by the whole thing. Probably been-there-done-that so many times a few missing TV’s were no big deal. Well, it was to her.

She pulled up to the property management company and parked. Squaring her shoulders, she got out then marched inside. A man stood behind the counter in the sparsely furnished room. She rested her elbows on the counter. “Hi, I’d like to change houses.”

“Is there a problem with the one you’re renting?”

“Yes!” Her voice trembled. “I called a little while ago about a break in. I can’t stay there anymore.” She shivered.

The man ran his finger around the inside of his collar, and his face reddened. “Excuse me one minute please.” He darted behind a cubicle wall.

Nicole heard whispering and walked toward the front plate glass window. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to sort this out.

“Miss Davis.” The man stood at the computer behind the counter and raised a brow. “I apologize for your experience.” He cleared his throat. “However, you are staying in the home as a guest of the owner.”

“What does that mean? I thought my Grandmother paid for the rent.” She didn’t know any homeowners in Sunriver. There had to be a mistake, unless Grams had a friend here.

“It means the owner is allowing you to stay for free this summer. If you’d like to switch houses I can arrange that, but there will be a rental fee.”

Nicole sighed and her shoulders slumped. No way could she afford to rent here all summer. “That won’t work. I’ll check out and go home.”

“But you can’t!” Wide eyed, he wrung his hands. “Please, Miss Davis. Give Sunriver another chance.”

“Not in that house. It’s not safe.”

“Begging your pardon, but any house can be burglarized. Besides, the chances of further trouble are slim. I’m sure you will be perfectly safe in the home provided you.”

“I’d prefer to check out.”

A woman stepped from behind the partition. She bit her lip and then seemed to make a decision. “Miss Davis, I was to only give this to you in case of an emergency, and I suppose this qualifies.” She handed Nicole a small white envelope.

“Oh.”

“Please read it before you do anything hasty.”

Nicole nodded and ambled back to her car.

“Dear Nicole, if you are reading this, then I’ve failed. Please reconsider staying. Planning this adventure for you gave me such joy, and I believe if you stick it out you will understand the importance of spending the summer in a place meant for fun and adventure. Please give an old woman one last request and stay.

I happen to know the owner very well, and she requested that you allow an interior designer to update the master bedroom and en suite. The owner trusts your judgment and wants you to make it the way you would want it.

Love, Grams

P.S. Have you found a good book on the bookshelf yet? Open it and enjoy.”

There it was again. If she left the house, it would be impossible to finish the game. She owed it to Grams to finish, but what kind of person allowed a stranger to redecorate their rental? This was nuts! Her grandmother had done some crazy things before, but this topped everything.

The woman from the management company came outside and waved at her. “Miss Davis, I have something else for you.” She approached Nicole’s car and handed her a business card. “This is the company you are supposed to contact about the makeover. The owner has set a pre-paid budget.”

Nicole took the card. “Belafonte and Son’s Construction and Design.” She looked at the woman. “You do realize this is crazy?”

She chuckled. “It is unusual, but enjoy it. An opportunity like this one is once in a lifetime.”

“No kidding. So this is all legit? There isn’t a hidden cameraman somewhere waiting to tell me I’ve been tricked?”

“I assure you. This is all on the up and up. Enjoy yourself and try to forget about what happened.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have a knot on the back of your head from the creep who broke into my rental.” She sighed. “Okay. I’ll stay, but I want new locks installed.”

“Actually, maintenance is working on that as we speak.” She handed her a new key. “If you will give them a couple of hours your place will be right as new by the time you return.”

“Really?”

She nodded and grinned wide before turning toward the building.

“Thank you,” Nicole called out as she set the letter on the passenger seat. “Grams, you have no idea what you’re asking me to do.” What about the burglars? What if they came back? Even though the chances of them returning weren’t good, it still made her nervous. And the ache in the back of her head was a constant reminder of what they were capable of.

She closed her eyes, remembering the happy times her family had here when she was a young child before everything changed. Being in Sunriver felt right—at least until this afternoon. If she could get that feeling back, then this was where she wanted to be. She headed to the village since her rental was being worked on. She probably should’ve gone to the river, but Connor would only bombard her with questions she wasn’t up to answering.

She needed to call the design company too. At least she had the book she’d purchased earlier and could lose herself in the story. Reading for pleasure had not been a priority for a very long time. In fact, taking time for any kind of pleasure had taken a backseat to life over the past several years. Between caring for Grams, finishing her Master’s degree, and her first year of teaching, fun had become obsolete.

Nicole parked then snatched up her purse and book and tucked the business card inside to use as a bookmark. She got out, went into Brewed Awakenings, and purchased an iced coffee. Now where to sit? Outside was far more tempting. She found an open table and sat. The business card poked out the top of the book.

“This had better not be a joke,” she murmured as she pressed in the phone number.

“Belafonte and Son’s Construction and Design. This is Bailey.”

“Hi. My name is Nicole Davis. I was given your business card and told to call about a master bedroom and bath job.”

“It’s nice to finally put a voice with the name. We’ve been expecting your call. Would it work for you if Mrs. Belafonte and I come over to your home tomorrow to see the space?”

Nicole let out the breath she’d been holding. In spite of everything, she’d been half-afraid this was a horrible joke. “Tomorrow will be fine.” They set a time and Nicole stuffed her phone into her purse. A tingle of excitement zipped through her in spite of everything.

She pulled out the thriller she’d heard great things about and tuned out the world around her. With care, she flipped to the first page while teetering on the edge of excitement in anticipation of the story. There was nothing like getting lost in a world of fiction.

Before long, she leaned back and stretched her legs forward, barely aware of the activity around her as tourists and locals strolled through the village. She reached for her coffee and was again reminded how much she liked this place. The book held her captive, and she flipped page after page.

“This is a surprise.”

Nicole startled and looked up. “Hi, Mark.” She moved her legs. “Want to sit?” He was out of uniform. Must’ve had a short day. She glanced at her watch and did a double take. She looked to her right. Long shadows shaded the plaza, and the air had cooled.

“Have you been here all afternoon?” He eased down into the chair beside her and crossed his ankle over his knee.

“Apparently.” Where had the time gone? No wonder her back and tailbone hurt.

He shifted to face her. “I saw Connor out at the river.”

“How was he? I hope he wasn’t upset with me.”

“He seemed as happy as any boy would be when the fish aren’t biting.” He shot her a grin. “He asked about you.”

“Yeah. I probably should’ve kept my promise to him. It would have been a lot more comfortable sitting on the bank of the river, but I knew he’d have questions, and honestly I couldn’t deal with that today.”