Chapter 11

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 not in use. And she remembered that when she was here earlier the farm hands had been nowhere to be seen.

Which meant that there were plenty of places between the house and the workers where lovers could've met without anyone being the wiser, if they were careful. But why would a lover play such a dirty trick with the clown?

As she drove along the white ranch style fence that circled around the twenty or so acres where the house sat, she saw a lone figure walking back towards the house. From the way her stupid heart reacted she was sure it had to be him. And she still had no answers as to why he effected her like this, even after all this time.

It's not like he was the first good-looking guy she'd ever met. Granted, he was way ahead of the others, but still. And she wasn't at all the kind of woman who'd go after a married man. Not that he'd ever given her the time of day. He probably didn't even know that she existed, or so she told herself.

But somehow whenever she saw him, or even thought of him, she had the same reaction; it was uncanny. She'd moved here from the big city to get away from an unrequited love that had got out of hand.

She shivered at the reminder of the upheaval in her life and all that had gone on before she made the move to this place. She'd had no intentions on spending her life in what she once saw as a backwoods town with a population of three thousand.

No, she was more comfortable in the bustling metropolis that had been home her whole life. But when her stalker had infiltrated her life in every possible way, making it so far as into her bedroom in the middle of the night while she slept, she'd decided it was time for a change.

After the trial when he'd gotten away with little more than a slap on the wrist after tormenting her for more than a year, she'd been disgusted with the whole system. The system that she'd worked so hard for had let her down and she'd started seeing herself in all the women who needed her help afterwards.

She was close to throwing in the towel though she'd never quit at anything in her life, but feeling the way she did, she saw no other way. It was hard looking in those women's faces and giving them the same old bullshit line now that she knew the truth firsthand.

Her captain had seen the cracks and came to the rescue. He'd grown up here in this small town well off the beaten path and instead of letting her give up on her life's work, had talked her into giving this place a try, at least for a little while.

He'd put in a good word for her with the mayor and since the town was about to lose its only senior investigator who'd been on the job for the better part of thirty years and was on his way out she'd jumped at the chance.

It was a steep contrast from what she was accustomed to, but she'd found her footing here and the place had grown on her. All had gone smoothly with the transition except for this one pesky matter. Her attraction to the town's wealthiest man.

It would've been easier if it were his money she was attracted to. At least that she could fight against and stand a better chance at winning. But this attraction ran much deeper and was a source of discomfort whenever their paths crossed, which thankfully wasn't that often.

Riley heard the engine coming down the lane, towards the house and turned at the back door where he was just about to wipe his feet on the welcome mat. "Dammit!" He took his hand away from the doorknob and walked back down the steps.

He stood with his arms folded and waited for the driver to get out after coming to a stop. He should've known it would be her after seeing her at the house earlier. "Good evening detective." He took her in-in one glance then looked away.

"Good evening Mr. O'Rourke I wondered if I could ask you and your wife some questions."

"You can ask me and you can do it out here. My wife's in bed." He could see the question in her eyes. It was still quite early in the evening and no one went to bed at this hour, not even in their sleepy little town.

"She was very upset so I gave her something to help her sleep. Now what can I do for you detective?" She didn't know how to take his words, why would he put his wife to bed this early?

He had to know that the police would want to have a word with her since she and the victim had been such close friends. And hadn't she told them both that she was coming to see them when she got done with Mr. Davis?

First they left the Davis residence and now this. "I would've liked to speak to both of you but I guess I can speak to your wife some other time." She closed the door with a little more force than was necessary and walked over to stand in front of him. He towered over her by a good few inches and she hoped that he couldn't see the pulse racing in her throat, or hear the way her breath hitched at his nearness.

She felt just a little annoyed and had to clear her throat twice before she could get the words past the sudden lump in her throat. "So, how well did you know the deceased?" She got out her trusty little notebook not quite sure why she was so upset with him all of a sudden.

"I knew her very well, as well as I knew her husband." She listened closely for any inflection in his voice.

"I've been told that you spent a lot of time at the Davis residence while Mr. Davis was away from home. Can you tell me what"

"I like the Davis children. Sonya suffered a bit of postpartum depression after Abigail was born." Oho, touched a nerve have I? She thought as she took a quick look at him before looking back down at her notes.

"Abigail, would that be the youngest Davis child?"

"Yes, as I was saying, she didn't handle it very well, giving birth to another child so soon after Andrea was born so I went over there sometimes to help out."

"That seems a bit strange doesn't it? A man with all you have to do here, why did you make the effort? Where did you find the time?" From the look he gave her he was obviously not too pleased with her line of questioning but it couldn't be helped. She had a job to do and beating around the bush or showing any type of preferential treatment was out of the question.

"Because her husband was busy at the bank and my wife had her art gallery to see to. I was the only one who had any free time throughout the day to see to her. We were friends, and whatever you or anyone else may think, that's all it was."

Did he seem a bit defensive? "When you say what anyone else might think, have there been talk?" Now she looked at him head on, hoping to read the truth in his eyes.

"No, there was never any talk." Not until today anyway Riley thought silently.

It was something his own wife had hinted at, well not so much hinted, but he'd read between the lines of her words and didn't like what he came away with. He didn't even know where it was coming from, and why now. She'd never had a problem with their closeness before, his and Sonya's.

She'd never seemed threatened by it and he'd never given her reason to. Or maybe it had been there all along, her distrust, and he'd been too blind to see it. And now here was someone else hinting at the distasteful suggestion.

"Any more questions detective?"

"Well yes, when was the last time you saw the deceased?"

"I saw her last night, we had dinner together." Detective Sparks swallowed hard and looked down at her notebook.

"We were joined by my wife and her husband." He gritted the words out through clenched teeth.

"And how did she seem to you?" She hated that she felt such relief at his words and did her best to hide it.

"The same as always. Bright, vivacious, fun. And before you ask, I didn't see her this morning and I wasn't out in the woods. Neither do I know what she was doing in there."

He ran his hand over his wild mane of jet-black curls in frustration. It was still hard for him to accept that the woman he'd seen just the night before across the dinner table, the woman he'd spent so many hours laughing and joking with, was actually gone.

He knew the cop had a job to do, but he wished her to hell all the same. And why do all their questions have to sound so accusatory? There were things that a person didn't want to and shouldn't have to share with outsiders, did that make them suspicious?

He, his wife, and the Davises had been close for years. It's true that he and Sonya had become closer in the last year and a half but so what. Is that a crime? Now his own wife was upset to the point that he had to tranquilize her and this woman was on his doorstep looking at him with suspicion in her eyes.

"Have you been in the woods at all lately Mr. O'Rourke?"

"No, not since I was a kid. I have better things to do with my time. If I need to take a walk I have more than enough land to do that on. Now if there's nothing else, I need to get back to my wife."

He turned and walked away, leaving her stymied by his hostility. Could there be something to what the nanny intimated? And her own growing suspicions? And what about that statement he made? Whatever anyone might think? Who, who was thinking that he'd had an affair with the dead Mrs. Davis?

She looked up at the house before turning and going back to the car. She needed to speak to Mrs. O'Rourke now more than ever but it looked like that was going to have to wait. Tomorrow, she'd go see the other woman at the gallery first thing in the morning.

She drove back down the lane, her mind in turmoil. She knew better than to let her emotions play a part in an investigation but she couldn't help but be disappointed. Though it was still too soon to tell, if she were looking in from the outside she'd have to say that so far he was the only one that stood out.