Chapter 14

For the rest of that whole night she kept him busy. After he was done with her in the kitchen he took her off to bed because that's what she wanted. Her body finally gave out after she'd ridden his cock for the second time and fell against his chest too tired to move.

He held her close and kissed her head before rolling her off of him and onto her side of the bed. He watched her sleeping face in the moonlight that came through the window and wondered at what was going on in her head. He hoped that he was able to chase away the demons at least for tonight. He'd deal with tomorrow when it got here.

He took a quick shower to clean up and his stomach growled as he flicked the water off. He rubbed it and dried off, before stepping out of the shower and heading down to the kitchen in search of something to eat.

He remembered why he'd missed dinner when he saw it sitting on the table under the cover Eileen had placed over it hours ago and his eyes went to the kitchen window in the direction of the dark woods before looking back at the food that should've been eaten hours ago.

It would be cold now for sure and he wasn't in the mood for the heavy meal of steak and potatoes this late at night. He looked at his watch, or this early in the morning rather. Valerie had certainly been in some kinda mood tonight. He smiled as he opened the fridge for fixings for a sandwich.

***

Detective Sparks hit the ground running the next day. Throughout the night she'd had many thoughts running through her head, thoughts that had kept her awake long into the night; things she'd overlooked the day before.

Her first call as she was walking out the door was to Mr. Niall Davis.

"Good morning Mr. Davis, I know it's a bit early but I have a question for you. You wouldn't happen to know your wife's passcode to her phone would you?"

"Of course, it's zero six nineteen, we both used it; it was our anniversary, why?"

"We're trying to establish her movements yesterday. Someone texted her before she left the house according to your nanny."

"I can't imagine who; Sonya didn't know anyone except me, and the O'Rourkes."

"Thank you sir. Will you be in your office later in case I have any more questions?"

"I'm not going in today, the childrenI'll be at home." They hung up and she pocketed the phone as she climbed into the police issue car.

Her next stop was the art gallery where she sat outside waiting for Valerie O'Rourke. Officer Bailey was heading into the station to check up on the leads from the day before per their agreement the night before. She checked her watch for the third time hating the feeling that she was twiddling her thumbs, but it was still too early to call her guy in tech.

***

Valerie O'Rourke woke up feeling sore in all the right places. She rolled over in bed her hand stretched out to the place where her husband was supposed to be and found it cool to the touch.

She frowned as she sat up, her eyes falling on the bedside clock. It was still early, too early even for him. With a foreman, an overseer and an abundance of farmhands on the job he has no need to be anywhere this early in the morning but he did like to keep his hand in.

She got up and headed for the shower to wash the stink of stale sex from her body. Last night was the first time in a long while that they'd gone at each other like that, and the pleasure she felt from the memory helped to keep her mind off of her friend's death.

She was trying very hard not to think about it, about the way she'd died; how horrible if the rumors were true. She didn't want to imagine the horror she must've felt. "Poor Sonya." She decided as she turned the water off that she'd go into work later, she'd stop by the house and check in on Niall and the kids first. It's what her friend would've wanted.

Because she kept shying away from thoughts of Sonya it was hard to think of what to do next. She knew Niall would be helpless in the face of this sudden tragedy and as their oldest and dearest friend she was perfectly willing to help pick up the slack.

She took her time drying her hair, her eyes following the marks her husband had left on her body the night before and she felt that sweet tingle between her thighs. Maybe they could have a repeat tonight, she thought as she perused her closet for something to wear.

Once dressed for the day she headed downstairs but there was no sign of Riley.

"Where's my husband?" Eileen turned around from the stove at the sound of her mistress' voice. "He left before I came over this morning. Might be something to do with the sick calf I suspect."

"Oh yes, I forgot about that in light of what else has been going on."

"Oh yes, you were so distraught when you came home yesterday I didn't get the chance to tell you how sorry I am."

"Yes, she was a dear friend." Valerie's voice tapered off in sorrow.

Eileen plated the egg white omelet she'd prepared with slices of grilled tomatoes on the side and placed it in front of Valerie before getting her a cup of coffee and some orange juice. "No grain toast this morning?"

"No, you know I only have it once a week."

Valerie closed her eyes in bliss at her first taste of coffee. She caught the housekeeper staring at her when she opened them again and could well imagine what the other woman was thinking.

"I think I'll go see Niall and the children this morning, make sure they're okay." Her face and voice was sullen as she cut into her eggs and she found that it wasn't going to be that easy to put the whole ordeal out of her mind.

She didn't mean to come across as cold and uncaring, but she's never been able to deal with death. She's one of those people who withdrew from such things as a way of protecting herself; a defense mechanism if you will.

She finished her meal for the first time in a long time, suddenly ravenous from the night before and got up to leave for the day. "We'll have roast lamb for dinner Eileen, it's Riley's favorite. And maybe a fresh peach cobbler with some of that homemade ice cream you made and put in the freezer."

She left after giving the woman her orders and hopped into her red convertible. As she pulled down the lane she saw her husband's Rover coming back from the direction of the woods. She felt a slight pang in the pit of her stomach and rubbed it away.

It was obvious that he was taking the death almost as hard as she was, as she knew he would. Was she being selfish? Only concerned with her own needs, she wondered? She hadn't really given much thought to him since Sonya had been more her friend than his, though the two had got to know each other very well over the years.

Still, she should've known that the death would hit him just as hard. She blew her horn and waved when he got closer and he drove over, stopping next to her. "I think I'll go look in on Niall and the children before I go in. What do you have planned?"

"I have some paperwork to take care of then I guess I'll go check in on them as well sometime this afternoon." She nodded her head and put the car in gear. "I'll see you later then." She smiled and started to drive off but he stopped her.

"Hey, I thought you might take the day off, you know, because of" His voice tapered off because he still wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He'd decided to let her be the one to bring it up when she was ready.

"No-no, I think it's best that I keep busy, that way I won't sit around and think about it. I'm afraid if I stop moving I'll never be able to pick myself up again. It still hasn't quite set in that she's gone you know."

Riley regretted bringing it up at the look of sadness on his wife's face. Yesterday she'd been a mess. He'd never seen his always well-put together wife that close to unraveling before and he knew that the wildness of the night they'd shared was a result.

But he knew that nothing could hold back the grief that she'd face in the coming days and wanted to be there when the enormity of her friend's death finally hit home. Maybe it was a good idea for her to keep busy like she said; everyone has their own way of dealing with loss. So he nodded his head in agreement, putting his own unease aside for now. "Okay, if that's what you want."

"Were you just in the woods?"

"Not really, I just drove up there but I didn't get out. I'm still finding it hard to accept you know. She was so close. While she was being murdered I was not more than a few hundred feet away in one of the barns looking after the sick calf."

He wiped his hand across his face and shook his head as his wife nodded her head and drove off. She was acting just the way he'd come to expect. In the last few years she'd gone from a sweet, bright, fun loving girl, to this cold person he hardly knew.

Last night he'd seen a glimpse of the woman he'd married, but he was afraid there was something else beneath it. Like grief, the grief of losing someone very close to her. He'd just have to keep an eye on her is all, make sure he was there to catch her when she fell, as he was sure she would.

She was wound so tight there's no question that she'd hit a wall soon. He headed back to the house to grab some breakfast since he'd missed dinner last night, his mind going to the beautiful woman who'd lost her life and the children she'd left behind.

Sonya had been such an integral part of their lives he was finding it hard to accept her passing, he didn't think he ever would. It was harder when someone as young and vibrant as she was lost their life no matter how it came about. But the way she'd died He shook his head to dispel the images that intruded.

He was going to miss their chats and truth be told their secret meetings. Meetings that neither his wife nor her husband would've understood. He shook his head once more as he entered the house, leaving the climbing morning heat behind him.

Detective Sparks checked her watch again for the third time in as many minutes. She was late, the gallery was supposed to be open half an hour ago. "What an idiot. Ugh!" She slapped herself on the forehead. "Of course she won't be coming in today, her best friend just died."

She sat and thought of her next move before deciding against going out to the farm. She'd give the grieving friend one more day or a few more hours at the very least. She made a U-turn and headed back in the opposite direction towards the station house. There was plenty for her to do in the meantime.

She'd called the tech with the passcode while waiting in the car for Mrs. O'Rourke to show up but he'd called back with the news that it hadn't worked. That got her mind going again. Why would a married woman change her passcode from the date of her wedding anniversary?

Had there been tension in the marriage? A falling out of some kind? Or was she hiding something? It made sense, the lengths she'd gone to. Why go to all that trouble if she didn't have something to hide?