Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds (2 page)

The car careened, the back tires edging dangerously close to the drop off. Those flimsy pine trees below wouldn’t be any match for the furor of this chunk of metal tumbling toward them with endless momentum. No, those trees would snap in half like pencils. So would my neck for that matter. And Riley’s.

Riley jerked the wheel again. The car spun and spun. My life flashed before my eyes.

This trip was supposed to end with “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” complete with Riley and I dancing on stage at a talent show like Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in
Dirty Dancing
. Instead, it was looking more like the trip would start with R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”

I screamed and braced myself.

CHAPTER 2

The car continued to spin and screech until finally colliding with the wall of rock beside us. My head jutted forward on the impact, before being stopped by a spray of white powder and a huge balloon.

That would be the air bag, I supposed. I’d never had an up close and personal encounter with one before.

As all went silent, I punched the cushiony material away, coughing the powder out of my lungs.

I craned my neck to check on Riley. My heart pounded in my chest at a steady staccato as I wondered what I’d see. Blood? A lifeless body?

Please, let him be okay.

“Riley?”

The airbag disappeared, and his face came into view. He was scowling but appeared uninjured. “Gabby? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You?”

He drew in a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m okay. Not so much the car, though.” He shoved the deflated airbag out of the way and tried the ignition. It moaned and groaned before going silent. “We’re not driving away from this one.”

“I’m happy just to be
walking
away.”

My phone must have come unplugged because, at that moment, “Staying Alive” by the BeeGees blared from my tiny speakers. Appropriate. Somehow my playlist had switched to “Oldies.”

“Let’s get out of the car before someone rams us.” Riley pushed himself out and then reached his hand in to help me.

I would have to climb through his door since mine was crushed against the mountain. Still, that could have been much, much worse.
We
could have been crushed.

Riley’s hand wrapped around mine, and he helped me maneuver over the center console. My flip-flop nearly slipped off as I pulled my leg over the steering wheel. They were my favorite pair—they had black sequins on the straps—so there was no way I was leaving these in the wreckage. I quickly grabbed it, slipped it on, and then hopped out onto the asphalt. Despite the towering trees, the sun hit my shoulders, reminding me that everything would be just fine.

Riley led me down the road in search of safety. We found a little nook in the side of the mountain. We pressed ourselves there, into the craggy rock, drawing as far away from the road as possible. The stone was cool and moist. When I looked up, I saw a small trickle of water coming down from above.

Riley pulled out his cell phone and held it in the air. “No reception. Go figure.”

“Certainly someone will come past … eventually,” I offered.

Riley pulled me toward him and kissed the top of my head. Whenever he did that, it made me feel tiny and protected. Though I usually prided myself in being independent, I actually liked the warmth that spread through me at his affection.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he mumbled.

“That was some scary stuff. Sorry about your car.”

His hand traveled down to caress my cheek. “Cars can be replaced. I was just worried about you. This is not, however, how I wanted to start this trip.”

“Well, our plans take other paths sometimes. Isn’t that what you always say? We plot our course all we want, but the Big Guy upstairs sometimes has different ideas.”

“You know it.” He shifted, tugging me back farther from the road. “You do realize that this is the first trip we’ve taken together?” He sent a sharp glance my way. “It will be a good chance for us just to have fun together like a normal couple.”

I jerked up one eyebrow, making my doubt evident. “I don’t think we’re ever going to be a normal couple, Riley. You do realize that, don’t you?”

His blue eyes sparkled. “Who wants to be normal? But you know what I mean. Ever since we’ve known each other, we’ve just been caught up in some type of investigation, it seems. It will be good for us just to chill out and relax.”

Chilling out and relaxing seemed so unnatural. Would this be a good time to tell him about the news I’d received right before we left? That due to state budget cuts my position with the Medical Examiner’s Office had been eliminated? My heart lurched at the thought. My dreams had been within my grasp, only to be snatched away. That seemed to be the story of my life.

Riley had sounded surprised I’d managed to get the time off so quickly for this trip, especially since I’d only worked at my new job for a month. But I did tell him only two weeks ago that, due to budget cuts, my hours had been taken back to part time, so he knew that much. He just didn’t know that I’d received confirmation that money woes were striking budgets everywhere, and my career had effectively died before it began.

Now I was going to have to beg Chad Davis to let me come back to my crime scene cleaning business. Truth be told, I’d kind of missed the job, anyway. At least I’d had freedom and flexibility. I’d set my own hours, dressed however I wanted, and answered to no one but myself.

Somehow, being introduced to Riley’s friends as a Medical Legal Death Investigator had a better ring to it than being introduced as a crime scene cleaner, though. Medical Legal Death Investigator made people nod with curiosity and admiration. Crime scene cleaner made people flinch.

Hence my hesitation.

Still, I had to tell Riley the whole story. I’d been waiting for the right time. I supposed I could have spilled the beans on the way here. We’d gone to church, grabbed some lunch, and then hit the road for a four-hour drive.

By that time, I’d been too preoccupied with singing along to my favorite hits from the 80s. “Eternal Flame,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” and “How Will I Know.” Speaking of “How Will I Know,” Riley had to love me, because he’d gone along with it. Any sane person would have asked me to turn the radio down and not to sing so loud.

I’d only switched to
My Fair Lady
in the last twenty minutes. I’d waited to see if Riley made the connection between the movie and my feelings about this trip, but he gave no indication he did.

Right now, we were stuck on the side of the mountain with nothing but time to kill. I suppose I could mention the job situation now.

“So, Riley. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you—”

A car zoomed down the road toward us. Riley waved them down. Of course, my mind, being what it was, imagined Riley flagging down a serial killer. Maybe that’s what too many brushes with death did to a person.

A pale blue Mercedes pulled to a stop by us. The passenger side window came down, and a man with gelled blond hair and a pressed white shirt came into sight.

“Everything okay—?” A smile suddenly cracked his face. “Riley Thomas? I can’t believe it. Is that you, man?”

The tension suddenly left Riley’s shoulders. He reached for the man’s outstretched hand and did some kind of exaggerated handshake. “Derek Waters! Am I ever glad to see you.”

A chorus of other voices sounded in the car. The best I could make out, there was one other man driving in the front seat, and one woman in the back. As more windows came down, I spotted highlighted hair, fake tans, and expensive clothes.

Just how I imagined Riley’s old friends.

Riley looked back at me. “Gabby, come here. There are some people I want you to meet.”

I forced on a smile, one I’d been practicing ever since Riley invited me on the trip. I stepped forward, trying to look regal and graceful instead of like someone who’d grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. “Everyone, this is my fiancée Gabby St. Claire. Gabby, this is, well … everyone!”

I pulled a hair behind my ear and offered a small wave. They politely reciprocated. Thankfully, their attention quickly turned from me back to Riley.

“What happened?” Derek—the one in the front passenger’s seat—pointed to Riley’s car. “That’s messed up!”

“Just a little accident. These mountain roads are crazy, and I don’t have a cell phone signal out here to boot.”

“Glad you’re both okay. I know a great malpractice attorney, if you need one.” Derek grinned.

Riley laughed. “I’m sure you do.”

Derek nodded toward the backseat. “We can give you a ride. Hop in!”

“Great.” Riley tugged me forward. I saw the cramped quarters inside that car and put the brakes on. There was no room for both of us. And I was pretty sure my deodorant was nearly depleted after that car ride. That was not the impression I wanted to make with Riley’s friends. No. Way.

“You go ahead,” I insisted as Riley started to climb in.

He paused, raised his head, and brought his eyebrows together. “What?”

I pointed to the car. “We’re both not going to fit. You should go.”

He stood, an incredulous look on his face. “That’s ridiculous. I can’t leave you here.”

I shook my head, acting tougher than I felt. “I’ll be fine.”

He looked flabbergasted. “On the side of a mountain road by yourself? I don’t think so. What kind of fiancé would I be if I left you here?”

I shrugged. “I’ve survived worse. You just get there, check in, and call a tow truck. I’ll only be here for what? Thirty minutes max?”

He shook his head. “I seriously can’t do that.”

“I insist. They’re your friends. You should totally catch up with them.” I dropped my voice and muttered, “Please.”

A moment of uncertainly crossed his features. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Positive.”

He hesitated another moment, stared at me, and finally nodded. Then he kissed my cheek and climbed into the car, amidst the laughter and chatter of his friends. Two minutes later, they pulled away, reminding me of college fraternity brothers driving off to a wild party. I sighed and leaned against the car.

I’d gotten myself out of one awkward situation. But how was I going to survive a whole week of this?

***

An hour later, a tow truck pulled up. A middle-aged man with a brittle reddish-brown beard hopped out, grunted a few times, and examined the car. Finally, he hitched Riley’s sedan and threw his thumb over his shoulder, motioning for me to climb into the cab of his truck.

I ignored the stench of old fast food and auto exhaust, resisting the urge to give the man some tips on how he could get those grease stains from his upholstered seats. I did have a few tricks up my sleeve from all of my years as a crime scene cleaner. What worked on blood would work on automotive fluids also.

“Lots of accidents on this road,” the driver mumbled, rubbing his beard before putting the truck into drive and rumbling down the road.

“I can see why.” I glanced over at the steep drop only mere feet away. Riley and I had been lucky. Very lucky.

“Those new fangled GPS units,” he enunciated each letter of “GPS” with the emphasis of someone spitting, “always lead people this way. There’s an easier route. A few miles longer but much safer.” He shrugged. “At least this road keeps me in business.”

“You have a lot of accidents down this way, huh?”

“At least a few a week. And since we’re the only tow company in the county, I can’t say I mind. As long as no one gets hurt, mind you.”

“Of course.”

Silence stretched for a moment. As the truck bumped down the road, I reviewed what Riley had told me about his friends.

Derek Waters was a malpractice attorney now living in Boston. Apparently, he was also the king of TV commercials advertising his law firm. Based on the stories Riley told me about him, I’d already nicknamed him Derek “Playboy” Waters.

Jackie Harrington was an assistant D.A. in Georgia, came from old money, and loved jelly beans. She was the sweet one of the group, always smiling and laughing.

Jackie was bringing her boyfriend with her. No one knew his name yet or anything else about him.

Lillian Berkhead was a divorce lawyer who was also known as a shark in the courtroom and a cougar in the dating game. She was only a part of the group because she and Jackie had been best friends. Riley had even mumbled something about “Ice Queen” in one of our conversations.

Jack Lemur was the quiet member of the group. He was a financial attorney, married with two kids. His family wasn’t taking this trip with him. Riley had warned me that he had a tendency to double-dip, which meant his new name, in my book at least, was “Jack the Dipper.”

Then there was Lane Rosenblum. He was a tax lawyer in Washington D.C. He was also the newest addition to their group, only joining the rest of them during their senior year after transferring from some school out West.

Apparently, most of the gang hadn’t seen each other for nearly six years since they graduated from law school and entered the real world.

“So, you from this area?” I remembered there was someone in the vehicle with me and turned to better face Grizzly Adams.

The tow truck driver grunted and shrugged. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Seems … ” I glanced at the mountainside as it blurred by the window. “ … pretty.”

“This fancy resort you’re going to employs nearly seventy percent of the county. There aren’t many opportunities for other people.”

“At least there are opportunities.” I tried to sound optimistic. Based on the scowl the tow truck driver gave me, he didn’t appreciate my insight.

I went back into quiet mode. Which meant I went back to thinking about Riley’s friends and just how the social dynamic this weekend would play out.

Aside from Riley’s parents, I’d only met one other person from his past life, and that was his ex-fiancée Veronica Laskin. She’d been thin, beautiful, and rich. She’d come from a family of wealth and power.

How Riley had ended up with me was a mystery that I just didn’t understand sometimes. But I wasn’t complaining. As the song “Bless the Broken Road” said, hard times could often lead us into the arms of the person we were meant to be with.