Murder on the Hoof: A Mystery (Colleen McCabe Series) (3 page)

Hayley raised an eyebrow at Wendy and Jason.

“I thought I’d texted you,” Wendy said to Colleen. “Hayley’s going to shadow you at work during her stay when she’s not filming—to help her with her character.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘shadow’?” Colleen asked.

“She’ll follow you around while you do your job,” Jason said matter-of-factly.

“Don’t worry,” Hayley said with a pat on Colleen’s arm. “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. You and your men won’t even know I’m here.” And with that, the three retreated to their vehicle.

Like hell my men won’t know you’re here, she thought. She watched as the Lincoln SUV disappeared up Lighthouse Drive. As if the summer hadn’t been eventful enough, now she was going to be followed around by a famous actress. She didn’t know how, but she was going to have to discourage this. There was no way she and her men could do their jobs while being distracted by the beautiful and charming Hayley Thorpe.

She heard the click of Sparky’s nails behind her. “You weren’t any help,” she said as he reached her side. Sparky squinted at her, and she could swear he was smiling.

Just then, Jimmy and Bobby pulled in.

“You’re back early. Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Turns out the ME had staff in Duck. We were able to transfer custody of Doris’s body there,” Jimmy said. “What are you doing out here?”

Colleen realized how strange she must appear, standing in the middle of the lot and staring blankly off into the distance. “You just missed Hayley Thorpe,” she said, as if that were a perfectly logical explanation.

“Hayley Thorpe? Constance Hope from
Passages in Time
? She was here? I love her,” Bobby gushed.

Jimmy smiled in agreement. Great, Colleen thought. Hayley Thorpe’s conquest was complete.

“She took pictures with everyone. I’m sure some of the guys will…” Her voice trailed off. Bobby was already out of the vehicle, half waddling, half jogging to the station to hear all about the celebrity visitor. It was the fastest she had seen Bobby move—ever. Despite weeks of training, Bobby had managed to lose only ten pounds. Perhaps I should have a picture of Hayley Thorpe at each end of the relay drills to motivate him, she thought.

Jimmy grinned. “Looks like Bobby’s a fan.”

“You think?” she asked sarcastically.

He raised his brow in surprise. “You’re not?”

“She seems like a perfectly nice person, but I just found out she’s going to be following me around on the job—something to do with the film she’s doing.”

“You mean like Take Your Soap Star to Work Day?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Yes,” she said, not finding it the least bit amusing. “Only it won’t be for a day. A day, I could handle.”

“I don’t see the big deal.”

“Oh really?” She gestured to the interior of the station, where Bobby was now surrounded by the rest of the men, who were enthusiastically showing off their cell phone pictures.

“I see what you mean,” he said, now fully appreciating the impact the celebrity’s presence would have on their work.

“I’ll have to make it clear to Hayley and the film people that her presence is too much of a distraction.”

“That’s going to sound like you’re jealous.”

She shot Jimmy a look.

“Not that I think you are,” he quickly added. “But to people who don’t know you, it could look like one woman being petty about another.”

Colleen bit the inside of her mouth. As much as she hated to admit it, her dependable captain had a point. To someone from the outside, she might appear to be a queen bee feeling threatened by another queen bee buzzing around her hive. But she was neither a queen bee nor someone who had ever had problems with women who were. And she didn’t want to stir up trouble with the Chamber of Commerce or Currituck County by seeming difficult.

“I need a man to make the request,” she said, thinking aloud.

“That might work,” Jimmy said, and stroked his handlebar mustache. “But it would have to be the right man.”

“How do you mean?”

“Someone with authority or power. And with a woman like Hayley Thorpe, it wouldn’t hurt if he was good-looking.”

She considered what he was proposing. Where could she find a handsome man with authority to charm Hayley out of following her around on the job? Her phone buzzed to life. She pulled it from her pocket, checked the number, and grinned.

“I may have just the guy for the job,” she said, and hit the
ANSWER
button. “Hello, Pinky,” she said, winking at Jimmy.

Jimmy raised his brows in surprise.

“I was calling to find out if we’re still meeting about the donated property,” Pinky said, referring to the house he had donated to the station.

“Absolutely,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll be there in a few.”

“Looking forward to it. Until then, ciao.”

“Ciao,” she said, and hung up.

“‘Ciao,’” Jimmy said, imitating her.

She playfully swatted at his arm. “Pinky will be the perfect distraction for our Ms. Thorpe.”

He eyed her, unconvinced. “How do you figure?”

“Think about it. He’s owns a third of the properties in Corolla—probably even the house Hayley’s staying in—he’s not bad-looking, and he’s charming in his own way.”

Jimmy gawked at her. “Wow. Never thought I’d see the day when Colleen McCabe would call Antonio Salvatore charming.”

“Do you have someone better in mind?” she asked, folding her arms.

“I thought maybe you’d ask—” he began, then stopped. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. Why am I even getting involved in this?” he said, and headed toward the station.

“Tell the guys I’ll be back within the hour. We need to meet about today’s exercise,” she called after him.

Jimmy waved over his shoulder.

“Sparky, come,” she called, walking to her SUV. She swung open the door, hopped in after Sparky, started the engine, and drove up Whalehead Drive.

Chapter 3

Colleen’s concern
about having Hayley Thorpe looking over her shoulder lessened as she made her way toward the house where she was to meet Pinky. Hayley obviously had a healthy appreciation for men. Pinky would be just the ticket to distract her. Not only was he one of the wealthiest citizens in Corolla but Colleen knew firsthand how he liked to wine and dine a lady. Pinky would keep the actress so busy that she would soon forget about shadowing the local fire chief. Once she convinced Pinky to introduce himself to Hayley and maybe invite her for a cruise down Currituck Sound on his boat, she was certain she could return her station to a normal routine—or as normal a routine as possible with a film crew in town.

She drove north on Route 12. As she approached the Sheriff’s Department, she decided to fill Bill in briefly on the arrival of the film company and see how he had made out with Marvin, the deceased Doris’s husband. She drove into the Sheriff’s Department’s lot, found a space, parked, and went inside with Sparky. The cool air-conditioning refreshed her spirit as she made her way down the hall to Bill’s office. She found the door ajar. Sparky barged in.

“Hey,” she said, knocking on the door and stepping into the office.

Bill looked up from his desk. “Hey,” he responded unenthusiastically.

She sat in the chair in front of Bill’s desk. She had known him long enough to know something was troubling him. “Everything okay?” she asked, motioning for Sparky to sit at her feet.

“I saw Marvin Jenkins.”

“I take it from the look on your face that he’s not doing well with the news of Doris’s death.”

“No,” he said. “But not in the way you’d think.” He left his desk and peered out the window. “He was actually quite angry.”

“It’s not the first time you’ve encountered that reaction,” she said, trying to console him.

Bill turned to her. “He was angry about Doris’s participation with the theater group.”

“Oh.”

This was not good. She, too, had been uneasy about Doris’s involvement. What if Marvin decided to get difficult and launch an inquiry into why she had let Doris participate in the exercise, given her advanced years? Like all the participants, Doris had signed a liability waiver, and Colleen was certain that she and her men were without fault, but any inquiry was usually a source of concern until it was resolved.

“Did he say if he was going to lodge a complaint?” she asked, figuring she’d better start preparing for it now.

“A complaint?” he asked, bewildered. “About being in the play?”

Now it was Colleen’s turn to be confused. “The play? What about it?”

Bill leaned against the desk. “Apparently, the amount of time Doris has been spending at rehearsals has been a source of conflict. Marvin said he’d tried to get Doris to quit but that she’d refused, even said she’d get a divorce before she’d leave the play.”

“That’s dedication,” Colleen said, amazed. Bill’s silence put her on alert again. “Is there something else?”

“It’s hard for me to believe doing a play or your training exercise would make him that angry. He kicked the wall. Nearly broke his foot.”

“Sounds about right.”

“How so?”

“I had a roommate in college who was a theater major. Her boyfriend was a real pain, always calling our room, asking where she was and then slamming the phone down when I told him she was at the theater. For her senior thesis, she was acting in a show. He tried to sabotage her by buying her tickets to a Broadway play for the same night and insisting she skip her final performance or he’d break up with her.”

“What did she do?”

“Missed her show. And never acted again, as far as I know,” she said. “She used to say, ‘Theater is a jealous lover,’ but it was clearly her boyfriend who was the jealous one. Sounds like Marvin felt the same way.”

“Still,” Bill said. “His reaction … Doris’s reaction … they seem extreme.”

“You’ve obviously never lived with an actress.”

He smiled halfheartedly but said nothing. Her eyes narrowed. He doesn’t believe me, she thought. She knew Bill’s skepticism was part of his nature and what made him a good sheriff, but she hated when he turned it on her.

Bill’s cell phone vibrated with an incoming text message. He checked his phone, then flipped it over on his desk. “I hate to change the subject, but I have an appointment. Was there something you needed?”

Distracted by the news about Marvin, she had almost forgotten why she had sought him out. “It can wait,” she said, figuring he would find out soon enough about the film company’s arrival. “You’ve clearly got enough going on right now, and I should be on my way.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, but he was already moving toward the door to usher her out.

“Yeah.” She rose and tapped Sparky’s rump for him to follow. “I’ll give you a call later.”

They exited the cool building that housed the Sheriff’s Department and headed out into the sweltering heat of the parking lot. She dashed to the SUV, which, fortunately, she had parked in the shade, slid in behind Sparky, started the engine, and cranked up the air-conditioning. As she was about to pull out, she was surprised to see a Lincoln SUV with tinted windows pull in. It was the same SUV that had chauffeured Hayley Thorpe into her world. Seconds later, Hayley alighted from the backseat of the vehicle. Colleen watched with curiosity as the woman paused in front of the building’s front door, checked her lipstick, and then entered. Poor Bill, she thought, Hayley’s going to shadow him, too. He will most certainly tell her no. And once Bill denies Hayley’s request, it will be easier for me to do the same.

She glanced at the Lincoln, noticed Wendy and Jason talking in the front seat, and wondered why they hadn’t gone inside. Colleen had been under the impression that a woman like Hayley wouldn’t travel without an entourage. She twisted in her seat and strained to see Bill’s office window through the branches of pine trees next to the building. The window was empty for a moment and then she caught a glimpse of Bill. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought he appeared uncomfortable. She debated going in and rescuing him, but the desire soon disappeared and was swiftly replaced by one of wanting to punch him.

Hayley Thorpe, famous soap actress, came into view next to Bill and, as if she had done it a thousand times before, kissed him on the cheek. When he returned a quick kiss to Hayley’s cheek, Colleen’s heart leaped into her throat and then sank to her stomach. A second later, the two moved away from the window and out of sight.

Colleen blinked. She felt her cheeks get hot, her ears burn, and her legs weaken. Even though she was seated, it was as if a hurricane-force wind had blown her off her feet. Why had the celebrity kissed Bill? Why hadn’t Bill acted surprised when she did? And why had he kissed her back? Had Bill known Hayley was coming to see him? Had Hayley been the reason he had rushed her from the office? She took a deep breath. Don’t blow this up, she told herself. Hadn’t she already seen the woman’s effect on the guys at the station? That’s merely how Hayley behaves with men. Flirting was part of the woman’s DNA. But flirting was
not
part of Bill’s DNA. Many times, Colleen had wished it was. There was obviously more to the interaction between Hayley and Bill.

She resisted the urge to go back inside and demand answers. She knew she’d only look foolish and possibly embarrass Bill. She needed to gather additional information before she said anything to him. But how could she find out what was going on without seeming to be nosy? She peered out the windshield and discovered the answer sitting right in front of her: Wendy and Jason. Of course, Colleen thought, they’ll know why Hayley is meeting with Bill. She put her SUV into gear, pulled alongside the Lincoln, and rolled down her window.

The Lincoln’s driver’s side window rolled down. “Hey!” Wendy said cheerfully.

“Hey!” Colleen replied, trying to match Wendy’s perky greeting. “I saw Ms. Thorpe is checking out the Sheriff’s Department. Doing more research for her movie?”

“Oh, no,” Jason said. “Apparently, she and the sheriff go way back. She wants to talk to him about a security issue. Funny how Hayley has a friend even here, isn’t it?”

“Yes … funny,” Colleen said, forgetting all about trying to be perky.