Sapphire Nights (Crystal Magic Book 1)(28)

“Report of shots fired,” Walker said without expression, waiting for reaction.

Alonzo shrugged. “Bernard thought he saw a cougar near the dumpsters. We’ve told him not to disturb the guests, but he’s young and stupid.”

“Mind if I take a look around anyway? Just to show I’m doing my job?”

“Sure, knock yourself out. I’ll take my break and get some coffee. I’ll let Bernard know you’re out there so he doesn’t try to shoot you too.”

“Generous of you,” Walker said wryly.

Cats and bears in the garbage were nothing new. The Lucys knew that. It was illegal as hell to shoot at them in a residential area, but people out here hunted. That’s what they did and there wasn’t any stopping them. So why did the Lucys want him here?

He strolled around to the dumpsters, but there wasn’t enough light to check for tracks in the woods. The pavement showed no dusty paw prints, but that didn’t mean much. He didn’t find any shell casings either, but Bernard might have been smart enough to pick those up.

Circling the sprawling lodge, he found Bernard sneaking a cigarette by the glass-enclosed swimming pool. “Do you think you wounded the cat?” Walker asked, admiring the expanse of glistening blue water in an area surrounded by parched and dry.

Bernard looked startled, then shrugged. “Nah, just scared him off.”

Bernard was a lousy liar. He puffed his cigarette to hide his nervousness.

“You shouldn’t be using firearms around here. Just keep guests away from the cat and call the game warden. A wounded lion can cause a lot of trouble, and if she has a litter, someone is bound to report it. Don’t lose your job over an animal.”

The kid didn’t look happy about the reprimand, but he nodded. “Sorry to bring you out for nothing.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just crash here for the night. Let me know if the cat comes back.” Not satisfied, Walker continued his survey of the guest cabins further up the hill, but all the lights were out.

An owl screeched deeper in the woods. He shuddered and headed back to the lodge. Instinct told him something was off, but this was private property. He could only push so far with no evidence of criminal activity.





Chapter 10





“How did you find out about Hillvale?” Sam asked Dinah the next morning on the fourth day of her new life. She wiped down the counter as her employer re-filled the pastry shelves. “Is the area well known in circles I don’t belong to?”

Dinah laughed. “The whole point of Hillvale is that no one knows of it except those wealthy enough to stay at the lodge. You tell someone you’re packing up and leaving for New Orleans, they know right where to find you. You tell them you’re going to Hillvale, and it could be anywhere.”

“That’s going to change,” the big blond guy in the tailored suit at the end of the counter corrected.

Grumpy Gump, the real estate mogul. Dinah elbowed her, and Sam remembered no one talked to him. But she needed information.

“Why is that?” Sam asked, taking money from a customer at the register.

“When you have a lot of wealthy people congregating, like in Vail or Jackson Hole, people hear about it. Once we get the condos built and the ski lift in, we’re going to be the next Vail.” Golden Boy wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Dinah snorted and slammed back into the kitchen. Sam could see why. A ski lift in this tranquil town?

“I’ve lived a sheltered life,” she said, closing the register. “Explain why I should know about Vail if I’m not a skier?”

“If you want to make money, you go where the money is,” he said as if to a simpleton.

“Ah, and the people who currently live here do so because they don’t want to make money. They want quiet lives to be themselves in an area they can afford. Got it.” Sam smiled and abandoned the real estate mogul to wait on a customer.

He glared, left his money on the counter, and slammed out the door.

She wasn’t very good at this interrogation bit. She hadn’t learned a thing this morning but managed to irritate a rich customer. She almost looked up in relief when Walker blew in, looking crisp in a fresh uniform, his dark hair recently washed and slicked back.

“Any chance you can get away for an hour or two?” he asked gruffly, studying the breakfast crowd.

Dinah immediately reappeared. “Why you ask?”

Obviously understanding that every ear in the place listened, he leaned on the counter and replied in a low voice. “Because Val has turned banshee, and I need a translator.”

Dinah looked somber and yanked at Sam’s apron strings. “Go, girl. Mariah will come in to take your place.”

“Why can’t Mariah translate? I don’t know Val,” Sam protested.

“’Cause, just ’cause. Go.”

“I think I’m here to be the town stooge,” Sam grumbled as she followed the deputy out. “Everyone knows more than I do. Explain why Mariah can’t do this. What am I supposed to translate? Do I know a foreign language?”

“Mariah sent me to get you.” Walker opened the door of his official vehicle and let her in the passenger seat. “My psychic guessing powers say the Lucys need you for reasons only they understand. Maybe you’re some kind of trigger that makes them logical.”