2 Mists of the Past (7 page)

Darcy looked back into the room through the one way glass at the still crying Lily. “It seems like Lily is probably innocent. You’re not getting anything from her so I just wanted to try it my way.”

He waited before asking, “And?”

She shrugged.  “Nothing. I didn’t sense anything at all.”

Jon shook his head. “All right. But I want to hold her for a bit longer anyway…” He was interrupted by a commotion in the outer office. Darcy could hear a man yelling. They went to see what was going on and found Wilson Barton, the night shift officer, trying to calm down an irate guy in a gray hoodie and blue jeans.

It was Lily’s brother Robbie. “You let Lily out right now!” He was demanding at the top of his voice. Jon went over to him and put a restraining hand on his shoulder but Robbie shook him off. “I want to see my sister right now! You have no right to hold her, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Look, Robbie, is it?” Jon started to say. “You need to calm down. Your sister is being questioned and I know that you...” He was interrupted once again, this time by his cell phone ringing. He took it out and Darcy expected him to ignore it after looking at the caller display. Instead, he immediately thumbed the screen to connect the call. “Grace?”

Grace? Darcy stiffened as she heard her sister’s name. While Officer Barton finally managed to escort the still upset Robbie out of the office, Jon finished his call and then turned to her.

“Darcy…I’ve got bad news. That was Aaron. Grace has been attacked.”

***

Jon took them straight to Grace’s apartment building. She was his partner, after all, and Lily wasn’t going anywhere. Darcy was grateful for his company.

When they got there, Darcy pounded on the front door. “Darcy,” Jon said, holding her fist in his hands, “it’s all right. She said she was all right.”

“It is not alright! Every time I get into these kinds of things, someone I care about gets hurt! Every time!”

Aaron opened the door at that moment and Darcy flew past him into the neat, orderly apartment. “Is she alright? Where is she?” Aaron pointed towards the bedroom and Darcy hurried down the hallway to get there. Jon stayed behind to talk to Aaron.

Grace was reclining on the bed with an ice pack on her forehead. Darcy was speared by alarm when she saw it. She dropped down into the chair next to the bed and immediately peppered her sister with questions.

“What happened sis? Who did this? Should we call the ambulance?”

“No, no I’m fine. Well, not really,” her sister said with a wince. “I was coming into the house when someone hit me over the head with something hard. Right at my door. Can you believe it?”

“Did you see who it was?”

She went to shake her head but then stopped herself. “No. I didn’t see who it was, I didn’t even hear anything. Aaron found me lying in the entryway when he got home a little while ago. We figure I was lying there for about twenty minutes or so, give or take.”

“Oh, Grace.” Darcy was at a loss. “This is terrible.”

“It gets worse,” she said with a sober expression. “Apparently there was a typed note lying on my chest when Aaron found me.” Grace handed the note to her in a plastic Ziploc bag.

When you look into the past
You find nothing but strife
This warning will be my last
Stay out of a dead man’s life

Lo ti distruggero

Darcy’s breath hissed in as she read the note, the same type of note and bad poetry that had been left previously for Jon. “I’m so sorry Grace.” Darcy realized what had happened. When Grace went looking into Jon’s files, she must have alerted Kyle’s murderer. She was convinced now that Kyle had been murdered. If her spirit communication hadn’t shown that to her, then this did. No one would go through this much trouble over a suicide.

“Don’t worry about it Darcy, all right?” Grace took the note back and read it over again. “I’m a police officer. It’s part of the job.”

“I don’t think getting mugged at the door to your apartment by a psychopath qualifies as part of your job, Grace.”

“He didn’t mug me. To mug me, he would have had to rob me after he hit me, and he didn’t. So thank God for small favors.”

Darcy tried to smile but she didn’t find it very funny. “What about the ambulance?”

“I’m fine, sis. Really. But the doctor is coming over to check me out just in case anyway. Aaron already called. Don’t worry.”

Jon came in at that point and Darcy listened as Jon and Grace talked over the note and the particulars of the whole matter. Jon let on some of the secret information that he had already told Darcy about. He looked devastated that his old life had gotten both of them involved in this mess.

***

Back at the police station, Robbie was waiting for Jon outside. He approached them as they were just getting out of Jon’s patrol car.

“You can’t hold Lily she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Yes, I can.” Jon said to him, holding up a hand as Robbie got a little too close. “I tried to explain to you earlier that she attacked me by slapping me across the face. I’m holding her on a pending assault charge. Robbie, go home. I’ll be sure Lily lets you know what’s going on.”

But Robbie wasn’t having any of it. He was shaking and his eyes were wide, his hands fisted at his sides. “You have to let her go.”

Darcy moved in closer to Jon very carefully and laid a hand on his arm. “I have to talk to you Jon.”

Jon didn’t look away from Robbie as he nodded. “You try to calm down while I talk to Darcy okay Robbie?” He backed away from the other man carefully and he and Darcy went to the back of his car.

Darcy kept darting her eyes over to Robbie and then back to Jon. “You know Lily couldn’t be the one who attacked Grace, right? She was here with you.”

“I know that. The time frame matches up, from what Grace told us. That doesn’t mean she didn’t have an accomplice.” He closed his eyes and took a breath and tried to calm his voice down. “I’m sorry. I just can’t help but think that I got Grace hurt. I mean, how many other people are going to get hurt because my past is catching up to us? Are you safe around me, even?”

Darcy’s eyes softened and she took his hand in hers. “It isn’t your fault, okay? There’s a crazy person out there and you aren’t responsible for what they do. Not Kyle’s murder, not my sister’s attack, none of it. Okay?”

He nodded after a moment. “I know that. It’s just…it followed me here.” He looked deep into her eyes and she could see how tired he was. “It followed me.”

Chapter Ten

“The town is buzzing with the gossip about Lily’s arrest.” At work in the bookstore the next day Sue was going on and on about everything that had happened. “Come on Darcy, tell me all of the details.”

Oh for Pete’s sake couldn’t people in this town just mind their own business for once. “It was nothing really. Just a simple mistake.” Darcy didn’t want to talk about it, even with Sue. The woman kept twirling her blonde hair around a finger though, and asking the same questions. Thankfully Jon walked in just as Darcy was about to give in and tell Sue something just to get her to stop.

Darcy grabbed Jon by the arm and started to drag him outside again. She wanted to talk to him but without Sue around to overhear.  “Do you have any leads?”

He shook his head and said, “That isn’t why I came. Everything has been so crazy lately. I just want to spend some time with you.” He paused for a moment and looked at her intently. “I need your key.”

Darcy looked at him dumbly. “My key?”

              He nodded. “I need to get into your house.” She opened her mouth to ask why and he put a hand up to stop her. “It’s a surprise.” He smiled.

She shook her head. “I have a spare key in the potted plant on my front porch for emergencies. You can use that.”

His eyebrows scrunched downwards. “That’s not a very safe practice Darcy, even here in Misty Hollow. You should probably reconsider doing that, okay?”

Darcy pressed her lips together. She wasn’t used to someone caring about her like Jon seemed to. She nodded. “Okay.”

Jon visibly relaxed and then smiled at her. “Meet me at your house in an hour, okay?”

Darcy was surprised by the invitation. She wanted to keep working on this until it was solved, until they knew who was threatening Jon and who had attacked Grace. But, he looked so lost and needy that she couldn’t tell him no. “Sure thing,” she said with a smile.

He hugged her quickly. “Great, I’ll see you then.” He hurried away, and Darcy went back into the bookstore feeling happier than she had in a while.

“I see you and Jon are back on track,” Sue said to her with a mischievous grin.

Darcy nodded her agreement. It felt good, even in the midst of everything else, to know this thing between her and Jon was so right.

***

Darcy walked home with a spring in her step. She had left Sue in charge of the shop again, joking that she’d have to turn the whole place over to Sue if this kept up. Curiosity burned at her. Jon had sounded so… Well, she wasn’t sure exactly how to describe it. Mysterious, maybe? She was dying to find out.

She noticed that the fog was beginning to rise again but she chose to ignore it. She didn’t want anything to spoil the lovely mood she was in right now.

As she climbed the steps onto her front porch, she could see through the front windows that Jon was already inside. She pushed the door open slowly and found that there were dozens of flowers everywhere in the hall. Vases full of roses and violets and other flowers. She stopped, mouth open, marvelling at the sight of it.

Jon came out of the living room with a huge grin plastered on his face. He handed her a glass of wine and leaned in to kiss her sweetly. “I love you Darcy.”

“What is all of this for?” she asked him, laughing. Not that she was complaining. This was probably the most romantic thing any man had ever done for her. They moved into the living room and Darcy put her glass on the coffee table. She looked all around the room to find that Jon had dotted lit candles on tables and window ledges to give the room a warm glow.

Jon put his glass down next to hers and drew her into his arms. “To answer your question, I just wanted you to know that amongst all of this drama I know that I can depend upon you.” Her breath caught in her throat and then his head was moving in closer to her again and he sealed his lips to hers. Tilting his head, he deepened the kiss. She was feeling dizzy when he leaned back a little and looked deeply into her eyes. “I am so glad to have you in my life, Darcy.”

She smiled at him, her voice trembling. “I’m glad too.”

He stepped away from her and moved over to the bookshelf and the stereo system there to put some music on. She sipped her wine and watched him through hooded eyes. He looked delicious. As he came back to her he held out a hand and she placed hers into it. He curled his fingers into her palm and his warmth seeped into her skin.

“You once told me that you love to dance. Would you dance with me now?”

Darcy had to catch her breath to answer. “Yes, I’d love to dance with you.” He pulled her into his arms once again and held her close as they slow danced together for what felt like eternity.

Chapter Eleven

The sun streamed through the sheer curtains and woke Darcy slowly the next morning. She stretched her legs and back languidly, her body liquid within the warm confines of her bed. Warmth radiated down one side of her where her naked body was sealed to Jon’s. She laid her head on the wide expanse of Jon’s chest and started idly drawing circles upon his warm skin with her fingers.

She felt him stir next to her as he woke up. “Good morning,” she said in a husky voice.

She felt him run his hand over her hair, fingers sifting through the fine dark strands, as he yawned. “Good morning to you, too,” he said. “Is it morning already?”

“Mm-hmm.” She snuggled in closer. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. Thank you for last night.”

Jon smiled and replaced his hand with his lips as he kissed her hair. “I’m surprised Smudge hasn’t come and tried to attack me yet.” Darcy giggled just as Jon’s phone vibrated wildly on the bedside table.

“Nooo,” Darcy groaned as Jon sighed and grabbed for the annoying little device.

Jon untangled himself from her and sat up, sounding surprised and excited as he spoke to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Darcy sat up with him, combing her hair back, eyes raking the line of his nude form. She had hoped that they could spend all day in bed together today, exploring each other…

When he hung up he just stared at the phone in his hand for a moment and then he turned to look at her. “I don’t believe it. My old friends from college, Dale and Cindy, are in town. I haven’t seen them for ages. We all used to be such really good friends.”

“Uh,” Darcy tried to be excited for him but she’d learned to hate coincidence. “Now? Are you sure this is a good time for a reunion?”

“I can’t put my whole life on hold because of one psychopath. I won’t let him tell me how to live my life.”

Jon started to get up from the bed and then turned back to her, his hand falling in a very private spot. “They’re going to meet me at my apartment. You want to come meet them with me?”

Darcy decided that meeting some of his friends would let her know more about his life. And, it might be just what he needed right now.

“I’d love to,” she said, and then admired the view of his backside as he got out of bed.

***

Jon called in to take a few hours off work. He got a hard time for it, considering Grace was already off herself, but ultimately it was all set and they were driving over to Jon’s apartment. When they got there they found two people waiting outside who Darcy assumed would be Dale and Cindy.

Jon jumped from his car and ran up to greet them. “Guys! I can’t believe you’re here.” Cindy, a short and athletic looking blonde hugged Jon first, in a way that seemed really familiar to Darcy. Then Dale shook Jon’s hand. He was taller than Jon, stocky, and had a dark complexion with eyes to match. They both were wearing jeans and t-shirts, Cindy’s just a size or two smaller than she needed, in Darcy’s opinion.