A Traitor at Poppyridge Cove Read online

  “You want a lift back?”

  They swung around to see the paramedic standing awkwardly aside his vehicle, peering back at them. “Or the road’s open now if you want to get your car.”

  Ryan glanced at Emily, and she turned to the man. “No, we’ll walk, thanks,” she said, taking Ryan’s hand.

  They continued to the street and soon came to the police car. An officer sat in the driver’s seat, rattling out codes on his radio. He waved his hand at them and rolled his window down.

  “We’ve got someone at the inn questioning guests,” he informed. “So far, no one claims to know anything about the power line being cut.”

  “Do you need us to do anything?” Emily asked. “We could answer questions, too, if you’d like.”

  “Yeah, just head back to the inn. My partner will let you know if there’s something you can do.”

  Emily’s car was close, and they drove back slowly, peering through the trees to see the fire still burning in the distance. It looked much smaller and likely contained with how relaxed everyone was.

  Still, Ryan felt increasingly on edge. The closer they got to the inn, the stranger it felt to be looking for a guilty individual among the guests. Everyone was a suspect, and yet each one seemed as innocent as the next.

  When they pulled up to the inn, there were two police cars, both with their emergency lights running.

  “Let’s see what we can find out,” Emily said. She glanced at him as she stepped from the car and paused long enough to have him smiling back.

  “Okay,” he answered, winking at her and enjoying the color that rushed into her cheeks.

  But when they walked in the front door, the tension was a physical thing, discomfort showing on everyone’s faces. A few looked angry. It was clear to Ryan that there were only two guests separated from the rest, and the policemen were hovering. Asking questions and getting irritated responses.

  “Hello, Officer.” Ryan walked up to the closest one and extended his hand. The man turned to him but looked annoyed by the interruption. “We were told to come back and help in any way we can.” He gestured to Emily, who lifted her hand in a small wave. “She’s managing the inn for the owners. They should be back tomorrow.”

  The officer pointed to where Emily stood. “If you could stay there, I’ll speak with you in a few minutes. Thank you.” He turned back to Saul.

  It was clear to Ryan that they were wasting their time talking to the old man. He didn’t do it. And neither did the young couple. He gazed around the room, not seeing a single person he would even think to accuse. The teenage boys were an obvious target, but he could see all they cared about was their mother. They glanced over as Ryan was appraising them, and all three walked quickly to join Ryan and Emily.

  The woman threw her arms around Emily’s neck, and the boys stood in a line behind her, hugging her in turn.

  “I can’t thank you enough for your willingness to risk your life for my son,” the mother gushed with tears in her eyes. She smiled through her emotion. “It was the bravest, most selfless thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Emily looked speechless for a moment, glancing back and forth between the smiling faces. “Well, he didn’t end up needing me.” She shrugged. “But I could never just leave him alone like that.” Her face darkened, shadows crossing her features.

  Ryan was suddenly sure she was a lot like her brother. He hadn’t heard the story of how he died, but he would bet it was similar. It hurt to think about how differently things could have gone. And the miracle that Emily was standing in front of him instead of becoming lost in the fire.

  The vision of this other possibility struck him in a flash, as if it actually happened. He felt the stab in his heart at the thought of her never walking out of the fire, and of him waiting and watching, helpless to save her. He rubbed a hand across the perspiration on his forehead, feeling a wave of sickness.

  “This is ridiculous! I’ve had enough!”

  Everyone turned to see Saul waving his arms and stomping away from the officers. He marched past the younger couple but didn’t make it far before tripping and landing hard on the floor.

  Emily gasped and rushed forward. “Saul! Are you okay?” She glared openly at the officer as she passed them, but they were statues, watching the room around them instead of the commotion at their feet.

  Ryan watched Emily as he moved to join her. He noticed the way she froze as Saul sat up, and how she leaned back on her heels, lifting something from the floor. When he lowered down behind her, he saw several items in her hands. She reached for Saul’s jacket pocket slowly, to where a watch hung halfway out.

  “Did you take these?” she asked, keeping her voice lowered. Saul only stared back at her. She lifted the watch up. “Did you lie about your watch being taken? And you snuck into the other rooms?” Her voice was rising, and Ryan glanced back to see the officers leaning over them, watching.

  “I never took anything,” Saul fired back, grunting as he struggled to his feet. “Those were put in my jacket by someone else.”

  There was an awkward moment where no one was quite sure where to look. The officers stood aside Saul and ushered him down the hall, speaking quietly. The rest of the room watched silently while Emily lifted the necklace from her hand and gave it back to the very grateful owner.

  “Thank you so much,” the woman said, holding it to her chest. “This means the world to me.”

  Emily returned the bracelet to the Morgans and was left with Saul’s watch. She stared at it, lying in her open palm. “I can’t believe this,” she said quietly.

  Ryan rested his hand on her shoulder, but before he could speak, there was the distinct metal-snapping sound of handcuffs.

  “I told you, it wasn’t me!” Saul shouted, although he didn’t resist the arrest. The officers led him out the back patio, and the room stayed hushed in shock.

  “Honey, it’s okay,”

  Ryan looked over to see the Morgans. Mrs. Morgan’s face was colorless, and she swayed on her feet while her husband supported her. He shook her gently, and her eyes refocused. “It’s over, we can go now.” They ignored everyone in the room, and he kept his arm around her as they walked up the stairs slowly.

  When they closed the door to their room, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the guests downstairs. Ryan felt drained by it all, and he noticed the way Emily slumped down on the bottom of the stairs. He joined her, paying attention to her face and the despair he could see there.

  “I don’t know,” she said sadly, “I don’t know about people anymore. Maybe I really do have a terrible sense of judgement… but I trusted Saul above anyone else at the inn.” She looked over at Ryan. “Even above you.” She laughed quietly and shook her head. A pause lingered before she took a deep breath. “Please tell me I can trust you.” She spoke to the floor by her feet, as if she couldn’t face the answer.

  It was his vision all over again, with the stab of pain in his heart and the dreaded sense of loss. He had to push the emotion down in his chest before he could answer. He lifted her hands and held them in his, waiting for her to look back at him, but she kept her gaze on the floor as if shielding herself.

  “I promise,” he whispered, “that all I want is for you to be safe and happy. It’s all I can think of.”

  Her eyes turned tentatively to his.

  “I know this is fast, and it hardly seems possible, but…” He swallowed, wondering if this would be the nail in the coffin. The final straw that would push her away. But she wanted truth, and this was it. “I think I’m in love with you, Emily.”

  And there it was. The utter shock. The slack lines in her face and complete tensing of her body. He cursed himself a thousand times in that one second of silence, wishing he could just keep his stupid mouth shut. Sure, she wanted to know she could trust him, but she hadn’t asked for his deepest, most personal confessions, had she?

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  His eyes strayed to the floor, but when he
r hand settled on his cheek, they shot up. He could tell it was all written on his face, as much as he wanted to hide it. The pain of rejection and fear of judgement, all plain to see in bare honesty.

  Her mouth opened, and she looked nearly terrified. But she held his gaze and gradually settled into a delicate calm. “I love you too,” she whispered, her eyes wide and cheeks tinted with pink.

  They were frozen like that, staring at each other in awe, and Ryan drank in the sight of her. Her white-blonde hair and smooth cherry lips. He admired everything he knew about her and wanted to know it all.

  The door opened, waking them from their trance. Two officers strode through the door. They walked with arrogance and unabashed smirks on their faces. Saul walked in behind them, no longer in cuffs. A voice could be heard, scattered with interference, and Ryan stood slowly.

  “…we don’t need to explain anything, Sage. Checking out early after something like this is completely normal. No one will want to stay here anymore. We leave nasty reviews, we circulate the horrible treatment, the experiences we had to go through. Don’t worry, they’ll sell. I know it. We can snatch this place up, and no one will ever know a thing.”

  Emily shot to her feet and spun around, staring up at the Morgans’ room.

  “I know, but the fire! We could go to prison, Tim! And what if someone had been killed?”

  “They weren’t killed. Everyone is fine, and they’ll never find out it was us. Just a few trees burned—no big deal. That old man was a loner and a grump anyway, the perfect person to set up. He’ll probably have a fine time in prison. They might even let him out on parole or community service or something.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Sage could be heard sighing. “Let’s go, then.”

  The entire room stared up at them as their door opened, and they appeared with their suitcases in hand. They walked to the staircase before looking down and stopping. Their eyes jumped around the room, settling on the officers and finally on Saul. They began their decent slowly, looking utterly confused.

  “What are you doing here?” Mr. Morgan exclaimed indignantly. “Shouldn’t you be in the back of a patrol car?”

  The room stayed eerily silent, and he glanced nervously at his wife, who had gone pale again.

  Saul walked up to meet them at the bottom of the steps. He pulled something from his pocket and pressed a button. The squeaky rewound voices reeled before coming to a stop and replaying their conversation.

  “Hello, I’m Saul.” He took the suitcase from Mrs. Morgan and set it on the ground. An officer came forward with handcuffs in his hand. “I’m a retired detective, and yeah a bit grumpy.”

  He took the suitcase from Mr. Morgan and set it aside. The other officer secured him in handcuffs. “You see, the reason us detectives are so grumpy, even after we retire and try to take a vacation away from it all, is because we have to deal with people like you. Every. Single. Day.”

  He stepped back and glared at them, although he couldn’t fully wipe the triumph from his face. “People who think they can get away with anything, no matter how sloppy a job they do. But I guess I have to thank you for setting me up, even though I already had my eyes on you. It made things fairly easy.”

  “Nice working with you again, Saul,” one officer said as they led their captors away. The Morgans didn’t utter another word, while their recorded voices kept playing, accompanying them out the door.

  Around the room, people spoke quickly and excitedly, in awe of the tactics and deception they’d just witnessed. Saul was surrounded by nearly every guest, patted on the back, and congratulated repeatedly. He smiled and nodded with the professional distancing of someone who was used to being undercover.

  Ryan took Emily’s hand, feeling euphorically free in the chaos of it all. No more questions, no more guessing. The Morgans had been caught, and that cleared his mind so absolutely that thoughts of Emily crowded in, filling every corner. And that was the way he wanted it.

  She gripped his hand in hers and leaned against his arm, smiling up at him, and he paid close attention. The arch in her eyebrows and set of her mouth, it all spoke to him… and he liked what she was saying. Before he could second guess himself, he leaned over her, kissing her mouth softly.

  His head spun at the comfortable way she kissed him back and the slight giggle that followed.

  “So, I was right about Saul,” she said, relaxing beside him.

  “I have a feeling you’re right about a lot of things,” Ryan answered. He winked at her pretty face and noticed the bit of confidence returning to her eyes. “C’mon, let’s go congratulate him.”

  Chapter 12

  Emily and Ryan stood in front of the fountain, watching Abby and Chase pull up. There was an electrician working on replacing the cut wire, and besides that, everything back to normal. A few guests would be arriving the next day, while most the guests for the week had packed up and left.

  “Hi!” Abby hopped out of the car just before Champ, her yellow lab. He bounded off across the property while Abby rushed to hug Emily.

  “Look at you,” Emily smiled, patting her friend’s belly. “I swear it’s been a month or more. You look so cute!”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “You can say it, I’m huge.” She laughed. “I don’t know why I’m growing so fast. I swear, every day I go up a size.”

  “You look amazing, Abby. Amazing,” Emily said. And she meant it. Abby had never looked so completely happy before; it radiated from her. And watching Chase hold his arm around her and kiss her cheek made her that much more adorable.

  Champ raced past, having circled the property, and made his way around again. “Wow, he’s happy to be back from the kennel I guess.” Emily laughed.

  Abby suddenly jumped from Chase’s arms and grabbed Emily’s shoulders, staring into her eyes seriously. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry about the maintenance problems!” She nearly shouted. “Did the plumbing get figured out okay?”

  Emily exchanged a look with Ryan, holding his gaze for longer than she’d meant. She could feel the color rush into her cheeks. When she looked back at Abby, her friend had one eyebrow arched up dramatically.

  “Uh… maybe we should go sit down first,” Emily said, laughing at their wary expressions. She led the way, tangling her hand with Ryan’s. They entered the inn under a pointed silence from their friends, and both couldn’t help but grin back.

  “It was pretty exciting here over the last few days,” Ryan started as they all sat around the table.

  “I was just deducting that,” Chase said, glancing down at their clasped hands and grinning. “So, who wants to tell us what happened?”

  “Hmm…” Emily tapped her chin. “I guess I could. Or you could just watch the news tomorrow morning.”

  “What?” Abby gasped.

  “Okay, okay.” Emily held her hand up. “It all started when the power went out—the second time the power went out.”

  She told the story quickly, the stolen items, the fire, the detective. Perfectly aware of how unbelievable it all seemed. How did all of this happen in a matter of days? But she finished with an unapologetic shrug, letting the truth speak for itself.

  Chase and Abby were speechless, staring back with their mouths hanging open. Eventually, Abby cleared her throat. “That’s incredible, you guys. I can hardly believe it. Thank you so much for taking care of things and for sticking it out. And Ryan, I’m so glad you were able to be here to help out.”

  He nodded back. “She did everything on her own, but I guess you could say I was her backup.”

  “You did plenty, Ryan,” Emily said. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

  A moment of quiet settled in the room before Ryan slapped the table with one hand, making everyone jump. “So, what about you guys? How did things go in Arizona? Got the award?”

  Chase and Abby took turns explaining their trip, from the palm trees and warm temperatures, to the eclectic mix of people.

  “And there was a doctor there… Docto
r LeVan. Jessie LeVan. He got an award for his novel. But the moment he heard about the inn, he was thrilled with the idea. I bet he’ll be booking a couple nights here in no time.”

  “Yeah, sounded to me like he wanted to get away,” Chase said, glancing around the empty inn with a calm smile on his face.

  Emily caught Ryan’s eye and held back a laugh. “Well, good luck to him, then. I’ve never had a more exciting week in all my life.”

  The group laughed, safe in the walls of the inn. Its interior was filled with protection and calm, even after all that had happened. The house welcomed Abby and Chase home and celebrated Emily and Ryan’s journey. With the warm tones of sunset absorbed in its walls and a solid strength in its floors… it was ready for more.

  The End.

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  Afterword

  Thank you so much for your interest in “A Traitor at Poppyridge Cove.” I hope you enjoyed the read and were able to curl up on the couch with a favorite snack.

  For weekly emails from myself, Rimmy London, including release dates, cover reveals, and more interactive content, sign up for my newsletter at www.rimmylondon.com. I’d love to get to know you better. :)

  Cheers,

  Rimmy