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17
Declan
I was writing up a report from the third instance of Mrs. Brainthwaite’s car being borrowed without her permission when Penny’s voice came over my intercom.
“Personal call on line one. Sounds important. Came through 911.”
As I reached for the phone, I glanced at my cell phone which didn’t show any missed calls or messages. None of my family members would have called in like that. Was it Tess? Had something happened?
“Sheriff Stone,” I said.
“Dec?”
Finn’s voice sounded strange. I stood up and reached for my phone and keys.
“What happened? Where are you?”
“Can you meet me at the chalet, please?”
“I’ll be there in ten. Where are you? What happened?”
He sniffled. “I’m fine. I’ll, um… I’ll tell you when I see you? Everything’s fine. I promise.”
“Stay on the phone with me,” I said before glancing up at Penny. “I’m taking lunch, okay? Call Shawn in if you need extra hands on deck.” I knew he’d cover for me if need be, and I’d do the same for him. The more time he spent at our place with Tess, the more I was beginning to think of him as a friend rather than just a coworker.
Penny nodded and made a note in her computer that I was off duty. I strode out of the building and straight to the SUV.
“You still there?” I asked.
“Mm-hm.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. You have a clean piece of paper in your head for me?”
When he spoke, I could hear the smile in his voice. “That was a trick. I looked it up on Google. You were trying to get me to fall asleep.”
“You caught me.” I turned out of the parking lot and headed straight for Mikey and Tiller’s property. The only thing that kept me from turning on lights and sirens was hearing Finn’s voice on the other end. Clearly, he was alive and well even though I could tell something had happened.
“I need to warn you my mom is there,” he said, returning to the serious and unsure tone from earlier. “And she’s…”
“Mothers love me,” I said, lying through my teeth. The only mother who loved me was my own. I’d never really met any others in this kind of situation. “Don’t worry.”
Was that why he was upset? Because his mother had shown up?
Suddenly, I remembered today was the day he was filming a dangerous climbing scene. “Baby?” I asked without thinking. “Were you hurt on set?”
“Mm-hm.”
Clearly, he was around other people he didn’t want to say much in front of. I gritted my teeth.
“But I’m okay. Just a little banged up. In fact… you don’t need to… I, ah, shouldn’t have called. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to interrupt your workday.”
“You didn’t,” I said, lying again. “It’s fine. I promise. Shawn’s off today and can cover for me if they need someone.”
I finally turned onto the road that led up the mountainside. “Almost there.”
“Dec?”
He sounded small and scared. Tired and alone. It was killing me. I had to force myself not to slam the accelerator down to the floor. “I’m here.”
I heard the sounds of his arrival. Car doors opening and people talking. Finn’s voice was muffled as if he held the phone against his chest while he spoke to someone. It didn’t matter. I was almost there.
When I pulled onto the Rockley Lodge property and turned down the road toward the chalets, I was surprised to see Mikey unloading a suitcase from his vehicle in the distance. He’d gone to Houston for the preseason with Tiller, but maybe he’d decided to head back early. I knew from hearing Tiller talk about it that his preseason schedule was brutal. It likely didn’t leave much time for Mikey.
Either way, I was relieved to see Mikey back here to oversee the cast and crew who’d taken over the lodge. There’d been a callout already for violating a late-night noise ordinance, and I knew Tiller and Mikey were sensitive to their reputation in town. If they wanted the town’s support for their lodge and ski resort plans, they’d need to keep their neighbors happy.
All thoughts of the happy couple disappeared when I pulled up to Finn’s chalet and saw a large bloodstain on the back of the hoodie jacket Finn had on. A handful of people swarmed around him, and I noticed a woman getting out of an SUV with a large orange EMT bag. What the fuck had happened?
As soon as the woman saw me, her eyes widened in concern, and she made a beeline for me and plastered on a big smile. “Oh, Officer… Sheriff. Everything’s fine here. I’m not sure who called you, but it’s completely unnecessary.”
Finn turned his head and met my eyes. His hair was a windblown mess, and his face was pale. A wide scratch like road rash painted his cheekbone, and he held one of his arms close to his body. He looked dead on his feet to the point I feared he’d tip right over and crumple to the ground.
