Three-Year Rule Read online

  Elizabeth parked next to Amy at the Sherriff’s office. Randy and Josh pulled up in the Sherriff’s truck as they got out of their cars. The sun sparkled in the clear blue afternoon sky. Randy and Josh climbed out of the truck and went directly to Amy’s small SUV. Amy opened the doors and popped the hood so they could have full access. Amy gleefully listed all the extras and demonstrated the built in NAV system. Afterward both men gave her their stamp of approval.

  Randy unlocked the office door after he gave Amy a quick kiss. He said, “Congratulations on the car Amy it’s a beauty.”

  “I haven’t told you the best part yet.” Amy announced as they moved inside out of the summer heat. “The truck is my bonus for my cover work on the ‘If Life was a Garden’ series!”

  Elizabeth came up beside her and said, “She deserves it. Not only have I found a killer editor in Amy, her flare for artistic book covers is unmatched. They are fantastic and three large distributors have nominated us for cover of the year. I’m so lucky to have Amy as a partner.”

  Amy giggled and hugged Elizabeth then said, “That’s what I love about you Beth. You treat me like an equal not an employee and it means the world to me.”

  Elizabeth hugged her back and said, “When this weekend is over we need to sit down and start working on promoting your artwork. This nomination is only the beginning for you.”

  Randy stepped behind his desk and said, “Why don’t you contact the Salt Lake City Art Museum about setting up a display during the annual art festival? They are really great about helping out local artists.”

  “That sounds great!” Amy jumped at the idea.

  “Then that’s what we will do.” Elizabeth smiled.

  Randy added, “We’ve got my truck loaded with enough supplies for a few days. We were hoping you both would be willing to extend the weekend a few days.”

  Josh wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and added, “We checked the cabin and everything’s fine. So if Charlie is doing well there’s no reason to head back tomorrow.”

  Elizabeth kissed him quickly and said, “She’s awake and responding. The Vet said we could bring her home today if we can keep her quiet.”

  Josh glanced at Randy and asked, “Why don’t we take her up to the lake with us? It’s quiet and calm. She could rest just as well there as at home, maybe better given the circumstances. We’ve got to run by my house and pick up Kilo. I’ve got a huge dog bed that Kilo won’t use. We can follow Randy and Amy up so Charlie can lie down in the back.”

  The drive to the lake took a couple of hours. When they pulled up to Josh’s cabin Elizabeth noted the similarity to the house Josh was building for her. The three peaks of the lake house were dormered as Elizabeth’s but the exterior was slate and stained cedar. An oversized three-car garage stood on the left side of the house. Tall bushes stood on either side of the doorway with a variety of flowering plants decorating the base of the trees and lined the sidewalk to the house.

  Josh noticed the surprised look on her face and said, “It appears you and I have similar tastes. If you recall I showed you over ten possible floor plans and the one you chose was just slightly different from this one. My cabin has 6 bedrooms and has a walkout basement that leads to a large patio with an in ground pool.”

  Elizabeth laughed and opened the truck door to climb out saying, “Why would you need a pool when you are 20 yards from a huge lake?”

  Josh grinned and walked around to the back of the truck. “Actually it was easier to teach the kids to swim in the pool and Molly has a think about fish nibbling on her toes.”

  Elizabeth met him at the back of the truck and stood back as he opened the hatch. Kilo jumped quickly out. Charlie lifted her head up and gazed at Elizabeth. Her tail twitched slightly. Elizabeth reached out and patted her head as Josh leaned in and scooped Charlie up in his arms. He sat Charlie gently on her feet on the gravel drive and stepped back as Elizabeth knelt beside her. Kilo came up and licked Elizabeth’s face as Charlie gingerly turned to face her. The fur was gone around Charlie’s neck and chest. A large scar ran down the right side of her neck down to her breastplate.

  Josh slapped his thigh and Kilo moved quickly to his side. Randy and Amy appeared behind him as he said, “Let’s get Charlie inside and settled in. Randy and I can unload the truck while you two girls take a look around.”

  The view from the deck was breathtaking. Wave of crystal blue water moved slowly across the huge body of water speckled with the sails of small boats and lines of white water that flowed in the wake of large brightly colored speedboats. The orange and pink hues of the sunset flowed across the horizon as the boats below began to scatter and disappear with the approaching darkness. Elizabeth and Amy went back into the large kitchen. The dark brown speckled granite countertop ran the length of the kitchen. A large Island breakfast bar sat in the center of the room. Elizabeth recognized the luxury Viking Appliances and designer cabinets. Josh clearly chose the very best for this lake house.

  She gazed past the kitchen into the living room. The vaulted ceilings held with dark beams that ran across the room toward the fireplace at the far end. The rustic design and decorations were perfect for a lake house setting. Elizabeth smiled as Charlie who was relaxing on the dog pillow in the living area by the large fireplace. Randy and Josh quickly brought in the supplies and Amy opened a bottle of wine and filled four glasses.

  Josh led them out onto the large deck as the sky began to blend the pink shades into purple and blue hues. They sat on a wicker bistro set overlooking the pool and the lake beyond. Kilo dashed down the steps and ran down the path that led to the shoreline. Randy immediately rose and began to pace. Josh knew it was time to tell the girls what they had found.

  Josh leaned forward, set his wine glass on the small bistro table, and said, “Ladies we need to talk about the two break-ins at the cabin.

  “Two break-ins?” Elizabeth said frowning at Josh.

  “Yes,” Josh met her gaze and added, “Randy believes that the first break-in resulted in your IPad theft. He thinks both thefts are related to the bear attack.”

  Elizabeth moved up to sit on the edge of her chair and glanced at Amy, then said, “That makes no sense.”

  Randy moved back to his chair and sat down. He explained, “Elizabeth, I need you to think about anything that’s happened lately out of the ordinary. Something that may have made you pause for a moment but you dismissed it quickly.”

  Elizabeth’s questioning gaze moved from Josh to Randy. She said, “I don’t understand. What kind of things are you talking about?”

  Randy nodded and said, “Phone calls where no one is there, a miss placed item that never turned up, strange car you keep passing on the way to the store. Someone you may know casually that you keep running into on a regular basis. Strange posts on your Twitter account. Charlie barking in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.”

  Elizabeth sat back in her chair and asked, “What are you saying? Are you telling me I have a stalker?”

  Josh rose and kneeled beside her, “We found evidence of a blood trail to the bay window. A fresh fox carcass was hidden under the deck. We think someone killed the fox in the woods and drug it to your cabin. They smeared blood across the base of the bay window. Basically, the bear was lured to the cabin. The scent of blood, the chicken on the grill and Charlie running in the yard was the perfect combination to work that bear into frenzy.”

  Elizabeth stared at him stunned at his words. Amy rose and when to Randy who rose to meet her. She said, “Who is it?”

  Randy reached out and pulled her close saying, “Honey, I don’t know yet. But I promise you I will figure it out soon.”

  Elizabeth rose and headed into the house saying, “I haven’t noticed anything unusual other than what you know. I’m going to check on Charlie.”

  Josh shot Randy a knowing glance then followed her.

  Randy sat down pulling Amy onto his lap. She snuggled against him and said, “This makes no sense. Elizabeth never leaves the house. If someone is stalking her they’d have to . . .” She stopped and sat up abruptly adding, “If someone who had been stalking her from a distance in St Louis wanted to continue watching her they would have to come a lot closer to accomplish it.”

  Randy nodded, “I made some calls this morning. We are looking into it. It’s also possible that she has a fan that lives in this area. They could have been Cyber stalking her for month’s even years and now that she’s close it’s escalated.”

  Amy glanced at the house then met Randy’s gaze asking, “Are they trying to kill her?”

  Randy looked at her. Her big blue eyes were moist with tears. He brushed away a tear from her cheek. He was so beautiful. Her pale complexion and the natural blush to her cheeks were the perfect accent to her hair that was so gold it looked to be spun by angels. Randy sighed and said softly, “I don’t think they met to kill Elizabeth. I think they were after Charlie.”

  Amy burst into tears and sobbed, “Charlie is the sweetest, smartest dog I’ve ever known. Why would anyone consider her a threat?”

  Randy wrapped his arms around her as she buried her head in his chest. He whispered, “A dog is a huge barrier to a stalker. Charlie’s mere presence probably kept the stalker at a distance for quite a while. Once they accessed the house while you were all out. Charlie was an obstacle that kept them from doing it again. If the stalker hasn’t made contact with Elizabeth then she hasn’t jilted them so the odds are they don’t want to kill her. I think they just wanted to make sure the bear was deep in the yard when Charlie came out the back door. I don’t think they intended for the bear to crash through the window. Josh had his man Mike drop the carcass off at the Vet to examine. The bear was injured and thin. It’s a good bet it was starving. That made
it desperate.”

  Amy snuggled closer and said, “What are we going to do?”

  Randy smiled and cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face toward his. “Josh and I discussed it and we think that you should both stay with us for a few days. I was actually thinking you might like to stay longer.”

  Amy’s moist eyes opened in surprise. She smiled up at him and asked, “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “Yes, mame I am. I just can’t get enough of you.” Randy’s smile broadened, disappearing as their lips met.

  Josh followed Elizabeth to Charlie’s side. Elizabeth sat cross-legged on the floor next to Charlie and stroked her head. Charlie lifted her head and wagged her tail. Josh went to the kitchen and searched through the box on the counter he brought in from the truck. He pulled out a bag of dog treats and brought one to Charlie. Charlie rose to her feet and chewed on the crunchy treat as Josh kneeled at her side.

  He said, “Randy will figure all this out. He’s good at his job.”

  Elizabeth leaned down and kissed Charlie’s nose. Charlie lay back down on the pillow and Elizabeth scratched her belly. She looked up at Josh and said, “I don’t have a stalker. I’ve never had a stalker. Randy is wrong.”

  Josh rose and stared down at her for a moment. She could feel his gaze on the back of her head like a hot sun blazing down on her. Elizabeth rose and faced him with a defiant look on her face.

  Josh held her gaze and said, “Just how do you think that fox got under your deck? Do you think Charlie shot it with an arrow and then stuffed in under the deck? Or perhaps Amy accidently shot the fox one day while practicing with a bow? Only she doesn’t own a bow and probably has never shot one in her life. Or could it be some renegade campers got board made their own bow and arrows shot the fox and stuffed it under your deck as a practical joke?”

  Elizabeth glared at him. Her eyes narrowed and she spoke with venom in her voice, “I have no idea how that fox got there. Maybe it crawled across the yard after being shot and tried to hide under the deck. I have no idea. But I’m telling you right now I do NOT have a stalker. I am a Psychologist; I know all the signs of a stalker. I know all the behaviors of a stalker AND I know the risks. There is no one stalking me and I’m not going to discuss this any further.”

  Josh held his ground and added, “You are so sure of yourself that you are willing to risk your own safety. I get it. You’re a big girl and it’s your decision. Let me ask you this; are you so positive there’s not even the slightest chance that someone is following you that you’re willing to risk Charlie’s life? Or worse yet Amy’s life? This stalker wasn’t trying to hurt you. That bear wasn’t met for you. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. That bear was met for Charlie.”

  All the anger vanished from Elizabeth’s face. She stepped backward reeling from Josh’s words. She stammered, “No, it was an accident.”

  Josh took a step closer and reached out to steady her. He lowered his voice and said calmly, “It wasn’t. I’m so sorry, Beth.”

  She glanced down at Charlie whose head rested on her front paws as she stared back up at her. Josh closed the gap between them and gently took Elizabeth in his arms. He said, “You can’t ignore this, it’s not going to go away. We have to deal with this. This person has gone beyond surfing the net and following you around. They invaded your home twice that we know. They set a very dangerous trap for Charlie that could have killed you or Amy in the process. They are beyond rational thought so we have to find them and stop them.”

  Elizabeth leaned against him in surrender. “What should we do?”

  Josh kissed her forehead and said, “Come stay with me for a couple of weeks. That alone might discourage them enough to pull back.”

  “Or encourage them enough to become bolder.” Randy’s voice came from the kitchen as he opened the door for Amy and Kilo to enter the house. He added, “Let’s not pretend this is going to go away overnight.”

  Josh flashed Randy an irritated look and added, “I agree but we’ve upset the girls enough for one day. Let’s open a fresh bottle of wine for the ladies and I’ll grab some beers from the fridge in the basement.”

  Kilo lay down beside Charlie as Josh disappeared through a door in the kitchen and headed downstairs. Randy headed to the box on the counter and pulled out two large bottles of wine. He opened one and filled Amy and Elizabeth’s glasses with the golden liquid. Josh reappeared with a six-pack of beer. He opened two of the bottles and handed one to Randy.

  Josh sat down next to Elizabeth on the L-shaped sofa. Randy and Amy sat at the far end. Josh put his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and said, “Why don’t we turn in early tonight and get up with the sunrise. I know a great fishing spot on the far end of the lake. We can relax and see what’s biting for a couple of hours. If we pack a lunch, we can pull into a cove then do some waterskiing and head back in to barbeque for dinner.”

  Randy smiled and added, “Great idea, I brought some filets we can and throw on some corn on the cob and baked potatoes for dinner. You girls can just relax and let us cook. Then we can take a sunset cruise on the lake later.”

  When Josh took Elizabeth upstairs to the Master Bedroom, her head was swimming from a bit too much wine and a very long emotional day. Kilo trotted to the end of the hall and settle down for the night. Josh opened the bedroom door to reveal a room twinkling with candles. A King size large four-poster bed stood in front of a wall of French Doors. Elizabeth dismissed the details of her day and fell into his arms.

  Josh kissed her with savage passion as his thoughts went to the stalker and what his carelessness could have cost. Josh quickly pulled Elizabeth’s shirt over her head and removed his own. As their naked flesh met, Elizabeth felt the heat of his body sink into hers. Josh undid her capris and slid them down over her hips. Elizabeth stepped back and slid her panties down to land on the floor next to Josh’s jeans.

  Josh slid one arm around her waist as the other cupped her breast. Elizabeth gasped as his kiss moved to her neck and began to trail down to her breasts. His hands explored her soft curves as their entwined bodies fell onto the bed. The rest of the world was completely forgotten as they surrendered to their desires.

  Randy sat up abruptly as the lights went out. They had fallen asleep on the couch and a storm had apparently moved in across the lake. Randy gave Amy a quick kiss and said, “The powers out, it must be the storm. I’ll take a look outside and lock up the house.”

  Amy rose and draped a thin blanket over Charlie’s sleeping form as Randy locked the back door. She headed to the kitchen with the empty wine glasses, set them on the counter and began to search the drawers for candles or a lighter. Randy turned the deadbolt as he glanced out the window. The night was chaotic; the wind surged through the tall trees that lined the shore whipping them back and forth viciously causing leaves and debris to skip across the growing waves of the lake. As the moon slipped out from behind a large cloud, Randy paused to gaze at its rippling reflection on the dark sparkling water of the lake. The rain spread across the lake like a thin mist giving it a mystical air.

  Randy was about to turn and head to the front door when a tall shadowy figure appeared out from behind the trees and ran swiftly across the open grass on the far side of the pool. Randy shot a startled look at Amy and said, “Lock the door behind me!”

  Amy’s heart raced as she rushed to the door and slipped the deadbolt into place. She glanced back at the stairs wondering if she should call Josh. Then turned to look through the window in search of Randy. The rain began coming down in sheets and the wind slammed it into the window so hard Amy could no longer see outside. She turned to glance back toward the fireplace; surely, there were matches there. It was then that she noticed the front door was standing slightly ajar. Amy didn’t hesitate. She ran across the room and shoved the door closed. Amy slowly turned back to scan the house. Did the wind just blow that open? Did someone come in while they were asleep? She rushed back to the kitchen and pulled out a large carving knife from the drawer next to the stove.