Page 2 of Return to Laurel Valley

“You can’t go wrong with the bookmaker sandwich and lobster bisque.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’d be doing me a favor if you ordered that. The chef’s baby got sick and I told her to go ahead and leave. There’s a new sous-chef who’s back there, but today is only his second day and I don’t want to overwhelm him. He seems sensitive. The dinner chef won’t be in for another hour. My name’s Linda, by the way.”

Lily’s lips twitched at the explanation. “The sandwich and soup will be fine. And some coffee.”

Linda looked her over closely. “You here on vacation? Or just passing through to see Simone? Last of the vacationers headed out a couple weeks back. It’s still warm enough, but the weather’s about to turn. You’ll need a jacket by morning.”

“I’m here on business.”

Linda’s brows rose almost to her hairline. “I’ve never seen a businesswoman riding into town on a motorcycle. You’re not a drug dealer are you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“I didn’t think so, but I wouldn’t be doing my duty if I didn’t ask,” she said. “I had a daughter who overdosed a decade ago. Drugs are a real problem around here. There’s too much money and not enough to do. There was an undercover operation that went down last spring right under our noses. They arrested a whole lot of people. The new sheriff doesn’t tolerate that kind of stuff.”

“Is that right?” She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. The sheriff in town was not going to be happy to see her. In fact, Blaze O’Hara was going to be livid. “I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.”

“Those kind of heartaches never go away,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “But we can learn from them and try to protect future generations. The sheriff and his deputies have promised a crackdown on the drugs around here, and so far they’ve delivered.”

“Is it a big department then?” The last time Lily had been in Laurel Valley, Blaze had fewer than twenty deputies.

“I don’t know about all that,” she said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “A pretty good size I guess. The first thing Sheriff O’Hara did when he came on was hire extra deputies and build three silo stations in different areas of the county. Most of the population is right here close to town, but Laurel Valley has as much land area as Boise. The only difference is that we’ve got mountains and lakes here, and a lot of it is privately owned. But there’s still enough remote areas where people are building houses, and those back roads are where bad things happen. Laurel Valley is sure not the same place where I grew up.”

“The price of progress, huh?” Lily asked.

Linda nodded and said, “Let me get your sandwich and coffee.”

Lily had always found Laurel Valley to be an interesting town. It was certainly different from her Brooklyn neighborhood and the one-bedroom apartment she rented. No one cared there what time she came or went, and no one would stop to ask her personal questions. Small-town living and the slow pace were completely foreign to her.

Lily checked her email and sent her boss an update on her progress, and a few minutes later, Linda hustled back out with her food. The sandwich was thick as a brick and made her mouth water at the sight of it. Homemade potato chips were piled high beside it.

“Here you go,” Linda said. “Thanks again for ordering the sandwich. Carlos almost had a nervous breakdown when he couldn’t find the ham. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you’d ordered the coq au vin.”

“I’d hate to be responsible for a man’s mental state,” Lily said. And then she slipped the photograph out of her bag. “Do you recognize this man? He would’ve gotten into town sometime this morning.”

Linda’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline and she looked back and forth between the photograph and Lily. And then she shook her head. “I don’t recognize him. But if he’s in town he won’t be able to keep it secret long. We’re in the off-season now, so it’s mostly regulars. And the bed-and-breakfast is the only lodging open during the off-season, so it shouldn’t be too hard to run him down if that’s where he’s staying. Though if he’s a good camper, there’s plenty of places he could set up if he’s got the supplies. You should go see Hattie O’Hara over at the wilderness store. If he’s living off the land he’ll need the right gear. The days are nice, but the nights are about to get real cold, and we’ve got storms coming.”

“The weather report said it was just summer showers,” Lily said, brow furrowing. “And that they should pass quickly.”

Linda snorted and shook her head. “Those weathermen might as well be fortune tellers. At some point they’ll predict something right, but the locals don’t pay them any attention. Anyone who’s lived here a spell knows that when the clouds come down over the mountains like that we’re going to get a storm. And it looks like it’s going to be one for the books. That’s why hardly anyone is out and about today. People are hunkering down. The grocery store is probably all out of milk and bread.”

“For a storm?”

“From the looks of the clouds we’re probably looking at three to four days of heavy rain and flooding,” she said. “The Lampstand will stay open, of course, no matter the weather. But anyone who lives outside of town will have trouble traversing the roads, so it’s best if they stay put.”

“That should make things interesting,” Lily said, blowing out a sigh.

“Is this guy your ex or something?” Linda asked, pointing at the picture. “Don’t get me wrong, but he doesn’t look very nice.”

“You’ve got good intuition,” Lily said. “He’s a fugitive. And he’s dangerous. So if you see him around, give me a call.” Lily passed her card over. “That’s my cell number.”

“Oh, dear,” Linda said, taking a small step back, her eyes wide. “I do remember you now. You were in the paper the last time you were here. You’re that bounty hunter who captured Leroy Brown and destroyed the River Rock Bar in the process. The paper said you are trouble with a capital T.”

Lily winked and picked up her sandwich. “You bet. Being good is no fun at all.”

Linda laughed, but fiddled with her necklace nervously. “I did see an SUV this morning that I didn’t recognize. The only reason I noticed it is because he was impatient to get around me while I was trying to park, and he blew the horn at me.”

“Did you get the color or license plate?” Lily asked.

“It was dark,” Linda said. “Maybe blue or black. I didn’t see the license plate.”

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