Under Threat by B.J. Daniels (reading the story of the .TXT) 📕

silence on the other end of the line stretched out long enough that Chase knew what was coming.

“They gave up the search. The general consensus is that her body washed downstream and will be found once the water goes down more.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure Patty is upset.”

“She is,” Rick said. “She felt sorry for Fiona. That’s why she didn’t cut ties with her after high school. Patty’s over at Fiona’s condo now cleaning it out since she has no next of kin. She found out from a bank statement that Fiona had drained her bank account almost a week ago. Took all of it in cash. Who knows what she did with that much money. Hell, it could be in the river with her. Patty’s going to try to organize some kind of service for her.”

“She doesn’t have any family?”

“I guess I didn’t tell you. Her whole family died in a fire when Fiona was eleven. She would have perished with her parents and three older stepbrothers, but she’d stayed over at a friend’s house that night.”

“Oh man. That could explain a lot,” he said more to himself. “I wish I’d known all of this. Maybe I could have handled things better.”

“Trust me, it would take a psychiatrist years to sort that woman out. So stop blaming yourself. I’m the one who should have warned you. But it’s over now.”

The fact that he felt relieved made him feel even more guilty as he promised to stay in touch and hung up.

Chapter 5

“Just fill out this application and leave it,” the barista said as she dropped the form on the table in front of the dark-haired woman with the pixie haircut and the kind of cute Southern accent and lisp because of the gap between her front teeth.

She’d introduced herself as Lucy Carson, as if Christy was supposed to recognize the name.

“You’re sure there’s no chance of an opening soon?” Lucy Carson asked now before glancing at her name tag and adding, “Christy.”

Christy shook her head. “Like I said. I just got hired, so I really doubt there will be anything for the rest of the season unless someone quits and that’s unlikely. Jobs aren’t that easy to find in Big Sky. Your application will be on file with dozens of others, so if I were you, I’d keep looking.”

She didn’t mean to sound cruel or dismissive, but she’d told the woman there weren’t any openings. Still, the woman had insisted on filling out an application. If she wanted to waste her time, then Christy wasn’t going to stop her. She just thought it was stupid.

From behind the counter, she watched how neatly Lucy Carson filled in each blank space. Was it stubbornness or arrogance? The lady acted as if she thought the manager would let someone go to hire her. That sounded like arrogance to Christy.

“What about a place to live nearby?” the woman asked, looking up from the application.

Christy laughed. “You’ll have even worse luck finding an apartment. I’ve been waiting for months to get into the one across the street, and it’s just a small bedroom.”

Lucy glanced in the direction she pointed. “There’s rentals over there?”

“There was. I got the last one. I’m moving in tomorrow.” This Lucy was starting to get on her nerves. She found herself wishing that some customers would come in just so she had something to do. Usually she loved the slow afternoons when she could look at magazines and do absolutely nothing, even though she was supposed to be cleaning on her downtime.

The woman studied her for a moment, then smiled and resumed filling out the application.

“You should go down to Bozeman,” Christy told her. “More opportunities in a college town than here in the canyon.” Jobs weren’t easy to get in Big Sky especially during the busy times, summer, and winter. Not just that, this job didn’t even pay that well. Too many young people would work for nothing just to get to spend their free time up on the mountain biking and kayaking in the summer, skiing and snowboarding in the winter.

The woman finished and brought her application over to the counter. Christy glanced at the name. “Is Lucy short for something?” she asked.

“My mother was a huge fan of I Love Lucy reruns.”

She looked at the application, almost feeling sorry for the young woman. According to this, she had a lot of experience as a barista but then so did a whole lot of other people. “I see you didn’t put down an address.” She looked up at the woman who gave her a bright smile.

“Remember, I’m still looking for a place to stay, but once I start working I’m sure an apartment will open up.”

Christy couldn’t help but chuckle under her breath at the woman’s naive optimism. “Most everyone who works in Big Sky ends up commuting at least forty miles a day. There just aren’t any cheap rentals for minimum wage workers even if you should luck out and get a job.”

Lucy smiled. “I’m not worried. Things just tend to work out for me. I’m lucky that way.”

Whatever, Christy thought. “I’ll give your application to Andrea but like I said, we don’t have any openings.”

“Not yet anyway,” Lucy said. “So where do you go to have fun on a Saturday night?”

“Charley’s if you like country. Otherwise—”

“I’m betting you like country music,” Lucy said. “Your car with the George Strait bumper sticker gives you away.”

“My car?” Christy frowned.

“Isn’t that your SUV parked across the street?”

She looked out the window and laughed. “Not hardly. Mine is that little blue beat-up sedan with all the stuff in the back since I can’t move into my apartment until tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for weeks, staying with my mother down in Bozeman and driving back and forth when I can’t find someone to stay with here. Do you have any family you could stay with?”

Lucy shook her head. “No family. Just me. Maybe I’ll check out Charley’s tonight.”