No Good Deed: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel

7. Whatcha Got?

Troy could tell answering the questions stressed Piper out. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes no longer sparkled. Recounting the incidents she’d lived through in the past few weeks had to be difficult.

Something about this woman kicked his protective instincts into high gear, right along with his lust. He really needed to get a grip.

Marcus probed gently with more questions, but Piper didn’t have any answers, and he left to do some investigating.

After his buddy left, Troy continued to sit with his arm around Piper. She held her hot cocoa cup, but she’d barely drunk more than a sip. “How are you doing?”

She shrugged. “A little freaked out. A lot embarrassed.”

That had him sitting forward and turning to face her. “Embarrassed? Why are you feeling embarrassed?”

She shot him an incredulous look and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? It looks like I’ve brought trouble to your town. If it’s nothing but a string of unconnected rotten incidents that have turned my once boring but comfortable life into a disaster, then we just wasted everyone’s time. So I’m either trouble or a fool.”

Oreo roused from his nap and Piper put her mug down to soothe the dog. “Sorry, buddy. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Troy leaned in. “You’re neither trouble nor a disaster, Piper. It sounds to me like you’ve got something somebody wants.”

She snorted out a laugh with no humor. “I don’t have much. I gave up my apartment, and everything I own is in my car. There’s nothing of value to anyone else.”

“Family jewelry? Company secrets? Innovative advances in the urban planning area?”

She finally raised her eyes to his with a smile. Progress.

“None of the above. I don’t have any family left, and the most precious thing I own is a photo album. I was a mid-level planner with a specialty in sustainable development and recreational areas.”

“I’m hoping those specialties can help our town.”

She tilted her head and studied him. “You still want to hire me? I won’t argue if you want to back out of the deal.”

Troy shook his head. “I’m not backing out. I want your help.” And he wanted to keep her safe.

Her smile looked relieved. “Thank you. I’m going to work hard to see how I can help.”

“I know.”

Piper blew out a breath. “Thanks for that. I’ll do my best not to let you down. If you’d like, we can start brainstorming right now. I just need to grab my laptop.”

“You don’t need to start tonight. We can talk about things in the morning.”

She scrunched up her nose and petted the dog. “Whatever works best for you.”

Oreo suddenly jumped off Piper’s lap and trotted across to the kitchen. “Either he’s hungry again, or he needs to go out.”

Troy stood and held his hand out to her. She hesitated for a second before she placed hers in it, and he helped her up. He really should find reasons to stop touching her, but he liked the zip he got every time they were skin to skin.

And he really needed to stop thinking about being skin to skin.

Oreo stood at the door, wagging his tail and staring expectantly at the doorknob. Someone had trained this guy well. Troy wouldn’t be surprised if Kimi found his owner soon. And he wondered how Piper would feel about that.

Neither Jim nor Carl was around, and Troy checked the time. Almost nine. Definitely better to let Piper have the rest of the evening to herself and start again fresh in the morning.

Piper leashed up Oreo, opened the door, and followed him onto the back porch and down the stairs. Thick snow was falling, and Troy looked around for any new prints. Nothing. Hopefully, they’d scared the guy away permanently.

After Oreo finished up his business, he loped to where the snow from the back walkway had been piled into a bank. Tail wiggling so hard his entire back half shook, he jumped headfirst into the snow and buried his head.

Piper laughed, and Troy wanted to give the dog an extra treat for helping her relax. Oreo, still wiggling, lifted his head, spotted another pile, and repeated the procedure.

Piper smiled at the dog. “Do you think it’s okay that he does that?”

“Looks like he’s having a blast to me. Check out that tail.”

She grinned when the dog moved from snow pile to snow pile, sticking in his head and shaking with delight.

By the time he flopped to his back and lay panting with his feet up in the air, they were both laughing. Piper leaned down and scratched his belly. “Are you done playing now? Want to go inside?”

The dog popped to his feet and trotted to the stairs.

Troy forced his feet to remain on the ground as the pair moved up to the porch. “Make sure you lock up once you’re inside.”

Piper turned. “I will. Thanks for all of your help today.”

He nodded. “No problem. You have my number. Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

He was pretty sure her cheeks flushed in the dim porch light. He tried hard to ignore that. “I’ll see you in the morning. What time should I pick you up? Nine?”

She smiled at him. “Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it. Good night, Troy.”

Troy waited until he heard the deadbolt slide home, then he looked around the yard again. The snow showed no one had approached the driveway or the BB, so he continued to his vehicle. He drove around the town for a few minutes, looking to see if he could spot a hooded figure skulking anywhere. Or any suspicious activity. Vehicles he didn’t recognize.

The town didn’t boast any motels. The only place to stay was the BB. If someone had followed Piper, where were they? Had they holed up in a nearby town? Had they broken into an empty building?

Troy didn’t find anyone or anything suspicious, so he finally headed home to his little house. After the warmth of the BB and Piper’s company, his bungalow looked dark and lonely.

With a sigh, he picked up the shovel. He wasn’t going to sleep any time soon, so he might as well clear the driveway.

* * *

Piper closed the door to her room in the BB and locked the deadbolt, glad of the extra security it provided. She’d tried to contain her nerves while with the others, but they were frayed. She was on the second floor, so she checked to ensure the windows were locked and closed the curtains.

Was there a chance that the bad luck she’d experienced was more than that? When she’d discussed it with the local police, they’d assumed there was no connection. Going through it again with Troy and the deputy had her wondering, especially with a tracker on her car. Didn’t that stuff only happen in movies?

She wanted to dismiss it all as coincidence. She didn’t have a single thing worth stealing.

Despite what Troy had said, she was a disaster. After her stay in the BB, she would be homeless and jobless. Her severance package from her last job would tide her over for a while, but she needed a new job and a home.

In a place like this?

So far, everything about Phail appealed to her. And it wasn’t simply because her body lit up every time she saw Troy. Everyone she’d met had been welcoming and wonderful. Piper really wanted to help them.

She looked at Oreo, who was exploring the room. “And to help them, I need to know more. Time for some research.”

Instead of using the pretty desk in the corner, Piper changed into an old t-shirt and sleep shorts then climbed onto the massive bed. Oreo sat on the floor at her feet and pouted. Laughing, she scooped him up and set him on the cover. “Don’t blame me if you topple off the side.”

Piper pulled her laptop out of her duffel and powered it up. She grabbed her miniature replica of the Cloud Gate sculpture and showed it to Oreo. Not surprisingly, the elliptical shape fascinated the dog. “This is one of my favorite sculptures in Chicago. See how your reflection changes depending on the angle. It’s even better from the inside. Well, inside the real one, not this little one.”

Oreo licked the tin, making Piper laugh as she flipped it open to pull out her USBs. As always, the misprint on the identical USBs made her smile. Cloud Goat. She’d lucked into them one day and used them ever since.

She’d written a P on one to designate it for her Phail project. Once she grabbed it, she put the rest back and set the Cloud Gate on the bed. Oreo sniffed it and licked it again, then moved to another angle and repeated the process.

“While you’re occupied with seeing how pretty you are, I’m going to forget about Rusty’s troubles and check out Bloo Moose. What is it with Vermont and strange town names?”

Soon, she was smiling and showing Oreo all the moose statues in the little town. “These are great. And I love the boardwalk. Too bad Phail isn’t on a lake like this. That’s a fabulous way to draw people together.”

Piper pulled up her Phail spreadsheet and added some new columns.

The moose figures in Bloo Moose weren’t exactly mascots, but they identified the town. Could Phail have something like that?

What animals started with an F sound? Fox. Falcon. Pheasant. Filly. Firefly. An internet search added more, but nothing seemed right. Flamingos would be fun, but they weren’t native to Vermont.

What about animals that rhymed with Phail? Whale and snail came to mind immediately. Then quail. A Phail Quail?

She added another spreadsheet column for words that rhymed with Phail. Something in there might work for a marketing slogan.

Wail. Flail. Veil and unveil. Curtail. Regale. Frail. Pale. Pail. Stale. Tale. Tail. Rail. Mail. Nail.

The more she added, the more she grinned. Then giggled. Troy was right. This name didn’t have to be a disaster. They could use it to have some fun. It appeared the town enjoyed poking fun at the name, so that made it easier to keep even the sillier words on the list.

Phail Kale.

Pale Ale from Phail.

Phail Sale.

Epic Phail.

Without Phail. That had potential.

The water tower had a name that echoed a famous landmark. I-Phail Tower. She’d have to research famous places and landmarks to see if they could twist them to make them Phail appropriate.

The town needed a gathering place or two. There was the diner but no restaurant or bar. Those were good features to add to bring people in.

Oreo snored beside her souvenir Cloud Gate tin, and that brought her back around to a park. It was difficult to see the town layout with all the snow, so she searched online for an aerial view. A park would have to be somewhere that would appeal to locals and tourists alike.

People liked parks for various reasons. Walking or jogging paths. Benches. Things to look at. Kids’ areas. A splash pad, as those were popular with everyone. Even the nursing home residents had been thrilled with theirs. Not everyone, but enough that it had made adding the small play area a success.

Many tourist areas had plaques and markers highlighting the local sites of interest and the native flora and fauna species to look for. Could she incorporate a scavenger hunt idea for families?

When Piper studied the map, she realized there was a river that flowed around the town. A small one, but water was always a draw for people. Maybe a walking path along the area that ended at a park. Or various small park areas along the pathway.

Her mind kept spewing out ideas and Piper noted them all down. She knew full well that it was worth writing the ridiculous right along with the sensible. The best ideas were sometimes sparked from the strangest places.

When she started writing things like roller coasters and water slides, she shoved away the laptop and spoke to the snoozing dog. “I’m thinking way too big again. Small town. Small budget. Troy wants things that can help his town without costing a lot.”

She saved her work to the cloud and the USB, then shut down the laptop. With all the disasters at work, she’d learned to back up everything in multiple places.

Oreo leaped to his feet and yipped. “You’ve got an idea for small budget success. I’m all ears.”

The dog yipped again, wiggled his butt, and trotted to the edge of the bed. He looked from Piper to the door and back again. She grinned at him. “I take it you need to go out? Okay. Let me grab a sweater and your stuff.”

She remembered it was winter at the last second, so she pulled on a pair of sweats over her sleep shorts and then scooped up the dog. “I don’t know how good your bladder control is, and I’m not taking chances at this beautiful BB. Just hang on for a minute.”

The front door was closer, so Piper clipped his leash on there and slipped on her boots to step out onto the porch. A quick look around showed no one nearby but her nerves jangled. Snow was still falling, and she wished she’d also grabbed her jacket. “I hope you’re not a lollygagger at this time of night. Let’s hurry.” She wanted to be behind the locked door again.

Oreo hopped down the stairs and headed straight to the nearest bush. “Good boy.”

“Where is it? Where did you hide it?” The male voice was barely more than a harsh whisper. Her head jerked around to see someone emerging from the shadows of the front tree. She tugged on the leash to pull Oreo back in, grateful he wasn’t a big dog she couldn’t control.

Heart pounding, Piper backed up as the man moved forward. She had to make it into the BB before he reached her. “Come on, Oreo. Heel.”

The dog trotted her way, but his stride was no match for the man. Piper yelled for help as she moved forward to pick up the dog.

“Shut up, you stupid bitch.”

Piper kept yelling as she grabbed Oreo and turned to run.

The man snagged her ponytail and jerked her backward. She lost her balance and released the leash. “Run Oreo.”

The man yanked her hair again and slammed her into the ground. When she opened her eyes, he loomed over her. She tried to yell again, but the words froze in her throat.