Esmée had heard a few things about Fenwick Colton, none of them good. According to the Gages she’d spoken to, the short, skinny man with the blond hairpiece thought he owned Red Ridge. He was a wealthy businessman in his midfifties, with three divorces behind him. Apparently having finally decided marriage wasn’t for him, he now preferred to have a new young girlfriend on his arm, and changed them every few months.
“His daughter, Layla Colton, was supposed to marry Hamlin Harrington, the owner of Harrington Inc., at the end of the year.” Hester’s voice took on a gossipy ring that triggered Esmée’s human-interest radar. “There’s a rumor that Fenwick’s business, Colton Energy, is in trouble. Hamlin has signed the documents that will save Colton Energy once he marries Layla. But since the Groom Killer murders, Hamlin has gotten nervous and called off the engagement. Now the clock is ticking and Fenwick faces losing everything. He needs millions by December 31st or it’s all over. The problem is, if Fenwick loses Colton Energy, the funding for the K-9 unit will be pulled.”
Esmée looked around her at the training center and the people who had gathered to celebrate the work it did. “That would be awful.”
Hester spread her picnic blanket on the ground. “Fenwick is putting pressure on Chief Finn Colton to get a quick arrest. There is no such thing as family loyalty for our mayor. He can’t stand his lowlife cousin, Rusty, who owns a bar, or any of his kids. As far as Fenwick is concerned, he doesn’t care whether Demi is guilty or innocent. He just wants her arrested and locked up so folks won’t be scared of getting married and he can get his money-making plans back on track with his daughter’s wedding.”
“Nice man.”
Hester snorted. “You think?”
Although Fenwick wasn’t the Colton that Esmée was interested in right now, the story added color to her research. There clearly wasn’t much family feeling between the three Colton patriarchs, Fenwick, Judson and Rusty. No wonder Demi had gone on the run. Guilty or innocent, there didn’t seem to be much sympathy for her in Red Ridge. On the subject of the dysfunctional Colton clan...
She looked over at the enclosure in the center of the grass, where the officers were gathering with their dogs. “Which one is Brayden Colton?”
“I don’t see him.” Hester shielded her eyes with her hand as she looked toward the enclosure. Some of the officers were standing in a group nearby. “But it will be easy to pick him out when he does get here. He’s the search-and-rescue officer on the team, so he wears an orange vest over his uniform. His K-9 partner, Echo, is a golden retriever. Echo also wears an orange vest.”
It was a useful piece of information, and Esmée kept checking on the K-9 team as she and Hester took Rhys around the stalls and activities.
Her feelings about Red Ridge were mixed. Jack was the reason she had come to this town. He had worked closely with her mother, assisting Portia da Costa on several of her best-selling true-crime books. After Portia died and Jack left the force, he had helped Esmée with her own research. He had even joined her in Wales, where she’d spent almost two years filming her award-winning documentary, What Remains. When Jack alerted her to the Groom Killer case, Esmée had immediately been intrigued. But arriving in town to find her friend had become one of the victims had tilted her whole world off course. It also made her motivation for staying a whole lot stronger.
Even without Jack’s death and the background of the Groom Killer story, there was enough of an undercurrent here in Red Ridge to stimulate her interest. Esmée’s stories were about the individuals, families and communities that had been torn apart by acts of violence and lawlessness. It was hard to explain to anyone else, but she could also tell when a place was suffering. And, even though she’d only arrived recently, she knew Red Ridge was hurting more than any other town she’d known.
When Jack had called her with the news he and Sarah were getting married, Esmée had just finished delivering an online course to murder-mystery writers. She was in the unusual position of being between jobs.
“There’s a story here, if you’re interested,” Jack had said. “How about a town where folks are scared to get married in case the groom is murdered? Couples are making a big deal of publicly calling off their weddings. Flower stores, cake shops, caterers and wedding-dress designers are seeing their incomes plummet. No one is going on dates or out for romantic meals. Hell, most people are even scared to hold hands with their partner.” Jack always did have a knack for catching her attention and hooking her into a story, making her see the human-interest angle.
Esmée had reached for a notepad and pen. “Red Ridge, South Dakota. The town where romance died?”
She recalled that conversation as she looked around her now. Although there were couples at the show, she noticed a definite lack of any displays of affection. It created a strange, false atmosphere.
Hester entertained her by explaining that there were competitions for the saddest eyes, waggiest tail, floppiest ears and scruffiest dog. “There was a campaign to have a crossbreed disqualified after he won all four categories last year.”
Esmée burst out laughing. “Now that’s a dog I need to see.” She noticed that a tall, dark-haired officer in an orange search-and-rescue vest had entered the K-9 enclosure. “Hester, would you watch Rhys for a few minutes? There’s someone I need to talk to.”
“You know how hard you’ve been working to stay out of Esmée da Costa’s way?” Finn asked.
Brayden regarded him warily. “Yes.”
“Looks like she found you anyway.”
Brayden followed the direction of his chief’s nod. Until now, he wasn’t aware he’d had any expectation about how Esmée would look. He certainly hadn’t expected to see a petite, pretty woman with long auburn hair and huge dark eyes. She was holding the hand of a little boy, who wore a red sweatshirt, and she was laughing at something Hester Mull was saying. Having looked her way, Brayden was having a hard time dragging his gaze away again.
After a moment or two, he realized Finn was waiting for some kind of response. He shrugged and turned away. “I need to get Echo ready for the manhunt.”
Each of the K-9s in the unit had a different specialty and the dog show was an opportunity to show the public what they did. Echo was trained as a scent-specific search dog, also known as a trail dog. If he was given something belonging to a missing person, Echo would discriminate that scent from the others around it and use it to hunt for the person it matched. Each year, during the dog show, Brayden would select members of the public and ask them to hide before using Echo to find them in a canine game of hide-and-seek. It was one of the most popular features of the day.
“Officer Colton?” The voice was low-pitched and musical and the aroma that invaded his nostrils was subtle and floral.
He swung around quickly, encountering a smile that, in any other circumstances, would have done him a whole powerful lot of good. Up close, Esmée was even more beautiful than from a distance, with dainty features and golden skin tones. The top of her head was level with his shirt pocket and she tilted her head back to look at him.
She was eye-catching in her short, brightly patterned skirt, over which she wore a lace blouse and a faded denim jacket. Black lace-up ankle boots drew Brayden’s attention to her slender legs.
“I’m Esmée da Costa. We seem to keep missing each other.”
“No, Ms. da Costa. I’ve been avoiding you.”
Her smile widened. It was possibly the most enchanting smile he’d ever seen and he was working hard to not be enchanted. “I knew that. I was being diplomatic.”
She was stunning and just gazing at her was a reminder to his body that it had been a long time since he had been this close to a woman. Maybe it was time