Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Read online

  Go figure.

  Emma whipped into the reserved parking space, grabbing her coffee and keys. Taking the steps two at a time, she entered the building and was hit with a blast of cool air. At first, it shocked her and stole he breath as it did every morning. The simple familiarity of the sights and sounds gave her comfort. There was the coffee maker percolating, the shuffle of shoes in the squad room and the mindless banter of her deputies.

  There was something to be said for the mundane.

  Glancing over at the vacant desk outside her office, there was a sense of relief as she was almost in the clear. Five more feet and Emma could lock herself in her office and skip the energy-syphoning chitchat of the twenty something featherbrain.

  As her hand touched the doorknob, her administrative assistant literally popped around the corner, nearly giving her a heart attack.

  “Morning, Sheriff!” Lila Tate practically shouted, exuberantly.

  Damn it!

  “Crap,” muttered Emma as her coffee barely missed her jeans and boots, splashing onto her hand and the linoleum floor. Once again, the cheery woman had caused another hot liquid related burn. “Morning, Lila, what can I do for you?” inquired Emma. “You’re in before your shift this morning,” Emma hissed through gritted teeth.

  “Billy dropped me off, and I figured you wouldn’t mind if I left a bit early today,” replied Lila, as she hustled over to mop up the spill with a handful of paper towels.

  Emma should be accustomed to the request by now, since the woman brought it up one way or another every day. One day it was to leave early, take a day off, or call in sick. Lila was about as predictable as the weather. The only thing you could bet on was that she was essentially useless.

  “Yeah, that’s fine I guess.” What was she supposed to say? Emma really had no idea what Lila’s function was other than daughter to the mayor. Her needing a secretary was crazy. There was hardly any crime in Celestia to need someone to type up paperwork. Maybe there was some mischief, but she could take care of the reports by herself. Between Emma and the six other deputies, there wasn’t a big need for an administrative assistant-- especially one with zero office skills.

  It was simply bureaucracy and nepotism at its finest.

  What boggled Emma’s mind the most was why the girl didn’t just ask to change her work hours permanently or cut back if she had more important things on her schedule? Being the mayor’s only child and spoiled brat, she could pretty much do whatever the hell she wanted.

  Emma took the opportunity to escape while Lila cleaned up the mess. Once in her office, she dropped behind the big mahogany desk. Sipping what was left of her coffee, Emma took advantage of the moment to relax. One of the few things that she truly missed from big city life was the coffee shop. There were hot lattes and espressos any time of the day on every street corner and block. Then again, making her coffee was a small sacrifice for peace of mind.

  Celestia did have one place to get her fix, but at night, it turned into a bar. There was something wrong about getting your caffeine hit at seven in the morning and having to tolerate the stench of stale beer.

  Without her java, there was no way to get through the next eight hours. Today was her least favorite day of the week. Not because of having to head back to work after a weekend, but because it was ‘Mandatory Meeting Monday’.

  Every first day of the workweek, the mayor and his assistant popped in to see what was happening in Celestia. His goal was to make sure that they were all on the ‘same page’. The meeting was a waste of time, and Emma hated every second of it. Sometimes in life, you had to tolerate the things that made you crazy, and this was her cross to bear. Now, she’d suck it up, getting it over with and not have to dwell on it for a couple more days.

  The big clock on her wall chimed eight sharp, and she shook her head in amusement. The previous sheriff must have been half-blind. The clocks numbers were huge, ticking off the impending boredom and doom that was once again inevitable. The mayor would be there any minute.

  Right now, Emma had enough time to gather her thoughts, clear her desk, and pray for patience.

  “Morning, Sheriff,” called Dwayne Ridge, peeking his head into her office. He was one of her deputies and an all-around nice guy. “Ready for the morning meetings?” he snickered, knowing she’d rather cut off her own arm.

  “It’s the highlight of my week, Dwayne. Can’t you tell? I’m not feeling the sympathy, when you smile like that,” she replied sarcastically. No one liked the mayor and his lackey.

  No one!

  “Sorry, Sheriff, but watching you try not to kill them is fun to see. We all have our bets in on the outcome.”

  “I’m glad I’m the floor show for the troops.”

  He laughed as she rolled her eyes.

  Emma was fond of her deputy. Dwayne was probably two years older than she was and had a nice warm smile. It was the kind which reassured you it was going to be ok, even when you suspected otherwise.

  It was definitely helpful in their line of work.

  “How’s Tara doing today?”

  “She’s getting as big as a house, but don’t tell her I said that,” he laughed, thinking about his almost full-term pregnant wife. “I can’t wait ‘til this baby comes on out. We’re finally ready to be a family.”

  “I bet you are, Dwayne. Babies are wonderful.” Emma watched him rush away to answer the phone on his desk.

  One of her morning rituals she didn’t look forward to was the simple act of loading her firearm. The idea of guns and knives gave Emma that sick feeling in her gut. It wasn’t a commonly known thing, but she never left her house with a loaded weapon. It was her fear that she’d be jumped and lose her gun, only to have it used on her.

  Again!

  Her heart skipped in her chest as the fear clawed its way up through her gut. Pushing it back down, Emma took a few cleansing deep breaths. Everyone in Celestia owned a gun, but no one ever had to use them. That was true for her and her deputies too. The thought of another day without gunfire and violence made Emma relax even more. That might just warrant a smile on her face for her morning meeting.

  Finishing her gun, Emma could hear Lila outside her office on the phone. It had to be the man she was currently dating or as they referred to him--‘the asshole de jour’. Lila would flirt with a lamp if it looked rich. She wanted to gag at the giggles and the ‘I love you’s’. Emma was okay until the kissy noises began, and then she tossed in the obligatory eye roll as she prayed for control.

  Her secretary was one of life’s little mysteries. How she carried on a conversation with anyone was beyond her. Don’t get her wrong, Lila Tate was a sweet girl, but she was a few trees short of an orchard. Her secretary had single handedly eliminated any possibility of Emma dipping her foot into the dating pool in town. There was the good possibility that she’d probably be single the rest of her life, considering her options were very limited. Men weren’t plentiful in Celestia, and ones that slept with Lila were just not happening. Pretty much, that left her deputies, and that screamed ‘awkward’ work situation.

  Hello celibacy--welcome to her world.

  After the phone call ended, peace returned to the outer office. It was broken five minutes later by the ‘nails on the chalkboard’ sound of the mayor’s voice, crooning lovingly to his daughter.

  “Hello, honey pie. Is the sheriff in?” inquired the mayor.

  Emma shook her head, taking a deep breath as she braced for the same banter that occurred every Monday for the last year. The question was the same and the answer never surprised her. She waited for it…

  “The sheriff’s expecting you, Daddy. I mean, Mr. Mayor.” There were more giggles and then a chuckle.

  Oh please.

  Someone shoot her now.

  If there was a God, maybe he’d spare her the rest of the recycled conversation. Mental note--close her office door next Monday and spare herself the torture of reliving it over and over again.

  “Thank you,
Lila my love. You left the house very early today,” stated Mayor Tate. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

  “Oh…a friend gave me a ride,” squirmed the girl, reaching into her bag of lies for any excuse. When the conversation ended, he simply patted her on the head full of blonde curls as she went back to filing her nails.

  It wasn’t shocking to Emma that the mayor wasn’t aware of his daughter’s relationship with Billy Barnes. Her father generally had the wool pulled over his eyes regarding Lila. Why stop with the dating situation too?

  She released a pent up sigh. Emma knew she was being cranky. It had been a long time since she felt the butterflies in her own stomach over a man. Young love was a treasured thing, and for her it seemed like so long ago.

  Emma was forced back to reality as the dreaded knock sounded on her door. The mayor and his assistant, Will Taylor, walked into her office, cutting off all thoughts. She glanced up at the two, trying to unclench her teeth and offer a smile in greeting. As usual, the mayor was in his pressed suit, thinning brown hair slicked back, and smile plastered on his over tanned face.

  His lackey of an assistant was dressed pretty much the same way, except his dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. What drove her nuts was his overt sucking up. You could see the glint in his weasel-y blue eyes at his careful calculation. Will Taylor was a brown nosing fashion plate. It was as if he honestly believed the mayor of Celestia had some ordained calling that made him Christ-like, and he could benefit from it. She had a great dislike for ass kissers, especially ones of Will Taylor’s caliber.

  “Sheriff.”

  The men nodded to her before taking seats across from her.

  “Mayor,” she replied, and then paused for the usual awkward minute of silence. Emma was blatantly aware that the mayor didn’t approve of having a woman take over the position of sheriff in HIS town. He’d been sure to tell her that on many occasions. Unfortunately for him, she was one of the few candidates overly qualified to do the job. In the end, the town’s council voted, and he was obligated to hire her until the next election.

  “Shall we get started, Sheriff?” inquired Will Taylor, as he stared at his boss in absolute reverence. “The mayor is a very busy man, and we have other things that need to be accomplished today.”

  Emma was beginning to feel her patience slipping. No one in his or her right mind believed the mayor was ever busy. This was Celestia for God’s sake, and the only thing coming up on the event calendar was the harvest festival in a few weeks. All he had to do was sit in a car and wave as he was driven in the parade.

  Who in their right mind had to prep for that?

  “Well, by all means, we could cancel this Monday morning pile of crap. I have other things that I could be doing,” she added, staring at Will, and then back to her boss. She would wipe that smug look off the weasel’s face one way or another. It made her day to see that it worked, as he looked appalled.

  “It’s an inconvenience for all of us, my dear, but we need to keep up the interoffice relations,” he answered, winking. “I’m sure you understand.”

  If she could walk out the door, she absolutely would at that moment, simply to escape. “I sure do, Mayor,” replied Emma to appease the man and his lackey. Maybe they’d leave sooner if she sucked it up and pretended she gave a rat’s ass.

  “Please, Emma, call me Ron. We have a close working relationship and should be on a first name basis,” he said, lecherously.

  Both the mayor and the weasel smiled.

  Emma glared at the man in disdain. Would it be wrong to tell him that would happen when hell froze over? She knew that they’d love to have her use their first names. The only way that would occur, was if it was the end of the world, as she knew it. “Okay Mayor, what do we have to talk about today?”

  He sighed at her stubbornness and unwillingness to budge.

  Continuing, she leaned back in her chair for the next part of the Monday morning dance. “As you can see, it’s been quiet this past week in Celestia. All I have for you is a list of parking tickets and misdemeanors. Would you like them? I can get Lila to print you off a copy before she takes another break?” she smiled, enjoying the sarcasm. Once again, it made her day.

  Before the mayor could respond, Emma’s office door flew open and Deputy Ridge raced into the room.

  “Sheriff, we have a really big problem out at ‘The Crossing’. You need to get out there ASAP!” exclaimed the deputy, looking a little more than panicked and nervous.

  “What’s wrong, Dwayne? Has there been an accident?” questioned Emma. She couldn’t imagine what could possibly have him so worked up. Again, this was Celestia and nothing ever happened here. Not anything bad enough to panic a deputy.

  Ridge glanced around the room at the three individuals before speaking. “Deputy Thomas was doing his rounds this morning and was flagged over about an abandoned car out on the roadside. When he got out there, he checked it out and the car was indeed empty,” stated Dwayne.

  She still wasn’t getting it.

  “That hardly seems like a reason for interrupting the mayor’s meeting with the sheriff,” stated Will, emphatically. “Call a tow truck and let us get back to work.”

  The deputy focused on his boss and chose to ignore the men.

  “If the car was empty, Deputy, what’s the cause for alarm?” asked Emma, giving Will Taylor a dirty look for her co-worker.

  “The car isn’t the issue, Sheriff, but the field beside it seems to be the problem. We found the owner of the sedan.”

  “And?” stared Emma, hoping he wasn’t alluding to anything that was running through her mind. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s in the field, Dwayne?” Emma’s stomach began to roll.

  He swallowed. “There is a woman’s body, Sheriff, and she’s been mutilated.” His voice dropped to a whisper.

  Well hell!

  Emma winced as she stood. Silence filled the room except for the audible gasp from the mayor and the horrified wheeze from Will Taylor. There was a sudden feeling of being sucked back into another time in her life. It was like the dark alleys of Philadelphia all over again. Here Emma believed naïvely that she could escape the blood and wading through it. It was her one prayer that the gore and death wouldn’t come to Celestia.

  Oh God! It found her again!

  Something had to be wrong. There had to be some sort of mistake. ‘The Crossing’ was a beautiful nature filled field that acted as a midpoint between Celestia and the neighboring town. The younger residents sometimes used it as a secret make out spot to take their dates. Nothing bad ever happened there, except the possible aftermath of a few pregnancy scares. The most terrifying thing at ‘The Crossing’ had to be the daunting maze of corn and the old farmer’s ramshackle scarecrow.

  “There has to be a mistake, Sheriff,” said the mayor in shock, finally saying out loud what Emma had been thinking.

  “Deputy Thomas said it was bad. He told me that the woman is pretty much unidentifiable,” he stated, waiting for some direction from his boss. “What should I do?” said Deputy Ridge, staring at Emma, hoping she had the magical answer.

  It didn’t take long for it all to kick back in and training to take back over. “Call Doctor Brooks and ask him to meet me at the scene,” answered Emma, grabbing her keys. “I’m on my way there. You’re going to have to be my backup, Dwayne. In fact, get any deputy who’s on patrol duty there now, but warn them not to enter the field until I arrive. We need to secure the scene and ensure that we don’t destroy evidence and contaminate anything.” Emma Starling had reverted to the woman she once was as her old life clicked back into place like second nature.

  Unfortunately!

  Ron Tate was confused. “What’s Doctor Brooks going to do? He said the body is mutilated and she’s already dead,” questioned the mayor.

  Yeah, it was obvious where Lila got her lightening quick intelligence.

  Emma turned and stared at him as if he was out of his mi
nd. Did she really need to spoon-feed him the basics of a crime scene? Her instinct was to make a smarmy comment, but she swallowed it and instead gave him the benefit of the doubt. This was Celestia, and the last murder was when John Trudel went after his neighbors hog with a hatchet forty years ago. In the aftermath, they made up and divvied up the bacon.

  “He’s going to meet me there in the capacity of coroner. I’m sure that he’s seen a few dead bodies in medical school and can stand in as ME. Since we don’t have one, Doctor Brooks is as close as I can hope to get. It’s now his job.”

  Both men simply stared in horror, and secretly she was glad they were aghast. What was possibly coming was nothing less than everyone’s worst nightmare.

  Especially hers…

  Emma followed her deputy out of her office. The feelings brewing in her gut were scaring her shitless. At that moment, everything seemed to be morphing out of control.

  All Emma knew was Celestia and her new life would never be the same again.

  The drive to the crime scene was painfully long. Emma could feel the heavy, oppressive hand of dread laying over both herself and Deputy Ridge as they traveled in silence. This would irrevocably change the town forever as murder always did. All she could hope was her co-workers could handle it. Emma knew she couldn’t manage this alone.

  She dwelled on it as they drove. From the minute we’re all born, we begin the journey to death. That’s simply the circle of life, and that she’d accept. But to have yourself end up a victim and mutilated in a field? That was something entirely different. It was a travesty of man’s hate against man.

  Emma had seen plenty of death in the past ten years working for the Philadelphia Police Department, and then as one of their detectives. In a heartbeat, she walked away from it all because every victim took a little piece of her in the process. It left her feeling cold and empty almost every day. All of these feelings were unwelcome in her life and new home. Celestia was supposed to be her sanctuary and a place to start putting the pieces back together again.