Chapter One
DON’T THINK YOU CAN BREAK THE LAW AND GO UNPUNISHED.
The bold black letters, all caps in blocky print, stood out against the half sheet of white paper. Miranda “Mira” Veronica looked over at her friend and fellow teacher, Shayla Green. “Someone left this on your car?” Mira asked.
“Yeah.” Shayla tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind one ear and the line etched between her perfectly plucked eyebrows deepened. “Who would do something so creepy?”
Even though she was pretty sure they were alone, Mira glanced around the staff parking lot. At this time of day—almost five o’clock—the staff lot was more than half-empty. She and Shayla were parked side by side at the back of the lot, farthest from the school building. Mira had walked out to her car a few minutes ago, only to find her friend hunched over this piece of paper, practically trembling. “What are they talking about?” Mira asked. “How did you break the law?”
“Did you read the whole note?” Shayla nodded to the piece of paper.
Mira glanced at the note again. In smaller print beneath the accusation of wrongdoing were the typed words: Just because your pets are cute doesn’t mean they’re legal.
“I adopted a fourth cat,” Shayla said.
Not the awful crime Mira had anticipated. “Is that illegal?”
“There’s supposed to be a cap of four pets in the city limits.” Shayla sighed. “I have a dog, too, so that makes five animals. But honestly, she’s not hurting anyone. All the cats are indoor cats. Most people never even see them, and it’s not as if they make any noise, either. And the shelter is so full this time of year I couldn’t resist giving another one a home.” She bit her lower lip, close to tears.
“No one’s going to send you to jail for having an extra cat.” Mira folded the note and passed it back to Shayla. “This is just someone being a bully. If one of your students put this on your car, we need to find out who they are and see that they get counseling. This is no way to treat people.”
“I can’t believe it would be one of my students.” Shayla folded the note again. And then again, until it was a square the size of a postage stamp. “I’ve got a good batch of kids this year. And I haven’t told anyone about the new kitten.”
“Maybe one of your neighbors found out? Or one of the shelter employees said something?”
Shayla stared down at the folded square of paper in her palm. “I don’t understand why someone would be so mean.”
Mira patted her friend’s shoulder. “I don’t understand, either,” she said. “If I knew who did this, I’d give them a piece of my mind.” She looked around the parking lot again. “I don’t think the security cameras reach this far out.”
“I never even thought of that,” Shayla said. “I always park here because it’s easy to get in and out. And I figure walking a few more steps a day couldn’t hurt.”
“Do you remember who was parked near you?” Mira asked. “We could find out if they saw anyone near your car.”
“Mitch Anders’s SUV was a couple of spaces over.” She indicated a now-empty spot. At Mira’s questioning look she added. “He’s the technology teacher and athletic coach. You probably haven’t met him yet.”
There were so many people Mira hadn’t met yet. She’d only arrived in Eagle Mountain three weeks ago to start a new job teaching Spanish to middle and high school students in the small district.
“I’ll ask him tomorrow if he saw anyone who might have left this.” Shayla closed her hand around the folded note and shoved it in her pocket. “I just hope whoever wrote this isn’t telling other people about poor little Muffin.”
“Try not to let it upset you,” Mira said. She checked the time on her phone. “I have to go now, but we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Shayla forced a weak smile. “Thanks.”
Mira had been in a good mood until her encounter with Shayla. The move from her native Santa Fe had been a big step for her, but it was working out better than she had dared hope. She enjoyed her students, and her fellow teachers and administration had been friendly and welcoming. Eagle Mountain itself was beautiful. She had even qualified for a rent-controlled apartment in a complex set aside for teachers and other essential employees. No place was perfect, of course, but it was disturbing to realize that even here, there were mean people determined to make others as miserable as they were.
She wasn’t going to let them upset her. She had too much to look forward to, including this evening’s meeting. After she left the school, she followed the directions she had been given to the headquarters for Eagle Mountain Search and Rescue. American and Colorado flags snapped smartly in the breeze next to a large garage-like building. Mountains, their red-and-gray peaks not yet capped by snow, towered against a turquoise sky in the distance. Mira parked her car in a slot near the door labeled Visitor and followed a concrete walkway to the entrance.
The door opened into a large, concrete-floored room occupied by more than two dozen people. Several heads turned as she entered and a tall blonde moved to greet her. “I’m so glad you could make it.” Sheri Stevens, another teacher at the high school, took Mira’s hand and led her farther into the room. “Grab something to eat and drink and say hello. We’re all friendly here. We’ll get started in a few minutes and I’ll officially introduce you.”
“Thanks.” Mira dropped the backpack she carried onto a folding chair near the front of the room and headed for a table spread with sub sandwiches and drinks. People smiled and moved over to make space for her. They were mostly young people, though a few were old enough to have graying hair. She spotted some familiar faces, but no one she could put a name to yet. This was one reason she had accepted Sheri’s invitation to volunteer to help—she wanted to meet more people in what she hoped would be her new home.
She was pondering the selection of sandwiches when a man approached. He had straight dark brown hair, long on the top and short on the sides, and striking green eyes—the color of moss. “Hey there,” he said. “Are you a new volunteer?”
“Not exactly.” She selected a turkey sandwich and arranged it on her plate next to some pepper strips.
“Oh, mysterious.” He grinned, flashing white, straight teeth. Handsome. Charming. And very sure of himself. She had met his type before. “I’m Carter Ames.”
“Mira Veronica.”
“So you’re not a new volunteer. Did you just drop in for the free food?” His tone was teasing. He had a distracting dimple at the right side of his mouth. And the attitude of a practiced flirt. That was okay. She could play this game, too.
“Well, I am a teacher,” she said. “We can’t afford to turn down a free meal.” She popped a pepper strip into her mouth and chewed.
“Are you here with someone else?” He looked around them.
She was about to confess her real reason for being here when a woman’s voice rose above the other conversation around them. “I can’t believe someone would do this!”
She and Carter glanced over at a cluster of volunteers around a couple. A woman with curly auburn hair was visibly upset, the dark-haired man beside her watching with a worried expression. She waved a sheet of paper. “If this is someone’s idea of a joke they have a mean sense of humor,” she said.
“Uh-oh.” Carter set aside his cup. He started toward the couple and Mira followed. “What’s up with Deni and Ryan?” he asked another man on the edge of the crowd. Mira did a double take. The man Carter spoke to looked enough like Carter to be his twin.
The man must have read Mira’s confusion. “I’m Dalton Ames,” he said. “You can think of me as the better-looking twin.”
“You wish.” Carter punched Dalton’s shoulder.
“We’re not doing anything wrong.” The man beside the woman—Ryan?—put his arm around her. “Whoever wrote this can’t do anything to us.”
“Apparently, someone sent Ryan and Deni a letter complaining about the work they’re doing on the house they bought near Owl Lake,” Dalton said, keeping his voice low.
“What does the letter say, exactly?” a man with a thick mop of blond hair asked.
Deni handed over the note. “Read it out loud, Caleb,” Ryan said.
“‘Don’t think you can break the law and go unpunished,’” Caleb read.
Mira gasped, and fumbled to keep from dropping her plate of food.
“What is it?” Carter reached out to rescue the tipping plate.
She held up a hand and leaned forward to hear the rest as Caleb continued reading. “‘The mess in your front yard violates half a dozen ordinances. You have a legal requirement to clean up your property or there will be consequences.’” Caleb looked up. “Those last four word are in bold italics.”
“Have any of your neighbors complained?” a young woman with dark hair almost to her waist asked.
“No,” Ryan said. “They’ve all been great. They know we’re remodeling.”
“They’re glad we’re fixing up the place,” Deni said. “No one has lived there in two years, and the renters who were there before that really trashed it.” She shook her head. “And it’s not that bad. There’s some materials stacked up—neatly. And a construction dumpster. Not exactly an eyesore.”
“Another teacher at school got a note like that,” Mira said.
Everyone turned to look at her and she suddenly felt too warm. “Who are you?” someone asked.
“I’m Mira Veronica,” she said. “I’m the new Spanish teacher at Eagle Mountain schools.”
“I invited Mira here tonight.” Sheri moved in beside her. “You say someone else got a note like the one Deni and Ryan received? Who was it?”
“I’d rather not say,” Mira said. What if someone else got upset over Shayla’s fourth cat? “But her note was similar to this one. Someone left it on her car this afternoon. It started the same way, with that line about lawbreakers not going unpunished.”
“Is she remodeling her house?” Ryan asked.
“No. This note was complaining about her having too many pets.”
“How many pets does she have?” Caleb asked.
“Four cats. And a dog,” Mira said. “I guess that’s one over the limit.”
“I don’t think anyone enforces that ordinance unless someone complains, or the animals are neglected.” A woman with short dark hair reached down to pat the black poodle by her side. The dog wore a blue vest—apparently it was a member of search and rescue also.
“Sounds like someone has too much time on their hands and is trying to stir up trouble.” An older man with graying hair and goatee spoke. “Probably best to ignore them.”
“We will.” Ryan took the note from Caleb and ripped it in half. “That’s what I think of this message.”
“Let’s get the meeting started.” A lanky man at the front of the room addressed them. Gradually, everyone fell silent and moved to various seats around the room. Mira returned to the chair where she had left her pack.
“For those who don’t know me, I’m Danny Irwin, captain of Eagle Mountain SAR,” he said, with a nod to Mira. “We’ve got a few announcements to cover, then tonight’s training session will begin.” He turned to Sheri. “Why don’t you start by introducing our guest?”
Sheri moved to take Danny’s place and motioned for Mira to join her. “I want to welcome Mira Veronica,” she said. “Some of you probably already know she’s the new Spanish teacher at Eagle Mountain schools and she’s agreed to offer a special course in Spanish for first responders. Mira, please tell us about the course.”
Mira smiled. She was more comfortable here, in the role of instructor, than she was interacting one-on-one with strangers. “Thanks, Sheri. And thank you all for welcoming me tonight. As Sheri said, I teach Spanish to high school and middle school students. But for several years I also taught Spanish for first responders in Santa Fe, my hometown. Now that I’m in Eagle Mountain, I want to offer the same course here. It’s designed to teach you not only basic conversational Spanish, but the specialized law enforcement and medical terms you may need to interact with people you meet in the course of your job.”
A hand shot up and she nodded to a man on the right side of the room. “So the class isn’t just for search and rescue?” he asked.
“That’s correct. I hope to have students who are paramedics, fire department volunteers as well as local law enforcement.”
“Can’t let those guys get one up on us,” someone said.
“The class also qualifies as a continuing education credit,” Mira said. “If that applies to search and rescue. We’ll meet twice a week for six weeks, at the meeting room at city hall.” She named the tuition fee. “That includes all the course material.”
“We have a grant that will cover half of that fee for anyone who enrolls and completes the course,” Sheri added.
“I have some flyers with the details and my contact information if you have questions,” Mira said. “There’s also a link to the sign-up page online. Does anyone have a question they’d like to ask right now?”
Carter Ames raised his hand.
“Yes?”
“Are you single?”
Laughter rose around the room.
“Don’t mind him,” a young woman with curly dark hair said. “He flunked out of charm school.”
“And they kicked him out of obedience school,” Dalton said.
“But I’m still Mom’s favorite,” Carter said, beaming.
Mira shook her head. She had pegged Carter from the first—a flirt who counted on charm to get him through every situation. He was going to be disappointed to learn she was immune to such tactics.
“Are there any questions about the Spanish classes?” Sheri asked.
There were none, so Sheri thanked Mira for coming, and she collected her backpack and headed for the door while Danny began a discussion of protocols for treating suspected drug overdoses.
The sun was just sinking behind the mountains above town as she drove home. She was never going to get tired of this view. The meeting had improved her mood. She loved teaching kids, but it was good to interact with people closer to her own age. She had enjoyed teaching the course in Santa Fe. It was a great way to meet people, and a source of extra income.
She hoped some of the people she had met tonight would attend her class. Maybe the young woman who had teased Carter. There was definitely a family resemblance there, so maybe a sister? The two of them could compare notes—Mira had four older brothers. They could be as exasperating as they were lovable. And they were scattered from California to Boston. She didn’t see them all enough. Next summer she’d have to try to visit. Family was too important not to make the effort.
She parked in her assigned space and climbed the steps to her second-floor apartment. A few feet from the door, she froze. The breeze fluttered a piece of paper stuck to her door. Probably some notice about maintenance or something. She removed the tack holding the paper in place and unfolded it.
DON’T THINK YOU CAN BREAK THE LAW AND GO UNPUNISHED. David is gone but not forgotten and I know you are the one to blame. ...
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