“That’s good to hear. Listen, I have a question and it’s personal, but I’m going to ask it anyway if that’s okay.”
“Got no secrets, boy.” He slurped on a liquid, then cleared his throat. “Ask away.”
“It’s about your other children. Were you able to retrieve their bodies after the earthquake and bury them?”
“Bury them, you say? Who you been talking to? Shauna? She don’t remember that time even half right.”
“What do you mean?”
“My poor babies were dead when they were hauled out of the ruins. It just took a few days, maybe a week, to get confirmation.”
“But did you identify their bodies?”
“I didn’t have no money for burials, so the state took care of it.”
“But did you see the bodies?”
A long pause followed. “You implying I’m lying, boy?”
“Of course not. But I was reading about the disaster, and CPS had trouble finding the families of some of the children. I just wondered if it was possible there was a mix-up is all.” He held his breath and waited.
Something in Lewis’s vehement denials left a bad taste in his mouth. Zach had expected Lewis to grow maudlin about the family he’d lost, but he’d been, well, defensive. That was the only word to describe his tone.
Lewis let loose a long round of cursing. The next moment the phone went silent.
“Hello? Lewis, you there?” Zach pulled the phone away and looked at it. No connection. Lewis had hung up on him.
Lewis’s reaction struck Zach as odd. He was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter 9
The night was dark with clouds covering the moon. He parked his truck on the road and crept through the pine and birch trees to the clearing that opened up at her house. No lights shone in the windows, but he assumed she’d be asleep at three in the morning. He felt sharp and alert with anticipation.
She had to have it. The Glennon woman wouldn’t have given it to anyone else, and it was the only explanation for the way she’d tried to trick him. She’d recognized its importance and had to have given it to Shauna McDade.
The grass was slippery with dew as he hurried to the porch and peered in the large prow-shaped windows. Darkness cloaked the interior, and he saw only the dim glow of the clock on the microwave at the back of the great room. He’d checked the architectural drawings for the house and knew the master bedroom was to the left of the great room and two guest rooms were to the right.
He’d grab the kid first. The woman would do whatever he wanted to save her son. Not that it would make any difference to the outcome. He hated having to hurt a kid, though. At times like this he wondered if he should just let the chips fall and vamoose for a country that wouldn’t extradite to the United States. Crazy talk. He wasn’t about to allow that to happen, even if the tasks before him turned unpleasant. Too much money was riding on this. And his future happiness.
He’d come too far to lose it all now.
He could jimmy the door, but it would probably scare her more if she heard the glass breaking and came out to find him already with the kid. Raising his tire iron, he brought it down on the glass, then reached inside and unlocked the door. In moments, he was outside the boy’s room. He flipped on the light and moved to the bed. Empty.
He stood perplexed. Maybe the kid was sleeping with her. That was unfortunate. He turned and ran for the master bedroom. He pulled out his knife, ready for the attack, but when he entered the bedroom, he found it empty as well.
Where could she be at this hour? He went back to the great room to the kitchen area and opened the door to the garage. Empty.
Rage nearly choked him, and he spun on his heels and slammed the tire iron down on the table. The resulting crack felt satisfying, and he gritted his teeth. He’d show Shauna what would happen to her and the kid if she didn’t give him back his property. He whipped around the kitchen smashing everything he could find. When he was finished, he stopped and wiped perspiration from his forehead.
Maybe the box was still here. She might have just gone out for the night to Marilyn’s or a friend’s. If that were the case, she might not have taken it. He made a systematic search of the entire house, upending drawers and ripping open the bellies of stuffed animals. Nothing!
Rage surged again, and he grabbed his tire iron. Let’s see how she liked having her possessions taken from her.
An hour later his chest heaved from exertion, but it was done. Needing to hear his sweetheart’s voice, he pulled out his phone. His pulse calmed when she answered. “Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was lying here thinking about you.”
He smiled. “She wasn’t here, but I left her an explicit message. Now tell me what we’re going to do as soon as we hit the beach.”
Shauna’s phone woke her from sleep. No light came through the blinds so she glanced at the time. Who on earth was calling at 5:00 a.m.? She peered at the screen, then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Sheriff, what’s wrong?”
“Someone broke into your house, Shauna. The front door is standing open. I had a deputy drive by every few hours, and he called in the report fifteen minutes ago. I’m sorry to say the place is trashed.”
“Trashed?” Holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder, she pulled on her jeans. “I’ll be right there.”
“We’ll want to know if anything was taken.”
“You think the person who killed Lucy and Clarence did this?”
“If they’re related. Lucy lived in a rough area, so I need to investigate every angle. I also had a deputy go by Marilyn’s. Her place appears undisturbed.”
Praise God.
“I’m sure it’s all related. Talk to you in a few minutes.” She ended the call and pulled a sweatshirt over her head. Her hair was braided so she left it alone, and she jammed her feet into slip-ons and opened her door.
She nearly collided with Zach in the doorway. “Whoa, sorry.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” His eyes widened as she recounted what the sheriff said. “Good thing you and Alex weren’t there.”
She hadn’t stopped to count her blessings in that department. “You’re right. He might have hurt Alex.” She shook off his hand. It felt way too intimate to be standing close with him in basketball shorts with no shirt.
“I need to get over there. Will you watch Alex?” She started past him.
He blocked her way. “Sure, unless you want me to grab him and come with you.”
“I’d rather he didn’t see it. This might deflect gossip too. I’ll be able to say we needed a place to stay until things can be repaired.”
“People will talk no matter what we say. If you need me, text or call and I’ll take Alex to play with Jermaine’s kids.” A smile flickered on his face in the dim light starting to break through the blinds. “I’ll even endure Marilyn’s wrath and take him there.”
“Brave man.” She eased past him, catching a sensation of heat from his bare skin.
He followed her to the front door, where she grabbed her denim jacket from the hall closet. “Let me know what it looks like.”
She nodded and stepped out into a dew-scented yard. A few lights were on up and down the street as people prepared to go to work. The cold seat made her shiver as she started the engine. The thought of what she might find filled her with dread. It was too much to hope that it had been a random break-in. All these crimes had to be connected.
Squad car lights flashed from several deputy cars parked in Shauna’s drive. The rising sun shot shades of magenta and orange across the sky just over the treetops. The front door stood open, but even as she got out of the vehicle, she saw the window in the door was smashed. Whoever broke in wasn’t worried about being heard. Did that mean he knew she wasn’t staying there or he didn’t care if he warned her before he entered?
The sheriff turned as glass crunched under her shoes. “Sorry to call you out so early, Shauna.”
&nbs
p; “It’s not your fault.” Her stomach did a nosedive as she looked around at the devastation.
Someone had picked up chairs and thrown them randomly. The legs on most of the small tables were broken. Nearly every vase or piece of glass was shattered. It seemed as if he had taken a baseball bat to the clock and pictures that had been on the wall.
“It’s worse in your bedroom.”
How was that possible? She followed Everett to her room, where she found everything out of the drawers and all the clothes off hangers, heaped on the floor of the closet. “I thought maybe he was searching for something, but this looks like rage.”
In a trancelike state, she followed the sheriff all through the house. No room had been spared, not even Alex’s. The intruder had even cut up all his stuffed animals. She’d make sure he never saw this destruction.
She curled her fingers into fists until her nails bit into her palms. “There was no reason to do this.” Pain pulsed in her head, and she rubbed her temple.
“I think the thug was sending a message that he could do whatever he wants.”
She trailed Everett to the kitchen and looked around at the broken pottery and glasses. “I’ll need to replace everything.” Was the insurance even up-to-date? She’d cut expenses everywhere she could, so the thought that she might not have insurance terrified her.
But no. The bank paid that yearly as part of her escrow payment. Even though she was a little behind on the mortgage, the insurance had been paid four months ago.
She reached down to pick up a broken plate, part of her wedding china. “What does the psycho want?”
“It could have been kids or something random.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at the sheriff. “You can’t still be saying that kind of thing. Clarence and Lucy are dead and now this. All these crimes are related—they have to be.”
He pursed his lips. “You might be right, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions.”
“I think Lucy didn’t tell her killer what was in the box or where it was. The guy is still looking for it.”
“Maybe. I’m still going over everything in the box. The key might be important, but I don’t know what it unlocks yet. I’m working on it.”
She exhaled. The box’s contents had not been anything earth-shattering. “It makes no sense. Have you found out anything about the necklace?”
His black hair, shiny with product, glistened under the glare of the overhead light as Everett shook his head. He glanced at his watch. “The owner of one of the jewelry stores on my list told me it looked like the work of a Haida artisan who used to display her things in her shop. She gave me the artist’s name, but I haven’t been able to track her down yet.”
“A woman?”
He nodded. “Dorothy Edenshaw.”
Where had she heard that name before? Maybe her father would know. She would have to go see him and show him the picture of the necklace, though it seemed highly unlikely it was her mother’s. She had to know the truth for her own sanity.
Chapter 10
Alex chattered to Zach all through their breakfast of pancakes cooked in the shape of Mickey Mouse, and he didn’t seem upset by his mother’s absence. Zach relaxed in his chair and listened to the boy prattle on. He’d missed the little guy so much. His two dogs didn’t move from their watchful gaze at Alex’s feet, and the boy dropped bits of pancake for them. Weasley was hiding again, this time in Alex’s room. Zach blew his nose, then took some allergy medicine.
Alex swallowed the last of his milk, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Can we go to your church this morning? I haven’t gone with you in a long time.”
“I don’t think your mom would mind. I’ll text her and let her know.” Zach ruffled the boy’s hair. “You need to get dressed, though. I don’t think your camo pajamas are church attire. But we’ll need to hurry. Sunday school starts in forty-five minutes, and it will take us fifteen to get there. So you’ve got thirty minutes.”
“I can do that!” Alex jumped to his feet and headed for the bathroom.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” Zach called after him. He picked up the plates, sticky with maple syrup, and rinsed them under the faucet before placing them in the dishwasher.
Had Shauna even noticed he’d redone the kitchen? The last time she was here, the cabinets were still the old pine ones. He’d made the sleek black shaker cabinets himself, and a buddy had installed the quartz countertops that mimicked marble. Zach had put up a marble subway backsplash and laid travertine floor tiles. It looked pretty good, but she hadn’t said a word about it.
But why would she after the day she’d had? A kitchen remodel didn’t even deserve a remark after losing Clarence and Lucy.
He clicked the latch on the dishwasher and started it, then went to pick up the living room after last night’s Pac-Man marathon. Near the spot where Shauna had sat, he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from the crack where the cushion met the arm of the sofa. He didn’t remember looking at mail there, but he opened up the single sheet and smoothed it out to read it.
The heading was from the local bank, Lavender Tides Savings and Loan. He scanned half of it, then realized it was addressed to Shauna. She was behind on her loan for the helicopter. By three months. They were going to start legal action to claim her chopper if she didn’t get caught up in fifteen days.
He clenched his fists and sighed. Poor Shauna had a heavier load than most could bear. What could he do to help? Paying the debt would be easy for him, but how did he help and still keep her pride intact? She wouldn’t take assistance from him if she had a choice. Especially not from him. And why hadn’t Jack taken better care of her? He was an accountant, for Pete’s sake! He should have left adequate insurance.
The lock snicked on the front door, and he quickly pushed the paper back into the crevice where he’d found it before Shauna entered the house. He picked up the empty glasses and turned toward the door as the pine-scented wind practically shoved her inside.
“Whew, it’s blowing like a hurricane out there.” The wind had tugged strands of dark hair out of her braid, and the cool air had chapped her cheeks. Worry marred her face in a frown and the press of her lips.
“Was it bad?”
She shrugged out of her jacket. “You can’t even imagine. The entire place is destroyed. It’s like whoever broke in wanted me to know how upset he was. Every dish and glass was shattered in the kitchen.” Her eyes filled with moisture. “I don’t even know how to tell Alex that all his toys were ruined. I wouldn’t want him to see the way the intruder took a knife to his stuffed animals. It was bizarre and horrifying.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Even the box of wedding mementos was ripped open and scattered. He tore several pictures in two.”
“I’m sorry.” He wanted to comfort her, but any encouraging words died on his tongue. “I’d like to replace some of Alex’s things. And if you’re hungry, there’s a pancake left. It just needs to be warmed in the microwave.”
“I might do that.” She went past him to the kitchen on the other side of the great room. “I don’t even know where to start at the house.”
His thoughts shot to the bank letter. “What about insurance? Is the damage covered?”
Relief lit her eyes, and she nodded. “It’s paid in my escrow. Fully up-to-date.” She bit her lip as though she realized she might have given away too much information about her financial circumstances. “I mean, that’s the way it usually works. I’m sure they paid it on time so there’s no worry. I have a call in to my agent to start the process. I think the insurance is pretty good—replacement, I think. Jack wanted the best when we got the house, and I never changed it. So I hope I won’t be out anything.”
He watched her heat up the pancake and drizzle maple syrup on it. “I’ll get you some coffee.”
She carried her plate to the farm-style table in the dining area and settled in the seat he usually used. “It’s a good thing we weren’t there.�
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He set the coffee in front of her, then carried his own to the other side of the table where he could see her face. “I had a feeling the guy would be back.” Should he tell her he’d called her dad last night? “Listen, I hope you’re not upset, but I was really curious about the history you told me last night. I did a little looking around, and as far as I can tell, there’s no mention in the newspapers of the deaths of your brother and sister.”
Her eyes widened, and she put down her fork. “That can’t be right.”
“I called your dad. He was a little defensive.”
“Defensive? What do you mean?”
“I asked him if the saw the bodies, and he asked if I was implying he was a liar.”
“He’d probably been drinking.” She took a bite of pancake, then washed it down with coffee. “That’s ancient history anyway, Zach. I’m not sure what you were trying to find out.”
“Your mom’s necklace is ancient history too. The past has a way of rising up and stepping into view when we least expect it.”
Her green eyes were pensive as she studied him over the rim of her coffee cup. “I need to talk to him about that necklace anyway. I thought I’d go out today.”
“How about we go to church first? Alex wants to go to mine.” They all used to attend the same church, but she’d stopped after Jack’s death. He wasn’t sure she’d ever found another.
She winced. “That will set the tongues to wagging.”
“We can talk about how your house is totally destroyed. That should calm any speculation.”
She put down her coffee. “If you say so. I’d better change and do something with this rat’s nest hair.”
Shauna dabbed her eyes and willed the frantic pounding of her heart to settle. For the past year she’d struggled to even think about going to church. She’d been afraid she would sit and cry, but so what? Everyone had been wonderful since she’d stepped inside the door this morning. There’d been tears, yes, but good ones. People here loved her, and she should have known better. Her natural inclination had been to huddle in her house to lick her wounds like some animal. It had been the wrong decision.
The View from Rainshadow Bay Page 7