“He sure does. But we’re not the only ones who are scared about the prospects about the future. Take Derek Dillon, for example.”
David’s forehead wrinkled. “What made you think of him?”
“My grandma showed me an ad in the paper this morning about the new housing development that Dillon Construction is putting up over on Monroe Street,” I said.
David nodded. “I heard about that. It’s supposed to be a tract of homes that people like you and I can actually afford.”
“Which just goes to show you how desperate the company has gotten for business since Tom Dillon was thrown in jail. My entire life, Dillon Construction has been building expensive homes for rich tourists. But now that Tom’s son is running the company, they are trying to appeal to the middle class.”
“I wonder if it’ll work.”
“Derek Dillon had better hope that it does. Because if it doesn’t, he might have no choice but to sell the company to Jake,” I said.
David exhaled. “Wouldn’t that be crazy?”
I nodded. “I’ll say. Three years ago, Jake and Tom were business partners. But now, Tom’s in jail and Jake could feasibly end up buying Tom’s company. Talk about surreal.”
David put his hand on my shoulder. “Look. I know that Jake has you all riled up, but there are still things to be happy about.”
“Well, yeah. I have you,” I said.
“You certainly do,” he replied. “Just know that whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”
“I know. And I’m very grateful for that.”
He looked deep into my eyes again.
“Why do I get the feeling that there’s something else you aren’t telling me?” he asked.
I bit the corner of my lip. “It’s not just the future that I’m worried about. I’ve been thinking about the past a lot recently, too.”
“You mean, about your sister?” David replied.
I nodded. “I mean, we’ve solved all these cases together, yet the biggest case of all is as cold as ever. It’s been eleven years, and we’re still no closer to finding out what happened to Jessica.”
He pulled me in close. “I know.”
“Even more, I don’t know what to do. Where to look. All I can think to do is pray,” I said.
“Sometimes, praying is the best thing you can do,” David replied.
“When is my prayer going to be answered, though?” I asked.
“I wish I could tell you that. But I do know that you have to keep believing,” David said.
Chapter Two
“You’re the best sister I could ever ask for,” Jessica Daley said.
I smiled wide. “That was going to be my line.”
“Sorry. That one is all mine. I’m afraid you’ll have to find another line to use,” Jessica said.
“Don’t worry. I have plenty more.”
A playful look came to Jessica’s face. “Oh yeah? Let’s hear one.”
“I’m so lucky to have you in my life,” I replied.
Jessica smiled. “I like that one.”
“The best part is that it’s the truth,” I replied.
Jessica leaned in and hugged me. “I love you, Sabrina.”
I held her tight. “I love you, too.”
I became so choked up as I watched the old video of my sister and me on my laptop that I had to close my computer. It took all the restraint that I had, but I was able to keep myself from breaking into tears.
I knew that it was important to head back to bed, but part of me was afraid to lay my head down on my pillow and close my eyes.
After all, the only reason I wasn’t asleep right then was because I’d had a nightmare about Jessica that caused me to wake up in a cold sweat.
When I had bad dreams, they were almost always variations of the same thing. I would hear Jessica calling out to me, begging for help. I would run toward the sound of her voice as fast as I could, but it was never quick enough. No matter what I did, I was never able to track her down. I would then wake up, feeling completely panicked until I realized that it had all been a dream.
This time, I was so shaken that I had decided to pull up some old videos of my sister and me on my laptop to calm my nerves.
I looked over at my phone. It was two in the morning. My brain was telling me that I had to get back to bed. If I didn’t get some sleep, I would be a complete wreck in the morning. At the same time, I couldn’t help but be filled with concern. Would another nightmare be waiting for me when I drifted off?
Just then, Snickerdoodle, my pet corgi, pulled my head from the clouds. He came out of the bedroom, stopped in front of me, and barked.
“No, Doodle, it’s too early for breakfast,” I said.
I had no choice now. If I didn’t go back to bed, Snickerdoodle would keep hounding me for food. I couldn’t feed him at this hour. It set a horrible precedent. Then he would think it would be perfectly fine to start bugging me for breakfast at two o’clock every morning.
I got up from the couch and started walking back to my bedroom.
It was hard to resist the super cute look in Snickerdoodle’s eyes, but I had to. Doodle barked at me again.
“I’m sorry, but breakfast isn’t for a few more hours,” I said.
I entered my bedroom, curled up on my mattress, closed my eyes, and hoped for the best.
Chapter Three
Thankfully, I didn’t end up having another nightmare. That said, I also didn’t sleep all that well, either. I woke up in the morning feeling as groggy as could be.
Although, I could take comfort in the fact that I had the day off from work. It was hard enough dragging myself over to Daley Buzz for a morning shift when I had a full night of sleep under my belt. That morning, I was in no mood to sling coffees and put on smiles for customers.
What I really wanted was to sleep in a little. Before I could do that, I needed to call David. We had a breakfast date scheduled. When he didn’t pick up his phone, I left him a voicemail.
“Hi, honey. Breakfast really isn’t going to work for me today. Can we push that back to brunch, or even lunch? Call me back,” I said.
When I finished leaving my message, I shot him a text. He didn’t always check his voicemail right away, but he was pretty good at returning texts in a hurry.
Once I sent off the text message, I rolled over in bed to get some more shut-eye. Unfortunately, Snickerdoodle did not look like he intended to let me get even a second of extra sleep.
Doodle didn’t just jump up on my bed. He stuck his cold, wet nose right in my face and began whining.
“I get it, Doodle. You’re hungry,” I said.
Snickerdoodle wagged his tail.
I let out a sigh.
There was no use resisting Doodle. I knew him too well. He would just keep on whining until he got what he wanted.
Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed, headed into the kitchen, and opened up a can of wet food for him.
Snickerdoodle wolfed the whole thing down then looked up at me again.
I knew what that meant. There was no going back to sleep for me. Doodle wanted a walk.
Surprisingly, I managed to do a few laps around the block with Snickerdoodle without getting a single text or return phone call from David.
That was very odd.
I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
My instincts were telling me that I needed to check up on David.
I got dressed and headed over to my boyfriend’s place.
When I arrived at his house, I didn’t see his car in the driveway. I decided to knock on his front door anyway, but it was to no avail. He didn’t answer.
This situation was getting stranger by the minute. Especially when I called David’s phone again and he didn’t pick up.
Before panic set in, I decided to call the police station and see if he was there.
Dispatch forwarded my call to the phone that was at David’s desk. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up.
I decided to call dispatch again, this time asking for Robin Lynch. She worked one desk over from David at the station.
With all the time that I spent visiting my boyfriend at the police department over the years, Robin and I had become good friends. If anyone knew where David was at the moment, it would be her.
Thankfully, my instincts proved to be right.
“David’s out on a call,” Robin said.
Chapter Four
Robin gave me the location of where the 9-1-1 had originated. Unfortunately, she did not have a huge amount of other details at her disposal. Just that something suspicious had been found at the work site where Dillon Construction was building a new tract of homes.
As I drove to Monroe Street, my mind went off in a number of different directions. I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of suspicious thing had been found. But my curiosity didn’t end there. I was also trying to figure out why I hadn’t heard from David.
When I reached Monroe Street, another thought hit me. I imagined that Derek Dillon was probably pulling his hair out. He was dealing with enough bad news already without finding a suspicious object at his construction site. Derek’s father, Tom, was in jail, the family company was a shell of its former glory, and Jake Williamson was just waiting for any slip-up to buy the company for pennies on the dollar.
This planned residential development could represent the last stand for the company. If this tract of homes sold out, Dillon Construction could claw its way back to profitability under Derek’s leadership. But if these homes proved to be a bust, the company could turn into Williamson Construction in a hurry.
It was too early to tell how the homes would do. To start, there weren’t any houses completed yet. The construction company was mostly just laying down foundations at the moment.
As I arrived at the plot of land where the tract of homes was being built, I couldn’t help but think that the location was rather odd. This was a rural stretch on the outskirts of town. Hardly prime real estate. Then again, building this far out probably meant that Dillon Construction was able to purchase the land for cheap.
I spotted David’s squad car parked next to a few construction vehicles. The police department’s forensics van was also on the scene.
A crowd of construction workers and law enforcement officials were gathered at one particular section of the land that was very close to the road.
I parked my car next to David’s squad car and got out.
My mind was really racing now. What was going on?
Before I was able to walk over to the crowd, David saw me and immediately darted in my direction. But not in a way that indicated he was happy to see me. Instead, he looked horrified that I was there.
I wondered why he was so frantic.
David was wide eyed as he reached me. “What are you doing here?”
My forehead wrinkled as I craned my neck to look behind David. “What’s going on over there?”
David waggled his pointer finger back and forth at me. “You really shouldn’t be here.”
“I was just worried about you,” I replied. “We were supposed to have breakfast together—”
David quickly looked at his watch. “Right. I’m sorry. I forgot about that.”
“That part doesn’t matter,” I said. “What really scared me was when you didn’t answer your phone.”
“As you can tell, I have been a little busy.”
I nodded. “I can see that.” I stared deep into his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Can we talk about this later? I’m in the middle of something big.”
“Big, huh? How big?”
David grimaced as he saw the curious expression on my face.
“I can’t really talk about it, but I’ll give you a call later. You should go now,” David said.
I scrunched my nose. “Why aren’t you telling me what’s going on? If you’re working on a case, I might be able to help you.”
He stared me down. “Please just go home.”
The look in his eyes made my skin crawl.
“David. What is it? Please tell me,” I said.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” he replied.
“I’m not so sure about that. You look scared,” I said. “But you’re never scared.”
David took a dismissive tone with me. “I’m fine.”
“David, I know you,” I said. “You don’t look fine.”
“You should go,” he replied.
A look of resolve came to my face. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s police business,” he replied.
No. It was more than that. There was something that he didn’t want me to see. I could feel it in my bones. My instincts were telling me not to go anywhere.
I craned my neck to look behind David.
Eric Stewart, the balding, bespectacled, pear-shaped medical examiner, was crouching in front of what looked like a human skeleton.
My face contorted. “Wait a minute. Is that a skeleton—?”
David groaned. Realizing that he couldn’t get rid of me, he finally fed me some information. “The construction crew was doing some digging. They stopped when they hit something solid. Upon closer inspection, they realized that a human skeleton was buried in the ground.”
I recoiled. “That’s awful.”
David grimaced. “It’s certainly not the best start to a work day.”
“Do you have any idea how long that skeleton has been buried there?” I asked.
“I don’t have any definitive answers, but Eric thinks it might have been a while.”
“How about the identity of that skeleton? Do you know—?”
David cut me off. “Eric is examining the skeleton right now.”
“That wasn’t my question,” I said. “Has he found anything that might be able to point him to the identity of that skeleton?”
David took a deep breath. “Sabrina, you should sit down.”
A harrowing look was in David’s eyes as I stared at him.
I tensed up. “Why?”
David pleaded with me. “Please. Just go back into your car and sit down.”
My nose crinkled. “David, why are you acting so strange?”
A sense of desperation came to his voice. “I’m begging you here.”
The panic was building inside David. I saw it in his eyes.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I said.
“The forensics team found an object hanging around the skeleton’s neck,” David replied.
“What kind of object?”
David took a moment before replying. “A heart-shaped locket.”
My muscles tensed up. That was followed by a shiver going down my spine. My mouth hung open, but I didn’t say a word.
When I didn’t reply for a few seconds, David spoke up. “Sabrina—”
“Did you just say a heart-shaped locket?” I asked.
David nodded.
My eyes were as wide as saucers. I almost tripped over my words as I responded. “The locket…does it have the initials ‘J’ and ‘D’ engraved on the back?”
“The markings are faded a great deal, but yes, it does appear that ‘J’ and ‘D’ are engraved on the back.”
It was impossible not to think of my sister at that moment. Not just because of the fact that the skeleton had a heart-shaped locket around its neck, but because of the engraving. Those were very specific details. The sort of things that made me doubt that the skeleton could belong to anyone else.
After all, Treasure Cove was not home to many missing-persons cases. Even more, of all the people that had gone missing in this town and had never been found, how many of them owned heart-shaped lockets with engravings on the back?
I instinctually began to rub the heart-shaped locket I always wore around my neck. Jessica had given it to me for my birthday one year. I hadn’t taken it off since.
I knew what I had to say to David, but I had trouble getting the words ou
t. Finally, after a few moments, I was able to vocalize my question.
“Are you saying…could that really be Jessica?”
David was slow to answer. There was an uncomfortable look in his eyes as he remained quiet.
“David, tell me,” I said.
He nodded. “Yes. There is a chance.”
I broke into tears. “Oh no. Please don’t let that be her. Please tell me that’s someone else.”
David pulled me in close and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so sorry.”
“No…please no.”
“Sabrina, don’t cry. We don’t know the identity of the skeleton yet. There isn’t conclusive evidence that the skeleton is your sister,” David said. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you what we’d found. The lab still has to do a number of tests before they can be sure of anything.”
A sinking feeling was in my stomach. “No. It’s her.”
“You don’t know that,” David replied.
“It all makes sense. The nightmares I have been having. The sense of dread that I haven’t been able to shake. The feelings I have been getting that something horrible was about to happen.”
“Look. I know how this looks, but there’s a chance that this isn’t Jessica.”
I stared long and hard at the skeleton. “That’s what you say, but my instincts are telling me otherwise. And you know that my gut is rarely wrong.”
“Sabrina, I’m begging you. Before you jump to any conclusions, please let the lab run their tests first.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of the skeleton. The more I looked at it, the stronger my feelings got. “It’s her. It’s Jessica.”
Chapter Five
David tried to comfort me the best that he could, but I was practically inconsolable. It took me twenty minutes and a lot of deep breathing before I was able to even stop crying. I just couldn’t shake the feeling in my gut that the skeleton belonged to Jessica.
David was reserving his judgment until he got more facts. That would take some time. It also put him in an uncomfortable position.
As my boyfriend, David wanted to just stay with me all day and try to comfort me. But as a detective, he had a job to do.
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 56
