As soon as Brinks saw him, he began pulling her in that direction. Then Blake’s words drifted to her.
“I miss you, too...I know. It’s only temporary. I’ll be back home before you know it.”
She froze. Who was he talking to? Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, she tugged on Brinks’s leash. He didn’t cooperate.
A final sentence reached her before he disconnected the call. “I love you, too.”
Her chest tightened, and her stomach filled with lead. Was Blake leading a double life? While he was kissing her, was there someone who was waiting for him back in Texas? A girlfriend? Maybe even a wife, despite his denial that he was married. Yet another man with secrets. Big ones. A nauseating sense of déjà vu settled over her, and she closed her eyes. God, how could I have not known?
Maybe it was innocent. Maybe he was talking to a family member. Regardless of who it was, the overheard conversation left her with an important realization. She was nowhere near ready to let down her guard enough to trust someone.
Blake turned to face her, lips turned upward in a relaxed smile. As soon as his eyes met hers, his smile broadened. “I didn’t hear you come out.”
“I’m sneaky that way.”
She stepped forward, finally allowing Brinks to approach Blake, and he bent to give the dog a brisk, one-handed rub on the head and neck. His other still held the phone. Funny, he didn’t look like someone who had just been caught red-handed.
He glanced at the phone and shook his head. “Moms never stop worrying, no matter how old you are. But now she can go through her day knowing one of her kids is still kicking.”
Mom? He was talking to his mom? Relief swept through her, but it was tempered by reality. His stay in Cedar Key was temporary. He had just said so. Sometime soon, he would be leaving.
She forced a smile. “Worrying about her kids is a mom’s job.” At least his mom probably didn’t try to push him into a relationship every time they talked. Then again, maybe she did.
His gaze slid past her toward the house, and he frowned. “Did you know you have something taped to your front door?”
She spun to look. No, she didn’t know. Her attention had been on Blake when she walked out, and she had pulled the door shut without turning around. She hurried to the house, dread descending on her. In the bottom corner of the stained-glass panel was a sheet of paper folded in thirds, held in place by a single piece of tape. When she stepped onto the porch, she hesitated. Her intruder wore gloves. She knew that firsthand. But just in case...
She didn’t remove the page from the door. Instead, touching just the edges, she lifted the top fold and let the bottom fold fall open. It was the same black print as before, but this time it filled the sheet. The words sent a chill sweeping over her.
I told you to quit snooping, but you didn’t listen. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let it go.
Wait for my instructions. Follow them to a tee. If you don’t, I’ll know. You can’t hide anything from me. I see everything you do.
You’ve been warned. Twice. People who don’t heed warnings meet unpleasant ends.
She swallowed the icy knot that had formed in her throat and looked up at Blake. He had apparently been reading beside her. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark with fury.
She shook her head in confusion. Last night after she and Blake had talked, Blake left Brinks at her house and took her to dinner. Then he commandeered her laptop and picked up where he left off Sunday night, searching arrest records for Levy County. Jasmine had said Sandra’s boyfriend had taken off before getting himself arrested, so he might not have even had a Levy address. But it gave them somewhere to start.
She crossed her arms in front of her, suddenly feeling chilled in the damp morning air. “I don’t understand. How does he know what we’re doing?”
“Is your internet connection password protected?”
“It is, but the password is on the bottom of the modem. He could have copied it down when he was ransacking the house. He thought ahead enough to swap out the screws on the window latch, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Blake frowned. “For someone who knows what he’s doing, it wouldn’t be that difficult to hack into your computer. While I was searching arrest records, he may have been sitting nearby observing everything we were doing. And he obviously didn’t like it, which tells me we’re on the right track looking for Sandra’s boyfriend.”
“Well, if I have been hacked, that’s easy enough to fix. I’ll reset my password.”
Blake took Brinks’s leash from her. “I came to pick up Brinks, but I’m glad I got here when I did.”
Yeah, she was, too. Somehow the threats didn’t seem nearly as intimidating with Blake at her side. “Brinks can stay, though. My charter canceled late last night. But if you want to walk him, I’ll get that password changed.”
By the time Blake returned from Brinks’s walk, the task was done. He unclipped the leash and gave the dog a couple of pats.
“You know, we really need to call the police about the note. You should give them the other one, too.”
Before she could respond, her cell phone rang. It was her aunt. The conversation began with a profuse apology for the delay in returning the call.
“I’ve been out of the country for the past three weeks,” she explained. “I went on an African safari with three of my friends. It was a hoot. We spent several nights in a lodge where we could hear the calls of the wild animals right outside the walls. We took Jeeps through the savanna and even rode elephants.”
Allison smiled. Her aunt was just as she remembered her from those two trips to Cedar Key—chatty, adventuresome and a little eccentric. She obviously wasn’t sitting around feeling sorry for herself while her husband was running around with his young girlfriend.
Her aunt continued before she could comment. “But you didn’t call to hear all about my gallivanting. You wanted Sandy’s number.”
She jotted down the number and thanked her aunt.
“You’re welcome. But good luck on getting a call back. She doesn’t even return my calls most of the time. Ever since Eddie, that girl hasn’t been right.”
Allison gripped the phone more tightly, anticipation surging through her. “Eddie?”
“She called him Bear, but I refused to. It made him sound like an animal—big and hairy.”
“So Eddie was his real name?”
“Yep. I asked. Actually it was Edward, or Edwin. I can’t remember which.”
“Do you remember his last name?”
“No, I never asked.”
She drew in a deep breath. “Do you know about anything being kept in the newel post?” If there was some big Winchester family secret, her aunt would likely know.
“The newel post?”
“Yeah, at the house.”
“The house plans were in there.”
“Anything else?”
“Not that I know of.”
She seemed to be telling the truth. Maybe the elder Winchesters put the paper there, and it had remained a secret until discovered by someone else. Or maybe someone else put it there, and it had nothing to do with the Winchesters.
After disconnecting the call, she dialed her cousin’s phone. The outgoing message was one of those computer-generated ones. She left her name and number, then frowned at Blake.
“Now we wait. Again.”
“But it sounds like we have a first name.”
She nodded. “Edward. Or possibly Edwin.”
“That will help narrow it down. Bear obviously didn’t get us anywhere.”
Blake followed her into the living room and picked up the laptop. “I’ve got until noon. Then I’ve got to grab some lunch, shower, change and be at work by one.”
“First day on the job.” She
sat on the couch next to him, still holding the phone. Next, she would call the police.
“Yep. And I won’t make a very good impression if I’m late.”
Two hours later, he folded the screen down with a sigh. Bobby had collected both notes, but their internet search hadn’t yielded any more than it had on Sunday. An Edward Donaway had robbed a convenience store in Chiefland, and an Edward Harrison had been arrested for drunk driving. Both were too young to be Bear. The Edwins of Levy County seemed to be behaving themselves.
She walked with him to the door. “So, I guess I get to keep Brinks.”
“If you don’t mind. I could leave him on the boat, but six hours is a long time to be cooped up.”
“I don’t mind at all. He’ll be happier here. Even though I did almost kick him off the bed this morning.”
Blake raised his brows. “He’s sleeping in your bed?”
She gave him a sheepish grin. “I know, I’m spoiling him.”
“You’re going to turn him into a sissy.”
His tone was scolding, but there was nothing disapproving about the teasing smile he gave her.
He stepped onto the porch, then turned to face her again. The smile was gone. Instead, creases of worry made dual paths between his eyebrows. “Be careful. This latest note makes me really uneasy.”
“Yeah, me, too. I’ll keep the alarm set.”
She watched him move down the porch steps, then closed the door. As she punched the four numbers on the key pad, the action gave her a small sense of security. If anyone came into the house, the police would be there within minutes.
That sense of security lasted through the afternoon. When her phone rang shortly after six, she snatched it from her purse. Maybe Sandra was returning her call.
Instead of a number, Unavailable stretched across the screen. A sliver of unease shot through her as she pressed the phone to her ear. She spoke a tentative hello.
“Allison.”
The voice was so raspy, it was unrecognizable. A cold knot of fear settled in her chest. He knew her number. And he knew her name.
“You don’t listen well.” The words were heavy with an unspoken threat.
“What do you mean?”
“You and that boyfriend of yours. You’re still snooping.”
“When?”
“Today.”
This morning. Blake had spent two hours searching arrest records. How did the caller know?
He continued, as if he had read her mind. “I told you, I see everything you do. Now, listen carefully, because I’m only going to tell you once. There’s a bulletin board in front of City Hall. Post the information there tomorrow. Do it alone, and don’t tell anyone.”
She strained to catch every word, not just the words but the way he said them. There was the slightest hint of the familiar. If she could just keep him talking.
“That bulletin board is behind glass. It’s kept locked.”
“Tomorrow’s Thursday. Someone will be there to open it.”
“I already told you, I don’t have the paper. I gave it to the police.”
“You don’t have the paper, but you know what’s on it. And you’ve been working hard to solve the code. I have to say, the library idea was brilliant. Brilliant but wrong.”
Her breath whooshed out of her as if she had just been kicked. No one knew about that but Blake. Of course, no one knew about what they were doing this morning, either. Had he broken her trust? Had she taken him into her confidence, and he was blabbing it around town?
Worse yet, was he working with her stalker?
The caller didn’t wait for her to gather her wits.
“Now that I have your attention, do as I say by noon tomorrow. And remember, tell no one. Cross me, and you’ll find out you’re playing with fire.”
When he cut the connection, she sank onto the living room couch and sat staring at the phone, mind whirling. Blake had broken her trust. How could she have been so gullible, not once, but twice?
No. She laid the phone aside and squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t have been that wrong about Blake. He was a good man—honest, honorable, selfless.
As if to confirm, Brinks dropped to a seated position in front of her and rested a paw in her lap. She cupped his face in both hands and looked into his dark eyes, searching for answers. Could the same man who willingly gave up his dog to keep her safe be colluding with a crook?
She shot to her feet. There had to be some other explanation. The caller had said he sees everything she does. This morning, she and Blake had sat together on the living room couch. They had Sunday night also.
And the caller had seen them.
The miniblinds were closed. Which left only one possibility.
She gripped the trunk of the fake ficus tree and gave it a good shake. Nothing fell out. When she ran her hands through the branches, her fingers met nothing but stems and leaves.
Her gaze shifted to the wall decor mounted over the couch—a brass-framed mirror flanked by a pair of decorative wall sconces draped with ivy. Now that she looked closely, the arrangement of the ivy on the two pieces was no longer symmetrical. The greenery on the right wound over and around the brass base and flowed naturally over the edges, relaxed and casual. But the silk vines on the left had been shifted around and bunched, as if to hide something. She pushed the greenery aside to reveal a small black box. A camera.
Shock coursed through her. The same day he’d ransacked the house, he’d installed a hidden camera. Maybe more than one.
Definitely more than one. There was one in the library, too. She had no doubt.
She sank back onto the couch, mind reeling. Her stomach churned, and she crossed her arms in front of her. She couldn’t call Blake. Not on his first day on the job. But she would call Hunter. He would know what to do. The caller said not to tell anyone.
But she wasn’t facing this alone. She would talk to Hunter. When Blake finished work, she would talk to him, too. They would all put their heads together. And they would come up with a plan.
She couldn’t stop the smile that crept up her cheeks. Blake hadn’t broken her trust.
He was every bit the hero she had always thought him to be.
* * *
Blake pedaled down Dock Street, headed for First. It didn’t seem like that many hours ago that he had traveled the same route, but in the opposite direction.
He had gotten off work at seven last night, and at seven ten, his phone rang. Allison had found three cameras, one in the living room, one in the library and one in the den, each wireless. When he got to her house, Hunter and Bobby had just arrived. Bobby reported as the on-duty officer. Hunter came as a friend. After a brief search of her property, they found the accompanying digital recorder and monitor hidden in her gardening shed.
Blake shook his head. Someone was going to a lot of trouble to get his hands on that information. And that someone was more savvy than they had given him credit for. But hopefully today they would outsmart him.
Before they left Allison’s last night, they had it all arranged—before daybreak, a camera would be installed across the street from City Hall, aimed at the bulletin board. It was a perfect location. One end of the building was well maintained and housed a law office. The other was vacant, the former home of Lutterloh Store, established in 1872, according to the sign above the door. The dilapidated second-floor porch offered a great vantage point for viewing City Hall, and stairs up the side of the building gave easy access.
Blake leaned his bike against Allison’s porch. Moments after his knock, the door swung inward, and Allison stood framed in the opening. She gave him a friendly smile, but the usual sparkle in her eyes was gone. Tension emanated from her, and lines of fatigue were etched into her face.
“Are you all right?”
&n
bsp; She shrugged. “I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
His heart twisted. The constant upheaval, the threats, the violation of her privacy—it was all getting to her. And he wanted nothing more than to take her away. He frowned, his mind working. He couldn’t take her away permanently, but he could give her a reprieve.
“Still no charters today?”
“Nope. I have the whole day to myself.”
“Then come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m kidnapping you for the day.”
Her smile broadened, and a bit of the sparkle returned to her eyes. “Sounds interesting. I assume Brinks is included.”
“Of course. We can’t leave him out.”
“Is this okay?” She motioned at the shorts and button-up shirt she was wearing.
“It’s perfect. I’m thinking of taking you boating. My boat this time. Unless you’d rather do something else.”
“Boating sounds wonderful. I’ll be able to kick back and do absolutely nothing.” Her smile faded, and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “After I post that paper.”
“I’ll go up there with you.”
“You can’t. No one is supposed to know. I have to go alone.”
She was right. The note was clear. If she didn’t follow his instructions to a tee, he would hurt her. Maybe he was bluffing. But Blake wasn’t about to risk Allison’s safety to find out.
“Then let me ride up there ahead of you. I’ll go into the Artist Co-op. You won’t see me, but I’ll be watching you. When you get finished, head on down to the marina. I’ll be right behind you.”
She nodded, apparently satisfied. He’d rather stay with her, his arm draped across her shoulders, sending the message that no one was going to get to her without going through him. But watching her from the window of the Co-op was going to have to do.
“Well, if you’re ready, I’ll head on out.” She gave another nod, and he got on his bike and pedaled away, headed toward Second Street.
After stepping inside, he wandered around, looking at the items on display. The Cedar Keyhole Artist Co-op and Gallery was a place for local artists to display and sell their work, everything from paintings to pottery to metal and wood sculpting. From the looks of things, there was a lot of talent around Cedar Key.
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