The Potters, she thought. They must have been the family friends Jessie had mentioned had used to live in her house. “I’m sorry, I don’t see what you’re getting at,” she said, frowning. “I’m so sorry for your brother’s death, but I wasn’t aware it had anything to do with my home.”
As she said it, she began to feel stupid. Of course it had something to do with her. Her terrible luck aside, what were the chances that Iggy would have decided to go for a walk by her house in the middle of the night during a snowstorm the same day his sister had come over for an impromptu ghost hunting session? The fact that she hadn’t connected the two things before only made her realize how frazzled she was.
“I don’t know the details, but my guess is Jessie dragged Iggy out to your house with stories of ghosts. Things have been… strained between the three of us since our mother’s death. She was rather well off, and Jessie feels that her possessions were divided unfairly in the will. Iggy inherited something of great value from her, and with Jessie’s money problems, well, I’m not surprised things ended up how they did. I don’t think she has any reason to hurt you, but if you hear from her again, can you contact me immediately? Here’s my business card.”
He handed her a card. Ellie took it and placed it on the table, staring at it for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. “Are you saying you think Jessie killed your brother?” she asked, her eyes widening as his words sank in.
“I don’t have any proof, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.” Mark sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes with one hand. For the first time, Ellie noticed how tired he looked. It’s no wonder, she thought. He lost his mother and his brother in such a short span of time, and he believes his sister was responsible for one of the deaths. “I have no idea where Jessie’s staying. She probably paid in cash, so there’s no way to track her down, and she hasn’t been answering her phone. Just be careful. I don’t want her to hurt anyone else.”
Ellie stared at him, not sure what to say. Jessie a killer? It didn’t fit with what she knew of the other woman, but really, what did she know about her? What did she know about Mark, for that matter? Could she trust him?
“I’ll be careful,” she promised at last. “And I’ll let you know if I see her again.”
He nodded once. “Thanks. I’ll get out of your hair now. You seem like a good woman, and I’m sorry my sibling involved you in all of this.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ellie drove home late that evening with her mind full of thoughts about Jessie and her siblings. She knew that Russell would want to know what Mark had said, and she was already mentally drafting their conversation. She didn’t think she had it in her to argue against his coming home early again. The simple truth was, it would be nice to have him there. This was all getting to be a bit too much for her to want to handle on her own.
She parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the front door, fiddling with the keys until she found the right one. She slid it into the deadbolt and turned it, then frowned. The deadbolt was already undone. I probably just forgot to lock it on my way out the door this morning, she told herself. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin. No, she knew she had locked it. She was always careful about locking up behind her — living with the sheriff would do that to anyone — and had been doubly careful about it the past few days.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that she could hear the dogs on the other side of the door — punctuated by a call from Marlowe; the bird knew from the commotion the dogs were making that she was home — she probably would have turned around and gotten right back in her car to call Bethany. Instead, worried about the animals, she pushed the door open. Sawyer and Bunny mobbed her just inside the door. She crouched down to pet them, making sure that both of them were unhurt. If someone had broken in, at least they hadn’t done anything to the dogs.
She stood up, still feeling uncomfortable. How could someone have gotten in the house with the doors and windows all locked? The only other people with a key in town were Shannon and James, and neither of them would have stopped by without telling her about it. For that matter, who would have broken in with Sawyer barking like mad? He wouldn’t hurt a fly, but most people wouldn’t know that —
Ellie’s train of thought broke off as the obvious answer occurred to her. Jessie. The other woman had visited the day before and knew that the dogs were friendly. That wouldn’t explain how she had unlocked the deadbolt from outside, and it was still just a guess that someone had even been in the house at all, but Ellie was certain that the door had been locked when she left.
“Let’s go check the house, guys,” she said to the dogs. “Then I’ll put you out and get you dinner.” At the word ‘dinner,’ their ears perked up.
She searched the bottom floor of the house for any sign that someone had forced entry, but found nothing obvious. There were a few things here and there that seemed out of place, but she didn’t know if it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She had almost convinced herself that the entire thing was all in her head and she had forgotten to lock the front door that morning when, walking past the bottom of the stairs, she felt a draft.
A sharp whistle called Sawyer’s attention back to her, and she went upstairs with the big dog at her heels. Even before she saw it, something told her what she would find. The trapdoor to the attic was open, the ladder down, and a cold breeze was coming in from above.
Ellie had been on edge a lot over the past few days, but nothing could compare to the chill she felt in her veins at the sight of the open attic door. The sudden certainty that someone had been in her house, might still be in her house, stole her breath away. She stood frozen in place for long seconds before a nudge from Sawyer jolted her into action. She ran downstairs and grabbed her phone, dialing the number for the police with shaking hands.
“I checked every nook and cranny, and no one’s here,” Bethany said an hour later. Ellie, who had been waiting nervously in the kitchen, felt herself relax fractionally.
“Thank goodness,” she breathed. “What happens next?”
“I’ll make sure you’ve got an officer keeping watch for the rest of the night. If you can think of anyone who might have had motive to break in, give me their name and any information you have.”
“I do know someone who might have done it.” She told the deputy what she knew about Jessie. “But how did she even get in in the first place?”
“It looks like she came in through the attic window, oddly enough. The tree behind your house is perfect for climbing, and there is a trail in the snow on the roof leading from the largest limb over to the attic window. Do you have any idea why she might have broken in?”
“She’s obsessed with the paranormal, and she thinks my house might be haunted,” Ellie said. At Bethany’s disbelieving look, she shrugged. “I honestly don’t have the slightest idea other than that.”
“Well, if you think of anything, let me know. Do you have someone who can stay with you tonight?”
“I’ll call my friend Joanna,” Ellie told her. “She’d probably be willing to come over. And I’m sure Russell will come home tomorrow. I’m going to end up giving the poor guy a heart attack one of these days.”
“That would be a shame, it would be a pain to find a new sheriff.” Bethany smiled to show that she was joking, then gave Ellie a serious look. “Are you sure you’re okay with me leaving now? Do you want me to wait until your friend gets here?”
“I’ll be fine,” the pizzeria owner promised. “I’m going to call Joanna, then I’m going to call Russell. By the time I get off the phone with him, Joanna will probably be here. And so will the officer who will be watching the house tonight, right?”
The deputy nodded. “If you have any trouble, all you’ll have to do is shout.”
“I can manage that,” Ellie said. “Thanks for getting out here so quickly. I wish the person who broke in had still been here, so all of this could just be over.”
Bethany gave her a strang
e look. “You really wish you’d been alone in the house with this person?”
Ellie shivered. “On second thought, maybe not.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ellie’s prediction had been wrong; she was still talking to Russell by the time Joanna pulled into the driveway. She opened the front door for her friend, waved to the officer across the street to let him know it was all right, then made an apologetic face at Joanna as the other woman came inside.
“I should get going,” she said into the phone. “Joanna just got here.”
“All right, if you’re absolutely sure you’re safe. Are you sure you don’t want me to come on the earlier flight tomorrow?”
“I really can’t take the time off of work,” she said. “The flight won’t get in until noon, and I’m supposed to be working in the morning. The schedule has been crazy enough this week as it is. It’s not fair of me to switch the shifts around last minute all the time and expect my employees to be able to cover them, just because I’m the boss. I’ll be able to pick you up tomorrow evening. That will give you the day to catch more of the conference.”
“What if whoever broke in comes back while you’re at work?”
“Joanna said she’ll stay here during the day, and the police are going to be doing drive-bys every hour. Bethany told me that this is a high-priority case, due to the man who passed away here last night.”
“I wish I could find an earlier flight.” He sighed. “All right, I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Let me know if anything else happens, okay?”
“I will,” she promised. “I’m sorry you have to come home early from the conference.”
“It’s not your fault at all. Don’t feel bad, okay? Just take care of yourself. And tell Joanna to be careful too. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“We’ll be fine,” she promised.
They said their goodbyes and she ended the call, turning to her friend with an apologetic smile on her face. “I didn’t mean for that to take so long. He’s got to fly back in to Portland, and he needs me to pick him up. Neither of the available flights was at a great time.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Joanna said. “From what you told me, you’ve had a crazy day. You’ve gotta fill me in. What exactly has been going on since our girls’ night in?”
Ellie led the way into the kitchen to pour them each a glass of wine as she began telling Joanna the story.
The night passed without further incident. Ellie spotted a police cruiser driving by the house twice as she got ready for work, so it seemed like Bethany had been right when she had promised Ellie the house would be watched throughout the day. She still felt bad leaving Joanna there alone, but her friend didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s like a mini-vacation,” she said as she said goodbye to the pizzeria owner. “There’s pizza in the fridge, movies by the TV, and a couple of cute pooches to hang out with. I’ll be living it up while you’re slaving away over the stove all day.”
“You have the number for the police, right? If you see anyone suspicious, anyone at all, don’t hesitate to call. Remember, the break-in could be related to the murder, so don’t take any chances.”
“I’ll be fine,” her friend promised. “Go to work. You’re going to be late.”
Ellie glanced at the time and winced. Joanna was right, she was cutting it close. With one last wave goodbye, she turned and walked over to her car. Only a few more hours until her husband was back in town. She had no doubts that Russell would get to the bottom of the mystery quickly, and things would then go back to normal.
She almost wasn’t surprised when she got the call from Joanna a few hours later. Even before picking up the phone, something told her that her friend was calling with bad news.
“Hey, Ellie,” Joanna said when she answered. “I don’t want you to freak out, but someone just broke a kitchen window. The police are here and no one’s hurt, but whoever did it got away.”
Ellie groaned and leaned her forehead against the stainless-steel fridge. “Give me half an hour and I’ll head over,” she said. “Whoever’s behind all of this is determined to get inside, and I want to be there if they try again.”
Chapter Fifteen
By the time Ellie got home, the police had gone. Joanna was sweeping up the broken glass when she walked into the kitchen.
“Here, let me do that,” the pizzeria owner said. “Tell me what happened.”
“I was in the living room on my laptop when I heard the sound of breaking glass and the dogs started freaking out. I ran into the kitchen to see someone reaching through the window, trying to unlock the door. When they saw me, they took off running. I called the police, and you know the rest.”
“Did you get a good look at the person?”
Joanna shook her head. “Whoever it was was wearing a ski mask. It all happened so fast, and I was freaking out. I know you warned me they might come back, but I didn’t think something like this would actually happen.”
Ellie dumped the broken glass in the garbage can, then took some damp paper towels and ran them across the floor to pick up the smaller shards she might have missed. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’m going to stick around here until it’s time for me to go pick Russell up this evening. You can head home if you want. I’m sure today has been more than you bargained for.”
“I’ll stay,” Joanna said. “Clara’s running the hot dog shop and Steve’s at work, so I don’t have anything to do anyway, and I don’t want to leave you here on your own. What on earth did you get yourself into this time?”
“I have no idea,” Ellie said with a sigh.
Once the glass was cleaned up, Ellie made her way to the office, where Joanna had put the dogs so they wouldn’t get their feet cut on the glass or get in the way of the police. She checked their paws over to make sure they hadn’t gotten hurt, then patted them both on the head.
“I guess you aren’t that much of a deterrent after all, Sawyer. This is one determined robber.”
She sat down at the desk to call Russell and give him an update. As she did so, her elbow bumped the mouse and her computer’s screen came to life. She noticed a notification for an unread email message and clicked to open the program. It was a message from her grandmother. She had all but forgotten the email she had sent about the vase. Her breath caught as she read the response.
I don’t recognize that vase. Maybe it’s something of Russell’s? It looks quite expensive, whatever it is. I showed the photos to my friend, Angela, and she thinks it could be a valuable antique.
How is everything there? I miss you, but I can’t say I miss the snow. I heard about the storms you’ve been having up there. I hope you’re pulling through. How are the tenants in my house doing? When are you coming to visit?
Give my love to Russell.
From,
Nonna
She didn’t know why it had taken her so long to make the connection. Her grandmother’s message was the missing link. Suddenly, everything made more sense than it had since the night of the storm.
The attic window hadn’t blown open. Someone had broken in. The trail of melted snow leading to the box where she had found the vase hadn’t been a strange coincidence, it had been a melted trail of footprints. Someone had broken in that night, not to steal something, but to leave something behind. The vase wasn’t hers or her grandmother’s or even Russell’s; it belonged to whoever kept trying to break back in to her house. The vase was the reason the attic had been ransacked, and it was the reason someone had broken the kitchen window today. It was sitting in plain view on the counter next to the sink.
Mark’s words came back to her. His mother had left something very valuable to Iggy in her will, something that Jessie wanted. That something could only be the vase. Why it had been hidden in her attic, Ellie had no idea, but she finally felt as though she was on the right track. With just a few more answers, she might actually be able to solve this mystery once and for all.
Chapter Sixteen
Ellie stared at the vase, mentally replaying every time she had recklessly lifted it or set it down somewhere. It was pure luck that it hadn’t fallen and shattered, especially with the dogs in the house.
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