A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(38)

Sun sealed it in a bag and went inside to speak with Mari before they left.

The woman had lain down on her sofa, and the doctor was checking her vitals.

“Is she okay, Doc?” Sun asked.

He glanced at her in surprise. “Sunshine Freyr.”

She smiled. “It’s Vicram now.”

“Oh yes, that’s right. You’re our new sheriff.” He finished checking Mari’s blood pressure and put the stethoscope away. “Congratulations.”

Raj Finely had been her doctor since she was a kid. She’d loved him ever since she’d caught a raging fever and he’d stayed up with her all night, soaking her in cool washrags. His frailty did nothing to diminish her crush.

“Thank you.” She knelt down and placed a hand on Mari’s shoulder. “How is she?”

“She’s fine,” Mari said from behind a wet towel over her face.

“I’m glad to hear it. Can you look at something for me?”

She lowered the towel as the doctor busied himself by putting away his things.

Sun lifted the evidence bag with the button. “Is this Sybil’s?”

She squinted, then nodded and sat up straight, hope evident in her expression. “Yes. Where did you find that?”

“What’s it from?”

“Oh,” she said, rubbing her temples. “I think it was on a backpack she used to carry. It had buttons. You know, decorative. But she hasn’t carried that backpack in, oh gosh, probably a year or more. Do you think she has it with her?”

“I don’t know, hon. We found this under a window outside, but on the opposite side of the house from her bedroom.” She pointed down a long corridor. “What’s at the end of this hall?”

Mari was having trouble concentrating. Whatever the doc had given her seemed to be working. “It’s, um, the laundry room. That’s the only room on that wall with a window. The other door leads to the garage.”

Sun looked at Quincy, but he was already headed that way. She jumped up and followed him.

“Do you think we’ve been processing the wrong room?” he asked when she caught up.

They opened the door to what looked like the aftermath of a tornado.

“Holy shit,” he said. He got on his radio and called in a team to process the room as Sun looked around.

“I don’t see any blood,” she said, her voice soft with relief.

“It’s no wonder Mrs. St. Aubin didn’t hear anything. She was on the opposite side of the house.”

Sun walked carefully to the window, stepping over strewn clothes and towels. “If nothing else, this gives us a strong indication that Sybil was taken.”

“I agree,” Quincy said. “I find it creepy as hell, and it has me questioning everything I’ve ever known, but I agree.”

He was right. The letter—the premonition—was hard to explain.

When her deputies got back, Sun sent Zee to question the neighbors. If this guy was staking out the place, one of them may have seen him. Then she set Salazar to watch the St. Aubin home.

“You know who could really help with this investigation?” she asked Quincy as they headed back into the house.

“Who’s that? We’ve called in everyone.”

“Not everyone. I still haven’t seen hide nor hair of Bo.”

“Who?” he asked, beginning the game anew.

She rolled her eyes so far back into her head she almost seized. “This again?”

He cleared the three steps to the front door in one giant step. Sun thought about doing the same, but she didn’t feel like falling on her ass just then.

“What again?”

“Quincy,” she said, her tone brooking no argument.

He turned to her, the picture of innocence. “Sunshine.”

“Where is Lieutenant Bobby Britton?”

“Oh, LT? Why didn’t you just ask? He’s probably still out on a call.” He started inside, but she grabbed his arm.

“There haven’t been any calls besides the one we are on.”

“Oh, right.” He chuckled and started inside again.

“I swear to God, Cooper, if you don’t tell me where Bo is—”

“Who?” he asked as he headed for the living room.

Sun welded her teeth together and drew in a deep, calming breath. She would get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing she did as sheriff of Del Sol County. Which, if the mayor had her way, could be pretty soon.

After checking with Mari about the energy drink, a beverage no one in the house drank, Sun and Quincy headed back to town to grab a bite and check in. The closer they got to town, the louder Quince’s stomach growled.

“Sorry,” he said as they pulled into the Shed, an amazing breakfast-and-lunch place that served the best breakfast burritos this side of the Pecos. And they served them all day. Ish. They were only open until 3:00 p.m.

“I know what I’m having,” she said, suddenly ravenous despite the upset state of her stomach.

“I know what you’re having, too. You really need to switch it up every so often. Be more adventurous. Like me.”

She pursed her lips. “You order the same thing every time we come here. You have since high school.”

“You’ve been gone a long time, sweet cheeks.”