Hearts Divided (Cedar Cove #5.5)(48)

“Ah.” He nodded. “I don’t think Chloe’s in real danger, Mrs. Abbott. We believe the man’s after me and he’s only interested in Chloe because he saw her with me in the photo.”

“Okay, then.” Chloe drew a deep breath and covered Winifred’s hand with hers. “I think you should go to Victoria, Gran, and have a great time. Have high tea at the Empress Hotel, visit Butchart Gardens and shop till you drop. With any luck, by the time you get home, Jake and Gray will have found this person and solved the puzzle. And our lives will go back to being quiet, normal and totally boring.”

Winifred’s eyes twinkled. “At my age, Chloe, a little excitement makes life interesting. But I’ll settle for tea at the Empress.”

“Great.” Chloe kissed her cheek, relieved that her grandmother would be safely out of town until Jake and Gray had time to apprehend the stalker, whoever he was.

The three took their leave of Winifred. Jake walked Chloe to her car and opened the door.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I need to talk to Gray.”

“All right.” Chloe slid into the driver’s seat, watching in her rearview mirror as Jake walked back to Gray’s SUV, parked behind his Porsche, which was blocking Chloe.

The two men spoke for a few minutes, then Gray reversed out of the driveway to park on the street while Jake walked back to her car.

He leaned down, resting his forearms on the window. “Come home with me, Chloe.”

“What?” Startled, she could only stare at him.

He swore under his breath. “Not to sleep with me. Not unless you want to,” he amended, his lips curving in a slight grin that swiftly disappeared. “I’d just feel better if you were close enough for me to keep an eye on tonight.”

“I don’t want to leave my home.”

He sighed. “I didn’t think you would. So I’ve asked Gray to have one of his off-duty cop friends stand guard outside your house tonight. Calling in a favor,” he added. “Since we still don’t have enough evidence to get the police involved, we’ll continue to handle this unofficially.”

“You’re that worried?”

“No. I’m that careful.”

Chloe’s eyes darted to her grandmother’s house, but before she could speak, Jake reassured her. “Gray’s going to stay and watch over Winifred.” He looked over his shoulder. “He backed out of the driveway to let us leave. He’ll pull back in when we’re gone and park in plain sight. If our stalker plans to bother Winifred, Gray will be waiting for him.”

“Thank goodness.” Relief washed over Chloe. “Will he stay until the limo picks her up in the morning?”

“Yes.” Jake leaned into the car and pressed a hard kiss against her mouth. “I’ll follow you home. By the time we get there, Gray’s friend should have arrived and he’ll park outside your house, just like Gray’s doing here.”

“Where will you be?” She struggled to speak above a whisper. He’d stolen her breath and sidetracked her ability to think with that kiss.

“At my apartment working. I need access to my computer and other files to track down information on Kenny Dodd. Otherwise, I’d be the guard in the car outside your door.”

Chloe smiled at him, touched. “You’re such a Galahad.”

“Not hardly,” he growled. “And if I ever get you alone at my place, I’ll prove it.”

She laughed and he walked back to his car. The engine turned over with a throaty growl and he backed the sports car out of Winifred’s driveway, waiting for her to precede him.

Chloe glanced out the living room window the following morning. The silver sedan with Gray’s friend behind the steering wheel was still parked in her driveway.

“Bless you, Jake,” she said out loud. “What would I do without you and your friends?”

She walked into the kitchen where the automatic timer had switched on the grind-and-brew coffeemaker fifteen minutes earlier. The welcoming aroma of fresh coffee pervaded the air and she poured a cup, taking a sip before setting it on the counter. When she’d replenished the bird feeder outside, she’d get some coffee for the officer, too. She filled a plastic quart pitcher with birdseed from a large bag in the pantry and opened the door to the deck overlooking her backyard. As soon as she stepped outside, her foot connected with something solid.

“What…?”

A large shoe box sat on the gray deck and the contact with her sandal had knocked the lid askew. Chloe couldn’t see exactly what was inside, but what she could see chilled her blood.

Feathers spattered with crimson, and thin shattered bones were visible.

Chloe spun on her heel and ran back into the house, locking the door behind her. She grabbed the phone from its base and dialed Jake’s number.

“Jake? There’s something on my back deck. I—I think it’s dead.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jake pulled into Chloe’s driveway, loped up the sidewalk and knocked loudly on her door. It was opened by the rumpled, young off-duty cop with bleary eyes who’d spent the night outside her house.

“Hey, Jake.” He jerked his head toward the kitchen. “She’s in there.”

“What did she find?”

“A shoe box with pieces of a dead seagull inside. Looks like somebody blew it up, maybe with a big firecracker of some sort, then put it inside the box. Her name was written in big block letters on the lid. She didn’t touch it and neither did I. I called the PD. They’re sending out someone to collect the evidence and take a report.”