Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(24)

“I remember that. That’s why I thought maybe you decided to rent it the second you realized who I was.”

“Well, I didn’t!” She began to shake, and it was hard to keep from storming outside to get away from him.

His hazel eyes shifted and went soft. “Look, I can see I overreacted. I’m sorry. It felt deliberate, but I know now it wasn’t. I need to ask you about the day they died though.”

“I don’t want to talk to you. Not now and maybe not ever. Most people don’t jump to conclusions the way you just did.” She went to the paint pan and grabbed the brush. If she didn’t get it cleaned up, it would harden and she’d have to buy a new one.

He followed her into the kitchen. “I said I was sorry. It was an honest mistake. Anyone would have made the same assumption.”

“I doubt it.” She turned on the warm water and scrubbed the brush. “You didn’t even tell me how they died, remember?”

“I was too upset to remember that.” He moved closer, crowding into her personal space. “Please, I need to know what you saw.”

She tossed the paintbrush to the bottom of the sink and whirled to face him. “It’s not something I like to think about. It was horrible, a horrible day. I told the sheriff everything I saw. Claire and I were watching puffins. I saw Melissa first. It was her hair by the puffin burrows that caught my attention.”

He nodded. “I need you to help me prove they were murdered.”

Poking into those deaths wasn’t something she wanted to do, but the pathos in his eyes tugged at her heart. She turned away to finish cleaning the brush so she didn’t have to answer.

*

He’d waited until he saw her car disappear in the distance. Rising from his hiding place in the trees, he took his time walking across the backyard. Gnats and black flies approached, then buzzed away, repelled by his Off! As always, his heart beat erratically as he approached the back door. The tools on his belt were professional ones he’d learned to use long ago, and he quickly had the lock open.

Stepping inside her house, he sniffed the enticing smell of her vanilla scent. She must have just sprayed it on. Since there was no need for stealth, he took his time circling the living room. Studying every picture of her he could find, he smiled back at the one of her with her sister. She looked so happy. If only she would look at him like that. And maybe she would, once he revealed himself to her. Once she knew how he loved her. He’d just have to get rid of that man. It added a bit of humor for him that he’d been using a drone purchased from Newham’s company to spy on him.

He sat in her recliner by the fireplace where she’d been last night when he peeked in the window. Surely that was the imprint of her body in the chair, and it welcomed him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. There was enough room they could snuggle here together someday and watch their children play on the floor. A smile curved his lips as he contemplated the future. Surely his very desire for it would bring it about.

He rose and meandered to the kitchen where he picked up the water glass by the sink. He filled it, then fitted his mouth where a faint trace of her lipstick remained. He could almost imagine kissing her.

He opened the refrigerator and rummaged inside. There was a pizza box on the second shelf, and he pulled it out to examine the contents. One of the three pieces had a bite taken out of it, the exact shape of her perfect teeth. He found a paper plate in the cupboard and plopped the pizza on it. Once the microwave dinged, he closed his eyes as he ate the partial piece of pizza. Surely she would be able to feel his devotion.

Once he was finished he took another drink of water, then crumpled up the paper plate and tossed it in the trash. He knew the way to her bedroom from the last time, when he’d nearly been caught, so he headed for the hallway. His heart hammered as he pushed open her bedroom door. For a moment her smiling form beckoned him from the bed but disappeared when he blinked. Someday she would be there though, welcoming him with open arms.

He moved to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer. The faint aroma of a vanilla sachet wafted up to his nose, and he closed his eyes to inhale the scent. Love for her nearly split his chest wide open. She would know soon.

He opened his eyes and carefully lifted out her underwear and nightgowns, thrown haphazardly into the drawer. They deserved better treatment, so he folded each one and nestled them back into the drawer. He moved on to the next drawer that contained her T-shirts. Frowning, he shook his head at the disarray. He would teach her better soon. He folded and sorted them by color before replacing them in the drawer.

He rummaged in her jewelry box and extracted a pair of blue earrings, then put them in his pocket. When he glanced at the bedside clock, he realized he’d been in the house for two hours. She might come back anytime, so he sighed and made his way to the back door. Soon he’d never have to leave.





TWELVE


The heavy cloud cover turned the moonless night into inky blackness. Kate maneuvered her Volkswagen along the bumpy dirt road toward her house. When she pulled into the drive, she grimaced at the dark house. She thought she’d flipped on the porch light. The yard light had a dead bulb she meant to have changed as soon as she had the money. She didn’t have a ladder long enough to reach it to change it herself. The light from the car pierced a few feet into the darkness as she got out.

As soon as she slammed the door, she couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of her face. With her hands held in front of her, she touched the side of the house and shuffled along to the front steps, then grabbed the handrail and mounted the steps to the small porch. Her eyes were adjusting to the pitch black now, and she started to put her key in the lock, but the door creaked. It was standing open a few inches. She really needed to ask Luke to adjust the latch. It hadn’t shut right in several weeks.