Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(38)

She swallowed and found her voice. “Look inside.”

He went to the side of the bed and looked into the box. “Paul.” He spat the word out as if it tasted bad.

“There’s a note, but we shouldn’t touch this until Danny has a look at everything. He might have left a fingerprint.” Her hand shook as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t understand why he hates me so much. I never did anything to him. I was a little girl when all this happened. He brought on his own punishment.”

“I think he feels you took Kate away from him and his sister.” Luke approached her and pulled her against his chest. “The sheriff will catch him. I don’t think we should stay here right now. The place will be crawling with deputies. Let’s go to the Tourmaline for the night. We can eat dinner there, too, and try to forget this mess.”

“I don’t think I’ll forget it.” She didn’t feel safe here right now, so a bit of the darkness lifted as Luke turned her toward the door. “At least our things are all packed. I’ll have to call Kate and let her know where we are.”

“I wonder if she’s seen Paul.”

“I don’t think Paul would hurt her.”

“I’m not so sure.” He took her hand, and they went down the steps to the door. “I’ll call Danny and tell him we’re leaving for now. We weren’t here for any of this, so he shouldn’t need us.”

At the door she rotated for one final look at her beautiful home. All remodeled and perfect, yet she didn’t get even one night to enjoy being Mrs. Luke Rocco in it. Her eyes burned as she turned her back and went with Luke to their SUV.

*

The sheriff’s office buzzed with activity. Kate stood out of the way in a corner of the waiting room until Danny called her back to issue a statement. She’d been here since ten and it was already eleven. She had no idea where the sheriff was. Her eyes were dry and bleary from lack of sleep, and every muscle ached from the events of the night. All she wanted to do was get this over with and go home to relax in a hot bath. Drake had been right about her being unable to work today, but he’d been a rock for her, even taking Jackson so she didn’t have to worry about the pup.

Through the big pane window, she saw Luke and Claire approaching. Claire was pale and her mouth was set. Maybe they’d heard about Paul showing up. Kate leaped for the door and met them outside the jail.

She reached for her twin sister, and Claire hugged her hard. “I’m fine, but they didn’t find Paul.”

Claire released her. “Paul went to your house?”

Kate frowned. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

Tears flooded Claire’s eyes.

“Tell me what’s happened.”

Luke wore a thunderous frown. “Paul broke into the house and stole everything from the freezer as well as all our wedding gifts.”

Kate gasped and took a step back. “Are you sure it was Paul?” She shook her head. “Never mind, of course it was Paul. Even with all he’s done, I still can’t seem to see him as he really is.” She told them about her confrontation with him.

Claire’s blue eyes sparked, and she pressed her lips together. “What is wrong with that man! Why can’t he leave us alone? His actions have harmed all of us so much. Hasn’t he done enough?”

“I didn’t realize he was so vindictive. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. He’s my uncle, too, but neither one of us can take on any guilt because of his actions.”

“No, of course not.” But Claire hadn’t grown up with him. She hadn’t gone fishing with him like Kate had. She’d seen her uncle nearly every day of her life until he’d been arrested. Shouldn’t she have been repelled by the evil in him all along? If she’d seen his true nature, maybe none of this would have happened.

Kate rubbed her forehead where pain pulsed. “Does the sheriff need to talk to you too?”

Luke nodded and pulled open the glass door. “We want to know what the note said. He left a note with a crossbow bolt in the empty Cuisinart box. We didn’t touch it because we didn’t want to mess up evidence. Danny should have looked it over by now.”

Kate thought it through and couldn’t make sense of it. “Isn’t it a little weird that he would steal a freezer full of food when he’s on foot and trying to escape?”

“Maybe he’s not on foot,” Luke said. “He could have a vehicle stashed somewhere for all we know.”

Kate followed Claire into the waiting room in time to see Jonas emerge from the hallway and beckon to her.

He waited for them to join him. “You all might as well come back together. The sheriff wants to talk to you. No telling how all of this might fit together.”

Kate frowned at the frustration in his voice as the three of them fell into line behind him and went to the sheriff’s office. “I assume you haven’t found Uncle Paul?”

Danny looked tired and had circles under his eyes. He gestured to some chairs and shut the door. “Nope. Saw that hole he made you go in though. And I called in an expert tracker to see what he could find. So far we’ve got diddly-squat. Paul hardly left a leaf out of place.”

Jonas perched on a corner of the desk. “I’ve gone hunting with him a time or two over the years, and I’ve never figured out how he does it. The guy’s a phantom.”