Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(41)

Kate didn’t know what to make of the woman’s friendly manner. She was even smiling. “Um, okay. You probably heard I’ve seen Uncle Paul.”

Becky nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, studded with three diamonds. “Listen, I want to apologize for how I acted the other day. I was a little stressed by everything. The sheriff had been on my case about that Peece woman, too, and I was in no mood for another interrogation.”

“Apology accepted.” Kate eyed her warily. “Is there something I can do for you?”

Becky’s smile looked forced. “D-did Paul mention me at all? Hand you anything to give to me maybe?”

“He admitted you were the old girlfriend who had stashed the money and fake passport for him.”

Becky wet her lips. “Did you tell the sheriff I was involved?”

Kate turned to check on the girls. They were picking up rocks and putting them in the pockets of their shorts. “No, it didn’t seem important at the time. Should I have?”

“When I put that stuff in there for Paul, I didn’t know it was a fake passport. I thought he was just stashing his valuables where they couldn’t be found, kind of an unusual lockbox. And it was ages ago, a good year before he was arrested.”

Kate didn’t believe the woman’s saccharine smile for a second. “I didn’t look at the passport either, but I’m sure it was in another name. You haven’t seen him or talked to him? Be honest with me. I didn’t turn you in to the sheriff.”

Becky hesitated. “Well, I did see him for a few minutes the other night. He showed up with some presents for me in a little trailer he was pulling behind his four-wheeler.”

Kate straightened and took her hands out of her pockets. “Presents? What kind of presents?”

Becky shrugged. “Frozen meat, for one thing. And a bunch of random stuff like blankets and kitchen appliances.”

Kate gaped at her. “He did steal the things from Claire’s!”

“I don’t get it. What things?”

Maybe the town gossips hadn’t passed that bit of news around. “Never mind. I thought it probably was Uncle Paul, but we had no proof. Did he leave the area?”

A worried frown crouched between Becky’s eyes. “I don’t think so. He talked like he’d raid my freezer for meat when he needed it. He headed west through the woods.”

“Did you tell the sheriff any of this?”

Becky shook her head emphatically. “I didn’t want him to arrest me for aiding a felon. Until Paul showed up with that stuff, I hadn’t seen him. And I was none too happy to see him then. I’m dating someone else, and I don’t want to do anything to mess that up.”

“Does Paul know?”

Becky hesitated, then shrugged. “He seemed different—harder and a little scary. So no, I didn’t say anything. I just wanted him to leave, so I told him I had to get to work. He dumped the bags of meat in my freezer and left the boxes of stuff in the living room. What should I do with all of it?”

“Call the sheriff. He’ll check it out and maybe Claire can get her belongings back.”

Becky bit her lip. “Just what I didn’t want to do.”

“You don’t have a choice. It will look better coming from you than from me.” Kate heard the girls squeal. Phoebe was splashing water at her big sister. “Do you think he’ll go after Claire again?”

“He seemed pretty mad when he was talking about justice. I felt like I didn’t really know him anymore. It’s hard telling what he might do.” Becky glanced at her phone. “I’ve got to get to work. I’ll call the sheriff on my way there. I sure hope he’s not ticked off.”

“He’ll be glad you’re reporting it now.” Kate watched her retreat to her car.

One of the girls screamed, and Kate looked to where Emma was pointing. A small black bear nosed through the blueberries, but he was a good football field away from them. “He’s not going to hurt us. He’s more afraid of you than you are of him. See, he’s running off now.” She corralled the girls and her dog, then headed for home. She had a feeling they hadn’t seen the last of her uncle.





TWENTY


The sky was a picture-worthy sight of golds and purples as the sun sank into the horizon. The crimson leaves of the blueberries added to the beauty, and he wished Kate were there to share it with. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he looked through the plants again.

It has to be here somewhere. He’d been over every inch of his path from the cave to where he’d parked his truck, but his precious trophy pouch was nowhere to be found. He’d spent an hour out here at sunrise, then another hour after he’d seen Kate take the girls to the creek, but he had only blue-stained shoes to show for his efforts.

Could someone have found it? He didn’t think anyone would be out here except Kate. Could it be in her house? He stared down the road. The lights were on in the cottage, so she was probably making dinner for those brats and Drake. He allowed his gaze to linger on her back door, and he set out for her house.

He’d just disarmed her security system when he saw the truck lights moving down the road. Though it was unlikely Drake could see him on the back deck, he twisted the doorknob and slipped into Kate’s kitchen. It felt like home to him, and he smiled before moving around the small rooms in search of his pouch. The place was immaculate with nothing on any of the tables in the living room. He continued to the bedroom and found no sign of his trophies there either.