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“I thought I did. It’s quite tragic, actually. She killed herself when their son was only seven. Jumped off their third-story balcony in the middle of the night. Clint found her body the next morning. My in-laws woke to Clint screaming for help after he discovered her lying dead on the back patio. I’m surprised Clint can still live in the house.”
“That’s awful.” She recalled the distant look on John’s face in her office when she’d assumed his parents were divorced. What a horrific thing for him to go through.
“I know.”
Holly’s gaze drifted to the French doors at the back of the kitchen. “Isn’t his house two-story? I haven’t seen a balcony anywhere.”
“There’s a daylight basement. Clint took the balcony down shortly afterward and put a window there instead. I can’t blame him; it must’ve driven him crazy having to look at it after what happened. According to my mother-in-law, Clint’s wife Diana wasn’t right in the head, even though she seemed like a normal, doting mom. Clint said she’d never gotten over her baby blues after their son was born. Probably had undiagnosed postpartum depression, which wasn’t really recognized back then. In fact, the day before Diana killed herself,” Laurie continued, “she cameover and told my mother-in-law how nice it was knowing her and told her she was going away for a while. Maurine thought she was going on a trip. Then, after she learned what happened, she realized the woman must’ve been saying goodbye. Maurine still feels terrible about the whole thing and blames herself for not knowing what Diana was intending to do. I can only imagine what Clint must’ve felt like.”
Holly felt a shiver pass through her as another high-pitched scream cut through the background of their call. Poor Clint. He must’ve felt guilty too, being her husband.
Laurie sighed. “Anyway, I also wanted to tell you I left a stack of mail from your PO box on your kitchen counter. I picked it up like you asked but forgot to tell you after taking you home from the hospital. But you’ve probably seen it by now.”
Holly’s gaze dropped to the stack of unopened letters on the table. “I did, thanks.” She’d gone through the envelopes after finding them to make sure none looked like the one Jared had sent. Thankfully, none had.
Holly heard some commotion on the line as she sifted through the envelopes again, her mind still on Clint’s wife committing suicide. One of Laurie’s twins shouted something Holly couldn’t make out.
Laurie let out an exasperated sigh. “I have to go. Lily just spilled a gallon of milk all over the floor.”
The line went dead before Holly could say goodbye. She started to hang up when a crisp, white envelope sticking out of the stack of fan mail made her blood run cold. Her name and address were typed on the front with no return address. She dropped the phone on the counter and lifted the envelope. She hadn’t remembered seeing it before when she’d checked the mail. Her fingers trembled as she ripped it open.
She drew in a sharp breath after unfolding the paper and reading the typed words.
Roses are red, violets are blue, the locks on your doors won’t keep me from you.
She covered her mouth with a hand, letting the paper fall to the counter. She spun around and dialed Andy’s work number.
“Come on, pick up.” It was Sunday, she realized. Andy might not be back at his office until tomorrow.
He answered on the second ring. “Detective Harris.”
“Andy, it’s Holly.” She paused to take a breath. “I just found another note. From Jared. But this one’s threatening. It says…” She closed her eyes, not needing to see the words again to recite them. “The locks on your doors won’t keep me from you.”
“Where did you find the note?” Andy asked, his voice calm.
Holly turned. “I just found it on the counter with a bunch of fan mail.”
“So it wasn’t delivered to the place where you’re staying, right?”
“I—I’m not sure how it got here.” She lifted a hand to her forehead. “Laurie brought over my mail from my PO Box, but I went through it yesterday and I don’t remember seeing this envelope with the others. It’s possible I could’ve missed it, but what if…” She nearly choked at the thought of Jared breaking into her house in the night, watching her sleep before planting the note in the kitchen.
“Are there any signs that someone broke in?”
She glanced around. “No, not that I know of, but—”
“Hang on.”
There was muffled murmuring on the other line.
“Okay, I’m coming,” she heard Andy say.
“Holly?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re in a gated neighborhood, and there’s no way Jared should know where you are. If you bring the note to me tomorrow, I’ll have it dusted for prints.”
She stared at the typed letter from Jared on the counter.Tomorrow? What if that’s too late?“Why not tonight?”