Page 56 of Deadly Storms (Sunrise Lake #3)

Tyrone nodded his head but didn’t speak. He turned and made his way to the counter, where Vaughn leaned into him, gripping his shoulder. They spoke briefly, and then Vaughn looked up, his eyes meeting Shabina’s. He blew her a kiss and put one hand over his heart.

“I love living here,” Shabina said.

Dr. Martha Fendy, the medical examiner, walked in with Mary Shelton, a deputy sheriff. Martha looked tired. After a brief discussion with Patsy, they were shown to the table in the back beside the one Raine and Shabina occupied.

“Is everything all right?” Shabina asked. “I can make something special for you, Martha.”

“Do I look that bad?” the medical examiner asked.

“Just tired. Both of you look tired,” Shabina admitted. “I don’t mind making your special breakfast.” Martha had a love for food from Saudi Arabia.

“Thank you, but I’ll order your special this morning. I have been up all night. There was another murder, but this time the body was found near the hot springs, not up in Yosemite. This one hit too close to home. Just like Lucca.”

Shabina’s heart sank. “Another local? At the hot springs?”

“He wasn’t local,” the deputy said. “A runaway. He arrived in a stolen van and was living in it out by the springs. He has a history of arrests for petty crimes.”

Martha shook her head. “It’s so sad. He was seventeen years old. A kid with his entire life ahead of him.”

Mary Shelton sighed. “His name was Craig Barker, and he looked twelve to me.”

“He must have been experienced in stealing cars to get away with a van like the one he was driving,” Martha said.

Mary shook her head. “I checked him out, and he certainly wasn’t a hardened criminal.

His parents are drug addicts and from the reports I read, there was physical abuse in the home.

His father was incarcerated on two occasions for theft.

Both parents were brought up on child abuse charges several times when he was younger, but the courts continued to give him back to them.

In my opinion, this is another failure of our system for these kinds of kids. ”

Shabina rubbed her temples. She had seen so many children in loving families in Saudi Arabia when she was with Salman Ahmad’s tribe. Even then, before she knew the truth about her father, she had felt more loved in that environment than she had in her home with her parents.

“Is it a copycat?” Raine asked.

“Not in my opinion,” Martha said. “I don’t know what the FBI is going to conclude.”

Theresa, Janine and Val entered with Felicity and Eve. Tyrone escorted them to one of the larger tables near the windows. Felicity spotted Shabina and hurried toward her, ignoring the chair Tyrone had pulled out for her.

“Did you hear?” Felicity appeared very distressed. “We recommended the hot springs to Theresa, Val and Janine. They went out there yesterday with Edward. He showed them all around, and they even saw that boy’s van.”

“How did you hear so quickly?” Raine asked.

“Theresa and Val heard it from Tom and Judy early this morning. They walk together in the mornings. Tom and Judy know everyone in Knightly, or at least it feels that way.”

Martha and Mary both gave a low, humorless laugh. “That’s the way it is in a small town. News spreads like wildfire,” Martha said. “Tom and Judy saw we were working late, and they stopped to ask if we needed anything. Tom offered to get us food from the Grill.”

“The FBI agents were there as well,” Mary volunteered.

“What’s your impression of them?” Raine asked.

“Very professional. Good at their jobs and very thorough. They don’t miss anything,” Martha said.

“Yet they let Rafferty throw suspicion on Shabina,” Raine said.

Mary shook her head as did Martha. It was Martha who answered. “They may have had to follow up if there was a reason to suspect you, although everyone knows you work here in Knightly at the café. You can’t be in two places at one time. They do their job to rule out any suspects.”

“I can’t believe anyone would think you were involved in murder, Shabina,” Felicity said, indignation in her voice. “Why would they even consider you a suspect?”

Shabina shrugged, not able to answer adequately. She knew law enforcement hadn’t disclosed information to the public about the items on the altar.

Raine answered for her, sounding casual as she explained.

“All the victims were here in the café at one time. As far as I know, that’s the only tie between them.

They don’t look at all alike. I don’t see a common denominator yet.

If the agents were looking for something, anything at all, to tie them together, it would be this café. ”

“I see,” Felicity said, a bit mollified.

Theresa, Val and Eve waved frantically at Felicity. Patsy stood next to their table.

“Felicity, you should order your food. It gets packed in here, and once we’re slammed, getting your breakfast to you takes more time,” Shabina pointed out.

“You shouldn’t feel bad about recommending the hot springs,” Mary added. “You’re just trying to share the various places you enjoyed seeing with your friends.”

Felicity sighed as she turned to walk back to her table.

“I still don’t like that Theresa, Val and Janine were out there while a murder was taking place.

” She looked back over her shoulder. “They ran into Miguel and Avita. They weren’t using the hot springs, but they’d gone climbing, and a small group of their friends were gathered around a firepit.

I think they met out there because Avita’s brother went there a lot with Miguel when they were kids. ”

Raine stared after her for a minute. “It’s always amazing to me when someone new moves to Knightly and they’re so friendly that within a matter of weeks they know as many people here as I’ve met after years of living here.”

Martha shook her head. “You know everyone, Raine. You’re just quiet about it.

I’m glad those two women are settling in and finding a semblance of peace after what happened to them.

It was so terrible for them losing their entire family last year.

These murders must be difficult for them.

They know what it’s like to feel overwhelming grief. ”

“They’ve been supportive of Avita,” Mary said. “Pablo, one of her brothers, told me that many people had reached out to their family. Miguel introduced those women to Avita. She needs friends right now.”

“How do they know Miguel?” Mary asked.

“He’s not only their personal trainer, but he’s helping them learn to boulder,” Shabina said.

“I heard a rumor that you’re married, Shabina,” Martha said, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Is that the truth?”

Shabina nodded, reluctantly showing the ring on her finger. She didn’t want her hand to tremble, and she was still unsteady every time she thought about Rainier and any possible harm that could come to him.

“That looks so perfect for you. I think it matches your eyes,” Mary gushed. “I also heard your man is a hottie, and when Bale threw his hissy fit, he just calmly walked out of the kitchen and informed him he expected Bale to pay and that you were taking out a restraining order against him.”

“I am. It’s already in the works. Rainier was in the kitchen doing dishes. No one was aware he was in there. He doesn’t like the spotlight on him.”

“He’s the dishwasher?” Martha was amused.

Shabina laughed. “It’s true. He hides in the kitchen, preferring to do dishes and not have to talk to anyone.”

Mary glanced at the table where the two FBI agents were eating breakfast and lowered her voice even more even though the two men were a distance away.

“Rafferty was furious that there was an implication that if you turned in evidence against Bale, it would disappear. He didn’t like it stated in front of the feds. ”

Martha made a disparaging sound in her throat. “I don’t know why he would get upset when it’s the truth. He makes a good political sheriff, and he’s intelligent when it comes to running his department, but when his family is involved, his brains go out the window.”

“He had to realize that sooner or later, someone was going to call him out on it,” Mary added in a whisper. “Do you really have evidence proving Bale was harassing you, Shabina?”

Raine answered. “He wasn’t simply harassing her, he threatened to burn down the café with her in it, shoot her dogs and her.

He started with harassment, but his behavior has escalated in the last few months.

He believed he could blackmail Lawyer into destroying the evidence before I could get to it.

He had no idea we had installed military cameras and they’re always monitored and backed up.

There is no way, even if the evidence was removed, that we couldn’t reproduce it. ”

“Good,” Martha said firmly. “It’s about time someone let Bale know that he isn’t running Knightly, and neither is his family.”

“Lawyer told me Bale was attempting to blackmail him,” Mary said.

“He knew if he swore out a complaint, Rafferty would ignore it. Things like that make the entire department look bad. We have good men and women working for us. It sucks that Rafferty was elected and doesn’t represent everyone, only his family. ”

“Have you seen Bale since the incident in the café?” Martha asked.

Shabina shook her head. “I haven’t, but then my security team is with me in force everywhere I go. Someone is always watching the café. Bale is probably aware of that.”

“Tom and Judy said he was out at the hot springs with Sean and the two new ones interning under Sean.”

“What in the world would Bale and Sean be doing at the hot springs?” Shabina asked.

“They were part of the group sitting around the fire and telling stories about Lucca,” Mary said.

“Bale didn’t like the Delgotto family,” Shabina said. “Why would he be there? That makes zero sense.”