Page 79 of Desperate Justice

Dropping the scissors into the drawer, he looked at an anxious Allison standing in the doorway.

“No blood trail, no indication any harm was done to Diana. No, this is more like a statement, Allison. I think she did this to herself.”

Relief mingled with bewilderment on her face. “Why would she cut herself? What kind of statement does that make?”

“Drama, maybe. Your sister does seem prone to it,” he said dryly. “She craves attention and drama.”

Allison blinked. “You think me forcing her into eloping had her creating drama to get attention? That’s a stupid way of getting it. And as much as Di craves the spotlight and drama, this feels different.”

“I can’t argue that. The veil wasn’t slashed by an angry bride. But the blood and the ring make no sense.”

“Well, it’s obvious she left. Or someone took her. Not through the woods, either. How did she get out? On foot?” Allison wondered.

“I doubt she’d call an Uber or Lyft and draw attention to herself.”

Suddenly Allison remembered. “Damn. I totally forgot. Dad kept a car up here, on the property, for when he and mom would fly up here on weekends. It was easier than the long drive. The car is older, but he parked it in the old barn.”

She hunted through the cabinet holding the DVR. “The keys are gone.”

Rafe pointed at the DVR. “We’ll go through this after we check on the car.”

They went to the barn together. The padlock was gone. Even before Allison opened the door, she knew.

The car was gone. Rafe peered inside and then squatted on the ground to examine the tire tracks in the mud.

“I’ll need a description of the vehicle to give to my team,” he told her.

Back inside the cabin, Rafe opened the cabinet holding the DVR. Four cameras—three at the cabin’s entrances and one on the tree by where cars parked. Two more at the barn. All wireless.

“Your security system still works?” he asked.

Allison rolled her eyes. “Duh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Stress makes you forget.” He thumbed backward through the footage and frowned.

Several minutes later, he blew out a frustrated breath. “All the footage since yesterday has been deleted.”

“I don’t even know if Di knows how to work the machine. Dad did show us long ago, but I never thought of her paying attention to something like that.”

“Perhaps she did. You may have underestimated your sister, Allison.”

Maybe Rafe was right, and Diana was involved in something shady. Allison shook free the thought.

“I know you two are close, but how close? Would Diana share deep secrets with you?”

“Why?”

“Mi familia.”He shook his head. “My family. I have two sisters, and they loved to share secrets and swap notes. Julie and Ronnie sometimes would leave notes for each other in their clothing hamper. I found one once and blackmailed Ronnie into giving me her week’s allowance so I wouldn’t tell our parents she skipped school to go to the movies.

Allison’s mouth quirked. “You sneak.”

“I prefer to think of it as being a good negotiator. Would Diana trust you with a secret?”

Her brow wrinkled. “Yeah, she would.”

“If Diana were going to leave you a message for your eyes only, where would she put it? Not a text or an email, but something covert. Did you have a special way of communicating when you were younger, something to keep secrets from your parents?”

“Yeah.” Allison frowned. “What are you thinking? Like spies do?”