Page 64 of Snowbound Threat

He didn’t blink. “Both actually, but for now, just the case.”

Charlie stepped aside to let him in. “Then let’s talk.”

Chapter Four

Ryan followed her to the upstairs hallway and stopped near the door to the apartment. He wondered if Lila was in the room waiting to listen in. He held back a smile. Wouldn’t surprise him one bit. Lila loved gossip and he knew she was imagining all sorts of things happening between him and Charlie, but Ryan’s broken heart wouldn’t let him go there again.

Losing her had pretty much wrecked his heart. There was nothing left to give to her or anyone else. Instead, he’d thrown himself into his work. Boone planned to retire in a few years and was grooming Ryan to take his place.

Charlie stood close by, turned slightly toward him with her hands hugging her arms. “You found something?” she prompted when he remained silent.

He dropped his hat on a small table before answering. “Yes. Doug pulled a set of prints off the lock that was broken off the cabinet where Pete kept the journals. I’m guessing the intruder wanted to make sure it held the journals before taking the cabinet.”

Her gaze shot to his.

“They don’t match anything in our local database, but Doug believes they were left there deliberately to throw us off.”

“Wait, you think someone planted the prints? That’s diabolical.”

“I do and it is. Whoever took the cabinet with the journals wanted to lay the blame on someone else which makes me wonder if it’s someone local like Pete had come to suspect. Your uncle never backed anything up in digital format. If the killer has the journals and Pete found something, then it could be gone for good.”

She turned toward the window that faced out. “He did find something. He hinted as much. Pete believed the person involved was someone never investigated before.”

Ryan didn’t hide his surprise. “You’re kidding.” He wondered why Pete hadn’t chosen to share this new detail with him. “I don’t suppose he gave you any indication who he was investigating?”

She shook her head. “Obviously, it was someone no one would have suspected.”

Ryan struggled to contain his frustration. “That could be any number of people in town.”

She didn’t answer for the longest time. Her strained expression slowly relaxed and she reached inside her pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper, handing it to him.

“What’s this?” he asked without looking at the paper.

“I’m not sure it’s anything, really.”

Ryan unfolded the paper, yellowed from time. It was a handwritten note.

If something happens to me, look in the blue container in the attic. You know the one.

The words spilled out before him, not making sense. But the date scared the daylights out of him. December 22. Fifteen years ago and a few days before Abby went missing.

He looked up and found her watching him with an unreadable expression on her face.

“This is Abby’s handwriting. I remember she used to dot her i’s with hearts back in the day.”

Charlie drew in an audible breath. “It is. She gave it to me a few days before she disappeared. I thought it was one of her games and didn’t think much of it. Until she went missing. When I went to look for it, I couldn’t find it. I thought it was lost for good until I found it earlier before I headed here. It was in a box of Christmas decorations I brought with me when I moved away.”

He flinched at the mention of the single event that ripped his heart out. His gaze returned to the note faded with time and tried to make sense of what he heard. “Why didn’t you tell anyone before now?”

She rubbed her hands down her arms. “I was fifteen, Ryan. My best friend had gone missing because I didn’t talk her out of going out that night. I was scared and didn’t know what to do. And I blamed myself for what happened.”

His heart went out to her. “It wasn’t your fault, Charlie. None of it.” Ryan could see she still didn’t believe it. “Do you know which blue container she’s talking about? Have you looked for it?”

“No and the family’s gone now. The house has been vacant all these years. What if it isn’t there anymore?”

He stepped closer, drawing her nervous attention. “What if it is? This could change everything.”

Silence stretched between them. “You think this means something? It wasn’t just one of Abby’s mystery games she liked to play?”