Page 73 of Snowbound Threat

Eddie shook his head. “No, but he was unusually jumpy in the days before. . .” He shrugged. “Well, you know.”

Charlie frowned. “Did you ask him about it?”

Eddie confirmed he had. “Several times, in fact. He just told me the case had him distracted but he never said why.”

Charlie’s spirits sank. Another dead end. “Thank you, Eddie.” She patted his arm before she and Ryan went outside. He waited until they were out of earshot before telling her Boone had found a place for them to stay.

“It’s his old family farm. He goes out there sometimes to get away from everything. It’s isolated, though.”

Charlie glanced at him because of the edge in his tone. “That’s not a good thing?”

“Not really. It’ll take longer for backup to respond if needed. Boone can have Will stop by from time to time to make sure everything’s okay, but it’s a good twenty-minute trip from town.”

That reality settled around her.

“Hopefully, it’s only a temporary arrangement.” He glanced her way before opening the passenger door for her.

Temporary. What did that mean?

Charlie settled into the seat and waited while Ryan climbed in beside her. She’d hurt him. Badly by leaving. Would he be glad when she left Pine Haven?

Charlie kept her attention on the passing scenery as he drove.

All this time, she’d been running from the past. Trying to rationalize her actions because of everything she’d been through. She’d always thought seeing Ryan again would be hard because she believed he’d been pining away for her.

What if she’d been wrong? What if Ryan couldn’t wait for her to leave so that he could be rid of the reminder of a troubled past he just wanted to keep in the rearview mirror?

Chapter Eight

They’d found my little surprise. The fear on her face pleased me. There would be more moments like this to come. I’d make sure of it.

The former sheriff knew too much. I’d thought I’d kept a careful eye on his progress, but I’d been wrong. While I lived my life believing the past was dead and buried, the old guy had found a crack in my careful planning. I knew he had to die.

Until I had the journals he’d been creating for years, I hadn’t realized the extent of his investigation. He’d put everything together and had finally come to the truth about Abby.

The investigation at the café was wrapping up, the tech was dusting for prints they wouldn’t find. My little gift would be taken in for further analysis while the cops tried to profile me. I smile at the thought. As if.

Maybe the next present would be more personal. Something from one of her uncle’s journals. I wanted her and everyone else to know I had the answers they so desperately craved. I controlled the chess board. And it was my turn to make the next move.

The day turned cloudy and dark as if the weather planned to play its part in the sinister events taking place.

“Looks like we’re in for another storm.” Ryan pointed to the skies when Charlie looked his way.

“Oh. Yes. That time of the year.” She sighed. “I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas.”

In two days’ time they’d celebrate the birth of Jesus. As a kid, it had been all about gifts and festivities. After Charlie left him, he started attending church again. Then he realized what the holiday was really about. It was during one of the church’s Christmas Eve celebrations that he’d given his life to God.

“How much farther?”

Charlie’s question pulled him from old memories. “Maybe ten minutes.”

She nodded and settled back into silence again.

Being seated beside her was about as surreal as it got. When she’d walked away from him, he tried to understand. He told himself he needed to give her time. She’d come back once she got through the pain of losing her parents. He could be patient.

Only she hadn’t come back.

Not until she showed up seven years later at Pete’s ransacked cabin and his heart shattered again.