I’d had sixteen calls on my business voicemail, all prospective new clients wanting to bring their pets in for a visit. Including the dog Viper’s teammate Axe had rescued. I couldn’t wait to meet little Frosty. It was amazing what fifteen minutes of fame would do.
Even if I suspected more women were eager to meet the town hero.
I had thirty minutes to complete the task before getting ready for a lovely evening out. There was no time to lament the past, so I didn’t.
After making certain the sexy man hadn’t called, I left the phone right in the middle of the desk. I certainly didn’t want to miss hearing his special ring. Laughing, I did a little twirl while I grabbed a box, looking forward to the night ahead.
Maybe I could even get the handsome stick-in-the-mud to dance. There were such things as small miracles. That was my plan anyway and this girl was determined to get everything she wanted.
With a sway to my step, I got to work.
Emptying one drawer had been easy. I hadn’t realized how much my father had enjoyed magazines. He had a drawer full of them. Trash.
Next were the two drawers in the file cabinet full of patient files. They might come in handy, but in a box. After a little finagling, they all fit.
I closed the drawer and wiped my hands.
All with almost ten minutes left.
Hmm… My father had a drawer in the lovely credenza I hadn’t tackled. Might as well do it next. I pulled another empty box to the top and as soon as I opened the drawer, I sighed. More files jammed inside. Grabbing a handful, I placed them on the wooden surface, only to have three files dump on my feet.
“Smart.” Laughing, I grabbed them all at the same time, but a single piece of paper from one floated once again to the floor. Even as I scooped it off the floor, I glanced at the contents. Three full seconds passed before I realized what I was looking at. A newspaper article that had been photocopied.
That same hand was shaking.
Stunned, I read the piece of paper again. About a million questions rolled through my mind. Why in the world had my father kept something like a newspaper article? Ugly memories swam to the surface. I glanced at the files that I’d dropped earlier, placing the paper on the corner of the credenza and grabbing the first file.
Warranty information on one of the tractors.
File number two held nothing but estimates to rebuild the fence around the ranch.
The third? Old paperwork on equipment in the clinic.
Bingo for the fourth and final, the contents including a restraining order. “Whoa,” I whispered. What? Confusion and curiosity clashed as well as a strange trickle of fear.
There was more, including what appeared to be a photocopy of a warning. A threat. Just like in the movies, someone had cut out block letters. What did the words spell?
You Can’t Escape Me
Wait. I was confused. Had that been written about my father?
My stomach was in knots, several memories surfacing. There wasn’t a chance this asshole was the arsonist. Was there?
He’d kept an entire file on one person, which wasn’t like my father in the least.
Unless he believed the family was in danger.
But the contents were a strange mixture of past and… present.
I noticed another envelope in the open credenza drawer.
As soon as I pulled it into my hands, I sensed there were envelopes inside. I pulled open the flap, holding my breath as I did. I pulled out a single letter, and another wave of fear tore through me.
The letter was written to me, sent to my parents’ house.
With no return address.
Exhaling, I tried to make sense of everything. I had a feeling what I’d found was important to the case. I grabbed my phone, immediately dialing Chief Taylor. As expected, the call connected to his voicemail.
