The neighbor had noticed the meetings, and the barista had noticed them too.But no one had put the pieces together, because no one had reason to suspect that a devoted caregiver and a real estate developer were plotting.
Cadie set her plate on the tray and stood.She walked to the window, then turned and paced the length of the room.Her bare feet were quiet on the carpet.She crossed to the desk, then back toward the sofa, then to the window again.
Barrett watched her without speaking.He didn't try to fill the silence with reassurance or analysis, and he let her move through it at her own pace.She appreciated that more than she could say.He understood that she needed the space to think things through without pressure.
She paced for another minute, turning the facts over in her mind.The pattern was impossible to deny.Her aunt had trusted Olivia with her life, including her medications, her appointments, and her daily care.And during those same months, Olivia had been sitting across from Kal Davis in a back-corner booth.
It seemed as though Kal and Olivia were planning their relationship—or something more frightening.
Cadie stopped at the window and pressed her fingers against the cool glass.She took a slow breath.
She turned to face Barrett."I need to go to my room to shower and dress for our meeting with the forensics expert."
Cadie started toward the bathroom to collect her clothes from the night before.She paused in the doorway and turned back to him.
"I want to hear what you think this all means," she said."I think I know…but I want to talk about it."
Barrett set his cup on the tray and stood."Of course."
He crossed the room to her and wrapped her in a warm hug.His arms were strong around her, and she felt his chin rest gently against the top of her head.She leaned into him with her hands flat against his chest.
"I'm with you," he said."We'll figure this out."
Cadie closed her eyes and let him steady her.
Chapter 12
Barrett was standing at the bathroom sink when his phone buzzed on the counter.He had just splashed water on his face and was reaching for a towel.Cadie had gone to her room to shower, and he was planning to do the same.
He picked up the phone and read the text from Cadie:Come now.Need help.
Barrett dropped the towel and was out the door in three seconds.He didn't bother with shoes.He moved down the hallway in bare feet with his pulse steady and his mind already running through scenarios.The corridor was empty and quiet, and the carpet muffled his footsteps as he covered the distance to Cadie's room.
Her door was open.She was standing just inside the threshold with her bag clutched against her chest.Her face was pale, but her eyes were sharp and alert.She wasn't panicking.She was angry.
Barrett stepped past her and scanned the room.The dresser drawers had been pulled open and their contents displaced.The closet door was ajar, and the clothes inside had been pushed aside roughly.The nightstand drawer was open, and the small desk near the window had been disturbed.The bedcovers were bunched at the foot of the mattress as if someone had lifted the pillows and checked beneath them.
He checked the bathroom, the closet, and the area behind the curtains.No one was there.The room was empty.
He returned and placed his hands on Cadie's shoulders."Are you hurt?"
"No."She shook her head."I opened the door and saw it like this.I didn't touch anything."
"Good."He kept his hands on her shoulders for a moment, steadying her.Then he released her and looked around the room again with a more careful eye.
The television was still mounted on the wall.A small jewelry case sat undisturbed on the bathroom counter.Cadie's charger was still plugged into the outlet near the bed.Nothing of obvious value had been taken.
"They weren't here to steal," Barrett said.
Cadie followed his gaze around the room."Then what were they looking for?"
Barrett looked at the bag she was holding."That."
Cadie tightened her grip on the strap.The bag contained her aunt's journals, the notebook with the timeline she had built, and the key documents from the estate.She had carried it with her when she left his room that morning, the same way she had carried it to dinner the night before and to every meeting since arriving in Charleston.
"You had it with you," Barrett said.
"I always have it with me."
