He pressed a kiss to Paradise’s forehead. “Did Abby have anything else to say?”
“She’d heard about the scare with the snake and the vandalism to my car. She’s worried about me.”
His phone sounded, and he showed Jane’s name on the screen to Paradise and his mom. “Blake here.”
“Sorry to call so late, Blake, but I finally got ahold of Chad at the place that ran your DNA. I had quite the time finding anyone to talk to me.”
“Thanks for being so persistent. What did he say about the disappearing results?”
“He said they’d discovered they’d been hacked and were making efforts to shore up their online security. He apologized for the trouble, then claimed they’d traced the break-in to somewhere in DC, though he didn’t know more than that. No name or company behind the hacking.”
“Was anything else in the database changed?”
“That’s the strange part. Only that particular result had been tampered with. It’s very odd, and even he admitted he didn’t know what to make of it. At any rate, he says the results have been uploaded and Paradise should be able to message any of the possible family connections that show up now.”
“That’s good news,” Blake said. “I’ll have her check the DNA portal. Any word on fingerprints or DNA on the binoculars?”
“We lifted prints and have a match, but I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn they were used by Lloyd Adams. I’m sharing the results with the sheriff’s office, and I’m sure they’ll pick him up. If nothing else, he was trespassing and sabotaging an animal enclosure, but I think it’s likely he killed Ivy. And we also got DNA off the USB drive found in Paradise’s car the night of the snake incident. It also belongs to Adams.”
So Abby was right—Adams was involved in more than the sabotage incidents at the park. Blake heard a child whining in the background. “Sounds like Dolly is still up.”
“Sleep regression. The bane of my existence. Hang on.” Jane’s voice held humor and not anger, and she called to her daughter. “Coming, sweet girl. Mama will be right there.”
Blake grinned when she signed off. Even a police chief dealt with fractious toddlers.
Blake followed Paradise to her apartment, and he checked closets and bedrooms while she made a charcuterie board of crackers, cheese, pepperoni, prosciutto, nuts, and mango chutney. It might not be a professional job, but it made her mouth water.With glasses of sweet tea, it would make a nice treat to eat with a movie. She’d let Blake choose tonight’s selection, which meant she had no idea what it would be. He had eclectic tastes that ranged from war movies to sci-fi and fantasy.
All that mattered was she’d be snuggled against his side, right where she wanted to be after the crazy day.
“All clear.” Blake dropped onto the sofa beside her and reached for a cracker. “This looks amazing. I don’t even know how to spell what kind of board it is.”
“I just remembercharlike a steak andcuterielike it’s cute. But it’s hard to spell for sure.”
“Why not just call it a snack board? Or cracker board? Who came up with a word likecharcuterieanyway?”
“It’s French.” She slathered chutney on a cracker and stacked it with meat and cheese. “So what are we watching tonight?”
“I’d rather watch you than the TV.” He coiled a strand of her hair around his finger. “It feels like we haven’t had much alone time lately. I want to hear how Pawsome Pets is doing. All we’ve done is talk about The Sanctuary. Any interesting cases?”
“My hours are starting to fill up, and someone brought in a pet otter a couple of days ago. The poor thing didn’t have the right habitat, and I had to lecture the owner on how to do better. I think she might be considering bringing the otter to the park. They are super cute, but it takes a lot of dedication to provide the right space.”
“Levi would love another otter. That kid is obsessed with them.”
“And a litter of puppies got dropped off. Part Lab and part mongrel but very cute.” Merlin stared at her with disdain at the mention of the dogs, then hopped up on her lap to remind her she belonged to him. “I got lucky and the next family in that day took all three.”
“Mom will thank you. The boys would want them too.” His embrace pulled her closer. “Enough talk.”
His mouth covered hers and she forgot all about the problems they faced. She found herself on his lap with her arms wound around his neck. His breath was ragged when he pulled away and so was hers. “Whose idea was it to wait awhile to get married?” he whispered.
“That would be all your fault, big guy.”
He leaned his head against hers. “I don’t even know what to do, babe. It feels like the park is slipping away from us. Mom keeps the books, so I hadn’t really looked into our finances. I was floored when she admitted we’d have trouble meeting payroll on Friday. I often don’t even cash my check, but it’s still not enough. I could make a lot more money as a paramedic. Maybe I should get another job and hire someone to drive the safari truck.”
Her stomach bottomed out. “Don’t pay me this week. Pawsome Pets is paying for itself, and the payments should be a good revenue stream for you guys eventually. What can I do to help?” She had a little money in savings she’d tucked away for their wedding, but she knew better than to offer it up. Blake would never take it. “I’m practically part of the family—it’s okay to hold my check just like yours.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not taking your money. I’d thought about trying to get a loan, but I’m not sure the bank would go for it with our current balance sheet. I could get a little cash advance on a credit card, but the interest rate is crazy and it would only bail us out for a week. I own my truck free and clear. I could get a loan with it as collateral for probably twenty thousand.” He rubbed his head. “But that just creates more debt. If we could just get more donors, but the bad PR is scaring them away.”
“Let’s pray about it, right now.” It wasn’t a comment she’d everthought she’d hear coming out of her mouth, but she’d found herself turning to God more and more since she’d quit blaming him for every bad thing that had happened in her life.
