“You’re a good protector.” Blake set him down and ruffled his hair. “You guys can head back to bed. That was a rude awakening, wasn’t it?”
“Can we get closer to the trailer? I want to see,” Levi said. “I’m not sleepy.”
“Tomorrow.” Mom steered him back toward the house. “It’s too dark to see much anyway.”
Her backward glance at Blake was an unspoken question, and he smiled and nodded. “Everything is fine.”
He waited until they were out of earshot. “Let’s check the hayloft in the barn.”
“The cavity I found with the will?” Clark asked.
“Yeah, I left a little trap for whoever left it there.” An owl hooted from a branch above them, and the sounds of the park settling back into its nightly routine floated his way. A coyote yipped, and several wolves howled as if to assure him they were fine. Monkeys screeched in chorus with them.
The three of them reached the barn, and he eyed the door. It wasn’t fully closed. “Were you in here?” he asked Clark.
“Nope. It was shut up tight when I passed this way to go to the grocery store.”
Blake frowned and slid it open the rest of the way. The scent of hay made him sneeze. Could someone have been kicking itaround? A light had been left on too. The ladder stood against the side the way he’d left it, and his boots were on the rungs before Paradise and Clark made it inside. He climbed to the loft and glanced around the dimly lit space. Hay still covered the cavity, but it was a thin layer instead of heaped high the way he’d left it.
Paradise came up the ladder and stepped onto the hay. “What are you looking for?” Clark scrambled up behind her.
“If Dean or Mary planted the will, they might be curious to see if anyone found it yet. Since Mary mentioned Dean was breaking in and searching park property, they might have needed a diversion tonight to get in here and look.” He pointed at the area where they’d found the cavity. “I kept the original will but folded a copy and put it in the folder where we’d found it. I measured exactly where I laid it, and I put a quarter in the crack of the lid over the cavity so I could tell if anyone opened it. Someone has been in here. The light is on and the door was open.”
He swiped the hay out of the way to reveal the wooden top over the cavity. “The quarter is missing.” He spotted a silver glimmer and pointed it out. “It’s there, right where it would have fallen if someone lifted off the lid.” He knelt in the hay and pried up the board. “The folder is two inches lower than where I left it. Someone was definitely in here, and in a minute I’ll know who it was.” He pointed out the camera attached discreetly in the shadow of the barn ceiling.
He took out his phone, called up the camera app, and touched the recorded movements. Clenching his jaw, he turned it around for Paradise and Clark to see.
Dean’s face was on the screen.
Blake uploaded the video and attached it to a message he sent off to Jane. “I sure hope this is enough to convince a court thatsomething fishy is going on. He could have killed you tonight. Or one of the boys.”
“Or you,” she added. “I don’t think he cares who he hurts. He’s determined to get the property.”
“He’s not going to succeed.” Blake clapped Clark on the shoulder. “Let me get you a key to the empty cottage and some clothes. We’re about the same size, so some of my stuff will do for now.”
The Dillard Ranch sprawled over three thousand acres and was one of the largest properties in Baldwin County. Paradise took in the green fields and grazing livestock, both cattle and horses. Picturesque red barns dotted the expansive grounds around the big brick home. The late-afternoon sky beyond the white paddocks added to the picture-perfect view.
“Roger has a beautiful property. I spent a lot of time here during my childhood with Abby. I haven’t ridden a horse in ages.”
“Roger would let you go horseback riding anytime you want.” Blake maneuvered around the final curve to the sweeping driveway in front of the house. “You should plan to go with Abby sometime.”
“I will.” She hopped out when the truck stopped behind Abby’s car. “I think it will be helpful to have her and Roger in one room as we try to figure this out.”
Blake shut his door and joined her. They walked toward the porch together. The huge pillars were quintessential Southern Alabama, and warmth flooded Paradise as she mounted the familiar steps to the front door. The years fell away and she remembered how Abby’s mom always hugged her when she came to visit, evenmore fiercely after Paradise’s mom died. She’d died herself five years later, right after Paradise had been yanked from the Adamses’ household.
Abby opened the door before Paradise could press the bell. She wore slim-fitting jeans with a flannel shirt and cowboy boots. Her red hair was in a ponytail that made her look about fifteen, but her brown eyes held heaviness. Paradise didn’t think it had anything to do with the problems at The Sanctuary.
Abby hugged Paradise and held on longer than usual. “I came prepared to go riding, did you? I texted you to bring clothes.”
“I didn’t get the message.” Her phone dinged, and Paradise glanced at it. “There it is now. Crazy cell service.” She glanced down at her shorts and tee. Sandals instead of boots. “I think I’m underdressed.”
“Luckily we wear the same size.” She wagged a finger at Paradise. “Don’t try to get out of it.”
“I’d love to go. It’s been ages since I was on a horse.” She linked arms with Abby, and they passed through the foyer into the living room with Blake trailing them.
Abby’s daughter, Quinn, was in jeans and boots as well. Her long red hair in a braid, she glanced up from where she sat cross-legged on the floor and gave a slight wave before going back to her phone. Typical fourteen-year-old behavior though she was only ten. She would be a real handful by the time she was in her teens. “Grandpa said I had to stay here with you in case I could help you with the questions. Mary used to babysit me. Grandpa will be here in a second. He was looking through paperwork.” She waved at the coffee table. “I brought in a tray of sweet tea. Help yourselves.”
Paradise and Blake settled on the sofa, and Abby perched onone of two leather armchairs opposite them. Her gaze went to Quinn, and that worry line deepened. Paradise took a glass of iced tea, beaded with condensation. Blake grabbed one too.
