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Jacquie looked at the wrecked room. “We’re going to need another guard.”
Josh’s phone rang. He answered it, then swore under his breath. Jacquie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for the next round of bad news. “Okay, I’m on my way.” He disconnected the line as despair filled his eyes.
“What is it now?” She braced herself for his answer.
“They’ve found one of Sylvia’s roommates in the park.”
Jacquie didn’t need to ask, she could tell by the grim tightness to his face what the news was. Her heart clenched and she closed her eyes and let her head drop.
“I need to meet the coroner at the body.” His voice was almost a croak. “Will you be all right here alone?”
“Of course. Go. As soon as I’m checked out, I’ll head back to the ranch.”
“You promise?”
She looked up and found is eyes, her heart almost breaking at the task before him. She nodded. “I promise.”
“Okay, I’ll call Chase to see if he can send more guards. In the meantime, Billy will be here soon to watch you and Sylvia.”
“Thanks, Josh. Watch your back.”
“You, too.” As soon as everyone left the room, Jacquie sat on her bed that was still unoccupied and watched the steady rise and fall of Sylvia’s chest. A moment later, the closet door opened and Aiden stepped into the room.
“Hello, Jacquie. We need to talk.”
16
Chase tookhis mother back to the Granite Falls Inn, his mind spinning in a million different directions as he tried to figure out what was going on. What was the point of trashing his mom’s house? Was someone trying to send him a message, or Aiden?
He entered his mother’s hotel room and did a security sweep. He didn’t expect Aiden, or anyone else, to be there, but he wasn’t taking any more chances. Not until he got to the bottom of this. Her house wasn’t just searched, there was an element of extreme anger in the damage that was done.
“Are you going to be okay alone here for a while? Do you have a friend I can call to come stay with you?”
She looked surprised. “Do you have to leave?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Josh just called. They’ve found the body of one of the missing girls in the park. I have to meet him at the crime scene.” He hated to tell her the news, especially after everything she’d been through today.
“Oh.” Her fingers rose to her lips. “That’s awful. Those poor girls.”
“Will you be all right? Can I get you a snack or anything before I go?”
She gave him a small smile. “No, that’s all right. Thank you, though. I think I’ll take a nap. It’s been a long day.” She sat down on the bed and gave it a little bounce.
He walked toward the door. “Don’t open this door for anyone but me.”
“Okay.” She looked so small sitting there in the dim light with her shoulders hunched.
He hated to leave her alone right now. “I’ll be back in a couple hours and then we’ll get a late dinner. Okay?”
“All right.” She lay back on the bed. “Chase, please be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
The sadness in that room was almost overwhelming. He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” He went to his room, took his firearm out of the safe and attached the holster to his belt around his waist. He’d almost made it to his car when his phone rang again. This time it was Jacquie. “Hey, what did the doctor say?” he asked as he answered.
“I didn’t get to see him. Can you meet me at my barn?” Her voice sounded clipped.
“I was just heading over to meet Josh. What happened with the doctor?”
“It’s important, Chase. I need you to come, and please, come alone.” She disconnected the line.
