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Mason pulled into the drive, and they got out. This place wasn’t gated, and they approached the front door to the hum of a vacuum from inside the house somewhere. Annie pressed the doorbell, but the vacuum continued to rumble. She pounded her fist on the door, and the noise stopped.
A fresh-faced woman in her twenties with a baby on her hip dressed in pink opened the door. A red headband held back the woman’s tight black curls, and her dark eyes widened when she saw Mason’s badge. “Can I help y’all?” Her southern accent was one that wasn’t heard often in Yooperland.
“Sheriff Mason Kaleva, ma’am, from over in Rock Harbor. Sorry to take you away from your cleaning, but I had a few questions about your neighbors.”
She shifted the baby to her other arm. “My neighbors?” Her glance went to the house across the street.
“The Frasers. We’re looking for Michelle Fraser.”
She nodded. “Come on in. There’s lots to say about sweet Michelle.”
Annie exhaled. This must be who Fraser’s sister wanted them to talk to.
The woman swung the door open and led them past a toy-strewn hall into the living room, where she plopped the baby down by the vacuum. “I’m Brayonna Day.”
“Your baby is darling.” Annie wanted to scoop up the pudgy cutie, but some people were careful about letting others touch their babies.
Brayonna picked up the baby and deposited her in Annie’s arms. “You can hold her. Her name is Jesalynn. She’s six months old.”
It had been a while since Annie had held a baby. For just a second she imagined carrying Jon’s baby again with him by her side. She shook the thought away. There was a lot to resolve before she could let herself dream of a future. She inhaled the sweet scent of infant and rocked little Jesalynn in her arms in a soothing motion.
“Have you found Michelle’s body?” Brayonna asked. “When she quit answering her phone, I was sure Brandon killed her.”
Annie’s pulse jumped. “No, we haven’t. Why do you think she’s been the victim of foul play?”
“He was always hitting her in places where others couldn’t see. She showed me bruises. She left him a year ago, and we were supposed to meet for lunch. I was going to help her find a safe place, but she didn’t show up. And she never answered herphone again, not in all this time. What else could it be? I’m her best friend. She wouldn’t disappear without telling me.”
“Did you know she had rented a condo at Whisper Creek in Rock Harbor?” Annie asked.
Brayonna frowned. “Where’s Rock Harbor? I’m not familiar with it.”
“West of here, out near Ontonagon.”
“Near the Porkies. That makes sense. Michelle started working on her wildlife biology degree against Brandon’s wishes about a year before she went missing. Her passion is the big cats—mountain lions.”
The baby began to fuss, so Annie handed her back to her mother. “So she didn’t tell you she was leaving the area?”
“No, but I knew she needed to get away before Brandon found her.”
“Did he threaten her before he hurt her?”
“He’d been stalking her. Two weeks after she left him, he broke into her hotel and left a dead rat with a note that read:You’re next.She recognized his handwriting, so she knew it was him.”
Annie shuddered. Creepy. “Did she file a police report?”
“No, she wanted to get away, and she’d have to give an address to the police. She didn’t want Brandon to find out where she was, and he knows people in high places.”
“Did she have any contacts for women’s shelters or anyone who might have helped her find the place over in Rock Harbor?”
“I’d given her the card of a shelter in Houghton. Wait a second, I have another card.” She sprang up from the sofa and rummaged in a drawer in the desk against the back wall. “Here it is.” She handed it to Annie.
Annie glanced at it but didn’t recognize the name. “Thank you. Did you file a missing person’s report when you didn’t hear from her?”
Brayonna shook her head. “I thought for sure she was dead anyway, and with a baby to care for, I didn’t want to draw Brandon’s attention.”
Mason’s phone sounded with a message, and he glanced at it. “It doesn’t appear her husband filed a missing person’s report, and there were no reports of any domestic disturbances at their home.”
“She didn’t want to escalate things, and it doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t file a report. Not after that knifing.”
