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“That would be wonderful! I love the outdoors, as you know. Can I move in today? I brought my things with me.”
“You sure can.” It would feel a little strange to have someone else in the cabin where Sarah had lived, but it might be a good thing to push out those memories for now. And Annie would have someone to help out while she was gone so much with the investigations.
“What else can we do to help?” Annie asked.
Her tears dried, Michelle stood. “This is exactly what I need. Can we go out there now? Can I leave my car somewhere Brandon can’t find it?”
“I’ve got an equipment garage at the back of the marina. You can park it there. No one but me uses it.” Annie rose and grabbed her coffee. “I’ll take you out now.”
Michelle followed her out to the marina, and they passed only two cars along the way, both residents of Rock Harbor Annie knew. No one would recognize Michelle’s car, a nondescript white Ford she must have traded in her expensive car for. To anyone passing on the street, there was nothing remarkable about it.
Annie reached the marina and drove back to the garage, where she slid open the door to let Michelle in. With the car parked the women walked back out into the sunshine and Annie closed the door and locked it.
She gave a key to Michelle. “I have another one. If you need your car, you can get it out.”
The other woman put the key in her purse. “I don’t plan to use it. Brandon will soon lose interest in finding me.”
“Has he gone hunting much lately?”
Michelle’s brows rose at the abrupt question. “He’s been gone a lot, but I assumed he was with his floozy.”
It had been an impulsive question, but Annie hadn’t trusted Brandon from the moment she met him. And a man who would hit a woman might very well hunt her down.
***
Sarah’s lungs burned as she ran through the forest. Brambles snatched at her jeans and tee as she hurried in the direction of Max’s house. The thick foliage obscured the path in several places, and she had to stop to get her bearings. She reached a clearing and spotted the steep roofline of the house above the pines.
Finally. With the jacket in her hand, she caught her breath before moving to the back deck steps, where two figures sat on Adirondack chairs.
Max, satellite phone in hand, caught sight of her. “I’ll call you back.” He punched a button to disconnect. His dark brows rose as he studied her. “You appear to be upset, Sarah. Is the cabin not to your liking?”
“It’s not that,” she wheezed. She bent over and dragged inoxygen. “Not used to running.” When she straightened, she held out the jacket. “I found this along the shoreline near the little beach. That’s blood on the back.”
Max took the yellow jacket and examined it. “A women’s size medium.” He turned it over to reveal the blood on the back. “It appears it might be blood. Or paint.”
“I smelled it. It’s blood.”
He nodded. “I should let the sheriff know. Wait here.”
Taking his sat phone, he walked to the far end of the deck to place the call. Sarah caught snatches of words likebloodandjacket. She dropped into a chair while he spoke with the sheriff and glanced over at Anu in the other chair. “I hope I didn’t disturb you, Anu.”
The older woman reached over and took her hand. “You appear quite distressed, Sarah. Is there anything I can get for you? Tea or coffee?”
Anu’s calm manner soothed Sarah, and she clung to her fingers for a moment before releasing her. “I’m fine. It shook me up a little to see the blood. I think we need to start a search and try to find the woman.”
“You can trust Max to do what is necessary.” Anu’s blue eyes went more somber. “You were in the cabin first, yes?”
“Yes, but I had to get out of there. It felt claustrophobic.”
“I told Max perhaps it was not the best idea to have you stay out there by yourself. Not when you had not been in that place in all these years.”
“I was looking at our bedroom. I’d forgotten the quilts. When I saw them, I remembered crying myself to sleep on the bottom bunk and how Annie always tried to make it okay. It made me sad to know she’s so upset with me now. And I’m mad at myself for not remembering how often she always took care of me.”
Sarah’s voice quivered, and she swallowed down the pain. Everything seemed somehow worse since it was her own doing. If not for the way she’d infiltrated Annie’s life and schemed for revenge, life might be very different. Knowing Annie the way she did now, Sarah knew if she’d walked up to the door and told her sister who she was, she would have been welcomed with gladness and open arms.
Instead, Annie couldn’t trust her around Kylie. And why would she when Sarah had proven how devious she was?
She wasn’t aware she was crying until Anu pressed a flowered tissue into her hand. “I am sorry, little one. I see your pain. God sees, too, even better than me since he can feel your heart. Perhaps this experience is to let you find out what really happened twenty-four years ago. You’ve believed a lie. Maybe it’s time to find out the truth.”
