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No... no, just the wind.
She frowned, feeling like a hare caught in a hunter's sites.
Inside the room at the end of the hall, Rachel's gaze landed on a pair of suitcases sitting on the bed, half-packed with clothes and personal items.
Otherwise, the room seemed empty.
Two suitcases.
Half packed...
Her brow furrowed as she considered the implications. Had Jack intended to leave? If so, why?
She peered into the compartments.
Women's clothing.
Not Jack.
Sarah.
His wife had been packing...
She thought of the note she'd spotted on the table downstairs. A lover's rendezvous? Or something innocuous?
She took one last look at the packed bags before turning on her heel and making her way back downstairs.
Rejoining Ethan outside, she approached Jack once more. The scent of raw meat and iron lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the evening's macabre setting.
"Jack," Rachel began, her voice steady despite the tension that thrummed beneath the surface. "I found some bags upstairs, half-packed. Can you explain that?"
Jack's eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion before he responded, his voice low and gravelly. "You went snooping?" His hand tightened on the cleaver.
Ethan's tightened on his gun.
"I spotted it," she said. "Now answer my question." Her tone was harsher now, cranking up the pressure.
She didn't back away one inch, refusing to give him even the slightest whiff of fear.
He was a large man, a mountain man, but she'd faced predators five times his size before without quailing.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair, indifferent to the gore he trailed with his fingers. "It's none of your damn business."
"Did you know about her plans?" Ethan interjected, scrutinizing Jack's reaction closely.
"It wasn't like that."
"Tell us what it was like, then?"
"You wander into my house? Go snooping? Then demand I tell you something? You're really starting to piss me off. Things ain't done like that around here. I know Sheriff Collins. He's a friend."
"We met the sheriff. Why don't you just answer our questions. Why was your wife packing bags?"
Rachel studied him intently, trying to discern any hint of deception from his body language. Her instincts were on high alert, but nothing concrete emerged from the man's stoic demeanor besides simmering anger. She exchanged a glance with Ethan, who seemed equally frustrated by their lack of progress.
"Jack," she continued, "can you tell us more about your relationship with Sarah? Were there any issues between the two of you?"
"Every couple has their problems," Jack replied defensively, his jaw tensing. "But we loved each other. That's all you need to know."
