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“What did she tell you about why she was back here now?”
Gray inhaled. “She said she was recently widowed and came back her to settle some real estate holdings her husband had here. I didn’t care enough to ask anymore.”
David let out a long breath. “You may care now. She married Jason McGinley. Do you know him?”
Gray shook his head no. Sam sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God.” She raised her hands to press either side of her face. “Is it the same … It can’t be … was he killed here in Harmony Lake?”
David nodded. “He’s was an architect from Michigan. He was here in Harmony Lake visiting a local business, putting a bid in for a building. You bid on the same building, Gray. The Bank First National.”
Gray’s head snapped up. “I won that bid. I just finished designing that building when I met Sam.” He looked at her; his brows furrowed creating deep grooves on his forehead.
David nodded. “Apparently, Cheryl met Jason while he was in town four years ago bidding on another job that you also bid on and won. She’d already broken up with you, but had been hanging around the hotel when she met Jason. Do you remember the timing of that? It was the shopping center in Wrightsville, and developers were meeting with architects over a two-day period. Everyone was filing in and out of that building one after the other.”
Gray nodded. “I remember. I didn’t see Cheryl there. I wasn’t looking for her either. Bids were all placed in person at Harmony House.”
“Right.” David nodded. “She was hanging around, probably hoping to run into you and met him. They struck up conversation. When you won the bid, he was pissed and she used that anger and told him you had broken up with her, that you had been horrible to her. He married her quickly thinking he was getting you back.” He tapped a few keys on his computer. “We were doing research on Cheryl and Suzanne, and this came across my desk. I’ve been trying to find information about his death and it took me until about three this afternoon to find out. When Tank texted me, I ran right over. Jason was killed by Tim Powell.”
David’s eyes darted to her; she sat stone still, she’d recognized the name as soon as David mentioned it.
“Sam?” Gray asked, concern coloring his voice.
“Yes.” Her voice cracked. She cleared it and started again. “I recognized the name as soon as David said it.” She looked into David’s eyes. “What are the odds?”
He nodded once more. “She’s been in mental hospitals in the past, though it was a long time ago. Some of those records are sealed—juvie. Jason’s sister told police that their relationship was volatile.”
Slowly her head began to put thoughts together. “So, you think she came back here to confront me and found out that Gray and I were together and she’s snapped?”
He shrugged. “Either that or she came back because she is now widowed and thought she could get Gray back and then found him with you. Of all people, the widow of the man who’d killed her husband.”
“So, you believe she’s the person responsible for hitting Sam?” Gray’s shoulders pulled back, his back ramrod straight.
David tapped a few more keys, and a picture popped up. “Is this the vehicle you saw, Sam?”
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the picture on his computer. The navy colored Tahoe looked like the vehicle she remembered. She closed her eyes and waited for the panic to pass. A shiver ran down her back; her stomach lurched remembering the pain she’d so recently suffered.
“Sam?”
Gray’s deep voice brought her out of her own head. She opened her eyes to find his locked on her. “I’m okay.” Her eyes darted to the computer screen again. She whispered, “Yes. That’s it.”
Gray handed her the glass of wine he’d poured for her. “Take a drink babe.”
Her hands shook as she slowly brought the glass to her lips. Life seemed to be moving in slow motion. She sipped the delicious Moscato, breathed in deeply, and slowly let the breath leave her lungs.
Gray scooted to the edge of the sofa. “So, Cheryl is the person after Sam. And now she knows or may suspect that we know that. Is that good or bad?”
“Hard to say. My contacts at the police department are searching the Tahoe again; they still have it in impound. In the meantime, we’re doubling up on security here. We’re going to call in more security for your shopping trip. If she’s watching, I think we should try and do as much as we can to look normal. We want you both safe, but we also want to draw her out so if she makes a move, the police can apprehend her. If we find evidence that it’s her, we can have her picked up without her making a move.”
Sam nodded. “I understand.”
“Let’s sit tight and wait to see what happens tonight. We’ll be hawking the security system all night and I’m in constant contact with the police department—they know I’m here for security and why. They’ll keep us informed of any new developments.”
Sam took a deep breath, then another, waiting for the calm to descend. “So, you think she wants to kill me and not Gray? Gray’s safe?”
“Sam, we don’t know. My guess is that she would like you out of the way, but if she can’t get to you, she may try to get to Gray so you can’t have him. I was watching her today; she was glaring at you. Her vehemence, at least today, was directed at you.”
“But I didn’t kill her husband.”
“No, but you stand in the way of her and Gray.”
