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Joe Cheveyo. Midnight Lake. Vermont. The envelope was plain white with no return address. “There’s no postmark.”
Troy nodded. “It was left on the counter earlier today.”
That was weird. Anyone local would call him. Getting mail here that hadn’t been mailed was strange. Beside him, he felt Lia tense and he knew he’d done the same.
He asked Troy for a cloth in case they wanted to dust the envelope for fingerprints. He opened it and peeked inside. Ripped paper. Several pieces of ripped paper. He wanted to dump it out and piece it together but not on Troy’s counter. “Is Marcus in?”
Troy nodded and they all trooped back to the deputy’s office. Marcus looked up from his desk. He frowned at whatever he saw on Joe’s face. “What’s happened?”
Joe held up the envelope. “Someone left an envelope full of ripped pieces of paper or a photo for me on Troy’s counter. I want to put it together and see what it is, but I didn’t want to touch anything.”
Marcus nodded and moved to take an evidence tray out of a cupboard. He motioned to the seating area in the corner. Joe poured the contents into the tray.
Lia sat beside him. “It’s definitely a photograph.”
With gloves on, Marcus used tweezers to move the pieces of the photo so they all faced up. They were big enough that it didn’t take long for them all to recognize what it was. Anger burned through him and every protective instinct flared to life. Lia gasped softly and he wished like hell he hadn’t done this with her here.
The photo was of the two of them strolling hand in hand along Phail Way. The picture had been ripped, but not before someone had drawn a red X over Lia’s face.
Lia stared at the photo. Joe’s hand grabbed hers and squeezed. “Breathe, honey. Breathe.”
Her inhale helped ease the spots that had started bobbing in front of her eyes. She closed them and breathed again. And again. “Sorry. Took me by surprise. That’s all.”
Tessa sat on her other side and put her arm around Lia’s shoulders and hugged. Lia couldn’t take her eyes off the photo. Did someone want her dead? Was she the target after all? Or did someone want Joe to themselves and that person thought Lia was a threat?
Joe squeezed her hand again. “Hey.” When she looked up at him, he gave her a soft smile. “No one’s going to get to you. We’ll keep you safe. We’ll figure it out.”
She nodded because she knew the skill levels of the people around her. When she looked up, she found the deputy studying her with a flat gaze. “Any pissed off ex-boyfriends back in Atlanta?”
She managed a tiny smile at that. “No. I didn’t have time for dating down there.”
“Anyone pressure you to date? Anyone—colleagues, patients, or friends—who were a little too intense?”
She shook her head at each one. “No. I’ve been home alone for months because of my injury. The only people I’ve really spoken with over that time were Casilda and Tabora, two people from work.”
“What about physical therapy appointments? Check ups?”
She shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I led an extremely quiet life, Deputy. I’ll give you the numbers of Casilda and Tabora. They can confirm that for you.” Her face flamed as she spoke. It was bad enough with Joe there. Adding in Flynn and Tessa made it worse. She could see now how lonely her life had been, but at the time, it had just been her life.
Troy Phail walked in holding a tablet. “Got the security video. Can’t identify the person.” He handed it to the deputy first. His face didn’t give anything away as he watched it, then he passed it to Joe.
Joe held it so she, Tessa, and Flynn could also see the screen. A person wearing a hoodie walked into the store. The figure appeared to be a slim male, of average height. The person kept their head down, but looked around the store. From this camera angle, they could see Troy talking in one of the aisles with another man.
The hooded figure walked directly to the counter and placed the envelope on it, showing gloves. Then he turned and walked out. Never looking up.
Joe growled. “He’s got gloves on, so probably no prints. Smart enough to keep the hood up and his head down.”
They watched the video again, but no one noticed anything else.
Lia broke the silence. “If the envelope was addressed to Joe, could it be a woman? Someone who was angry about seeing the two of us together?”
Marcus nodded. “Another possibility. Anyone come to mind, Joe?”
He squeezed her hand and looked at her when he answered. “No. I haven’t dated anyone in a hell of a long time.”
Flynn faked a cough to cover up his mutter of workaholic. Joe kept his eyes on Lia while he flipped him off. “I don’t have any crazy ex-girlfriends hiding out in my past.”
She nodded to show she believed him, but that didn’t alleviate the worry. With Joe’s name on the envelope and his tires being slashed, it was far more likely he was the target.
