The Christmas Rescue
Laura Scott
Don't look! When Kayla Wilson finds a body in Lake Michigan, she shields her daughter's eyes and calls the police. But not before spotting a stranger lurking in the woods - watching her . And when her bed-and-breakfast is broken into, she knows the man is after her.Coast Guard officer Rafe DeSilva is sure the attacks are related to his current case - a crime ring operating in the Great Lakes. He will do whatever is necessary to keep Kayla and her daughter, Brianna, safe…while holding them at arm's length. Until Brianna is kidnapped, and Rafe puts everything on the line for a Christmas rescue.
“I’d like to stay for a few days, Kayla. Just in case this intruder tries again. I’d like to stay in the same room he tried to break in to, if possible.”
She wished she didn’t need Rafe’s help, but she couldn’t turn down his offer. Her daughter Brianna’s safety had to be first and foremost. After all, wasn’t that the main reason she’d called him? She’d known he’d take charge.
Keep them safe.
“If you’re sure,” she said, meeting his gaze. She was thankful Ellen had agreed to stay with them for a while, too, so that she could take Rafe up on his offer.
“I’m sure.” He smiled, and suddenly she remembered all too clearly those moments when he’d caught her close in his embrace.
She swallowed hard and glanced away. She could only hope that allowing Rafe to stay wasn’t a huge mistake on a personal level.
For Brianna’s sake. Or her own.
LAURA SCOTT
grew up reading faith-based romance books by Grace Livingston Hill, but as much as she loved the stories, she longed for a bit more mystery and suspense. She is honored to write for the Love Inspired Suspense line at Steeple Hill Books, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of faith amid the thrilling danger.
Laura lives with her husband of twenty-five years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance.
Please visit Laura at www.laurascottbooks.com, as she loves to hear from her readers.
The Christmas Rescue
Laura Scott
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
—Psalms 1:6
This book is dedicated to my brother Mike, his wife, Karlene, and their daughters, Brianna and Michaela, with love.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LETTER TO READER
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
ONE
“Mommy? What’s that red thing floating in the lake?”
Kayla Wilson glanced in the direction her five-year-old daughter, Brianna, indicated. The bright sunlight reflected blindingly off the water. Kayla squinted and raised a hand to shade her eyes.
Something red bobbed up and down in the water. She shivered. Not something. Someone. A body. A bloated, dead body. Lying face down, partially snagged on the rocky shore of Lake Michigan.
She sucked in a harsh breath and clutched Brianna close, turning her daughter away from the grotesque sight. She fumbled for her cell phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed 911.
“What’s the nature of your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.
“There’s a—d-dead body floating in the lake, about a mile north of Pelican Point.” Kayla didn’t like the idea of her daughter listening to the conversation, but there was nothing she could do.
“A dead body?” Brianna echoed in a high-pitched squeak, tightening her grip on Kayla’s waist.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll be fine,” she murmured reassuringly.
“We’ll send a squad. Do you have any reason to suspect you’re in danger?” the dispatcher asked.
Suddenly apprehensive, Kayla swept a glance around the area. This section of the lakeshore was usually deserted in December. She and Brianna had wandered north from Pelican Point, away from the memorial that had been recently placed in honor of her dead husband, Jeremy.
Her gaze landed once again on the dead body. She was hardly an expert, but considering the decomposition she could see from here, she suspected the body had been in the water for a while.
“No, I don’t think there’s any danger,” Kayla assured the dispatcher.
“I need you to stay at the scene until the officers arrive,” the woman informed her.
“We will.” Kayla snapped her phone shut and looked down at Brianna, bundled in her bright pink winter coat and hat. “The police are on their way, Bree.”
Brianna kept her face hidden against her side, and Kayla smoothed a hand over her pink knit cap. Her daughter had been only three when her father had died in a freak drowning accident when his charter fishing boat was caught in an unexpected storm. On this second anniversary of his death, she’d brought Brianna here in an effort to keep her husband’s memory alive. She worried about Brianna growing up without a father.
Lately, her daughter talked about her friends’ fathers with a subtle longing in her voice. Kayla knew Brianna desperately wanted a father of her own.
“Do you think he fell off his boat, too?” Brianna lifted her head to ask, her tiny face pulled into a compassionate frown. Kayla grimaced. Unfortunately, instead of sweet memories, they’d stumbled upon a grisly reminder of Jeremy’s death. Brianna had obviously made a connection between the dead person in the water and her father’s drowning.
“Brianna, we really don’t know what happened,” she started to explain, and then broke off, when a movement off Brianna’s left shoulder caught her attention. She shifted to see better and her eyes widened when she saw a man wearing a brown canvas jacket and a green stocking knit cap. Something about him was familiar, and as she stared at him, recognition dawned.
Greg Landrum. The guy who’d rented a room in her bed-and-breakfast last weekend.
She didn’t know where he’d come from, since she hadn’t seen any sign of him earlier, but there he stood staring at them. Belatedly, he smiled and waved, as if he’d recognized them, too.
She swallowed hard and waved back, even though she was keenly aware of their isolation. She wished desperately they’d brought Clyde, their cocker spaniel puppy, with them on this venture. Clyde loved everyone, except Greg Landrum. For some reason, Clyde had taken an instant dislike to her guest. At least his constant barking, growling and nipping might have kept Greg Landrum away.
Kayla turned and opened her phone again, pushing the speed dial button for her brother, Alex, hoping desperately Greg Landrum wouldn’t walk over to strike up a conversation.
The guy gave her the creeps.
“Hi, Kay. What’s up?” Alex asked.
Comforted by her brother’s familiar voice, she managed to keep calm. She didn’t want to alarm Brianna by letting her fear show. “Hi, Alex. Where are you? Do you think you could come down to meet me and Brianna at the lakefront?”
“Sorry, Kay, Shelby and I brought Cody to the museum in Milwaukee. Why? What’s wrong?”
Her heart sank. Just her luck Alex would be out of town. “Nothing really, but Brianna and I were walking along the lakeshore and we, uh, found a dead body floating in the water.”
“What? A dead body?” Alex shouted in her ear. She pulled the phone away with a wince. “Where are you? What part of the lakeshore? Pelican Point?”
“Yes, we’re about a mile north of Pelican Point. Don’t worry, I’ve already called the police. They’re on the way.”
“Are you all right? Is Brianna all right?”
“We’re fine. But it’s a little creepy being out here.” She glanced over her shoulder to the spot where Greg Landrum had been standing, but he was gone. Puzzled, she swept a glance over the entire area. Surely she hadn’t imagined him.
The distant sound of a car engine drew her attention and she realized Greg Landrum had simply gone back to his car when she’d called Alex. She watched with overwhelming relief as the bright taillights of a small silver car pulled away from the curb and headed south.
She was glad he’d left. Greg Landrum was an odd guy. He’d claimed he wanted to spend some time hiking in the woods, but he hadn’t really dressed appropriately for the cold weather and had complained when his new hiking boots caused blisters on his feet. She hadn’t been at all disappointed when he’d packed up to leave.
“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, belatedly realizing Alex was waiting for some sort of response.
“What are you and Brianna doing all the way out there? Don’t you have guests at the bed-and-breakfast?”
“My next guests aren’t due in until tomorrow afternoon sometime.” She didn’t mention that they were the only guests booked for the rest of the month. After this weekend, she had nothing scheduled until mid-January. No point in burdening her brother and his new wife with her financial concerns.
“I wish I could come out there to be with you.” Her brother sounded concerned. She suspected the idea of a dead body intrigued him, since there was a part of him that missed the action he’d seen while working as a DEA agent.
“Don’t be silly,” she said with false confidence. Actually, now that Landrum was gone, she wasn’t nearly so unsettled. “We’re fine. I’m sure the police will be here any minute.” At least she hoped so. Where were they? What was taking so long?
“All right. But call me if you need anything,” he said firmly.
“I will,” she promised. She hung up the phone and within minutes, red and blue lights in the distance caught her attention. The police. Finally. “See, Bree? Here’s the police.”
“The police are going to help us, right?” Brianna asked.
“Absolutely,” Kayla promised, tucking her cell phone into her coat pocket. “They’re going to find out who that poor person is and what happened to him.”
Several police cars pulled up, along with an ambulance and the local coroner. When Kayla pointed them in the right direction, they all headed down to the shore to examine the dead victim. She swallowed hard and turned away when they eventually pulled the body out of the water, not wanting to see too much.
The police officers and the medical examiner spent so much time at the rocky shoreline, talking amongst themselves, that Kayla grew impatient. They’d mentioned wanting to talk to her, but what was taking so long? It was growing late, the sun was already low on the horizon and Brianna was getting antsy. They needed to get home.
Finally, one of the officers approached them, his expression grim. “Ma’am,” he greeted her with a polite nod. “I’m going to need some information from you. Can you give me your name and address?”
“Of course.” Kayla dutifully recited the information.
“And what brought you here to this section of the lakeshore today?” he asked.
Kayla explained how she and Brianna had come to Pelican Point to visit her husband’s memorial and had decided to take a walk up the path along the lakeshore.
“And did you go down to the body? Did you touch anything on or near the body?” he asked.
“No.” She couldn’t quite suppress a shiver. “I could tell…” Her voice trailed off, as she didn’t want to get into gruesome details in front of Brianna. “I could tell the—person was dead.”
“Kayla?” A familiar male voice called her name, making her turn around in surprise. For a moment she could only stare in shock when she saw Rafe DeSilva striding toward her, handsome as always dressed in his crisp navy blue coast guard dress uniform. His normally bright smile had been replaced by a concerned frown.
“Uh, hi, Rafe,” she greeted him awkwardly, trying to ignore the erratic leap of her pulse. Why she reacted so strangely around him, she had no idea. Rafe was a friend of her brother, Alex, and far too attractive for her peace of mind. She’d loved Jeremy and she had no business thinking about how handsome Rafe looked. Besides, Rafe wasn’t at all what she was looking for in a man. If she ever married again, and that was a very big if, she’d pick someone stable. Dependable. Not someone who was gone all the time. Like Jeremy had been. She smiled uncertainly. “What are you doing here?”
“Alex called. He was worried about you.” He raked a glance over her, as if reassuring himself she was unharmed and then smiled down at Brianna. “How’s my favorite five-year-old?”
“Mr. Rafe!” Brianna greeted him with an enthusiastic hug which only made Kayla’s scowl deepen. Her daughter had taken to Rafe from the first moment they’d met, and she had no intention of encouraging the friendship. The last thing she wanted was for Brianna to be hurt. “I’m glad you came. We founded a dead body in the water.”
“I heard,” he murmured, giving Brianna a brief hug, before glancing up at Kayla. “I’m sure that was quite a shock. Are you both all right?”
“We’re fine,” she assured him, feeling a bit foolish. There was no reason for Alex to have called Rafe. Obviously, she hadn’t done a good job of covering up her fear. She turned toward the police officer. “Is there anything else you need? I’d like to take my daughter home.”
“Yes, we’re finished here,” the police officer said, stepping back and closing his notebook. “I don’t have any more questions and if I need anything further, I know where to get in touch with you.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Do you have an ID on the victim?” Rafe asked.
The officer’s expression turned impassive. “We have a strong suspicion based on his shoulder tattoo, but we won’t release a name until we have a positive ID and next of kin has been notified.”
Rafe glanced down at the group down by the lakeshore, as he nodded slowly. “I understand.”
Kayla wondered if Rafe knew more than he was letting on. But she’d had enough of hanging around the gruesome scene. She took Brianna’s hand and glanced up at him. “We need to get going, Rafe. I’m sorry Alex called and made you come all the way down here for nothing.”
Rafe turned toward her with a gentle smile that made her feel incredibly warm despite the definite chill in the air. “Checking on you is never a waste of time, Kayla. Where’s your car? I’ll drive you back.”
“It’s not far, just a mile or so down the road,” she protested, unwilling to put him out any further.
“I’ll drive you,” Rafe repeated, steel lining his words. She sighed, recognizing that tone. He’d used it before, a few months earlier, when he thought she and Brianna were in danger from the man who was after her sister-in-law, Shelby. Rafe had gone into protector mode back then and she’d learned that when Rafe made up his mind to do something, there was no dissuading him. Arguing was futile.
“If you insist,” she agreed, forcing a smile. She wished she was immune to his charm, but she wasn’t. Her normal cool logic seemed to fly out the window around Rafe. Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to endure his presence for long. The drive to Pelican Point’s parking lot wasn’t far.
But the way Brianna gazed adoringly up at Rafe caused the muscles in her stomach to clench in warning. Fatherless Brianna was more susceptible to male attention than Kayla liked to admit. Especially now.
She couldn’t help thinking that with Rafe’s lethal charm, even five minutes could be too long.
Rafe escorted Kayla and Brianna down to his jeep, which he’d left parked on the road, but he couldn’t help glancing back at the group huddled around the dead victim, his mind buzzing with questions.
He believed with instinctive certainty the police knew the identity of the victim. And he couldn’t help thinking he knew who the dead person might be, too.
The prime suspect in his current investigation was Bill Schroeder, the owner of a charter fishing operation out of Pelican Point. Schroeder had been missing for the past week. Long enough for Rafe to fear their suspect was dead.
He’d kept his investigation a secret from Alex because of Kayla. Her husband had once been Schroeder’s partner, but since Jeremy Wilson had died two years ago, they’d pretty much ruled him out as being involved in the most recent criminal activity.
His team at the coast guard had been watching Bill Schroeder for the past few months, searching for proof that the owner of the charter fishing business was involved in an underground criminal escape ring, secretly whisking well-known criminals out of the United States through the Great Lakes into Canada—complete with new identities.
If Bill Schroeder was really the dead guy floating in Lake Michigan, then their investigation would take a serious hit. They had a few other potential suspects, but none as promising as Schroeder.
He glanced at Kayla and Brianna once they reached his jeep. He opened the passenger door for them. “Kayla, I need to go back and talk to the police for a minute. Will you wait for me? Please?”
Kayla flashed a puzzled frown but nodded. “I wouldn’t mind a ride, since darkness comes so early now. But if you could hurry, I’d appreciate it. I’m sure Brianna is hungry.”
Relief washed over him. He was afraid she’d insist on walking back to her car. He turned on the jeep’s ignition and cranked up the heat. “I’ll be quick, I promise. Five minutes.”
He took off at a jog, retracing his steps until he’d reached the group down at the lakefront. He was glad he was wearing his dress uniform when he approached the police officers. He pulled out his official coast guard ID. “I’m Chief Petty Officer Rafe DeSilva, and I have reason to believe this body may be linked to a Coast Guard investigation. You mentioned a tattoo, do you mind if I take a look? If you have a possible identity, I’d like to know.”
The uniformed officers exchanged wary glances, but then shrugged. “The tattoo on this guy’s shoulder is consistent with a missing person report we received for a William Schroeder. But since there’s not much left of this guy’s face or his fingers we’ll need either DNA or a dental match to be certain.”
Rafe’s gut clenched.
Bill Schroeder. Just as he’d feared.
He reached down to lift the sheet covering the body and looked at the shoulder tattoo for himself. He had a whole file on Bill Schroeder and he wasn’t surprised to see the tattoo of an anchor and the name Jeannie written along the bottom. Jeannie just happened to be the name of Schroeder’s ex-wife.
“Thanks,” he said to the police officers as he covered the body back up. “We’d appreciate a call once you do have a match with the dental records.”
“Sure,” the officer agreed.
Rafe jogged double-time back to the jeep to find Kayla and Brianna waiting patiently for him. He slid into the driver’s seat and glanced back at Brianna. “Did you time me?” he asked in a light, teasing tone.
“Yep. Mommy helped. You were gone six minutes. You’re late,” she said matter-of-factly.
He couldn’t help but laugh as he put the car into gear and then pulled away from the curb. “You’re right. I’m late. Sorry.”
“Mom promised we could stop for pizza on the way home,” Brianna announced. “Would you like to come with us?”
“Ah, Mr. Rafe is dressed for work, sweetheart,” Kayla quickly interjected. “Maybe another time, hmm?”
Kayla’s not so subtle un-invite bothered him. He sensed Kayla wanted to avoid him and he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t think it was because of his Hispanic heritage, although he supposed anything was possible.
He’d never approached her on a personal level, asking her to go out with him. Kayla was a widow, and he was a widower. She was strong and brave and beautiful, but the last thing he wanted or needed was a ready-made family.
He also knew that her brother, Alex, had found God and faith thanks to meeting his new wife, Shelby, but Kayla hadn’t. So even though he knew he should stay far away from Kayla and her adorable daughter, he found himself wanting to help in any way he could.
Was it God’s intent that he help show Kayla the way? Maybe. At the very least, they could be friends.
“Actually, I had just finished with my meeting when Alex called,” he corrected smoothly. “And pizza sounds great. My treat.”
Kayla bit her lip and glanced away. He sensed she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of him coming along, but he had no idea why. It was just a simple meal.
“Yay!” Brianna shouted happily. He grinned, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. At least one female didn’t mind sharing dinner with him.
He ignored the pang of loneliness. The coast guard was his life; he wasn’t interested in anything more. His family had been gone for almost five years now. Stranded in the middle of the snowstorm, waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he’d ended up holding his pregnant wife, Angela, in his arms while she and their baby both died from a rare complication during labor.
No, a family wasn’t for him. He shook off the sad thoughts as he pulled up in front of Kayla’s SUV. “Which pizza place?” he asked.
“DiVinci’s,” she answered. The restaurant was located in the small town of Bear Lake, not far from where her bed-and-breakfast was located. He didn’t doubt she’d chosen the place closest to her house to dissuade him from going.
Ha. Fat chance. He could be stubborn, too. Besides, he couldn’t shake the protectiveness he felt toward her. Going to DiVinci’s would provide a good excuse for him to make sure she made it home without incident. “Sounds good. I’ll follow you there.”
Brianna jumped out of the backseat. Kayla leaned on the open passenger door. “Really, Rafe, I can explain to Brianna. I know you have much better things to do with your free time.”
He raised his eyebrows. Did she imagine he had some sort of active social life? If so, nothing could be farther from the truth. “Kayla, relax. I’m hungry and DiVinci’s has great pizza. It’s just a friendly dinner.”
“Okay, suit yourself,” she muttered before shutting the door behind her. He watched as she helped Brianna into her child safety seat, before sliding in behind the wheel. He pulled out behind her, following her to the highway.
As he drove, he mulled over the threads of his case. With Bill Schroeder’s death, their investigation would halt in a dead end. Schroeder had been their best chance at breaking the criminal trafficking ring. They’d focused their attention on Bill Schroeder in the first place because one of the local police officers had spotted Bruce Pappas, a well-known criminal awaiting trial, down at the lakeshore getting into one of Bill Schroeder’s boats. After that, Bruce Pappas had suddenly vanished. Never showed up for his court date. And had never been seen again.
At the time, Schroeder had insisted he’d returned Pappas back to shore, and the authorities had never been able to prove otherwise.
So they’d begun keeping Schroeder under surveillance. They’d noticed he took trips at odd times during the day and night. But while his actions were suspicious, they needed hard, irrefutable proof. They’d been hoping to catch him in the act of actually transporting a criminal, but so far they’d had no luck.
So much for that plan.
He called his young partner, Evan Marshall, and his commanding officer Luke Sanders, to give them the news. Sure, they’d have to wait for a positive ID, but clearly it looked as if Schroeder’s disappearance had been the result of foul play.
Neither man answered their phones, so he left messages and then snapped his phone shut with a sense of frustration. Not that it really mattered that Evan and Luke didn’t answer, there was nothing more they could do tonight anyway. They’d need to regroup and find another thread to follow in the investigation.
He pushed thoughts of work aside with an effort. He needed to focus on relaxing and enjoying himself for once. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had dinner with an attractive woman.
Of course this wasn’t a date, he hastily assured himself. Just a nice dinner with a friend and her daughter.
When Kayla turned into DiVinci’s parking lot, he pulled in right beside her. As they walked inside, he caught a whiff of her strawberry shampoo and had to stop himself from actually leaning closer to breathe deeply, filling his head with her wholesome scent.
He pulled his scattered thoughts away from dangerous territory. He’d promised her a friendly meal, nothing more.
Brianna chatted throughout dinner, which was nice since Kayla was unusually quiet. Brianna explained all about her school Christmas party and the shopping they’d done earlier that day before going off to visit her dad’s memorial.
Her last comment piqued his interest. This was the first he’d heard of a memorial. He glanced at Kayla, oddly disappointed. He’d heard from Alex how she’d taken Jeremy’s death very hard. She obviously still carried strong feelings for her dead husband even though he’d been gone for two years. He’d been a part of the team that had searched for Jeremy Wilson when his boat hadn’t returned to shore. They’d found him, but too late. “That was a really nice idea, putting up a memorial in your husband’s memory.”
Kayla’s smile was strained. “Actually the memorial was Bill Schroeder’s idea, not mine.”
A prickle of fear raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Bill Schroeder? Had she kept in touch with him over the years? In the months they’d been watching Schroeder, they’d never seen Kayla down by the lakefront near his business. And according to Alex, Kayla hadn’t stayed on close, friendly terms with the guy, either.
But she had been at Pelican Point today. On the same day Bill Schroeder washed up along the lakeshore. Not that he believed she had anything remotely to do with his death.
Still, he didn’t like the strange coincidence. Didn’t like it at all.
Ice formed along the length of his spine. Was it possible Kayla was more closely involved with Bill Schroeder than he’d realized?
TWO
“Did you know him?” Kayla asked abruptly, when Brianna left them alone to greet one of her friends from school dining at a nearby table.
“Who?” he asked, reigning in his chaotic thoughts. “The guy in the water?”
She frowned and nodded. “Yes. I figured you went back to talk to the police because you knew him.”
He hesitated, not sure what to tell her. He wouldn’t lie to her, but at the same time, he wasn’t at liberty to discuss his case. Especially when Kayla happened to know his key suspect on a first name basis. “It’s possible the dead guy could be involved in one of our investigations, but we won’t know for sure until we have positive ID.”
“I see,” she murmured, idly toying with the paper sheath from her straw.
He leaned forward, capturing her gaze with his. “Kayla, I need to ask you something. Just how well do you know Bill Schroeder? I mean, I know he was your husband’s partner in the charter fishing business, but do you still see him? Talk to him?”
She shrugged. “Not really. He did come over about a week and a half ago to show me a picture of Jeremy’s newly erected memorial.”
Ten days ago? Right before the guy disappeared? He tried to sound nonchalant. “Really? What made him think of putting up a memorial after all this time?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure, I asked him that, too, and he told me he’d always planned on doing it, but just hadn’t had made the time. I thought it was a really nice gesture.”
Rafe wished he could be so sure. He wanted to ask more, but knew that if he persisted in asking questions, Kayla would grow suspicious. “A very nice gesture,” he agreed lightly.
Brianna chose that moment to skip back to their table, so he carefully changed the subject. When they’d finished their meal, he boxed up the leftovers and paid the bill.
“Thanks for dinner, Rafe.” Kayla’s smile was lopsided and didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Yeah, thanks for dinner, Mr. Rafe. That was the bestest pizza ever!”
Brianna’s exuberance made him grin. “You’re welcome, mi nina.”
Outside, he slid the leftover pizza box in the front seat of Kayla’s car while she buckled Brianna in the back.
“I’ll follow you home,” he said when Kayla climbed behind the wheel.
“That’s not necessary, Rafe. I appreciate everything you’ve done, but you’ve already gone out of your way for us.”
Her sincere gratitude warmed his heart. Startled by the abrupt stab of longing, he took a step back. “Humor me, okay? It’s on the way home.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. It wasn’t on the way, seven miles in the opposite direction to be exact, but she nodded before closing the door.
Kayla’s bed-and-breakfast was located just a few miles west of town. Her home was nestled deep in the north woods, far from the bright lights of the city. Total darkness surrounded them as they drove down her long, winding driveway.
There was a light on in the kitchen, but the rest of the house was dark. He got out of his jeep and came up beside her as she helped Brianna jump down from her perch in the backseat. “Did you set the security system?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He took the pizza box from her hands and led the way up to the front door. Her dog, Clyde, must have heard them because he started barking.
The white panel of the security system was easy to see against the dark exterior. But the green light that normally showed the system was turned on wasn’t lit. He frowned. “Are you sure?” he asked sharply. “Because it’s not on now.”
Kayla stared uncertainly at the security panel, searching back through her memory. “I’m almost sure I set the alarm.”
“Okay, take Brianna and go back inside the car and lock the doors,” Rafe commanded. “Give me your keys. I’ll go through the house.”
After everything that had happened, she could only nod, fiercely glad that Rafe had insisted on following her home. “Come on, sweetie,” she said, tugging Brianna close. “Let’s wait for a bit in the car.”
“Why, Mommy? What’s wrong?” Brianna’s green eyes were wide with fear as she sensed the tension between the adults.
“Nothing is wrong,” she reassured her daughter, not wanting Brianna to be afraid in her own home. “Mr. Rafe just wants to make sure everything is fine before we go in.”
“I want Clyde,” Brianna said plaintively.
The sounds of the dog barking actually reassured her. She couldn’t believe someone was hiding inside with Clyde home. The one thing their puppy was really good at was creating a ruckus. “He’s with Mr. Rafe and I’m sure they’ll be out soon.” Kayla watched through the windshield as Rafe flipped on the rest of the lights, making his way through the inside of her spacious home.
She bit her lip, trying to remember. She had set the security system, hadn’t she? She was almost certain she had, but couldn’t be absolutely positive. She’d resented her brother and Rafe for insisting on installing the alarm system nine months ago, but lately she’d been glad to have the extra protection. She’d fallen into the habit of using the security system on those days and nights that she and Brianna were home alone. On the nights they had guests, there was no point in using it because her guests could obviously come and go as they pleased.
The elderly couple who’d been her last guests had left this morning, and she and Brianna had left shortly thereafter. It was possible she’d forgotten to set the security system.
Besides, if someone had breached the system, wouldn’t the police have been notified?
Rafe returned a few minutes later with Clyde, their clumsy puppy, at his heels. She opened the car door when he approached and climbed out.
“I didn’t find any—ah—anything,” he said, with a quick glance at Brianna. She was grateful he hadn’t blurted out how he’d been searching for an intruder. “But you might want to check things out for yourself to make sure nothing has been disturbed.”
“I’m sorry, I must have forgotten to set the alarm,” she said softly.
“Probably,” Rafe agreed. “The system is set up so that it sends an alarm if the wiring is cut.”
That’s what she’d thought. “So the only way someone could get past my system is if they somehow figured out my code.”
Rafe scowled. “Yes. Do you change it every few weeks like I told you to?”
“I’ve changed it,” she said a little defensively, brushing past him to head up to the door. “Maybe not every few weeks, but I have changed it.”
“Check things out. I’ll be in shortly,” he said, heading over to rummage in the back of his jeep.
“Brianna, bring Clyde inside,” she said. Kayla kept Brianna close as she did a quick walk-through. The house was eerily silent. Normally she loved being out in the middle of the woods, far away from civilization, but for some reason the silence bothered her now. Maybe she was still unnerved by finding a dead body in the lake. She glanced around, looking at her things. From what she could tell, everything was exactly the way she’d left it.
Her apprehension drained away. Rafe hadn’t found anyone. Everything was fine. She was silly to be so anxious. Obviously she’d forgotten to set the alarm.
“Brianna, it’s time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”
Her daughter groaned, but headed toward their private rooms off the back of the kitchen.
She took the leftover box of pizza and shoved it into her empty fridge. The night out had been an extravagance she really couldn’t afford. It was very nice that Rafe had offered to pay. And now she and Brianna would have leftovers tomorrow night, which was a good thing, considering her cash reserves were pitifully low.
She tried to shrug off the gnawing concern. She’d figure out something. She always did.
“Kayla?”
Rafe’s husky voice sent her pulse skyrocketing into triple digits. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves before turning toward him. “Yes?”
“Come here. I’d like to show you something.” He reached for her hand and the warmth of his touch sent a tingle of awareness up her arm.
He shut off the living room light and she was momentarily blinded by the darkness. “Come outside for a minute, but watch your step.”
Curiously, she followed him outside. When he shut the door, she could see the small green light glowing from the keypad, indicating the system was engaged.
Rafe’s presence was noticeable, even in the darkness. He stood close. Too close. She eased back a step.
“Your passcode is 7724, right?” he asked.
She sucked in a harsh breath. “How did you know?”
He turned a switch and her porch was awash in a strange, purple glow. He aimed the black light at the keypad. “See how this black light picks up the little bit of oil residue from your fingertips? I could tell the numbers you used were 247 but I didn’t know which order. It didn’t take me long to figure it out, especially since I knew you were born in 1977. It may take a stranger a little longer, but not much. Once they have the three digits, it narrows down the possibilities immensely.”
Speechless, she could only stare at the evidence he’d presented. He was right. Again.
He tapped in the code and then opened the front door and walked back inside the living room, turning the lights back on. “That’s why I told you to change your passcode every couple of weeks. To prevent anyone from figuring it out.”
“I never realized,” she murmured, sobered by his brief experiment. Her earlier fears came rushing back. She couldn’t hide her apprehension. “Do you think it’s possible someone was here?”
He paused for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t. If the intruder was smart enough to crack your code to gain entrance to your home, he’d certainly be smart enough to engage the alarm again when he left. Why advertise he was here? I believe you forgot to set it.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “You’re right. I’m just being silly. And I will change the code, I promise. And I’ll clean the keypad regularly, too, as an added measure. Thanks for checking things out for me.”
Rafe hesitated at the door, gazing down at her, his expression troubled. “Maybe I should stay. I don’t like the thought of leaving you and Brianna all the way out here alone.”
Her breath congealed in her throat and she didn’t know what to say. Having Rafe nearby would be pure torture, and she wasn’t sure her nerves could handle the stress. And Brianna would only get more attached to him than she already was. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said finally. “And besides, you work tomorrow, don’t you?”
His intense gaze was mesmerizing, his brown eyes so dark they were almost black. “Yes, but at least I could make certain you’re safe here tonight.”
“We’ll be perfectly safe,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “I’m expecting guests tomorrow and they’ll be staying through the weekend. I have lots to do to get ready. Really, we’ll be fine.”
He stared at her for a long moment, before finally nodding. “All right. But promise you’ll call if you need me. Do you have my number?”
She hoped he didn’t notice the embarrassed flush in her cheeks. Taking his number seemed so—intimate. But when he waited expectantly, she pulled out her cell phone. “No, I don’t. But I’ll program it in now. What’s the number?”
Rafe recited his cell number and she quickly entered the number into her phone. She wouldn’t call him, of course, but knowing he was within reach if for some strange reason she did need him was oddly comforting.
“Good night, Kayla.” He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The slightest brush of his fingertips on her skin made her shiver.
She took a step back, plastering a smile on her face. She kept her tone light. Friendly. “Bye, Rafe. Drive safe.” When he left, she closed the door and then leaned against the wooden frame, her legs weak. She really had to figure out how to get a grip of her emotions around him. After all, he was just a man.
“Mommy? I brushed my teeth.” Brianna skipped into the living room, glancing around. “Where’s Mr. Rafe?”
“He had to go home,” she said, straightening away from the door.
Brianna’s face fell. “But he forgot to say goodbye.”
Her heart twisted in her chest before it plummeted to her stomach. This was exactly why she couldn’t call Rafe. Brianna already cared about him, too much.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” She gave her daughter a hug. “He must have been in a hurry to get back to work. Come on, it’s bedtime.”
“I wanted Mr. Rafe to tuck me in.” With a dejected pout, Brianna allowed her mother to take her back to their private rooms. Clyde followed, jumping up on the bed next to Brianna. He’d been sleeping with her since he was an infant puppy and there was no breaking him of the habit now.
She tucked Brianna in bed and gave her a hug and a kiss before shutting off the light and closing the door. Back in the kitchen, Kayla kept busy making a grocery list of the bare essentials she’d need for her weekend guests.
But even as she worked, she couldn’t keep her mind off Brianna’s keen disappointment. She’d known her daughter had been hinting for a father. Brianna had gone so far as to ask why Kayla didn’t go out on any dates like her friend Sophie’s mother did. She’d tried to change the subject, but Brianna seemed to have a one-track mind.
Going to the memorial hadn’t spurred questions about her dead father, as Kayla had hoped. Apparently, Brianna was more interested in trying to replace Jeremy with someone new.
And Kayla was very much afraid that Brianna might have picked Rafe as a potential candidate to be her new father.
The next night Kayla tumbled into bed, exhausted after getting her guests settled in. It seemed like mere seconds later when a sharp scream pulled her from a deep slumber.
She leaped out of bed, stumbling in the darkness as she sought and found the light switch. She winced and shielded her eyes from the harsh brightness that flooded the room.
The sound had come from upstairs. She opened Brianna’s door to make sure she and Clyde were all right, and then headed down the hall, through the kitchen and into the great room. Her guests, two married couples, were coming down the stairs from the second-floor loft.
“I’m telling you, I saw a man trying to get into our room!” The older woman, Gloria Hanover, spoke in a shrill voice.
“I didn’t hear anything,” her husband, Edward, muttered.
“I’m so sorry,” Kayla said, hurrying forward. “Did you already call the police? Or should I?”
Gloria shook her head no.
“I already checked out their room,” Allen Russell said, rolling his eyes. Apparently he wasn’t too impressed with Gloria’s claim. His wife, Lorraine, went over to stand close to his side. “There’s no one there. And even if there had been someone there, I’m sure her shriek scared him off.”
“Are you insinuating I’m crazy?” Gloria demanded, facing Allen, her face flushed and her hands propped on her ample hips. “Because I know what I saw. There was a man standing there, his face pressed against the patio door.”
“There now, no one is calling you crazy,” her husband, Edward soothed, patting her arm.
Kayla tried to smile, but deep down, a cold fear settled in her stomach. Each of the guest rooms had access through a patio door to the deck outside. And she couldn’t help remembering how the security system had been turned off. “I’m calling the police. If Mrs. Hanover saw a man, then we need the authorities to investigate.”
Leaving her guests to talk among themselves, she went back toward the kitchen to find Brianna standing there with the dog at her feet. She rushed over to give her daughter a hug.
“What happened, Mommy?” Brianna asked sleepily.
She didn’t want to scare her daughter, especially after all the strange events over the past two days, but she couldn’t lie to her, either. “One of the guests heard a scary noise so I need to call the police.”
Luckily, Brianna didn’t ask too many more questions. Kayla set her down and made the call. The sheriff’s department promised to send a deputy right away. Since everyone was up, Kayla brought coffee, tea and the pastries she’d planned for breakfast that morning to the great room. Playing hostess helped soothe her frayed nerves.
Had her guest really seen a man? If so, who?
The deputy’s investigation didn’t take long. He took her upstairs to the wraparound deck. Jeremy had designed the house so that every guest room had access to the balcony outside. The deputy pointed with a grim look. “See these gouges? Looks like someone did try to get in.”
She swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze from the evidence. Apparently Mrs. Hanover hadn’t been imagining things at all. Someone had actually tried to break in.
“I’ll file a report,” the deputy continued. “Could be just a random burglary unless you have reason to believe someone has targeted you, specifically.”
“Not that I know of,” she said faintly. As much as she wanted to believe in the random burglary theory, the sick dread in her stomach wouldn’t let up. What if someone had targeted her? She couldn’t imagine why, but the thought wouldn’t leave her alone. She forced herself to go back downstairs to where her guests were waiting.
“Edward, I want to leave right now,” Gloria Hanover was saying. “I’m not staying here another night.”
“Great, just great,” Allen Russell muttered.
Kayla’s heart sank, but she didn’t protest. How could she blame them for wanting to leave? They’d been woken up from a sound sleep by a burglar.
“I won’t charge you for last night’s stay,” she informed the couples graciously. She’d been depending on their fees to help her sagging bank account, but there was no way she could see taking their money. Not after this.
Dawn was beginning to peek over the horizon as the two couples packed their bags and trooped out the door. After they left, she set her security system and then sank down at the kitchen table, propping her aching head in her hands.
What should she do? Why had someone tried to break in? None of this made any sense.
She desperately wanted to call Rafe. Maybe she was overreacting, but as a single mother alone with a young daughter couldn’t help being worried. She had an awful feeling there was something significant behind this recent break-in. There had been too many odd things happening lately.
And she wouldn’t be able to relax until she understood exactly what was going on.
On Saturday morning, Rafe returned home to review the plans he and his partner, Evan Marshall, and his commanding officer, Luke Sanders, had made the day before.
They only had a couple of thin leads to follow up on. They needed a break in the case, big-time. There was no point in continuing their surveillance on Schroeder’s business, considering the local police had Schroeder’s boats taped off as a precaution in case it was a potential crime scene.
He and Evan had agreed to split up the duties in their attempts to jump-start the investigation. Evan’s job was to begin a preliminary surveillance on Karl Yancy, the recluse who’d taken up residence near Pelican Point, renting a boat slip conveniently located right next to Schroeder’s charter fishing business. Yancy had showed up on their radar because of his timely appearance in Pelican Point, the same week as Bruce Pappas’s sighting on Schroeder’s boat. The coincidence of his showing up when a well-known criminal had escaped was too much to ignore.
Evan’s theory was that Yancy was involved too, working with Shroeder. No one seemed to know much about the stranger since he didn’t socialize with anyone around the lakefront. And his background information was sketchy, in that it was almost too clean. Which was suspicious enough in itself. So Evan also agreed to do more digging to see what they could find out about the guy.
Rafe’s job was to work on getting information out of Charlie Turkow, the grizzled, older man who had a charter business that was in direct competition with Schroeder’s. They’d spent some time watching Charlie’s charter, too, and had seen some of the same sort of suspicious activity, his boats coming and going at odd times of the day and night.
But when they’d dug deeper, they’d discovered Charlie had a daughter who lived in Michigan. Sure enough, the next two times they were able to follow him, that’s where he’d gone. Still, his commanding officer believed Charlie Turkow knew more about what might be going on in Pelican Point than he was letting on and wanted Rafe to uncover whatever the older man knew.
Rafe had swung by Charlie’s charter after leaving the gym earlier that morning, but the older man wasn’t anywhere around and one of this boats was gone. Since finding him in the open water of Lake Michigan wasn’t likely, he returned home. And stewed over what little he knew about Bill Schroeder’s activities before he’d died. It bothered him that the guy had gone to visit Kayla. That he’d recently mounted a memorial in honor of her husband’s memory.
He raked a hand through his hair.
He didn’t like the idea of Bill Schroeder being anywhere near Kayla. Leaving her alone Thursday night had been difficult. At least he could rest a little easier, knowing she had guests staying with her this weekend.
But what about once her guests were gone? She and Brianna were all alone in the middle of the woods.
His cell phone rang, and his chest tightened when he Kayla’s name on the display. He couldn’t imagine she’d call unless it was important. “Kayla? Is everything all right?”
“We’re both fine,” she said quickly, as if knowing he might be imagining the worst. He tried to calm his racing pulse. “But Rafe, someone tried to break in last night.”
“Break in?” he echoed, jumping to his feet. “Why? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” she said, sounding truly bewildered. “I had guests, so I didn’t have the security system on. But now I’m worried. My guests left early and I changed my access code, but what if the burglar tries to break in again? I’m scared, Rafe.”
The underlying fear in her voice gripped him by the throat. “I’m on my way,” he said, heading out to his jeep. “Make sure the alarm is set, and I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
THREE
The fact that Kayla didn’t argue worried him even more. Rafe shut his phone and started the jeep, more shaken than he cared to admit. He headed for her house, pushing the speed limit as much as he dared.
Someone had tried to break into Kayla’s home. What had the intruder been looking for? Had he missed something the night they’d found the security system turned off? Somehow it didn’t make sense that simple burglars would target a home so far away from town.
He’d been a fool to leave her alone.
His cell phone rang again. “DeSilva,” he answered, when he saw Luke Sanders’ name light up the screen.
“The medical examiner has finished the autopsy on your dead body. The base of his skull was cracked, and the ME confirmed he was dead before he hit the water. Because of the location of his skull fracture, the medical examiner is leaning toward a homicide. The pathology results won’t be back for thirty days.”
“Did they confirm his ID with dental records?”
“Yes. With the tattoo they were pretty certain he was Bill Schroeder and finding his dentist wasn’t hard. He doesn’t have a lot of family, so the police are heading out to inform Jeannie, his ex-wife, now.”
Rafe grimaced. “I’m sure that will be difficult.”
“Did you talk to Charlie Turkow yet? He must know something about the criminals being smuggled out through Canada.”
“Not yet. He wasn’t around when I stopped in. I’ll talk to him as soon as I can.”
“All right. Call me if you get something significant.”
“Will do.” Rafe hung up the phone and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel thoughtfully. Should he let Kayla know about Bill Schroeder? The news was better coming from him than through the media. And he was fairly certain Schroeder’s death would make headlines, especially since the medical examiner would likely deem his death a murder.
Rafe pressed a little harder on the accelerator. He couldn’t explain this desperate need to get to Kayla. He hadn’t felt this protective toward a woman in a long time. Since Angela.
He tried to tell himself to relax, but his lead foot was ignoring the message. When he pulled into Kayla’s driveway, he was amazed to note he’d made the trip in a record thirty-three minutes.
The instant he stopped, the front door popped open and Kayla stepped out. His first instinct was to yell at her for not waiting with the alarm set.
But when she hurried down to meet him, he couldn’t speak. Instead, he leaped from his jeep and threw caution to the wind, pulling her close in a warm, reassuring hug. “Are you all right?” he murmured, filling his head with her light, strawberry scent.
She grasped him tightly around the waist, burying her face against his chest. “Yes,” she said in a muffled voice. “Thanks for coming.”
“You couldn’t have kept me away,” he assured her. Holding her close was sheer heaven. He would have been happy to stay like this all day, but of course, she pulled away when Brianna and Clyde bounded out of the house, followed more slowly by an elegant-looking older woman with silver hair. He recognized her as Kayla’s mother-in-law, Ellen Wilson, whom he’d met earlier that year when he and Alex had insisted on putting Kayla’s security system in place.
“Mr. Rafe!” Brianna heedlessly flung herself at him and he sucked in a quick breath and caught her before she could get hurt. He lifted her into his arms as the dog barked excitedly at his feet. “You forgot to say goodbye,” she accused, looking him directly in the eye.
“I did?” He frowned, distracted by her accusation. He cast his mind backward in time, wondering what she meant.
“The night we had pizza.” Brianna’s green eyes were full of reproach. “You didn’t say goodbye.”
“I’m sorry, mi nina,” he murmured. “You’re right, I guess I forgot.” He glanced at Kayla who watched their interaction with a worried frown.
“Brianna, I explained how Mr. Rafe needed to get back to work,” Kayla said, walking back to the house. Still carrying Brianna, he followed on her heels. “Remember? He works all different times of the day and night.”
He wasn’t used to anyone making excuses for him. In fact, he hadn’t even considered the idea that Brianna would notice he’d left without saying goodbye. He could see by Kayla’s guarded expression that he’d inadvertently hurt her daughter.
It was clear she was worried her daughter might be growing too attached to him. And could he blame her? Brianna was at a vulnerable age. He took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts. Brianna was a great kid, but he wasn’t ready to be a father again.
Not when he’d failed so miserably last time.
He hadn’t been able to save his infant son’s life. To have another child dependent on him was inconceivable. The very thought shook him to the core. No, having a family was not an option.
“Next time,” he promised, quickly setting Brianna back on her feet and closing the front door behind him.
“Rafe, you remember my mother-in-law, Ellen, don’t you?” Kayla said, belatedly reintroducing them.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too,” Ellen said, although her expression was guarded and he wondered if Kayla’s mother-in-law viewed him as some sort of threat. As if he was trying to replace Jeremy in Kayla’s heart. He was tempted to reassure her he’d only come to offer protection, not to start something he had no intention of finishing.
They all walked into the house and Kayla reengaged the security system once they were safely inside.
“Come on, Brianna, we need to finish making Christmas cookies,” Ellen said, as if sensing the two adults needed to talk alone.
“Cool!” Brianna raced toward the kitchen, but then paused to glance back at him. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye,” she reminded him.
“I won’t,” he promised. He turned toward Kayla. “Tell me about the break-in. What happened?”
Kayla walked over to the sofa in front of the great room fireplace. He froze. She’d put up Christmas decorations. The brightly lit tree in the corner of the room reminded him of his early years with Angela. She’d loved Christmas.
Now there was only a black hole in his heart.
He took a seat across from Kayla, trying to shut out the memories.
“I had two couples staying here last night,” Kayla began. “In fact, they were supposed to stay for the weekend. At four in the morning, one of the women screamed, waking everyone up. She claimed a man’s face was pressed up against the patio door in her room. We called the police and the deputy found deep gouges in the wood near the door handle where the burglar must have tried to jimmy the lock in his attempt to get in.”
“Why didn’t you set the alarm on the security system?” Rafe asked.
“Because I don’t want my guests to think the alarm is necessary. Business is slow enough without insinuating this place isn’t perfectly safe. And besides, it would be too easy for one of the guests to trigger the alarm. All they’d have to do is to open a patio door to let some air in. I refuse to impose restrictions on my guests.”
She was right. He didn’t like it, but she was right. He remembered she’d argued this point fiercely when Alex insisted on putting the system in.
“I just don’t understand. Why would anyone try to rob me? Everyone knows I don’t have a lot of money or jewelry or anything else of value.”
“I agree, it doesn’t make sense,” Rafe admitted.
Kayla worried her lower lip between her teeth and he wished there was some way to reassure her he’d keep her safe. “I keep coming back to that strange guest I had, Greg Landrum. He rented a room from me last weekend.”
He raised a brow curiously. She hadn’t mentioned the guy when they spoke the other day. “Why was he strange?”
She lifted her shoulder. “Little things about him were odd. Like he claimed he had come to hike, but his hiking boots were brand-new and gave him blisters. He didn’t have warm winter outdoor gear, either. I heard him making noise in his room in the middle of the night, and when I asked him about it the next morning, he claimed he had trouble sleeping.”
“What did he look like?” Rafe asked.
“I don’t know, in his mid-thirties maybe, with dishwater-blond hair. He had weasly eyes.”
Weasly eyes? “Was that what bothered you? His eyes?”
She frowned. “Maybe. Clyde didn’t like him, either. He barked and growled at him all the time. I guess the strangest thing of all was that I saw him down at the lakefront the day Brianna and I found the body.” She looked troubled as she gazed at him. “Rafe, do you think it’s possible he’s targeted me for some reason?”
Greg Landrum. Would be worth putting his name through their database to see what popped. “Maybe, but again, it doesn’t make sense that he would come back after he’d already been a guest here. He would know there weren’t a lot of valuables here, wouldn’t he?”
Unless he was looking for something that only had value to him. But what?
“Yes, you’re right.” She gave a dejected sigh. “Maybe the deputy was right, that this was nothing more than a random attempt. I don’t live in town, but it’s possible someone saw the article in the paper and figured I had something here worth stealing.”
“Article?” he echoed sharply. “What article?”
She grimaced. “I did an interview for the Green Bay Gazette about two weeks ago. The editor is a friend of Ellen’s and did the interview as a favor.”
He hadn’t seen the article and her theory was plausible. He wanted to link everything back to Schroeder, but he could be overreacting. It was possible her break-in had been a random attack. “Do you have a copy?”
“I have several,” she responded dryly. “Everyone in town saved one for me. I’ll be right back.”
He watched her disappear into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with the folded newspaper in hand. Must have been some favor, or a really slow news day, because her picture was plastered on the front page of the lifestyle section. Kayla looked beautiful, her smile a little sad, as she stood in the kitchen. He noticed there was another glossy picture on the wall behind her in the photo. This one showed Kayla and her husband standing down at the marina in front of a charter fishing boat. He scanned the article. It briefly mentioned Kayla’s husband, Jeremy, had finished building the B and B in the months before he died. But otherwise, the article was all about Kayla and her renowned breakfast pastries.
“Nice article,” he murmured. Broaching the subject of her dead husband for the first time, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “I’m sorry for your loss, Kayla.”
“Thank you.”
He knew it wasn’t really any of his business, but he couldn’t help adding, “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. I don’t think I would have been able to cope if not for my faith. God’s strength and love helped me through the grief.”
“Your faith?” Her gaze darted to the cross he always wore around his neck, a gift from his mother after his wife and unborn child had died. “Now you sound like Alex and Shelby. Alex has changed a lot since meeting Shelby. And he seems very happy.”
“Does that surprise you?”
She flushed again and glanced away. “A little. But in a good way. He’s a better person now that he’s met Shelby. They’ve invited me to attend church with them, but weekends tend to be my busiest time. At least, when I actually have guests,” she amended.
“I understand. When I’m out on the water and attending service isn’t an option, I just find a few minutes of quiet time to pray or maybe read my Bible.”
“I’ve never read the Bible,” Kayla murmured. “To be honest, I have trouble understanding why God would take my husband away so young.”
“Sometimes it is difficult to understand God’s plan. Reading the Bible can help. The book of Psalms is my favorite. ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.’ That quote is from Psalm 40:1.”
“Sounds beautiful,” Kayla said thoughtfully. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll think about it. Might be interesting to see what has Alex so enthralled.”
He wanted to offer to attend church with her, but sensed she wasn’t quite ready. Besides, being at church with Kayla would feel like having a family.
Friends, he reminded himself. They were just friends.
Kayla tapped the newspaper article, her attention centered once again on the burglary attempt. “Do you think this article is the cause of the break-in?”
“Maybe,” he said, but he didn’t really think so. The odd guest she’d had was more concerning. “I think we’ll do some digging on Greg Landrum. The fact that he was down at the lakefront when you and Brianna were there bothers me.”
Kayla frowned and shivered. “He bothered me, too. I really wanted Clyde with us down there to help keep him away. Which reminds me, did you find out the identity of the victim yet?”
He let out a long breath. This was the moment he’d been dreading. He slowly nodded and reached out to take her hand in his, sure she’d be shocked when he told her the news. “Kayla, the victim you found happens to be someone you know. We’ve identified him as Bill Schroeder.”
Kayla blanched, unable to believe she’d heard him correctly. “Bill? Dead? Are you sure?”
“I’m sorry, but yes. We’re sure. The police are notifying his next of kin as we speak.”
“H-how did he die?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“His skull was cracked and he was dead before he fell in the water.” Rafe’s expression was full of compassion. “You need to know, the medical examiner believes he might have been murdered.”
She gasped, images from the lakefront scene flashing before her eyes. The red shirt bobbing in the water had been Bill Schroeder. And he’d been murdered? How? Why? “But I just saw him a week and a half ago.”
Rafe tightened his fingers around her hand. “I know. You mentioned that the other night. You said he came over because of the memorial. Did he come over here often?”
“Rarely. Maybe more so in the beginning,” she corrected herself. “In those first few weeks after Jeremy’s death, but not lately. Frankly, I was surprised to see him.”
Seeing Bill Schroeder had dredged up memories better off forgotten. The arguments she and Jeremy had over the long hours he worked in the charter fishing business. She’d been thrilled when he’d finally agreed to sell out his half of the business to Bill. She’d been looking forward to more family time.
She rubbed her aching temple. Why was she suddenly remembering the rough points in their marriage? Jeremy had been a good husband and father. She’d never worried about him straying. She’d planned to spend the rest of her life with him.
But Jeremy was gone. All she had left of her marriage was this house, her memories and the memorial that Bill Schroeder had recently put up in honor of Jeremy.
“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you went back to talk to the police.”
“I suspected, but I couldn’t say anything until we knew for sure.”
Kayla’s shoulders slumped. It didn’t matter if Rafe knew before or not. She was doubly glad she hadn’t gone down to the body to take a closer look.
“So tell me, how much do you charge to rent one of your rooms?” Rafe asked, abruptly changing the subject.
Startled, she glanced at him. Why was he asking? Because he planned to stay? As much as she wanted to laugh off his offer, she couldn’t. Especially now that she knew Bill Schroeder was dead. “Just so happens I’m running a half-price Christmas special,” she weakly joked.
Rafe didn’t so much as smile. “I’m serious, Kayla. I’d like to stay for a few days. Just in case this intruder tries again. Put me in the same room he tried to break into, if possible.”
She wished she didn’t need Rafe’s help, but she couldn’t turn down his offer. Brianna’s safety had to be first and foremost. After all, wasn’t that the main reason she’d called him? She’d known he’d take charge.
Keep them safe.
“If you’re sure,” she said, meeting his gaze. She was thankful Ellen had agreed to stay with them for a while, too, so that she could take Rafe up on his offer. Ellen had mentioned needing to go and visit her sister, who’d fallen and broken her hip, but she wasn’t planning to leave until closer to Christmas.
“I’m sure.” He smiled, and suddenly she remembered all too clearly those moments when he caught her close in his embrace.
She swallowed hard and glanced away. She could only hope that allowing Rafe to stay wasn’t a huge mistake on a personal level.
For Brianna’s sake. Or her own.
Rafe left Kayla’s house, after making her promise to set the security alarm, so he could run back home to pick up what he needed. Leaving her alone, even knowing Ellen was there with her, wasn’t easy. He couldn’t help hurrying, unwilling to give Kayla time to change her mind. He’d been shocked at how easily she’d agreed with his plan to stay.
Which only indicated just how scared she’d really been.
He’d returned home to get some clothes and his laptop computer. Once again, he swung by the lakefront, but there was still no sign of Charlie.
He called Luke to tell him about Schroeder’s surprise visit to Kayla days before his disappearance. “I’m going to try to convince Kayla to let me go through her husband’s belongings. I just can’t help but think it’s odd that Schroeder suddenly put together a memorial for her husband two years after his death.”
“I’ll give you until Monday,” Luke reluctantly agreed. “But if you don’t have anything by then, I’m pulling you back here. We need to figure out who killed our key suspect. Obviously, someone else must be taking over duty of transporting our crooks out of the country.”
“That’s fine.” Rafe was willing to take what he could get.
When he returned to the bed-and-breakfast, Kayla seemed nervous, as if having him as a guest felt awkward. He used work as an excuse to retreat to his room, where he began an Internet search on Greg Landrum. Thankfully, Kayla had a wireless router for Internet access for her guests.
She invited him to join them for dinner and he warily agreed, trying to come up with some way to avoid giving Brianna the wrong idea.
But when he went down to the kitchen, he found Kayla and Ellen were alone. “Where’s Brianna?” he asked.
“She was invited over to her friend’s house for a sleep over,” Kayla admitted. “I thought it might be best, just in case this guy decides to come back tonight.”
Rafe hesitated, abruptly doubting the wisdom of his plan. “Maybe you should both leave, too. You could stay at Ellen’s place. I plan to keep the security system off so I can catch this guy in the act.” And what he really hoped was to have a few minutes alone with the guy to find out what in the world he was searching for.
“Don’t worry about us,” Ellen said in a feisty tone. “We’ll be fine, right, Kayla?”
Kayla nodded. “We’ll keep our doors locked, don’t worry. I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep much, but I’m staying.”
Rafe couldn’t think of an argument that would encourage the women to leave, so he fell silent. Kayla served a big pan of lasagna for dinner and made-from-scratch garlic bread. He took a bite and the tangy sauce melted in his mouth. He’d never tasted anything so good.
“You’re an excellent cook, Kayla.”
“Thanks.” She flushed at his praise and then glanced guiltily at her mother-in-law. “Ellen taught me a lot. And it’s nice to have friends to cook for, rather than strangers.” The subtle loneliness underlying her tone wasn’t lost on him. He knew only too well how difficult it was to spend evenings alone.
“Speaking of strangers, I haven’t found much on your guest, Greg Landrum,” he said, quickly changing the subject to a safer topic. “You told me the address on his driver’s license was from Chicago, right?”
She nodded. “Yes. Why?”
“I can’t seem to find him anywhere, that’s all.” He stood to help her clear away the dishes, but Ellen shooed him away, taking over the task herself. “I’m going to keep looking. Everyone leaves some sort of electronic trail in today’s world.”
“Go on then, we can clean up here,” she said. “I have some sewing that needs to get finished tonight, anyway.”
“I thought you gave up doing alterations?” Ellen asked over her shoulder.
“No, why would I? Helps pay the bills in the gap between guests.”
He stared at her for a moment, hating the thought of Kayla struggling to make ends meet. Doing alterations couldn’t possibly pay much. She’d mentioned her bed-and-breakfast business was slow, but he hadn’t realized just how serious she’d been.
Was she in danger of losing her business? He hoped not.
“Good night, then. Don’t forget to lock your doors. And keep your cell phones close at hand.” He was glad Kayla’s private living space was tucked in the back of the house, far from the guest rooms.
He wished there was something he could do to minimize the danger.
“We will. Good night, Rafe.”
He spent several hours working on his laptop, still not coming up with much on Greg Landrum, although he did find that the guy owned a computer software business in a small suburb outside Chicago.
The information was somewhat reassuring. Greg Landrum did exist, but without a picture, he couldn’t be sure that he’d found the right guy. He wanted proof that the man who’d rented a room from Kayla was really Greg Landrum.
When his eyes blurred from the strain of reading his computer, he stretched out on the bed, lightly dozing. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow.
A soft thud woke him. He levered upward, wide awake. Someone had landed on the wraparound balcony outside. Each of Kayla’s guest rooms had access to the balcony, but he’d figured the intruder would come to the same door he’d pried open before. And he’d guessed right.
Sliding from the bed, he slipped soundlessly over to the door, pressing himself against the wall. He hoped and prayed the guy would come in.
God answered his prayers. Slowly, the patio door eased open. There was no shrill alarm, as he’d purposefully kept the security system off. Rafe held his breath, trying to peer through the darkness.
A figure dressed in black stepped into the room. Rafe waited another beat for the intruder to come in farther so he could grab him. But the figure instantly spun away and Rafe suddenly understood why.
The intruder was wearing night vision goggles and saw that Rafe was in the room.
No! He couldn’t let him get away! Rafe followed after him, barreling through the doorway and across the deck.
Rafe took the same path as the intruder. He leaped up onto the edge of the deck railing and then grabbed the low-hanging tree branch. The bark was rough against his palms as he swung to the ground. He ran after the suspect dodging through the trees. The way the branches slapped him in the face had him wishing for the benefit of night-vision goggles.
With only a sliver of the moon for light to guide him, he ignored the stinging pain as he tore through the darkness. Rafe couldn’t see the intruder but he could hear him as they both wove a zigzag path through the woods. He thought he was only a few feet behind the guy but suddenly, he heard a rumble of a car engine.
No! Rafe burst through a line of trees at the end of Kayla’s property just moments too late. Bright red taillights were disappearing down the highway.
He’d lost him.
Bending over at the waist, he rested his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath. So close. He’d been so close.
But then he stood, his expression grim. One thing was for certain, the average burglar didn’t wear night-vision goggles to break into a house.
And he’d left Kayla and Ellen alone.
He turned and jogged back through the woods, retracing his steps to the bed-and-breakfast. The guy had to be looking for something. But what? Something Kayla had or something someone else had planted? Someone like Schroeder, who’d been there just ten days ago?
Rafe quickened his pace, suddenly anxious to get back.
Whatever the intruder was looking for, he and Kayla needed to find it.
FOUR
Footsteps on the deck had woken Kayla from her light doze. She jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on her robe. She took a moment to peek in on Ellen, who was sleeping, before hurrying out to the great room. Through the large picture window, she saw Rafe disappear into the woods.
Had someone tried to break in? Rafe was obviously chasing someone. The intruder? Fear gripped her by the throat as she stood, uncertain as to what she should do. Call the police? Or just set the security system and wait for Rafe to return?
And what if Rafe didn’t return?
The last thought spurred her into action. She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed 911. Thank heavens she’d let Brianna stay at a friend’s house for the night.
After notifying the police, she paced the length of the great room, feeling helpless and somewhat vulnerable. It was late, four o’clock in the morning, almost the exact same time frame as the last time the burglar had tried to break in. A coincidence? Or was the intruder the same man? She wrapped her arms across her chest, shivering in the cold.
Rafe burst into the clearing just seconds before sirens split the air.
She ran over to open the door for him. “What happened?”
“I lost him.”
She caught a glimpse of his face in the porch light. “You’re bleeding!”
“I’m fine.” He swiped his arm across his forehead. The blood smeared over his brow. “Scratched by tree branches, that’s all.”
She couldn’t be too disappointed that Rafe had lost the intruder. Not when Rafe had made it back safe and sound. As the sirens grew louder, she confessed, “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, but I did call the police.”
He shrugged and nodded. “It’s fine. We should report the attempted break-in, although I don’t think it’s going to help. This isn’t a simple burglary attempt.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” Rafe glanced outside and she turned to follow his gaze, noting that the sheriff’s deputy was already pulling up to the house. “I’ll explain more later.”
She went over to greet the deputy, a different one than the guy who’d responded to the break-in two nights ago. She tried to smile. “Good morning, Deputy.”
The sheriff’s deputy did not return her smile. He looked a little annoyed, as if he had better things to do than to respond to her calls. “You reported another break-in attempt?”
“Yes, I did.” Kayla glanced at Rafe for help.
Rafe stepped forward, introducing himself and using his coast guard ranking. “I’m staying up in one of the guest rooms, and saw a man trying to break in. I took off after him, but I lost him. There was a car on the road waiting for him. I didn’t get the license plate number.”
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