Page 56 of Cornered

“When was this?”

“My second week on the job.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?”

“No. I was trying to keep my head above water. New kitchen, new staff, new menu. I didn’t have the energy for causing drama over a paring knife, especially when I couldn’t be sure it hadn’t been taken by accident.”

Donovan’s face told her that he found her reasoning weak, but he didn’t push it. “What happened next?”

“A few days later I planned to use the ice cream maker to make a special dessert. It’s mine. I brought it from home.”

“I’m guessing this is a very expensive ice cream maker.”

“Yes. I got it for my birthday.”

Donovan didn’t ask who’d given it to her.

“Right before we got ready to start making the ice cream, we realized the power cord was missing. And of course it has a specific adapter that isn’t common. We didn’t have anything like it in the kitchen. Had to completely change our plans.”

Cassie hadn’t realized before now that it was possible to convey emotion by breathing, but Donovan was managing it. His expression was calm and his hands were steady, but theway he inhaled through his nose was ... aggressive. There was no other way to put it.

He blew out that breath, also aggressively, and asked, “What else?”

Cassie tried to keep her tone even. “Well, a few nights after that there was a mean message in the bathroom on the mirror, and then—”

“What did it say?”

Cassie swallowed. “It suggested that I should leave. Using multiple expletives.”

Donovan’s lips flattened. “Go on.”

“And, uh, one of my jackets was cut up.”

Donovan dropped his head and took several slow breaths. “Anything else?”

“Well, really just one other thing. I had a flat tire on Monday. I mean, it could happen anywhere. I didn’t think anything of it. I took it to Mr. Monroe’s shop the next day to get a new one. I left the old one with him. But then he called yesterday and said he wanted me to know that when he looked at it more closely, he realized it had several small punctures. He didn’t think it was from road debris.”

Donovan pressed his palms to his temples and didn’t speak for a full ninety seconds. She knew because she was watching the second hand spin around on the clock over his head.

“Cassie.” He stopped. Shook his head. Started again. “Please tell me that you’ve told someone about this before now.”

She stared at the table. “When I said it all out loud just now, it seems so obvious that I should have. But when each incident occurred, I...” She groaned. “No one else knows. Except Amos. He knows about the missing knife. And he knows about the sliced-up jacket.”

She reached for her water and took a sip. “You probably won’t believe me, but when I found out about my tire, I knewit was serious. I was going to tell Gray today, but then I found out he was going to be with Meredith all day. I didn’t think one more day would matter.”

Cassie couldn’t sit still any longer. She shoved the chair back and stalked to the window. When had she turned into the stupid chick in a horror movie who didn’t have enough sense to stay alive?

But she knew. She knew the date, the time of day, what the weather had been like outside, the way the kitchen had smelled of garlic and onion and celery, and the way the screams echoed around the stainless steel the second before the gunshot that ended a life. She pressed her head to the glass.

“Cassie, this paints everything in a new light.”

“I know.”

“I’m trying to understand. I really am. You are loved by so many. What would make you think that you have to handle this on your own?”

“Because—” The words refused to come. “I’m sorry. I ... I can’t get through the day if I have to dredge all that up. I’m riding a very thin edge at the moment. I can’t ... not right now.”

A wall of heat behind her was her only warning that he’d approached her. She must really be messed up if she hadn’t heard him move. “I’m going to give you a hug, Cassie.”

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