Page 45 of Little Shattered Dreams

Hunter walked to the desk and grabbed a notebook off the top of it. “Everything is in here. I’ll leave it with you so you can go through my findings in more detail.”

“Have any of them committed murder?”

She shook her head.

“I know about Calvin,” I said. “He shared a bit of his past with me. He served time for battery, right? Well, alleged battery.”

“Yeah.”

“What about the others?”

“Clara, the woman who found you in Quinn’s room last night, was caught stealing. Tyler, the chef, was charged with possession. Marijuana, you know … before it was legal in this state. The spa sisters were charged with arson.”

“Arson? Wow.”

“After Rebecca lost her house in her divorce, they lit it on fire. No one was in the home at the time.”

“What about the other employee in guest services, Abby?”

“Abby got into a bar fight. The girl she sparred with ended up in the hospital with several broken bones.”

“When were they released from jail?” I asked.

“All within the last four of years.”

I sat on Hunter’s bed, crossing one leg over the other as I flipped through Hunter’s notes, processing everything she’d just said. It seemed Grace liked hiring people who’d been through tough times in their lives, times when they were down on their luck. I had to admit, it fit with her philosophy about helping others to become better versions of themselves.

Grace was a fixer.

Even so, I wasn’t so sure bringing them to a place like this was the right move. If Calvin’s version of things was true, and I believed it was, his crime could be chocked up to a simple misunderstanding. As for Tyler, marijuana possession wasn’t an offense anymore. And Clara could have become a thief for several different reasons.

The other three, the ones I’d take a closer look at, had all lashed out in anger. Rebecca and Kelly in an anger-fueled moment had torched a house. And then there was Abby, who’d lost control of her emotions at a bar.

Tomorrow was going to be an eye-opener.

Hunter’s phone buzzed.

She pulled up a text message, read it, and said, “Rochelle’s here.”

“Great, I’ll help you with your bags.”

We grabbed her suitcases and headed out the door.

“Tonight, when I get home, I’ll see what I can find out about the four other guests, and I’ll do a deeper dive on Quinn,” Hunter said. “You should have something from me by morning.”

“It’s late, and you’ve been through a lot today. It can wait until tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to wait. I want you to catch this guy. The sooner the better.”

This guy.

Or … thisgirl.

CHAPTER23

I’d just stepped out of the shower and was changing into my pajamas when I heard what sounded like someone twisting the handle of my front door. I grabbed my gun off the counter and walked to the door, poised and ready to fire.

“I’m armed,” I said. “Back away from the door.”

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