Page 60 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

“This is the same vehicle from the picture I found at Shawn’s trailer. When I showed it to Curtis, he mentioned how much Shawn loved this thing and wondered what happened to it.” The confusion in Sadie’s voice matched what was building in his head.

He rounded the driver’s side and whistled. “What happened indeed. Check out the front fender and windshield. Completely busted up.”

She moved slowly to his side and studied the smashed headlight and dented metal. “Why store a busted-up car you love? Why not fix it up?”

Tommy chewed the inside of his mouth as he thought on the question and considered the fractured glass on the windshield. “If it were someone else, I’d say maybe they didn’t have the money. But that’s obviously not an issue.”

Straightening, Sadie made her way around the rest of the vehicle. “Don’t see any other scratches or dents. Only damage is the front.”

He scratched his jaw, unable to tear his gaze from the damage. “So impact came head-on. Then what? He hid the car and forgot about it? Why the hassle? Why pay money every month to keep it here?”

“Because they didn’t want anyone to know what they hit.”

Her words made his stomach muscles clench.

“Someone took the plates off.” She snorted. “What idiot thinks taking the plates off will make it hard to identify the owner? We can just check the VIN number. Not to mention the fact that we already identified the renter of the unit.”

“Let’s see if anything’s inside.” Wanting to be as careful as possible, he secured his hands inside a pair of gloves before opening the driver’s side door.

The interior was immaculate. He leaned in and opened the center console and glove box, finding both compartments empty. No better luck under the seats on in any cracks or crevices.

Sadie slammed the trunk closed as he backed out of the car. “Nothing in the trunk.”

“Dammit.” He grabbed his phone and opened the camera, making sure to snap pictures of the VIN number and the destruction. “Might as well verify this is Shawn’s car to cover all our bases.”

“We know when Shawn rented the unit, and we know when Shawn dropped out of college and returned home. How can we figure out what happened between those times?” Closing her eyes, Sadie pressed her fingers against the middle of her forehead.

His gaze traveled back to the cracked windshield and his blood turned cold. “We look at hospital records in the area. Search destruction of property in the county around those times.”

Her eyes snapped open. “What?”

“Whoever was driving this car—probably Shawn—hit something or ran into something big. First, we figure out what caused this damage, then we figure out why they wanted to make sure no one found out.”

Sadie drew in a quivering breath. “I don’t like where this is heading.”

“Neither do I. But hopefully it will tell us everything we need to know about Shawn, which then leads to his killer.”

She nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Help me put the cover on first.”

They secured the heavy cloth then stepped out of the small space back into the sunlight. Tommy grabbed the handle on the garage door and yanked it down, making sure to lock the unit back up.

A gunshot rang out, vibrating the metal door.

Tommy dropped into a crouch, Sadie right beside him. With his back pressed against the aluminum garage door, he grabbed his gun while his heart thumped an erratic rhythm. He glanced to his side but couldn’t see a damn thing on the other side of the cruiser. “We need to get in the car.”

Staying low, Sadie took one step then another. She pressed her back against the driver’s side of the car and reached for the handle.

Bang!

The bullet collided with the front of the vehicle.

The buzzing adrenaline in his veins stalled. Putting himself in danger was part of his and Sadie’s job, but he’d never faced the opposite end of an unknown gunman with the woman he was falling for by his side.

Sadie covered her head with her hands and froze, her wide eyes fixed on him.

He held his breath, wishing he could cover her body with his to keep her from harm. But she was smart and capable. Not to mention any sudden movement on his part could put them both at risk. He kept his gun trained in front of him, his gaze darting from side to side.

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