Page 69 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

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Tommy parked next to Melissa’s car in the gravel drive in front of Shawn’s trailer. He stepped out into the brutal cold and zipped up his jacket. The yellow crime scene tape in front of Shawn’s door hung loose, the end whipping in the breeze.

Melissa exited her car and met him by the front door.

Tension wound a tight ring around Tommy’s neck. The night was quiet, the only light this far in the woods the muted moon beams that penetrated the thicket of trees.

“Thanks for coming,” Melissa said. “I can’t begin to explain the myriad of emotions I’ve gone through since Shawn’s murder. It’s made me examine a lot of the mistakes I’ve made in my life. Something that’s not easy.”

Tommy tipped up the corners of his mouth in what he hoped passed as an understanding look. “I’m sure it’s been very difficult.”

He followed Melissa inside the trailer, now filled with the scents of the crime scene unit as well as the underlaying stench of garbage.

“Do you have any more leads?” Melissa asked as she moved into the dingy living room.

“Same as before.” Tommy didn’t want to divulge too much information.

“I see. Any clue where Mitch Parson is?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, you might want to increase the intensity of your search when you see what I found. I put the box on the kitchen table.” Melissa flicked her glance toward the tiny space beside them. “I should warn you. What I found is a bit disturbing.”

Tommy raised his brows. The warning was unnecessary. Nothing could be more disturbing than seeing Shawn’s bullet-pierced body lying in the middle of a meadow. But he’d keep that thought to himself. “Whatever it is, I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.”

Melissa sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Tommy crossed the stained linoleum floor of the kitchen. A small, dirt-caked box sat on the fold-out table that jutted from the wall. He lifted the top and set it aside.

“I still can’t believe what I read. Or that Shawn would be involved in something so scandalous. His entire life could have turned out so much differently.”

Tommy glanced over his shoulder. Melissa had taken a step closer and peered down at the box.

Anticipation tickled Tommy’s fingertips as he dug inside. This could finally be what he and Sadie had been searching for. The key that would unlock all the secrets and tell him exactly what had happened to Shawn and why.

He rummaged through a pile of loose papers. More drawings and cryptic messages like the ones he’d found hidden in the siding of Shawn’s trailer littered the table, but nothing that filled in all the missing blanks of the case.

“I’m not seeing what you’re so upset about.” He grabbed a handful of papers and flipped through them. “Can you show me what you found that was so important?”

Footsteps fell behind him. Melissa’s proximity put him on alert. A warning rang in his brain. Something wasn’t right.

Turning, he came face to face with Melissa Downs. A knife in her hand. Pointed directly at Tommy’s chest.

Tommy raised his hands, mentally cursing all the mistakes he’d made by coming here alone, with only a stupid text to Sadie about where he’d gone. No telling how long it would take her to see it. “What’s going on, Judge?”

“You know too much, and I won’t let you ruin everything I worked so damn hard for. I already got rid of Curtis, now it’s time for you to go bye-bye, too.”

If Tommy was going to figure a way out of this, he had to keep Melissa talking. “So, you were covering for Shawn all this time? Is that why you two stayed married? Some weird arrangement where he paid for your silence?”

Melissa laughed, the sound loud and menacing. “Maybe you aren’t as smart as I thought. But it doesn’t matter now.”

Tommy crinkled his brow, trying to make sense of Melissa’s words. “I don’t understand. If Shawn didn’t commit a crime with his car, what happened?”

The judge stopped laughing, an amused smirk hitching up one side of her mouth. “Maybe it’s fair you finally find out what happened to your mom before you die.”

“What?” His heart fell to the floor. “Shawn killed my mom?”

“No, you idiot. I did.”

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