Page 24 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

He scrolled down, taking in the wholesome pictures of Milo with a dark-haired beauty and two small children. Photos of Milo with a little boy on his shoulders watching a parade, the pretty woman with her arms wrapped around a chunky baby girl with a toothless grin and a bright pink bow. Another of a family with smiling faces in front of the setting sun.

“Good looking family. I’m guessing that’s his wife,” Dean said.

Calvin clicked on Milo’s information. Married to Debbie Sholl. “Looks like they’ve been married for six years.” Calvin hovered the cursor over Debbie Sholl’s name and brought up the woman’s profile.

Dean whistled. “Her profile isn’t as filled with family fun.”

Memes with dark shadows and obscure messages littered her feed. A few pictures of the children interrupted the cryptic posts, but no smiling photos with her husband. “That’s strange. Usually, it’s the woman who plasters her Facebook profile with family pictures. A timeline like this usually means trouble in paradise. Just as strange, Milo’s type doesn’t post nearly as much, and they usually don’t have as much personal information.”

“Hard to believe a lawyer doesn’t have his profile set to private. Most lawyers I know keep a tight lid on their personal lives.”

Calvin raised his brows. “How many lawyers do you know, and why do you know what they choose to do with their personal lives?”

A laugh boomed from Dean’s wide mouth. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

Chuckling, Calvin clicked the back button. He returned to the list of websites related to Milo Sholl. An article from the local paper caught his attention, and he brought up the website for the Pine Valley Gazette. “Interesting. Looks like Milo is considering running for the county judge position next year.”

“I’d say more than considering. If a local paper runs a story speculating someone is running for office, you can almost bet it’s a sure thing.” Dean ran the tip of his finger down the screen. “Here. Look. Comments for the article were provided by the law office. No way the guy would provide a comment if he didn’t have something up his sleeve.”

A beat of adrenaline pushed against Calvin’s core. “If Milo Sholl started an affair with Stella, it’d be more important than ever to keep things hidden if he were running for a public office. Maybe even important enough for him to kill.”

Puzzle piecesand toy trucks were scattered around Jenna’s living room. She laid on her stomach on the floor next to Oliver, who kicked his little feet in the air as he searched for the spot to put letters of the alphabet on the wooden board.

Jenna scooped up the red letter H and chuckled. “You want us to find a place for the H?”

Oliver giggled and slapped his palm on the board.

“Do you want to put it on there?” Jenna asked, grinning. This was her happy place. The time when she felt the most whole.When she was with her son, getting lost in the simple pleasures of teaching him his abc’s. But as content as this moment was, for the first time in a long time, something was missing.

Something—or someone—she was afraid would never be a part of these cozy family moments.

Oliver snatched the piece and placed it where it belonged, veering her mind back to him.

Pride swelled her heart, and she tickled his little side. “Good job!”

Mrs. Franklin chuckled from her spot on the couch where she had two knitting needles poised in her hands and a ball of purple yarn in her lap. “He’s such a smart, sweet boy.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Jenna scooted up to a sitting position. “I’m grateful to have you, but don’t feel like you need to stay. I don’t want to keep you.”

Mrs. Franklin chanced a quick look at Jenna then returned her focus to her knitting. “You’ve been through a lot, my dear. No need to go through it alone. I’m here for you both.”

Tears stung Jenna’s eyes. It’d been so long since someone looked after her. Her neighbor had become more than her reliable sitter. Mrs. Franklin was family. Family she needed now more than ever. “Thank you.”

A sharp ring had Jenna jumping to her feet and heading for the kitchen, where she’d plugged in her phone. A quick glance at the screen showed Dr. Church’s picture and number. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jenna. Just checking in to see how you’re holding up.”

Jenna backed further into the kitchen so Oliver and Mrs. Franklin couldn’t hear her conversation. “I’m okay.”

“Any news about your sister?”

She blew out a long sigh. “Not really. I hired a private investigator. He wonders if the person who killed Stella might have an issue with me and not Stella. But for the life of me, I can’t think of someone who could hate me that much.”

“I can’t speak to your personal life, but everyone at the hospital loves you,” Dr. Church said.

The kind words made Jenna smile. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure if that’s true.” As much as she tried to be professional, and even kind, to all her coworkers, she’d ruffled her share of feathers. Though she couldn’t recall any situations where she’d pissed someone off enough to drive them to kill.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

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