Page 23 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

Dean shoved the ottoman away from the chair and sat, leaning against the dark blue wall. “So you and Jenna were working together today, huh? What’s that been like?”

Calvin snatched a throw pillow behind his back and threw it at Dean.

Dean laughed and tossed the pillow on the floor. “She’s gotten under your skin. I can tell.”

He shrugged. “I haven’t talked to her in so long—haven’t seen her. Hell, I’ve avoided any mention of her like the damn plague for years.”

“Understandable,” Dean said. “Gina left me and I put as much distance between her and I as I could. No way I could stay in the same town.”

“Apparently you’re smarter than me,” Calvin said with a small snort. “But who could have guessed she’d show up on my doorstep asking for help to solve her sister’s murder? It’s all so freaking twisted, man. She’s in a rough spot. I thought I could ask some questions for her, keep my distance, then move on. I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore.”

“I feel bad for Jenna,” Dean said. “But right now, she’s not my concern. You are.”

Calvin worked his jaw back and forth and tried to put a voice to the storm brewing inside him. “I’m struggling. I slammed the door shut on Jenna years ago. Shoved away any lingering feelings, but those feelings never went away. That’s why I’ve avoided her all this time.”

Boo whined and clamored over to sit in front of Calvin, resting his furry head on his lap as if to offer support.

Sympathy flooded Dean’s brown eyes. “Being around her has to be tough. But what happened between you two was so long ago. Still having feelings for her must mean something. Don’t you think?”

Calvin ran his palm over Boo’s head and weighed his words. Talking about Jenna wasn’t something he was all that comfortable with, but he had to do something. No way he could survive another day with Jenna front and center in his mind.“She apologized today. For how things went down. But is that enough to forget what she did? To forgive and move on and see if something still exists between us?”

Dean twisted his mouth to the side. “I think that’s a question you should ask Jenna. Not me. For what it’s worth, if Gina apologized and changed her mind, I’d take her back in a second. I saw what you and Jenna had, where you two were heading. Love like that is special, usually only once in a lifetime. Do you want to go the rest of your life without having that again?”

Calvin squirmed at the thought of having this conversation with Jenna. Just because she finally said she was sorry for what had happened didn’t mean she wanted to be with him. Didn’t mean she still loved him. “Jenna and I can’t dive into all that now. We have more pressing issues, and so do you and I. Grab your computer and let’s get to work. I’ve got some things to keep you busy.”

He needed to concentrate on facts. Needed to lose himself in his job, where things made sense, not get lost in what-ifs.

11

With his computer propped on the kitchen island, Calvin blinked the fatigue from his eyes. Hours had passed since he and Dean had started working. Needing sustenance, they’d relocated to the kitchen. Now a pile of dishes cluttered the counter, and his stomach was filled with pasta. The scent of garlic hung heavy in the air, and red sauce was splattered on the white subway tile behind the stove.

A half-empty bottle of beer sat in front of him. Dean hunched over his own laptop at the large farmhouse table. Swiveling on the backless stool, Calvin took a long swig of the bitter ale.

“Have you found anything in Stella’s business accounts?” he asked.

Dean’s eyes were barely visible above his computer screen. “Nothing unusual or suspicious. She kept good track of her books. Made a pretty decent profit. The woman you spoke with earlier was right about her two new clients. The income was a big boost, but nothing life-changing.”

Calvin sighed. Something life-changing had happened—or at least life-ending. They just needed to look harder. Dig deeper. “Have you dipped into her personal accounts yet?”

Dean shook his head and took a sip of his own beer. “Not yet. Just getting started on that now.”

“I got ahold of the florist. They’re located two towns over, which is weird. They had records of all the deliveries made to Stella. The name given by the purchaser is bogus, and he always paid in cash. Whoever sent those flowers went through a lot of trouble to hide his identity.” Calvin scratched Boo behind the ear and let all the information he’d uncovered percolate.

“That doesn’t support your theory that the killer is Jenna’s enemy, not Stella’s. If someone wanted their identity kept secret and Stella threatened to expose their relationship, he might have decided to kill Stella before she ruined him.” Dean tapped the end of a pencil against the table as he spoke.

“Questions still remain. Who was she seeing, and why did it have to be a secret?” Turning his attention back to his own computer, Calvin brought up the website of Custer and Sholl. Amy mentioned that one of the lawyers insisted Stella clean the office herself, which struck him as odd. He scanned the provided information, taking note of the two attorneys’ pictures.

Stewart Custer sported a bald head and age spots on his chubby face. Deep wrinkles lined his forehead. Unless Stella wanted to keep a relationship with him hidden because she didn’t want to be seen with the old man, he doubted Stewart and Stella had a secret love affair.

Milo Sholl, on the other hand, was tall, broad shouldered, and would be fully capable of slicing a woman’s throat with a scalpel.

Dean stood and stretched his arms above his head. “Who’s that?” he asked, nodding toward Calvin’s computer screen.

“One of the lawyers from the office Stella started cleaning recently.” He studied the picture. The shock of dark hair cut tight and parted on the side made the vivid blue of his eyes shinebright. His chiseled jaw and hard angles of his cheekbones made his face more square than round.

“Do we know anything more about him?” Dean asked.

“Not yet.” Calvin opened another tab on his browser and typed in Milo Sholl. The search engine generated a long list of websites. He clicked on the first link, which took him to his personal Facebook page.

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