Page 25 of Ambush

“Very well. First of all, there’s a rumor the old sheriff, Gerald Davis, was having an affair with your mother.”

Paradise gasped, and her hand went to her throat. “Do you think it’s true?”

“I do. I spoke to your mother’s neighbor, and she reportedseeing the sheriff visit late at night when your father was out of town.”

“Dad was out of town a lot. He sold sound equipment to churches and music artists and was gone several nights a week. Much of the time he was only home on weekends.”

“That’s what the neighbor reported. She saw your mother and Gerald kissing at the door many times.”

The color washed out of Paradise’s cheeks. “I never saw or heard anything.”

“Kids sleep hard,” Blake said. “My brothers never wake in the night. Mom has vacuumed the hall while they’re sleeping, and they never stir.”

Paradise twisted her wild hair into a knot on top of her head and poked a stick from the ground in it. “You think the sheriff had something to do with the murders?”

Hez’s voice came through the phone again. “It’s possible. In fact, I’d say it’s likely. Sex and money are the most common reasons for murder. Maybe your dad found them together and the sheriff killed him. Your mom might have objected, and he was afraid she’d tell, so he killed her too. You remember nothing, Paradise?”

“My cousin said Dad was in the backyard with a gun, and Mom was found in my bedroom. I was hiding in the closet. H-how did they die?” Her voice wobbled.

“Bludgeoned with a ball bat.”

“But Dad had a gun.”

“It wasn’t loaded. The hair and blood on the bat confirmed it as the murder weapon.”

Blake felt Paradise quiver, and he took her hand. Surprisingly, she let him keep it. This had to be hard to hear. The pictures in her head of the scene would be horrific. If only she’d let him hold her.

“I have the crime-scene photos, but the box of actual evidence hasn’t been located.”

“How’d you get the files, Hez?” Blake asked.

“Let’s just say I have a friend in the Pelican Harbor police station. They’re the actual files, and I made copies. I’ll return the packet to my friend tomorrow. I’ll have the folder for you whenever you want to pick it up. And my friend is still searching for the box of evidence.”

“Could we come now?” Paradise asked.

“I’m about to head out on a dinner cruise with Savannah. How about I leave my condo unlocked? You can grab the file off the kitchen counter.”

“We’ll be there in half an hour,” Blake said.

“Brace yourself, Paradise. The pictures will be shocking and hard to see.”

“I have to. There might be a clue that no one but me would recognize. I was in that backyard and that bedroom.”

Blake squeezed her fingers. She wasn’t only beautiful but strong too. But then, he had always known that. It took a special kind of inner strength to soldier through what she’d experienced. She was the same girl he’d fallen in love with when he was sixteen and yet somehow even more interesting now. Ever since she’d arrived his emotions had been in turmoil.

He ended the call with Hez and stood, pulling Paradise up with him. “I can get the file if you’d rather stay here.”

“No, I have to go. I want to see it right away. Hearing about the sheriff tells me no one is going to bring justice to my parents except me.”

“And me. I’m with you on this quest, Paradise. You don’t have to face it alone.”

She lifted her chin, and her eyes glistened with moisture. “Thisisn’t your fight, Blake. If the sheriff’s family hears about this, we might be facing more than a fire and a few stray gunshots.”

“I’m battle hardened. I don’t even flinch at the sound of gunfire anymore. You can’t do this alone.”

Indecision flickered across her expression, but she nodded and squeezed his fingers. “Let’s get that file.”

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