Page 62 of Ambush

Molly exchanged an alarmed glance with Paradise. “But let’s not do it again, okay? Tigey might decide she wants you for lunch.”

“She eats meat. I’m a boy.” Isaac went back to eating his pizza.

Molly lowered her voice and leaned closer to Paradise. “Greene called Karson to ask about Blake this morning. He wanted to know if Blake owned a hunting knife. A big blade was used to kill the Mason woman. Like a hunting knife.”

Karson’s sporting goods store would be the likely place to check first. “I would guess lots of men in town have hunting knives.”

“And Blake would have a military knife, right?”

“I don’t know.” But of course it was likely. He had been in the Marines. Wouldn’t he have been issued a knife?

“The town is abuzz with speculation about the preserve. Is it true visitor counts have fallen off?”

Paradise didn’t want to add to the speculation. “I don’t have anything to do with visitors, but the parking lot has seemed full to me.” She would do everything she could to turn around the negative perceptions floating around the area.

The preserve catered not only to out-of-state visitors but to locals as well. Some people had annual passes and came frequently. The ballooning issues would do serious damage to The Sanctuary’s reputation if they didn’t take steps to alter public opinion.

They finished their pizza over less controversial discussions and rounded up the boys to drive home. Paradise couldn’t decide if Molly was concerned about The Sanctuary or trying to dig up dirt she could tell her friends. Her cousin seemed sincere, but Paradise had been burned too many times over the years to trust Molly’s intentions. Paradise wanted to believe her family was on her side, but they’d never come to her aid in the past.

She helped get the boys settled in the back seat, looked over their heads, and locked gazes with Blake. These little guys, their mom, and Blake had quickly become more of a family to her than she’d ever experienced before.

Chapter 29

The presence of the tub from her old home had been an itch between Paradise’s shoulder blades since they’d picked it up this morning. Once Blake took the boys to their room for story time, she got the tub and carried it to the sofa, where she settled with it beside her. She eyed it and decided to wait to examine the contents until he joined her. Nervous energy—and not just the lingering odor of the pizza they’d brought home—cramped her stomach.

Fifteen minutes later, Blake entered the living room and dropped down on the other side of the tub. “I thought you’d want to do this right away.”

He’d changed into athletic shorts and a tee for sleeping, and it was all she could do not to stare at his muscular legs. It wasn’t just his physical strength and handsome face that drew her though—it was mostly that inner moral compass that radiated from him.

She touched the lid. “Where’s your mom?”

“She and Isaac went to bed. They didn’t even watch a little TV. She was exhausted.”

“Levi is on the top bunk in my room?”

“They were both in Mom’s bed, but he fell asleep halfway through the Justice League book I got him a couple of weeks ago, so I carried him to your bed before I came to find you. By the time you get in there, you’ll have to move him to his side. Or sleep on the top bunk.” He grinned her way.

Just the two of us.Warmth flowed through Paradise. Being with Blake centered her and tempered the pain she suspected she’d feel when she opened the tub lid.

He unclipped the ends of the lid and removed it. “You want to go through everything piece by piece? Let’s make sure we check pockets and any possible hiding places. There has to be a reason your mom or dad tucked this away.”

Inside she spied an old jewelry box, a packet of letters tied with pink ribbon, and a baby book. The clothing appeared to be infant clothing as well as some adult items. She lifted out the jewelry box. It would be the most likely place to hide something important.

Before she opened it, she examined it for the brand and any other information on the outside. She ran her fingers over the iconic LV monogram top in green canvas. The gleaming brass latches and lock added beautiful bling, and it had a leather handle at the front. “Blake, this had to have been expensive. My dad never would have been able to afford Louis Vuitton. Can you see what you can find about a value or original price?”

He nodded and took out his phone while she lifted the lid to reveal microsuede trays. A gorgeous set of sapphire earrings lay nestled in a compartment. A ring with a huge topaz stone rested in the next spot over. Paradise didn’t remember her mother ever wearing such beautiful pieces. Where had she gotten them, and why had she felt the need to hide them here with the expensive jewelry box?

Blake leaned close to show her his screen. “Found it. The price right now is over six thousand dollars. I couldn’t find its original price, but you know it had to be expensive. It’s from the late 1980s or early 1990s.”

“I was born in 1995, so Mom could have been seeing someone before she married Dad.”

She turned her attention back to the contents of the jewelry box. One by one, she lifted out each of the trays to uncover more jewelry. A diamond tennis bracelet with matching earrings—and in the very bottom of a tray she found a diamond engagement ring in a velvet box.

Blake was close enough for her to catch the scent of his eucalyptus soap, and it soothed her agitation. He took her hand. “Whoever gave her this stuff was wealthy, Paradise. It couldn’t have been Sheriff Davis, not unless he was on the take somehow.”

“She might not have even known him then. I think this was someone she saw before she married Dad in 1992. Who gave my mom all this stuff?”

It was a rhetorical question, and she put the jewelry box aside with its contents and went through the other items. After she examined every pocket and fold of clothing, Blake checked them out too. Nothing had been hidden in the baby clothing or the maternity tops.

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