Page 82 of Ambush

“I always thought so when I went to visit.”

“Did you tell the detective any of this?”

Quinn peeled a nail decal of flowers off the sheet of stickers and attached it to the index nail on her left hand. “No one ever asked me. I’m just a kid, you know. But I see things. I stay with Grandpa after school until Mom gets off at six, and I know everything about the ranch.”

“Did you see what they did with the knife?”

“The vet took it.”

The information sucked the moisture from Paradise’s mouth. Could Owen be involved in this? She couldn’t see why he would want to shut down the park. He and Hank had been friends, longtime friends. And he had no skin in the game at the park, so none of it made sense.

Maybe Blake or Jenna would have some idea how this all made sense.

Blake returned with Roger and coffee. “I just got a text from Nora. It appears the knife we found is the murder weapon.”

Paradise rose. “Quinn was very helpful. She saw that knife, and Owen Shaw took it with him.”

Chapter 39

Owen Shaw couldn’t be involved. Blake turned the information over and over in his head as he drove to Nova Cambridge, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t see what motive Owen would have. Blake parked the truck at the curb. “Let’s go talk to Owen and see if he can clear any of this up. I can’t stay long—I need to make preparations at the park for the storm.”

“There’s probably a good explanation.”

“I hope so.” Blake reached the door and stopped at the sign on the window. “Closed for lunch.”

He glanced at the sky. The greenish-black clouds had begun to gather low on the horizon, and the air held the taste of a storm—humid and breezy. “I don’t have time to wait. I want to grab some cases of water while we’re here and some extra sandbags. I have some in the barn, but maybe not enough. They’re passing them out at the town hall.”

“You grab the sandbags while I pop into the grocery store and buy some cases of water.”

He nodded, and she went across the street to the market while he drove the truck to the town hall. Half an hour later, he pulledthe truck into the grocery’s lot and shot her a text to let her know he was out there.

Almost ready. Could use some help.

He got out and started for the front of the market when he spotted Owen coming out of the drugstore. He paused long enough to shoot Paradise a message that he would be a few minutes, but when he looked back up, Owen was gone. And the office was still closed.

He continued into the market and grabbed three cases of water from Paradise while she wheeled a cart full of canned goods toward the truck. “Not taking any chances, are you?”

She shook her head. “I got some canned cat food too, just in case we were low. And plenty of stuff for the boys. I hope we don’t have to leave. The thought of holing up at the park with the animals and the boys sounds fun. We’ll make fudge and caramel corn while we play games and watch cartoons. It would be a perfect couple of days.”

He eyed the glowering sky again. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about this storm. The radar is intense. They’re saying we could get hit with dozens of tornadoes. I’d guess we might lose power, and our generator will only be enough to keep the well water going and the freezer.”

She studied the sky too. “I don’t mind wind and rain since we’re in a drought, but tornadoes wouldn’t be good. You have a basement?”

“A storm cellar just out the back door. I should make sure it’s cleared of spiders and snakes.”

She shuddered. “I’d appreciate that.”

“I saw Owen just before I came in. That’s what delayed me. But he disappeared and I didn’t see where he went. It’s going to have to wait for a better time.”

“Do you want to hang around and see if he opened up the office again?”

“Better not. There’s a lot to do.” He loaded the water and groceries in the back, and they climbed in for the short drive home.

The lot was nearly deserted when they arrived back at the park. Only a few vans and cars dotted the usually clogged parking lot.

“What can I do to help?” Paradise asked when he drove through the lot to the house.

“Pray.”

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