Page 32 of Deadly Past

“No, they’re both here with me and Robert and the girls. We’re playing a board game.” Becky’s response destroyed any hope that this might be simply someone who wandered over from her house. “Did you get a good look at him?”

“Not really. He was standing in the shadows of the trees.”

“It could be someone from one of the neighboring small islands. Maybe they were worried about getting in trouble for trespassing and hightailed it off the island.”

“Maybe. Hang on a second.” Declan muted the call. “I think we need to tell her what’s going on. Becky can help. If this is the same person, she will be better able to assist. It will take my team a long time to reach us as it would any law enforcement.”

She readily agreed.

Declan went back to the call and told Becky everything.

When he finished, she was silent for a long time. “That’s a heartbreaking story, Wynona, and I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that.”

“Thank you,” Wynona murmured. “I hate that I’ve possibly brought my troubles to Breakers.”

Becky didn’t hesitate. “Don’t be. Until we know for certain this isn’t the same guy coming after you, we all need to be careful.”

“Agreed,” Declan told her. “I’m going to call my friend Will who is the chief of police for Hope Island. He has jurisdiction here on Breakers. He can come with his officers, and I’ll call in my team as well. I’ll feel better having extra manpower even though it is Christmas.”

“Sounds like a wise move. Have you spoken to Amos?”

That was another strange tale entirely, in Wynona’s opinion.

“He came for a short visit earlier.” Declan explained about the man’s stroke.

“You’re kidding. It must have happened after Thanksgiving. I called Amos and wished him a happy Thanksgiving, and he told me he was here on the island.”

“Really?” Declan looked Wynona’s way. “Do you remember when Cathy said Amos had the stroke?”

“No, but I thought it was at least a month ago.”

“Odd. I’ll stop by for a visit. I baked him one of my pumpkin pies. It’s a favorite of Amos’s. Maybe I can get more information from Cathy.”

“Have you met her before?” Declan asked.

“No. Amos mentioned something about her coming here a few years back with her husband.”

Wynona frowned. “I don’t remember Cathy mentioning her husband being here.”

“No, she didn’t. If he’s here, maybe it was him we saw.”

“It’s possible. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Thanks for your help, Becky. We’ll see you later.” Declan ended the call. “There might be a simple explanation for the intruder, but I don’t feel safe here after that. It’s time to bring the police and my team here.”

Wynona agreed. Though she hadn’t been able to see the man, the fact that he was near the cabin gave her the creeps. It was almost as if he’d come here to the island for them.

Declan called JT and explained what happened.

“We have a problem, Declan. There’s another storm moving in that’s scheduled to hit in a few hours here, and it’s moving your way, too. We can’t send anyone out in it.”

“I heard the warning pop up on my phone a little bit earlier. That’s not what we needed. As soon as you can get the team here, the better.” Declan gave the description of the boat. “It’s not much to go on, but maybe you could do some checking.”

“You got it. I’ll call Will and tell him to shove off as soon as the storm clears Hope Island.”

“Thanks, JT.” Declan shoved the phone back into his jean’s pocket.

An uneasy feeling wouldn’t let her relax. It warned that things were quickly coming to a head, and all they could do was wait. Wynona started for the kitchen. She needed something to do to keep from freaking out.

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