Page 19 of Clara's Secure Hideaway

“Hey,” Jimmy said over a peal of laughter.

Elsie ruffled his hair. “Okay, no plank. How about we do a scavenger hunt instead? I made a list of all the treasures you need to find and then you’ll get a prize.” She pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket. “Everything is in this room, but you have to work together if you want to win.”

The kids squealed and jumped up and down.

“I should have known you’d have something fantastic planned for the kids,” Clara said.

Elsie shrugged then tied her auburn locks on the top of her head with a scrunchie. “I try my hardest.” She handed the sheet of paper to Avery. “The princess is in charge. Now go find the booty!”

“You put Avery in charge? You may have created a tiny pink monster.” Clara took a second to watch the kids run excitedly around the room, staying in a little clump as they tried to track down everything on the page.

“Strong women need to be in charge,” Elsie shrugged, hands in the air. “How’d it go earlier?”

Clara sighed, wishing she could savor the moment of innocence and fun a while longer before diving back into the horrors of her life. “Not great. According to Heath, there’s nothing we can use against Mitch. At least not to press additional charges. He’s getting an emergency order now, but it won’t be enough. Nothing will.”

“I’m so sorry.” Elsie hooked an arm around Clara’s shoulders and squeezed.

“It’s so frustrating we can’t prove he was in the house. Iknowhe was there. Hell, he even ripped the head off of Avery’s stuffed dog and left the remains on her bed.”

Elsie gasped. “Why on earth would he do that?”

Another wave of hatred beat against her. “Looks like he hid a USB stick in there. We found the cap, but nothing else.”

“Did you check your computer? See if there was anything uploaded from the outside source?”

She straightened. “No, I didn’t think of that. I’m not very good with computers. Do you really think he’d be stupid enough to leave something he wanted hidden on it?”

“Do I think Mitch is stupid?” Elsie asked. “Absolutely. Stupid enough for that, who knows. But if there’s any trace of something on the hard drive, I know someone who can find out.”

A beat of excitement pulsed through the crappy mood clinging to Clara like a leech. “Who?”

Elsie grinned. “Dean.”

Elsie’s fiancé was a former police officer who now worked as a private investigator. Although he probably had the skills to help, she was low on cash. “I couldn’t pay him much, and I wouldn’t even know what to tell him to look for.”

The are-you-kidding-me look Elsie gave her bore a striking resemblance to the one Jimmy had made earlier. “Dean will want to help because you’re my friend. No questions asked. He loves techy stuff and doesn’t need any guidance. I have a feeling if Mitch has anything on that hard drive he shouldn’t, Dean will have no problem finding it.”

A hoot of excitement from the kids turned her attention across the room. They squealed and hugged as Davey hoisted a silver bracelet into the air. If she was lucky, the children wouldn’t be the only ones who made an exciting discovery today.

But first, she had to track down their old computer.

8

With the emergency order in hand, Heath opened the door to Bob’s Auto Shop and let a young mother and her child outside before slipping into the showroom. A cartoon cutout announcing a giant sale stood beside a stack of tires. Popcorn popped in the corner of the empty waiting room and a television mounted on the wall played a local news station.

He bypassed everything and made a beeline for the front desk.

Bob, the owner and a staple of Water’s Edge, stood behind the register glancing through paperwork. What was left of his white hair hugged the side of his round head, leaving the top bald. Wrinkles and dirt marred his navy-blue work shirt, but the crisp white patch in the corner boasted his name.

The auto shop was the only one in town and had a good reputation. Bob was known to take chances on his employees, wanting to give them a helping hand when they were down on their luck. Heath had learned Bob gave Mitch a job the year before when he’d lost his teaching position and been arrested the first time, then must have given him back his job once he was released from jail.

As much as Heath admired Bob for his good heart, the older man was about to discover not all bad men could be redeemed.

“Afternoon, Bob,” he said. “How are things?”

Bob grumbled then tossed the paperwork on the counter. “Can’t complain too much, Deputy. What brings you by? Have an issue with your cruiser?”

“Nah, not this time. I’m here to speak to Mitch Parson. Is he available?” Just saying the other man’s name hiked up his blood pressure. He wished he could do more than deliver the order to stay away from Clara and the kids, but his hands were tied.

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