Page 26 of Controlled Chaos

Chapter 15

Porter

This wasn’thow Porter wanted things to play out. Finding a killer was one thing, but having Clara feel violated just pissed him off. Anger stirred in his gut. No one on the island could be trusted. Porter turned his gaze to Edward. “Our things were rifled through when we first arrived? Thaddeus said our guns were put in his private gun case. Were you the one that did it? Did you help yourself to the rest of my things?”

Edward’s face reddened. He opened his mouth to answer, only Thaddeus beat him to it. “I told you that it’s protocol. He did that on my orders to make sure there wasn’t anything harmful and no one could get their hands on your weapons. From the looks of things, it looks like I made a good decision.”

“You realize that stealing from an FBI agent can land you in jail.”

“It’s our rules, Porter. You signed the agreement over twenty years ago, stating that you would abide by them. We still have that on file.”

Clara crossed her arms over her chest. “I haven’t signed anything. What’s to stop me from pressing charges?”

Thaddeus gritted his teeth. His nostrils flared. “That was an oversight.”

“Ms. Bennett, please believe that I didn’t take your stuff,” Edward begged, clearing his throat.

Porter trusted Edward. They had an unbreakable bond. Edward had helped Porter through some of his toughest moments, talking him off the ledge more than once. Clara might not trust Edward, but Porter did.

“Of course,” Clara answered. “I’m sure you have no reason to want my silk nighties unless, of course, dressing up in womens clothing is your thing.”

Edward’s cheeks flushed in horror.

“She’s kidding.” Porter wrapped his arms around Clara from behind in a gesture meant to resemble a hug.

Clara shrugged indifferently.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this one way or another,” Thaddeus announced.

If there was one thing Porter knew about Thaddeus Foster, it was that the man wouldn’t tolerate anyone breaking his precious rules. Porter knew better than most.

“I know you will.”

Clara gave him a sidelong glance, letting him know that she wasn’t buying Thaddeus’s claim that he’d get to the bottom of things. Her look said something more akin to the fact that she’d find the culprit first and that Thaddeus should look for an injured party instead.

“We’ll move you two to the main building,” his mom said.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Thaddeus corrected her. “All of those rooms are in the process of being readied for the graduates’ family members.”

“Surely, we have somewhere safer for them.” His mother’s voice sounded worried.

“That’s not necessary,” Clara said. “If you just give us back my weapons, we’ll be plenty safe.”

“What she means is that we don’t need to leave. Now we know how the person responsible got in here, and since they already stole Clara’s things, I doubt they’ll come back to strike again.”

“He’s right, honey,” Thaddeus said.

“I’ll have the girls’ barracks searched to see if we can find Ms. Bennett’s belongings,” Edward announced.

“Are you sure, Porter? We can find room for you,” his Mom said without a glance toward his stepfather.

“It’s fine, Mom,” Porter answered.

It was fine. He had a weapon nearby. He and Clara would be as safe as possible, not that he’d shoot the thief.

“He’s right. We’re good here, kind of out of the way. I have this thing about peopling. It’s not really my cup of tea.”

Porter brought his hand to his mouth and coughed, covering his laugh. She was probably telling the truth. It would explain a lot about why she kept disappearing on George. The FBI special agent had been looking for her for a while before he got his first break and she’d shown up at the wedding.

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