Page 16 of Crossroads of Betrayal
Lincoln snorted. “Didn’t know you were interested in police work.”
Brooke elbowed him in the side. “I’m sure Joan would rather sit outside with them instead of being inside her broken in cabin with us. She can answer any other questions you have once we’re finished. That will give her a few minutes to catch her breath.”
“That’d be nice.” Joan dropped the thumb from her mouth and rubbed a palm over her collarbone, her fingers dipping under the neck of her cream-colored sweater. “I need a moment to pull myself together. I’m usually not rattled so easily, but I’m afraid the past couple days have taken a toll on me.”
“That’s understandable,” Brooke said, smoothing a hand over Joan’s arm. “We’ll be as quick and as thorough as we can on our own. But we’ll need you to confirm if anything has been taken, so you’ll have to step inside with us at some point, okay?”
Joan nodded.
Zeke waited until the duo disappeared through the doorway before climbing the steps and leaning against the railing. A weird silence pulsed around them, as if no one knew what to say. Grace stayed rooted to her spot, hands still in her pockets and stare fixed at the lake beyond. She bit the side of her mouth and oozed an awkwardness he wasn’t used to seeing from her.
An awkwardness that twisted him up inside and he’d do anything to erase.
Instead, he focused on Joan. “You okay?”
Sniffing, she shook her head. “How can I be? I mean, why is this happening? First Tessa and now my cabin being busted into. I don’t understand any of it.”
He remembered what Darrin had said about Joan returning to her cabin briefly before he’d arrived at the lodge. “Any idea how long ago someone was here?”
She sighed. “No. I was gone most of the day. I’d hoped to come back and relax, but that’s never going to happen. At least not here.”
“Could you tell if anything was taken?” Grace asked, snapping out of whatever had held her hostage moments before.
Joan crinkled her nose. “I don’t think so. I didn’t want to disrupt the scene, but my initial look didn’t turn up anything that caught my attention.”
Zeke scratched his jawline. His background as an army veteran and firefighter didn’t lend much experience to deciphering the motive behind a criminal’s activities. But breaking into a cabin in such a secure location when the sun hadn’t yet disappeared took balls. Why would someone risk getting caught if there wasn’t something inside worth taking?
“Do you have anything of value inside?” Grace asked, as if following the thread forming in his head.
“Not really. Clothes and toiletries. A little cash. I didn’t carry my purse with me to the lodge, but my wallet was still in there when I looked.”
“Someone was looking for something specific,” Zeke said.
Joan nodded. “I agree. Something they wanted bad enough to risk coming into my cabin without knowing when I’d be back or who would walk by.”
Grace tilted her head, and the setting sun highlighted the sharp lines of her face, showcasing her beauty in a way that stole his breath. “Why would anyone think you had something that important in your cabin? You haven’t been here long. Have you had a conversation with anyone that would encourage someone to steal from you?”
Joan’s face turned as hard as stone. “I don’t think this break in has anything to do with me.”
Zeke frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I brought some files with me.” She winced. “I know I’m supposed to be focused on me and my reason for being here, but I couldn’t stop myself from bringing some work.”
Grace lifted the side of her mouth. “We’re not here to judge you for your work habits. Trust me, we all have our vices. But were some of the files missing? You said everything was still here.”
“Not missing, but I could tell they were read. And I have Tessa’s bags inside.” Joan’s voice caught and she wiped her eyes. “Someone looked in her suitcase. A zipper was left undone.”
“You think whoever’s responsible for her death broke into your cabin?” He asked, working the new information over in his mind. “What would be the point?”
Joan shrugged. “I don’t know. If whoever killed her had a reason, he or she could be looking for a way to pin it on someone else. If her murder was an accident, something that happened in the heat of the moment, maybe someone’s searching for a way to cover their tracks.”
Her red-rimmed eyes met his, and realization exploded in his gut like a grenade. People suspected him of killing Tessa, and now a woman’s cabin had been broken into—possibly in connection with the murder.
He was already suspected for being responsible for what happened to Tessa, and depending on how long ago the break-in occurred, he didn’t have an alibi.
CHAPTERSEVEN
A lightness surrounded Grace as she sprinted down the sidewalk toward the pretty brick house in the middle of town. She should have been home an hour ago, but Chris had shown up with his new car and asked to give her a ride. She couldn’t bring herself to make him take her directly home. Not when he was so excited to show off the bright red sedan he’d saved for all summer.
