Page 38 of Smoldering Nights
Do you recognize ‘Clearway Supply’?There’s a slip for a delivery we never received.
His reply came almost instantly.
Never heard of it.I'll be right in.
She padded quietly to her bedroom.She changed her clothes.Even though it was in the nineties outside, she was chilled.She pulled on a loose sweater and a pair of jeans.She heard the door open and shut, and jumped behind the door for a moment.She peered around the door frame to see Mitch walking from the living room to the kitchen.She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.Squaring her shoulders, she stepped from her room and met him at the dining room table.
She handed him the slip wordlessly.He examined it, turning it over in his hand.
He typed into his computer and read his screen before he said anything.“This is a fake,” he muttered.“Not only is the supplier unknown, but this isn’t your handwriting.And it sure as hell isn’t Ms.Jillie’s either, is it?”
"No."
His lips turned down for a moment as he stared at the slip."I'll get this to Jayson.Where did you find it?"
Izzy’s mouth went dry.“It was on my desk.Why forge a delivery slip?”
Mitch’s jaw clenched.“To create an excuse to be there.Whoever wrote this wanted to appear like they belonged.”
“They could’ve planted something,” she whispered.“Or stolen something.Or...”her voice faltered, “I don't know how it got there.”
He looked up, their eyes locking.“You didn't find anything else?”
She shook her head."I'll go through everything I brought again."
"I'll call Jayson right now.We'll look at the security videos and see when this person came into the shop."
She cleared her throat lightly; there seemed to be a clog in it right now.“I thought this was someone being petty.Someone jealous or angry.But this feels like… like we’re on someone’s radar for a reason I can’t see.”
“You are,” Mitch said quietly.“And I hate that you’re in their crosshairs.”
Her eyes burned again.“I feel like I’m unraveling.Like no matter how hard I try, someone is always one step ahead.And I’m just waiting for the next hit.”
He stepped around the table and pulled her into his arms, this time slower, more deliberate.“You’re not alone in this, Izzy.Not anymore.We’ll use this, this forged slip, to track them down.Every move they make is going to leave a trail.And we’ll follow it.”
She closed her eyes and leaned against him, drawing strength from his certainty.
Because she didn’t have any left of her own.
But maybe… just maybe… with him beside her, she didn’t have to.
Chapter19
Mitch sat in front of his laptop, arms crossed, watching the security footage from Petal Pushers for the third time.Jayson was on a video call, his face tense, lit by the blue glow of multiple monitors in front of him.
“There,” Jayson said, pausing the feed.“That’s your intruder.”
The frame showed a figure in a green delivery vest, carrying a clipboard and a box markedClearway Supply.He moved fast, confident, head down to obscure the camera angle.
“Pause it,” Mitch said.“Zoom on the box.”
Jayson did as asked.The logo was clean, too clean.Not a smudge or a dent on the cardboard.Mitch leaned closer.
“That box is empty,” he muttered.“Look at the bottom.No sag.No weight shift.And the angle at which he carries it is a tell.His fingers don't look tight like they would if there was weight in that box.”
Jayson nodded.“It's a prop.”
“Go back,” Mitch said.“I want to see how he got in.”
