Page 101 of One More Truth
“Hey, what’s going on?” My tone is stiff, my eyes narrowed. The last cop in here was Chief Wilson, and he’d been using intimidation tactics to get Jess to tell him where his wife and daughter were hiding.
The cop turns to me, suspicion shading his light-gray eyes. “Who are you?”
“Troy Carson. The company’s owner. Is there something I can help you with”—I read the name on his badge—“Officer Hunt?”
“So-someone left a threatening note for me while I was away at lunch,” Jess says, her voice shaky.
My gaze cuts to the cop. “What note?”
He holds up a plastic baggy with a handwritten message inside. “Do you recognize the handwriting?”
I read the message, and my blood sizzles and seethes.Who the…what the fuck?The muscles in my jaw tighten. “It doesn’t look familiar.”
“Have you noticed anything suspicious around the building over the past few days?” Officer Hunt inquires.
“Nothing that comes to mind. I’m usually only here first thing in the mornings and at the end of the day. Most of the time I’m on job sites. Or consulting with companies that hire me as a construction engineer.”
“Anything suspicious at any of those locations that you can remember?”
“No. Nothing. I can ask the tradespeople I use if they remember anything.” I read the threatening message again. “What about the protesters who’ve been harassing Jess? I wouldn’t put it past any of them to be responsible for this.” I hand the note back to him.
“Did any of the protesters threaten to harm you to your face?” He directs the question to Jess.
“Someone threw eggs at her when she was in my truck last Monday morning,” I supply. “At approximately seven thirty. They hit the side passenger window.”
“Did either of you see who did it?”
“No,” I reply. Jess shakes her head, her face still pale.
“Anyone else you can think of who might have left this?” He holds up the plastic evidence bag.
“The first day of the protests,” Jess says, “a woman told me to move away or else she would make my life miserable. There were other threats like that too.”
“Do you know who she was?”
“Unfortunately not. I heard her yell at me, but there were so many people, I couldn’t tell who said it.”
“Any other suspicious activity over the past few days?”
A heavy puff of air breezes past her lips. “I don’t know. Maybe. I had a weird feeling today while I was sitting in the local park that someone was watching me.”
“When was this?”
“Around noon.”
Fuck. Jess doesn’t need that on top of everything else. She was struggling with hypervigilance when we first met. That hasn’t decreased much since she started seeing Robyn. This—the feeling that someone is watching her and the letter—could set back her recovery.
“Did you see anyone who might have been watching you?” Officer Hunt asks her.
“No. I wasn’t alone in the park. Other people were there enjoying the weather. But I didn’t notice anyone actually watching me. It was just a feeling I got.”
He asks a few more questions, gives us his card in case we think of anything else, and leaves.
“Why didn’t you call me when you found the letter?” I gentle my tone even though what I really want is to rip whoever did this a new one.
“I was going to, but it didn’t happen that long ago. I called nine-one-one. Officer Hunt was in the area and arrived before I could call you.”
“Alright, but until the cops figure out who left the threat, Butterscotch and I will stay with you and Bailey at your house.”
