Page 58 of Apple of My Eye
Jack bent over to read the card and then stood and nodded. "I understand the logic completely. Whoever this is wants something from you or is obsessed with you. I'm an obstacle."
"I'm so sorry, Jack," I whispered.
He took two quick strides over to where I was huddling against my door and pulled me close to him. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This psycho is the problem. It has nothing to do with you. We're going to find him."
I nodded and took a deep breath. "I know. I'm going to keep you safe, Jack."
He grinned. "I think that's my line."
"We're a team."
While we waited for Andy or Susan to show up, I went into the shop and made coffee. And then I made some phone calls. We needed a cleanup party and to get the window replaced. Within minutes, I had Dave Wolf on his way from his construction site with paint and replacement windows, and Lucky and Dallas on their way for labor and support, while Austin and some of the other guys stayed behind and ran the swamp boat tours.
Andy roared into the parking lot, siren blaring, and pulled to a neat stop between my car and Jack's truck. He shut off the siren and lights and walked over to us; a fierce scowl on his freckled face.
"Are you okay, Tess?"
I nodded. "I'm fine, Andy. Just a little bit freaked out."
"I'm fine, too, thanks for asking," Jack said dryly.
Andy pulled on a pair of gloves. "What's in the box this time?"
"We thought we should wait for you to open it."
When he glanced up at me, I shrugged. "We didn't want to disturb the evidence. It's not ticking or anything."
He froze for a second and then squared his shoulders. "Okay, step back, you two, just in case."
"It doesn't smell like explosives or chemicals," Jack said. "No blood this time, either, unless it's wrapped in plastic or something."
We all held out breath when Andy opened the box to find… a stuffed animal. A toy stuffed animal, not a taxidermied one.
A stuffed tiger, to be exact.
With a giant knife stuck through its head.
"Well, that's subtle," Jack said.
"I need to sit down," I said, suddenly feeling woozy. I had just hadenough.
Enough threats, enough crime, enough danger.
I wanted to go back to my semi-ordinary life, running my pawnshop and baking pies for my friends. The problem was that I didn't know how to do that. The bad guys didn't seem to want to leave me alone.
I stomped inside the shop, sat down on the stool behind the counter, and put my head in my hands.
Andy followed me in, looking angry and miserable all at the same time. "I'm sorry, Tess. We have no leads on this guy. Ann Feeney just seems to have disappeared into thin air. Nobody has a clue where she might have gone or with who. The mystery boyfriend is still that. And we got no trace evidence of any kind off the packages that were left for you."
I raised my head. "I have a clue. We need to investigate Pastor Nash."
"Tess," Jack said, walking into the shop. "We don't know—"
I pointed at Jack. "Do you have a better idea?"
"Well, the Fox brothers are still checking into Hammermill's finances, but as of now, no."
"Exactly."
