Chapter 16

Waiting was agony. Isabella stood next to Jack with her arms wrapped around her middle and watched as Connor examined the items David had given her. She hoped Connor had good news tonight, especially after he saw the gifts.

“So? Will they help you?” she asked after Agent Lahey finished looking at the gifts spread out on the desk in her office, the newspaper they had been wrapped in laid out behind them. Since Connor was trying to go unnoticed by David, she thought it had been best to bring everything to the coffee shop where David couldn’t see into her office

“I think so. They match the descriptions of missing items. This one,” Connor said as he held up the diamond necklace, “Is worth at least five grand. Altogether, I’d say you have about at least ten times that, if not more. And there’s no telling where else he hid items.”

Connor studied the items for a few more minutes. She knew they would definitely help but she wasn’t sure it would be enough.

“You have no idea where he could have hidden more, Isabella?” Connor asked as he looked up at her standing next to Jack.

“No. He would disappear sometimes but I never asked where he went,” she said and wrapped her arms around her middle.

Connor nodded. “We’ve managed to trace several storage units to his name, but without probable cause or a warrant, we can’t enter them. And right now, we don’t have either. Your testimony is great, but it won’t hold up in court without hard evidence like a paper trail or CCTV footage, this won’t hold up in court.”

“So it wasn’t much help, then,” Isabella said, the disappointment clear in her voice. Maybe Lucy had been right in telling her not to get her hopes up just yet.

“Not necessarily. If we can prove he was at the places these were stolen from then we can, at the very least, link him to the items. That would give us enough to get a warrant,” Connor said.

“But it’s still not enough, is it?” Jack asked as he rubbed small comforting circles on Isabella’s back.

“It all depends on what we find in the storage units. We’ve been following a money trail, but it leads to an offshore account. There’s not much we can do with that,” Connor said as he shook his head.

Isabella felt the weight of despair begin to press in from all sides. All this and it still wasn’t enough. Her dream, the one she thought was coming true ever since she had met Jack, began to crumble around her.

“There is one surefire way of convicting him, though,” Connor said.

“What? I’ll do anything,” Isabella pleaded, the desperation pushing the fear aside in her mind.

“A confession,” Jack said in a flat voice.

Connor nodded. “A confession would hold up in court. If we can get him to plead guilty there won’t be a trial. That, combined with the evidence we might find in these storage units, would put him away for life.”

Isabella thought for a moment. “A confession for theft and embezzlement and money laundering? Would he really admit to any of that?”

“Not willingly,” Connor said and studied Isabella. He was forming a plan, one that he was certain Jack would hate.

Isabella watched Connor fall silent and decided to go make coffee for all of them while they waited for Connor to let them in on his plan. It would give her nerves a chance to settle, as well.

She left the office and walked towards the front of the shop where the coffee machines were, Jack close behind her. He watched her move around as she made their coffee.

“Come here, Izzy,” he said.

She looked over at him in question.

“Come here,” he repeated.

She walked over to him slowly and then smiled when he folded her in his arms and brought her to rest against his chest.

“I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but Connor’s one of the best and he’ll catch David,” Jack said and she listened to his voice rumble through his chest. It was a comfort, but it seemed like a hollow one at the moment.

“And how long will that take, Jack? A year? Two? More? David’s skilled at evading people and he knows there’s nothing definitive linking him to any of these crimes. There’s no guarantee that he’ll confess,” Isabella said as she pushed back from him.

“I know it’s not ideal, but Connor will get him,” Jack said again in an attempt to reassure her.

“That’s not the point, Jack,” Isabella said in frustration and pushed away from him completely to pace around the small space behind the counter, her hands in her hair.

“Then explain it to me,” he said, and rested his hands on the counter behind him as he watched Isabella pace like a caged lion.

“He won’t stop, Jack. The notes, they’ll just get worse. And it’ll escalate again, just like last time with Jasper. He’ll hurt people again,” she stopped pacing and looked at him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears that were full of both anger and sadness. “I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.”

Jack walked towards her and held her face gently between his hands, tilting her head so she could meet his gaze. “We’ll find a way. I promise, Izzy. Connor and I will find a way. I still have contacts in the DA’s office and Connor will do everything he can to put David behind bars for a very long time.”             

She smiled through her tears. “You know, I believe you. For some reason, I believe you, Jack.”

“Good. Because it’s true,” he said and then he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips.

He wrapped her in a bear hug and held her tight. But they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Isabella pulled back and glance at the door with the closed sign hanging on it and the shade pulled down.

“Are you expecting someone?” Jack asked as he released her. Connor came to the front of the shop, a quizzical expression on his face as he had heard Jack’s question.

“No,” Isabella said.

“Right. Isabella, you answer the door,” Connor said as he pulled out his gun. “I’ll be behind you, hidden by the door. Jack, you stay in the office. Isabella, try to keep as much of you body behind the door as possible, okay?”

She nodded. Her shaky hands reached up to push her hair behind her ears. She could do this. It was simple. Just answer the door. That was it.

“It might just be a neighbor, so I’m going to stand off to the side until we know who it is. I don’t want to scare anybody, okay, Isabella?” Connor asked.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Jack squeezed her hands and gave her a quick kiss as they all moved into position. Isabella looked behind her and waited for Connor to give her the go-ahead before she reached forward and placed her hand on the doorknob. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

And blinked in surprise.

“Sheriff Hardy, I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” Isabella said with a smile. She could hear Connor and Jack relax behind her.

“I’m sorry, Miss Izzy, but I have some bad news for you and you weren’t at your house,” he said as he stepped in.

“You and everyone else it seems,” she grumbled to herself as she closed the front door behind him.

“What was that?” Sheriff Hardy asked.

“Nothing. Would you like some coffee? I was just making some for all of us,” she said as she led him into the office where Connor and Jack had disappeared to when they had seen who was at the door.

“Of course. You make the best coffee in the state, dear girl,” the sheriff said. “Agent Lahey, glad you’re here. Jack, how’s it going?”

Isabella heard the men exchange their greetings as she went back to the front to finish making the coffee. She pulled down one more mug for Sheriff Hardy and wondered about why he would be here. He said he had bad news. Was it her sister? She shook her head. He would have said something right away if it was. She would just have to wait until Sheriff Hardy told her before she worried too much about it. But first, coffee.

She set the mugs on a tray and carried it to the office, where the men were quietly talking amongst themselves.

“Coffee, gentlemen,” she announced as she set the tray down on the desk and handed their coffee to them, each one made slightly differently depending on their regular orders.

After their round of thanks, she sat down next to Jack on a wooden chair he had brought in and waited for Sheriff Hardy to tell her why he was here.

“Before anything else, Sheriff Hardy, I’d like to get your opinion on something,” said Connor.

“Certainly,” Sheriff Hardy agreed.

Connor looked towards Isabella as if to ask her permission and she waved him on.

“It’s probably best if he knows. Besides, he knows most everything else,” she said.

Sheriff Hardy looked between Isabella and Connor and then back towards Isabella before he squatted down in front of her. “Is this about David, Izzy?” he asked in a kind voice.

“He’s back,” she whispered as she wrapped her hands around her coffee mug and looked into Sheriff Hardy’s kind blue eyes.

“I know. I saw him the other day,” he said and patted her hand. “Has he done anything?”

“Nothing that we can prove,” she said and she squeezed his hand in return.

“We’ll get him this time, Izzy,” he said with a smile, which she returned, before he looked at Connor.

“Does he know everything?” Jack murmured to Isabella as the other two men inspected the gifts.

“Yes. He was the one who showed up that night with Jasper and called my sister. I told him everything then. About my father and David. He’s always been kind to me and my sister. He’s always looked after us. And I think he knew about David, even back then,” she said in a soft voice.

“But you could never prove anything.”

“No. We’re a small town, Jack. We don’t have much crime, just the occasional speeding ticket. We don’t have many resources and the state police wrote it off as a random attack. But Sheriff Hardy didn’t think so.”

“Maybe everything will change now,” he suggested as he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.

“It already is,” she said with a smile. But the worry and fear still lurked in her eyes. They were shadows that wouldn’t let go of her, demons that had dug their claws in, and she was held captive in their dark embrace.

“Well, dear girl, you’ve certainly found yourself in a pickle. These gems are real, I’d bet my hat on it. And if Agent Lahey here can prove that David is the one who stole them or had something to do with it, that’ll help in sending him to prison,” Sheriff Hardy said as he and Connor joined them again in conversation.

“Yes, but it’s not enough,” she argued.

“And I’m afraid I’m not really going to help things any with why I came here,” he said as he sat back down.

“Please don’t spare my feelings, Sheriff Hardy. Just tell me what happened. Was it Lucy?” she asked.

“No, Lucy’s fine” he said. “Someone saw a figure trying to break into your house, but then they gave up and walked away. I thought I should go have a look anyway, just in case. And I saw this on the doormat.”

He handed Isabella a plain white envelope, just like all the others.             

Connor made a move to get up and take it from the Sheriff, but Sheriff Hardy waved him back down and said, “There’s no prints. I already checked.”

“There never are,” Isabella said as she set her coffee cup down and took the letter.

She slid her finger up the flap to open it and pulled out a piece of paper. Tick tock, it read in bold, black ink. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her head in her hands as her elbows settled on her knees.

Jack took the paper from her hand and read it before he passed it over to Connor and then Sheriff Hardy.

“I’m sorry, Izzy,” Sheriff Hardy said. “It’s the same ordinary white paper and envelope that most people use and can be bought anywhere. Same with the ink and printer.”

She shook her head and then sat back, letting her head fall as she stared up at the ceiling with tired eyes. “I’m just so tired of all this. I want it to end.”

The men all looked at her in silence and saw the dark circles under her eyes, the weariness in her usually happy and smiling face. They needed to end this and they needed to end it now.

“I have a plan, actually. But I don’t think you’ll like it,” Connor said as he leaned forward in his chair.

“I’m willing to hear any and all ideas, gentlemen,” Isabella said.

Connor smiled and Isabella sat straighter. She had never seen that look on his face before, like a hunter stalking his prey. She had a sneaking suspicion that whatever Connor had in mind, it would involve her and that meant Jack would hate it.

“We set a trap,” said Connor with a Cheshire Cat grin, his blue eyes gleaming with the thrill of the hunt.