Most construction workers aren’t big, but they’re strong. We women get around that by using the proper tools.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
Monday morning Ellie had spied Gray’s black SUV pulling away while she was making coffee. It was still dark outside. She’d planned to invite him in for breakfast, but he’d been too fast. She couldn’t believe he had been there the last three nights. She couldn’t continue to let him do that. A man that big couldn’t be comfortable sleeping on the concrete floor of her garage.
They’d both stay at Shauna’s tonight, though.
“Hey, Ells.” Jason called to her from the front door, then clomped through the drywall dust and scattered nails to join her in the kitchen where she had perched the coffeepot on a piece of plywood. “What the heck is going on? You’re not even dressed.”
She looked down at her gauzy nightgown. “I slept in the garage suite.” She told him about the man slicing her screen and trying to get in. And Ralph Hodges’ murder. “With what happened to Mac, Gray didn’t want me to stay there.”
“I could stay with you. Why didn’t you ask? You never want anyone to help you, and it ticks me off.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at her. “I’m your friend. You can turn to me when you need help.”
Shocked, all she could do was stand there with her mouth dangling open and stare into his angry face. He rarely got mad at her, but he was furious today. “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it.”
His scowl lessened slightly, and he ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you’d really be in danger, though. Whatever happened to Mac, she brought it on herself.”
It was an old argument, and one she wasn’t going to win no matter how much she tried to change his mind. When he got like this, it was better to change the subject. “I’m going to tell the sheriff about the hidden room in this house and maybe have his techs search it.”
“What hidden room?”
“In the basement. Let me show you.”
She led the way to the dingy basement and showed him how a door was concealed in the paneling of the far wall. When she opened it, a sickly sweet odor wafted toward her. A dead rat maybe? She flipped on the light and blinked at the sight of a bloated body lying on the floor. Part of her tried to scream, but her throat locked up and not a sound made it past. Jason made a choking sound behind her. He grabbed her arm and rushed her up the stairs.
He clawed his phone out of his pocket. “I have to call the sheriff!”
She could tell from his side of the conversation that the dispatcher wanted him to stay on the line until the deputies arrived, but he refused and ended the call.
“They’re on their way.” His voice was subdued. “D-Did you recognize the body in that room?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t bear to look at him. He had black hair. That’s all I saw.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know him either.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Ells. I should have known you well enough to realize you’d never overreact. I’d tell you to stay at my place, but you’d have to sleep on the couch, or I could take the couch and you could have my bed.”
“Shauna has offered up her spare room, so I’m going there tonight. You’re sweet to offer, though.”
The sound of sirens grew louder. She opened the door and started to step out, but he caught her arm and stared at the porch. “Wait a minute, what’s that?”
He darted past her and scooped up an old Pepsi bottle with a piece of paper sticking out of it. Turning with it in his hand, he yanked the paper from the top.
“Be careful. It could be booby-trapped.”
“It’s just a note.” His expression was grim when he looked up. “Addressed to you.”
A shiver made its way down her back. “You read it. I don’t want to touch it.”
“‘Ellie, it’s about time we meet. Get ready to die.’
“She gulped. “Well, that’s pretty scary.”
“He sounds crazy. The sheriff will want to see this.” He nodded down the street where a deputy’s car rushed toward them. “I shouldn’t have touched it, but I wasn’t thinking.”
From here she could see the block letters spelling out the letter, and she took a step back. Get ready to die. Like Mac and that poor man in the basement? Ralph Hodges too. She shuddered.
Grayson had spent the morning talking to possible witnesses to the cocaine theft. He’d gotten nowhere, but he was beginning to feel more and more at home in this place, and he appreciated the natural beauty of the mountains looming over the blue sea. For the first time he began to think about making this place his home base.
His phone sounded with a call from his mother as he parked in front of the sheriff’s office. He clenched his fists and stared at her picture on his phone. Part of him wanted to let it go to voice mail, but that was the cowardly way out.
He took a calming breath and answered it. “Hey, Mom, I was just about to call you.”
“You were never going to call.” Her voice vibrated with anger. “You’re being childish, Grayson. Your sister would never treat us this way. Anger is a useless emotion.”
Mom always threw Izzy in his face, but he’d never blamed his sweet sister. This was all on their mother. “How did you think I’d feel when I found out you’ve lied to me all these years? This is why you’ve always held me at arm’s length, isn’t it? I’ve never been as good as Izzy in your eyes.”
“That’s not true, Grayson. I love you both equally.”
The lack of conviction in her voice told him everything he needed to know. “Is Dad there?”
“No, he’s deep-sea fishing.”
He exhaled and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I don’t really know what to say to you, Mom. You haven’t even said you’re sorry.” There was only silence on the other end of the line. “You’re not sorry, are you? You’d do it all again.”
“I-I didn’t know if I could bond to you if you were always asking questions about your birth parents.”
“And the sad truth is that you never bonded anyway. Don’t try to convince me otherwise. I lived it.”
“Don’t shut us out, Gray.” Her voice wobbled. “Isabelle is thinking about visiting us in a few weeks. You could come too, and we could talk all this out. We’re still a family.”
That much was true, but he wasn’t ready to see her face-to-face. “I’ll think about it. Listen, I have to go. Tell Dad I’ll give him a call soon.” At least Dad had wanted to tell him.
He got out of his SUV and headed into the sheriff’s office, which was buzzing with activity instead of giving off its usual sleepy vibe. Rosa caught his wave, and she came to greet him at the counter.
“Busy day.”
Her dark eyes were somber. “You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Ellie and Jason found a dead body in the hidden room in the basement. Around eight.”
Right after he’d left. “Is she here?”
“She’s back with the sheriff. She told me to ask you to join them if you came in.”
He checked his messages and saw she’d texted him to come to the sheriff’s office. Rosa escorted him to Sheriff Burchell’s office, and he rapped his knuckles on the door. The sheriff opened the door and motioned him inside. Jason and Ellie were with him.
Ellie was seated in a chair and turned to face him when he entered. Her face was white and set. “You heard?”
“Rosa told me.” He crossed the room and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She covered his hand with hers. “The body and the note made it more real.”
“What note?”
The sheriff went around his desk and picked up a paper. “This is a copy.”
Grayson took it and scanned it. A shudder rippled down his spine at the malice in it. “This sounds personal. I don’t get it.”
Jason rose from the chair next to Ellie’s and went to stare out the window. “I think someone is trying to scare her.”
“He’s doing more than scaring people. He’s killing them.”
Ellie’s hand dropped away, and she shivered. “Clearly these are terrorists we’re dealing with. But why target me? If Mac was involved, it had nothing to do with me.”
He couldn’t imagine her hurting anyone. Sweet, gentle Ellie was quick with an encouraging smile and word. He glanced at the sheriff. “Do you have an ID on the vic in the basement?”
“Not yet. Guy’s Asian.”
Grayson kept a protective hand on Ellie’s shoulder and glared at the sheriff. “What are you going to do to protect her? She can’t move into Shauna’s now—not with Alex there. We can’t risk his life.”
“Or Shauna’s and Zach’s,” Ellie said.
Where could he take her? These guys were pros. They’d killed that guy in a neighborhood surrounded by houses.
“We need a safe house.”
Jason whirled from the window. “I know! Mac’s ship. It will be hard for someone to get to it undetected if we’re guarding it. They’ll have to approach it in a boat. We can get a few of the townspeople to volunteer to help watch. I’ll stay, of course.”
Ellie shook her head. “I don’t want anyone else in danger.”
The sherif flooked up. “That’s a good idea. Crime scene techs are done with it. I can probably swing some around-the-clock surveillance for a few days too.” His lips twisted. “We’re short staffed and under the gun with our budget.”
Ellie rubbed her head. “I still can’t believe this.”
He’d scared her, and Grayson hadn’t intended to upset her. “I’m staying on the boat with you too. You’ll be safe.”
Her face was pale, and her lips trembled. “I’m not sure any place is safe.” Her gaze went stony and determined. “I have to work, though. I don’t think they’ll try anything in the daylight. I won’t go to the house until it’s light, and I’ll return to the ship before it gets dark.”
Grayson could see a dozen things wrong with her idea. “I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either, but my carpenters are moving on to new jobs soon. I need to be there for the next two days to steer things in the right direction.”
“I’ll have a car parked outside her house,” the sheriff said.
Grayson moved away and dropped into the chair next to her. “If we find out what happened to Mac, I bet it leads us right to whoever is behind this.”
He was going to have to call in some chips with headquarters. They knew more than they were saying. Even if it meant losing his job, he would have to dig out the truth.