This called for a cuppa.
I flicked the kettle on and looked out into the small courtyard that was our back garden. It was a square of concrete with some pretty evergreen shrubs in terracotta pots—a nice little spot to sit in during the warm weather. I focused on the bench out there. It was just a bench, but it was a calming object—home, safety in a pocket of outdoors that’s wasn’t in the main outside where people hid behind trees. No one could get in, only Sophie and Luuk through the gate we’d had put in to link the back of our houses.
The water boiled. I popped a tea bag into my favorite Lord of the Rings mug and froze.
I was at the back of the house. Lou was at the front, in the living room.
In my hurry, I knocked the mug flying. I heard it shatter on the stone floor.
“Lou?”
I dashed across the hall, falling into the living room
“Daddy?”
She was sitting on the sofa with her tablet in hand.
“Daddy?” she asked again.
My eyes were on the window, waiting for any sign of movement. Didn’t matter that there were wards within the framework of the house. In this moment, they weren’t enough to reassure me.
No one was there.
“Daddy?”
I blinked away from the window, attention on my little girl. “Lou?”
“You okay, Daddy?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. She was fine. There was no one at the window. She was fine and safe.
“Nothing, sweetie. Daddy’s being silly.”
“Come sit with me.”
I went to join her, throwing an arm around her tiny shoulders.
“What level you on?”
“Twelve.”
“Blimey. I’m still stuck on seven.” There was a wobble in my voice. “Come on, show me how good you are.”
I didn’t look at the screen as she moved colored shapes around. My eyes kept going to the window.
That bloke who’d contacted Dean came to mind. His wife had gone missing. What if it was kidnap? What if Tessa was some crazy kidnapping killer and Parker was in on it?
I took a deep breath.
But what would be their motivation? There was a whole list going through my head. Maybe they didn’t like the way me and Dean ran things, hating our line of work. The disgruntled client angle was a struggle, though. We’d not had that experience in our time as PIAs. Could be someone related to a perp we’d caught, though, out for revenge. That wouldn’t explain a connection to the boneless woman, though.
The card Parker had given me! I went to get it from my coat pocket and dialed the number, my stomach in knots as I waited to hear—
A generic voicemail.
Bollocks!
After the beep, I said, “Parker? This is Jake. You know, the guy you rescued from the donut seat at the bookshop. Can you call me back on this number? Thanks.”
He’d wanted to talk, so we’d talk.
“I did it!” Lou yelled, making me jump.
“Well done, sweetie.”
“Yay!”
My hands were clammy, sweat beading on my forehead. The worst part about all of this was Tessa coming to my home. I didn’t know her or her motivations, but I knew she was the enemy. The hate in her eyes, the creepy way she behaved.
The sensation of my sanctuary being compromised was making me sick.
Dean couldn’t come home soon enough.
Nine
Dean
I rode my bike harder than I’d ever done in my life, racing through the night to get home.
Someone had been at the house—someone with a dark motive. That was all the fuel I needed to get my backside moving.
I’d left my apologies with Lars, and he’d told me he’d be in touch. We had all the information we were going to get from the pathologist for now. Some final DNA testing was being done.
I rolled up at the house, dumping my bike, and charging up the stairs. I paused at the door, looking up and down the street. Nothing. A few people walked past, admiring the glittering lights in the trees, how they reflected on the water. It was beautiful, but I was looking for the ugly.
No sign of a watcher, of anyone paying me the slightest bit of attention.
Didn’t mean they weren’t there.
I slipped inside.
“Jake?” I hurried into the living room.
He was on the sofa with our daughter. She was fully engrossed in a game, his eyes immediately met mine.
“Hi, Papa,” Lou greeted without looking up.
“Hi, darling.”
Jake unwrapped his arm from around her, then went over to pull the curtains closed. He then took me into the hall but didn’t close the door, positioning himself so he could look straight into the living room.
“Talk to me,” I said, taking him by the shoulders. He was naturally light-skinned, but there was a spooked paleness to him that made me want to punch someone.
After he was done telling me the whole story, he added, “I just can’t figure it out. Something’s brewing, Dean. I don’t like it.”
“You need tea.”
“I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
“No one’s getting in, baby.” My hands slid up to his face. I held his head as his wide blue eyes stared at me expectantly. “Let’s have some tea.”
The deep breath he took wobbled. “Shit, Dean.”
“Come on. In the kitchen.”
I led him away from the door, sitting him down at the pine dining table.
“You broke your favorite mug.” Bits of his Lord of the Rings mug were scattered over the sandy stone tiles, along with a wet tea bag and water strewn everywhere.
His hands were clasped together on the table, shoulders back.
“Part of me wants to go out there,” he said. I cleaned up the mess as he spoke. “You know, hunt her down.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this. First, we need to beef up security here. I’ll ask Mila to set up some more wards—give the current ones a boost.”
“That’s a good idea. Really focus them on Lou’s room.”
Mess cleared, I put the kettle on.
His legs were crossed under the chair,
