Rowan had forgotten. She hadn’t been able to take the deposit to the bank’s night drop the evening before because her sister had called, begging her to visit. Heather never told her why she wanted to see Rowan.
“Heather arrived as I was leaving,” Lacey continued. “She said she’d write a note and leave it on your desk. If you can’t find the note, call and ask her about it.”
A fresh wave of grief swept over Rowan. She so wished she could call Heather and talk to her for a minute, tell her she loved her one more time. “I wish I could,” she choked out.
Lacey laughed. “Oh, come on, Ro. It’s not that hard to pick up the phone.”
“Lacey, something terrible happened.” When her voice broke, Brent drew her into his arms. “My sister and her husband were murdered last night.”
Her assistant manager gasped. “Rowan, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Was Alexa hurt?”
“She’s missing. Whoever killed Heather and Jay took her.” And failed to kill Rowan thanks to Brent’s foresight.
“How can I help?”
“Work with Chase to cover my shifts for a few days. The police are investigating the murders and Alexa’s disappearance, but a friend is also looking into it for me.” And she expected Brent to have results faster than the police.
“Of course. Don’t worry, Ro. We’ll take care of Coffee House.”
“Thanks, Lace. Look, I know you’re supposed to be off today. Can you work anyway?” Maybe her jerk of a boyfriend wouldn’t complain under the circumstances.
“No problem. I have a couple errands, but I should be there by one. That work?”
“It’s perfect. Thanks.”
“See you soon. Again, I’m really sorry about Heather, Rowan.”
Rowan ended the call and buried her face against Brent’s neck. She allowed herself a minute to revel in the comfort of his arms.
“You are amazing, Rowan Scott,” Brent murmured in her ear. “I don’t know anyone who would hold up as well when faced with losing a family member.”
“Alexa needs me. I can’t let her down.”
“You won’t. None of us will.”
“Rowan?”
She glanced up from the shelter of Brent’s arms. “What is it, Chase?”
“Everything all right?”
She gave a succinct explanation. “Help Lacey keep Coffee House running smoothly for a few days.”
“We’ll work out the shifts, Rowan. Don’t worry about the shop. Let me know if you think of anything else I can do for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Be alert to anything odd,” Brent said. “Someone broke into the apartment upstairs overnight. We’re sure it’s connected to the death of the Maxwells.”
“If I notice something, do I call the cops?”
Brent reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “I’ll have one of my people in the shop soon. They’ll handle an emergency. Then, call me.”
Chase glanced at the card. “Will do. Rowan, we can handle the shop if you need to leave.”
“Not until Lacey arrives. She should be here soon.” She eased away from Brent. “I’m going to my office for a while, Chase. If you need me, come get me.”
After Chase continued the cleanup from the morning’s customers, Brent said, “What’s going on, baby? I know Lacey said something that upset you.”
“Come with me.”
Curiosity lit his gaze as he closed the lid of his laptop and grabbed his coffee cup. “Lead the way.”
Once they were inside her office, she closed the door. “Lacey told me Heather stopped by yesterday to talk to me, but I was at the bank. Heather left a message.”
His eyebrows rose. “Wouldn’t you have seen it?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t been in here since I returned from the bank. We were slammed and I was shorthanded. I still have the afternoon deposits in my floor safe in the storeroom.” Rowan hurried to her desk and rifled through the papers strewn across the wooden surface. She frowned. Receipts for supplies, order forms, catalogs from two suppliers, junk mail. No note from her sister. “Nothing.”
“Maybe the note fell to the floor.” Brent peered under the desk, shook his head. “Would Heather leave the note in a drawer so it wouldn’t be shuffled in with the other papers?”
She yanked open the top drawer and saw a white envelope with her name scrawled on the front in her sister’s handwriting. “This must be it,” she murmured.
Rowan turned the envelope over and slit the flap. Inside was a folded piece of paper and a flash drive. She handed the flash drive to Brent, then opened the note. “Ro,” she read out loud, “Keep this safe. Don’t tell anyone you have it unless something happens to me. I think Jay’s in over his head. You were right all along. I should have listened to you sooner.” She glanced up.
“Right about what?”
“That Jay was a loser. Sounds like Heather was ready to leave him.” If only she’d followed through sooner, Heather might be alive and Alexa safe.
“Don’t,” Brent said.
She lifted her gaze, startled. “Don’t what?”
“Blame yourself. You couldn’t have known. Your sister was a grown woman and you’ve been warning her for a while, haven’t you?”
She nodded.
“She made the choice to leave him, baby. Unfortunately, Heather’s decision wasn’t fast enough. Don’t play the what-if game. You’ll lose every time.”
Wise words. “Thanks.”
A short nod, then, “Do you want to see what’s on this drive?”
“Definitely.” Rowan booted up her laptop and held out her hand for the drive. “Let’s find out what the big secret is.”
She slipped the memory stick into the USB port and clicked on the dialog box. Rowan frowned. “There’s only one file, a small one.”
Brent circled the desk to look at the screen. “Open it. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
She clicked on the file. The document was a list, but she wasn’t sure what the list was supposed to be. The columns of words didn’t make any sense. They were random letters. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Alexa had played on the computer and saved her handiwork. “What do you make of that?”
“Interesting.”
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I think the list is in code.”
She stared.
