Shane had met her at BethAnn’s at six to walk her home. He’d finished his first shift at Driggers and, as far as he knew, was still employed, at least till Friday. Already he’d overheard an interesting conversation. He’d said he didn’t know for sure who “the girl” was, but chances were good they’d been talking about Prissy. Shane had described the man’s voice, but she hadn’t been able to shed any light on who he might be. She didn’t know of any former New Englanders who lived in or around Harmony Grove.
She shut off the faucet and plunged her hands into the hot, soapy water. Over the past few days, she’d thought more than once about confronting Shane to demand answers about who he was and what he was doing in Harmony Grove. Not that it would be likely to do any good. His secrets were sealed up so tightly nothing was likely to pry them loose.
She’d also considered breaking into his apartment to find out for herself. She’d dismissed that idea immediately. If she got caught, Branch would be happy to throw on the cuffs and haul her to jail. If it was Shane who caught her, he’d probably be angry enough to hand her over to Branch. Besides, she wasn’t that person anymore. She’d made a vow almost eight years ago to stay on the right side of the law and wasn’t about to renege on it now.
Shane was hiding something, and although she didn’t trust him, her gut told her she was safe with him. Of course, if she was wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time her instincts had led her astray when men were involved.
She’d just rinsed the last plate when an annoyingly familiar tune interrupted her thoughts. It was that default ringtone that, when it went off at the store, sent numerous customers scrambling for their phones. She would change it eventually. She just hadn’t gotten around to it.
She dried her hands and pulled her phone from her purse. The number displayed on the screen wasn’t familiar, but the Harmony Grove exchange was. She spoke a hesitant “hello.”
“It’s Autumn.” The voice that came through the phone was taut, with a heavy undercurrent of fear. “I think someone’s watching me.”
Jessica tensed. “What do you mean?”
“At first I thought it was my imagination. After all, having the house broken into kind of set us all on edge.”
“You were robbed?” She hadn’t said anything about that.
“Not really robbed.” She drew in a jagged breath. “It was the day after we found out about Priscilla. I finished class and made it home before Mom and Dad did. When I walked in, everything was a mess.”
Jessica frowned, and even though she knew the answer, she had to ask. “A mess as in vandalized, or a mess as in ransacked?”
“Ransacked. They turned almost the whole place upside down, but they left my parents’ room alone. I think it was aimed at me.”
“Was anything missing?”
“Not that I could tell.” She sucked in another breath, then continued, her voice low. “I heard the same thing happened at Prissy’s place. Do you think it’s connected?”
“I don’t know.” It was too coincidental not to be. What did Autumn have to do with Prissy’s mess? Maybe nothing. But did Prissy’s killer know that?
“You started to tell me you think you’re being watched.”
“Yeah. I keep seeing this same car. Yesterday it followed me all the way to school. Stayed a few car lengths behind me right up until I turned into the parking lot of Polk State.”
“What kind of car?” Jess glanced at the window over the sink, suddenly feeling vulnerable. The other blinds in the house were closed, even the ones at the sliding glass doors. But she had opened the kitchen window blinds to let in some natural light while she cooked dinner.
“It’s a dark gray four-door, not new but not really old, either.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I guess I don’t make a very good eyewitness.”
“I take it the car isn’t familiar.” She reached for the wand to close the blinds. It was totally dark outside. A heavy layer of clouds had begun to roll in at dusk, obscuring the moon and stars.
“Not at all. It never gets close enough for me to see the make.”
Jessica pursed her lips. Why would someone follow Autumn? Were they afraid she knew too much? If so, she wouldn’t be much safer than Priscilla had been. Jessica dropped the wand and switched the phone to her other ear, but before she could back away, the phone slipped from her hand and landed in the sink with a spray of water and suds.
She gasped but didn’t hesitate. In one fluid motion, she snatched the phone from its sudsy bath and popped it from its case. After powering it down, she grabbed a dry towel. The case wasn’t waterproof, but maybe it provided enough protection to keep most of the water out. She’d put it in a bag of rice overnight and try powering it on tomorrow.
But now she needed to reach Autumn. Between the startled gasp and the dead phone, the poor girl was probably half crazy, thinking the worst.
She ran to the bedroom, Buttons padding after her, and powered up Prissy’s phone. After scrolling to Autumn home, she sent the call through. Autumn’s frantic “hello” came halfway through the first ring. Jessica hurried through her explanation.
“Anyway, I’m hoping I haven’t killed it. Meanwhile, I’ve got Prissy’s phone.” She strolled down the hall and plopped onto the living room couch. The dog jumped up next to her without waiting for an invitation. “You were talking about being followed.”
“Yeah. Today I stopped
