“Love you, too.” I ended the call and realized I’d forgotten to tell him about the vending machine guy. I put my phone into my back pocket.
“Is everything okay?” Missy asked.
“There was a fire at our lake cabin. Nobody’s hurt, thank goodness.”
Missy’s mouth rounded. “Are you kidding?”
I shook my head, it felt wooden. “No.” Mrs. Almond’s call light buzzed. “I’ll get that.”
The break-in at my house had to be related to the cabin fire. Was Peter looking for Oscar’s proof that he was connected to the adoptions? I hoped Grace Godwin was safe.
At eleven, Tom showed up at my work. “You got a minute? It’s about the cabin.” He held his hat, his fingers inching along the brim.
“Sure. Did you find anything?” I asked.
Tom’s lips firmed and he glanced at Missy. I hoped that meant he had and couldn’t say in front of her.
I nodded to Missy. “Text me if you need me.” I knocked on Marabel’s office door.
“Come in,” Marabel called out.
I pushed open the door. “Tom wanted to talk to me for a few minutes.”
Tom stepped into Marabel’s office. “If it’s okay, can we talk in here?”
Marabel nodded and stood.
“No, you should stay.” Tom’s serious tone made my stomach clench.
Marabel slowly eased back into her chair. Her expression was a mix of curious with concern.
“Charlie’s cabin was burned down this morning. It was arson. Started in the kitchen. An accelerant, probably gasoline, was used.” Tom’s matter-of-fact description of events didn’t stop my body from rapidly ratcheting up to a nine on my freaked-out meter. I didn’t even know my body was capable of producing so much adrenaline in one day. “I think it would be best if Charlie stayed away from work for a few days.”
Marabel popped out of her chair and hugged me tight. “What can I do?”
My bottom lip trembled. “I need this to be over.” I looked for Tom, but he’d removed himself at the first sign of emotion.
Marabel rubbed my back. “I know. They’ve got to be close to catching this guy.” She made those sweet soothing noises mothers made. “Do you want to stay at my place?”
“I couldn’t do that.” I opened the door, reached out and grabbed the back of Tom’s shirt and hauled him back into the room.
He back-pedaled and closed the door behind him.
Marabel handed me tissue.
“Ray had security cameras facing our cabin,” I remembered aloud.
“Yeah, I know. All we got is a picture of an SUV,” Tom said.
“With a TapOut sticker on the back?” Marabel and I said in unison.
He nodded slowly. “What’s up?”
“He might be our vending machine guy. We think he’s the guy who planted the drugs in Evie’s room,” Marabel said.
Tom whipped a notebook out and wrote.
“Or maybe working with Eric. Maybe Eric swiped the drugs and sold them to him for resale?” My synapses fired and I jolted up onto my toes. “Ray and I saw the vending machine guy at the Salty Pickle, too. And one of Oscar’s pictures of the rental cars had a black SUV parked in front of the courthouse and it had a TapOut sticker.”
Tom nodded and continued to scribble furiously.
“Someone went into Evie’s room yesterday, kind of looked like him. Mr. Nelson is looking through the video to see if the SUV has been here before,” Marabel said.
“Who or what company owns the vending machine?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know. The general manager or Mr. Nelson might know,” Marabel said.
Tom stuffed the notebook away. He pointed his pen at me. “Don’t leave here without Ray. When you get home, pack enough for two weeks.” He slid his pen into his breast pocket. “We’ll catch this guy. I promise, Charlie.” He gave me a chin nod. “I’m gonna talk to Mr. Nelson.”
Marabel stared at me. “So… Two weeks.” She scrunched her nose. “Where will you go?”
“Liz has a list of places.” I attempted an encouraging smile, but probably looked like I had gas. “I just never thought I’d really have to use them.”
Marabel opened her arms and hugged me again. “You’ll be fine. Tom, Ray, Joe, and this whole town won’t let anything happen to you.”
I stepped away. “Same could’ve been said about Oscar. Or Tyler.” I shrugged. “I’m sorry about the short notice and scheduling headache.”
She waved me off. “This is the most unique excuse ever. Totally going into the Nursing Supervisor Quarterly report. I’ll find a floater for you today. If you can come back sooner, or need more time, text me.”
“Thanks, I will.” I left Marabel in her office, grabbed my purse and headed to Jenny’s room.
She wasn’t there. I headed to the cafeteria but got a text from Ray.
Just got here. Why don’t you sneak out before Ma sees me.
I replied. On my way.
He’d double parked behind my Honda and rolled down his window as I approached.
“I’ll follow you home. Don’t take any short cuts. Stick to major roads,” Ray used his cop voice.
“Okay.” I tried to keep him behind me. I really did. The diesel Ford truck that pulled out from a dirt road rode my bumper and I lost sight of Ray.
Chapter Thirty-One
There was a lot of traffic for a Wednesday afternoon. I’d lost sight of Ray’s car, but continued driving with the flow of traffic, assuming he was behind the huge truck that crowded me. I turned into our neighborhood, and the truck continued on, but there was no sign of Ray. I pulled into the driveway and saw the white box sitting on the welcome mat by my front door. My yearbooks had arrived! I parked in the garage and closed the door behind me because that sensation of being watched prickled the hairs on the back of my neck.
I tossed my purse onto the kitchen table and headed to the front door. To be safe, I looked out the dining room windows, making sure only the package sat on my front stoop. Copies of my mother’s high school yearbooks, and possibly the identity
