“Yes, laughter,” Aunt Tillie said. “Clove, I’ve seen you eat at least three doughnuts and I was upstairs for twenty minutes. I’m sure you inhaled another two while I was gone. Give the doughnut to the glutton.”
“Thank you,” Landon said as he took the doughnut. “It’s nice to be loved.”
“Oh, I don’t want you to have it because I love you. I just don’t want Clove eating until she explodes.”
“Hey!” Clove’s eyes went wide. “How many times do I have to tell you that the baby is hungry?”
“Just until I believe it.” Aunt Tillie folded her hands in her lap, suddenly demure. “I believe Landon has official questions.”
“I do,” Landon agreed, groaning as he bit into the doughnut. “Oh, this is like heaven in a tiny little cake. Bay, you need to talk your mother into making these. I’m sure they’ll be even better from her kitchen.”
Teddy glowered at my future husband. “That’s my recipe.”
“And they’re awesome, but Winnie is the best cook in the world. You’ll never hear me say otherwise.”
“Mostly because Aunt Winnie won’t feed him if he says anything other than that,” Thistle offered.
“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” Landon brushed off his hands. “So, why were you in the clearing this morning?”
“To clean up,” Dad replied. “Like I said, the kids haven’t been out there partying in recent days. They’ve either toned it down or moved someplace else. I go out there to check for returnables and trash twice a week. We don’t want to draw in bears.”
“Or Bigfoot,” I offered absently.
“Oh, you just had to go there,” Clove seethed. “You’ll give me indigestion.”
“Sorry,” I said. Clove’s Bigfoot fear was the stuff of legends.
“Have you heard anything at all out there the last few days?” Landon asked. “I’m pretty sure she was killed out there last night. Did you hear any vehicles in the area? Any voices?”
Dad shook his head. “No. Sorry. I was shocked when I saw her.”
“Did you touch her?”
Dad hesitated and then shook his head. “No. I’m sure that sounds awful. Most people would jump at the opportunity to help, but I could tell she was dead.”
“It’s good you didn’t touch her,” Landon said. “Keep your eyes open the next few days. It’s unlikely, but some killers like revisiting the scene of the crime.”
“Who was it?” Thistle asked. “All we know is that it was a young girl.”
I ripped off the second drawing and placed it on the table as I regarded her. “Paisley Gilmore.”
Thistle’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“She’d been stabbed several times.”
“I guess we know why you wanted Bay.” Thistle’s lips twisted. “She wasn’t a very pleasant girl, but I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
“You and me both,” Landon agreed. “I just wanted Bay to see what we were dealing with given ... well ... given everything that happened with Paisley.”
“I assume she was one of the girls involved in that kidnapping plot,” Dad said. “I didn’t recognize her.”
Across the table, Clove stopped eating long enough to grab my second drawing. She made a face as she studied it. “This thing is evil.”
Amused, I held out my hands. “I never pretended to be an artist.”
“I’m not talking about your drawing. I’m talking about the rune. It’s definitely evil.”
I was confused by her response. “Why would you say that?”
“I didn’t say that. The baby did.”
I shifted my gaze to Thistle and found her staring at Clove with the same dumbfounded confusion I felt. “The baby?”
“That’s what I said.”
Before I could question her further, Chief Terry barreled into the room.
“What is it?” Landon asked, instantly alert.
“I sent a couple of uniforms to inform Paisley’s parents,” Chief Terry replied grimly. “They weren’t home – and it looks as if there’s been a struggle.”
4
Four
Even though it was clearly the last thing he wanted, Dad agreed to take Clove, Thistle and Aunt Tillie home. I told him to consider it a wedding gift, which made him smile, but he was clearly troubled as he watched me head off with Landon and Chief Terry.
“We’ll drop your car at The Whistler,” Landon said as he hopped in the passenger seat. “Terry can pick us up there.”
I turned to Chief Terry. “Are you okay with me tagging along for the ride?”
“Of course.” He shot me a warm smile. “I’m always happy to have you with us.”
That was a bit of an exaggeration, but I let it go.
During the drive to The Whistler, Landon was mostly quiet. When he finally did speak, it wasn’t about the case.
“Are you okay with the deal I struck with your father?”
“About the honeymoon?” I had to laugh despite the circumstances. “Of course. I was okay with you turning him down.”
“See, I don’t think you actually were okay with that.”
“Well, I was.”
“You weren’t.”
“I was.”
“No, you wanted me to accept because it made things easier for you and your dad. It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing.”
That was true. “Things are getting better between us.”
“They are, but you’re still dealing with some residual resentment from your childhood. It’s okay to feel what you feel.”
“I know. I just ... don’t want to argue. It was a good compromise.”
“I’m glad.”
After we shifted to Chief Terry’s vehicle, the conversation swiftly turned to Paisley and her parents.
“It’s possible someone broke into the house, killed Richard and Anna, and took Paisley to the clearing,” Chief Terry said.
“You didn’t find any bodies at the house,” I said. “None of it makes sense to me. I can’t shake the feeling that what happened two weeks ago ties into this.”
“How could it tie in?” Landon asked. “You wiped all their memories.”
“I did, but I’ve never really done that before. Maybe I failed.”
“Are you suggesting the other girls somehow went after Paisley for payback? How would that benefit them?”
I had no idea. “I don’t know. Paisley wasn’t technically the ringleader. She had
