Chapter 7
7
H eath flipped the lid between his fingers and a hundred questions erupted in his mind.
“Are you sure that’s from a USB stick?” Clara asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“Pretty sure. Do you have an extra one laying around the house we can use to compare? Just to make sure?” If she didn’t have one, they could make a quick stop at the sheriff’s department. He always had one or two cluttering up his desk drawer.
She swished her lips to the side then disappeared down the hall.
He gave the room a quick glance. Nothing else seemed amiss in the space. A white wicker basket held toys in one corner and every book was in its place on the little shelf. A yellow and blue comforter covered the bed with pillows neatly laying side by side. Only the dismembered stuffed animal with its fluffy innards displayed gave signs that anything was wrong.
Clara should still go through the rest of the room, but he’d bet his paycheck that they’d found the most important thing Mitch left behind.
But just like everything else Clara had pointed out in the house, he had no real way to prove it.
“Here,” Clara thrust her hand forward and a USB stick laid in her palm.
He plucked it from her hand, ignoring the burst of excitement in the pit of his stomach when his skin touched hers. He snapped the cap on the end of the stick and held it up. “Perfect fit.”
“Great, now how do we find the USB stick that the lid actually belongs to? Do I need to cut off the heads of all my children’s toys to see if anything else is hiding?” She rubbed the fabric of her sweater by her neck between her thumb and forefinger and glanced around the cozy space. “Oh, God. What if he has something unsafe hidden here? Something that could harm the kids if they accidently got their hands on it. We need to check everything.” She dashed forward, determination in her stride.
He secured an arm around her waist to stop her forward momentum, anchoring her in place before she did something she’d regret. “Hold on a second.”
She stopped and stared at him with large, uncertain eyes. She swallowed hard. A light blush crept up her neck and settled on her cheeks.
“I…I’m sorry,” he stammered, dropping his arm and escaping her personal space. “I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just…we need to take a minute and think.”
She ran a hand through her long locks, pushing the strands off her face, and her forced chuckle rang false in his ears. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have charged in like that. You’re right. Rushing in and destroying my kids limited possessions won’t help anything.”
“Let’s sit down and talk for a second.” He could tell she was close to spiraling. He had to remember she was a civilian, a woman whose life had been rattled—again—and all she wanted was to keep her children safe.
He waited for her to dip out of the room then followed her down the hall to the living room.
She dropped onto the edge of the couch, and he opted to sit beside her but with enough distance that it’d force him to keep his hands to himself.
“Can I get you anything? Water? Something to eat?” he asked.
She dropped her head back to rest on the cushion. “This is my house, remember? I should be the one offering to get something for you.”
“True, but I’m not the one who’s had the rug pulled out from under them. A glass of water is the least I can do.”
“I don’t think water’s going to calm me down, but thanks. The only thing that’d calm me is knowing I’ll never have to deal with Mitch again.”
“Then I think it’s best if I take you back to the shelter and you let me handle things from me here on out.”
“I guess that makes sense,” she said, frowning. “What will you do next?”
“I’ll file a report for the emergency order. I can’t promise you that charges will be brought up against him regarding the house. There’s no evidence he’s actually been inside or stolen anything. Nothing directly links him to the blanket or missing ring. We can dust for prints, but it will take time to get the results and might not hold up since he used to live here.”
She scrubbed her hands down her face, defeat in her slumped shoulders. “And I suppose I destroyed my daughter’s stuffed animal too? I swear, sometimes the system is nothing more than a joke. No wonder women are afraid to point the finger at their abusers. It can feel like no one is in your corner, no one will make sure that finger doesn’t end up getting ripped off.”
“I know this is frustrating, and I believe you about everything. But that’s different than having enough evidence to convince a judge.” Leaning forward, he tapped his fist on her knee to gain her full attention. When her eyes finally locked on his, he said, “And I’m always in your corner, okay?”
Nodding, she wiped away tears that shredded his heart.
“The emergency order will be issued quickly,” he continued, getting back to business. “I’ll hand deliver it to Mitch myself and make it clear he needs to stay far away from you and the children.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “He’s going to be so pissed.”
“That’s for me to deal with. Not you.”
“What about the house? Do you think there’s anything else here he either left or took that could be used against him?”
Heath shrugged. “My guess, he came here and grabbed exactly what he needed or wanted. Something was in that dog he didn’t want anyone to find, or he had to get his hands on now that he’s out of jail. The ring…well he might have taken that out of spite. But I doubt he’d leave something behind that was important. He’s a mean bastard but he’s not stupid. Last night might have been his only shot to get inside.”
“You don’t think he’ll try again?”
He cringed at the hopeful note in her voice. “I don’t know what he’ll do. If we’re lucky, he’ll be smart enough to keep his distance once he’s legally bound to do so.”
“What about the USB stick? How can we find out what’s on it?”
Grimacing, Heath scratched the back of his neck and debated how to respond. “I’m not sure that’s important right now.”
“Excuse me?” She jumped to her feet, her face flushed and eyes narrowed. “This twisted asshole hid something in my child’s toy. She held it to her chest and slept with it every single night. And you don’t think it’s important to find out why?”
He raised his palms. “I’m not saying that’s not important, or that I don’t understand why you’d want to figure this out. But right now, the priority is keeping you and the kids safe. The best way to do that is with the emergency protection order. After that’s served, I promise the sheriff’s department will watch his every move.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she snorted and shook her head. “Yeah, that piece of paper will really work. No way Mitch would do something he’s told not to. I’ll never be safe until he’s back in jail, and I’m afraid of what he’ll do before he puts himself back there. Now if you’ll excuse me for a second, I want to grab some things before you take me back to the shelter.”
His heart sank as she hurried down the hall, but he couldn’t let his emotions dictate his actions. Not when procedure had to be followed. He’d return her to her children then pay Mitch a visit, and hopefully she’d see he was doing everything he could to protect her.
* * *
With the last piece of clothing folded nicely in the dresser drawer, Clara wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans and studied her temporary bedroom. Taking control over her situation calmed some of her nerves. As tough as it’d been to return to her house and see Mitch’s calculated manipulation, she was happy to at least have gotten some of her things.
When they’d left the night before, she’d been so scared she’d only grabbed the emergency go-bag she always kept at the ready before fleeing. Now she and the kids had enough clothes to get them through the rest of the week, along with their favorite books and what she prayed would pass for decent options for them to sleep with.
Packing the framed photo of her and her mother, as well as one with the children, might have been silly. But it made her space feel more peaceful, more like home.
With everything in place, she trotted down the stairs in search of Davey and Avery.
An image of the dismembered stuffy haunted her thoughts and made a fresh wave of anger flood her body. Leave it to Mitch to use something sweet and innocent and twist it for his sick amusement. He probably laughed every night, knowing her daughter was holding something that would enrage her. Not knowing what he’d taken so much care to hide ate away at her. If Heath hadn’t stopped her, she would have flown into a rage on the spot, tearing through every item in the house to make sure Mitch hadn’t left anything else behind.
Heath’s quick grin and brown eyes beat back the ugliness of what she’d found in her kid’s bed. He claimed he was only doing his job today, but his kindness had gone above and beyond the call of duty. He’d kept her as calm as possible, his steady presence like a healing balm on her frayed nerves. He was sweet and understanding and handsome…
And completely off limits.
Pushing him out of her mind, she followed the sound of giggles. She had to get out of her head before she drove herself crazy. She walked past the kitchen to the back room that had been converted into a store of sorts, providing free clothes and other necessities for the women and children at the shelter.
The scene that greeted her lifted both her spirits and her smile. Elsie Sweet, the owner of the local thrift store and volunteer who oversaw all the donations, placed a pink beret on top of Avery’s head that matched the too-big dress that swallowed her little body. Davey beamed beside her wearing a top hat and carrying a sword made of cardboard.
Jimmy, the little boy Elsie looked after and loved like her own son, spotted her in the doorway. A black patch covered one eye, and he’d hooked an oversized belt around his waist. “Hi Clara! You’re just in time. Elsie’s making us pirates.”
“And what’s Avery supposed to be?” she asked, walking to the display case at the front of the room. The case beneath the counter showed off jewelry and other accessories that had been given to the shelter.
Jimmy shot her the most adorable are-you-kidding-me look that only a six-year-old could pull off. “She’s the princess. Davey wants to make her walk the plank.”
Avery jutted up her chin. “No plank. I can’t swim.”
“There’s not really water,” Davey said, rolling his eyes.
Elsie chuckled and draped a necklace over Avery’s neck. “I agree with Princess Avery. No planks, real or fake, unless we’re making Jimmy walk it.”
“Hey,” Jimmy said over a peal of laughter.
Elsie ruffled his hair. “Okay, no plank. How about we do a scavenger hunt instead? I made a list of all the treasures you need to find and then you’ll get a prize.” She pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket. “Everything is in this room, but you have to work together if you want to win.”
The kids squealed and jumped up and down.
“I should have known you’d have something fantastic planned for the kids,” Clara said.
Elsie shrugged then tied her auburn locks on the top of her head with a scrunchie. “I try my hardest.” She handed the sheet of paper to Avery. “The princess is in charge. Now go find the booty!”
“You put Avery in charge? You may have created a tiny pink monster.” Clara took a second to watch the kids run excitedly around the room, staying in a little clump as they tried to track down everything on the page.
“Strong women need to be in charge,” Elsie shrugged, hands in the air. “How’d it go earlier?”
Clara sighed, wishing she could savor the moment of innocence and fun a while longer before diving back into the horrors of her life. “Not great. According to Heath, there’s nothing we can use against Mitch. At least not to press additional charges. He’s getting an emergency order now, but it won’t be enough. Nothing will.”
“I’m so sorry.” Elsie hooked an arm around Clara’s shoulders and squeezed.
“It’s so frustrating we can’t prove he was in the house. I know he was there. Hell, he even ripped the head off of Avery’s stuffed dog and left the remains on her bed.”
Elsie gasped. “Why on earth would he do that?”
Another wave of hatred beat against her. “Looks like he hid a USB stick in there. We found the cap, but nothing else.”
“Did you check your computer? See if there was anything uploaded from the outside source?”
She straightened. “No, I didn’t think of that. I’m not very good with computers. Do you really think he’d be stupid enough to leave something he wanted hidden on it?”
“Do I think Mitch is stupid?” Elsie asked. “Absolutely. Stupid enough for that, who knows. But if there’s any trace of something on the hard drive, I know someone who can find out.”
A beat of excitement pulsed through the crappy mood clinging to Clara like a leech. “Who?”
Elsie grinned. “Dean.”
Elsie’s fiancé was a former police officer who now worked as a private investigator. Although he probably had the skills to help, she was low on cash. “I couldn’t pay him much, and I wouldn’t even know what to tell him to look for.”
The are-you-kidding-me look Elsie gave her bore a striking resemblance to the one Jimmy had made earlier. “Dean will want to help because you’re my friend. No questions asked. He loves techy stuff and doesn’t need any guidance. I have a feeling if Mitch has anything on that hard drive he shouldn’t, Dean will have no problem finding it.”
A hoot of excitement from the kids turned her attention across the room. They squealed and hugged as Davey hoisted a silver bracelet into the air. If she was lucky, the children wouldn’t be the only ones who made an exciting discovery today.
But first, she had to track down their old computer.