Chapter 20
Grace waved goodbye to Elsie Whitmore as Tim finished up with Mr. Berkeley. The day had been filled with a steady stream of clients needing rehab. She hadn’t expected the patient volume to rise quickly and was already considering hiring another physical therapist for part-time hours.
Glancing at the clock, she wondered if Sean was running late.
He’d hoped to be here at six for when she closed, and then he’d follow her home.
If he wasn’t on time, she would walk across the street to Dan’s apartment above the hardware shop until he arrived.
She thought he was being over-protective, but this was his field, and after he’d gotten hit by the car, she understood his caution.
Sean returned after informing Dan about the crime scene at the beach house.
Grace felt bad because she knew how much the little cottage meant to the older man.
And now it was sullied because of a madman, and no amount of good memories would erase the fact that a woman had been brutally murdered and left there.
Sean had filled her in as much as he could, and her heart broke at his frustration.
There were evil people in the world, and being in the FBI, he’d come across many of them, she was sure.
But this case was eating at him, and she prayed they got a break soon so the task force and the residents of Dare County could breathe easier again.
Gathering up the top of a plastic garbage bag, she pulled it out of the can it was in and looked around to see if anything else needed to be thrown away.
Tim was doing an ultrasound treatment on Mr. Berkeley, which would last several minutes, so Grace started for the back door leading to the alley, where the employees working in the few stores on either side of her parked.
Most of them would be gone by this time, but a few would still be there.
The dumpster for the businesses in her complex was back there.
Opening the door, she made sure it didn’t shut completely behind her and locked her out by putting a small wedge between it and the door jamb.
The dumpster was two stores down to her right, and Grace swung the garbage bag as a silly tune popped into her head.
Maybe she would find a comedy on Netflix tonight for Sean—after the day he had, he could probably use some comic relief.
When she reached the dumpster, she pushed up the lid and threw the bag inside, then let the lid drop again.
Before she could turn around, two arms encircled her from behind.
One hand grabbed her waist while the other clamped a cloth over her mouth and nose.
A sickeningly sweet smell filled her nostrils as she reached up and tried to pull the cloth away from her face, clawing at the hand holding it.
Grace struggled against the assault, kicking and trying to break free, but her mind began to fog, and the strength drained from her limbs, rendering them useless.
As she gave one last, futile kick of her leg, her slip-on sneaker flew from her foot.
Her body went limp as heavy darkness overtook her.
The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was a male voice say, “Sleep tight… slut.”
Parking the Mustang in an empty spot in front of Grace’s business, Sean glanced at his watch—6:02.
Not bad. With the horrendous day behind him, he was looking forward to cuddling on the couch with the woman he loved, some takeout, a funny movie or show, and Rico purring loudly in the middle of it all.
When the cat wasn’t being moody, he loved to lay on the back of the couch behind them and purr in their ears.
Sean climbed out of his car just as Dan locked up the hardware store. The older man held up a finger, and Sean waited for him to cross the street with Jinx at his side. Tail wagging, the dog sniffed Sean earnestly, probably smelling Rico on his clothes.
“How was the rest of your day?” Dan asked.
Leaning against the hood of the car, Sean crossed his arms. The weight of his frustration and anger was apparent on his face.
“It sucked. This morning’s victim was the niece of Congressman Holloway, Natalie Bowers.
She went to a bachelorette party at a club in Elizabeth City last night and never made it home.
Her friends said she met them there, and they didn’t see her leave with anyone, but the place was packed.
She left early—around 11:00 p.m.—because she was supposed to run in some 5k fundraiser for veterans today, but her car was found in the club’s lot this morning.
“The ME estimated the time of death was sometime between midnight and two a.m. Her prints were in the system from when her father was a US ambassador to Belgium while she was in her teens. Her parents are on vacation in Hawaii, so her name isn’t being released until the morning, while they fly back tonight.
The congressman notified them by phone a few hours ago. ”
He shrugged his bad shoulder and grimaced.
It had felt better most of the day, but now his neck was stiff with stress, and that was affecting the still-healing muscles.
Grace planned to massage it again tonight before putting a heating pad on it.
“Anyway, let’s talk about something else. How was your day?”
“Good. Bonnie and I are going out to eat and then to see that new movie we were talking about the other night. Want to join us?”
He shook his head. “No, thanks. I just want to go home, kick off my shoes, and order takeout. I’d probably be asleep ten minutes into a movie.”
“I hear ya. So…” Sean’s brow furrowed when his uncle’s words trailed off. The man was grinning and had a twinkle in his eyes.
“What?”
Dan shrugged not-so-innocently. “Nothing. Just wondering how things are going for you and Grace.”
“Oh, no.” Sean shook a finger at him. “Don’t start.
At least, let me close this case before you and Bonnie start planning our wedding.
Speaking of which, you two have been spending a lot of time together lately.
More so than usual.” He arched a questioning eyebrow.
“Something you want to tell the rest of us?”
The man’s smile got even wider. Oh, yeah, something was definitely going on. “Well, since you asked, I’ve started courting Bonnie.”
A laugh burst from Sean’s chest—the first one since he’d been joking around with Grace that morning. “Courting? Do people still do that nowadays?”
“I don’t care what other people call it or do nowadays. I courted Annie, although it didn’t last long. We were married two months after we met.”
Sean knew that story well, but he couldn’t imagine going from just meeting someone to wedded bliss eight weeks later—even though that was basically what KC and Moriah had done, give or take a week.
Apparently, back in the day, it wasn’t unheard of at all.
In fact, his parents had only been “courting” three and a half months before they got engaged.
But unlike Dan and Annie’s elopement, Tom and Megan Malone had done the church and reception thing after a six-month engagement.
“Well, good for you. I’m happy for both of you.
But why now, after all this time? Annie’s been gone for almost thirty years, and you and Bonnie have been good friends all along. ”
This time, Dan shrugged. “I don’t know, to tell you the truth. Things just changed for the better between us, and I guess the time was right.”
“So when’s the wedding?” Sean teased.
“Don’t you turn the tables on me, boy. I’m getting all three of you married off before I can relax and settle down. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
“That’s calling the kettle black, old man.” He pushed off the car and clapped his uncle on the back. “Anyway, you and Bonnie have fun. Let me go get Grace and find out what she wants for dinner tonight.”
“I’m right behind you. She called a little while ago and asked me to bring over a wrench after I closed.” He pulled the tool out of his back pocket. “The hose for the washing machine is dripping a little.”
Sean pulled open the door to the business, and Jinx rushed past him, looking for one of his favorite humans. Grace’s receptionist had left at the end of her shift at 4:00 p.m., so no one was sitting at the front desk.
The two men entered the large therapy room, and Sean glanced around. The only people there were Tim and an older gentleman who was in the process of buttoning up his dress shirt and getting ready to leave.
As Dan headed toward the laundry room, Sean asked Tim, “Where’s Grace?”
The man pointed toward the back door. “She took the garbage out.” He checked the clock as if suddenly realizing more time had passed than he thought. “But that was about ten minutes ago.”
Panicking, Sean set off at a dead run and slammed into the back door, throwing it wide open. His gaze went everywhere, hoping to find Grace was just talking to someone, having lost track of time.
Jinx followed on his heels, and he heard Dan and Tim also come out behind him. Grace was nowhere in sight, and her car was still parked in a space in the small lot.
“Grace!” he shouted, then pointed for Dan to head left while he went right and for Tim to check the car. “Grace!”
Jinx made a beeline to the dumpster two stores down, sniffing like mad, seemingly understanding the situation’s urgency.
The dog was the first one to spot the single, white, slip-on shoe Grace had been wearing earlier, and Sean’s heart and stomach sank when he saw it.
Jinx sniffed the shoe, then whined and looked up at him in confusion.
Leaving the shoe where it was, Sean pulled out his cell phone and found the number for the direct line to the on-duty desk sergeant at the sheriff’s department.
Fuck! Please let this be a nightmare or a joke. Please!