Chapter 26
Paradise turned into The Sanctuary’s parking lot and inhaled at the sight of Nora’s forensic van. Something else has happened.
She parked her green Kia beside the van and hopped out. Blake, walking with Nora, waved to her as they strode away from Jenna’s
cottage. He left Nora and walked ahead to join Paradise. Her tension eased at the casual way he came toward her. Whatever
it was, it seemed everything was mostly okay.
He slung his arm around her. “Someone broke into my apartment. Jane sent Nora out to check for DNA and fingerprints. There’s
touch DNA she can check for. If whoever broke in touched anything. She and I checked out Mason’s other SD cards too. There’s
a good shot of Dean at the back door, but we have no proof he broke in.” Nora reached them, and he thanked her as she climbed
into the forensic van and drove off.
Paradise’s heart rate dropped to its normal level. “You think it was Dean?”
“Probably. I have more video for us to examine to find proof of Dean’s breaking and entering. If we could get him arrested, this might be over soon. He only has a month to find anything, and we could put this behind us.”
“Any word on proving Adams killed Ivy?”
“Jane was closemouthed about it. Greene talked to all our employees, and they’ve got Mason’s videos, but I don’t think they
have enough evidence yet. They want to question Adams, but they haven’t been able to find him.”
She leaned against him and caught a whiff of lemur scent. “Did the boys have another scent fight?”
“Is it that bad?”
She poked him. “I’ve smelled worse, but I’ll wait while you shower. Where are we going tonight?”
“I thought we’d go to Mac’s. I’m in the mood for shepherd’s pie.”
They hadn’t been to the Irish pub in Pelican Harbor in quite a while, and she smiled at the thought of an evening alone with
him. “You shower and I’ll go chat with your mom and brothers.”
“I’ll expect a warmer welcome when I smell better.”
He brushed his lips across hers, and she wanted to pretend to recoil at the odor, but she couldn’t resist him and wrapped
her arms around his neck and sank into the tenderness of his kiss. She palmed his face and relished the slight rasp of his
whiskers that would soon be replaced by a smooth-shaven cheek.
He released her with obvious reluctance, and they walked back to Jenna’s cottage. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched him bound up the stairs before she climbed the stairs to the porch of the cottage. Jenna spotted her through the
window and opened the door before she could knock. “The boys were just asking about you.”
Both boys rushed to greet her, and Isaac climbed into her arms. “I missed you both,” she told them. “How was your day?”
“We saw bear cubs,” Isaac said. “And the lemurs had a stink fight.”
“I think your brother was in the middle of it.”
Levi wrinkled his nose. “He didn’t smell very good.”
She set Isaac back on the ground, and both boys went back to their homework. “I could use a sweet tea.” She and Jenna went
to the kitchen and Jenna filled two glasses with ice and tea.
Jenna handed her a glass. “I meant to ask Blake if he talked to Hez about the will situation.”
“He called him as soon as I told him about Mary. Hez is concerned, but as long as you didn’t know about the will, we should
be okay.” She told Jenna what could happen if she’d bought the property knowing a will existed.
“Mary said Allen might have had a will once, but it had never been found. She said he’d left everything to her, which was
normal, so I didn’t worry about it.”
Was that enough? “Hopefully Nora can find evidence that Dean has been trespassing. If we get him behind bars, this will be
over. He has less than a month to track it down. If there’s even anything to track down. We only have Dean’s word that Allen
left a will in his favor.”
“Mary wouldn’t be able to pay us back. She put the sale money into her house. I don’t know what we would do.”
Mary could be forced to sell her house to pay off the debt, and Paradise hated to think of the older woman being without a
place to call home. It was all such a mess, but if the will was never found, the issue was done.
“I went to see Mary today. And I checked out Allen’s truck, the one that was in the accident.”
His hair still damp from the shower, Blake came in the back door. “I heard that. Where did you find the truck?”
“Dean has it. Mary gave it to him after the accident.”
“You went to Dean’s? What if he saw you poking around?”
“I went to Chet’s BBQ during lunch-hour rush. I saw the line out the front door, and he would have been too busy to see me
in the lot behind the restaurant.”
Blake’s frown deepened. “You have to be careful, babe. I think he’s dangerous.”
Paradise ignored his comment and pulled out her phone and showed him the picture she’d taken. “There was white paint on the
back bumper. Dean could have hit him from behind and knocked him into the ditch. While Allen was unconscious, he could have
injected him with meth.”
Blake studied the picture. “What kind of vehicle did Dean drive at the time?”
“I didn’t get a chance to ask Mary yet.” She took back her phone and shot off a text to Mary, who answered immediately.
A white pickup. I never saw it after I gave him Allen’s truck. Dean said the engine went out on it.
She turned her phone around so Blake and Jenna could see the text. “What if we could find that old truck? It could be in a
junkyard.”
Blake shrugged. “Or crushed up by now. But it’s worth a try.”
The server placed the steaming bowl of shepherd’s pie in front of Paradise, then slid one in front of Blake as well. The deep,
meaty fragrance of slow-cooked ground lamb mingled with the aromas of rosemary, garlic, onion, carrot, and celery. She couldn’t
wait for the first taste of the buttery mashed potatoes on top.
She took a tiny bite of the top. “Yum. I felt a little guilty leaving the boys. They wanted to come with us so badly.”
His blue eyes were warm with love and he reached his hand across the table to take hers. “They get our attention all the time.
I wanted to be able to look across the table at my gorgeous girl without a kid distracting me. We don’t have enough time together.
I can’t wait until there are no problems to deal with.”
If that day ever came. The problems seemed to multiply exponentially. She gave an answering squeeze to his hand. His strong
grip was a reminder of how he held fast to those he loved. “Just when it seemed the money troubles might be lifting, we got
that news about the will. Have you heard anything from Hez?”
His smile faltered. “I thought he might call tonight.”
She released his hand and scooped up the first savory bite of meat and gravy. “I wish I could get this recipe.”
They could pick up beignets for dessert, then take a walk along the water. She’d rinse the powdered sugar from her fingers
in seawater and listen to the boats blow their horns out on the bay. It sounded idyllic, but that state of mind felt unattainable
with this cloud of foreboding hanging over her head.
They tucked into their food for a few minutes, then Paradise reached for a hot yeast roll. While they were walking, maybe
Hez would call.
Blake scooped up a spoonful of gravy and potato. “I still can’t believe we have to worry about a will surfacing.”
“When the auction started for the property, had you heard anything about a possible will?”
“I was still in the Marines and was overseas. I wired money to Mom to help cover the down payment, but I wasn’t in on the initial property evaluation.
I remembered the place, of course. You and I both came over a lot when the Steerforths had the roadside zoo.
I thought it was an unbelievable stroke of luck that we had the chance to acquire it.
But I left the details to Mom and Hank, and Hank was one of those guys who researched everything.
You probably remember that about him. I’m sure he wouldn’t have moved forward unless he was positive things were in order.
” Blake took a roll and broke it open to slather it with butter.
She tensed and moved a carrot around in her bowl. How did she bring up that his mom had heard mention of a will?
His brows rose, and he set his roll on his plate. “Are you worried about something, Simba?”
Had Jenna even mentioned Mary’s concern about a will to Hank? This didn’t look good, but how did she tell Blake without making
it seem like his mom had done something wrong? She knew Jenna well enough to be sure she wouldn’t have purchased the property
if she’d thought there could be a problem, but would a judge believe it?
It felt like she was throwing her friend under the bus, but she set down her spoon. “I told your mom what Hez said, and she
mentioned Mary had told her she’d thought there might be a will, but it never surfaced. After failing to find it, Mary went
ahead with the sale. She said the will left everything to her anyway.”
“Did Mom and Hank consult an attorney about it?”
“Your mom didn’t mention doing any other research, so I don’t know.”
“I doubt Hank would have bought it without doing some checking. At least I hope that’s true.” Blake slumped in his chair.
“Babe, this isn’t good. If Mom admitted she’d heard there was a will, would she have been required to make sure before purchasing
the property?”
“That seems crazy. She’s not a private investigator or anything. How could she find a missing will?”
“When I talk to Hez, I’ll mention it, but you’re right—it wouldn’t make sense for the court to put the burden of proof on Mom.”
Though she could see him make a conscious effort to shrug off his worry, clouds gathered in his blue eyes. His phone sounded
with a message, and he glanced at it. “Hez says to come by the condo when we’re done with dinner. I’d hoped for a romantic
walk along the water.” Blake grinned. “And I suspect Savannah wants to show you her engagement ring.”
“We can do both. Hez can tell us what he’s found out, and we can walk to the pier when we’re done. Our romantic evening isn’t
ruined.”
But his attention felt far away from her, and the new distraction of the threat to the park’s ownership had derailed her as
well. Would they ever get a chance to talk about their own future?