Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
A fter his fourth night shift, Finn slept for four hours, then drove toward Evers Hollow, collecting his pa along the way.
He sat beside Pa at a table with Ray, the buyers, their agent, along with others associated with the title company. The paperwork for closing sat in a stack before them. The explanations, the turning of pages, felt therapeutic even though it was Pa who held the pen with his fingers.
Their buyers had come by last time Finn had spent time at the house.
A couple in their late twenties. The wife was pregnant, within a month or two of delivery if he could hazard a guess.
Chelsea popped over, introduced herself to her future neighbors.
She’d asked the young woman about her pregnancy, shared that she was a nurse and available if they needed anything.
He learned the husband worked in construction, and that he planned to redo the siding himself.
He answered questions about the house to the best of his ability.
Genuine interest and excitement shown in their eyes. Was this how his parents acted the first time they saw this house, knowing it was about to be theirs?
The wife asked, “Is it too late to plant daffodils? They’re my favorite.”
His mom would have liked this woman. Her question softened Finn’s heart.
The rock that lodged inside him over the sale of his childhood home began to crumble.
He pointed out all the places his parents had planted daffodils and hyacinths.
In the walk around the perimeter with her, he decided everything was as it should be.
When they left, Chelsea gave him a hug. “This is the right thing, Finn. Your mom would be happy.”
“I know.” Meeting them, seeing their joy over this little house, hearing their plans to fix it up—the house would be well-loved and cared for. A new beginning. Better than what he himself had managed these past years.
Pa signed his name on one of many lines designated for his signature and initials throughout the documents. Finn rolled a pen beneath his fingers even though he wouldn’t be signing.
His phone buzzed twice inside his back pocket. He ignored it. Then it rang. He should silence it. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen.
The texts were from Mack. So was the phone call.
He pushed back from the table, stood. “Excuse me. This might be important.”
Finn stepped out the open door, touched the screen to answer. “I’m here.”
Mack said, “You in town?”
“I am. What’s going on?”
“I’m at Briar House. Get over here as soon as you can.”
He stepped back into the room. “I’m on my way.”
Pa looked up. “What’s going on?”
“I need to leave. Something’s come up. You don’t need me here to finish this. I’ll come back for you.”
Ray asked, “Where are you headed? I can bring him to you when we’re done. It’s no trouble.”
Gratitude leapt to his throat. “I’d appreciate that. Let me text you, though. I’m not sure what I’m walking into. Cops are involved.”
His father studied him. “It’s her, isn’t it?”
“I think so.”
Pa began to stand. “I should go too.”
Finn set his hand on his father’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’ve got paperwork. I’ll find out what’s going on. Make sure she’s okay.”
The ten-minute drive felt more like twenty. A cop car and the coroner’s vehicle sat parked in Briar House’s driveway. Finn jumped out of his SUV and rushed forward.
Rose stood alone, facing the house, her fingers circled her long braid of hair. She wore cut-offs, a tank top, and a faded flannel shirt. Her other arm wrapped tight around herself.
His shoes dislodged gravel as he stopped in front of her. Her face was pale, her eyes bracketed by something rare to see in her expression.
Fear.
“Rose, what happened? Are you, is everyone okay?” He may have imagined her flinch, but he didn’t imagine her white-knuckled grip around her hair.
She didn’t look at him. Her gaze fixed on the main house, as if she expected something to crawl out of it.
“Rose, is it Tess?” She’d retired, but…
Her eyes flickered. “No. Tess is fine.”
“Then who?”
She said, “I had a delivery.”
The way she spoke raised hackles on his skin.
A second EHPD SUV pulled in behind the other vehicles. Reggie and a short, black-haired female climbed out and walked towards them. Both were in uniform.
He looked at Rose. “Where?”
Without inflection, she said, “Front door again.”
Reggie motioned to the petite female beside him. “This here’s Clare.” The young woman gave a nod before following him to the porch.
Rose remained where she stood.
Finn wanted answers, glanced at the van near the house. “Why is the coroner here?”
They both heard the curse Reggie gave when he reached the porch.
“What the hell?” Finn asked.
“Dead raccoon.”
He was missing something. If it was a raccoon, why all the vehicles?
She let go of her braid and faced him, her face still pale. “Someone planted flowers in it.”
His jaw fell open. Her words made no sense. It must have shown.
“Go see for yourself.”
He did and regretted it.
F inn walked back to her, looking green. One would think he’d outgrown his childhood nausea around dead animals issue with his medical degree, but maybe some things never changed.
Concern and anger radiated through his posture. His lips were thin. There was a tightness in his jaw. “You okay?”
Before Rose could answer, he pulled her into his arms. Whether for his or her comfort, she didn’t know. His anger helped, though. Made her feel less alone. She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung.
He hugged her so tight that her heart performed a tiny flip amongst her fear. She wished she could feel anger, but she was scared.
They stood like that until Reggie and Clare joined them. The deputy’s jaw looked as fixed as Finn’s. Clare looked a little pale.
Reggie said, “We don’t get much like that here.”
Finn’s hold eased, but he didn’t let go. His arm remained around her. His voice carried an edge when he spoke. “Wakefield boys used to kill things for fun.”
“Whole family’s gone. Moved away. After the lumber mill shut down. Michigan.”
“The flowers?” Finn grimaced.
Rose spoke, her words shaky. “Gardenias. Their sweet smell. I never cared for them. I prefer carnations. Glad he didn’t use those. Would ruin them forever.”
Finn’s hand squeezed hers. “Pink ones. I remember. My mom liked them too. Pa would bring them for her on payday.”
Reggie pulled out a notebook. “You two done? Can we talk about the dead raccoon?”
“Of course. Can we go inside?”
Reggie glanced back at the people on the front porch. “As long as you stay away from them.”
“That won’t be a problem.” As if she wanted to see the poor creature in that box again.
Rose led them into the house through the kitchen door.
Reggie insisted on being the last one in.
She grabbed a pitcher of raspberry lemonade out of the large fridge and some glasses. “Have a seat.”
Clare helped her carry the filled glasses. They all took seats. Clare and Reggie sat on one side, she and Finn on the other. Finn laced their fingers together.
The new deputy made an attempt at small talk. Comments about the day’s humidity fell short. Reggie kept quiet, as if he knew everyone needed a few minutes to enjoy a cool beverage.
A knock on the screen door broke those minutes.
It was the coroner, Quincy, and his brown-haired assistant.
He said, “We’ve got the animal and the evidence. You’ll have the necropsy report as soon as we finish. We’ve got an autopsy ahead of this.” After delivering that information, they left.
Reggie whipped out his pen and notebook. “Is it common knowledge you don’t like the white flowers?”
Rose shook her head, playing with the hem of her cut-offs. “Gardenias? I’d guess not. Usually, dates bring me roses because of my name.”
“You think this was a romantic gift?”
She felt the color leach out of her at the thought. “I hope not.”
Finn squeezed her hand, then asked, “Anything else like this happen before?”
Rose said, “No.”
Reggie shifted in his seat. “Actually—yes. It got set aside because of the circumstances. More serious crimes needed attention. The coroner reminded me when he saw the scene.”
She turned to him.
“Your grandmother received a similar package.”
“When?” Rose blanched. No one told her.
“A few days before her stroke.”
Rose launched out of her seat, her fingers leaving Finn’s. She needed to pace, but there was no space. Her arms wrapped around her waist. “Tell me.”
“Same spot on the porch. Pink bow. Flowers.”
“What kind?”
“Daisies, white ones.”
She froze. How dare he! Fear morphed into rage. The thought of Magnolia finding that. Daisies. Too cruel. Magnolia named her firstborn Daisy, the woman Rose called Mom .
She spun. “Why didn’t she tell me?”
Reggie cleared his throat. “She didn’t want to worry you.”
Her fingers curled. Stubborn woman. “Any others?”
“Not on my watch. Forest Service found a few dead animals in the past months, but that’s not unusual during fire season. The recent one we had—some miles away.”
Finn asked, “Arson?”
“The report’s not available to the public yet. Nothing like your raccoon.”
Her raccoon.
Not hers, but her heart ached for the little animal. Why would someone do something like this? George Hindley had gone to jail for arson. He’d been released on bail. Did he like to hurt animals too?
She swallowed and sat straighter. Reggie’s words. They reminded her of something. She pressed her fingers to her temples. What was it?
Fire.
No one had mentioned a recent fire.
She remembered.
“Cat.”
The others in the room looked at her with curious eyes.
Reggie’s voice carried a soothing tone, as if he needed to treat her carefully. “That’s right. The animal left for your grandmother was a cat.”
“No.” She needed to make sense. “Smokie. Mr. Hanover’s cat.”
Again, that soothing voice. “I wasn’t aware Bud Hanover had a cat.”
Rose rushed through her next words. “He rescued one. You need to talk to him. It was in a fire. On purpose.” She took a breath. “Someone hurt it.”
“Your raccoon wasn’t in a fire.”
She gritted her teeth. Could he stop referring to the raccoon as hers? It made things so much worse. Another breath. One, two. “You just said you found other animals in the woods.”
“There was a fire south of town, state forest.”
Finn said. “Pa and I saw it the day of the funeral.”
“Have you talked to George Hindley?” Rose had to ask.
Reggie ran his fingers over his jaw as if in thought. “I haven’t. No one except you has seen him since his release.”
“What about his parole officer?”
Reggie’s lips thinned. “Same.” Then he looked at Finn. “The old man who went to jail for the barn fire here. You remember him?”
Finn said, “Only his photo in the paper.”
“They released him on bail. Sheriff’s adamant that he’s innocent.”
“What else?”
Reggie said, “George went to jail for arson, had a history of it. Nothing on his record about animal mutilation.”
The barn fire. The Murray’s son. Lady. Her nails bit into her palms. “Because of him, Boone Murray ended up in a burn unit. His family almost lost him. My—Magnolia lost her favorite horse that night. We—we’ve never forgotten.”
Rose could still see the smoking horse as it ran from the burning stable straight towards Magnolia, a glowing chain trailing behind her. She heard the horses’ screams that night. And her own.
“It tore Magnolia to pieces—what she had to do that night.” The memory of the gunshot sent a shiver through her.
Reggie sighed. “I’m sorry. All that happened before I moved here.”
Rose’s hands became fists. “However they justified his release, that man’s still a monster.”
“The courts tried and convicted him for that. He served time.”
Rose said, “Not enough.”
“That’s not up to me or you. I’m investigating the situation we have now.”
Rose swallowed. “All of it. It has to be him.”
“Dang it, Rose, I have no solid evidence other than your statement at the cemetery and the witnesses at the cafe.”
“The cameras. They should have caught who put that poor creature there.” She’d handed him her phone after pulling up the security app. She couldn’t watch the footage.
Reggie frowned. Shook his head. “Whoever did it, they know a little something about the coverage area. The box appears from the left side. Looks like they used a long handle, maybe a broom, to push it where you found it. Nothing else came up on the others.”
Rose sank back into her seat. “Damn it.”
“Don’t give up on us yet. We’re still here, working the case. And I promise to talk to Bud Hanover about his cat.”
She nodded.
Gradually, the police cars disappeared with the promise of a regular patrol.
Finn pulled her back into his arms. His chin rested atop her head. “I’m staying here tonight.”
She didn’t object, but what happened when he went back to the hospital for his next shift and the one after that?
He couldn’t protect her forever.