Chapter 23
Wyatt was back at Hollow House nine minutes after Kori had called him.
She’d left the front door open for him. He rushed inside, Thunder close behind.
He found Kori standing in the doorway of her room with her arms crossed.
“I didn’t touch anything,” she told him.
“Good.”
He stepped past her and took in the room. Drawers were on the floor. The bed messed up. Closet doors open.
Then he saw the mirror, and his breath caught.
Someone had wanted to send a message. But why? Why had someone wanted to let Kori know this was all connected? He wasn’t sure what sense that made.
Wasting no more time, he pulled out his phone and called Micah, who promised to be right there.
Wyatt ended the call and looked at Kori. “You can’t stay here tonight.”
“I know.” She said it as if it were a foregone conclusion.
“If you’re comfortable with it, I have somewhere you can go.
I told you at Ember & Oak that my brother and sister live outside town and operate an animal shelter and boarding center.
Their house is officially considered a retreat center, but .
. . well, it’s a little more than that. I can explain more later.
The important thing is that you’d be safe there. ”
She was quiet, and Wyatt sensed her processing the invitation.
Finally, she asked, “How far away is it? Because I want to be ready to search for my sister in the morning.”
“It’s only twenty minutes from here. We’ll still be on track.”
She glanced at the mirror one more time and then nodded. “If you say I can trust them and that I’ll be safe there, then I’m in.”
Relief washed through him. He’d sleep better tonight knowing she was at Refuge Cove. Too much had already happened, and these incidents were escalating.
Kori watched out the window as the dark mountains passed by. She’d decided to leave her car at Hollow House—Maggie had said it was okay. She was so shaky that she didn’t think she could drive.
Then she’d packed her belongings. She’d had to leave Mackenzie’s laptop with Sheriff Sutherland earlier, but that was okay because Kori had already made a copy of the contents.
Then she’d left with Wyatt.
Had someone been searching for that laptop? Was that why they’d come?
And if so, why leave that symbol behind? Weren’t they just making it easier for police to link the crimes?
She didn’t know exactly what was going on.
She and Wyatt had been largely quiet on the drive, each of them seemingly lost in their own thoughts.
Sheriff Sutherland had come and taken over the scene at the bed and breakfast.
The sheriff had also given them an update on Pete. Security footage from several businesses in town had shown an old Ford F150 pulling away from the general store at 8:37 this morning. The windows had been tinted, making it hard to see who was inside, but investigators had to assume Pete was there.
The truck also had no license plates.
Kori hated the thought of what Martha must be going through. To an extent, Kori understood her pain and her panic.
Please, Lord—be with Pete. Keep him safe. Keep Mackenzie safe. Give everyone involved with finding them Your wisdom and guidance.
She whispered a silent “amen.”
As Wyatt slowed, Kori glanced at him. “You weren’t kidding about this place being out of the way.”
“That’s by design.”
He turned and a steel gate appeared, a keypad mounted beside it. Wyatt rolled down his window and punched in a code. A couple of seconds later, the gate swung open.
Kori looked through the windshield as they drove through.
The modern, sprawling farmhouse sat at the end of the drive, white siding glowing softly under exterior lights. A pond stretched across the front yard, moonlight reflecting off the water where snow met the edge.
To the right she saw a row of kennels attached to a long white building.
“So, this is Refuge Cove?” she asked.
Wyatt nodded. “That’s right.”
“And part of it is for animals? And the other part a secret retreat center?”
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
Kori turned toward him. “What do you mean . . . ?”
“The real purpose is they operate as a shelter that helps women who need somewhere safe to land. Many of them don’t have anywhere else to go because they don’t want to leave their pets behind. We let them bring their dogs with them.”
“Why is it a secret?”
“Because these are women who don’t want to be found—who are in danger. So only a limited number of people know what we really do.”
She absorbed that information as Wyatt parked beside the house. Her admiration for Wyatt—and his family—grew even more. What they were doing was truly selfless.
Her job put her on the other side of the justice system. She went after those who did the crimes instead of helping the victims—though she supposed the right verdict did help the victims.
She was known as being relentless in the courtroom, thus her nickname as The Hammer. She’d been determined that mercy wouldn’t be a part of her vocabulary.
But a quiet voice inside her had been nagging her for a while now, almost as if trying to whisper that eliminating mercy wasn’t always the best choice.
She thought of Bartholomew Beekman. Funny that he’d come into her thoughts again.
When she’d heard he’d attacked the project manager, she’d gone after him with everything she had. But if she paused long enough, she could understand why he’d felt so desperate.
“You said your brother runs it with your sister?” she asked.
“That’s right. Caleb and Naomi. Millie also works here—she’s Caleb’s girlfriend. And we have Max, who’s worked here since before Refuge Cove was Refuge Cove.”
“And you mentioned something about a baby?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Yes. Her name is Grace. Naomi’s fostering her. It’s a long story, but she’s been a blessing.”
Kori hesitated. “That’s . . . a lot of responsibility.”
“Naomi is good at it.” He paused. “And by the way, she’s dating Micah—Sheriff Sutherland. So don’t be surprised if you see him here sometime.”
“Noted. It sounds like a busy place.”
Wyatt grinned. “It is—in a good way. And I haven’t even mentioned my mom yet. Ruby. She pops in and out.”
She tried to keep everyone straight. “It sounds like you have a tight family.”
“They’re the best. I don’t know what I would have done without them over the past few years.”
A surprising sense of longing hit Kori.
She’d never felt more alone than she had over the past two years since she and Mackenzie had been estranged. She’d told herself she was okay going through life alone.
But now she couldn’t help but wonder if that was true.