Then Thatcher sat at his desk and drank from a tall mug. “Normally, I don’t keep these kinds of hours, but I wanted to be the one to talk to you. I’ve hired a new detective—Braden Sanders—but he’s out of town until tomorrow. But like I said,Iwant to talk to you.” He clasped his hands and leaned forward against his desk. “I’m saying this isn’t an interrogation, so please just relax.”
Jo appreciated that the sheriff didn’t separate her from Cole or make her sit in a small room at a nondescript tablewhile she waited to be questioned as if she was a criminal. Still, she closed her eyes, willing herself to remain composed.
“The property is destroyed.”
I can’t believe Spruce Hollow is gone.
Considering her father was also gone from her life—by his own choice—losing the tiny house that had been her oasis should be the least of her pain.
“It will take time and probably daylight to sift through the remains. Honestly, we would have suspected a propane leak, except for the bomb warning you received. The WSP bomb squad will be here in the morning. They’re part of the Washington State Patrol Homeland Security division, accredited through the FBI.”
Oh. “So this is kind of a big deal. Homeland Security. Feds. The big guns, so to speak.” Had she expected anything else?
“The acronyms are intimidating. They’ll probably send an investigator or two who will write up a report. They’ll probably question you and Cole too. I don’t know where things will go from there.” He studied her, his dark eyes piercing. “Take a deep breath and just tell me what happened.”
“I’m sure Cole already told you we were just sitting there and talking when the text came through my cell. Cole grabbed my hand and we ran.”
Sheriff Thatcher sat back, his brows furrowing. “Do you have any idea why someone would blow up your house?”
She toyed with the strap of her sling bag. “How can I know? Factor in that Pop ... well...” Jo told him the rest. That she’d gone in search of her father after the cryptic message.
Pop was one of those friendly guys who got along with everyone. He could fool the best of them, she supposed, because the sheriff had always liked her father.
“And then tonight, I saw him. He left and said I wasn’t supposed to know him.” The words tumbled out through tears. Jo told him everything, including how she met her father right after her mother’s funeral. She even shared about Mom’s suspicious death that she believed was a murder. The floodgate of pent-up emotions and words had opened wide. So much for keeping herself together.
The sheriff swiped his hand over his bald head. “Well, you’ve had a real long day. Of course, we’d love to question Ray about his knowledge of the bomb. In the meantime, I’m going to need your cell phone.”
“My cell?” She cradled it.
“Yeah. It’s part of the evidence in this investigation now. We’ll create a mirror image and extract the data. I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”
Jo didn’t want to hand her phone over.What if hecalls again?Sheriff Thatcher would try to ping his cell number, but he wouldn’t find her father. “You should know that I’ve hired Cole to look into my father to find out who he really is.”
Cole cleared his throat. “Sheriff, are you aware of another incident yesterday involving Jo on the ferry?”
“I’m aware.” He angled his head but said nothing.
“I wonder if that incident is related.” Cole didn’t look at her when he raised the question.
“What’s your assessment?” the sheriff asked.
Jo shouldn’t be surprised the sheriff would want Cole’s thoughts, given his experience in special forces and now in intelligence and threat assessment.
“I believe it could be related. Jo sensed she had been followed. She was attacked three times after going into Seattle to follow her father.”
The sheriff wrote down a few notes. “There are a lot of questions that need answers. If you learn anything in yoursearch for the truth about Ray, please keep us informed. You’ve already shared that you’d come to ask Jo questions about what happened in Michigan. Please keep me in the loop on all of it, if you don’t mind. Let’s work together in hopes we can resolve things in a timely manner.”
“Agreed,” Cole said.
The sheriff leveled his gaze on Jo. “I’m sorry about this, Jo. I was fond of Ray. I’ve known him for years. It hits me hard. No matter what this is about, I know that he loves you.”
Jo had expected a much different response, though she wasn’t sure what. She struggled, waffling between believing that Pop loved her and thinking the worst.
“Sheriff.” Cole leaned forward. “After the attempts on her life, I need to get her somewhere safe. I have worked numerous security details, so this isn’t anything new to me.”
“You have some ideas.”
“My brother and I have a solution, yes.”
