He turned. “Yes?”
“Please make sure that Ms. Valentine leaves the premises. She’s the only intruder of which I’m aware.”
He said nothing and turned to walk toward the car, gesturing for Cressida to join him. He held the passenger door open for her.
Cressida hesitated, her eyes narrowing.
“You need a ride?” he asked.
“I do, thanks. Are you going to check the perimeter in spite of her claims?”
“Yes. I believe you.” He held her gaze, making sure she understood. “You can wait in the vehicle, safe and sound, while I do. Lock the doors.”
Once Cressida got inside, he eyed the surrounding area and made quick work of the grounds near the house. Noted the cameras. Since they were easy to spot, they would be easy to avoid. Using his flashlight, he found no obvious footprints, but he could be messing them up if they existed.
He jogged back to the county vehicle and got inside. Started it.
Cressida watched him. “Well? Did you find evidence of an intruder?”
“It’s dark, so I could have missed something, but no.”
“What about the windows at the back? Did you see anything broken?”
“No.” He steered around the circular drive. “Listen, I believe you. I’ll have a deputy drive by again tonight and make sure the woman’s okay.”
She blew out a breath and settled into the seat next to him.
“But I have to ask,” he said. “What were you doing here? You must have walked since you have no transportation.”
“Yeah, about that. I was on the beach below the house, and I saw the steps. They don’t say they’re private, so why not?”
“Fair enough. I came by the cabin earlier and you weren’t there, so I looked for you on the beach, but I must have missed you.”
“You were looking for me? You must have had something to tell me. What did you learn?”
“I have a forensic artist who can meet with you tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. Anything else?”
“Not yet. I’m surprised that you went back to the beach so soon. You’re resilient, I’ll give you that.” He remained concerned. “Remi said you got a package.”
“My journal was returned. I must have left it on the boat. Captain Malloy had made it clear that he was leaving the area, and it surprised me. He had to have come back to give the journal to me.”
“Did he say why he was leaving?”
“He hadn’t wanted to come to begin with. I paid him a lot to bring me.”
“And why would you do that? Why not find another charter?”
“My dad somehow ended up with him. I was just following his exact journey. Oh, but Malloy left a note with the journal, reminding me to watch my back.”
Cressida should have contacted Braden immediately, but she hadn’t, and that unsettled him. “At what point did you decide it was a good idea to go back to the beach? I’m assuming you went alone because you’re here. Alone.”
“Well, when you put it that way ... but it wasn’t like that. I talked to a therapist on the phone, and I felt encouraged. I believed that I needed to get outside. Get fresh air and clear my head. If I sat in that cabin alone with my thoughts, with the memories of the attack, things would only go downhill. I need to finish Dad’s book. I’m not going to let that jerk who tried to drown me interfere with my mission here.”
Braden admired this woman. She was made of strong stuff. And maybe that made her overconfident or push too hard. He wasn’t sure yet. He turned onto the road to Cedar Trails Lodge, steered down the long drive, then finally parked. Cressida started to get out.
“Wait.” If only he could be up-front with her about who he was. Why he was here.
