“It’s him,” he gruffed out. “Reed’s got Fern. Reed’s the one who’s been stalking her.”
Gray burst into the room. “What’s going on?”
While Willow and Theo filled him in, Crew turned toward the window. Rain streaked across the glass, the drizzle he’d noticed earlier turning into a sideways slant.
Terrible weather for looking at a landscaping job.
Unless she never made it to the job at all.
His thoughts circled the strange truck. The plant that had shown up in Fern’s car. None of it felt accidental. Her car breaking down hadn’t been coincidence either.
Crew pivoted back to the room, resolve snapping into place. “Theo, call Fern. Willow, call her boss.”
The words came out sharp, but they snapped to attention. Minutes compressed.
Fern didn’t answer.
Marla picked up on the second ring. Willow put her on speaker, and the woman’s voice came through thin and tight.
“Fern left at the end of her shift.”
Cold seeped through Crew’s veins.
Marla continued, the words tumbling out faster now. “Cathy at the post office helped set up a meeting—someone asking about a landscaping job.”
“Did Fern give you the address?” Willow asked.
There was a pause. Then, quieter, “No. Theo called to say it was okay.”
Crew’s chest locked. Fury and fear moved through him when Theo shook his head.
“I didn’t call.”
Before they could say more, Marla went on, “I didn’t realize until after she left, but her phone was still here. Sitting on the counter.”
The rain hammered harder against the window, and Crew felt a roar building in his lungs.
“Fuck!” Crew raked his fingers through his hair, tasting iron on his tongue. Hot rage warred with terror in his chest.
He stormed across the room and yanked the computer toward him. “Theo, you ran the contact she sent you. You ran the number. What did you find out?”
Theo reached for the computer. “Let me see if the report came in. The number’s been rolling around the program but had no results when I checked this morning.”
Across the room, Gray locked stares with Crew. God, he couldn’t bear to see the concern in his friend’s eyes. They bothhad walked with grief before, but Crew wasn’t ready to do it again, and definitely not with Fern.
He felt Theo go stiff.
“Talk to us, brother,” Gray demanded.
Theo grimaced. “The phone with that number was reported stolen.”
The words dropped into the silence.
Willow leaped to her feet, eyes wild. “I got something!”
Everyone whipped toward her.
“Cathy said the guy was in there the other day, asking if there was a greenhouse in the area. He said he just bought the old Frye place and was looking for advice on sprucing up the property.”
