“You can even have the side by the window,” Evie added.
Harlan smiled back, but the picture in his head was not of a tent or a harmless indoor campout. He saw her old bedroom downstairs, saw the note on the sill and the window open a fraction. The CSIs had combed through that room for hours today, their quiet movements a constant reminder that someone had been there. Close enough to touch her things. Close enough to take something.
Evie popped another chocolate chip into her mouth, still grinning. He kept his own expression easy, letting her think the tent sleepover was all a game, while his gaze drifted past her and right back to the darkening yard beyond the windows.
Carol pushed her chair away from the table, the legs scraping softly over the wood floor. She moved to the window, and her gaze also drifted into the yard before she turned to Evie with a brightness that sounded just a little too practiced.
“Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you upstairs. You can have a bath in my big tub with the bubbles and the jets.”
Evie’s eyes went wide. “Really?” She hopped down, grabbing Carol’s hand without a second thought.
Harlan watched them head toward the back stairs, and he knew it wasn’t just the jets Carol had in mind. She wanted Evie away from the window. So did he.
The moment the sound of their voices faded up the steps, Laney’s chair creaked as she leaned in closer to him. “Until thisis over, we should eat in a different room. One with blinds or curtains.” Her eyes flicked to the wide panes along the kitchen wall. “These make us too easy to see.”
Harlan followed her look, his gaze settling on their reflections in the black window. He didn’t need convincing.
They got up from the table and worked in quiet rhythm, plates stacking, silverware clinking softly into the sink. Harlan had just rinsed the last dish when his phone buzzed.
It was from a fellow Crossfire operative. Garrett McCall. Not Garrett’s first text of the day either. He and Harlan had been messaging back and forth since this ordeal began early in the morning.
Harlan dried his hands and read the message. The footprint, the bomb, the note from Evie’s room, and the hair clip were all still being analyzed at the county lab. The new motion sensors had been installed along the road to Laney’s place. If anyone set foot on the property, they would get an alert on their phones. Tomorrow, more sensors would go in, along with a full security system.
He read it twice before sliding the phone back into his pocket.
Laney stepped beside him, drying a plate. “Update?”
“Garrett says the lab is still working on the test results. Sensors are up on the road. Tomorrow the rest of the system goes in.”
She set the plate in the cabinet. “Thank you. For all of it,” she murmured.
Harlan watched the tension still settled in her shoulders. “I’m staying here tonight.”
Laney’s eyes met his for a beat, and she didn’t argue.
“I also need to go through David’s file,” he added. “Everything. Anything that might connect to what’s happening now.”
She gave a short nod. “It’s all in my office.” Without a shred of hesitation, she started in that direction.
He followed her toward the backstairs, already turning over the possibilities in his head. David’s case had been cold for years, but cold didn’t mean dead. Not anymore. If they could link the current events to his death, then it might give them a new, much needed lead.
They climbed the old stairs, with each step creaking. That was a good sign as far as Harlan was concerned. No way for some asshole to sneak up on them without making a whole lot of noise. Noise that Harlan would hear since he didn’t plan on doing much sleeping tonight.
With Laney just ahead of him, they reached the landing, and the upper hall stretched out, lit by a single lamp on a side table. The air smelled faintly of furniture polish and lavender.
A few closed doors marked what he knew were the guest rooms, and further down, the door to Carol’s bedroom stood ajar. He could hear water running inside, along with Evie’s giggles.
Laney’s office was at the very end of the hall, and when they got to it, he stepped inside behind her, scanning the space out of habit. The room was neat, but lived in, with a desk against the far wall and shelves crowded with binders, stacked files, and a few framed photos.
One frame caught his attention immediately. It was Laney and David on their wedding day, standing under an arch of colorful flowers. She had been laughing, sunlight caught in her hair, while David grinned down at her as if she were the only thing in the world worth seeing.
Harlan remembered that day all too well. He’d stood off to the side, smiling and congratulating them like any best man should. Yeah, he’d been happy for them.
Happy enough anyway to plaster on the grin that he was sporting in the photo.
But inside, it had felt like something was crushing his chest. He had let Laney slip through his fingers, choosing the military and the uniform over her.
And he had lost her to the man who had been his best friend.
