Colby's version of protective involved staking out the area, calling the police, and documenting every inch of a crime scene before the professionals arrived.
She hadn't realized how much she needed that until right now.Until this moment, standing in a field that someone had violated, watching a man who refused to let her face it alone.
The sound of a patrol car's engine reached them before the vehicle appeared, a low rumble that made the hairs on her arms lift with anticipation.Colby finished his photos and walked back to her, holding out his hand.
She took it without hesitation.
They walked to the road together, boots crunching on gravel in a rhythm that felt almost normal.Almost safe.
Sergeant Diaz climbed out of the patrol car and took one long look at them before her gaze shifted past their shoulders to the field beyond.Her expression was unreadable, professional, but not unkind.
"All right," she said."Show me."
ChapterFifteen
Colby ran through the events in that matter-of-fact tone he used when he was keeping himself in check, sticking to observable facts and chronological order.Sabrina listened for any hint of doubt in Diaz's responses, any suggestion that the sergeant might be humoring them or dismissing the incident as minor.
She heard none.
Diaz walked the site with careful steps, avoiding the obvious paths the intruder had taken.She peered into the trailer without touching it, crouched near the boot prints and studied their depth and direction, and examined the cut twine with the same focused attention Colby had shown.
"Nothing taken," Diaz said finally, straightening from her crouch."Just moved.Rearranged."
"That's what we see," Colby said.
Diaz turned to Sabrina, her dark eyes direct but not unkind."You okay?"
"No," Sabrina said honestly."But I'm upright and functional, so that's something."
Diaz's mouth twitched with something that might have been approval."I appreciate honest answers."She tipped her chin toward the broken stake still clutched in Sabrina's hand."That one new damage, or was it like that before?"
"We used it to mark the corner of the foundation," Sabrina said."It was in the ground yesterday, driven in deep.The line was tight between it and the other stakes.Jason checked it himself before we left.Now it's this."She held up the useless piece of wood.
Diaz nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful."Who knows you're building out here?Who's aware of this project?"
Sabrina swallowed."Kara Donnelly, obviously; she's handling the permits and zoning.The county board reviewed my plans.Jason Keene is my contractor, and Colby's been helping with the labor.Hank and Brian know because Colby told them.Lila and Bree know because Kara can't keep anything from Bree for longer than about ten minutes."She paused, thinking."The café regulars who overheard us talking about materials and timelines.So basically, most of Copper Moon at this point."
Diaz's brow rose slightly."Fair point.Small towns are efficient gossip networks."
The sergeant walked back to her patrol car and retrieved a small evidence bag from somewhere in the trunk.She returned to the trailer and carefully removed the dangling lock, handling it by the edges to preserve any prints.She bagged it, tagged it, then took more photos of the hinge damage with her own phone.
"I'll have my guys come out and cast these boot prints," Diaz said, sealing the evidence bag."In the meantime, I need you to do a couple of things for me."
"Name it," Sabrina said.
"Do not come out here alone," Diaz said, her voice carrying the weight of an order rather than a suggestion."Not early, not late, not at all.If you're on this land, you're with someone you trust.No exceptions.I'm also going to have patrol add this road to their regular loop.No promises we'll catch anything, but sometimes the presence of a marked car scares off bored idiots who are testing boundaries."
"What about not-bored idiots?"Sabrina asked."The ones who aren't just testing?"
"Those are my favorite kind," Diaz said, a hint of steel beneath the dry humor."I like a challenge."Her expression sobered."I'm not dismissing this, Sabrina.Could it be some random jerk flexing by creeping around an empty job site at night?Sure.Happens more often than you'd think.Could it be connected to what happened at Norman House?Also sure.I'm not ruling anything out until I have evidence pointing one direction or the other."
The ground seemed to tilt beneath Sabrina's feet."So I'm not imagining the connection.You see it too."
"Correct," Diaz said."You're not imagining it."
Colby's hand found the small of her back, steady and warm through the fabric of her shirt.
Sabrina blew out a slow breath, trying to find her center."Okay."
