“Before we left our house in Charlottesville this morning, we turned on the lights and the heat here at the cabin. Greta knows how to do it from some kind of app on her phone. I didn’t like it at first, but now I think it’s brilliant. The place is actually warm when we arrive.”
Max grunted. If Kenny had been inside when that happened, the sudden change would have been impossible to ignore. It would have signaled that someone might be on the way there.
“You might’ve run someone off,” Wyatt said. “Whoever was here may have known you were coming.”
“That’s what I’m thinking also,” Sheriff Sutherland said as he gestured toward the hallway. “Let’s look around.”
Max followed him and paused.
A scarf still lay near the bedroom door.
Lyndee’s scarf.
His chest tightened as he stared at it.
Wyatt lifted it carefully and slipped it into a Ziploc bag—to preserve the smell, Max assumed.
Sheriff Sutherland headed down the short hallway toward the back of the cabin. He pushed open the bathroom door and stopped.
Max stepped up beside him.
As he followed Sheriff Sutherland’s gaze, his eyes widened. Dark red liquid stained the edge of the sink.
Blood.
Not a large amount but enough to be unmistakable. A smear trailed across the counter, and a few droplets dotted the floor, partially disturbed as if someone had rushed by.
Hadley glanced at the clock again. It was almost noon, and not a single client had walked through the door.
She stood near the hallway that led to the exam rooms, her arms loosely folded as she watched the front entrance, half expecting someone to rush in with an apology and an excuse—a flat tire, a sick pet that took longer than expected, traffic.
Something normal.
But the door stayed closed.
Behind the desk, Susie lowered the phone back into its charger and frowned. “That was Mr. Brantley.”
Hadley turned toward her. “Let me guess—his appointment was canceled?”
“That’s right. He said he got a message last night.”
Hadley sighed, her head beginning to pound. “How many does that make?”
Susie’s frown deepened. “Six.”
Hadley leaned back against the wall, her mind trying to catch up with what she was hearing. “So someone broke the window, climbed inside, stole our appointment book . . . and canceled all our appointments. Why would anyone want to do that?”
The question hung in the air without an answer.
And how will I pay all my bills if I don’t have any clients?The thought pressed in before Hadley could stop it.How will I pay Susie? If these bad reviews keep coming and none of our clients show up . . .
She pushed the spiral back before it could take hold. Thinking like that wouldn’t help this situation.
Susie tilted her head, studying her. “It almost sounds like you made someone mad. Really mad. Any idea who or why?”
She’d thought about that also. “I have no idea. I haven’t been in town long enough to make any archenemies.”
That might be the most unsettling part.
