He glanced back and saw the sheriff was walking toward them, and judging from her expression, she had probably overheard at least some of the conversation with Vernice.
Ethan had to shake his head. “I’ve never gotten any deliveries or mail at Vernice’s shop.”
With Livvy right next to her, he went back into the bullpen and eased the package onto his desk. He took out a pair of latex gloves and the explosives scanner while he studied the writing. No sender info, no addresses.
Just his name, Deputy Ethan Oakley.
Beneath that were three words:Important. Open Immediately.
Ethan didn’t open itimmediately. Instead, he ran the handheld scanner over the box. There was no telltale beep to let him know there might be a bomb, but the device did alert on something metal.
“Stand back just in case,” he told Livvy and Grace, and he waited for them to do that before he opened the package and peered inside.
Frowning, he spilled the contents onto his desk. A folded piece of paper and a six-inch knife encased in a layer of bubble wrap. He could see rust-colored smears on the blade.
He thought it might be dried blood.
“That could be the murder weapon,” Grace speculated.
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed, and he shifted his attention to the paper.
He carefully unfolded it and saw that it was a note. A note that had Ethan cursing.
Test it, Deputy Oakley. You’ll find Livvy’s fingerprints on it. Maybe now she’ll confess to everything she’s done.
Chapter Three
Livvy stared at the words. And stared.
They carved into her like a blade—deep, sharp and unrelenting. Each one stripped away her breath, pressing on her chest until it felt like her lungs might cave in.
But she wouldn’t let the crushing weight break the surface. Wouldn’t give whoever wrote it that kind of power.
Not now. Not ever.
She locked her jaw, forced her spine straight as she repeated the message to herself:Test it, Deputy Oakley. You’ll find Livvy’s fingerprints on it. Maybe now she’ll confess to everything she’s done.
The taunt hit like a punch, but she didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Because she didn’t just see a threat scrawled on that paper. She saw a challenge.
And she’d meet it head-on.
“Send it to the lab,” Livvy insisted once she was able to gather enough breath to speak.
She turned to Grace, trying to let her boss see that while she was shaken, she was also determined to get to the bottom of this. Someone was clearly trying to rattle her or attempting to set her up for something, and Livvy wasn’t just going to roll over and let that happen.
“I’ve never seen that knife before,” she insisted.
It was the truth. Well, the truth as she knew it anyway. It was possible the knife was hidden in those blank spots in her memories. But Livvy knew for a fact that she didn’t consciouslyrecall seeing it. And she was certain that she would have remembered. The knife was distinctive with its bone handle that had an eagle carved into it.
Grace gave a slight nod, and while Livvy thought her boss believed her about not having ever seen the knife, Grace was no doubt assessing how to deal with this. Livvy spoke up, eager to try to keep herself involved in this investigation.
“Please don’t make me sit out this case,” she said, trying to look and sound as if this hadn’t gotten to her. “I can help. In fact, I should help. If that woman died because of something that happened in my past, then I need to confront it head-on.” She had to take a deep breath before she added, “And maybe the investigation will finally trigger the memories.”
She wasn’t at all certain she wanted that, but if these blank spots could solve a murder, then it had to be done. Until now, that amnesia was only affecting her and those who got caught up in her night terrors. However, if it was allowing a killer to go free, then the remembering had to be done.
Of course, the therapists and treatments over the years had all failed. But again, the stakes weren’t as high as they were now. The memories could be crucial to catching a killer. And to clearing her own name since it was obvious that someone was trying to set her up with these blasted notes and the knife.
“Ethan and I can do this interview at New Hope,” Livvy went on.
