There were pictures of her at work, her walking home, her with Tanner, her taking a break at the back of the Sunrise.Worse, there were just as many pictures of the babies as there were of Bree.
“Nobody touch anything,” Tanner said as he donned a pair of gloves and walked inside.“Ronnie, get the crime lab over here ASAP.”
Ronnie was already calling it in when Tanner found a handwritten note listing Bree and the kids’ schedule and habits.
Bree had been right to be wary of the creepy, thin man.This was nothing less than obsession.
And Tanner had had the man in custody and chose to let him go.He’d clung to a more complicated scenario—that Steele had known or been a part of some sort of hidden nefarious organization—rather than the simple one that was undoubtedly true: Steele was fixated on Bree and the kids.
And now wished he could kick his own ass.
Had everything Steele said this morning been a lie?And why had he called Tanner last night when Bree had been in trouble?BeforeBree had really been in trouble?
“County forensics team is on their way, Tanner.”Ronnie came back in the room.“I spoke to Mrs.Ragan—she said Steele is paid up through the end of the month and she’s never had a problem with him.She heard him squeal out of here early this morning.”
“Did she notice which direction he was going?”
“Away from town.North up Highway 70.”
So the same direction Gavin was driving Bree’s car.Was Steele the one who had put the tracker on it?Had the whole break-in at her house been a setup to get her to run scared?
“Wow.”Scott whistled through his teeth.“This is some pretty advanced-level stalker stuff.Are we sure he isn’t Bree’s baby daddy?”
“No, he wasn’t.She would’ve mentioned that immediately.Wouldn’t have been so creeped out by him.”Tanner couldn’t tear his eyes away from all the pictures of Bree.Pictures of her with people.Without them.Some with the babies.
But no matter what the scene or the situation, she always had that stiff, pinched look on her face.In not one single picture was she smiling, even the ones with the babies.
She always looked scared.
He’d gotten so used to that look on her face that he didn’t even notice it anymore.
Bree lived in terror.
He walked over to study one, obviously shot from a small camera at a low angle.Bree was standing with Mr.and Mrs.A, the babies and Judy.A couple of other people, features not seen in the shot, were loitering around, too.A crowd.
Despite all the people around her, Bree looked completely alone.A misfit among laughing, content people.Like she didn’t know how to feel what they were feeling and didn’t even want to try in case she failed.
Damn it.Tanner wanted to teach this woman how to smile.Wanted to provide her a safe place where she could learn to find the smile he knew was inside her.
Ronnie cleared his throat.“This guy is a psycho.Maybe we shouldn’t have sent Bree off on her own if he’s now following her.”
“Wasn’t she afraid she was going to end up in his basement?I thought she was being melodramatic when she said it yesterday, but now...”Scott held his hand out toward the pictures.“Maybe not.Are you sure we have no way of getting in touch with her?No phone number?”
Tanner shook his head.He wanted to tell Ronnie and Scott what was going on but couldn’t.“Her phone was last seen in multiple pieces in her apartment.And she didn’t give any forwarding address.So, as far as we’re concerned, she’s gone.”
Ronnie and Scott were both staring at him like he’d just kicked a puppy into oncoming traffic.He couldn’t blame them; just the thought of Bree being out there alone with someone this crazy after her made him sick.
“Look,” he continued, “the best thing we can do for Bree is get an APB out for Steele and make sure all our contacts in other counties know he could be dangerous.Bree wanted out of this town.She’s an adult, hasn’t broken the law and we couldn’t keep her here against her will.Maybe she was going to family or something.”
“What do we know about Steele?”Scott asked.“Any record?”
Tanner shook his head.“Completely clean.After seeing this, I’m thinking probably a fake ID.Hopefully, the crime lab can get some prints and we can run them.”
Scott looked around at the pictures again.“I just hope law enforcement finds him before he finds Bree.Because this is a man obsessed.And obsession is dangerous.”
ITWASNEARLYfour in the morning before Tanner made it back out to the ranch.
Processing Steele’s apartment had taken hours, and Tanner had stayed to make sure the crime lab didn’t miss anything.He didn’t normally micromanage the department like this, but when it came to Steele, he couldn’t afford any more slipups.
