She still couldn’t form words but found herself nodding.
His smile brightened. “Great. See you and your watermelon then.”
She watched him stride away, her foggy brain registering that she needed to find the farmer’s market and buy a watermelon.
As she drove out of the parking lot, her phone rang, and the caller ID read, Red Grove Mental Health Clinic.
Her heart leaped. Abby!
Jules stopped the car in a small lot, snatched the phone from the seat and answered, “Is Abby okay?”
“Ms. Bailey?”
“Yes, that’s me. Is my sister okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. She’s fine. This is Sylvia at Red Grove Mental Health Clinic. There is a gentleman here who says he’s your brother.”
She shook her head, confused. “We don’t have a brother.”
“Well, I knew you hadn’t listed one in her admission paperwork,” the woman on the phone said, “but he was insisting on seeing her, and I wanted to—”
“No!” she blurted when it clicked.
Chase!Somehow, he’d tracked Abby to the mental health facility. When he’d struck out with Zoey this afternoon, he’d turned to Abby.
Damn it! Jules had thought Abby would be safe in the hospital. How in the world had Hamilton found her there? It was one thing to know she was in Red Grove, and quite another to learn she was a patient at the mental health facility. What had happened with HIPAA?
“Well, that’s why I called. I wanted to—”
“Call the police! And for God’s sake do not let any man in to see my sister!”
“The police?” Sylvia asked. “But—”
“It’s him. It has to be him! The man who’s been stalking her is here in town. Do not let anyone but me in to see her!” Her hands were trembling, and she fumbled to put the phone on speaker, so she could drive to the hospital. “I’m on my way! Call the police!”
“Well, actually, when I told him I had to call Abby’s family and get your approval, he turned and left. I only wanted to alert you.”
Another thought came to her that made her gut swoop. “Does Abby know he was there? Did she see him?”
“Well, no. He didn’t—”
“Don’t tell her. It would only upset her and…she’s been making progress. If she knew Chase was in town—” Bile reached Jules’s throat. “Oh, geez. Do not tell her! And do not let anyone but me in to see her. Alert your staff to this guy, and if he shows up again, call the cops. All right?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Jules took a deep breath and thanked Sylvia for calling as she fought down her own panic attack. She knew she was too upset at the moment to drive. Which meant she was also too upset to visit Abby. Her sister would sense something amiss, and the last thing she wanted was to be the reason Abby became agitated.
Closing her eyes, she drew long deep breaths, exhaling though pursed lips. Once she had control over her heartbeat again, she headed to her motel to recalculate. Knowing Chase had located Abby upped the stakes. The sooner they caught him and got him off the streets, the better. But was this slow and painful stakeout with Cal going to be enough? Why did the wheels of justice have to move so slowly where Chase Hamilton was concerned?
Tomorrow, she’d make it clear to the sheriff that time was not on their side. She needed action from him or she would take matters into her own hands.
Chapter 15
Jules was restless the next morning, struggling to maintain her patience with wishy-washy tourists and the slow movement of the clock. She told herself she wasn’t looking forward to the Colton family picnic, but neither could she stop thinking about the opportunity to spend the afternoon with Cal.
The Fourth of July holiday brought a steady stream of customers into the gift shop, and though Bonnie was happy to get the extra hours of work, Jules was wary of leaving the teenager in charge for the afternoon a third day in a row. She could back out of the Colton family event, but part of her wanted to meet Cal’s family. She’d spent so much time working at the gift shop since arriving in Red Grove, she’d barely had time to visit Abby, much less make any local friends.
Abby. The incident yesterday—knowing that Chase had tried to gain access to her sister had kept her awake last night. Now another twang of guilt plucked at her. She’d spent all of her time off recently tracking Chase. Though she phoned and texted her sister regularly and kept in touch with her sister’s doctors, she hadn’t been to visit Abby in person in over a week. She’d remedy that tomorrow, she vowed.
