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Roy raised a brow. “It has more to do with who you are than who he is. At least for the time being, I’d rather you didn’t walk to your car alone in the evenings.”

“I’ll try not to,” I said.

“Don’t try. I’m serious. Just call courthouse security. They’ll send a deputy right over if you have to leave the office alone.”

“Fine,” I said. Roy got up.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Why?”

He shrugged. “You just seem extra jittery. Distracted. Like this vandal has you more shook up than you want to admit.”

“I’m fine,” I repeated. “Really.”

“All right. I won’t bug you too much about it. But I meant what I said. Don’t be afraid to reach out.”

“What about Corrine Egan?” I said.

Roy looked puzzled. “What about her?”

“Did they find anything at Palicki’s house tying him to her stalker?” The Frères Célestes painting flashed in my mind. I shook my head to clear it.

“Other than that spool of ribbon, no. And we can’t even say that’s connected to her for sure. Maybe if she’d kept it. But we’re still waiting on the labs for the underwear she brought. If there’s salvageable DNA, maybe.”

“Except you’ll have a problem with chain of custody if Corrine’s case ever gets to a courtroom. It would just be her word for where that clothing was all of these years. They won’t be able to prove assault… which she isn’t even claiming.”

“If it’s got Palicki’s DNA, that would change the game.”

“Except she didn’t recognize him.”

Roy drummed his fingers on the chair back. “Yeah. I don’t know. Her story is compelling; it’s just not chargeable.”

“Even if we caught the guy who harassed her,” I said.

“Yeah. Even then.”

Roy had a distant expression on his face. Then he snapped back into focus and said a polite goodbye.

My head pounded. I wanted nothing more than to go home, slip into a hot bath, and drown out the competing thoughts in my head.

It was only two o’clock, but I just couldn’t stay here another second. I gathered my things, told Ashley I was taking three hours of personal time, and then drove home.

Two texts came in while I was on the road, both from Lock.

Just letting you know I landed.

Then, a few minutes later. I love you.

My fingers hovered over the screen. I wanted so desperately to tell him I loved him too. Because I did. And yet, I couldn’t do this. Not now. Instead, I slipped my phone back into my purse. I wasn’t ready to go into the house yet. I wanted to walk the grounds. Something made me feel claustrophobic. I headed across the circular driveway and made it as far as the porch.

There was something lying on the ground right in front of the door. A package? We didn’t accept deliveries here. We had a box closer to the road.

As I stepped onto the porch and looked down, my heart skipped. I couldn’t be seeing what I thought I was.

It wasn’t a package. It was a bird. A mourning dove. It lay on its side, staring straight at me with vacant, bulging eyes. It was dead. It had a red ribbon wound tightly around its throat.

TWENTY-SIX