trial, down at the lakeshore getting into one of Bill Schroeder’s boats. After that, Bruce Pappas had suddenly vanished. Never showed up for his court date. And had never been seen again.
At the time, Schroeder had insisted he’d returned Pappas back to shore, and the authorities had never been able to prove otherwise.
So they’d begun keeping Schroeder under surveillance. They’d noticed he took trips at odd times during the day and night. But while his actions were suspicious, they needed hard, irrefutable proof. They’d been hoping to catch him in the act of actually transporting a criminal, but so far they’d had no luck.
So much for that plan.
He called his young partner, Evan Marshall, and his commanding officer Luke Sanders, to give them the news. Sure, they’d have to wait for a positive ID, but clearly it looked as if Schroeder’s disappearance had been the result of foul play.
Neither man answered their phones, so he left messages and then snapped his phone shut with a sense of frustration. Not that it really mattered that Evan and Luke didn’t answer, there was nothing more they could do tonight anyway. They’d need to regroup and find another thread to follow in the investigation.
He pushed thoughts of work aside with an effort. He needed to focus on relaxing and enjoying himself for once. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had dinner with an attractive woman.
Of course this wasn’t a date, he hastily assured himself. Just a nice dinner with a friend and her daughter.
When Kayla turned into DiVinci’s parking lot, he pulled in right beside her. As they walked inside, he caught a whiff of her strawberry shampoo and had to stop himself from actually leaning closer to breathe deeply, filling his head with her wholesome scent.
He pulled his scattered thoughts away from dangerous territory. He’d promised her a friendly meal, nothing more.
Brianna chatted throughout dinner, which was nice since Kayla was unusually quiet. Brianna explained all about her school Christmas party and the shopping they’d done earlier that day before going off to visit her dad’s memorial.
Her last comment piqued his interest. This was the first he’d heard of a memorial. He glanced at Kayla, oddly disappointed. He’d heard from Alex how she’d taken Jeremy’s death very hard. She obviously still carried strong feelings for her dead husband even though he’d been gone for two years. He’d been a part of the team that had searched for Jeremy Wilson when his boat hadn’t returned to shore. They’d found him, but too late. “That was a really nice idea, putting up a memorial in your husband’s memory.”
Kayla’s smile was strained. “Actually the memorial was Bill Schroeder’s idea, not mine.”
A prickle of fear raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Bill Schroeder? Had she kept in touch with him over the years? In the months they’d been watching Schroeder, they’d never seen Kayla down by the lakefront near his business. And according to Alex, Kayla hadn’t stayed on close, friendly terms with the guy, either.
But she had been at Pelican Point today. On the same day Bill Schroeder washed up along the lakeshore. Not that he believed she had anything remotely to do with his death.
Still, he didn’t like the strange coincidence. Didn’t like it at all.
Ice formed along the length of his spine. Was it possible Kayla was more closely involved with Bill Schroeder than he’d realized?
TWO
“Did you know him?” Kayla asked abruptly, when Brianna left them alone to greet one of her friends from school dining at a nearby table.
“Who?” he asked, reigning in his chaotic thoughts. “The guy in the water?”
She frowned and nodded. “Yes. I figured you went back to talk to the police because you knew him.”
He hesitated, not sure what to tell her. He wouldn’t lie to her, but at the same time, he wasn’t at liberty to discuss his case. Especially when Kayla happened to know his key suspect on a first name basis. “It’s possible the dead guy could be involved in one of our investigations, but we won’t know for sure until we have positive ID.”
“I see,” she murmured, idly toying with the paper sheath from her straw.
He leaned forward, capturing her gaze with his. “Kayla, I need to ask you something. Just how well do you know Bill Schroeder? I mean, I know he was your husband’s partner in the charter fishing business, but do you still see him? Talk to him?”
She shrugged. “Not really. He did come over about a week and a half ago to show me a picture of Jeremy’s newly erected memorial.”
Ten days ago? Right before the guy disappeared? He tried to sound nonchalant. “Really? What made him think of putting up a memorial after all this time?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure, I asked him that, too, and he told me he’d always planned on doing it, but just hadn’t had made the time. I thought it was a really nice gesture.”
Rafe wished he could be so sure. He wanted to ask more, but knew that if he persisted in asking questions, Kayla would grow suspicious. “A very nice gesture,” he agreed lightly.
Brianna chose that moment to skip back to their table, so he carefully changed the subject. When they’d finished their meal, he boxed up the leftovers and paid the bill.
“Thanks for dinner, Rafe.” Kayla’s smile was lopsided and didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Yeah, thanks for dinner, Mr. Rafe. That was the bestest pizza ever!”
Brianna’s exuberance made him grin. “You’re welcome, mi nina.”
Outside, he slid the leftover pizza box in the front seat of Kayla’s car while she buckled Brianna in the back.
“I’ll follow you home,” he said when Kayla climbed behind the wheel.
“That’s not necessary, Rafe. I appreciate everything you’ve done, but you’ve already gone out of your way for us.”
Her sincere gratitude warmed his heart. Startled by the abrupt stab of longing, he took a step back. “Humor me, okay? It’s on the way home.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. It wasn’t on the way, seven miles in the opposite direction to be exact, but she nodded before closing the door.
Kayla’s bed-and-breakfast was located just a few miles west of town. Her home was nestled deep in the north woods, far from the bright lights of the city. Total darkness surrounded them as they drove down her long, winding driveway.
There was a light on in the kitchen, but the rest of the house was dark. He got out of his jeep and came up beside her as she helped Brianna jump down from her perch in the backseat. “Did you set the security system?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He took the pizza box from her hands and led the way up to the front door. Her dog, Clyde, must have heard them because he started barking.
The white panel of the security system was easy to see against the dark exterior. But the green light that normally showed the system was turned on wasn’t lit. He frowned. “Are you sure?” he asked sharply. “Because it’s not on now.”
Kayla stared uncertainly at the security panel, searching back through her memory. “I’m almost sure I set the alarm.”
“Okay, take Brianna and go back inside the car and lock the doors,” Rafe commanded. “Give me your keys. I’ll go through the house.”
After everything that had happened, she could only nod, fiercely glad that Rafe had insisted on following her home. “Come on, sweetie,” she said, tugging Brianna close. “Let’s wait for a bit in the car.”
“Why, Mommy? What’s wrong?” Brianna’s green eyes were wide with fear as