Page 136 of Unexpected Entanglement

She couldn’t believe how their lives had changed so much in mere weeks. There were still three lives to weave together, trust to build, and love to nurture, but Rowan really thought they would be fine.

Unfortunately, a shadow had to darken the touching family moment.

“I got some updates from the police,” Kieran announced.

Rowan tensed at Kieran’s words.

It had been two days since the Rockland police had handed Gwen to their local police force. Rowan and her family had been on edge since, waiting to find out what the investigation uncovered. As of Monday, they only had Gwen’s words against Raven.

“The prints on the bottle Gwen handed to the police were Gwen’s and Raven’s,” Kieran said. “That was enough to get a warrant to search Raven’s properties. The police found similar tincture bottles.”

“That sounds circumstantial,” Rowan said, unconvinced.

“Listen to you throwing legal jargon around,” Kieran said. “But you’re right. Chief Bennet told me Raven wasn’t cooperative and denied Gwen’s story. She claimed she gave the bottle to Gwen for a home remedy.”

Rae frustratedly asked, “So, that’s it then? She walks?”

“I’m not done,” Kieran said. “Remember the piece of paper stuck to the melted gasoline canister they found around the fire’s perimeter?”

Rowan and Rae nodded, while Dean listened intently.

“The forensic lab they sent it to managed to separate the paper from the plastic. They could see enough that it was a matchbook from her pub,” Kieran said.

“Anyone who frequents her pub could have a matchbook,” Rowan said.

“True, but it wasn’t just anyone hiding a second-degree burn on her forearm.” Kieran smirked. “That’s pretty damning.”

“Seriously?” Rowan and Rae said in unison.

Kieran nodded. “They also found something in her house that links her to at least one incident on this property.”

“What is it?” Rowan asked impatiently.

“They found your hat. Dad’s hat, the one you lost after you fell. They discovered strands of red hair in it. Who wants to bet they would match your hair?”

Rowan gasped. “How did she...? Does that mean she’d been lurking around the property without us noticing?”

“There are plenty of access points through the woods. She could easily slip in during the night,” Kieran said.

“Sounds you might need to invest in more security measures,” Dean suggested.

“But I lost that hat during the day,” Rowan argued.

Kieran shrugged. “Gwen was working part time for us by then.”

Rowan shook her head in disbelief and started pacing. “I don’t understand what she has against me.”

“I think Chris is right,” Kieran said. “He thinks Raven is jealous of you and blames you for her divorce. Apparently, she hoped she and Greg would reconcile. But when you moved here, Greg finalized their divorce and started pursuing you. Then the vandalisms started.”

“The police are saying Raven did the vandalism?” Rowan frowned. “That makes little sense. I called Greg to fix those pipe issues. Wouldn’t she want to keep Greg away from me?”

“I think she tried to tarnish Greg’s reputation in your eyes so you wouldn’t give him your business again. Except her plan backfired and gave Greg opportunities to be around you instead.”

“After the third pipe issue, the thought that Greg gave me faulty pipes crossed my mind. She planted that suspicion in me.” Rowan shook her head. “But Greg stopped asking me out when Chris came into the picture. You’d think that’d make her happy. Why did she escalate instead?”

“Can’t say she’s mentally sound,” Kieran said. “She might’ve wanted to hurt you because she blames you for her loss. Even when you were unavailable, Greg still wanted nothing to do with her.”

Rowan shuddered at the cold reality that someone had that much hate directed at her. She’d had always sensed hostility from Raven on the rare occasions they’d bumped into each other. But Rowan had never suspected Raven had harbored such deep resentment toward her.

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