Page 26 of By the Book

“There is up there,” he leans over me and points up at the gallery.

“And we can go in there? Isn’t it locked?”

“As sheriff, I have the key.”

Unlocking the door, we come face to face with a spiral staircase that carries us up through the damp brick structure. We reach a plateau, standing in a wide room encased in glass.Circling, I take in the unobstructed views that are simply breathtaking.

On one side of me, the sea stretches on for miles—pale blue, calm water, and peppered with vessels along the coast. On the other side, I look out over the gorgeous fall foliage that surrounds town. We’re above the treetops, looking down on a canopy of russet, crimson, and glowing orange. Town hall’s clock tower peaks through, a sharp white against the color.

“Wow,” I sigh, pressing a hand against the glass. Tripp stands silently behind me, but he’s near enough that I can feel his presence. I cast my eyes across the scene once more before turning back to him. “What is this place?”

He looks more relaxed now, with a lazy smile, he says, “This is the watch room. It’s where the door leads out to the gallery. You can’t tell that it’s here from the ground. The glass looks like it’s a part of the lantern room above us.”

“I guess there are some perks to being the sheriff.”

“A few,” he chuckles. Leading me across the room to a wooden bench built in along the curve of the windows, he asks, “This list—how many people are we working with?”

Sliding my tablet from my tote, I open the attachment my mother sent me and hold it between us. “There were sixty invited, fifty-two attended. And she updated it in live time, so there are no last minute walk-ins that wouldn’t be listed.”

“Really appreciating Ruth’s organization right now,” he says, leaning in and bowing his head to see the screen. We are huddled close together over the tablet, his knee grazing mine with how he’s angled. My heart is like a firecracker, sparked by each time we touch.

Inhaling to settle my nerves, it has the opposite effect when his woodsy scent mingles with the salty sea air. “Right,” I squeak lamely, absorbed in the intoxicating smell.

“Have you looked at this yet? Anyone stand out to you that would raise a red flag?”

I blink up at him, the gruffness of his voice surprising me. “It’s all family and friends we’ve known for years. I mean it’s Stevie’s dad, and the pastor that volunteers with Mom, and our next-door neighbor that used to babysit for my parents. I just… the faces keep flashing through my mind and it’s unbelievable. I can’t imagine it would be any of them. I’m sorry.”

He lifts his hand and rests it on my forearm. “Don’t be sorry, that’s understandable. None of us want to think this could be someone we know and trust.”

I sigh and begin scrolling through the names. “There was one person. But my own opinion of him could be clouding my judgment.”

“The new lawyer,” he says tensely.

“Yeah, Reid. But that doesn’t make sense with the past vandalism. Only my store.”

“Well frankly, that’s the one I’m worried about solving right now. So, I’ll look into him. It could be Reid using the past vandalism to point us away from him.”

“But nothing happened between us that was this big of a deal,” I counter. “It still doesn’t make sense.”

He drags his hand down his face and leans back against the wall of windows behind us. “Honestly, if it is him, this is my fault.”

“How so?” I glance over my shoulder.

“When I heard him talking about you at the bar… Iphysicallythrew him out of the party. And then I threatened him with significantly more physical harm and mentioned something about not worrying about hiding behind my badge.”

“Tripp!” My jaw falls open and I whirl around. “What did he say? You could have gotten in trouble! You can’t do that just to defend some girl’s honor!”

His hand comes to my waist and holds me there, his smoldering eyes pining me in my place for added measure. “You aren’t some girl, Ivy. Got it?”

“Got it,” I whisper. Like a doe caught in headlights, I don’t dare move. Whatever has the air heavy between us, I refuse to be the one to break this moment.

“Good,” he says, his deep voice thick. And then with a blink, his gaze clears once again. “We have Reid, does anyone else on the list stand out?”

I pick the tablet back up off the bench and hand it to him. “Not for me, but you take a look.”

Curling my knees up on the bench, I settle in and watch him scroll. It’s methodical, his facial expression unyielding as he reads each name. Until he comes to a stop.

“Jackson.”

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