Page 55 of Skin and Bones

I pointed to the white paper on the floor, the block letters glaring up at us—STOP DIGGING, OR YOU’LL END UP LIKE HER.

Dash crouched beside it, careful not to touch the evidence. His expression darkened as he read the words, jaw tightening visibly. “Harris, get the kit. Dust for prints and when the next deputies arrive have them start looking for signs of break-in and doing door-to-doors. It’s still daylight outside. Maybe someone saw something.”

While Harris retrieved evidence-collection supplies from the cruiser, Dash gently guided me to a chair, his hand warm and reassuring against the small of my back. He handed me a bottle of water and then said, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

I recounted the evening—closing up, washing dishes, discovering the unlocked back door and the note.

“You’re sure you locked that door earlier?” he asked.

“Positive,” I said. “I always double-check. Island habits.”

Harris returned with an evidence kit, photographing the note from multiple angles before carefully lifting it with gloved hands and slipping it into a clear plastic bag. He moved to the back door, dusting the handle for fingerprints while Dash remained at my side. I took a drink of water to wet my parched throat and noticed my hands weren’t shaking quite as bad as they were before.

“We’re making someone nervous,” Dash said, his voice low. “That’s good. Means we’re getting close.”

“Close to what? Being the next body found in the harbor?” I replied, which earned me a look that was equal parts concern and admiration.

“With that kind of humor, you have the makings of being an excellent cop.”

“No, thank you,” I said. “Police uniforms are not at all flattering to the female body.”

He laughed and squeezed my hand. “I want to station a patrol car outside your house tonight.”

“Nope.” I said. “Nothing screams come and get me like a police cruiser parked in the driveway. Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie?”

“I don’t really watch movies,” he said.

“Good Lord,” I said. “I let you kiss me without knowing a thing about you. How do you not watch movies?”

“Maybe you can convince me they’re not all garbage on our next date,” he said. “Then we’ll kiss again and you’ll know more about me. Now focus please. Someone threatened you. This isn’t the time for stubborn independence. You’ve been followed and now this.”

“I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “Chowder’s a light sleeper. And I have excellent security. I’ll even activate the alarm.”

He closed his eyes. “You don’t activate your alarm at night?”

“The panel is downstairs,” I said. “By the time I get upstairs I don’t want to walk back down to hit the button. But I’ll remember tonight. I swear.”

He closed his eyes and made a strangled sound somewhere between a groan and a laugh. “Fine,” he said. “I’m following you home and checking every room myself. And then I’m going to wait outside the door and make sure you activate the alarm. Do you have cameras?”

“Top of the line,” I said. “I don’t really do technology though. I think the feed goes into the cloud somewhere. I don’t know how to get it back out.”

The look on his face was somewhere between pity and incredulity, and he leaned forward slightly.

“Don’t kiss me,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

He grinned and said, “I wasn’t going to.” And then he leaned a little closer and reached down. “You dropped the lid to your water bottle.”

I grabbed it and screwed it on tight, my face flaming in embarrassment.

“Too bad you don’t want me to kiss you,” he said. “You’re pretty cute when you’re irritated.”

An hour later, after a thorough investigation of the tea shop and an equally thorough search of my house, Dash finally seemed satisfied that no immediate danger lurked in my closets or under my bed. Chowder had followed him from room to room, supervising the security sweep with surprising attentiveness.

“Well, Mabel McCoy,” he said. “You have a ridiculous amount of clothes. But no monsters in your closets.”

“That’s a relief,” I said dryly. “Now stick a fork in me, because I’m done for the night. I’ve got Genevieve and Clarissa covering for me tomorrow. And if you show up and wake me up between the hours of midnight and eight tomorrow morning then I can’t be responsible for what Chowder does to you.”

Since Chowder was currently lying on his back at Dash’s feet, it felt like an empty threat. But I needed sleep. And maybe another kiss. But I was trying not to think about that.

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