Page 35 of Silencing Stolen Whispers
“I did, thank you.” Kinsley stood and then pushed the chair back into place. “I really appreciate this. Looks like the guy was an out-of-towner. Wisconsin plate.”
“Good luck getting him to pay then.” Carol wiped her hands on a dish towel before gesturing over her shoulder. “Brianna has your coffee waiting at the counter. I threw in a blueberry muffin.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Kinsley protested as she took the mere three steps to the doorway.
“Consider it my contribution to crime prevention,” Carol replied with a wink. “Oh, and good luck at the game tomorrow. Win or lose, those funds are going to the new women’s shelter on Cedar Avenue.”
Kinsley made her way through the small kitchen before exiting through the swinging door. The café had only gotten busier, but she couldn’t leave without having a discussion with Brianna first.
Fortunately, the barista had switched positions and was now near the espresso machine, steaming milk. Her demeanor gave no indication that she was anything other than a young girlabout to go off to college, which could only mean that someone had asked her to deliver the note.
Kinsley murmured an apology as she squeezed through the line at the register. She circled around to the pick-up counter where her coffee awaited, her name written on the sleeve with a smiley face next to it.
“Brianna?”
Kinsley waited for the young girl to glance her way.
“Did you, by chance, leave me a note on the counter this past Thursday?” Kinsley asked, wrapping her fingers around the warm beverage. The sleeve kept the thick paper cup from burning her palm. “When I picked up the carry tray, there was an envelope underneath with my name on it.”
Brianna's eyes widened, but not with guilt.
With recognition.
“Oh! Shoot. I meant to tell you about that.” Brianna secured a lid to the drink in front of her. “Someone must have dropped it out back in the alleyway. Technically, it was almost near the street where I parked for my shift. I was going to hand it to you personally, but you couldn’t hear me over the morning rush. I figured putting it under your order was the best way to make sure you got it.”
Brianna set the next order down on the counter. A woman leaned forward to collect her drink, causing Kinsley to move aside. She had a few follow-up questions, and she wasn’t ready to let the topic slide.
“You didn’t see who dropped it?”
“No, sorry.” Brianna glanced over her shoulder to hear the other cashier call out two drink orders. “Got it!”
Brianna turned her attention back to Kinsley.
“I’m just glad I spotted it. Was it important?”
“Just a thank you note,” Kinsley murmured casually without missing a beat. “I’m glad you found it, too. Have a good day.”
Kinsley made her way to the door. She pushed open the glass door and held it for an elderly man and his wife. Once they had crossed the threshold, she allowed the door to close before making her way to her Jeep.
Someone deliberately placed the note where an employee would spot it. That person had knowledge of the staff's usual parking habits and Kinsley's coffee routine. Someone had been observing her for so long that they could predict her actions with unsettling accuracy.
Someone familiar with Fallbrook, its residents, and even the local businesses.
The morning sunshine was too bright and revealing. A sickening thought emerged as she stepped off the curb to go around the front of her Jeep. Someone was playing psychological games with her.Someone who had heard rumors and pieced together circumstantial evidence.
Or had someone actually been there that night?Maybe even witnessed her pulling the trigger?
One thing stood out to Kinsley, though.
Noah hadn’t been mentioned once.
If she had been observed killing Calvin Gantz, the individual hadn’t waited around for her older brother to arrive.Which meant one thing—Gantz’s remains were still safely hidden at the bottom of Terrapin Lake.
14
Shane Levick
July
