Page 59 of Shelter for Shay
Oh, and one more thing.
Do the right thing in the jury room on Monday. You know what that means.
Do your father proud. Hmmm, I wonder if you’ve figured that out. Or if you’re still in the dark.
And if you tell anyone—your boyfriend, the DA, the cops, even the defense attorney—I blow it all up.
I have that power.
The paper fluttered slightly in her trembling hands.
Shay stared at the words, a static ringing building in her ears. She read it again. And again.
And then it all came crashing down like a freight train.
She knew exactly where she’d seen Blake Edmonds… and she’d seen him on numerous occasions.
There’d been the school play where a nicely dressed man stood in the back of the auditorium. She’d been in the fifth grade. She remembered because one of the teachers approached him and shortly after, he’d left the building. It had caused a bit of a stir because everyone wondered who the man had been and whether he could have been there for nefarious purposes.
Then there’d been other times she’d seen a nicely dressed man, fitting his frame, who stood off from the crowd at various sporting events. Or her graduation.
And then there was that night she and her mother had dinner at the Blue Moon. The one where she’d seen two men, one wearing expensive clothing and the other a hoodie, get into an SUV.
That had been the night of the murder, only an hour before it had occured. Only blocks from where it had happened.
Oh God. Her mother’s funeral. He’d been there. He’d been watching the entire time.
Shay shivered, staring at the note. This man… Blake Edmonds… was pure evil.
The mention of Moose—so specific. The threat—so cold.
And that one line:
Do your father proud.
Her knees nearly gave out.
She stumbled backward, dropping into one of the kitchen chairs as her thoughts scrambled for meaning. Was this real? Aprank? No. No one would joke like this. Not with details they shouldn’t know. Not about her mother.
Her chest tightened with a strange, bitter blend of fear and fury.
Whoever this was… they were watching her. They knew her. And they wanted control—just like they’d had over her mom. Just like Blake had with Adam Lawrence.
She reached for her phone, hand hovering over Moose’s contact—but froze.
The letter’s warning echoed in her head:If you tell anyone… I blow it all up.
Could Blake be watching now? Could he somehow have hacked into her phone? She had to be cautious, but she also had to do something.
She let the phone fall back to the counter, fingers curling into a fist.
Becca’s message pinged again. Shit, she couldn’t bail on the girls, and she wasn’t a very good actress, but maybe she could find a way to send a message… Todd.
She could use Todd.
Shay stared at the counter, her mind racing.
She couldn’t tell Moose—not directly. The letter had made that clear. And she wasn’t about to risk his life over one mistake.
