Page 14 of Lost Love Cove 4
A laugh slipped out of Carrie before she could help it. The normal sound felt strange in her throat. She caught herself and lifted her hands. “Tea or coffee?” she asked. The chorus of yes, please came from every corner of the room.
“I’ll do it,” Andy said, already pushing up from his chair. “You sit down.” He picked up the tray and headed for the kitchen with the quick, quiet efficiency of a man who liked to be useful.
“Great,” Trent said, grateful for the movement. He turned those focused eyes back to Carrie. “While Andy is doing that, maybe you and Matt can catch us up on everything that has been going on here.”
So she did. She told them about the deeds, the murder, the storm, and the long night, and the way fear had lodged behind her ribs like a stone. She told them about Ian being found in the house, the taser, and the knife. About Oscar. About the years of leases and the probate, and how Trevor had tried to hold toomuch and had broken under the weight of it. Matt filled in the holes she could not fill, his voice low and steady beside hers. As they spoke, Ian sat still and listened, jaw tight. When they reached the end, the room felt different, as if they had cleared a path through brush to a view neither of them liked.
Trent turned to Ian. “Where in the main bedroom is this hidden compartment?”
“I have to show you,” Ian said. His voice carried a rubbed-raw kind of resolve. “It’s not easy to spot.”
Carrie’s gaze caught his for a second. He looked back at her as if he wanted to say more, then glanced away.
Andy returned with the tray balanced on one hand, the steam from the cups curling in the air like small ghosts. “I have a police dinghy coming for me in forty-five minutes,” he said as he set everything down. He shifted his attention to Ian. “I’m sorry, Ian, but my captain has asked that you come with me for questioning. We’re going to help you find your wife and son.”
Ian’s face turned ashen. “What if they hurt them because I’ve involved the police?” His hands tightened at his sides.
“I don’t think they will,” Andy said with quiet confidence. “You have something Dick wants. I’ve been told he has been spotted. He is being watched by a security agency. They’ve been waiting for a reason to pick him up. This gives them one.”
Carrie felt the name like a grit in her teeth. “We don’t have the evidence it is Dick yet,” she said. Saying it out loud made her stomach roll. A guess was not enough. Not for what had already happened. Not for Katy.
“Once we have the disk and the information Trevor and I gathered,” Ian said, eyes darkening, “we can put him away on that.”
“And Katy,” Carrie said. “He needs to pay for that, too.”
Ian’s gaze dropped. The grief there had its own gravity. “He will,” he said. He lifted his head. “I’ll see to it.”
Trent stood, energy moving through him like a wire. “Why don’t you take me to where you hid the items,” he said to Ian, “and we’ll get it now.” He looked at Carrie and Matt. “I think it’s best if you take the kids to Matt’s house for a while. They’ve had enough. They don’t need to see the police here as well, or Ian and I looking for evidence that has already put their lives in danger.”
He was right. The practical part of Carrie clicked into place. “We’ll go,” she said, turning to Matt.
“I need to check for damage anyway,” Matt said. “The yard took a beating.”
“I’ll get the kids,” Alisha said. She took two quick sips of coffee, set the cup with care, and headed down the hall.
Trent glanced toward the kitchen. “What kind of knife do you need, Ian?”
“Something thin but strong,” Ian said. “A short blade is better.”
Trent nodded once. “I’ll look.” He disappeared around the corner.
“I need my jacket from your house,” Andy said to Matt. “Radio and badge are in the pocket.”
“Of course,” Matt said. “We can all go together.”
“I have some time so I can help check for damage and pull some of the boards down,” Andy offered.
“Thanks,” Matt accepted his offer. “The more help the better.”
The house shifted again, the way a room does when people peel off to do small, important things. Carrie stood and rolled her shoulders to loosen the tight knot between her shoulder blades. She could still taste the metallic edge of fear in her mouth, but beneath it, something steadier had begun to rise. A plan. Steps. Tasks. She could manage those.
Alisha came back with Maggie and Cody and an avalanche of dog paws at their heels. The children had changed into dry clothes and were rosy with the ordinary excitement of movement and the promise of milkshakes. Behind them, Trent returned, holding a kitchen towel in one hand. The blade it hid was small and dark. He kept his body between it and the kids without drawing attention to it.
“All right,” he said, voice calm. “Ian, show me where to look.”
Ian nodded and stepped forward. As he passed Carrie, his shoulder brushed hers. It was nothing, a simple bump in a crowded room. Yet in that instant, she felt the whisper of paper against her palm, the weight of something small and folded. He murmured a quick apology and kept moving.
“That’s fine,” Carrie said, tucking whatever it was into her pocket without looking down. It felt thin, like a note. She did not open her hand. Not here. Not with Maggie watching and Cody already bouncing on his toes at the word milkshake.
