He gave a jerky nod. “You guys okay?”
“We’re fine, really,” Shay answered.
Parker glanced back towards the dock. “I’m having my team dock by the beach. I don’t want anything contaminating the crime scene.”
“Do you need anything from us?” I asked, wrapping an arm around Shay’s shoulders.
“I’m going to need you to walk me through everything.”
“Come inside,” Shay offered. “I’ll make us some coffee.”
She moved to the small kitchen, seeming to do a little better now that she had a task. Before long, she was pouring three cups and handing them out. We settled in the small sitting area, Shay and I on the couch, and Parker in the overstuffed chair.
He took a sip of his drink. “Thanks for this, Shay.”
“Of course.”
He turned his focus back to me. “You discovered the body?”
Shay’s hand went to my thigh, an unconscious search for comfort. “No, I did.”
We walked through the events of the past few hours with Parker jotting down notes in his phone as we talked. “And neither of you saw any signs of someone still lurking around? No boat, no nothing?”
“Nothing—” My words cut off as I stood immediately. “The cameras. I have one set up at the dock, and it’s equipped with night vision.” I led them up the stairs to my office. Logging into my computer, I opened the security software Griffin had helped me install. Before long, I was rewinding through the dock camera’s footage.
The video was black and white, which limited things, but any information was better than nothing. Soon, the static image of the dock changed. The body appeared. Then another figure dressed all in black.
“Damn it,” Parker muttered. “He must know you have cameras.”
Whoever this was, knew a whole lot of things they shouldn’t. The figure, wearing a ski mask, crouched over the body, arranging the woman in his perverse art form. My muscles locked as I watched him move, invading my space and darkening the sanctuary I’d built for myself, the one Shay had held onto for years. “That gives us a clue, doesn’t it? Not many people know I put security in here.”
Parker met my gaze. “I know you’re new to a small community, but you’d be surprised how quickly word gets around. From the order for the cameras you put in at the hardware store, to whoever did the install, probably half of Anchor knows what you’ve got cooking over here.”
I muttered a curse under my breath. “Small-town gossip.”
Shay laid a hand on my shoulder. “There’re good and bad things about living here, just like everywhere. But I think the good heavily outweighs the bad.”
I glanced up at her, my gaze full of everything I didn’t want to say with Parker present. She was right, and I needed that reminder. This asshole wasn’t going to steal the beauty we’d built here. The life that was so much richer than anything I’d had before.
Parker cleared his throat. “This, at least, lets us know that the suspect is male. A rough gauge of height and weight. I’ll have my techs come in here and make a copy of the footage.”
“Sam fits the build. You’re sure he had an alibi?” I asked, keeping a close eye on Parker for his reaction.
“He did. He was drinking at Maverick’s all night. One of my deputies saw him, and at least a dozen other folks. You have any more trouble with him?”
Shay’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “We saw him on Anchor a week or two ago. He wasn’t happy to see us.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.”
Parker’s jaw worked. “I’m sorry he’s still giving you trouble.”
Shay looked in my direction and then back at Parker. “There’s something else I need to ask you.”
“And that is?”
“Were the stab wounds on all of the victims on their right arm and torso?”
Parker’s expression went blank. “How’d you know that?”
Shay slowly slipped off the long-sleeved flannel she had on over her tank top. As she let the shirt drop to the sofa, Parker sucked in an audible breath. Even from a few feet away, he could see the long scars crisscrossing her arm. Shay did her best not to look away. “They’re on my torso, too.”
“How?” Anger lit Parker’s features as if he would take down whoever’d done it.
“My brother, Michael. He killed my parents and tried to kill me. He got out of a prison treatment program a few months ago. He’s in Seattle.”
Parker straightened in his chair. “He contacted you?”
“He’s sent some letters, but I have my mail forwarded through several post office boxes. I didn’t think he knew where I was but…”
I heard every word she wouldn’t say. Every doubt rising to the surface. Every fear.
“Does anyone else on the islands know about this?” Parker asked.
Shay shook her head. “Only Brody and our friends. I guess someone could’ve seen something that I didn’t realize. But I doubt it.”
Parker looked at me. “What about these paintings?” He pointed to a half-finished piece that clearly portrayed Shay’s scars.
“No one’s seen—” I had to stop myself mid-sentence because people had seen them. The construction crew had been in the main house more than a few times for lunch or to use the internet. Any of them could’ve mentioned something in casual conversation.
“Someone could’ve seen them,” Parker surmised.
“It’s possible, but they had to have gone out of their way.”
“I’ll do some casual questioning and get a feel for if they’ve seen something they shouldn’t have.”
I pulled Shay closer against me, needing every point of contact possible. “I’ve had a P.I. on Michael. So far, everything’s been on the up and up. But this might change things. I can put you in touch with him.”
Parker pulled out his phone and began tapping out notes. “That would be great. And I’m going to have to question Michael—"
“No!” Shay cut in. “If it’s not him, if this is someone else, he’ll know where I am.”
I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “She’s right. You can’t expose her.”
Parker stared down at his phone. “I’ve got a friend in Seattle PD. I’ll call in a favor. Have him do the questioning, and I’ll go along in plain clothes. We’ll start with getting an alibi. If he has one, we can drop it there. If he doesn’t, then we may have to bring him in. It’ll be tougher to keep him in the dark then.”
“Please try.” Shay’s voice shook as she spoke, and I had the sudden urge to deck Parker.
“I’ll do everything I can to help keep you safe.”
I just hoped it was enough.
39
Shay
I collapsed onto the couch in the living room, Brody following close behind me. I didn’t think I’d ever been so tired in my life. Drained in every way imaginable. The sheriff’s department had been here all day. But Parker had left immediately after our conversation, returning hours later with the news that my brother had an alibi for all three of the murders. He’d been playing a video game where you were on camera for two of them and was on his employer’s security camera for the other.