When the police officers left, he rose and pulled Hailey to his side. “Let’s go home, Peanut.”
“I didn’t get to see all the dinosaurs.” Her voice took on a whine.
That guy could still be here, watching them, waiting for another chance. He glanced at Torie, and she shrugged and nodded. Hailey might sense his fear if he rushed her home and didn’t let her out of the house. The last thing he wanted was to turn her into a kid afraid of every shadow.
“Okay, one hour. We should be able to let you ride the T-Rex and get your face painted. Deal?”
“Deal!” Hailey started to run ahead.
“Hailey, stay right by us,” he ordered. “Don’t run off to talk to anyone else and don’t run ahead.”
She slowed. “Okay.”
Her crestfallen expression pierced his heart, but there were too many people and too many ways she could disappear.
Torie stepped close to his other side and whispered, “I don’t want us to be foolhardy, but we have to realize whoever did this wanted to traumatize me. He wasn’t really trying to hurt Hailey.”
The words stopped him short. Of course, she was right. It had been a ploy to terrify Torie. And him. But it had been scary for his daughter too. The person who had done this hadn’t cared who was hurt as long as Torie realized someone dangerous lurked in the shadows ready to harm her. The guy who had done this was still trying to scare her off and make her quit looking into Lisbeth’s death.
“I wanted to help before today, but this makes me all the more determined,” he said. “This guy means business. He will do anything, dare any outrageous behavior it takes to drive you off. Who does that?”
“Well, he doesn’t want to go to jail for murder,” Torie said.
“I think it’s more than that. I mean, he took a kid to get your attention. It’s like he’s taunting you. Why is it so personal? He didn’t even tell you to leave or he’d harm her. I just don’t get it.”
“I don’t either.” She inhaled and her voice went husky. “But maybe you should back off and let me do this alone. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Hailey. Or to you.”
He shook his head before she finished speaking. “He’s got me mad now. No one messes with my daughter and gets away with it. I will find him and make sure he never does anything like this to anyone else.”
She chewed her lip. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe I should just go. I could hire a private investigator. I’m not getting any closer to this guy’s identity.”
“I don’t think an investigator could do much. We wouldn’t know for sure Lisbeth was murdered if the guy hadn’t made the move to try to drive you away. You’re a catalyst somehow. I think if you leave, we’ll never know his identity.”
Chapter 23
The startled looks and wide eyes from the staff told Torie they knew exactly who she was.
She ignored the speculative stares and whispered comments as she moved down the center aisle of the historic Faith Chapel. The rich hardwood pews contrasted with the red carpet, and the Tiffany and Armstrong stained glass glowed in the Sunday morning sunlight. She hadn’t been inside the historical building in years, and she’d forgotten the wood-clad cathedral ceilings and the peaceful vibe of the small A-frame chapel.
She might as well sit by her dad in the front row since her aunt had blabbed about her identity to everyone in the hotel by now. She shouldn’t have been disappointed in Aunt Genevieve, but she struggled to hold back tears. Her aunt had never been the warmest person, but Torie had held out a thin streak of hope she might want to help get justice for Lisbeth. Her aunt didn’t care about much of anything though—certainly not a young woman without any standing or rich family.
Torie settled beside her dad, and he squeezed her hand, then released it. “You doing okay?”
“Yes.” Her throat constricted and she sniffled. “No, I guess not. I don’t really know how I should feel. Seeing the casket makes it all so real. Lisbeth really is gone from this life.”
The closed casket at the front of the church was the focal point of Torie’s attention. Her dad had paid for the coffin, and it was a handsome copper Lisbeth would have loved. Masses of flowers covered the casket, but the scent of roses and lilies was cloying and suffocating. Other flowers lined the sides as well as a few other gifts, like a set of wind chimes, potted plants, and a Bible with artificial flowers.
The church capacity was limited to 110, but Torie doubted there were even half that many here now. Lisbeth had been a new employee, and she had no siblings. Her parents had died in a small plane crash when she was eighteen, which was why Torie’s dad had become her benefactor. Torie doubted anyone on the island knew Lisbeth from her grade school days.
A movement to her left drew her attention, and her pulse kicked when she saw Joe’s tall figure slide into the pew beside her. She’d never seen him in a suit, and the navy fabric accentuated his broad shoulders.
“You look handsome.” Torie took his hand, but he pulled it away so she clasped her hands together in her lap. “Thanks for coming. Where’s Hailey?”
“With Danielle and her kids. I didn’t want to bring her in case it was too upsetting for her. She hasn’t been to a funeral since Julie’s.”
Though his voice was cold, at least he’d come. She hadn’t been sure what to expect after his reaction to the truth of her identity. He was clearly still mad though.
She inclined her head to the left. “I see Craig is here. I’ve heard the killer often comes to the funeral. Do you think the killer is here?”
“I scanned the mourners as I came in. I can’t say for sure anyone suspicious is here, but I didn’t see anyone who seemed like a suspect to me. Employees and a few people I didn’t know. Some business owners who are here out of respect for your dad.”
“Is Aunt Genevieve coming today?” Torie asked her dad.
“I don’t think so. She claims she’s got some issues to deal with at the hotel, but I think she wants to avoid me.” Her dad leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I let her know I was unhappy with her gossip.” Her dad reached over and gripped Joe’s hand. “Thank you for saving Torie yesterday.”
“She rescued me first.”
“I heard she went inside the subway car. You might not know she is claustrophobic, and it took a lot of courage for her to get past her fear.”
Torie’s cheeks heated, and she waved her hand between the two of them. “Hey, I’m right here. You don’t need to talk about me like I’m absent. Anyone would have done what I did. There wasn’t an option.”
She wasn’t yet ready to talk to her dad about her epiphany when she thought she was going to die down there. It was too new, and she hadn’t yet thought through what it meant to life as she knew it. For one thing, she wouldn’t be traveling all over the world for Bergstrom Hospitality. She’d realized she was unable to be truly present in her life with the way she was expected to flit from place to place every three or four days.
So what was her purpose in life? What did she want to do? The holy sense of this place enveloped her. She liked the hospitality industry, and if she could stay in one place, it would be better. She’d have to think about that.