In Close (Bulletproof #3)(59)
Author: Brenda Novak

When Isaac parked in Claire’s drive, he glanced over at her, saw how rigidly she was sitting and wished he could take the blow for her. But there was nothing he could do. She got out of the car before he could even say anything.

Sheriff King had beaten them to the house and, apparently, already viewed the damage. He was standing on the porch, using his radio. His nostrils flared when he saw them together. No doubt he’d have a word with Claire later, warning her about the company she was keeping, but he was too preoccupied, and too sensitive to what Claire was about to see, to make a fuss at this point. He greeted her with a hug but ignored Isaac.

“If you want to wait a minute, I’ll walk through it with you,” Myles told her, but the person he was talking to had just come back on the radio, and she motioned for him to go ahead.

Isaac followed her inside—and instantly wanted to find the man who’d done this and teach him a lesson. There was so much damage. Whoever it was hadn’t stolen her TV, they’d busted it, along with her computer and almost everything else she owned, whether it had value or not. The mirrors were cracked, her bedding and much of her clothing had been slashed, the pictures torn from the walls. Even her wedding album and her mother’s painting had been destroyed. Whoever had done this had paid special attention to the things that would matter most to her.

Why? The destruction was such a senseless waste. Isaac couldn’t understand risking prison for the sake of vandalism. As he peered into room after room, he also wondered how she’d replace all this stuff on a hairdresser’s salary. He hoped she had insurance because he knew the money she’d inherited from her grandparents had all been spent on cosmetology school, building her house and starting her own business.

Some of the things she’d lost couldn’t be replaced. She mumbled that Tug and Roni and David’s parents had some of her wedding pictures, but there were many they wouldn’t have, that no one would have, and that had to hurt.

He watched her dash a hand across her cheeks when she spotted several photographs floating in the tub. That someone had wanted to hurt her to this degree, for no apparent reason, created such rage he could hardly stay inside, looking at it all.

Other than wiping away silent tears, she didn’t react. She seemed stunned as she went from one wrecked item to the next.

Leanne watched the proceedings from her wheelchair in the living room. She couldn’t follow. Too much broken glass, electronic components, picture frames and other decorations littered the floor.

“Who would do something like this?” Claire asked as they left her bedroom and went back to the living room.

Isaac didn’t have an answer. As far as he knew, no one disliked her or had any reason to be angry with her, except maybe Rusty. Rusty wasn’t happy she’d spurned him. But would he go this far? Would he take that kind of risk?

In the background, Isaac could hear Myles’s clipped voice as he spoke with some forensic techs. He wanted them to come over and help out with fingerprinting. He sounded almost as upset as Isaac was.

Leanne had murmured a few words of sympathy when they first walked in. “I’m so sorry, Claire…?. I can’t believe this…?. I’m just glad you weren’t here and that you’re okay.” But she’d been silent ever since. When Isaac glanced over at her, their eyes met and for the briefest second, he saw a strange look on her face.

It was gone as quickly as it had appeared—so fast he wasn’t sure he’d seen it at all. But he got the uncomfortable impression she was taking some sort of pleasure in her sister’s pain, and that made him even angrier.

He’d known from when he and Claire were together years before that Leanne had problems. Claire always made excuses for her, tried to keep the peace and help her be happy, but Leanne wasn’t easy to get along with. In Isaac’s mind there was no question that jealousy played a part in their relationship. He wondered just how big a part.

Was Leanne jealous enough to do this?

He hoped not. He didn’t want that nasty surprise waiting for Claire when they reached the truth—because they would reach the truth. Whoever did this would be exposed and punished if Isaac had to spend every dime he owned to see it happen.

“I mean…this is so…destructive.” Claire’s voice cracked as she spoke but, for the most part, she retained a tight hold on her emotions. “Whoever did this has to hate me.”

Not necessarily. Was something else at play? Something that had been at play for fifteen years but only cropped up whenever a certain person felt threatened? “Where’d you put the files?” he asked.

She’d been so shocked by this seemingly random attack, she hadn’t connected it to her mother’s case files. When she did, her eyes widened. “You don’t think—”

“The timing is certainly suspect,” he said.

“Of course. Oh, God…” She hurried to the kitchen and gestured at the kitchen table, which was lying on its side. “They were here.”

And now they were gone. Every last interview, every last sheet of paper. “Someone doesn’t like the fact that you’re looking into your mother’s disappearance.”

“But I’ve already read everything. What could this person—or persons—hope to gain by taking the files now?”

“Maybe they didn’t know where they were before or they would’ve taken them sooner. They’re not worth as much anymore, but at least they know what you know, whether or not you’re a threat.”

“What are you saying?” Leanne had managed to roll over various objects in order to reach the kitchen. “You think this has something to do with our mother?”

Isaac turned to face her. “Don’t you?”

That strange look entered her eyes again. “Not really. Why does everything have to relate to that? She went missing fifteen years ago, for crying out loud. For all we know, this could’ve been done by one of your many lovers. Or some other woman who’s had her eye on you for a long time and is envious that you’re sleeping with my sister.”

“You mean someone who calls me night and day even though I don’t respond?” he retorted.

Claire whirled around to see what was going on between them, but his words had already had the intended effect. Leanne seemed to think better of whatever attack she’d been planning to launch. Clamping her mouth shut, she rolled out of the house.

A moment later, they could see her through the kitchen window crossing the road.