Sam followed her down the hall to the bedroom. “Have to get those privacy screens up on the windows. We special ordered them and I paid a fortune to ensure they got here fast.”
“You did?”
“I think in terms of snipers, Satine.”
She slipped back into bed and reached for her sketchpad and journal. She definitely didn’t have the feeling Denver was watching. If he was out there, he wasn’t close. He had a healthy respect for Sam and wasn’t taking any chances.
“Since Denver doesn’t know about your abilities, we can set a trap for him. In the meantime, I will be hunting him. I’m not going to lie to you about that, sweetheart. I want your girls to know. Shabina can’t be running around in the forest for a while.”
“They’re going to be so upset.”
“I know they will,” Sam agreed. “I’m going to ask for a meeting with Griffen and Paul first thing in the morning. I’m not going to say anything about your nightmares, but I am going to say that we’ve been worried about Denver and he’s said things that have led us to believe he’s unstable and possibly committing these crimes.”
Stella sighed. She knew there was no getting around talking with law enforcement. It had to be done. They had no proof, but Griffen would vouch for them with his boss. The ME had already expressed her concern to the sheriff once. Perhaps Sam was right and talking about her nightmares would just muddy the waters.
“What can they do? They can’t accuse Denver, there’s no proof of any crime.”
“The sheriff’s office can put a missing person’s report out on Denver and spin it any way they see fit, that he’s mentally unstable and not to approach him, but let law enforcement know immediately. Something along those lines.”
Stella was already sketching the details the lens of the camera had shown her. The glimpse of the mudroom and what contents she could make out. She drew each item she saw with meticulous care, including corners of the cabinet, the flooring and her hiking boots.
“I hate this for you, Stella,” Sam said softly. He reached down and wiped just under her eye as a tear dropped on the sketchpad.
“It’s just as bad for you, Sam,” she whispered, aching for all of them.
THERE WAS A stunned silence. Stella was the only one standing in Shabina’s beautiful great room with its high ceiling and gorgeous stone fireplace.
Vienna’s hand went to her throat protectively. “That can’t be, Stella. There has to be a mistake. You’ve made a terrible mistake. Denver is …”
“Family,” Harlow finished for her. “One of us. Part of us.”
“He saves lives,” Vienna added. “Do you know how many lives he’s saved? I’ve seen him fight for people. Risk his own life over and over to save a complete stranger. No, you’re wrong, you have to be wrong.”
Silence fell on the room again. A kind of hopeless despair as each of them tried to process what Stella had told them.
“You’re certain he’s going to try to kill you next?” Raine asked eventually.
“I haven’t seen the victim,” Stella admitted. “But it’s definitely my mudroom. Those were my hiking boots. He could be after Sam. Maybe both of us. That seems more likely. I’ll know more tonight. Sam went to meet with Griffen and Paul Rafferty.”
“Have you talked to Jason to make certain Denver doesn’t circle around and go after him again?” Shabina asked. “If Denver is ill enough to want to kill you and Sam, then he would have no problem carrying out his original plan to kill Jason.”
“Sam warned him. I don’t know what he said, but yes, he should know to be cautious, although most people in Knightly are going to have a difficult time believing anything is wrong with Denver,” Stella said.
“Are you absolutely positive, Stella?” Zahra asked.
“Unfortunately, there’s no question. He’s in hiding. He hasn’t left the area, and he’s definitely hunting me. Or Sam and me.” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t know why. We spent the day out at the boulders with them. Sam did most of the talking with Denver. I was on the rock. I couldn’t talk.”
“How did Denver know you were aware he was going to kill Jason?” Raine asked in her quiet way. She sat beside Vienna, keeping one hand on her friend’s knee in sympathy.
“When Jason said he had been working on the project for months and Denver had offered to belay him, I kept trying to turn it around, but that didn’t work. I remember this horrible chill went down my spine and I looked up at Denver. I must have looked at him with accusing eyes. With knowledge. He looked back at me. He was smiling. The smile faded and I saw him. The killer. He saw me. It was just for a moment and then he was Denver again. I turned to Sam and buried my face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, and I just stayed that way until I could get control.”