Jenna was out of the bedroom in an instant, her bare feet slapping against hardwood floors. She ran up the half-flight of stairs to Allie’s room, the dog on her heels. Her youngest was asleep in the bed, covers thrown off, arms akimbo, mouth open, and snoring softly. Jenna darted to the next room. Her heart was beating a terrified tattoo. She pushed open the door and nearly died from fright as she spied the empty bed.
“Oh God, no,” she whispered, just as a heavy knock resonated through the house. Something horrible had happened to Cassie! That’s why someone from the sheriff’s department was pounding on the door. Fear propelled her down the stairs, dread took a stranglehold of her heart. Dear God, please don’t let anything be wrong, she silently prayed just as she heard the kitchen door creak open. She hurried to the stairs.
“Mom?”
Cassie’s voice!
Thank God!
Relief flooded through her.
Jenna nearly stumbled on the last steps. Critter was growling and barking, his claws scrambling on the hardwood.
Jenna flew into the kitchen as Cassie snapped on a light. “What’s going on? Why aren’t you in bed?” Then her gaze landed on the man with Cassie, Sheriff Carter. Stern, chisel-jawed, dark, suspicious-eyed Sheriff Carter, whom she’d seen so recently.
The dog was barking his fool head off, baring his teeth at the lawman and circling.
“Critter. Hush! Now!” Jenna ordered.
With a final suspicious growl, Critter slunk under the kitchen table, where he studied Carter with wary, dark eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Jenna said, cinching the ties to her robe, her gaze landing on Cassie. “What’s going on? Where the hell have you been?”
Carter said, “Your daughter and some other kids were up at Catwalk Point tonight.”
She was caught short. Catwalk Point? “Isn’t that where they found the body of that woman?”
“That’s right.” Carter nodded. Serious as death. Cassie shifted from one foot to the other and studied the floor.
“Why?” Jenna asked her daughter. “Why did you sneak out in the middle of the night and go up there?” She pushed her hair from her eyes as her heartbeat started to slow. What the devil was going on here?
Cassie lifted a shoulder. Her chin stuck out stubbornly.
“You were supposed to be in bed. What were you thinking, sneaking out?”
Defiance sparked Cassie’s eyes and her jaw tightened, but she didn’t say a word.
Carter said, “I tried to call, but an answering system picked up.”
“What? But I was home and not on the other line…” Jenna said, then realized what had happened. “Wait a second. Did you leave the phone off the hook?” she asked her daughter, and a dark shadow of belligerence passed through Cassie’s eyes.
“Oh, Cass,” Jenna sighed, feeling suddenly so much older than her years.
“We tried your cell as well, but you didn’t pick up.”
“I always recharge it at night. It’s turned off,” she said, sensing his disapproval.
“I thought you had an alarm system.”
“I do…I armed it before I went to bed…Oh, geez, Cassie, did you turn it off?”
Cassie’s lips flattened, but again she was silent.
“Cass…” she said. “How could you? I told you about the letter and the phone call and…”
“It wasn’t working anyway. You know how it is,” Cassie cut in churlishly. “The red light wasn’t on or anything.”
“Enough about the alarm system, okay? I’ve asked Wes Allen to see what he can do to make it operational until a new security company can come in and install one.”