The Road to Three Creeks by Caron Todd

Author:Caron Todd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

THE NEXT MORNING WAS WINDY, with hot drying gusts that bent branches and stirred up gravel on the road. Matthew arrived after breakfast carrying a small cooler that he said contained lunch. He left it in the shade and got to work on the shelves, disappearing into one outbuilding or another, coming out with a single 2x4 or a section of plywood. Sawdust blowing in his eyes, he ripped 1x6 boards from the storehouse dividing wall, sanded them until they looked fresh-cut, then brushed them with a bleach solution for good measure. If mice had ever curled up behind them, no one could tell. The sound of the electric sander drove Julia upstairs, but when it was quiet she went out and happily approved the results.

The wind and sun soon dried the boards. Matthew carried an armload into the living room so he and Julia could decide exactly where the new shelves should go. Emily stayed outside to clean up wood shavings, so she was alone when a patrol car turned into the driveway.

It was Corporal Reed again. He looked at the sawdust on the lawn. “Making bars for the windows?”

Emily wasn’t sure how to joke with a police officer. “Shelves for more books. Do you have news?”

“I thought you’d like to know how the investigation is progressing. We checked Jason Willis’s fingerprints against those found in the other houses in the area that were broken into recently. They’re a match.”

“He didn’t wear gloves? Isn’t that a basic precaution?”

“Nobody said he was smart. We’ve charged him with seven counts of break and enter with intent. That means even if he didn’t get around to taking anything the onus is on him to prove he didn’t enter a home intending to do harm. I think he’s going to have a little trouble with that.”

“And then what happens?”

“His parents tell me he’s pleading guilty. He’s a youth with no history of violence so he won’t get custody. It’ll be strict probation, which would include having no contact with you and your mother.”

That was fine with her. “Did you ever find his bicycle?”

“We think someone gave him a ride. All of this may be related to an initiation prank.”

“You mean a gang?”

“More like some sort of club—dumb kids copying what they see in the movies. Talking about a bicycle was probably an attempt to keep his friends out of it.”

Emily walked the corporal back to his car. He turned the key in the ignition, then rolled down his window.

“Where did you say Daniel Rutherford went?”

“I don’t know exactly. Ottawa, I think.”

“Ottawa. To visit a sick relative, you said?”

“That’s right.”

He looked as if he was thinking that over. “Okay. Thanks, Ms. Moore.” The car rolled partway to the road, then stopped, and Reed poked his head out the window. “Ms. Moore?”

“Yes?”

“Your father—he wasn’t from around here, was he?”

The question startled her.

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